Why Prostrate on Karbals Turba [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The reason why Shias prostrate on the turba is based on two
sound premises hinging upon two issues:

FIRST: It is commendable for one who prays to use a pure soil he
is sure to be clean regardless of where he takes it from; there is no
preference nor any distinction of one soil over another in as far as
prostrating upon it is concerned. This is only an indication that the
person offering his prayers demonstrates concern about the cleanliness of
his body and clothes, and about the place where he offers his prayers. It
is something which a Muslim regards as a good plateau upon which he
prostrates when at home or when travelling, one which he may not find
everywhere, i.e. other towns, bazaars, hotels, inns, rest areas, parks,
traveller lodges, transportation stations, ports, shelters, etc. How can
one do so since such places may be frequented by non-Muslims and other
people who are heedless of and indifferent to religion when it comes to a
spot which by necessity has to be pure and clean?

What is wrong with a Muslim taking a precaution relevant to his creed
by carrying with him a pure soil with which he feels comfortable and of
the cleanliness of which he is sure to prostate upon when he offers his
prayers rather than prostrating on filth, uncleanness and impurities? The
latter never bring one closer to Allah, nor does the Sunnah permit
prostrating upon them, nor doing so is accepted by sound reason once a
person has made sure that his body and clothes are clean. Moreover, the
Sunnah prohibits offering prayers in places such as: garbage collection
sites, slaughter-houses, cemeteries, highways, toilets, places where
camels rest, mandating that mosques should be cleansed and perfumed [1].

This terse and precious religious attitude was adopted by pious men of
the first Muslim century. Such a very highly commendable precaution was
adopted by the great tabii and faqih whose fiqh was
unanimously agreed upon, namely Masrooq al-Ajda [2]
who used to carry with him whenever he travelled a block of baked clay
upon which he would prostrate, as we are told by the head mentor and the
trusted hafiz, the Imam of the Sunnah and the authority of his
time, Abu Bakr ibn Abu Shaybah. In Volume Two of Al-Musannaf, it is
recorded that "Whenever Masrooq travelled, he used to carry with him on
board the vessel a block of baked clay upon which he would prostrate."

This is the first premise endorsed by the Shias. It has a precedent
that goes back to the days of the early sahabah and their sincere
tabiin. As regarding the second premise, here it is explained:

SECOND: The rule of "absolute consideration" determines that
some lands are better than others, and it acknowledges the differences
between relics and the views in their regard. This is something normal,
rational, agreed upon by all nations, governments, authorities, and all
the world"s rulers. Through relating or attributing one land, place, or
area of a specific significance to another, decisions are made and
injunctions are derived which should not be violated, nor should those who
violate them be pardoned.

Can you not see how autonomous regions, parks, halls, homes,
government-controlled offices, especially those owned by the royal palace
and whereby the country"s monarch is characterized, enjoy a special status
and are subject to specific jurisdictions which people have to safeguard
and the laws relevant to which have to be adhered to?

Such is the case with places, buildings, and edifices related to Allah
Almighty. These enjoy a special status. Injunctions, rites, and
obligations, from the adherence to which nobody who submits to Allah is
exempted, are sanctioned and safeguarded. Anyone who lives under the
banner of Tawhid and is a Muslim has to shoulder his full
responsibility in safeguarding and following them.

It is according to this same agreed upon rule of "absolute
consideration" that there is for the Kaba an injunction of its own, and
so is the case with the Haram and with both Sacred Mosques of Mecca and
Medina. There are injunctions relevant specifically to them both. There
are other injunctions and restrictions relevant to public mosques and
places of worship where the Name of Allah is celebrated. Such injunctions
include sanctifying and venerating them and keeping them clean of any
filth. Those who are in the state of janaba, women during their
menstruation as well as those during their post-natal periods, are all
prohibited from entering them. They are not to be sold out at all under
any pretext whatsoever, unlike the case of private trusts the sale or
trade of which (for something better) is subject to other injunctions and
regulations. Such a status is due to their being relevant to the King of
Kings, the Lord of the Worlds.

The reason why Mecca is regarded as a safe haven sought by all people
who perform the pilgrimage and by those who visit it from each and every
distant land, and the fact that such pilgrimage rites are obligatory even
when it comes to its plants and produces, is due to the mandate derived
from such a relationship that necessitates edicts to be enforced, and the
fact that Allah had chosen such places [for distinction] rather than any
others.

