question
stringlengths 18
1.2k
| facts
stringlengths 44
500k
| answer
stringlengths 1
147
|
|---|---|---|
Which British television series was first broadcast in 1983 as a single drama called ‘Woodentop’? | The Bill: ITV drops police drama after 27 years | Media | The Guardian
ITV plc
The Bill: ITV drops police drama after 27 years
Long-running show The Bill to be axed by ITV in autumn after revamp and switch to new 9pm slot fail to revive ratings
Friday 26 March 2010 06.23 EDT
First published on Friday 26 March 2010 06.23 EDT
Close
This article is 6 years old
The Bill , one of the UK's longest-running TV dramas, is to be dropped by ITV in the autumn after 27 years, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
ITV has taken the decision to axe the police drama after last year's revamp and switch to a new 9pm slot failed to halt a long-term ratings decline.
The Bill was moved last year from being aired twice a week at 8pm on ITV1 to a single slot on Thursdays at 9pm. The show's storylines were tweaked to take account of the new post-watershed slot.
However, ratings for the show have failed to pick up. In 2002 the show averaged more that 7 million viewers, while more recently audiences been about 3.5 million.
ITV's decision puts jobs at risk in The Bill's 90-strong production team, which is based in Merton, south London. Talkback Thames, the independent producer which makes the show, said that it would now enter a consultation process with staff that work on The Bill and was expecting a "significant number of redundancies".
The broadcaster said that the decision to drop the series was made as part of a creative rethink of its drama schedule, which has seen the development of popular short run shows such as Collision and Above Suspicion, and not on cost-cutting grounds.
ITV intends to use the multimillion-pound saving from axing The Bill to create shorter run drama series for the 9pm slot with projects in the works including a new medical series with writer Peter Bowker and a new series from Collision and Foyle's War writer Anthony Horowitz.
"The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK's best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent," said Peter Fincham, the ITV director of television, channels and online.
"But times change, and so do the tastes of our audience. Whilst The Bill will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high quality drama on ITV1."
In the current economic climate the chances of The Bill being picked up by another broadcaster seems slim, with one source describing the costly show as "a victim of circumstance". After a quarter of a century on ITV, a rival broadcaster would also find it difficult to "own" the show.
"We are devastated that after 26 successful years on ITV, The Bill will be coming to an end," said Lorraine Heggessey, chief executive of Talkback Thames. "Regrettably, we anticipate that this may result in a significant number of redundancies. We are entering into a period of consultation with employees at The Bill where this will be discussed further.
"We are incredibly proud of what the show has achieved. It is a credit to everyone who has worked on The Bill that the series will be signing out on a creative and editorial high with both critical and industry-wide acclaim and a loyal fan base who have supported the show throughout."
The Bill grew out of a single drama called Woodentop, broadcast on ITV in 1983 , which followed a day in the life of young PC Jim Carver, played by Mark Wingett, who stayed with the show until 2005, with his character rising to become a detective sergeant.
Named after writer Geoff McQueen's first idea of a title "Old Bill", The Bill first aired in 1984 and went on to become one of British TV's longest-running dramas.
The show is based around the fictional Sun Hill police station in east London, with filming taking place at various locations across the capital's southern suburbs, as well as on the main set in Merton.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.
• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
David Stubbs: ITV's venerable police soap achieved a huge amount over its 27 years – but it was never quite allowed to settle
Published: 26 Mar 2010
Many famous faces have started their careers playing small parts on The Bill – including Keira Knightley and Michelle Collins
Published: 26 Mar 2010
Vicky Frost: The changes to The Bill's opening sequence point to the state of the show – from the cracking "feet-walking" original to the Spooks-style revamp
Published: 26 Mar 2010
Opening two-and-a-half-minute pre-credit sequence from ITV's revamped police drama, which will air tonight at 9pm
Published: 23 Jul 2009
| The Bill |
French actress Dany Robin made her only ‘Carry On’ appearance in which 1966 film? | THE BILL ITV INDEPENDENT POLICE CRIME DRAMA TELEVISION SERIES TV
The Bill is a police crime based drama television serial broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom . More accurately described as a long-running British police procedural shown on ITV channel 1, at 8PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (Though on some occasions it has run at only one episode a week, due to one of the slots, usually the Wednesday one, being giving over to other programming.)
Catch-ups of the show can be seen on ITV3. Past episodes can also be seen on UK TV Gold. In Australia, the show is shown on the ABC, and in Ireland by RT� One.
The setting is the Sun Hill district of the fictional London borough of Canley. Other police stations in the borough, mentioned but (usually) never seen, are Barton Street, which is the location of Borough Headquarters, Stafford Row and Spicer Street. Canley is approximately contiguous with the real London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is also a real district within the city of Coventry, some 100 miles north of London.
The Bill is unusual among police shows: it takes a serial format and it does not focus on one particular area of police work. Instead, the show's time is equally divided between the work of officers on one shift in the uniform division, and the work of the CID.
It started as a one-off drama for ITV entitled Woodentop: this pilot show starred Mark Wingett as PC Jim Carver and Trudie Goodwin as WPC June Ackland on Carver's first day on the beat at Sun Hill police station. It was originally devised by Geoff McQueen, and it impressed ITV so much that they decided to make a series out of it. Goodwin continues to star on the now twice-weekly show, while Wingett left the cast in early 2005.
In October 2003, a special episode of The Bill was broadcast live from its London studios to mark the show's 20th year on air. At 8pm on Thursday, 22 September 2005 another episode was broadcast live to mark the ITV Network's 50th anniversary. The episode was written by Graham Mitchell and co-produced and directed by Sylvie Boden.
History
Following the pilot in 1983, the first proper episode of The Bill was transmitted in 1984 and since then The Bill has gone through a magnitude of changes. From the days and times that the show airs, to the characters and storylines, everything is always evolving to keep up with the times. Starting with hour-long separate storylines, The Bill went on to be half an hour in length between 1987 and 1998 before going back to hour-long episodes. From 1998 until 2002, The Bill got more serialised and when Paul Marquess took over in 2002 The Bill almost became a "police-soap". This was met with some controversy from long-time bill-fans who wanted The Bill to return to individual episode storylines. Under Johnanthan Young, who took over as executive producer in 2005, the more sensational and sometimes unrealistic storylines have been dropped, with more time being spent on crime storylines.
Superintendent John Heaton (Daniel Flynn)
DCI Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse)
DI Neil Manson (Andrew Lancel)
Inspector Gina Gold (Roberta Taylor)
Sgt. June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin)
Sgt. Dale 'Smithy' Smith (Alex Walkinshaw)
Sgt. Nikki Wright (Gillian Taylforth)
DS Phil Hunter (Scott Maslen)
DS Samantha Nixon (Lisa Maxwell)
DS Stuart Turner (Doug Rao)
PC Dan Casper (Chris Jarvis)
PC Will Fletcher (Gary Lucy)
PC Lewis Hardy (Aml Ameen)
PC Honey Harman (Kim Tiddy)
PC Emma Hinkley (Melanie Gutteridge)
PC Reg Hollis (Jeff Stewart)
PC Leela Kapoor (Seema Bowri)
PC Diane Noble (Kaye Wragg)
PC Tony Stamp (Graham Cole)
PC Roger Valentine (John Bowler)
DC Zain Nadir (TJ Ramini)
DC Terry Perkins (Bruce Byron)
T/DC Kezia Walker (Cat Simmons)
DC Mickey Webb (Chris Simmons)
Other recurring characters
Matt Hinkley. Matt Hinkley is the station CPS Duty Prosecutor and is married to PC Emma Hinkley.
Mia Perry. Perry is the Metropolitan Police Service's Press Officer and has made an appearance when there are big investigations going on within Sun Hill. They include the dissapearance of Amy Tennant, the Louise Larson case and also the Bombastic Nightclub disaster. But Most recently the hostage situation in which Sgt. Nikki Wright was a Hero. Mia is also engaging in a relationship with DC Mickey Webb.
Kristen Shaw. Kristen is a drug dealer who DC Zain Nadir is undercover with to try and infiltrate her organisation.
Paul Haskew. Paul is a drug dealer who DC Zain Nadir is undercover with to try and infiltrate his organisation.
James Tennant. James is the father of missing 7yr old Amy.
Rod Jessop. Rod is Sgt June Acklands Boyfriend
DC Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) (Returning in December)
Sgt. June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin) (Leaving Early 2007)
PC Honey Harman (Kim Tiddy) (Leaving Early 2007)
DC Zain Nadir (TJ Ramini) (Leaving Early 2007)
Celebrity Sightings
Tony Blackburn appeared as himself to host a quiz in the 2001 episode 'Night Games'.
Before joining the Spice Girls , Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) played troubled teenager Janice in the 1993 episode 'Missionary Work'.
Kathy Burke played a shop assistant who had the misfortune to be locked in a cold store with Reg Hollis in the 1991 episode 'The Negotiator'.
One of Robert Carlyle's early roles was as a news hack in the 1991 episode 'The Better Part of Valour'.
A young Michelle Collins played a teenage tearaway in 1986.
In 1999 Roger Daltrey played former jailbird Larry Moore, who, fearing another spell in prison, shot his daughter and then himself.
Taking a break from Albert Square, Letitia Dean played suspected arsonist Amanda Ronson in 1997.
Fish, the former singer with Marillion, played David Lewson in a 1998 episode 'Manhunt'.
Before appearing as Robbie Jackson in Eastenders, Dean Gaffney played 13-yr-old drugs courier Terry Jakes in a 1992 episode of The Bill.
Leslie Grantham starred as ruthless gangster Jimmy Smith in the 1998 story 'The Personal Touch'.
Chesney Hawkes played a character called Colin who was arrested for drug dealing in the March 1991 episode 'Photo Finish'.
Martin Kemp held Reg Hollis hostage as a gunman Tom Marsh in the 1998 story 'The Bus Driver's Prayer'.
Alex Kingston of ER fame played DS Lisa Holm, who posed undercover as high-class hooker 'Lisa Royle' in an April 1995 episode 'In on the Game'.
Hugh Laurie kept a straight face as defence counsel Harrap in the three-part story 'Good Faith' (1998).
Linda Lusardi played Don Beech's girlfriend Maggie Lyons in the 2000 episode 'The River', and returned to the role in 2004.
Rik Mayall appeared as evil gambler Patrick Massie, who was arrested for deliberately pushing his 16-yr-old son Jimmy from a high building in 1997.
In her pre-Bianca days, Eastenders' Patsy Palmer played Suzanne in the 1991 story 'Shots'.
France and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit guested as himself, visiting a hospitalised girl in the 1998 Christmas episode.
Lily Savage (aka Paul O'Grady) first appeared as Ted Roach's transvestite snout Roxanne in 1989 and 1990.
Eric Sykes made a guest appearance in 2003 as Ted, a confused pensioner.
Denise Van Outen played gangster's moll Melanie Lehmann in the 1998 episode 'The Personal Touch'.
Trivia
The white Police uniform shirts are washed with a black sock, to prevent too much glare when seen on-screen.
One of creator Geoff McQueen's rules of the series, was that every single scene would feature Police Officer(s), as to make the stories feel as if they are being told through the eyes of the Police, hence break away scenes, with a crime being committed (without an Officer on scene), or criminals planning their movements, etc. are not featured. There have been a couple of times this rule has been broken. One gray area was in the episode broadcast 8th November 2006. The first few scenes followed Nikki Wright (Gillian Taylforth), who is a PC, but based at Barton Street - usually the stories exclusively follow Sun Hill Officers. This can, however, be countermanded, by the fact that she is hoping to transfer to Sun Hill.
Another rule implemented at the start of the series, was that stories would follow only the work of the Officers, and not feature their outside life (unless directly linked to their work). As the series has progressed, through its several revamps, this rule has gradually been relaxed.
The Bill has been broadcast in over 55 different countries, from Bahrain to Barbados, Denmark to Dubai, Malaysia to Mauritius, and Spain to Sweden. It is one of the top-rated shows in Australia and New Zealand.
The plodding feet that adorned the show's credits for 15 years were originally intended to be those of Trudie Goodwin (June Ackland) and Mark Wingett, (Jim Carver). But they were too busy filming other scenes so two extras were recruited instead - Karen England and Paul Page Hanson.
Prince William has admitted that he enjoys The Bill and June Ackland is his favourite.
The police uniforms used in the series are genuine and are locked away for security reasons every night with no complete uniform being locked in any one cupboard.
In the early days of The Bill a local resident registered her protest at what she deemed to be a stereotypical portrayal of council estates as hotbeds of crime. She held up filming by stationing herself in the background with an ironing board, iron and basket full of laundry.
Real police officers took such a dim view of previews they were shown from the first series of The Bill that they refused to attend the launch party. The Police Federation later attacked the programme for implying that racial prejudice existed within the Force.
When filming on location, The Bill does not have permission to use sirens. These are added in the dubbing suite.
Tony Blair and his family recently came out as fans of The Bill.
The Bill has spawned three spin-off productions.
The first of these was known as Burnside. It lasted a single series of six episodes, the first of which debuted on 7th of July 2000. The series focused on the newly promoted DCI Burnside as a member of the National Crime Squad. It was created and produced by Richard Handford.
The second spin-off debuted in 2001, and also lasted only six episodes, although was more of a break away from the regular Bill (it was shown in the Bill timeslot) than a complete spin-off. Beech is Back focused on dodgy ex-DS Don Beech, still on the run from Claire Stanton who wants him brought to justice for the murder of her boyfriend DS John Boulton. None of the episodes were given titles, with each being part of a single six part serial. At the end Beech is brought to justice and sent to prison, although he would return in The Bill years later.
In 2003, ITV1 debuted the third spin-off of the show, entitled M.I.T., renamed Murder Investigation Team for it's second series. The first episode investigated the drive-by shooting of Sgt. Matthew Boyden, who had been at Sun Hill for 11 years. The first series consisted of 10 one-hour episodes. The second series, airing two years later, consisted of 4 ninety-minute episodes. The series was created by Paul Marquess. The second series was produced by Jonathan Young.
| i don't know |
Where is US sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s largest and most famous work? | Borglum, Gutzon
Encyclopedia > People > Literature and the Arts > American and Canadian Art: Biographies
Gutzon Borglum
Borglum, Gutzon (John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum)gŭtˈsən dĕ lˈə mät bôrˈgləm, 1867–1941, American sculptor, b. Idaho; son of a Danish immigrant physician and rancher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Academy and in Paris at Julian's academy and the École des Beaux-Arts. His first commission after his return to New York in 1901 was the statue of Lincoln that stands in the rotunda of the Capitol, Washington, D.C. Other works of his earlier period include another figure of Lincoln (Newark), a statue of Henry Ward Beecher (Brooklyn), Mares of Diomedes (Metropolitan Mus.), and figures of the apostles created for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City.
Borglum is most famous, however, for his monumental works. He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat. Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died. Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum was a man of tremendous vitality and decided opinions that led him into frequent confrontations. His brother Solon Hannibal Borglum, 1868–1922, was also a sculptor, noted especially for his portrayal of horses, cattle, Native Americans, and cowboys.
See R. J. Casey and M. Borglum, Give the Man Room: the Story of Gutzon Borglum (1952); W. Price, Gutzon Borglum, Artist and Patriot (1961); A. M. Davies, Solon H. Borglum (1974); J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
| Mount Rushmore |
Who’s autobiography is entitled ‘The Naked Civil Servant’? | Borglum, Gutzon | Article about Borglum, Gutzon by The Free Dictionary
Borglum, Gutzon | Article about Borglum, Gutzon by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Borglum%2c+Gutzon
Borglum, Gutzon
Borglum, Gutzon
(John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum) (gŭt`sən dĕ l`ə mät bôr`gləm), 1867–1941, American sculptor, b. Idaho; son of a Danish immigrant physician and rancher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Academy and in Paris at Julian's academy and the École des Beaux-Arts. His first commission after his return to New York in 1901 was the statue of Lincoln that stands in the rotunda of the Capitol, Washington, D.C. Other works of his earlier period include another figure of Lincoln (Newark), a statue of Henry Ward Beecher (Brooklyn), Mares of Diomedes (Metropolitan Mus.), and figures of the apostles created for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City.
Borglum is most famous, however, for his monumental works. He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mount Rushmore National Memorial,
1,278 acres (518 hectares), SW S.Dak., in the Black Hills; est. 1925, dedicated 1927. There, carved on the face of the mountain and visible for 60 mi (97 km), are the enormous (60 ft/18.3 m high) heads of four U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat. Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died. Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum was a man of tremendous vitality and decided opinions that led him into frequent confrontations. His brother Solon Hannibal Borglum, 1868–1922, was also a sculptor, noted especially for his portrayal of horses, cattle, Native Americans, and cowboys.
Bibliography
See R. J. Casey and M. Borglum, Give the Man Room: the Story of Gutzon Borglum (1952); W. Price, Gutzon Borglum, Artist and Patriot (1961); A. M. Davies, Solon H. Borglum (1974); J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002).
Borglum, (John) Gutzon (de la Mothe)
(1867–1941) sculptor; born near Bear Lake, Idaho Territory. Child of Danish immigrants, he was raised throughout the West; after college he moved to California (1884) where he studied art and took up painting portraits. He met Jesse Benton Fremont, who sponsored his studies in Paris and Spain (1890–92). After working in California and London (England), he settled in New York City (1901). By then he had switched to sculpture; his Mares of Diomedes won a gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and was the first American sculpture acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was soon winning commissions, including The Twelve Apostles for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Asked by the Daughters of the Confederacy to sculpt the head of Robert E. Lee on Stone Mountain, Georgia, he designed an ambitious ensemble portraying Confederate leaders and hundreds of soldiers; a disagreement led to his quitting in 1924 with only a few figures finished. (The project was revived in 1960.) He had already been asked by South Dakota to carve a "shrine of democracy" there and he chose Mt. Rushmore. He began in 1927 and had finished the 60-foot head of George Washington by 1930, by which time the U.S. Congress had authorized funds. An opinionated man, he feuded with the National Parks Service over money and procedures, but no one questioned his patriotism or energy. He had practically finished the other three heads by his death (and his son, Lincoln Borglum, completed some details shortly thereafter).
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .
Link to this page:
| i don't know |
Which former US President was given the nickname ‘Dubya’? | Dubya Nickname
Dubya Nickname
Nicknames granted by President George W. Bush .
Name
Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.
Bibliographies
NNDB has added thousands of bibliographies for people, organizations, schools, and general topics, listing more than 50,000 books and 120,000 other kinds of references. They may be accessed by the "Bibliography" tab at the top of most pages, or via the "Related Topics" box in the sidebar. Please feel free to suggest books that might be critical omissions.
| George W. Bush |
Umberto II (nicknamed the King of May) was the last king of which European country between 9th May and 12th June 1946? | George W Bush
rotten > Library > Biographies > Presidents > George W Bush
George W. Bush
In the past, many of his detractors have dismissed him as a "lightweight." A chump. A joke. Many of them still do. And it's easy to see where they got this impression. Whenever he gives a speech, he invariably comes off sounding like some kind of ignoramus, who experiences difficulty wrapping his lips around the words that scroll across the Teleprompter. And when he has to work off-the-cuff, his folksy demeanor makes him seem more like the store manager of a Radio Shack than the President of the United States.
But George W. Bush is fully aware of how his enemies perceive him, and this is precisely how he wants them to react. His personality and mannerisms are actually the result of deliberate effort. This is not to say that it's all an act, but he does emphasize these elements of his personality for the benefit of the press and general public. And yet these affectations continue to be astonishingly effective; his act still manages to fool even his political opponents, who really ought to know better. After all, the basis of Bush's phenomenal political career has been people's underestimating him. As his political advisor Karl Rove said in 2002: "I can't explain why they underestimate him, but they do. Whatever the reason, I hope they keep doing it."
Dubya has managed to cultivate the look and feel of a down-home good ol' boy. He acts like your wisecracking neighbor or maybe brother-in-law. This is no small accomplishment for someone who grew up with every possible advantage: born into a family of immense wealth and political influence, attended a prestigious prep school, then Harvard and Yale. George became a millionaire in his own right at a very early age; while he was playing in Little League, the boy personally owned a million shares of his father's oil company. And yet, implausible as it may sound for someone born into such tremendous wealth and privilege, Bush somehow manages to pass for middle class.
A major factor in his success is Dubya's apparent mediocrity. The man is at best a lackadaisical administrator, a "big picture" guy who delegates all of the detail work to subordinates and only wants to be bothered with final yes-no decisions. He's a weak public speaker, underprepared for debates and press conferences, clearly uncomfortable citing specific facts, figures, and sometimes even proper names. The man also appears to be congenitally undignified, evidently incapable of going ten minutes without his trademark smirk or a full-blown shit-eating grin, regardless of the situation.
All of which combines to make him seem much dumber than most elected officials. Even many of his most ardent supporters presume that Dubya possesses an I.Q. bordering on 100. But -- counterintuitive as it may seem -- this idea is actually comforting to his political base. These are people who would like nothing more than to believe that the problems of governance are easily solvable, if only we can somehow avoid overthinking them. One of Bush's biographers put it this way:
"There is a group of people who feel that '[the President of the United States should] be smarter than I am on just about every issue I can think of.' But there is also a large group of people who don't feel that way. They want the President, in this modern era, to be something they can relate to. Someone who they don't think is intellectually intimidating. Someone who isn't really lost in the big fog of intellectual ideas and the world of words."
Ultimately, these voters are working from a gut feeling. Their assumption is that all we really need to clean up the mess in Washington is somebody possessing the courage of his convictions, and a healthy appetite for some old-fashioned hard work. And although neither of those criteria actually applies to George W. Bush, he manages to fake them well enough.
Yale, Vietnam
As a young man, George discovered that he was perfectly suited to the "good old boy" network. He was funny, outgoing, and enjoyed socializing. He was good at telling jokes, and he had a knack for remembering people's names. So when he got to Yale, Bush joined Delta Kappa Epsilon, an Animal House-style fraternity known for hard partying. In time he became DKE's president. He was also inducted into the secret society Skull and Bones , following in the footsteps of both his father (Yale class of '48) and grandfather (class of '17).
Bush had been admitted with an SAT score of 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math) which was low for Yale but perfectly respectable anywhere else. This would correlate to an approximate I.Q. of 129. In fact, a 1300 on the SAT would have been sufficient to join MENSA. So 1206 is a far cry from stupid.
Nevertheless, many of Bush's critics have become fixated on his mediocre class ranking at college, since he wound up somewhere below the middle of the pack. They take this as evidence of his low-to-moderate intelligence. In doing so, they fail to recognize that we're talking about Yale here, not some diploma mill. Mediocre at Yale is pretty damn good; it requires brains. More importantly, they're assuming that George was working hard to get on the Dean's List. And that's just not likely.
A Newsweek profile observed that young George "seems to have majored in beer drinking at the Deke House." Whenever he had some free time, Bush was spending it getting drunk and/or laid, when he wasn't busy playing competitive sports, and doing whatever the hell it is they do in those twice-weekly meetings at Skull and Bones.
And besides, George had become acclimated to simply coasting through life. Experience taught him that there was no problem that couldn't be solved with a little money, or a couple of well-placed phone calls from his father George HW Bush . So why should he kill himself to get straight A's? It was just completely unnecessary. The basis for this outlook on life was never illustrated more clearly than when George was confronted with the specter of the Vietnam War .
After Yale, Bush successfully dodged the draft by volunteering for a six-year hitch in the Texas Air National Guard. This required some serious string-pulling, but the Bushes had lots of friends in high places. Evidently hoping to avoid winding up in Southeast Asia, on his application George checked the box labeled do not volunteer under the heading "overseas assignment."
Bush was immediately accepted into the Guard, where he got promoted in record time. He was also fast-tracked into the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, which involved skipping over a waiting list full of qualified applicants. And then for four years he did as little work as possible, just the minimum required to remain in the unit, which was based in Houston.
Then in May 1972, with two years left on his enlistment, George headed off to Alabama and requested reassignment to an inactive postal unit there. This request was a little odd for an Air National Guardsman, seeing that the outfit had no airplanes. Bush's request was denied. But for some reason he decided to stick around Alabama for a few months and didn't return to his Houston post until he was required to receive an annual physical.
Then, for some reason, Bush was grounded by his commander for "his failure to accomplish annual medical examination." Either he never showed up, or he flunked it. We don't know for certain because his military records are sealed, and can only be made public with the subject's assent. Bush has never chosen to make them available.
The most plausible theory is that George ran into a problem with the compulsory drug testing. If he did show up for the physical, maybe he flunked the urinalysis. If he didn't show up, maybe it was out of fear of what the drug test would reveal. Whatever the reason, Bush never flew again. And he still had another two years to go on his enlistment. So he just sat around. In fact it's unclear exactly what, if anything, he did during those two remaining years. The only thing we know for sure: whatever it was involved neither flying planes nor getting shipped off to Vietnam.
The Party Animal
After he just sort of wandered away from military service, Bush's partying lifestyle resumed with a vengeance and it continued to cause him trouble. According to a friend, he and George spent a lot of their free time boozing it up at parties:
"We did drink... we drank what people gave us to drink... And if we went to a party and they were serving liquor, then we would drink it, and we would drink it until it was gone."
Sometime around Christmas in 1972, George drove home drunk with his teenaged brother Marvin and plowed into a neighbor's garbage can. When daddy said he wanted to have a talk, George tried to pick a fight with his old man, challenging him to go a few rounds "mano a mano" outside.
As Bush well knew, there's really no better place for a drinking man than college. So that's where George headed next. In 1973 he enrolled in Harvard Business School and spent the next two years earning his MBA. He spoke fondly of the institution in his 1999 autobiography, declaring: "Harvard gave me the tools and the vocabulary of the business world."
In 1974, George spent Superbowl Sunday at a party hosted by Hunter S. Thompson . When asked decades later if he remembered whether Bush had used any drugs at his party, Thompson replied:
"I can't be expected to remember what every drug-addled yuppie hanger-oner who wanted to get close to me during a football game twenty-five years ago digested. There were so many dope fiends milling about, I don't remember what some Yalie named Bush, whose father was a factotum in the Nixon Administration, was doing. But he strikes me as the sort of person I would have thrown out of the room. A rich, beer-drunk yahoo with a big allowance who passes out in your bathtub. ... I don't want to become the Deep Drug Throat. ... I won't do it."
Bush continued his life of hard drinking and was finally arrested for drunk driving in October 1976, this time with his teenaged sister Dorothy in the car. But it would be another decade before he finally realized that alcohol was a problem for him.
Despite episodes like these, Bush continued abusing alcohol for another decade before finally quitting cold turkey in 1986. But even though he acknowledges that he could never seem to stop after just one drink, George has always maintained that his problem was nothing more than simple overindulgence:
"I don't think I was clinically an alcoholic; I didn't have the genuine addiction. I don't know why I drank. I liked to drink, I guess."
Years later, Bush reflected on his substance abuse days for a New York Times reporter:
"The signal we ought to send to our children is that in spite of what happened in the '60s and '70s, we have learned some lessons. And the lessons ought to be: don't be using drugs and alcohol."
Today Bush regrets ever drinking, cannot trust himself with any amount of alcohol, and hoped in vain that his children would avoid it. But don't call him an alcoholic, particularly in front of his kids. Evidently Bush believes that an effective way of discouraging young people from abusing drugs or alcohol is to stonewall whenever the topic comes up. A few years ago he advocated this technique to a Newsweek reporter:
"I wouldn't tell your kids that you smoked pot unless you want 'em to smoke pot. I think it's important for leaders, and parents, not to send mixed signals. I don't want some kid saying, 'Well, Governor Bush tried it.'"
The man certainly practices what he preaches. Bush categorically refuses to answer questions about allegations of past drug abuse, especially persistent rumors about him having used cocaine.
The Brainiac
In 1978, George made a halfhearted stab at politics when he ran for an open Congressional seat. Maybe he didn't know what else to do, other than try to follow in daddy's footsteps. But Bush's heart wasn't really in it. Ultimately, it just didn't matter to him whether he would represent West Texas in the House of Representatives. And although he liked campaigning and showed an aptitude for it, his Democratic opponent mopped the floor with him.
Bush's rookie mistakes didn't help. At a candidate forum early on in the race, Bush told the crowd: "Today is the first time I've been on a real farm." That didn't exactly impress the rural voters. And his decision to show himself jogging around a track in one of his television spots only underscored how out-of-touch he was with the common man. Almost nobody jogged in West Texas.
And in the debates, Bush tried his best to come off sounding smart and serious. He made references to complicated economic policies. Difficult as it may be to believe now, many voters in the 1978 campaign were turned off by George W. Bush's overt intelligence. They figured him for some kind of brainiac.
George's opponent pegged him immediately as a spoiled rich kid from New England. A faux Texan. A Yankee carpetbagger. In contrast, the Democrat assumed the role of the earnest-but-friendly local boy. He constantly harped on George's elitist upbringing, as evident in this radio ad:
"In 1961, when Kent Hance graduated from Dimmitt High School in the 19th congressional district, his opponent George W. Bush was attending Andover Academy in Massachusetts. In 1965, when Kent Hance graduated from Texas Tech, his opponent was at Yale University. And while Kent Hance graduated from University of Texas Law School, his opponent -- get this, folks -- was attending Harvard."
The Democrat began telling crowds: "Yale and Harvard don't prepare you as well for running for the 19th Congressional district as Texas Tech does." It really got to Bush. He complained to a local newspaper about being pigeonholed as the outsider:
"We've been attacked for where I was born, for who my family is, and where my money has come from. I don't think that's fair."
Although he was gaining on the Democrat near the end, Bush lost the race. But the experience taught him everything he would someday need to mount an effective campaign. He discovered that voters aren't looking the smartest candidate, or the guy with the most experience. They want somebody who makes them comfortable. Somebody who's one of them. A regular guy.
He filed away all of that information in his head, and then turned to business.
George At Work
People like to assume that George got rich from oil speculation. It's a simpler and more inspiring explanation than the truth. He did launch an oil business, Arbusto Energy, in 1978. But it was a financial disaster from the very beginning and never turned a profit. Fortuitously, it got swallowed up in a 1982 merger with another energy company named Spectrum 7. The merger was engineered by a couple of Bush family friends. For some reason they opted to rescue the son of the Vice President of the United States from his own financial catastrophe and make him the CEO of the merged entity.
Four years later, Spectrum 7 was itself floundering underneath $3 million in debt. Which is when Harken Energy, yet another company run by a family friend, came in and bailed out Bush's enterprise a second time. George was given a fat wad of stock options and a $120,000 annual salary, but no actual work to do.
Technically, Bush's official capacity was as a member of the company's audit committee, charged with overseeing the major deals and transactions to ensure that everything was on the up-and-up. But as the son of the U.S. President, Bush's true function was to act as a lure for investment money. His task was schmoozing business contacts and outside investors, interested in converting cash into a friendly acquaintanceship with the President's offspring. And he was good at it. Hi, my name is George Jr. My Daddy lives in the White House. Let me show you around.
This investment capital really helped prop up Harken as it was secretly bleeding money out of every orifice. As a matter of fact, Harken was hiding massive debts through shell companies and byzantine practices masterminded by the now-infamous accounting firm of Arthur Anderson. One such deal was the putative "sale" of Aloha Petroleum to Intercontinental Mining and Resources Ltd in 1989. In actuality, IMR Ltd was just another company owned by three members of Harken's board. And the terms of the sale were extremely sketchy: although IMR agreed to pay an exorbitant $12 million for Aloha Petroleum, they wouldn't be required to make any payments for three years. Nevertheless, Harken immediately booked an $8 million profit.
The technical term for that is fraud. But you can't really blame George for that, can you? It wasn't like he was serving on the corporation's audit committee or anything... oh wait, he was. In fact, Bush signed off on the Aloha Petroleum deal. This deception helped maintain the illusion that Harken was -- what's the word? -- solvent for several months after it had actually run out of money.
A few weeks before the house of cards finally came tumbling down, Bush engaged in a little insider trading and sold off $848,560 in Harken stock. Then he waited eight months to notify the SEC of his sale. After Harken's stock price fell into the toilet, the SEC finally figured out something was wrong and began poking around. At which point, George offered up this lame excuse:
"In the corporate world, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures."
But George's daddy was still President of the United States, and the SEC headed by Bush family friends, so they took no action.
Baseball
Sometime during Harken's fraud-ridden implosion, George realized that his true calling wasn't managing the business end of things, but rather being its public face. In April 1989, Bush invested $500,000 of borrowed money in the Texas Rangers. In return, he received an annual salary of approximately $200,000 and the title of Managing General Partner. It meant that he represented the investors, but everybody pretty much treated him as though he were the sole owner.
Unlike some major-league baseball owners, Bush avoided day-to-day operations. He stayed out of personnel and staffing issues. He didn't make strategy. He didn't handle player trades. All of that stuff was left to other people. He attended the games, arranged for promotional events, even had baseball cards printed up with his own face on them. The team's general manager described Bush's role this way:
"George was the front man. George was the guy that you met when you wanted to be introduced to Ranger baseball. He was the spokesperson. He dealt with the media, he dealt with the fans, and it was obvious to us right from the start that that's what he was made for... George chose to sit right next to the dugout, with the fans, every day... I mean, it's 100 degrees down there. He's there from before the game, half an hour before the game, didn't leave his seat except to go to the bathroom, cheering for the ball club, signing autographs, listening to hecklers, accepting well-wishes from season-ticket customers."
George absolutely loved it. And why not? It was the ultimate dream job, it was business but it was also fun. Then somebody suggested that he run for governor. But Bush was unwilling to give up baseball. In fact, the only ambition he had was to someday become league commissioner. When the presiding commissioner suddenly resigned, George called him to see if he could get his support to assume the post. When the man suggested that Bush pursue politics, George replied: "I think I'd rather be commissioner than governor."
While he lobbied franchise owners for support, Republican party officials kept trying to convince Bush that he ought to run for office. George talked it over with one of his oldest friends, Roland Betts. When Bush was Yale chapter president of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Betts served as DKE's rush chairman. And they had both been investors in Spectrum 7. Now they were both partners in the Texas Rangers. According to the book Fortunate Son, Bush confided to his friend:
"You know, I could run for governor but I'm basically a media creation. I've never done anything. I've worked for my dad. I worked in the oil business. But that's not the kind of profile you have to have to get elected to public office."
Several months later, it become clear that somebody else was going to become baseball commissioner. So he finally acquiesced to running for governor.
Politics, Again
Bush was determined that this wouldn't be a repeat of his failed Congressional bid. And he believed that he had solved the problems that plagued him in 1978. Even though he was still a wealthy, well-connected, white guy with an Ivy League education, Bush was certain that voters would relate to him the way they couldn't before.
He was still rich, but now he could pretend to have made his fortune wildcatting for oil. And at least he spent his money like a Texan. He owned a ranch of sorts outside the town of Crawford, although it was actually more weekend getaway than working ranch... nevertheless it fit the image. Whereas before Bush had been typecast as the Rich Foreigner from New England, he now had roots in the community. He would sell himself as a Texas tycoon, a family man with a wife and kids, and coated with a thick patina of working-class sensibilities.
And this time George put into practice the lesson he learned from his 1978 campaign. He knew it was both unnecessary and counterproductive to project an image of extraordinary intelligence. It was all about likeability. So Dubya did just enough homework to hold his own in the debates and otherwise just winged it. His strategy hinged on using his personal charisma to compensate for any intellectual failings.
Bush won, of course, making him the second most powerful elected official in the state of Texas. (Technically, the Lieutenant Governor wields more actual power. The Governor is just the guy whose face is in all the newspapers.) At which point he finally had to quit his job as managing partner of the Texas Rangers. And although he moved into the governor's mansion, his heart remained with the ball club. As one Texas journalist recalled:
"In the governor's office, he had a whole set of cabinets of autographed baseballs. It's kinda hard to find a book in the office, but there was always baseball and that would always make for conversation. And if he came into this office right now, he'd very quickly give you a nickname ... mine was 'Sammy Sosa' -- a player that he actually traded away when he was in Texas."
When his partners finally sold the Rangers in June 1998, George's percentage was worth $14.9 million. Not bad for a $600,000 total investment. When the deal was announced, Dubya boasted to a local newspaper: "I think when it is all said and done, I will have made more money than I ever dreamed I would make." Finally all that pennypinching paid off.
The Road to the White House
He seemed like a longshot. Six years as Governor of Texas. Nobody believed that he would even win his party's nomination. After all, he was up against a slew of distinguished candidates with far more experience. The early money was on Senator John McCain, an actual Vietnam vet who'd spent five and a half years in a Viet Cong POW camp.
But the polls and the focus groups didn't lie: Dubya was preferred by the Republican party faithful. He was a born-again Christian, pretty much the ideal qualification you need to win the Bible belt. And his relative inexperience turned into an advantage when he started pushing the ridiculous idea that he was a Washington outsider. He tried to exploit that fiction to deflect accusations that he had a low I.Q.:
"I think it comes from a certain sense of elitism in this country that says if you haven't spent your entire adult life in Washington, you can't possibly be smart enough to be President."
The more he got picked on about his intelligence or his brief record of serving in public office, George began comparing himself to the greatest human being of the 20th century (as far as Republicans are concerned):
"I remember what they did to Ronald Reagan . They belittled him and said, 'Oh, he can't possibly be smart enough to be President. He is simply an actor.' The man turned out to be a great President."
But just in case any supporters were still harboring doubts, Bush selected Dick Cheney as running mate after he won the nomination. Cheney had a long career in Washington. He served in the Nixon and Ford administrations, spent the '80s in the House of Representatives, and was Secretary of Defense for Dubya's pop. In fact, the press even dubbed Cheney "Mr. Experience."
Regardless of Cheney's qualifications, world leaders -- especially the Europeans -- were flabbergasted by the Republican party's nominee for President. George was not exactly what you would call well-traveled. Campaign staffers claimed that he had taken "more than a dozen" trips outside the U.S., although they admitted that the vague figure included "many, many" trips to Mexico and Canada .
Bush made a month-long excursion to China while his father was stationed there, which the New York Times summed up as "trying to date Chinese women (unsuccessfully) during a visit to Beijing in 1975." He had visited Israel and Egypt with the National Governors Association, and also the African country of Gambia. Later on in the campaign, Bush staffers claimed that he has also visited England, Scotland, and Italy, as well as vacationed in France and Bermuda. This was not very impressive to the people of Europe, who have to cross international borders just to take their kids to Legoland.
Which is why Condoleezza Rice was assigned to Bush, to tutor him in the subtleties of foreign relations and world geography. Even so, things continued to get worse on the campaign trail. He referred to the citizens of Greece as "Grecians" and could not name the Prime Minister of India on two nonconsecutive occasions. When a journalist from Slovakia asked what the candidate knew about his country, Dubya replied:
"The only thing I know about Slovakia is what I learned first-hand from your foreign minister, who came to Texas."
Unfortunately, that leader was actually Janez Drnovsek, the prime minister of Slovenia, not Slovakia. Close but no cigar. Later, in a television interview with Boston NBC affiliate WHDH, George got in way over his head when the reporter started needling him on details. He ended up sounding like he hadn't quite finished reading through the whole pile of briefing papers yet:
GOVERNOR BUSH:
The new Pakistani General, he's just been elected -- not elected, this guy took over office. It appears this guy is going to bring stability to the country and I think that's good news for the subcontinent.
JOURNALIST:
Can you name the Foreign Minister of Mexico?
JOURNALIST:
No sir, but I would say to that: I'm not running for President.
Many people mistook episodes like this as indications of Dubya's inability to do his homework. Critics charged that he obviously possessed subnormal intelligence and/or a diminutive attention span and/or a crucial misunderstanding of what it takes to be President. Once again, the underlying problem here is the assumption that Bush believed that the Foreign Leaders of the World game was an important factor for voters. And Bush knew it wasn't. So he didn't waste his time trying to memorize a long list of names that nobody really cared about. The average person isn't a policy wonk; they couldn't name the new Prime Minister of India, and they didn't care if George could either.
Then people started asking themselves whether George's experience in Texas was really sufficient to prepare him for the Oval Office. As governor, Dubya had envisioned the role of the chief executive as being the guy with the final say. Bush didn't propose policies. He didn't research anything. His staff would bring a policy issue to his attention, narrowed down to two competing options. Then they would deliver a five-minute oral argument for each sides and tell the governor which alternative they supported. And then he would make the either-or decision, right on the spot. This is how he ran things.
During one of the debates with Vice President Al Gore, Bush was given a hypothetical situation:
MODERATOR:
The stock market could take a tumble. There could be a failure of a major financial institution. What is your general attitude toward government intervention in such events?
GOVERNOR BUSH:
Well, it depends, obviously. But what I would do, first and foremost, is I would get in touch with the Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, to find out all the facts and all the circumstances. I would have my Secretary of Treasury be in touch with the financial centers, not only here, but at home. I would make sure that key members of Congress were called in to discuss the gravity of the situation. And I would come up with a game plan to deal with it.
That's what governors end up doing. We end up being problem-solvers. We come up with practical, common-sense solutions for problems that we're confronted with.
And, in this case, in case of a financial crisis, I would gather all the facts before I made the decision as to what the government ought or ought not to do.
This concept of the chief executive being the guy who gathers the brain trust whenever something goes haywire is illustrative of Bush's philosophy of government. It should be reactive, not active. Your typical liberal might respond with something like, "I intend to hold daily meetings on the state of the economy, where we track exactly this kind of thing and take measures the minute they're needed." But Bush believes that government should do as little as possible. It's supposed to handle major crises but otherwise stay out of everyone's hair.
That was pretty easy to do as governor. Running Texas isn't really a full-time job. When Bush kept bringing up his legislative successes as governor, we were supposed to be impressed. It's kind of anticlimactic when you learn that the Texas legislature only meets for 140 days, and even then they only hold a session every other year. Otherwise they're on hiatus. That really tends to lighten the workload. Governor Bush's typical workday included a two-hour afternoon break for napping, exercise, or playing video games.
The Election
In October, George's brother Jeb started making public declarations. Coincidentally enough, Jeb also happened to be governor of a southern state. And he began making predictions that would later fuel many a conspiracy theory. Jeb's exact words were: "I told my brother we are going to take Florida." And take it they did.
Florida fucked things up for everybody. There the vote margin between Bush and Gore was much smaller than the inherent margin of error, making it impossible to say definitively who had actually "won" the state. But the election laws had made no provision for such a situation, so the final outcome was left in the hands of Republican party apparatchiks. And since Bush was ahead of Gore by a pussy hair, the election officials appointed by brother Jeb made every effort to declare the contest over before the Democrats could do anything to change it.
Since Bush had already been declared the winner, even if only provisionally, there was no way in hell that the Republicans were willing to roll the dice again. There was just no possible upside, only downside. In contrast, the Democrats had no possible downside in another roll of the dice, so they insisted on recounts. Legal battles raged for weeks. The Florida state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Democrats, but the U.S. Supreme Court overruled them in a 5-4 decision. Thus the recounts were halted, Gore conceded, and Bush was declared the winner.
In the final tally, Bush won by garnering 50.5% of the Electoral College votes. That's pretty slim. And the popular vote spread was, uh, even slimmer. He beat Gore by a measly -0.51%, meaning that 540,520 more voters actually chose Gore over Bush. This negative margin of victory has only one precedent: the 1876 election of Rutherford B. Hayes, who received 200,000 votes fewer than his opponent. When a congressional commission selected Hayes, voters gave him the nickname "Rutherfraud."
During the transition, Dubya delegated the job of Cabinet interviews and selections to Cheney and headed back to his ranch in Crawford. There he had more important things to attend to, such as... well, it's actually kind of hard to imagine something more important than selecting your Cabinet. But let's just ignore that.
Maybe the Democrats were expecting too much. During the campaign, Bush had pledged to restore civility and meaningful bipartisanship to the governance of the nation. So they probably figured that it would only be fitting for Dubya to acknowledge his razor-thin mandate by selecting at least a handful of Democrats to serve in high-ranking Cabinet positions. Instead, he appointed exactly one -- Norman Mineta, former Commerce secretary under Clinton , now the Secretary of Transportation. Very inspiring.
Bush also nominated some diehard conservatives to other important posts, including John Ashcroft for Attorney General. Ashcroft was no friend to liberal causes. The man was a born-again Christian who held extremely puritanical views toward most everything: pornography, abortion , the drug war... Plus, he was just nuts. Evidently he believes that calico cats are in league with the Devil. And he thinks it's worthwhile to cover up Greco-Roman statuary in the Justice Department building so that he doesn't have to look at a naked breast on his way to work.
When asked about his pathetic nod toward bipartisanship, especially given the circumstances of the election, Bush seemed to indicate that appointing the lone Democrat was a truly magnanimous gesture:
"I believe the reason I'm standing here is because of the agenda I articulated during the course of the campaign, and I intend to take that agenda, that I tried to spell out as clearly as I could to the American people, to the halls of Congress."
Yeah, it could have been that, or maybe he was standing there as a result of the electoral equivalent of a coin toss. It was one of those.
Dubya's close friend, Kenny Boy
One of the very first things the administration did was convene a series of meetings with a bunch of high-level industry representatives to get their input on a new national energy policy. One key participant was Enron Corporation , a company with very long ties to George W. Bush and extremely well-represented in his administration. The Texas energy company's CEO, Ken Lay, had actually taken part in the transition process, helping to select members for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the government oversight board which regulates the energy industry. Also, several Enron officers wound up with cabinet-level positions, as well as appointments to less visible posts in his administration.
Bush and Enron and Ken Lay go way back. In addition to $113,800 for his Presidential campaign, the company and its CEO contributed a total of $146,500 to Bush's 1994 gubernatorial campaign. Covering their bases, they also gave a piddling $19,500 to the incumbent, Democrat Ann Richards. After the Enron scandal hit the fan, Bush attempted to mislead people into believing that he never had any particularly close relationship with Lay. The way Dubya explained it, Kenny Boy "was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994" who he barely even remembered meeting. Later somebody dug up a special birthday greeting that Governor Bush had mailed to Kenny Boy in 1997:
Dear Ken:
One of the sad things about old friends is that they seem to be getting older -- just like you!
55 years old. Wow! That is really old.
Thank goodness you have such a young, beautiful wife.
Laura and I value our friendship with you. Best wishes to Linda, your family, and friends.
Your younger friend,
George W. Bush
So when George claimed to have nothing but hazy recollections of Mr. Lay, he wasn't exactly being forthright. Or loyal, for that matter. But that's just what happens when one of your closest friends turns out to be a crook.
War on Terror
Heading into August 2001, Bush spent less than two-thirds of his days actually working. Then the White House staff announced that he was about to head off to Crawford for a 31-day vacation. It would have been the single longest holiday in Presidential history, but after the news media started sharing this fact with the public, Dubya's people scaled it back by a week so he wouldn't take the record from President Richard Nixon (30 consecutive days).
It was on August 6, 2001 that Bush received a top-secret briefing memo describing various attempts by al Qaeda to bring their jihad to America. The paper was titled " Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Which is good. At least they were thinking about it. One month later, the World Trade Center attacks caused an immediate shuffling of national priorities. What had been a back-burner problem in August was now America's exclusive focus.
After the U.S. bombed the shit out of Afghanistan and routed the Taliban, the White House started making noises about the need to clean house in the Middle East.
War with Iraq
Dubya had actually been planning to go after Saddam Hussein for years. As a matter of fact, almost two years before the Pentagon/WTC attacks, George gave an interview to the BBC in November 1999 which laid out his plans for his father's antagonist during the Gulf War :
REPORTER:
Including your father.
GOVERNOR BUSH:
Including my father, absolutely right. [...] No one envisioned Saddam, at least at that point in history, no one envisioned him still standing. It's time to finish the task.
Aside from providing a convenient pretext, the invasion had little or nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks. Bush's motive was strictly personal. Saddam Hussein had attempted to assassinate his father. Or, as he put it: "After all, this is the guy that tried to kill my dad at one time."
at present
Now that Iraq has been conquered and everybody's forgotten about the administration's ties to the Enron scandal, life in Washington has returned to normal. Bush is spending more and more time on his ranch in Crawford while Vice President Cheney and others manage day-to-day operations.
And although Dubya is gearing up for the 2004 campaign cycle, you can bet he's spending more and more time thinking about how he's going to snag the commissioner's post in major league baseball. Now there's a job a guy could really sink his teeth into.
Divinity
Aug 1999
During a campaign appearance in New Orleans, presidential candidate George W Bush expresses doubts about teaching evolution in schools: "I believe children ought to be exposed to different theories about how the world started."
Sep 2000
George W Bush tells a George magazine interviewer: "I've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for President."
4 Jun 2003
Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen meets with President George W Bush at a summit in Aqaba, Jordan. According to an article in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Bush informs Mazen: "God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam , which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."
2 Nov 2003
According to an article in the London Observer, then-governor George W Bush told Fort Worth, Texas televangelist James Robison in 2000: "I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen[...] I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it."
9 Jul 2004
While meeting with a group of 60 Old Order Amish at the Lapp Electric Service offices in Smoketown, Pennsylvania, President George W Bush declares: "I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job."
9 Oct 2004
CNN airs an interview with First Lady Laura Bush, in which she denies reports of the President's divine commission: "You know, it's just a very important part of our life. My husband has never said -- I think this is some extrapolation from his critics, maybe -- that he felt like he was called to this. He's never said such a thing."
Valerie Plame leak
-- have you talked to Karl and do you have confidence in him?
BUSH:
Listen, I know of nobody -- I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action. And this investigation is a good thing.
7 Oct 2003 President George W Bush, regarding the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to Robert Novak : "I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administration official. [...] I don't have any idea. I'd like to. I want to know the truth. [...] I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker is." 9 Oct 2003 G. Gordon Liddy on President George W Bush's attitude toward the Valerie Plame scandal: "I don't think he wants to find out who did the leaking." 3 Jun 2004 Regarding the Valerie Plame leak, President Bush declares: "I've told our administration that we'll fully cooperate with their investigation. I want to know the truth, and I'm willing to cooperate myself." 10 Jun 2004 During a press conference after the G-8 Summit:
REPORTER:
[D]o you still stand by what you said several months ago, suggesting that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leak the agent's name? And do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?
BUSH:
Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.
13 Dec 2005 Addressing the John Locke Foundation during a luncheon in Raleigh, North Carolina, journalist Robert Novak opines: "I'm confident the President knows who the source is. [...] I'd be amazed if he doesn't. [...] So I say: Don't bug me. Don't bug Bob Woodward. Bug the President as to whether he should reveal who the source is."
Saddam Hussein
2 Dec 1999
During a debate in New Hampshire, presidential candidate George W Bush declares: "If I found in any way, shape or form that he ( Saddam Hussein ) was developing weapons of mass destruction, I'd take 'em out. I'm surprised he's still there." Asked if that meant he would overthrow Saddam, Bush clarified: "The weapons of mass destruction."
22 Feb 2001
During his first press conference, President George W Bush declares: "The Secretary of State is going to go listen to our allies as to how best to effect a policy, the primary goal of which will be to say to Saddam Hussein : we won't tolerate you developing weapons of mass destruction and we expect you to leave your neighbors alone."
7 Aug 2001
President George W Bush declares: "He's ( Saddam Hussein ) been a menace forever, and we will do -- he needs to open his country up for inspection, so we can see whether or not he's developing weapons of mass destruction."
26 Sep 2002
President George W Bush explains to a Texas audience that although Saddam Hussein poses a threat to many countries, America has first dibs. "There's no doubt his hatred is mainly directed at us. There's no doubt he can't stand us. After all, this is the guy that tried to kill my dad at one time."
7 Oct 2002
During a speech in Cincinnati , President George W Bush declares: "Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists."
14 Oct 2002
During a speech in Dearborn, Michigan, President George W Bush declares that Saddam Hussein maintains active ties to al Qaeda : "This is a man that we know has had connections with al Qaeda. This is a man who, in my judgment, would like to use al Qaeda as a forward army."
7 Nov 2002
During a press conference, President George W Bush declares: "Some people say, 'Oh, we must leave Saddam alone, otherwise, if we did something against him, he might attack us.' Well, if we don't do something he might attack us, and he might attack us with a more serious weapon. The man is a threat... He's a threat because he is dealing with al Qaeda ... And we're going to deal with him."
8 Feb 2003
During a radio address, President George W Bush declares: "We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons - the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have."
6 Mar 2003
During his second press conference in two years, President George W Bush declares: " Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country, to our people, and to all free people.... I will not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons."
17 Mar 2003
During an address to the nation, President George W Bush declares: "We cannot live under the threat of blackmail. The terrorist threat to America and the world will be diminished the moment that Saddam Hussein is disarmed."
17 Mar 2003
During an address to the nation, President George W Bush declares: "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
19 Mar 2003
During an address to the nation, President George W Bush declares: "The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."
10 Apr 2003
In a message to the Iraqi people, President George W Bush declares: "The goals of our coalition are clear and limited. We will end a brutal regime, whose aggression and weapons of mass destruction make it a unique threat to the world."
24 Apr 2003
President George W Bush declares: "We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them."
30 May 2003
President George W Bush remarks on Polish TV: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories... we�ve so far discovered two. And we�ll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven�t found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they�re wrong, we found them."
17 Sep 2003
President George W Bush: "No, we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."
24 Mar 2004
At the annual Radio and Television News Correspondents Association dinner, President George W Bush shows slides of himself searching clumsily behind furniture in the Oval Office, joking: "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere [...] nope, no weapons over there [...] maybe under here?"
Timeline
BUSH:
Florida. The state of the Florida.
31 May 2000 An introspective George W Bush: "When I'm talking about -- when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me." Aug 2000 George W Bush: "I don't know whether I'm going to win or not. I think I am. I do know I'm ready for the job. And, if not, that's just the way it goes." 4 Sep 2000 During a campaign stop in Naperville, Illinois, Presidential candidate George W Bush turns to running mate Dick Cheney and says, "There's Adam Clymer, major league asshole from the New York Times." Cheney responds, "Oh yeah, he is, big-time." Unbeknownst to the men, their comments are transmitted clearly to the television news feed. Rather than offer a mea culpa to Clymer, Bush later issues this non-apology: "I regret that a private comment I made to the vice-presidential candidate made it onto the public airwaves. I regret everybody heard what I said." 29 Sep 2000 George W Bush: "I know the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." 3 Oct 2000 George W Bush: "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.'" 4 Oct 2000 George W Bush: "I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can't answer your question." 18 Oct 2000 George W Bush: "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." 2 Nov 2000 "There's a report out tonight that 24-years ago I was apprehended in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a DUI. That's an accurate story. I'm not proud of that. I oftentimes said that years ago I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much and I did on that night. I was pulled over. I admitted to the policeman that I had been drinking. I paid a fine. And I regret that it happened. But it did. I've learned my lesson." Note that Bush, as Governor of Texas, subsequently signed zero tolerance drunk driving legislation, effectively prohibiting others from "learning their lesson" as he did. Dec 2000 thefirsttwins.com launched. 18 Dec 2000 George W Bush, still waiting on the Florida recount: "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier... just so long as I'm the dictator." 17 Jun 2001 Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka returns to German Town High School in Philadelphia, where she studied for two years as a high school student. During a conversation with her former classmates, Tanaka gives her concise assessment of President George W Bush: "He is totally an asshole." 13 Jan 2002 While watching a football game on TV, President George W Bush chokes on a pretzel and briefly loses consciousness in his White House bedroom. 19 May 2002 "Do you have blacks too?" Question posed by Bush to Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Der Spiegel, also quoted in The New Republic on June 10. Aug 2002 During an interview with journalist-author Bob Woodard, President George W Bush declares: "I loathe Kim Jong Il . I've got a visceral reaction to this guy, because he is starving his people. And I have seen intelligence of these prison camps -- they're huge -- that he uses to break up families and to torture people. It appalls me." 17 Sep 2002 George W Bush: "There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." 7 Oct 2002 "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." The New Republic 27 Nov 2002 President George W Bush appoints Henry Kissinger to head the national commission investigating the World Trade Center attacks of 9-11. Kissinger is later forced to withdraw once it is realized exactly how much conflict of interest he has accumulated in the last several years of consultation work. 14 Oct 2003 According to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer quoting an unnamed senior administration official, President George W Bush tells his senior aides that he "didn't want to see any stories" quoting unnamed administration officials. 13 Apr 2004 During his third press conference in three years, President George W Bush flounders when asked whether he has made any mistakes in office. "I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I can plan for it. Uh... [...] You know, I just, uh... I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet. I, uh... [...] I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and -- maybe I'm not quick, as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." 6 Aug 2004 Mark Trahant of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer inadvertently stumps President Bush at the 2004 conference of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.:
REPORTER:
What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century, and how do we resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and state governments?
BUSH:
Yeah. Uh, tribal sovereignty means that. It's sovereign. Means you're a -- you're a -- you've been given sovereignty and you're -- viewed as a sovereign entity.
6 Sep 2004 During a campaign stop in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, President George W Bush reveals: "We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." 19 Oct 2004 In an interview with CNN's Paula Zahn Now, Pat Robertson declares: "I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, Mr. President, you better prepare the American people for casualties. 'Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties.' Well, I said, it's the way it's going to be. And so, it was messy. The Lord told me it was going to be A) a disaster, and B) messy. And before that, I had deep -- in my spirit -- I had deep misgivings about going into Iraq." 2 Nov 2004 George W Bush is elected to his second term as President with 286 electoral votes to John Kerry 's 254. 14 Sep 2005 At the United Nations, freelance photographer Rick Wilking snaps a picture of President George W Bush jotting down a note which he then passes to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , seated behind him. "I think I MAY NEED A BATHROOM break? Is this possible? W." Subsequently the President gets up and visits the restroom.
| i don't know |
The EEC (European Economic Community) was created by the 1957 ‘Treaty of….’where’?. | European Economic Community - YouTube
European Economic Community
Want to watch this again later?
Sign in to add this video to a playlist.
Need to report the video?
Sign in to report inappropriate content.
The interactive transcript could not be loaded.
Loading...
Rating is available when the video has been rented.
This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.
Published on Aug 30, 2014
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an international organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957.
Its aim was to bring about economic integration, including a common market, among its six founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The EEC was also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was officially renamed as such in 1993.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Category
| Rome |
In the game of Bingo, ‘Little Boy Blue’ is the nickname for which number? | What was the European Economic Community? – UK in a changing Europe
Multimedia
What was the European Economic Community?
The European Economic Community was created by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. It was often called the Common Market, since its core function was fostering economic cooperation between its member states: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The EEC operated alongside the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). The three separate Communities were brought together in 1967, and the official name became the European Communities, although in practice most people spoke only of the EEC or the Common Market, the most important of the three. This also meant that the practice of using the plural ‘Communities’ became increasingly uncommon outside of official documents. These names stayed unchanged through the 1970s and 1980s, although the use of the middle E in EEC, i.e. that standing for ‘Economic’, fell into disuse.
With the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the EC became the EU. Maastricht brought into being three ‘pillars’, the first of which remained the EC, the other two being Common Security and Foreign Policy (CFSP), and the second covering Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). Strictly speaking the EC went on existing, but in practice references to the EU eclipsed those to the EC – and the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 abolished the pillar structure.
| i don't know |
Anchor, Honeycomb, Satin and Faggot are all what? | The Anchor book of counted thread embroidery stitches (Book, 1997) [WorldCat.org]
Find more libraries Librarian? Claim your library to
The Anchor book of counted thread embroidery stitches
Author:
Newton Abbot, Devon : David & Charles, 1997.
Edition/Format:
Nearly 50 stitches clearly explained with step-by-step diagrams.
Rating:
You are connected to the University of Washington Libraries network
Hide local services for this item
OCLC FirstSearch
Add library to Favorites
Please choose whether or not you want other users to be able to see on your profile that this library is a favorite of yours.
Allow this favorite library to be seen by others
Keep this favorite library private
Find a copy in the library
Finding libraries that hold this item...
Details
128 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 14 cm.
Contents:
Diagonal raised band and filling ; Filling: open trellis ; Filling: Variation --
Diagonal satin filling --
Double back stitch: Finnish filling --
Double cross stitch --
Greek cross stitch: lacy filling ; Squared filling --
Hedebo buttonhole stitch: edging with picot --
Hemstitch: Diamond --
Thread, needle and fabric guide.
Other Titles:
[compiled by Eve Harlow].
Abstract:
An introduction to the techniques of counted-thread embroidery. There are 48 stitches for working on evenweave fabric, and a wide range of ideas for using them. The stitches are all explained and illustrated in step-by-step diagrams. Read more...
Reviews
Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first.
Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first.
Tags
Add tags for "The Anchor book of counted thread embroidery stitches". Be the first.
Similar Items
Counted thread embroidery.
Confirm this request
You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway.
Linked Data
schema:about < http://experiment.worldcat.org/entity/work/data/3901597004#Topic/counted_thread_embroidery > ; # Counted thread embroidery
schema:alternateName "Counted thread embroidery stitches" ;
schema:datePublished "1997" ;
schema:description "Nearly 50 stitches clearly explained with step-by-step diagrams."@ en ;
schema:description "Algerian filling -- Back stitch, ringed -- Whipped back stitch -- Cabel stitch -- Chequer filling -- Chessboard filling -- Chevron stitch -- Cobbler filling -- Coil filling -- Cretan stitch -- Cross stitch -- Diagonal raised band and filling ; Filling: open trellis ; Filling: Variation -- Diagonal satin filling -- diamond eyelet -- Diamond filling -- Double back stitch: Finnish filling -- Double cross stitch -- Double knot stitch -- Eyelet holes -- Double faggot filling -- Reversed faggot filling -- Fern stitch -- Fly stitch -- Four-sided stitch ; Variation -- Greek cross stitch: lacy filling ; Squared filling -- Hedebo buttonhole stitch: edging with picot -- Hemstitch: Diamond -- Hemstitch: interlaced -- Hemstitch: Ladder -- Hemstitch: zigzag -- Herringbone stitch -- Holbein stitch -- Honeycomb filling -- Mosaic filling -- Needlewaving -- Outlined diamond eyelet filling -- Punch stitch -- Ripple filling -- Satin stitch -- Spaced satin filling -- squared edging stitch -- Star stitch -- Step filling -- Wave stitch -- Working with charts -- Charted designs -- Thread, needle and fabric guide."@ en ;
| embroidery stitches |
Who played Mr Brown in the 1991 film ‘Reservoir Dogs’? | Pulled Thread Embroidery
Pulled Thread Embroidery
If you find this helpful, a donation will help me keep this website up.
pulled thread work PT42. LH
Also called drawn fabric embroidery. LH
The Pulled Thread pages in this website:
Pulled Thread Work (this page) -- general description, related forms, basic working methods, appropriate fabrics, possible edge finishes, suggestions for learning, recommended books, suggestions for kinds of designs, list of some stitches.
Pulled Thread Gallery -- many examples of pulled thread sorted by kinds of designs, the work of myself and others
Pulled Thread Tutorial -- the yellow sampler, diagrams and photos of the 10 most basic pulled stitches (and some of their variants), diagrams of several possible outline stitches, detailed instructions for finishing the edge with squared edging stitch, pulled thread stitches.
Pulled Thread Tutorial 2 -- 6 free patterns for bookmarks and small mats, additional diagrams for pulled thread stitches and edge finishes, working instructions
Pulled Thread Stitches -- stitch diagrams for some of the most basic stitches
The White Sampler -- photos of my huge white sampler showing more than 110 stitches, with references to books and the page numbers where I found the working diagrams, see many pulled thread stitches.
Free Patterns for Pulled Thread -- 5 mats and some bookmarks
Pulled thread embroidery uses counted thread stitches from the common stock set of embroidery stitches, but works them pulled with strong tension. It has been discovered over time that certain thread paths on the front and back of an embroidery produce a specific pattern of holes, unique to that particular stitch. So it creates a lace-like effect. No threads of the fabric are removed or cut out. Do not confuse this with drawn thread work, a form of embroidery in which some fabric threads are pulled out and removed, leaving thin areas. In drawn thread work these thinned out areas are then decorated in various ways. See Drawn Thread Work . See also: Compare Drawn Thread Work and Pulled Thread Work.
Historic forms from Persia and the eastern Mediterranean region appeared well before the 1700s, but the best and finest work was said to come from Dresden (Dresden Work). In the German language this form of embroidery is called "Ajour Arbeit", "Ajourstickerei", or "Perser Ajour Arbeit". It was also made in Denmark, and called Tondern work, from the town where it was made. In French it is called "broderie ajourée" or "jours a fils tire". In the 1700s it was commonly used for fichus, aprons and sleeve falls. The early forms were fantastic floral designs with motifs outlined either in some surface stitch or with double back stitch. The latter makes a dense white cushion which would contrast with the various hole patterns. The historic work was done on a very fine scale, on fine linen. For an 18th century example, see this . Fangel, Winckler, mentioned below, has photos of historic pieces, including 2 historic samplers showing both the stitches and the order of working the parts.
This form of embroidery did not remain static but also experienced developments over time. Two forms of folk embroidery from Germany, Schwalm and Hessenstickerei also use pulled stitches, but Schwalm also removes some fabric threads to accentuate the holes and make the empty spots more prominent. This makes Schwalm a hybrid form between pulled thread work and drawn thread work. Schwalm has experienced a revival in recent years and a few new books on it have been written. See the links below. In the last third of the 20th century there has also been a revival of pure pulled thread technique in Scandinavian countries - sammentraeksmonstre- with mostly geometric designs for table linen. Swedish naversom is a drawn thread technique which removes fabric threads both horizontally and vertically, and then works pulled thread stitches over the remaining threads to draw them into clumps. Only a small number of different stitches are typically used in naversom.
Basic working methods b k
Pulled thread embroidery (also called drawn fabric embroidery) is a form of counted thread embroidery in which specific filling stitches are worked as grounds and pulled very tightly in the working. This compacts the threads of the cloth into clumps and creates a pattern of holes. No threads are removed from the fabric. It is worked on a loosely woven evenweave fabric (a single weave fabric, not something like Hardanger cloth or Aida cloth). The cloth should have a small visible space between the threads so counting is easier and the holes become more prominent. Fabrics used usually have 18 to 30 threads per inch (8-11 threads/cm), although it can be worked as fine as 50 count. Coarser fabric will be easier to learn on and see. Each specific stitch must be worked in a specific way on the front and back because the thread paths on the back side of the cloth help to compact the fabric threads in a certain way. This results in each stitch having its own characteristic kind of hole. The thread path on the back is just as important as the thread path on the front in creating this characteristic hole pattern. There are dozens of different stitches used in this form of hand embroidery, and most are standard stitches used in surface embroidery, which create their own magic when pulled tightly in geometric precision.
Suitable fabrics for pulled thread work (recommended fabrics for pulled thread work): *
The yellow and blue are 21 threads/inch; the white is 25 threads/inch.
Thread used for the pulled stitches should be approximately the same thickness as the fabric threads (or just a little bit finer), and similar in color. I don't recommend color for this form of embroidery because the interest is in the patterns of holes created, not in the stitches themselves. The work does not have to be white, however. Whatever color of cloth you choose should be fairly closely matched by the embroidery threads. I do not recommend embroidery floss because it is not strong enough. However, it may be possible to use floss so long as you work with 2 or more strands in the needle. Preferably, any single thread or well twisted thread will work: DMC Coton a Broder, Retors, Floche, Pearl, Cordonnet, Cebelia, similar Anchor threads, lace threads and quilting threads, such as Mako Aurifil or Sulky, will also work. The outlining stitches can be worked in a thicker pearl cotton, or a soft single strand embroidery cotton, or any thread that you like, also similar in color.
Using a darker or lighter shade for the outlining stitches can be very attractive and does not detract from the effect of the pulled work.
An embroidery hoop or frame and tapestry or blunt pointed needles are necessary for the pulled stitches. Outlining stitches are also easier with a hoop, and you will use sharp or blunt needles depending on the stitches you choose. For the pulled stitches always use tapestry or blunt pointed needles. Some say it is possible to do the pulled stitches without a hoop, but I find it far easier to control the tension if I use one.
Do not let your needle run out of thread in the middle of a row, because running the thread in to end it may make an irregular spot in the middle of the area of holes. Instead, always complete an entire row with your thread. Sacrifice a length of thread when your needle thread runs short, rather than risk creating an irregular area in the ground. When running ends in to hide them, be sure that they don’t cross behind a hole and become visible from the front.
When beginning a project overcast the raw edge of the fabric but don’t worry about being neat. The loosely woven fabric suitable for this kind of work frays too easily.
Also, when working a geometric project from a chart, or when a large area is to be filled with a complex stitch, it is really necessary to lay in some basting lines to help position the parts of the design correctly, and to help you count threads as you work. If my design is based on stitches worked 4 threads tall, I make basting lines in which each stitch is exactly 4 threads tall, and run them vertically and horizontally down the center of the cloth, using a contrasting color thread. Sometimes if a design has complicated changes of direction, I may lay in a dozen basting lines to mark the places where I have to change direction. If my design is based on a stitch which is 6 threads tall, I make the basted stitches 3 threads tall. In this case two basted stitches, and under and an over, make up one full stitch unit. I can then use the basted stitches to help me count.
The piece below shows the basting lines and stitching at different stages. Since the design consisted of zigzaggy diagonal lines which changed direction frequently, I decided to lay in basting lines at every pivot point. This made it easy to know when to turn. Without the basting lines I'd never have gotten all the rows to line up correctly. The first shows all the green basting lines at the beginning of the project. The 2nd shows a more advanced stage; but you can easily see the green basting lines wherever there's a zig or a zag.
Drawn fabric embroidery in process.
TO FINISH THE EDGE OF THE EMBROIDERY
b k
One can finish the work with a hemmed or hemstitched edge and mitered corners, or one can work four sided stitch , three sided stitch , or squared edging stitch in two or three rows, folding the edge under so that the second row (the inner row) catches both thicknesses of cloth. Excess fabric from the 2nd layer on the back is then cut off close to the stitching. These stitches lock the cloth so firmly as to prevent any raveling. The edge stitching is worked without a hoop.
First work a row of four sided stitch (or 3 sided stitch or squared edging stitch) about 1 inch from the fabric edge around all 4 edges of the fabric. Then fold the fabric exactly along the outer edge of the row of stitching. At the corners fold diagonally and cut diagonally to remove some bulk, but leave at least 1/2 inch, depending on the number of threads per inch in the cloth. Then work a 2nd row of four sided stitch inside the 1st row, catching both layers of the cloth. When completed, the excess fabric can be cut off close to the 2nd row. And you are done.
See the end of the Pulled Thread Tutorial page for details of how to work squared edging stitch on the edge and for photos, and also Pulled Thread Tutorial 2 for examples with four sided stitch or three sided stitch.
Another possibility is to work buttonhole stitch or Hedebo buttonhole stitch over folded fabric . However, plain buttonhole stitch can be worked over the raw edge . Working over a folded edge is more secure.
See McNeil and Fangel for other suggestions on edge finishes and hems.
The Stitches
b k
The stitches for pulled thread embroidery fall into several family groups, and within each group there are several variants which differ in their spacing. The variants often have their own names. Considerable differences in appearance result merely from changing the spacing. There are also dozens (perhaps hundreds) of composite stitches. I will not attempt to give you the entire list, which runs to more than 70 possible variants, but just a few of the more basic ones. Some stitches require a large area to show their full effect, some work in smaller areas. Some stitches are difficult to count on the first row. Most are much easier once the initial row is established. And some stitches produce a puffy or ridge effect. See my diagrams for some basic pulled thread stitches .
The basic groups of pulled thread embroidery stitches are:
3 sided stitch
miscellaneous and composite stitches
You will find that each author will group the stitches into families in her own way. My divisions follow the basic way of doing the stitches. The wave stitch group is probably easiest to learn. I found both faggot and 4 sided stitch very confusing at first, but once mastered, I now regard them as among most useful.
In the following partial list of pulled thread stitches the italic variants are the easiest to count, so they are good ones to start with.
See P ulled Thread Stitches and Pulled Thread Tutorial for diagrams of these stitches, and see The White Sampler for photos of 110+ stitches. The ones marked with * are diagramed on this website.
back stitch
In my opinion the best books for learning this are:
· Moyra McNeill PULLED THREAD EMBROIDERY, Taplinger Publishing Company, New York, 1972. ISBN 0-8008-6562-6
· Esther Fangel, Ida Winckler & Agnete Wuldem Madsen DANISH PULLED THREAD EMBROIDERY (with English and Danish text), Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1977 ISBN 0-486-23474-6
Two more recent books, which add many composite stitches to the repertory are:
Mary Fry MARY FRY'S PULLED THREAD WORKBOOK, Self published, 1978
Ilse Altherr MASTERING THE ART OF PULLED THREAD EMBROIDERY, self published 1989
McNeill has the largest number of basic stitches, arranges them in stitch groups, and has very clear stitch diagrams and photos. She also has several additional suggestions about ways to finish the edges, and some suggestions for how to approach modern designing.. Fangel has what I think are the best examples of modern design or kinds of designs. Fry and Altherr show many more composite stitches than McNeil or Fangel. Both Fry and Altherr have useful instructions and advice about general working methods.
See http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/group/pulledthreadwork/forum/topics/pulled-thread-and-drawn-thread for a discussion of various books and their strong points.
WAYS TO APPROACH LEARNING PULLED THREAD WORK
Pulled Thread Embroidery beginners' projects. See Pulled Thread Tutorial 2 for instructions and patterns. All LH
Try out stitches that appeal to you on bookmarks, or start a sampler having just the basic stitches, and then use those stitches in a small project, such as coasters or small mats (3-4 inches or 5-6 cm), a pincushion or sachet, Christmas tree or window ornaments (a good way to display pulled thread work with the light coming through it). Perhaps do each small project using a different way of organizing the design and a different way of finishing the edge:
To begin learning I suggest a sampler, and you can make it small or medium size -- whatever suits. See Pulled Thread Tutorial for one possible sampler. The point of doing a sampler is that you then have an actual example of the stitch, and this will be very helpful to you when you are choosing stitches for a project.
I’ve also designed several small projects with geometric designs, but the 1st four use all the stitches on the sampler, and no others. And by doing 4 small projects, you can use a different edge finishing method on each and learn how those work also.
Go to Pulled Thread Tutorial 2 for free patterns for these small mats and for some bookmarks.
Bookmarks, coaster, pin cushions by other embroiderers:
| i don't know |
In the UK, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh’s, birthday is celebrated during which month? | Duke of Edinburgh 'indefatigable' as he puts duty first on 93rd birthday - Telegraph
Prince Philip
Duke of Edinburgh 'indefatigable' as he puts duty first on 93rd birthday
Prince Philip has a busy week ahead of him, with no time to dwell on the fact that he turns 93 today
The Duke of Edinburgh pictured at last week's D-Day commemoration events Photo: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP
By Gordon Rayner , Chief Reporter
6:00AM BST 10 Jun 2014
Follow
He turns 93 today, but the “indefatigable” Duke of Edinburgh will be putting duty first, as always, by attending a Buckingham Palace garden party in his usual role supporting the Queen.
Despite the presence of the Duchess of Cambridge at today's garden party, the Duke will be the centre of attention among the 8,000 guests, just one of seven public engagements he is carrying out this week, including a trip to Germany.
His energetic schedule is all the more impressive when compared to his last two birthdays, when ill health prevented him carrying out any public engagements at all.
Last year the Duke was in hospital on his birthday after an operation on his abdomen, and the year before he had just been released from a hospital stay as a result of a bladder infection.
A royal source said: “He is indefatigable and never wants any fuss around his birthday. This week happens to be a particularly busy time, and duty always comes first for him.”
Related Articles
Prince Philip sets energetic pace as he turns 93
09 Jun 2014
Last night the Duke, who will celebrate his birthday privately with his family, joined the Queen at a reception for the UK technology industry, and tomorrow he will hold a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award dinner at Windsor Castle.
Then on Thursday he will fly to Fallingbostel, Germany to present campaign medals in his capacity as Royal Colonel of The Highlanders, 4th Bn The Royal Regiment of Scotland. After two engagements on Friday, including a visit to an outdoor education centre in Sussex, he will attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on Saturday.
Today’s garden party will be the third and final garden party of the season for members of the public who are invited because they have made a contribution to society.
His 93rd birthday will be celebrated by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who will fire a 41-gun salute from London's Hyde Park at noon to mark the occasion.
An hour later the Honourable Artillery Company will fire a 62-gun salute from Gun Wharf at the Tower of London, with the extra guns a tribute from the citizens of the City of London.
The Duke is the longest serving consort in British history and also the oldest serving partner of a reigning monarch.
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenburg.
His early years were marked by upheaval after the Duke's family went into exile following a military coup in Greece which overthrew Prince Philip's uncle, King Constantine I.
He moved to England to stay with relatives and study at Cheam Prep School in 1928, before spending a year at Salem School in south Germany, then finally enrolling at Gordonstoun School in Morayshire.
Prince Philip went on to join the Royal Navy and, while a cadet, he caught the eye of a 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth.
He served with distinction during the Second World War and his friendship with the Princess grew into love and they married in 1947.
Five years later, George VI died and Princess Elizabeth became Queen.
| June |
In 1994 Wendy Toms became the first female official in which sport? | Queen Elizabeth to celebrate 90th b'day with mega street party - Oneindia
» Queen Elizabeth to celebrate 90th b'day with mega street party
Queen Elizabeth to celebrate 90th b'day with mega street party
Updated: Thursday, July 9, 2015, 18:11 [IST]
Subscribe to Oneindia News
London , Jul 9 : Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 90th birthday next year at one of London's biggest street parties with over 10,000 guests near Buckingham Palace .
The Patron's Lunch will be attended by members of nearly 700 charities supported by the Queen at The Mall, which runs from the palace to Trafalgar Square, on Sunday, June 12 next year.
She will be joined by her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and grandsons Princes William and Harry at the party, organised by Peter Phillips also the Queen's grandson and director of Sports Entertainment Ltd, a global events agency that came up with the idea.
The street party will be the culmination of a weekend of national events next summer to celebrate the Queen's official 90th birthday.
The Mall will be lined with picnic tables for the street party, during which guests will enjoy a hamper-style lunch.
Of the 10,000 tickets, most will be allocated to guests from the Queen's charities and organisations, but around 1,000 will be made available for a public ballot.
Members of the public will also be able to share in the festivities at live sites situated in nearby Green Park and St James's Park.
The not-for-profit event will raise money for the new Patron's Fund, which will be used to support specific initiatives and projects run by the Queen's charities.
Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne the monarch's daughter, said the celebration would emphasise the Queen's support for her charities. "We want to reflect the service she's given to all her organisations and charities," he said. Speaking of his grandmother, he said, "She's obviously been kept abreast through her office about all the developments, and the times I've had the chance to talk to her she's been excited by it".
The Queen is patron of a wide range of organisations, including children's charity Barnardo's, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and Great Ormond Street Hospital. The Patron's Organisations is a collection of more than 600 organisations across 17 different sectors and are represented across the UK and the Commonwealth.
The organisers hope communities around the country will be inspired to stage patron's lunches in their own areas and raise money for local projects. Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21 but as per royal tradition the British monarch's birthday is celebrated during the summer month of June.
A service of thanksgiving - which will be attended by the Queen and Prince Philip - will be held at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday, June 10 next year. The following day, the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony will be staged in Horse Guards Parade in central London.
PTI
| i don't know |
Which actress played the role of Cora Smith in the 1946 film ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’? | The Postman Always Rings Twice | film by Garnett [1946] | Britannica.com
The Postman Always Rings Twice
film by Garnett [1946]
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Postman Always Rings Twice, American film noir , released in 1946, based on the crime novel of the same name by James M. Cain . The film features all the elements of an enduring noir classic: sexy leading players, tight script and direction, and a shocking climax.
John Garfield and Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).
© 1946 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Frank Chambers (played by John Garfield ) is a drifter who chances upon a rural café run by the sexy Cora Smith ( Lana Turner ) and her older, obnoxious husband, Nick ( Cecil Kellaway ). Starved for affection, Cora becomes Frank’s willing lover in a tempestuous affair that leads them to devise a plan to kill Nick in order to collect his insurance money. As with all crime films of the era, the pair get their comeuppance, but the trail to the startling conclusion is filled with red herrings and unexpected plot twists, all under the acclaimed direction of Tay Garnett . The film’s cryptic title is explained by Garfield’s character at the movie’s conclusion.
Earlier screen adaptations of Cain’s book include a 1939 French version, Le Dernier Tournant (“The Last Turn”), and Italian director Luchino Visconti ’s Ossessione (1943; “Obsession”). Director Bob Rafelson’s American remake of the film in 1981 starred Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange . In 1998 an acclaimed Hungarian adaptation , Szenvedély (“Passion”), was released.
Production notes and credits
Writers: Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch
Music: George Bassman
| Lana Turner |
Joseph Cyril Bamford was the founder of which British company in 1945? | The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Wednesday March, 29 2017 at 10:00 AM
Films in BOLD will Air on TCM * |
VIEW TCMDb ENTRY
Although MGM secured the rights to pulp novelist James M. Cain's hard-bitten murder romance, The Postman Always Rings Twice in 1934, it wasn't until 12 years later that the film finally made it to the screen. A notoriously nasty story, rife with sexual intrigue, Postman involves drifter Frank Chambers (John Garfield), who conspires with luscious blond Cora Smith (Lana Turner) to murder her husband. In 1945, writer-producer Carey Wilson managed to adapt a script that would pass by the censorious Hays Administration. But director Tay Garnett's film still bristles with an electric undercurrent of sexual tension thanks to the steamy performances and palpable chemistry between Garfield and Turner, who some said enjoyed a brief romance on the set.
Setting the stakes of Cain's lust-stoked film, and offering one of the most memorable images in film history, Cora is introduced in the film through Frank's eyes as he scans from a memorable pair of gams wrapped in a pair of white shorts (the scene significantly upped the popularity of that revealing garment) up to her face. That first glimpse of the married Mrs. Smith convinces Frank, a drifter who has stumbled upon the Smiths' Twin Oaks restaurant along the highway, to stay on as a handyman. Frank immediately sees there is no love, and certainly no passion left in the marriage of convenience between Cora and bumbling restaurant owner Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). Before too long, the pair are conspiring to murder Nick, but as in most murder-oriented films noir, the best laid plans tend to unravel even before they get started.
Director Garnett managed to tone down some of the sex in Cain's novel with tricks like dressing Turner all in virginal white. But even that timid color scheme only seemed to enhance Turner's platinum beauty and siren charms in a role she later called her favorite and film history has remembered as one of her best. Turner was a Hollywood sensation at the time of Postman's release - the subject of songs, comic book stories and comedy routines, one of WWII's favorite pin-ups and a certifiable bombshell who helped make Postman both a critical success and a popular hit. And Garfield, who'd often played a cynical, defiant rebel, brought newfound subtlety to his role as the love-drunk Frank who finds even his drifter's yearning for the open road diminished under the influence of the powerful aphrodisiac of Cora Smith.
In typical noir fashion, it's not just the lovers scheming murder who display a hazy morality in Postman. The world itself is thoroughly corrupt in this sordid thriller, as seen in the double-crosses and trickery used against the lovers by a sleazy defense attorney (played with reptilian finesse by Hume Cronyn), a conniving district attorney (Leon Ames) and a corrupt former cop (Alan Reed, who would later provide the voice of Fred Flintstone in the popular cartoon) who tries to blackmail the guilty pair.
Though the time period of its making and its gloss of amorality mark Postman as a film noir, it lacks some of the shadowy ambiance characteristic of the genre. Instead, it is in the twisting, torturous path that Cora and Frank take on their march to murder and their often brutal interactions with the law and each other as their botched homicide unfolds that gives the film its nasty, noir component.
Director: Tay Garnett
| i don't know |
Who was US gossip columnist Hedda Hopper’s friend turned arch-rival? | Hedda Hopper - Zimbio
Hedda Hopper
No articles yet.
Overview
Hedda Hopper news, related photos and videos, and reviews of Hedda Hopper performances. According to Wikipedia: Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.
Featured Stories
| Louella Parsons |
Who played the role of Georgiana Cavendish in the 2008 film ‘The Duchess’? | 668: Gossip Columnist HEDA HOPPER - Photo Signed : Lot 0668
Lot 0668 Details
THIS LOT HAS BEEN SOLD TO A CUSTOMER USING OUR "BUY-IT-NOW" FEATURE. Visit our website for details www.thewrittenwordautographs.com Hedda Hopper (1885-1966) Actress, gossip columnist. Hopper's long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns. 8" x 10" black and white matte finish photograph signed, "To Bernard Baker Bless You Hedda Hopper. THIS LOT HAS BEEN SOLD TO A CUSTOMER USING OUR "BUY-IT-NOW" FEATURE. Visit our website for details www.thewrittenwordautographs.com
Condition:
The item being auctioned is in very good condition - any flaws or other condition issues are detailed in the description.
Starting Bid:
Shipping & Payment
101 to 300 12 301 to 500 15 501 to 1,000 20 1,000 to 5,000 35 Over 5,000 30 Foreign Shipments are sent Priority Express 30. Oversized and framed items and international shipments will be priced separately according to the actual shipping cost.
