Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/55)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

reprehensible acts, many years after the deceased’s death—acts which, had they committed them immediately after his death, would have ranked among the gravest evils forbidden by Allah and His Messenger. How much worse, then, after such a long time!

It is well known that among the prophets and others (1), some who were superior to al-Husayn were wrongfully and unjustly killed. His father was killed unjustly, and he was superior to him. Uthmān ibn Affān was also killed. His killing was the first of the great tribulations that occurred after the death of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and it led to many times more evil and corruption than did the killing of al-Husayn. Others besides these were killed or died, yet no one—Muslim or otherwise—ever held a mourning assembly or engaged in wailing for someone dead or slain long after his death or killing, except these fools. Had they been birds, they would have been vultures; and had they been beasts, they would have been asses.

Another example is that some of them refuse to burn tamarisk wood (2), because they heard that al-Husayn’s blood fell upon a tamarisk tree. It is well known that there would be nothing objectionable about burning that very tree, even if it bore (3) blood of any kind—so what of all the other trees untouched by the blood?!

Their follies would take too long to describe and need not be related (4) through a chain of transmission. [However, one should

(1) N and M: “among the prophets and others.” (2) In Lisān al-Arab: “Al-tarafa is a tree, also called al-taraf, while al-tarfā is the collective noun for al-tarafa. Abū Hanīfa said: ‘Tamarisk is one of the larger trees, and its fine foliage resembles that of the athel tree. It produces no usable timber, but sends up pliant, upright shoots. Camels may browse it as hamd (saline forage) when they can find no other such forage.’ Abū Amr said: ‘Tamarisk is itself a kind of hamd.’” (3) The word min (“of”) is omitted from A and B. (4) A: “Among their follies—since describing them would take too long—are matters that need not be related”; B: “Among their follies are matters whose description would take too long and which need not be related.”

ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْمُنْكَرَاتِ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ الْمَيِّتِ بِسِنِينَ كَثِيرَةٍ مَا لَوْ فَعَلُوهُ عَقِبَ مَوْتِهِ لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمُنْكَرَاتِ الَّتِي حَرَّمَهَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، فَكَيْفَ بَعْدَ هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةِ الطَّوِيلَةِ. وَمِنَ الْمَعْلُومِ أَنَّهُ قَدْ قُتِلَ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ، وَغَيْرِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ (١) ظُلْمًا وَعُدْوَانًا مَنْ هُوَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْحُسَيْنِ قُتِلَ أَبُوهُ ظُلْمًا، وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ. وَقُتِلَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ، وَكَانَ قَتْلُهُ أَوَّلَ الْفِتَنِ الْعَظِيمَةِ الَّتِي وَقَعَتْ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -، وَتَرَتَّبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ، وَالْفَسَادِ أَضْعَافُ مَا تَرَتَّبَ عَلَى قَتْلِ الْحُسَيْنِ. وَقُتِلَ غَيْرُ هَؤُلَاءِ وَمَاتَ، وَمَا فَعَلَ أَحَدٌ - لَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَلَا غَيْرِهِمْ - مَأْتَمًا وَلَا نِيَاحَةً عَلَى مَيِّتٍ، وَلَا قَتِيلٍ بَعْدَ مُدَّةٍ طَوِيلَةٍ مِنْ قَتْلِهِ إِلَّا هَؤُلَاءِ الْحَمْقَى الَّذِينَ لَوْ كَانُوا مِنَ الطَّيْرِ لَكَانُوا رَخَمًا، وَلَوْ كَانُوا مِنَ الْبَهَائِمِ لَكَانُوا حُمُرًا. وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ لَا يُوقِدُ خَشَبَ الطَّرْفَاءِ (٢) ؛ لِأَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ دَمَ الْحُسَيْنِ، وَقَعَ عَلَى شَجَرَةٍ مِنَ الطَّرْفَاءِ، وَمَعْلُومٌ. أَنَّ تِلْكَ الشَّجَرَةَ بِعَيْنِهَا لَا يُكْرَهُ وَقُودُهَا، وَلَوْ كَانَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ (٣) أَيِّ دَمٍ كَانَ، فَكَيْفَ بِسَائِرِ الشَّجَرِ الَّذِي لَمْ يُصِبْهُ الدَّمُ؟ ! . وَحَمَاقَاتُهُمْ يَطُولُ وَصْفُهَا لَا يُحْتَاجُ إِلَى أَنْ تُنْقَلَ (٤) بِإِسْنَادٍ، [وَلَكِنْ يَنْبَغِي

(١) ن، م: مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ. (٢) فِي اللِّسَانِ: الطَّرَفَةُ شَجَرَةٌ وَهِيَ الطَّرَفُ، وَالطَّرْفَاءُ جَمَاعَةُ الطَّرَفَةِ. وَقَالَ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ: الطَّرْفَاءُ مِنَ الْعِضَاهِ، وَهُدْبُهُ مِثْلُ هُدْبِ الْأَثْلِ، وَلَيْسَ لَهُ خَشَبٌ وَإِنَّمَا يَخْرُجُ عِصِيًّا سَمْحَةً فِي السَّمَاءِ، وَقَدْ تَتَمَحَّضُ بِهَا الْإِبِلُ إِذَا لَمْ تَجِدْ حِمْضًا غَيْرَهُ. وَقَالَ أَبُو عَمْرٍو: الطَّرْفَاءُ مِنَ الْحَمْضِ. (٣) مِنْ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) . (٤) أ: وَمِنْ حَمَاقَاتِهِمْ كَمَا يَطُولُ وَصْفُهَا لَا يُحْتَاجُ أَنْ تُنْقَلَ؛ ب: وَمِنْ حَمَاقَاتِهِمْ مَا يَطُولُ وَصْفُهَا وَلَا يُحْتَاجُ أَنْ تُنْقَلَ.