Marwan Ibn Hakam
منذ 3 سنوات
614
His father Hakam had been exiled from Medina by the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) and he was called a 'lizard, young one of a lizard' by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). It is mentioned in Istiab:
"Ayesha said: 0 Marwan! I testify that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) cursed your father while you were in his loins. That is, you are also included in that curse."
He used to speak ill of Amir al-Mu'minin (a.s) in the presence of Imam Hasan (a.s). It was him that had prevented the burial of Imam Hasan (a.s) in the sanctuary of the Prophet. When Walid summoned Imam Husain (a.s) and
demanded allegiance of Yazid and Imam Husain (a.s) postponed it to the following day, Marwan told Walid: "If Husain escapes your clutches now you would never be able to subdue him. So kill him here and right now."
Just imagine! A person like Marwan who was exiled by the Prophet from Medina. Who was cursed and called 'lizard, young one of lizard', who instigated the governor of Medina to kill Imam Husain (a.s), the same Marwan is accorded such an honorable position that he is made as the caliphs and he is termed blameless in narrating traditions:
"Marwan bin al-Hakam became the caliph at the end of the year, 64 A.H."1
Marwan bin al-Hakam has narrated traditions from the Holy
Prophet (s.a.w) although it is not correct to say that he heard traditions
from the Prophet directly. He has also related from
Uthman bin Ali, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Huraira, Bushra binte
Safwan and Abdur Rahman bin Aswad bin Yaguth. From him
have related his son, Abdul Malik and also Sahl bin Saad
Saadi. (Who were senior in age to Marwan). Saeed bin
Musayyab, Urwah bin Zubair, Abu Bakr bin Abdur Rahman
bin Harith, Ubaidullah bin Abdullah bin Utbah, Mujahid, Abu Sufyan, Mawla
bin Abi Ahmad have taken traditions
from him. He was the secretary of Uthman and after the
death of Muawiyah became the governor of Medina and after
the death of Muawiyah bin Yazid bin Muawiyah allegiance of
caliphate was paid to him. Urwah bin Zubair says that
Marwan was not blameworthy in relating traditions. (That is he is reliable).2
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1 Taqreebut Tahzib
2 Tahzibut Tahzib
After the long list of those who have narrated traditions from him, what is the need to say that his traditions decorate great books of Ahl aI-Sunnah like Sahib Bukhari, Sahib Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, etc?
Another enemy of the Chief of the Martyrs was Abdullah bin Hani Azadi. He was a friend of Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf. He used to say that he had such merits as none possessed. 'One is that we have never denounced the caliph Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan, secondly our ladies had made a vow that if Husain Ibn Ali (a.s) is killed each of them would give ten camels in charity. Thus they did the same. Thirdly, there is no male among us who had been told to abuse Abu Turab and he has not abused him and who has not included in his curse, Fatima, Hasan and Husain (a.s).'1 And such an enemy of Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) and hater of the Chief of the Martyrs (a.s) is considered reliable!
Thus it is mentioned in Taqreebut Tahzib:
Abdullah bin Hani Azadi the confidant of Hajjaj bin Yusuf Thaqafi – Ajali has called him reliable. (That is, he could be trusted).
Apart from this Zahak bin Qais, Ziyad bin Sumaiyah etc. who had special attachment to Yazid and many other people are specially considered reliable and trustworthy by the Wahabis. This is one side of the coin. The second aspect is that the one who put to sword each one of these killers of the Chief of the Martyrs (a.s), that is Mukhtar Ibn Abu Ubaidah Thaqafi; he is denounced and criticized very much by them. Let us see what they say about this gentleman. It is mentioned in Lisanul Mizan about him as follows:
"Mukhtar Ibn Ubaidah Thaqafi was a great liar. It is not
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1 Sharh Ibne Abil Hadid, Vol. 1, Part 4, Pg. 195
advisable to take any tradition from him, because he was himself deviated and he misguided others. He thought that Jibraeel had come down to him. Mukhtar is even worse than Hajjaj or is same as him. And it is said that it is this same liar that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) has mentioned in the following tradition: 'A liar and a murderer shall emerge from the tribe of Tahqeef. ' This tradition is found in Sahib Muslim.
