From Maqatil Literature Till Drama1

Peter J. Chelkowski

New York University

Al-Serat Vol 12, Spring & Autumn 1986

*****

The passion, courage, and tragic death of the Imam Husayn, his relatives and followers, on the plain of Karbala', became the subject of a literary genre, known in Arabic as maqatil. The maqatil literature has flourished in the Muslim world during the last thirteen centuries first in Arabic and then in Persian, to be followed by Turkish and Urdu.

Only that in the Persian language, however, inspired the dramatic representations known as ta'ziyeh-khani or shabih-khani2. Although ta'ziyeh is occasionally performed in such Arab countries as Iraq and Lebanon, this must be considered as an importation from Iran rather than as an indigenous modality. The modern Arabic dramatic literature is influenced to a degree by both maqatil literature and the ta'ziyeh-khani.

The favourite theme among modern and contemporary Arab playwrights is the paradigm of the Imam Husayn. Though in most cases the plays had not been intended for theatrical production, but rather for silent reading, nevertheless they represent a very potent and powerful dramatic literary genre. The Iranian ta'ziyeh plays on the contrary are intended for stage representation only.

They are written not in the form of a complete script or libretto, in which scenes follow one another in an established order, but as separate parts for each character, written on loose sheets of paper held in the hand of the actors. For this reason, it is in a sense an anti-literary form, although the ta'ziyeh performances are often noted for their poetic and literary merits. It is interesting therefore to see how an 'acted out version' could influence a 'reading form'. This can be observed in the development of the plot of the literary version.

Contemporary Arab plays about Husayn do not differ greatly from ta'ziyeh. The main difference between them lies in the fact that the Arabs use the Husayn paradigm for reflection upon current political situations in their own countries, particularly after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the Israelis in the 1967 war.

The Egyptian playwright 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi should be especially mentioned in this connection as well as an Iraqi dramatist Muhammad Ali al-Hafaji. In the case of al-Sharqawi the play in two parts, called Tha'r Allah (God's Revenge)3, starts in Medina where Husayn is pressured by the Umayyad political apparatus to pledge formal allegiance to Yazid after Yazid's father's death. Al-Sharqawi shows corruption and abuse of power which lead to lawlessness. The parallels between the state of affairs in the Caliphate at the time of Yazid and in Egypt just before and after the 1967 war, though allegorical, are not merely implied but obvious. In this play Husayn is not only a symbol of good but becomes the conscience of Muslims for all time.

Al-Sharqawi's play is the finest example of Husayn being utilized as an embodiment of the revolutionary spirit in the modern Islamic world. Husayn is simultaneously the symbol of gallantry along the lines of ancient Arabic standards of manliness (muruwwa) and the classic ideal of Islamic perfection. At present, in some of the Muslim countries, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' is widening, the rich are no longer satisfied with wealth and power alone but expect flattery from the poor. Those who do not toe the line are severely punished.

In the eyes of the Muslims, Husayn did not fight for wealth, power, or political ambition, but for the Islamic ideal of social and political justice. Most particularly he fought and sacrificed his life for the underdog, the unprivileged, the oppressed, and the humiliated. The first part of the play, which is called Al-Husayn tha'ir (Husayn, the Rebel), could be described as a modern passion play.

It is the second part of the play, entitled Al-Husayn shahid (Husayn, the Martyr), that underlines the universal and timeless qualities of Husayn's martyrdom. Husayn's death is not a useless sacrifice but a turning point in human history, which has been, and always will be, avenged by God. Towards the end of the drama, Husayn's ghostly apparition addresses the audience in a revolutionary manifesto:

Husayn: Remember me by rescuing truth from the tyranny of falsehood, by struggling on the path, so that justice may prevail.... Remember me when virtues become homeless and vices alone become the favourite beloved.... If you acquiesce to deception, if man accepts humiliation, I will be massacred anew, I will be killed every day a thousand times,... and a new Yazid will rule over you.4

In the ta'ziyeh repertory, the passage of Husayn from Medina to his death at Karbala is represented in ten or more plays, usually starting on the first day of the month of Muharram with a play devoted to Husayn's emissary to Kufa, his cousin Muslim b. 'Aqil. This is followed in a daily sequence by the martyrdom of two of Muslim's children, and then by the death of various members of Husayn's family, such as 'Abbas, 'Ali Akbar, and Qasim.

One ta'ziyeh play is devoted to a commander of the opposing army, Hurr, who deserts Yazid's forces, joins Husayn's and is martyred together with Husayn and his supporters. The final play is set for the day of 'Ashura', the 10th of Muharram, when the death of Husayn himself takes place. All these tragic events were telescoped by al-Sharqawi into one play in two parts.

In the Iranian ta'ziyeh plays the paramount message is the intercession of Husayn, and the spiritual mobilization of the Shi’a. In the Arabic drama, al-Sharqawi deals with the revolutionary preparedness in the face of the internal and external forces of evil.

The Iraqi playwright Muhammad 'Ali al-Hafaji, in his drama Husayn will Come One More Time, tries likewise to show the similarity of the circumstances which led to the killing of the Imam Husayn and the Arab defeat in the 1967 war5. His main stress is on internal conflicts, lack of leadership, class divisiveness, and national differences among the Arabs.

In addition, there was the moral decline and corruption among the politicians and the well-to-do. In this concept, Husayn becomes the major revolutionary figure, fighting for justice, equality, and freedom. The religious dimension, and especially the difference between the Shi’a and the Sunni, is de-emphasized.

In The Suffering of Husayn by Muhammad Aziza, the Tunisian playwright, Husayn is not so much a revolutionary as a natural Arab hero. This play is very close to the Iranian ta'ziyeh, as the author used the taziyeh play manuscripts which were collected by Alexander Chodzko in the nineteenth century6. The main innovation is the employment by the dramatist of a chorus.

The action starts with a messenger who tells Husayn how his envoy, Muslim, was murdered and how Husayn is being betrayed by the people of Kufa. Husayn is shown as a very human, kind and peace-loving man who becomes a 'lion' when the defence of justice is involved. The long soliloquies and the speeches about parting and farewells are extremely moving and resemble very closely those in Iranian ta'ziyeh. They also have a strong cathartic impact upon the reader or the audience.

The corpus of the ta'ziyeh plays is enormous. Since raʼziyeh is a living tradition, new plays and local variations on the traditional themes are still being composed. The Cerulli collection alone-1,055 ta'ziyeh manuscripts housed at the Vatican Library is ample evidence of this. Enrico Cerulli collected those manuscripts in various localities of Iran when he served as the Italian ambassador to Iran from 1950 to 19557.

The Iranian ta'ziyeh can be divided into two broad categories: those belonging to the Muharram cycle, and those outside it. Even those belonging to the non-Muharram group are connected with the Karbala tragedy through the employment of guriz (comparative reference or digression) to the suffering of Husayn and his followers.

These plays concern Qur'anic stories, hadith, legends, and even current events occurring in various localities. Although a story may have taken place in the more remote past-for example Cain's murder of Abel or the suffering of Jacob it can still be brought into the context of the Karbala' tragedy because of the common denominator of the suffering and martyrdom at Karbala', which exceeds all previous and following calamities. The process in the play includes either a direct verbal reference, or the staging of a scene from Husayn's passion, or both8.

The following ta'ziyeh play, with 'Abbas9 as the protagonist, belongs to the Muharram cycle. Although this publication is devoted to the Imam Husayn himself, the play about 'Abbas has been chosen deliberately in order to show that whatever the subject may be, the focus is always on Husayn.

In this play the death of Husayn is postponed and heightened by the pain of participating in the suffering and death of his immediate family and followers. This is the first English translation of the text which comes from Kashan, and is listed under no. 513 in the Cerulli Collection, where it appears as separately written parts for each actor. It has been arranged in the form of a 'libretto'.

'Abbas was Husayn's half-brother and his standard-bearer. If Husayn is the supreme martyr, 'Abbas is regarded as the supreme fighter. Traditionally the play devoted to 'Abbas is enacted on the 9th of Muharram known as Tasu'a. The strong personality of 'Abbas is very much admired and venerated in Iran and in Shi communities in other countries.

There are many shrines devoted to his name. Many saqqa-khaneh, water cisterns and fountains in towns and villages, are dedicated to his bravery on the plain of Karbala when he tried to fetch water for the thirsty family of the Prophet, and had his hands cut off before being killed by Yazid's men.

Swearing on 'Abbas is the only truly dependable oath in daily life, whereas in contracts his name is added to those of the partners, 'in absentia, to safeguard against the trespassing of anyone's rights. He is also admired by the women for his particular powers. In Iran a feast, sufreh hazrat-e 'Abbas, may be prepared in his honour, as a vowed thanksgiving for a favour received, at which food is distributed to the people10.

Most ta'ziyeh texts are anonymous since the composition is regarded as an act of piety. The Cerulli 513 manuscript is signed by the scribe, Gholam Husayn Saberi, and dated 1331; both the dating and the signing are rather unusual. The text seems to be a mixture of at least two plays on the same subject, which is a very common phenomenon. Most of the taziyeh manuscripts are collections of pieces of paper, some two inches wide and about eight inches long. written separately for each character in the play.

The actors hold these scraps in their palms and read their lines. When the actors from various locations merge in order to perform together, the scripts may also merge. Although the play is devoted to 'Abbas, it gives an overall picture of the suffering and the death of Husayn, his sons and followers on the plain of Karbala'. In the taziyeh plays all the characters discuss their pre-determined fate.

Despite the fact that the death of Abbas took place before that of Husayn and some other members of his family, on the stage 'Abbas describes the death of Husayn and his relatives vividly before the fact, thus arousing the emotions of the audience. Both the actors and the spectators know the totality of the tragedy, and therefore they do not need to keep it secret for the sake of suspense, as is the case in Western theatre.

The bulk of the play deals with the attempt by Shimr, the villain, to seduce 'Abbas away from Husayn in order to become the commander of the enemy's army. This is a potent bribe which 'Abbas sturdily and repeatedly refuses to accept. Temptation is a device frequently used in the drama of both the East and the West.

A second dramatic device is that of deception, questioning the courage of the hero. In this case Abbas covers his face and intercepts 'Ali Akbar who is bringing water, to test him. The unknown author or authors of this play were quite familiar with these devices. Although long soliloquies are customary in the early ta'ziyeh plays, in this instance a rapid dialogue becomes the main mode of personal interaction.

The language, which is in poetry of varied rhythmic patterns, presents an interesting modification of the Western recitative and musical interpretation, in that the good characters sing their lines and the villains recite them. As for the poetic expression, there is a considerable variation of quality which is not unusual in the ta'ziyeh repertory.

The several references in the text to the sins of the Shi’a and the redemptive character of Husayn's death bring the tragedy of Karbala from the historical time to the present. The actors and spectators feel just as responsible for Husayn's death as those who betrayed and abandoned him in the year 61/680.

• 1. Thanks must be given to Dr M. Yadegari, I. Anvar, and De B. Warburg for their assistance in preparing this article.
• 2. Peter Chelkowski, "Dramatic and Literary Aspects of Tazlyeh-Khan-Iranian Passion Play', in Review of National Literatures (New York, Spring 1971), 11, 121-138.
• 3. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi, born in 1920. Port, novelist and playwright. The second part of Tha'r Allah, called Al-Husayn Shahid, was published in Cairo in 1388/1969; the first part, called Al-Ihaaye tha'ir, was published in 1971.
• 4. Mahmoud Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering in Islam (The Hague, 1978). pp. 233-234. See also J. Altoma, 'Martyrdom in Arabic Literature, in Cyriac K. Pullapilly (ed.), Islam in the Contemporary World (Notre Dame, Indiana, 1980), p. 63.
• 5. This three-act play, under the title Tuni Yaji al-Husayn, was published in 1972. Here two other Iraqi playwrights must be mentioned: Muhammad Rida Sharal al-Din, who published in 1933 a long poetic drama (eight acts) under the title Al-Husayn, and Al-Afifi with his play So Said Husayn. In neighbouring Syria, 'Adnan Mardam Bek must be mentioned for his play, Masra" Husayn,
• 6. Alexander Chodzko, a scholar and diplomat, and the author of books on popular Persian poetry. Persian grammar and customs, was greatly impressed with the ta'ziyeh during his stay in Iran in the 1830s. He bought a manuscript consisting of thirty-three plays from the director of the court theatre. The manuscript was later deposited by Chodzko in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (Blochet, 1928, Catalogue des manuscriptes persans). Chodzko edited two of the plays, and published them in Paris in 1852 under the title Djungi Chehadat. M. Aziza was very much under the influence of this collection-he mentions that in an unpublished article under the title 'Le Tazie Aujourd'hui.
• 7. Ettore Rossi and Alessio Rombaci, Elenco Di Drammi Religiosi Persiani (Città Del Vaticano, 1969).
• 8. See pp. 207-226 of this volume: P. Chelkowski, “Popular Shi'i Mourning Rituals”.
• 9. The Persian edited text of this taziyeh is published in the Persian language volume of papers presented at this conference.
• 10. See pp. 207-226 of this volume: P. Chelkowski, “Popular Shi'i Mourning Rituals”.