Karbala-From Land of Sorrow to Sacred One

Karbala- From Land of Sorrow to Sacredness
Dr. Mazhar Naqvi

Karbala is the most tragic event of Islamic history. The supreme sacrifice of Imam Hussain to protect human values also makes it one of the most tragic events the mankind has ever witnessed. It is for this reason Imam Hussain is called as ‘Martyr of Humanity’( Shaheed-E-Insaniyat) and not as ‘Martyr of Muslims ‘( Shaheed-E-Muslims).The steadfastness, courage, patience, care and exemplary leadership of Imam  in most trying conditions and lack of resources at Karbala has been source of inspiration to innumerable pens for over 13 centuries and it would be appropriate to say that it is the literature not history that has immortalized Karbala. The role of poets is more significant in this context by saying so, the blogger does not wish to underplay the role of writers who narrated Karbala in prose (Nasr).They too deserve appreciation for their effort but the basic difference between the poetry and prose on Karbala can be summed in one sentence-Poetry on Karbala canters to the needs of mass while prose on it quenches the thirst of class. It simply means that the poetry preserved and propagated Karbala among the people while the prose proved to intellectual diet for the select band of scholars, researchers, historians  and all those who wished to promote interfaith understanding through comparative study of different religions .

The poets had started composing couplets to lament over what was perpetrated at Karbala by the barbaric soldiers of Yazid a few years after the tragedy. So aghast they were at the killing of Imam and his small band of followers that they associated name Karbala  with grief (karb) and misfortune (bala')in their literary pursuits. These poets frequently  treated Karbala as an object to be blamed and cursed because it was on its arid plains the Prophet’s grandson was kille3d with three days hunger and thirst and the family of Hazrat Muhammad was humiliated by the commanders of Ibne Ziyad after the martyrdom of Imam. Janb-E-Rabab, the wife of Imam and mother of Hazrat Sakina and Hazrat Ali Asghar was the first to curse the land of Karbala. History records that she never sat under any kind of shadow after the death of her husband and children and used to declare repeatedly that she would never forget how  the swords, arro2s, lances and spears  of the enemies were directed against Imam and how they had left him dead at Karbala'. She had also called upon the God not to water the banks of the river at Karbala. Taking inspiration from her ,the early poets cursed Karbala and dubbed it as a land of misfortune but their attitude did not last long. Soon an idea developed that Karbala is blessed and sacred ground when the philosophy behind  Imam’s sacrifice and his mission  dawned upon poets. They started composing lamentation poetry, portraying Karbala' as a beloved land because it contained the mortal remains of  holy personalities belonging to the family of Prophet Muhammad. Since then, it has become the practice of poets to pen Karbala with  grief and love.

Poets still consider it as  a place of grief (karb) and misfortune (bala'). Yet it is a grief with difference .The place surely symbolizes in lamentation poetry as the land where the progeny of Holy prophet suffered the worst ever calamities that could strike but since it was also the location where Imam saved Islam and exposed falsehood of anti- Ahle-Bait forces forever, Karbala was also a place to be loved , a scene of legendary heroism, a place where the angels of God come down, and a site of divine blessings for those who are honored by making pilgrimages to it.

A poem of  Mansur al-Numayri (d. 190 or 193) highlights that  time was attacking the son of Fatima on the soil of Karbala' while the traces of the abodes of the people sleeping in their graves were being destroyed. The poet calls for greetings and blessings to be upon that place and for God to send unceasing and hoped for rain upon it.

Another poet, Al-Sanawburi similarly appeals to the pilgrim to greet Karbala ' and not to be disgusted at such greeting but to speak about it as affectionately as possible. He exhorts zairs to salute  the abodes whose outlines on the banks of the Euphrates have become well-known signs. He says “ Karbala  should be called the abodes of the Apostle of God and the fountain of messages. There should be the prayer for peace to be upon them(martyrs) for as long as the sun and moon rise over creation.”  In another poem, the poet urges his  camel to stop  and not to move  from the bank of the Euphrates at Karbala'. It is the place where his desire has led him and he asks the camel-driver to share in his desire. The land on the bank of the Euphrates at Karbala' is the land which belongs to God and a land of guidance. He calls on everybody whether coming at night or in the morning to greet the bank of the Euphrates and its inhabitants in their graves.

Close on the pattern of Mansur and Sanawburi, another  poet Muhammad ibn al-Husain, known as Kashajim, (d.350 or 360) mentions in one of his compositions as “ the day was dark at Karbala'. Then it cleared of clouds while they lay slaughtered. The rain does not cease falling on that land and every sunrise reckons up its coming in the morning and in the night”. The three poets quoted above in fact are only indicative of the fact as how poets brought change in their attitude after analyzing and pondering over the various aspects of Karbala and heroism of Imam Hussain. They were trend setters and carved out a path on which the poets have been treading with love and affection to keep the narratives of Karbala alive and relevant to the changing needs of the world.