A reading of the above report makes one feel that Mukhtar must really be having all these defects. That is why scholars of the biographies of narrators have ridiculed him. Therefore I am quoting from the text of Allamah Ibn Abde Barr's alIstiab, which shows that the cause of all this poison spewing was that Mukhtar had destroyed the killers of Husain (a.s). That is why, those who disliked this matter, decided to criticize and defame him. The Allamah says:
"Mukhtar claimed that he is the agent of Muhammad Ibn Hanafiyyah in the matter of taking revenge for the blood of Husain (a.s). Thus he took the help of Ibrahim bin Malik Ashtar and pursued the killers of Husain and killed them. Allah killed most of the killers of Husain (a.s) at his hands and the killing of Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad also took place at the behest of Mukhtar by Ibrahim. Thus due to this, most Muslims like him and those who do not like his religion have criticized and denounced him.
That is, in other words, supporters and followers of the killers of Imam Husain (a.s) began to criticize and defame Mukhtar.
I think that these proofs are sufficient to prove my claim that Wahabi people respect and honor the killers of Imam Husain (a.s). Traditions of each of their chiefs decorate the Sihah books. Most of them are considered reliable, trustworthy, truthful and acceptable. One of them was made a caliph inspite
of being the killer of Husain (a.s) and another was a caliph inspite of the fact that he instigated killing of Husain (a.s) and inspire of the fact that he was exiled by the Prophet. While the one who took revenge from these killers was called a deviant, a liar, one worst than Hajjaj, and God knows what else!
This dissertation of mine must have clearly shown that Wahabi people and those who have similar views not only do not consider the battle of Imam Husain (a.s) good, most of them even consider him obligatorily deserving of being killed due to his opposition to Yazid. They consider Yazid as a rightful caliph. Apart from this, they do not blame the killers of Husain (a.s) for taking part in his murder. Rather they base their religion on traditions narrated through them. They praise and glorify them. Inspite of their participation in the killing there is consensus of the Ummah on their caliphate and it is said that 'if such minor things are observed how can the work go on and the narration of traditions would become impossible'. Those who were pleased at the slaying of Husain (a.s) are considered trustworthy and reliable and one who took the revenge of his innocent blood is remembered in the worst possible words. After all this, is it still needed to be told the name of the group that considers the killers of Imam Husain (a.s) as their leaders? While a big group of Nasibis and Kharijis is even today, following the decree of Imam Ghazzali, busy in stopping the remembrance of Husain (a.s) and mourning of Husain (a.s) so that they may keep the defects of their elders concealed.
Hafiz Ali Bahadar Khan, editor of Hilal, Bombay has written an article about Janabe Sakina in the issues dated 11, 13 and 15 May. This article is having two characteristics. Firstly, from the beginning to the end it is brimming with hatred for Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) which as per the tradition of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) is the easiest method of reaching to Hell. Secondly, nowhere has he provided any reference. There were two advantages of not giving any references. One is that due to the mention of references there would have been no opportunity of showing wit and it would have been impossible to publish fabricated incidents. Secondly, it would have exposed the actual academic level of the writer becausethe whole article is based on Shar Lakhnavi's novel, Sakina Binte Husain and to give the reference of a novel would have discredited the article. In addition to this, another fallout of this would have been that the people's mind would at once have been led to the teeth-breaking rebuttal titled, Jawabe Shar. That is why the Hafiz considered it best to write in this way so that the ignorant public could be made to believe that whatever he has written is in fact the truth.
All incidents mentioned in this article, as we have already
stated, (except for one) are taken from Shar's novel and for the readers it is
necessary that to know that a refutation of this book, titled Jawabe Shar1 by Maulana Sayyid Ali Azhar,
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1 Reply to the `Shar'
has already been published from Islah Press, Khajwa, (Saran, India). I would like to briefly state that Shar has taken his material from Abul Faraj Isfahani, the Umayyad's book, Aghani. The position of Aghani in Arabic literature, as far as the authenticity of its matter is concerned, is same as that of Tilism Hosharba, Dastan Amir Hamzah etc. (They were fictions). Like these books, Aghani was also written with a view to entertain the readers. If Dastan Mir Hamzah could be made the basis of the biography of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), the Aghani can be taken as a source on the life history of Sakina and other personages. However, if the matter is judged with perception and intelligence the worth of that book and that of its writer becomes clear.
