Imam Husain (a.

Imam Husain (a.s.) then tried to pacify her with exhortation: "What is all this, sister? I am afraid faith and endurance are over-powered by passion and devilish forces". Zainab (a.s.) replied: "How could she control herself when Imam Husain (a.s.) was killing himself with his own hands?" Imam (a.s.) answered that such was ALLAH'S WILL. This reply added much to Zainab (a.s.)'s distress and she went out of control due to excessive grief.

Witnessing this Husain (a.s.) made a lengthy speech on patience and perseverance". In this booklet the source of the above incidence was "Yakubi' and "Ibn-e-Jarir'. What I would like to know is if this incidence is authentic or not. If not, please supply us with an authentic one (including the source). A. Before replying to your question, let me explain some thing about Ibn-e-Jarir and his book.

Ibn-e-Jarir (popularly known as Tabari', 'At-Tabri') is one of the Sunni historians of 4th century of Hijra. He has collected in his history narratives concerning any given subject without saying which narrative he himself prefers.

He has written in his "Preface": "whatever news is in this book of mine (which I have narrated from our predecessors) which the reader thinks strange or the hearer deems absurd (because he finds no way of saying that it may be correct and gets no meaning in reality), then he should realize that (that absurdity or falsity) has not come from us; it is from one or other of the narrators who narrated it to us. We have just written it as it was told us." (See page 7 of the Vol. 1).

Now coming to your question: It appears that your writer does not know Arabic and has never seen 'Tarikh' of Tabari. There was nothing wrong if Zainab (a.s.) became distressed in the night of Ashura. But Tabari (or more correctly, his narrator) added some sentences in between and writer of your booklet, because of his stark ignorance, has very badly twisted even those words.

The result is a scene of such an 'absurdity' (to use the word of Tabari himself) that no man in his right senses can accept it. For example: Your booklet says: "What is all this, sister? I am afraid our faith and endurance are overpowered by our passion and devilish forces". The words in Tabari are: "O sister, your forbearance be not taken away by Satan".