So is the case with regard to considering Medina as a sacred Haram to
be venerated. All sanctities relevant to it and to its people and soil
[which we find] in the sacred Sunnah as well as those relevant to whoever
reaches it or is buried therein, are all due to the same status, to its
being belonging to Allah, the most Exalted One, and to its being the
capital of the throne of His greatest Prophet, the one who conveyed His
conclusive Message, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his
progeny.

This status, and its law of relationship, does not only concern the
legislator, it is also something natural sanctioned by Islam. Not only is
it better than all other places, it is the absolute criterion of
preferring one piece of land over another when it comes to issues relevant
to prophets and messengers and to their successors, to the truthful, to
the martyrs, to the faithful and to their categories, up to whatever
distinction one may conceive based on sacred Islam. Nay! Such a status is
the axis upon which the cycle of existence revolves, one through which
everything else stands, one to which all wishes aspire and from which
every relationship and source of endearment, all links and connections,
all factors of grudge and animosity, hostility and spite..., are rendered.

It is also the source of every disagreement, dissension, and hypocrisy.
It also is the foundation of every unity and unification, every asylum,
every accord and peace agreement. Upon it are the structures of totalities
are built and social institutes are erected. In the light of its being the
ultimate objective are states formed and governments dispute with one
another, causing rivalries, discords, disputes, then punches, then bloody
battles and wars. In its light do nations and tribes group together, then
groups and societies abound. In its light do establishments get founded in
order to deal with religious and secular issues and theological societies
centralize, and so do scientific, social, sociological, nationalistic,
sectarian, partisan, and political factions, during crises or ease, when
at rest or in motion, when united or disunited, when in agreement or in
disagreement.

The mighty and victorious government, the one which governs all
humanity since its very first day and till eternity without any bias to
anyone or without anyone freeing himself from its authority, day in and
day out, is the relative government wherein there is the safeguarding of
both the creed and the life in this world and at which man-made systems
end, and so do the general social canon, as well as the human affairs of
all individuals.

People, though numerous, are subjugated to its authority, shackled in
its chains, tied in its webs, having no escape route therefrom. It is the
one that rules and abrogates, over-rules and sustains, lifts and lowers,
joins and disconnects, brings closer or distances, gives and takes,
elevates and humiliates, rewards and penalizes, honors and abases.

It is the same one that makes the unknown soldier held in high esteem,
honored and respected. It finds him worthy of all honoring; in it, he is
glorified and dignified by the people and by the government. It scatters
roses and flowers on his soil and grave, immortalizing him, keeping his
memory alive on the pages of history for all time to come.

Such a government is the same one wherein catastrophes and disasters
become tolerable. Through its criteria does man willingly work hard,
facing trials, tribulations, and tremendous calamities headlong, [happily]
sacrificing his all for its sake. It is the one that prompted the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his
progeny, as we are told by Lady Ayesha [3],
to kiss the corpse of the great sahabi Othman ibn Mazoon as tears were
trickling down his cheeks...

It is the same that caused the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him and his progeny, to tearfully mourn his grandson al-Husain (as)
and hold many a mourning ceremony in his memory and take the turba
of Kerbala, smell it and kiss it, up to the end of the recorded tradition.
It is the same that caused Lady Ummu Salamah, Mother of the Faithful, to
keep a specimen of Kerbala"s turba in her clothes. It is the same
one that caused the Truthful Lady Fatima (as) to take a specimen of the
soil of her father"s pure grave and smell it.

It is the same that prompted Banu Zabbah during the Battle of the Camel
to collect the droppings from the camel on which the Mother of the
Faithful Ayesha was riding. They broke them up then sniffed them, as
al-Tabari indicates [in his Tarikh]. It is the same that caused the
Commander of the Faithful Ali, peace be upon him, to take a handful of
Kerbala"s turba when he reached that land, smell it then cry till
the ground became wet with his tears as he said, "From this loin, seventy
thousand shall be permitted to enter Paradise without being judged." This
incident is transmitted by al-Tabrani and is recorded on p. 191, Vol. 9,
of al-Haythami"s book Majma al-Rijal, a concordance of trusted
transmitters of hadith.

It is the same that prompted a man from Banu Asad to smell the soil
where al-Husain (as) was buried then cry. Hisham ibn Muhammad has said,
"When water was released to overwhelm [and obliterate] the grave of
al-Husain (as), it dried after forty days, and the grave was completely
left without any trace. A bedouin from Banu Asad came and kept sampling
one handful of soil of that site after another, smelling it each time,
till he was able to identify al-Husain"s grave, whereupon he wept and
said, "May my parents be sacrificed for you! How sweet you smelled when
you were alive, and how sweet your soil (turba) smells when you are
dead!" Then he wept again and composed this verse of poetry:

Out of enmity did they want to obliterate his grave,

But
the good smell of the grave"s soil led to the grave.

