till after the middle of the month of Safar and were sent to...

till after the middle of the month of Safar and were sent to Syria a day or two before the 40th day of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his companions. As written by some historians they reached Damascus in about the middle of the month of Rabiul Awwal. It cannot be said as to how long they remained in Damascus; when they departed from there and on which date they arrived in Madina.

If reliable evidence had been available to the effect that the Ahlul Bayt came to Karbala at the time of the Arba'in (40th day) of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, it could be said that this happened when they went to Syria and not at the time of their return from there.

This is so because if, as stated by some historians, the Ahlul Bayt were sent to Syria, on receipt of orders from Yazid, within about three days after the first half of the month of Safar, it does not seem impossible that they went via Karbala where they paid homage to the sacred resting places of their dear ones and martyrs on the 20th of Safar and then proceeded to Damascus.

However, we do not have any reliable evidence even for this statement and only some sporadic evidences in this behalf can be culled from history. It is not possible to believe that the Ahlul Bayt reached Syria on the day of Arba'in or left Damascus for Madina or reached Madina on such a day.

It is, therefore, advisable that such baseless matters should not be mentioned in connection with Ashura and Arba'in and one should content oneself with only those things which are reported from reliable sources. Neither Imam Sajjad came from Syria to Iraq, nor the Ahlul Bayt came to Karbala on their return from Syria, nor did Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari and Atiyya bin Sad bin Junada Awfi meet the fourth Imam and the Ahlul Bayt when they went to perform pilgrimage to Karbala on the day of Arba'in.

In the narrations related to homage by Jabir and Atiyya it has not at all been mentioned that they met Imam Sajjad or Ahlul Bayt. This story has been invented by the story-tellers.

Only Sayyid bin Tawus has written in Luhuf, contrary to the historical and geographical evidence, that on return from Damascus the Ahlul Bayt proceeded to Iraq when they reached the parting of the ways to Iraq and the Hijaz (a place which is not identified even by the geographers) and on the 40th day of the Ashura they reached Karbala. Sayyid bin Tawus was, no doubt, a great person.