Maqam Ra's al-Husayn (a): Difference between revisions

There is nothing in [[Sunni]] sources regarding whether Imam al-Husayn's (a) head is buried in [[Kufa]] or [[Najaf]], and there is no commonly accepted view among Shiites to the effect that his head is buried in one of these two places. There are, however, [[hadith]]s implying that Imam al-Husayn's (a) head is in [[Holy Shrine of Imam 'Ali (a)|Imam 'Ali's (a) Holy Shrine]]. There are other hadiths confirming such a story. However, there are problems with these hadiths that made them hard to be accepted by Shiite scholars.

There is a place inside [[Masjid al-Hannana]] well-known as the place where Imam al-Husayn's (a) head put there. It is said his head put there when heads of [[Martyrs of Karbala]] were taking from Karbala to Kufa.

On some accounts, Imam al-Husayn's (a) head was attached to his body. This is maintained by both Shiite and Sunni scholars. Some Shiite scholars, such as [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]], [[al-Sayyid al-Murtada]], [[al-Fattal al-Naysaburi]], [[Ibn Nama al-Hilli (disambiguation)|Ibn Nama al-Hilli]], [[al-Sayyid b. Tawus]], [[Baha' al-Din al-'Amili]], [[Abu Rayhan al-Biruni]], al-Qazwini, and [[al-'Allama al-Majlisi]] are proponents of this view.  

In this regard, al-Shaykh al-Saduq and after him, al-Fattal al-Nayshaburi wrote that, "[[Ali b. al-Husayn (a)]] exited ([[Syria]]) with women and returned the head of al-Husayn (a) to Karbala." About this issue, al-Sayyid al-Murtada wrote, "They have reported that the head of Imam al-Husayn (a) was buried beside the body in Karbala."

Also, Ibn Nama al-Hilli wrote, "What can be relied upon among reports is that, after the head of Imam (a) was moved from one city to another among different cities, it was returned to the body and was buried beside the body." Al-Sayyid b. Tawus wrote, "It is reported that the head of Imam al-Husayn (a) was returned and buried in Karbala."

[[Al-Majlisi]] regarded one of the reasons for recommendation of [[ziyara]] of Imam al-Husayn (a) on the day of [[Arba'in]], joining of the heads to bodies by Imam al-Sajjad (a)." Elsewhere after mentioning others' views in this regard, he wrote that, "It is famous among [[Imamiyya]] scholars that the head of Imam (a) was buried beside the body."  

Also, al-Qazwini wrote that, "The first day of the month of [[Safar]] is celebrated by [[Umayyads]], because, on that day, the head of al-Husayn (a) was brought to [[Damascus]] and on the twentieth of that month, it was returned to the body."

According to [[Sibt b. al-Jawzi]], Yazid b. Mu'awiya sent Imam al-Husayn's (a) head to the Abu Mu'it's household as a retaliation for [['Uthman b. 'Affan]]'s head, and they buried the head in a house that was later attached to al-Raqqah's [[Jami' Mosque]].  

When the caravan of Karbala's prisoners and the heads of martyrs in Karbala arrived in [[Aleppo]] from [[Iraq]], they stayed near a mountain called "Jawshan" west of Aleppo, besides a monastery called "Marat Marutha". There was a monk in the monastery who bribed the guards of the caravan to put Imam al-Husayn's (a) head on a rock inside the monastery. He stayed near the head until the morning. At the sunrise when they took the head, there were drops of blood on the rock. When the caravan moved on, people of Aleppo learned about the story and congregated around the rock and mourned for Imam al-Husayn (a). According to Shiite accounts, blood used to spring on that rock every year on the [[Day of 'Ashura]], attracting the attention of many people of [[Syria]].

According to some sources, when [[Abu Muslim al-Khurasani]] conquered Damascus, he moved Imam al-Husayn's (a) head to Merv, and buried it in Dar al-Imara.

There is a mausoleum in the city of Imam Sahib, located in Kunduz province north of [[Afghanistan]]. The epigraphy at the entrance of the mausoleum reads that after the [[Event of Karbala]], Imam al-Husayn's (a) head was moved to Ashkelon in Syria. In the sixth/twelfth century, the Fatimid caliph of [[Egypt]] moved the head to Egypt, but before the head was buried there, some Turks took the head to Bactria and buried it in a place called Arhang. In this place (just like the mausoleum of Shahmardan in [[Mazar-i-Sharif]]), the flag of the mausoleum is taken every year on March twenty nine, and then there is a ceremony in the city for forty days. Local officials and visitors from nearby and distant places attend the ceremony.

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