Fatima al-Sughra, the Blood of al-Hussain

[Bihar al-Anwar volume 45 page 171]

From al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar from Abi ‘Abdillah from His father from ‘Ali ibn al-Hussain, peace be upon them all:

When al-Hussain, peace be upon him, was killed, a crow came and landed in his blood. Then it flew and fell on the wall in Madinah of the home of Fatima, the daughter of Al-Hussain bin Ali, and she is al-Sughra.

So she raised her head and saw it (the blood) and cried intensely and recited a poem saying:

“The crow cried so I told it,

Who are you wailing over? Woe to you O’ crow! 

The crow said: (I wail over) the Imam, 

So i told him, who?

He said, the one who is guided to the right path, indeed al-Hussain is in Karbala between the sand and the horses, so I will weep over Hussain heavily seeking God and His Rewards,

He, the crow said: He has settled in the sand…”

Then the crow readied it’s wings to fly and he did not bear to give a clear answer to what happened to al-Hussain, then I cried over what happened to me over the answered prayer.

Imam al-Baqir said: ‘And after that she weeped over the Imam to the people of Madina so the people said she brought the magic of Abdul Mutallib as the news of Hussain’s death came shortly after.’

عن المفضل بن عمر الجعفي، عن جعفر بن محمد الصادق، عن أبيه، عن علي بن الحسين عليهما السلام قال: لما قتل الحسين عليه السلامجاء غراب فوقع في دمه، ثم تمرغ ثم طار فوقع بالمدينة على جدار فاطمة بنت الحسين بن علي وهي الصغرى فرفعت رأسها فنظرت إليه فبكتبكاء شديدا وأنشأت تقول:

نعب الغراب فقلت: من * تنعاه ويلك يا غراب قال الامام بدلا من: فقلت: من؟ * قال: الموفق للصواب إن الحسين بكربلا * بين الأسنة والضرابفابكي الحسين بعبرة * ترجي الاله مع الثواب قلت: الحسين؟ فقال لي: * حقا لقد سكن التراب ثم استقل به الجناح * فلم يطق رد الجوابفبكيت مما حل بي * بعد الدعاء المستجاب قال محمد بن علي: فنعته 1 لأهل المدينة، فقالوا: قد جاءتنا بسحر عبد المطلب، فما كان بأسرع أنجاءهم الخبر بقتل الحسين بن علي عليهما السلام 2

Evaluation:

Firstly,there is something interesting to note here. The Imam mentions Fatima al-Sughra, the daughter of Imam al-Hussain in Madina, and that the crow landed at her home. We highlight this as a proof of her existence after some have attempted to cast doubt on her existence as well as the existence of other daughters of Imam al-Hussain. It necessarily refers to Fatima al-Sughra who did not come to Karbala, since the narration goes on to show how she found out about the martyrdom of her father through the blood on the crow’s head.

Secondly, the narration indicates the sanctity of the blood of Imam al-Hussain. When al-Sughra sees it, she laments immensely over her martyred father. The blood of Abu ‘Abdullah has an extreme sanctity in the eyes of God, such that the heavens wept when it was shed (as confirmed by both Shi’i and non-Shi’i narrations).

Thirdly, al-Sughra recites a poem on al-Hussain, and Imam al-Baqir clarifies that she kept mourning him in al-Madina, such that people called her a magician who “brought the magic of Abdul Mutallib” (since she mourned the Imam before the news of His killing even reached Madina).

Reciting poetry for Imam al-Hussain is from the acts of worship which are rewarded very highly. After all, the Imam says:

“If one recites a poem about al-Hussain and cries and makes ten people cry, Paradise will be registered for him and for them!” [Kamil al-Ziyarat page 208]

Fourthly, the crow delivers to al-Sughra the news of the martyrdom of her father. This is analogous to the crow that delivered the method of burial to Qabil, son of Adam.

“Then Allah sent a crow searching in the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother. He said, "O woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the body of my brother?" And he became of the regretful.” (5:31)

The crow informs al-Sughra of the shedding of al-Hussain’s blood and His blessed body, lying on the sand. It seems al-Sughra made dua’a to Allah that she is informed of her father, since she says in the narration, “then I cried over what happened to me over the answered prayer”. And Allah answered her prayer through the crow.

Ziyarat al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa of Imam al-Mahdi:

اَلسَّلامُ عَلَى الْمُجَدَّلينَ فِي الْفَلَواتِ،

“Peace be upon the mangled corpses (left) in the desert”.

May Allah bless your tears for al-Hussain and His family, and increase our rewards and your rewards for these tears.

Wa Allahu ‘Aalam.