Question 605: A’salamu Alaikum. I was wondering if you could shed some light on this matter. Is it true that Imam Hussain (as) recited the nikkah of hazrat Qasim (as) to one of His daughters on the day of ashura? I don’t know what to believe as i have only heard this  by people,i have never read this anywhere. Can someone send me a link or give me a quote from a reliable book? In our country it has become ritual and custom to have Mehdi and henna! What is the Shia point of view about the wedding of Hazrat Qasim bin al-Hasan in Karbala on the day of Ashura?

khuda hafiz

Answer 605: The event of ‘Ashura’ has been subject to tahrif (distortions) an instance of which is the concocted story of the wedding of Hadrat Qasim, a story which has not been mentioned in any reliable book of history not to mention the fact that such a thing is not rationally possible because, firstly, Qasim was not more than thirteen years old on the day of Ashura and he had not attained the age of puberty. Secondly, the wedding could not have taken place because Imam Hussein (as) and his companions were surrounded by their enemies and a pitched battle was going on. Moreover, Imam Hussein (as) attached great importance to fulfilling his divine duty against his cunning enemies such as the Banu Umayyads. Therefore, the story of the wedding of Qasim is a fabricated and unacceptable story according to Shia researchers.  Below we will mention the viewpoints of some those researchers:

1. Hajji Mirza Husayn Nuri, the author of Mustadrak al-Wasail, writes in a famous work he has authored about the manners of the speakers or preachers who preach on the pulpits: “One of the derogatory and factitious reports which prominent scholars have not heeded or referred to is the story of Za’far the Jinn and the wedding of Qasim mentioned in a well-known book called Rawdat al-shuhada’ by Mulla Husayn Kashifi. The wedding story has not been mentioned in any books before Rawdat al-shuhada from the time Shaykh Mufid until this book had been published. How could an event so great and a story so tangible be not observed by scholars over this period of time?[1]
2. The great narrator Shaykh Abbas Qummi has reiterated that the story of the wedding of Qasim in Karbala and the marriage of Fatima bint al-Hussein with him is not valid. In addition, Imam Hussein (as) had two daughters, one named Sakina (sa) and another Fatima (as). The first was married out to Abdullah who was martyred in Karbala and the second was married to Hasan Muthanna who was also present in Karbala.[2]
3. Martyr Ayatollah Qazi Tabatabai considers the story of the wedding of Qasim as invalid. He quotes Allamah Mamqani as having said in his Tanqih al-Maqal: Other researchers and I could not find anything in historical and biographical sources to confirm the authenticity of what has been alleged inTurayhi’s book about the story of the marriage of Qasim. It is very unlikely that such an incident should have taken place on the day of Ashura keeping in view the difficult and extremely dangerous conditions and the calamities that followed. It seems that a mistake has taken place in regards to the wedding of Qasim who had not reached the age of puberty by then. It is indeed the story of the wedding of Hasan Muthanna (the Second) that has become known in such a way on the tongues of people.[3]
4. Martyr Ayatollah Murteza Mutahhari says in this regard: “As you know, in the heat of the battle on the day of ‘Ashura’, the Imam offered his prayers hurriedly in the form of salat al-khawf[4] and there was no respite even to offer full prayers. In fact, two of the companions of the Imam came to stand in front of him to shield the Imam (against the arrows) so that he may offer two rak’ahs of the salat al-khawf. The two of them fell from the injuries inflicted under the shower of the arrows. The enemy would not even give respite for offering prayers. Nevertheless, they have concocted a story that the Imam called for a wedding ceremony on this day, declaring, ‘It is my wish to see one of my daughter wedded to Qasim.’ Obviously, one cannot take one’s wishes to one’s grave.  …. And this is said to have occurred at a time when there was hardly any respite even for offering prayers. They say that the Hadrat said, ‘I want to wed my daughter to my nephew here and now, even if it is just an appearance of a wedding.’ One of the things that was an inseparable part of our traditional ta’ziyahs was the wedding of Qasim, the boy bridegroom. Such an episode is not mentioned in any reliable book of history.”[5]

[1] Lu’lu’ wa Marjan, Mirza Hussein Nuri, p. 193.

[2] Muntaha al-Amal, Shaykh Abbas Qummi, vol.1, p. 70.

[3]  Research about the first Arba’ein of the Chief of Martyrs by Shahid Qazi.

[4]  The Shari’ah stipulates certain modifications in the obligatory salat, the daily ritual prayers, when offered in conditions of war and danger of the enemy’s attack. The salat thus offered is referred to as salat al-khawf; (see the Quran, 4:101).

[5] – Ashura: Misrepresentations and Distortions (Hamasa Hussaini), Murteza Mutahhari, vol.1, p. 27-28; See: Guli Zawareh, Ghulam Reza, Qasim bin Hasan (as), the Role Model for Adolescents, 209, May 1999; Adopted from answer 11430 IQ.