Accepted payment methods:
Auction Terms & Info
Terms of Sale The auction will begin at 9:00 AM on Saturday June 27th 2009 and concluded on Sunday June 28th beginning at 12:00 PM. It will be conducted by an auctioneer licensed by the state of New Hampshire and employed by The Written Word Autographs. The auction may be delayed at the discretion of the auctioneer. The on-line LiveAuctioneers component is an important part of this auction. Failure to connect with LiveAuctioneers will be deemed a reason to delay the start of this auction. There are several ways to participate in this auction. The following page is a mail or fax bidding form. Bids may be mailed to PO Box 490, Tamworth, NH 03886 or faxed to (603) 323-7563 or emailed to [email protected]. In the event of duplicate high bids, the earliest received will be the winner. Submission of a bid is recognized as acceptance of the terms of sale. If you are faxing your bids, kindly call us at (603) 323-7563 first so we can turn on our machine. Bidders may also participate in this auction through LiveAuctioneer's live auction service at no additional cost above the 17% buyer's premium. To utilize this service you must pre-register with LiveAuctioneers at least 24 hours before the auction. This catalog will be on their site on May 20th. Please visit www.LiveAuctioneers.com to register and be assigned a user name and password. We will be pleased to contact you by phone from our office if you want to participate in the auction live. We are unable to accept incoming calls but we would be pleased to have a representative contact you on the day of the auction before lots in which you are interested are offered. Please call us early and not later than two hours before the auction to reserve a phone line for this service. We will not display bids on our web site nor will it be possible to bid through our web site during the auction. Consignors may not bid on their own material nor have others bid on their behalf All bidders will be registered and must attest that they will not engage in "shill" bidding (bidding to increase the price without any intention of buying the lot). Violators of these provisions will be exempted from this auction and will be prohibited from ever bidding in future Written Word Autographs auctions. The winner will always be the high bidder. Lots will not be reopened after the hammer for any reason. Bids will not be accepted for any amount less than 60% of the "low estimate" for any lot. Please be aware that most lots carry a reserve beneath which the lot will riot be sold. The low estimate is generally less than the consignor's reserve. Bidding will proceed in the following increments: Bidding Level Increment $100 to $500 $20 $501 to $1,000 $50 $1,001 to $5,000 $100 Over $5,000 $500 All bids will be opened at either the highest bid below the minimum estimated value, the minimum estimated value or one increment above the second highest ceiling bid. For example if bids of $200 and $500 are left for a lot with an estimate value of $200 to $400 the opening bid would be $220, one increment ($20) above the minimum. Absent any further bidding the lot would be sold to the $500 bidder for $220. Instances where there is a single bid in excess of the minimum, the lot will be opened one increment above the lowest estimate. For example a bid of $400 on a lot with a minimum value of $300 would force an opening bid of $320. There is a 17% buyer premium for all bids, whether by mail, telephone, email or live bid on LiveAuctioneers. There will be a 3% additional charge if winning bidders choose to pay with American Express, Discover, MasterCard or VISA credit card or PayPal. All autographs are unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic by The Written Word Autographs. Any item may be returned for a full refund for any reason as long as it is returned in the same condition as sold within 30 days of having been received. There is no time limit for returns of items that prove not to be authentic, to the original buyer. If another recognized authenticator does not share our opinion about the authenticity of any item you purchase from us we will definitely issue a full refund for the purchase price, including the buyer's premium and shipping. The authenticator needs to state in writing the specific reason that they feel it is not genuine i.e. that the item is a forgery, secretarial, autopen or a printed example. Cash refunds will be given up to six months after our sale, credit against future purchases will be issued on any return after that time. Illustrations in our catalog and on our website are actual representations of the item being auctioned. No framed or matted material being sold has been inspected out of the frame or mat. Payment is due upon receipt of our invoice. Winning bidders are liable for the buyer's premium if they renege on their obligation. Payment may be by check, money order or major credit card. Lots will not be shipped until payment has been received. All material will be shipped by U.S. Postal Service. Foreign shipments will be sent by International Priority Express at a cost of $30.00. Domestic shipments valued over $5,000 will be shipped by Registered Mail; all other shipments will be by Priority Mail, insured. The following shipping charges will be added to winning bids: Shipment Total Shipping Charge $101 to $300 $12 $301 to $500 $15 $501 to $1,000 $20 $1,000 to $5,000 $25 Over $5,000 $30 Oversized and framed items and international shipments will be priced separately according to the actual shipping cost. Auctioneer: Sanders & Mock Associates, Wayne Mock, NH license #2111. Color images of all items can be viewed at our website.
Bid Increments:
| i don't know |
In poetry, how many lines are in a clerihew? | Poetry Class
by Kenn Nesbitt
You're going to love learning how to write clerihews. Why? Because clerihews are funny poems you write about specific people. That means when you learn to write a clerihew, you can instantly write funny poems about your parents, your teacher, your favorite movie star, your best friend, your pet, or anyone else you can think of.
Clerihews have just a few simple rules:
1. They are four lines long.
2. The first and second lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.
3. The first line names a person, and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person.
4. A clerihew should be funny.
That's it! You don&'t have to worry about counting syllables or words, and you don’t even have to worry about the rhythm of the poem.
Let's look at an example. Let’s say your art teacher was named Mr. Shaw, and you wanted to write a clerihew about him. You might start your clerihew like this:
Our art teacher, Mr. Shaw,
Really knows how to draw.
Notice that the first line ends with the name of the person the clerihew is about, Mr. Shaw. The second line ends with "draw" because it rhymes with "Shaw."
To finish the clerihew, you need to write two more rhyming lines. In a well-written clerihew, those next two lines will make the poem funny, like this:
Our art teacher, Mr. Shaw,
Really knows how to draw.
But his awful paintings
Have caused many faintings.
You don't have to limit yourself to writing clerihews about people you know. You can write clerihews about people you have never met. A clerihew will work best, though, if you write it about someone who is well known, or who at least is known to the people who will read it.
For example, if I wrote a clerihew about my aunt Norma, that might not mean anything to you. But it might work very well if I planned to share it only with my family. On the other hand, if I wrote a clerihew about a famous musician, it might be funny to many more people. Here is an example of a clerihew about some well-known singers:
Kanye West
Because when he went shopping, he spent
more than 50 Cent.
And you don’t have to limit your clerihews to real people. You can even write clerihews about characters from books, movies, comics, cartoons, etc. Here’s an example of a clerihew about a character from a book:
The enemy of Harry Potter
Was a scheming plotter.
I can't tell you what he’s called; I'd be ashamed
To name "he who must not be named."
So you see, clerihews are short, easy to write and can be about any person or character, real or not. They can be about people you know, people you don’t know, or even about animals, cartoon characters, rock groups, or anyone else you can think of.
Just remember, put the person’s name at the end of the first line, rhyme it at the end of the second line, and then write two more rhyming lines that make it funny, and you’re done. Have fun!
Text © 2001 by Kenn Nesbitt. Text reprinted by permission of the author. Any copying or use of these poems without consent is unlawful.
Permission is given for individual school classes to use this lesson and to make as many copies of the lesson as are needed for the students’ use. All other reproduction is prohibited under penalty of law. For use outside individual classes, please contact [email protected]. All rights reserved.
| four |
Which country hosted the 2000 Summer Olympic Games? | Shadow Poetry - Poetry Types - Monorhyme
A Monorhyme is a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme.
Example #1:
Late for Class I realized it was half past four When I, quite late, ran out the door. My history class I so abhor, But I missed two sessions the week before. I failed a test on ancient lore And forgot the date of the Second World War. (Man, my brain was really sore.) Up the marble stairs I tore, And slid across a just-mopped floor: I banged my knee and loudly swore, To wake -again- at half past four! These nightmares I can stand no more... Copyright � 2001 Dendrobia
Example #2:
Night Storm It came in a winter�s night, a fierce cold with quite a bite. Frosted wind with all its might sent ice and snow an invite to layer earth in pure white and glisten with morning light. Copyright � 2005 Marie Summers
| i don't know |
Which English poet wrote ‘Arms and the Boy’? | Arms and the Boy by Wilfred Owen | Poetry Foundation
Arms and the Boy by Wilfred Owen
Let the boy try along this bayonet-blade
How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;
Blue with all malice, like a madman's flash;
And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.
Lend him to stroke these blind, blunt bullet-leads,
Which long to nuzzle in the hearts of lads,
Or give him cartridges of fine zinc teeth
Sharp with the sharpness of grief and death.
For his teeth seem for laughing round an apple.
There lurk no claws behind his fingers supple;
And God will grow no talons at his heels,
Nor antlers through the thickness of his curls.
Source: The Poems of Wilfred Owen, edited by Jon Stallworthy (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1986)
Discover this poem's context and related poetry, articles, and media.
Poet
Biography
Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of the best British poetry on World War I, composed nearly all of his poems in slightly over a year, from August 1917 to September 1918. In November 1918 he was killed in action at the age of twenty-five, one week before the Armistice. Only five poems were published in his lifetime—three in the Nation and two that appeared anonymously in the Hydra, a journal he edited in 1917 when he was a patient at Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. Shortly after his death, seven more of his poems appeared in the 1919 volume of Edith Sitwell's annual anthology, Wheels, a volume dedicated to his memory, and in 1919 and 1920 seven other poems appeared in periodicals. Almost all of Owen’s poems, therefore, appeared posthumously: Poems (1920), edited by Siegfried Sassoon with the assistance of Edith Sitwell, contains twenty-three poems; The Poems of Wilfred Owen...
| Wilfred Owen |
A podiatrist works on which part of the human body? | Arms And The Boy Analysis Wilfred Owen : Summary Explanation Meaning Overview Essay Writing Critique Peer Review Literary Criticism Synopsis Online Education
Let the boy try along this bayonet-blade
How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;
Blue with all malice, like a madman's flash;
And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.
Lend him to stroke these blind, blunt bullet-heads
Which long to muzzle in the hearts of lads.
Or give him cartridges of fine zinc teeth,
Sharp with the sharpness of grief and death.
For his teeth seem for laughing round an apple.
There lurk no claws behind his fingers supple;
And God will grow no talons at his heels,
Nor antlers through the thickness of his curls.
Sponsor
Yes! It's true. Online College Education is now free!
||| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below |||
.: :.
Owen stresses through this poems that the innocent and pure men who go to war are contaminated and corrupted after killing and murdering. These men are like young boys in a war, they do not know what to do and are just \"given cartidges of fine zince teeth\". Owen writes \"let the boy try\" as if a parent is giving his child a gun to play with like a toy. The result? The boy is corrupted and thus, \"hungers blood\"
| Posted on 2012-02-13 | by a guest
.: :.
Hi1 como te va. Im selena gomez & this is JuStIn BiEbEr.He wrote his name like that because he wanted attention. WE WERE BORED. SELE and JUS love u guys. Iyou liked this call 237917737 at LA cali and you will earn a price. BY
| Posted on 2012-01-04 | by a guest
.: :.
Wilfred Owen\'s poem \"Arms and the Boy\" touches the subject of innocence and experience through the intense use of the figurative language such as personification. Personification is a literary style, which makes inanimate objects human in form, emotions, or in thoughts and thus emphasizing that the object\'s connotation is a part of human traits. This article will show the different personifications used in the poem \"Arms and the Boy\" and depict how they relate to the theme of innocence and experience.
The first stanza introduces a child to a bayonet, which symbolizes war, cruelty, blood and death. Thus, this depicts the meeting of child innocence to the experience of adulthood conflicts arising from the concept of the tower of Babel. To emphasize the topics of adulthood conflicts such as war, cruelty and death Wilfred Owen chooses to personify the bayonet with demonic human traits such as cold, hungry for blood, filled with malice and famishing or starving for flesh. The person representing the bayonet is thus not portrayed as pure but as filled with vices and furthermore experienced or knowledgeable.
In the first line, Owen uses alliteration, the repetition of initial sounds, as a mean to stress the bayonet as a destructive tool \"bayonet-blade\". In the second line, he also uses assonance, the repetition of vowels, to give accent on the personified traits of the bayonet such \"steel\" and \"keen\". The third line has the word \"Blue\", which possesses a double meaning in this stanza. First, it refers to the coldness of the blade and second it can mean profane or indecent, which alludes back to experience and knowledge. Due to the word profane and its connotation to the temptation of Adam and Eve in Eden with the tree of knowledge, which brought the downfall of humanity. The third line also contains a simile \"like a madman\'s flash\" meaning that the personified bayonet attacks in sudden bursts of insanity, which emphasizes the humanity of the blade and thus reinforces the personification. The fourth line uses alliteration to accent the word \"flesh\" due to the \"F\" sound in the words \"famishing\" and \"for\". The first stanza has an approximate end rhyme such as \"blade\" and \"blood\" or \"flash\" and \"flesh\".
The second stanza has also a personification. The bullets are represented as heads, which long to be affectionate with a boy\'s heart. Therefore, the human trait of the bullets is to corrupt the innocence of children and thus making them experienced. To further the personification, Owen, personified the cartridges, which hold the bullet or the powder, as teeth. The teeth are \"sharp with the sharpness of grief and death.\" Death and grief are two human actions and depicts how the teeth are sharp because death is a decisive action and grief is obsolete grievance cause by a death.
The fourth line of this poem uses alliteration to emphasize the humanity of the bullets \"blind, blunt, bullet-heads\". The eight line also uses alliteration in the repetition of sharp. The second stanza also has an approximate end rhyme such as \"heads\" and \"lads\" or \"teeth\" and \"death\", which is called consonance: repetition of the final consonant sounds.
The third stanza describes, using metaphors, the boy as innocent. For example, in line nine, \"For his teeth seem for laughing round and apple\" refers to the pastoral idealization of the non-corruption found in country life. The word \"apple\" also ties with innocence and experience due to its biblical connotations. Line ten, eleven and twelve also depicts the boy as innocent since he does not mirror a demon; he does not have claws under his flexible fingers, or at his feet, nor horns on his head. The word \"God\" in line eleven and the description of a demonic creature also alludes to the fallen angels in hell.
Alliteration is also used in the last stanza, in line eleven with the words \"God\" and \"grow\", which emphasize the word \"God\" by repeating the same sound. The last line also has alliteration as internal rhyme with the words \"through\" and \"thickness\". The third and last stanza also has an approximate end rhyme such as \"apple\" and \"supple\" or \"heels\" and \"curls\".
| Posted on 2011-06-14 | by a guest
.: :.
highlights the incongruous nature of arming a child!
| Posted on 2011-04-04 | by a guest
.: :.
This poem seems to take the innonence away from the boys\' childhoods. Instead of playing with toys they are trained to use guns and weapons. The boys do not get to experience their childhood, they are simply trained to be soldiers from a very young age.
| Posted on 2010-12-27 | by a guest
.: :.
\"Hunger\" the blade is almost human like, but in a monstrous way. Needing to eat for survival, so the blade is being used to gain blood in order to survive. Sematic fields include youth, death, inncoence, and fate. Irony is used, \'nuzzle\' an aggresive sound making the bullet seem animal like and the needing to be loved in \'the hearts of lads\'. Just a few things I thought up!
| Posted on 2010-11-16 | by a guest
.: :.
the poem generally talks about weapons and kids and how naturally(the last stanza) and morally wrong war is and how the lives of youths how been snatched away by war.
| Posted on 2010-10-25 | by a guest
.: :.
the last stanza where it speaks of the boy haveing no claws, talons nor horns and the line "And God will grow no talons at his heels" could mean that god did not make us to fight.In the animal kindom claws talons and horns are used in hunting or fighting. young boys are not ment to be useing weapons.
| Posted on 2010-06-15 | by a guest
.: :.
This poems i just love it because it touches my heart.
| Posted on 2010-05-31 | by a guest
.: :.
I think the persona is also being manipulated by the weaponry, as steel alone cant be hungry with "blood". Violence permeates this poem with the objects playing a role to intensify the subject matter.
| Posted on 2010-05-03 | by a guest
.: :.
Owen shows the soldiers' loss of innocence by using "stroke" and "nuzzle" to imply the affection the 'boys' feel for their weaponry; they are like their toys. Owen shows that although the boys have killed, they are not guilty because the weapons have overpowered them and God will not punish them. In general the poem is about the wasted youths of the young men who fought as they had to grow up too fast and leave their innocence behind them. The title is a play on words from the play 'Arms and the Man'.
| Posted on 2010-05-02 | by a guest
.: :.
i think that Owen is talking about how young lives are being wasted in war and how ugly war is to our lives. We were meant to live life till we cant breath no more and then die peacefully and happy. We were meant to enjoy life and enjoy the great creation of God that has been put right in front of our eyes, not to fight each other because we were not made with Talons or claws to fight.
| Posted on 2010-05-01 | by a guest
.: :.
the last stanza is owens explaining that weapons are a work of the devil!
| Posted on 2010-03-29 | by a guest
.: :.
"The boy " could also reperesent the youth that has been forgotten and buried within the men... indicating that the men at war are innocent boys who cannot kill another human being....maybe " the boy" within the men is indicated only when they come in contact with the weapons, stressing the danger the weapons can do ...the insesibility they can lead to an innocent mind ?
| Posted on 2009-11-25 | by a guest
.: :.
I think that the poem is to take away the glorious nationalistic aspect of war and show the reality, that the young "boys" had to face, which was loss of innocence, witnessing violent, bloody deaths of fellow soldiers and also their own physical and pyschological pain. Owen is showing the readers that the soldiers were too young to be fighting this war and witnessing such horrors by saying "let the boy try along this bayonet-blade" and "lend him to stroke these blind, blunt bullet heads". No "boy" should be left responsible for these weapons, let alone in control of it so they can murder other soldiers.
| Posted on 2009-11-18 | by a guest
.: :.
I think the poem is about boys who are barely men yet are forced to go to war and want to go when realy they dont anderstand how horrable war is, wepons atached to there hands make them grown up and deadly killers when hey realy should be at home living there lives -eating apples- and enjoying there life as they are not made to die.
| Posted on 2009-10-16 | by a guest
.: :.
The title is actually a take off a famous play titled "Arms and the Man". By changing Man to Boy, Owen stresses on the fact that we are sending young boys to war, boys who should be playing, not killing people, as shown in the last stanza in which Owen describes how boys were never meant to kill.
| Posted on 2009-08-23 | by a guest
.: :.
The title is suggestive of what the boy has been made a part of - the weapon used by the national establishment which was the front line. The 'Arms' could be alternativly implicating weaponary as a newly implanted limb of the child. Therefore both weapon and boy seem functional to one another where the bullet 'longs to muzzle in the heart of lads' and which has manipulated the boy in being 'keen with the hunger of blood'.
| Posted on 2009-06-07 | by a guest
.: :.
| i don't know |
How many properties are on a standard Monopoly board? | 80 enterprising facts you may not know about Monopoly
80 enterprising facts you may not know about Monopoly
9.3k
2015-01-21 17:00:49 UTC
A little knowledge can go a long way on family game night.
This year marks the 80th anniversary for the classic board game, Monopoly . For decades, people have passed "Go" and collected $200, all the way back to when your grandparents were little kids.
Those little red plastic houses may have taught us about fast-dealing property trading, but there's more to Monopoly than what's on the board.
Image: Hasbro
1. The Monopoly game is based on Atlantic City, New Jersey.
2. Charles Darrow first developed the Monopoly game in 1933.
3. Charles Darrow is from Philadelphia.
4. The original game was made from materials from Darrow’s own home. A piece of oilcloth covered the board and the cards were handwritten.
5. The original houses and hotels were made from wooden molding scraps.
6. The original Monopoly die-cast tokens were inspired by Darrow’s nieces who recommended metal charms from charm bracelets be used.
7. The original game included 10 metal tokens including iron, purse, lantern, race car, thimble, shoe, top hat, battleship, cannon and a rocking horse.
8. The Monopoly 80th Anniversary Edition game features one iconic token from each of its eight decades including the bathtub, locomotive, money bag, cat, cannon, cavalry, and MONOPOLY World Championships trophy.
9. Darrow attempted to sell the Monopoly game to Parker Brothers, but was initially rejected for “52 fundamental errors” that included the game’s length, theme and complexity.
10. Darrow first manufactured and sold the Monopoly game in local Philadelphia department stores.
11. Following the local success of the Monopoly game, Parker Brothers reconsidered their initial rejection and negotiated the rights to market the game.
12. Monopoly was first manufactured and sold in 1935 by Parkers Brothers in the U.S. and Waddington’s in the UK.
13. The Monopoly brand’s official birthday is March 19, 1935, when Parker Brothers acquired the rights for the game from Charles Darrow.
14. The longest game played upside down lasted 36 hours.
15. The Monopoly game is currently published in 47 languages and sold in 114 countries.
16. More than 1 billion people have played the Monopoly game worldwide.
17. The city of London was the first licensed Monopoly game.
18. To make the game relevant to British consumers, the names of the properties were changed to well known streets in London. This is a practice that continues today whenever the Monopoly game is introduced to a new country.
19. Within a year of the Monopoly game’s release in the U.S., 35,000 copies of the game were being made each week.
20. The original Monopoly game sold for about $2.
Image: Hasbro
21. The Monopoly game is subtitled “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game.”
22. The current standard Monopoly game includes eight tokens: Battleship, top hat, Scottie dog, race car, thimble, boot, cat, and wheelbarrow.
23. More than 20 different tokens have made their way into the game, including an elephant, purse, and a bag of money.
24. There are 40 spaces on the Monopoly board and 28 properties (22 colored streets, four railroads, and two utility spaces).
25. There are three chance spaces, three community chest spaces, a luxury tax space, and an income tax space on the Monopoly board.
26. There are four corner spaces on a standard Monopoly board: "Go," jail/just visiting, free parking, and go to jail.
27. There are 32 houses and 12 hotels in the standard Monopoly game.
28. The standard Monopoly game has 28 title deed cards, 16 chance cards, and 16 community chest cards.
29. Some of the chance and community chest cards have been updated throughout time. The “Grand Opera Opening” card no longer exists.
30. Of the 16community chest cards in the Monopoly game, 10 will give players cash.
Image: Hasbro
31. Of the 16 chance cards, 10 will move you onto another space on the Monopoly board.
32. To keep games shorter, a speed die was introduced into the standard Monopoly game in 2008.
33. There are three ways to get out of jail in the Monopoly game: Pay $50 on your next turn, use a "get out of jail free" card, or roll a double.
34. If you aren’t in jail and you roll a double, watch out! You must roll again and three times a double roll means you go to jail.
35. You cannot build on a street in the Monopoly game if any street in its color set is mortgaged.
36. There are three of each colored property on a standard Monopoly game board, except for the brown and dark blue properties which only have two each.
37. The three most-landed-on properties in the standard Monopoly game are Illinois Avenue, “Go” and B&O Railroad.
38. Iconic characters in the Monopoly game include the tycoon Mr. Monopoly, Jake the Jailbird, and Officer Edward Malloy.
39. The total amount of money in a standard Monopoly game is $20,580.
40. In the event of a cash shortage while playing the game, the bank never runs out of money. The banker is authorized to act as a temporary ‘mint’ to print more notes.
Image: Hasbro
41. There have been more than 300 licensed versions of the Monopoly game developed themed with topics such as sports teams and movies.
42. Countries that sell the Monopoly game include Bolivia, Finland, Egypt, Japan, Panama, and Slovakia.
43. The Monopoly game is sold in over 100,000 retail stores.
44. The highest rent property on the Monopoly game board varies by region. In the U.S., it is named “Boardwalk” after a street in Atlantic City. In Spain, it is named “Paseo del Prado” after a street in Madrid, and in France, “Rue de la Paix” is the name of the most coveted property space.
45. Games of Monopoly have been played in unusual places including on a ceiling, underground, and on a U.S. nuclear submarine.
46. On record, the longest game of Monopoly ever played lasted 70 straight days.
47. Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into Monopoly game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of Monopoly money.
48. In the 1970’s, a Braille edition of the Monopoly game was created for the visually impaired.
49. In 1972, the Commissioner of Public Works in Atlantic City, threatened to change the names of the real Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, but public outcry vetoed the bill.
50. In 1978, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog offered a chocolate version of the Monopoly game priced at $600.
Image: Hasbro
51. In 1998, celebrated San Francisco jeweler Sidney Mobell created the most expensive Monopoly set in the world valued at $2 million.
52. In 1990, the Monopoly Junior game first introduces kids under eight years old to the favorite fast-dealing property trading game.
53. Tokens from the United States Monopoly: Here & Now Edition were flown into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2007.
54. In 2008, nearly 3,000 Monopoly fans around the world united to set the world record for the most people playing the game at the same time.
55. In 2008, Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue properties changed from purple to brown and the colors of the "Go" square changed from red to black.
56. In 2008, after a worldwide vote, Montreal was chosen to represent the most expensive property on the Monopoly: Here and Now World game board.
57. The Monopoly game was introduced for the iPhone in 2008.
58. In 2010, residents of Canada, Turkey, Russia, Korea, Peru and Hong Kong voted to create updated versions of the Monopoly game for their area.
59. In 2011, the Monopoly Millionaire game upped the ante by changing the rules: The first player to make a million dollars wins.
60. In the 2013 Monopoly “Save Your Token” campaign, fans voted to replace the iron token with a new cat token.
Image: Hasbro
61. In 2013, the Monopoly Empire game introduced top brands in place of real estate and fresh, fast game play allowing fans to play a game in under 30 minutes.
62. In 2014, Monopoly fans globally debated on Facebook which of their favorite "House Rules” Hasbro should add to the classic Monopoly game.
63. The “House Rules” added to the classic Monopoly game in 2014 were: Free parking, fast cash, dash for the cash, frozen assets, see the sights and lucky roller.
64. In 2014, the Monopoly game allowed players to personalize their own game at home with their own photos.
65. Every few years, national champions from around the globe meet for the Monopoly World Championships tournament.
66. The Monopoly World Championships has taken place in locations including Tokyo, Monte Carlo, and Toronto.
67. The first winner of the Monopoly World Championships was Lee Bayrd from the United States. The first championships were held in 1973 in Liberty, New York.
68. The most recent Monopoly World Championships winner was Bjorn Halvard Knappskog from Norway.
69. A player from the U.S. has not won the Monopoly World Championships since 1974.
70. The last Monopoly World Championships were held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, N.V. in 2009.
Image: Hasbro
71. In 2015, the 14th Monopoly World Championships will be held in Macau, China.
72. Over 5,120,000,000 little green houses have been “constructed” since the MONOPOLY game was first introduced in 1935.
73. The Monopoly brand has 160 licensees around the world.
74. The Alex and Ani Monopoly collection features the most beloved tokens, the house, the car, the Scottie dog, and the cat.
75. The Monopoly at McDonald’s game has been around for over 20 years and is currently available in over 10 countries.
76. Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story, a documentary about the Monopoly game, debuted in 2010 and won an Emmy award.
77. In the book and movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy joins patients Cheswick, Martini, and Harding in a Monopoly game.
78. The Monopoly game has been played by characters in Zombieland and Gossip Girl.
79. You have a 64% chance of landing on one of the Railroads each time you go around the board.
80. Chumbawamba's 2002 song "Don't Pass Go" is inspired by the game. In it, they sing, "Well the facts said ‘yes’, but the judge said ‘no’, go straight to jail and don’t pass go."
Image: Hasbro
| 28 |
Puppet Troy Tempest, from the television series ‘Stingray’, was said to have been modelled on which US actor? | Properties and Cards | Monopoly--The Board Game Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Monopoly--The Board Game Wiki
There are 40 spaces on a standard Monopoly Board, of which 28 are properties that you can buy and sell. This Wiki is by default going to use the Here and Now US Edition.
Contents
[ show ]
Color Properties
22 of the 28 properties are color properties that you can build houses and hotels on. These are the color properties. They are all grouped into different color groups of three (and sometimes two) individual lots. As you go around the board, they increase in price and value.
PURPLE GROUP
The purple properties are the closest to GO, and are among the least landed on. They are rather inexpensive, but make good trading pieces. Between the two properties there is a Community Chest square.
Jacobs Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Square #1, the cheapest property of all. Landed on about three or four times a game.
Price: $600,000
Rent: $20,000
Texas Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Prices here are jacked up a bit. Landed on also about three or four times a game.
Price: $600,000
Rent: $40,000
LIGHT BLUE GROUP
The light blue properties are also among the least landed on. They are also rather inexpensive, but make good trading pieces and can fetch up to $600,000 when on a mortgage. A CHANCE space lies between the Grand Ole Opry and the Gateway Arch.
Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, Tennessee
Landed on about four to five times in a game.
Price: $1,000,000
Rent: $60,000
Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
Not many rents are collected here, so this one may just be good for competing the color group to double the rent on unimproved lots and to have around to trade for more favorable properties.
Price: $1,000,000
Rent: $60,000
Mall of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Out of all the light blue properties, Mall of America is the most frequented. Good thing, too, because the rent goes up by $20,000.
Price: $1,200,000
Rent: $80,000
PINK GROUP
The pink group (also sometimes called light purple, fuchsia, or magenta) get some good profits, because they fall in the stretch right after jail. In between Centennial Olympic Park and Red Rocks Amphitheater, there is the Cell Phone Service Provider.
Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, Georgia
Landed on about six times in a game--the least visited of all the pink lots. The other great part? A CHANCE card that advances the player drawing it to here.
Price: $1,400,000
Red Rocks Amphitheater, Denver, Colorado
Pulls in plenty of dough with at least seven collection opportunities in most games.
Price: $1,400,000
Rent: $140,000
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
The most landed on property in the most landed on group. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Price: $1,800,000
Rent: $140,000
Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington
Although its rent is promising, it's a color-group completer, and not much more. Sure, a it gets a few lands, but know that its real purpose in life is just to give you a monopoly. Price: $2,000,000
Rent: $180,000
RED GROUP
The second-best group to collect. It's also frequented often by people getting out of jail. A CHANCE space is located between Camelback Mountain and Waikiki Beach.
Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona
An excellent moneymaker and well worth it. Know that much of your rent in this color group will come from this property.
Price: $2,200,000
Second fiddle to the French Quarter, Hollywood also brings plenty of cash into your hands.
Price: $2,600,000
Rent: $180,000
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Even though it's the most expensive property in the yellow group, most of the time it just gives you the opportunity to double your rent on Hollywood and The French Quarter.
Price: $2,800,000
Rent: $240,000
GREEN GROUP
The green properties are the second-most expensive set on the board, yet get both the White House and Las Vegas Boulevard relatively infrequent lands. Wrigley Field is the exact opposite. However, when someone does land on a green property, you can get up to $14,000,000.
Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada
Almost NEVER gets a land. Buy it first thing, though, so you can complete the monopoly. That way you can charge double rent on Wrigley Field when everyone lands on it.
Price: $3,000,000
Rent: $260,000
Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
You'll get a boatload of cash off of Wrigley Field. Unlike both of its sister properties, it'll get landed on about eight times a game. If you keep the rent a plain $260,000, then you could earn a little over $2,000,000.
Price: $3,000,000
Rent: $260,000
The White House, Washington, District of Columbia
Almost no one lands here but the buyer. The most expensive property in the color group is almost never landed on, too, with a couple of exceptions --the dark blue set, where Times Square is landed on more than Fenway Park, the light blue group, where Mall of America is landed on more than either the Gateway Arch or the Grand Ole Opry, and the red group, where Disney World is landed on more because of its having a CHANCE card.
Price: $3,200,000
Rent: $280,000
DARK BLUE GROUP
The coveted dark blue properties are the ones normally thought of when mention Monopoly. For a good reason, too--the maximum rent here is $20,000,000. However, investments in this group are risky. Fenway Park
Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Seven is the most common roll, and seven spaces behind Fenway Park is Go to Jail. Therefore, it is landed on infrequently. You will either acquire it through luck, or a trade. However, many people are unwilling to hand over a Dark Blue property, so it takes some doing.
Price: $3,500,000
Rent: $350,000
Times Square, New York City, New York
It's very expensive. Base rent, as you can see, is $500,000. It also is landed on quite a bit. You could earn around $5,000,000 in an average game if you put up a few buildings. Another bonus is a CHANCE card telling players to spend New Year's Eve in the Big Apple.
Price: $4,000,000
| i don't know |
Who became British Prime Minister in May 1937? | BBC - History - Neville Chamberlain
z
Neville Chamberlain © Chamberlain was British prime minister between 1937 and 1940, and is closely associated with the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.
Arthur Neville Chamberlain was born on 18 March 1869 in Birmingham into a political family. His father, Joseph, was an influential politician of the late 19th century and Neville's older half-brother Austen held many Conservative cabinet positions in the early 20th century and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Chamberlain was educated in Birmingham. After a successful career in business, in 1915 he was appointed lord mayor of Birmingham. In 1916, Lloyd George appointed him director-general of the department of national service, but disagreements between them led Chamberlain to resign. In 1918, Chamberlain was elected Conservative member of parliament for Ladywood in Birmingham and was rapidly promoted. He served as both chancellor of the exchequer (1923 - 1924) and minister of health (1923, 1924 -1929, 1931). In 1937, he succeeded Stanley Baldwin as prime minister.
Like many in Britain who had lived through World War One, Chamberlain was determined to avert another war. His policy of appeasement towards Adolf Hitler culminated in the Munich Agreement in which Britain and France accepted that the Czech region of the Sudetenland should be ceded to Germany. Chamberlain left Munich believing that by appeasing Hitler he had assured 'peace for our time'. However, in March 1939 Hitler annexed the rest of the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia, with Slovakia becoming a puppet state of Germany. Five months later in September 1939 Hitler's forces invaded Poland. Chamberlain responded with a British declaration of war on Germany.
In May 1940, after the disastrous Norwegian campaign, Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill became prime minister. Chamberlain served in Churchill's cabinet as lord president of the council. He died a few weeks after he left office, on 9 November 1940.
| Neville Chamberlain |
Which river forms the boundary between Burma and Thailand? | George VI
George VI
▼ Primary Sources ▼
George VI
George Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born in Sandringham, Norfolk, on 14th December, 1895. George was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and his father was George V , who became king of the United Kingdom in 1910. George's elder brother, Edward , was therefore heir to the throne.
George was a sickly child and was often ill. He also developed an acute stammer. In 1909 he was sent to Osborne as a naval cadet but passed out bottom of his class. After attending Dartmouth he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman, but suffering bouts of acute gastritis, did not see action in the First World War until serving on HMS Collingwood at the Battle of Jutland .
The outbreak of the First World War created problems for the royal family because of its German background. Owing to strong anti-German feeling in Britain, it was decided to change the name of the royal family from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. To stress his support for the British, George V made several visits to the Western Front .
In 1917 George joined the Royal Naval Air Service and later the recently formed Royal Air Force (1919). However, George did not qualify as a pilot until 1919 and therefore did not take part in the highly dangerous air war .
After the war George attended Trinity College , Cambridge , but only stayed for a year. In 1920 he was created the Duke of York and carried out public duties for his father. Three years later he married Elizabeth Bowles-Lyon. The couple had two children, Elizabeth (1926) and Margaret (1930).
George also became president of the Industrial Welfare Society. In this role he visited so many factories that he became known as the "Industrial Duke". He also made royal tours of East Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
George's marriage had the approval of his father, George V . However, his brother, Edward , the heir to the throne, had developed a relationship with Wallis Simpson, an American woman who was married to Ernest Simpson. This was her second marriage and had divorced her first husband, E. W. Spencer in 1927.
George V died on 20th January, 1936. Edward VIII now became king and his relationship with Wallis Simpson was reported in the foreign press. The government instructed the British press not to refer to the relationship. The prime minister, Stanley Baldwin , urged the king to consider the constitutional problems of marrying a divorced woman.
Although Edward VIII received the political support from Winston Churchill and Lord Beaverbrook , he was aware that his decision to marry Wallis Simpson would be unpopular with the British public. The Archbishop of Canterbury also made it clear he was strongly opposed to the king's relationship.
On 10th December, 1936, the king signed a document that stated he he had renounced "the throne for myself and my descendants." The following day he made a radio broadcast where he told the nation that he had abdicated because he found he could not "discharge the duties of king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love."
George now became king and the coronation took place on 12th May, 1937. Later that month, Neville Chamberlain replaced Stanley Baldwin as prime-minister. The following year Chamberlain travelled to Germany to meet Adolf Hitler in an attempt to avoid war between the two countries. The result of Chamberlain's appeasement policy was the signing of the Munich Agreement . However, after the invasion of Poland, Chamberlain was forced to declare war on Germany.
Considered an uninspiring war leader, members of the Labour Party and Liberal Party refused to serve in his proposed National Government. Chamberlain resigned and was replaced by Winston Churchill . The king had been against Churchill's appointment but the two men eventually became close allies. Later the king wrote in his diary: "I could not have a better prime minister."
The king and queen many several tours of Britain's bombed cities during the Second World War . In September, 1940, Buckingham Palace was badly damaged during a raid. His wife, Queen Elizabeth, remarked: "I'm glad we've been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face."
In 1943 the king flew out to North Africa to visit the troops after their victory at El Alamein . He also visited Malta and was present at discussions about the D-Day invasion. Soon after a bridgehead had been created, the king arrived in Normandy to meet the troops.
After the war the king enjoyed a reasonable relationship with his new prime minister, Clement Attlee . He was opposed to socialism and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him not to nationalize several of Britain's main industries. George VI died at Sandringham, Norfolk, on 6th February, 1952.
Primary Sources
(1) King George VI, letter to Neville Chamberlain (16th September, 1938)
I am sending this letter to meet you on your return, as I had no opportunity of telling you before you left how much I admired your courage and wisdom in going to see Hitler in person. You must have been pleased by the universal approval with which your action was received. I am naturally very anxious to hear the result of your talk, and to be assured that there is a prospect of a peaceful solution on terms which admit of general acceptance. I realize how fatigued you must be after these two very strenuous days, but if it is possible for you to come and see me either this evening or tomorrow morning, at any time convenient to yourself, I need hardly say that I shall greatly welcome the opportunity of hearing your news.
(2) King George VI, letter to Queen Mary (27th September, 1938)
The latest news is this: the Prime Minister has just sent a telegram to Hitler and Benes suggesting that they should get into touch with each other and to propose that Hitler should occupy Asch and Egerland on October 1st. That an International Commission should than arrange for the rest to be handed over peacefully by October 10th.
Benes has been told, as he well knows, that this country will be overwhelmed anyhow, and that it would be wise for him to take this course. If Hitler refuses to do this then we shall know once and for all that he is a madman. It is all so worrying this awful waiting for the worst to happen.
(3) King George VI, letter to Neville Chamberlain (27th September, 1938)
I am sending this letter by my Lord Chamberlain, to ask you if you will come straight to Buckingham Palace, so that I can express to you personally my most heartfelt congratulations on the success of your visit to Munich.
In the meantime this letter brings the warmest of welcomes to one who by his patience and determination has earned the lasting gratitude of his fellow countrymen throughout the Empire.
(4) King George VI, letter to Queen Mary (4th May, 1938)
I am sure you feel as angry as I do at people croaking as they do at the P.M.'s action, for once I agree with Lady Oxford who is said to have exclaimed as she left the House of Commons yesterday, "He brought home peace, why can't they be grateful". It is always so easy for people to criticise when they do not know the ins and outs of the question.
(5) King George VI, letter to Neville Chamberlain (18th March, 1939)
I feel I must send you one line to say how well I can appreciate your feelings about the recent behaviour of the German Government. Although this blow to your courageous efforts on behalf of peace and understanding in Europe must, I am afraid, cause you deep distress, I am sure that your labours have been anything but wasted, for they can have left no doubt in the minds of ordinary people all over the world of our love of peace and our readiness to discuss with any nation whatever grievances they think they have.
(6) In his diary King George VI recorded his thoughts on the German invasion of France.
23rd May, 1940: Baron Newall (Marshall of the Royal Air Force) came in the evening. He had just left a Chiefs of Staff meeting with the Prime Minister and he told me that the situation in France was critical. Viscount Gort (commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France) had sent a message to say that he was short of food and ammunition. Owing to the rapid advance of the German tanks and motorised divisions, his lines of communication had been cut through Amiens, and food had to be sent to France from here by air. German tanks had reached Boulogne, and had captured a fort above the town and were shelling the harbour. Newall was sorry to come with such a gloomy account and said that the French command must have "gone to seed" behind the Maginot Line.
This news was so worrying that I sent a message to Winston asking him to to come and see me after dinner. The Prime Minister came at 10.30 p.m. He told me that if the French plan made out by Maxine Weygand (French military commander) did not come off, he would have to order the British Expeditionary Force back to England. This operation would mean the loss of all guns, tanks, ammunition and all stores in France. The question was whether we could get the troops back from Calais and Dunkirk. The very thought of having to order this movement is appalling, as the loss of life will probably be immense.
(7) King George VI, radio broadcast (24th May, 1940)
The decisive struggle is now upon us. I am going to speak plainly to you in this hour of trial I know you would not have me do otherwise. Let no one be mistaken. It is no mere territorial conquest that our enemies are seeing. It is the overthrow, complete and final of this Empire and of everything for which is stands: and after that the conquest of the world. And if their will prevails they will bring to its accomplishment all the hatred and cruelty which they have already displayed.
It was not easy for us to believe that designs no evil could find a place in the human mind. But the time for doubt is long past. To all of us in this Empire, to all men of wisdom and goodwill throughout the world, the issue is now plain. It is life or death for all.
| i don't know |
Chionophobia is the irrational fear of which weather condition? | Fear of Snow Phobia – Chionophobia
You are here: Home / Phobias / Fear of Snow Phobia – Chionophobia
Fear of Snow Phobia – Chionophobia
Chionophobia is the extreme dislike or fear of snow. The word originates from Greek chion meaning snow and phobos meaning fear, aversion or dread.
People with Chionophobia often understand that their fear is unfounded and weird. However, they are unable to control it. Living with the phobia can get very difficult especially in winters or in places where snow is the way of life. Many phobics refuse to step outdoors owing to their phobia. Friends and family members might ignore the phobia, thinking that the person is simply trying to gain attention. However; to the sufferer, Chionophobia is a very real and serious phobia that can interfere with one’s daily life.
Causes of Chionophobia
Chionophobia usually originates due to a childhood traumatic event pertaining to snow. Having been hit very hard with a snow ball or being in an accident caused due to slippery roads etc can lead to permanent fear of snow. Along with snow come harsh weather conditions. Temperatures tend to fall below freezing. Being “snowed in” with power outages, frozen pipes, fallen trees etc are not pleasant experiences. Frost can form on windows of cars leading to seriously dangerous driving conditions. Shoveling snow off one’s yard can be backbreaking work, especially harder for elderly people living alone. Slipping on ice can lead to fractures that sometimes prove fatal.
Snow also brings freezing rain or icy sleet. Hard rime could form in such freezing conditions. Ice storms are known to claim many lives each winter. Airplanes also refuse to take off on account of ice formation on the wings and slippery icy runways. News reports pertaining to such incidents could stimulate anxious-minded individuals to fear snow greatly.
For some people, snow brings a plethora of joyful activities including skiing, making snowmen, playing snowball fights etc. However, a person fearing injuries could develop Chionophobia because of hazards involved in these activities.
Snow often accumulates for days until the warmth of spring thaws it. The yellow and black snow that accumulates on the sides of the roads can sometimes be hazardous. Children often eat such snow, resulting in diseases or injuries. Accumulated snow contains sharp objects, salts, chemicals, even bodily fluids. Those with extreme germ phobia tend to fear pathogens present in such accumulated snow.
Avalanches are very common in snowy, hilly areas. A person having the fear of being trapped alive could also suffer from Chionophobia.
People with an irrational fear of water might also develop an extreme fear of snow which is form of water. Other factors like hypothermia, frost bite and health issues related to snow can also lead to the phobia.
Finally, media, scientific shows on TV or movies like Day After Tomorrow which depict the possibility of another Ice Age can also cause an extreme fear of snow.
Symptoms of Chionophobia
Chionophobia can cause extreme symptoms like crying, screaming, feeling like fleeing or hiding, shaking, heart palpitations, depression, stomach disorders, vomiting, nausea and so on. Persons with this phobia who are forced to go out in the snow might even feel detached from reality or unable to express themselves clearly.
Treating the fear of snow phobia
Depending on the extent of the symptoms presented by Chionophobia, it is best to seek professional help. In some cases, the extreme fear might affect day to day life, work, career etc, so it is vital to not ignore the panic attacks; rather seek treatment to get to the bottom of the fear.
Hypnotherapy is a proven remedy for treating many social and specific phobias, including the fear of snow phobia. It relaxes the phobic deeply to help the therapist analyze the exact cause of the phobia and make him/her open to suggestions. The therapy has been proven to reduce the intensity and frequency of panic attacks experienced by sufferers of such extreme phobias.
Gradually exposing oneself to wintertime activities can also help reduce one’s anxiety regarding snow. Family and friends can help the phobic understand that not all snowstorms are dangerous, provided one takes necessary precautions. Self educating about different types of snow or weather conditions can also relax these fears.
Here are the Top 10 Books for Overcoming Phobias
These are some of the ways of dealing with Chionophobia.
What do you fear? Share your phobias with visitors on this site, read their stories and connect with them.
| Snow |
Caroline of Ansbach was the wife of which British monarch? | Chionophobia – Fear of Snow - Remedies Corner
Remedies Corner
9:16 PM Fear , Fear of Snow , Health , Health care , Treatments. , Treatments.How to
A phobia associated with the weather, chionophobia causes intense dislike for snow. A Chionophobia Fear of Snowperson affected by chionophobia is said to have a persistent fear of snow.
One of the biggest reasons for this phobia is a fear of getting trapped in snow. People often tend to get anxious following a snowy weather forecast. This can make people run to the markets to stock up essential items.
Know Chionophobia Causes
A number of root causes may actually be responsible for this fear. Most of the chionophobia causes can be associated with traumatic events or painful incidents in the past involving snow (often during childhood).
This phobia may seem trivial to those without this type of fear. A phobic person may have taken a bad hit from a snowball, got trapped in deep snow or have been involved in a sledding accident.
Chionophobia may develop after a car accident caused due to snowy conditions, lead to injuries or fatality. Such an experience may influence many people that snow is dangerous and is best avoided to remain safe.
Identify Chionophobia Symptoms
As it does not snow all year round, many with this phobia think treatment is unnecessary. They often take avoidance measures and think these as sufficient to cope with their snow related fears.
Here are some of the chionophobia symptoms
Avoiding snow
Urge to flee
Fainting
An individual with chionophobia knows the fear is irrational but has not control over personal fears and as such, is unable to face the feared object.
Chionophobia Treatment
The most important tool in overcoming your fear is to accept the fact you have a phobia and become willing to take curbing measures.
A chionophobe can use the services of a professional therapist to deal with his or her fear. This will entail a gradual confrontation with snow & can involve systematic desensitization as a means to lessen anxiety associated with it.
In addition, as part of chionophobia treatment, the therapist may make use of medicines. This is mostly done in conjunction with therapeutic methods to help phobics manage their fears effectively (by alleviating anxiety symptoms).
| i don't know |
‘The Hunting of the …’what’? is a poem by Lewis Carroll? | Lewis Carroll - Lewis Carroll Poems - Poem Hunter
Lewis Carroll - Lewis Carroll Poems - Poem Hunter
Do you like this poet?
Lewis Carroll Poems
A Strange Wild Song He thought he saw an Elephant That ...
The Crocodile How doth the little crocodile Improve his ...
A Game Of Fives Five little girls, of Five, Four, Three, Two,...
My Fancy I painted her a gushing thing, With years about a ...
Little Birds Little Birds are dining Warily and well, Hid ...
Brother And Sister "SISTER, sister, go to bed! Go and rest ...
All poems of Lewis Carroll »
Search in the poems of Lewis Carroll:
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all examples of the genre of literary nonsense. He is noted for his facility at word play, logic, and fantasy, and there are societies dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of his works and the investigation of his life in many parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and New ... more »
Click here to add this poet to your My Favorite Poets.
| Snark |
Lake Malaren is in which European country? | Lewis Carroll - Poet | Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poets, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization.
browse poems & poets
Famous Last Words
Renowned Victorian author Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire, England. The son of a clergyman, Carroll was the third child born to a family of eleven children. From a very early age he entertained himself and his family by performing magic tricks and marionette shows, and by writing poetry for his homemade newspapers. In 1846 he entered Rugby School, and in 1854 he graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford. He was successful in his study of mathematics and writing, and remained at the college after graduation to teach. His mathematical writings include An Elementary Treatise on Determinants (1867), Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879), and Curiosa Mathematica (1888). While teaching, Carroll was ordained as a deacon; however, he never preached. He also began to pursue photography, often choosing children as the subject of his portraits. One of his favorite models was a young girl named Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean at Christ's Church, who later became the basis for Carroll's fictional character, Alice. He abandoned both photography and public speaking between 1880 and 1881, and focused on his writing.
Many of Carroll's philosophies were based on games. His interest in logic came purely from the playful nature of its principle rather than its uses as a tool. He primarily wrote comic fantasies and humorous verse that was often very childlike. Carroll published his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, followed by Through the Looking Glass in 1872. Alice's story began as a piece of extemporaneous whimsy meant to entertain three little girls on a boating trip in 1862. Both of these works were considered children's novels that were satirical in nature and in exemplification of Carroll's wit. Also famous is Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky," in which he created nonsensical words from word combinations. Carroll died in Guildford, Surrey, on January 14, 1898.
Selected Bibliography
Further Nonsense Verse and Prose (1926)
Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869)
The Collected Verse of Lewis Carroll (1932)
The Complete Illustrated Works of Lewis Carroll (1982)
The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll (1939)
The Humorous Verse of Lewis Carroll (1960)
The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits (1876)
Useful and Instructive Poetry (1954)
Prose
A Guide to the Mathematical Student (1864)
A Method of Taking Votes on More than Two Issues (1876)
A Selection from the Letters of Lewis Carroll to His Child-friends (1933)
A Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry (1860)
A Tangled Tale (1885)
Alice's Adventures Under Ground (1886)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
An Elementary Treatise on Determinants (1867)
Curiosa Mathematica, Part I: A New Theory of Parallels (1888)
Curiosa Mathematica, Part II: Pillow-Problems (1893)
Diaries of Lewis Carroll (1953)
Diversions and Digressions (1961)
Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing (1890)
Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879)
Feeding the Mind (1907)
Mathematical Recreations of Carroll (1958)
Rhyme? And Reason? (1883)
Suggestions as to the Best Method of Taking Votes (1874)
Supplement to "Euclid and His Modern Rivals" (1885)
Sylvie and Bruno (1889)
Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893)
Symbolic Logic, Part I: Elementary (1896)
Symbolic Logic, Parts I and II (1977)
Syzygies and Lanrick: A Word-Puzzle and a Game (1893)
The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1960)
The Blank Cheque: A Fable (1874)
The Dynamics of a Particle (1865)
The Fifth Book of Euclid Treated Algebraically (1868)
The Formulae of Plane Trigonometry (1861)
The Game of Logic (1886)
The Letters of Lewis Carroll, ed. Morton Cohen with the assistance of Roger Lancelyn Green (1979)
The Lewis Carroll Picture-Book (1899)
The New Belfry of Christ Church, Oxford (1872)
The New Method of Evaluation (1865)
The Nursery Alice (1889)
| i don't know |
Who sang the theme song to the 1963 James Bond film ‘From Russia With Love’? | Matt Monro, 'From Russia With Love' (1963) | The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs | Rolling Stone
The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs
Hear Arcade Fire, Mavis Staples Team for Emphatic 'I...
The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs
With the arrival of Adele's new Bond theme, we look back at the best songs from the franchise
10
All Stories
8. Matt Monro, 'From Russia With Love' (1963)
Matt Monro never made a big splash in America, but in Europe the smooth crooner made the ladies swoon – at least until the Beatles came and destroyed his career. It was in those final pre-Beatlemania months of 1963 that Monro was hired to sing the From Russia With Love title theme. It's an old-school approach to the title song, but it's aged quite well and is a great time capsule of the era.
| Matt Monro |
Which South American country is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana? | From Russia With Love (1963)
From Russia With Love (1963)
James Bond Films
From Russia With Love (1963)
d. Terence Young, 115 minutes
Opening Credits, Title Sequence
This was the second film with a gunbarrel opening (with stuntman Bob Simmons). The same sequence was used for the first three Bond films.
It was also the first Bond film with a now standard, pre-title credits action sequence.
Gun-barrel Sequence (reused from Dr. No (1962)): Designed by Maurice Binder
Main Title Sequence: Designed by Robert Brownjohn
Title Song: Instrumental/"James Bond Is Back" (John Barry) and "James Bond Theme" (sung by Matt Monro during end credits), also "From Russia With Love"
Film Plot Summary
The pre-title credits action sequence was set in a mansion's sculptured gardens (on SPECTRE island) at nighttime - a cat-and-mouse game between two black-dressed men: British agent James Bond (Sean Connery) in a tuxedo, and blonde, psychopathic Russian assassin Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw). The stalking ended when Grant pulled a razor-wire garrotte from his wristwatch and strangled the agent (# 1 death). Lights illuminated the scene, and Grant was evaluated on his SPECTRE training mission by Bond enemy Morzeny (Walter Gotell): "Exactly one minute, 52 seconds. That's excellent." The dead agent's Bond face-mask was removed, revealing the face of another man.
In Venice, Italy at the International Grandmasters Championship, Czechoslovakian chess-player Kronsteen (or SPECTRE No. 5 (Vladek Sheybal)) defeated his Canadian opponent. He was summoned by a note on a napkin (with an Octopus symbol/seal) to a meeting on the luxury yacht of evil, menacing SPECTRE No. 1 villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (uncredited Anthony Dawson, his hands, in close-up, seen petting a white Persian cat). He was attended by defecting, ex-SMERSH Russian intelligence agent Rosa Klebb (now working as SPECTRE No. 3) (Lotte Lenya), as they discussed Siamese fighting fish in his tank, comparing its tactics to SPECTRE's. Director of Planning Kronsteen had concocted what he dubbed a "foolproof" plan to steal a new Lektor cryptographic decoding machine from the Russians (and then sell it back to them, embarrassing MI6). Unknowing accomplices would include a female member of the Russian Cryptographic Section in Turkey, and the British Secret Service (MI6). The pawn - a cipher clerk from the Russian Consulate in Istanbul had already been selected, according to Klebb who was put in charge of the criminal SPECTRE mission. The plan was to seek "personal revenge" for the death of operative Dr. No (in the previous film), by killing Bond, who would most likely be involved.
Back on SPECTRE island, the organization's secret training base for terrorism, Klebb assigned "Red" Grant (a convicted murderer and escaped prisoner from Dartmoor prison, a "homicidal paranoiac" recruited by SPECTRE) to be Bond's assassin. She tested his formidable strength with a brass-knuckled punch to his abdomen. He was to report to Klebb in Istanbul in 24 hours time. In Turkey, blonde Tatiana "Tania" Romanov (Daniela Bianchi, Italy's 1960 Miss Universe runner-up), Corporal of State Security from the Russian Consulate General offices, took a break from work and met with masculine-looking Klebb (wearing a Russian military uniform, and hinting at lesbian tendencies) in her back alleyway apartment/hotel room, where she was briefed on her assignment ("to give false information to the enemy"), with the promise of a promotion if she succeeded, or death if she didn't cooperate. Tania, a Mata Hari like figure, was duped and led to believe she was working for Russian intelligence.
Outside London by a scenic lake, James Bond was kissing Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson) during a picnic lunch, but was summoned by pager, and told by secretary Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell), through his Bentley car phone, to report to the office. Before leaving, he romanced Sylvia during "lunch" under his car's convertible top (# 1 tryst) in the back seat. Bond was briefed by "M" (Bernard Lee) regarding the "trap" set for him, involving the cipher machine (the brand-new Lektor), and a Russian girl who had fallen for Bond - with a letter, she had already contacted British Intelligence Chief Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz), head of Station T (Turkey) and asked to defect. She had promised to turn over the Lektor on one condition - if Bond went to Istanbul and personally brought her and the machine back to England. Bond was given a briefcase with an assortment of gadgets before flying to Istanbul the next day. At the airport, he was observed by one mustached Russian agent (Haslan Ceylan). Bond was chauffeured to Kerim Bey's office in Istanbul, although followed by a mysterious black Citroen driven by Russian foreign agents. During a brief initial meeting, Bey told Bond that they must wait for the girl to arrange a meeting. On the way to his hotel, Bond was again shadowed, this time by SPECTRE agent Grant, who had murdered the Russian agent driver and had hijacked his car (# 2 death). Soon after, Grant parked the Russian agent's car in front of the Russian consulate, with the driver dead in the back seat, to further fuel tensions in the region.
Bond checked into his hotel, where he discovered his phone was tapped - he requested a different room and was moved to the bridal suite. The next morning, an explosion rocked Bey's office (this was the first unsuccessful attempt on Bey's life) - a limpet-mine had been attached to the wall outside, but missed Bey when he was away from his desk. Bond met with the unharmed Bey, who couldn't understand why the Russians had broken the truce. The two floated down an underground waterway-cistern to a position beneath the Russian Consulate, to try to learn why there was an attack. There, they used a secretly-installed giant naval periscope to spy on a conference room meeting occurring above, spying on Tatiana's legs. One member at the table was a Bulgarian killer (Bey: "This man kills for pleasure") working for SMERSH, a rival agent named Krilencu (Fred Haggerty), who was employed by the Soviets to assassinate Western agents in Turkey, and had tried to kill Bey. Bond was advised to not stay at his hotel that night.
Bey drove Bond to a gypsy encampment (Bey used the gypsies for his dirty work), where they were entertained by a belly-dancer (Leila). At the same time, Krilencu was assembling Bulgarian assassins to counter-attack the gypsy camp and kill Kerim Bey, his arch-enemy, who was mistakenly believed to have murdered several Soviet agents. [Both Bey and Krilencu were unknowingly pitted against each other by SPECTRE.] Their attack was signaled by the killing of a gypsy guard with a knife to the stomach (# 3 death). At the time, Bond and Bey were watching a gypsy cat fight between two jealous women:
Zora (Martine Beswick) in green
Vida (Aliza Gur) in red
Both were interested in the same man, son of gypsy chief Vavra (Francis de Wolff). Their fierce, love-triangle struggle was cut short by the attack of Krilencu. Kerim Bey was wounded in the arm. In hiding as a sniper, Grant acted as Bond's "guardian angel" protector and killed one assassin (# 4 death) to ensure Bond would be alive to finish SPECTRE's mission. Krilencu and his Bulgar men retreated. For saving his life during the attack, Vavra allowed Bond to "decide the matter" of the fight's winner, and offered him the females' company for the next day (# 2 tryst). The next evening, Bey decided to finish off Krilencu once and for all. Bond and Bey visited Krilencu's hideout (behind a giant billboard film poster on a brick wall for the 1963 film 'Call Me Bwana' - a Bob Hope comedy with Anita Ekberg) where Bey shot and killed Krilencu with Bond's sniper rifle (# 5 death) as he was escaping through a private hatch in the brick wall - crawling out of the mouth of actress Anita Ekberg.
Upon his return to his hotel suite, Bond found the beautiful Tania Romanova naked in his bed, wearing only a sexy black velvet choker. Bond asked for floor plans of the Russian consulate, and proposed that they meet the next day at St. Sofia Mosque, posing as tourists. During love-making (# 3 tryst) in his bridal suite, they were unaware that they were being filmed through a one-way mirror at the head of the bed, by Klebb and another man, to create a sex scandal. The mustached Russian agent at the airport was also at the rendezvous point at the mosque, and attempted to intercept the plans, but was killed by Grant (# 6 death). Bond came upon the body, and found the hand-drawn plans within a vanity compact case in the dead man's hand. The plans matched the architectural blueprints possessed by Bey. Tania also met Bond on a Bosphorus ferry boat, where she expressed fears that they were in danger. He recorded her responses to questions about the Lektor on a hidden tape-recorder in his box-camera, to determine its authenticity: it weighed 10 kilos in a brown case about the size of a typewriter, and had 24 symbols and 16 code keys. Inside were copper perforated disks. The tape was dispatched to MI6 in London, where they declared the Lektor genuine.
On the 13th of the month, Bond took a taxi to the Russian Consulate, where as he stood in the waiting room, an exploding smoke-bomb rocked the building (it was detonated by Bey from the underground cistern). During the confusion in the lobby, Bond wore a gas-mask (to avoid tear-gas) and made his way to the location of the Lektor, where he found Tania. They both absconded with the decoding machine, and with Bey's help raced to the train station to board the Orient Express, bound for the safety of the Bulgarian frontier. Benz (Peter Bayliss), a Russian security agent, observed Tania at the station, and quickly boarded the train - Grant was already a passenger. Bond and Tania were given passports, and told to pose as a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. David/Caroline Sommerset. At the Bulgarian border, the plan was for Bond to de-board from the restaurant car, and be taken by Bey's drivers to an airstrip 20 miles away, to be flown to Athens and then to England. After Bond and Tania enjoyed another romantic encounter (# 4 tryst), Bond was notified by the train conductor (George Pastell), Bey's friend, that both Benz and Bey were victims of a terrible accident - they were dead (# 7-8 deaths). [Grant had made it appear that they had killed each other.] Bond was frustrated and exasperated by Tania when she wouldn't tell him her orders.
The train continued onto Belgrade, where at the train station, Bond was forced to change plans. He told Bey's son why the train hadn't stopped at the border -- the "bad news" of his father's death. Bond requested a message to be sent to "M" in London, to have someone from Station Y (Yugoslavia) meet the train at Zagreb, Yugoslavia. There at the train station before Bond exited the train, Grant quickly killed "M's" dispatched agent Captain Nash (William Hill) in the WC (# 9 death), and then impersonated him.
Reboarding the train, Grant (posing as Nash) told Bond that the new plan was to either jump off the train with the Lektor at the Yugoslavia-Trieste border, to escape customs, or somehow risk getting through customs with it. In the restaurant car during dinner, Grant drugged Tania's wine with chloral hydrate, and then back in their cabin, knocked Bond out. When Bond revived, he realized that Grant was not a Smersh agent, but an agent of SPECTRE, pitting the Soviets and the British against each other: "You've been playing us off against each other, haven't you? Then it was SPECTRE who killed the Russian agent in the mosque. You?" Grant admitted killing the agent, and also Bey, Benz, and Nash. He also admitted he was Bond's "guardian angel" and saved his life at the gypsy camp, protecting him until they obtained the Lektor. And he told how the girl Tania believed that she was working for "Mother Russia" - taking orders from Colonel Klebb.
SPECTRE's ultimate plan was to kill both of them - Tania would have explicit 8mm film from their sexual contact in the bridal suite planted in her handbag, and an assassinated Bond would be found with a forged letter from Tania, threatening to publicize the film if Bond didn't marry her. It would be made to appear that Bond killed her and then committed suicide. The headlines would be: "British Agent Murders Beautiful Russian Spy, Then Commits Suicide." Grant's orders were to kill Bond and deliver the Lektor to SPECTRE - he promised a slow and painful torturous death.
Bribing Grant with the gold sovereigns in his own case, Grant was tricked into a fatal error to open the other agent's briefcase, triggering the release of tear-gas from a cartridge hidden in a magnetized tin of talcum powder. After a prolonged and vicious hand-to-hand struggle in the claustrophobic train cabin, in which Grant tried to strangle Bond with his garrote wire from his wrist-watch, Bond stabbed Grant in the shoulder with his flat throwing knife, and then strangled him with his own garrote (# 10 death, # 1 Bond kill).
With Tania, they escaped using "Nash's" escape plan (a flower truck blocked a railroad crossing and the train was forced to stop). Bond hijacked the truck after subduing and binding up the driver Rhoda (Peter Brayham). By dawn, their truck was being pursued by a helicopter throwing hand-grenades at them. With his rifle, Bond caused the helicopter to explode and crash, killing its two occupants (# 11-12 deaths, # 2-3 Bond kills), and then he drove to a jetty and commandeered Rhoda's powered motor-launch carrying four fuel drums. Rhoda was tossed overboard, as they proceeded to Venice, hoping to arrive by the following morning.
Unhappy and displeased with the turn of events (three bodies on the train at Trieste, including Grant, and loss of the LEKTOR, already promised to the Russians), SPECTRE No. 1 (on his yacht) reprimanded Klebb (No. 3) and Kronsteen (No. 5), who both blamed each other. Unable to tolerate failure, No. 1 summoned Morzeny, who used a poisoned toe-spike in his shoe to kick and execute Kronsteen (# 13 death) - he died in 12 seconds. Klebb was given one final chance. She sent Morzeny in pursuit of Bond in the Gulf of Venice with a squadron of three SPECTRE boats, firing rocket grenades and machine guns. Bond released punctured fuel drums into the water from his boat, then promised to surrender - but instead exploded the fuel drums with a flare gun and engulfed the pursuing boats in flames (# 14-22 deaths, # 4-12 Bond kills, although inconclusive).
Once in Venice, Bond and Tania checked into a hotel, with plans to soon fly to England. Disguised as a hotel maid, Klebb entered the room, and held a gun on Bond as she stole back the decoder machine. Tania recognized her - and because she had fallen in love with Bond and had truly defected to the West - she knocked Klebb's gun away. Then, as Klebb kicked and threatened Bond with her poisoned toe-spike, Bond pinned her to the wall with a chair, and Tania shot the "horrible woman" dead (# 23 death) - Bond quipped: "She's had her kicks." Bond sailed away with Tania, relaxing on a Venetian water-taxi gondola in a canal, kissing her as he tossed away the incriminating film shot in the bridal suite (# 5 tryst).
Film Notables (Awards, Facts, etc.)
The second film in the series.
This film set the pattern for many Bond films to follow - with many of the requisite elements of the espionage/agent-spy series. It was realistic in its depiction of Cold War paranoia.
With a production budget of $2.5 million, and gross revenue of $25 million (domestic) and $79 million (worldwide).
Desmond Llewelyn was introduced as 007's gadgets master named Q. His actual name was Major Boothroyd, and he was the head of 'Q' Section (the gadgetry department of British intelligence.) Llewelyn would make 17 performances as Q, ending with The World Is Not Enough (1999) .
This was the second and final appearance of minor character Sylvia Trench, one of the Bond girls.
President John F. Kennedy's statement that From Russia With Love was his favorite Ian Fleming book led to this film adaptation. It was the last film seen by Kennedy in the White House on November 20, 1963, a few days before his assassination in Dallas, Texas.
Set-pieces: the opening chess match, the female gypsys' cat fight and the Bulgars' attack on the gypsy camp, the hand-to-hand showdown-combat in the cabin on the Orient Express, the helicopter fight, the powerboat chase-pursuit
Bond Villains: Donald 'Red' Grant (Robert Shaw), Morzeny (Walter Gotell), Kronsteen or SPECTRE No. 5 (Vladek Sheybal), SPECTRE No. 1 Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson), Col. Rosa Klebb or SPECTRE No. 3 (Lotte Lenya), Krilencu (Fred Haggerty)
Bond Girls: Corporal Tatiana ("Tania") Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), Zora (Martine Beswick), Vida (Aliza Gur)
Number of Love-Making Encounters: 5
Film Locales: SPECTRE Island (location unknown but somewhere near Adriatic), Venice, Italy, Istanbul, Turkey, London, England, Yugoslavian locations on the Orient Express (heading for Trieste) that included Belgrade and Zagreb
Gadgets: retractable garrotting piano razor-wire wrist-watch, MI6 pager/beeper, Univex radio-car telephone phone, Q-issued black leather briefcase (with 20 rounds of ammunition, a pull-out flat throwing knife, an AR7 folding-collapsible 2.5 caliber sniper rifle with infra-red telescopic sight, plus 50 gold sovereigns, and a magnetized tin of talcum powder concealing a tear gas canister), telephone bug detector, box-camera with miniature tape recorder inside, the LEKTOR decoding machine, SPECTRE's (Rosa Klebb's) poison-tipped (with puffer fish poison), spring-loaded, retractable spiked shoe with a stiletto blade
Vehicles: green vintage Bentley Mark IV (convertible), black Citroen, the Orient Express train, SPECTRE's 2-seater Hiller helicopter, a powerboat, a squadron of SPECTRE motor launches, a Venetian water-taxi gondola
Number of Deaths (Bond Kills): 23 (12)
James Bond:
| i don't know |
Who has appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine more times than any other woman? | Actress is last nude model for Playboy magazine | INFORUM
Actress is last nude model for Playboy magazine
By Reuters Media on Dec 3, 2015 at 10:55 a.m.
Actress Pamela Anderson poses at the premiere of "The Gunman" in Los Angeles, California March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
NEW YORK - Pamela Anderson is the last person to pose nude for Playboy magazine, closing a more than 60 year tradition that has seen women ranging from Madonna to Kim Kardashian and Cindy Crawford strip off for the glossy men's publication.
Recommended for you
Cowboy cookies a good partner for Wild West-themed Symphony Rocks
Celebrity outlet Entertainment Tonight said on Thursday the former "Baywatch" star, 48, will be featured on the cover of the January/February 2016 edition that will hit newsstands on Dec. 11.
Playboy, founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner, announced in October that it would stop publishing nude centerfolds of women, saying they had become outdated due to the plethora of free pornography on the Internet.
Anderson has appeared on the Playboy cover 13 times since 1989, more than any other celebrity.
"I got a call from (Hugh Hefner's) attorney who said, 'We don't want anybody else. There's nobody else, could you do the last cover of Playboy?'" Anderson told Entertainment Tonight.
The actress and model said she had checked first with her sons Brandon, 19, and Dylan 17 before agreeing because for years the boys had been "teased and made fun of, and had a few fist fights over their mom." This time both of them encouraged her to do it, she said.
Anderson said she made the most of her last Playboy photo-shoot. "I took off all my clothes, and I rolled down the hill as fast as I can," she said. "I was just screaming, and hair and boobs were flying, and shoes were going everywhere."
Playboy featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, and printed a nude centerfold of the Hollywood actress. But the photo was bought by Hefner from a printer who made calendars and Monroe did not pose nude specifically for the magazine.
Playboy's circulation has dropped from about 5.6 million in 1975 to around 800,000 in recent years.
Recommended for you
| Pamela Anderson |
In the television cartoon series, which town is the home of ‘The Flintstones’? | What Playboy knows best about nudity - CNN.com
What Playboy knows best about nudity
By Peggy Drexler
Updated 12:05 PM ET, Sat February 6, 2016
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
That first issue of Playboy featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover. Financed with $600 of Hefner's money and less than $8,000 of raised capital, the magazine appeared on newsstands December 1, 1953, and sold more than 51,000 issues.
Hide Caption
1 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
The July 1955 issue was the first time the bikini was modeled prominently on the cover. The model on the beach towel is Janet Pilgrim, who also appeared as the issue's Playmate of the Month.
Hide Caption
2 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Donna Michelle appears in the shape of Playboy's bunny logo on the May 1964 cover. "I had this idea of a girl posing in the shape of the rabbit, but I thought no model would be able to do it," said Art Paul, Playboy's first art director. "I asked Donna and there was no problem. She got into that position with great ease and could still smile."
Hide Caption
3 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Some of Playboy's simplest covers appeared in the 1960s. This cover, in June 1965, features Hedy Scott in a head wrap, staring intently above her sunglasses.
Hide Caption
4 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
The July 1969 cover model was Barbi Benton, Hefner's girlfriend for the better part of eight years. She would appear on three more covers: March 1970, May 1972 and December 1985.
Hide Caption
5 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
In October 1971, Darine Stern was the first African-American model to appear on a Playboy cover. By putting Stern on the cover, Playboy helped shift the nation's standards of mainstream beauty. Although the magazine had already featured two black Playmates by this time -- Jennifer Jackson (March 1965) and Jean Bell (October 1969) -- nude African-American models were mainly seen in publications produced for and by the black community.
Hide Caption
6 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Pamela Anderson holds the record for the most Playboy covers. This October 1989 issue was the first of 13 cover appearances.
Hide Caption
7 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Anna Nicole Smith is named Playmate of the Year on the June 1993 cover. Smith first appeared on Playboy's March 1992 cover. Within months, she was named Miss May 1992 and a spokeswoman for Guess jeans.
Hide Caption
8 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Jenny McCarthy has appeared on six Playboy covers, including this January 2005 issue where she is wearing a bunny costume.
Hide Caption
9 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Seth Rogan appears on the cover in April 2009. In Playboy's 60-year history, the magazine has featured a man on the cover 10 times. The first was Peter Sellers in April 1964. Other men on the cover: Burt Reynolds, Steve Martin, Donald Trump, Dan Aykroyd, Jerry Seinfeld, Leslie Nielsen, Gene Simmons and Bruno Mars.
Hide Caption
10 of 12
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
Playboy has recently returned to running the more art-inspired concept covers that it was known for in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. This November 2013 "Lips" cover was recently awarded "Cover of the Day" by the Society of Professional Designers.
Hide Caption
Photos: Playboy: Entertainment for men
The cover of Playboy magazine's 60th anniversary issue features supermodel Kate Moss.
Hide Caption
| i don't know |
‘Here Comes the Fuzz’ was the 2003 debut album of which English dj and musician? | Mark Ronson - Ooh Wee (featuring Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife Diesel & Saigon) - YouTube
Mark Ronson - Ooh Wee (featuring Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife Diesel & Saigon)
Want to watch this again later?
Sign in to add this video to a playlist.
Need to report the video?
Sign in to report inappropriate content.
Rating is available when the video has been rented.
This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.
Published on Dec 19, 2014
© 2003 Elektra Records. "Ooh Wee" is a single by english musician, singer, DJ, producer Mark Ronson featuring Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah (of Wu-Tang Clan), Trife Diesel & Saigon, from 2003 album "Here Comes the Fuzz".
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English musician, DJ, singer and music producer.
While his debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make an impact on the charts, his second album, Version, included three top-10 hits and won Ronson a Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist in 2008. His third studio album, Record Collection, was released on 27 September 2010.
He has also produced multi-platform, Grammy-award-winning albums for artists such as Amy Winehouse and Adele.
Here Comes the Fuzz is the debut album by English producer Mark Ronson.
Check the RAPCITY1CHANNEL OFFICIAL WEBSITE (UNFINISHED)
| Mark Ronson |
A ‘Picture Palace’ is an old-fashioned term for what? | Mark Ronson
artist page
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English musician, music producer, artist, DJ and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his own band, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. While his debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make an impact on the charts, his second album, Version included three top ten hits and won Ronson a Brit Award for Best British Male Artist in 2008. His third studio album, Record Collection, was released on 27 September 2010. Early life: Ronson was born at the Wellington Hospital, St John's Wood, to writer/socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and one-time band manager and real estate entrepreneur Laurence Ronson. His parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestors from Austria, Russia, and Lithuania, and Ronson was brought up in Masorti Judaism. Ronson's family name was originally Aaronson, but his grandfather Henry Ronson changed it to Ronson. Ronson is the nephew of property tycoon Gerald Ronson. Ronson is related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, as well as Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch. Ronson has twin sisters who are two years younger than he, Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Ronson also has five younger half-siblings. Alexander and Annabelle, through his mother's remarriage to Mick Jones as well as Henrietta, David, and Joshua, through his father's remarriage to model Michele First. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. Career: Ronson went to high school at the private Collegiate School in New York. Attending Vassar College and then New York University (NYU), Ronson became a regular at downtown hip hop spots and made his name as a DJ on the New York club scene in 1993, charging $50 per job. Though a novice with little experience, he became known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. Influenced by funk, the hip hop scene of New York and the more rock influence of the UK (all of which he incorporated in his sets) he attracted a wider audience. He was soon one of the most respected DJs and was being called on for celebrities' private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company. He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing: He moved on, however, to producing music after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his gigs and introduced the musicians. He produced her song "Everybody Got Their Something", and soon Ronson signed a record contract with Elektra Records. Mark had produced tracks for Hilfiger ads, and in 2001 used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an ad. Ronson's first album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003 and was critically acclaimed and a financial success, despite initially poor sales. On the album, he wrote the songs, made the beats and played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee", samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray,Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. Ronson became one of the regular DJs at Justin Timberlake's New York club, Suede, when it opened in 2003. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks". Version: Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me" on 2 April 2007, featuring singer Daniel Merriweather, which reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, the biggest hit for Ronson to date. Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" in promotion for the three disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007. The album has been well received by critics. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, the DJ made the cover of the Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen. In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams. On 24 October 2007 Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer. Ronson received a Grammy Award nomination in early December 2007 for 'Producer of the Year, Non Classical', along with Timbaland and Mike Elizondo. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial praise, gaining 6 nominations. Back to Black, an album mostly produced by Ronson was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys for 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008. Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. Later in January 2008, Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist', 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse. The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 hit from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4. Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie", which has spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album. Ronson has toured the album "Version" vigorously through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings. In May 2008, Ronson played at the largest private party in the world, the Trinity Ball in Trinity College Dublin. On 2 July 2008 in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009 Ronson was working with the group on their upcoming 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010. Record Collection: At the launch of his most recent Gucci pop-up store in London, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 hit. The single also saw success on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was 19 September 2010 and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first of Ronson's albums that he has sung on. In 2010, Ronson was given a vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael, although he never physically met Jackson. He submitted the track, but it did not make the track listing for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. ... It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'." Videos: Ronson created a video, along with Directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland: Circuit Breaker, which is a Homage to video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Personal life: Ronson spends his time between London and New York. His stepfather is Mick Jones from Foreigner, who raised him from the age of seven. In 2002, he began dating Quincy Jones's daughter, actress/singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me". They later broke up. He lived next door to and was friends with Sean Lennon. In March 2009, Ronson was pictured with French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume. She was featured in his 2010 video for "The Bike Song." The couple got engaged in February 2011. They married in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France on 3 September 2011. In 2009 he participated in PETA's "Please Don't Wear Any Fur" campaign. He was also voted the most stylish man in UK by GQ magazine. Since childhood, he has been a fan of the New York Knicks
| i don't know |
The Ambassador Bridge, which connects the US with Canada, spans which river? | Ambassador Bridge - Ambassador Bridge Detroit
Ambassador Bridge
Wineries
Share
Ambassador Bridge spans the Detroit River, connecting the city of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, to the Michigan city of Detroit . If you contrast the trade volume of other borders between the United States and Canada or Mexico, the Ambassador Bridge Detroit represents the busiest of all international border crossing points in North America. One of the interesting Ambassador Bridge facts is that it is privately owned and maintained as a profit-making business, very unusual for an international border crossing that is so important. Another of the unusual Ambassador Bridge facts is that its sections from the anchorage points to the main towers are not suspended, but rather supported by a network of deck truss spans.
The Ambassador Bridge was completed in 1929, and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. The George Washington Bridge in New York City replaced it in the record books in 1931. The state of Michigan, in fact, is distinguished by having built two of the world’s longest suspension bridges. The Mackinac Bridge that connects the two non-contiguous sections of Michigan was the other. The Ambassador Bridge Detroit is now the 60th longest suspension bridge in the world.
There are several Ambassador Bridge neighborhoods of particular note. Mexicantown, with about a 50 percent population of Hispanics is an emerging center of business and commerce, and (as its name suggests) boasts a number of excellent Mexican restaurants. Plans for a roadway providing direct access to the bridge is sure to make this area even more popular. Downtown Detroit is located along the riverfront just to the northeast of the bridge, and is the central business district. A revitalization of the riverfront has added many new attractions. There are Detroit casinos here, including the Greektown Casino , the MotorCity Casino, and the MGM Grand Casino . This is also the site of numerous Detroit hotels . There are also casinos across the river in Windsor, so many people use the Ambassador Bridge Detroit to get back and forth between them.
Michigan Map
Also across the river in Windsor are two other Ambassador Bridge neighborhoods of note. One is Walkerville, the historic center of the city. Here are some of the most beautiful and historic mansions in the area, including the Willistead Manor designed by famed architect Albert Kahn who is often referred to as Detroit’s architect. Ten of his buildings are recognized as Michigan historic landmarks. Sandwich Towne overlooks the bridge. It was founded in 1748 and is the oldest continually occupied town in Canada west of Montreal.
The sidewalk and bicycle path was closed after the September 11 terrorist attacks, which has led to controversy and complaints from the public. In an attempt to draw attention to the need of this non-vehicle route, the Ambassador Bridge facts added an annual Bike the Bridge event in 2009. Only 60 cyclists participated in that event in which on direction of the roadway was closed to vehicle traffic. The owners of the bridge are cooperating with the event organizers, and this could be a groundbreaking event that could change the ban.
Hotels
| Detroit River |
Foucault’s Pendulum, which demonstrated the rotation of the Earth, was staged in which European city in 1851? | Ambassador Bridge records 1927-1930
Creator: Ambassador Bridge (Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ont.)
Inclusive dates: 1927-1930
Extent: .25 linear ft and 2 oversize boxes
Abstract:
The Ambassador Bridge spans the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario (Canada). It was constructed from 1927-1929. The collection is from the papers of Mr. Howard A. Schirmer, an engineer who worked on the construction of the Ambassador Bridge. It contains materials related to designing and executing the construction of the Ambassador Bridge, the majority being correspondence and reports, and a selection of books and newspapers published just after the construction of the bridge.
Call number: THC - Ambassador Bridge
Language: The material is in English
Repository: University of Michigan Library (Special Collections Library)
Access and Use
The collection is open for research.
Copyright:
Copyright has not been transferred to the Regents of the University of Michigan. Permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s).
Preferred Citation:
Ambassador Bridge records, University of Michigan Library (Special Collections Library)
Collection History
Gift of Mr. Howard A. Schirmer, Jr. in 1995.
Processing Information:
Blueprints are located in Box 1 and 2.
Biography
The Ambassador Bridge spans the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario. It was constructed from 1927-1929.
Joseph A. Bower, a New York financier originally from Detroit, made the construction of the bridge possible. When the plan for a bridge across the Detroit River by Charles Evan Fowler failed, one of his supporters, John W. Austin, approached Bower with the project. Austin was an officer of Detroit Graphite Company and was hoping to secure the contract for painting the bridge. He was able to meet with Bower with the help of one of the principles of McClintic-Marshall company, a noted Pittsburg engineering firm. Bower agreed to take on the project in late 1924. He assembled the funding and obtained approval from the necessary agencies and governing bodies for the construction of the bridge, including acts from U.S. Congress and Canada’s Parliament and public support in the two communities. Austin was named treasurer and McClintic-Marshall company was hired to design and build the bridge.
The contract with McClintic-Marshall was signed July 20, 1927 and made operative in August 1927, once the funding was secure. The contract stipulated that construction was to be completed in 3 years. If construction was completed earlier, the firm would receive a bonus of half the revenues of the bridge until the original construction deadline. If it was not completed, the firm would pay the interest on the securities until the bridge was complete.
The bridge was originally constructed with heat-treated wire cables, a new technology at the time. However, wires began breaking on another bridge recently constructed with this type of cable. McClintic-Marshall ceased construction of the bridge in March 1929 to study the problem and absorbed the cost of half a million dollars to replace the cables with the traditional cold drawn steel wires.
The bridge was completed November 11, 1929 and open for traffic 4 days later. The total cost of the project was $23.5 million. During its construction, the bridge was called the Detroit River Bridge. Bower felt that the name was too impersonal but did not want the bridge named after him, so he named it the Ambassador Bridge. The bridge was celebrated as a symbol of the peaceful relationship between the United States and Canada.
At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1,850 feet. The bridge was 152 feet above the water at its apex and the road was 47 feet wide with 5 lanes of traffic and a total of 7,490 feet long. The Ambassador Bridge was surpassed in length by the George Washington Bridge in New York in 1931.
For additional historical information, see the website of the Ambassador Bridge, www.ambassadorbridge.com, operated by The Detroit International Bridge Company and The Canadian Transit Company.
The collection is from the papers of Mr. Howard A. Schirmer, an engineer who worked on the construction of the Ambassador Bridge. Mr. Schirmer was a native of Oakland, CA. He received his B.S. in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkley, in 1923. In addition to his work on the Ambassador Bridge, he was involved with the construction of many prominent bridges and skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He was married to Amy F. Schirmer and had a son, Howard A. Schirmer, Jr. Mr. Schirmer died September 7, 1994, at the age of 93.
Collection Scope and Content Note
The papers are divided into two series: Construction and Publications.
Construction contains materials related to designing and executing the construction of the Ambassador Bridge, the majority being correspondence and reports.
The correspondence dates from July 1928 to July 1929. The main correspondents are Robert MacMinn, Engineer of Construction; R.G. Cone, Resident Engineer; Howard Schirmer and other McClintic-Marshall employees. The correspondence discusses bids for contracts and various aspects of the construction, mostly focused on the terminals. Topics include the telephone system, installing clocks, furniture, cash registers and automatic car counters. There are a few blueprints, drawings, and lists of expenditures intermixed with the correspondence.
The reports are specification reports detailing how aspects of the construction are to be conducted. The reports indicate the types of materials and the processes to be used. The reports include specifications for masonry, the metal superstructure, pavements, and furniture, equipment and steel lockers for the U.S. terminal. There is also a report entitled Contract Plans and General Specifications detailing the responsibilities of the McClintic-Marshall company for the design and construction of the Ambassador Bridge.
Publications contains books and newspapers published just after the construction of the Ambassador Bridge. The books describe the history and process of constructing the bridge with varying degrees of technical detail. Detroit River Bridge was written for engineers and includes 69 plates of design drawings for the bridge. Detroit-Windsor Bridge also provides a technical description of the construction of the bridge and Detroit International Bridge provides a more general history of the construction. The newspapers were published when the Ambassador Bridge was dedicated. There is an article from the Detroit News and a section on the bridge from the Detroit Free Press.
Subject Terms
Detroit (Mich.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- 20th century.
Bower, Joseph A.
| i don't know |
Who plays groundsman Carl Spackler in the 1980 film ‘Caddyshack’? | Caddyshack (1980) - IMDb
IMDb
There was an error trying to load your rating for this title.
Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later.
X Beta I'm Watching This!
Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.
Error
An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher.
Director:
From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video
ON DISC
a list of 21 titles
created 14 Mar 2011
a list of 24 titles
created 19 Jun 2011
a list of 49 titles
created 19 Oct 2013
a list of 25 titles
created 04 May 2014
a list of 39 titles
created 4 months ago
Search for " Caddyshack " on Amazon.com
Connect with IMDb
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.
Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
Director: Ivan Reitman
The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
Director: Harold Ramis
At a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those trouble-makers have other plans for him.
Director: John Landis
Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher is a newspaper reporter being offered a large sum to off a cancerous millionaire, but is on the run, risking his job, and finding clues when it's clear the man is healthy.
Director: Michael Ritchie
Three actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing.
Director: John Landis
The Griswolds win a vacation tour across Europe where the usual havoc ensues.
Director: Amy Heckerling
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
A Chicago man's hope for a peaceful family vacation in the woods is shattered when the annoying in-laws drop in.
