5 of 5 · After 61 AH · his legacy · Makkah, and the memory of the Muslims
Al-Husayn ibn 'Ali رضي الله عنه
"My Two Sweet Basils"
Not long after Karbala, a man from Iraq asked 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar whether a pilgrim in ihram who kills a fly must pay expiation. Ibn 'Umar answered: the people of Iraq ask about the blood of a fly, when they killed the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — and the Prophet ﷺ said of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, "They are my two sweet basils in this world" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3753).
Mainstream Sunni scholarship holds al-Husayn a martyr and his killing one of the great tragedies of this ummah. Historians differ on how far Yazid himself willed it; but he did not bring those who did it to account. Scholars such as Ibn Kathir and Ibn Taymiyyah wrote of it with grief, and condemned both his killers and those who approved of it.
Shi'a Muslims commemorate 'Ashura' each year with mourning for him; Sunni Muslims remember him with grief and prayer, and fast that day following an older Sunnah. Both remember him. His blood is honoured by every Muslim who loves the Prophet ﷺ.
Ibn 'Umar's rebuke still stands: no amount of care over small matters can excuse indifference to the blood of the Prophet's ﷺ family.
Where might you be careful about small things while overlooking a great wrong?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3753 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-NihayahHistorical report
- Ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaj al-Sunnah al-NabawiyyahHistorical report
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'Historical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in