In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
First: We learned to weep for Hussain (a), from the Messenger of God (s), for it has been narrated by both the Shi’as and the Sunnis that he, peace be upon him and his family, announced to the people that the nation would kill his son Hussain (a), and he wept for him more than fifty years before his martyrdom! The hadith is authentic according to the criteria of the two sheikhs, Bukhari and Muslim, but unfortunately, they did not include it! Al-Hakim said in Al-Mustadrak: 3 / 176: (Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ali Al-Jawhari in Baghdad informed us, Abu Al-Ahwas Muhammad bin Al-Haytham Al-Qadi narrated to us, Muhammad bin Musab narrated to us, Al-Awza’i narrated to us, from Abu Ammar Shaddad bin Abdullah, from Umm Al-Fadl bint Al-Harith, that she entered upon the Messenger of God (s), and said: O Messenger of God, I had a terrible dream last night! He said: And what is it? She said: It was severe. He said: And what is it? She said: I saw as if a piece of your body was cut and placed in my lap! The Messenger of God (s), said: You saw something good. Fatima, God willing, will give birth to a boy, and he will be in your lap. So Fatima gave birth to Hussain, and he was in my lap as the Messenger of God (s), had said. One day I entered upon the Messenger of God (s), and placed him in his lap. Then I turned away, and when I looked back, I saw the eyes of the Messenger of God (s) overflowing with tears! I said: O Prophet of God, may my father and mother be ransom for you, what is wrong? He said: Gabriel came to me and informed me that my nation will kill this son of mine! I said: This one? He said: Yes, and he brought me a piece of red soil from his place of martyrdom! This is an authentic hadith according to the criteria of the two sheikhs, but they did not include it.)
So it is strange for any Muslims to not console the Prophet (s) or hold mourning sessions for his grandson and his fragrant one, even though he wept for him, and God sent down to him the master of His angels, Gabriel (a), to inform him of his calamity, and of the crime of the nation against him, and brought him a piece of soil from the sacred land of Karbala where he would be martyred!
Second: It is as if you do not know that showing emotion for the prophets, their children, and their trustees, peace be upon them, is worship and tradition. Have you not read God’s verses about Prophet Jacob’s weeping for Joseph: {And he turned away from them and said, “Oh, my sorrow over Joseph,” and his eyes became white from grief, for he was [of that] a suppressor}.
Third: The actions and sayings of the Imams (a) are a proof for us, after the sayings and actions of the Prophet (s) because he said: {I am leaving among you two precious things, the Book of God and my progeny, my household. So long as you cling onto them both, you will never go astray). We have narrated from them (a), dozens of authentic hadiths encouraging weeping for Hussain (a) and holding mourning sessions for him, and that mourning for the dead is forbidden except for him (a).
Fourth: The principle of things, according to us, is permissibility, based on the rule: (Everything is permissible for you until you know it is forbidden). Thus, it is permissible to hold mourning sessions for Hussain (a), according to the customs of people in different lands and times, as long as they do not involve anything forbidden by Sharia.
Below are more narrations from Sunni traditions that as evidence of this tradition of mourning for Imam Hussain (a) narrated about Prophet Muhammad (s):
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal reported in his narration of Imam Ali (a) in his Musnad, in Volume 1, page 85, through his chain to Abdullah bin Naja from his father: He walked with Ali (a). When he reached Nineveh (Modern-day Karbala) while he was heading to Siffeen, he called out: “Patience, O Abu Abdillah, patience, O Abu Abdillah by the banks of the Euphrates.” I said, “What is that?” He said, “I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (s) one day and his eyes were overflowing with tears. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, why are your eyes overflowing with tears?’ He said, ‘Gabriel has just left me and informed me that my son Hussain will be killed on the banks of the Euphrates.’ He said, ‘Would you like me to show you where he will be buried?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ So he extended his hand and took a handful of soil and gave it to me, and my eyes have never ceased shedding tears since then.”
Source: “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/566” and also see: Musnad Abi Ya’la (363), Musnad Al-Bazzar (884), and Al-Dhakha’ir by Al-Muhibb Al-Tabari: 148, Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer: (2811), Majma’ Al-Zawa’id 9/187. He said: Its men are trustworthy, Seerat Al-Nubala 3/288.
And Ibn Saad also narrated – as in the third chapter of the eleventh section of Ibn Hajar’s “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqah” – from Al-Sha’bi, who said: Ali (r) passed by Karbala on his way to Siffeen and reached Nineveh. He stopped and asked about the name of the place. It was said, “Karbala.” So he wept until the earth was soaked with his tears, then he said, “I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (s) and he was weeping. I said, ‘What makes you weep, by my father and mother?’ He said, ‘Gabriel was with me just now and informed me that my son Hussain will be killed at the banks of the Euphrates, in a place called Karbala…'”.