In addition to this, the writer of Dastan Mir Hamzah had no animosity towards His Eminence, Hamzah. Therefore, at every place he has attributed only courage and dignified aspects to his biography. On the other hand Abul Faraj was the enemy of the family of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) and a supporter of Umayyad rulers. That is why he has associated such incidents with Janabe Sakina that degrade her personality in every way though later researches may prove all this to be baseless. If the Hafiz had any shame he would not have taken from this novel anything after its refutation has already been written. But he had to anyhow create a controversy in order to boost the circulation of his paper even though he may have to remain under the banner of Yazid on the Day of Judgment.
Abul Faraj Isfahani who is the main source of all these calumnies was the grandson of Marwan al-Himar (the donkey) the last ruler of the Umayyad dynasty. He lived in Baghdad during the time of the Abbasids. In the same period the Merwanid caliphs laid the foundation of their rule in Andalusia. He was inclined towards them due to family
relations but due to the fear of the Abbasids he could not state anything openly. So he used to disguise his malice in the veil of entertainment and write all the degrading things about Ahl al-Bayt (a.s). Then he used to have his writings secretly smuggled to his real patrons and receive rewards and money from them. The volumes of Aghani are part of these series in which he has associated useless and improper incidents to Sakina. The Hafiz has quoted these same events in his article. His double-dealing is obvious from the fact that in addition he also wrote books for Bani Abbas that praised the Banu Hashim. Abul Faraj Isfahani was a prolific liar, fiction maker and a drunkard. It is regrettable that right now I could not obtain all the references that I needed from his writings, but I present here whatever I have been able to obtain.
(1)Whatever Hujjatul Islam Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari has said is as follows:
"I have briefly seen the book of Aghani. It is full of incidents and accounts about the people involved in all types of vain pastimes and lustful occupations and deviations from the sciences of Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) and nothing else. In addition to this, this person was from the family tree, which has been cursed in the Quran. That is, he was the member of Banu Umayyah and progeny of Marwan. Then how is it possible for a believer to be born in a group all of whose members are cursed and that too by the one who is considered the most perfect (the Holy Prophet)?1
(2)Hujjatul Islam Maulana Sayyid Rahat Husain Sahab Qibla Gopalpuri has written in his book, Rafaut Tabaas:
"Ibn Dawood (a.r.) in his Rijal has categorized him as
follows: `Abul Faraj Isfahani; Aghani Kabeer, no tradition is
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1 Rauzatul Jannaat, Chapter `Ghain', Pg. 478
taken from it. It is written in Fihrist that he was a Zaidi. May Allah curse him."1
3)Allamah HiIli has also included him among the weak narrators.
4)One of our ancient scholars, Hasan bin Husain has called him, 'the greatest liar'.
5)Sadr has said regarding the Aghani specially that: Even if the above-mentioned point had not been mentioned against him, I still would have considered him a forger and an accursed one due to his reports in Aghani.2
6)Allamah Sayyid Sibtul Hasan Hansavi writes in his journal, Kashful Dahiya regarding Aghani that: The book of Aghani is absolutely unreliable. Abul Faraj has written it in the style of traditionists and historians but it is a collection of false and untrue things, which was written to appease the Merwanid rulers of Andalusia.
7)Allamah Ibn Hajar Asgalani writes about him:
"Abul Faraj Isfahani was the greatest liar. He used to purchase a lot of story books and base traditions on them."
8)Now read the confession of Abul Faraj Isfahani, himself, about this books:
"I have done this without any restraint although I detested that my writings should contain such illogical things that would endure forever and be associated with my name."
But it is regrettable that due to his greed for pelf and position he accepted all this for the sake of pleasing the Umayyads, and he has put the collar of eternal humiliation around his
________________________neck. This can be understood from the above statement as well as the confession of Abul Faraj Isfahani himself. Shar1 Lakhnavi who has informed about his original nature in his nom-de-plume itself has brought these sparks of mischief from Arabic to Urdu world and Hafiz Ali Bahadar is blowing to make them into flames although the Jawab Shar has put such dew upon them that they could never be ignited.
