Mukhtar-e-Saqafi

It is narrated by Imam Jafar-e-Sadiq A.S, the sixth holy Imam that Never speak bad about Muhktar, that indeed it is thanks to him the killers of Imam Husain A.S were punished for their deeds so that we were able to leave our sorrows behind.

Abdullah Ibne Sharik has written that on the occasion of Baqra-Eid I visited Imam Muhammad Baqir A.S and found the holy Imam resting himself and at that moment suddenly a man who came from Basra entered the room and wished to kiss the hands of the holy Imam, but Imam Muhammad Baqir A.S moved away his hands and asked the man who he was. The man answered :

My name is Abu Muhammad Hakam Bin Mukhtar-e-Saqafi. On hearing this name the holy Imam called him closer and offered him to sit next to the Imam. After receiving this warm reception from the Imam this man continued: Oh my dear master people have the wrong assumptions about my father.Imam asked the son of Mukhtar: What do they say?

And he answered: They think bad of him and give him false accusations and says that my father is a liar. I am interested my master in your opinion of my father.

The holy Imam then replied: I have heard from my holy father Imam Zain-ul-Abedeen A.S (4th Imam) that Mukhtar is the one who often payed visit to the daughter of Amir-ul-Momeneen A.S. On his visits he used to sit down and payed attention to her teachings in Islam and he noted down every hadith he learned. The Mahr of my holy grandmother was also given by the fund Mukhtar had sent us. Mukhtar rebuilt our house and most important of all ended the lives of the tyrants. May God bless your father Mukhtar who took revenge and killed our enemies.

In the book of Behar-ul-Anwar Allama Majlisi has written that when the heads of Ibn e Ziad (L) and Umar-e-Saad (L) were sent to the Ahlul-Bayt (progeny of the prophet) and when Imam Zain-ul-Abedeed A.S saw the heads of the tyrants, the Imam prostrated at once and praised and thanked God by saying: I am thankful to you my Lord that you have taken revenge of the holy blood of ours. May you my Lord grant Mukhtar for this good deed.

In another narration Sahib-e-Nasiq has written that on the moment when these two heads were brought to Imam Zain-ul-Abedeen then the holy Imam said that: I thank God who kept me alive to this day when I could see the heads of the tyrants who killed my holy father Imam Husain A.S? Thereafter the servants of the Imam payed attention to the heads of the tyrants. Such a long time after the tragedy of Karbala this happy occasion was apparent and the Ahlul-Bayt had every right to celebrate this day.

Due to the happiness on this day, the usual syrup (Halwa) that was brought to the 4th Imam every day was forgotten. Someone asked one of the servants that today you forgot to bring the syrup to the Imam. When Imam Zain-ul-Abedeen heard this he said that do not worry about that today the heads of the tyrants is for me like you have brought me the most delicious syrup of all.

It is narrated that from the day when Imam Husain A.S was martyred till the day the heads of the killers of Imam Hussain A.S were brought to Madina, no member of the Ahl-ul-Bayt spent any time to their own e.g combing their hair or anything like that. Neither did anyone see smoke coming out from the house of the Ahlul-Bayt. That means food was never prepared at home but it was always brought from the bazaars and when everybody had eaten the food the Ahlul-Bayt continued to grieve for Imam Husain A.S.

It is also written in the books that our 4th Imam had quit eating any meals of meat. When the holy Imam passed by the butcher' shops the butchers used to cover the meats with a cloth because the Imam used to cry so much. But Mukhtar is indeed the lover of the Ahlul-Bayt who managed to bring happiness after 3-4 years in the house of the Ahlul-Bayt and Syeda Zainab (SA) along with the others could be happy on this day.