ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Maqtal al-Husayn The Arba’in It is customary to pay tribute to the deceased forty days after his death by doing acts of righteousness on his behalf, by eulogizing him and enumerating his merits. This is done at organized gatherings in order to keep his memory alive just when people's minds start to forget about him and their hearts start to ignore him.

An immortal portrayal is brought back to such minds through the medium of well composed poetry transmitted from one person to another, one which takes its place in people's hearts. Epochs, hence, pass by, and so do years, while his memory remains fresh and alive. Or maybe someone delivers a moving speech recorded in books and in other records, so it would become an enduring part of history.

The lost one remains alive whenever such poetry is recited, or whenever a researcher comes across what was said in his eulogies recorded in books, so he develops an interest in investigating him and in getting to know his merits and feats. Such a commendable custom becomes more significant as the greatness of the lost one increases and is proportionate with his feats. Such is the case with reformers and role models emulated by others.

This is more important because disseminating their merits and teachings calls for following them and walking on their footprints to effect reform and to cultivate the souls. Both Abu Tharr al-Ghifari and Ibn ‘Abbas quote the Prophet (S) as saying, “The earth mourns the death of a believer for forty mornings.”[^1] Zurarah quotes Abu ‘Abdullah Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) saying, “The sky wept over al-Husayn (‘a) for forty mornings with blood, while the earth wept over him for forty mornings with blackness.

The sun wept over him for forty mornings with the eclipse and with redness, whereas the angels wept over him for forty mornings. No woman among us ever dyed with henna , nor used any oil or any kohl nor cohabited with her husband till the head of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad was brought to us, and we are still grieving even after all of that.”[^2] This is the basis of the ongoing custom of grieving for the deceased for forty days.

On the 40th day, a special mourning ceremony is held at his gravesite attended by his relatives and friends. This custom is not confined to Muslims. Christians hold mourning ceremonies forty days after the death of their lost one. They gather at a church and repeat a special prayer that they call a funeral prayer service.