Arba'in of Imam al-Husayn (a): Difference between revisions

'''Arbaʿīn of Imam al-Ḥusayn (a)''' (Arabic: اربعين الحسیني) is 20th of [[Safar]] in the [[Hijri calendar]] on the anniversary of the fortieth day after the [[Event of Karbala]] when [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] and his companions were martyred on day of [[Ashura]], 10th of [[Muharram]] 61 AH/13th of October 680.

It is reported that the captives of the Event of Karbala came to visit Imam al-Husayn (a) in Karbala on 20th of Safar 61 AH/22nd of November 680 on their return from [[al-Sham]] to [[Medina]].

It is not agreed by all Shi'a scholars whether captives passed [[Karbala]] on their return from [[Medina]].

Some scholars including [[Muhaddith Nuri]] in his [[Lu'lu' wa Marjan]] and his student [[Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi]] in his [[Muntaha al-Amal]] believe that the mentioned visit did not happen in the first year after the event of Karbala and that it was not even possible at all. Before Muhaddith Nuri, [[Sayyid b. Tawus]] expressed his doubt about the issue as well in his [[Iqbal al-A'mal]].

However, elsewhere in [[Luhuf]], Sayyid b. Tawus mentions that the caravan of the captives arrived in [[Iraq]] from al-Sham and arrived in Karbala on the day of Arba'in and after visiting Imam al-Husayn (a) moved towards Medina. He also mentions that they also visited [[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah Ansari]] and some of [[Bani Hashim]] as well.

[[Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i]] wrote a comprehensive book called Tahqiq darbari-yi Avval Arba'in Sayyid al-Shuhada (a) to refute the views of Muhaddith Nuri and Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi.

[[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah Ansari]], one of the [[companions of the Prophet (s)]] is known as the first pilgrim and visitor of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] after his martyrdom. Accompanied with 'Atiyya al-'Awfi, he arrived in Karbala on the first Arba'in of the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a) in 61 AH/680 and visited Imam al-Husayn (a).

Also, a [[Ziyarat nameh]] [literally: "visit letter"] for the day of Arba'in is narrated from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] and [[Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi]] has mentioned it in his [[Mafatih al-Jinan]] in the third chapter after [[Ziyara of 'Ashura ghayr Ma'rufa]] with the title of "Ziyarat Arbain".

[[Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i|Qadi Tabataba'i]] says that Shi'a also call Ziyara of Arba'in, "Maradd al-Rra's" meaning "the return of the head", suggesting that when the captives came back to Karbala on that day, they also brought the head of Imam al-Husayn (a) and buried it with the body.

Recommendation of the Ziyara of Arba'in has been the cause of the procession of [[Shi'a]], especially Shi'a of Iraq, to move towards Karbala every year on the occasion of Arba'in. This procession is usually made on foot and is considered as one of the most crowded rallies in the world. In 2013, some reports mentioned the number of 15 million pilgrims attending Karbala.

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