Director: Howard Deutch
In the fourth outing for the vacation franchise, the Griswolds have to survive Vegas fever when they go to Las Vegas for a fun family vacation.
Director: Stephen Kessler
Bachelor and all round slob, Buck, babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.
Director: John Hughes
When a crass new-money tycoon's membership application is turned down at a snooty country club, he retaliates by buying the club and turning it into a tacky amusement park.
Director: Allan Arkush
A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving with an obnoxious slob of a shower curtain ring salesman as his only companion.
Director: John Hughes
Edit
Storyline
Comical goings on at an exclusive golf club. All the members are wealthy and eccentric, and all the staff are poor and slightly less eccentric. The main character is 'Danny'; he's a caddy who will do almost anything to raise money to go to college. There are many subplots, including the assistant green keeper's pursuit of a cute (obviously stuffed) gopher. Written by Rob Hartill
The Snobs Against The Slobs! See more »
Genres:
25 July 1980 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Los locos del Golf See more »
Filming Locations:
Did You Know?
Trivia
Bill Murray improvised the "Cinderella story" sequence from two lines of stage direction. Director Harold Ramis simply asked Murray to imagine himself announcing his own fantasy sports moment. Murray simply asked for four rows of 'mums and did the scene. See more »
Goofs
The first time Lacey Underall appears, she is walking towards a bunch of caddies and holding a tennis racket. Moments later, she gets to the group of people and holding a golf glove. See more »
Quotes
Ty Webb : Let me just clean this up here.
[lift up bow and arrow]
Ty Webb : Getting ready for the season.
| Bill Murray |
Which part of their body do butterflies taste with? | Carl Spackler, 'Caddyshack' (1980) | 15 Best Movie Stoners of All Time | Rolling Stone
15 Best Movie Stoners of All Time
15 Best Movie Stoners of All Time
From Cheech and Chong to the Dude, the pantheon of screen potheads
All Stories
Carl Spackler, 'Caddyshack' (1980)
A hero in his own mind and an idiot in everyone else's, Carl may just be the assistant groundskeeper at Bushwood Country Club, but with a little luck he's pretty sure he could be head groundskeeper in six years. Bill Murray lent Caddyshack's marble-mouthed buffoon just enough acidity that he became this classic comedy's coolest character. Powered by his own special strain of marijuana combining different types of golf-course grass, Carl may have vowed to kill every gopher in sight, but he's really just a chill dude, gettin' high and checkin' out the grannies putting around the green. TG
| i don't know |
The Sheffield Shield is competed for by teams of cricketers in which country? | Sheffield Shield - A Cricket Article
Sheffield Shield
Comments
The Sheffield Shield got recognized in 1892-93 and is considered as the foremost domestic cricket competition held in Australia. There are around six teams who play these series of 4-day matches annually with every other team. Points are awarded for each team after each win or lose and then top winners would play against each other in the fifth day final match.
The final match is played at home ground which finishes at the end of the routine season competition. And, if the final is tied, then the top ranked team wins the Sheffield Shield. This four day version of domestic cricket match in Australia attracts crowds from around the world and involves states like New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and such states.
History of the Shield
To trace back to the history of the Shield, it can be rather interesting to know that it was in 1891-92, that the shield came into existence. The Earl of Sheffield had come to Australia and as the promoter of the English team led by W.G. Grace, scheduled the tour having almost three tests played successively in Melbourne, Sydney and in Adelaide. At the end of the outstanding tour, Lord Sheffield donated 150 pounds to the association of New South Wales Cricket team for the purpose of funding a trophy for the annual tournament held in Australia. There were in general three colonies, the New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, which were already playing with each other for the matches.
The summer of 1892-93 seasons saw the commencement of the new tournaments where the three teams competed with each other in each season for the Sheffield Shield, named after its benefactor. There was a competition held as to who would make a better shield and Philip Blashki, a Polish settler won this competition and designed the 43 x 30 inch of silver shield trophy. The competition consequently commenced fifteen years after the first test match of Australia.
In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board, which is at present, known by the name, Cricket Australia, announced 4 year aid deal that included renaming of the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup and then to Pura Cup for next season. The name, Pura is kept after a brand name, Pura of National Foods. With this aid, there was increase in the whole prize money to 220,000 dollars, with winners getting 75,000 dollars and the runners up getting 45,000 dollars at the most.
Player of the year
At the end of the each season, the player of the year award is declared and from 1976, it has been awarded to any best performance of the player/s of the season as per the panel of judge’s discussion. Mathew Elliott, South Australian and Victoria batsman had won the award most of the times and also have been awarded Player of the year on three separate occasions in 1994-95, in 1998-99 and in 2003-04 respectively.
Pura Cup season winners of 2008-09
The first season of the Pura Cup was played between Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales in 1892-93. At this season, Victoria won the shield, and South Australia came second with New South Wales at the third place.
The winner of the Pura Cup season of 2008 – 09 was Victoria, with Second and Third position runner ups being Queensland and South Australia. Tasmania, Western Australia and New South Wales came as fourth, fifth and sixth positions.
Categories:
| Australia |
In the Disney film ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, what did the dwarfs mine for? | Should Sheffield Shield teams field foreign players? | The Roar
Should Sheffield Shield teams field foreign players?
Victoria's James Muirhead during the Cricket Australia Chairman's XI training session at Traeger Park, Alice Springs. (AAP Image/Grenville Turner)
Related coverage
South African all-rounder Johan Botha has prompted a great deal of controversy during his time playing for South Australia.
Not just because he has been reported for chucking.
Not just because his recruitment saw favourite son Michael Klinger stripped of the Redbacks’ captaincy so Botha could take over.
As much as anything it is because he is not Australian.
Every winter, many developing and established Aussie players travel to England to hone their games playing county cricket.
For decades the English system has been used as a proving ground for prospective Australian players.
Yet many Aussie cricket followers loathe the idea of foreign players taking part in our domestic first-class competition.
Botha, for example, is not roundly lauded for the fact he has taken the perennially-poor Redbacks to the top of the Shield ladder at the midway point of the season.
Instead many fans claim he is holding back young leg spinner Adam Zampa, hindering the 21-year-old’s development.
Zampa is undoubtedly a promising player.
He has shown encouraging signs during his early forays into all three forms of the game.
Is his progress being stunted by the presence of Botha? Possibly.
Although no more than it was at New South Wales, where he was stuck behind the likes of Steve O’Keefe, a situation which likely motivated his move to South Australia.
Of course the difference in many people’s mind is that O’Keefe is Australian and Botha is not.
Zampa arguably would not have any better opportunities in the Shield were he to play for any other State.
If he was still with the Blues he would be the understudy to O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon.
Were he to go north to Queensland he’d have to try to leapfrog veteran off spinner Nathan Hauritz and fellow young leggie Cameron Boyce.
Down south in Victoria, spinners Fawad Ahmed and Jon Holland have both been on the radar of the national selectors, while highly-rated 20-year-old leggie James Muirhead is waiting in the wings.
There is a similar logjam further south in Tasmania, where Xavier Doherty is top dog but is kept honest by 24-year-old left arm spinner Clive Rose, who was recently mentioned by Australian chairman of selectors John Inverarity as a player to watch.
Over in the West, two left-arm tweakers with Test caps to their name – Ashton Agar and Michael Beer – are battling for one spot in the Shield side.
There are no easy games in the Shield for spinners at the moment.
This is a tremendous positive for Australian cricket.
Just a few years ago the spin bowling talent pool was bare.
Now every State has at least one spinner under the age of 25 who has the potential to push for national selection.
If Zampa is good enough he will prosper in one way or another.
Playing second fiddle to Botha may offer him a crucial insight into the inherent harshness of being a professional spin bowler.
Meanwhile, it is hard to deny that Botha has not improved the level of competition in the Shield – obviously only to the limited extent that any one individual can.
Botha is the equal leading wicket taker in the Shield this summer, alongside O’Keefe, with 24 wickets at 29.
When you combine that haul with his handy return of 253 runs at 28 it is fair to say he has been one of the elite players in the competition.
Botha’s action may be suspect, as are those of a number of the leading finger spinners in international cricket in recent years.
But he is a canny bowler and young Australian batsmen like his teammate Phil Hughes and Queensland’s Usman Khawaja have been exposed at Test level for their inability to counter wily tweakers.
Up and coming Shield batsmen should benefit from their exposure to his bowling.
Botha clearly has been a good addition to Australia’s first-class competition.
That raises the question of whether the Sheffield Shield would be better if there was a smattering of imports across the league.
If each State was allowed to field one import per Shield game, would that help or hinder the development of Australian cricket?
To be honest, I’m not sure. I don’t know how any of us could be.
Whether other States follow the lead of South Australia and target foreign players for recruitment only time will tell.
Ronan O'Connell
Ronan O'Connell has been a journalist for 13 years, including nine at daily newspapers in WA. He now traverses the world as a travel photojournalist, contributing words and photography to more than 30 magazines and newspapers including CNN, BBC, The Toronto Star, The Guardian, The South China Morning Post, The Irish Examiner and The Australian Financial Review. Check out his work and follow him on Twitter @ronanoco
| i don't know |
A Russian woman was arrested in Paris in August 2009 for throwing a cup of tea at which work of art? | Woman attacks Mona Lisa with a cup of tea - Mirror Online
Woman attacks Mona Lisa with a cup of tea
A woman was arrested in Paris after attacking the Mona Lisa with a cup of tea.
Share
Get daily updates directly to your inbox
+ Subscribe
Thank you for subscribing!
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
A woman was arrested in Paris after attacking the Mona Lisa with a cup of tea.
The Russian woman allegedly threw a mug full of the steaming brew over the heads of tourists and scored a direct hit on the most famous work of art in the world.
The ceramic mug bounced off the bullet-proof glass and shattered on the floor, a stunned security guard at the Louvre said.
Guards arrested the woman after wrestling her to the ground following the art attack on Sunday, August 2 – which has only just been reported.
She is being held in custody and is said to have undergone a psychological examination.
Doctors were trying to assess whether she was suffering from Stendhal Syndrome, a rare condition that causes dizziness, confusion or violent acts when an individual is exposed to art.
A police spokesman added: “We are still establishing her state of mind at the time, though there is a possibility she could be charged with criminal damage.”
A museum spokesman said: “There was no damage done to the painting whatsoever.
“It is protected by bullet-proof glass almost two centimetres thick, and also contained in a special sealed box to protect it from vibrations and humidity.
“It is one of the most well guarded works of art in the world, and it would take more than a well-aimed tea-cup to damage it.”
A source at the museum claimed the woman had bought the mug of tea at a museum cafe.
The last attack on a work of art at the Louvre was in 1998, when a mathematics professor attacked a statue of Roman philosopher Seneca with a hammer.
The Mona Lisa is the only painting ever to have been stolen from the Louvre, in 1911, and then recovered.
It is owned by the French government and is seen by an estimated 8.5 million people a year.
| Mona Lisa |
‘Prithee’ is an ancient word which means what today? | Woman attacks Mona Lisa with a cup of tea - Mirror Online
Woman attacks Mona Lisa with a cup of tea
A woman was arrested in Paris after attacking the Mona Lisa with a cup of tea.
Share
Get daily updates directly to your inbox
+ Subscribe
Thank you for subscribing!
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
A woman was arrested in Paris after attacking the Mona Lisa with a cup of tea.
The Russian woman allegedly threw a mug full of the steaming brew over the heads of tourists and scored a direct hit on the most famous work of art in the world.
The ceramic mug bounced off the bullet-proof glass and shattered on the floor, a stunned security guard at the Louvre said.
Guards arrested the woman after wrestling her to the ground following the art attack on Sunday, August 2 – which has only just been reported.
She is being held in custody and is said to have undergone a psychological examination.
Doctors were trying to assess whether she was suffering from Stendhal Syndrome, a rare condition that causes dizziness, confusion or violent acts when an individual is exposed to art.
A police spokesman added: “We are still establishing her state of mind at the time, though there is a possibility she could be charged with criminal damage.”
A museum spokesman said: “There was no damage done to the painting whatsoever.
“It is protected by bullet-proof glass almost two centimetres thick, and also contained in a special sealed box to protect it from vibrations and humidity.
“It is one of the most well guarded works of art in the world, and it would take more than a well-aimed tea-cup to damage it.”
A source at the museum claimed the woman had bought the mug of tea at a museum cafe.
The last attack on a work of art at the Louvre was in 1998, when a mathematics professor attacked a statue of Roman philosopher Seneca with a hammer.
The Mona Lisa is the only painting ever to have been stolen from the Louvre, in 1911, and then recovered.
It is owned by the French government and is seen by an estimated 8.5 million people a year.
| i don't know |
‘Trust pink, Forget stains’ is the advertising slogan for which brand of laundry product? | Vanish Napisan Australia. Trust Pink. Forget Stains.
Vanish keeps your carpets cleaner and
softer than vacuuming alone!
Discover The Tip Exchange, the place to
share tips and ask questions on everything
laundry related. It's an online community
that harnesses the knowledge of real
Australians! Check it out today!
Try our Oxi Action formula for Amazing
Stain Removal, Whiter Whites and
Brilliant Colours!
| Vanish |
In January 2012, who became the new presenter of the UK television show ‘Countdown’? | Vanish products reviews - Tryandreview.com
Share
5/5
Vanish is a brand of stain removing products owned by Reckitt Benckiser, sold in Australia, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe. In North America, these products are sold under the Resolve brand name.
The product line is not related to the North American Vanish toilet cleaner brand owned by S. C. Johnson. Most Vanish products are designed for removing stains from clothing, with some for removing stains from carpets.
In Australia, Vanish has replaced 'Preen' in media advertising voiceovers as the name for the pre-treat clothing stain remover, although "Vanish Preen" and "Vanish Napisan" continue to appear as sub-brands. Vanish's marketing slogan, as of January 2011, is "Trust Pink, Forget Stains".
2 members reviews
| i don't know |
In Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, what is the name of Othello’s lieutenant? | Othello Navigator: Characters: Cassio, Othello's Lieutenant
Cassio, Othello's Lieutenant
When he is telling Roderigo how he was passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago describes the man chosen as "a great arithmetician, / One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, / (A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife), / That never set a squadron in the field" (1.1.19-22) . This is the only mention of the wife of Cassio, and scholars have guessed that Shakespeare originally thought of Cassio as married, but then changed his mind, but not the line. Whatever, we get the picture. In Iago's eyes, Cassio is the effete geek from Florence. [ Scene Summary ]
When Iago is telling Othello that Brabantio is coming after him, a group of men with torches appear, and Iago thinks it's Brabantio, but it's Cassio with a message for Othello: "The duke does greet you, general, / And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance, / Even on the instant" (1.2.36-38) . Othello steps inside the inn, probably to say goodbye to Desdemona. Cassio asks Iago what's going on, and Iago tells him that Othello is married, but doesn't have time to say to whom before Othello returns. [ Scene Summary ]
When Brabantio brings his charges against Othello before the Senate, Cassio is present but says nothing. At the end of scene, when Iago is hatching his plan, he reflects that "Cassio's a proper man" (1.3.392) . By "proper" Iago means "handsome," which in Iago's jealous mind is one more strike against Cassio. If he could get Cassio's job while tearing down Othello, that would double his pleasure. He turns things over in his head a little more, and then everything comes together: "After some time, to abuse Othello's ear / That he [Cassio] is too familiar with his wife" (1.3.395-396) . This plan pleases Iago and he goes back over the elements that will make it work. Cassio is handsome and charming, the kind of man who naturally tempts women. [ Scene Summary ]
Upon his first arrival in Cyprus, Cassio says to Montano and some other Cypriot gentlemen, "Thanks, you the valiant of this warlike isle, / That so approve the Moor!" (2.1.43-44) . Cassio is the first of the Venetians to arrive in Cyprus, and while they are all waiting for the rest, Cassio praises Desdemona to the skies. Later in the scene he is extremely gallant to Desdemona, and when he takes her by the hand and smiles, Iago comments, that "with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio" (2.1.168-169) . [ Scene Summary ]
At the opening of the scene in which Cassio gets drunk, gets into a fight, and loses his job, Othello is reminding him to not let the festivities get out of hand. He says, "Good Michael, look you to the guard to-night: / Let's teach ourselves that honourable stop, / Not to outsport discretion" (2.3.1-3) . Cassio replies that he's already told Iago what to do, but that he will also look to things himself. However, he succumbs to Iago's application of peer pressure and drinks much more than he can handle, which he knows is very little. Then, when Iago sends Roderigo to provoke him, Cassio beats Roderigo, and when Montano tries to intervene, Cassio starts to fight with Montano because Montano tells him he is drunk. Cassio wounds Montano and then Othello stops the fight and fires Cassio. The fight sobers up Cassio and he bemoans his loss of reputation, saying, "Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!" (2.3.262-265) . Cassio is ashamed of himself, but Iago persuades him that he can get his job back by having Desdemona plead his case. Cassio thanks Iago for his advice and says that he will approach Desdemona the first thing in the morning. After he has gone, Iago says that while "this honest fool / Plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes" (2.3.353-354) , he will convince Othello that Desdemona wants Cassio reinstated "for her body's lust" (2.3.357) . [ Scene Summary ]
The morning after he loses his job, Cassio brings some musicians to Othello's residence and gives them instructions: "Masters, play here; I will content your pains; / Something that's brief; and bid "Good morrow, general" (3.1.1-2) . Apparently Cassio means to soften Othello up, but a servant of Othello sends the musicians away. Cassio then sends the servant to ask Emilia to come out and speak to him. Just then Iago comes by and promises Cassio that he will send Emilia right out and that he will keep Othello out of the way. Cassio is grateful to Iago and reflects, "I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest" (3.1.40) . When Emilia appears she reassures Cassio that Desdemona is already urging Othello to reinstate him, but Cassio still wants to have a private conversation with Desdemona, and Emilia invites him in. [ Scene Summary ]
When Act 3, Scene 3 opens Cassio has apparently already made his request to Desdemona, who is saying, "Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do / All my abilities in thy behalf" (3.3.1-2) . Desdemona sees Cassio as Othello's friend, and she is sure that she can restore their friendship. She tells Cassio, "be you well assured / He shall in strangeness stand no further off / Than in a politic distance" (3.3.11-13) . Something is "politic" if it is dictated by policy, and it is good policy for Othello to hold Cassio at arm's length, since just the night before Cassio got drunk on duty and wounded a prominent citizen of Cyprus. Cassio knows all of this, but he's too weak to take his medicine like a man. He's afraid that if he's out of sight Othello will give his job to someone else and forget him.
Pity for Cassio leads Desdemona to make a bold promise, saying "before Emilia here / I give thee warrant of thy place" (3.3.19-20) . A "warrant" is a legally binding promise, and that's why Desdemona says "before Emilia here." Emilia is the witness that Desdemona has personally guaranteed that Cassio will get his job back. Shortly after this, Othello and Iago appear. While they are still out of earshot, Cassio hastily excuses himself. Desdemona wants him to stay and hear what she has to say on his behalf, but as he is leaving he answers, "Madam, not now: I am very ill at ease, / Unfit for mine own purposes" (3.3.32-33) .
As Cassio hurries away, leaving Desdemona to do his talking for him, Iago and Othello are still out of earshot of the women, and Iago takes the opportunity to do a little fishing. In a barely audible voice, as though he didn't really mean to say anything, Iago says, "Ha! I like not that" (3.3.35) . Othello asks him what he said, and Iago answers that it's nothing, in the way that people do when they want you to drag something out of them so that it can be your fault if you don't like what they have to say. Othello then asks if it wasn't Cassio that they just saw, and Iago replies, "Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it, / That he would steal away so guilty-like, / Seeing you coming" (3.3.38-40) .
Othello, however, doesn't have a chance to take the bait, because now Desdemona says to him, "How now, my lord! / I have been talking with a suitor here, / A man that languishes in your displeasure" (3.3.41-43) . When he asks whom she's talking about, she replies, "Why, your lieutenant, Cassio" (3.3.45) . The politics of the situation count for little with Desdemona. She thinks that Othello should restore Cassio to his position because he is "one that truly loves you" (3.3.48) . She argues that Cassio "errs in ignorance and not in cunning" (3.3.49) ; in other words, he's not a bad man, he just made a stupid mistake. Then she says that Cassio is penitent and that his mistake is "not almost a fault / To incur a private check" (3.3.60-67) . A "private check" is quiet little talking-to, and for "not almost" we would use the word "scarcely" or "hardly." Desdemona is saying that what Cassio did was not bad enough to make him lose his job in the first place. Since Cassio was an officer of the peace who got drunk on duty and wounded an innocent civilian, Othello almost certainly disagrees with Desdemona, but he doesn't say so, perhaps because she doesn't give him a chance.
When Othello won't give Desdemona a definite answer, she exclaims, "What! Michael Cassio, / That came a-wooing with you, and so many a time, / When I have spoke of you dispraisingly, / Hath ta'en your part" (3.3.70-73) . This is the first time we've heard that Cassio helped bring Othello and Desdemona together, but there's no reason to doubt it.
After Desdemona has gotten Othello to agree to talk with Cassio, Iago asks Othello, "Did Michael Cassio, when you woo'd my lady, / Know of your love?" (3.3.94-95) . This innocent-looking question is the first of a series of psychological tricks by which Iago leads Othello into the belief that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
Much later in the scene, when Othello exclaims, "Give me a living reason she's disloyal" (3.3.409) , Iago concocts a story about a dream. He says that when he was sleeping with Cassio, Cassio said in his sleep, "Sweet Desdemona, / Let us be wary, let us hide our loves" (3.3.419-420) . Then, says Iago, Cassio repeatedly gripped Iago's hand, and kissed Iago hard, and laid his leg over Iago's thigh, and cried out, "Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor!" (3.3.426) .
Iago then supports this lie with another. Iago asks, "Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief / Spotted with strawberries in your wife's hand?" (3.3.434-435) . Othello says that it was his first gift to Desdemona, and Iago replies that earlier in the day he saw Cassio wipe his beard with that very handkerchief.
Of course we know that Cassio has never had that handkerchief, and that Iago now has it in his pocket, and that Othello should remember that Desdemona tried to bind his head with it, but Othello is so blinded by jealousy that he accepts Iago's lie as the strongest possible evidence. Othello's rage now flowers into vows of revenge. He wishes that Cassio had forty thousand lives because killing him just once wouldn't be enough. [ Scene Summary ]
Desdemona sends her servant to summon Cassio because she believes she will have good news for him. Then, when Othello appears Desdemona says to Emilia, "I will not leave him now till Cassio / Be call'd to him" (3.4.32-33) . But though Desdemona is looking forward to the successful conclusion of her campaign to restore Cassio to his position, Othello has something else on his mind. He makes insinuations that Desdemona has given her love away, but she doesn't catch the insinuations, is confused, and tries to turn the conversation to Cassio. Othello then asks her for her handkerchief and becomes enraged when she tells him she doesn't have it, but it's not lost. Again, she tries to turn the conversation to Cassio, telling Othello that he is "A man that all his time / Hath founded his good fortunes on your love, / Shared dangers with you" (3.4.93-95) . This, however just adds to Othello's rage, and he rushes away.
Soon after, Cassio arrives, accompanied by Iago, who is encouraging Cassio to appeal again to Desdemona. Cassio does as Iago says, and he is even more pathetic than before. He says that he honors Othello, but adds, "I would not be delay'd" (3.4.114) . He wants a definite answer, and now. He hopes that Othello will restore him to his position because of his past service, because he is sorry for what he has done, and because he plans to do a better job in the future. But, Cassio continues, if he can't have his job back, it will be best to know it. If that's the case, he says, "So shall I clothe me in a forced content, / And shut myself up in some other course, / To fortune's alms" (3.4.120-122) . "Fortune's alms" are the occasional handouts of small change that fortune tosses to beggars. Cassio is feeling rather sorry for himself. Desdemona, still reeling from Othello's anger, tells Cassio, "My advocation is not now in tune; / My lord is not my lord; nor should I know him, / Were he in favour [appearance] as in humour [attitude] alter'd" (3.4.123-125) . In other words, now is not a good time to talk to Othello; he's not himself, and if his appearance had changed as much as his attitude, she wouldn't recognize him. She goes on to tell Cassio that she has done all she can for him, and will keep trying, but he must be patient. To Cassio's credit, he respects Desdemona enough to shut up.
After a while, Desdemona decides to go find Othello, and she tells Cassio to wait because she will again plead his case to Othello, if Othello is in the right mood. As Cassio waits, Bianca shows up. She's Cassio's girlfriend, and a prostitute. Cassio is surprised to see her, and he doesn't want to be seen with her if Othello should come back to speak with him. The first thing he says to her is "What make you from home?" But then he remembers that he probably should be nice to her, and tells a sweet lie: "How is it with you, my most fair Bianca? / I' faith, sweet love, I was coming to your house" (3.4.169-171) . Cassio is supposed to be Bianca's lover, and she is finding it hard to understand why he has been away so long. Cassio explains that he's had things on his mind, but that he'll soon make everything up to her. In the meantime, he'd like her to copy a handkerchief for him. It is, of course, Desdemona's handkerchief, though Cassio doesn't know it. The sight of a woman's handkerchief gives Bianca an attack of jealousy. Cassio is offended by this, and tells her that not only is the handkerchief not a love token, he doesn't know whose it is. He says he found it in his chamber, and we know that Iago has carried out his plan to leave the handkerchief where Cassio would find it. Despite Bianca's complaints and jealousy, Cassio seems to be sure that there's not much that could scare her off; he tells her curtly, "Take it, and do't; and leave me for this time" (3.4.191) . Bianca takes the handkerchief, but naturally she wants to know why Cassio doesn't want her around. He explains that he's waiting for Othello and it wouldn't be helpful "To have him see me woman'd" (3.4.195) . When she asks why that is, he answers that it's not because he doesn't love her. Bianca doubts that he's telling the truth, but she talks him into walking with her a little way, so that they can plan their next meeting. Reluctantly, Cassio agrees. [ Scene Summary ]
After boasting of his bad work in using insinuations to make Othello fall into a trance, Iago starts yelling at Othello to wake him up. Then Cassio enters.
Or perhaps Iago spots Cassio a moment before we do, and is only pretending to be trying to wake Othello. Cassio asks what's the matter, and Iago says, "My lord is fall'n into an epilepsy. / This is his second fit; he had one yesterday" (4.1.50-51) . Cassio suggests that Iago rub Othello's temples, but Iago says that if he doesn't sleep it off, he will foam at the mouth and go mad. Then Othello begins to stir, and Iago persuades Cassio to withdraw and wait for him, because he has something important to tell him. Cassio does as he's told.
A little later Iago plays another trick on Othello. Iago knows that Cassio is nearby, waiting to talk with him, so he tells Othello to hide himself "And mark the fleers [sneers] , the gibes, and notable scorns, / That dwell in every region of his [Cassio's] face" (4.1.82-83) , as he makes Cassio "tell the tale anew: / Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when / He hath, and is again to cope your wife" (4.1.84-86) . "Cope" means "encounter," but as Iago uses the word, it's clear that all the encounters are sexual.
Once Othello has hidden himself and is out of hearing, Iago tells us, "Now will I question Cassio of Bianca, / A huswife that by selling her desires / Buys herself bread and clothes: it is a creature / That dotes on Cassio" (4.1.93-96) . He predicts that talking of Bianca will make Cassio laugh, and that Othello, thinking they are talking about Desdemona, will go mad. Everything goes according to Iago's plan. Cassio laughs at the idea that he might marry Bianca, and tells a funny little story about how just the other day at the seabank "thither comes the bauble, and, by this hand, she falls me thus about my neck" (4.1.134-135) . The "thus" indicates that Cassio embellishes his story by demonstrating just how she flung her arms around him and tried to drag him away with her. Then, as Cassio is laughing at his own story, Bianca shows up with Desdemona's handkerchief. She has decided that she was a fool to agree to copy the handkerchief, and a fool to accept Cassio's story that he found it in his room. She throws it back at him, tells him that he should give it to the whore he got it from, and declares that no matter where he got it, she's not about to copy it. Then Bianca storms out, though not before telling Cassio that he can come to supper at her place if he wants. Cassio, not wanting to lose his girlfriend or his supper, follows her.
Later in the same scene, Lodovico arrives with messages from the Venetian Senate, including the news that Othello is to be called back to Venice and Cassio is to stay in Cyprus as governor of the island. Before we hear about this, Lodovico inquires about Cassio, and Iago says that he "Lives, sir" (4.1.223) , as though Cassio is subject not to be discussed. Desdemona, however, is eager to talk about Cassio. She says to Lodovico, "Cousin, there's fall'n between him and my lord / An unkind breach; but you shall make all well" (4.1.224-225) . And when she hears that Cassio is to be governor of Cyprus Desdemona exclaims, "By my troth, I am glad on't" (4.1.238) .
We can understand why Desdemona is glad. As she sees it, she hasn't been able to make any progress on Cassio's problem because Othello has been bothered by some problem in Cyprus. Therefore the news that Cassio has been appointed governor of Cyprus solves everything. Cassio will have a position, and she will go with her husband as he leaves Cyprus and its problems behind. Othello, on the other hand, thinks that she has been parading her love for Cassio in public, and he slaps her. [ Scene Summary ]
In the dark of the night Iago tells Roderigo, "Here, stand behind this bulk; straight will he come. / Wear thy good rapier bare, and put it home" (5.1.1-2) . Roderigo is supposed to hide behind the bulk, his sword out, then jump out and stab Cassio before he knows what's happening. Iago urges Roderigo to hurry and to keep his courage up. Then Iago stands aside and comments: "Now, whether he kill Cassio, / Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other, / Every way makes my gain" (5.1.12-14) . If Roderigo lives, Iago says, he'll want those jewels that were supposed to be given to Desdemona, and if Cassio lives, "He hath a daily beauty in his life / That makes me ugly; and, besides, the Moor / May unfold me to him" (5.1.19-21) . In other words, Iago is just plain jealous of Cassio, and if Othello should happen to confront Cassio about the things that Iago has said, Cassio's side of the story could cast serious doubt on Iago's truthfulness.
Cassio appears and Roderigo makes a thrust, but cuts only Cassio's coat. Roderigo isn't so lucky; Cassio draws his sword and wounds Roderigo so badly that he cries out, "O, I am slain!" (5.1.26) . At this moment Iago is behind Cassio, but he doesn't have enough courage, or presence of mind, or whatever it takes to do what he needs to do. He swings his sword at Cassio, cutting his leg, then runs away.
As Iago is running away from the carnage he has caused, both Roderigo and Cassio are crying out in pain. Now Othello appears in the dark and identifies Cassio by his voice, saying, "The voice of Cassio: Iago keeps his word" (5.1.28) . Believing that Cassio is dead, Othello praises Iago and goes to kill Desdemona. Othello is so intent on killing Desdemona that he leaves before he hears Cassio cry out, "What, ho! no watch? no passage? murder! murder!" (5.1.37) . Cassio wants help, and he is hoping that the night watchmen (the "watch") or passers-by ("passage") will come to his aid. Two passers-by, Lodovico and Gratiano, have heard him, but they also hear Roderigo, and they are afraid to follow the voices into the dark.
As Lodovico and Gratiano are trying to decide what to do, Iago reappears, looking as though he has just gotten out of bed, and goes to Cassio, who tells him that he has been set upon by villains, and that he thinks that "one of them is hereabout, / And cannot make away" (5.1.56-57) . Cassio is referring to Roderigo, whom he has severely wounded. Roderigo then makes the mistake of calling out for help. Iago answers Roderigo's appeal by rushing over to him, shouting "O murderous slave! O villain!" (5.1.61) , and killing him.
(Why didn't Iago kill Cassio, too? Probably because the witnesses, Lodovico and Gratiano, are closer to Cassio than to Roderigo. Also Cassio, even though he is crippled by his wound, would have put up more resistance than Roderigo.)
After finishing off Roderigo, Iago makes a show of looking for more villains and calling out for help. Then he asks Lodovico and Gratiano who they are. Lodovico identifies himself, and they begin to tend to Cassio's wound. Just then, Bianca having heard all the noise, enters. As soon as she sees the wounded Cassio, Bianca cries out, "O my dear Cassio! my sweet Cassio! O Cassio, / Cassio, Cassio!" (5.1.76-77) . As she tries to comfort Cassio, Iago tends to his business. He binds Cassio's wound, calls for a chair (the kind that is carried as we carry a stretcher), pretends to be surprised that Roderigo is the dead villain, and tries to throw suspicion on Bianca. When the chair that Iago called for arrives, Cassio is taken away. [ Scene Summary ]
When Emilia delivers the news that Cassio has killed Roderigo. Othello asks if Cassio has been killed too, and when Emilia says that he hasn't, Othello says, "Not Cassio kill'd! then murder's out of tune, / And sweet revenge grows harsh" (5.2.115-116) . A few minutes later Othello says that Iago told him that Cassio had sex with Desdemona, but Emilia refuses to believe it. However, when Iago appears, Emilia asks him if he said what Othello said he said, and Iago says he did. Emilia responds, "You told a lie, an odious, damned lie; / Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie. / She false with Cassio!--did you say with Cassio?" (5.2.181-182) . Emilia's exclamations seem to indicate that she believes in Cassio's innocence as strongly as she believes in Desdemona's. Also, when Othello says he saw the handkerchief in Cassio's hand, Emilia reveals the truth: "She give it Cassio! no, alas! I found it, / And I did give't my husband" (5.2.230-231)
Later in the scene Cassio appears with Lodovico. Because of his leg wound, Cassio is carried in a chair. Lodovico questions Othello about the events and asks Othello if he conspired with Iago to kill Cassio. Othello answers simply, "Ay" (5.2.298) . Cassio says, "Dear general, I never gave you cause" (5.2.299) . Othello reassures Cassio that he believes him, and asks his pardon. Minutes later Othello asks Cassio how he came to have the handkerchief. Cassio answers that he found it in his chamber, and that Iago has already confessed that he dropped there as part of his plot.
| Michael Cassio |
Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Gray’s Temple are known collectively as what? | The Lieutenant in Othello Essay -- Othello essays
The Lieutenant in Othello Essay
:: 3 Works Cited
Length: 1074 words (3.1 double-spaced pages)
Rating: Purple
The Lieutenant in Othello
Iago, in the Bard’s tragedy Othello, detests in an irrational way the very person of Cassio. Does Michael Cassio deserve the governorship of the island of Cyprus? What is his relationship with Bianca? Let’s look at these and other questions relating to the lieutenant in this essay.
David Bevington in William Shakespeare: Four Tragedies concludes that it is the “daily beauty” in the life of the lieutenant which underlies the destructive behavior of the antagonist:
The “daily beauty” in Cassio’s life makes Iago feel “ugly” by comparison (5.1.19-20), engendering in Iago a profound sense of lack of worth from which he can temporarily find relief only by reducing Othello and others to his own miserable condition. He is adept at provoking self-hatred in others because he suffers from it himself. (223)
Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants comments on the character of Cassio:
In a casual reading of Othello, it may seem that the character of Cassio is not sufficiently well drawn, because, for reasons connected with his portrayal of Iago, Shakespeare delays the full characterization of Cassio until almost the end of the play. However, we have a number of brief revelations of his personality that mark him distinctly – in his genuine anxiety for Othello’s safety, in his abstaining from taking part in the bold and suggestive comments of Iago to the two women as they wait for Othello’s ship and, a little later, in his sincere regret about the loss of his reputation after he has partaken of the wine which Iago has forced upon him. (85-86)
Cassio makes his first appearance in the play in Act 1 Scene 2, when he is conducting the official business of the...
... middle of paper ...
...– another emotional revelation for Michael Cassio. Finally, the ultimate emotional blow to the ex-officer comes when Othello stabs himself and dies: “This did I fear, but thought he had no weapon; / For he was great of heart.”
As “lord governor” of the island of Cyprus now, Michael Cassio has charge of the “censure of this hellish villain, / The time, the place, the torture.” Lodovico appeals to Cassio to let his justice, not his mercy prevail: “O, enforce it!”
| i don't know |
A Sharif, a descendant of Muhammed through his daughter Fatima, is entitled to wear which colour turban or veil? | 26 Fourteen Points Proposed by President Woodrow Wilson these - HIS - 101
View Full Document
26. Fourteen Points- Proposed by President Woodrow Wilson, these terms oF peace included selF-determination, open diplomacy, Freedom oF the seas, disarmament, and the establishment oF the League oF Nations. 27. Social Democratic Party- ±ollowing the abdication oF William II oF Germany, this party proclaimed a republic to avoid the establishment oF a soviet government. 28. Sharif- a descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, entitled to wear a green turban or veil. 29. Mandates- the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to a candidate or party that is victorious in an election. 30. Ataturk- Turkish statesman who abolished the caliphate and founded Turkey as a modern secular state (1881-1938) 31. David Lloyd George- He was the British representative at the Paris Peace ConFerence in 1919. Seeking retribution against Germany, he repudiated Wilson's ±ourteen Points. 32. Georges Clemenceau- He represented ±rance at the Paris ConFerence. He too sought vengeance against Germany. 33. Woodrow Wilson- was the 28th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1913-1919. 34. Balfour Declaration- An agreement by which the British promised the Jews a national home in Palestine. 35. Spartacus Group- “Spartakusbund” 1916– 19 A German revolutionary socialist group led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht 1871– 1919, and named for Spartacus, the leader of the 73 BC slave revolt against Rome. It formed the nucleus of theGerman Communist Party and was bloodily suppressed in 1919 with its leaders bei ng killed.
This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version.
Hannah Smith 4-8-16 Ch. 26 Terms
This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document.
TERM
Oak Hill High School
HIS 101 - Spring 2016
The Hunger Games By. Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games begins on the day of the reapin
5NovelsSimilartoTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.docx
| Green |
The glass-walled railway bridge, known locally as Hielanman’s Umbrella, is located in which British city? | Lady zaynab peace be upon her by SYED MUHAMMAD JAWED - issuu
issuu
Issuu on Google+
Lady Zaynab (Peace be Upon Her) Author : Shaikh Musa Muhammad Publisher's Word Introduction The Blessed Newborn Scholarly Capacities Personality Traditions of Lady Zaynab The Caliph's Reigns Umar's Reign The Kharijite's Sedition The Black Reign Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad in Kufa In Karabala Even The Newborn Lady Zaynab in Captivity Yazid's Gloating Lady Zaynab and A Syrian Man Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Ziyarat of Lady Zaynab
Publisher's Word
The link ed image cannot be display ed. The file may hav e been mov ed, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location.
All praise is due to Almighty Allah Who will reward those who sacrificed their lives for His sake and declared the word of right fearlessly so as to extend justice and honesty on this earth and contribute in achieving the purpose for which He has created the creatures. Allah's peace and all blesssing be uon Muhammad and his infallible Household who suffered troubles and encountered horrible adversities; all for taking humankind to the eternal pleasure and serving Almighty Allah in the best way. In the history of humankind, one can find many names whose principles encouraged them to declare the word of right an djustice openly in the faces of the wrongdoers and the unjust. This book deals with a lady who entered the field of struggle against wrong strongly and said the word of right and justice in the faces of the wrongdoers and opressors. The echoes of this lady's words are still disturbing every tyrant and still reminding history of her immortal situations that gave, altogether with her brother's revolution, a new birth to Islam after it had been about to be deformed and vanished at the hands of the illegal rulers who took over the leadership of the Islamic nation. This lady was Zaynab daughter of Imam 'Ali(a). We must also yield to the fact that Imam al‐Husayn (a) accompanied his sister, lady Zaynab, with him only after he had found her the fittest to complete his giant revolution, and she did complete his revolution after him so perfectly. Besides, Lady Zaynab was such a perfect individual that she understood the duty she would burden about the revolution of her brother although the Islamic Shari'ah1 has ordered women to remain at their houses since it is not obligatory upon them to participate in jihad.2 Notwithstanding, lady Zaynab, being the daughter of the Islamic Shari'ah that was revealed in her house, understood ore than anyone else that the advocacy of the rihgt and the support of the religion were two mission to be undertaken by her. Hence, she carried out the religious duty as perfedct as possible and could act as an important ring in the series of Islam. From this cause, we understand that the revolution of Lady Zaynab, granddaughter of the Prophet of Islam and daughter of its protector, was due to a divine directive.
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Everybody knows tha Islam cold see the light only by virtue of the wealth of Khadijah (Prophet Muhammad's first wife) and the sword of 'Ali ibn Abu Talib (a). In the same manner, Islam has subsisted by virtue of the martyrdom of Imam al‐Husayn (a) and the revolution of Lady Zaynab. Only through the revolutionary speeches of Lady Zaynab didi the publics recognize the falsity of Mu'awiyah and Yazid and their enmity against Islam. The tragedy of Lady Zaynab forms the second half of the revolution of Imam al‐Husayn (a). Against those unbearable misfortunes, she stood with steadfastness and had full custody on the captives, orphans, and the ailed Imam. She then disputed the wrongdoers through her speeches and denied the horrendous crushing and violation aginst the oppressive gang of the Umayyad rulers and their tails until they banished her so as to save their state. Nevertheless, their state was smashed completely in consequence of Lady Zaynab's efforts. ____________ 1‐ Shari'ah is the Islamic code of religious law, based on the teachings of the Qur'an and the traditional sayings of Prophet Muhammad (s). 2‐ Jihad is religious warfare or a war for the Propagation or defense of Islam. The material of this bood has been compiled from the most reliable reference cooks of history and biography. However the books entitles 'Al‐Sayidah Zaynab' and autord by Sheikh Ja'far al‐ Naqdi, 'Al‐Sayyidah Zaynab' and authored by Sheikh Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi have been most depended in the material of this book. The Ansariyan Publication thus is pleased to introduce this work, ehich focuses light, in a brief yet documented way, on the life account, personality, and struggle of Lady Zaynab, to the gentle readers hoping they will benefit by the unparalleled situations of this great lady and derive items leading to human perfection. Finally, we pray to Almighty Allah to make the pathof success paved for us and make our intentions purely proposed to Him. He is most certainly the source of success and good fortune. Ansariyan Publications, 2002 THE AHL UL‐BAYT IN THE QURAN AND SUNNAH Introduction His Eminence Shahykh Musa Muhammad Ali's al‐Sayyidah Zaynab Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
All praises belong to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, the most honorable of the prophets and the chief of the Messengers of Allah, and upon his household, companions, and progeny. Almighty Allah says: 73)ﻣﺟﻴـــد ﺣﻣﻴـــد إﻧـــﻪ اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل ﻋﻠﻴﻛــــم ﺑﺮﻛﺎﺗـــــﻪ و ﷲ )رﺣﻣت.
The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, people of the house, surely He is Praised , Glorious.(11:73) 33)ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ.
Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a(thorough) purifying.(33:33)
اﻟﻘـــــﺮﺑﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻣـــــودة إﻻ أﺟـــﺮا ﻋﻠﻴـــﻪ أﺳـــــﺋﻠﻛم ﻻ ﻗل Say: I do not ask you any reward for it but love for my near relatives. (42:23) In his book entitled al‐Sahih, Muslim records the following: Zayd ibn arqam narrated: In a place between Mecca and Medina called 'Khumm', the Messenger of Allah(s) once delivered a speech to us. After statements of praising and thanking Almighty ____________ 1‐ This introduction has been opted here in order to prove that the love for the Ahl al‐Bayt is not Shiite claim or myth. The author of this introduction belongs to the Hanafite Islamic school of jurisprudence. Allah, as well as statements of preach and reminding of Him, the Prophet(s) said:
ﺛﻘﻠﻴـــــن ﻓﻴﻛــــم ﺗـــﺎرك أﻧــــﺎ و , ﻓﺄﺟﻴــب رﺑﻲ رﺳول ﻳــــــﺄﺗﻴﻧﻲ أن ﻳوﺷك ﺑﺷﺮ أﻧــــﺎ ﻓﺈﻧﻣـــــﺎ ,اﻟﻧـــــﺎس أﻳﮫــــﺎ أﻻ: وا ﷲ ﺑﻛﺘــــﺎب ﻓﺧـــذوا ,واﻟﻧـــــور اﻟﮫــــدي ﻓﻴـــﻪ ﷲ ﻛﺘـــﺎب ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أوﻟﮫﻣـــــﺎ أھــل و ...ﺑــﻪ ﺳﺘﻣﺳـــﻛوا , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم ,ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذرﻛــــم , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم "O people, I am no more than an ordinary person, and the messenger of my Lord (i.e. angle of death) will shortly come to me and then I will respond. first, the Book of you, I have left two Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
weighty things: first the Book of Allah that includes righty guidance and illumination. Preserve in the Book of Allah and hold fast on it. Second, my household, remember Allah concerning my household." The first thing one can learn from the previous directive of the immaculate Prophet (s) is that one who loves someghing must prefer it to himself, lest such love will be false and untrue. To attain something after serious search is more pleasant and delightful than to get it without fatigue. The true love for the Messenger of Allah(s) can be shown through following his words and deeds, complying with his instructions, avoiding things that he deemed forbidden, copying ethics, and following him in his love for his household (the Ahl al‐Bayt), by showing love for them. The Prophet's household are the real pure ones. It is they whom almighty Allah has given His love, bestwood upon with variant miracles, purified from the natures of souls, and saved from following their own desires. As a result, all their thoughts have become completely connected to almighty Allah. Thus, love for the Prophet's household has become the origin and the first step in the way towards Allah. All manners and ranks are only levels of love. Out of His honoring them, Almighty Allah educated the ignorant among the Prophet's family, guided the lost, and strengthened the weak; therefore, to behave modestly before obligatory, and to serve them as much as possible is regarded as seeking nearness to them. It is Almighty Allah, the Creator, Who favored, awarded, purified, chastened, and honored the Prophet's Household. This is clear in His saying: 33)ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ
Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a(thorough) purifying.(33:33) Therefore, creatures must bear in their hearts such divine favorings as response to the Creator's instruction and carrying out the Prophet's call. Love for the Prophet's household can be achieved only by respecting them in presence and absence; they hence should not be slandered or disrespected. Finally, it is forbidden to backbite, especially the Prophet's household and the sincere saints of Allah.1 ____________ 1‐ This is an indication to Almighty Allah's saying:
ﺑﻌﺿــﻛم ﻳﻐﺘــب ﻻ و ﺗﺟﺳﺳــوا ﻻ و إﺛــــم اﻟظــن ﺑﻌض إن اﻟظــن ﻣن ﻛﺜــــﻴﺮا اﺟﺘﻧﺑــــــوا ءاﻣﻧـــــوا اﻟـــــذﻳن ﻳﺄﻳﮫــــــﺎ 12) رﺣﻴــم ﺗــواب ﷲ إن واﺗﻘـــــــــوﷲ ﻓﻛـــــﺮھﺘﻣوه ﻣﻴﺘــــﺎ أﺧﻴـــﻪ ﻟﺣــم ﻳﺄﻛـــل ان أﺣـــذﻛم أﻳﺣــب )ﺑﻌﺿــﺎ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
O you who belive! Avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of your duty to Allah; surely, Allah is Oft‐returning to mercy, Merciful.(49:12) As a result, Muslims must beware of such a vicious trait. However, no one who plunges into such a thing will attain success, because the saints are as same as the prophets, and to make distinction between them is to deprive them of their prosperities and ingratitude for their graces. Unfortunately, the inattentive and the deceived ones look at the people of honesty and faithfulness with the eyes of despise, issue wrong decisions about them, charge them with deviation, and regard them as ignorant. The clear‐sighted ones. on the other hand, are presistently calm; they can see the unseen with eyes of discernment from beyond soft screens. Accordingly, misfortunes can not defeat them and attacks of time can not provoke them. In an instant, the flag of ease shall gleam for them, clouds of obscurity clear away and Almighty Allah eradicate the intrigues of the conspirators. On that account, men of perception, sagacity, decency, and observation hold faithful devotion, perfect constancy, sincere honesty, and abundant esteem for the Prophet's household out of their compliance to the Creator's instruction. their honoring the Prophet, and their acceding to his commandment in the folliwing Hadith: Al‐Tabarani, in his al‐mu'jam al‐kabir, Abu al‐Shaykh Ibn Habban, in his al‐Sahih and al‐ Bayhaqi; all recorded the Prophet's following saying:
إﻟﻴـــــﻪ أﺣب أھﻠـــﻲ و ,ﻋﺘﺮﺗـــﻪ ﻣن إﻟﻴـــــﻪ أﺣب ﻋــﺘﺮﺗﻲ وﺗﻛـــون ,ﻧﻔﺳـــﻪ ﻣن إﻟﻴـــــﻪ أﺣب أﻛــون ﺣﺘﻲ ﻋﺑــد ﻳــؤﻣن ﻻ ذاﺗــــﻪ ﻣن إﻟﻴـــــﻪ أﺣب ذاﺗـــﻲ و ,أھﻠــــﻪ ﻣن "A servant of Allah shall not be faithful believer unless he loves me more than he loves himself, loves my household more than he loves his household, loves my family more than he loves his family, and loves my soul more than he loves his soul."1 Al‐Bayhaqi, Abu al‐Shaykh, and Ibn Habban, in his ____________ 1‐ Al‐Hafizh al‐Dhahabi decided this Hadith as authentic. al‐Sahih, all recorded the following Hadith on the authority of Ali: Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
The Messenger of Allah(s) was furious when he came out, sat on the minbar, thanked and praised All, and then said:
رﺟﺎ ﻳﺣﺑـــﻧﻲﻣﺎﺑــــﺎل ﻻ و , ﻳﺣﺑـــﻧﻲ ﺣﺘﻲ ﻋﺑــد ﻳــؤﻣن ﻻ ﺑﻴــــده ﻧﻔﺳــﻲ واﻟــــذي ؟ ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﻳؤذوﻧـــــﻧﻲ ل ذرﻳـــﺘﻲ ﻳﺣب ﺣﺘﻲ "What is the matter whit those who hurt me concerning my household? I swear by Him Who grasps my soul in His hand that a servant(of Allah) shall not be faithful believer unless he loves me, and he shall not love truly unless he loves my progeny." For this reason 'Abu Bakr said: "I love to respect the Prophet's kinship more than to respect mine." Out of his honesty and wisdom, the Mster of the Creatures(i.e. Prophet Muhammad) who says nothing but truth has said as it is reprorted by al‐Tirmidhi, in his al‐Sunan, and al‐Hakim, in al‐Mustadrak, on the authority of(Abdullah) Ibn Abbas: ﻟﺣــﺑﻲ ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل وأﺣﺑــــوا ,ﷲ ﻟﺣب وأﺣﺑوﻧــــﻲ , ﻧﻌﻣـــﻪ ﻣن ﺑــﻪ ﻳﻐــــذوﻛم ﻟﻣـــﺎ ﷲ أﺣﺑــــوا. "You should love Allah on account of the graces that He bestows upon you ceaselessly, and you should love me on account of your love for me."1 As a commentary of the Prophet's saying, "You should love Allah on account of the graces that He bestows upon you ceaselessly," the author of Fayd al‐Qadir says: "This means that you should love Allah for the various material and tangible graces that He confers upon you, such ____________ 1‐ Al‐Hafizh al‐Dhahabi decided this Hadith as authentic. as the facilitation of food and drink ‐as an example on the material graces‐, and the leading to success and right guidance, the nomination of figures of knowledge, the creation of senses, and the dispense of the illuminations of conviction on hearts in adddition to the other tangible graces." Ibn 'Atta‐Allah al‐Iskandari says: "In every moment, Almighty Allah confers upon you with graces for which you should love Him and must thank Him at all times." Accordingly, it is impossible to settle the thanking when its time slips away, since a new thanking must be renewed in every split second. In the same way, seeking forgiveness and evasion of sins must be renewed in every moment. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Almighty Allah says: 18) رﺣﻴــم ﻟﻐﻔـــور ﷲ إن ﺗﺣﺻوا ﻻ ﷲ ﻧﻌﻣـــﺔ ﺗﻌــــدوا ) وإن. "And if you would count Allah's favors, you will not be able to number them; most surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (16:18) Hence, the Prophet(s) intended to say that you must love Almighty Allah because He is conferring upon you with His endless graces. Al‐Zamakhshari says in this regard: "Grace denotes every advantage intended for charity. On this account, Allah the Exalted has created the whole world as grace. The world is in fact either animate or inanimate. The inanimate is grace for the animate, and the animate is grace for liveliness is grace for the spirited, because without liveliness, the spirited would lose the ability to benefit by other graces. Thus, anything that can be benefited is grace." As a commentary on the previous notion, al‐Fakhr al‐Razi says: "The graces of Allah the Exalted are countless, because everything that He has given to us, such as advantages, pleasures, limbs and organs that we use for getting benefits and evading harms, things that He has created in this universe to reason out the existence of Him as the one and only Maker, and things that He has brought about so as to restrain from acts of disobedience; all these are graces. Furthermore, everything that brings pleasure is grace, and everything that does not bring pleasure but is used for evading harms is also grace, and everything that does not bring pleasure and is not used for evading harms is also grace since it can be used as evidence on the existence of the Maker and, thus, a means to the recognition of and the obedience to Him. As a result, all the creatures are graces." It is now clear that a servant's love for Allah does not need for interpretation, while Allah's love for a servant needs interpretation. In this regard. Imam al‐Ghazzali says: "Love for Allah is factual, not figurative, because love, as linguists cite, denotes the soul's tendency to something expedient and agreeable, while the excessive tendency is the ardent love. Since Allah the Exalted is All‐benevolent and pleasing, and tendency to benevolence and pleasance is naturally satisfying, love for Him has become real. On the other side, Allah's love for a servant is a figurative matter that stems from the Lord's unveiling the divine screen between a servant and Him in order that the servant will see the Lord with his heart, and also stems from the Lord's enabling the servant to be close to Him." The following is excepted from Sharh al‐Mawaqif:1 Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
"Our love for Allah is a spiritual manner depending on the conception of His continual, limitless perfection, and necessitating perfect attention to His Scared Presence without languor or whereabouts. While our love for things other than Him is a manner depending on the imagination of the perfection of pleasant, human, or comparable things, such as the love for one's beloved or the father's love for his son. ____________ 1‐ sharh al‐Mawaqif is authored by al‐sharif al‐Jurjani. Moreover, love is satifaction, will , and avoidance of protest. In abstract, Allah's love for others is not real, because the reality of love denotes will, and wills associate limited things only, and Almighty Allah has no limits. In other words, a will to do something denotes that that thing has not been done yet, and the will to avoid something denotes that that thing can be avoided. On that account, Almighty Allah is too exalted to will to do or avoid something, because He is the Everlasting, the eternally Besought of all." The prophet saying, "you should love me on acount of your love for Allah," means that because Allah the Exalted loves me, He specifies your love for me as an instruction that you must carry out. This meaning is stated in the following authentically narrated report: "When Allah loves a servant, Archangel Gabriel declares: Allah has loved so‐and‐so, you therefore must love him." The Prophet's saying, "You should love my household on account of your love for me," means that because I love my household for Allah's love for them, you should then love them. The Prophet's saying may also denote an instruction that must be carried out, because love for the Prophet's household is for their love for the Prophet(s). Almighty Allah says: اﻟﻘـــــﺮﺑﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻣـــــودة إﻻ أﺟـــﺮا ﻋﻠﻴـــﻪ أﺳـــــﺋﻠﻛم ﻻ ﻗل "Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives." (42:23) Al‐Fakhr al‐Razi records that the Prophet(s) and his household are equal in five things: (1) During the Tashahhud1 of the prayers, blessings should be said to the Prophet and his household. ____________ 1‐ Tashhhud is the last obligatory part of the prayer, in which perfomers ( of prayer) send blessings to Prophet Muhammad and his household, by saying: Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
ﻣﺣﻣــد آل و ﻣﺣﻣــد ﻋﻠﻲ ﺻل اﻟﻠﮫـــــم (2) During the Taslim 1 of the prayers. blessing should be said to the Prophet and his household. In the Holy Quran Almighty Allah says: 130)ﻳﺎﺳـــﻴن آل ﻋﻠﻲ )ﺳــﻼم. Peace be on the family of Yasin. (37:130) (3) In purity; Almighty Allah addresses to Prophet Muhammad (s) by saying, ""طﻪ, which means 'pure.' (4) Almighty Allah says: ﷲ ﻳﺣﺑﺑﻛـــــم ﻓــــــﺎﺗﺑﻌوﻧﻲ ﷲ ﺗﺣﺑـــون ﻛﻧﺘــــم آن ﻗل. Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you. (3:31) (5) Almighty Allah says: اﻟﻘـــــﺮﺑﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻣـــــودة إﻻ أﺟـــﺮا ﻋﻠﻴـــﻪ أﺳـــــﺋﻠﻛم ﻻ ﻗل "Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives." (42:23) The Holy Quran, authentic Hadiths, and consensus of Muslim scholars from different generations; all these refer to the divive obligation for loving, adoring, esteeming, respecting, and honoring the household of Allah's Messenger(s). Besides, reason decides this fact according to the previous proofs on the obligation of gratitude for the All‐benefactor Lord's graces. Our Prophet (s), as being the prophet of mercy, the guide of the ummah, and the savior of humankind, must be thanked, appreciated, respected, and honored. To honor and love the Prophet's household is a part of honoring and loving him. ____________ 1‐ Taslim is the last obligatory pillar of a prayer referring to salutation. On that account, the four major guidelines of the Islamic Shariah, namely the Holy Quran, the holy sunnah, consensus of the different generation of the Muslim scholars, and analogy,make incumbent upon Muslims to love the Prophet's household. To refer to all these evidences is impossible in this brief essay, because it requires big volumes, and the submission to this fact is an indisputable matter for both ordinary people and scholars. We have referred to some points of this topic only in order to enlighten those who love the Prophet's household, for Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Almighty Allah says: اﻟﻌﻠﻣﻴــــــن ﻋﻠﻲ ﻋﻣــﺮان ءال و إﺑــــــﺮاھﻴم وءال ﻧوﺣـــﺎ و ءادم اﺻطﻔﻰ ﷲ إن (33). Surely, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the descendants of Abraham and the descendants of 'Imran above the nations.(3:33) Undoubtedly, Prophet Muhammad (s) belongs to the descendants of Abraham and, as a result, his household belong to the descendants of Abraham. As a conclusion, the Prophet's household are chosen by Allah. Regarding Almighty Allah's saying: 33)ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a(thorough) purifying.(33:33) This is most surely clear‐cut evidence on the special rank of the Prophet's household. Furthermore, there are numerous Verses from the Holy Quran and Hadith supporting each other in this regard. The best example is Allah's saying: اﻟﻘـــــﺮﺑﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻻﻣـــــودة إﻻ أﺟـــﺮا ﻋﻠﻴـــﻪ أﺳـــــﺋﻠﻛم ﻻ ﻗل "Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives."(42:23) The authenticated frank Hadiths regarding the Prophet's household are too innumerable. Let us refer to some of them: Al‐Tirmidhi, in his al‐Sunan, and Abu Hatam reported the following Hadith on the authority of Zayd ibn Arqam: ﺳــــﺎﻟﻣﮫم ﻟﻣــن ﺳــﻠم و ﺣــــﺎرﺑﮫم ﻟﻣــن ﺣﺮب أﻧــــﺎ. "I am in war against him whoever is in war aganinst them(the Prophet's household), and in peace with him whoever is in peace with them." Al‐Tirmidhi and Imam Ahmad recorded the following Hadith: ﷲ آذي ﻓﻘـــد آذاﻧــــﻲ ﻣن و , آذاﻧــــﻲ ﻓﻘـــد ﻗﺮاﺑــــﺘﻲ آذي ﻣن "Anyone who hurts my relatives will be hurting me, and whoever hurts me is surely hurting Allah." Imam al‐Bukhari, in his al‐Sahih, recorded the following on the authority of 'Abd‐al‐Rahman ibn Abu Layla: Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Ka'b ibn 'Ajarah met me and said, "May I present to you a gift that I have heard from the Messenger of Allah (S)?" "Yes," I answered , "give it to me." He spoke, "We asked the Prophet (s) how to send blessings on the Ahl al‐Bayt, and he answered: You should say: ﻋﻠﻲ و إﺑــــــﺮاھﻴم ﻋﻠﻲ ﺻﻠﻴت ﻛﻣـــﺎ ﻣﺣﻣــد آل و ﻣﺣﻣــد ﻋﻠﻲ ﺻل اﻟﻠﮫـــــم :ﻗوﻟــــوا و إﺑــــــﺮاھﻴم ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﺎرﻛــت ﻛﻣـــﺎ ﻣﺣﻣــد آل ﻋﻠﻲ و ﻣﺣﻣــد ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑـــﺎرك اﻟﻠﮫـــــم .ﻣﺟﻴـــد ﺣﻣﻴـــد إﻧــك ,إﺑــــــﺮاھﻴم آل إﺑـــــﺮاه ﻣﺟﻴـــد آل ﺣﻣﻴـــد إﻧــك , ﻳــم. Say: O Allah, have mercy upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad in the same way as you had mercy upon Abraham and the family of Abraham. You are surely Praised and Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in the same way as you blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. You are surely Praised and Glorious." Commenting on this Hadith, our master Jabir says: "I do not believe that my prayers in which I do not send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad; I do not believe such prayers will be accepted." Al‐Tirmidhi, in his al‐Sunan, records the following on the authority of 'Umar ibn Abu Salamah, the Prophet's stepson: Regarding the follwing Verse: ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد إﻧﻣــــﺎ 33))ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا. Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. (33:33) When this Verse Was revealed, the Prophet(s) was in the house of Ummu‐Salamah ‐the Prophet's righeous wife‐. He summoned Fatimah, al‐ Hasan, and al‐Husayn and covered them with a cloak, which, too,covered his back, and said: ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا طﮫﺮھم و اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﮫـــم ﻓﺄذھــب ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ھـــؤﻻء أﻟﻠﮫـــــم. "O Allah , these are my household ; therefore, (I beseech You to) keep away the uncleanness from them and purify them a thorough purifying." Seeing the situation, Ummu‐Salamah asked, "Am I added to them, Allah's Messenger:" The Prophet(s) answered, "You are in your own position, and you are on the right."1 These are the Ahl al‐Bayt from whom Almighty Allah keeps away the uncleanness and whom He purified thoroughley. In the previous Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (s) shows that this honor (of thorough purification) is dedicated to them individually and without the participation of anyone else. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
According to the narration, this exclusive position verifies that Ummu‐Salmah heard and saw the whole situation and asked the Prophet (s)to include her to them. As she tried to lift up that cloak and go under it, the Prophet (s) took the cloak's edge from her hand and said, ____________ 1‐ After recording this Hadith, al‐Bayhaqi commented: According to Abu‐Abdullah al‐Tirmidhi, this Hadith is authenticated and its narrators are trustwothy. "You are on your own position, and you are on the right." Because this exclusive position is dedicated to the Ahl al‐Bayt alone, nobody else should be added even Ummu‐Salamah, the virtuous wife of the Prophet (s) and mother of the faithful believers ( Allah please all the mothers of the faithful believers).1 If it was permissible or acceptable for anyone else to have a share in this exclusive position of the Prophet's household, it would be permissible for Ummu‐Salamah to be under that cloak as, at least, response to her desire, soothing her, or appreciation for her faithfulness and loyalty, especially from the one who "to the believers full of pity and meciful,"2 and was the kind, the sympathetic, the magnanimous, the generous, and the honest. Thus, it has become evident that the Verse is dedicated to those people of the cloak, not anyone else. This fact is also proved by authentic narrations. Thus, it has been proved that the Verse intended is dedicate to the Prophet's household who are distiguished by such honorable merits. In addition, the holy Sunnah is glittering to brim the Muslims' world with the virtues of the Prophet's household: In his ( book entitled) al‐Sahih, Muslims records the following on the authority of Yazid ibn Hayyan al‐Taymi: Husayn ibn Sabarah, Muslim ibn Zayd, and I went to ____________ 1‐ In the Holy Quran(33:6), Almighty Allah says: أﻣﮫﺘﮫـــــم أزواﺟـــﻪ و أﻧﻔﺳــــﮫم ﻣن ﺑـــــــﺎﻟﻣؤﻣﻧﻴن أوﻟـــﻲ اﻟﻧـــــﺑﻲ "The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves, and his wives are as their mothers." 2‐ This is an indication to Almighty Allah's saying in the Holy Quran (9:12) "Certainly an Apostle has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers (he is) full of pity and merciful." Zayd ibn Arqam. After we had sat before him, Husayn asked, "Zayd you have really attained great benefaction because you saw the Prophet (s), listened to his words, participated in his campaigns, and followed him in prayers. Now, Zayd, please narrate to us what you have heard from the Messenger of Allah(s)." Zayd spoke : "O son of my brother,(I swear) by Allah I have become old‐aged my days have become very old, and have forgotten some of these narration that I used to memorize directly from the Messenger of Allah(s). You therefore should accept what I will tell you and should not ask me things over my ability." He then added, "One day, in a place between Mecca and Medina called 'Khumm', the Messenger of Allah (s) delivered a speech to us." After statements of praising and thanking almighty Allah, as well as statements of preach and reminding of Him, the Prophet (s) said: ﺛﻘﻠﻴـــــن ﻓﻴﻛــــم ﺗـــﺎرك أﻧــــﺎ و , ﻓﺄﺟﻴــب رﺑﻲ رﺳول ﻳــــــﺄﺗﻴﻧﻲ أن ﻳوﺷك ﺑﺷﺮ أﻧــــﺎ ﻓﺈﻧﻣـــــﺎ , اﻟﻧـــــﺎس أﻳﮫــــﺎ أﻻ: أھــل و ... ﺑــﻪ واﺳﺘﻣﺳــــﻛوا ﷲ ﺑﻛﺘــــﺎب ﻓﺧـــذوا ,واﻟﻧـــــور اﻟﮫــــدي ﻓﻴـــﻪ ﷲ ﻛﺘـــﺎب أوﻟﮫﻣـــــﺎ ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم ,ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم "O people, I am no more than an ordinary person, and the messenger of my Lord(i.e. angle of death) will shortly come to me and then I will respond. Among you I have left two weighty things: first the Book of Allah that includes righty guidance and illumination. Preserve in the Book of Allah and hold fast on it. Second, my household, remember Allah concerning my household." Husayn asked again, " Zayd, who are the Prophet's household? Are his wives included with his household?" He ‐Zayd‐ answered: "His wives are included with his household, but his Household are those whom are forbidden to receive alms after him." Husayn asked, "Who are they, then?" Zayd answered, "They are the family of 'Ali, the family of 'Aqil, the family of Ja'far, and the family of 'Abbas." (Abdullah) ibn 'Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s) had said: و ﺟــــﺎھﻠﻛم ﻳﻌﻠــــم أن و ﺿــﺎﻟﻛم ﻳﮫـــدي أن و ﻗـــــﺎﺋﻣﻛم ﻳﺜﺑـــت أن ﷲ ﺳﺄﻟت ﻗــد إﻧــﻲ , اﻟﻣطﻠـــب ﻋﺑــد ﺑــﻧﻲ ﻳـــﺎ ي ﷲ أن ﻟﻘــﻲ ﺛــم ,ﺻﺎم و ﻓﺻﻠﻲ اﻟﻣﻘــــــﺎم و اﻟـــﺮﻛن ﺑﻴـــن ﺻﻔن رﺟــﻼ أن ﻓﻠـــو .رﺣﻣــﺎء ﻧﺟــــداء ﺟــودا ﺟﻌﻠﻛـــم اﻟﻧـــــﺎر دﺧل ﻣﺣﻣــد ﺑﻴــت ﻷھـــل ﻣﺑﻐﺿــﺎ "O sons of Abd‐al‐Muttalib, I have besought Allah to make the chiefs among you stable (you the righty course), guide the straying ones among you, teach the ignorant ones among you and make you generous, noble, and merciful. A man who lines up his legs between the Rukn Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
and Maqam 1 for praying (there) and observes fasting (there) shall most surely be entered into the fire of Hell if he meets Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) bearing malice against the household of Muhammad." This Hadith is recorded by al‐Hakim (in his book titled al‐Mustadrak) on the criterion of Muslim.2 The Prophet's household are the worthiest of the Divine Care and love of the Messenger of Allah (s), because they are regarded as security from people on this earth. ____________ 1‐ The Rukn is the corner of the Holy Kaabah, and Maqam is the standing‐place of Prophet Abraham near the Holy Kaabah. 2‐ The most reliable refrences books of Hadith for our Sunni brethern are six each having independent criterion to decide a Hadith's degree of authenticity. Muslim is the compiler of one of these books and, hence, has his own criterion of a Hadith's degree of authenticity. Imam Ahmad ‐ibn Hanbal‐, in his al‐Musnad, and Abu 'Amr al‐Ghifari have reported on the authority of 'Ali that the Messenger of Allah (s) had said: اﻷرض ﻷھـــل أﻣـــﺎن ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل و .اﻟﺳــــﻣﺎء أھــل ذھب اﻟﻧﺟـــــوم ذھﺑت ﻓــــﺈذا ,اﻟﺳــــﻣﺎء ﻷھـــل أﻣـــﺎن اﻟﻧﺟـــــوم, ال أھــل أﻣـــﺎن ذھب ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ذھب أرضﻓــــﺈذا Stars are acting as security for the inhabitants of the heavens. If stars vanish. the inhabitants of the heavens will vanish, too. My Household are acting as security inhabitants of the earth will desappear, too. Nasr ibn 'Ali al‐Jahfumi relates the following narration to 'Ali ibn Abu Talib: The prophet (s) took al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn from the hands and declared: اﻟﻘﻴﺎﻣـــــــﺔ ﻳـــوم درﺟــﺘﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻌﻲ ﻛــﺎن أﻣﮫﻣــــﺎ و أﺑﺎھﻣــــــﺎ و ھــذﻳن أﺣﺑـــﻧﻲ ﻣن Anyone who loves these two, their father, their mother , and me shall certainly be with me in the same position on the Day of Resurrection. Sufyan ibn Waki and 'Abd ibn Hamid reported that Khalid ibn Mukhallad narrated the following to them on the authority of Usamah ibn Zayd: One night, I visited the Prophet (s) who went out embracing two thing that I could not see under a cloak. After I had asked him about the matter for which I visited him, I asked about the things that he was embracing. He (s) uncovered the cloak and they were al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn on his hips. He then said: ﻳﺣﺑﮫﻣـــــﺎ ه ﻣن وأﺣب ﻓﺄﺣﺑﮫﻣــــــﺎ أﺣﺑﮫﻣـــــﺎ إﻧــﻲ اﻟﻠﮫـــــم .اﺑﻧـــــﺘﻲ واﺑﻧـــــﺎ اﺑﻧـــــﺎي ذان Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
These two are my sons and my daughter's. O Allah, I do love them and I beseech to You to love them and to love those who love them. Al‐Husayn ibn Hurayath has related that Abu Buraydah said: Whilst the Prophet (s) was on the minbar delivering a speech to us, al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn, who were dressing red shirts, came towards him in stumbling steps. Immediately, the Messenger of Allah (s) descended from the minbar, carried them both, and put them before him. He then commented: اﻟﺻـــــﺑﻴﻴن ھــذﻳن إﻟــﻲ ﻧظﺮت .ﻓﺘﻧــــﺔ أوﻻدﻛــــــم و أﻣــــــواﻟﻛم إﻧﻣــــﺎ :ﷲ ﺻدق رﻓﻌﺘﮫﻣـــــﺎ و ﺣـــدﻳﺜﻲ ﻗطﻌت ﺣﺘﻲ أﺻﺑﺮ ﻓﻠـــم ﻳﻌــــﺜﺮان و ﻳﻣﺷــــﻴﺎن Truthful are the words of Allah (Who says): "Your possession and your children are only a trial." As I saw these two boys walk stumblingly, I could not avoid interrupting my speech so as to lift them up from the ground. Almighty Allah, too, urged to respect the prophet's Household. In this regard, al‐Bukhari, in his al‐Sahih, records that Abu Bakr narrated the following saying of the Prophet (s): ﺑﻴﺘــــﻪ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﻣﺣﻣـــدا أرﻗﺑـــــوا , اﻟﻧـــــﺎس أﻳﮫــــﺎ ـــﺎ ﻳ O people, regard Muhammad through honoring his household. Imam Ahmad ‐ibn Hanbal‐, in his al‐Sahih‐ records on the autority of 'Ali that the Prophet (s) said to Fatimah: وإ اﻟﻘﻴﺎﻣـــــــﺔأﻧــﻲ ﻳـــوم واﺣــد ﻣﻛـــﺎن ﻓﻲ (ﻋﻠﻴــــﺎ ھذاﻟﺮاﻗـــــــد)ﻳﻌـــﻧﻲ و ( ﺣﺳـــﻴﻧﺎ و ﺣﺳــﻧﺎ )ﻳﻌـــﻧﻲ ھــذﻳن و ﻳـــﺎك You, these two (i.e. al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn). this sleeping one (i.e. 'Ali), and I shall certainly be�� in the same position on the Day of Resurrection. Al‐Tabarani records on the authority of 'Ali that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: أﻣـــﺘﻲ ﻣن أﺣﺑـــﻧﻲ ﻣن و ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ اھــل اﻟﺣـــوض ﻋﻠﻲ ﻳــﺮد ﻣن أول My household and those who love me among the individuals of my Ummah shall be the first to join me on the Divine Pool ( 30 ) Al‐Tabarani, in his al‐Mu'jam al‐Saghir, records on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: ﻧﺟــــداء ﺟـــوداء ﻳﺟﻌﻠﻛــــم أن ﻋﺰوﺟل ﺳﺄﻟت ﻗــد إﻧــﻲ ,ھﺎﺷــم ﺑــﻧﻲ ﻳـــﺎ ﺟــــﺎﺋﻌﻛم ﻳﺷــﺑﻊ و ﺧـــــﺎﺋﻔﻛم ﻳــؤﻣن و ﺿــﺎﻟﻛم ﻳﮫـــدي أن ﺳــــﺄﻟﺘﻪ و . رﺣﻣــﺎء Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
O sons of Hashim, I have implored to Allah the Exalted to make you generous, noble, and merciful. I have also asked Him to guide the straying ones among you, secure the fearful ones among , and to supply the hungry ones among you In his al‐Mustadrak, al‐Hakim records the following Hadith on the authority of Anas ibn Malik and decides it as authentically reported: The Messenger of Allah (s) said: ﻳﻌـــــذﺑﮫم أﻻ ﺑـــــــﺎﻟﺑﻼغ وﻟــﻲ ﺑﺎﻟﺘوﺣﻴـــــــد ﻣﻧﮫـــم اﻗـــﺮ ﻣن ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ رﺑﻲ رﺷدﻧﻲ Concerning my household, my Lord has promised me that He shall not punish anyone of them who belives in Allah's oneness and my (divine) message. Al‐Tabarani, in his al‐Mu'jam al‐Kabir, records on the authority of ('Abdullah) Ibn 'Abbas the following Hadith whose reporters are decided as trustworthy: The Messenger of Allah (a) said to Fatimah: وﻟـــدك ﻻ و ﻣﻌـــذﺑك ﻏﻴﺮ ﷲ إن Most surely, Allah shall not punish your sons and you. Ahmad, al‐Hakim, and al‐Bayhaqi record on the authority of Abu Sa'id (al‐Khaidri) that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: while he was on the minbar: ي رﺟﺎل ﺑـــﺎل ﻣوﺻﻠﺔﻣــﺎ رﺣﻣﻲ إن , وﷲ ﺑﻠــﻲ اﻟﻘﻴﺎﻣـــــــﺔ؟ ﻳـــوم ﻗوﻣـــﻪ ﺗﻧﻔــــﻊ ﷲ رﺳول رﺣم أن ﻗوﻟـــون اﻟﺣـــوض ﻋﻠﻲ ﻟﻛـــم ﻓﺮط ,اﻟﻧـــــﺎس أﻳﮫــــﺎ , إﻧــﻲ و , واﻵﺧـــــﺮة اﻟـــــــدﻧﻴﺎ ﻓﻲ What is the wrong with some individuals who claim that kinship of Allah's Messenger (s) shall not be helpful on the Day of Resurrection? This is definitely not correct. By Allah, I swear that my kinship is helpful in this world as well as the world to come. O people, I will precede you to the Divine Pool." Al‐Bukhari, in his al‐Sahih, records the following on the authority of abu Bakr: While the Prophet (s) was delivering a sermon, al‐Hasan came; therefore, the Prophet (s) said: ھـــذا إﺑــــﻧﻲ اﻟﻣﺳــــــﻠﻣﻴن ﻣن ﻓﺋﺘﻴـــــن ﺑــﻪ ﻳﺻﻠﺢ ﷲ ﻟﻌــل و ,ﺳــﻴد. This is my son. He is a chief. Perhaps, Allah will reconcile two Muslim parties through him. Ibn Hajar, in Fath al‐Bari (Commentary and explanations of al‐Bukhari's al‐Sahih), records the following saying al‐Muhallab: In the previous Hadith, the Prophet (s) relates leadership to conciliation; therefore, this indicates that none deserves leadership except those by whom people benefit. Imam Ahmad and al‐Tabarani, in his al‐Mu'jam al‐Kabir, record that 'Ali reported: As the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Messenger of Allah (s) assaigned me as the judge of the Yemen, I said: "Messenger of Allah (s), you have chosen me while I am still young and many elderly men are there. Besides, I do not have full acquaintance with judiciary." The Prophet (s) answered: ﻟﺳـــﺎﻧك ﻳﺜﺑـــت و ﻗﻠﺑـــك ﺳــﻴﮫدي ﷲ ﻓـــﺈن إﻧطﻠـــق Go ahead, for it is Allah Who shall guide your heart and strengthen your tongue. 'Ali then said: "After this statement, I have never failed." In fact, the authentic Hadiths in this regard are innumerable, for the six most reliable reference books of Hadith, as well as many others, are filled up with such narration of honoring and esteeming the Prophet's household's exalted rank and unanimous elevated standing. Besides, this fact is known for everybody, and it is impossible to find a single faithful believer ignoring the esteem of the family of Allah's Messenger(s). Abu Bakr al‐Bayhaqi (m), the grand scholar, says: "All these reports appertained to the virtues of the Prophet's household are mentioned in the famous books of Hadith in authenticated series of narration. Refer to these books for the topic intended." The Prophet's household are 'Ali, Fatimah, al‐Hasan. and al‐Husayn, and their descendants and offspring are attached to them. The Hadith of Mubahalah‐invocation of Allah's curse‐ is the evidence on the fact that only the aforementioned five individuals enjoy the special rank given to the Prophet's household. Exegetes of the Holy Qur'an have confirmed the following incident: Regarding almighty Allah's saying: و ﻧﺳـــــﺎءﻧﺎ و وأﺑﻧـــــــﺎءﻛم أﺑﻧﺎءﻧــــــــﺎ ﻧــدع ﺗﻌــــــﺎﻟوا ﻓﻘــل اﻟﻌﻠـــــم ﻣن ﺟﺎءك ﻣــﺎ ﺑﻌـــد ﻣن ﻓﻴـــﻪ ﺣﺎﺟك ﻓﻣــن ال ﻋﻠﻲ ﷲ ﻟﻌﻧــت ﻓﻧﺟﻌـــل ﻧﺑﺘﮫــــل ﺛــم أﻧﻔﺳــــﻛم و أﻧﻔﺳــــــﻧﺎ و ﻧﺳــــﺂءﻛم61))ﻛــــذﺑﻴن If any one disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge Hath come to thee, say: "Come! Let us gather together, ‐our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves: Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie! When this Verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (s) embraced al‐Hasan and al‐ Husayn, Fatimah walked after them, and 'Ali walked after them. He then asked them to say 'Amen' when he would invoke Allah ... etc.1 ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐ The incident of Mubahalah ‐invocation of Allah's curse‐ is very well‐known, for it is mentione in almost all the books dealing with the Islamic history. On this incident, Jarallah comments: "This Verse is the strongest evidence on the virtue of the 'Ashab al‐Kisa' (owners of the Cloak ‐ the Prophet's household‐.)1 About their descendants' followimg them in virtue, the following Quranic Verse prove it: ذرﻳﺘﮫـــــم ﺑﮫـــم أﻟﺣﻘﻧــــــﺎ ﺑﺈﻳﻣــــــﺎن ذرﻳﺘﮫـــــم واﻟﺘﺑﻌﺘﮫــــــــم ءاﻣﻧـــــوا واﻟـــــذﻳن And (as for) those who believe and their offspring follow them in faith, We will unite with them their offspring. Scholars have confirmed that 'offspring' includes the descendance of the origin up to the Day of Resurrection. On that account, the Prophet's household includes his offspring and descendants up to the Day of Resurrection. From this point, scholars of Islamic laws have decided many verdicts, especially in questions of waqfs2 and the like. In this respect too, the question of the belongingness of the Prophet's daughter's descendants to his lineage is very famous, and our great Imam Abu Hanifah al‐Nu'man ibn Thabit has his clear opinion in this question. Commenting on the previous Qur'aic Verse, the author of Mahasin al‐Ta'wil says: "The Verse refers to those who imitate their ascendants with relation to faith and righteous deeds. The Vrese also shows that those descendants will be joined to their ascendants in Paradise and (eternal) bliss. Because the addressees in the Verse are the Prophet's companions who ____________ 1‐ The 'Ashab al‐Kisa ' (owners of the Cloak) is a name called on the Prophet (s), Imam 'Ali, Fatimah al‐Zahra, Imam al‐hasan, and Imam al‐Husayn, because the Prophet (s) covered these four individuals under a cloak and supplicated to Almighty Allah to remove uncleanness from them and purify them thoroughly. In this incident, the Prophet (s) named them as 'my household' (i.e. the Ahl ul‐Bayt). 2‐ Waqf is the endowment or settlement of property under which the proceeds are to be devoted to a religious or charitable purpose. are sure of Allah's promise, they receive the good tidings that their descendants who imitate them righteously will be added to them." The other Hashemites whom are forbidden to receive anything from the alms enjoy a rank of honor higher than that of others, but they Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
cannot attain the characteristics of the 'Ashab al‐Kisa' and the Prophet's progeny in relation to the obligation of loving, respecting, reverencing, and honoring them. Scholars have had different opinions regarding Almighty Allah's saying: 33) ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. (33:33) Some scholars have decided that this Verse is dedicated only to the descendants of 'Ali and Fatimah, while others have included the families of al‐'Abbas, Ja'far, and 'Aqil with them, In his al‐Risalah al‐zaynabiyyah, Jalaluddin al‐Suyuti has recorded precious words concerning the identification of the Sharifs. He says: "In the first age of Islam, the epithet of 'Sharif' was said to anyone who belonged to the Prophet's household, whether through al‐Hasan or al‐ Husayn, belonged to 'Ali whether through Muhammd ibn al‐Hanafiyyah or any other son, or belonged to Ja'far, Aqil, or al‐'Abbas. Thus, in the biographies mentioned in al‐Dhahabi's book of history. you can find many names such as, 'Sharif of al‐'Abbas', 'Sahrif of 'Aqil,' Sharif of 'Jafar,' or 'Sahrif of Zaynab.' But, when the Fatimid dynasty ruled Egypt, they dedicated the epighet to the descendants of our masters al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn, This matter has been followed in Egypt up to now. Lady Zaynab married my master 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, her cousin. The first of her excellent, pure descendants were Sayyid 'Ali, the namesake of his grandfather, Sayyid 'Awn al‐Akbar, Sayyid 'Abbas, Sayyid Muhammad, and Lady Ummu‐Kulthum respectively. Lady Zaynab's descendants are now numerous. They are, according to al‐Sabban the scholar, added to the Prophet's family and household. This fact is unanimously decided because the Prophet's family are the faithful believers from the Hashemites, son of 'Abd‐ul‐Muttalib, his progeny, and his descendants. Sons (and descendants) of one's daughter are regarded as his progeny and descendants, and when such a man records something in his will for his descendants, the descendants of his daughter must have a share in it. This meaning however is more specific than the previous. As it is unanimously decided, it is forbidden for the descendants of Ja'far to have from the alms, because they belong to the Prophet's household. Even though it is now dedicated to the descendants of al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn, the epithet of 'Sharif' must be said to all the individuals who belong to the Propht's household, according to the old concept of this epithet. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
The author of al‐Mawahib says that the Messenger of Allah (s) had no descendants except those who came through his daughter Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra. Hence, the Peophet's noble progeny came through the grandsons, Imam al‐Hasan and Imam al‐Husayn. Those who belong to the descendants of the two Imams are called 'Hasani' and 'Husayni.' Besides, the name 'Ishaqi' is added to those who belong to Ishaq son of Ja'far al‐Sadiq son of Muhammad al‐ Baqir son of Imam Zayn al‐Abidin son Imam al‐Husayn. He ‐Ishaq‐ was the husband of Lady Nafisah daughter of al‐Hasan ibn Zayd ibn al‐Hasan ibn 'Ali. Al‐Sabban says that 'sharifship' is of various classes; a general one includes all the Prophet's household. a special one is dedicated to the Prophet's progeny and, hence, includes the descendants of Lady Zaynab and all of the Prophet's daughter's descendants, and a third class is restricted to al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn and called 'sharifship of kinship.' The evidence of those who claim that the name of Ahl al‐Bayt is restricted to definite individuals is the following Hadith, which is related from many authenticated ways of narration: The Prophet (s), accompanied by 'Li and Fatimah, gave his two hands to al‐Hasan and al‐ Husayn and entered. He asked 'Ali and Fatimah to come close and sit before him, seated al‐ Hasan and al‐Husayn on his thighs, covered them with a cloak, and recited (Allah's saying): 33)ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ Allah only desire to keep away the uncleanness from you, O poeple of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. (33:33) According to another narration, the Prophet (s) then said: ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا طﮫﺮھم و اﻟﺟس ﻋﻧﮫـــم ﻓﺄذھــب ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ھـــؤﻻء اﻟﻠﮫـــــم. "O Allah, these are my household;(so, I beseech to You to) Keep away the uncleanness from them, and purify them a thorough purifying." According to a third narration< the Prophet (s) then said: ﺣﻣﻴـــد إﻧــك ,إﺑــــــﺮاھﻴم ﻋﻠﻲ ﺟﻌﻠﺘﮫـــــﺎ ﻛﻣـــﺎ ﻣﺣﻣــد ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﺮﻛﺎﺗــــك و ﺻــﻠواﺗك ﻓﺎﺟﻌـــل ,ﻣﺣﻣــد آل ھـــؤﻻء أﻟﻠﮫـــــم ﻣﺟﻴـــد "O Allah, these are the family of Muhammad; (So, I beseech to You to) make Your mercy and blessings on the family of Muhammad in the same way as You have made it on Abraham. You are ceratainly Praised, glorious." Supporting those who claim generality of the expression of Ahl al‐Bayt, al‐Baydawi states that Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
particularizing the expression to the five individuals only does not suit the Verses that precede and antecede the intended Verse (i.e. Verse of Purification). In addition, the Hadith has mentioned those individuals particularly so as to refer to the Prophet's household, not anyone else On the other hand, the particularization is mentioned for adding the particular progeny to them, for their special rank. As a result, this does not oppose the generality of the expression. It is also credible that the particularization of these four individuals is intended for a divine commandment. This fact is proved by the Hadith narrated by Ummau‐Salamah: Seeing the situation, Ummu‐Salamah lifted an edge of the cloak and tried to be with them under it. But the Prophet (s) took the cloak's edge from her hand. She then asked, "Am I added to them, Allah's Messenger?" The prophet (s) answered, "You are in your own position, and you are on the right." In al‐Musnad, Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) and al‐Tabarani narrates the following Hadith on the authority of Abu Sa'id al‐Khidri: The Messenger of Allah (s) said: ﻓﺎطﻣـــﺔ و , ﺣﺳﻴن و , وﺣﺳن , ﻋﻠﻲ وﻓﻲ , ﻓﻲ : ﺧﻣﺳﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻵﻳـــــﺔ ھــذه ﻧﺰﻟــت "This Verse (of Purification) has intended five individuals; they are 'Ali, al‐Hasan, al‐Husayn, Fatimah, and I." Ibn Abu Shaybah, Ahmad, al‐Tirmidhi, al‐Tabarani, and al‐Hakim (who decided the Hadithas authentic); all narrate the following on the authotity of Anas: Whenever he went out for the Fajr ‐down‐ Prayer (in the Masjid), the Prophet (s) used to pass by the house of Fatimah and declare: و اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺮﺟس ﻋﻧﻛـــم ﻟﻴـــذھب ﷲ ﻳﺮﻳـــد )إﻧﻣــــﺎ . اﻟﺑﻴــــت أھــل اﻟﺻــــﻼة 33)ﺗطﮫــــﻴﺮا )ﻳطﮫـــﺮﻛم Hurry for the prayer, O people of the House(i.e. the Ahl al‐Bayt.) "Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House, and to purify you a thorough purifying." At any rate, some narrations assert the generality of the expression: Muslim and al‐Nassa'i narrate the following on the authority of Zayd ibn Arqam: The Messenger of Allah (s) delivered a speech to us in which he (s) said: ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛــــﺮﻛم , ﺑﻴـــﺘﻲ أھــل ﻓﻲ ﷲ أذﻛـــــﺮﺗم. Remember Allah concerning my household, remember Allah concerning my household, Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
remember Allah concerning my household." He then was asked, "Who are the Prophet's household? Zayd answered, "His household are those whom are forbidden to receive alm after him." He was asked, "Who are they, then?" Zayd answered, "They are the family of 'Ali, the family of 'Aqil, the family of Ja'far, and the family of 'Abbas." To sum it up, the individuals of the Prophet's pure progeny have been given exclusively stepped up honoring, covered by great virtue through Lady Fatimah, dressed with the wear of tribute, and granted more respect and reverence.