Refer to page 342, Vol. 4, of Ibn Asakir"s Tarikh and also to
p. 293 of the book written by hafiz al-Kanji titled
Al-Kifaya.

A human being, whoever he may be, wherever, whenever, whatever race he
belongs to, or however he may be, in all his life"s stages remains a
subject of such an authority, a hostage to expressions such as: my soul,
my body, my wealth, my family, my offspring, my kinsfolk, my relatives, my
extended family, my trade, my creed, my sect, my principle, my house, my
property, my government, my leaders, my masters..., up to a countless such
possessives...!

These are literally, in the possessive form, what are being given lip
service by governments, states, societies, committees, creeds, faiths,
kings, parties, and ruling authorities that chew their words when they
discuss these issues and endlessly many more.

Once the possessive pronoun is applied and the attribution of something
partial or complete is established, or when an individual, or a social
issue raised by those mentioned above, there will be outcomes, and there
will be injunctions which nobody has any choice except to submit and
surrender to them, defend and uphold them.

This is a useful research which provides solutions for the society"s
problems with regard to its principles, views and beliefs, ties of love or
grudge, intricate sects, decrees of the holiest legislative system,
philosophy behind what the easy creed recommends. It is a discussion of
what Islam and its rites hold as sacred, what it prohibits, the various
levels of distinction it sets, and what it holds as holy.

Having provided such a detailed account, we reveal to the discreet and
free-minded researcher the secret why the turba of the sacred land of
Kerbala is thus honored, the extent of its relationship to Allah, Praised
and Exalted is He, the extent of its sanctity and that of the one to whom
it is related in the light of his nearness to the Sublime One, the most
High. What would you think of the sanctity of a soil that is the burial
ground of someone who was killed in the Cause of Allah, of a supreme
leader of His army who never flinched from defending His cause? Surely it
is the soil of one whom He loves, of one who invited others to Him, who
led them to Him, who rose for His sake, who sacrificed his family and his
own life and everything precious for Him, one who imperiled his blood for
the sake of raising the status of His Commandments, for the dissemination
of His Unity, so that His Commandments may rule, and so that His path and
means may be firmly rooted.

Which of the world"s kings or the land"s monarchs, since the time of
Adam, has a leader who is ever-ready to rise in the defense of such a king
or monarch, one who is pure, honorable, faithful, truthful, valiant,
dignified, exalted..., like the leader of those who remained sincere till
they were all martyred at Taff, namely al-Husain (as) for whom our lives
may be sacrificed?

Why does Allah boast about him, and why does He maintain his blood with
Him and not permit a drop of it to fall upon the earth when al-Husain (as)
hurled it above in the direction of the heavens [4]?
Why should He not prolong the celebrating of his name on His earth and in
His heavens, since all Husain"s heart was filled with love for Him? Why
should the face of the world not turn black on Ashura and not manifest the
venues of His Wrath on the day when he was killed, and on the page of
existence? And why should the earth not weep over him and the sky? This is
exactly what Ibn Sirin records, and it is recorded by a multitude of
huffaz. And why should the sky not rain blood on the day when he
was killed? A consecutively recorded tradition details such an event.

Did not Allah send His messenger angels who are near to Him to His
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, to give
him a specimen of Kerbala"s turba? Why did the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, smell it, kiss
it, then refer to it as long as he lived? Why did he (P) [5]
even use it as a balsam in his own house?

Come along with me, O true Muslim! Is not prostrating on such a
turba in order to seek nearness to Allah as one performs his
prayers at the ends of the night and the day anything other than that? Is
it, rather than any other soil, earth, hall, etc., more worthy of being
held as pure and clean? Is it not better than rugs, sheets, or carpets
woven by weaving machines operated by unknown hands? Moreover, there is
nothing in the Sunnah that recommends prostrating on such items...

Is it not more worthy of seeking nearness to Allah and more fit to earn
His favor and is more appropriate to do when we submit and solemnly
surrender and worship Him, the most Exalted One? Is it not better to place
the face"s sides and forehead on such a piece of earth since doing so
connotes lessons in defending the Cause of Allah, the manifestations of
His Sanctity, and the symbol of defending His canon, holy Islam?