This was the historical value of those incidents, now let us apply logic to them and see whether they don't prove that:
"It seems Sakina had made her home a stage for dramatics and poetics. Such a
woman could never have any connection with religiosity. She must have been deprived
of all shame and dignity. Please ponder upon it that the position of the family of
the Prophet (s.a.w) is so much lofty while even a lady of an ordinary household could
not act in this way. Even if it is proved that Sakina lived after the imprisonment, she
had in addition to the family honor and dignity some additional qualities. For example
she was an eyewitness to all that occurred in Kerbala and herself bore those difficulties.
All her life she saw her brother, Imam Sajjad (a.s) and her sisters and aunts weeping and
lamenting. Did she forget all these things so soon and said farewell to all the family
values and religious commands? She belonged to a family, which had itself initiated the
rules that a lady must not even let a stranger hear her voice, except when it is absolutely
necessary. They should remain in their houses in such a way that strangers may not look at
them and they may not look at the strangers. They must not even wear jewellery in such a way
that others may hear the tinkles. In such circumstances, one who is familiar with the family
of Prophethood, can he ever even imagine that Princess Sakina could commit such
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1 Shar = mischief
deeds? The aim of the Nasibi, Abul Faraj Isfahani in writing such things was only to malign the family of the Prophet (s.a.w) due to his (Abul Faraj Isfahani's) affiliation with the enemies of Islam."1
It is surprising that Imam Ali Ibn Husain (a.s) continued to weep upon Imam Husain (a.s) all his life. When food was brought before him, he wept. He wept when he wanted to drink water. He swooned when he saw the severed head of a slaughtered goat. Lady Rabab (Sakina's mother) had recited the following dirge on Husain (a.s) all her life as accepted even by Abul Faraj Isfahani and Hafiz Ali Bahadar:
1-lusain who was such brilliance that people obtained light from him. He is lying slain in Kerbala, unburied and un-shrouded.
0 Prophet's grandson, may God give you a good recompense and keep you safe from the loss of the balance.2
You are for me such a lofty mountain, which had given me strength and refuge, and you lived with us with mercy and piety.
Now after you, who can fulfill the needs of orphans and beggars?
And who should the poor and the deprived people approach?
By Allah! In place of your relationship, I would not look for another relationship, until I am hidden in the grave."
On one hand were such circumstances at home and on the other hand the terrible
calamity has befallen. Is it possible that Sakina could have forgotten all this as
if she has absolutely no connection with Husain (a.s)?
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1 Rafaut Tabaas
2 On the Day of Judgment
May Allah give us refuge:
...these are the words of their mouths ...1
Readers should pay attention to the following words of Lady Rabab:
"And you lived with us with mercy and piety."
On the other hand see what nonsense the Hafiz writes: "Rabab was the daughter of Imrul Qais. She was extremely beautiful and intelligent. She gave birth to a daughter called Sakina. Imam Husain (a.s) loved the two of them so much that he used to remain careless of many necessary things due to this love. One day the elder brother, Imam Hasan (a.s) scolded Imam Husain (a.s) for his excessive love for Sakina and Rabab. Instead of correcting, the scolding of the brother made him recite the following couplets:
7 swear by your life, I love the house itself where Sakina and Rabab reside.
I love both of them and am prepared to sacrifice all I own on them and if someone punishes me for it, I would not care for that.
And if I am criticized, I cannot improve for my whole life until I am concealed in the dust."
In Aghani these couplets are attributed to Imam Husain (a.s) and they
are narrated from Sakina. Anyway whatever may be the case, the writing of the incident,
its style and choice of words all show the evil and dirty nature of the writer and his
inclination to the worship of Yazid. He has tried to show Imam Husain
(a.s) as worse than an ordinary religious person. Abul Faraj has
taken the chain of narrators of these couplets upto Malik bin Ayyin. First
of all Allamah Ibn Hajar
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1 Surah Taubah 9:30
Asqalani has exposed the value of Abul Faraj's traditions that he has based his writings on fictional works. On top of that it was the style of Arabic literature of that time that even fictional incidents were written on the authority of supposed reporters, though they had no external existence. Thus merely because they had chain of narrators those reports were not considered reliable. Now, you should know that this Malik bin Ayyin was also an imaginative character. Allamah Ibn Hajar Asqalani has written in Lisanul Mizan,1 that:
"He was unknown: Now who can trust a report of Aghani, penned by Abul Faraj, the greatest liar and that too from a fictional character? Especially, when the matter is against the dignity of the family of the Prophet and also against the testimony of their infallibility and purity. And in addition to this, you will also have to accept that this character used to frequent Sakina's place and she had contact with such an enemy of Ahl al-Bayt (a.s)! All this is against logic and reason.