Introduction Lady Zaynab, daughter of Imam 'Ali (a) and granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad (s), was the first lady in the world of Islam to form a whole history, erect edifices of right and justice, demolish the gloomy castle of wrong and oppression, and record, through her honorable situation, new items of honor and dignity for Islam and Muslims, throughout history. Thus, she has been a ring in the sereis of the ideal, human glories that her fathers, brothers, descendants of her brothers, and their partisans have introduced to humanity. She contribute activitely in constructing the edifices of the Muslim ideal renaissances and in the propagation for the religious and political congnizance in the meanwhile as the ruling authorities and their tails used all media for overcasting the pure mentalities of people and forging even the intuitive facts of Islam. Postively, Lady Zaynab aborted all these forgeries and brought into views the reality of the Umayyad rulers; the actual enemies of Islam. She, also, proved to the public that the Umayyad rulers were polluted by crimes and violations against human rights and that their authority was illegal since they usurped the others' rights and appointed themselves as absolute rulers over Muslims without obtaining their satisfaction or consulting them. Through her marvelous revolutionary speeched and situations, Lady Zaynab particularized minutely the reality that was hidden from the publics, and focused lights on the misdemeanor of the Umayyad rulers' political plots. Lady Zaynab, the Prophet's granddaughter, was characterized by a personality that joines all the high moral standards and the honorable tendencies and, accordingly, she has been the best exemplary of honor, chastity, and dignity in addition to every virtue of human perfection. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
From her grandfather and parents, lady Zaynab inherited perfectly the highest principles of charity including deep‐rooted faith and trust in Almighty Allah. Historians have recorded remarkable pictures and situation of incomparable faith and perseverance on principles the leading roles of which was proudly given to Lady Zaynab. At the night that followed that horrible day of 'Ashura'1 in Karbala', Lady Zaynab offered Thanksgiving Prayer to Almighty Allah for that tragedy which inflicted not only the Ahl al‐Bayt (a), but also all human beings in general and Muslims in particular. Another picture of Lady Zaynab's tremendous faith is that on the day of 'Ashura' she stopped near the body of her killed brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a), that was cruelly severed by the swords of the criminal band of the Umayyad army, and uttered her immortal word: "O Allah, accept this offering and reward him for his deed." Has humanity ever seen such a scene of faith? The most destructive adversity that inflicted Islam was taking the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) away from the political theatre of Islam while everybody, especially those who contributed directly in the scenario of setting them aside from their position, knew for certain the divine decision of choosing them (i.e. the Ahl al‐Bayt) for the leadership of the Islamic nation. Historians have recorded unanimously that after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (s), some individuals led a rebellion against his general decision of succession in the ____________ 1‐ Day of 'Ashura' is the tenth of Muharram, celebrated as a day of mourning (the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Al‐Hussein (a). leadership of the Islamic nation, claiming that it is unacceptable for the Hashemites1 to have both prophesy and leadership.2 This adversity resulted in handing the leadership and destiny of the Islamic nation over to unsuitable individuals who were the main reason beyond the collapse of Muslims. Thus, the Islamic nation, as a whole, was deprived of the pure source of the knowlege of the Ahl al‐Bayt(a) which was the natural extension of the divine knowledge of the prophet (a). Imam 'Ali (a), in consequence, lived in complete confinement away from the political and practical life of the Isalmic nation all during the reigns of the three caliphs, and when he was elected, freely first time, for the leadership of the Islamic nation, the capitalists, the greedy, the deviants, and the ignorant revolted against his just government and ingaged him aganist many things. By such engagement, the Islamic world was afflicated with a big loss when Imam Ali (a) did not have enough time to Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
extend ideal justice and equality all over the Islamic state. As a matter of fact, the Immaculate Imams of the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) faced the same fate of their grandfather Imam 'Ali (a) when the Umayyad and 'Abbasid rulers prevented them from extending their idealities and knowledge among people and caused humanity to lose such sources of wisdom. Because of the policies of the caliphs of Qurayash3, the mortal enemies of Islam could come to power, rule Muslims, and change the Islamic State into kingdom dominated by personal interests and hereditary dynasty. Thus, wrong and oppression became the distinctive ____________ 1‐ The Hashemites are sons and descendants of Hashim, the grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (s). 2‐ See Ahmed Hussein Ya'qub, The Conception of the Sahaba's Ultimate Decency and the Political Leadership in Islam; translated by Badr Shahin, Published by Ansariyan Publication‐ Qom, 1998. 3‐ Quraysh is the tribe to which Prophet Muhammad (s) belonged. features of the ruling authorities, killing was the fate of men of thought and freedom, people were deprived of their rights, which became in the hands of a few gang loyal to the ruling authorities, and corruption found rich pasture in the Islamic provinces. Wrong, oppression, and corruption attainted the climax in the reign of Yazid the dissolute. Historians have unanimously agreed on the fact that "Yazid was such an unjust, immoral, and sinful man that he did not believe in Allah and His Apostle for a single moment." In abstract, Yazid's policies exploded in every matter that violated Islam. In the midst of these cicumstances, nobody had the ability to utter a single word of right except Imam al‐Husayn (a) who formulated his great revolution that paved the way to the standing against every unjust individual and declare the word of truth openly courageously. Through its horrible chapters, the revolution of Imam al‐Husayn (a) shook the worldwide conscience and carried an intellectual donation and bright lessons to all peoples who suffer the ordeals of colonialism and slavery. Lady Zaynab contributed activity and positively in all the chapters and heroisms of Imam al‐ Husayn's revolution, In the first stage of the revolution , Lady Zaynab stood with her brother so bravely although she knew the fate that he would face. Her strong will, fortitude, and determination on supporting her brother in his revolution were distinctive features of this revolution that changed the history and supplied the seekers of freedom with factors of renaissance and developement. Lady Zaynab believed in the revolution of her brother, participated in his struggle against wrong and oppression vigorously, and adopted the goals of this great revolution. Through her innovative Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
speeches in the porticoes of the Umayyad rulyng center, she signalized the genuine principles of Imam al‐Husayn's revolution and could crystallize the public opinion and found an actual cognizance that, later on, resulted in successive popular uprisings against the Umayyad regim. She gave matchless examples of willpower, deep‐rooted faith, and steadfastness through her treatment of the horrible situations she had to encounter. In fact, the example of Lady Zaynab can be found neither in the Islamic history nor in the history of humankind. This great lady saw the atrocious adversities that afflicated her family members and could treat these situations with perseverance and steadfastness as she submitted totally to Almighty Allah. She saw the moonlike young men among her sons, nephews, and cousins killed and their organs were severed so horribly on the ground of Karbala. She also saw even the newborns and the babies of her household slaughtered so savagely on the hands of those inhumane criminals. She saw the ladies of the Prophet's house harshly exhausted by thirst while they were wailing for their sons and brethren, but she was trying to console and order them to be patient and steadfast. She saw her brother, Chief of the Martyrs, surrounded by those wicked people those swords, spears and lances were stricken his body until they beheaded him so hideously. She saw those infidel invaders attach the women's tents and set them on fire while the Prophet's harem had to run in the desert out of fear. Lady Zaynab saw all these adversities and faced them with faith, persistence, and submission to Almighty Allah. The disaster of Karbala with all of the horrifying, hideous events that accompanied it, including the capture, humility, and exemplary punishment against the Ahl al‐Bayt, men and women, provokes us into having a brief view at the political documents and the events that followed the Prophet's demise directly because these are the rudimentary source of the misfortunes of the Ahl al‐Bayt in particular and Muslims in general. Most certainly, within the most significant factors that resulted in the absolute domination of the Umayyad dynasty on the Islamic State were the plot of the Saqifah1 and the spurious forgery of the Shura.2 Because of the invention of these two baseless system, the Umayyad infidels, though they were humiliated by Islam and decided as slaves and then were released after they had fought against Islam with all weapons, could come to power and prevail on Muslims and their destiny. The ruling authorities who usurped the legal right of Imam 'Ali (a) showed favor to Umayyad rulers, removed the mask of humility and meekness that Islam put on their faces, granted them abundant wealth, and invested them with leading office in the Islamic State. Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan was the biggest beneficiary of such procedures. He was given the governorship of Syria and was granted special support and advocacy. When 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab was informed that the governor of Syria, namely Mu'awiyah, exceeded all limits in violating the Muslims' ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐ The Saqifah ‐shed‐ of Banu‐Sa'idah is the place where Abu‐Bakr, Umar ibn al‐Khattab, and Abu‐ 'Ubaydah ibn al‐Jarrah held a secret meeting, attended by the Ansar ‐the inahbitants of Yathrib who received and supported the Prophet and the emigrants of Mecca‐‐, immediately after the demise of Prophed Muhammad (s) to name the one to hold position of the leadership of the Islamic nation although all the attendants knew for certain that the Prophet (s), on more than one occasion, nominated 'Ali ibn Abu‐Talib as his successor and declared that the issuer of this decision was Almighty Allah. 2‐ Although he declared before everbody that the Prophet (s) did not nominate anybody for his succession in the leadership of the Islamic nation, abu‐Bakr, in his final hours, nominated 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab as his successor and the coming leader. The latter, however, invented a funny council to elect the leader to succeed him. This system was called the Sura. For details, see the books of the Islamic history. treasury as he built palaces, committed every sin forbidden by Islam, dressed silky clothes, and ate in golden and silver plates, 'Umar found him ecxuses by saying, "This is the Khosrow ‐kong‐ of the Arabs." Everybody knew that Islam has been empty of royalty or aristocracy. In the sight of Islam, all Muslims are of the same class. Nothing distiguishes them except piety and charity. It is ironic for such an individual to be described as the king of the Arabs. In the holy Quran, Mu'awiyah and his family are described as the doomed tree.1 In many texts related authentically to the Prophet (s), the Umayyad dynasty is cursed. After all, they are only slaves of Muslims ahthough the Prophet released them and they have been named 'the Released Ones.' In abstract, a view at the events of Karbala and the ordeals faced by the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) proves that they, primarily, are the results of the plot of Saqifah and the spurious forgery of Sura. Moreover, these two unfounded systems have been the reason beyond all the ordeals of Muslims during history. In point of fact, the greatest and the most constructive service to be presented to the Islamic nation is to hint at, propagate for, and refer to the Ahl al‐Bayt's numerous, fenuine merits and elevated idealities since these matters leave direct influence on the spread of virtue and moral standards and the development of behavior. The Ahl al‐Bayt (a) have been acting, through their words, deeds, and behaviors, as rays of Almighty Allah's illumination, since they are, as is proved by authenticated reports related to the ____________ 1‐ See the exegesists' explanation of the Qur'anic Verse: "And when We said to you: Surely your Lord encompasses men; and We did not make the vision which We showed youand the cursed tree in the Qur'an as well but a trial for men; and We cause them to fear, but it only adds to their Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
great inordinacy. (17:60)" Prophet (s) who 'does not speak out of desire', the ships of salvation of the Islamic nation and the matches of the Book of Allah. The life account of the Ahl al‐Bayt have been school of God‐fearing, genuine faith, and struggle against the wrong. They dedicated their lives to the Almighty and acted perfectly sincerely for His sake. Thus, the life acount of any of them is no more than a record of model items of God‐fearing and obedience to the Lord. They spent their days with fasting and spent their nights with prayers and recitals of the Holy Book of Allah. The Ahl al‐Bayt (a), men and women, acted earnestly for spreading knowledge, wisdom, and high moral standards among people. They also spent their lives with distributing their charity among the needy, acting kindly to the miserable, struggling intently against the wrong, and exerting all possible efforts for opposing injustice and the unjust individuals no matter how strong they were, and which position they held. They adopted the issues of the Islamic nation so bravely; therefore, they were exposed to killing at the hands of the unjust rulers who held the rein of the Islamic nations wrongfully. Among the individuals of the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) to whom all the previous activities and descritions are applicable is Lady Zaynab daughter of Imam 'Ali (a) who contributed in raising the word of Allah on this earth and struggled intently against the oppressors and had to suffer the most horrible adversities and misfortunes for this sake. After the killing of her brother Imam al‐Husayn(a), Lady Zaynab, as well as the other harem of the Prophet's household, was taken as captive and had to be present before the bastard 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad who was given the position of the governorship of two Islamic provinces. Before 'Ubaydullah, Lady Zaynab showed such remarkable courage that he could not control himself when he hurried towards her to beat her. The caravan of the Prophet's household then was taken to Syria where they had to be present before Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah. Before this criminal descendant of the mortal enemies of Islam, Lady Zaynab delivered her historical speech, which is considered as the most important document that condemned and decided as illegal the Umayyad State and its partisans. For the sake of Islam, this granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad (s) had to suffer horrifying adversities and misfortunes, and due to her heroic situations and honorable struggle against wrong and oppression, women of this world must take her as their model through a deep understanding of her pioneership of struggle against wrong, all women should recognize their roles in adopting the issues of justice on this earth. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
THE LIFE OF LADY ZAYNAB To throw light upon the odorous memories and to work perseveringly for obtaining the items of such memories; these two things cast on souls good manners, virtues, and acquaintance with the conducts of the past personalities who were characterized by high merits, piety, righteousness, and decency. Thus, the noble, deep‐rooted character of Lady Zaynab should not be passed over because she has contained all points of immaculacy, majesty, dignity, and distinguished origin. She has also possessed renowned bearings in the fields of perseverance on the principles, courage, eloquence, and full‐heatedness in addition to asceticism, chastity, piety, holiness, and magnanimity. On that account, it is necessary for seekers of merits and fact‐finders to adopt from her precious life account and please the ears by listening to her admirable, odorous memories so as to take from her a model of self disciplining, knowledge, and aspiration. Let us now refer to a brief presentation of the life of Lady Zaynab. LINEAGE Lady Zaynab enjoyed the most exalted lineage since she ramified from the tree of prophecy and Imamate and combined all the elements of honor and dignity. The family of Imam 'Ali (a) has been the most elevates all over history in fields of struggle against wrong and adaptation of the issues of human rights. For the sake of these issues, sons and descendants of Imam 'Ali (a) have provided hundreds of martyrs. Lady Zaynab's grandfather, from the maternal side, was Prophet Muhammad (s) who exploded spring of knowledge and wisdom on this earth, founded the features of civilization and development, constructed a noble society controlled by justice and law, smashed the customs, superstitions, and pagans of the savage, tribal society that prevailed in the Arab Peninsula, called for worshipping the One Creator, and brought to his nation abundant goodness. Indeed, Almighty Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (s) as mercy for humankind. From this great personality, Lady Zaynab inherited defense of the right and struggle for elevating the Word of Allah highly. Her grandmother, from the maternal side, was Khadijah who supported Islam in its darkest days, struggled for sake of Allah in the ever‐best way, and spent her entire fortune for sake of her religion. She therefore has been one of the two supports on which Islam relied in existence. The Prophet (s) used to appreciate for his loyal wife her situation in her life and after her death. From this great grandmother, Lady Zaynab inherited the highest moral standards and Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
perseverance on principles. Copying her grandmother, she supported her brother, Imam al‐ Husayn (a), in his revolution and supplies his great uprising with elements of eternity. Lady Zaynab's father is Imam 'Ali Amir al‐Mu'minin (commander of the faithful believers): chief of the prophets' successors, leader of the pious ones, and head of the worshippers. 'Ali was the representative, successor, and heir of Prophet Muhammad (s). His merits are innumerable and his situations for sake of Allah are incomparable. He was the most knowledgeable, the most self‐ possessed, the most magnanimous, the most generous, the most ascetic, the most courageous, the most reputable, the best worshipper, the most loyal, the most faithful, and the most pious among Muslims. Historians have recorded unanimously that Lady Zaynab was imitating her father in behavior, knowledge, and conduct. She, too, adopted positively all of her father's goals and situations for sake of supplying Islam with elements of continuity. Hence, she, along with her brother Imam al‐ Husayn (a), could thwart the Umayyad infidels' plots aimed at wiping out Islam and replacing it with the pre‐Islamic customs. Lady Zaynab's mother was Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' the Veracious (a) who was a copy of her father in adoration of Allah, piety, self‐discipline, knowledge, virtue, clemency, veneration, and the other features of perfection. Her father named her as the Chiefess of the Women of the World.1 From this cause, her father addressed his best words of laudation and respect to his daughter who was the ideal woman on this earth. ____________ 1‐ Besides Prophet Muhammad (s), Fatimah al‐Zahra' the Veracious (a) was praised by everyone who lived in her time Ibn Hajar al‐Asqalani, in his al‐Isabah, records that 'A' ishah, the Prophet's wife, said: "Except Prophet Muhammad (s), nobody is preferred to Fatimah." 'Abdullah ibn'Abbas said, as it is recorded in the previous reference book: "The best women of Paradise are four: Khadijah, Fatimah, Mary, and Asiyah ‐the Pharaoh's wife," Al‐bukhari, in his al‐Sahih, and Muslim, in his al‐Sahih, recorded the following: Al‐Musawwir ibn Makhramah quoted the Prophet (s) saying, "Fatimah is a piece of me. Whatever hurts her is certainly hurting me and whatever please her is certainly pleasing me." 'Ali (a) reported the Prophet's addressing to Fatimah: "Fatimah, most surely Allah is pleased when you are pleased and enraged when you are enraged." Finally, reference books of Islamic history and narration are full of reports relating the elevated standing of Fatimah al‐Zahra' the Veracious (a). This was the mother, educator , and instructor of Lady Zaynab who was nourished on all features of human perfection. Let us also refer briefly to the grandfather and grandmother of Lady Zaynab from the paternal side. Abu Talib, father of Imam 'Ali (a), was the protector of Islam as he Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
defended Prophet Muhammd (s) so bravely and suffered in this course unbearable troubles. Only under the guardianship of Abu Talib could Prophet Muhammad (s) propagate for his divine mission and spread his principles rearlessly. With the demise of his protector, the Prophet (s) expressed his great loss and grief. He therefore called that year as 'year of grief'. After the demise of Abu Talib, the enemies of the Prophet(s) agreed on assassinating him, but Allah saved and ordered him to flee to Yathrib and let his cousin, 'Ali, sleep in his bed for making the assassinators understand that he was still there. From this great personality, Lady Zaynab drew the best lessons of defending the principles. Lady Zaynab's grandmother was Fatimah bint Asad; an exampel of faith and purity. On her hands, the Prophet (s) was brought up and treated so kindly and tenderly since she used to take care of sympathy and love. Hence, she was highly respected by him; when she departed life, he (s) dressed her his own shirt and laid down in her grave as expressions of his great love for her. From this great mother, Lady Zaynab learnt the best lessons of love and support for sake of her religion and its legal leaders. We, also should not neglect the fact that Imam al‐Hasan and Imam al‐Husayn (a) participated in composing the unparalleled personality of their sister, Lady Zaynab, since she spent a long term of her life undr their custody. The two Imams' merits and virtues are too many to be contained. As a result, the Prophet (s) called them 'Chiefs for the Youth of Paradise.'1 Lady Zaynab imitated the morals and ethics of Imam al‐Hasan (a) who was known of his composure and liberty in addition to all the high moral standards. As he noticed that his grandfather and parents take care of Zaynab, Imam al‐Hasan encompassed her with very much love and compassion and preferred her to the other harem of the Prophet's household. Imam al‐Husayn's realtion with his sister Zaynab has been the melody of seekers of human perfection. She could occupy his feelings and emotions for the genuineness of her estimation, elevation of her ethics, and high moral standards. She was the most dependable in the sight of Imam al‐Husayn (a) who used to take counsel with her in all of his affairs. She also accompanied him in all the stages of his revolution. without Lady Zaynab's struggle, efforts, and honorable situations, the revolution of Imam al‐Husayn (a) would have been lost. As an example of Lady zaynab's great standing in the sight of her brother Imam al‐Husayn (a) is that when he bade her the last farewell on the day of 'Ashura' , he asked her to mention him in her Night Prayer.2 Through the second part of this book, we will refer to section of the unmatched relation between Imam al‐Husayn (a) and his sister, Lady Zaynab.
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
The Blessed Newborn The life of the Prophet's family was highly flourishing with the existence of the two Imams al‐ Hasan and al‐Husayn (a) who occupied their grandfather's heart completely. Their two sons before them and as they saw the Prophet's love for ____________ 1‐ See Yanabi' ul‐Mawaddah; 196. 2‐ See Zaynab al‐kubra; 60. them. Once, he (s) expressed his love for these two sins by saying: "These two are my only basils that I take from this world."1 In the midst of this delightful atmosphere, Lady fatimah al‐Zahra' became pregnant for the third time. Everybody, including the Messanger of Allah (s), was waiting for the new baby.2 With more delight and pleasure, Lady Fatimah gave birth of a she‐baby who would exceed all Muslim women in fields of faith, honor, chastity, and perseverance on the principles. The ahl al‐ Bayt and the Prophet's companions received the new of the birth of Lady zaynab with gladness. Imam 'Ali (a) hurried to take his newborn, kissed her frequently, and held the Shariite ceremonies of newborns. The Imam (a) recited azan3 in his newborn's right ear and iqamah4 in the left. Hence, the first voice that penetrated the newborn's hearing was her father's, shouting: Allahu Akbar ‐‐‐Allah is the Greatest... La ilaha illa (a)llah ‐‐‐there is no god but Allah. ____________ 1‐ See kenz al'Ummal; 7/110, al‐Bukhari's al‐Sahih; Cahpter: Kitab al‐Adab, Majma' al‐Zawa'id; 9/181, Ibn 'Asakir's at‐Tarikh; 13/39. 2‐ Through some historians say that the first she‐baby of Lady Fatimah al‐Zagra' was ruqayyah, nicknamed Ummu kulthum, most of historians have proved Lady Zaynab's having been Lady Fatima's first she‐baby. As evidence, in the reign of the Umayyad State when the Ahl al‐Bayt and their partisans were persecuted, anyone who wanted to relate something to Imam Ali, would say, "Father of Zaynad said do‐and‐so." See Ibn Abu al‐Hadid, Sharh Nahj al‐Balaghah. 3‐ Azan is the call to prayer. 4‐ Iqamah is the prefatory statements of the ritual prayer. These great words found a strong ground in the inner self of lady Zaynab. They, later on, became the most significant elements of her personality. In the future, she would adopt the calling to the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
true application of these words for which she would encounter horrible adversities. As soon as he was informed about the news of the giving birth of this newborn, the Prophet (s) hurried to his daughter's house, embraced the newborn to his chest warmly, and began to weep. It was a surprising view for the mother, Fatimah al‐Zahra, to see her father's tears drop on his face, "What for are you weeping, father?" asked she. "Fatimah," said the father (s) with sad tone, "you should know that this daughter will have to suffer horrible misfortunes and tragedies after my and your demise."1 At these moments, the Prophet (s) perceived the horrifying hardships that would afflict his granddaughter. Naturally, Fatimah al‐Zahra (a) participated in her father's griefs at these moments. Then the close friend of the Ahl al‐Bayt, Salman, came to congratulate on that occasion but he found the household sinking in griefs and unhappiness. Hence, he also participated in that ceremony of consolation.2 CHOOSING THE NAME The blessed mother carried her newborn to the father and asked for choosing a name for her. "I will not precede the Messenger of Allah in such a matter," answered the father modestly. He then took the newborn and asked him to choose a name for her. "I will not precede my Lord in such a matter," answered the Messenger of Allah modestly. From the Heavens then ascended Archangel Gabriel to say to the Prophet, "This newborn's name is 'Zaynab'.3 ____________ 1‐ See At‐Tiraz al‐Mudhahhab; 38. 2‐ See Batalatu Karbala; 21. 3‐ In Arabic, the word 'Zaynab' is a name called on a handsome, odorous tree. (see Ibn Manzhur's Lisan al‐'Arab, vol. 6 p.88) Almighty Allah has chosen this name for her."1 She was also given the nickname 'Ummu‐Kulthum' or 'Ummu‐al‐Hasan'.2 EPITHETS Epithet is a word of phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person of thing mentioned.3 Epithets, then, show one's mental characteristics, whether good or bad. thus, Lady Zaynab had many epithets that expressed some aspects of her personality. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1) AL‐'AQILAH The Arabic 'Aqialah means the gentlewoman who is honorable among her people and venerated in her house. Lady Zaynab was such an honorable and virtuous lady that all her descendants have been called Banu al‐Aqilah‐ sons of the gentlewoman. During the journey of Imam al‐Husayn (a) from Medina to Karbala, Lady Zaynab was the chiefess of the harem and was obeyed and respected by everybody. It is to add that she was also called 'Aqilatu Bani Hashim ‐the gentlewoman of the Hashemites,' and Aqilat ut‐Talibiyyin ‐ the gentlewoman of the sons ( and descendants) of Abu Talib.' 2) AL‐ALIMAH For her supreme knowledge, Lady Zaynab was called 'al‐'Alimah ‐the she‐knowledgeable‐. Historians have confirmed that she was an authority for Muslim ladies who used to refer to her in their religious affairs. Of course, she used to refer to her in their religious affairs. Of course, she received such knowledge from her grandfather, parents, and ____________ 1‐ See Zaynab al‐Kubra; 16‐7. 2‐ See zaynab al‐Kubra; 17. 3‐ Excerpted from the Oxford Talking Dictionary. Copyright 1998 The learning Company, Inc. brothers who were the sources of knowledge for the Islamic ummah. Fruthermore, Lady Zaynab has had similar epithets, such as 'al‐'Arifah ‐the well‐versed‐ 'and 'al‐Muwathaqah ‐the trustworthy‐'. 3) ABIDATU ALI‐ALI Lady Zaynab was recognized also as being distinguisghed worshipper among Muslim ladies. She committed herself to all the recommendable rites of Islam to the degree that even at the most horrible night of her life ‐i.e. the night of the tenth of Muharram, 61 AH ‐she offered the supererogatory prayers. Thus, she was called 'Abidatu Ali‐Ali ‐the she‐ worshipper of 'Ali's household'. 4) AL‐KAMILAH In all aspects of human perfection, lady Zaynab preceded everybody and occupied the leading position. She therefore is called 'al‐Kamilah ‐the perfect‐' Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
5) AL‐FADHILAH Because of her great jihad, service for Islam, and steadfastness for sake of Allah, Lady Zaynab's virtue has exceeded all limits and, therefore, she was proudly conferred with the epithet of 'al‐ Fadhilah ‐the virtuous.' 6) AL‐SIDDIQAH AL‐SUGHRA Like her mother who is known as the Senior Veracious, Lady Zaynab was so veracious that she gained worthily the epithet of 'al‐Siddiqah al‐Sughra‐ the Junior Veracious Lady. 7) UMM AL‐MASA'IB Because she had to suffer various and innumerable misfortunes all over her lifetime. Lady Zaynab was called Umm al‐Masa'ib ‐Mother of misfortunes‐. Let us refer to some of these misfortunes that she saw in a period of about one month: 1) She saw al‐Hurr ibn Yazid force Imam al‐Husayn to stop and reside in a desolate place. 2) She saw the Imam's few companions in comparison with the great numbers of the enemy's army. 3) She saw most of the Imam's so‐called partisans abandon him and join his enemies. 4) She saw the women's fear and worry when they had to reside In Karbala'. 5) She saw the enemies deprive her people and her of water. 6) She had to take care of the children and women while they were crying out of thirst. 7) She had to witness her brother's feelings of disappointment and loneliness. 8) She had to witness the martyrdom of her two sons, as well as the other relatives and companions whom were martyred one by one. The martyrdom of al‐'Abbas however was the most diastrous for her. 9) She saw how Imam al‐Husayn was without any supporter or helper, while he was seeking help. 10) She saw the cut of head of al‐Husayn lie on spearheads. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
11) She saw the enemies attach her brother's caravan and women, trying to set fire on the tents. 12) She had to gather the scattered children and women who fled to everywhere in that desert. 13) She had to pass by the dead, severed body of her brother. 14) She had to ride on saddleless, lean camels and to help the children and women to ride on such animals. 15) she had to exert all efforts for takimg care of the ill nephew and consoling him. 16) She had to go through the scenes of being captives and driven from a town to another while people were looking at them as rebels. It is narrated that the Holy Prophet (s) once said, "To weep for the misfortunes of Zaynab is as same as to weep for her brothers; al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn."1 YEAR OF BIRTH Historians and narrators have had different opinions about the year of Lady Zaynab's birth. Some have referred to the fifth year after Hijrah,2 others to the sixth, and a third party to the ninth. The last opinion however is inaccurate,3 and the most acceptable is the first. ____________ 1‐ See Ja'far al‐Naqdi, Zaynab al‐kubra; 32. 2‐ Hijrah is the emigration of Prophet Muhammad (s) and his family and companions from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.; the Muslim era reckoned from this history. 3‐ Shaykh Ja'far al nadir, in his Zaynab al‐Kubra; p.18, refutes the narration that Lady Zaynab was born in the ninth year of the Hijrah. He says: "Despite the variance of narration, Lady Fatimah al‐ Zahra'the veracious (a)died in the tenth or eleventh year of the Hijrah. If Lady Zaynab was born in the ninth year of the Hijrah, then when was Ummu‐Kulthum, her sister, born, and when was al‐ Muhsin, the third son of Imam Ali, was born? On that accoun, it is undrestandable that lady Zaynab was born in fifth year of the Hijrah." Besides, Shaykh al‐Naqdi has referred to other facts providing this opinion. EARLY LIFE Lady Zaynab was brought up at the hands of Prophet Muhammad, Imam 'Ali, and Lady Fatimah the Veracious (a). In other words, she was brought up in the lap of the divine prophesy, spent her Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
early life in the house of the divine mission, suckled the milk of the most perfect woman of all ages, and was nourished at the hands of the Commander of the Faithful believers. Hence, she enjoyed a divine upgrowth and spiritual education and received a garments of elevation, eminence, chastity and decency. After the demise of Prophet Muhammad (s) and his daughter Fatimah (a), Imam 'Ali married Umamah1 who took care of Lady Zaynab perfectly since this lady was known of her piety and submission to the Lord. Lady Zayanb, hence, was covered by the most exalted colors fo education, honor, dignity, mercy, and compassion.She learn from the behaviors of her parents and brothers many things that composed her perfect personality. For instance, whenever she visited her brother Imam al‐Husayn, he would stand up as a sign of reverence and respect for her. Whenever she wanted to visit the holy tomb of her grandfather, her father and two brothers used to accompany her. They also used to extinguish any light so that nobody would see her.2 She was really the inheritor of Imam 'Ali's values, moralities, and ethics. To the scholars and narrators of Hadith,3 Lady Zaynab enjoyed a great position. They, ____________ 1‐ Umamah is the daughter of Zaynab stepdaughter of Prophet Muhammad (s). Implementing the will of Fatimah al‐Zahra' , Imam Ali married Umamah after the demise of Lady Fatimah. It is also worth mentioning here that Umamh was greatly respected by Prophet Muhammahd (s). 2‐ See at‐Tabarani's al‐Mu'jam al‐Kabir as related to Yahya al‐Mazini. 3‐ Hadith is the body of traditions concerning the sayings and doing of the Prophet Muhammah (s). therefore, used to refer to Imam 'Ali, during the Umayyad reign who eded any mention to the Imam's name, by saying 'Father of Zaynab reported ...'
Scholarly Capacities From early life, Lady Zaynab was marvelous in intelligence and cleverness. She learnt by heart the holy qur'an and the Prophet's sayings regarding Islamic laws, rules of education, and priciples of ethics. she also memorized the famous, confounded the speech of her mother, Lady Fatimah al‐ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Zahra (a), that she delivered in the Propht's Masjid protesting against Abu Bakr's usurpation of the Islamic ummah's leadership, which was the right of Imam 'Ali according to the instruction of Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammd (s), as well as confiscation of Fadak that the Holy Prophet (s) had given to her as gift whithin earshot of all Muslims . In addition to many other narrations, she narrated her mother's speech when the Muslim ladies visited her in her final disease. Her father, too, was greatly admired by her sharp cleverness. One day, she asked him, "Father, do you love us?"he answered, "Of course I do, daughter. I do love you because you are the fruit of my heart."she replied politely, "Father, love is exclusively for Almighty Allah, while it is compassion which is for us."1 As he was teaching her the numbers, he asked "say: one." She said, "one." As he asked her to say "two", she kept silent. "Why do you not say: two?" asked the father. She answered "tongue which pronounces 'one' cannot say 'two.'"2 ____________ 1‐ see zaynab al‐Kubra; 53. 2‐ This means that one who believes honestly in the oneness of Almighty Allah must never betake another as god. As he heard this great answer, the father kissed and emraced her.1 She also used to say: "Anyone who intends not to have the creatures as interceders for him before Allah should praise Him. Listen to His saying:'Allah listen to anyone who praises Him.' Hence, one should fear Allah for He has ability over him, and should feel shy of Him for He is very close to him."2 This statement in fact implies that she was so virtuous and perfectly adhered to Allah. Moreover, she represented her brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a)whenever he would be absent. Hence, Muslims used to refer to her in the questions of the Islamic laws. For her extensive knowledge, Imam Zayn al‐Abidin (a), 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Lady fatimah daughter of Imam al‐Husayn, Muhammad ibn 'Amr, and 'Ata ibn al‐Sa'ib used to report her sayings.3 In Kufa and during her father's reign. Lady zaynab had special session to which Muslim ladies used to come for listening to her precious lectures about Islam and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an. She thus was the most trustworthy reference from whom Muslim ladies used to take concerning questions about Islam, moral instrucions, and general ethics. For her tremendous virtue too, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas4 frequently asked her for answers of qrestions that he ignored. ____________ 1‐ See Rayahin al‐Shari'ah; vol. 3 p.54, and Hajj 'Abd‐ul‐Hadi al‐Shehristani's Yanabi' al‐Rahmah (3) p.8. This narration is also recorded by Ibn 'Asakir, Ibn Mandah, and 'Ali Mullah al‐Qari. 2‐ See Sayyid Muhsin al‐Amin al‐‐Amili, A'yan al‐Shi'ah; vol. 7, p, 140. 3‐ See Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi's al‐Sayyidah Zaynab. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
4‐ 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas is regarded as the grand authority of the Islamic ummah for his knowledge in Hadith and Islamic laws. He also reported, proudly, a good number of narration on her authority. In this regard, he would say: "Our 'Aqilah1 (i.e. the honorable gentlewoman), Zaynab daughter of 'Ali narrated to us that...etc." One of his reports that he related on the authority of Lady zaynab was Lady fatimah al‐Zahra's famous speech in the Prophet's Masjid. She also represented Imam Zayn al‐Abidin (a) during his illness. About her, he (a) said: "She is so knowledgeable that she does not need other's knowledge."2 Finally, was the most eloquent speaker in Islam; she could shake the enemies' emotions, disorder the public opinion, and provoke the publics against the Umayyad ruling regime when she delivered her famous speeches in Kufa and Damascus. In fact, these speeches hint at her precious cultural and literate fortunes. In addition, the reason beyond her peculiar scholarly capacity may be mentioned in the following points: 1) She was always pious and observant towards the Almighty Allah's commandments and instructions. To be God‐fearing and pious achieves knowledgeability and notable learning. This is clear in Almighty Allah's saying: "And be careful of (your duty) to Allah, Allah teaches you, and Allah knows all things." (2:282) ____________ 1‐ Abdullah ibn 'Abbas used to say "our Aqilah" because he belonged with a kinship to Prophet Muhammad (s). 2‐ See al‐Tabirsi's al‐Ihtijaj, p.166. Lady Zaynab was so God‐fearing and pious. She dedicated a good time of her daily activities to her Lord; she was sinking in praising and glorifying Him. At night when sounds calm and eyes sleep, she used to turn her face and heart towards her Lord with teary eyes, fearful heart, and hopeful mind to say confidently: "O You Who dresses and adorns Himself with valor! O You Who designs and dons Himself with glory! I implore to You by the seats of might in Your Throne, by the utmost of mercy in Your Book, by Your Grandest Name, by Your most high Majesty, and by Your Perfect Words that have been accomplished truly and honestly, [I implore to You] to send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and to arrange for me the good of both this world and the world to come. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
2) Lady Zaynab was well known of her unparalleled intelligence, apposite opinion, and wisdom, Her words were as regulated as necklace and her opinions were to the point. She was the ideal of eloquence and expressiveness. Allah gifted her the utmost of knowledge, morality, composure, religiousness, and etics. This is not strange since she was the grandfaughter or the Holy Prophet, the daughter of the model parents of Islam, and the sister of the two Chiefs of the Youths of Paradise, In her granfather, Lady Zaynab takes pride saying: "None is like my grandfather; the Arab, the Hashemite, and the Qurayshite Prophet whom is selected by Allah, the Elevated, for guiding people to the path of life in its good and evil branches, and he did in such a handsome approach and pleasant, sympathy, and compassion."1 3) She was taught by the most knowledgeable pair in Islam; her father and mother, and it is so natural that a student of these persons would be so intelligent and knowledgeable. About Lady Zaynab's acumen and sagacity, let us listen to the following narration recorded by Ibn Humayd in his book entitled al‐Musnad, and al‐Yafi'i in Mir'at al‐Zaman: One day, Imam al‐Hasan and Imam al‐Husayn were discussing some of their grandfather's saying, "The Halal is obvious and the Haran is also obvious, but between these two there are many dubious matters most of people ignore. To avoid such duboius matters is acquittal for the religion and the honor, while to fall in such dubious matters is plunging into the Haram. A shepherd who grazes about a shelter will decisively pasture in it. There is a shelter to every kingdom, and the shelter of Allah is what He deems unlawful. there is too a single morsel in each one's body; when this morsel be good, the whole body will be so, and when this morsel be bad, the whole body will be so. This is the heart."2 Commenting in this statement, Lady Zaynab said: Listen to me, Hasan and Husayn! Your grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, has acquired the ethics of the Lord. It is Almighty Allah Who disciplined him so perfectly. In this regard, the Prophet says, 'My Lord has diciplined me, and he has done so perfectly.' None is like my grandfather; the Arab, the Hashemite, and the Qurayshite Prophet whom is selected by Allah, ____________ 1‐ See Musa Muhammad 'Ali, al‐Sayyidah Zaynab, 69. 2‐ This hadith is recorded by al‐Bukhari in his al‐Sahih. the Elevated, for guiding people to the path of life in its good and evil branches, and he did in such a handsome approach and pleasant, articulate statements full of softness, tenderness, sympathy, and compassion. The Halal is obvious and the Haram is also obvious, but between these two, there are many dubious matters. Accordingly, the religion is of three degrees; Halal, Haram, and duboius matters. The Halal is what Allah, the Exalted, has deemed lawful by way of a text in the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Holy Qur'an or through the explanations of the Prophet, such as the legality of purchase and vendition ... The Haram is whatever Allah has deemed unlawful in the Holy Qur'an. It is also the contrary of the Halal. The dubous matter is everything that is unknown whether Halal or Haram. A faithful believer who intends to achieve happiness in this world and bliss in the world to come must perform all that which Allah has made incumbent, follow the path drawn by the Holy Qur'an, take my grandfather, the Prophet, as example, and go away from the duboius as much as one can. To avoid the dubious matters is acquittal for the religion and the honor and also purity for both. It also achieves sincere obedience to the Lord. "Now, surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah alone. (Qur'an; 39:3)" For those who follow the line of the dubious matters, it is not safe to have their feet slipped and, thus, they commit unlawful deed. There is a shelter veside each possession, but the shelter of the All‐king is what He deems unlawful. The Holy Prophet says, 'Avoid the Unlawful and you will be the most pious.' Allah the Exalted has put in each human being a minute gem and morsel; when it be good, the whole body will be good, pure and clear from filth, impairments, and acts of disobedience to the Lord of the Worlds, This is the heart. If one's heart is sound, he will be attentive to the affairs of his religion and the principle of its law, and will see real happiness lie in straightness on the lights of the guidance of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, Those who follow this straight path and these divine instruction will be whithin the winners on the Day of Resurrection. Our life is in fact only a stage among many stages that lead either to Paradise or to Hell. Death will be the end, and no blame falls after it. Nothing is after this world except Paradise or Hell." As she finished, Imam al‐Husayn said to her,: How great you are! you are surely from the tree of prophecy and the core of the Divine Message." She once said: "My grandfather has decided for us (i.e. women) rights that are incumbent upon our husbands in the same way as he has decided rights for our husbands that are incumbent upon us." In this regard, the Holy Qur'an says: And they have rights similar to those against them in a just manner, and the men are a degree above them. (2:228) My noble Grandfather also says: 'A woman who offers the five obligatory prayers, observes fasting on the month of fasting, guards her chastity, and obeys her husband shall have the choice to enter Paradise from any gate she likes.' Ibn 'Askir, in his al‐Tarikh, records the following: After she arrived in Egypt, Lady Zaynab once came over an indisposition. The chiefs of Egypt decided to fetch her a physician, but she refused saying: "We are not among those who hope for this world or for perpetuation in it. We are the Household of Prophecy and the most desirable meeting for us is the meeting of our Lord. A physician, however, cannot change one's decided term of death." Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Ibn Humayd, Abu 'Asim, and Ibn Abu Shaybah narrated that 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas said: Once, Lady zaynab recited Allah's saying: O you who have wrapped up in your garments... and (also) a party of those with you. She then commented: "Thanks to Allah, we are included with this party [of those who are with the Prophet]." The evidences on Lady Zaynab's eloquence and rhetoric are her addresse in more than one occasion. These addresses changed the public opinion against Yazid and the Umayyad State and showed the real goals of Imam al‐Husayn's revolution. Later on, these addresses will be referred to in details. Lady Zaynab enjoyed a peculiar rank in the world of mysticism, In this regard, 'Allamah al‐Burghani says: "Lady Zaynab's spiritual rank is very night to that of the immaculate Imams ..." Al‐Rawandi, in al‐Tiraz al‐Mudhahhab, says: "In addition to her high spiritual rank, Lady Zaynab come after her mother in virtue, high merit, peculiarity, majesty, knowledge, infallibity, chastity, illumination, light, honor, and splendor." Muhammad Rida al‐Isfahani, in Jannat al‐khulud, records: "Lady Zaynab was the nearest to her parents in eloquence, asceticism, management, and courage. After the martyrdom of Imam al‐ Husayn, she was the custodian of her family members and, furthermore, the Hashemites." Ibn'Anbah, in Ansab al‐Talibiyyin, says: "Lady Zaynab is distiguished by her innumerable merits, elevated peculiarities, praiseworthy characters, admirable habits, remarkable prides, and manifest virtues." MARRIAGE When Lady zaynab attained maturity, famous celebrities competed with each other for asking for her hand. Her father, however, refused them all. Abdullah son of Ja'far son of Abu Talib also asked for her hand. He was one of the noblest men of the Hashemites and one of the most generous men of the Arabs. Besides, Imam 'Ali (a) loved him very much. He therefore responded to him and accepted to give him Lady Zaynab in marriage. 'Abdullah's father was Ja'far who is described as the most similar to the Holy Prophet(s) in morality and nature.1 He was one of those who preceded others in embracing and defending Islam. He emigrated twice‐one to Abyssinia and the other to Medina, and was well known of his pity and sympathy to the poor and paupers. Like his brother Imam 'Ali, Ja'far was very much respected by the prophet of Allah (s) who housed him next to his Masjid because he recognized Ja'far's strong faith and sacrificing himself for sake of Islam. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
In the eighth year after Hijrah, the Prophet(s) appointed Ja'far as the commander of the Muslim army in their campaign at Mu'tah. In this battle, Ja'far's had been martyred after his two arms were severed because he held fast on the pennon. About this situation, the Holy Prophet (s) said: "Allah the Exalted shall have given Ja'far two wings with which he will fly in Paradise everywhere he wishes, instead of his two severed hands." Ja'far therefore is named 'Dhu'l‐Janahayn' (the two‐ winged). The martyrdom of Ja'far was one of the most difficult misfortunes that the Prophet (s) had to encounter. Hence, he (s) said: ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Hafar al‐'Asqalani, al‐Isti'ab fi ma'rifat al‐Ashab; vol.1,p.242. "For Ja'far and his matches, weeping should be ceaseless."1 'Abdullah's mother was the great lady Asma bint 'Umays. She was within the earlier embracers of Islam. Accompanying her husband, she immigrated to Abyssinia where she gave birth of 'Abdullah, 'Awn, and Muhammad. She then emigrated to Medina. After Ja'far's martyrdom, Asma was married by Abu Bakr and gave birth of Muhammad who is one of the most celebrated men of Islam. When abu Bakr died, Imam 'Ali Amir al‐Mu'minin married her, and she gave birth of a boy called Yahya.2 Asma stuck sincerely to the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) and had strong relationship with Lady Fatimah al‐ Zahra'(a). She reported about sixty hadiths directly on the authority of the Holy Prophet (s). She acted as a tender mother for Imam al‐Hasan, Imam al‐Husayn, and Lady Zaynab as soon as she entered Imam 'Ali's house as a wife. They therefore appreciated her situations, nice treatment, and tenderness. She thus was an example of chastity, purity, and loyalty to the Ahl al‐Bayt (a). Abdullah ibn Ja'far was such a nonesuch person that none, including his enemies, could hide admiration for his unparalleled personality. About him, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan said, "'Abdullah ibn Ja'far is worthy of all honor. He preceded everyone else to the noble deeds and qualities."3 He was loyal to the Ahl al‐Bayt in general and Imam al‐Husayn in particular, though he did not join the Imam's caravan to Karbala'. Historians have recorded that ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Hajar al‐'Asqalani, Usd al‐Ghabah fi Ma'rifat al‐Sahabah; vol.1,p.289. 2‐ See Ibn Jafar al‐'Asqalani,Usd al‐Ghabah fi Ma'rifat al‐Sahabah; vol.5,p,271. 3‐ See Ibn Hajar al‐'Asqalani, Tahdhib al‐Tahdhib; vol.5,p.171. 'Abdullah held the biggest obsequise for the martyrdom of Imam al‐husayn, though his two sons were also martyred in the same time. During that ceremony, one of the slaves said to him, "We have suffered long because of al‐Husayn!" As he heard this statement, 'Abdullah threw a sandal on that slave out of his rage and said, "Son of fetid one! How dare you say such a thing about al‐ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Husayn? By Allah I swear, had I been with him, I would not have left him before I would be killed there. To me, he is undoubtedly more favored than my two sons are. What makes may misfortune easy is that they were killed with him without complaint or impatience. Thanks to Allah, if I could not support al‐Husayn during his fighting, my two sins did."1 He was also well known of his generosity about which narrators have reported many marvelous stories. Because of the Prophet's supplication to Allah for him, he was the richest among people of Medina. Besides, he was so virtuous. He reported many narrations on the authority of his uncle, Imam 'Ali Amir al‐ Muminin(a) and his two cousins, Imam al‐Hasan and Imam al‐Husayn (a). Lady Zaynab gave birth of four sons and a daughter; 'Awn, 'Ali al‐Zaynabi, Muhammad, 'Abbas, and Lady Ummu‐Kulthum. 'Awn was virtuous and well‐mannered. He accompanied his (maternal) uncle, Imam al‐Husayn (a), to Iraq. In the battle of Karbala, 'Awn fought very bravely and took pride in his father, 'Abdullah, and grandfather, Ja'far. After a brave round of fighting, 'Awn was attacked by the vicious 'Abdullah al‐Ta'i who could kill him.2 Ummu‐Kulthum, daughter of Lady Zaynab, was famous for her beauty, chastity, and personality. She was highly respected by all people in general and the Hashemites in particular. As an attempt to curry favor with the Hashemites ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 4:357. 2‐ See Shaykh al‐mufid, al‐Irshad, p.268. so as to find himself a respectful position in the Muslims' view, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan sent a missive to his governor in Medina, Marwan ibn al‐Hakam, ordering him to ask the hand of Ummu‐ Kulthum, daughter of Lady Zaynab, for his son, Yazid. Marwan ibn al‐Hakam knew that Imam al‐ Husayn (a) would surely refuse and thwart the matter. He therefore postponed it as he looked for a proper opportunity. He seized the Opportunity of Imam al‐Husayn's travel and hurried to 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far who understood the whole matter. He said to Marwan that he should wait until Imam al‐Husayn (a) would come back from his journey. When the Imam was back, 'Abdullah rushed at him informing of the whole story. The Imam became very angry, for he rejected completely that his niece would become the wife of the sinful, lewd grandson of Abu Sufyan. He therefore hurried to his sister, Lady Zaynab, and asked her to bring her daughter, Ummu‐Kulthum, before him. When the daughter came, the Imam told that her cousin al‐Qasim, son of Muhammad ibn Ja'far, would be the worthiest of marrying her. The mother welcomed, the daughter accepted, the father showed no rejection, and the Imam gave her a big dowry. They kept the matter secret until the wedding night came. On that night, the Imam invited many Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
personalities among whom was Marwan ibn al‐Hakam who thought that the invitation was held for announcing the Imam's acceptance of Yazid's marriage to his niece, Ummu‐Kulthum. Yet, he was disappointed when the Imam declared the marriage of al‐Qasim to Ummu‐Kulthum. Marwan reported the matter to Mu'awiyah who, accordingly, felt malice towards the Imam.1 ____________ 1‐ See Zaynab Aqilatu Bani Hashim; 27.
Personality Lady Zaynab contained all elements of nobility and virtue that Almighty Allah bestowed upon he grandfather, her father, her mother, and her two brothers. She inherited their peculiarities and copied their high moral standards. By virtue of her ethical inheritance and unmatched peculiarities, Lady Zaynab is indeed the greatest Lady in Islam as she signalized its true values and principles. Along with her mother, Lady Zaynab struggled in the best way and stood firmly against the factional currencies that tried, using all their possiblities and powers, to throw curtains on the real leaders and guide of the Islamic ummah. In the same way as Lady fatimah al‐Zahra stopped strongly with Imam 'Ali (a) and opposed the Illegal government of Abu Bakr through her splendid speech as well as her honorable situations, Lady Zaynab stopped to the last spark of life with her brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a) and opposed the black government of the Umayyad rulers who aimed, openly and frankly, at uprooting Islam and erasing its existence by excluding the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) from the Muslims' social and political lives. Let us now refer to some of such peculiarities that made Lady Zaynab at the head of Muslim women: FAITH In the center of calling to Almighty Allah, and the house where the revelation of the Divine Message was descended, and the pivot from which the word of monotheism advanced to cover, with its bright rays, all the people on this earth; in this very house Lady Zaynab was brought up. She was fed with the core of true faith and the reality of Islam; hence, love for Almighty Allah was in her nature and, later on, became a distinctive feature in her personality that led her to stand all Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
the misfortunes and adversities she had to encounter from her early life. Firm faith and exclusive devotion to Almighty Allah were the fearures that Prophet Muhammad's family enjoyed in special way. Each member of this exalted family expressed his/her firm faith distinctively. Lady Zaynab, for Instance, stopped at the severed body of her brother, Imam al‐ Husayn (a), and expressed her firm faith by saying: "O Allah, accept this offering from us." These words have been the best example on the sublemity of the prophetic inheritance. they also showed the reality of Islam through the lesson that each sacrifice must be purely offered for Almighty Allah's sake. Humanity, in all ages, must bow before such unparalleled faith, which was the secret beyond the perpetuity of Lady Zaynab and her principles. On the cruelest night in the life of Lady Zaynab, as well as the Islamic ummah, she offered a Thanksgiving Prayer while she was completely surrounded by horrific tragedies; the bodies of the Prophet's family and their pure companions were thrown before her eyes without covers, fire was playing in the canopies of the Alawid ladies who became shelterness after the savage, merciless soldiers had usurped their jewelries and properties, and children had nothing to do other than weeping and crying. In the midst of this shocking situation, Lady Zaynab directed her face towards her Lord to thank Him for that grace. Indeed, such faith is more perpetual than civilizations, fortunes, and even perpetuity itself. STEADFASTNESS Since early life, Lady Zaynab armed herself with steadfastness against misfortunes. She first was deprived of her grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (s), who loved her very much and sympathized with her. She then saw the horrible events that surprised her parents immediately after the Prophet's demise. Her father was taken away from the position that almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammad (s) chose for him. Her mother was severely mistreated by the people until she departed life while she was in the flush of her youth. She then saw people of Kufa cheat her brother, Imam al‐Hasan (a), and let him down to the degree that he had to make a peace treaty with Mu'awiyah, the mortal enemy of Islam and the Ahl al‐Bayt (a). A few years later, the Imam was assassinated by poison, She saw him vomit blood to death. On the tenth of Muharram, 61 AH, she had to see the ever bitterest adversities; her brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a), yielded to after he had lost all supporters and helpers; the swords of the wicked Umayyad soldiers killed the Alawid youths, children, and even babies. Before all these unbearable misfortunes, Lady Zaynab stood like an unshakable mountain. She faced all these with the weapon of steadfastness and resisted all the events with conviction. Thus, she is intended in Almighty Allah's saying: "And give good news to the patient who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Allah's and to Him we shall surely return. Those are they on whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord."(2:255‐7) Many poets have depicted Lady Zaynab's steadfastness in the most beautiful and expressive way. She, being the Prophet's granddughter, showed steadfastness and endurance before the enemies of Allah. By virtue of her determination and persistence, Lady Zaynab could withstand all adversities and misfortunes. DIGNITY Dignity was a prominent feature in the personality of Lady Zaynab. After the killing of Imam al‐ Husayn (a), she, as well as the Prophet's granddaughter, were taken as captives from Karbala to Kufa and all their personal properties were usurped. While the children were harshly harmed by hunger, she looked down upon asking some food from the soldiers of the Umayyad army. When the captives' caravan arrived in Kufa, and the women there knew that the captives had been the Prophet's family, they hurried to serve some food for the children. Preventing this thing, Lady Zaynab spoke to the ladies of Kufa: "It is forbidden for us, the Ahl al‐Bayt, to have from alms." As soon as they heard these words from their aunt, the child threw from their hands��and even mouths everything they had taken from these ladies and preferred feeling hungry to accepting alm that are forbidden for them. This is the fruit of the education of the choice ones; the prophets, the veracious, and their real followers. Along the captives' journey from Kufa to Damascus, Lady Zaynab, because of her disdain and sense of honor, did not ask for any aids for the children and women though they were in urgent need for such. Thus, Lady zaynab did not succumb to anything other than Almighty Allah. She showed dignity, honor, and disdain inherited from her granfather and father in spite of hardships. COURAGE No one can ever doubt the courage of the Prophet's family. The members of this family gave the best examples of bravery and courage. For instance, Imam 'Ali (a), the head of the Prophet's family, said: "Even the Arabs helped each other to fight me, I will never flee." He showed the best sorts of courage during the battles and campaigns of Islam. His son, Imam al‐Husayn (a), also gave the best examples of bravery and courage. On the day of Ashura, he amazed his enemies and could stop so bravely and steadfastly before their great numbers. Despite the horrifying misfortunes that he Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
had to encounter on that day, he did not show surrender or weakness. On the contrary, his steadfastness increased with the increase of his misfortunes. He alone attacked thirty thousand soldiers and could oblige he alone attacked thirty thousand soldiers and could oblige them to run the backs just like goats that run away from a lion. Even when he fell to the ground out of his heavy wounds, they were too scared to approach him. Patterning after her family members, Lady Zaynab behaved so courageously before the criminals who killed her brother. As she had to stop before 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, while she was considered as captive, she despised and desrespected him. He therefore showed his gloating over her misfortunes by saying, "Thanks to Allah Who unmasked, killed, and belied your revolution." As a reply, she said courageously: Thanks to Allah Who honored us with His Prophet and purified us from uncleanness thoroughly. It is only the purified us from uncleanness thoroughly. It is only the lewd whom is unmasked, and it is only the dissolute whom is belied. We are not any of these two. Indeed, we are not any of these two, son of Marjanah.1!2 This statement was in fact more lethal than weapons. She said it while she, as well as the ladies of the Prophet's ____________ 1‐ Marjanah, 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziad's mother, was such a notorious prostitute that everybody all over the Islamic State had hear of her name. 2‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 6:263. family, was under capativity and their protector's deads were on spearheads. These words, too, took the tyrant from his throne to his grave. Before his servants and officials, these words made him realize the fact that he was the real defeated and the very unmasked, while the real triumphant was Imam al‐Husayn (a), the killed one, and his companions. As he recieved these shocking words, 'Ubaydullah, son of Marjananh, had nothing to say; he therefore spoke a word of wreak as an attempt to cover his failure and incapability to answer. He addressed her, "How do you see that which Allah has done to your brother?" Bravely and steafastly, Lady Zaynab answered with words of triumph: It was nothing but good. Those were peoples whom Allah knew they would be killed. They therefore came to the places where they would slain. Allah will gather you with them for judgment and sentences. See, who will be the triumphant on that day. Woe shall be you, son of Marjanah, then. These words are surely a source of pride, not only for Lady Zaynab, but also for Islam and Muslims. They are also regarded as endless glory for the Prophet's family. Lady Zaynab's situations in the royal place of Yazid, her situation with the Syrian man, and her everlasting revolutionary speech shook the Umayyad throne and revealed the baseless reality of Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Yazid and those who enabled him to come to power. In the coming chapters, these situations will be discussed in details. ABSTENTION FROM WORLDLY PLEASURES Imitating her father who divorced the worldly pleasures returnlessly1 and her mother who possessed nothing other than a rug made of leaves of date‐palm trees and a skin of a ewe, Lady Zaynab abandoned all the worldly pleasures and stuck to Almighty Allah and deeds of charity. She had never saved anything for tomorrow.2 She left everything for accompanying her brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a), while she was the wife of the wealthiest man of Medina; all that was for supporting her religion and defending its principles and values. FIRMNESS Lady Zaynab stopped against the tyrants so firmly that she represented the right and the justice perfectly. In all situations, she replied the tyrants courageously and faced their falsity with words of light that have perpetuated and acted as models of stopping against any tyrant for sake of the right and justice. While she was surrounded by the policemen and the attendants whom were invited by Yazid to witness his false victory, Lady Zaynab replied each and every single word that Yazid said fearlessly until she unmasked him and proved the genuineness of his brother's issue. Moreover, she threatened and showered at the tyrant with severe words of ____________ 1‐ This is an indication to Imam 'Ali's famous word: "O world. O world! Get away from me. Why do you present yourself to me? Or are you eager for me? You may not get that opportunity to impress me. Deceive some other person. I have no concern with you. I have divorced you thrice whereafter there is no restitution. Your life is short, your importance is little, and your liking is humble. Alas! The provision is little, the way is long, the journey is far and the goal is hard to reach." 2‐ Imam 'Ali Zayn al‐Abidin (a) narrated this feature about his aunt, Lady Zaynab. See al‐Timothy's al‐Sahih; 2:319, al Hakim's al‐Mustadrak; 3:149, Ibn al‐Athir's Usd al‐Ghabah; 5:523, al‐Khatib al‐ Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad; 7:366, and others. rebuke as if she was the governor and he was the captive. Referring to Verses from the Holy Qur'an and item of logic, she did not leave any argument to the tyrant. Her words were the swords with which Yazid and his likes have been killed. The same thing she did before the other tyrant, 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad who tried to gloat at her misfortunes, but all his attempts were faced by sharp words and a strong style that obliged him to keep silent. She ignored him completely, Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
and that was enough shame for him. Her interpidity was clear during the journey of her brother after she had taken various honorable role in his undying revolution. She managed the Imam's Affairs with a nonesuch activity despite the enemies' seige. A single look at the bright face of her brother would remove any tiredness she might have felt. She also took care of the children and harem aftrer the Imam's martyrdom, and that was really a hard mission that ordinary women cannot manage, The source of such power and firmness was that she understood Imam al‐Husayn's revolution perfectly and exerted all efforts for giving success to it. These have been some features of the unmatched personality of Lady Zaynab. As a matter of fact, this lady's personality included all features of moral highness and perfection. To refer to all these features reqires great efforts and very much time, though Lady Zaynab's features are timeless. This is the reason why only a few features of her personality have been mentioned here. LADY ZAYNAB IN TRADITIONS For her high position, Lady zaynab was mentioned in a number of traditions ascribed to the Holy Prophet and the Ahl al‐Bayt (s). We have already referred to the Prophet's saying that weeping for her is as same as weeping for her two brothers. Shaykh Sulayman al‐Hanafi in his famous book entitled Yanabi' al‐Mawaddah Section 58, records the following‐ we except only the point of dicussion: Rabi'ah al‐Sa'di reported: As I asked Hudahyfah about a number of matters, he said, "Listen to this, understand it, and convey it to people. I have seen the Messenger of Allah and heard him with my ears when al‐Husayn ibn 'Ali came to him on the minbar and he seated him on his shoulders and said: O people! This is al‐Husayn; his granfather and grandmother are the best people. His grandfather is the Messenger of Allah and master of Adam's descendants ... And this is al‐Husayn whose father, mother, brother, and sisters are the best of people... and his sister are Zaynab and Ruqayyah ... and his two sisters shall be in Paradise...1 This prophetic saying is a clear‐cut proof on the exceptional position of Lady Zaynab as she is added to the Prophet and the and the Imams and is regarded as the best of people. Shaykh al‐Saduq in his Ikmal al‐Din wa Itmam al‐Ni'mah, reports the following ‐we excerpt only the point of discussion: 'Ali ibn Mahziyar said that Abu al‐ Husayn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al‐Asadi said that Ahmad ibn Ibrahim said: ____________ 1‐ This hadith is reported by Abu al‐Shaykh Ibn Hayyan in al‐Tanbih al‐Kabir and is also recirded by Jamaluddin Muhammad ibn Yusuf al‐Zarandi in Durar al‐Simtayn. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
In the year 262, I visited {Lady} Hakimah daughter of Muhammad ibn 'Ali and sister of Imam al‐ Hasan al‐'Askari and asked her about the religion... She then said," This is what al‐Husayn ibn 'Ali had done when he appointed his sister Zaynab as his representative he appointed his sister Zaynab as his representative openly, and he openly , and hence any item of knowledge that was said by 'Ali ibn al‐Husayn was ascribed to zaynab. This is another proof on the high position of Lady Zaynab in the sight of Imam al‐Husayn as he appointed her to carry the weighty ingeritance of Imamate. Shaykh al‐Mufid records the following narration: During the Battle of the Camel, 'Aishah gathered children and bondmaids, gave them drums, and ordered them to chant some poetic verses aganinst Imam 'Ali. When Ummu Salamah, the Prophet's widow, was informed about this, she decided to go there and reproach 'Aishah and the gathering women. Lady Zaynab asked to do this instead of Ummu Salamah since she knew these women very well. Hence, she disguised herself and her bondmaids and left towards these children and women. When she reached there, she noticed their vainness and futility. She then showed her reality to 'Aishah and said, "It is not strange from you and your companion (i.e. Hafsah) to help each other against Amir al‐Muminin , since it was both of you who helped each other against his brother, the Messenger of Allah, until you were reproached by the Holy Qur'an,"1 'Aishah felt ashamed and excused that these women had done this out of their ignorance. This tradition gives a clear idea about the sagacity and wisdom of Lady Zaynab who participated in the defense of Islam with her father and brothers. ____________ 1‐ The story of 'Aishah and Hafsah's having hatched plots against the Holy Prophet (s) is very famous, since it is mentioned in the Holy qur'an in details. see all books of tafsir regarding the surah of al‐Tahrim. The following tradition is recorded in al‐Tiraz al‐Mudhahhab as qouted from Nasikh al‐Tawarikh: One of the miracles of the Holey Prophet (s) was that he used to put his tongue in the mouths of Fatimah's sukling children and they were satiated. Zaynab and Ummu Kulthum were engaged in this virtue besides al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn. This is in fact a sufficient honor for Lady Zaynab. The following is recorded in Bihar al‐Anwar, as qouted from Ma'ani al‐Akhbar: Muhammad ibn 'Imran asked Imam Ja'far al'Sadiq (a) whether it is true that the Holy Prophet (s) had said that because Fatimah guarded her chastity, Allah shall forbid Hell to take her progeny. Imam al‐Sadiq (a) said, "yet, it is, Her progeny are al‐Hasan, al‐Husayn, Zaynab, and Ummu Kulthum." The previous are only small excerpts of the traditions in which Lady Zaynab is mentioned. It has been already mentioned that she herself was a trustworthy narrator of prophetic traditions and Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
incidents that she lived or heard from her mother.
Traditions of Lady Zaynab The most famous narration of Lady Zaynab was her mother's address of Fadak. Ibn Abu al‐Hadid, in Sharh Nahj al‐Balaghah. reports the address from al series of narrators all relate to lady Zaynab in more than one way of narration. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas also relates the address to Lady Zaynab.1 She also narrated her father's last words to her two brothers and his instructions how to wash his dead body and where to bury him. She also narrated the story of Imam al‐Husayn's birth, as quoted from her mother (a).2 She also narrated the story of the Heavenly Food that Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' prayed to the Lord to give her so as to serve it to her father.3 She also narrated the famous story of her mother's prayer to the believers sayings, "neighbors should be preceded to the family members."4 She also narrated to her nephew, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin the words of the Holy Prophet about what they would face after him.5 In the same manner, she narrated her father's confirmation of Ummu Ayman's narration in the same respect. ____________ 1‐ See Abu al‐Faraj al‐Isfahani, al‐Aghani. 2‐ See al‐Khazzaz, Kifayat al‐Athar. 3‐ See 'Imaduddin muhammad ibn Ali al‐Tusi, Thaqib al‐Manqib. 4‐ See Shaykh Ahmad Zaynuddin al‐Ihsa'ie, al‐Majami'. 5‐ See Ibn Qawlawayh, Kamil al‐Ziyarah. HORRIFYING EVENTS Lady Zaynab lived under the custody of her grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (s), for a period of her early life. During this period, she was so tranquil and at ease, for he used to recieve her with hospitality and honor. Her parents, too, showed her sympathy, love and cordiality. She also saw the great triumphs of Islam and the defeats of its enemies. The most significant thing, however, that Lady Zaynab noticed in her childhood was the Prophet's special care for her parents and brothers.1 Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
She realized the fact that such care and special treatment was not mere emotion or personal view. It was originated from divine instructions to express appreciation for the perfect features those individuals enjoyed and to express their worthiness of being the leaders of the Islamic ummah. These were the happiest days in the life of Lady Zaynab. ____________ 1‐ Prophet Muhammad (s) referred to his household in almost every occasion and situation. He instructed Muslims to follow and take them as the only guides, since deviation would surely occur when their course is left. In other words, Prophet Muhammad (s) presented his household as the one and only source of guidace and attaining Almighty Allah's satifaction. The following narration, for example, is recorded in al‐Tabari's Dhakha'ir al‐'Uqba; 24, Majma' al‐Zawa'id; 9:169, Ansab al‐ Ashraf; 1:157, and many other reference books of Hadith: Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "The like of my household (Ahl ul‐Bayt) among you (i.e. the Muslims) is Noah's Ark; anyone who embarks that ark will certainly be saved, but anyone who leaves it will certainly drown. Also, the like of my household among you is the Gate of Forgiveness for the Israelites; anyone who enters from that gate will be forgiven." Nevertheless, that happiness did not continue; Prophet Muhammad (s) felt death approaching him, and told his daughter about it.1 This news spread grief and feelings sadness over the Prophet's family as well as Muslims who had to think of a new life empty of their leader and Prophet. LADY ZAYNAB'S DREAM Once, Lady Zaynab saw in sleep something horrible; so she hurried to her grandfather to tell her dream. The Prophet (s) seated her in his lap, kissed her repeatedly, and asked her to tell her dream. She began: "Last night, I saw as if a violent wind made everybody look black and dark. Hence, I ran towards a great tree and hanged strongly to its leaves so that the wind would not take me away. The wing unfortunately tore out that tree, but the wind cut it off. So, I hanged to another, but the wind cut it off. so I hanged to another, but the wind also broke it. I then hurried to hang to one of two leaves from that tree, but the stormy wind broke it. I then woke up." As he heard the dream, the Prophet (s) burst into tears and said, explaining her dream: "The tree is your grandfather. The first branch is your mother and the other is your father . The two other branches are your brothers, al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn. The world will be blackened when they leave it, and you will put on mourning dress for their misfortunes."2 THE FAREWELL PILGRIMAGE Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
When the Prophet (s) realized that he would soon depart life, he decided to hold a public meeting with Muslims and nominate the authotities and leaders who would lead them afrer him. For that very purpose, the Prophet (s) performed his final Hajj (ritual pilgrimage), which was called the Farewell Pilgrimage. He took from one place to another ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Shahrashub's Manaqib Al(i) Abu‐Talib; 1:167. 2‐ See al‐Tirmidhi's al‐Sahih;2:308. among Muslims so as to lead them to the sources of salvation and guide them to the leaders whom they should follow after him. He repeatedly said: "O People, I hae left among you the two precious thngs; the Book of Allah and my progeny ‐ my household."1 The Prophet (s) then stoped near Well Zamzam and delivered a great speech in which he referred to all the fields that people need after him. Regarding the leadership of the ummah, he (s) declared openly: "I am leaving among you that which will save you from devitation forever if you only adhere to: the Book of Allah and my progeny ‐ my household. Have I conveyed (to you this matter)? In one voice, all the one hundred thousand attendants shouted: "Yes, you have."2 After he had accomplished the ritual of his final Hajj, Prophet Muhammad (s) received from the heavenes a missive instructing him to nominate Imam 'Ali as his successor and as a general authority for the ummah. The missive was Almighty Allah's saying: O Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you. ____________ 1‐ See al‐Ya'qubi's al‐Tarikh;2:91‐2. 2‐ See al‐Ghadir; 2:34. from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people. (5:67)1 Hence, he ordered the caravans of he pilgrims to gather in a place called 'Ghadir Khumm'. It was so hot that men had to put the ground's heat. In such a situation, he led a congregational prayer and asked his companions to make a pulpit‐like peak. he towered over it and delivered the most important speech in the lives of all Muslims . The most important piece of that speech was that he took Imam 'Ali (a) from the hand, raised him as much as he could, and declared openly and frankly: "'Ali shall be lthe master of him whoever has taken me as master. O Allah, (I implore to You to) accede to him whoever accedes to 'Ali, love him whoever loves 'Ali, hates him whoever hates 'Ali, give victory to him whoever supports 'Ali, disappoint him whoever disappoints 'Ali, and direct the right to the direction that 'Ali takes. It is obligatory upon the Attendants to convey this instruction Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
to the absent."2 As the Prophet (s) conveyed his Lord's missive so completely, the Lord reveal, "This day have I perfected for you your religion and completely My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion." (5:3)3 ____________ 1‐ See al‐Wahidi's Asbab al‐Nuzul, al‐Razi's al‐Tafsir, and many other books of tafsir (exegesis of the Holy Qur'an). 2‐ See Ahmad ibn Hanbal's al‐Musnad; 4:281. 3‐ See al‐Khatib al‐Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad; 8:29, al‐Suyuti's al‐durr al‐Manthur, and many other reference books of history and Hadith. From her early life, Lady Zaynab realized the Propht's instruction and the ummah's homage to her father, Imam 'Ali (a). She also realized that the leadership of her father was a divine instruction and, hence, was a pillar part of the religion. THE PROPHET'S FINAL DISEASE As he was back from the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet (s) felt sick. He was attacked by a very violent fever that obliged him to stay at bed. When Muslims heard of this bad news, they hastened to visit him in groups. He used to instruct them not to leave the leadership of Imam 'Ali (a) after his departure.1 Because the issue of Imam 'Ali 's next leadership was the most important, the Prophet (s) repeatedly focused on it in every situation. He used to say: 'Ali is most certainly with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is most certainly with 'Ali. They shall never leave each other until they join me on the Divine Pool.2 As he anticipated violation of this decision after his death, the Prophet (s) ordered the individuals under suspicion3 to join a phalanx and travel to Syria in a military campaign so as to avoid their rebellion after his death.4 Those individuals however understood the Prophet's purpose; therfore, they decided to rebel against his instructions and refuse to join that campaign. Despite his ____________ 1‐ See Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub's The Conception of the Sahaba's Ultimate Decency and the Political Authority in Islam; translated by badr Shahin, Published by Ansariayan Publication‐ Qum,1998. 2‐ Se al‐Sawaiq al‐Muhriqah; 124. 3‐ Abu‐Bakr, 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab, Abu‐'Ubaydah ibn al‐Jarrah were the major individuals whom the Prophet(s) asked insistently to join that military campaign, Yet, they later on became the leaders of the rebellion. 4‐ See al‐Muttaqi al‐Hindi's Kenz al‐'Ummal; 5:312, Ibn Sa'd's al‐Tabaqat; 4:46, and Tarikh al‐ Khamis; 2:46. illness, the Prophet (s) went out, ascended the minbar1, ordered his companions to join that Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
campaign, and, finally, cursed every one who would break this order.2 This strong threat made the view very clear for those individuals who did everything to avoid leaving Medina on these days. THE CALAMITY OF THURSDAY As a second, more long‐established, attempt to frustrate the conspirators' wicked plots, the Prophet (s), while he was in his final hours encompassed by his companions among whom were the conspirators, asked them to fetch him an inkwell and pen so as to record for them his last, most important will. He instructed that the will should save them from going astray forever.3 The conspirators undrestood the Prophet's intention; so, they aroused a storm of noise‐some supported the Prophet's demand while others rejected tenaciously. It was so strange from such individuals who realized the reality of the Prophet (s) who would never speak out of desire,4 to stop against his last will. Some ladies who knew about this matter hurried to reproach those individuals for such disgraceful dare to challenge the Prophet's orders. The party who supported the Prophet's demand was about to win, but someone (namely, 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab) intruded hastily to declare his disastrous word: "The Prophet is hallucinating!"5 ____________ 1‐ Minbar is a small set of steps in a mosque from which speeches are delivered. 2‐ See al‐Sirah al‐Halabiyyah; 3:34. 3‐ This famous incident was recorded in the most reliable books of hadith of the Sunnis, such as al‐Bukhari's al‐Sahih, Muslim's al‐Sahih, al‐Tabarani's al‐Mu'jam al‐Awsat, and many others. 4‐ Referring to Prophet Muhammad (s), Almighty Allah says (53:2‐5): "Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray; nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed." 5‐ See Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid's Sharh(u)Nahj al‐Blaghah; 3:114. This incident was the most calamitous in the Islamic history. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the grand authority of the Islamic ummah, used to weep whenever he mentioned this incident. he called it 'The Calamity of Thursday'.1 Lady Zaynab, watching these events, realized the purposes of those individuals who aimed at taking her father away from the position that Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammad(s) chose for him. This incident, however, led to other adversities one of which was that of Karbala. LADY FATIMAH AL‐ZAHRA'S GRIEF Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra (a) was the most grievous for her father's disease. She sat by him with a heart torn by grief and pain as if she was the one who suffered agonies of death.2Seeing his daughter and dearest one to his heart in such a manner, the Holy Prophet (s) tried to entertain Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
her and alleviate her griefs. Hence, he said to her something confidentially. She burst into tears. He (s) then said something else , also confidentally, but this time she smiled. When 'Aishah, the prophet's wife, asked Lady Fatimah (a) about the secret beyond her tears and smile, she turned her face and did not tell her. She, however, told some righteus ladies about the matter. She said: "In the first time, my father (s) told me that he would soon depart life. This news made me break into tears. In the second time, he told me that I would be the first to join him to the heavens. He also told that I am the Chiefess of the Women of this ummah. This news gladdened me."3 Lady Zaynab tood part in her mother's grief and pains. She was sad for her mother and grandfather. ____________ 1‐ Though all reference books of Hadith have recorded this incident, most of then refused to mention the name of the one who said that calamitous statement openly. 2‐ See Ahmad ibn Hanbal's al‐Musnad; 1:355. 3‐ See Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi's Hayat al‐Imam al‐Hasan; 1:113. In his final moment, the Holy Prophet (s) supplicated to Almighty Allah to be the custodian of his household and to make the heart of every believing man and woman to burn to them. In his final moments too, he asked the attendants to attend to his household and progeny: "I have left among you the Book of Allah and my progeny‐ my household. To waste the Book of Allah is as same as wasting my progeny. The (the Book of Allah and the Ahl al‐Bayt) shall never leave each other until they join me on the Divine Pool."1 PROPHET MUHAMMAD DEPARTS LIFE Thus, the Prophet (s) took his last breathes from this world and departed life while he was in the lap of Imam 'Ali (a).2 Then, Imam prepared for the funeral cereminies while he was very thouched. He bathed the Prophet's dead body, put it in the coffin, offered the Deceased Prayer, and allowed Muslims to offer prayers for the body, saying: "Peace, Allah's mercy, and blessing be upon you, Prophet of mercy. O Allah, we declare honestly that he has conveyed to his nation everything that was revealed to him and he fought for Allah's sake until Almighty Allah reinforced His religion and accomplished His Word. O Allah, guide us to follow that which was revealed to him, make us continue on this course, and join us to him."3 ____________ 1‐ See al‐Khawarizmi's al‐Manqib: 1:114. 2‐ See al‐Muttaqi a‐Hindi's Kenz al‐'Ummal; 2:55, Ibn Sa'd's al‐Tabaqat, and many other reference Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
books of history. 3‐ See al‐Muttaqi al‐Hindi's Kenz al‐'Ummal; 4:54. Thereafter, Imam 'Ali (a) put the holy body of the Prophet (s) in the tomb and stood at the edge of the tomb shedding tears and uttering words of grief. The saddest individual was Lady Fatimah al‐ Zahra (a) who was about to lose her soul because of grief and bitter weeping. In such horrible hours, she used to say: "O father, O Messenger of Allah, O Prophet of Mercy. From now on, the heavenly revelation will cease. From now on, Gabriel will not visit us. O Allah, (I implore to You to ) join my soul to his and have mercy upon me by letting me see his face. O Allah, I implore to you not to deprive me of his recompense and intercession on the Day of Resurrection."1 By the demise of Prophet Muhammad (s), his household were compassed by waves of sadness and grief. Besides, they were surrounded by waves of horror and fear, since they anticipated that the Arabs would injure them so as to revenge themselves on the Prophet (s) who caused mourning in every house. In this regard, Imam Ja'far al‐Sadiq (a) said: "When the Holy Prophet (s) departed life, his household felt as if they were shelterless; nothing, even the heavens, would protect them from above, and nothing, even the earth, would protect them from beneath." Lady Zaynab, while she was in her early life, suffered bitterly this grand misfortune and had to encounter its effects. She was only five years old when this adversity invaded her youthful heart; she saw her beloved grandfather depart them forever, saw her father swallow grief because of losing his cousin, and saw her mother mourn and weep for her father's departure so apprehensively. That day in fact was the begining of Lady Zaynab's griefs and sufferance. ____________ 1‐ See Tarikh al‐Khamis;2:192.
