BB00321: Tafsir-i-Hadith-i-’Ashura

“What is the meaning of the hadith ʿEvery day is Ashura’? I have not seen this in any source nor heard it from the scholars such that I could be certain of its authenticity, though it is well-known orally. Assuming it is authentic, the hadith is difficult and challenging, pure and noble. It has been mentioned that it is rough and harsh—none can bear it except an angel brought near, a Prophet who was sent, or a believer whose heart God has tested for faith. And we are as described by Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein (peace be upon him) when he described himself.”

I say its outer meaning is elegant and its inner meaning is profound.

Know that the Day of Ashura is the day my master, the Prince of Martyrs, was killed, and it is the first day God created because the beginning is the same as the end in ascension. It is precisely the day of the appearance of the Qa’im and it is the pivot of days, just as the one killed on it is the heart of the greater world. All days are its manifestations and revolve around it. It is a great day with God due to the killing of its master.

When my master Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein was killed, everything burned with the burning of his liver, and hearts were torn apart for the tearing of his liver, and the pivot of days was broken due to the severity of his calamity. Since this was the case in all days of pain, it was the Day of Ashura. When he was killed, as the limbs and heart drew near to the left side, everything wept for forty days. Since mixture and stain existed in some things, some things wept at some times. As for the people of equilibrium, they continue in their weeping without cessation. God is greater than this tremendous catastrophe and great calamity. There is nothing that does not weep for him.

The people of Paradise—their weeping is eternal with the eternity of God, without end. The people of Hell—their weeping is constant, and they are in severe torment during their weeping for him. The people of Paradise find their ultimate pleasure in weeping for him. In this temporal world, the coming day is different from the past day, but in the world of perpetuity and eternity there is only one day. The hadith can be interpreted this way.

Another interpretation is that everything has aspects—an aspect from its Lord, which is the sign of Hussein, and an aspect from itself, which is the sign of his killer. When his Lord’s aspect submitted to his self’s aspect to complete the proof and perfect the blessing, the self overcame him and killed him. Thus arose the Day of Ashura. So whoever sees other than Hussein, every day for him is Ashura. But none believe in this except the few, for it is a word that comes from Mount Sinai and grows with oil, a dye for those who eat.

Know that if the Lord’s aspect were killed it would not die, for it is the Face of God, and God’s Face does not perish. It is His light that is not extinguished, and it is living and does not die, because God created it for permanence not annihilation, as Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) indicated in the visitation prayer for Hussein (peace be upon him) on the middle night of Sha’ban. Were it not for the decree of the inevitable, if a hair were pulled from Hussein’s body, all worlds would perish.

By God, every particle in existence of his blood, before and after his killing, was like a ring on his finger—he could dispose of it however he wished, as appeared from his noble head after his killing what appeared. God is greater! No one has truly known him or truly appreciated his worth. The earth entirely is in his grip and the heavens are folded in his right hand—exalted is He above what they describe.

Know that Hussein has a station where no one can wrong him or usurp his right, as the Imam said in the hadith. How could it not be so when God’s side cannot be wronged and God’s sovereignty cannot be overcome? He is God’s manifestation in creation and the face of the Worshipped One in the beginning and the end. He is God’s Word that cannot be described and God’s mystery that cannot be known after mystery. His is the creation and the command—there is no limit or end after him. What is there after truth except error? So where are you turning?

Those who knew him knew him, and those who were ignorant of him were ignorant of him. Nothing can delay him. Glory be to Him! Glory be to Him! Glory be to Him! He is the meaning upon which no name or likeness can fall. He is the Gate of Remission. There is no power or strength except through God, the Exalted, the Great.