Imam Husain In Persian and Turkish Poetry

By Prof.Mazhar Naqvi The theme of suffering and martyrdom occupies a central role in the history of religion from the earliest time. The life and deeds of Attis and Osiris from the Babylonian and Egyptian traditions offer the best examples for the insight of ancient people that continuation of life is not possible without death. Further, the blood shed for a noble and sacred cause is more precious than anything else in the world. Sacrifices, in fact, pave way for attaining loftier stages of life and they enhance not only the martyr’s religious standing but also glorify his entire clan. The story of Prophet Ibrahim in both Bible and Quran is a pointer to this fact, for he did not hesitate in sacrificing his child Hazrat Ismail to fulfill the willingness of Almighty Allah. Similarly, the sublime sacrifice of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hazrat Imam Husain has also found most prominent place in the works of Sufis, scholars, poets and historians. They have eulogized sacrifice as an essential feature of man’s development with the battle of Karbala in the backdrop. In Persian and Turkish literature especially much emphasis has been given to perceive Imam Husain as a model of suffering necessary for the growth of soul –a prerequisite for attaining Marifat .Some of the verses of Persian and Turkish mystic poets express deep concern over the troubles Imam confronted with his family and friends on the arid plains of Karbala and then also echo his message to the worldly affairs for appeasing Allah. Persian poet Qaani's elegy deserves a mention here: What is raining? Blood. Who? The eyes. How? Day and night. Why? From grief. Grief for whom? Grief for the king of Karbala' Composed in a marvelous style of question and answer, the elegy conveys the tragic and horrifying events leading to martyrdom of the Prophet's beloved grandson by Umayyad troops at the instruction of Caliph Yazid. The poem also leaves a deep impression of the feelings a pious devotee experiences while thinking about Imam’s hardships, thirst and hunger at Karbala. Similarly, Sanai, great Sufi poet of Iran, has given much importance to the martyrdom of Imam. He finds Imam as the prototype of Shahid(Martyr) higher and more significant and towering than all other Shahids (martyrs) in the world. Deriving inspiration from the famous ‘Rajas’ of Imam Husain’s brother and standard bearer Hazrat Abbas , Sanai questions the Yazidi forces : Your religion is your Husain, greed and wishes are your pigs and dogs You kill the one, thirsty, and nourish the other two. [Divan-E-Sanai, p. 655] Sanai beautifully demonstrates in these lines how a man sinks to such a lowly state that he thinks only of his selfish purposes and wishes and does everything to grab the material aspects whereas his religion attaches much importance to the spirituality. But he cares little about the religion and does not nourish his life with detachment and sacrifice and prefer worldly pleasures like the tyrant troops of Yazid who had not cared to give water to Imam Husain and his small band of followers in the desert in the hope of monetary awards. In one of central poems of his Divan, Sanai describes his Hero Husain, as the foundation for the development of man and the long periods of suffering that are required by those aspiring spiritual perfection. Here the poet also sees in the 'street of religion' those martyrs who were dead and are alive, those killed by the sword like Husain, those murdered by poison like his brother Imam Hasan. (Divan 485). In Persian literature, the tendency to perceive Imam Husain as the model of martyrdom and bravery continues even after the calls the novice on the path of Marifat to proceed and go towards the goal, addressing him in just one line: Be either a Husain or a Mansur. (Mansur who was brutally executed in Baghdad in 922 AD finds a place in quite a number of Sufi poems for he had also sacrificed himself on the Path of divine love and therefore the ideal lovers of God should strive to emulate him.) In Turkish literature, poets have also given due acknowledgement to the martyrdom of Imam Hasan by poisoning as well. This tradition is particularly strong in the later Bektashi order. In some of the earliest popular Turkish Sufi songs, composed by poets like Yunus Emre in the late 13th or early 14th century, the Prophet's grandsons have found a pivotal and special place. They are described by Yunus in a lovely poem as the 'fountain head of the martyrs', the 'tears of the saints', and the 'lambs of mother Fatima'. Both of them, as the 'kings of the eight paradises', are seen as the helpers who stand at ‘Kausar’ and distribute water to the thirsting people, a beautiful inversion of Husain suffering in the waterless desert of Karbala'. (Yunus Emre Divan, p. 569.) Yunus has also covered in his poetry the popular legend of Prophet witnessing angel Gabriel bringing a red and a green garment for his grandsons and then informing him that the color of garments pointed to their future deaths through the sword and poison. The poet calls them 'the two earrings of the divine Throne'. (Divan, p. 569).The imagery becomes even more colorful in the following centuries when the popularity of the Bektashi order increased and made itself felt in ritual and poetical expression. Seher Abdal (16th century) describes Imam Husain as 'the secret of God', the 'light of the eyes of Mustafa'. His contemporary, Hayreti, calls him, in a beautiful marsiya: 'the sacrifice of the festival of the greater jihad'. Has not his neck, which the Prophet used to kiss, become the place where the dagger fell? The inhabitants of heaven and earth shed black tears today. And have become confused like your hair, O Husain. Dawn sheds its blood out of sadness for Husain, and the red tulips wallow in blood and carry the brand marks of his grief on their hearts ... (Ergun, Bektasi sairleri, p. 95).The works of Turkish and Persian poets also served as a source of inspiration and base for Urdu and Sindhi marsiya writers when they embarked upon their mission to pay glowing tributes to martyrs of Karbala. The Persian and Turkish influence is quite noticeable in the works of Sindhi poets like Shah Latif , Sangi, Mir Hasan , Shah Nasir,Thabit Ali Shah,Sachal Sarmast,Mirza Baddhal and Mirza Qulich Beg. Mir Anis, Mirza Dabeer, Ghalib and Dr.Allama Iqbal have also drawn inspiration from Turkish and Persian literature while penning down the mystical interpretation of Karbala. The Turkish influence is more visible in the Sawari theme elaborated by Sangi where he puts Imam Husain in relation with the incident of Prophet’s Miraj: The Prince has made his miraj on the ground of Karbala', The Shah's horse has gained the rank of Buraq. (Death brings the Imam Husain who was riding his Zuljenah(Horse), into the divine presence as winged Buraq had brought the Prophet into the immediate divine presence during his Miraj( night journey) and ascent into heaven.