The Caliph's Reigns The Holy Qur'an has depicted adeptly the tragedy that inflicted the Islamic ummah because of the absence of Prophet Muhammad (s), yet no one else can depict such a vision. Listen to the Holy Qur'an (3:144) Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
And Muhammad is no more than an apostle; the the apostles have alredy passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heel will by no means do harm to Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful. In fact, the most disastrous tragedy that inflicted the Islamic ummah after the Prophet's demise was taking the Prophet's Household away from the politcal fields and giving the leadership to other unworthy individuals. Besides the many adversities that the Islamic ummah has been suffering because of these procedures, this matter resulted in savagely with Muslims in general and the Prophet's Household in particular, In few words, the plot of taking Imam 'Ali away from the leadership was the major reason beyond slaying the Prophet's Household and the genuine companions in Karbala at the hands of the Umayyad army. The events that occurred during the reign of the first three caliphs had left clear prints on the life of Lady Zaynab. Let us then refer briefly to these events. THE PLOT OF AL‐SAQIFAH while Prohet Muhammad's dead body had not been buried yet, some individuals from the Ansar1 hurried to hold a secret congress in Saqifah ‐shed‐ of Banu‐Saidah for proposing one of them for the leadship of the Islamic ummah because they anticipated that the Muahjirun2 would seize power. Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, the chief of al‐Khazraj tribe, delivered a speech in which he applauded the Ansar's struggle for sake of Islam and that they would be worthier of leading the Islamic ummah than the tribes of Quraysh who antagonized the Prophet (s) and tried to assassinate him. Another chief from the Ansar, namely al‐Habbab ibn al‐Mundhir, delivered a speech in which he warned his people from the people of Quraysh and advised them to give the people of Quraysh a share in power because he anticipated that the descendants of those whose fathers, sons, and brothers were killed during the Prophet's campaigns would come to power and revenge themselves on the Ansar. Unfortunately, the anticipation of al‐Habbab ibn al‐Mundhir came true; when Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, whose relatives were killed by those who defended Islam during the Propht's campaigns, came to power, he intentionally humiliated the Ansar and spread poverty among them, His son, Yazid, made what is worse; he usurped their properties, shed their blood, and abused their honors. SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF THE MUHAJIRUN While the Ansar were discussing the affairs of the next leadership, they were surprised by the arrival of Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab, Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al‐Jarrah, Salim, ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐The Ansar ‐supporters‐ are people of al‐Madinah (formerly Yathrib) who supported the Prophet (s) and the emigrants of Mecca after they had to leave their home country. 2‐ the Muhajirun ‐emigrants‐ are people of Mecca who had to leave their home country after their people had treated them so severely because they embraced Islam. and others from the Muhajirun. Despite secrecy of their congress, the Ansar were revealed and all their plots failed. Taking advantage of the situation, Abu Bakr delivered a smooth‐tongued speech in which he referred to the muhajirun as the foremost in embracing and defending Isalm. he then offered the position of vizierate to the Ansar and kept the position of leadership to his people and him. In his speech, Abu Bakr kid not refer to the death of Prophet Muhammad (s) or to the Ahl al‐ Bayt (a). He should at least, have demands with postponing that congress some time because the Prophet's holy body had not been buried yet. He also should have referred to the Prophet's repetitive instruction of nominating Imam 'Ali as him successor and representative. However, his party hurried to support him and pay homage to him as the next leader. 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab, by using his famous stick and tough style, played the greatest role in this play. In fact, they did their roles so successfully because their plot had been already known and agreed upon. Omitting any participation in the funeral ceremonies of the Prophet (s), the party of Abu Bakr carried him to the Prophet's Masjid in procession like a bride. IMAM 'ALI AND THE ILLEGAL HOMAGE When he heard of their plots, Imam 'Ali Amir al‐Mu'minin refused to pay homage to the illegal government of Abu Bakr, because he considered this matter as flagrant violation of his right, Imam 'Ali's position in relation to the leadership of the Islamic ummah is as same as the position of the axis in relation to the hand‐mill. The floodwater flows down from him and the bird cannot fly up to him.1 However Abu Bakr and his party agreed upon coercing Imam 'Ali to payhomage by any means. They therefore sent their forces ____________ 1‐ This is the expression that Imam 'Ali (a) himself used concerning the usurpation of the position that Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammad (s) chose for him. See Nahj al‐Balaghag; sermon of al‐Shaqshaqiyyah No.3. to arrest him at home and bring him out forcibly. The Imam's claims against them were so strong and effective that they could not say anything logic to him.1 He then came back home without paying homage to Abu Bakr. At home, many waves of grief and sorrow surrounded the Imam whose right was usurped before his eyes. The same waves covered his family members among whom was the little Zaynab who saw her father resist grief and opt for patience, and saw her mother weep for her father's departure and her husband's grievance. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
STRICT PROCEDURES AGAINST THE AHL AL‐BAYT As he failed to coerce Imam 'Ali to pay homage to him, Abu Bakr resorted to a number of shameful means, hoping they would oblige the Imam (a) to renounce his right. They first canceled the Khums (One‐fifth) tax that Almighty Allah gave exclusively to Prophet Muhammad and his family (a). Abu Bakr then imposed an economic blockade on the Prophet's Household by confiscating their properties and counting them on the public treasury so that they would not be able to revolt against his illegal government. He also condiscated the land of Fadak, which the Prophet (s) gifted to his daughter, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' (a), in particular before the very eyes of all Muslims, including Abu Bakr himself..2 Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra was very angry with the behaviors of Abu Bakr who locked in her face all spaces of life. Accompanied by a number of pious women, she entered the session of Abu bakr in her father's Masjid where many men from the Muhajirun and the Ansar were present. When a screen was put between her and the attendants, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra (a), first, moaned so pathetically that ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Qutayba's al‐Imamah wa al‐Siyasah; 1:11‐2. 2‐ For details, See Fadak in History, by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al‐Sadr, translated by 'Abdullah al‐ Shahin, Published by Ansariyan Publications ‐ Qum, 2002. everybody should not resist weeping. She then delivered an astounding speech; she first referred to the Islamic knowledge, philosophey of the Islamic laws, and then took up some important issues. She mentioned her father's great favors on those peoples who, before him, had lived in dimnes of ignorance, incivility, and humiliation. She also referred to the virtue and precedence of her cousin and husband, Imam 'Ali, and his struggle for sake of Islam while others lived in luxury and did not exert a single effort in this regard. Before entering upon the main issue, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra (a) expressed her great sorrow for the current deviaton and perversion that inflicted the Islamic ummah, and predicted the ummah's imminent collapse and incurrence of adversities and misfortunes because of taking away the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) from the positions that almighty Allah and His Apostle chose for them. She then cited the question of depriving her of her father's heritage by giving examples from the Holy Qaur'an and the Islamic laws in this regard. In point of fact, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' (a) disproved the claims of Abu Bakr so unquestionably that nobody could answer her. She then put before his eyes the bitter future that he would most certainly encounter when he shall be judged by Almighty Allah and His Prophet (s). Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
She then addressed to the Muslims, attempting to awaken their determinations for demanding with her right and revolting against the illegal government. However, she kew that they were too weak to be stirred up by any word of any situation. at any rate, the speech is regarded as the most impressive innovative speech throughout history of humankind. Due to his craftiness, Abu Bakr could contain the situation, which was about to be explode, by using an ____________ 1‐ See A'lam al‐Nisa; 3:208 and Balaghat al‐Nisa; 12‐9. amazing diplomacy; he answered Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' (a) with words of welcome and honoring. He also lowered himself before her and showed that those strict procedures had not been his own opinion. yet, they had been the Muslims' decisions. In abstract, no rational individual can excuse Abu Bakr who, in addition to dressing himself with the position of leadership of the Islamic ummah, confiscating the Prophet's heritage, seizing Fadak and other personal properties, and imposing an economical blockade on the Prophet's family, lied very much when he fabricated lies against the Holy Prophet (s)1 and when he told that all Muslims decided to deprive Imam Ali (a) of his right of leadrship. Lady Zaynab, witnessing all these events, undrestood the reality of those individuals who caused troubles, pains, and grief to her mother. It is worth mentioning that Lady Zaynab, while she was only five year old, memorized her mother's long and eloquent speech. She was the major narrator of that speech. This is in fact a clear sign of her extraordinary genius. REJECTED APOLOGIES Abu Bakr and 'Umar tried to please Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' (a) in any way, but she refused to recieve them. They then directed towards Imam 'Ali and begged him to arrange a meeting with her. The Imam did and lady Fatimah (a) permitted them. When they both sat before her, she turned her face away from them. They then apologized for her, but she asked them: ____________ 1‐ Abu‐Bakr claimed that he had heard Prophet Muhammad (s) saying: "We, the prophets, do not leave heritages. Anything that we leave must be regarded as alms." Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra' (a), however, proved the falsity of this claim through many Qur'anic Verses and rational evidences. For more details, see Fakad in History, by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al‐Sadr. "Now if I tell you something said by the Prophet of Allah (s), will you accept and follow it." "Of course we will," answered they. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
She asked, "I ask you by Allah, you have heard the Prophet of Allah (s) say: 'To please Fatimah is my pleasure and to enrage her is my anger. Hence, anyone who loves my daughter Fatimah has in fact loved me, anyone pleases my daughter Fatimah has in fact pleased me. 'have you not?" "Yes, we have," they confirmed, "We have heard the Prophet of Allah (s) say so." Furiously, she addresed to Abu Bakr and his conpanion: "I now call upon Allah and His Angles to witness that you have enraged me and that you have never pleased me. I will certainly complain against you as soon as I will meet the Prophet (s)"1 Moreover, she addressed more intense words when she said, "By Allah I swear that I will invoke Allah against you in every prayer I offer." Hence, Abu Bakr and his companion left without obtaining the satisfaction of Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra (a). Naturally, Lady Zaynab who witnessed these events closely took the same attitude and participated in her mother's rage at Abu Bakr. SORROWS OF LADY FATIMAH AL‐ZAHRA Since her father's demise, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra'(a) did not live a single moment of happiness or even a moderate temper. She used to weep day and night to the degree that some "powers" in Medina asked her husband, Imam 'Ali (a), to force her to weep either in day of at night, not in both. She therefore used to take al‐Hasan, al‐Husayn, and Lady Zaynab to a place out of Medina and sit under a tree there to ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Qutayba's al‐Imamah wa al‐Siyasah; 1:14, First Edition. weep freely as much as she could. Because her weeping reminded them of their unjust situations, the evils' hands extended to that tree. Hence, she had to sit under sun heat for mourning her father. But it was very hard for Imam 'Ali (a) to let his wife and most beloved one be exposed to the heat of the sun. He therefore hurried to build for her a house he called 'Bayt al‐Ahzan' (House of Griefs) so that she would take for weeping and mourning her father (s). Thus, she, accompanied by her sons and daughter, used to sit at that gloomy house all the day, and the Imam (a) used to take them back home when night would fall. Her only source of pleasure was visiting her father's tomb; she wanted to go there, throw herself on the tomb, and complain about what had happened to her after his departure.1 DEMISE OF LADY FATIMAH As grief prevailed in her soul, the Prophet's daughter lost all her powers; she could hardly stand up and do her daily activities. Lady Zaynab was helping her mother as much as she could. She felt her griefs, offered to aid her, and stopped with her. Nevertheless, her health was declining, her body was exposed to illnesses, and she had to stay in bed. Once, some ladies visited her. with a Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
faint, sorrowful voice, she answered: "I have hated this world and I will be happy only if I depart you. I will meet Allah and His Prophet (s) with numerous sadnesses; my rights have been violated, my relationship to the Prophet (s) has not been respected, his will concerning me has not been regarded, and nobody has considered my sanctity."2 Like a rose losing its bloom, the Prophet's daughter began to wither, and death walked to her in speedy steps while she was in the vigor of youth. ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Shahrashub's al‐Manaqib; 2:131. 2‐ See al‐Ya'qubi's al‐Tarikh; 2:95. When Imam 'Ali (a) attended according to her request, she told him about her will, which included many points the most important of which were that(1) her holy body must be buried at the darkest hour of night, (2) those who aggreived, wronged, and violated her rights must never participate in her funeral ceremonies, and (3) her tomb must not be known by anybody so that her issue and grievances would be objects of wonderment to the coming generations. The Imam left her after he had guranteed for her all these matters while he was sinking in sadness. She also asked her daughter, Lady Zaynab, to do something prophetic in the future in a certain situation. The daughter promised her mother that she would do. She then asked Asma bint 'Umays to made for her a bedstead that would hide her pure body.1 On the last day of her life, lady fatimah al‐Zahra (a) seemed to be in a better state; because she realized that she would very soon join her father, she was glad. She washed her sons, made food for them, and asked them to visit their grandfather's tomb. She then looked at them so deeply, turned to Lady Zaynab, and looked at her the same look. She then asked Asma to fetch her some water, then dress of mourning, then put her bed at the middle of the house. Asma knew that these were the last moments of Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra's life; therefore, she became astounded. Afterward, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra (a) began to recite verses of the Holy Qur'an until her holy soul ascended to the heavens to meet her father (s) after whom she hated the worldly life. As Lady Zaynab's eyes fell on the motionless body of her mother, she began to wail and cry out in grief. As soon as al‐Hasan and al‐Husayn knew about their mother's death, they threw themselves on her body and wept. But Asma asked them to go to the Masjid and tell their father about this heartbreaking news. ____________ 1‐ See al‐Hakim's al‐Mustadrak; 3:162. When their father heard, he felt as if his heart had cleft and wished if he had departed life. He hurried to the house with teary eyes, looked at the dead body and said words full of sufferings. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Beside the body, there was Lady Zaynab crying out in grief after she had lost all hopes. For a child, nothing is more difficult than departing mother forever. The Imam asked Salman (the Persian) to inform the wordless people who fathered at the door that the funeral should be at night. Nobody was allowed to see the dead body of Lady Fatimah al‐ Zahra (a) even 'A'ishah, the Prophet's widow.1 When the big part of that night went by, Imam 'Ali (a) washed pure body while the two sons, the daughter, and Asma were looking with teary eyes and broken hearts. He then put the body in the coffin and asked his children to take the last look at their mother. They hence threw themselves on their mother's body. When only a few hours remaind from that night, the Imam (a)offered the Deceased Prayer to the dead body, carried it to the final resting place with the help of the chice ones, such as Salman and some Hashemite men, put it in the grave, heaped dust, and wiped out the place of the grave. The Imam's tears wetted the dust while he was referring to his wife, Lady Fatimah al‐Zahra the Veracious (a), with words that expressed his deep sadness and great sufferng.2 The Imam (a) then returned home to participate in his children's weeping for their mother. Thus, sadness and pain colored the childhood of Lady Zaynab who lost her grandfather (s), the compassionate, then , only a few weeks later, her tender mother. While she was in such an early age, Lady Zaynab realized the major goals that made those people oppress her mother and violate ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Shahrashub's al‐Manaqib; 3:365. 2‐ See Nahj al‐Balaghah; commentary of Muhammad 'Abduh, 2:207. her rights. She therefore decided to follow her mother's course and never succumb to the tyrants and the illegal rulers of the Islamic ummah.
Umar's Reign After about two years of ruling, disease surrounded Abu Bakr who nominated 'Umar ibn al‐ Khattab as his successor though many celebrated personalities of the Islamic State objected this matter and complained about 'Umar's rudness. Nevertheless, Abu Bakr did not respond to such protest and went on stressing his unjustifiable dicision.1 The most distinctive feature of Abu Bakr's reign was persecuting the Prophet's family and divesting them of their sacredness that the Prophet (s), due to a divine instruction, cast on them. This matter in fact opened the door to the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
illegal rulers who reigned the Islamic ummah illegally to persecute them and treat them severely. This means tha Abu Bakr gave green light to the Umayyad rulers to perpetrate the massacre of Karbala during which Imam al‐Husayn, along with his relatives and virtuous companions, was slain and his pure body was severed so crudely, and his harem, headed by Lady Zaynab, were taken as captives for nothing but their being the Ahl al‐Bayt (s). After Abu Bakr's death, 'Umar held the affairs of the Islamic ummah with an iron hand. His ruling was so rude that even the major companions of the Prophet (s), such as "Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, kept themselves away from him.2 In the same way as he did during Abu Bakr's reign, Imam 'Ali (a), the true leader of the Islamic ummah, isolated himself from the social and political life during 'Umar's reign, In fact, they tried their best to keep him away from any affair related to their government.3 ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid, Sharh(u) Nahj al‐Balaghah; 6:343. 2‐ For more details, see 'Abd‐al‐Husayn Sharafuddin, al‐Nass wa al‐Ijtihad. 3‐ See Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid's Sharh (u) Nahj al‐Blaghah; 9:28. Yet, they had to refer to him in every problem they faced.1 The Imam thus confided himself to his house while griefs, bitterness, and gloom were his only companions. like their father, Imam 'Ali's sons took part in the sadness that covered their house, and were so angry with 'Umar. Imam al‐ Husayn (a), once, shouted at 'Umar who was climbing the Prophet's minbar and asked him to descend since he ‐'Umar‐ was unworthy of that place.2 Lady Zaynab, too, had the same feeling towards 'Umar to whom she referred in a statement included by her historical speech addressed to Yazid in his palace: "The one who seduced you and gave you the power due to which you are ruling over the Muslims shall certainly know..." At any rate, 'Umar acted in the Islamic ummah according to his personal opinions. For example, he hated the Persians very much that they, in return, have hated him. He prevented any of them to enter Medina city, the capital of Islam state, unless he would be under full age, and decided that they have no right to inherit except those who were born in the Arab lands.3 As a result, 'Umar was assassinated by a Persian slave whom he humiliated and ridiculed.4 ____________ 1‐ For details, see, for instance, Qada al‐Imam 'Ali, In fact, all books that dealt with the Islamic history have mentioned many narrations showing 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab's frequent reference to Imam 'Ali in every problem he faced. Moreover, 'Umar's famous saying: "Without 'Ali, 'Umar would certainly have perished," and many other like ones have been mentioned in every book dealing with 'Umar's reign. 2‐ See Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi's al‐Sayyidah Zaynab; 114. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
3‐ See Malik ibn Anas's al‐Muwatta'; 2:12. 4‐ See al‐Mas'udi's Muruj al‐Dhahab; 2:212, and al‐Isti'ab (published in the amrgins of al‐Isabah fi Ma'rifat al‐sahabah); 2:461. In his final days, 'Umar thought for quiet a while whom should he assaign for the leadership of the Islamic ummah. As he recalled his old associates who participated actively in the implementation of the plan of taking the Prophet's family away from leadership, he showed sadness for them, for death wrenched them away. Finally, he put a mean plot due to which Imam 'Ali named his unsubstantiated play as Shura, He decided to choose six personalities who should nominate one of them for the caliphate. After 'Umar's death, the six persons held their meeting. After long discussions and disputations, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, the representative of the Umayyad dynasty, was selected as the coming caliph. From its first spark, the one and only purpose beyond fabricating the emaciated play of Shura, along with its funny stipulations put by 'Umar, was to nominat 'Uthman as the caliph and to take Imam 'Ali away from this position. 'Umar's Shura, in fact, brought about seditions and disorder for the Islamic ummah. It was an important step in enabling the mortal enemies of Islam, the Umayyad family, to come to power and take revenge for their indiviauals whom were killed during the battle of Badr at the hands of Imam 'Ali, the Hashemite youths, and the pure Muslims. 'UTHMAN'S REIGN Once 'Uthman held leadership, the Umayyad and the Abu Ma'it's families surrounded him and controlled on the ummah's destiny, 'Uthman loved his relatives, the Umayyad family, and lost himself in the loyalty to them.1 As a result, all the offices of the state were in their hands and all the fortunes of Muslims became theirs exclusively. Accordingly, disorder, rebellion, and public anarchy spread throughout the provinces of the state, Moreover, 'Uthman ____________ 1‐See Ahmad ibn Hanbal's al‐Musnad; 1;62. persecuted the foremost Muslims and the authorities for the ummah, such as Abu Dhar al‐Ghifari, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and 'Ammar ibn Yasir, Even 'A'ishah, the Prophet's widow and Abu Bakr's Daughter, oppesed 'Uthman, accused him of atheism, and urged people to kill him. The matter reached its climax when complete provinces, such as Iraq and Egypt, mutinied. Some military phalanxes, as well, directed towards Medina, surrounded 'Uthman's house, and demanded with taking Marwan ibn al‐Hakam and the Umayyad individuals away from the state's office or abdicating his position. He in the first place, promised the mutineers he would respond to them, but he did not. They Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
therefore assassinated him so violently and left his dead body in one of the dunghills of Medina without permitting anyone to bury it. However, Imam 'Ali asked the mutineers to bury the dead body, and they had to accept. By closing the final part of Uthman's reign, a new page of the Islamic history began. Without the sedition matters that 'A'ishah, Mu'awiyah, Talhah, and al‐ Zubayr aroused against Imam 'Ali's government, his reign would have rectified all the problems that the three caliphs caused to the ummah. IMAM 'ALI'S REIGN After they had overthrown 'Uthman's government, the mutineers surrounded Imam 'Ali (a) and declared that they unanimously select him for the leadership of the Islamic ummah. As he anticipated the coming crises, the Imam (a) refused, but the publics insisted and declared that they would not opt for anyone else, and that the Islamic ummah would be without leader if he would refuse. Thus, the Imam (a) had to accept, and the publics hurried to pay homage to him. Talhah, al‐Zubyr, the military forces, the foremost warrriors and authotities of Islam, and all the publics paid homage to the Imam (a).1 In fact, none of the first three caliphs, any ruler of the Islamic state, won such a non‐compulsory homage except Imam 'Ali (a). In the same way as they received the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (s), the tribes of Quraysh received the leadership of Imam 'Ali (a) with discomfort and gloominess.2 They know the Imam (a) from another angle; it is he who beheaded their masters and crushed their pride under the pennon of Islam.3 They also knew that Imam(a) would never neglect their plundering the public treasures during the dark reign of 'Uthman. As soon as he held the position of leadership, Imam 'Ali (a), the one and only deserver of the ephithet of Amir al‐Mu'minin ‐the commander of the faithful believers‐ decided to confiscate all the fortunes that 'Uthman robbed from the public treasure and gave exclusively to his faithless relatives, he then deposed 'Uthma's officials who spread unjustice and persecution throughout the Islamic ummah. As a third step in his program of social justice, the Imam (a)declared equality among people and cancelled any class distinction.4 On this righteous plan, Imam 'Ali (a) educated his sons who raised his slogan of justice, fought for its sake, and challenged all its oppressors and violators. REBELLION AGAINST THE IMAM Because Imam 'Ali (a) insisted on applying the instructions of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah honestly and impartially, many straying powers opposed him so as to ____________ 1‐ See Ibn 'Abd‐Rabbuh's al‐'Iqd al‐Farid; 3:93. 2‐ See Ahmad Husayn Ya'qub's The Conception of the Sahaba's Ultimate Decency and the political Leadership in Islam; translated by Badr Shahin, Pub. Ansariyan Publications, 1999. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
3‐ See al‐Ya'qubi's al‐Tarikh; 2:155. 4‐ See Ansab al‐Ashraf; 1:160 ( part 1). safeguard their personal interests that they obtained illegally. The first ones to declare rebellion against Imam 'Ali's governmet were Talhah and al‐Zubayr, Because the Imam treated them just like any other Muslim and refused to give them privileges at the expense of the others, they mutinied against him and breached the homage that they had paid to him. He also refused to invest them with any official position because he knew their greediness. One Day, they both asked the Imam's permission to leave for Mecca for performing 'Umrah,1 The Imam gazed at them and said: "By Allah I swear, you do not intend to perform 'Umrah. You intended to mutiny and breach your homage to me." However, the Imam (a) permitted them after he had asked them to pay homage to him again. Without hesitation, they did and swore they would never mutiny. As soon as they fled to Mecca, they joined 'A'ishah. Even though she was in the lead of those who revolted against 'Uthman ibn "Affan and decided his apostasy, 'A'ishah could not stand the news of Imam 'Ali's undertaking the position of the Islamic ummah's leadership, because of her uncontrollable malice towards him. Thus, 'A'ishah's situation towards 'Uthman changed completely. She began to mourn for him and betake his assassination as a pretext to overthrow the Imam's government.2 Talhah and al‐Zubayr, as well as the past profiteers of 'Uthman's government, joined 'A'ishah and decide to march towards Basra for fighting against the Imam's authorities. ____________ 1‐ 'Umrah is non‐obligatory pilgrimage to the Holy house of Allah in Mecca. It is also called the Minor Hajj. 2‐ See Ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; vol. 3, p, 454. The lawless mutineers seduced 'A'ishah by mounting her on a camel1 and calling her their mother. When she arrived in a place, dogs received her companions and her with barking. The barking reminded her of a word she had heard from the Holy Prophet (s). She asked in a terrified tone, "What is this place called?" "It is called al‐Hawb'ab," she was answered. The moment this name came to her ear, she became panic‐stricken and asked them to take her back home. When she was asked for a reason, she answered that she once had heard the Prophet (s) saying to his wives, "I see coming that the dogs of al‐Haw'ab will bark at one of you. Do not be it, little reddish one!2"3 All the mutineers' efforts to make 'A'ishah change her decision failed: therefore, they, led by Talhah and al‐Zubayr, bribed some individuals to come and witness that the place was not called al‐Haw'ab. That was the first perjury in Islam.4 Unfortunately, 'A'ishah Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
was deceived by that false testimony. When the lawless mutineers arrived in the suburbs of Basra, 'Uthman ibn Hanif, the governor of Basra, sent Abu al‐Aswad al‐Du'ali to see the matter. The man met 'A'ishah and al‐Zubayr and discussed the matter with them so logically. Yet, they did not respond to him. ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; vol.3, p,475. 2‐ 'A'ishah was called 'Humayra ‐the little reddish one‐' 3‐ It is recorded in Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid's Sharh(u) Nahj al‐Balaghah; 2:497, that 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas narrated that Prophet Muhammad (s) once said to his wives who were all present before him, "Which one of you will be the rider of the giant camel and the dogs of al‐Haw'ab will bark at her? To the right and left of this one will be numerous killed ones. All of them shall be in Hell. She will hardly escape." 4‐ See al‐Mas'udi's Muruj al‐Dhahab; 2:343 and al‐ya'qubi's al‐Tarikh; 2:181. Abu al‐Aswad told the governor that they had decided to fight. So, the two parties agreed on a temporary peace treaty as they waited for Imam 'Ali's opinion. Nonetheless, 'A'ishah's party breached the traty, attacked the governor, arrested and tortured him, robbed the public treasury, and aroused sedition in Basra. The Imam (a) then led his army to Basra to fight against the mutineers, As soon as he arrived there, he sent 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas and Zyad ibn Sawhan to call them to peace. But their call was not responded. He then sent a generous boy and ordered him to carry a cope of the Holy Qur'an and call them to peace an apply the instructions of the Qur'an. The mutineers attacked him, severed his both hands, and threw darts at him until he daparted life. The Imam (a) then had to attack the other camp, which was led by 'A'ishah. The mutineers could not resist the Imams army; as a result, 'A'ishah tried to breath life in her soldier's determinations, but they were too weak to face his famous sword. They surrounded their mother's camel, and the Imam (a) ordered 'Ammar ibn Yasir and Malid al‐Ashtar to cut the camel's legs because 'A'ishah's soldiers, according to the Imam's expression, had betaken that camel as center. They did, and thus the fighting ceased with the bitter defeat of the lawless mutineers. That fighting was called 'Battle of the Camel'. The Imam (a) then issued a general amnesty1 and released 'A'ishah to go back to Medina. From these events, Lady Zaynab realized, more deeply, the serious hostility that the tribes of Quraysh bore against her grandfather and father. She also understood the ____________ 1‐ Imam 'Ali (a) pardoned all his enemies, such as 'Abdullah ibn al‐Zubayr and Marwan ibn al‐ Hakam, and did not punish anyone of them. For more details, refer to al‐Ya'qubi's al‐Tarikh. factuality of the Islamic ummah and the Muslims' duties to it. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
MU'AWIYAH'S SEDITION As a matter of fact, 'A'ishah paved the way of mutiny to Mu'awiyah who, too betook the issue of 'Uthman's assassination as pretext to oppose the Imam's impartial government. The one and only reason beyond Mu'awiyah's mutiny was that he knew for certain that the Imam would dismiss him from his position,1 divest him of all the fortunes that he usurped from the public treasury, and get even with him concerning his behaviors that violated Islam, such as wearing silk garment, using golden and silver bowls, and wasting huge riche in building palaces. Furthermore, the Imam (a) would not admit 'Umar's purposeful glorifying and supporting him. At any rate, Mu'awiyah rejected the Imam's call to peace and paying homage to him. He gathered a big army and directed towards a place called Siffin on the Iraqi‐Syrian borders, The first thing he did was occupying the two banks of the River Euphrates in order that the Imam's army would not find water. On the other side, the Imam (a) readied for meeting the mutinous forces, His armies could not reach the Euphrates for supplying themselves with water. He therefore sent one of his companions to meet Mu'awiyah and convince him to let the Imam's army have water. Of course, Mu'awiyah refused out of his meanness. The Imam(a) then had to give orders of occupying the river and having water from it. the armies did, and the mutineers were defeated and taken away from the river's banks. Afterwards, the commanders of the ____________ 1‐ since 'Umar's reign, Mu'awiyah ibn Abu‐Sufyan, the mortal enemy of Islam and the son of the mortal enemy of Islam, was holding the posotion of governing Syria. Imam's army found it a good opportunity to make an eye for an eye, by depriving Mu'awiyah's army of reaching the river, but the Imam (a), out of his matchless humanity and high morals, refused. As an attempt to prevent bloodshed, Imam 'Ali (a) sent messengers of peace to Mu'awiyah's camp, but the latter refused and resolved to enter the war against the Imam (a). As a consequence, the Imam had to battle against them. First of all, there were individual campaigns from both parties, because the Imam(a) hoped for Mu'awiyah's responding to calls of peace. When the Imam (a) despaired and knew that Mu'awiyah was preparing for general attack, he had to recruit his soldiers. Thus, a fierce war, during which great figures of Islam such as 'Ammar ibn Yasir were martyred, broke out.1 The army of Mu'awiyah was defeated and their leader was about to flee. As a result of a secret conspiracy between 'Amr ibn al‐As, the counselor of Mu'awiyah, and some commanders of the Imam's army, headed by al‐Ash'ath ibn Qays, the Syrian army raised copies of the Holy Qur'an on spearheads and called for its being the arbiter of the dispute. Hence, the conspires in the Imam's army urged importunately the others to respond to the Syrina Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
army's call. Event though he had known the reality of that trick, the Imam(a) had nothing to do other than responding to his army's demanding calls to peace. Before so, he had proven the falsity of Mu'awiyah's trick and informed that Mu'awiyah and his party had never respected or even believed in the Qur'an, but the soldiers refused the Imam's words, responded to Mu'awiyah's trick, and even threatened to kill him if he would not respond. That was not all, the Imam's soldiers selected Abu Musa al‐Ash'ari to be their representative in the arbitration between Imam 'Ali and Mu'awiyah, while the Imam's nominee was 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the great Islamic authority. Once again, the Imam's soldiers refused his representative and insisted on choosing the mindless Abu Musa. On the other side, the Syrian army selected 'Amr ibn al‐As the foxy. When the two met for appointing the time of arbitration 'Amr ibn al‐As convinced, delusively, the mindless representative of the Imam's armey that they both should depose the two parties, Mu'awiyah and Imam 'Ali, so as to save the Islamic ummah from conflicts. The trick of the focxy representative of Mu'wiyah's party worked with the mindless representative of the Imam's. Before the delegates of the two parties, Amr cheated Abu Musa to climb the minbar and declare his decision of deposing the Imam. After him, 'Amr climbed the minbar and decided to depose the Imam and nominate Mu'awiyah as the leader of the ummah. Thus, Abu Musa al‐Ash'ari had to flee towards Mecca after he had invented sedition and schism in the Imam's party. ____________ 1‐ That war was called 'Battle of Siffin'.
The Kharijite's Sedition It is ironic that the very individuals who forced the Imam (a) to respond to Mu'awiyah's trick of the Qur'an's arbitration mutinied against him climing that he should not have responded to that trick. They formed a political movement, which was called 'Khawarij (plural of Kharijite; dissidents).' They were extremists; they killed numerous innocent people, such as 'Abdullah ibn Khabbab, the decent companion of the Prophet(s), and camped in al‐Nahrawan. The Imam (a) intended to direct towards Syria for fighting the mutinous Mu'awiya, but his companion��consulted him to fight, first, against the Kharijites whose danger on the Islamic ummah had been more serious than Nahrawan, fought against the Kharijites, and could kill them all except nine individuals only.1 ____________ 1‐ That conflict was called 'Battle of al‐Nahrawan.' Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Then, the Imam's soldiers wearied of wars; therefore, they did not respond to him when he intended to fight against the disobedient Mu'awiyah despite urgings. DECLINE OF THE HONEST GOVERNMENT If truth be told, the Orient has never known the like of Imam 'Ali's government in honesty, justice, and impartiality. Unfortunately, the evil and opportunist powers of his time spared no efforts for stopping against his political and social plans of reformation. They forced him to enter wars that exhausted his military forces and occupied him from doing the reformative schemes of the state. By the slowdown of the Imam's soldiers, it was the best opportunity for Mu'awiyah to strengthen and arm his forces. Moreover, he began to wage campaigns aganist the Islamic provinces that were under Imam 'Ali's ruling so as to make the public believe that the Imam (a) lost the ability to protect his people. Meanwhile, all the Imam's attempts to arouse his soldiers' determination failed. He therefore supplicated to Almighty Allah to save him from such a frozen society whose individuals could not recognize his principles and policies of spreading justice and equality. THE ASSASSINATION OF IMAM 'ALI Groups of the Kharijites held a secret meeting in Mecca and discussed the current issues of the Islamic ummah. They agreed that Imam 'Ali (a), Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, and 'Amr ibn al‐As stood beyond the catastrophes of the ummah. They therefore decide to assassinate the three. 'Abd‐al‐Rahman ibn Muljim, the cursed, took upon himself the assassination of the Imam(a), while two others took among themselves the assassination of the others. They specified a definite hour at which they would implement their plans. It was after the Fajr ‐dawn Prayer on the nineteenth of Ramadan. Hence, 'Abd‐al‐Rahman ibn Muljim, the cursed, returned to Kufa, which was the capital of the islamic state, to do his mission. There, he met a Khafijite lady whose father and brother were killed during the Battle of al‐Nahrawan. As he asked for her hand, she specified as dowry three‐thousand dirhams, a slave, a bondmaid, and the killing of Imam 'Ali (a). The cursed 'Abd‐al‐Rahman agreed and promised her of arranging for all these things.1 On the night of the eighteenth of Ramadan, Imam 'Ali(a) had strange feelings. He anticipated the imminent occurrence of a horrifying matter. It was Friday, and the Imam, that night did not sleep. He spent it with recitation of the Holy Qur'an and offering prayers. When dawn was about to fall, he intended to leave for the Masjid, but some swans cried in his face. This happening gave a signal to the Imam (a) who said, "All power and might belong only to Allah. These cries will be followed by wailings."2 He then came towards the door, but could difficulty open it. That was another sign he alone could understand. When he reached in the mosque, he, as usual, awoke people for offering the prayer. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
He then began his prayer. When he sat after the first Sajdah,3the cursed ibn Muljim stroke him with the sword so heavily that the Imam's forehead was cleft and the sword reched his brain. As soon as the Imam felt the stroke, he raised his voice with the statement: "By the Lord of the Kaabah, I have won." People hurried from every side and began to mourn the Imam (a) with melted hearts. They then carried him to his house and arrested the murderer. He however asked his son, Imam al‐Hasan (a), to treat the murderer kindly. When the son wondered, the Imam (a) answered, "O son, we are the household of mercy and forgiveness. Feed him (i.e. your prisoner) from the food you eat and water him from the drink you take. If I will die, you may then retaliate upon him (according to Allah's law of retaliation) by killing him. ____________ 1‐ See al‐Hakim's al‐Mustadrak; 3:143. 2‐ See al‐Mas'udi's Muruj al‐Dhahab; 3:291. 3‐ Sajdah is the obligatory prostration of the ritual prayers. But, never do anything to his dead body. for I heard your grandfather the Messenger of Allah (s) say: "Never do anything to the dead bodey of even biting dogs." If I will survive, I know what I will do with him. It is however better for me to pardon him, for it is my ethics to forgive. We, the Ahl al‐Bayt, return on those who do wrong against us in forgiveness and generosity". LADY ZAYNAB WITH HER FATHER Lady Zaynab hurried to her injured father with rearful eyes and broken heart. She asked him whether the Prophet's report, related by the righteous lady Ummu‐Ayman, regarding the adversities and misfortunes that the Ahl al‐Bayt would have to encounter in the futuer was true or not. The Imam (a) said: Ummu‐Ayman has told the truth. I see coming that you. as well as your prople's harem, will be captives in this country. You will be submissive and terrified, fearing lest people might carry you off by force. At that time, be patient and adhere to patience , for, on that day, there will be no disciple (of Allah) on the earth except you, your followers, and your partisans. I swear this by Him Who split the grains and created the souls. When he foretold us of these news, the Messenger of Allah (a) added: "On the same day as al‐ Husayn will be slain, Eblis1 the cursed will be overjoyed and will wander about the earth with his devils and afreets2 to declare: O devils, only today have we revenged ourselves on the descendants of Adam, attained our objective of wiping them out, and led them to the fire of Hell. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Now, you must turn all your efforts towards filling people's minds with doubt towards al‐Husayn and his companions, inciting them to bear hostility against them, and provoking them against anybody who shows loyalty to them (i.e. al‐Husayn and his companions) in order that people's straying and atheism would be so guaranteed that none of them would be saved (on the Day of Resurrection)" Even though he is the biggest liar, Eblis said the truth in that question. It is quiet true that the good deeds of anyone who bears hostility against the Ahl al‐Bayt are of no avail (no matter how great they are), and the sins, not the grand ones, of any one who loves them and is loyal to them are of no harm.3 THE IMAM'S FINAL ADVICES In his final hours, Imam 'Ali (a) advised his sons and daughters to cling to the high moral standards an abstinence from the transitory pleasures of this world. To his two sons, Imam al‐Hasan and Imam al‐Husayn (a), he said: ____________ 1‐ Eblis is the name of the Devil. 2‐ Afreet is a powerfull, evil jinnee. (See The Oxford Talking Dictionary; item: afreet.) 3‐ See Kamil al‐Ziayarat; 266. I advise you (both) to fear Allah and that you should not hanker after the (pleasures of this) world even though it may run after you. Do not be sorry for anything of this world that you have been denied. Speak the truth and act (in expectation) for reward. Be an enemy of the oppressor and helter of the oppressed. I advise you (both) and all my children and members of my family and everyone whom my writing reaches, to fear Allah, to keep your affairs in order, and to maintain good relation among yourselves for I have heard your grandfather (the Holy Prophet) saying, "improvement of mutual differences is better than general prayers and fastings." Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of orphans. So, do not allow them to strave and they should not be ruined in your presence. Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of your neighbors, because they were the subject of the Prophet's advice. He went on advising in their favor until we thought he would allow them a share in inheritance. Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of the Qur'an. No one should excel you in acting upon it. Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of prayer, because it is the pillar of your religion. Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of your Lord's House (the Kaabah). Do not forsake it so long as you live, because if it is abandonded you will not be spared (or you will be deprived of your Lord's grace). Fear Allah and keep Him in view in the matter of jihad with the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
help of your property, lives, and tongues in the way of Allah. You should keep to a respect for kinship and spending for others. Avoid turning away from one another and severing mutual relations. Do not give up bidding for good and forbidding from evil lest the mischieveous gain positions over you, and then if you will pray, the prayers will not be granted. Then the Imam (a) said: O sons of 'Abd‐al‐Muttalib, certainly I do not wish to see you plunging harshly into the blood of Muslims shouting that Amir al‐Mu'minin has been killed. Beware; do not kill on account of me except my killer.1 Wait until I die by his ('Abd‐al‐Rahman ibn Muljim) existing stroke. Then strike him one stroke for his stroke. But never do anything to his dead body, for I heard your the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, say: Never do anything to the dead body of even biting dogs.2 The final will of Imam 'Ali (a), however, was narrated by Lady Zaynab. Afterwards, the Imam (a) began to recite Verse of the Holy Qur'an and suffer death agonies, Then, his pure soul elevated to the Supreme Comrade and joined the endless joy with the prophets, saints, and righteous people. Excellent is the companionship of such ones. Imam al‐Hasan (a), accompanied by his brothers, assumed responsibity for his father's funeral ceremonies, and at the last part of night, they carried Imam 'Ali's pure body to the fianl resting‐place in al‐Najaf. Lady zaynab,3 while she was shedding tears heavily, participated in that funeral ceremony. ____________ 1‐ This is an indication to the seditions that 'A'ishah and Mu'awiyah aroused because of 'Uthman's assassination. 2‐ See Nahj al‐Balaghah; 3:85. 3‐ See Zaynab al‐Kubra; 60. IMAM AL‐HASAN'S REIGN On the second day, Imam al‐Hasan, surrounded by his brothers and the Hashemites youths, directed towards Kufa Masjid and delivered a funeral orations in which he used words as glorious as his father. He showed that his father had been such a unique personality that none from the past and coming generations can be his like. In the field of justice, Imam al‐Hasan (a) declared the following fact about his father: "He (i.e. Imam 'Ali) has not left behind him a single yellow (golden) nor white (silver) piece except seven hundred dirhams with which he had intended to have bondmaid for his family. yet, he ordered me to return them to the public treasury." As Imam al‐Hasan (a) finished his speech, the publics hurried to swear allegiance to him, even though the majority of them were not honest. At any rate, Mu'awiyah realized the reality of Imam al‐Hasan's army whose individuals were controlled by weakness, looseness, and determination of rebel; he therefore challenged him to fight. Moreover, he led his army whose individuals, quite the opposite, were completely obedient Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
and submissive to camp in al‐Mada'in. Once they heard of this news, the hearts of Imam al‐ Hasan'a soldiers were filled up with horror and panic. Thus, they refused the Imam's call to fight against Mu'awiyah. The Imam (a) still did not stop; he exerted all efforts for urging people to fight. Finally, a farrago of people of different tendencies and thoughts responded to him and camped in al‐Mada'in. The commander in chief of the Imam's army, namely 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abbas, joined Mu'awiyah's camp after he had received a seductive bribe and, as a consequence, disorder and sedition dominated the Imam's army and many celebrated individuals, as well as eight thousand soldiers and the tribes of Rabi'ah, insinuated themselves into Mu'awiyah's camp.1 The matter reached its climax when a gang headed for robbing Imam al‐Hasan's baggage, the bribees attempted to assassinate him more than once, and, finally, a party in his army, most likely the Kharijites, accused him of atheism. In view of this situation, Imam al‐Hasan (a) had to make peace with Mu'awiyah, though unwilllingly, so as to save his party from distinction.2 After the truce, Imam al‐Hasan (a) had to leave Kufa, the city whose people disappointed his father and him, for Medina whose people his father and him, for Medina whose people received him so delightedly because he was the branch of that pure origin, the Holy Prophet (s). By the fading of the rightful governmet and the coming of the wrongful one, the life of Lady Zaynab entered a new stage that would carry new, yet more grievous, adversities. ____________ 1‐ See Ansab al‐Ashraf; 1:223 (part I) 2‐ See Shaykh Murtezha Al‐Yasin's Sulh al‐Hasan and Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi's Hayat al‐Imam al‐ Hasan. MU'AWIYAH'S REIGN By Mu'awiyah's coming to power, the pre‐Islamic idol ruling replaced the democratic ruling of Islam. vice, in decency, and violation of god manners found themselves expansive places under the consent of the Umayyaad individulas.1 From his father who was the bitterst enemy of Islam, and from his mother who, out of her malice against the Holy Prophet (s). Furthermore, the son exceeded his parents; he could not hide his real feelings as the name of the Holy Prophet (a), during the five‐time per day declaration of prayer, was annoying him.2 In sequence, he hated the Prophet's Household land offsprings as extremely as possible. He therefore issued the most malicious decision of condealing their virtues and merits, Muhammad ibn Idris al‐Shafi'i; the founder of the Shafiite Islamic school of law, answered those who asked Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
him to say his opinion about Imam 'Ali Amir al‐Mu'minin: "What can we say about a person whose partisans have had to hide his merits because of fear, snd enemies have hidden his merits out of envy? But between these two, his merit that have become widely known are too numerous to be counted." During the reign of Mu'awiyah, the partisans of Imam 'Ali and the Ahl al‐Bayt had to suffer various sorts of persecution. For instance, the criminal Bisr ibn Arta'ah killed and burnt more than thirty thousand individuals, Samrah ibn Jundab killed eight thousand individuals from ____________ 1‐ See Sayyid Amir 'Ali's Ruh al‐Islam; 296. 2‐ See Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid's Sharh(u) Nahj al‐Blaghah; 2:297, and 10:101. 3‐ See al‐Muhaddith al‐Qummi's al‐Anwar al‐Bahiyyah. Basra, an Ziyad ibn Abih, who exceeded everyone else in criminality, cut the limbs of the Imam's partisans, Evne the women who showed loyalty to Imam 'Ali (a) and the Ahl al‐Bayt were not saved from the inhuman procedures of Mu'awiyah's criminal authorities. Furtheromore, Mu'awiyah gave the order of destroying the house of the Imam's partisans and leaving them homeless. He also deprived them of their shares from the public trasure1 and refusing their testimonies in the official courts. Eventually, Mu'awiyah exiled more than fifty thousand of them to Khurasan, northeast Persia. By the way, those exiles propagandized Shiism in that provnice whose people, later on, changed into a strong front of oposition against the Umayyad rulign until they, under the leadership of Abu Muslim al‐Khurasani, could overthrow their oppressive state. ASSASSINATION OF IMAM AL‐HASAN Anyhow, the gravest crime of Mu'awiyah was assassinating Imam al‐Hasan (a) after he had pledged, through a famous truce with the Imam, to hold the position of leadership to the Imam. Thus, he could establish an Umayyad royal state. As he looked in the long list of the criminals whom may do this mission so completely, he could not find anyone more qualified than Ja'dah daughter of al‐Ash'ath, even though she was the Imam's wife. This lady was brought up on betrayal and perfidy. Mu'awiyah sent a lethal poison to Marwan ibn al‐Hakam and asked him to seduce Ja'dah to poison her husband under promis of marriage to Yazid, Mu'awiyah's son. Due to her nature, Ja'dah did not hesitate; she poisoned the Imam's food. The Imam (a) began to suffer the pains of poison and vomit piece of blood in a bahtub. When Lady Zaynab ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Abi's‐Hadid's Sharh(u) Nahjal‐Balaghah; 11:44. visited him, he ordered to take away that washtub so that she would not see that hurting view. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
yet, she became very sad as she realized that her brother would depart her forever very soon. The Imam (a) then advised his brothers and companions to adhere to the nobilities of character, good deeds, and fear of Allah. While he was reciting Verse of the Holy Qu'an, his soul exalted to the Heavens to join the endless world there. Imam al‐Husayn (a) undertook his brother's funeral ceremonies and intended to bury him next to his granfather, Prophet Muhammad (s). But 'A'ishah, owing to incitement of the Umayyads, rode a mule, shouted, "Do not take to my house those whom I do not like," and created a big seditious matter due to which the blood of huge numbers of Muslims was about to be shed. Evading such a matter, Imam al‐Husayn (a) had to change his mind and bury his brother in another place. ASSIGNING YAZID AS THE COMING CALIPH Mu'awiyah sealed his criminal reign with imposing his son, Yazid, as his successor. Like his father and grandfather, Yazid was known of his hypocrisy, treachery, and enmity against Islam. He, publicly, slighted all human values and principles, He used to drink wine in every moment of his life that some historians have specified dipsomania as his death cause. He was also fond of breeding animals, especially monkeys. In abstract, Yazid represented all vice and offenses and had nothing to do with Islam of leadership of the Islamic ummah.
The Black Reign After the perdition of Mu'awiyah, the Islamic ummah was pervaded by a violent, terrorist reign , which did not submit to a tradidion of law or respond to any humane emotion. Finally, it betook oppression and despotism as its slogan. This is the very depiction of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah's reign, which persecuted Muslims so harshly. During this reign, Lady Zaynab suffered the most difficult misfortunes and adversities, and the Prophet's family had to encouter extreme eradication. They were slain, and the Umayyad soldiers cut their limbs and violated their dead bodies so inhumanely. Lady Zaynab saw these excruciating views with her own eyes; therefore, sadness and sorrows cut through her heart and she could not stop against her tears and cries of mourning, That was not all; she, altogether with the Prophet's harem, then was taken as captive and shown around the provinces of the Umayyad State. They once were taken to 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, son of the ill‐famed Marjanah, and then to Yazid, grandson of the ill‐famed Hind.1 ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐ Hind, daughter of 'Utbah and wife of Abu‐Sufyan, was the mortal enemy of Islam in general and the Hashemites in particular. It was she who tried to eat the liver of al‐Hamzah ibn 'Abd‐al‐ Muttalib after he had been killed during the battle of Uhud. About her ill‐fame, listen to the following narraition: After the cconquest of Mecca, Hind, as well as her family members, had to pretend themselves from killing. She came to the Prophet (s), according to a divine instruction, would listen to her pledge openly in the hearing of Muslims. he would dectate some priciples and she would agree, otherwise her being Muslim should not be accepted. One of these principles was that the Prophet (s) asked her to pledge herself that she would not commit prostitution. As an answer, she said, "How come that a celebrated a lady commit prostitution?" As soon as he heard this statement from her, 'Umar ibn al‐Khattab laughed to excess! This is because he knew her very well. This incident is recorded in almost all the reference books of Islamic history. See, for instance, Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Bidayah wa al‐Nihayah, vol. 4 p. 365, Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Sirah al‐Nabawiyyah, vol. 3 p. 603, al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk, vol.2 p.338, al‐Qurtubi, al‐Tafsir, vol. 18 p. 17, and Shaykh al‐Amini, al‐Ghadir, vol. 10,p. 170. In any case, Lady Zaynab suffered the cruelest adversities during the black reign of Yazid, the sinful tyrant who was an inexperienced, lecherous young and had known nothing about leadership, policy, or management. He could not even manage or control himself; he submitted completely to his whims and his one and only lust was bloodshed. When his cursed father died in Damascus, Yazid was on a journey.1 He recieved a message informing about his father's perdition and his becoming the caliph of the Islamic ummah. He thus hurried to the capital accompanied by his immoral faction. From that moment, people began to criticize him for irresponsible behaviors.2 The first thing he did in Damascus was that he declared his determination to wage a destructive war against people of Iraq People of Syria, however, welcomed this determination and declared their readiness to plunge themselves into such a war.3 Yazid's most malicious opposition was in Medina; they were Imam al‐Husayn (a) and 'Abdullah ibn al‐Zubayr. He therefore issued the emphatic decision that al‐Walid, the governor of Medina, must coerce these two persons to pledge themselves as submissive to the leadership of Yazid, but if they, or any other individuls, refuse to pay homage to the new caliph, the governor must behead them.4 ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Bidayah wa al‐Nihayah, vol. 8 p. 152. 2‐ See al‐Dhahabi, Tarikh al‐Islam, vol. 1, p. 267, and Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Tarikh, vol.3, p.266. 3‐ See al‐Baladhiri, Futuh al‐Buldan, vol. 5,p,6. 4‐ See al‐Ya'qubi, al‐Tarikh, vol. 2, p.241. When he received these resounding instructions, al‐Walid panicked because it was not easy to behead such personalities.1 Even Mu'awiyah who enjoyed terrible diplomatic capabilities could Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
not dare assassinate Imam al‐Husayn (s). How is it then possible for an ordinary governor like al‐ Walid to do it? Al‐Walid then sought the opinion of Marwan ibn al‐Hakam, the chief of the Umayyad family, who suggested that those two personalities would be compulsorily summoned at that very moment and asked to show compliance with the new leadership of Yazid, otherwise they would be beheaded.2 This opinion did not appeal to al‐Walid, but he had to respond to Marwan.3 REFUSAL OF YAZID'S LEADERSHIP It was midnight when al‐Walid ordered 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn 'Uthman to summon Imam al‐ Husayn (a) and 'Abdullah ibn al‐Zubayr. The messenger found them both in the Prophet's Masjid and asked them to attend at the governor. They answered affirmatively. 'Abdullah ibn al‐Zubayr turned his face to Imam al‐Husayn (a) and wondered, "What do you thing the matter for which he summoned us in such time?"4 The Imam (a) answered, "I think that their tyrant ruler ‐i.e. Mu'awiyah‐ died, and they summoned us to pay homage to the new one before the spread of the news."5 The Imam (a) then gathered his companions and directed towards the governors center. He first asked why he was summoned in such time. He was answered that he should pay homage to the leadership of yazid. ____________ 1‐ See al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk, vol.4, p.25. 2‐ See Abu‐Mikhnaf al‐Azadi, Maqtal al‐Husayn, p.4. 3‐ See al‐Baladhiri, Futuh al‐Buldan, vol.5,p.12‐3. 4‐ See Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Bidayah wa al‐Nihayah, vol.8 p.160. 5‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Tarikh, vol. 3,p.264. Asking for postponement, the Imam (a) said, "I do not pay homage secretly. When you ask all people to pay homage, you then may ask me so that people and I will share the same situation." This means that the Imam (a) intended to declare his refusal of swearing allegiance to the leadership of Yazid openly, but Marwan understood it. He therefore shouted at al‐Walid, "If he leaves you at this instant without paying homage, you will never be able to oblige him to pay it at any time unless many victims from both sides will numerously fall. Detain him now. He must pay homage or be beheaded." The Imam (a) turned to Marwan and shouted in his face, "Son of al‐ Zarqa, is it you or he who will kill me? By Allah I swear, you have meanly lied."1 The Imam (a) then turned to al‐Walid to declare his determination to reject the matter completely: "O Governor, we are the household of prophesy, the core of the (divine)message, frequently visited by the angels, and (we are) the center of mercy. Allah has commenced with us and shall Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
seal with us. Yazid is a lecherous, intoxicating man who kills the respectful soul and promulgates his acts of immorality. My like should never pay homage to him or his likes. Wait for us until next morning and you will see who is the worthiest of leadership (of the Islamic ummah) and being paid homage."2 ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Tarikh, vol. 3,p.264. 2‐ See Sayyid Ibn Tawus al‐Hasani, al‐Lahuf fi Qatla al‐Tufuf, p.17, and Sayyid Murtada al‐'Askari, Ma'alim al‐Madrasatayn, p. 46. That was the first declaration of Imam al‐Husayn's refusal of Yazid's illegal leadership. Marwan blamed al‐Walid for not adopting his suggestion. Al‐Walid, however, reproached Marwan and declared that he would never kill Imam al‐Husayn (a), because his killer would certainly be the fuel of Hell.1 The next morning, Imam al‐Husayn (a) decided to leave Medina for Mecca. Before so, he visited the tomb of his granfather, Prophet Muhammad (s), and complained to Almighty Allah against the adversities that surrounded him, saying: O Allah, this is the tomb of Your prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, and I am the son of Your Prophet Muhammad's daughter. I have been inflicted with the matter that You know. O Allah, I do like all that which is good and I forbid all that which is evil. Hence, I now beseech to You, O Lord of Majesty and Honor, to choose for me that which draws Your pleasure and the pleasure of Your Prophet.2 In the darkest hour of night, Imam al‐Husayn (a) directed towards the hidden tomb of his mother, Fatimah al‐Zahra (a), and then turned to the tomb of his brother, Imam al‐Hasan (a), where he revived the happy moments he spent with them. IN MECCA When Imam al‐Husayn (a) decided to leave for Mecca, he summoned his sister, Lady Zaynab, informed her about what he had decided to do, and asked her to take part in his ordeal. In view of her deep‐rooted faith, she did not hesitate to respond to her brother's call. Moreover, she determined to participate and wind up his revolution. Like Lady ____________ 1‐ See al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk, vol.5,p.340. See shaykh al‐Shurayfi, Mawsu'st Kalimat al‐Imam al‐Husayn, p.287 as quoted from al‐Khawarizmi, Maqtal al‐Husayn. Zaynab, Imam al‐husayn's wives, sons, brothers, and cousins agreed join his revolution against the oppressors. The next mornings, everybody was ready to begin the journy. Lady zaynab was so upset though her brother, al'Abbas, was beside her; taking care of her and regarding her attentively. People of Medina, too, were so dismayed because they watched the Prophet's family leaving them, perhaps, forever. Throughout the journey, Imam al‐Husayn (a) was reciting repeatedly Almighty Allah's saying: "My Lord! Deliver me from the unjust people." Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
By reciting this Holy Verse, Imam al‐Husayn (a) likened his journey to that of Prophet Moses (a) who revolted against the tyrant of his time.1 He took the public way to Mecca declaring his challenge to the ruling authorities and making little of death, which inevitably, shall inflict man in any land and at any moment.2 He had full confidence in Almighty Allah Who dominates everything thoroughly completely. This journey was the second for Lady Zaynab; the first was with her father when he left Medina to settle in Kufa that he betook as the capital of his state. On that journey she was in a great caravan that contained her father, her brothers, her husband and her honorable cousins. The back journey after Imam al‐Hasan's truce with Mu'awiyah was also great surrounded by honor and dignity. yet, the third journey would be so sorrowful and dreary, since it was the enemies who led the caravan. On Tuesday night3, Imam al‐Husayn (a) arrived in Mecca and resided in the house of Al‐'Abbas ibn 'Abd‐al‐Muttalib.4 People of Mecca visited him so frequently and ____________ 1‐ See al‐Nu'man al‐Maghribi, Sharh al‐Akhbar, vol. 3, p.144. 2‐ See al‐Qanduzi al‐Hanafi, Yanabi' al‐Mawaddah li Dhawi al‐Qurba, p.402. 3‐ See Ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk, vol. 6,p.190. 4‐ See Ibn 'Asakir, Tarikh Madinat Dimashq, vol.13, p.68. used to ask him question about the Islamic laws and others about his opinion of the ruling regime. When the season of the Hajj occurred, Hajjis and Mu'tamirs1 surrounded the Imam (and listened to his opinion and instructions. From that moment, he began to promulgate his revolution, and the publics began to understand the aim of his being in Mecca. Owing to such activities, the ruling authorities there Mecca panicked and anticipated that he would betake Mecca as the center of his revolution against the oppressive regime of Yazid. The governor of Mecca came to the Imam (a) and asked the reason beyond his residence there. The Imam answered that he had come for seeking the refuge of Almighty Allah and the Holy House.2 As a result, the governor sent a missive to Yazid informing him about Imam al‐Husayn's arrival and the publics' surrounding him, attending his sessions, and listening to him. These news confused Yazid who, immediately, sent a missive to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas asking him that he would pardon the Imam (a) provided that he would pay homage to him ‐Yazid‐ lest he would punish. Answering Yazid's missive, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas told that the Imam (a) left Medina because the ruling authorities there bothered him. He also promised that he would meet the Imam (a) and see the matter. In Iraq, there was a general rebel and refusal of paying homage to Yazid, because they regarded him as the inheritor of those mortal enemies of Islam.3 The Shiite chiefs in Kufa held a meeting in the house of Sulayman ibn Sadr al‐Khuza'i during which they delivered speeches showing the sins of the Umayyad individulas and calling to swear allegiance to Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Imam al‐Husayn (a) as the true leader of the ____________ 1‐ Hajjis are perfomers of the ritual Hajj, and Mu'tamirs are performer of 'Umrah. 2‐ See Sibt ibn al‐Jawzi, Tadhkirat al‐Khawass, p.248. 3‐ Baron Alfred Von Kremer, Belief and Sharia in Islam, p.96. Islamic ummah.1 All the attendants shouted that they would certainly support and defend the Imam and would send him message asking him to lead their revolution against the Umyyad rulers. So, Many delegations met him and thousands of messages were sent to him by ordinary people and chiefs, such as Shibth ibn Rab'i, Hajjar ibn Abjur al‐'Ujali, and 'Amr ibn al‐Hajjaj.2 As a result, Imam al‐Husayn (a) decided to respond to them and send them and send his cousin, Muslim ibn 'Aqil, to see the real situation.3 MUSLIM IBN 'AQIL IN AL‐KUFAH Muslim left for Kufa anad resided there in the house of al‐Mukhtar al‐Thaqafi, one of the most celebrated faithful personalities4 who called everybody to visit Muslim; therefore, everybody came to listen to the message of Imam al‐Husayn (a) that Muslim carried. At least, forty‐thousand individuals from kufa acknowledge Imam al‐Husayn (a) as their leader whom they must defend and support.5 Because of this huge number of supporters, muslim's confidence and trust in the expected success of Imam al‐Husayn's revolution increased. He therefore sent a message to the Imam (a) asking him to hurry his coming to Kufa,6 and, as a result, the Imam (a) prepared to leave. ____________ 1‐ Ibn Nama al‐Hilli, Muthir al‐Ahzan, p. 15. 2‐ See Abu'l‐Faraj al‐Isfahani, Maqatil al‐Talibiyyin, p.95. and Ansab al‐Ashraf, p.157. 3‐ See Abu‐Hanifah al‐Daynuri, al‐Akhbar al‐Tiwal, p.210. 4‐ See hamid ibn Muhammad al‐Mahilli, al‐Hada'iq al‐Wardiyyah, vol. 1,p.125. Other historians have mentioned that muslim ibn 'Aqil resided in the house of Muslim ibn 'Awsajah or Hani' ibn 'Urwah (see Ibn Hajar, al‐Isabah fi Ma'rifat al‐Sahabah, vol. 1, p. 332, and Ibn Hajar al‐'Asqalani, Tahdhib al‐Tahdhib.) 5‐ See Muhammad Baqir al‐Majlisi, Bihar al‐Anwar, vol.44, p.337. 6‐ See Ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; vol.4,p.224. Yazid's agents in kufa reported these news to him, and he, out of fear, sought the advice of Sirjawn, the Roman, who was his father's best secretary. This cunning man had thought for quite a while before he suggested to Yazid to assign 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad as the new govervor of Kufa.1Although Yazid was angry with 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, he had to appoint him as the new governor of Kufa besides Basra.2 thus, ibn Ziyad became the ruler of the entire Iraq. In addition, Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Yazid sent him a message asking him to capture, exile, or even kill Muslim ibn 'Aqil3, and then followed it with another asking him to even fly to Kufa if he would be able.4 ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, Tarikh, vol.3,p.268. 2‐ See Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Bidayah wa alnihaya, vol.8,p.152. 3‐ See Ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; vol.4, p, 265. 4‐ See al‐Shahabi, Siyar(u) A'lam al‐Nubala, vol.3,p.299.
Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad in Kufa Throughout his way from Basra to Kufa, 'Ubaydullah, accompanied by fivmen, did not stop for fear that Imam al‐Husayn (a) would precede him. He disguised himself with black clothes so that people would take him for the Imam. He entered the city and hurried towards the Qasr al‐Imarah ‐Govervorate Mansion‐ in fear and resentment because people welcomed him warmly as they really took him for Imam al‐Husayn (a).5 As he reached there and knocked the door, the governor of Kufa, al‐Nu'man ibn Bashir, who also thought of him as the Imam (a) shouted from the balcony, "Son of Allah's messenger, I will not fulfill my pledge to you and I do not want to fight you..."6 "Open the door," shouted 'Ubaydullah, "You will suffer long nighttime!"7 ____________ 5‐ See Muhammad ibn al‐Fattal al‐Nisapuri, Rawdat al‐Wa'izhin, p.174. 6‐ See Abu‐Mikhnaf al‐Azd, Maqtal al‐Husayn, p.28. 7‐ See Sayyid Muhsin al‐Amin al‐'Amili, Lawa'ij al‐Ashjan, p.44. Some of the crowded people who walked behind him knew his reality; they therefore shouted, "This is indeed son of Marjanah." Thus, they ran away with their hearts filled in with terror. 'Ubaydullah went towards the mansion and seized the weapons and fortune. He was gathered around by the agents of the Umayyd dynasty, such as 'Umar ibn Sa'd, Shamr ibn Dhi'l‐Jawshan, Muhammad ibn al‐Ash'ath, and other famous names among the hypocrites of Kufa. They began discussing the matter of the expected revoution and its chiefs, and went on plotting for eradicating it.1 Next morning, 'Ubaydullah gathered the people in the Grand Masjid of Kufa to declare his being the new governor. He promised the obedient with big prizes and threatened the disobedient with Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
persecution and the mutineers with harsh punishment.2 he then showed items of horror by putting to death some individuals before he had interrogated them.3 He also filled the prisons with innocent people. All these means were purposed for controlling the country completely. Once he knew about 'Ubaydullah's arrival, Muslim changed his residential place. He moved to the house of Hani' ibn 'Urwah, one of the most celebrated personalities of Kufa, who welcomed him hospitably and received is partisans to plan for the revolution. The success that 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad achieved in the political fields is ascribed to the series of plans that he made, The introductory step was syaing on the movements of Muslim to circulate his activities and realiz his points of power and weakness. 'Ubaydullah chose his servant, Mu'qal, for this mission. He gave some money and ordered him ____________ 1‐ See baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi, al‐'Abbas ibn 'Ali, p.133. 2‐ See al‐Fadl ibn Hasan al‐Tabarsi, I'lam al‐Wara bi A'lam al‐Huda, vol. 1,p.438. 3‐ See Ibn al‐Sabbagh al‐Maliki, al‐Fusul al‐Muhimmah, p.197. to contact with the significant members of the revolution by claiming that he shows loyalty to the Ahl al‐Bayt (a) and that he had come to kufa because he heard the call of Imam al‐Husayn (a). Mi'qal could first reach Muslim ibn 'Awsajah and show him false loyalty and, unfortunately, the latter was decieved; he therefore showed Mi'qal the residential place of Muslim ibn 'aqil. Thus, Mi'qal frequented about the place and could comprehend everything about the expected revolt and report to his master, son of Marjanah.1 The second and most dangerous process was arresting Hani' ibn 'Urwah who was chief of the tribes of Midhhaj ‐the great majority of the inhabitants of Kufa. This procedure spread a big wave of horror among people and sent a destructive strike to the expected revolution. Before 'Ubaydullah, Hani' denied the accusation; hence, they summoned Mi'qal, the spy, to testify of the truth, However, Hani' refused to give up his guest to the authorities.2 But the tyrant ordered his servant to draw Hani' near him and went on beating him on the face with a bar he had in the hand. he then ordered to detain him in one of the rooms of the mansion. This procedure shook the feelings of his kinsmen who, under the leadership of the traitor 'Amr ibn al‐Hajjaj, pushed themselves towards the mansion. 'Amr shouted, ‐so as to make 'Ubaydullah hear him‐ "I am 'Amr, and these are the celebrities and chiefs of Midhhaj. Yet, we are not denoucing our loyalty to you nor are we mutinying against you." Furthermore, 'Amr said words of surrender and humility for which 'Ubaydullah did not care. He then asked Shurayh, the judge, to see Hani' and then tell his tribe about his state. The judge entered the cell of Hani' who shouted: "How stange this is! Have my people all died? If only ten ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, Tarikh, vol. 3, p.269. 2‐ See al‐Mas'udi, Muruj al‐Dhahab, vol. 3,p.7. persons from my tribe come to me they will certainly save me." When Shurayh left him, he said to his kinsmen, "I have seen your chief. He is alive. He has ordered you to go home." 'Amr shouted, "Well, he has not been killed. Thanks to Allah!" As if they have been granted the one and only opportunity to escape a lightless jail, people of Midhhaj turned their faced back and ran away. It seems that there had been a secret agreement between the chiefs of Midhhaj and 'Ubaydullah on killing Hani', otherwise they would have attacked the mansion and saved their chief. Muslim ibn 'aqil knew about the situation of Hani' who was an important member of the expected revolution; therefore, he declared openly the revolution against 'Ubaydullah. Thus, about four ‐or forty‐ thousand warriors joined him.1 'Ubaydullah was delivering a speech when he heard the noise of the revolters whose numbers were increasing and were directing towards the Governorate Mansion. Like a dirty dog, 'Ubaydullah hurried towards the mansion.2 He had only thirty policemen; he therefore used the meanest means that would save him ‐war of nerved. Because he knew people of Kufa very well, he ordered their traitorous chiefs to slip among the troops of Muslim and spread the rumors that the arcies of Syria would soon puish those who joined Muslim's army, the government would deprive them of their salaries, and that martial laws would be applied to them. These rumors acted as that martial laws would be applied to them. These rumors acted as bombs on the heads of the people most of whom declared, "We should not engage ourselves in question of policy!"3 Before long, most of them left Muslim who led the rest to the Msjid for prayer. Even during the prayer, the others ____________ 1‐ See Ibn��Hajar al‐'Asqalani, Tahdhib al‐Tahdhib, vol.2,p.351. 2‐ See Ibn Kuthayr, al‐Bidayah wa al‐Nihayah, vol.8,p.154. 3‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, Tarikh, vol.3,p.269. left, and Muslim, as he finished the prayer, foud himself alone!1 That night, he could not find a house to settle in. He therefore had to wander alone in the streets of Kufa. Only a noble lady called Taw'ah had the courage to let Muslim in. As she served him food, Muslim refused to eat or drink because he was thinking of the fate that Imam al‐Husayn (a) would face after the betrayal of those people. Son of Taw'ah knew the whole story and with the first sparks of that morning, he hurried to inform the ruling authorities about the matter, even though he had given his mother binding oaths that he would not tell anybody. Three hundred horsemen, led by Muhammad ibn al‐Ash'ath, attacked the house of Taw'ah, but Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Muslim faced them with such an unprecedented courage that he inherited from his fathers.2 He alone could defeat those horsemen and kill a great number of them. The mean ones however began to throw stones and fireballs on him, but he too overcame.3 When Muhammad ibn al‐ Ash'ath returned to 'Ubaydullah and asked for more troops and weapons, the latter said with astonishment, "I have sent you to capture one man! But he did this to your troops!" He answered, "Do you tink you have sent me to bring an ordinary man from Kufa or the neighboring? You have sent me to capture a courageous lion and a hero from the family of the best men in whose hands cutting swords are held fast."4 'Ubaydullah supplied him with more troops and weapons, but Muslim, the hero, kept on fighting against them so bravely. This facing took a long time during which Muslim suffered thirst and the troops of the ruling authorities were ____________ 1‐ See Abu'l‐Fida, al‐Mukhtasar fi Akhbar al‐Bashar, vol. 1,p.300. 2‐ See Baha'al‐Din 'Ali ibn 'Abd‐al‐karim, al‐Durr al‐Nadid fi Ta'azi al‐Imam al‐‐Shahid, p.164. 3‐ See Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al‐Bayhaqi, al‐Mahasin wa al‐masawi, vol.1,p.43. 4‐ See 'abdullah al‐Bahrani, al‐'Awalim‐ al‐Imam al‐Husayn, p.203. increasing around him, though they were too terrified to attack him. Finally, they stabbed him with their lances until they could capture him. after they had let him down, people of Kufa crowded to see how he was taken to the Mansion. Muslim courageously refused submitting to the tyrant who, as a result, ordered Bukayr ibn Hamran to take him to the surface of the mansion and behead him. He also ordered Hani' to be killed before the individuals of his tribe. The dead bodies of Muslim and Hani' were trailed on the ground in the stress as a sign of terrorism and scorning their adherents.1 LEAVING FOR IRAQ Before she left for Iraq in the company of her brother, Lady Zaynab had asked permission of her husband. and before Imam al‐Husayn (a) left for Iraq, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, his cousin, had tried to chane his mind, but the Imam (a) refused. Hence, ibn 'Abbas asked him not to accompany his harem and family members, but the Imam (a) answered, "These are the trusts of the Messenger of Allah, and I cannot trust anyone with them." Then, Lady Zaynab said to ibn 'Abbas with tearful eyes, "Son of 'Abbas, do you suggest to our leader to leave us here and go alone? No, by Allah, we either live with him or die with him. We have nothing left except him."2 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas could not control himself when he broke into tears and said, "It is truly difficult for me to leave you, cousin." One of the most excellent plans of Imam al‐Husayn's revolution was accompanying his harem and family members with him, especially Lady Zaynab who had the leading role in the process of the revolution's perpetuity. As he anticipated the coming events, he planned for his sister Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
____________ 1‐ See Ahmad ibn Yahya al‐Baladhiri, Ansab al‐Ashraf, p.83. 2‐See Sayyid Hashim al‐Bahraini, Madinat al‐Ma'ajiz, vol.3, p.485. her honorable role in perfecting his uprising, showing his sacrifice that the Umayyad tyrant attempted to cover up, and putting into circulation his principles and aims. As a matter of fact, the Imam's harem contributed actively in the renaissance of the Muslim society and the overthrowing of the Umayyad regim's false prestige. Through their enthusiastic speeches, the Imam's harem commenced the revolutions against the regime and shook the entity of their illegal state. In this regard, Muhammad Husayn Kashif al‐Ghita' says: "Does anyone doubt the fact that if those ladies ‐of the Prophet's family‐ had not challenged the ruling regime through their situations and addresses, the blood of Imam al‐Husayn (a) and his sons would have gone for nothing and none would have demanded with the punishment of those killers and, accordingly, Imam al‐Husayn (a) had already planned for this step and had full knowledge that none would be able to accomplish this mission so perfectly except those ladies. As a result, he asked them to accompany him for adding another item to the oppression that they would encounter ‐when these ladies would be taken as captives‐ In addition and overthrow the illegal regime of the Umayyad rulers before they would eradicate Islam and take people back to the per‐Islamic customs and traditions."1 Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Subhi says: "Al‐Husayn insisted on accompanying his harem and family members with him in order that people would testify of the inexcusable and inhumane crimes that their enemies would do to them. Thanks to this procedure, the issue for which al‐Husayn fought and revolted has not been lost in the desert with his blood. Without the existence of his family ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad al‐Husayn Kashif al‐Ghita', al‐Siyasah al‐Husayniyyah, p.46‐7. members and harem, all the incidents that occured with al‐Husayn and his enemies would have been completely forged and distorted, and all true testimonies would have been unavailable." Dr. 'A'ishah Bint al‐Shati' says: "Zaynab, al‐Husayn's sister, caused 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and the Umayyad dynasty to lose the elation of victory as she poured drops of deadly poison in their cups. All the events that took place after that, such as the rebel of al‐Mukhtar and the revolution of 'Abdullah ibn al‐Zubayr, and resulted in the decline of the Umayyad regime, the 'Abbasid dynasty's coming to power, and the inveteracy of Shiism; all these were the result of Zaynab's formation."1 To sum it up, without Lady Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Zaynab, the tragic story of Karbala' would have been recorded from the viewpoint of Imam al‐ Husayn's enemies only, and the pure blood of the Imam, his relatives, and his companions, which was shed wrongly there, would have been lost in the desert. At any rate, before he left Mecca, Imam al‐Husayn (a) called for general meeting during which he delivered an address: ____________ 1‐ See 'A'ishah Bint al‐Shati', Zaynab; the Heroine of Karbala. All praise is due to Allah, only that which Allah wants will come to pass, there is no strength save in Allah, and mercy and blessing of Allah be upon His Messenge. Death is mapped out on every human beign in the same way as a necklace leaves a mark on a girl's neck. For me, my eagerness to join my late father, the martyrs, is as same as Prophet Jacob's eagerness to see (his absent son) Joseph. I will unavoidably encouter the demise that has been chosen for me: I foresee that my limbs and organs will be severed by the wolves of deserts1 in a place between al‐Nawawis and Karbala' where they will fill their hungry bellies with me. No one can escape that which has been recorded with the Pen.2 Only that which pleases Allah will please us ‐the Ahl al‐Bayt; we behave steadfastly against His tests (that He presents in forms of misfortunes) and He shall certainly pay us the rewards of the steadfast ones in full. The flesh of the Messnger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, shall not go stray from his way and shall join him in the Sacred Position to delight him and fulfill the promise, which was made to him. Hence, he who sacrifice his soul for us and determines to meet Allah may accompany me in this journey. Tomorrow morning, I will leave, if Allah, the Exalted, wills it."3 In his last moment in Mecca, Imam al‐Husayn (a) went towards the Holy House (Kaaba) and offered the Zhuhr ____________ 1‐ This means that those who will fight against me are as savage and wild as wolves. 2‐ This is an indication to the absolute knowledge of Almighty Allah. 3‐ See 'Ali ibn Abu'l‐Fath al‐Arbali, Kashf al‐Ghummah fi Ma'rifat al‐A'immah, vol. 2,p.239. noon‐ Prayer there. On the eighth of Dhu'l‐Hijjah, 60 A.H., he left Mecca whose people saw him off with tearful eyes and depressing hearts. Throughout his journey, he used to tell the story of the martyrdom of Prophet John. In a place called al‐Sifah, Imam al‐Husayn (a) met al‐Farazdaq, the famous poet, and told him that the ruling authorities had plotted to assassinate him in Mecca.1 The Imam (a) asked him about the reality of people of Kufa that he had come from, and al‐farazdaq said: "Their hearts are with you, but their swords are against you." He agreed to these words, but continued his journey so steadfastly. In a place called Dhat‐'Irq, the Imam (a) met Abu Hirrah who asked him why he had left Mecca. The Imam (a) answered: "Woe to you, Abu Hirrah! When the Umayyads usurped my properties, I treated it patiently, when they insulted my honor, I Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
also treated it patiently, and when they attempted to shed my blood, I escaped. By Allah I swear that because the oppressive party will kill me, Allah shall dress them with comprehensive humiliation and shall cause cutting swords to serve them, Allah shall also give a free hand to rulers who will humiliate them to the degree that they will be more humble than people of Sheba; a woman ruled them and had full hand on their properties and souls." The Imam (a) then left this man who could not understand the meaning of supporting the right and defending Islam. In a place called al‐Khuzaymiyyah, Lady Zaynab approached the Imam (a) and asked about their fate. He answered that she would have to face terrible difficulties ____________ 1‐ See Khalifah ibn Khayyat al‐'Asfari, Tarikh Khalifah ibn Khayyat, p.176. 2‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Nawadir al‐Mu'jizat, p.107. and adversities. he said, "Sister, all that which is going to be is going to be."1 In a place called Zarud, the caravan of the Imam (a) received a very bad news; Muslim ibn 'Aqil was martyred in Kufa. The caravan burst into tears, and the Imam (a) turned towards the family of the martyr and asked, "Muslim has been martyred. What do you now see?" They answered so firmly, "We will not go back unless we revenge for him or join him." These words showed the determination of those heroes and made the Imam (a) trust his issue more. That noon, Imam al‐Husayn (a) took a siesta and saw a horrible dream. He woke up in terror, and his son, 'Ali al‐Akbar, hurried adn aksed about that terror. The Imam (a) told his son that he had seen in sleep a horseman saying, "You are mending your paces while your deaths are taking you hurriedly to Paradise." Explaining this dream, the Imam (a) told that they would be killed. The son asked, "Are we not the right party?" "Of course, we are. I swear it by Him to Whom all creatures shall return," answered the Imam (a) confidently. The son concluded, "O father, we then shall never care about death." This statement relieved the Imam(a) who expressed his gratitude for such a situation.2 As they reached a place called Shuraf, the Imam (a) gave the orders of fetching as much water as possible from the springs there. Afew steps after these springs, one of lthe companions saw something like date‐palm trees and shouted to make the others notice. Some of those who had full knowledge of that arearealized that it was nothing but ____________ 1‐ See Shaykh 'Ali al‐Namazi al‐Sharhudi, Mustadrak Safinat al‐Bihar, vol.5.450. 2‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; vol.4p.308, and Ab'l‐Faraj al‐ Isfahani, Maqatil al‐Talibiyyin, p.111. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
arrowheads and ears of horses. Imam al‐Husayn, too, realized that these were the vanguards of the Umayyad army. He therefore asked his companions whether they knew a near place to hide in. some referred to Mount Dhu‐Husam to the left. As the Imam's caravan directed towards that mountain the massive troops ‐of about more than one thousand horsemen as some historians have confirmed‐ under the commandment of al‐Hurr ibn Yazid al‐Riyahi whom 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad commissioned to wander through the desert until he would meet and capture the caravan of Imam al‐Husayn (a), approached. It was middy and al‐Hurr's troops were too thirsty to continue their march. Seeing this, the Imam (a) felt pity for them and ordered his companions to give them from the water they had with them. Even the horses were given water. After that, the Imam (a) delivered an articulate sermon to the troops of that army: People: This only and argument intended to release me from the responsibility that lies on me with regard to Allah and you. I came to you only after I had received your misseves and your messengers who asked me to come to you since you had no leader and since you desired to be guided to the right guidance through my leadership to you. If you are still bearing this very tendency, then here I am. Show me pledges and covenants due to which I will be sure of your intentions. But if you dislike my coming to you, I will leave you and return to the place from which I came.1 Because most of the individuals of that army were among those who sent missives and asked the Imam (a) to come to them and paid homage to him via his representative Muslim ibn 'Aqil, they could not answere him. As time of the Zhuhr Prayer fell, the Imam (a) ordered the muezzin2to declare it. He then turned his face to al‐Hurr and asked whether he would lead the collective prayer for his companions. "We will follow you in prayer," answered al‐Hurr politely. When they performed the 'Asr ‐afternoon‐ Prayer, the Imam(a) delivered another sermon: People : if you fear Allah and recognize the people of the right, this will surely please Him more than anything else. We ‐the Ahl al‐Bayt are worhier of holding the position of leadership than those who claim it falsely and governed you by means of wrong and oppression. If you will dislike us and ignore our right and change your minds that you had expressed in your missives you sent to me, I will surely leave you...3 As he knew nothing about these missives, al‐Hurr asked the Imam (a), "What are these missives you are mentioning?" The Imam (a), thus, ordered one of his companions to fetch them and show to al‐Hurr who, as soon as saw them, ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad Baqir al‐Majlisi, Bihar al‐Anwar, vol. 44, p.376. 2‐ Muezzin is the caller to prayer. 3‐ See Shaykh al‐Mufid, al‐Irshad, p.79. was shocked, he then said, "We are not among those who wrote these missives." Afterwards, the Imam (a) wanted to leave that place and return home, but al‐Hurr prevented him and said, "I will not leave you until I lead you to Kufa to be present before 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad." "Death is nearer Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
to you than doing so," the Imam answered and ordered his companions to ride and direct said to him, "What do you want from us?" "I want to lead you to 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, answered al‐ Hurr." "I will not follow you," said the Imam (a). "And I will not leave you," answered al‐Hurr. War was about to break out, but al‐Hurr could save the situation by saying, "I was not ordred to fight you. I was only ordered not to leave you before I lead you to Kufa. If you refuse, you may take a way that takes you neither to Kufa nor Medina so that I will write a report to 'Ubydullah and hope Allah will save me from fighting you." Hence, the Imam's caravan took another way southward between al‐'Udhayb and al‐Qadisiyyah,1 and al‐Hurr's army watched them. In a place called al‐Bayda, the Imam (a) delivered a sermon: ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, Tarikh, vol.3,p.280. People : the Messenger of Allah said, "For anyone who knows an unjust ruler that is violating Allah's sanctities, breaking the pledge of Allah, going against the Sunnah of the Prophet, and treating the servants of Allah with means of sin and oppression, and avoids denying so by a deed or a word, it will be incumbent upon Allah to take him to the place he deserves (i.e. Hell)." Those individuals ‐the Umayyad ruler‐ have adhered to the obedience to the Shaitan, deserted the obedience to the All‐beneficent (Lord), made public sinfulness, defied the doctrinal provisions, dedicated the treasuries to themselves, deemed lawful thing that Allah has dicided unlawful, and deemed unlawful things that Allah has decided lawful. I am worthier of holding this positon than those who destorted (the pronciples of Islam). I have received your missive and your messengers who reported to me that you paid homage to me and that you would neither let me down nor disappoint me. If you keep your homage, you will certainly do the right thing. I am al‐Husayn son of 'Ali and Fatima; daughter of the Messenger of Allah. My soul will be with yours and my harem will be with yours. (They will face the same fate that you will face.) I however am the example that should be followed. But if you break your homage and pledge, this is in fact not strange from you. You have already done it with my father, brother , and cousin Muslim (ibn 'Aqil). He who believes you is surely deceived. Anyhow, you have only missed your opportunity of success and neglected your chance of safety. He who breaches is only doing ill to himself. Allah will surely find me a substitution. Peace, Allah's mercy, and His blessings be upon you.1 After this sermon, al‐Hurr said to the Imam (a), "I only want to advise you. I am sure that you will be killed if you fight, I swear it." The Imam (a) answered, "Do you threaten me with death? Will misfortunes depart you if you kill me? I really do not know what to say to you. But, I will copy the saying of that man from the (tribe of) Aws whose cousin threatened with death while he was going to defend the Prophet (s). he poetized :2 I will go on, and death is not shameful for the hero Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Who intends good and fights for his Islam And sacrifices his soul for the righteous men And defies the perished one and departs the wrong ones If I live, I will not regret, and if I die, i will not be blamed It is certainly sufficien humility to live in humbleness. As he heard these words, al‐Hurr left the Imam and realized that he had decided to sacrifice his soul for sake of saving the Muslims from the oppression and wrong of the Umayyad rulers. ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Shu'bah al‐Harrani, Tuhaf al‐'Uqul, p.505. 2‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 4:305. Lady zaynab, too, recognized that her brother, by saying these words, had decided to sacrifice himself and attain martyrdom. She therefore felt very sad and supplicated to almighty Allah to give victory to him. Al‐Tarimmah led the Imam's caravan because he knew the area better.1 The caravan however went on and the troops of al‐Hurr were preventing it from directing towards the desert and trying to push it towards Kufa. Meanwhile, a rider appeared, It was a man carrying a message from 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad to al‐Hurr: " As soon as you receive this message, lead al‐ Husayn to a derelict place in the desert where there is no shelter or water. I have also ordered this messenger to haunt you until you carry out this order."2 ____________ 1‐ See Abu'l‐faraj al‐Isfahani, Maqatil al‐Talibiyyin, p.111. 2‐ See al‐Baladhiri, Ansab al‐Ashraf, p.240.
