Maqtal Works During the Safawid and Qajarid Eras

By: Rasul Ja 'fariyan
Translated by Dr. Delaram Furadi

A major portion of Shi‘ite historiography of the past few centuries is made of maqtal works. It is a well established fact that the holding of mourning ceremonies for Imam Husayn (‘a) was very much in vogue in the eastern parts of Iran before the Safawids came to power. K?shif? wrote the Rawzah al-Shuhad?’ for the predominantly Sunnis region of Herat and Khur?s?n at a time when the Safawid state was being established in western Iran and had no sway in the east. However, with the establishment of the Safawid State, ‘Ashur?’ ceremonies became more profound and new books were compiled in this regard. This trend grew and spread all over Iran until the end of the Qajarid dynasty and each year new works both in prose and poetry were added to the existing heritage. Unfortunately, during this period, no care and precision was taken from the perspective of historical value and the principal sources were not consulted with meticulosity. What such writings mainly focus on in this period is mourning, elegy and tragedy. This is actually how the issue of martyrdom was viewed in this period and less attention was paid to the historical context. The majority of these works have been prepared to suit mourning ceremonies in order to make the people cry more. The following is a list of such books which have been written since the Safawid era onwards. Most of these books belong to the Qajarid era.
· Iks?r al-‘Ib?dah f? Asr?r al-Shah?dah by Mull? Aq? Darband? (Storey, p. 986)
· Amw?j al Buk?’ (Storey 979; Mar‘ash?, 7165)
· Bahr al-Buk?’ f? Mas?’ib al-Ma’sum?n (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 26/84)
· Bahr al-Huzn (Storey, p. 990)
· Bahr al-Dumu‘ (Mar‘ash?, 2592)
· Bahr-i Gham ( Storey, p. 964)
· Bust?n-i M?tam (Storey, p. 1001)
· Buk?’ al-‘Ayn (Mar‘ash?, 6582)
· Bal? wa Ibtil? dar Ruyd?d-i Karbal?’ (Storey, p. 960)
· Bayt al-Ahz?n (Storey, p. 976)
· Khul?sah al-Mas?’ib (Storey, p. 1017)
· D?st?n-i Gham (Storey, p. 964; Mar‘ash?, 2916)
· Dam‘ al-‘Ayn ‘al? Khas?’is al-Husayn (Storey, p. 995)
· Al-Dam‘ah al-S?k?bah f? al-Mus?bah al-R?tibah (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 264/8)
· Riy?z al-Buk?’ (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 6/1)
· Rawzah Husayniyyah (Storey, p. 951; Mar‘ash?, 6224, 6545)
· Rawzah al-Khaw?ss (Mar‘ash?, 3001)
· Rawzah al-Shuhad?’-i Yazd? (Mar‘ash?, 156)
· Riy?z al-Ahz?n (Storey, p. 172)
· Riy?z al-Ahz?n (Masjid-i A‘zam Library Catalogue, Qum, 215)
· Riy?z al-Shah?dah f? Zikr Mas?’ib al-S?dah (Storey, p. 958)
· Sirr al-Asr?r f? Mus?bah al-A’immah al-Ath?r (Storey, p. 996)
· Tar?q al-Buk?’ (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 15/164)
· Tuf?n al-Buk?’ (Storey, p. 967)
· ‘Umm?n al-Buk?’ (Storey, p. 982)
· ‘Ayn al-Buk?’ (Storey, p. 941)
· ‘Ayn al-Dumu’ (Mar‘ash?, 440)
· Fayz al-Dumu‘ (Storey, p. 988)
· Qabas?t al-Ahz?n (Storey, p. 989)
· Kanz al-B?k?n (Storey, p. 4550)
· Kanz al-Mihan (Storey, p. 991)
· Kanz al-Mas?’ib (Storey, pp. 969, 987)
· Lubb ‘Ayn al-Buk?’ (Storey, p. 942)
· Lis?n al-Dh?kir?n (Storey, p. 970)
· M?tamkadah (Storey, p. 963, 975)
· Mubk? al-‘Uyun (Mar‘ash?, 5006)
· Maj?lis al-Mafja‘ah (Storey, p. 945)
· Mujr? al-Buk?’ (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 2/40)
· Majma‘ al-Mas?’ib f? Naw?’ib al-At?’ib (Mar‘ash?, 3369, 5425, 6643)
· Majma‘ al-Mas?’ib M?zandar?n? (Mar‘ash?, 6572)
· Muhriq al-Qulub (Storey, p. 943)
· Muh?t al-‘Az? (Storey, p. 945)
· Makhzan al-Buk?’ (Mar‘ash?, 1645; Storey, p. 969)
· Ma‘din al-Buk?’ f? Maqtal al-Sayyid al-Shuhad?’ (Mar‘ash?, 3017)
· Mift?h al-Buk?’ f? Mus?bah Kh?mis al-‘Ab? (Mar‘ash?, 2363)
· Mift?h al-Buk?’ (Mutahhar? Library, 5/921)
· Man?hil al-Buk?’ (Mar‘ash?, 3455)
· Manba‘ al-Buk?’ (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 22/358)
· Muhayyij al-Ahz?n (Storey, p. 959)
· Naj?h al-‘As?n (Storey, p.1000)
· Nur al-‘Ayn f? Jaw?z al-Buk?’ (al-Dhar?‘ah, vol. 24/372)
· Was?lah al-Buk?’ (Mar‘ash?, 5500)
· Was?lah al-Naj?h (Storey, p. 961)
· Yanbu‘ al-Dumu‘ (Mar‘ash?, 3083)
Paying close attention to the names of these books shows that there are some key words in them such as buk?’ (crying), huzn (sadness), ibtil?’ (suffering), ashk (tears), and mus?bat (calamity). During this era Karbal? was viewed more from the angle of such meanings than from the historical viewpoint. Another noteworthy point in these works is that the astonishment rising from the death of Imam Husayn’s (S) companions led these latter day authors to exaggerate the figures of the enemies killed by them in battle. In this regard a look at the work Asr?r al-Shah?dah by Mull? Aq? Darband? shows astronomical figures which cannot be proved through any historical means. Such works were so far from reality that even M?rz? Husayn Nur? who was an akhb?r? scholar has included the greater part of such weak narrations in his book Mustadrak al-Was?’il, and later he decided to write a separate book entitled Lu’lu’ wa Marj?n in which he has launched a scathing attack on the writers of maqtal and the reciters of such weak narrations.

