In the name of Allāh, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allāh, Who is aware of the roaring of the wild beasts, (and) the sins of the slave done in secrecy. Who causes the to and fro motion of the fishes in the deep seas and forms the waves of water through strong winds. And Mercy and Salutations upon the Master of the Universe, the Superior among the dwell­ers of the heavens and the earth, Muhammad (S), (the one) assigned with astounding miracles and signs of indisputable evidence, and (His Mercy and Salutations) upon his Pure Progeny (a.s.), the oppressed among them, who are the lanterns in darkness and the refuge of the nation from peril. And (His Mercy and Salutations) explicitly upon the Oppressed Martyr Imām, the one killed while in journey and captivated in grief, Husayn, the Lan­tern of Guidance and the Ship of Salvation.

And then, says the guilty sinner, the adherer of the rearmost favor of the Household (Ahlul Bayt) of the Prophethood, Abbās the son of Muhammad Rezā al Qummi (the author). It had been my heart's desire since a long time to author a brief treatise on the Martyrdom of our Master Imām Husayn (a.s.), and to compile the authentic reports successively transmitted to me through the trustworthy ones, until I entered the ranks of the eulogizers of the Master of the oppressed Abu Abdullāh (Imām Husayn), a thousand benedic­tions and praises upon him. But there were obstacles in between and occu­pancy intervening therein, until I was favored with the Pilgrimage of Abul Hasan Ali (ar Rezā) bin Moosā bin Ja'far bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Tālib, Allāh's benediction upon all of them. (I was blessed with) the kissing of the eminent and exalted threshold in the vicinity of his Mausoleum. Then I stretched forward my needy hands in his audience and requested him to fulfill this desire of mine, which is the “Pinnacle of (my) hopes” and I solicited goodness from the Magnificent and Exalted Allāh and hastened the path of resuming the compilation of this book. I gathered (the reports) from the following credible books:

1.    Al Irshād by the Honorable Shaikh Abu Abdullāh Muhammad bin Muhammad bin No'mān al Mufeed, died in Baghdād in 413 A.H., and buried at the (blessed) feet of Imām al Jawad (a.s.) in Kazmāyn.

1.    Kitāb Malhoof (or Lahoof) by the Noble Sayyid Raziyuddin Abul Qāsim Ali bin Moosā bin Ja'far bin Tāwoos Husaynee, died in Baghdād in 664 A.H.

1.    Tāreekh al Rusul wal Mulook by Muhammad bin Jareer Tabari, died in Baghdād in 310 A.H. He was addressed as “the Most Learned upon the earth” by the Master of Masters Muhammad bin Khuzaymāh.

1.    Tāreekh-e-Kāmil by the Genealogist, Historian and the Custodian, Allāmah Ali bin Abil Karam, renowned as Ibn Aseer Jazari, died in Mosul in 630 A.H.

1.    Maqātilat Tālibiyyin by the Historian, Genealogist and the proficient author, Shaikh Ali bin Husayn Umawi, renowned as Abul Faraj Isfahāni Zaydi, died in Baghdād in 356 A.H.

1.    Muroojuz Zahab wa ma'ādinul Jawahir by the Trustworthy Historian, the credible among the two sects, the ideal perpetrator Abul Hasan Ali bin Husayn al Mas'oodi, he was a contemporary of Abul Faraj Isfahāni.

1.    Tazkiratul Khawāsul Ummah fee Ma'rifatil Aimmah authored by the Distin­guished Scholar Shaikh Shamsuddin Yusuf, renowned as Sibt ibn Jawzi, died in Damascus in 654 A.H. and is buried on the mount Qaysoon.

1.    Matālibus Sa'ool fee Manāqibe Alār Rasool authored by the impeccable Author Muhammad bin Talhā Shāfe'i.

1.    Fusulul Muhimmah fee Ma'refatil Aimmah by Nuruddin Ali bin Muhammad renowned as Ibn Sabāgh Māliki, died in 858 A.H.