In Karabala Imam al‐Husayn (a) wanted to reside in a place near a spring or a shelter, but al‐Hurr pervented him and recited 'Ubaydullah's message. as the situation attained its climax, Zuhayr ibn al‐Qayn, one of the sincere companions of the Imam, suggested that they would fight against al‐Hurr and his troops, but the Imam (a) rejected saying, "I will never being fighting."3 Al‐Hurr then obliged the Imam (a) to reside in a place, and the Imam (a) had to respond. "What is this place called," asked the Imam (a). "This is Karbala," answered one of the companions. "O Allah: I seek Your protection against agony and ordeal," supplicated the Imam (a) with teary eyes.4 Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
____________ 3‐ See al‐Fadl ibn Hasan al‐Tabarsi, I'lam al‐Wara bi A'lam al‐Huda, vol. 1, 451. 4‐ The Arabic 'karb' means 'agony', and the Arabic 'bala' means 'ordeal'. Hence, the word 'Karbala' is a combination of these two words. In fact, 'Karbala' is an ancient name of the region it refers to. For more information about the origion of 'Karbala', refer to Sayyid Sami al‐Badri, the Holy Qur'an and Archaeology, Translated by Badr Shahin, Issue No, 1, Chapter: Karbala' in the Ancient Orient Linguistic Heritage, First Edition, 1421. He then turned towards his companions and said: This is the place of agony and ordeal. This is the place where we, as our riding animals, will reside and our blood will be shed. Al‐'Abbas, accompanied by the horses of the Prophet's household and the Imam's companions, hurried to pitch tents for the harem, headed by Lady Zaynab, who were reigned by horror as they imagined the coming events on this land. The Imam (a) then raised his hands upward for supplicating to Allah and said: O Allah: We, the household of Your Prophet Muhammad, have been banished away from the sanctum of our grandfather and have been aggressed by the Umayyads. O Allhah: Take vengeance upon those who oppressed us and support us against the wrongdoers.1 He then turned his face towards his household and companions and said: ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad Baqir al‐Majlisi, Bihar al‐Anwar, vol.44, p.383. This world has changed, snubbed, and its good has turned tail. Nothing has remained from it except a thing that is as scanty as the leftover of a cup and a mean life that is like a noxious grazing . Have you not noticed that the right is ignored and the evil is not forbidden? This is sufficient for making the believers desire for meetiing Allah rightfully. I do not see death but as happiness and do not consider life with the wrongdoers but as boredom. People are certainly slaves of this world. The religion is only a slaver on their togues. They turn it wherever their livelihood demands. If they are examined by misfortunes, the religious will be very little.1 By these words, Imam al‐Husayn (a) informed his household and companions about the coming ordeals they would face, and declared his readiness to fight against the wrongful party to the last spark of his life. As they heard his words, those unmatched individuals who paved the way of freedom to humankind through their unparalleled situations spoke before their leader to show him their readiness to participate and continue the way whatever the sacrifices would be. The first companion to speak was Zuhayr ibn al‐Qayn: "Son of Allah's Messenger: We have undrestood your words. We may stop supporting you if we undrestand that this world will perpetuate for us for good ... etc." Another hero, namely Burayr ibn Khudayr, said similar words. The other heroes declared their situation of perseverance on their principles and readiness to sacrifice their souls for their leader. The Imam (a) thanked them Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
for their feelings and blessed them. ____________ 1‐ See Ibn Shu'bah al‐Harrani, Tuhaf al‐"Uqul; 287. In Kufa, 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad felt happy when he was informed that the vanguards of his army seized Imam al‐Husayn. He therefore began to plan for the next step; whom should he choose for the commandment of the army to kill the Prophet's dearest one? As he reviewed the names of the candidates, he could not realize any individuals meaner and more vicious than 'Umar ibn Sa'd. At first, 'Umar refused to fight against the Imam (a), but 'Ubaydullah threatened he would dismiss him from the governorship of Ray ‐currently Tehran‐. Thus, he accepted and began his campaign towards Karbala' with four thousand horsemen who joined the army of al‐Hurr there. 'Umar ibn Sa'd was chosen for the most horrible crime, and he showed no blemish when he led armies to fight against the divinely selected Imam. he surrounded the Imam (a) from every side, laid siege to him, and blocked all the ways in order to prevent anybody from joining or supporting him. In kufa again, 'Ubaydullah gathered people and spoke : "O people: As you tried the descendants of Abu Sufyan, you have found them as exactly as you like. You have also known your leader, yazid, as good and praiseworthy man. he treats his subject kindly, gives everybody his deserved share of the public treasury, and honors people out of his wealth. He has ordered me to give each of you one hundred dirhams monthly as an addition to your fixed shares of the participate in the campaign against his enemy al‐Husayn. Hence, you should listen to and obey him..."1 Unfortunately, most of them carried out these orders and composed a huge army against the Imam's small group. Afterwards, they traveled to Karbala' and occupied the two banks, as well as all the branches, of the River Euphrates. Some historians, however, have mentioned that three days before the encounter, Imam al‐husayn (a) was deprived ____________ 1‐ See Abu‐Hanifah al‐Daynuri, al‐Akhbar al‐Tiwal, p.253. of water.1 This in fact was the most horrible misfortune he had fo face. The strange thing is that the band of the Umayyad army took pride in this criminal act that challenged all humanitarian values. One of them, for instance, shouted at Imam al‐Husayn (a), "Husayn: you can see water flow like reptiles. You will not taste it before you die..."2 Expressing his joy at this situation, 'Amr ibn al‐Hajjaj addressed, "Husayn, this is the Euphrates.Dogs, donkeys, and even pegs are licking its water. But we shall prevent you from having a single drop from it ..."3 No single law or code on this earth allows any person, under any circumstances, to deprive women and children of water except the laws of the Umayyad dynasty Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
whose individuals, from the first spark of Islam, advised each other to prevent the Prophet's household from holding any position of leadership. Facing this ordeal of the scarcity of water, Lady Zaynab undertook the difficult mission of gathering the thirsty children and women and trying to comfort them and promise with water. Her heart melted away as she saw those children and babies cry out of thirst while she had nothing to give. Imam al‐Husayn (a) then asked 'Umar ibn Sa'd to meet him individually. The criminal came with his son and servant to the Imam (a) who asked his brother al‐'Abbas and his son 'Ali al‐Akbar to attend that meeting. The Imam (a) then asked 'Umar to think about the matter more seriously and to anticipate the inescapable misfortunes that he would certaninly face in this world and the world to come if he would fight against him. 'Umar however tried to tender his excuses, but the Imam (a) proved all them worthless. ____________ 1‐ See sibt ibn al‐Jawzi, Mir'at al‐Zaman fi Tawarikh al‐'A'yan, p.89. 2‐ See Shaykh al‐Saduq, al‐Amali, p.221. 3‐ See Ahmad ibn Yahya al‐Baladhiri, Ansab al‐Ashraf, vol.3, p.181. Finally, the Imam (a) recognized that 'Umar would never change his mind; therefore, he said to him, 'What is matter with you? My allah kill you on your bed~ May allah never forgive you on the day when you will be resurrected! I foresee that you, If you do it, will not even be able to satisfy your appetite from the wheat of Iraq." Mockingly, 'Umar answered, "It will be enough for me to have from its barely!"1 Indeed, Almighty Allah responded to the supplication of Imam al‐Husayn concerning 'Umar: the sodiers of al‐Mukhtar slew him in his bed. In the land of Karbala', Lady Zaynab faced the progression of calamities with the weapon of patience and steadfastness. At the night of the ninth of Muharram, the Umayyad armies advanced towards Imam al‐Husayn's small group. The Imam (a) was about to take a nap when his sister, Lady Zaynab, hurried to him with horror after hse had heard the souds of the foes coming towards them. She waked him up saying, "Brother the enemies are approaching us." He answered, "I have just seen the Messenger of Allah, my father 'Ali, my mother Fatima, and my brother al‐hasan in sleep and they told that I will join them very soon." these words acted as a thunderbolt on Lady Zaynab and tore her sensitive, tortured heart. She therefore had nothin to do but slapping her face, shouting, "Alas for this!" The Imam (a) tried to relieve her by saying, "Alas is not yours, sister. Please, be quiet. May the All‐beneficent have mercy upon you."2 Al‐'Abbas, who did not leave his brother for a songle moment, turned his face to him and said, "They have come to you." The Imam (a) asked him to identify their intents. ____________ Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
1‐ See Ibn Shahrashub's Manaqib Al Abi‐Talib; 3:213. 2‐ See Shaykh al‐Shurayfi, Mawsu'at Kalimat al‐Imam al‐Husayn, p.391 as quoted from Ibn al‐ Athir, al‐Kamil fi al‐Tarikh, vol. 2,p.558. He said to him, "May I sacrifice myself for you, brother! Ride on and meet them to ask about their intentions." With twenty horsemen, al‐'Abbas hurried towards that army and asked wht they wanted. "The governor has ordered us to call you to submit to his orders, therwise we will fight you," answered they.1 Al‐'Abbas turned back to tell his brother about their intention. Meanwhile, Habib ibn Muzhahir delivered a sermon to that army; he admonished and warned them against the divine punishment they should face if they fight against the family of the Prophet (s). However, some of them answered him impudently. When he heard the words of his brother, Imam al‐Husayn said to him, "Go back to them and try your best to delay them until tomorrow morning so that we, on this night, will have time to pray to our Lord Who knows that I love praying to Him, reciting His Book, and supplicating to Him." Al‐ 'Abbas conveyed these words to the Umayyad army 'Umar ibn Sa'd, because he feared that others would report his situation to the governor, offered the suggestion to Shamr who was his only competitor. He did not say anything, but 'Amr ibn al‐Hajjaj intruded, "How strange this is! Even if they are from the non‐Arabs, we will respond to their demand! In fact, 'Amr did not want to confess that their adversary pary was the beloved grandson of the Prophet (s) and the Chief of the Youth of Paradise. This is because he anticipated that others would report any single word he would say to the ruling authorities. Because many others supported 'Amr's opinion, 'Uma ibn Sa'd accepted to postpone waging war against the camp of the Imam (a). he ordered one of his soldiers to approach ____________ 1‐ See Shaykh al‐Mufid, al‐Irshad, vol.2,p.90. the camp of the Imam (a) and declare that the fighting would be postonet to the next day. Thus, the fighting was postponed for a night and 'Umar ibn Sa'd's army waited whether the Imam (a) would respond to them or fight. The Imam gathered all of his followers and gave a sermon: I praise Allah with the best words of praise and thand Him for good times and bad times. o Allah: I do praise Youfor Youhave honored us with prophecy, have taught us the Qur'an, have given us undestanding of the religion, have conferred upon us with ears and hearts, and have not made us idol‐worshippers. Indeed, I so not know any followers better than my followers nor any family better than my family. May allah reward you all. Indeed, I think tomorrow will be the deciseve day with these people, I have allowed you all to leave me alone and go on your own way. During this night, any one of you may leave. Any of you may take one of my family and leave and you may scatter in the murk of this night. Indeed, I am the one they want. When they get me, they will not Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
go after anyone else.1 As soon as the Imam (a) finished his sords, Abu'l‐Fadl Al‐'Abbas, representing the Ahl al‐Bayt, said to his brother: "Why should we do so? Is it for that we will live after you? No! We supplicate to the Lord to forbid it."2 The same situation was shown from the sons of 'Aqil, and the other companions who showed their readiness to sacrifice their souls for their Imam (a). Hence, everybody spent that night with worship and acts of obedience to Allah. They were waiting for the dawn of that day on which thy sould obtain their highest goal in this life; martyrdom. LADY ZAYNAB'S PANIC Imam 'Ali ibn al‐Husayn zayn al‐'Abidin (a), the only survivor of th tragedy of Karbala', later on reported : My aunt Zaynab was nursing me on that night (the night before the tenth of Muharram) when my father isolated himself in a tent. Only Juwayn, the servant of Abu Dharr, was with him mending his sword. The Imam (a) then cited ( the following poetic verses): O days, fie upon you! How bad mates you are! Too many those who, in morns ad even, are Dead of alone in isolation Days never chage and never alternation Every mortal shll take a way to termination The inevitable shall imminently occur All matters to the Most High recur. He repeated these words twice or thrice until I undestood his purpose. Hence, I could not control my tears. However, I tried my best to stop weeping and keep silence. I understood that we would suffer horrifying ordeals after him. My aunt Zaynab, like other women who are prevailed ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Kamil fi al‐Tarik, vol. 3, p.285. 2‐ See Abu‐Mikhnaf al‐Azdi, Maqtal al‐Husayn, p.177. by tenderheartedness, could not control herself. She ran towards him with uncovered head and souted berore him: Oh, for my losing you! Oh, for my grief for you! May demise deprive me of life! Oh, for al‐husayn! Oh, for my master! Oh for the only remaining one of my family members! Is it true that you have submitted to death and despired of life? Only this day have my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, my mother, Fatimah al‐zahra, my father, 'Ali al‐Murtada (the Pleased One), and my brother, al‐Hasan al‐Zaki (th ePure) died. You are the successor of the bygone ones and the lasting of the survivors." Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Hearing these words from his beloved sister, Imam al‐Husayn (a) looked at her and said: "O dear sister: do not let Shaitan seize your toleration." The Imam's eyes overflowed with tears and added, "After they had made me revolt, they wronged me." She then shouted: Oh, woe! Do you take your soul by force? This is indeed more painful and more difficult for me to tolerate. She then slapped her face, tore her cloth, and fell to the ground losing conscoiusness. The Imam (a) hurried to pour water on her face. Ehen she regained consciousness, he consoled her with the following words : ( 160 ) O dear sister: Fear Allah, console yourself with the consolation of allah, and know that inhabitants of this earth shall inexorably die and the inhabitants of the heavens shall not survive forever. Also, be it known to you that everything shall perish except Almighty allah Who has created all the creatures out of His omnipotence and they all shall return to Him. He is Single and One. My father is better than I am and my brother is better than I am, and every Muslim must take and example from the messenger of Allah (s). O dear sister: I put you under this oath and please you not to breat it: never tear a piece of your cloth (as a sign of your sadness for me), never slap your face (for mourning at my death), and never invoke woe and perdition when I willbe slain. Imam al‐ Husayn (a), then, accompanied her to my tent. To the conpanions of the Imam(a), that night was the brightest in their lives; they could not wait for the dawn of the next day on which they would join the heavens and settle in the endless bliss. Habib ibn Muzhahir, for instance, was so cheerful, and when he was asked why, he answered, " It is only a few ours and those tyrants attack us withh their swords to made us embrace the women of Paradise. This time then is the worthiest of cheer." Similar words were said by the other companions who were full of deep‐rooted and unshakable faith.1 ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 6:241. At that night, too, Imam al‐Husayn (a) took a nap, and when he woke up, he told his family members and companions about his dream: "I dreamt that dogs attacked me so savagely that they bit me. The most savage among them was a spotted one. As much as I understand from this dream, I foresee that I wil lbe slain by a leprous man, I then saw, in dream too, my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (s), with a group of his companions addressing to me: You are the shahid of Muhammahd's family: The inhabitants of the heavens, especially th elevated ones, are glad because they anticipate thay you will join them very soon. Tonight , be my guest. Please, hurry up and do not be slow.1 At that night, too, clouds of panic and terror covered the harem totally. They did not see a single moment of ease as each one of them imagined the horrifying future after te demise of their lord, Imam al‐Husayn (a),and their protector, Abu's‐Fadl al‐'Abbas, as well as their family men, They had no weapon other than weeping and praying to Almighty Allah. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
The most grievous one among them was their chiefess, Lady Zaynab, who watched all the evbet so attentively and already knew that all the resposibility would be hers. She also anticipated that none of her family men would survive after tomorrow; the black tomorrow. Owing to her great concent about her brother, Lady Zaynab, on that night, watched the tents of the companions and the Hashemites so that she would be aware of their real situation and, hence how would they behave tomorrow. She first went slowly near the tent of her brother, Abu'l‐Fadl al'Abbas, to listen to in while he was delivering instruction to Hashemite warriors: ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad Baqir al‐Majlisi, Bihar al‐Anwar, vol.45,p.3. Al‐'Abbas asked, "Brothers, nephews, and cousing: what are you goning to do in the morning?" "You decided, and we carry out," they said. Couragieously, al‐'Abbas said, "Our companions and supporters are not our relatives, And a heavy burden must be carried by its own people. Next morning, we will be the first to fight and will precede our companions to death so that people will not blame us." Before he ifnished, they all shouted in one voice, "We all agree to this opinion." This conversation gave some hope to Lady Zaynab who, then, directed towards the tent of the companions to listen to them.They were gathering in the tent of their head, Hbib ibn Muzhahir, who asked them, "O companions: what are you going to do in the morning?" "You decide, and we carry out," they said. Habib spoke, "Next morning, wewill be the first to fight and will precede the Hashemites to death. We should never see a Hashemite person stained with blood. Otherwise, people will blame us and say that we made them fight before us so that we sould save our souls." All the conpanions shouted in one voice, "We all agree to this opinion, Habib." Lady Zaynab hence understood that the companions would never let Imam al‐Husayn (a) down and would defend him to the last spark of their lives. She therefore directed towards the tent of the leader, Imam al‐husayn 9a), to report these news to him, The Imam (a) thanked for them these situation and told his sister that those individuals were the choice of the Almighty Allah.1 ____________ 1‐ See Shaykh al‐Shurayfi, Mawsu'at Kalimat al‐Imam al‐Husayn, p.409.
Even The Newborn
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
'Abdullah, the six���month old baby of Imam al‐Husayn (a), was fainted because of thirst. So, his mother carried him to Lady Zaynad so that she might do something. Lady Zaynab took the baby to her brother, Imam al‐Husayn (a), and please him to fetch water for him. The Imam (a) took the baby, kissed him very often, and carried him before the Umayyad army hoping their hearts would feel pity for the baby and give him some water. This situation had nothing to do with those heartless, inhumane creatures, and instead of sympathizing with the baby, they threw him with a dart that settled in his neck. Feeling the heat of that dart, the baby took his two hands away from his swaddle and began to flutter like a slain bird on his father's chest. Finally, he raised his head to the heavens and breathed his last breath before his father's eyes. The Imam (a), so steadfastly, handed the slain baby to Lady Zaynab, raised his two hands, which were full of the baby's blood, towards the heavens, and complained to the Creator. THE GRAND ADVERSITY With self‐possession and unprecedented resoluteness, Imam al‐Husayn (a) stood completely lonely in the midst of the battlefield while he was surrounded, from every side, by his brutal foes some of whom were surprised at his courage even as the others could not hide their amazement. Despite everything, Imam al‐Husayn (a) attacked his enemies and caused them losses. He then returned to the tents to bid farewell and give his last instructions to the harem. He ordered them to depend upon Almighty Allah by means of patience and steadfastness, He then turned his eyes towards his sister, Lady Zaynab, and instructed her to adhere to patience and try her best to hide her tears and irritation. He finally ordred her to be the guardian of the children and harem. When he was about to leave, his harem surrounded him with teary eyes and grievous hearts. The extremely ailed, 'Ali Zayn al‐'Abidin, asked his aunt, Lady Zaynab, to give him a stick and a sword; s stick to help him stand erectly, and a sword to defend his father. Seeing this situation, Imam al‐ Husayn (a) asked his sister to prevent 'Ali from proceeding to the battlefield, and she did, yet forcibly. Finally, gave the last instrucions to the harem: dress heavy loincloth, ready themselves for misfortunes, and submit completely to Almighty Allah. The Imam's last words to them were: Prepare yourselves for the imminent misfortunes. You should know that Allah shall guard, protect, and save you from the evils of those enemies, He shall confer uon you with a good end result, shall punish you enemies with the most grievous chastisement, and shall award you for this adrersity with the best graces and blessins. You therefore must not complain and must not say things that discredit you. He then supplicated to his Lord and complained to Him against the misfortunes he had to suffer. He said : Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
O Lord, I take patience over Your providence. There is no god save You. You are the helper of the succor‐seekers. Except You, I have no lord nor deity. I take patience over Your rule. You are the helper of the shelterless. You are the everlasting Subsistent. You are the Watcher over each and every soul as to what it earns. ( I implore to You to) judge between us, and You are the best to judge. From every side, the criminal, filthy gang of the Umayyad army attacked Imam al‐Husayn (a); they struck him with swords and stabbed him with lances.1 When he rested on the ground, no one of them had the courage to put him to death. He therefore rested there for a long time. Seeing this situation, Lady Zaynab stood at her tent's open and mourned for the Imam (a) so sadly. She shouted, 'Oh, for my brother! Oh , for my master! Oh, for the rest of my household! would Allah the heavens had fallen upon the earth! Would allah mounains had been made to crumble on plains!" She then shouted at 'Umar ibn Sa'd, "How do you accept to watch Abu Abdullah while he is being slain?" As an answer, the cursed 'Umar turned his face away from her while his tears were shedding on his beard. Because she could no longer see her brother in such a state, Lady Zaynab had to return to the tents to watch over the children and harem who would soon be without protection. 'Umar ibn Sa'd thenordered the commanders of his army to put the Imam (a) to death, but none of them agreed except Shamr. He walded towards the Imam (a) and cut off his head. The Imam 's horse began to neigh aloud and try to kick the enemies with its legs. It then smeared its face with the blood of the Imam and directed towards the tents of the harem. ____________ 1‐ See Shahid Hamid ibn Muhammad al‐Mahalli, al‐Hada iq al‐Wardiyyah, vol. 1, p.126. Lady Zaynab ran towards the pure body ofImam al‐Husayn (a) and saw how it was torn by the swords and lances of those ruthless fiends. Before that body, she stood with pefect dignity and modesty ‐though the the surrounding of the enemies‐ glanced at the heavens, and said that statement, which has lit up with the purest spirit of faith and sincerity to Almighty Allah. She said: O Allah, accept from us this offering. Lady zaynab received that misfortune with steadfastness because it was for sake of Almighty allah and for keeping His religion as pure and genuine as it was revealed from the Heavens. By these words, she showed the real meaning of the Prophetic heritage and the perseveranceon the carrying out of her father's will. After they had slain and marauded the Imam(a), the Umayyad army, according to the orders of their commandment, carried firebrands and directed towards the tents of the Imam's camp to put them on fire. When these tent wee put on fire, the children and harem had to leave them fleeing to nowhere. The ladies of the Prophet's family had t run from one tent to another, while the children, descendants of the Prophet (s), were crying and trying to cling to their guardian, Lady Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Zaynab. Furthermore, some of them ran aimlessly. These hours were the harshest misfortunes that the Prphet's family had ever suffered. Thoughout his life Imam 'Ali Zayn al='Abidin (a) could not forget these hours: He used to remember them with grief, saying "Whenever I look at my aunts and sisters, tears turn in my eyes. I remember when they were running from a tent to another while the enemies were shouting : put the houses of the wrongful ones on fire." Moreover, the criminal usurped everything these tents included. They also stroke the ladies of the Prophet's household with the lower parts of their lances while the ladies were resorting to each other for protecton. They also usurped theirs jewelries. The criminals attacked the ailed 'Ali Zayn al‐'Abidin. Shamr determined to kill him, but another man rebuked and tried to prevent him. However, Shamr did not heed; he ran towards the ailed to kill him. Lady Zaynab hurried towards her nephew, held on to him, and said, "No, you should first kill me before you kill him."1 Because of this situation, the cursed Shamr stopped. Out of his brutality, Umar, under a promise of awards, asked for volunteers to drive their horses to run over the chest and back of the body of Imam al‐Husayn (a), ten wicked horsemen stood up, rode their horses, and trampled upon the body of the Imam (a). Night came, and it was the cruelest night in the life of te Propht's household. Despite everything, Lady Zaynab went into her mission as guardian of her martyred brother's children and harem; she hurried to pick up the children in that desolate desert and gathered the all in one place. She then comforted and solaced them with words of patience while the dead bodies of their fathers and brothers spread in that area and the criminals whom were assigned for watching the children and harem surrounded them. At that cruel night too, Lady Zaynab gathered her powers, stood up, and offerred a thanksgiving prayer to the Almighty Lord for the adversities and misfortunes she suffered. She also implored to the Lord to have these sacrifices in acceptance. She also offered the Night Prayer, but in the state of sitting because she had no further power to stand up.2 The next day, the criminals decided to take the children and harem as captives to Kufa.The ladies however begged the criminals to make them pass by the dead bodies of Imam ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Qirmani, Akhbar al‐Duwal, p.108. 2‐ See baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi, Hayat al‐Imam al‐Husayn, vol. 3,p.309. al‐Husayn (a) and the other martyrs. When her eyes fell on the severed, headless body of Imam al‐ Husayn (a), Lady Zaynab shouted with a grief‐stricken voice: Oh, Muhammad! May the King of the Heavens bless you! This is Husayn! He is stained with his Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
blood and his limbs are severed! And these are your daughters! They are taken captives! Complaining (about this) is only to Allah, to 'Ali al‐Murtada (the Pleased One), to Fatimah al‐ Zahra', and to Hamzah the chief of martyrs. This is Husayn in the desert! Winds are blowing his body! He is beig killed by bastards! Oh, for my grief! Oh, for my bereavement! This day only has my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, died. Oh,companions of Muhammad! These are the descendants of al‐Mustafa ‐the Divinely Selected Prophet‐ They are pushed like captives. The only saved man, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin (a), could not control himself whin he saw the dead bodies of his father and the other martyrs thrown away in the desert. His grief was about to kill him, but Lady Zaynab, noticing his nephew's behavior, hurried to him and said: O the legacy of my grandfather, father, and brother : What for is it that I see you plead for death?1 Do not be sad for what you see. It is, by Allah to your grandfather and father. Allah has certainly made a convenant with some people, whom are not known by the tyrants on this earth but they are well known by the inhabitants of the Heavens, that they shall gather these severd organs and these bloodstained bodies to bury them. They shall also hoist in this land, al‐Taff, a flag on the tomb of your father the master of the Martyrs. Throughout days and ages, the mark of this tomb shall never be obliterated and its figure shall not blotted out. Nevertheless, the heads of atheism and the spreaders of deviation shall exert all efforts for obliterating it, yet this shall make it more and more elevated instead.2 ____________ 1‐ According to Kamil al‐Ziyarat, ImamAli Zayn al‐Abidin answerd his aunt: How should I not give myself up and be impatient while I see my master, my brothers, my uncles, my cousins , and my family members stained with blood, lying bare and looted without coffins and without buring, nobody can visit their bodies, and nobody can approach them, as if they are non‐Arabs. 2‐ See Ja'far ibn Muhammad al‐Qummi, Kamil al‐Ziyarat, p.447. This is however a long narration the rest of which is as follows: Imam 'Ali Zayn al‐'Abidin, then asked his aunt, "What is that covenant and what is that promise?" Then Lady Zaynab reported: Ummu‐Ayman narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (s), once, visited the house of Lady Fatimah (a). She cooked for him a Harirah ‐a soup of oil and flour‐, and 'Ali offered to him a dish of dates. I, Ummu‐Ayman, then served them with a big cup of mild and butter. The messenger of Allah(s), 'Ali, Fatimah, al‐Hasan, and al‐Husayn ate from that dish and drank from that milk. Then, the Messenger of Allah (s) washed his hand and 'Ali poured water on them. After that, the Prophet (s) passed his hands over his face and glaced at 'Ali, Fatimah, al‐Hasan, and al‐Husayn a while, directer towards the Qiblah, and extended his began sobbing in a loud voice and teary eyes. He athen nodded his head down while his tear were shedding like rain. For this scene, Fatimah, 'Ali, al‐Hasan, and al‐Husayn (a), as well as I, Felt sorry but no one dared to ask him for the reason. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
But when that weeping took a long time, 'Ali and Fatimah asked him, "O Messenger of Allah: what for are you weeping? May Allah never make you weep. Your view has wounded our heart." The Prophet (s) answered : Brother, when I was looking at you, I felt the pleasure that I have never felt before. I thus thanked before.I thus thanked Allah for this grace. For the meantime, Archangel Gabriel descended and foretold : Muhammad : Allah the Blessed and Exalted has known your feeling and has known your pleasure with your brother, your daughter, and your two grandsons. He therefore perfected for you this grace and congratulated you for this gift. He has decided to join their descendants, partisans, adherents, and them to you in Paradise. He has also decided not to separate them from you. He shall honor them in the same way as He shall honor you and shall give them the same graced He shall give to you until you will be pleased or even beyond your pleasure. This is for many misfortunes they will suffer and many adversities the will encounter at the hands of some people who claim, falsely, being embracing your religion and belonging to your ummah, while you and Allah disavow them. They will inflict massacres and killing upon your household and their areas and their graves will be very far from one another. This is what Allah has chosen for them and for you. You should then thank Him for this choice and satify yourself with His providence. The Prophet (s) then commented: I therefore thanked Allah, and satifies myself with that which He has decided for me regarding you. Then Archangel Gabriel added : Muhammad : after your demise, your ummah will persecute and discriminate against your brother ('Ali). Your enemies will annoy him. After all, he will be killed at the hads of the most evil and most vicious creature who will be regarded as same as the killer of the she‐camel of Prophet Salih. That will happen in a country to where 'Ali will emigrate, and that country, later on, will be the center of his and his descendants' adherents. On this land, too, they will suffer the harshest ordeals and the most catastrophic misfortunes. Regarding your grandson, al‐Husayn, he, along with a noble group of his family members and the most virtuous men of your ummah, will be slain on the bank of the River Euphrates in a land named Karbala. For that, reason, your household and your enemies will unavoidably suffer too much agony and torment on the day whose agony is ceaseless and ordeals are never‐ending (namely, Day of Resurrection). That land, namely Karbala, is the best area on this earth and the most scared. It is a part of Paradise, as well. On that day when your grandson and his household will slain and surrounded by groups of atheists and cursed ones, the earth shall be shaken, mountains shall swing and sway, waves of oceans shall move disorderly, and heavens shall quiver with their inhabitants, as signs of wrath for you and for your household, as well as the tremendous sin of violating your progeny and yours sanctity and the ingratitude for you Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
concerning your progeny. All these creatures ‐the earth, mountain, oceans, and heavens will beseech to Almighty Allah to give them permission to stand for your wronged, persecuted descendants who are Allah's claim over humankind after you. As a result, Almighty Allah shall reveal to the heavens, earth, mountains, and oceans, saying: "I am Allah the Omnipotent, the All‐powerful. No fleer can escape Me and nothing can stop agaist My power. I am the worthiest of defending and avenging upon those criminals. I swear by My Supremacy and Majesty that I shall punish him whoever intruded upon My messenger and choice one by wronging his progeny, whoever violated his sanctity, whoever killed his descendants, whoever breached his pledge, and whoever persecuted his household. I shall punish all those with a punishment where with I have not punished any of My creatures." By then everything in the heavens and the worlds will invoke Allah's curse against those who will wrong your progeny and violate your sanctity. When the noble group (who will fight with al‐Husayn) depart life, Allah the All‐mighty and Majestic will grasp their souls Himself. Angels from the Seventh heaven, having with them bowels of graments and odors from Paradise, will descend to the earth to wash their dead bodies with that water, dress them those garment, and camphorate them with that odor. Then, bodies. After that, Allah will forward some peoples from your ummah, who are not known by the atheists and have not participated in that bloodshed in deed, word, or even intention, to bury those dead bodies in deed, word, or even the Master of Martyrs (namely, al‐Husayn) with a sign on that land. This sign will be the stamp of the right party and will be the cause of the faithful believers' success. On every day and night, one hundred thousand angels from each heaven will encircle that tomb, bless it, praise Allah there, seek Allah's forgiveness for anyone who visits it, and record the names of their fathers , tribes, and countries. They finally mark their forheads with a sign of the Light of Allah's Throne and will record there: This is the visitor of the tomb of the Master of Martyrs and son of the best Prophet. On the Day of Resurrection, that sign will glow in their faces so flashily that it will snatch others' sights. From these signs, the visitors of al‐Husayn's tomb will be recognized. On that day too, you, Muhammad, will stand between Angel Michael and me, 'Ali will be with us, and innumerable angels will be with us as well. We will know creatures until Almighty Allah save them from the ordeals and difficulties of that day. This is the decided award of Allah for those who visit your tomb or the tombs of your brother, 'Ali, and two grnadsons purely for sake of Allah. Some people who deserved Allah's curse and wrath will exert all efforts for obliterating and wiping out the place of that tomb, But, Allah will not give them an opportunity to do. The Messenger of Allah (s) commented: This perdiction has grived me and made me weep. Then, Lady Zaynad added : When 'Abd‐al‐ Rahman ibn Muljim, the cursed, stroke my father to death, I went to him and asked whether the report that Ummu‐Ayman had narrated to me true or not, My father said: Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Ummau‐Aymam has told the truth. I see coming that you, as well as your family's harem, will be captives in this country. You will be submissive and terrified, fearing lest people might carry you off by force. At that time, be patient and adhere to patience, for, on that day, there will be no disciple (o Allah) on the earth except you, your followers, and your partisans. I swear it by Him Who split the grains and created the souls. When he informed us of these news, the Messenger of Allah (s) added: on the same day as al‐Husayn will be slain, Eblis the cursed will be overjoyed and will wander about the earth with his devils and afreets to declare: "O devils, Only today have we revenged ourselves on the descendants of Adam, attained our objective of wiping them out, and led them to the fire of Hell. Now, you must turn all your efforts towards filling people's minds with doubt towards al‐Husayn and his companions, inciting them to bear hostility against them, and provoking them against anybody who shows loyalty to them (i.e. al‐Husayn and his companions) in order that people's straying and atheism would be so guaranteed that none of them would be saved (on the Day of Resurrection)." Even though he is the biggest liar, Eblis said the truth in that question. It is quite true that the good deeds of anyone who bears hostility against the Ahl al‐Bayt are of no avail (no matter how great they are), and the sins, not the grand ones, of anyone who loves them and is loyal to them are of no harm. By these words, Lady Zaynab could tranquil her distressed nephew. She confirmed that these dead bodies would be buried and their tombs would be sign of perseverance on principles and sacrifice for the religion. The tomb of Imam al‐Husayn (a), in particular, would be a never‐ending cry in the face of every tyrand and would persist forever despite the very often attempts to obliterate it. History has proved this fact; the Umayyad and 'Abbasid kings did their best to wipt out the tomb of Imam al‐Husayn, but all their attempts failed, because it has not been only a place of burying a dead, yet severd, body, but it has been a scream in the face of everyone who tyrannizes or tries to persecute. It has been evidence on the fate of the wrong, and the bright endlessness of the right. The earth, too, has not accepted to hide its pride in inclluding these severed bodies who carried unmmatched, elevated souls that, in turn, carried the most honorable principles of humanity. In reality, this earth has never contained an area more honorable and excellent than that which included the body of Imam al‐Husayn (a), father of freedom. In modern history too, bombs and tanks could not stand against the elevated, lofty dome of the tomb of Imam al‐Husayn, and it was very natural that those who gave orders to bomb that dome met the same fate of those who gave orders and mobilized all powers to fight the Imam (a). Humanity too, must take pride in the anniversary of Imam al‐Husayn's martyrdom so as to regain its true face and play the very role that the Creator has chosen for it.
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Lady Zaynab in Captivity Bound with ropes and forced to ride on saddleless, lean camels, the ladies and orphans of the Prophet's family were taken as captives to Kufa. Their caravan was very horrible; clarion were blown and flags wereflutteringn. Let us listen to the story from an eyewitness: Muslim, the plasterer, reports: While I was plastering doors of the Governorate Mansion of Kufa, sounds of clarions attacked my hearing from every side. "Why is Kufa clamoring?" I asked one of the servants in that mansion. "The head of a mutinous who rebelled against Yazid is now entering the city," answered the servant. "Who is that mutinous?" asked I. "It is al‐Husayn ibn 'Ali," answered the servant. This answer acted upon me like a thunderbolt. I slapped my face so strongly that I feared on my eyes. As hurriedly as possible, I sashed my hands from the plaster and left the amnsion. While I stood among people who were waiting for the caravan of the captives and the cut off heads, forty camels carrying woman and children appeared. I saw 'Ali ibn al‐Husayn on a saddleless camel, As both sides of his meck were bleeding because of chains and he was handcuffed, he was weeping an saying, "O evil nation! Curse you! You have not regarded us in favor of our grandfather. What will you sya on the Day of Resurrection when Allah will gather us with the Prophet? As if we have not guided you to the religion, you are, now, taking us on naked camels, by force."1 In view of this horrible situation, wome of Kufa began to mourn and cry, One of them approached one of the captured ladies and asked, "To whom do you belong?" The lady answered, "We belong to the Ahl al‐Bayt." ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad Baqir al‐Majlisi, Bihar al‐Anwar, vol.45, p.114. As she heard this astounding answer, the Kufian lady, with the others who were nesxto to her, screamed aloud and hurried to ther house to bring any covers she had and throw on the captive ladies so that people would not lood at them. Another lady brought some food and dates and threw at the captive children who were harshly hungry, but Lady Ummu‐Kulthum shouted at them, "It is Haram ‐unallowable‐ for us, the Ahl al‐Bayt, to have from alms." Hearing this statemet, the hungry children threw the food from their hands an deven mouths. LADY ZAYNAB'S FIRST ADDRESS As she saw the crowds blocking all streets of Kufa an surrounding the caravan. Lady Zaynab decided to deliver a speech aiming at uniting the public opinion, referring to the grand misfortune Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
that the Umayyad gang brought to the Islamic ummah by killing the actual leader, Imam al‐Husayn (a), and charging people of Kufa with that crime, because it wasthey who breached their promises of supporting the Imam 9a) and protecting him. Nevertheless, they as if it ot they who caused that massacre, nourned for the Imam (a) and wept for the captivity of his harem and children. Lady Zaynab asdked everybody to keep silent, and then she, calm, composed, and courageous, said: All praise is due to Allah. Blessing be upon my father Muhammad (s) and upon his good and righteous progeny (a). Well now, O people of Kufa; people of deception and perfidy! Do you weep? May your tears never cease, and may the resounding of this calamity never stop. Your similitude is she who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly, you make your oaths to be means of deceit between you. Is there anyone among you who is not a boaster of what he does not have, a charger of debauchery, a conceited liar, a man of grudge without any justification, submissive like bondmaids, of feeble before the enemies, just like a pasture in relics or like a dirty piece of cloth on a grave? Truly bad is that which your souls have committed. You have reaped theWrath of Allah, remaining in the chastisement for eternity. Do You really cry and sob? By Allah, you should then cry a great deal and laugh very little, for you have earned nothing but shame and infamy, and you shall never be able to wash it away, How could you do so? The descendant of the bearer of the Last Message, the very essence of the Message,master of the youths of Paradise, the refuge of the righteous from among you, the one who saves you from calamity, the beacon of your guidance, and the keeper of your traditions has been killed. O how horrible is the sin that you bear! May you be distanced and crushed. The effort is rendered futile, perdition overtakes the hands, the deal is lost, and you earned nothing but wrath from Allah and His Messenger. You are doomed with servitude and humiliation. Woe unto you, O people of Kufa! Do you know whose heart you have burned, what a feat you have labored, what blood you have, and what sanctity you have violated? you have done a most monstrous deed, something for which the heavens are about to split asunder and so is the earth, and for which the mountains crumble. You have done something most uncanny, most defaced, duskiest, most horrible, as much as the fill of the earth and of the sky. Do you wonder why the sky rains blood? Surely, the torment of the Hereafter is a greater chastisement, and you shall not be helped. Let no respite elate you, for rushing does not speed it up, nor does it fear the loss of the opportunity for revenge. you Lord is waiting in ambush to do so. Because he recognized that the situation could no longer stand the words of his aunt, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin interrupted her��speech, saying, "That is enough, aunt, Thanks to Allah, you are a learned Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
lady whom none taught and you can comprehend without being made to do so." ECHO OF THE SPEECH Lady Zaynab's eloquent speech, which is compared to Imam 'Ali's speeches, rebuked people of Kufa so effectively, exposed their false faith in Islam, falsified their deceitful tears, and introduced them as the most ignoble criminals as they contributed strongly in the murder of killing Imam al‐ Husayn (a), his household, and his companions. With the utterance of justice and honesty and the voice of courage and right, Lady Zaynab hit people of Kufa and pointed to their lowliness and rotten‐heartedness. Their forgery and falsehood could not deceive her as she reproached them for their crimes and ascribed to them the meanest characters. Moreover , she commented on their weeping by saying that they should have wept for the big crime of disappointing the Imam and letting him down. Furthermore, this speech made them amazed and perplexed. They put their hands on theirs mouths without knowing what to do. An old man, for instance, approached her with teary eyes, saying, "my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Your men are the best men, your youths are the best youths, your women are the best women, and your progeny will never die away or become low."1 Then, Lady Fatima, Daughter of Imam al‐Husayn (a), delivered an eloquent speech similar to her aunt's. Because her words were so strong and had bearings on them, people of Kufa begged her to stop. She responded, but people could not stop their wailings and weeping. Then, Lady Ummu‐Kulthum spoke similar words that touched people so deeply that women began to slap their faced and men to weep incessantly. Then, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin spoke. He proved they were not true Muslims and that they had a share in the crime of killing the Imam (a). They therefore said to each other, "We ____________ 1‐ See Wafiyyat al‐A'immah, 453. have certainly perished." They then asked him to stop, and he did as their cries and wailing rose. BEFORE THE GOVERNOR 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, son of the ill‐famed Marjanah, was sitting on his throne in the Governorate Mansion when the captive ladies and children of the Prophet's family were obliged to be before him. They were living horrible hours in the humility of captivity and under the swords of those miscreants who were there to congratulate him for his triumph and narrate to him their crimes in Karbala', while he was listening arrogantly and joyfully. With a baton he had in the hand, 'Ubaydullah was whacking the holy head of Imam al‐Husayn (a) and expressing his gloating over him by sayin, "I have never seen such a face." Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Before he had finished his malicious statement, Anas ibn Malik, the companion of the Holy Prophet (s), said to him, "Yes, he looks like the Prophet." This statememt silenced 'Ubaydullah who could not find a word to answer. After he had quenched his wicked, thirsty soul from the Prophet's family, 'Ubaydullah turned his face towards the captives. There was a lady trying to hide herself in a remote side of the session. Dignity and sublimity were drawn very dressed. As soon as his eyes fell on her, he asked, "Who is that lady taking the remotest sideof this session." The lady did not answer because she despised and slighted him. He repeated his question more than once until one of the ladies answered, "This is Zaynab, daughterof Fatimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (a)." He therefore tried to show his gloating over her misfortunes by sayin, "Thanks Allah Who unmasked, killed, and belied your revolution." Pattering her courageous fathers and brothers, Lady Zaynab replied him : "Thanks Allah Who honored us with His Prophet and purified us from uncleanness thoroughly. It is only the lewd whom is unmasked , and it is only the dissolute whom is belied. We are not any of these two. Indeed, we are not any of these two , son of Marjanah!" As he received these shocking words, 'Ubaydullah had nothing to say. he therefore spoke a word of wreak as an attempt to cover up his failure and incapability to answer. he addressed her, "How do you see that which Allah has done to your brother?" Bravely and steadfastly, Lady Zaynab answered with words of triumph : "It was nothing but good. Those were people whom Allah knew they would be killed. They therefore came to the places where they would be slain. Allah will gather you with them for judgment and sentence. See, who will be the triumphant on that day. Woe shall be you, son of Marjanah, then." These words of reproach and despise made the bastard governor lose his temper to the degree that the stood up to strike Lady Zaynab, but 'Amr ibn Hurayth warned him against so, saying, "She is only a woman, and woman's words should not be considered." Nevertheless, 'Ubaydullah returned to gloat at the misfortunes of the Ahl al‐Bayt by addressing Lady Zaynab, "At least, Allah has cured my heart and wreaked myself ____________ 1‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 6:263. upon your tyrant master and the disobedient rebels of your family members." These words filled Lady Zaynab's heart with sorrow and grief as she recollected the images of her protectors. Hence, she said to him : "I swear by my life, you have killed my protector, pulled up my branches, and uprooted my roots. So, if this heals your heart, then you are indeed healed." Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Out of his uncontrollable rage, 'Ubaydullah said, "This one is rhymist. Her father was rhymist and poet. I swear it." Lady Zaynab answered, "I a too engaged to use rhyme. Women have nothing to do with rhyme." As he found nothing to say, 'Ubaydullah turned his face towards Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin (a) and asked, "Who are you?" "I am 'Ali son of al‐Husayn," answered the Imam(a). "But Allah has killed 'Ali ibn al‐Husayn," shouted the filthy criminal. "I had a brother called 'Ali, too. You have killed him, and on the Day of Resurrection, you will be interrogated about this," replied the Imam (a) with composure. "No, it was Allah who killed him," barked 'Ubaydullah furiously. Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin (a) answered with words of almighty Allah: "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, (39:42)" "And a soul will not die but with the permission of Allah the term is fixed.(3:145)" This answer bewildered the tyrant who did not expect to hear such strong evidence extracted from the Holy Qur'an, because he forgot that the holy Qur'an was revealed in the houses of those individuals and the one to whom the holy Qur'an was revealed is their grandfather and origin. Hence, he showed his arrogance saying, "How dare you answer my words? How dare you refuse my saying?" He then ordered one of his headmen to cut off Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin head. But Lady Zaynab hurried to embrace her nephew and address 'Ubaydullah, "Son of Ziyad, suffice you what you have shed of our blood. Have you really spared anyone other than this? If you want to kill him, kill me with him as well." 'Ubaydullah was amazed by such situation of heroism and altruism. He therefore ordered, "Leave him for her. How strong the tie of kinship is! She wanted to be killed with him." Thanks to Lady Zaynab, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin (a) was saved from that tyrant. In a chamber lying next to the Kufa Masjid, the captive harem and children of the Prophet's family were detained and mistreated. Each one of them received a single loaf of bread for a whole day, and Lady Zaynab, however, used to distribute her share among the children and abstain from food for the whole day until feebleness attacked her notably to the degree that she chould no longer stand up for prayer. Noticing this, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin expressed his panic to his aunt who had to tell him the reason. In view of Lady Zaynab's remarkable reputation throughout the Islamic state, the ladies of Kufa competed with each other in having the honor of visiting her, but she refused completely to receive anyone, declaring, "None should ever visit us except bondmaidens, for they have been captured, and so have we been." The ruling authorities were waiting for the orders of the tyrant 'Yazid regarding the captives, and a few days later, they received his orders of sending them to Damascus. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
With the caravan of the captives, the holy head of the martyrs were carried on spearheads so that, like people of Kufa, people of Syria would see them, and this would gladden the tyrant. THE CAPTIVES IN DAMASCUS Tied up with ropes, forced to ride saddleless, lean camels, and being in the utmost state of humiliation, the harem and children of the prophet's family were taken to Syria. Throughout their journey, they did not say a single word and did not ask anything from the drivers of their caravan. Being close to Syria, the caravan stopped so that enough time would be given to adorn the city with manifestations of festivity and to gather people to witness this false victory of their ruler. The caravan was about four parasangs1 away from Syria when its people recieved them with joy, carrying drums and trumpets, and wearing their best dresses ‐all this was for showing their delight for the massacre of the Prophet's family. Let us listen to the scene as described by and eyewitness: Sahl ibn Sa'd al‐Sa'idi narrated: Intending to visit Jerusalem, I passed by Damascus, but it was different ‐the city was exaggeratedly adorned with colorful gilding, its people were highly joyful, and their women were playing tambourines and drums. I thought that people of Damascus had a festivity that we did not have. Noticing some people talking secretly, I approached them and asked, "Do you people of Syria, celebrate a festivity that we do not know?" "It seems that you are strange, are you not?" asked they. ____________ 1‐ Parasang is a unit of length, usually reckoned as equal to between 3 and 3,5 miles ‐5 to 5,5 km. "Yes, it is. I, Sahl ibn Sa'd, am one of those who met the Messenger of Allah," answered I. They said, "Sahl, do you not think that it is very strange that the heavens are not raining blood and the earth is not sinking with its inhabitants?" "What for is that?" asked I. "All these are expecting the arrival of al‐Husayn's (cut off) head from Kufa," they revealed. "How strange this is! The head of al‐Husayn is being forwarded while people are crowding cheeringly! From which gate will the head enter the city?" asked I. As they pointed at the Gate of al‐Sa't, I hurried there. Aqueue of banners began to enter, but my eyes fell on a horseman who had in the hand a banner without a spearhead on which lied a head most similar to that of tha Holy Prophet. That was the head of al‐Husayn! On saddleless, lean camels, the captives appeared. As I reached one of the captives ladies, I asked about her identity. "I am Sukaynah daughter of al‐Husayn," she replied. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
"And I am Sahl, the companion of your grandfather the Messenger of Allah, ask for anything and I will do it for you," I offered. Grievously, she asked, "Ask the bearer of al‐Husayn's head to precede us for a considerable distance so that people will look at head and ignore looking at us ‐the family of the Messennger of Allah." So, I ran towards that horseman, bribed him with four hundred dirhams, and asked him to hurry forwardly away from the captive ladies, and he did. In that situation too, an old Syrina man leaning on a stick who was gloating at the humility of those captives approached Imam 'Ali Zayn al‐'Abidin (a) and said wreakfully, "Praise be to Allah who eradicated you and empowered the emir to triumph over you." Out of his keenness and perspicacity, the Imam noticed that the old man was deceived by the wrong rumors that the ruling authorities spread against the Ahl al‐Bayt (a). He therefore asked, "Old man, have you recited the Holy Qur'an?" This statement shocked the old man who wondered and, thus, answered affirmatively. The Imam(a) then asked him whether he had seen the following Quranic Verses: "Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives. (16:26)" "And know that whatever thing you gain, a fifth of it is for Allah and for the Messenger and for the near relatives. (8:41)" Amazingly, the old man answered that he had recited these Verse. The Imam (a) thus declared, "Only is it we who are intended in Allah's remark 'the near relatives' in these Verses." Furthermore, the Imam (a) asked the old man whether he had recited Allah's saying: "Allah only desires to keep away the unclianness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. (33:33)" With astonishment, the old man answered that he had recited this Verse, too. The Imam (a) hence said, "Only is it we who are the 'People of the House' whom Almighty Allah has purified thoroughly." This fact changed the old man completely and made him feel sorry for the days on which he could not descern the reality of the Umayyad rulers and their authorities. Even his tongue was tied up by the new fact; he therefore said to the Imam falteringly, "Please, tell me by Allah! Is it you truly those ones?" "Yes, it is, I swear it by our grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (s)," replied the Imam (a) confidently. Feeling sorry for the words that he first showered at the Imam (a), the old man threw himself on the hands of the Imam (a) to kiss them heavily as signs of remorse, declaring, "I disavow those who killed you."
Yazid's Gloating
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Yazid, the cursed, was sinking in waves of joy and wreak as he knew about the arrival of the captives' caravan. Shamr ibn Dhi'l‐Jawshan and Makhfar ibn Tha'labah presented the head of Imam al‐Husayn (a) to him , and he permitted all lowly people of Damascus to gather at his palace and congratulate for this 'false' triumph and revenge over the Prophet and his family (a). The holy head was placed before the tyrant who went on beating it with a stick he had in the hand. he then began to say staement showing his limitless malice towards the Imam, his people, and the Divine Message that the Holy Prophet (s) conveyed to humankind ‐the message humiliated Yazid and his people since they had stopped against it, sparing no single effort. Abi Barazah al‐Aslami, seeing this horrible scene, could not control himself; so he addressed Yazid, "How dare you beat the mouth of al‐Husayn with your stick? I swear I have seen the Holy Prophet (s) kiss this mouth so frequently. However, on the Day of Resurrection, 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad will be your interceder, whole the interceder of al‐Husayn (a) will be Muhammad (s)."1 The filthy policemen of Yazid tied all the captives in one rope beginnig with the neck of Imam Zayn al‐ 'Abidin, to Lady Zaynab's, up to the last child. They forced them to walk in such a manner, and whenever any of them would stumble, the policemen would whip heavily, Moreover, they surrounded them with cries of triumph. With this humiliative scene, the captives were place before the tyrant Yazi. Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin looked at the ____________ 1‐ See Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Tarikh, vol.3, p.398. tyrant and said, "What if the Messenger of Allah sees us in such a manner? What will be his impression?" These words affected everybody, including the tyrant himself, and thus the attendants wept. As he turned his face towards the captive harem of the Prophet's family, Yazid said, "Woe to son of Marjanah! If you related to him in any tie, he would not do this to you." This is completely untru, because son of Marjanah would not have done anything unless he had followed the orders and instructions of Yazid the tyrant. He then turned his face towards Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin and said, 'Well 'Ali ibn al‐Husayn! Because your father desregarded my kinship wiht him, ignored my right, and attempted to seize my authority, Allah did this to him." The Imam's answer to this false claim was a statement from the Holy Qur'an ‐the words of Almighty Allah: "No evil befalls on the earth nor in your own souls, but it is in a book before We bring it into existence; surely, that is easy to Allah. So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
be exultant at what He has given you; and Allah does not love any arrogant boaster." (57:22‐3) This answer enraged Yazid who tried to find a suitable reply and, hence, he recited another Quranic Verse: "And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults)." Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin, the most knowledgeable of the Holy Qur'an, said, "This Verse concerns only those who wrong others, and does not concern those whom are wronged."1 LADY ZAYNAB'S SECOND ADDRESS When he recollected thse bitter days of his father and grandfather who led campaigns against al‐ Husayn's grandfather and the failure that chased them even in their own homes, Yazid showed his great rejoicing at the current situation as the family of the Prophet were captives between his hands and the heads of the Prophet's grandsons were thrown before him. He then quoted poetic verses said during the Battle of Uhud, with suitable changes, saying: I wish my forefathers at Badr2 had witnessed How the Khazraj3 are by the thorns annoyed, They would have been very much delighted, Then they'd have said, "may your hands, O Yazid, never be paralyzed We have killed the masters of their chiefs And equated it with Badr, and it has been so indeed, While no news from the Heaven had come, nor was there anyting revealed4 I will disavow the Khandaf if I will not seek revenge From Ahmed's5 children for what he did to us! Reacting to these verses, Lady Zaynab uprose against the tyrant and said: ____________ 1‐ See Shaykh al‐Mufid, al‐Irshad, p.276. 2‐ This an indication to the Battle of Badr during which the relatives of Yazid were killed at the hands of al‐Husayn's father and relatives. 3‐ The Khazraj is the tribe who supported the Prophet and his partisans. 4‐ This is clear‐cut evidence on Yazid's disbeliesf in Islam and the Divine Mission of Prophet Muhammad. 5‐ Ahmad is the heavenly name of Prophet Muhammad (s). Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Allah's blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad and his entire progeny. True are the words of Allah Who says, "Then the end of those who committed evil was that they disbelieved in Allh's Signs and they were ridiculing them. (30:10)" Do you, Yazid, think that ‐when you blocked all the avenues of the earth and the horizons of the heavens before us, so we were driven as captives‐ that we are worthless in the sight of Allah and that you are respectful in His eyes? Or is it because you enjoy with Him a great status? So, you look down at us and become arrogant, elated, when you see the world submissive to you and things are done and you want them, and when our authority and power became all yours? But wait! Have you forgotten that Allah has said, "Do not regard those who disbelieved that we grant them good for themselves? We only give them a respite so that they may increase their sins, and for them there is a humiliating torment. (3:178)" Is it fair, O son of the 'Released ones', that you keep your ladies and condmaidens in their chambers (under protection), and at the same time you drive the daughters of the Messenger of Allah as captives with their veils removed and faces exposed , taken by their enemies from one land to another, being viewed by those at watering places as well as those who man your forts, with their faces exposed to the looks of everyone ‐near or distant, lowly or honorable, having none of their men with them nor any of their protectors? But what can be expected from one descended from those whose mouths chewed the livers of the purified ones1 and whose flesh grows out of the blood of the martyrs? How can it be expected that one who looks at us with grudge and animosity, with harted and malice, ____________ 1‐ This is an indication to the famous incident that occurred immediately after the Battle of Uhud, when Hind grandmother of Yazi, tried to eat the liver of the martyr Hamzah ibn Abd‐al‐Muttalib. would not hates us‐ the Ahl al‐Bayt? Besides, you, without feeling any guilt or wieghing heavily what you say, recite saying, They would have been very much delighted, Then they's have said, "May your hands, O Yazid, never be paralyzed How dare you hit the lips of Abu 'Abdullah (a), the master of the Youths of Paradise? But why should you not do so, since all mercy is removed from your heart, having shed the blood of the offspring of Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his Progeny, and the stars on earth from among the family of 'Abdul‐Muttalib? Then you cite your mentors as if you speak to them. Soon shall you be lodged with them, and soon shall you wish you were paralyzed and muted and never said what you said nor did what you did. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
O Allah, take what belonges to us out of his hands, seek revenge against all those who oppressed us, and let Your wrath descend upon whoever shed our blood and killed our protectors! By Allah, you have burnt only your own skin, you have cut only your own flesh, and you shall come face to face with the Messenger of Allah, peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny, bearing the burdens of the blood which you have shed, the blood of his offspring, and of his sanctitie which you violated, when Allah gathers them together and seeks equity on their behalf. "and do not reckon those who are slain in the way of Allah as dead. Nay! They are living with their Lord, receiving their sustenance.(3:169)" It is quite sufficent that Allah is your Judge and Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, is your opponent, and (Archangel) Gabriel as the supporter (of Muhammad). All those who instigated you to do what you did and all those who put you in charge due to which you are playing havoc with the lives of the Muslims will know for certain how evil the end of the oppressors is and which of you shall have the worst place and will be the least protected? Although calamities have force me to speak to you, I see you trivial in my eye and find your verbal attacks great and I regard your rebuke too much to bear, but the eyes are tearful, and the chests are filled with depression. What is even stranger is that the honored Party of Allah is being killed by the Party of the 'Released ones' ‐Party of Shaitan. Such hands are dripping with our blood; such mouths are feeding on our flesh, while those sacred and pure corpses are offered as food to the wild beasts of the desert and are dirtied by the brutes, If you regard us as your booty, you shall soon ding us as your opponents ‐that will be when you find nothing but what your hands had unjustly.(41:46)" To Allah is my complaint, and upon Him do I rely. > So scheme whatever you wish to scheme, and carry out your plots, and intensify your efforts, for, by mention, nor will you ever be able to kill the revelation (that was revealed to us), nor will you ever exalt to our position, nor will your shame ever be washed away. your view shall be proven futile, your days limited in number, and your wealth wasted on the upon the oppressors.(11:18)" All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Who sealed the life of our early ones with happiness and forgiveness, and that of our last ones with martyrdom and mercy. We plead to Allah to complete His rewards for them, grant them an increase, and recompense us pleasingly; He is the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Allah suffice us, and He is the best Guardian. WORDS ABOUT THE ADDRESS This address has been a completion of Imam al‐Husayn's uprising and one of the most marvelous revolutionary speeches in Islam. By such sweeping, Lady Zaynab smashed the despotism of Yazid and inflicted disgrace and dishonor on him and on those who caused him to reach such a position. About this address, Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kashif al‐Ghitta' says: "Can the brush of the best painter or the pen of the most eloquent writer depict the reality of Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Yazid's arrogance, pride, and elation for having the world submissive to him and tasting the pleasure of conquest in a way better and more effective than that depicted by the words of Lady Zaynab in this speech? And can anybody refute all the claims of an opponent in such a way full of expressiveness, substantiation, and even reproach and censure? Moreover, Lady Zaynab, as if all her words of reprimand were not enough, proved before the tyrant and the attendants the inescapable abject resutl of the wrong and the pleasant end result of the right. Using a courageous, brave language, she showed Yazid his lowly, mean, ugly, and shameful reality"1 Dr. Tawfiq al‐Fukayki says: "Join me to contemplate on this far‐reaching speech that contained all arts of rhetoric, style of oratory manifestation of expressiveness, significances of enthusiasm, power of allegation, and authority of defense of freedom and belief, in such a forthright way that was sharper than swords. For Yazid, to jump on addres' fangs or to be rargeted by pointed spears was easier than hearing these words that slapped his unshamed face in his own house and in the middle of the capital of his illegal, despotic state. Throughout ages, this historical, sweeping speech has beed spreading the unparalleled interpidities, the unwonted courage, and the high ideals of Lady zaynab. It is finally a never‐ending literature that screams in the faces of the tyrants throughout generations."2 CONTENTS OF THE ADDRESS The great speech of Lady Zaynab has been an extension of the uprising of Karbala' and a good representation of its ____________ 1‐ MUhammad Husayn Kashif al‐Ghita', al‐Siyasah al‐Husayniyyah, 30. 2‐ Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi, Hayat al‐Imam al‐Husayn, 3:381. values and goals, Let us now refer to some goals that the speech achieved : 1) Lady Zaynab referred to the false elation of Yazid who thought of himself as victorious in that encounter. She uncovered the truth that his military superiority was transient and that Almighty Allah let the unbelievers enjoy bliss in this world so that their sons will increase and, thus, they will have a painful chastisement on the Day of Resurrection. 2) She reproached Yazid for taking tha harem of the Prophet's Household as captives. While it was the Holy Prophet (s) who freed Yazid and his unbelieving family on the Conquest of Mecca while they were captives of the Islamic armies. Instead of thanking the Prophet (s) who saved him from slavery, Yazid rewarded his family very badly. 3) She referred to the hereditary, educational, and psychological motives beyond Yazid's slaying Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
the Prophet's family. She referred, as an instance, to his grandmother, Hind, who chewed the liver of Hamzah out of her limitless malice against the Prophet and the Hashemites, She also referred to Yazid's grandfather Abu Sufyan who was the leading enemy of Islam and who led campaigns against the Prophet and his Divine Mission. Not forgetting Yazid's father, Lady Zaynab referred to Mu'awiyah who slain innocent Muslims and violated all what Allah has deemed respected. 4) She disapproved of Yazid's citing poetic verses in which he wished his forefathers whom were killed at the hands of Imam 'Ali, as well as Muslim warriors, during their conflicts against the holy Prophet to be witnessing him so that they would take revenge upon the Holy Prophet. She also asserted to yazid courageously that he would certainly face tha same fate of those cursed forefathers. 5) She shed lights on an important point; the tyrant, by slaying Imam al‐Husayn and his pure family members and companions, has in fact slain himself, none else. The souls of the martyrs are pure, alive, abiding, and covered by auras of glory. Disgrace and loss would be Yazid's only. 6) She mentioned those who paved the way to Yazid to hold such a position with words of scolding as she added them to Yazid. This point should studied carefully. 7) She referred to her high standing and unreachable honor as another way of making little of the tyrant. Despite all the misfortunes that inflicted on her and weakened her, she showed her power and scolded the tyrant so harshly that he could not find any answer. 8) She proved that all Yazid's endeavors to eradicate the immortal good mention of the Ahl al‐Bayt would fail, because they represent the right, which will inevitably triumph. Thus, days have proved that Imam al‐Husayn and his party were the triumphant, while Yazid and his party have been always the losers. At any rate, the speech of Lady Zaynab includes tens of lessons not all of which can be contained in this brief study. It is quite enough to say that this speech was one of the deathblows that snapped the Umayyad State. Having seen the collapse of his pride and arrogance, Yazid could not find any words to answer except citing a poetic verse not related to the subject in any extent. Moreover, the political atmospheres were overclouded against him whose perplexity, owing to the scandalous situation that Lady Zaynab put him in, disabled him to do anything. He once tried to find himself excuses for his crime and, at other times, tried to make a comparison between the Imam and himself.
Lady Zaynab and A Syrian Man
Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
A Syrian man who attended the session of Yazid looked at Lady Fatimah daugher of Imam al‐ Husayn in captivity and said to Yazid, "Give this girl to me to serve me." As she heard this shocking statement, the lady trembled and grabbed hold to her aunt's cloak. Lady Zaynab shouted at the Syrian man, "You, the mean one, have lied. Neither you nor can even your leader (i.e. Yazid) do this." This statement enraged Yazid who said, "I could if I would." Lady Zaynab answered, "No, you can not do it unless you abandon our religion and take another for yourself." As Yazid realized the big insult that Lady Zaynab targeted at him by these words, he shouted at her, "How dare you say such words in my face? It was your father and your brother who abandoned the religion!" Indifferent to the tyrant's authority and ability to punish Lady Zaynab replied him so confidently saying, "Only by the religion of Allah and that of my father and grandfather you and your father were guided, if you are really Muslim." By these words, Lady Zaynab unmasked the tyrant who claimed Imam al‐Husayn and his family's being apostates. As a result, people of Syria realized that the captives were the Holy Prophet's family about whom many Quranic Verses were revealed from the Almighty Lord, and that Yazid was no more than a faithless liar. "You have lied, enemy of Allah!" these were the only words that Yazid could find to answer Lady Zaynab whose answer was, "You are a dominant ruler! You can revile [at anybody] unjustly and you prevail on anyone through your authority." The tyrant's rage decreased and he had to nod down meanwhile, the Syrian man repeated his request, but Yazid shouted at him, "May Allah inflict upon you a swift death!" Hence, Lady Zaynab could control her self‐power and self‐will that she inherited from her forefathers to face the tyrant and to triumph upon him. An author says: "Despite her weakness and submission, Lady Zaynab could achieve the first decisive victory over an authoritative and strong tyrant. More than once, she confuted Yazid and declared before everybody his ignorance and irreligiousness, since it is, according to Islamic laws, not acceptable to regard Muslim women as captives or to be treated as such in wars."1 Anyhow, the Syrian man's request was seemly the opening of a long articles of criticism and reproach against Yazid and the beginning of the Syrian was not so dull, especially after he had heard the reply of Lady Zaynab that proved Yazid's having been excluded from Islam if he would respond to the Syrian man's request. This proveds that the man only intended to disgrace Yazid. MOANING FOR IMAM AL‐HUSAYN Ladies of the Prpphet's family then asked the tyrant to give them a house in which they would Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
consolation ceremonies for Imam al‐Husayn since they were unable to show their grief before the policemen of Yazid, and if they did , they would be answered by whips and words of insult. In this regard, Imam 'Ali Zayn al‐'Abidin says, "The policemen's spears would fall down on the head of anyone of us who would shed even a single tear." Yazid however had to respond to the Ladies' request and, hence, all of them wore in black and moaned for their Imam and martyrs for seven days ceaselessly. BACK TO MEDINA Havind seen the influential results of the addresses of Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin and Lady Zaynab, Yazid anticipated a rebel of at least a disorder in the capital of his state. He therefore decided to send the Prophet's family away from Damascus to their hometown, Medina. He gathered them in his palace and poured very much money on a silky carpet as blood money for the martyrdom of Imam al‐Husayn, his household, and his companions. This situation infuriated the Ladies so terribly that they all spoke. Lady Zaynab said, ____________ 1‐ See Baqir Sharif al‐Qarashi's Hayat al‐Imam al‐Hasan; 3:390. "You are surely shameless and boastful! You kill my brother and family members, and then you want me to accept money as recompense!" Lady Sukaynah said, "I have never seen such hard‐ heartedness, and I have never seen an infidel and polytheist more vicious than you are ... etc." Hence, the tyrant, who thought that the Ahl al‐Bayt can be submitted by money or any other transient material, failed to subjugate the Prophet's household since he did not believe that the almighty Allah "only desires to keep away the uncleanness from them and to purify them a (thorough) purifying." He then ordered al‐Nu'man ibn Bashir to accompany the Prophet's family to Medina and to take care of them along this journey.1 He also decided to begin that journey at night so as to evade any expected disorder or revolt. Abd al‐Malik al‐Salami, carrying out the orders of 'Umar ibn Sa'd, conveyed the news of Imam al‐Husayn's martyrdom to Medina before the captives' arrival in there.2 As much as this news delighted the ruler of Medina, it depressed the people who could not control themselves as their cries and weeping covered the whole city. The ruler however ascended the minbar of the Prophet's Masjid and declared his happiness and schadenfreude over the Imam and his party. 'Abdullah ibn al‐Sa'ib criticized the ruler, sayin, "Had Fatimah been alive, she would weep for her son."3 ____________ 1‐See Ibn al‐Athir, al‐Tarikh, vol.3, p.300. 2‐ This report is qouted from Baqir Sharif al‐Qarasahi's book entitled al‐Sayyidah Zaynab. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Nevertheless, this repot may contradict others. 3‐ Imam 'Ali (a) narrated that the Holy Prophet (s) once said, "On the Resurrection Day, my daughter Faimah shall come with dresses painted with her son's blood in her hand. She shall hang to one of the pillars of the (Divine) Throne and say "O the All‐just! judge between my son's killer and me. The Lord then will judge for my daughter. I swear it by the Lord of the Paradise." See al‐ Sirat al‐Sawi fi Manaqib(i) al‐Nabi, 93. But the ruler shouted at him and said meaningless words.1 For the martyrdom of their cheif, the Hashemites cried waile, and held ceremonies on that occasion. 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Lady Zaynab's husband, held obsequies attended by groups of people to console him for the misfortune. Yazid then sent the head ofImam al‐Husayn to Medina so as to spread horror and fear among its people. The ruler of Medina denied this deed, while Marwan ibn al‐Hakam welcomed and showed his malice against the Prophet and his religion. As he looked in the face of the Imam, he remembered his forefathers who were killed at the hands of the Imam's father and grandfather. He then turned his eyes towards the Holy Prophet's tomb and said, "Muhammad, this is for that day of [the battle of] Badr."2 During their way to Medina, the captives of the Ahl al‐Bayt asked the policemen who accompanied them to take a way leading to Karbala', and they did. Once they arrived in there, the ladies received the tomb of Imam al‐Husayn with cries and wails. They spent three days there during which their tears did not stop shedding. As Imam Zayn al‐Abidin feared for the death of his aunt and the other ladies out of their excessive grief, he ordered them to ready themselves for travel to Medina. They left with teary eyes and hoarse voices. Medina was dressed in black because of the death of Lady Ummu Salamah, the Prophet's widow, who died a month after Imam al‐Husayn's martyrdom because of her grief for him.3 When the caravan was a few parasangs near Medina, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin resided there for a whole and asked Bishr ibn Hidhlim whether he could poetize something so that he would precede the others to Medina and declare, by some poetic verses, the martyrdom of Imam al‐ Husayn. The man entered ____________ 1‐ See 'Abd al‐Razzaq al‐Muqarram, Maqatal al‐Husayn, 417. 2‐ See Ibn Abi'l‐Hadid's Sharh (u) Nahj al‐Balaghah;4:72. 3‐ See Sayyid Ibn Tawus al‐Hasani, al‐Lahuf fi Qatla al‐Tufuf, p.116. the city and stopped near the Prophet's Masjid to declare, in a sad tone, the martyrdom of the Imam. The publics hurried towards him for more information about the fate of the others. Bishr told them about the captivity of Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin and the other ladies of the Prophet's household. They, crying and weeping, hurried to the suburbs to receive the caravan. As soon as Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
the Prophet's household arrived, people surrounded them with teary eyes, and that day was similar to the day which the Holy Prophet died. In the midst of that horrible gathering, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin delivered a speech in which he touched on his father and the misfortunes they had suffered. He, accompanied by his aunt and sisters and surrounded by people, then directed towards the Prophet's Masjid. Lady Zaynab took the jambs of the Masjid's gate and shouted, "O grandfather! I am conveying to you the news of my brother al‐Husayn's martyrdom."1 From that day, Lady Zaynab's one and only deed was weeping for her martyred people and working to continue the endless message of Imam al‐Husayn. She used to weep whenever her eyes fell on her nephew, Imam Zayn al‐'Abidin, until she because as same as dead body.2 ____________ 1‐ See 'Abd al‐Razzaq al‐Muqarram, Maqtal al‐Husayn, 472. 2‐ See Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari Tarikh al‐Umam wa al‐Muluk; 6:366, and Ibn al‐Athir, al‐ Tarikh, vol. 3,p.428. TO THE HEAVEN The horrible scenes that Lady Zaynab had to witness did not depart her for even a single moment; her eyes were always teary and her words were only wailing for her brother and the martyrs, She used to cry the names of her brothers, sons, and nephews, and then she would be unconscious. This state turned her into a soulless, feeble body waiting for death, which would be the only relief. She was waiting for death so as to complain to her grandfather and parents about what she had seen. Thus, diseases began to attack her and she had to stay in bed for long time suffering agonies of diseases. Even in her last sparks of life, the scenes of Karbala' and Damascus were present before her eyes. However, death attacked her while her tongue was glorifying the Almighty Lord Who will take revenge upon those who wronged her. She departed this life on Sunday, the fifteenth of Rajab, 62 AH at the age of fifty‐seven.1 HER BURIAL PLACE Historians have had various opinions about the burial place of Lady Zaynab; some have defined al‐ Baqi in Medina. This opinion is not acceptable, because if she was buried there she would have a special tomb just like the others who were buried there. It is probable that she, like her mother, asked to be buried at night so that none would know about the place of her grave. �� ____________ 1‐ See al‐'Ubaydali, al‐Sayyidah Zaynab wa Akhbar al‐Zaynabiyyat, 9. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
A good group of historians have decided that she died in a small village in Damascus and was buried there. They recorded that she immigrated to Syria when Medina had been befallen by a disastrous famine due to which 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far left for Syria. It seems that the story of this famine is baseless since most of the historians and narrators have never referred to such an incident during that period. Besides, 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far was so rich that he would not be influenced by such a famine, and that he was too generous to leave his people in such a famine and immigrate to her center of his enemies. At any rate, it is widespread that Lady Zaynab was buried in Damascus and there is now a handsome shrine pilgrimaged by thousands of people every day, seeking the blessing and mercy of Almighty Allah, just like the holy shrine of Imam al‐ Husayn. Another good number of historians have recorded that Lady Zaynab was buried in Egypt.1 For all Egyptians, this is an unquestionable fact,and her handsome shrine there is one of the most significant signs Egypt. About Lady Zaynab's immigration to Egypt, historians have recorded tha following : In Medina, Lady Zaynab began to rally the publics against the ruling authorities and the unjust Umayyad State. As a result, people of Medina rebelled and formed armed forces to face the ruling authorities. As a reply, Yazid sent a heavy army commanded by the criminal Muslim ibn Aqabah ____________ 1‐ This saying is agreed by the following scholars: Ibn 'Askir in al‐Tarikhal‐Kabir, Ibn Tawlawn in al‐ Risalah al‐Zaynabiyyah, al‐Sha'rani in Lawqih al‐Anwar, Muhammad Sabban in Is'af al‐Raghibin, al‐ Shabalnaji in Nur al‐Absar, al‐Shabrawi in al‐Ithaf, Hasan al‐Adwi in Mashariq al‐Anwar, al‐ Mannawi in al‐Tabaqat, Jalaluddin al‐Sayuti in al‐Risalah al‐Zaynabiyyah, al‐Ajhuri in Musalsal Ashura, and many others. to kill the rebels and civilians so harshly and mercilessly. He even turned them into slaves for Yazid. Fearing the activities of Lady Zaynab, the ruler of Medina wrote to Yazid about her danger. The tyrant wrote back that he should banish her to any country she would choose. First of all, Lady Zaynab refused, but Zaynab daughter of 'Aqil, her cousin, could convince her to leave for the good of religion. She hence opted for Egypt. In this (final) journey, she was accompanied by her nieces Fatimah and Sukaynah daughters of Imam al‐Husayn. They arrived in Egypt on the last days of Dhu'l‐Hijjah, and were received hospitably by the ruler of Egypt, Maslamah ibn Mukhallad al‐ Ansari who offered Lady Zaynab to reside in his own house in al‐Hamra', and she lived there for eleven months and fifteen days. On Sundays, 15th of Rajab, 62 A.H., Lady Zaynab departed life and was buried in that house. There is now a handsome shrine carrying her name and teaching all generatons the meanings of real humanity and defense of freedom and belief.1 In his book entitled al‐Tarikh, Ibn Asakir records: Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
"Lady Zaynab resided in Egypt where she died and was buried. The lady buried in Damascus is her sister, Zaynab al‐Wusta." The Egyptians as well as the other Muslim throughout the globe pilgrimage to the holy shrine everyday especially on the occasion of her death. They, including scholars and religious people, crowd around the shrine seeking the Lord's blessings and mercy through the intercession of Lady Zaynab. Rulers of Egypt, such as Kafur al‐Akhshidi, Ahmad ibn Tawlawn, and al‐Dafir‐bi‐Nasrillah also had the honor to visit the holy shrine. with the beginning the month of Rajab, people from everywhere gather around the holy shrine reciting the Holy Book of Allah and other Du'as. ____________ 1‐ See Is'af al‐Raghibin 196, al‐Shamrani, Lawaqih al‐Anwar 23, al‐Ithaf bi Hubb al‐Ashraf 93, and Masahriq al‐Anwar,100. some of them, furthermore, reside there to the half of the month. A many reconstructions and reformations all over history have been made to the holy shrine at the hands of virtuous kings and leaders of Egypt, such as, Fakhruddin Tha'lb al‐Ja'fari, 'Ali Pasha al‐ Wazir (in 956 AH), and Abdul‐Rahman Katkhada (in 1174 AH). In 1212 AH, Uthman al‐Muradi reconstructed the shrine, but he had to stop when the French occupied the country. In 1326 AH, Yusuf Pasha carried on the reconstructions and dated his words through some poetic verses written on a tablet of marble. Abyhow, the final touches were at the hands of Muhammad 'Ali Pasha reconstructed other faces. The operation was completed in 1304 AH. Every country or place in which Lady Zaynab resided has all right to take pride in this Lady who has been the honor of Islam and All Muslims. At any rate, Lady zaynab's place is the heart of each and every fact‐finder. She has been too great to be contained by any tomb, and one's deed depends upon his/her intent.
Ziyarat of Lady Zaynab In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Peace be upon you, O daughter of the leader of the Prophets. Peace be upon you, O daugher of the owner of the (Heavenly) Pond and the Standard. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him who was taken to the skies and who reache the position of the length of two arrows or even closer. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Prophet of right guidance, the master of (all) human being, Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
and the savior of the servants(of Allah) from being destroyed. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the one who has conformed (himself) to sublime morality, enjoyed the broad honor, and owned the (Heavenly) Signs and the Wise Remembrance of Allah (i.e. the Holy Quran). Peace be upon you, O daughter of the owner of the Lofty Position, the Pond from which people shall drink (on the Resurrection Day), and the Standard, which shall be witnessed by everybody. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Path of Islam and the one given the qiblah and the Quran, and the example of honesty, right, and benevolence. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O daughter of the choice of the Prophets the example of the pious ones, and the well known in both the earth and the heavens. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O daughter of the best of Allah's creation, the master of His creatures, the foremost created individual before the existence of (Allah's) earth and heavens, the last of the existent ones (who shall endure) after the extinction of this world and its being, and the one whose soul is a copy of the Divinity and whose heart is the treasury of the Eternal, Subsistent God. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O daughter of the one who is shaded by clouds, is the master of the Two Worlds, is the chief of the two beings (i.e.man and jinn), and is the Intercessor of the ummah on the Resurrection Day. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the master of the Prophet's successors. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the leader of the God‐fearing ones. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the shelter of the saints. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the support of the choice ones. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the leader of the Religion. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the commander of the faithful ones. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the chief of the Prophet's successors. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the leader of the pious ones. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the preventer of the infidels and the wantons. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the inheritor of the Prophets. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the successor of the Apostles' chief. Peace be upon you, O daughter of brightness of the Religion. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Great News (as it is certainly proved). Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O daughter of the one to whom the mission of settling accounts with people ( on the Resurrection Day) is given , between whose hands the Heavenly Pond ( of al‐Kawthar) is put, and whom is intended by the (Prophet's) Statement of the Ghadir day. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the lady whose she‐camel was driven by (Archangel) Gabriel, and whose misforturne (of Imam al‐Husayn's being slain in Karbala) was shared by (Archangel) Israfil, and due to whose anger the All‐exalted Lord was angry, and for whose misfortune of Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Karbala, (the Prophets) Abraham the Friend of Allah, Noah, and Moses the Spoken by Allah wept. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the shining full moons. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O daughter of the brilliant suns. Peace be upon you, O daughter of Well Zamzma and Safa (of the landmarks of Mecca). Peace be upon you, O daughter of Mecca and Mina ‐a height in Mecca‐. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him whom was carried by Buraq to the heavens. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him who carried the zakat (almsgiving) by the margins of his dress to give it to the paupers. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him whom was taken by night fron the Inviolable Masjid to the Farthest Masjid. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him who fought with two swords. Peace be upon you, O daughter of him who offered prayers to the two qiblas. Peace be upon you, O daughter of Muhammad al‐Mustafa (the Selected by God). Peace be upon you, O daughter of Ali al‐Murtada (the Pleased one). Peace be upon you, O daughter of Fatimah al‐Zahra (the Resplendant). Peace be upon you, O daughter of Khadijah al‐Kubra (the Grand) Peace be upon you and upon your grandfather, Muhammad al‐Mukhtar (the Chosen). Peace be upon you and upon your father, Haydar al‐Karrar (the Attacking). Peace be upon you and upon the pure, choice masters who are the Arguments of Allah on lands, the chiefs of the earth and the heavens, and love for whom is a prescription that is incumbent upon all creatures. Peace be upon you, O daughter of the glorified, holy servant of Allah. Peace be upon you, O aunt of dignified, holy servant of Allah. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O mother of misfortunes; Zaynab. Peace be upon you ‐the virtuos, rightly guided one! Peace be upon you ‐ the perfect, knowledgeable good‐doer. Peace be upon you ‐the noble gentlewoman. Peace be upon you ‐the pious, infallible one. Peace be upon you ‐who showed her love for al‐Husayn; the wronged, in many situation and had to suffer awful heartbreaking misfortunes. Peace be upon you ‐who guarded the Imam on the Day of Ashura when he was killed, and sacrificed her soul for the salvation of Zayn al‐Abidin at the gathering of the most wretched one (i.e.Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad), and addresed a speech, just like (Imam) Ali's, in the streets of Kufa despite the presence of her enemies. Peace be upon you ‐who thrust her forehead with the front part of the howdah, when she saw the Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
severed head of the Chief of Martyrs (i.e. Imam al‐Husayn), and caused blood to flow from beneath her veil and from the howdah in the view of the enemies. Peace be upon you, O the representative of the Infallible Imam. Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O you who were tested though patience against misfortunes, like that of al‐Husayn the oppressed. Peace be upon you who are far away from you home. Peace be upon you who were wandered as captive in cities. Peace be upon you when you were bewildered in that ruined place in Syria. Peace be upon you when you were bewildered as you stood by the (severed) body of the Chief of Martyrs and called at your grandfather; the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family, saying, "Oh, Muhammad! May the angels in the Heavens bless you! This is Husayn under the open sky! His turban and his clothes are stripped! His limbs are severed! And your daughters are taken captives! Complaining (about this) is only to Allah." You also said, "O Muhammad! This is Husayn! Winds are blowing his body! His head is cut off from the back! He is being killed by bastards! Oh, for my grief for you, Abu Abdullah! Peace be upon you whose heart cried out for al‐Husayn; the oppressed, the stripped, and the threwn on dust, and you said in a sad tone, "May my father be sacrificed for the one for whom I may sacrifice my soul! Oh, for him who was depressed until he passed away! Oh, for him who had been thirsty until he departed life! Oh,for him whose beard is dropping blood!" Peace be upon her who wept for the (severed) body of her brother among the killed ones so painfully that every one ‐whether friend or even enemy, wept tor her and, moreover, people, as it is proved by authenticated narraions, saw even horses shed tears, which flew on their legs. Peace be upon her who took the resposibility of gathering and guarding the daughters of the Messenger of Allah and the children of al‐Husayn on the afternoon of the day of Ashura, and she stirred up the sutuation when the two oppressed, strange children were martyred. Peace be upon her whose eyes did not sleep so as to guard the family of the Messenger of Allah at Taff of Nineveh, and was taken as captive as she was humiliated at the hands of her enemies. Peace be upon her who had to ride a saddleless camel and then called on her brother Abu'l‐ Fadhl(al‐Abbas), sayin, "O brother! O Abu'l‐Fadhl! It was you who helped me ride on a camel when I left Medina." Peace be upon her who addressed a remarkably expressive speech at the center of Kufa that she made all voices keep silent (to listen to her with astonishment) Peace be upon her who said clear‐cut arguments in the gathering of (Ubaydullah) Ibn Ziyad who said to her, "How did you see that which Allah had done to your brother?" Answering him, she said with honest evidences, "I saw nothing but good!" Peace be upon you who had to be imprisoned by the enemies under an open sky and had to see people of Syria celebrate (the martyrdom of her brother with pleasure, joy, and raised flags. Presented by http://www.alhassanain.com & http://www.islamicblessings.com
Peace be upon her who was tied with a rope on the arm and the neck of Imam Zayn al‐Abidin, and she, along with sixteen persons from the family of the Messenger of Allah, was forced to enter(the session of Yazid) while they were enchained with iron fetters. Meanwhile, Ali ibn al‐Husayn (Imam Zayn al‐Abidin) said to Yazid, "What if the Messenger of Allah sees us in such a manner? What will be his impression?" Then, Lady Zaynab; mother of misfortunes, said to Yazid after he had poetized, "(Had my forefather whom were killed at the Battle of Badr witnessed this,) they would have been very much delighted. then they'd have said, "May your hands, O Yazid, never be paralyzed How dare you hit the lips of Abu'Abdullah (a), the Master of the Youths of Paradise?" She then said, "Although calamities have forced me to spead to you, I see you trivial in my eye and find your verbal attacks great and I regard your rebuke too much to bear, but the eyes are filled with depression. what is even strange is that the honored Party of Allah is being killed by the Party of the 'Released ones' ‐Party of Shaitan. If you regard us as your booty, you shall soon find us as your opponent ‐that will be when you find nothing but what your hands had committed, "and your Lord never treats His servants unjustly. (41:46)" To Allah is my complaint, and upon Him do rely. So scheme whatever you wish to scheme, and carry out your plots, and intesify your efforts, for, by Allah, you shall never be able to obliterate our mention, nor will you ever be able to kill the revelation (that was revealed to us), nor will you ever exalt to our position, nor will you shame ever be washed away. Your view shall be proven futile, your days limited in number, and your wealth wasted on the Day when the caller calls out, "The curse of Allah be upon the oppressors. (11:18)" All praise is due to Allah Lord of the Worlds, Who sealed th life of your early ones with happiness and forgiveness, and that of our last ones with martyrdom and mercy. We plead to Allah to complete His rewareds for them, grant them an increase, and recompense us pleasingly; he is the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Allah suffices us, and he is the best Guardian. May Allah bless Muhammad and his Pure, Immaculate Household.
Lady zaynab peace be upon her
SYED MUHAMMAD JAWED Follow publisher Unfollow publisher
Be the first to know about new publications.
| i don't know |
Cuddles the Monkey was a puppet of which British television presenter/ventriloquist? | Keith harris dead at 67: 20 puppets from '80s kids TV shows puppets we adored | Metro News
Ross McG for Metro.co.uk Tuesday 28 Apr 2015 3:02 pm
Ventriloquist Keith Harris and Orville the Duck (Picture: PA)
You couldn’t flick on the television in the 1980s without seeing a puppet beaming back at you.
All you needed for kids TV gold back then was an expressive piece of felt or plastic and someone to bring it to life.
Ventriloquist Keith Harris, who has died after a battle with cancer , was the man and voice behind Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey, two of the best loved puppets 30 years ago in Britain.
But they weren’t the only characters we loved: here are some of the other puppets whose antics defined the childhoods of a generation.
1. Orville the Duck
The King Kong of ventriloquist puppets, they don’t get any bigger than Orville, which is why the original figure of the fuzzy green bird is insured for £100,000.
Whatever Orville’s future in the wake of Harris’s death, we will always have Orville’s Song .
Orville and his creator, Keith Harris (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
2. Cuddles the Monkey
In a clever move, Harris made Orville all sweetness and light and Cuddles a cheeky chappie. A cheeky chappie who hated Orville.
Cuddles the Monkey liked mocking Orville (Picture: ITV/REX Shutterstock)
3. Emu
Ventriloquist Rod Hull and his creation Emu may have come to prominence in the 1970s – just ask Michael Parkinson – but their antics continued into the ’80s in a series of TV shows.
Emu tries to take a chunk out of Rod Hull (Picture: ITV/REX Shutterstock)
4. Sooty
Glove puppet Sooty was created in 1948 and is still on TV now, making his the longest running children’s television programme in UK history.
Operated first by Harry Corbett and later his son Matthew, Sooty was always trigger-happy with his water pistol, the little scamp. Didn’t say much though.
If you found him annoying, chances are you put your foot through the TV when his mate Sweep joined him on screen.
Sooty, Matthew and a thankfully quiet Sweep (Picture: REX)
5. Gordon the Gopher
Spawned in the Broom Cupboard on BBC in the mid-1980s, Gordon quickly got promoted to Going Live! on Saturday mornings, where a puppy once attacked him. His jacket was a gift to him from Adam Ant.
Those who would love to see him reunited with co-presenter Phillip Schofield on This Morning might be disappointed – Schofield has often spoken in the past about Gordon’s alcohol problem.
Standing on the shoulder of giant Phil (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
6. Zig and Zag
These puppets from outer space gravitated from Irish kids’ show Dempsey’s Den on RTE to UK domination through The Big Breakfast on Channel 4. And the British public obviously still love them – they’re set for a comeback next year.