Source: All that is mentioned in this context from “Al-Sawa’iq,” including this narration and others, can be found during his discussion in the thirtieth Hadith in the chapter, refer to “The Author.”
“Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/566” and also see: Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer by Al-Tabarani (2811), Majma’ Al-Zawa’id 9/187. He said: Its chain of men is trustworthy.
And Mulla (as mentioned in “Al-Sawa’iq”) also narrated: Ali passed by the place of the grave of Hussain (a), and said, “Here is where their riders camped, and here is where their tents were pitched, and here is where their blood was spilled. Young men from the family of Muhammad will be killed at this spot, and both the heavens and the earth will weep for them.”
Source: “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/566.”
& This narration was transmitted by our companions in a touching manner, from Al-Baqir (a), and it was narrated from Hurthama and Ibn Abbas. If you wish to delve into it, refer to pages 108 to 112 of “Al-Khasa’is Al-Husayniyya” by “The Author.”
From the narration of Umm Salama – as mentioned by Ibn Abd Rabbih Al-Maliki, where he mentioned the killing of Hussain in the second part of “Al-Aqd Al-Farid” – she said: The Prophet (s) was with me, and Hussain was with me. We approached the Prophet (s), so I took him and he wept. Then I left him, and we approached him again, so I took him and he wept. Then I left him, and Gabriel said to him, “Do you love him, O Muhammad?” He said, “Yes.” Gabriel said, “Indeed, your nation will kill him. If you wish, I can show you the land where he will be killed.” So the Prophet (s) wept.
Source: In line 15, page 243 of its second printed part in 1305, with “Zahr Al-Adab” in its margin, “The Author.”
Al-Baghawi also narrated it in his dictionary, and Abu Hatim in his Sahih from the Hadith of Anas, as mentioned in “Al-Sawa’iq.” Refer to: “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/564 and 565.”
Al-Mawardi, in his book “A’lam Al-Nubuwwa,” narrated from Urwa, from Aisha, who said: Al-Hussain ibn Ali entered upon the Messenger of Allah (s) while he was receiving revelation. Gabriel said, “Verily, your nation will be tested after you and will kill this son of yours.” He extended his hand and brought white soil, saying, “He will be killed in this place called ‘Taf.'” When Gabriel left, the Prophet (s) went out to his companions with the soil in his hand, including Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Hudhayfa, Uthman, and Abu Dharr, while he was weeping. They asked, “What makes you weep, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Gabriel informed me that my son Hussain will be killed after me in the land of Taf, and he brought me this soil, informing me that in it is his resting place.”
Source: This is the twelfth chapter in page 23 of that book, “The Author.”
Al-Tirmidhi also narrated – as mentioned in “Al-Sawa’iq” and others – that Umm Salama saw the Prophet (s) in her sleep. He was weeping, with his head and beard covered in dirt. She asked him, and he said, “Hussain was recently killed.”
Source: Sunan Al-Tirmidhi (3774), “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/567,” and “Dhakhair Al-Uqba”: 148.
In “Al-Sawa’iq,” it is mentioned that Ibn Abbas also saw him at noon, disheveled and dusty, holding a vessel containing blood that he was gathering. He asked him [what that was], and he said, “The blood of Hussain and his companions. I have not ceased to follow it since today.” They looked and found that he had been killed on that day.
Sources: Al-Ma’tam Al-Hussaini / Abdul Hussain Sharaf al-Din.
It was narrated by Ibn Abbas in Ahmad bin Hanbal’s Musnad on page 283 of the first volume of his Musnad, and by Ibn Abd Al-Barr and Al-‘Asqalani in their biographies of Hussain (peace be upon him) in “Al-Isti’ab” and “Al-Isaba,” and in many other works by “The Author.”
Also refer to: “Al-Sawa’iq Al-Muhriqa 2/567,” Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer: (2822), Mukhtasar Tarikh Ibn Asakir 7/152, Seerat Al-Nubala 3/315, Al-Bidayah Wa Al-Nihayah 8/200, “Dhakhair Al-Uqba”: 148.
For further details on the weeping of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) over Hussain (peace be upon him) in Sunni sources, refer to: Mustadrak Al-Hakim 3/176 and 4/398, Tarikh Al-Khamees 1/300 and 418, Al-Amali by Al-Shajari: 165, Kunuz Al-A’mal 13
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