If you think that the days of sorrow and mourn are over think again.

What comes after the tragedy of Karbala is still heartbreaking and mournful.

Each day in the Muharram, especially the first half of the mournful month an important occasion takes places. That important occasion comes with a lesson for us to follow in this life.

After the day of Ashura, the holy corpses of our Imam, his family and companions remained unshrouded and without burial in the hot plain of Karbala for three days.

There was a Clan by the name of Bani Assad that resided on a bank near the Euphrates River. After the departure of Yazid’s army, women of Bani Assad came to the plain of Karbala and saw headless and shroud-less corpses of the children of Imam Ali scattered everywhere.

They found fresh blood coming out of their wounds even on the third day of their unjust slaughter, rays of light and fragrance emitting from the holy bodies.

Witnessing all of this, the women stressed upon their men to arrange the shrouding and burial of progeny of holy Prophet as they were explaining to them who they were and their high status.

Now the men of the clan said they were afraid of Bani Umayya but were at the same time regretting the fact that they did not help Imam Hussein on Ashura. They said to the women that Ibne Ziyad is powerful tyrant; and that he would kill them if he knew all of this.
However the women were determined to shroud and bury the corpses and warned their men that if they don’t do it, then they themselves would do it.

After that the chief of the clan suggested to send one of his men on the way to Kufa. That way if he sees any danger from Ibne Ziyad, he would inform them before they come and kill the whole clan.

Reaching in the plain, the clan found all corpses were headless and they did not know how to identify the bodies. As they were trying to differentiate, an Arab veiled man was seen on a horse coming towards them. They got afraid and thought that it was one of Ibne Ziyad’s guys.

As he approached the clan, he asked them: “What are you doing here?” They replied: “Whoever you are, we’ll tell you truth. We came here to bury the progeny of Holy Prophet, but we are unable to identify which body belongs to which martyr.”

The rider replied: “Don’t worry. I’ll help you.” He got down of his horse and walked towards the holy corpses.

He came and sat next to one of the bodies, lifted him, embraced and while weeping said: “O father! Enemies are rejoicing on your martyrdom! Decorations are being hung in the houses of Bani Umayya! O father! After your martyrdom our pains have increased.

Then he put the body on back on the ground, looked right and left; pushed back some sand from his right side, there a grave appeared. He lifted the badly wounded horses-trampled body (by saying that you should know which body that belonged to).

The holy body of the beloved son of Zahraa, the one who his grandfather the holy Prophet Muhammad had said: ‘Hussein is from me and I am from Hussein”.

The men of Bani Assad stepped forward to help him, but he stopped them, while weeping and saying “my helpers are with me. I am not alone.” Men of Bani Assad were in deep wonder.

Here our eighth Imam, Imam Ali al-Redha mentions: “No one could count the wounds of my grandfather Hussein. The wounds over his Holy body were equal to the letters of Holy Quran in number”. 

After laying the holy body of Imam Hussein in the grave, the man put his cheeks on the chest of the holy corpse, wept for long, then raised his head and said:

“Lucky is the earth which is going to become the keeper of your holy body. After you, the world is dark, and hereafter is bright with your brightness. My grief is eternal… O the son of the Prophet! Peace be upon you from me.”

Then he buried the holy body and wrote with his finger thereon: “This is the grave of Al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib.

Then he made a line on the earth with his finger and ordered: “Make a grave for 17 martyrs here.” 17 martyrs were buried therein.

Marking on another place, he ordered to bury other corpses except Habib bin Madhaher therein, and got him buried on the head side of Imam Hussein. 

Then, the rider came to another holy corpse, embraced him and said weeping: “Uncle! If you would have seen the scene of torching the tents when all the women (from progeny of holy Prophet) were calling you!” 

The rider ordered to make a grave. After it was made, he alone buried that holy body. Only two corpses were left, and the rider ordered to make a grave for these two by the side. 

After burying the bodies of the Martyrs of Karbala, the rider rode his horse to depart. The men of Bani Assad were shocked and asked: “Tell us who are in these graves?” 

He replied that as far as grave of Hussein is concerned you know it (as he had written on it with his finger). The grave in which 17 bodies were buried is that of progeny of Ali and Fatima, nearest of these is that of Hussein’s son who resembled the holy Prophet.

The other big grave is that of companions of Hussein.

The single grave on the head side of Imam Hussein is that of Habib bin Madhaher.

The grave on the bank of river Euphrates is that of Qamar Bani Hashem, and the two graves by him are that of Qamar bani Hashem’s brothers.
 

“If anyone asks you after me, tell them.”

The men of Bani Assad asked the rider: “Introduce yourself as well, who are you?”

On this question, the rider began weeping and said: “I’m your Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein … I came from prison of Ibne Ziyad for burial … May Allah give you good reward …

The men surprisingly asked: “Are you Zayn-ol Abidin?”

 
He said: “Yes” and disappeared from the sight. 

Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein had come there with the power of his imamate for burial as only Imam can bury an Imam and no one else.

As far as authentic traditions of history are concerned, they narrate that the Holy Prophet got graves of all martyrs prepared by angels under his eyes. Imam Ali al-Sajjad had only pointed them out to Bani Assad. 

There is a narration from Omm-e-Salma in Bihar al-Anwar, which says that she was weeping severely. Someone asked for the reason and she replied that since the departure of holy Prophet from this world, she had never seen him in her dreams.
 

“Now I’ve seen him with his holy beard drained in blood, his hair was troubled, his neckline was slit open, and he was crying aloud. I asked him reason and he told me: “My Hussein has been martyred. Just now I completed making their graves.” 
Narration of Sheikh Tousi shows that the holy body of the Chief of Martyrs Imam Hussein was not taken by hands but Bani Assad brought a mat, and Imam Sajjad put all parts of Imam Hussein’s holy body on it and then buried him.
 

Therefore, on the afternoon of every 13th of Muharram, a procession of thousands mourners from Bani Asad tribe and other tribes from the province of Karbala and the surrounding cities go out in the holy city of Karbala to commemorate the funerals of the holy bodies by their ancestors.