Their 2 Unlimited-inspired hit, Them Girls , is one for the musical ages.
Zig and Zag were as shocked by the latest Grey’s Anatomy episode as anyone (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
7. Orm and Cheep
Narrated by Richard Briers (wasn’t the entire 1980s narrated by Richard Briers?), Orm and Cheep were a worm and bird combo who somehow learned to live together.
Looking a bit like cast-offs from The Dark Crystal, many a nightmare was inspired by this duo.
Nope. not creepy in the slightest (Picture: ITV)
8. Roland Rat
Roland Rat was like that cool guy at university you loved hanging out with, but there wasn’t a chance in hell you could share a flat together.
The first still from The Usual Suspects 2 had not been well received (Picture: BBC)
9. Fraggle Rock
What a genius Jim Henson show this was, but although the Fraggles were fun, it was all about the Doozers, constructing away in their tiny little hard hats.
What do you call a collection of Fraggles? A gaggle? (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
10. ALF
A bit like Fonzie in Happy Days, ALF (Alien Life Form) was never really that cool, but it didn’t matter; his shenanigans (like trying to eat cats) were always entertaining.
ALF loves a hug (Picture: ITV/REX Shutterstock)
11. Button Moon
A different kind of puppetry, but too adorable not to include on this list, it was always worth following Mr Spoon .
Prince Harry was a super uncle to baby George (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
12. Bosco
Bosco is an Irish institution. If you mix Bono, Enya and Sinéad O’Connor together, you might come close to replicating the magic of this little flame-haired puppet, who lives in a box.
The question, ‘Is Bosco a boy or a girl?’, very nearly became a referendum in Ireland, until the puppet himself let slip on radio in 2011 that he is, in fact, a he.
Will he/won’t she? (Picture: RTE)
13. Basil Brush
BOOM! BOOM! Loud and annoying, making him perfect for kids, Basil has moved with the times, recently launching his own channel on YouTube .
Basil Brush, probably shouting the word ‘boom’ (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
14. Terrahawks
Thunderbirds is well-loved and rightly so, but its creator Gerry Anderson was also behind a later gem in the shape of Terrahawks . Who wasn’t scared of Zelda?
Zelda from Terrahawks. Amazingly, this picture was taken BEFORE the work night out (Picture: Daily Mail/REX Shutterstock)
15. Sesame Street
Can you tell me who to get, how to get to Sesame Street?
No. I want to keep it all to myself. Find your own street to play on – this one’s mine.
Big Bird, Mr Snuffleupagus and Barkley the Dog having a laugh (Picture: REX Shutterstock0
16. The Muppet Show
Filmed in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire (just like Star Wars), The Muppet Show ran from 1976 to 1981 and was brilliant. Because it was the flipping Muppets!
Lord Sugar’s search for a new business partner… continues (Picture: ITV/REX Shutterstock)
17. Edd the Duck
A bit more in-your-face than his uncle Orville, Edd was a spiky addition to the Broom Cupboard, alongside presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters. Much more than a poor man’s Gordon the Gopher.
Orville: The Punk Years (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
18. Rainbow
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do… Rainbow had a super theme tune, but it also had awesome characters. Who didn’t bestow the nickname Zippy or Bungle on someone in the playground?
Zippy and George couldn’t help talking about Bungle behind his back (Picture: REX Shutterstock)
19. Bodger & Badger
Just sneaking into the 1980s by a few months, Bodger & Badger took the Emu and Rod Hull approach to puppet pageantry: make a mess.
Sing it with us now… ‘Everybody knows, Badger loves… MASHED POTATO!’
Take That struggled when they became a three-piece (Picture: BBC)
20. Fingermouse
To make TV magic, sometimes all you need is a finger and some grey paper shaped like a rodent.
Fingermouse was a spin-off from Fingerbobs, making him the Dr Frasier Crane of finger puppets.
Unlike Seattle’s finest radio psychiatrist, Fingermouse’s show only ran for one series. But what a series.
Fingermouse: Legend (Picture: BBC)
| Keith Harris |
The tomb of William the Conqueror is in which French city? | Our top 10 TV puppets of all time - BT
Our top 10 TV puppets of all time
We remember our favourite small-screen puppets.
Print this story
The death of ventriloquist Keith Harris has left the nation reminiscing about Orville the duck’s singing and Cuddles the monkey’s jokes.
The sad news that variety veteran Keith has passed away at the age of 67 also made us nostalgic about our other favourite TV puppets.
They livened up broom cupboards and children’s telly throughout the decades, and some even found fame in the UK singles charts.
From Sooty to Edd the Duck, we remember our top 10.
1. Sooty
Richard Cadell and Sooty (Richard Cadell/PA)
Created by Harry Corbett, silent Sooty has been an institution on British television since 1952, making his small-screen debut on BBC’s The Sooty Show in 1955.
Now operated by Richard Cadell, who bought the rights to the puppet in 2007, Sooty and his friends Sweep and Soo continue to entertain children through their CITV show, Sooty. There are even rumours that Sooty could be headed for the big screen in 2016.
2. Gordon the Gopher
Gordon the Gopher (BBC/PA)
Gordon, puppeted by Paul Smith, first appeared on Children’s BBC (CBBC) between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows with Phillip Schofield in The Broom Cupboard, Going Live! and his own 1991 spin-off.
While Phillip has tried to consign him to the past, Gordon has refused to be forgotten, popping up alongside his mate in editions of Dancing On Ice in 2009 and 2012. He also appeared on This Morning in September 2010 to celebrate Phillip’s 25th anniversary of his first CBBC presenting job.
3. Edd the Duck
A yellow duck with green hair doesn’t exactly spell success, but Edd – performed by Christina Mackay-Robinson – turned out to be a hit. Adorning lunch boxes, posters, milkshakes and even starring in his own computer game, Edd joined presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters in The Broom Cupboard in 1988, replacing Phillip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher.
4. Andy Pandy
(Bonhams/PA)
Andy Pandy, a marionette who lived in a picnic basket, is the original puppet, premiering on the BBC in 1950 as part of the For The Children section, later known as Watch With Mother.
Created by Freda Lingstrom, Andy Pandy and friends starred in the black and white series until 1970, and have been given a makeover for a new series, which aired on the BBC from 2002 to 2009.
5. Basil Brush
(BBC/PA)
Wily fox Basil Brush has been a mainstay on British telly for over 50 years, having made his debut in 1962. Voiced and performed by Ivan Owen until his death in October 2000, Basil – famous for his catchphrase “Ha Ha Ha! Boom! Boom!” – first appeared on television in 1962, in a series called The Three Scampis before getting his own BBC television series, The Basil Brush Show, which ran for 12 years from 1968 until 1980.
He made his comeback in the revived programme, which ran in 2002 until 2007. In 2015, he had a 21st century makeover with a YouTube channel.
6. Bill and Ben
(Johnny Green/PA)
Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men, first appeared on BBC’s Watch With Mother. They spoke Oddle Poddle, which was invented by Peter Hawkins, who was also the voice of the Daleks in BBC’s sci-fi drama Doctor Who. They then Flobbadobbed throughout the next three decades, with their own show Bill And Ben airing on CBBC in 2001.
7. Emu
(PA)
Rod Hull was the man behind Emu, who caused chaos and struck terror into stars like Michael Parkinson, Billy Connolly, Richard Pryor and The Tonight Show’s Johnny Carson. Emu even ruined the Queen Mother’s bouquet of flowers after the Royal Variety Performance in 1972. Sadly, Emu was retired after Rod died in 1999.
8. Otis the Aardvark
— catherine jackson (@catheri77679385) March 1, 2014
Dave Chapman was the puppeteer behind Otis the Aardvark, who was a presenter on Children’s BBC shows Fully Booked and Saturday Aardvark. He presented Nickelodeon on his own in 1996 to 1997, and later took part in a “puppet” edition of The Weakest Link in December 2007. His most recent appearance was on ITV2′s Celebrity Juice in April 2010.
9. Roland Rat
@RSRigda This guy was a real ratbag in his day sis – It's Roland Rat! "Hi rat fans YEEEAAHH!" 😆 pic.twitter.com/DAPljb7qqf
— Colin Payn (@ColinPayn) April 10, 2015
Rapping rodent Roland Rat, created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, made his TV debut on TV-am in 1983 before transferring to the BBC in 1985. He starred in Channel 5 series LA Rat in the late 1990s, featuring the rat and his friends touring Los Angeles, and made a brief return in early 2003 as a guest presenter of CiTV.
10. Zig and Zag
Zig and Zag with Melinda Messenger (David Parry/PA)
The puppets, created by Ciaran Morrison and Mick O’Hara, made their name on Dempsey’s Den before heading to Channel 4′s Big Breakfast, where they met stars such as Robin Williams, Michael J Fox and Ant and Dec. They released a single in 1995 after being signed by Simon Cowell and will return in animated form for the new show, Zig And Zag, in 2016.
| i don't know |
A simcha is a private party or celebration in which religion? | Judaism's Naming Ceremonies for Girls
By Caryn Meltz
Updated February 23, 2016.
Its a girl! When do you name her? When should you throw the party? After eight days, two weeks, a month?
As opposed to a brit, circumcision, of a boy on the eighth day, there are no explicit rituals for a girl. Instead, there are customs for a Simchat Bat, celebration of a birth of a daughter.
The Aramaic words for Simchat Bat are Zeved Bat which means gift -- G-d gave me a good present. Rabbi Moses Maimonides (Rambam), a 12th century philosopher, explains the words to mean that this is a good material or better yet this is a good branch -- that the daughter is the mother of the family in which many other branches stem.
Naming a Baby
Most Ashkenazi Jews name a baby girl the first Sabbath after she is born, but its acceptable to name her at any Torah reading (the Torah is read Monday and Thursday mornings as well as holidays and the Sabbath). The father is called up to the Torah and the child is given her name. A special prayer is also said at this time for the well being of the mother and daughter.
The prayer starts off with mentioning the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If the mother is present she says a Thanksgiving Prayer, or her husband can say it on her behalf. In general, the Thanksgiving Prayer is said when one has survived a life threatening situation and delivering a baby falls into this category.
Many Sephardi Jews also name the baby at the Torah reading and in addition read a verse from Song of Songs, chapter 2, verse 14, At the sea He said to me, O My dove, trapped at the sea as if in the clefts of the rock, the concealment of the terrace. Show Me your prayerful gaze, let Me hear your supplicating voice, for your voice is sweet and your countenance comely. If the girl is the first born, an additional verse from Song of Songs is said, chapter 6, verse 9, Unique is she, My constant dove, My perfect one. Unique is she, this nation striving for the truth; pure is she to Jacob who begot her. Nations saw her and acclaimed her; queens and concubines, and they praised her. In contrast to the Ashkanzims blessing which begins with the patriarchs, the one by the Sepharadim begins with the matriarchs: Sara, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
In some Sephardi communities the girl is only named at home. They believe that the mother and baby shouldnt leave the house for a month and therefore the naming is done at home so both mother and daughter can be present for it. There are also various customs performed to ward off the evil eye.
Modern Day Simchat Bat
The birth of a child is a momentous occasion that we all want to share with everyone around us. That is why we, in modern day times, have created a more formal service of bringing our daughters into the world -- into the covenant with G-d -- the same as what we do for our sons. Since there is no specific format to go by, people have created their own traditions as to when to have a party for the baby -- celebrate the Simchat Bat -- and what rituals, if any, are performed at the festivity.
Some have a light meal after synagogue the Sabbath in which the father has named the baby, while others invite family and friends to their home or to a hall on a different day to share in their joy (simcha). Others opt to make it into more of a traditional ceremony citing various prayers (such as from the Book of Psalms), saying a special blessing over wine and having a festive meal.
Whichever form of celebration is followed, Jewish families are increasingly finding formal ways of expressing joy on the birth of a girl as well as the birth of a boy. Simchat Bat Getty Images Naming Ceremonies for Jewish Girls Its a girl! When do you name her? When should you throw the party? After eight days, two weeks, a month?
As opposed to a brit, circumcision, of a boy on the eighth day, there are no explicit rituals for a girl. Instead, there are customs for a Simchat Bat, celebration of a birth of a daughter.
The Aramaic words for Simchat Bat are Zeved Bat which means gift -- G-d gave me a good present. Rabbi Moses Maimonides (Rambam), a 12th century philosopher, explains the words to mean that this is a good material or better yet this is a good branch -- that the daughter is the mother of the family in which many other branches stem.
Naming a Baby
Most Ashkenazi Jews name a baby girl the first Sabbath after she is born, but its acceptable to name her at any Torah reading (the Torah is read Monday and Thursday mornings as well as holidays and the Sabbath). The father is called up to the Torah and the child is given her name. A special prayer is also said at this time for the well being of the mother and daughter. The prayer starts off with mentioning the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If the mother is present she says a Thanksgiving Prayer, or her husband can say it on her behalf. In general, the Thanksgiving Prayer is said when one has survived a life threatening situation and delivering a baby falls into this category.
Many Sephardi Jews also name the baby at the Torah reading and in addition read a verse from Song of Songs, chapter 2, verse 14, At the sea He said to me, O My dove, trapped at the sea as if in the clefts of the rock, the concealment of the terrace. Show Me your prayerful gaze, let Me hear your supplicating voice, for your voice is sweet and your countenance comely. If the girl is the first born, an additional verse from Song of Songs is said, chapter 6, verse 9, Unique is she, My constant dove, My perfect one. Unique is she, this nation striving for the truth; pure is she to Jacob who begot her. Nations saw her and acclaimed her; queens and concubines, and they praised her. In contrast to the Ashkanzims blessing which begins with the patriarchs, the one by the Sepharadim begins with the matriarchs: Sara, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
In some Sephardi communities the girl is only named at home. They believe that the mother and baby shouldnt leave the house for a month and therefore the naming is done at home so both mother and daughter can be present for it. There are also various customs performed to ward off the evil eye.
Modern Day Simchat Bat
The birth of a child is a momentous occasion that we all want to share with everyone around us. That is why we, in modern day times, have created a more formal service of bringing our daughters into the world -- into the covenant with G-d -- the same as what we do for our sons. Since there is no specific format to go by, people have created their own traditions as to when to have a party for the baby -- celebrate the Simchat Bat -- and what rituals, if any, are performed at the festivity.
Some have a light meal after synagogue the Sabbath in which the father has named the baby, while others invite family and friends to their home or to a hall on a different day to share in their joy (simcha). Others opt to make it into more of a traditional ceremony citing various prayers (such as from the Book of Psalms), saying a special blessing over wine and having a festive meal.
Whichever form of celebration is followed, Jewish families are increasingly finding formal ways of expressing joy on the birth of a girl as well as the birth of a boy.
| Judaism |
Who conducted the wedding in the poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ by Edward Lear? | Right-Wing Knesset Member: Reform Judaism a ‘Fake Religion’ | OS News - This is Jewish Life
This is Jewish Life.
Right-Wing Knesset Member: Reform Judaism a ‘Fake Religion’
2016-07-31 12:12:08
With the struggle between Judaism’s denominations continuing to play out in Israel on conversions, ritual practices and prayer rights, Jewish Home MK Bezalel Smotrich weighed in on Thursday, asserting that Reform Judaism was a “fake religion.”
Get OnlySimchas News Live Updates by email and never miss our top breaking stories
Smotrich told a gathering of his party’s volunteer youth that he was “not willing to recognize Reform conversions and their fake religion.”
The Chief Rabbinate’s Orthodox monopoly on Jewish religious services has come under fire in recent years from private groups that have chafed at what they say are the institution’s increasingly stringent guidelines.
The rabbinate has come under increasing criticism for its inability to set an agreed-upon standard even for Orthodox conversions, and its frequent rejection of conversion
| i don't know |
Which 18th Century English historian wrote ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire? | The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Wikiquote
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
From Wikiquote
Jump to: navigation , search
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. 1, 1776; Vols. II-III, 1781; Vols. IV-VI, 1788) by Edward Gibbon . One of the most famous historical works written in any language and covering over 1000 years of history, from the end of the Antonine dynasty to the fall of Constantinople .
Contents
Volume I[ edit ]
Trajan was ambitious of fame; and as long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors, the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters.
Chapter I
The terror of the Roman arms added weight and dignity to the moderation of the emperors. They preserved peace by a constant preparation for war; and while justice regulated their conduct, they announced to the nations on their confines, that they were as little disposed to endure, as to offer an injury.
Chapter I
Yet Phoenicia and Palestine will forever live in the memory of mankind; since America, as well as Europe, has received letters from the one, and religion from the other.
Chapter I
That public virtue which among the ancients was denominated patriotism, is derived from a strong sense of our own interest in the preservation and prosperity of the free government of which we are members. Such a sentiment, which had rendered the legions of the republic almost invincible, could make but a very feeble impression on the mercenary servants of a despotic prince; and it became necessary to supply that defect by other motives, of a different, but not less forcible nature; honour and religion.
Chapter I
The masters of the fairest and most wealthy climates of the globe turned with contempt from gloomy hills, assailed by the winter tempest, from lakes concealed in a blue mist, and from cold and lonely heaths, over which the deer of the forest were chased by a troop of naked barbarians.
Chapter I
The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful.
Chapter II
Volume II[ edit ]
In the various states of society, armies are recruited from very different motives. Barbarians are urged by the love of war; the citizens of a free republic may be prompted by a principle of duty; the subjects, or at least the nobles, of a monarchy, are animated by a sentiment of honor; but the timid and luxurious inhabitants of a declining empire must be allured into the service by the hopes of profit, or compelled by the dread of punishment.
Chapter XVII
The general peace which [Constantine] maintained during the last fourteen years of his reign, was a period of apparent splendour rather than of real prosperity; and the old age of Constantine was disgraced by the opposite yet reconcilable vices of rapaciousness and prodigality.
Chapter XVIII
Volume III[ edit ]
The son of Theodosius passed the slumber of his life, a captive in his palace, a stranger in his country, and the patient, almost the indifferent, spectator of the ruin of the Western empire, which was repeatedly attacked, and finally subverted, by the arms of the Barbarians. In the eventful history of a reign of twenty-eight years, it will seldom be necessary to mention the name of the emperor Honorius .
Chapter XXIX
Yet every physician is prone to exaggerate the inveterate nature of the disease which he has cured.
Chapter XXVII, part II, footnote.
In this case remarking on the works of Gregory Nazianzen .
There exists in human nature a strong propensity to depreciate the advantages, and to magnify the evils, of the present times.
Chapter XXXI, part IV
In this case recent injuries to Rome from the Goths compared to those from the Gauls in former times.
Similar "Notwithstanding the propensity of mankind to exalt the past, and to depreciate the present," in volume I, chapter II, part IV.
Volume IV[ edit ]
A material difference may be observed in the games of antiquity: the most eminent of the Greeks were actors, the Romans were merely spectators. The Olympic stadium was open to wealth, merit, and ambition; and if the candidates could depend on their personal skill and activity, they might pursue the footsteps of Diomede and Menelaus, and conduct their own horses in the rapid career… But a [Roman] senator, or even a citizen, conscious of his dignity, would have blushed to expose his person or his horses in the circus of Rome. The games were established at the expense of the republic, the magistrates, or the emperors; but the reins were abandoned to servile hands; and if the profits of a favourite charioteer sometimes exceeded those of an advocate, they must be considered as the effects of popular extravagance, and the high wages of a disgraceful profession.
Chapter XL
contrasting active Greek and passive Roman sport
From the capital this pestilence was diffused into the provinces and cities of the East, and the sportive distinction of two colours produced two strong and irreconcilable factions, which shook the foundations of a feeble government… Every law, either human or divine, was trampled under foot; and as long as the party was successful, its deluded followers appeared careless of private distress or public calamity.
Chapter XL
on the fighting between the Blue and Green factions of chariot race fans
I am not insensible of the benefits of elegant luxury; yet I reflect with some pain, that if the importers of silk had introduced the art of printing, already practised by the Chinese, the comedies of Menander and the entire decads of Livy would have been perpetuated in the editions of the sixth century.
Chapter XL
The more stubborn Barbarians sacrificed a she-goat, or perhaps a captive, to the gods of their fathers... Gregory the Roman supposes that they likewise adored this she-goat. I know but of one religion in which the god and the victim are the same.
Chapter XLV
In every deed of mischief he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.
Chapter XLVIII
Volume V[ edit ]
In a private condition, our desires are perpetually repressed by poverty and subordination; but the lives and labors of millions are devoted to the service of a despotic prince, whose laws are blindly obeyed, and whose wishes are instantly gratified. Our imagination is dazzled by the splendid picture; and whatever may be the cool dictates of reason, there are few among us who would obstinately refuse a trial of the comforts and the cares of royalty. It may therefore be of some use to borrow the experience of the same Abdalrahman , whose magnificence has perhaps excited our admiration and envy, and to transcribe an authentic memorial which was found in the closet of the deceased caliph. 'I have now reigned above fifty years in victory or peace; beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: they amount to Fourteen: - O man! place not thy confidence in this present world!' ... This confession, the complaints of Solomon of the vanity of this world ... and the happy ten days of the emperor Seghed... will be triumphantly quoted by the detractors of human life. Their expectations are commonly immoderate, their estimates are seldom impartial. If I may speak of myself, (the only person of whom I can speak with certainty), my happy hours have far exceeded, and far exceed, the scanty numbers of the caliph of Spain; and I shall not scruple to add, that many of them are due to the pleasing labor of the present composition.
Chapter LII
But the nations of the East had been taught to trample on the successors of the prophet ; and the blessings of domestic peace were obtained by the relaxation of strength and discipline. So uniform are the mischiefs of military despotism, that I seem to repeat the story of the praetorians of Rome .
Chapter LII
A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland; the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.
From such calamities was Christendom delivered by the genius and fortune of one man. Charles, the illegitimate son of the elder Pepin, was content with the titles of mayor or duke of the Franks; but he deserved to become the father of a line of kings. [...]No sooner had he collected his forces, than he sought and found the enemy in the centre of France, between Tours and Poitiers. His well-conducted march was covered with a range of hills, and Abderame appears to have been surprised by his unexpected presence. The nations of Asia, Africa, and Europe, advanced with equal ardor to an encounter which would change the history of the world. In the six first days of desultory combat, the horsemen and archers of the East maintained their advantage: but in the closer onset of the seventh day, the Orientals were oppressed by the strength and stature of the Germans, who, with stout hearts and iron hands, asserted the civil and religious freedom of their posterity. The epithet of Martel, the Hammer, which has been added to the name of Charles, is expressive of his weighty and irresistible strokes: the valor of Eudes was excited by resentment and emulation; and their companions, in the eye of history, are the true Peers and Paladins of French chivalry. After a bloody field, in which Abderame was slain, the Saracens, in the close of the evening, retired to their camp. In the disorder and despair of the night, the various tribes of Yemen and Damascus, of Africa and Spain, were provoked to turn their arms against each other: the remains of their host were suddenly dissolved, and each emir consulted his safety by a hasty and separate retreat. At the dawn of the day, the stillness of a hostile camp was suspected by the victorious Christians: on the report of their spies, they ventured to explore the riches of the vacant tents; but if we except some celebrated relics, a small portion of the spoil was restored to the innocent and lawful owners. The joyful tidings were soon diffused over the Catholic world, and the monks of Italy could affirm and believe that three hundred and fifty, or three hundred and seventy-five, thousand of the Mahometans had been crushed by the hammer of Charles, while no more than fifteen hundred Christians were slain in the field of Tours. But this incredible tale is sufficiently disproved by the caution of the French general, who apprehended the snares and accidents of a pursuit, and dismissed his German allies to their native forests.
The inactivity of a conqueror betrays the loss of strength and blood, and the most cruel execution is inflicted, not in the ranks of battle, but on the backs of a flying enemy. Yet the victory of the Franks was complete and final; Aquitain was recovered by the arms of Eudes; the Arabs never resumed the conquest of Gaul, and they were soon driven beyond the Pyrenees by Charles Martel and his valiant race.
LII
A latent motive of affection or vanity might influence the choice of Urban : he was himself a native of France, a monk of Clugny, and the first of his countrymen who ascended the throne of St. Peter. The pope had illustrated his family and province; nor is there perhaps a more exquisite gratification than to revisit, in a conspicuous dignity, the humble and laborious scenes of our youth.
LVIII
Volume VI[ edit ]
In the profession of Christianity, the variety of national characters may be clearly distinguished. The natives of Syria and Egypt abandoned their lives to lazy and contemplative devotion; Rome again aspired to the dominion of the world; and the wit of the lively and loquacious Greeks was consumed in the disputes of metaphysical theology.
Chapter LIV
About[ edit ]
"Another damned fat book, Mr. Gibbon? Scribble, scribble, scribble, eh Mr. Gibbon?"
variously attributed to King George III or Henry, Duke of Gloucester, upon receiving a volume of Gibbon's book.
I set out upon...Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire [and] was immediately dominated both by the story and the style....I devoured Gibbon. I rode triumphantly through it from end to end and enjoyed it all.
Winston Churchill , My Early Life: A Roving Commission (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958) ,also quoted in "Winston Churchill: Sketch for a Portrait" in George Lichtheim ,Thoughts Among the Ruins: Collected essays on Europe and beyond. (Transaction Publishers, 1973)
| Edward Gibbon |
What was the first name of American author F Scott Fitzgerald? | The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Book 1 (FULL Audiobook) - part (1 of 10) - YouTube
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Book 1 (FULL Audiobook) - part (1 of 10)
Want to watch this again later?
Sign in to add this video to a playlist.
Need to report the video?
Sign in to report inappropriate content.
The interactive transcript could not be loaded.
Loading...
Rating is available when the video has been rented.
This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.
Published on Aug 6, 2013
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire audiobook
by Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)
http://free-audio-books.info/history/...
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the 18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated English historian Edward Gibbon. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings (a remarkable feat for its time). Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788-89. The original volumes were published as quartos, a common publishing practice of the time.
The books cover the period of the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, from just before 180 to 1453 and beyond, concluding in 1590. They take as their material the behaviour and decisions that led to the decay and eventual fall of the Roman Empire in the East and West, offering an explanation for why the Roman Empire fell.
Gibbon is sometimes called the first "modern historian of ancient Rome." By virtue of its mostly objective approach and highly accurate use of reference material, Gibbon's work was adopted as a model for the methodologies of 19th and 20th century historians. (Summary from Wikipedia)
Category
| i don't know |
Which nation’s football team were the runners up in the 2006 FIFA World Cup? | Football World Cup winners list | FIFA soccer WC champion teams, history
Football World Cup winners list
Published on
Jun 20, 2014
Take a close look at the greatest football teams on earth: the FIFA World Cup champions.
The World Cup, also known as the Mundial or Copa do Mundo, has been held 19 times since it inaugural tournament in 1930. It has been won by eight different teams, with Brazil having the most World Cup titles with five, followed by Italy with four, and West Germany with three. Argentina and Uruguay have two titles each while England, France, and Spain have one title.
Below is a year-by-year account of all the World Cup champion teams.
1930 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina
Host country: Uruguay
The 1930 World Cup was staged in Uruguay and it was the host country that won the championship. In the final match, the Uruguayans saw themselves trailing behind Argentina by 2-1 but managed to turn things around in the second half by scoring three goals. Uruguay became the first World Cup winner with a 4-2 score.
1934 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (Extra time)
Host country: Italy
The 1934 World Cup was once again won by the host country and this time it was Italy that took the trophy. Playing against Czechoslovakia, Italy imposed a very tough defense but the visiting team breached the Italian line in the 70th to lead 1-0. Italy retaliated to make the game 1-1 before the end of regulation and bagged the win in overtime by a 2-1 tally.
1938 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Italy 4-2 Hungary
Host country: France
Italy retained its crown in the 1938 World Cup in France. In the final match against Hungary, the Italians broke clear with a 3-1 score at halftime and finished the game 4-2.
1950 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
Host country: Brazil
The World Cup was not staged again until 1950 because of the Second World War. Played in Brazil, this edition of the Mundial saw one of the biggest upsets in football history when the host country lost to the Uruguay football team.
Brazil was highly favored to win in the final match with Uruguay, which was lowly rated after not qualifying in the two previous World Cups. The Brazilians scored two minutes into the second half and everything seemed to be going well for them. However, Uruguay tied on the 66th minute mark and scored anew on the 79th to steal the 1950 World Cup trophy.
1954 FIFA World Cup
Final score: West Germany 3-2 Hungary
Host country: Switzerland
The 1954 World Cup saw another major upset: In the group stage, the Hungarians trashed West Germany 8-3 and was highly favored to win when the two teams met again in the final. Scoring two goals after only eight minutes, the Hungarian football team looked like they were on a smooth way to the Mundial trophy. However, West Germany equalized within the first half and, just five minutes before the end of regulation, broke away with another goal to win 3-2.
1958 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Brazil 5-2 Sweden
Host country: Sweden
Host Sweden matched up against Brazil in the final of the 1958 World Cup. The Swedish football team opened the scoring but found themselves trailing by 2-1 at the end of the first half. Brazil played top-class football for the rest of the second half and finished the game 5-2. Brazil’s successful campaign was spurred by one of the greatest footballers in history , Pele, who played his first Mundial in this year.
1962 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia
Host country: Chile
In the 1962 World Cup, Brazil faced Czechoslovakia in the final match without its goal-scoring genius, Pele, as he was injured in the first round. The Czechoslovakians struck the first goal but the Brazilians showed their offensive flare to emerge as victors with a 3-1 score. This was the second of five World Cup trophies in the Brazilian football team’s history.
1966 FIFA World Cup
Final score: England 4-2 West Germany (Extra time)
Host country: England
England faced West Germany at the final of the 1966 World Cup. The Germans found the back of the net first but the English equalized by halftime, 1-1.
In the second half, the English pulled away with a goal’s lead but West Germany scored before the end of regulation to take the game into overtime with a 2-2 score. Englishman Geoff Hurst, who had one goal in regulation, scored twice in overtime to make England World Cup winners and to become the only player ever to score a hat trick in a Mundial final.
The 1966 victory is the only World Cup trophy in the English football team’s history as of present.
1970 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Italy 3-1 West Germany
Host country: Spain
The 1982 World Cup title is the third of Italy. It was not an easy one, as the Italians barely survived elimination in the first round. The first half of the final game did not prove to be inspiring either, as Italy missed a penalty that would have opened the scoring.
However, Italy managed to squeeze a goal on the 56th minute and followed it up with two more goals to lead 3-0. West Germany scored a goal in the 82nd minute to finish the game honorably, 3-1.
1986 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 pen)
Host country: United States
The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, is the fourth occasion that Brazil would rip the highest honor in football. In the final match, neither Brazil nor its opponent, Italy, scored in the regulation and extra periods so the game was forced into a penalty shootout.
Both sides missed on their first attempt but Brazil converted its following shots while Italy suffered two more misses to lose 3-2 in the shootout. The biggest disappointment came to Italian football hero Roberto Baggio, who led his team throughout the tournament only to miss his chance from the penalty spot in the final game.
1998 FIFA World Cup
Final score: France 3-0 Brazil
Host country: France
The 1998 World Cup trophy was competed between 32 teams and it was France that emerged triumphant. The French survived the quarter finals through a penalty shootout against Italy and defeated Croatia in the semis with a 2-1 score. They went on to the final to square up with Brazil.
The final belonged to French football legend Zinedine Zidane who scored two goals in regulation to make victory imminent for the host country. His efforts were complemented by Emmanuel Petit, who added another goal in stoppage period. The match ended 3-0 for the first World Cup title in France’s football squad history.
2002 FIFA World Cup
Final score: Brazil 2-0 Germany
Host country: South Korea & Japan
The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia and saw Brazil become the winner once again. Ronaldo scored both of Brazil’s goals to surge pass Germany 2-0 in the final match. The brilliant striker finished as 2002 top scorer but it was the football goalkeeping legend Oliver Kahn of Germany who bagged the award for the tournament’s best player, the Golden Ball. (This World Cup, with Korea and Japan as hosts, is the first to be hosted by two nations.)
2006 FIFA World Cup
| France |
In humans, atelectasis affects which part of the body? | Eye See Data | FIFA World Cup History
FIFA World Cup History
2 Posted by Mac Bryla - 2014/12/07 - Football , Visualisation
With the FIFA World Cup in Brazil now over, I thought I take a visual look at the 80 year old history of the FIFA World Cup. It all started in 1930 in Uruguay where only 13 nations took part, currently we are up to its 20th instalment in Brazil, where 32 teams will battle it out in 2014.
World Cup football is big business, according to Wikipedia, teams in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had a little more than just their countries to play for. Total prize money on offer was $420 million and the winner took home $30 million. FIFA also made a $40 million payment to domestic clubs and each of the 32 entrants received $1 million for preparation costs.
Over the years, World Cups have attracted their share of controversies, so as I was taking a closer look at it’s history, I uncovered many interesting facts. Did you know that the highest attendance for a single match was in the 1950 final? The official attendance was 199,854 for the match between Brazil and Uruguay at Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Unfortunately, there will be no new attendance records set this time around as the Estádio do Maracanã current capacity stands at 76,935. Take a look at many other interesting World Cup facts at the bottom of this post .
Interactive visualisation, use slider to select year:
Most of the following content comes form the good people at Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup ).
1930, Uruguay:
Because of a dispute, a different ball was used in each half, one chosen by each team. Argentina’s ball was used for the first half, and Uruguay’s ball was used for the second half.
1934, Italy:
The group stage used in the first World Cup was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament. If the score was tied after extra time, the match would be replayed the next day.
1938, France:
Because of anger over the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, neither Uruguay nor Argentina entered the competition, while Spain became the first country to be prevented from competing by war.
1942, 1946
World Cup did not take place due to World War II.
1950, Brazil:
In the aftermath of the war, much of Europe lay in ruins. As a result, FIFA had some difficulties finding a country interested in hosting the event, since many governments believed that their scarce resources should to be devoted to more urgent priorities.
1954, Switzerland:
The tournament used a unique format. The 16 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Each group contained two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Only 4 matches were scheduled for each group, each pitting a seeded team against an unseeded team.
1958, Sweden:
This World Cup saw the entry and qualification of the Soviet Union for the first time, and the qualification of all the United Kingdom’s home nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
1962, Chile:
The average goals per match dropped to 2.78, under 3 for the first time in the history of the competition (the average has never been above 3 since).
1966, England:
World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. To this date it is the only major championship England has won.
1970, Mexico:
The tournament was won by Brazil, who claimed their third World Cup title by defeating another two-time former champion, Italy, 4–1 in the final, thereby winning the right to permanently keep the Jules Rimet Trophy.
1974, West Germany:
The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded.
1978, Argentina:
More controversy surrounded the host, Argentina, as all of their games in the first round kicked off at night, giving the Argentines the advantage of knowing where they stood in the group. This issue would arise again in Spain 1982, which prompted FIFA to change the rules so that the final two group games in subsequent World Cups would be played simultaneously.
1982, Spain:
For the first time, the World Cup finals expanded from 16 to 24 teams. This allowed more teams, especially from Africa and Asia, to participate. This was the first World Cup in which teams from all six continental confederations participated in the finals, something that would not happen again until 2006.
1986, Mexico: Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA, but largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983.
1990, Italy:
It generated a record low goals-per-game average of just 2.21- a record that still stands to date – and a then-record 16 red cards were handed out, including the first ever dismissal in a final. Following the 1990 World Cup, the back-pass rule was introduced in 1992 to discourage time-wasting and overly defensive play, and wins were awarded three points in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup to encourage more attack-minded tactics and discourage the strategy of playing for a draw.
1994, USA:
The 1994 World Cup was the best attended in history, with average attendance of nearly 69,000. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams. The finals were also the first time that players had their shirt numbers printed on the centre front of the shirt, as well as their names printed in the back of their jerseys in a World Cup, just like other American sports did, to make their identification easier for sportscasters. This custom followed from Euro 92, and has followed ever since.
1998, France: For the first time in the competition, the group stage were expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities.
2002, Japan and South Korea:
Initially, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico presented three rival bids. However, the two Asian countries agreed to unite their bids shortly before the decision was made, and they were chosen unanimously in preference to Mexico. This was the first (and so far the only) World Cup to be hosted by two countries.
2006, Germany:
The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers, compiled over the course of the tournament. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people. The tournament also saw English refereeGraham Poll mistakenly hand out three yellow cards to Croatia’s Josip Šimunić in their match against Australia.
2010, South Africa: It was the first time that the hosts were eliminated in the first round. The English, German and Italian squads were made up of entirely home based players, while only Nigeria had no players from clubs in their own league. In all, players from 52 national leagues entered the tournament.
Tournament prize money:
$8 million – group stage exit (16 teams)
$9 million – round of 16 exit (8 teams)
$14 million – quarter finals exit (4 teams)
$18 million – fourth placed team
$20 million – third placed team
$24 million – runner up
$30 million – World Cup winner
2014, Brazil:
It’s the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also the first World Cup to use goal-line technology. By winning the final, Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup in the Americas. The result also marked the first time that sides from the same continent had won three tournaments in a row (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010)
| i don't know |
What is the official language of Chile? | Chile's Official Language - Chile Travel Guide - Pepe's Chilean Adoration Page
Travel >
Chile's Official Language
Chile's official language is Spanish. If you want to be able to speak with a Chilean, use Spanish.
Spanish
Chileans, like many Latin Americans, speak Spanish as their primary language. When asked what language they speak, Chileans will often respond "Castellano" or Castilian instead of "Espa�ol." Chileans have adapted Spanish with their own slang and manner of speaking .
English
The English language is taught in schools and is the language of international business. The English taught in grade schools isn't really enough for fluent conversations with a native English speaker. If you will be visiting heavy tourist spots, odds are your guide or those with whom you interact will speak enough English to get the point across.
German
Southern Chile has several areas with rich German heritage. You may find some people here that speak German.
Indigenious Languages
Chile does have some indigenious residents that have preserved their native languages. These people are found in the extreme north and southern parts of the country as well as on Easter Island.
Need Help with Your Spanish?
If you are headed to Chile and need some help with your Spanish, take along a Spanish pocket reference guide . This will give you the basic phrases you need to communicate with the locals.
Are you going to Chile?
Chilean Spanish is just one of the cultural challenges you'll find during your stay in Chile. Avoid culture shock by reading the Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile .
| Spanish |
Framboise is French for which fruit? | The Languages spoken in Chile
locations
The Languages spoken in Chile
The official language of Chile is Spanish. The accent of the Chileans is similar to the Latin Americans at the primary stage. They speak Spanish in their own way, style and mannerisms while talking. Despite the fact that the language has comparison with standard Spanish, yet their unique grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and manner of conversation is notable homogeneous. Southern Chile is improved with German tradition and spoken all over the country by 35,000 speakers. Therefore a small group of citizens speak German. Chileans also converse in some of the indigenous languages like Aymara and Mapudungun (language used by natives who lived in the areas of Itata and Tolten Rivers). Some native languages of the country that are currently extinct include Selknam, Kunza, Kakauhua and Diaguita.
The English language education is common among learners, higher professions and used for international business. The country’s language has its own pleasantness and fascination that is usually found in every regions of Chile. Currently, they improved their indigenous languages by method or techniques that are totally understandable by the citizens. Other existing languages in the country are Chilean sign language, Huilliche, Qawasqar, Yámana, Rapa Nui and Quechua, Chilean.
| i don't know |
In the US television series ‘The Simpsons’, what colour is Lisa’s necklace? | The Simpsons (TV Series 1989– ) - IMDb
IMDb
There was an error trying to load your rating for this title.
Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later.
X Beta I'm Watching This!
Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.
Error
The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Creators:
Industrious Frank Grimes starts working at the plant beside Homer. He complains to the other employees about how useless Homer is, which causes them to wonder why Frank is being so troublesome.
9.2
Homer takes a new job in a new town. However, his friendly new boss might be a super villain bent on world domination.
9.2
Homer must travel to New York to get his car back, which is illegally parked at World Trade Center Plaza.
9.1
a list of 40 titles
created 20 Nov 2011
a list of 33 titles
created 21 Jan 2012
a list of 39 titles
created 06 May 2013
a list of 21 titles
created 31 Dec 2013
a list of 29 titles
created 04 Apr 2014
Search for " The Simpsons " on Amazon.com
Connect with IMDb
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.
Mr. Burns plots revenge against the music mogul who conned him with help from the mogul's ex-wife, rapper Jazzy James, Homer and Bart.
Previous Episode
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 161 wins & 286 nominations. See more awards »
Videos
South Park (TV Series 1997)
Animation | Comedy
Follows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.
Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes
Family Guy (TV Series 1999)
Animation | Comedy
In a wacky Rhode Island town, a dysfunctional family strive to cope with everyday life as they are thrown from one crazy scenario to another.
Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green
Fry, a pizza guy, is accidentally frozen in 1999 and thawed out New Year's Eve 2999.
Stars: Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal
American Dad! (TV Series 2005)
Animation | Comedy
The random escapades of Stan Smith, an extreme right wing CIA agent dealing with family life and keeping America safe, all in the most absurd way possible.
Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Dee Bradley Baker
Follows the personal and professional lives of six 20 to 30-something-year-old friends living in Manhattan.
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow
In the unreal world of Sacred Heart Hospital, intern John "J.D" Dorian learns the ways of medicine, friendship and life.
Stars: Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke
A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.
Stars: Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, Angus T. Jones
The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York friends.
Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards
A woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.
Stars: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco
A father recounts to his children, through a series of flashbacks, the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.
Stars: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders
Modern Family (TV Series 2009)
Comedy | Romance
Three different, but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.
Stars: Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen
An antisocial maverick doctor who specializes in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way using his crack team of doctors and his wits.
Stars: Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard
Edit
Storyline
The Simpsons is an animated sitcom about the antics of a dysfunctional family called the Simpsons (surprise surprise). Homer is the oafish unhealthy beer loving father, Marge is the hardworking homemaker wife, Bart is the ten year old underachiever (and proud of it), Lisa is the unappreciated eight year old genius, and Maggie is the cute, pacifier loving silent infant. Written by Sam Kelly
Putting the Fun back in Dysfunctional! See more »
Genres:
USA
Language:
17 December 1989 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Stereo (season 1-2)| Dolby Digital (season 20-)| Dolby (seasons 3-19) (as Dolby Surround)
Color:
Did You Know?
Trivia
A TV critic titled his article "Worst Episode Ever!" after watching a late '90s episode, and criticized the show's writing. In the later seasons, there are many episodes in which the Comic Book Guy criticizes a character by saying "Worst episode ever!" and "Worst [action] ever!" in reference to the TV critic's article. See more »
Goofs
Springfield Elementary School is yellow in some episodes and white in others, sometimes changing color multiple times in the same episode (later episodes corrected this continuity problem by making the school's official color yellow, and including a picture of the "old, white" school in Principal Skinner's office.) See more »
Quotes
Ralph : Your hair is tall and pretty!
Marge : Thank you Ralph!
[puts her hand on his shoulder]
Marge : You really are a nice young gentleman.
Ralph : Ah! She's touching my special area.
See more »
Crazy Credits
Episode 3F10 (1995) had a message after the credits in memory of 'Doris Grau', who died after the season See more »
Connections
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
(United States) – See all my reviews
The Simpsons is one of the best TV shows of all times. It is a perfect mirror of the American culture and has many memorable moments that will always be remembered . I don't know anybody who doesn't like this show, it's impossible not to be a fan of it. You could watch each episode 20 times and never get tired, you will always find a new funny thing every time you watch it
Unfotunatley the show is getting worse and worse with every new season, Maybe it's time to let "The Simpsons" die with dignity before the audience starts to hate it.
My rating: 11/10
185 of 295 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
| White |
Which song by Irish band U2 is a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr? | The Simpsons - The Simpson Family / Characters - TV Tropes
"Lord help me, I'm just not that bright."
Debut: "Good Night"
Debut on The Simpsons : "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
The father, the dope, and more or less the main character of the show. Homer is overweight, almost completely bald, and rather selfish, short-tempered and stupid, but is a good person at heart and has a bright outlook on life. Voiced by Dan Castellaneta .
Abusive Parents : He loves his children dearly but is absolutely terrible at parenting.
Despite his reckless drinking problem and mood issues, he's less so than Peter Griffin , but it still counts, given how strangling Bart and his jerkass behavior sometimes becomes a threat to his children's lives. And then there's the original shorts, where he's almost as bad as Peter.
His own father, Abe, was just as bad, if not worse than Homer, at being a father, so perhaps that explains Homer's lack of parental skills.
This Loser Is You : A textbook example.
Took a Level in Dumbass : Homer started out stupid, but not really more so than anyone else. Word of God admitted that he was made stupider with each passing season to try to outdo what came before and remain fresh. (This trend ended at the start of Season 13, where the writers made a conscious effort to make him smarter.)
Took a Level in Jerkass : The Mike Scully era turned up his stupidity and callousness Up to Eleven . This was toned down when Al Jean took over.
Took a Level in Kindness : In season 1 he was angry and grumpy all the time but becomes sweeter after season 2, though his angry personality still sometimes surfaces up (usually whenever Bart makes him mad). When the show's Flanderization kicked in, he Took a Level in Jerkass , especially in the Mike Scully years. Now, Depending on the Writer , he occasionally snaps back to being nice, then back to a jerk, and so on.
Toxic Friend Influence : A literal example as he was the one who introduced his friend Barney Gumble to beer right before the SAT exam and made him into an alcoholic.
Trademark Favorite Food : Early episodes, it was pork chops and doughnuts. Later episodes, it was just doughnuts, though Homer's appetite doesn't discriminate (see Extreme Omnivore ).
Tranquil Fury : On very rare occasions , Homer's normally Large Ham , Played for Laughs Hair-Trigger Temper will be replaced with this and when it happens, you better do like Bart and Lisa did in "Who Shot Mr. Burns" and run like hell.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife : Ugly Guy to Marge's Hot Wife although Marge's attractiveness has been played up over time. However Homer has usually been shown as more attractive in his younger years when he started dating Marge.
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist : Homer is selfish, short-tempered and can sometimes be abusive towards his wife and children, and his reckless stupidity causes many of the problems on the show.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid : While he can definitely be a good guy nowadays, he was an absolute sweetheart as a kid before getting beaten down by his abusive father.
Vitriolic Best Buds : With Flanders. Homer may openly claim he hates Flanders, the amount of times that Homer has helped him out of the fire and vice-versa, makes it clear they really are the only people in Springfield who can count on the other for support.
Vocal Evolution : Started off with a much deeper, Walter Matthau-esque voice, which got higher and faster towards season 3, and it's essentially stayed that way since.
"Well Done, Son!" Guy : While he definitely neglects Grandpa, it's implied that it's due to his own neglect as a child. Occasionally Homer demonstrates he really does want his father's approval and one occasion when Grandpa angrily called him "an accident", Homer kicked him out of the car, left him in the middle of nowhere, then completely stopped speaking to him for several weeks.
We Used to Be Friends : With Peter Griffin . During the Griffins' visit to Springfield , Homer and Peter became best friends, only to end up falling out when Duff successfully sued Pawtucket Patriot Ale for intellectual theft and patent infringement. In the end, they admit they respect each other, yet agree to stay away from each other.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? : It's been shown multiple times that Homer has Arachnophobia which is a fear of arachnids (mainly spiders). This is best shown in the episode sweet homediddly-dum-doodily where he panics when a spider appears next to his keys, another example would be in Treehouse of Horror XXII where he panics when he realises that the spider Halloween decoration was a real black widow spider and panics again when a second spider appears later in the episode. The final example would be in Mobile Homer where he's unsettled by the sight of a spider when he's asked by Marge to kill the spiders in the garage and gets into a frenzy when more spiders attack him.
Would Hurt a Child : He has no problem throttling Bart, even when he was a baby. He also sucker punched a baby dolphin, albeit for biting Lisa after she took a can ring off its nose .
Wrong Genre Savvy : In the episode "Homer Goes to College," Homer is convinced his college experience will be exactly like the party atmosphere college is often depicted as in movies , not realizing he's in a satire that thoroughly subverts the trope.
Younger Than They Look : As revealed in "The Way We Was," he went to high school with Marge. His age was initially given as 34 (Bart was born when both Homer and Marge were 24), but as the writers aged, they found that he seemed a bit older too, so they changed his age to 38; this is contradicted by The Homer Book which states Homer is currently 36.
Marjorie "Marge" Jacqueline Simpson (née Bouvier)
Debut: "Good Night"
Debut on The Simpsons : "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
The mother and typically both The Straight Man and closer to earth , Marge is predominantly a homemaker, but does have her wilder side. Loving and supportive, her devotion to her family may be strained at times but is never broken. Voiced by Julie Kavner.
Action Mom : She despises violence but ironically - is the best fighter in her family. She was once a police officer, a bodybuilder, and won an MMA match. She is generally quite athletic and flexible.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents : While not as much as Homer, she tends to embarrass her kids especially Bart.
Aesop Amnesia : No matter how often she meddles in someone else's affairs and inevitably makes things worse because she's against it for whatever reason the episode gives her and learns she shouldn't do it, she keeps doing it anyway in later episodes.
Beehive Hairdo : Yes . Some flashbacks depict her as having had it since she was a baby, though the first full-episode flashback shows her only doing it like this for her high school prom.
Belief Makes You Stupid : Despite her standing as the voice of reason and common sense to her husband's stupidity and impulsiveness, Marge has a tendency to let her religious views cloud her judgement, leading her to act as a narrow-minded fundamentalist at best or a self-righteous moral guardian at worst
Berserk Button : Any woman who displays has an interest in Homer - even when it is purely platonic - will bring about her wrath. In "Friends and Family" Homer had to explain multiple times to Marge that Julia was just a friend but she still went absolutely ballistic.
Beware the Nice Ones : She even stood up to the entire population of Springfield because they drove Bart to suicide over a little league game. She's easily the scariest member of the Simpsons family when angered. You do not want to piss her off.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing : While early season would have Marge be more Innocently Insensitive (see Aesop amnesia above) Flanderization has caused her to become this trope especially when dealing with her family. Anytime someone in her family chooses a new political point or religion outside of her own even if it�s more beneficial to them or even society as a whole Marge will stop at go to great lengths to prevent this. She also will gleeful say that she will always support Bart as he becomes an utter failure in life.
The Bore : Marge's incredibly bland taste in everything is a frequent source of humor. For example; looking for some adrenaline in her life, Marge decides to stop buying regular ham, and go instead for deviled ham.
Brown Eyes : Specifically, her eyes are hazel. This is only relevant because Homer forgot what color they were as the subplot of " Little Orphan Millie ". Marge hid them from him until he finally remembered. Of course, we'd never know this, because Simpsons charactrs irises are never drawn, even in extreme close-ups, except for exactly one shot in this self-same episode when it's relevant.
Catch Phrase : "Hmmmmmm �" According to one of the DVD audio commentaries, the writers wanted to establish "I don't think that's a good idea" as her catchphrase in earlier seasons.
Clingy Jealous Girl : Any woman getting to close to Homer (even if they are genuinely just friends) will drive her insane. One of the main reasons she stays married to Homer is because she feels the need to possess him and have him dependent on her. After forgiving Lurleen, she threatens her with serious bodily harm if she comes near her husband again. Luckily for her, Homer is oblivious to all attraction other women have as Marge is the only woman he loves.
The Comically Serious : Noted for her rather dull and no-risk demeanor, occasionally getting dizzy thrills out of monotonous activities like household chores (she does desire excitement and diversity every once in a while however, which is revealed to be a partial reason she likes Homer).
Covert Pervert : In some episodes, she does some perverse things including getting drunk.
Double Standard : In an early episode , she has several dates with a man who makes numerous explicit romantic overtures with her, and she only backs out from sleeping with him while she's driving to a rendezvous to do just that. In the very next episode , she finds a photo of Homer platonically dancing with a bellydancer at a stag party and acts like she cheated on him, to the point of yelling at him and throwing him out of his own house.
Dude Magnet : Many men were attracted to her, like Moe, Mr. Burns, or her high school classmate who was still obsessed with her after 20 years.
Education Mama : Especially with Bart, she even home-schools him for a period of time.
Extreme Doormat : As Homer became more of a Jerkass , Marge appeared to be more and more of a doormat, forgiving him over and over again, not only for stupid accidents and acts of ignorance, but huge acts of genuine deceit. While Bart and Lisa weren't willing to put up with it in many cases, Marge overlooked almost everything he did. Finally addressed in the movie where Marge declares she had put up with Homer's jerkass nature and shenanigans long enough and decides to leave him. Homer spends the rest of the movie figuring out why Marge left him and what he can do to correct it. Some episodes show that this behavior came from how Patty and Selma treated her.
Fanservice Pack : In some Halloween special she is more busty than in regular episodes.
Feminine Women Can Cook : Marge seems to buy into this quite a lot. Subverted somewhat, a long-running background joke is that Marge is actually a pretty bland cook, once claiming that her secret ingredient was salt.
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist : Depending on the Writer . He's usually a mischievous self-admitted hellion who often bullies those closest to him.
Vitriolic Best Buds : His relationship with Lisa often has this quality.
Well-Intentioned Extremist : Sometimes when he does something with the legitimate intent of helping someone "chill out", it backfires. A notable instance was when he got Mrs. Krabappel fired when he and the other students attempted to get her to become cooled down by spiking her drink with alcohol, because of Bart's experiences with his dad.
What You Are in the Dark : When Bart skipped school he inadvertently became the sole witness of a serious crime involving the mayor's nephew Freddie Quimby. Without Bart's testimony Freddie the accused would have been found guilty of severely beating a waiter, the only one who knows this aside from Bart is Lisa and while she urges Bart to tell the truth she does not force him to. Complicating this is the fact that he will face a severe punishment for skipping school; but in order to testify Bart has to admit that he had skipped to everyone including principle Skinner who will punish Bart. Bart has no reason to put himself on the line for Freddie who is by all accounts a cruel and petty person; but in the end cannot knowingly condemn him for a crime he did not commit. Bart then testifies on Freddie's behalf knowing full well he will be punished for his truant behavior.
With Friends Like These... : His friendship with Milhouse, among others, often comes off as this. Bart frequently bullies Milhouse, while Milhouse has been shown to weasel or turn his back on Bart on numerous occasions. Perhaps the most egregious example is Bart inexplicably managing to place Milhouse on America's Most Wanted for no specified reason , while in return Milhouse has refused to share his Bonestorm game with Bart, and tattled fake lies just to get him in trouble, to say nothing of the incident where him bought Bart's soul for $5, but jacked the price up to $50 when Bart wanted it back.
Worthy Opponent : Homer sometime view him as this.
Lisa Marie Simpson
"Why do I get the feeling that one day I'll be describing this to a psychiatrist?"
Debut: "Good Night"
Debut on The Simpsons : "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
The smart one and the middle child, Lisa is both a bookworm and something of the "hippie" of the family. Her intelligence, as seasons roll on, can sometimes make her into an annoying know-it-all. Has trouble fitting in with other kids her age. Voiced by Yeardley Smith.
Academic Alpha Bitch : She prides herself on her intelligence and always coming top of the class with straight 'A's. One episode has her world collapsing when she gets her very first B; another deals with an even brighter girl joining her class and Lisa's utter jealousy of her, and another when she skipped a grade and was no longer the big fish in a small pond.
Adorkable : As smart as she is, she's still a little girl, so she does have her moments of adorable dorkiness.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife : With Milhouse in some possible future.
Virgin in a White Dress : In a Flash Forward episode where we see Lisa's wedding, she and Marge briefly discuss this as they are a church-going family.
Lisa: Mom, I feel kind of funny wearing white. I mean...Milhouse.
Marge: [dismissive] Oh, Milhouse doesn't count.
White Sheep : Sometimes she's portrayed as this and is seen as Token Good Teammate of the family. In "Lisa's Wedding" her (future) boyfriend Hugh tells her "You're like a flower that grew out of a pot of dirt". She doesn't take it well.
Wise Beyond Her Years : In fact, one episode had Mayor Quimby surprised that she's a child, saying that he always thought she was a midget�Lisa explains that she isn't and that the preferred term is "little person." When she was two, she was as articulate as any person, with only a few grammar errors. Believe it or not, this is actually Truth in Television - some two year olds can have conversations with you.
Women Are Wiser : The trope gets taken to its logical extreme in the episode "Lisa The Simpson," where Lisa discovers that the Simpson males are genetically determined to lose their intelligence as they age, eventually becoming idiotic man-children with menial jobs. Of course, this doesn't affect the female Simpsons, who are all incredibly smart and successful.
Margaret "Maggie" Evelyn Simpson
Debut: "Good Night"
Debut on The Simpsons : "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
The youngest of the children. Typically a marginal figure, but does get her share of scenes. Most famous for turning out to have accidentally shot Mr. Burns in the series' first two-parter episode. Voiced by Elizabeth Taylor , Nancy Cartwright , Yeardley Smith, James Earl Jones and Jodie Foster .
Undying Loyalty : To Marge, considering the fact that she liked living with the Flanders family, but loved Marge a whole lot more.
The Unfavourite : She isn't hated like Bart is but there's a running gag of Homer forgetting Maggie exists.
Marge: We have three kids!
Homer: Marge, the dog doesn't count!
What Happened to the Mouse? : Doesn't appear for entire episodes or just disappears from them. This can be seen clearly in "Trilogy of Error" - Maggie appears at the beginning but never again after that.
Wise Beyond Her Years : She's led a revolt in daycare, successfully driven a car for miles (albeit into a prison wall), and sniped mobsters without being seen...with a shotgun. And the ONLY ONE bold enough to shoot Mr. Burns with his own gun after he stole her candy!
Other Relatives
Debut: "Grampa and the Kids"
Debut on The Simpsons : "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
Homer's eldery, cranky, senile father, a sergeant in WW2 . For all Homer's failures as a father-figure, his father has proven he was worse. Voiced by Dan Castellaneta .
Abusive Parents : There's at least one flashback that shows him strangling young Homer just like Homer now does to Bart. And one where Grampa's father does it to him. Must be a Simpson trait. However, the main trait was that he was very emotionally abusive of Homer, often calling him a failure and overall not being an encouraging or supporting parent.
Your Cheating Heart : He impregnated a carnival prostitute during his courtship with Mona. This event lead to her cheating on him with multiple other men in retaliation.
Grandma Mona Penelope Simpson (née Olsen)
Debut: "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou"
A militant hippie in her youth, she had to leave Homer and her husband alike when Homer was young because she made an enemy of Mr. Burns and fled into the hippy underground. Sincerely loves her family, and desperately wants to be with them. Dies in her third appearance. Voiced by Glenn Close, Maggie Roswell, Tress MacNeille and Pamela Hayden.
Action Mom : She never let being a mother stop her from being a political activist, up to and including what are technically acts of eco-terrorism, like "bombing" Mr. Burns' germ weapons lab with antibiotics to kill off his microbe cultures.
Awful Wedded Life : With Abe pretty much right from the start.
Cool Old Lady : Especially in contrast with Homer's father. She's a hippie, educated and cultured, and she bonds with her grandchildren, especially book-smart Lisa who finally feels she is a Simpson.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You : A deconstructed example. She had to leave her family when she helped Mr. Burns after her group sabotaged him, thus her being indentified as a criminal. However, it's clear that while she did have good reasons for leaving the family, the reasons for the events leading up to it weren't. Why was she in trouble with the law? Because she chose her Granola Girl lifestyle and political activism over being a mother. Abe calls her out on this when she first returned, revealing that he wasn't angry that she left him, but because she abandoned Homer. A couple of flashbacks show she began to neglect Homer for her activism so it wasn't an immediate thing and she did
Dying Alone : Homer feels plenty of guilt over the fact he never got to forgive his mom before she died.
Granola Girl : She was involved in a hippie movement and political activism.
Greasy Spoon : She worked as a waitress at an Air Force station diner before becoming marrying Abe and becoming a housewife
I Was Quite a Looker : She was quite good-looking in her youth.
Missing Mom : Let's just say that she can't see Homer without putting him and his father at risk (due to her becoming wanted by the Law due to her and some hippies ruining a germ lab run by Mr. Burns). The second time where she got arrested on a technicality (arranged by Burns) and she escaped the bus taking her to jail, thus having to abandon her family yet again.
New-Age Retro Hippie : Deconstructed to an extent. Mona was one of the original generation of hippies, but her willingness to pursue political activism over being with her family makes her something of a failure as a family member.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished : She stopped to help up Mr. Burns after he's been trampled, following her hippie group's sabotage of his biological weapons. This made her a wanted criminal since they ended up getting her photo.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! : This is why she got into the hippie lifestyle; she was opposed to many of the decisions of big businesses and the government, and felt that she needed to do something about it, even if it made her a criminal.
What Happened to the Mouse? : A meta example. "Mother Simpson" aired during the seventh season and averting the trope was the initial impetus to producing the episode. Showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein admitted surprise that in all those years the status of Homer's mother had never been given on-screen. (She had been seen a couple times in flashbacks, but her present-day whereabouts had never been mentioned until "Mother Simpson.") In an issue of Simpsons Illustrated, published years before Mona's debut, a reader wrote in asking where Homer's mom was. The editors said that Homer's mom "went to the grocery store one day and never came back".
Your Cheating Heart : She's cheated on Abe quite a few times while they were married, both before Homer is born and while she was on the run.
Patricia "Patty" and Selma Bouvier
Debut: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
Marge's twin sisters, addicted to smoking and notoriously crabby. Both dislike Homer intensely, especially Patty, who hates almost all men. Voiced by Julie Kavner.
Tropes applying to both
Berserk Button : Do NOT speak ill of MacGyver in their presence.
Big Sister Bully : Both of them were this to Marge especially when they were younger. Marge's flashbacks have shown that she's pretty much gotten her doormat personality by Patty and Selma's constant bullying. This is mostly gone in the present, where both generally act less hostile than usual when speaking with Marge, and often express worry that Homer won't be able to sufficiently care for her. Despite this, Selma admits that at least part of her hatred of Homer was due to her jealousy over Marge getting married before her, showing that they still hold some hostility towards her but choose to convey it indirectly.
The Reveal : Patty is a lesbian.
Satellite Character : For nearly half the series, Patty existed as the more callous of Marge's older sisters and nothing else while Selma received several focus episodes revealing her to be a sympathetic Jerk with a Heart of Gold . This was finally rectified later on when Patty came out as a lesbian and received a focus episode of her own, though she still remains the much less focused on part of the pair.
Ungrateful Bitch : Even after it's revealed that she's a lesbian and Homer shows he is clearly more supportive of her than Marge initially was, despite this, Patty still shows nothing but utter contempt for him.
Selma
Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : While she does not like Homer, Selma has proven multiple times to be able to genuinely care for him.
The Beard : To Troy McClure for a period of time — in a variation, not because Troy is gay, but because A: he has a certain unlawful sexual fetish and he wanted to have some way of refuting the rumors about it, and B: he thought it might be a boost to his career. She divorces him when he tries to have a baby with her, saying she couldn't bring a child into a loveless marriage.
Character Development : Her relationship with Homer, which started out with pure vitriol, has improved as Selma comes to understand the hardships he has gone through.
Friendly Enemy : Ever since the fiasco where she took the children to Duff Gardens, Selma begins to confide in Homer in matters of parenthood, and their hostility softens further when Homer saves her and Patty from being fired while smoking on the job. It is when Homer helps her to become the adoptive mother of Ling that Selma truly comes to respect him, and even though she may not openly like the man, at worst she dislikes Homer a little less than Patty does now. Selma's antagonism towards Homer seems to noticeably disappear whenever Patty isn't around, implying that it's actually Patty who truly hates Homer and Selma merely goes along with it due to peer pressure. Homer likewise is far nicer to Selma when Patty isn't around.
Green-Eyed Monster : Selma has admitted in the past that she is hostile to Homer because she was jealous that Marge was to able to get married whereas Selma has trouble going into relationships, let alone make them last.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold : She is shown to be much more capable of acting genuinely kind towards others than Patty is. Unlike Patty, who has grown to accept that she will never be happy and acts apathetic and callous as a result, Selma still desperately wants to find love and raise a family. This allows her to gradually grow to respect Homer and his devotion to his family over time, despite her initial hostility towards him.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places : She has about multiple failed marriages under her belt, because she seems to keep falling for guys who are either jerkasses, morons, or scum. She first got married to "Sideshow" Bob Terwilliger because he was after her money — and apparently remarried & divorced him again offscreen at some point afterwards, married Troy McClure because he was handsome and feigned interest in her, dated (and thought she got married to) Fit-Fat Tony, got offscreen marriages (and divorces) to Lionel Hutz the incompetent lawyer and Disco Stu , and married Abraham Simpson, her legal father-in-law. She's also dated Hans Moleman, Moe Syzlak and Barney Gumble, and slept with Apu.
The Mistress : Selma becomes this to Fit-Fat Tony for an episode, although she has been led to believe she's actually his wife. She is heartbroken and angry with Fat Tony when she finds out � but then gets into a Cat Fight with another woman who also claims to be Fat Tony's wife.
Noodle Incident : Selma's relationship and marriage to Disco Stu. Nobody knew about that until Stu danced into the room announcing that he got an annulment from the Catholic Church (and had a certificate in his hand to prove it).
Parental Substitute : With some help from Homer (and a sympathetic Chinese bureaucrat), Selma adopts a baby girl named Ling. (Patty does help take care of Ling, too.)
Serial Spouse : Big time. So far, she's been married to Sideshow Bob (twice, according to the banner shown at her wedding to Abe Simpson), Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, Disco Stu, Abe Simpson and Fat Tony (or so she thought; he was actually just recognizing her as his official mistress).
Victoria's Secret Compartment : In one Treehouse of Horror episode, much to the disgust of the Ultrahouse computer, who tried to kill himself.
Ling Bouvier
Debut: "Goo Goo Gai Pan"
Selma's adopted baby daughter from China. Voiced by Nancy Cartwright .
Girlish Pigtails : Gains this thanks to Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome.
Hair Decorations : Ling wears bows in her hair.
My Beloved Smother : She gets a lot of flak by Selma trying to raise her to be overly perfect. She can play hula hoop, play the flute, acrobat around the house, and paint all at the same time. Ling is clearly trying to get others to help her from continuing doing this.
Pink Means Feminine : Her clothing is mostly pink
Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome : Debuted as a baby, and now a toddler despite Maggie still being an infant.
Simpson Family Pets
Debut: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
Lisa's pet cat.
Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal : She only wears a collar and she doesn't even wear one all the time.
Dark is Not Evil : She has black fur and on the side of good.
Female Feline, Male Mutt : The female cat.
Furry Confusion : When she and Scratchy show up together in " Treehouse of Horror IX" segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon."
Humanoid Female Animal : Inverted to the point of Furry Confusion when she and Scratchy show up together in Treehouse of Horror IX segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon."
Played straight in " Holidays of Future Passed " where she and Santa's Little Helper appear together, complete with oversized brains.
Killed Off for Real : The original cat, Snowball I , who had white hair, was run over by the Mayor's beer-swilling brother, Clovis (who, according to an earlier episode from a poem Lisa wrote, was driving a Chrysler). And then she herself was replaced after being run over, with the replacements being run over too. The newest cat (Snowball V) was simply called Snowball II to save money on changing the food bowl .
Legacy Character : As the name implies, she replaced the original.
Non-Indicative Name : Snowball II carries on the original's name despite having dark fur.
Santa's Little Helper
Debut: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
Bart's pet dog, a greyhound that was adopted by the family when Homer lost all his Mall Santa money at the dog tracks and Bart and Homer see Santa's Little Helper being abused by his master. Once ran away and was taken in as Mr. Burns' new guard dog, while another prominent interaction with Mr. Burns was when he ended up purchasing the 25 puppies he had fathered on a champion racing female greyhound, which all turned out to be world champions. As a result, Mr. Burns can remember Santa's Little Helper, but not Homer.
Butt Monkey : Gets treated pretty bad often (usually by Homer; there are no photos in which Homer and SLH aren't abusing each other). He actually runs away in "Dog of Death" when the entire family condemns him due to the financial burden caused by a needed operation.
| i don't know |
According to the proverb, ‘Too many cooks spoil the….’what’? | too many cooks spoil the broth - Wiktionary
too many cooks spoil the broth
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
with too many people a task won't be done very well
Chinese:
Mandarin: 人多添亂 , 人多添乱 (rén duō tiān luàn), 人多誤事 , 人多误事 (rén duō wù shì), 人多手腳亂 , 人多手脚乱 (rén duō shǒujiǎo luàn)
Greek: όπου λαλούν πολλοί κοκόροι αργεί να ξημερώσει (ópou laloún polloí kokóroi argeí na ximerósei)
Hebrew: בְּרֹב חוֹבְלִים תְּטְבַּעְנָה הַסְּפִינוֹת (beróv ẖovlím titbá'na hasfinót) (with many naval officers the ships will drown)
| Broth |
Cochin, Red Shaver and Sulmtaler are breeds of which bird? | Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth | English Idioms Daily Blog
English Idioms Daily Blog
Navigation
Welcome to the English Idioms Daily Blog!
Why not add a daily idiom to your training program? This blog looks at a different English idiom every day - Monday to Friday - and hopes to provide English teachers and learners all around the world with some 'food for thought'!
Your resource for English idiom definitions, lists, quizzes, articles & more!
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
16/11/11
Today’s idiom is the English proverb too many cooks spoil the broth. This is a phrase that you can use when you want to say that ❛having too many people involved in a project ruins it❜.
A broth is a thin clear soup and, according to the phrase, having too many cooks involved in making it spoils or ruins it. This phrase is, of course, not limited to the world of cooking. It seems that there are many projects that can be ruined by having too many participants involved. Why is it that too many cooks spoil the broth?
Mick Jagger and John Lennon had a song entitled Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup) in 1973. Check out this song in the following video:
| i don't know |
On a QWERTY keyboard, which letter lies between C and B? | Why are the keys in the keypad not arranged in alphabetical order? - Quora
Quora
Update Cancel
Question merged
You were redirected because this question was merged with Why is the keyboard layout Q-W-E-R-T-Y and not simply A-B-C-D-E-F?
Answer Wiki
QWERTY was concocted back in the 1870s to mechanically separate the common letter pairs that used to frequently jam on the originally alphabetically ordered typewriter layouts.
Here's what that original layout looked like:
Despite being much faster to learn and easier to use, this semi-alphabetic layout would often jam (note the position of the T, H & S keys) when users typed too quickly. As anyone who's used a typewriter will tell you, even one single jam or simple typo, would require unjamming the keys, ripping out the old paper, washing the ink off your fingers, inserting a new sheet, and starting all over again.
So - without worrying about ergonomics or suability - they just started moving keys around until the number of jams dropped to an "acceptable" level.
History disagrees with Shisrail's answer below. This logical, intuitive alphabetic keyboard WAS fast. Too fast for its own good, in fact.
If QWERTY was so easy, why did 100s of typing schools pop up all over the world? Why did people have to enrol for a minimum of a year to get their speed and accuracy to even a basic level? Why does it take most people months of lessons and 100s of hours of practice (or even years of self-teaching) to master this confusing letter order?
Is QWERTY logical? Yes... but only from a mechanical engineer's perspective.
Intuitive? No freakin' way.
For most people, the learning curve for QWERTY is so slow and frustrating, once you've mastered it, the thought of relearning another layout would be considered a fate worse than death.
But guess what? Quietly, stealthily, the entire planet DID adopt an alphabetic keyboard. And we all mastered it in just a few minutes. Here's a picture of the keyboard that more people on the planet use than any other:
Written Dec 1, 2012
The current layout is inherited from typewriters, where keys were arranged to prevent jamming. This explains why keys are not in the proper sequence as the alphabets, as well as why they are arranged on diagonal columns (to give space for the levers).
Contrary to the popular belief, the QWERTY keyboard was NOT designed to slow typists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWE... and http://home.earthlink.net/~dcreh... provide further details.
1878 Typewriter Patent Drawing, featuring the QWERTY Keyboard. Years after its introduction, it was considered important enough to include in a patent.
Written Nov 21, 2015
There is a good historical reason for this. In early days of typewriter (in mid 19th century) the keys were arranged lexicographically. The earliest popular design had only 2 rows with 13 characters each. However this arrangement caused 2 major problems :
The type bars of the most commonly used combination letters of the alphabet (like TH and ST) was positioned close together, so when the keys were hit right after the other in rapid successions, the metallic arms / type bars responsible for creating an impression on paper would jam.
In early typewriters printing point was located beneath the paper carriage, invisible to the operator - which forced the operator to raise the carriage in case of collision / mishaps between typebars.
Print on paper was due to Ink ribbon placed between typebar and paper. The typebar collides with paper with ink ribbon in between. If the frequently used keys are placed together - certain portions of ribbon (like st) would dry out relatively earlier - causing relative fade prints in those letters. This problem was quickly resolved with better quality ink ribbon - which caused internal diffusion of ink and ink quality was always evenly distributed throughout the ribbon.
So as Mayank Bhura suggested, a frequency study was conducted and multiple designs were made to ensure the bars won't collide. Some early designs similar to qwerty :
Here is a patented design which gained some popularity -
Within a decade or two Qwerty became very popular. The Qwerty design isn't perfect. For example only one vowel 'A' is in the home row even though 40% of words contain it. There number of other statistical flaws. But still it allowed people to type faster.
When modern keyboard came into picture - Qwerty design was continued. However, the modern keyword don't face any problems like typebar mishap. However, once modern keyboard came into picture it faced a lot of resistance for Qwerty lovers.
One serious competition came from the Dvorak design - which was developed in 1940s.
Tests have proved that Dvorak is faster than Qwerty. It is especially popular among programmers who use a lot of non-alphabetical characters like punctuations and numbers too. Medically, Qwerty causes a lot of stress on fingers too. Also since most of the users are right handed - the Dvorak keyboard was optimised such that right handed people works more than left handed.
Contemporary Keyboard designs are much more elegant. Some even have 2 different parts to provide an optimal slope for fast typing.
Updated Dec 17
During my college, one of the my professors told me regarding this. He was a lecturer of Computer Science.
First of all, these keys (pattern) appeared first on the typewriters, not on a computer key board. The reason lies in how typewriters works, let's have a look.
In typewriters (manual, not electronic), in order to type any alphabet, we hit a key. A chain of mechanical systems works in a manner, that with every hit one of the type bars rise up and strikes to the ribbon; behind which paper is there and the type bar leaves an impression of embossed alphabet on the paper. By the time we hit other alphabet, type bar come back to its original position.
In very initial stage, typewriters had alphabets in the original sequence. Some what like this:
The problem with this pattern was, that it was easy to remember and to use. People were able to type fast and hence, begin typing very fast. So fast, that type bars did not get much time to come back to original position and type bars started to stuck with each other. We should keep in mind that initial typewriters did not had excellent technology.
To resolve this issue, few intelligent people ( Sholes and Glidden) worked and created a complex pattern of alphabets. This pattern was not that easy to remember and typing with same give enough time to type bar to reach its original position.
Later on same pattern was adapted in computers and commonly known as QWERTY.
QWERTY - Wikipedia
Initially even computers did not has as good RAM as today. I remember computers with 128 mb or 256 mb of RAM (in early 90s). May be, that ram might not be good enough to cope up with typing speed, if old unjumbled
pattern of alphabets were used.
You can see, typing number is not a problem, as a word has certain spelling and that spelling applies universally for that word. Therefore, we get in to habit of remembering and using same spelling, which makes typing faster. But, numbers may differ every time also they are not that frequently used.
Therefore, we have numbers in a single line in typewriters. However, on a computer keyboard, numbers are written in format of calculator. As, computer as a machine is also used for calculating.
There was a time, when it was a matter of debate that computer should have numerals in calculator format (starting from bottom line) or phone format (starting from top line). At that time, facilities like online fax were in place.
Calculator format:
| V |
Death Valley is in which US state? | Efficacy of Alternate Keyboard Configurations
Efficacy of Alternate Keyboard Configurations
Misericordia University Home |
Efficacy of Alternate Keyboard Configurations: Dvorak vs. Reverse-QWERTY
Denis Anson, MS, OTR, Christa L. Eck, OTS, James King, OTS, Regina Mooney, OTS, Christopher Sansom, OTS, Bryan Wilkerson, OTS, and Daniel Wychulis, OTS
Abstract
Clinicians working to improve performance for clients in work or school settings need to consider the possible benefits of providing an ergonomic and easily learned keyboard for text generation. The standard QWERTY keyboard was designed to avoid mechanical problems in early typewriters while ignoring ergonomic and cognitive issues for the typist. In spite of this design, previous studies of alternative keyboard arrangements have either shown QWERTY to be superior, or showed no significant improvement when the keyboard was rearranged to a more ergonomic pattern. One likely reason for this finding is the subjects in keyboard studies have many years of experience on the QWERTY keyboard and only a few hours of practice with the alternatives. This study sought to provide a comparison of the Dvorak keyboard with the QWERTY while controlling for prior experience by inverting the familiar QWERTY keyboard. Results of the study support assertions that the Dvorak keyboard allows faster typing, may allow faster learning, but do not support claims for more accuracy when using this alternative keyboard. This study provides support for clinicians seeking a more effective text generation technique for individuals with physical disabilities.
Background and Significance of the Issue
In 1874, the first commercial typewriter was marketed by E. Remington and Sons (Rehr, n.d. b). On the "Sholes & Glidden Type Writer", the keyboard was modified from earlier unsuccessful devices, which used alphabetical order, by arranging the high frequency letters as far apart, mechanically, as possible. This modification minimized key jamming, and allowed, for the first time, typing to be performed at a functional rate. Over the next 130 years, this keyboard, commonly known as QWERTY for the first six letters of the top row, became the standard for all keyboard products, in spite of its generally recognized poor ergonomic design. Because only a relative few people used keyboards for any significant part of the day for the first 100 years of the typewriter's existence, the QWERTY design was generally accepted, and little impetus was felt to change the keyboard layout.
Almost 100 years after the invention of the typewriter, the development of the microcomputer brought a larger portion of the population into contact with keyboards on a daily basis. Nearly half of all American households today use the Internet. More than half of all US classrooms are connected to the Internet (White House, 2000). It has been estimated that over 80% of all jobs require some computer access. As the keyboard became a pervasive factor in daily life, the issue of computer ergonomics became more pressing. In 1994, repetitive stress injuries, commonly associated with keyboard usage, accounted for 60% of all job-related illnesses (Wolkomir, 1994).
Concern about keyboard layouts is not a new phenomenon. "As technology developed from the inception of the typewriter in the 1870's to the 1930's, the problem of key jams decreased accordingly"(Rehr, n.d. a.). "At the same time, the science of studying body motion began to emerge and the QWERTY keyboard was [re-evaluated]"(Maxfield & Montrose, 1998). The Dvorak keyboard, developed and patented by August Dvorak and W.L. Dealy in 1932, offered a more practical "arrangement of the keys that let 70 percent of the typing take place in the home row" (New York Times, 1999). The Dvorak layout "placed the most commonly used letters, both consonants and vowels, on the home row where finger travel was a minimum; thus increasing the speed and efficiency with which one could type"( Rehr, n.d. b ). A 1944 study demonstrated that typists could match their QWERTY typing speeds with an average of 52 hours of training on the Dvorak layout. "At the conclusion of the 83- hour study, the typists had reached speeds that were 74 percent faster than their previous QWERTY speeds while accuracy increased by 68 percent" (Tenenbaum, 1996, pp. 23). Why wasn't this efficient method embraced and adopted by anyone working on a typewriter or keyboard? "Even when daisy wheels and computer printers replaced type bars, forever eliminating the jamming problem that had originally motivated QWERTY, manufacturers of the efficient new technologies carried on the inefficient old keyboard" (Diamond, 1997). Several factors contributed to keep the Dvorak a technological footnote of history; first and foremost, the concept of path-dependence, the idea that small, random events at critical moments can determine choices in technology that are extremely difficult and expensive to change.. [In the end] the weight of numbers makes the leading product more valuable than one based on competing technologies. (Passell, 1996, para. 4)
Secondly, "change is not always readily accepted by those who have already been trained to use one method"(Brooks, 2000). Third, ".a world war impeded the acceptance of the Dvorak"(Rehr, n.d. a ), and by their close, the QWERTY was 'locked-in' to society as the standard keyboard.
Several studies have been conducted in the past that compared the QWERTY to the Dvorak, (see Liebowitz and Margolis, 1990) but biases and confounding variables existed during those research trials that clouded the results - almost everyone has been exposed to the QWERTY format at some point during their life, which gives it a certain familiarity. This new study will attempt to eliminate that factor by flipping the QWERTY format both vertically and horizontally thus creating a ReverseQWERTY. This allows the study subject to begin the study with two new and unlearned keyboards while keeping the biomechanical properties of the QWERTY key layout intact.
Focused Literature Review
As previously mentioned, change is not always readily accepted. In his book, The Design of Everyday Things, Donald Norman (1998) describes the history of the QWERTY and other keyboard layouts. He states, "There is a better way - the Dvorak keyboard - . It is easier to learn and allows for about 10% faster typing, but that is simply not enough of an improvement to merit a revolution in the keyboard.The severe constraints of existing practice prevents change, even where the change would be an improvement"(p. 147-150). Debates continue from various professional & educational arenas about which layout is superior. Diamond (1997) argues against the QWERTY layout stating,
Only 32% of strokes are on the home row; most strokes (52%) are on the upper row; and a full 16% on the bottom row.Not more than 100 English words can be typed without leaving the home row.Qwerty perversely puts the most commonly used English letters on other rows. The home row of nine letters includes two of the least used (J and K) but none of the three most frequently used (E, T, and O, which are relegated to the upper row) and only one of the five vowels (A), even though 40% of all letters in the typical English text are vowels (para. 8).
Is the QWERTY layout as inefficient as Diamond suggests and is the Dvorak far superior as claimed by its proponents? In their article, "Fable of the Keys", S.J. Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis (1990) argue that the Dvorak has no proven advantage over QWERTY. They refer to a study conducted in 1956 by the General Services Administration of the Federal Government. At the end of this experiment, it was "concluded that retraining typists on Dvorak had no advantages over retraining on QWERTY" (p. 7).
Advocates of Dvorak look to a study done in 1944 by the U.S. Navy. This study compared the efficacy of the Dvorak versus the QWERTY. This study claims that subjects learned the Dvorak layout nine times faster than the QWERTY. In addition, the test subjects unanimously noted their approval in the use of the Dvorak keyboard in relation to the ease of learning, increased accuracy, and decreased fatigue (Tennebaum, 1996). Liebowitz and Margolis (1996) imply that the data collected from the Navy study was contaminated due to conflict of interest. August Dvorak himself conducted the study as "the Navy's top expert in the analysis of time and motion studies during world war II" (p. 7). They go on to say "he (Dvorak) owned the patent on the keyboard."
Proponents of Dvorak argue it has advantages other than faster learning, stating Dvorak was generally the first to recognize and focus on the human factors (Shieh & Lin, 1999). He studied digraphs or two-letter sequences commonly found in printed text, such as rt, tr, ed, de, fr, sw, ty, gy, and lo. While using the standard QWERTY keyboard, the two letters of these diagraphs are typed by the same finger, resulting in a decrease in typing speed. In the Dvorak layout, the number of times the same digit types consecutive letters is greatly decreased allowing faster parallel processing of typing. Further, "the Dvorak keyboard.reduces travel of the hands lessening fatigue" (Struck, 1999, p. 55). Due to the growing concern about repetitive stress injuries, or cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) over the past twenty years in relation to typing, researchers were prompted to investigate the use of the Dvorak keyboard in reducing the incidence of CTD.
Rick Robertson, in a study conducted in the Department of Physical Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh noted that using the Dvorak keyboard over the standard QWERTY reduced tendon movement by 6 to 10 percent thereby reducing the potential for CTDs. Robertson also stated, "6 to 10 percent doesn't sound like much, but it can make a significant difference to people who do a lot of typing" (Robertson as cited in Tennebaum, 1996).
Based on the review of the literature and the previously conducted studies, the debate continues as to which layout is superior. Further experimentation is needed to substantiate which layout is better in terms of speed and ease of learning.
Figure 1. The ReverseQWERTY Keyboard Layout (Click image for larger view)
Some of the difficulty in comparing the two keyboard layouts for human performance may stem from the pervasiveness of the QWERTY keyboard. While few typists are familiar with the Dvorak layout, most potential research subjects have many hundreds of hours of exposure to the QWERTY keyboard layout. Thus, the QWERTY layout has a marked advantage in direct comparisons of typing speed over any reasonable duration. In order to control for this prior learning, this study uses a variant of the standard QWERTY layout, developed to maintain the biomechanical relationships of the keys while providing a novel arrangement of the keys. This is accomplished by inverting the QWERTY layout vertically and horizontally. A dual axis inversion is considered necessary because Matias, Mackenzie and Buxton (1994, pp.88-94) have demonstrated that right to left inversions are easily learned. The ReverseQWERTY (See Figure 1) pattern, used in this study, allows comparison of two novel keyboard patterns, while maintaining the inter-key relationships of the QWERTY keyboard.
Purpose
The claims of the advocates of the Dvorak layout suggest the following research hypotheses:
The Dvorak keyboard pattern allows faster learning of typing than the QWERTY;
The Dvorak keyboard layout provides faster typing than the QWERTY;
The Dvorak keyboard layout provides more accurate typing than QWERTY.
Method
Research Design
A single-subject repeated measures design was utilized in this quantitative study to test twelve subjects on typing fluency as measured by speed and accuracy. The time required to learn the keyboard was measured by the number of trials it took to reach fluency. During the study, the subject's typing speed and accuracy were monitored to determine the efficacy of the QWERTY, via the ReverseQWERTY design, and the Dvorak keyboards, respectively.