In such circumstances, the selection of these couplets is wrong and artificial. And if for the sake of argument we accept them, the incident mentioned in this connection is definitely fabricated.
...and they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back.2
Now see what he writes in the marginal notes: Her love made
Imam Husain (a.s) compose some couplets that became famous in the Arab
world and they were sung in a special tune in various programs. Our poets
would be astonished to know that the famous Arab artist, Ibn Sarih had composed a
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1 Vol. 5, Pg. 3, Line 4
2 Shoara 26:227
tune for those couplets on Imam Husain (a.s) and it was sung in that special tune mostly, though other tunes also existed for it.
Even if for the sake of argument it is agreed that these couplets were composed by Imam Husain (a.s), the matter of singing them in tune, which is an unlawful act is not something that could be admired. Islam has made music unlawful and the teachers of Islam never used to compose couplets for people to sing. First of all their couplets had nothing but morals and lessons. Even if for the sake of argument we accept them to be couplets of Imam Husain (a.s) we really pity the mentality of the people of that time and Ibn Sarih.
Now I would like to present another passage of the Hafiz where he has tried to display his common sense. He says:
"The whole family of Imam Husain (a.s) was the center of knowledge, literature and poetry. Very few people know that not only Rabab, the wife of Imam Husain (a.s) was the daughter of the famous poet Imrul Qais..."
Here it seems that the Hafiz wants to say that Lady Rabab was the daughter of the famous poet, Imrul Qais, whose `hanging poem' is very well-known and who was the best poet of the Arabs. By saying all this the Hafiz wants to show on one hand that the poetical expertise of Sakina was hereditary and secondly since all know that Imrul Qais was a libertine and a man of vice, his daughter must also have been very liberal minded. But it is a pity that by presenting this research the Hafiz has provided the proof of his ignorance and foolishness. If a blind man goes out unaided he would definitely stumble and fall. One who has no information about Arabic literature would indeed commit such blunders. Now please consider this:
The famous poet Imrul Qais bin Hujr Kandi was the king of the Kandi tribe. This kingdom began with his father and ended on Imrul Qais. The Caesar of Rome had him poisoned in 530 or 540 A.D. and the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) was born at least thirty years after his death in 570 A.D. Imam Husain (a.s) was born at least 88 years after the death of Imrul Qais in 628 A.D. corresponding to 4. A. H. His marriage to Lady Rabab took place during the apparent caliphate of Amir al-Mu'minin (a.s) in 36 A.H. But according to the Ahl al-Sunnah traditions it was only during the time of the second caliphate.
Even if we accept it to be true it could not be before 19 A.H. because in that year Imam Husain (a.s) became 15 and before that his marriage is not logically acceptable. Thus at that time Imrul Qais had already been dead for 103 years. Hence, if Rabab were really the daughter of Imrul Qais. At the time of her marriage she must have been at least 103 years old! What a beautiful invention indeed!
And also look at the coincidence that historians have said that Imrul Qais following the custom of the period of ignorance used to bury his daughters alive. His wives used to send away their daughters to other tribes secretly to save their lives but he used to reach everywhere and did not leave them alive. On daughter, Hind, by chance, survived and later Imrul Qais also accepted her.
I am leaving the reference only because I want to test the Hafiz whether he could locate such popular facts in the Arabic literature or not.
The only fact is that the name of the father of Lady Rabab was also Imrul Qais and he is also referred to as Kandi in some places. Just this much was sufficient for his imagination to fly and the Hafiz took to the skies. Actually the genealogy
of Lady Rabab is as follows: Rabab binte Imrul Qais bin Adi bin Jabir bin Kaab bin Ali bin Barra bin Thalaba bin Imran bin al-Haaf bin Qazaat. Since he lived in the Kanda locality of Kufa he was called Imrul Qais Kandi. He had no connection with the tribe of Kanda.
Wrong association may not be considered improper by the Hafiz because the elders of his faith and senior religious leaders have often been victims of this with regard to the Holy family of the Prophet and he may escape the divine chastisement applicable for such sins. The doors of repentance are not closed yet.
And peace be upon those who follow the guidance.
