Fursan al-hayja' (book)
Fursān al-hayjāʾ (Arabic: فُرْسانُ الْهَیْجاء), on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a), is a book in two volumes in Persian written by Dhabih Allah Mahallati (d. 1986). This book includes the biographies of 230 of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) who were martyred in Karbala or later in Basra and Kufa. The author has presented the biographies of the martyrs in alphabetical order.
 | |
| Author | Dhabih Allah Mahallati |
|---|---|
| Original title | فُرْسانُ الْهَیْجاء |
| Language | Persian |
| Series | 2 Vols. |
| Subject | The biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) |
| Genre | History |
The author’s use of historical and narrative reports is mentioned as one of the book’s strengths. However, the fact that most of the names of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) in this book do not agree with historical sources is one of the flaws mentioned about this book.
Author
Dhabih Allah Mahallati Mushtaq 'Askari (b. 1310/1892 – d. 1406/1985) known as Dhabih Allah Mahallati was a Shi'a clergy and writer. In 1330/1912, he went to Iraq, studied in the seminaries of Najaf and Samarra and in 1376/1956, returned to Iran. He had many works including Rayahin al-shari'a, Ma'athir al-kubra fi tarikh Samarra and Fursan al-hayaja'.[1]
Content
The book Fursan al-hayja' (lit. "Riders of the Battlefield")[2] contains the names of 230 companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) in two volumes. The first volume contains the names of 140 of the companions of Husayn b. Ali (a). This volume includes from Abu Thumama al-Sa'idi to Ammar b. Hasan al-Ta'i in alphabetical order.[3] The second volume contains the biographies of ninety companions of Imam al-Husayn (a), starting with Ammar b. Abi Salama al-Hamdani and ending with Yazid b. Muhajir.[4]
The book has an ending part and appendices that contain information about Muhammad b. Hanafiyya, Mukhtar b. Abi 'Ubayd al-Thaqafi and Ra's al-Husayn (a).[5]
Strengths and weaknesses
Muhammad Ali Mujahidi, in his book Pajuhishi dar maqtal-ha-ye Farsi, has mentioned the author’s use of the reports of historians, maqtal writers and narrators as one of the strengths of this work.[6] Mujahidi also believes that most of the names of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) that appear in the book Fursan al-hayja' do not agree with authentic muqtal reports.[7] Also, according to Muhammad Isfandiyari, the author did not check the correctness of some reports; for example, he named some people as martyrs who were not martyred, or he mentioned the name of one person twice differently, thinking that he was referring to two people.[8]
Writing language and translation
According to Muhammad Isfandiyari, an Iranian historian (born in 1959-60), the book Fursan al-hayja' was written in Arabic, and later the author translated it into Persian.[9] But, the Arabic version is not available. In 1386 SH/2007-8, Muhammad Shu'a' Fakhir translated its Persian text back into Arabic under the name Fursan al-hayja' fi tarajim ashab Sayyid al-Shuhada.[10]
The writing of the first volume of Fursan al-hayja' was finished in 1348/1969-70[11] and was published by Buzar Jomehri publications during the author’s lifetime. However, other prints of this book were out later.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Sharīf Rāzī, Akhtarān-i furūzān-i Ray wa Tehran, p. 198.
- ↑ On the day of 'Ashura, after the martyrdom of his companions, Imam al-Husayn (a) used the phrase "Ya fursan al-hayja'" about them.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Fursān al-hayjāʾ, vol. 1, p. 15.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 195.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Isfandīyārī, Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn, p. 165.
- ↑ Isfandīyārī, Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn, p. 165.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Fursān al-hayjāʾ, vol. 1.
- ↑ Mujāhidī, Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī, p. 191, 192.
- ↑ Fursan al-hayja' (book); on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) (Persian)
Notes
References
- Bayḍūn, Labīb. Mawsūʿat Karbalā. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, [n.d].
- Isfandīyārī, Muḥammad. Kitābshināsī-yi tārīkhī-yi Imām Ḥusayn. Tehran: Wizārat-i Irshād-i Islāmī, 1380 Sh.
- Maḥallātī, Ḍhabīḥ Allāh. Fursān al-hayjāʾ. Edited by Muḥammad Shuʿāʿ Fākhir. Qom: al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1428 AH.
- Mujāhidī, Mūhammad ʿAlī. Pazhūhishī dar maqtalhā-yi farsī. Qom: Zamzam-i Hidāyat, 1386 Sh.
- Sharīf Rāzī, Muḥammad. Akhtarān-i furūzān-i Ray wa Tehran. Qom: Maktabat al-Zahrā, [n.d].
- کتاب فرسان الهیجاء: در احوالات اصحاب حضرت سیدالشهداء(ع). (Fursan al-hayja' (book); on the biography of the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/09/13.