Is not a soil that symbolizes the signs of Tawhid and the defense of
Tawhid to the end more worthy of prostrating upon? It surely invites one
to be kind at heart, to be compassionate, to be affectionate and gentle.

Is it not most exemplary and the best thing to do to make the
prostration on a soil from which springs of blood gushed out colored with
the dye of love for Allah and crafted on the Sunnah of Allah and on pure
and sincere loyalty to Him? Is there anything better than a soil kneaded
with the blood of a pure and revered person, an individual the rewards of
loving whom are the token of appreciation of the Conclusive Divine
Message? It is a soil fermented with the blood of the Master of the Youths
of Paradise, a symbol of love for Allah and for His Messenger (P) and the
trust left by Muhammad (P) among his Muslim nation as we are told by the
Sunnah.

It is based upon both premises that we take out of the soil of Kerbala
such pieces to prostrate upon them just as the faqih of past
generations, namely Masrooq ibn al-Ajda, used to carry with him a block
of baked clay taken out of the soil of sacred Medina to prostrate on. This
man was the student of the righteous caliphate, the faqih of Medina
and the teacher of the Sunnah. Far away from him to be charged of
inventing a bida. Which of these premises causes us to really feel
the pain of unfairness? Which one of them contradicts the call of the Holy
Qur"an or the Sunnah of Allah and His Messenger (P)? Which one of them
should we denounce and label as a bida? Which one of them violates
reason, logic, or common-sense?

When the Shias use Kerbala"s soil to prostrate upon, they do not claim
that doing so is absolutely obligatory, nor do they claim that it is an
obligation derived from the Sharia or the creed, nor is it one of the
sect"s obligation, nor does anyone among them, from the very first day,
distinguish between it and others collected from the earth"s soil, when
they regard prostrating upon it as permissible, contrary to what ignorant
folks claim, those who base their claim on their own personal views. To
them [Shias], [such a turba] is mandated by reason and is highly
commendable, that"s all. It is opting for the best of what one should
prostrate upon when one consults his reason and logic and common-sense
alone, as you have already been told above. There are many followers of
this sect who take with them when they travel any such thing other than
Kerbala"s turba upon which the prostration is valid such as a pure
and clean rug woven of palm leaves they are confident to be clean, or
anything like that upon which they prostrate when they perform their
prayers.

We are of the view that anyone who adopts these sound premises and
takes into consideration the issues relevant to precaution and to sanctity
will conclude that the people who live at the Sacred Mosques: Mecca and
Medina, and who seek shelter with them, as well as those who live around
them, must take out of that soil round flat pieces or tablets upon which
they should prostrate in accordance with both arguments and as a means to
rid themselves of the heat of the gravel at the Sacred Mosque especially
at noon and during hot weather to prostrate upon and to carry them as pure
and blessed places of prostration whenever they travel as was done by
their good ancestors, the peers of the faqih Masrooq ibn al-Ajda
whose story you have already heard. They should make them available to
those who visit these Mosques and to the pilgrims who go to those sacred
lands from other Islamic countries. They should be adopted by the Islamic
nation as a place of prostration when at home and when travelling, and
they should regard them as souvenirs reminding them of Allah and His
Messenger (P) and of the places where His angel of revelation descended,
ones which remind them of their Lord and of His Prophet whenever they look
at them, smell them, and smell in them the fragrance of Tawhid and
Prophethood... They would be lanterns of guidance at Muslims" homes
enlightening the hearts and the minds of those endowed with wisdom. The
Muslims would then seek nearness to Allah Almighty in every part of the
world by prostrating upon a soil taken from the very best spot chosen by
Allah Himself to be a safe, secure, and holy House, a house of sanctity,
honor, blessing, the sacred resting place of His Prophet.

Besides, it actually carries a great and effective publicity: It
invites people to enter into the folds of Islam, to visit the Kaba, in
order to worship Allah, to visit the capital of His Sunnah and the grave
of the one who carried out the Message of such Sunnah. Indeed, whoever
holds Allah"s sanctities with high regards, it surely is better for him
with his Lord.

Finally, such is our Husain (as), and such is our love for him. Such is
his mourning. Such is Kerbala and its turba: the piece of earth upon which
we prostrate. Allah is our Lord, and our Sunnah and its tradition is the
Sunnah of our Prophet (P) and its tradition, and to Allah does all Praise
belong.

And what reason do we have not to believe in

Allah and in
the truth that has come to us while






we earnestly desire that our Lord
lets us join the






(ranks of) the good people?

