It was then that I saw candles and heard voices that filled...

It was then that I saw candles and heard voices that filled the earth with painful cries and wailing.”[^5] On the thirteenth day of Muharram, Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) came to bury his martyred father (‘a), since only an Imam buries another Imam.[^6] This brings to memory a dialogue that once took place between Imam [‘Ali son of Musa] al-Riďa (‘a) and ‘Ali Ibn Abu Hamzah.

The Imam [by way of testing the veracity of the man] (‘a) was asked, “Tell me: Was al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali (‘a) an Imam?” He (‘a) answered in the affirmative.

The Imam (‘a) was again asked, “If so, then who took care of burying him?” ‘Ali (‘a) said, “‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad (‘a) did.” Imam al-Riďa (‘a) in turn asked him, “But where was ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn at the time?” ‘Ali Ibn Abu Hamzah said, “He was jailed at Kufa inside Ibn Ziyad's prison, but he came out without their knowledge in order to bury his father then returned to the prison once he was through” Imam al-Riďa (‘a) said, “Then the One Who enabled ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) to go to Karbala’ in order to take care of his [slain] father then return is the same One Who will enable the person entrusted with a similar task [meaning himself] to go to Baghdad [from Khurasan, northeast Iran] in order to take care of his father, and he is neither jailed nor confined.” When al-Sajjad (‘a) came to the place, he saw Banu Asad assembled around the slain not knowing what to do.

They could not identify the corpses especially since their killers had separated the heads from the bodies. Had it been otherwise, they could have inquired about them with the families and the tribes of those slain. But he (‘a), informed them that it was his task to bury those pure bodies. He informed them of the names of the slain, identifying those who belonged to Banu Hashim from the rest. Crying and wailing rose, and tears filled the eyes of everyone present there and then.

The ladies of Banu Asad loosened their hair in grief and beat their cheeks. Imam Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) walked to his father's body, hugged it and wept loudly. Then he came to the gravesite and lifted a handful of its soil. A grave already dug appeared, and so did a pre-constructed shrine... He placed his hands under the Imam's back and said, “In the Name of Allah, and according to the creed of the Messenger of Allah Allah has said the truth, and so has His Messenger (S).