1.    Kashfal Ghummah fee Ma'refatil Aimmah by Bahāuddin Ali bin Isā Irbili Imāmi who completed it in 687 A.H., died in 692 A.H.

1.    Al Iqdul Fareed by Abu Umar Ahmad bin Muhammad Andalusi Māliki, re­nowned as Ibn Abd Rabbāh, died in 338 A.H., while this book is quite useful for it contains everything.

1.    Al Ehtijāj by Abu Mansoor Ahmad bin Ali bin Abi Tālib Tabarsi, the tutor of Ibn Shahr Āshob, died in 620 A.H.

1.    Manāqib Āle Abi Tālib by the Divine Erudite Muhammad bin Ali Sarawi Māzandarāni, renowned as Ibn Shahr Āshob, died in 588 A.H. and is buried in Mount Jawshan in the outskirts of Halab.

1.    Rawzatul Wā'ezeen by the Martyr Shaikh Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ali Fārsi, renowned as Fattāl Naishāpuri, the tutor of Ibn Shahr Āshob, died in 514 A.H.

1.    Maseerul Ehzān by Ja'far bin Muhammad bin Ja'far Hilli, renowned as Ibn Nimā, the teacher of Allāmah Hilli, died in 645 A.H.

1.    Kāmile Bahāi dar Saqifah by Imāduddin Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad Ta­bari, the contemporary of Muhaqqiq al Hilli and Allāmah Hilli, died in 698 A.H.

1.    Rawzatus Safā by Muhammad bin Khāwind Shāh, died in 903 A.H.

1.    Tasleeyatul Majalis by Muhammad bin Abi Tālib Musawi Hāeri from which Allāmah Majlisi has quoted in the tenth volume of his Bihārul Anwār.

And other books of Martyrdom (Maqātil) viz. Maqtale Kalbi through Tazkirah of Sibt Ibn Jawzi and Tāreekh of Tabari, and Maqtale Abu Makhnaf Azdi [3] through Tabari.

This book contains some chapters, one introduction and one conclusion, and I have named it “Nafasul Mahmoom” (The Sigh of the Aggrieved)!

Abbās bin Muhammad Rezā al Qummi

[3]    I have referred to Abu Makhnaf as “Azdi” and have not addressed him by his agnomen (Kuniyah) “Abu Makhnaf” (except while quoting from Bihārul Anwār or Hishām bin Muhammad Kalbi) for the simple reason so as to avoid misconstruing that it is the report of Abu Makhnaf which has been quoted in the tenth volume of Bihārul Anwār. It is confirmed to me that the reports (quoted in Bihārul Anwār) are not related from the renowned book of Abu Makhnaf, for, Abu Makhnaf Loot bin Yahyā bin Sa’eed bin Makhnaf Azdi Ghāmadi Kufi was a chieftain and an acknowledged traditionist of Kufa and his reports are liable to be authentic. He has related traditions from Imām Ja’far as Sādiq (a.s.), and his father was one of the companions of the Commander of the faithful Imām Ali (a.s.), Imām Hasan (a.s.) and Imām Husayn (a.s.). Abu Makhnaf has authored numerous books, one of them being “Maqtalul Husayn” (dealing with the martyrdom of Imām Husayn) which has been relied upon and narrated by the ancient eminent Scholars. It can be verified from the Tāreekh of Muhammad bin Jarir Tabari, who has quoted extensively, in fact the entire episode of the Martyrdom of Imām Husayn (a.s.) from the (original) Maqtal of Abu Makhnaf. And, if the reports of Tabari are compared to the ones of the Maqtal ascribed to Abu Makhnaf (in Bihārul Anwār), it will be found that the Maqtal is not the same as that (original) Maqtal, nor is it quoted from any other reliable historian. And whatever is quoted solely by him (Majlisi in Bihārul Anwār through Abu Makhnaf) (with due respects) is not considered as authentic in my view.