(Holy Qur"an, 5:84)

And so that those who have been given the






knowledge may know that
it is the truth from






your Lord, so that they may believe in it
and






their hearts may be humbled before it. Most






surely Allah is
the Guide of those who believe






in a straight path.

(Holy Qur"an,
22:54)

GLOSSARY

Ahadith: singular of hadith, a statement (usually
attributed either to the Prophet [pbuh] or to one of the members of his
Progeny [as] or companions)

Bida: (singular of bida) an innovation in the
religion, something introduced as part of the Islamic creed, as a Sunnah,
and which is not

Faqih: jurist, one who is knowledgeable in fiqh,
Islamic jurisprudence

Fiqh: the science of Islamic jurisprudence

Hadith: (singular) tradition, a statement made by Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh); its plural is: ahadith

Janabah: uncleanness caused by seminal discharge

Musnad: a compilation of traditions (ahadith)
which are consecutively and chronologically traced to their transmitters

Sahaba: (plural) companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh); singular: sahabi

Sahabi: companion (e.g. of the Holy Prophet), one of the
sahabah

Sahih: literally: authentic, correct, accurate; it is
generally used to refer to the collection, group of collections, or book,
of verified and authenticated ahadith of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)

Sharia: Islam"s legislative system

Tabieen: plural of tabi, one who follows and
learns from a Sahabi

Tabii: (singular:) one who accompanied for a good period
of time and learned from a sahabi, a companion of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh); its plural is: tabieen

Tawhid: the concept of the absolute Unity of God, the
belief that God is One and indivisible, One__and Only One__God

Turba: literally: soil; in this text, it refers to a
piece of soil taken out of the area where Imam Husain (as) is buried

And surely Allah knows best...

[1] Ibid., p.
256, in addition to other references.

[2] Masrooq ibn al-Ajda
is Abd al-Rahman ibn Malik al-Hamadani, "Abu Ayesha," who died in 62 A.H.

He was a great tabii and one of the main authorities upon
which the six sahih books, i.e. Al-Sihah al-Sittah, rely. He
quotes Abu Bakr, Omer, Othman, Ali (as), and he was a pious faqih
and a good trusted authority. He was one of the companions of Ibn Masood
who were teaching people the Sunnah. When he was drawing his last breaths,
as Ibn Sad tells us in his Tabaqat, he supplicated saying, "O
Allah! I do not die following anything which the Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him, never sanctioned nor sanctioned by Abu
Bakr nor Omer." Refer to the major reference, namely Bukhari"s
Tarikh, Vol. 4, Chapter 2, p. 35, and to Ibn Sad"s Tabaqat,
Vol. 6, pp. 50-56, to Ibn Abu Hatim"s book Al-Jarh wal Tadeel,
Vol. 4, Chapter 1, p. 396, and to Tahtheeb al-Tahtheeb, Vol. 10,
pp. 109-111.

[3] This incident is
detailed by Abul-Qasim Abd al-Malik ibn Bashran in his book
Al-Amaali, by Abul-Hasan Ali ibn al-Jad al-Jawhari in Volume
Ten of his Musnad, by al-Hakim al-Naisapuri in Volume Three of his
book Al-Mustadrak, and by other huffaz and renown
authorities.

[4] This incident is
recorded by the hafiz al-Khatib al-Baghdadi. It is also discussed on p.
338, Vol. 4, of Tarikh al-Sham by the hafiz Ibn Asakir
who relies on the authority of al-Khatib, and by al-Hafiz al-Kanji on p.
284 of his book Al-Kifaya relying on the authority of al-Hasan II
who cites Muslim ibn Riyah, a freed slave of the Commander of the Faithful
(as), saying, "I was with al-Husain (as) when he was killed. He was shot
in the face with an arrow, so he said to me, O Muslim! Bring your hands
closer to the blood," which I did. Once I had a handful of it, he said to
me, Pour it in my hand," which I poured. He then hurled both his hands in
the direction of the sky above as he said, Lord! Avenge the shedding of
the blood of the son of Your Prophet"s daughter!" Muslim continues his
narration by saying, "Not a drop of it fell on the ground." It is also
recorded that al-Husain, peace be upon him, threw the blood drawn from his
chin to the sky when an arrow shot it. A multitude of huffaz have
recorded this incident in their books. [The word "heavens," though plural,
is synonymous to "sky." In contrast, the singular "heaven" refers to
Paradise. --Tr.

[5] Short for "Peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny."