From Fiqh al-Hadīth to Cultural Anthropology: An Anthropological Reading of the turbat Traditions and Reconstruction of an Identity Discourse in Early Shiism

The story of Karbalā and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions was one of the historical events that played a major role in shaping the collective Shiite identity in the first century AH. Undoubtedly, after this historical event, everything related to it was cherished as a memorial symbol. Perhaps pilgrimage and material objects played a pivotal role in this. In the process of reviving the memory and status of Imam Hussein, his tomb and its soil found a prominent place, Shiite Imams sought to view it as a means to restore the physical and spiritual elements of the Shiites. Although Imam ʿAlī b. al-Ḥussain (AS) had a special place in reflecting and highlighting the event of Karbalā, but the oldest reports about the tomb of Imam Hussein were related to the era after him. Numerous reports indicate the formation of the discourse of turbat al-ḥussain (AS) in the first half of the second century AH, in which the traditions of Imam Sādiq (AS) and Imam Bāqir (AS) have the most important place. In terms of content and number, these reports are in a way, according to which, the formation of the discourse of turbat al-Ḥussain (AS) can be dated to the first half of the second century AH. This discourse and its components may contribute to the discovery in the early centuries, of a Shiite anthropological discourse which is still unknown. This study will show how fiqh al-ḥadīth can be developed using an anthropological perspective and provide a better understanding of the texts and metatexts of aḥādith. This study will show that application of cultural anthropology in fiqh al-ḥadīth, in addition to understanding the text at the literary level, can help to discover and introduce anthropological discourses in the period of issuing these reports. Through reflecting on the rituals of turbat from an anthropological point of view, this essay will recreate and identify the discourse of turbat al-Ḥussain (AS) in the first centuries of Islam as one of the components of the identity of the early Shiites.