1.     Martyrdom Anniversary of Imam Hussain (A.S.) and His 72 Faithful Followers

2.      The Truth About Imam Husain’s Revolution

3.      The Land of Karbala

4.      Maqtal Works During the Safawid and Qajarid Eras

5.      Prophecy of the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn (‘a) in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal

6.      Urdu Marsiay and Nohay

7.      The Events after Ashura

8.      Imam Husain's Historic Journey to Karbala

9.      Hazrat Ali Asghar: The Youngest Child of Imam Husain (A.S.)

10.   Qais Ibn Musaher: The Ambassador of Imam Husain (A.S.)

11.  The History and Philosophy of Aza-e-Husain (A.S.)

12.  The Tragedy of the Two Young Sons of Muslim Ibn Aqil

13.  Martyrdom of Muslim Ibn Aqil in Kufah

14.  The Philosophy of the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn (A.S.)

15.  The Message of Karbala

16.  Philosophy of Muharram

17.  Muharram and Safar - A Time of Mourning

18.  Birth of Imam Husain (A.S.)

19.  Companions of Imam Husain (A.S.) and their Martyrdom

20.  Some of the Virtues of Imam Husain (A.S.)

21.  The Holy City of Karbala

22.   Khak E Shifa

23.  About the Map of Imam Husayn's Journey to Karbala

24.  Chronology of the Life of Imam Husayn(A.S.)

25.  How Do We View Imam Husayn (A.S) in the Depth of History?

26.  What the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) Said About Imam Hassan & Imam Hussain (pbut)?

27.  Hussein in Global Eyes: The Right is the Might

28.  Muharram (poem)

29.  Find More on Imam Hussein (AS)

30.  Ziarat Ashura of Imam Hussain (as), Arabic & English Text

31.  Objectives and Aims of the Ziyarah to Imam Hussain(A.S.)

32.  Lamentation Poetry for Imam Hussain(A.S.)

33.  Rites of Remembrance for Imam Hussain(A.S.) by Ahlul Bayt

34.  The Public Rites of Remembrance for Imam Hussain(A.S.)

35.  The Stages of the Rites of Azadari

36.  The Phenomenon of Weeping in the Rites of Azadari

37.  Causes of the rise of Imam Hussain(A.S.)

38.  Allamah Iqbal on Imam Hussain(A.S.)

39.  Tragedy of Karbala Remains Unforgetable

40.  Forty Ahadith(Traditions) In Praise of Imam Hussain(A.S.)

41.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S): Baby is Slaughtered

42.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S): Imam Husain Leaves Madinah

43.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S); Hurr: The Warrior Friend

44.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S); Sacrifice of Aon and Muhammad

45.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S); An Eighteen Year Old Soldier

46.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S); Qasim: The Pride and Joy

47.  English Nohay For Imam Husain (A.S); The Battle of Karbala

48.  The Night of Ashura

49.  The Day of Ashura

50.  The Status of Imam Husayn (A.S.)

51.  Role of Women in the Husayni Revolution

52.  40 Ahadith Regarding Azadari

53.  Sayings of Imam Husain(A.S.)

54.  Imam Husain's (A.S.) Sermon on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

55.  The Doyen of the Martyrs

56.  Karbala Chain Of Events

57.  The Sermon of Mina

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