the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that he said:

“There will arise among Thaqīf a liar and a destroyer.” (1)

That Shia man was the liar, and this Nāsibī was the destroyer. The former group introduced mourning, while the latter introduced rejoicing. They also narrated: “Whoever spends generously on his family on Āshūrā, Allah will grant him abundance throughout the rest of that year.”

Harb al-Kirmānī said: “I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about this hadith, and he replied, ‘It has no basis, nor does it have an established chain of transmission (2), apart from what Sufyān ibn Uyaynah narrated from Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad ibn al-Muntashir, from his father, who said: We have been informed that “whoever spends generously on his family on Āshūrā” (3)’”—and he cited the remainder of the hadith.

Ibn al-Muntashir was a Kufan who heard it and narrated it from an unidentified person. They also narrated that whoever applied kohl on Āshūrā would not suffer from eye inflammation that year, and whoever bathed on Āshūrā would not fall ill that year. Consequently, some people (4) came to regard applying kohl, bathing, spending generously on one’s dependents, and preparing (5) foods not customarily made as recommended on Āshūrā.

This is an innovation originating with those who were fanatically opposed to al-Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—on false grounds; while that is an innovation originating with those who were fanatically partisan (6) in his favor on false grounds. Every innovation is misguidance. None of the four imams of the Muslims (7), nor any other imam, regarded either practice as recommended, nor is there in