Procedure
Sample Subjects
The subjects included seven females and five males subjects. Each researcher located two subjects within their respective communities who voluntarily participated in the experiment. Subjects had to be able to sit unsupported for up to an hour at a time, to read printed English text, and to operate a standard keyboard in order to be included in the study.. The subjects ranged in age from 20 to 40 years. Ten of the subjects had minimal typing experience prior to taking part in the study and 2 had frequent or daily typing experience prior to the study. Three subjects were left-handed and the remaining nine were right handed. The majority of testing was completed in the morning or evening hours. None of the subjects had identified upper extremity limitations, identified cognitive limitations; uncorrected visual limitations, or prior experience with the Dvorak or ReverseQWERTY keyboards.
Although several computer stations were used in the course of this study, each subject completed all trials at a single station. In order to control for possible order effects in learning keyboards, half of the subjects started with the ReverseQWERTY keyboard, and half started with the Dvorak keyboard.
Equipment
Each researcher utilized a digital countdown kitchen timer to time the 20-minute typing tests. The printed test text was placed on a copyholder on the subjects preferred side of the computer monitor in a vertical position during each test.
Computer System.
Each researcher used a Windows-based standard personal computer with a 104 key keyboard, a 15-inch computer monitor and Windows 95 or 98 operating systems for this study. All computers used during the study had processors operating faster than 200 MHz, and had memory greater than 64 MB. (This was necessary to assure that the computer did not slow down the typist.) The key labels for each layout were affixed to keyboard safe-skins , which were placed over the keyboards for all typing trials. The Dvorak layout was provided using Keyboard control panel of the Windows operating system. The ReverseQWERTY set-up was provided using "Keyboard Layout Manager," a software based keyboard redefinition program.
All text was typed into Microsoft Word 97. No other programs were operating during the testing session.
Software
The Microsoft Word tool 'Compare Documents' was used to determine the accuracy of each test by marking differences in the test document as compared to the original. For purposes of this study, each difference counted as a single error, although there might have been more than one character difference within the detected block of text. A single error might include a missing letter, an incorrect letter, a letter reversal, or even an entire missing line.
The number of words typed in a twenty minute block was determined using the "Word Count" feature of Microsoft Word. The counted number of words typed was divided by 20 minutes to determine the average typing rate in words per minute.
Text
The subjects were provided with novel text for each typing session from Aesop's Fables found on the Guttenberg Project web site of online books. Aesop's Fables was formatted to 14 point, New Times Roman font. The text was broken up into 500 to 600 word increments for individual text blocks, and labeled from 1-40. The text was printed for use in the test trials and a disk copy was maintained for use in the compare documents tool. Each subject had the same text in equivalent trials (e.g. Trial 5 of the Dvorak), but an individual subject used unique text in each consecutive trial. The degree of difficulty of the typed text, as calculated by Microsoft Word Flesch Reading Ease Score, remained similar throughout the experiment ranging from grade 6.3 to 9.7 for the Dvorak and 6.6-8.9 for the ReverseQWERTY trials.
Data Collection Procedures
At the beginning of each trial, the researcher converted the keyboard to the appropriate layout for the subject and trial. The subject was seated with feet on the floor and the keyboard placed so that his or her elbows were flexed at approximately 90 degrees during typing. The monitor was placed at a distance and height that the subject reported to be comfortable. At the beginning of each trial the subject was provided with the text for that session. The text to be typed was supported in a vertical plane on the subject's preferred side of the monitor. The subject was provided with new text for each trial period of 20 minutes of typing. The subjects were instructed that the test was on speed in words per minute and accuracy. The subject was told, "When I say 'Go', type this text as quickly and as accurately as you can. After 20 minutes, I will say 'Stop.' At that time, please stop immediately." After each data collection section, the typed text was saved with a unique code so that the date and trial number were preserved. This typed text was then counted for the typing rate, and compared to the source text to determine the accuracy of the typing in that session. Trials were continued until the subject achieved fluency on the keyboard layout being tested, although no more than three sessions were performed during each meeting. Fluency was achieved when the subjects typing speeds were within 7 percent on three consecutive trials. Once fluency was attained, the subject was switched to the other keyboard layout (ReverseQWERTY or Dvorak). Again the subject continued typing until fluency was achieved. The ReverseQWERTY and Dvorak fluency scores were compared based on speed in words per minute and accuracy as they were determined through the number of variances detected by "Compare Documents". The time required learning the keyboard was measured by the number of trials required to reach fluency.
Data Analysis
The data for each trial was entered by the researcher who collected it into an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet calculated the Words per Minute and error rates for each trial. Additionally, the spreadsheet generated graphs of the data for visual inspection.
Results
Of the subjects in the study, all twelve of the participants achieved fluency on both the ReverseQWERTY and Dvorak keyboard layouts. At the point of reaching "fluency," none of the subjects was touch-typing; rather all used some form of two digit typing like "hunt-and-peck." The number of trials, and typing speed at fluency, are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Typing rate at fluency and number of trails required to achieve fluency.
10
Figure 2. Typical performance when moving from Dvorak to ReverseQWERTY. (Click image for larger view)
Figure 3. Typical performance when moving from ReverseQWERTY to Dvorak. (Click image for a larger view)
While the number of errors varied among the individual participants, there were no systematic patterns in the error rates. This does not support hypothesis 3, that the Dvorak keyboard provides more accurate typing than the QWERTY. The number of trials required to achieve fluency on the Dvorak was typically higher than that required to achieve fluency on the ReverseQWERTY keyboard, with a range of 6-14 trials. The number of trials to reach fluency on ReverseQWERTY ranged from 6-10 indicating that more time was required, on average, to obtain fluency and master the use of the Dvorak as compared to the ReverseQWERTY. Six out of twelve participants required more time to obtain fluency using the Dvorak keyboard layout versus four out of twelve requiring more time on the ReverseQWERTY while two participants demonstrated fluency acquisition on both layouts in the same amount of time. When examined on a trial by trial basis, however, we find that, for those typists who took longer to achieve fluency on the Dvorak keyboard, they had already exceeded their fastest typing on ReverseQWERTY at the number of trials where they had achieved fluency with the ReverseQWERTY. From this point, they continued to make gains before reaching a plateau on the Dvorak keyboard. Thus, while these typists took longer to achieve their final typing speed, they achieved the limiting typing speed of the ReverseQWERTY faster on the Dvorak keyboard than on the ReverseQWERTY. The results of typical typists in this study are shown in Figures 2 and 3. It will be seen that Subject A began typing faster on the Dvorak than the ReverseQWERTY, while, after 7 trials, subject B was typing faster on the Dvorak than the ReverseQWERTY, but continued to make gains over a number of trials.
Discussion
The results of this study support the assertion that the Dvorak keyboard allows faster typing than the QWERTY. Each of the 12 subjects in the study achieved faster typing using the Dvorak layout than the Reverse QWERTY layout. Ten of the twelve participants showed higher initial typing speeds using the Dvorak than the Reverse-QWERTY.
The results do not support the assertion that the Dvorak keyboard allows more accurate typing than the QWERTY. There were no systematic differences in error rates between the two keyboards, or over the course of the trials. The errors per word did not appear to relate to the keyboard being used, the trial number, or the typing speed of the subject. It appears that some other factor, not examined in this study, determines accuracy of typing, at least for the range of speeds that these subjects achieved.
The assertion that the Dvorak keyboard may be learned faster and more easily is partially supported. While six of the 12 subjects required more time to achieve fluency, they had achieved faster typing rates at an equivalent time. Hence, for a criterion-based measure of learning (time to type 12 words per minute, for example), the Dvorak would be considered faster to learn. When considered from the point of view of ultimate fluency, this argument would not be supported, as half of the subjects took longer to achieve fluency with the Dvorak. The argument that although the overall time required to plateau with the Dvorak keyboard is greater than that of the ReverseQWERTY, the speed of typing is superior.
Additionally, many of the participants perceived the Dvorak keyboard layout to be easier to use compared with the ReverseQWERTY. One subject remarked, "After working with the ReverseQWERTY and the Dvorak layouts, the Dvorak seemed much easier to learn and use." Another subject remarked, "The ReverseQWERTY was very frustrating to use." There are two possible origins for this perceived difference. Since the ReverseQWERTY was presented as related to the QWERTY, but with the keys in different locations, the subjects may have experienced a cognitive dissonance that increased their feelings of frustration in trying to use the keyboard that was not felt when typing on the Dvorak keyboard. If this were true, one would expect the effect to be strongest for the most experienced typists. However, the two subjects with daily typing experience performed at about the same rate as other typists in the study, and did not express any stronger degree of frustration than the other typists. The difference may also derive from the fact that the QWERTY layout was originally based on the mechanical needs of early typewriters, while the Dvorak keyboard was developed based on letter frequency in normal typing. Hence, familiarity with English language and spelling would assist in learning the Dvorak keyboard, while the ReverseQWERTY keyboard provided no such supporting experience. The frustration subjects felt in working with the ReverseQWERTY may mirror the experience of learning the QWERTY keyboard originally, in which case, the Dvorak keyboard may well be easier to learn, as the subjects suggested.
There are some assumptions and limitations in this study that should be considered when applying the results to clinical populations. We assume that the ReverseQWERTY keyboard provides a valid homologue for learning the QWERTY keyboard. This assumption is weakened by the observation that, on the standard QWERTY keyboard, 52% of keystrokes are on the upper row of keys, and only 16% are on the lower row. This relationship is reversed for the ReverseQWERTY. If it is true that reaching to the lower row is more difficult than for the upper, then the effort of typing on the ReverseQWERTY does not mirror that of the standard QWERTY. There are two reasons to question this assertion, however. First, it has not been demonstrated that the "n" key is harder to reach than the "y" key, for example, so the comparative difficulty of top and bottom rows cannot be asserted. Second, none of the typists in this study achieved touch-typing with either keyboard. They all achieved their typing using a one or two digit "hunt-and-peck" approach that makes any differences in rows moot.
The results of a single subject design study may be considered less generalizable than those of a group design with random assignment to control and experimental groups. It must be noted that the subjects for this study were selected from different regions of the United States ( Pennsylvania , Texas , and Arizona ), and that all 12 achieved similar results. This provides strong support for the findings of the study.
Finally, it can be argued that, because the subjects in the study were able-bodied, the results of the study cannot be generalized to a population with disabilities. The main focus of this study was to determine if the use of the Dvorak keyboard led to a superior level of speed and accuracy in keyboarding. As with the wheelchair study performed by Deitz, Jaffe, Massagli, & Anson (1991) where ".the focus was on wheelchair performance," able-bodied subjects were used to separate the effects of the disability from the effects of the technology. Because this study was focused on determining the ease of learning, typing speed and accuracy of two "new" keyboards (ReverseQWERTY and Dvorak); the use of able-bodied subjects should not affect the overall results.
Conclusions
Prior researchers have failed to show any significant advantage of the Dvorak keyboard pattern over the QWERTY pattern. While it is possible that this is because the two keyboards are, in fact, equivalent for typing, it is more likely that this finding is biased by the pervasive experience of subjects with the QWERTY keyboard. The use of a novel keyboard pattern with the same physical relationships between the keys provides a means of comparing learning and speed on two novel keyboard patterns, with results that can be generalized back to the experienced QWERTY typist.
The results of this study support the assertions that the Dvorak keyboard allows for faster and easier learning of typing, and faster typing for the experienced typist. This is an important finding for clinicians who are considering alternative keyboard patterns for clients with fatigue or performance limits to productivity. Because initial typing rates on any new keyboard will likely be lower than on a familiar one, and because the subjects took longer to achieve fluency on the Dvorak keyboard, the study suggests that a clinician teaching this alternative pattern to clients must provide support over the time required to achieve fluid typing. Because the clinician now has evidence that, ultimately, typing will be faster using the Dvorak layout, he or she can provide this support with confidence.
As with any study, there are avenues for suggested advancement. In the current study, none of the subjects worked to achieve touch typing fluency. A future study should extend training on the Dvorak keyboard until touch-typing fluency, and compare ultimate typing speeds. The assertion that the ReverseQWERTY results represent typing on the QWERTY keyboard for a novice typist can be tested by replicating this study with young children who have not yet learned touch typing. (Because of the pervasiveness of the computer in the home, it would be very difficult to find subjects that are not exposed to the QWERTY pattern, but until they attempt touch typing, this may not matter.) Such a study of school-aged children could directly compare Dvorak and QWERTY typing.
References
Brooks, M. (2000, March). Dvorak comments and history . [Online] Available: http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/comments.html [2001, August 17]
Costa, P.T., Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (1989). Personality continuity and the changes of adult life. In M. Storandt and G.R. VandenBos (Eds.). The Adult Years: Continuity and Change . Washington , DC : American Psychological Association.
Diamond, J. (1997, April). The curse of qwerty. Discover Magazine. [Online] Available http://208.245.156.153/archive/output.cfm?ID=1092 [2000, Sept 26]
Chronister, N. (2000) Friends don't let friends type QWERTY . [Online] Available: http://www.catskill.net/evolution/typing/ [2000, Sept. 26]
Deitz, J.C., Jaffe, K.M., Wolf, L.S., Massagli, T.L., & Anson , D.K. (1991) "Pediatric Power Wheelchairs: Evaluation of Function in the Home and School Environments." Assistive Technology , Vol. 3.1
Diamond, J. (1997, April). The curse of qwerty. Discover Magazine. [Online] Available: http://208.245.156.153/archive/output.cfm?ID=1092 [2000, Sept. 26]
Kincaid, C. (1999). Alternative keyboards. Exceptional Parent, 2, pp. 34-35.
Liebowitz, S., & Margolis, S. E. (1996, June). Typing errors. Reason On-Line . [Online] Available: http://www.reason.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html [2000, Sept 26]
Liebowitz, S. J. and Margolis, S.E. (1990, April) The fable of the keys. Journal of Law & Economics, 33 [Online] http://wwwpub.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html [2001, July 19]
Matias, E., MacKenzie, I. S., & Buxton, W. (1994). Half-QWERTY: A one-handed keyboard facilitating skill transfer from QWERTY. Proceedings of the INTERCHI '93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 88-94). New York : ACM.
Maxfield and Montrose Interactive Inc. (1998). Circa 1936 ad: The dvorak keyboard . Madison , AL : [Online] Available: http://www.maxmon.com/1936ad.htm [2000, September 26]
Norman, D.A. (1988). The Design of Everyday Things . New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell.
Passell, P. (1996, May 5). Why the best doesn't always win. The New York Times . [Online] Available: http://www.nytimes.com/archives.html [2000, Sept. 26]
Patton, P. (1998, May 14). Public eye; windows shopping: What price freedom? The New York Times. [Online] Available: http://www.nytimes.com/archives.html [2000, Sept. 26]
Poole , C.J.M. (1995). Computers and the handicapped. British Medical Journal, 311, pp. 1149-1152.
Quinn, E. (1998, February 22). Keyboard ideology . [Online] Available: http://www.gontier.org/Quinn/WWW/ideology/Dvorak.html [2000, Sept. 26]
Rehr, D. (n.d.) Consider qwerty [Online] Available: http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html [2000, Sept. 6]
Rehr, D. (n.d.) The first typewriter. [Online] http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/firsttw.html. [2001 , July 19]
Shieh, K.K. & Lin, C.C. (1999). A quantitative model for designing keyboard layout. Perceptual Motor Skills, 88, pp. 113-125
Struck, M. (1999). Focus: One-handed keyboard options. OT Practice, 4, pp. 55-56.
Tenenbaum, D. (1996, July). The typist's long-lost friend. Technology Review On-Line. [Online] Available: http://www.techreview.com/articles/july96/trends.html [2000, Sept. 26]
To speed up, typists slowed down . (1999, February, 18). New York , NY : The New York Times. [Online] Available: http://www.nytimes.com/archives.html [2000, Sept. 26]
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (January 21, 2000). Information technology research and development: Information technology for the 21 st century . [Online] Available: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/html/20000121_2.html [2000, Sept. 26]
Wolkomir Richard (1994, May). When the work you do ends up costing you an arm and a leg. The Smithsonian Magazine. pp. 90-102.
Please send all correspondence to Denis Anson at [email protected]
Fentek Industries, Inc., P. O. Box 2278 , 470 South Main Street, Cottonwood , AZ 86326 , U.S.A. (800) 639-0710 . www.fentek-ind.com.
Keyboard Layout Manager: http://solair.eunet.yu/~minya/Programs/klm/index.html .
http://promo.net/cgi-promo/pg/t9.cgi?entry=45&full=yes&ftpsite=ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/
| i don't know |
What is the capital of Sicily? | Palermo, Sicily - Information and Culture | The Thinking Traveller
A guide to Palermo, the bustling and fascinating capital of Sicily
TOWNS AND CITIES IN SICILY
An introduction to Palermo
Villas in Sicily near Palermo >>
Palermo, the regional capital of Sicily, is one of those cities with its own very distinct, almost tangible atmosphere, a place of mystery where reality often outperforms the traveller’s imagination and preconceived stereotypes. It is a buzzing Mediterranean centre whose 1 million inhabitants are a fascinating cocktail of apparently conflicting characteristics.
Palermo’s history has been anything but stable as the town passed from one dominating power to another with remarkable frequency. Its strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean brought wave upon wave of invaders including the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Saracen Arabs, the Normans, the Swabians, the French and the Spanish Bourbons just to name the most influential. The result of this quilted history is evident today in the vast range of architectural styles, the intriguing fusion of ingredients used in many local dishes and in many place names which are obviously not of Italian origin.
Visiting Palermo is still somewhat of an adventure in a world where so many places have become tourist-friendly to a fault. You won’t find many restaurants with menus translated into 5 different languages, you may have trouble communicating in English in many places, and some parts of the old town centre have remained untouched since they were bombed during the war. There are many back streets that have only just opened up to those from without and it is still often difficult to obtain any information worth having. However, this is also a stimulus to those who wish to embark on a little adventure, to discover things for themselves, to dig into the very fabric of the city and to try to understand what really makes Palermo (and its people) tick.
The often faded grandeur of many of Palermo’s wonderful palaces and churches in the centre gives way to popular areas whose way of life doesn���t fully belong to the 21st Century. This is particularly true of the markets, whose Arabic origins are still evident today thanks to their noise, smells, colours, narrow labyrinthine streets, the splendid array of food and other goods on display and the general ‘souk’ atmosphere.
Artistic delights abound at every corner, maybe most strikingly in the spectacular mosaics in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo and the Duomo of Monreale.
In his book “The Normans in Sicily” John Julius Norwich described the Palaine Chapel as follows: “It is in this building, with more stunning effect than anywhere else in Sicily, that we see the Siculo-Norman political miracle given visual expression - a seemingly effortless fusion of all that is most brilliant in the Latin, Byzantine and Islamic traditions into a single harmonious masterpiece.”
In 2015, Arab-Norman Palermo and its neighbouring cathedrals were granted status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spread over a combined 6,235 hectares and including nine monuments - the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, the Zisa Palace, Palermo Cathedral, the Palermitan Churches of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio and San Cataldo, the Admiral’s Bridge, and the cathedrals of Monreale and Cefalù - the site provides, in UNESCO's words, "an outstanding example of a socio-cultural syncretism between Western, Islamic, and Byzantine cultures. This interchange gave rise to an architectural and artistic expression based on novel concepts of space, structure, and decoration that spread widely throughout the Mediterranean region... The innovative re-elaboration of architectural forms, structures, and materials and their artistic, decorative, and iconographic treatments – most conspicuously the rich and extensive tesserae mosaics, pavements in opus sectile, marquetry, sculptural elements, paintings, and fittings – celebrate the fruitful coexistence of people of different origins".
The aim of this little guide to Palermo is to give The Thinking Traveller some practical advice on how to get the most out of a visit to Palermo, where to park if coming by car, alternative ways of getting to Palermo, how to move round Palermo once there, what you can comfortably see in a given amount of time, where and what to eat etc.
Click on map to enlarge
We have put together three “itineraries” both of a general and of a specific nature to help you choose from the bewildering amount of possibilities. Our ideas may give you the start you need, though of course they are only suggestions and the real discovery will be in your hands….
| Palermo |
Which Shakespearian character said ‘But soft, what light through yonder window breaks’? | Sicily - Discover Italy
Discover Italy
Ai Weiwei at Palazzo Strozzi
Florence hosts one of the giants of contemporary art
Video
Faenza: the art of majolica
The city of Faenza is very famous for one of the most ancient and sublime arts in the world: the art of ceramics, and, above all, for the special and...
You are in Home / Discover Italy / Sicily
Sicily
Agrigento - Valley of the Temples - Temple of Juno
Catania - Duomo
Lampedusa - Isola dei Conigli (Island of Rabbits)
Syracuse - The Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
Piazza Armerina (Enna) - Mosaic
What to Do
What to Taste
Sicily is the largest of the Italian islands, separated from the Continent by the Strait of Messina and surrounded by the Ionian, the Tyrrhenian and the Mediterranean Seas.
It is one of the pearls of Southern Italy and can be discovered, understood and experienced through a series of itineraries dedicated to areas of interest ranging from nature to history and traditions.
Nature seems to have endowed all its wonders to this land: mountains , hills and above all the sea , with its incredible colors, its crystal-clear water and the beauty of its seabeds, in no way inferior to those of other seas.
Here, the Mediterranean Sea, with its many little islands scattered around the coasts of Sicily - The Aeolians, Egadi and Pelagie Islands, Pantelleria and Ustica - offers unique and the intense sceneries, scents and flavors of uncontaminated nature.
Last but not least, its great volcanoes are symbols of the irresistible beauty and vitality of this incredibly charming region.
Fascination for this region grows with treasured archaeological sites that tell the story of the ancient origins of Trinacria (ancient name for Sicily).
The provinces of the region are:
and Trapani .
Etna , the greatest active volcano in Europe, is on Sicily's eastern coast and is one of the fundamental stops for those wanting to discover this region. Its spectacular eruptions have created unique landscapes over the centuries.
Visitors interested in breathtaking landscapes can choose from among the protected reserves in Etna's natural parks. The Madonie and the Nebrodi parks, as well as the volcanic paradise of Pantelleria, are sprinkled with enchanting oases like that of "Pertusa di Notaro" ("Cold Cavity"), a grotto noted for the extremely fresh air that passes through i), and dammusi, the old stone houses typical of the island.
Valle del Bove (Valley of the Oxen), the walls of which reach up to 1000 mt; the Grotta del Gelo (Ice Cave), the only existing perpetual glacier at these latitudes; and the Gole dell’Alcantara (Alcantara River Park), a thick network of rocky channels of cold water - these gorges are just some of the wonders you can admire when visiting this natural paradise.
The many islands that "orbit" Sicily are all very charming, but above all the Aeolian Islands , a UNESCO World Heritage Site, deserve to be mentioned. The archipelago comprises seven islands - Lipari, Vulcano, Stromboli, Salina, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea – as well as a series of islets and rocks of smaller dimension. The history of the Aeolian Islands are clearly bound to the Volcanoes, the “artists” of these splendid natural masterpieces; here you can plunge into the deep blue of the sea, make excursions to visit the many caves scattered along the coasts, relax on the small beaches lapped by crystal-clear waters and enjoy the delicious local food and fish dishes.
Another world treasure certified by UNESCO is the archeological area of Agrigento , one of the most important towns of Magna Graecia. The famous Valley of the Temples - surrounded by green olive groves, almond trees, citrus orchards and vineyards that stretch out to the sea with all its imposing and elegant monuments - fantastically evokes an atmosphere of 2500 years ago, when the ancient Akagras Agrigentum was a center of power and learning.
On Sicily's southeastern coast stands Syracuse, joint UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Necropolis of Pantalica since 2005.
This ancient Greek colony fronts an evocative natural port that is blocked on its east by Ortygia, the oldest urban center here. Every corner and cranny of the city offers precious archaeological testimonies that recall the splendor of Magna Graecia.
Sicily is rich in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Two other must-sees are the Late Baroque cities of the Noto Valley , and the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina.
"If someone should spend just one day in Sicily and ask: What should I visit? I would answer without hesitating... Taormina... This small village is only a landscape, yet a landscape where you can find everything to seduce your eyes, your spirit, your imagination." This is how the famous French writer Guy de Maupassant described Taormina , hitting on the essence of this little jewel midway between Messina and Catania.
The undisputed ruler of this ancient and beautiful land is undoubtedly the sea, that can be enjoyed in so many different ways: relaxing on one of the many coastal beaches, exploring the wonderful seabeds, or windsurfing and kitesurfing with the waves and the wind.
Here, the power of the sea, together with that of the wind, allows for the opportunity to feel the thrill of “running” or even “flying” over the crystal-clear waters of the coasts of San Vito lo Capo, Mondello, Cefalù, Marina di Ragusa, Taormina, the Aeolian Islands , Pantelleria, Lampedusa, and Ustica, just some of the many places where one can practice these sports year-round.
Trekking lovers can go on a guided excursion along the routes of Sicily's natural parks, while those who prefer other means can choose to explore these wonderful places on a horse’s back or riding a mountain bike.
It should be mentioned that in recent years Sicily has even become an important destination for lovers of golf. Several new courses have made their home on the island, which is host to the by-now famous Sicily Open.
The Belpaese has always been considered one of the most sought-after destinations for thermal cures, a form of natural medicine existing in Italy since the Roman ages. Sicily is a region of water and volcanoes and it offers a wide range of treatments for those who wish to unwind from stress and daily life by "spa-ing". In thermal spas and wellness centers one can find various regenerating, therapeutic and, without a doubt, beauty treatments. The most renowned spas are Sciacca, with its famous Stufe di San Calogero, caves where the high concentration of steam reaches a temperature of about 40° C, or the Thermae of Acireale, where underground seawater mixes with sulphur water from Etna.
For enthusiasts of cultural tourism, Sicily is a source of knowledge, history, art and culture. It is here, this island with its mild climate and enchanting surroundings that famous writers such as Salvatore Quasimodo, Giovanni Verga, Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia, and Tomasi di Lampedusa found their inspiration to write great works including The Leopard and The House by the Medlar Tree. Today, anyone who travels here can still plunge into everything the island has to offer. Embarking on a journey of “spaces” where these legendary writers lived, one can better understand the social, political and historical conditions that became the setting of their novels.
Those wanting to travel even further back in time will be content to see the Greek Temples of Selinunte and Syracuse , as well as those of Agrigento and of Imera. Not to be forgotten is the Greco-Roman theatre of Taormina and the cathedrals left by the Normans, especially the Martorana, San Giovanni degli Eremiti and San Cataldo Churches.
If it's customs and traditions you're looking for, a visit to Acireale is practically obligatory; there one can see the Opera of Marionettes and the story of Orlando Furioso.
There is plenty of choice for those who enjoy festivals and cultural events, too. Countless events take place every year in the amazing scenery of Taormina’s Ancient Theater, including the well-known Cinema Festival, an award ceremony for the best films.
The warmth and joie de vivre of the Sicilians can be seen during the celebration of Carnival, the happiest and most colourful festival of the year. Acireale Carnival is defined as " The most beautiful Carnival in Sicily ", for the creativity and originality of its allegorical papier-mâché or flowered floats that parade along the streets with their cheerful and colorful masks.
Many festivals are dedicated to the Patron Saints of Sicily as well, mixing faith, folklore and tradition into a display of the Sicilians’ profound religious devotion. The Festival of Saint Rosalia in Palermo and the Festival of Saint Agatha in Catania are just a few of the many events that take place every year throughout the region.
The exuberance and warmth of the island of Sicily is evident in its food as well, which tells of Sicilians' passion and care for good food and genuine flavors.
A wide array of appetizers to whet your appetite, from rice croquettes to cazzilli and crispeddi of Catania, before tasting rich first courses and fish or meat dishes.
And finally, one should not pass up the famous Sicilian pastries, mainly prepared with ricotta cheese and almond paste.
Many Sicilian products are protected by DOP and IGT quality marks, making Sicily one of the core diets of Mediterranean; it is famous the world over for the genuineness of its ingredients.
Extra-virgin olive oil, juicy red oranges and the sweet grapes of Canicattì, Pachino tomatoes and Pantelleria capers, prickly pears and the olives of Nocellara del Belice are some of the excellent products that distinguish Sicilian food.
Yet, we cannot forget the most famous cheeses, like Ragusano and pecorino, or tasty sausages, like Sant’Angelo salami, or the different types of crispy bread, like the loaves of Dittaino.
And pour a glass of one of the island's exquisite, strong and full-bodied wines, ideal when partnered with its unbeatable cuisine.
Sicily
| i don't know |
How many holes are on a classic cribbage board? | Cribbage Rules and History - Cribbage Board Store
Cribbage Rules and History
About Cribbage
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game originated in England, traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage board used for scorekeeping, the eponymous crib or box (a separate hand counting for the dealer), two distinct scoring stages (the play and the show) and a unique scoring system including points for groups of cards that total fifteen. It is played in clockwise direction with 52 French deck cards for about 15-30 min. and require Strategy, Tactics & Counting skills.
History of Cribbage
According to John Aubrey, cribbage was created by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, as a derivation of the game "noddy". While noddy has disappeared, crib has survived, virtually unchanged, as one of the most popular games in the English-speaking world. The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, and for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes. Cribbage holds a special place among American submariners, serving as an "official" pastime. The wardroom of the oldest submarine in the fleet carries RADM Dick O'Kane's personal cribbage board onboard, and upon decommissioning it is transferred to the next oldest boat.
Rules of Cribbage
The players cut for first deal, and the dealer shuffles and deals five or six cards to each player, depending on the number of players. For two players, each is dealt six cards; for three or four players, each is dealt five cards. In the case of three players, a single card is dealt face down in the centre of the table to start the crib. Once the cards have been dealt, each player chooses four cards to retain, then discards the other one or two face-down to form the "crib" which will be used later by the dealer. At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain exactly four cards. The player on the dealer's left cuts the deck and the dealer reveals the top card, called the "starter". If this card is a Jack, the dealer scores two points for "his heels", also known as "his nibs".
The Play
Starting with the player on the dealer's left, each player lays one card face up in turn onto a personal discard pile, stating the cumulative value of the cards laid (for example, the first player lays a five and says "five", the next lays a six and says "eleven", and so on), without the total going above 31. Once no more cards can be played, the cumulative position is reset to zero and those players with cards remaining repeat the process until all players' cards have been played. Players score points during this process for making a total of fifteen, for reaching exactly, or as close as possible to a total of thirty-one, for runs and for pairs. Players choose the order in which to lay their cards in order to maximize their score; experienced players refer to this as either good or poor "pegsmanship". If one player reaches the target (usually 61 or 121), the game ends immediately and that player wins.
The Show
Once the play is complete, each player in turn receives points based on the content of his hand in conjunction with the starter card. Points are scored for combinations of cards totalling fifteen, runs, pairs, flushes and having a Jack of the same suit as the starter card ("one for his nob [or nobs or nibs]"). The dealer scores his hand last and then turns the cards in the crib face up. These cards are then scored by the dealer as an additional hand in conjunction with the starter card. Scores between 0 and 29 are all possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27. Players may refer colloquially to a hand scoring zero points as having a score of nineteen.
Muggins
Muggins (also known as cut-throat) is a commonly used but optional rule, that must be announced before game play begins. If the opposing player fails to claim his full score on any turn, the opponent may call out "Muggins" and peg any points overlooked by the other player.
Cribbage Board
Visually, cribbage is known for its scoring board - a series of holes ("streets") on which the score is tallied with pegs (also known as "spilikins"). Scores can be kept on a piece of paper, but a cribbage board is almost always used, since scoring occurs throughout the game, not just at the conclusion of hands as in most other card games. Points are registered as having been scored by "pegging" along the crib board. Two pegs are used in a leapfrog fashion, so that if a player loses track during the count one peg still marks the previous score. Some boards have a "game counter", with many additional holes for use with a third peg to count the games won by each side.
There are several designs of crib board:
1) The classic design is a flat wooden board approximately 250�300 mm (10�12 in) by 70�80 mm (3�4 in) and 10�20 mm (0.4�0.8 in) deep. There are two sets of 60 holes (30 'out' and 30 'back') divided into 5 point sections, see picture above. A pegging-out hole in the middle at each end allows the board to be used in either direction. One player or team scores on one set of 60 holes and the other player or team scores on the second set. Different arrangements are made for three player games.
2) A relatively old design is that of an equilateral triangle with two rows of forty holes on each side. These boards did not generally include extra pegging-out holes or holes to count games.
3) A newer design has three or four rows of 120 holes with a pegging-out hole at the end and is often brightly coloured. It is best suited to games played to 121, though it can also be used for 61-point games.
4) Another common variation is based on features of the highest-scoring cribbage hand. The board takes the form of the number 29 (the highest possible score), with the pegging rows following the contour of the numbers "2" and "9". The design can sometimes include a background image of three fives and a Jack, with the fourth five offset�the "perfect hand" giving that score. The count being 8 times 15 for 16 points, 6 pairs of 2 for 12 points and a matching "nobs" Jack (matching the cut card) for 1 totaling 29.
Because the crib board is a useful scoring device, players sometimes use it to keep score in other games, such as dominoes.
CribbageBoardStore.com doesn't take any liability for providing above information. Neither we have any motive to promote our website by explaining cribbage rules and history, nor we are interested in selling our boards by these means. The above rules and history has been extracted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for the benefit of cribbage lovers who frequently ask about its rules. For further reading, please visit the Wikipedia's Cribbage Article at Cribbage, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
About us
| one hundred and twenty one |
Sago is extracted from which plant? | How to Make a Cribbage Board | The Art of Manliness
How to Make a Cribbage Board
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Ethan Hagan from One Project Closer .
I love a good card game, and some of my favorites include Spades, Hearts, Hand and Foot, and Euchre. Poker, however, never quite goes my way. Believe it or not, I’ve never played cribbage before. However, when Brett challenged me to make a cribbage board, I thought it would be a lot of fun.
I started reading up on Cribbage rules and found a lot of custom-made boards on the web. I decided on a “classic style” board that follows a design I found on other woodworking sites , and it’s perfect for a moderately skilled woodworker like myself. The board has enough holes to play a 61 point game, as opposed to a 121 point game.
Tools and Materials
To make my crib board I used some scrap 3/4″ pine, 1/4″ plywood, and I purchased some oak from the local DIY center. I printed out a hole template , which I modified to meet my needs. The pegs are made from double-headed nails, which you’ll typically see used to make concrete forms. The two magnets and wood stain are leftovers from other projects.
Pine is a soft wood so it wouldn’t have been too difficult to cut by hand, and by omitting a few steps, the only necessary power tool is a drill press. I have the tools (so I took advantage of them), and here’s what I used.
Table saw
Bench grinder
Make a Custom Cribbage Board
I started by running my pine through a table saw to create two pieces. The top measured 4 x 12″ and the base measured 5-1/8 x 13-1/4″. I also ripped the 1/4″ ply to match the base.
I wanted to cut a semi-circle on one side of the top, and I started by creating a template. The template is useful because I can tweak it as necessary until I’m completely satisfied, then use it to easily cut a perfect match on my workpiece.
This router bit has a bearing on the end for following templates.
After making a rough cut, I used a palm router and my template to cut a beautiful semi-circle.
For the base, I used another router bit to cut an eased-edge.
Next, I mapped out the locations for the playing card holder, peg holder, magnet, and swivel pin.
I drilled a starting hole and cut out the playing card and peg holders with my coping saw.
For the magnets, I used my palm router again, setting the depth to match their height. Carefully, I routed the magnet holes on the base and underside of the top.
The top and base swivel on a pin to reveal the playing cards and cribbage pegs. Instead of a pin, I cut a machine screw to length and then ground the head as thin as possible. I drilled a hole through the base and part-way through the top.
A nice feature you’ll see on a lot of cribbage boards is a “racing stripe” down the middle. I set up a dado stack on my table saw to cut a channel for the oak inlay.
I made a rough cut for the curve and sanded both ends until the oak was completely flush with the pine top.
As I mentioned, I used double-headed nails to make the cribbage pegs (spilikins). I cut the nails to length with my angle grinder, and then dressed up the cut edge with a bench-top grinder.
I borrowed a drill press and used a 11/64″ bit to drill all the holes. After taping my template in place, aligning the fence, and setting the depth, things moved pretty quickly. Next, I glued the oak to the top and the 1/4″ plywood to the underside of the base.
I gave everything a final pass with sandpaper to remove any pencil marks or glue. Next, I applied a walnut stain to the entire cribbage board, letting the two different species of wood create some visual interest. To distinguish the pegs, I painted one pair a dark red.
What do you think?
| i don't know |
What colour light indicates the starboard side of a ship? | Starboard side - Port side - AceBoater.com
A clear and comprehensive course. Sign Up for Free
My Profile
Search
Starboard side - Port side
The sidelights are coloured either red or green. The sidelights determine the priority on the water: the color displayed on the starboard side is green and the red light is on the port side. The sidelights are located in front of the boat. They each displaying a constant beam and affixed in a manner that the light is projected to the front and sides allow you to determine if the oncoming craft is heading towards you or from one side or another.
They are used to give a person a visual picture of which side of the vessel they are looking at in darkness or reduced visibility. Depending on the situation they will determine who has the right of way in a meeting or crossing situation. If you see a red running light at night crossing or meeting you most likely are the give-way vessel and do not have the right of way. If you see green you most likely are the stand-on vessel and have the right of way.
IF YOU LIKED THIS PAGE, YOU COULD ALSO LIKE THESE ONES:
| Green |
What is the name of the galaxy that contains the Earth? | On a Ship, what is Starboard? (with pictures)
On a Ship, what is Starboard?
Edited By: Sara Z. Potter
Last Modified Date: 14 January 2017
Copyright Protected:
Top 10 facts about the world
On ships, the directions "right" and "left" are not commonly used, and mariners use nautical terms instead. Starboard is the right-hand side of the ship as seen from someone aboard the ship, facing the bow, or front. Port is the opposite side, or the left side of the ship. One benefit of using these nautical terms is that they do not change depending on which direction a person is facing.
The etymology of the word "starboard" is fairly straightforward. It comes from a combination of two Old English words: stéor, meaning "steer" and bord, meaning "the side of a boat or a ship." The rudder , used to steer a ship, was originally on the right-hand side, and the term stéorbord, "the steering side of a ship," evolved into the term used today.
The opposite side was larboard, or "the loading side." This was too easily confused with its rhyming opposite, so was later changed to port. The term may have come from the fact that cargo was routinely loaded from the port onto the left-hand side, or from the Latin words for harbor or door. "Port" was officially accepted over "larboard" by Britain's Royal Navy in the 1840s.
Ad
The starboard side of most ships is usually the "senior" side, with the flag of the captain being raised on this side. On the quarterdeck , this side is generally reserved for the captain, and if the ship carries its own gangway , the officers' gangway is stored on the right as well.
On seagoing vessels, as well as aircraft , the starboard side is designated with a green light, while the port side has a red light. A white light is mounted on the aft or rear side of the ship. This is true of ships around the world.
Many landlubbers have trouble remembering which side of a ship is starboard and which is port. One mnemonic device is to remember that port wine is generally red, so the port side has a red light. Another is to be aware that "left" comes before "right" in the alphabet, and "port" comes before "starboard." "Left" also has four letters, so it must match with the other four-letter word, "port." Of course, all these clues only work when a person is facing the front of a ship.
Ad
anon271129
Post 9
The easy way to remember is this phrase: "The ship left port" left is port, easy. If it's not port it's starboard.
anon167533
Post 8
Port and Starboard are only used to indicate left and right when standing on a ship facing the bow. If you are in the water facing the bow, your own left will be on same side as the ship's starboard and your right will be on the same side as the ship's port side.
If you are in the water facing the aft, use same references as if you were on the deck of the ship facing the bow. If you are in the water facing the port side of the ship the bow will be on your left, and the aft will be on your right. Never try to sound sailor savvy by referencing your personal left and right as port and starboard.
Those terms are for reference of the ship only. Your references to positions around your body are still left/right/front/behind.
anon130506
Very helpful to a nautical noob like me!
anon91145
Post 6
here i read some comments and i understand the port is left and starboard is right but i want to know if i'm on a ship how i can know which is left and right? And one important thing: what is the importance of port and starboard side.
Newcomer
Post 5
Still made me confused about the words port and starboard terminology for a ship. If I'm facing the ship, they call it on my right hand is starboard side and my left hand side is the port side.
How about if I'm on board the ship and facing the forward, then my left hand side is port. My right hand side is starboard. Is that correct?
anon36145
Post 4
I too have been on many ships during my life time and know that when you are to go to the left or right of the ship you were told either starboard or port. There was never any confusion.
anon3340
Post 2
Unclear desription of where the person is standing. If they are on the ship and facing the bow left and right are different than if they are in front of the ship (say,on the dock) facing the bow.
anon2046
Post 1
I was in the Navy for 6 years, and just wanted to re-assure myself that I was right about my recollection of Port and Starboard Colors before putting it in writing.
The article messed me up because it was always my experience that left and right are reference from a person on the ship facing towards the bow, thereby making port on the left and starboard on the right. I would think that people who were using this and were on ships or boats would be better served if you changed your reference from in the water looking at the bow of a ship. Even if someone fell in the water, unless the ship was going backward, your reference
system still wouldn't be of any value because the ship would pass them by and they'd still be looking at the aft end of the ship, and port would be on the left and starboard would be on the right. Please get it right, so that you don't cause some old sailors to think that senility has set upon them before it actually does. Thanks, FC2(SW)
| i don't know |
In the human body, the hormone cortisol (or hydrocortisone) is produced by which gland? | Hydrocortisone | The Pituitary Foundation
Treating a pituitary condition
Hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone (HC) is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. It plays a complex role in regulating body functions
and is essential for survival.
Hydrocortisone is taken as a replacement for the natural hormone where this is deficient, either because there is a failure of hydrocortisone production by the adrenal gland (Addison’s disease/primary adrenal insufficiency), or pituitary deficiency (secondary adrenal insufficiency) of ACTH (the hormone that stimulates the production of hydrocortisone by the adrenal gland).
Replacement therapy is also required for people who have congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which is a birth defect. Hydrocortisone is available as tablets under the trade name Hydrocortisone, containing 10mg or 20mg. Prednisolone may be prescribed to individual patients instead of hydrocortisone and works in the same way as hydrocortisone. Prednisolone is available as tablets under the trade name Deltacortril® containing 2.5mg or 5mg or Prednisolone 1mg or 5mg.
Plenadren is a novel, once daily hydrocortisone modified-release tablet, designed to better mimic the body’s natural cortisol production compared to standard treatment. The Plenadren tablet is available in 5 and 20 mg strengths. The immediate release outer coating provides physiological cortisol concentrations within 20 minutes of intake; the extended release core provides a smooth serum cortisol level with reduced exposure in the late afternoon and over the 24-hour period.
An injection containing 100mg Hydrocortisone is available for emergency situations for those on hydrocortisone or prednisolone. For children, there are lower dose emergency injections available.
How do I take it?
The usual dose for hydrocortisone is 15-20mg by mouth, split over two or three times daily, and depending on your individual endocrinologist’s recommendations. For example: 10mg before getting out of bed in the morning, 5mg at mid-day and 5mg no later than 6pm. Hydrocortisone should ideally be taken with water and is better absorbed if taken before food. The usual dose for prednisolone is 5-7mg by mouth, split over two times daily.
When would I need to take more hydrocortisone?
If you become ill then the body would naturally increase the output of steroid from your adrenals. Therefore, if you are taking replacement steroid (hydrocortisone) it is essential, to mimic the natural response by increasing your dose appropriately after hydrocortisone or prednisolone.
For Plenadren, the dose must be increased temporarily and your doctor may advise you to use other hydrocortisone tablets instead of, or in addition to Plenadren. Please discuss this with your doctor and follow the instructions on how to act in these situations.
The daily dose of Plenadren may have to be doubled or tripled in milder conditions such as a mild infection or stress. You should then take the second dose of Plenadren 6 to 10 hours after the morning dose. If it is not enough to double the daily dose, you should take a third dose 6 to 10 hours after the second dose (6-10 hours intervals between doses). When your illness is over, return to your normal maintenance dose of Plenadren.
Please read our Hydrocortisone advice for the pituitary patient for sick day rules and recommendations on increasing your dose.
When do I know that I would need an emergency injection?
If you cannot absorb your tablets, or your usual replacement wasn’t sufficient for an acute shock or illness, then gradually or perhaps quite quickly, you would feel weak, sickly and light headed. The cortisol clock gives approximate times of need for emergency medical help and replacement.
How to give an emergency injection of hydrocortisone
Liquid version Efcortesol preparation and administration videos
How can I let others know I take replacement hydrocortisone?
When you are prescribed your medication you will be given a ‘blue steroid card’ from the hospital to carry. The Pituitary Foundation suggests that you purchase and wear a medical necklace or bracelet, such as MedicAlert® to show your cortisol replacement therapy. Further, we can provide you with a Pituitary Foundation Patient Care Card which is small enough to fit in your bag, or pocket and displays your hydrocortisone needs and information on emergency replacement should you need this.
Emergency injections - should I have these at home?
The Pituitary Foundation does recommend all patients taking hydrocortisone (or prednisolone) to have a 100mg injection kit in their home for emergency use only. If you don’t have one of these already, you can ask your GP or endocrinologist if they will prescribe this for you. Please check regularly that these preparations are not expired.
| Adrenal gland |
In which English city is Preston Park railway station? | Adrenal Glands | Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Library
Adrenal Glands: What You Need to Know
Adrenal glands, also known as suprarenal glands, are small, triangular-shaped glands located on top of both kidneys.
Adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, response to stress and other essential functions.
Adrenal glands are composed of two parts — the cortex and the medulla — which are each responsible for producing different hormones.
When adrenal glands don’t produce enough hormones, this can lead to adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease).
Adrenal glands may develop nodules that can be benign or malignant. These nodules may produce excessive amounts of certain hormones leading to various health issues.
Anatomy of the Adrenal Glands
An adrenal gland is made of two main parts:
The adrenal cortex is the outer region and also the largest part of an adrenal gland. It is divided into three separate zones: zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata and zona reticularis. Each zone is responsible for producing specific hormones.
The adrenal medulla is located inside the adrenal cortex in the center of an adrenal gland. It produces several “stress hormones,” including adrenaline.
The adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla are enveloped in an adipose capsule that forms a protective layer around an adrenal gland.
Hormones of the Adrenal Glands
The role of the adrenal glands in your body is to release certain hormones directly into the bloodstream. Many of these hormones have to do with how the body responds to stress, and some are vital to existence. Both parts of the adrenal glands — the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla — perform distinct and separate functions.
Each zone of the adrenal cortex secretes a specific hormone. The key hormones produced by the adrenal cortex include:
Cortisol
Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the zona fasciculata that plays several important roles in the body. It helps control the body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates; suppresses inflammation; regulates blood pressure; increases blood sugar; and can also decrease bone formation.
This hormone also controls the sleep/wake cycle. It is released during times of stress to help your body get an energy boost and better handle an emergency situation.
How Adrenal Glands Work to Produce Cortisol
Adrenal glands produce hormones in response to signals from the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain. For example, for the adrenal gland to produce cortisol:
The hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) that stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH).
The ACTH then stimulates the adrenal glands to make and release cortisol hormones into the blood.
Normally, both the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland can sense whether the blood has the right amount of cortisol in it. If there is too much or too little cortisol, these glands respectively change the amount of CRH and ACTH that gets released.
Excess cortisol production can occur from nodules in the adrenal gland or excess production of ACTH from a tumor in the pituitary gland or other source.
Aldosterone
This mineralocorticoid hormone produced by the zona glomerulosa plays a central role in regulating blood pressure and certain electrolytes (sodium and potassium). Aldosterone sends signals to the kidneys, resulting in the kidneys absorbing more sodium into the bloodstream and releasing potassium into the urine. This means that aldosterone also helps regulate the blood pH by controlling the levels of electrolytes in the blood.
DHEA and Androgenic Steroids
These hormones produced by the zona reticularis are weak male hormones. They are precursor hormones that are converted in the ovaries into female hormones (estrogens) and in the testes into male hormones (androgens). However, estrogens and androgens are produced in much larger amounts by the ovaries and testes.
Epinephrine (Adrenaline) and Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline)
The adrenal medulla, the inner part of an adrenal gland, controls hormones that help you cope with physical and emotional stress. The main hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla include epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which have similar functions.
Among other things, these hormones are capable of increasing the heart rate and force of heart contractions, increasing blood flow to the muscles and brain, relaxing smooth muscles, and assisting in sugar metabolism. They also control the squeezing of the blood vessels (vasoconstriction), helping maintain blood pressure and increasing it in response to stress.
Like several other hormones produced by the adrenal glands, epinephrine and norepinephrine are often activated in stressful situations when your body needs additional resources and energy to endure unusual strain.
Adrenal Gland Disorders
The two common ways in which adrenal glands cause health issues are by producing too little or too much of certain hormones, which leads to hormonal imbalances. These abnormalities of the adrenal function can be caused by various diseases of the adrenal glands or the pituitary gland.
Adrenal Insufficiency
Adrenal insufficiency is a rare disorder. It may be caused by disease of the adrenal glands (primary adrenal insufficiency, Addison’s disease) or by diseases in the hypothalamus or the pituitary (secondary adrenal insufficiency). It is the opposite of Cushing syndrome and is characterized by low levels of cortisol (and aldosterone in the primary form). The symptoms include weight loss, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, darkening of skin (only in primary adrenal insufficiency), abdominal pain, etc.
The causes of primary adrenal insufficiency may include autoimmune disorders, fungal and other infections, cancer (rarely), and genetic factors.
Although adrenal insufficiency usually develops over time, it can also appear suddenly as an acute adrenal failure (adrenal crisis). It has similar symptoms, but the consequences are more serious, including coma, shock and seizures. These may develop if the condition is left untreated.
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Adrenal insufficiency can also result from a genetic disorder called congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Children who are born with this disorder are missing an essential enzyme necessary to produce cortisol, aldosterone or both. At the same time, they often experience excess of androgen, which may lead to male characteristics in girls and precocious puberty in boys.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia can remain undiagnosed for years depending on the severity of the enzyme deficiency. In more severe cases, infants may suffer from dehydration, vomiting and failure to thrive.
Overactive Adrenal Glands
Sometimes, adrenal glands may develop nodules that produce too much of certain hormones. Nodules 4 centimeters or larger and nodules that show certain features on imaging may be cancerous. Both benign and cancerous nodules may produce excessive amounts of certain hormones, which often is referred to as an overactive adrenal gland .
Excess of Cortisol: Cushing Syndrome
Cushing syndrome results from excessive production of cortisol from the adrenal glands. The symptoms may include weight gain and fatty deposits in certain areas of the body, such as the face, below the back of the neck and in the abdomen; thinning arms and legs; purple stretch marks on the abdomen; facial hair; fatigue; muscle weakness; easily bruised skin; high blood pressure; diabetes; and other health issues.
Excess cortisol production can also be triggered by overproduction of ACTH by a benign tumor in the pituitary gland. This is known as Cushing Disease. Another common cause of Cushing syndrome is excessive and prolonged consumption of external steroids, such as prednisone or dexamethasone, which are prescribed to treat many autoimmune or inflammatory diseases (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, etc.)
Excess of Aldosterone: Hyperaldosteronism
Hyperaldosteronism results from overproduction of aldosterone from one or both adrenal glands. This is characterized by increase in blood pressure that often requires many medications to control. Some people can develop low potassium levels in the blood, which can cause muscle aches, weakness and spasms. When the cause is a benign tumor in one adrenal gland, the disease is called Conn syndrome.
Excess of Adrenaline or Noradrenaline: Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is a tumor that results in excess production of adrenaline or noradrenaline by the adrenal medulla that often happens in bursts. Occasionally, neural crest tissue, which is similar to the adrenal medulla, may be the cause of overproduction of these hormones. This condition is called a paraganglioma.
Pheochromocytomas may cause persistent or sporadic high blood pressure that may be difficult to control with regular medications. Other symptoms include headaches, sweating, tremors, anxiety and rapid heartbeat. Some people are genetically predisposed to developing this type of tumor.
Adrenal Cancer
Malignant adrenal tumors (adrenal cancer), such as adrenocortical carcinoma, are rare and often have spread to other organs and tissues by the time they are diagnosed. These tumors tend to grow fairly large and can reach several inches in diameter.
Adrenal cancer may cause adrenal glands to produce excess of one or more hormones accompanied by corresponding symptoms, as listed above. You may also experience abdominal pain or flank pain and a feeling of fullness if the adrenal tumor gets very large.
Not all cancers found in adrenal glands start there. Most adrenal cancers are secondary cancers that start elsewhere in the body and spread to the adrenal glands.
Experience Our Care
| i don't know |
In Roman mythology, Aestas is the goddess of which season? | AESTAS - the Roman Goddess of Summer (Roman mythology)
AESTAS
Roman Summer Goddess
Summer Goddess
Naked but not unadorned as she is decked out in garlands of ears. These come from corn harvests of course.
GodNote: Sorry this Aestas article is a bit short. We have sent our Data Dwarves off to find more nuggets of information. Updates coming soon.
AESTAS FACTS AND FIGURES
Location : Italy and Roman Europe
Gender : Female
Celebration or Feast Day : Unknown at present
Good/Evil Rating : Unknown at present
Popularity index : 7212
Cite this
Link to this page
HTML: To link to this page, just copy and paste the text below into your blog, web page or email.
<a href="http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/roman-mythology.php?deity=AESTAS">Godchecker entry on AESTAS, the Roman Goddess of Summer</a>
BBCODE: To link to this page in a forum post or comment box, just copy and paste the text below:
[url=http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/roman-mythology.php?deity=AESTAS]Godchecker entry on AESTAS, the Roman Goddess of Summer[/url]
Cite this article
Here's the info you need to cite this page. Just copy the text in the box below.
Saunders, Chas, and Peter J. Allen, eds. "AESTAS - the Roman Goddess of Summer (Roman mythology)." <em>Godchecker</em>. Godchecker.com / CID, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 January 2017.
.
21 January 2014 by the Godchecker Team.
Editors: Peter J Allen, Chas Saunders
References: Coming soon.
| Summer |
Which US President is depicted on a $5 bill? | HORAE (Horai) - Greek Goddesses of the Seasons & the Natural Order
Portion of Time, Season
The three Horae, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin
THE HORAI (Horae) were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. They presided over the revolutions of the heavenly constellations by which the year was measured, while their three sisters, the Moirae (Moirae) spinned out the web of fate. The Horai also guarded the gates of Olympos and rallied the stars and constellations of heaven.
The Horai were particularly honoured by farmers who planted and tended their crops in time with the rising and setting of the stars--measures of the passing seasons. The three were usually named Eunomia (Good Order, Good Pasture), Eirene (Peace, Spring), and Dike (Justice) goddesses who individually represented the conditions required for farming prosperity. The association of agriculture with law and order can also be found in the divinities of Zeus, Demeter and the Daimones Khryseoi .
Another set of Horai personified the twelve hours of the day.
FAMILY OF THE HORAE
PARENTS
[1.1] ZEUS & THEMIS (Hesiod Theogony 901, Pindar Frag 30, Apollodorus 1.13, Pausanias 5.17.1, Orphic Hymn 43, Hyginus Fabulae 183)
[2.1] HELIOS & SELENE (Quintus Smyrnaeus 10.334)
[2.2] HELIOS (Nonnus Dionysiaca 12.1)
NAMES
[1.1] EUNOMIA , DIKE , EIRENE (Hesiod Theogony 901, Pindar Olympian Ode 13, Greek Lyric V Anon Frag 1018, Apollodorus 1.13, Orphic Hymn 43, Diodorus Siculus 5.72.5, Hyginus Fabulae 183)
[2.1] THALLO , KARPO , AUXO (Pausanias 9.35.1, Hyginus Fabulae 183)
[3.1] AUXESIA , DAMIA (Pausanias 9.35.1, Hyginus Fabulae 183)
[4.1] EUPORIA, ORTHOSIE, PHEROUSA (Hyginus Fabulae 183)
[5.1] EIAR, THEROS, KHEIMON, PHTHINOPORON (Nonnus Dionysiaca 38.268)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
HORAE (Hôrai), originally the personifications or goddesses of the order of nature and of the seasons, but in later times they were regarded as the goddesses of order in general and of justice. In Homer, who neither mentions their parents nor their number, they are the Olympian divinities of the weather and the ministers of Zeus; and in this capacity they guard the doors of Olympus, and promote the fertility of the earth, by the various kinds of weather they send down. (Od. xxiv. 343; comp. x. 469, xix. 132, Il. v. 749, viii. 393 ) As the weather, generally speaking, is regulated according to the seasons, they are further described as the goddesses of the seasons, i. e. the regular phases under which Nature manifests herself. (Od. ii. 107, x. 469, xi. 294, xix. 152, xxiv. 141.) They are kind and benevolent, bringing to gods and men many things that are good and desirable. (Il. xxi. 450; comp. Hymn. in Apoll. Pyth. 16; Theocrit. xv. 105; Ov. Fast. i. 125.) As, however, Zeus has the power of gathering and dispersing the clouds, they are in reality only his ministers, and sometimes also those of Hera. (Il. viii. 433; comp. Moschus, Idyll. ii. 160; Paus. v. 11. § 2.) Men in different circumstances regard the course of time (or the seasons) either as rapid or as slow, and both epithets are accordingly applied to the Horae. (Theocr. xv. 104; Pind. Nem. iv. 34; Horat. (Carm. iv. 7. 8; Ov. Met. ii. 118.) The course of the seasons (or hours) is symbolically described by the dance of the Horae; and, in conjunction with the Charites, Hebe, Harmonia, and Aphrodite, they accompany the songs of the Muses, and Apollo's play on the lyre, with their dancing. (Hom. Hymn. in Apoll. Pyth. 16, &c.; Pind. Ol. iv. 2; Xen. Sympos. 7.) The Homeric notions continued to be entertained for a long time afterwards, the Horae being considered as the givers of the various seasons of the year, especially of spring and autumn, i. e. of Nature in her bloom and maturity. At Athens two Horae, Thallo (the Hora of spring) and Carpo (the Hora of autumn), were worshipped from very early times. (Paus. ix. 35. § 1; comp. Athen. xiv. p. 636; Ov. Met. ii. 1118, &c.; Val. Flacc. iv. 92; Lucian, Dial. Deor. x. 1.) The Hora of spring accompanies Persephone every year on her ascent from the lower world; and the expression of "The chamber of the Horae opens" is equivalent to "The spring is coming." (Orph. Hymn. xlii. 7; Pind. Fragm. xlv. 13, p. 576, ed. Bocckh.) The attributes of spring-flowers, fragrance, and graceful freshness are accordingly transferred to the Horae; thus they adorned Aphrodite as she rose from the sea, made a garland of flowers for Pandora, and even inanimate things are described as deriving peculiar charms from the Horae. (Hom. Hymn. viii. 5, &c.; Hes. Op. 65; Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. 5; Theocr. i. 150; Athen. ii. p. 60.) Hence they bear a resemblance to and are mentioned along with the Charites, and both are frequently confounded or identified. (Paus. ii. 17. § 4; Müller, Orchom. p. 176, &c. 2nd edit.) As they were conceived to promote the prosperity of every thing that grows, they appear also as the protectresses of youth and newly-born gods (Paus. ii. 13. § 3; Pind. Pyth. ix. 62; Philostr. Imag. i. 26; Nonnus, Dionys. xi. 50); and the Athenian youths, on being admitted along the ephebi, mentioned Thallo, among other gods, in the oath they took in the temple of Agraulos. (Pollux, viii. 106.)
In this, as in many other cases of Greek mythology, a gradual transition is visible, from purely physical to ethical notions, and the influence which the Horae originally had on nature was subsequently transferred to human life in particular. The first trace of it occurs even in Hesiod, for he describes them as giving to a state good laws, justice, and peace; he calls them the daughters of Zeus and Themis, and gives them the significant names of Eunomia, Dice, and Eirene. (Theog. 901, &c.; Apollod. i. 3. § 1; Diod. v. 72.) But the ethical and physical ideas are not always kept apart, and both are often mixed up with each other, as in Pindar. (Ol. iv. 2, xiii. 6, Nem. iv. 34; Orph. Hymn. 42.) The number of the Horae is different in the different writers, though the most ancient number seems to have been two, as at Athens (Paus. iii. 18. § 7, ix. 35. § 1); but afterwards their common number is three, like that of the Moerae and Charites. Hyginus (Fab. 183) is in great confusion respecting the number and names of the Horae, as he mixes up the original names with surnames, and the designations of separate seasons or hours. In this manner he first makes out a list of ten Horae, viz. Titanis, Auxo, Eunomia, Pherusa, Carpo, Dice, Euporia, Eirene, Orthosia, and Thallo, and a second of eleven, Auge, Anatole, Musia, Gymnasia, Nymphes, Mesembria, Sponde, Telete, Acme, Cypridos, Dysis. The Horae (Thallo and Carpo) were worshipped at Athens, and their temple there also contained an altar of Dionysus Orthus (Athen. i. p. 38; comp. xiv. p. 656; Hesych. s.v. hôraia); they were likewise worshipped at Argos (Paus. ii. 20. § 4), Corinth, and Olympia(v. 15. § 3). In works of art the Horae were represented as blooming maidens, carrying the different products of the seasons.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
NAMES OF THE HORAE
PARENTAGE & GROUPS OF THE HORAE
Helius, Selene and the Horae of the four seasons, Greco-Roman mosaic A.D.
GENERAL LIST
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 183 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The names of the Horae, daughters of Jove [Zeus], son of Saturn [Kronos (Cronus)], and Themis, daughter Titanidis (Titaness), are these : Auxo (Growth), Eunomia (Order), Pherusa (Substance), Carpo (Fruit), Dice (Justice), Euporia (Abundance), Irene (Peace), Orthosie (Prosperity), Thallo (Green-shoots)."
[N.B. These appear to be three distinct groupings of three Horai :--(1) Eunome, Dike and Eirene (Irene); (2) Auxo, Karpo (Carpo), Thallo; (3) Pherousa (Pherusa), Euporia, Orthosie (Orthosia).]
I. EUNOMIA, DIKE, IRENE (EIRENE)
Hesiod, Theogony 901 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :
"Next he [Zeus] led away bright Themis (Divine Law) who bare the Horai (Horae, Seasons), and Eunomia (Good Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming (thallô) Eirene (Irene, Peace), who mind the works of mortal men, and the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honour, Klotho (Clotho), and Lakhesis, and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to have."
[N.B. Eirene might also denote spring, and Eunomia good pastures.]
Pindar, Odes Fragment 30 (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"[Themis] the primal bride of Zeus Soter (Saviour). And she bare him the Horai (Horae, Seasons) with golden fillet and gleaming fruit,--the Horai that are ever true."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 13 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"With Themis, the daughter of Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven), he [Zeus] fathered his daughters the Horai (Horae), by name Eirene (Irene, Peace), Eunomia (Lawfulness), and Dike (Justice)."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 17. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The figures of Horai (Horae) next to them [statues of Hera and Zeus in the Heraion (Heraeum) at Olympia], seated upon thrones . . . Beside them stands an image of Themis, as being mother of the Horai."
Orphic Hymn 43 to the Horae (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Daughters of Zeus and Themis, Horai (Horae) bright, Dike (Justice), and blessed Eirene (Peace) and Eunomia (Lawfulness)."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 183 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The names of the Horae, daughters of Jove [Zeus], son of Saturn [Kronos (Cronus)], and Themis, daughter Titanidis (Titaness), are these : . . . Eunomia (Order) . . . Dice (Justice) . . . Irene (Peace), Orthosie (Prosperity)."
II. CARPO (KARPO), AUXO, THALLO
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 35. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Appropriate names for the Kharites (Charites, Graces) are those given by the Athenians, who from of old have worshipped two Kharites, Auxo and Hegemone. [The third] Karpo (Carpo, Fruit) is the name, not of a Kharis (Charis), but of a Hora. The other Hora is worshipped together with Pandrosos by the Athenians who call the goddess Thallo (Blooming)."
[N.B. The Athenian goddesses Auxo, Karpo (Carpo) and Thallo were described as both Horai (Horae) and Kharites (Charites). Pausanias is probably incorrect when he attempts to place these exclusively in one category or the other.]
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 183 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The names of the Horae . . . Auxo (Growth) . . . Carpo (Fruit) . . . Thallo (Green-shoots)."
[N.B. In Hesiod's Theogony the Hora Eirene (Peace or Spring) is given the epithet thallô "blooming."]
III. PHERUSA (PHEROUSA), EUPORIA, ORTHOSIE
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 183 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The names of the Horae . . . Pherusa (Substance) . . . Euporia (Abundance) . . . Orthosie (Prosperity)."
HORAE GODDESSES OF THE ORDERING OF THE YEAR
Homer, Iliad 21. 450 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"The changing Seasons (Horai) brought on the time for our labour to be paid."
Homer, Odyssey 2. 107 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"When Seasons (Horai) passed and the fourth year came."
Pindar, Paean 1 (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Now hath the year in its full circle, and the Horai (Horae, Seasons), the daughters of Themis, come unto Thebe's city that driveth the steed, bringing to Apollon the banquet that loveth the garland."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 40. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[In the temple of Zeus at Megara :] Above the head of Zeus are the Horai (Horae, Seasons) and Moirai (Moirae, Fates), and all may see that he is the only god obeyed by Moira (Destiny), and the he apportions the seasons as is due."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 7. 7 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The Father [Zeus] spoke, the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) applauded; at his words the lightfoot Horai (Horae, Seasons) sneezed, as a presage of things to come."
[N.B. The Horai as goddesses of the passage of time were sisters of the Moirai or Fates. The ancients regarded sneezes as an omen.]
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 8. 33 ff :
"Kronion's [Zeus'] attendants the Horai (Horae, Seasons) went their rounds about the sky."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38. 15 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"As soon as the Horai (Horae, Seasons) brought the seventh year."
See also:--
(3) Horae Guardians of the Gates of Heaven (below)
HORAE GUARDIANS OF THE GATES OF HEAVEN
The Horai (Horae) were the goddesses of heavenly order and as such were also represented as the guardians of the gates of heaven.
Homer, Iliad 5. 750 & 8. 393 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Hera laid the lash swiftly on the horses [leaving heaven]; and moving of themselves groaned the gates of the sky that the Horai guarded, those Horai (Horae, Hours) to whose charge the huge sky and Olympos (Olympus), to open up the dense darkness or again to close it." [N.B. This same passage appears twice in the Iliad.]
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 11. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"These [the Horai (Horae)] in epic poetry are included among the daughters of Zeus. Homer too in the Iliad says that the Horai have been entrusted with the sky, just like guards of a king's court."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1. 11 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"[From a description of an ancient Greek painting at Neapolis (Naples) :] In his passion for driving this son [Phaethon] of Helios (the Sun) ventured to mount his father's chariot, but because he did not keep a firm rein he came to grief and fell into the Eridanos (Eridanus) . . . Look! Nyx (Night) is driving Hemera (Day) from the noonday sky, and the sun's orb as it plunges toward the earth draws in its train the Astera (Stars). The Horai (Horae, Hours) abandon their posts at the gates [of heaven] and flee toward the gloom that rises to meet them."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 34 :
"That the gates of heaven (ouranos) are in charge of the Horai (Horae, Seasons) we may leave to the special knowledge and prerogative of Homer, for very likely he became an intimate of the Horai when he inherited the skies."
Ovid, Fasti 1. 125 ff (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"I [the Roman god Janus] sit at heaven's doors with the gentle Horae (Hours, Seasons): Jupiter [Zeus] goes and comes through my office."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 1. 223 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[When the monster Typhoeus assaulted Heaven :] The Horai (Horae, Seasons) undaunted armed the starry battalions, and the lines of heavenly Constellations in a disciplined circle came shining to the fray."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. 170 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[When the monster Typhoeus besieged Heaven :] It was night. Sentinels stood in line around Olympos and the seven zones [of the stars], and as it were from the summit of towers came their nightly alarms; the calls of the stars in many tongues were carried all abroad, and Selene's (the Moon's) turning-mark received the creaking echo from Kronos' (Cronus', Time's) starting-point. Now the Horai (Horae, Seasons), guardians of the upper air, handmaids of Phaethon [Helios the Sun], had fortified the sky with a long string of covering clouds like a coronal. The stars had closed the Atlantean bar of the inviolable gates lest some stealthy troop should enter the heavens while the Blessed ones were away : instead of the noise of pipes and the familiar flute, the breezes whistled a tune with their wings through the night."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. 270 ff :
"[Typhoeus threatens Zeus :] ‘Let the timid Horai (Seasons), Helios the Sun's handmaids, flee the heavens under the shower of mountains!’"
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. 699 ff :
"[Zeus returning from his victory over the monster Typhon :] Swiftly turned his golden chariot toward the round of the ethereal stars, while Nike (Victory) by his side drove her father's team with the heavenly whip. So the god came once more to the sky; and to receive him the stately Horai (Horae, Seasons) threw open the heavenly gates, and crowned the heavens. With Zeus victorious, the other gods came home to Olympos (Olympus), in their own form come again, for they put off the winged shapes which they had taken on."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 13. 22 ff :
"[Iris delivers a message from Zeus to the young god Dionysos :] ‘Come, lift the thyrsus of battle in your hands, and earnheaven by your deeds. For the immortal court of Zeus will not receive you without hard work, and the Horai (Horae, Hours) will not open the gates of Olympos to you unless you have struggled for the prize [i.e. the Horai admit new gods into heaven].’"
HORAE GODDESSES OF SEASONAL FLOWERING & FRUITING
Homer, Odyssey 24. 343 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Thirteen pear-trees, ten apple-trees, forty fig-trees . . . each of them bearing fruit in turn; there were clusters on them of every degree of ripeness as the Horai (Horae, Seasons) of Zeus shed down their influence from above."
Hesiod, Works and Days 69 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :
"[Pandora the first woman was created by the gods :] The rich-haired Horai (Horae, Seasons) crowned her head with spring flowers."
Pindar, Odes Fragment 30 (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"[Themis] the primal bride of the Saviour Zeus. And she bare him the Horai (Horae, Seasons) with golden fillet and gleaming fruit,--the Horai that are ever true."
Pindar, Dithyrambs Fragment 75 :
"Clearly seen are the bright symbols of sacred rites, whensoever, at the opening of the chamber of the purple-robed Horai (Horae, Seasons), the fragrant spring bringeth the nectar-breathing plants. Then, oh then, are flung on the immortal earth the lovely tresses of violets, and roses are entwined in the hair; then ring the voices of songs to the sound of flutes; then ring the dances in honour of diadem-wreathed Semele [i.e. the mother of the wine-god Dionysos]."
The Anacreontea, Fragment 5 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (C5th B.C.) :
"The Horai (Horae, Seasons)are bringing us the first delightful roses."
Corinna, Fragment 690 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) :
"Eos (Dawn), leaving the waters of Okeanos (Oceanus), drew from the sky the moon's holy light, while the Horai (Horae, Seasons) came from immortal Zeus among spring's flowers."
Plato, Cratylus 400d & 410c (trans. Fowler) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) :
"[Plato invents etymologies to explain the names of the gods :]
Sokrates (Socrates) : Let us inquire what thought men had in giving them [the gods] their names . . . The first men who gave names [to the gods] were no ordinary persons, but high thinkers and great talkers . . . But why should you not tell of another kind of gods, such as sun, moon, stars, earth, ether, air, fire, water, the seasons, and the year? . . . The word hôrai (seasons) should be pronounced in the old Attic fashion, horai, if you wish to know the probable meaning; êorai exist to divide winters and summers and winds and the fruits of the earth; and since they divide (horizousi), they would rightly be called horai."
Callimachus, Hymn 2 to Apollo 81 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :
"Thine [Apollon's] altars wear flowers in spring, even all the pied flowers which the Horai (Horae, Seasons) lead forth when Zephyros (the West Wind) [of spring] breathes dew."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 72. 5 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"The Horai (Horae, Seasons), as they are called, to each of them, according as her name indicates, was given [i.e. assigned by Zeus] the ordering and adornment of life."
Orphic Hymn 43 to the Horae (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Horai (Horae, Seasons) . . . vernal and grassy, vivid, holy powers, whose balmy breath exhales in lovely flowers; all-coloured Horai (Seasons), rich increase your care, circling, for ever flourishing and fair: invested with a veil of shining dew, a flowery veil delightful to the view: attending Persephone, when back from night the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) and Kharites (Charites, Graces) lead her up to light . . . With Mother [Demeter] triumphing, and Zeus divine . . . give earth a store of blameless fruits to bea."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"The invention of painting belongs to the gods--witness on earth all the designs with which the Horai (Horae, Seasons) paint the meadows, and the manifestations we see in the heavens."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1. 11 :
"[From a description of an ancient Greek painting from Neapolis (Naples) :] In his passion for driving [Phaethon] this son of Helios (the Sun) ventured to mount his father's chariot, but because he did not keep a firm rein he came to grief and fell into the Eridanos (Eridanus) . . . Look! Nyx (Night) is driving Hemera (Day) from the noonday sky, and the Sun's orb as it plunges toward the earth draws in its train the Astera (Stars). The Horai (Horae, Hours) abandon their posts at the gates [of heaven] and flee toward the gloom that rises to meet them."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 34 :
"[Ostensibly a description of an ancient Greek painting at Neapolis (Naples :] Horai (Horae, Seasons). That the gates of heaven are in charge of the Horai we may leave to the special knowledge and prerogative of Homer, for very likely he became an intimate of the Horai when he inherited the skies; but the subject that is here treated in the painting is easy for a man to understand. For the Horai (Seasons), coming to earth in their own proper forms, with clasped hands are dancing the year through its course, I think, and Ge (Gaea, the Earth) in her wisdom brings forth for them all the fruits of the year.
‘Tread not on the hyacinth or the rose’ I shall not say to the Horai of the spring-time; for when trodden on they seem sweeter and exhale a sweeter fragrance than the Horai themselves.
‘Walk not on the ploughed fields when soft’ I shall not say to the Horae of the winter-time; for if they are trodden on by the Horai they will produce ear of grain. And the golden-haired Horae yonder are walking on the spikes of the ears, but not so as to break or bend them; nay, they are so light that they do not even sway the stalks.
It is charming of you, grape-vines, that ye try to lay hold of the Horai of autumn-tide; for you doubtless love the Horae because they make you fair and wine-sweet.
Now these are our harvestings, so to speak, form the painting; but as for the Horai themselves, they are very charming and of marvelous art. How they sing, and how they whirl in the dance! Note too the fact that the back of none of them is turned to us; and note the raised arm, the freedom of flying hair, the cheek warm from the running, and the eyes that join in the dance. Perhaps they permit us to weave a tale about the painter; for it seems to me that he, falling in with the Horai as they danced, were caught up by them into their dance, the goddesses perhaps thus intimating that grace (hora) must attend his painting."
Ovid, Fasti 5. 217 ff (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"[Flora-Chloris the goddess of flowers speaks :] As soon as the dewy frost is cast from the leaves and sunbeams warm the dappled blossom, the Horae (Seasons) assemble, hitch up their coloured dresses and collect these gifts of mine in light tubs. Suddenly the Charites (Graces) burst in, and weave chaplets and crowns to entwine the hair of gods."
Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6. 24 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :
"[At the wedding of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche (Psykhe) :] The Horae (Seasons) brightened the scene with roses and other flowers, the Gratiae (Graces) [Kharites] diffused balsam."
Apuleius, The Golden Ass 10. 30 ff :
"They [the Horai, Seasons] were appeasing the goddess [Aphrodite] by strewing wreaths and single blossoms before her, and they formed a most elegant chorus-line as they sought to please the Mistress of pleasures with the foliage of spring."
Colluthus, Rape of Helen 344 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry C5th to 6th A.D.) :
"She [Helene] hath gone to the meadow and sits on the dewy plain of the Horai (Horae, Seasons) . . . and the paths of roses."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 7. 7 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The Horai (Horae, Seasons), those daughters of the lichtgang, still joyless, plaited garlands for the gods only of meadow-grass. For Wine was lacking. Without Bakkhos [who was not yet born] to inspire the dance, its grace was only half complete and quite without profit; it charmed only the eyes of the company."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 10. 170 ff :
"The banks free of waves [of the river Patoklos (Pactolus) in Lydia] spirted up self-growing roses, the lily sprouted, the Horai (Horae, Seasons) crowned the shores while Bakkhos (Bacchus) bathed."
HORAE GODDESSES OF THE FOUR SEASONS
Horae of the four seasons, Greco-Roman mosaic from Chebba C2nd A.D., Bardo Museum
The Horai (Horae) sometimes personified the four seasons--Spring (Eiar), Summer (Theros), Autumn (Phthinoporon) and Winter (Kheimon). As such they were described as daughters of the sun-god Helios (Helius) who guided their father's path across the heavens and oversaw the flowering and fruiting of the earth.
Alcman, Fragment 20 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (C7th B.C.) :
"And he [Zeus] created three seasons, Summer and Winter, and the third, Autumn, and Spring as a fourth, when things grow but there is not enough to eat."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 10. 334 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"[Paris of Troy lay dying, wounded by a poison arrow :] Hera beheld him, with rejoicing soul throned in the Olympian palace-court of Zeus. And seated at her side were handmaids four whom radiant-faced Selene (the Moon) bare to Helios (the Sun) to be unwearying ministers in Heaven, in form and office diverse each from each; for of these Horai (Horae, Seasons) one was summer's queen, and one of winter and his stormy star, of spring the third, of autumn-tide the fourth. So in four portions parted is man's year ruled by these Queens in turn--but of all this be Zeus himself the Overseer in heaven. And of those issues now these spake with her which baleful Aisa (Fate) in her all-ruining heart was shaping [i.e. the final chapter of the Trojan War] . . . Of these things with her handmaids did the Queen of Heaven hold converse, and of many such, but Paris, while they talked, gave up the ghost on Ida: never Helen saw him more."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 2. 24 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Enrobed in purple vestments Phoebus [Helios the Sun] sat, high on a throne of gleaming emeralds. Attending him on either side stood Dies (Day) and Mensis (Month) and Annus (Year) and Saecula (Century), and Horae (Seasons) disposed at equal intervals between. Young Ver (Spring) was there, with coronet of flowers, and naked Aestas (Summer), garlanded with grain; Autumnus (Autumn) was there with trampled vintage stained, and icy Hiems (Winter), rime upon his locks."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 2. 118 ff :
"When Titan [Helio the Sun] perceived the Morning Star [Eosphoros] setting and saw the world in crimson sheen . . . he bade the nimble Horae (Hours) go yoke his steeds, and they, swift goddesses, fastened the jingling harness and the reins, as from the lofty stalls the horses came, filled with ambrosial food and breathing flame."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 11. 486 - 12. 116 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The rosycheek Horai (Horae, Seasons), daughters of the restless lichtgang their stormfoot father [Helios], made a hast to the house of Helios (the Sun). One [Winter] wore a snowy veil shadowing her face, and sent forth a gleam of subtle light through the black clouds; her feet were fitted with chilly hailstone shoes. She had bound her braids about her watery head, and fastened across her brow a rain-producing veil, with an evergreen garland on her head and a white circlet of snow covering her frost-rimed breast.
Another [Spring] puffed out from her lips the swallow-wind's breath which gives joy to mortal men, having banded the spring-time tresses of her zephyrloving head with a fresh dewy coronet, while she laughed like a flower, and fanned through her robe far abroad the fragrance of the opening rose at dawn. So she wove the merry dance for Adonis [whose festival was in spring] and Kythereia (Cytherea) [Aphrodite] together.
Another [Summer], the harvest-home Season (Hora), came with her Sisters. In her right hand she held a head of corn with grains clustering on the top, and a sickle with sharpcutting blade, forecrier of harvest; her maiden form was wrapt in linen shining white, and as she wheeled the dance the fine texture showed the secrets of her thighs, while in a hotter sun the cheeks of her drooping face were damp with dewy sweat.
Another [Autumn] leading the dance for an easy plowing, had bound about her hairless temple shoots of olive drenches with the waters of sevenstream Nile. Scanty and withering was the hair by her temples, dry was her body; for she is fruitpining Autumn who shears off the foliage from the trees with scatter-leaf winds. For there were no vinebranches yet, trailing about the Nymphe's neck with tangled clusters and golden curls; not yet was she drunken with purple Maronian juice beside the neatswilling winepress; not yet had the ivy run up with wild intertwining tendrils. But then the fated time had come, which had brought the Horai (Horae, Seasons) running together to the house of Helios (the Sun).
So these by the brows of western Okeanos (Oceanus) took ship for the mansion of Helios their father. As they approached, Hesperos (Hesperus) the Evening Star leapt up and went out of the hall to meet them. Selene (the Moon) herself also darted out newrisen, showing her light as she drove her cattle.
The Sisters at the sight of the lifegiving Charioteer stayed their fruitful step. He had just finished his course and come down from the sky. Bright Phosphoros [the Morning Star] was ready for the fire-eyed driver, near his chariot and four. He put away the hot yokestraps and starry whip, and washed in the neighbouring Okeanos (Oceanus) stream the bodies of the firefed horses wet with sweat. The colts shook the dripping manes on their necks, and stamped with sparkling hooves the shining mangertrough. The four were greeted by the twelve circling Horai (Horae, Hours), daughters of Khronos (Chronos, Time), tripling round the fiery throne of the untiring Charioteer in a ring, servants of Helios that attend on his shining car, priestesses of the lichtgang each in her turn: for they bend the servile neck to the ancient manager o the universe.
Then up and spoke the grapetending Hora (Season) [i.e. Autumn], holding out her hook of the fruitpining autumn as witness to her prayer: ‘Helios, giver of feason, plantdresser, lord of fruits! When will the soil make winemother grapes to grow? Which of the blessed will have this honour betrothed him by Aion (Aeon) [Khronos, Time]? Hide it not, I adjure you, because of all the Sisters I alone have no privilege of honour! I provide no fruit, no corn, no meadowhay, no rain from Zeus.’
She spoke, and Helios cheered the nurse of the fruitage to come. He raised a finger, and pointed out to his circling daughter close to a wall opposite the separated tablets of Harmonia. In these are recorded in one group all the oracles which the prophetic hand of Phanes [Khronos, Time] first born engraved as ordained for the world, and drew with his pencil the house proper for each [the astronomical house or zodiac sign]. And Hyperion [Helios the Sun], dispenser of fire, added these words: ‘In the third tablet, you shall know whence the fruitage of wine shall come--where is the Lion and the Virgin: in the fourth, who is the Prince of grapes--that is where Ganymedes draws the delicious nectar, and lifts cup in hand in the picture.’
When the god had spoken, the wineloving maiden turned her eyes about, and ran to the place. Beside the oracular wall she saw the first tablet, old as the infinite past, containing all things in one: upon it was all that Ophion lord paramount had done, all that ancient Kronos accomplished . . .
But when the stormfoot Hora, Phaethon's [Helios the Sun's] handmaid, had seen the fiery shining victory of Zeus at war and the hailstorm snowstorm conflict of Kronos (Cronus), she looked at the next tablet in its turn. There was shown how the pine was in labour of the human race . . . how Raincloud Zeus brought the waters up in mountainous seas on high and flooded all cities . . .
When the priestess of lichtgang passed with nimble foot to the third tabled, the circling maiden stood gazing at the manifold oracles of the world's fate, in letters of flowing colour engraved with the artist's vermilion, all that elaborate story which the primeval mind had inscribed; and this was the prophecy that she read in the tablets : ‘[Various prophecies from the nymphe Io to Atalanta] . . .’
The Hora passed restless over all these on one tablet, until she came to the place where fiery Helios had indicated the signs of prophecy to the wind-swept maiden. There was drawn the shining Lion, there the starry Virgin was depicted in mimic shape, holding a bunch of grapes, the summergrown flower of fruitage: there the daughter of Khronos (Chronos, Time) stayed her feet, and this is what she read : ‘Kissos (Cissus, Ivy), the lovely youth, shall creep into a plant, and he shall by the highflying ivy that entwines about the branches. From young Kalamos (Calamus) will spring a reed rising straight and bending to the breeze, a delicate sprout of the fruitful soil, to support the tame vine. Ampelos (Ampelus, Vine) shall change form into a plant and give his name to the fruit of the vine.’
But when the harvest-home maiden had seen all these prophecies, she sought the place where hard by on the neighbouring wall was engraved the figure of Ganymedes pouring the nectar-juice into a golden cup. There was an oracle engraved in four lines of verse. There the grape-loving goddess revelled, for she found this prophecy, kept for Lyaios (Lyaeus) Ivybearer [Dionysos], ‘Zeus gave to Phoibos (Phoebus) [Apollon] the prophetic laurel, red roses to the rosy Aphrodite, the grayleaf olive to Athena Greyeyes, corn to Demeter, vine to Dionysos.’
That is what the Euian maiden saw on the tablets. She departed joyful, and with her Sisters was away to the stream of the eastern Okeanos (Oceanus), moving along with Phaethon's [Helios the Sun's] team."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38. 235 ff :
"I [Helios the Sun] carry the measures of time (khronos), surrounded by the four Horai (Horae, Seasons), about the same centre, until I have passed through a whole house [of the Zodiac] and fulfilled one complete month as usual . . . Against Mene the moon [Selene] I move my rolling ball, the sparkling nourisher of sheafproducing growth, and pass on my endless circuit about the turning-point of the Zodiakos (Zodiac), creating the measures of time (khronos)."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38. 268 ff :
"When I [Helios the Sun] reach the Ram, the centre of the universe, the navel-star of Olympos, I [Helios] in my exaltation let the Spring (Eiar) increase; and crossing the herald of the West-Wind (Zephyros), the turning-line which balances night equal with day, I guide the dewy course of that Season (Eiar) [Hora] when the swallow comes. Passing into the lower house, opposite the Ram, I cast the light equal day on the two hooves; and again I make day balanced equally with dark on my homeward course when I bring in the leafshaking course of the autumn Season (Phthinoporon) [Hora], and drive with lesser light to the lower turning-point in the leafshedding month. Then I bring Winter (Kheimon, Cheimon) [Hora] for mankind with its rains, over the back of fish-tailed Aigokereos (Aegocerus) [constellation Capricorn], that earth may bring forth her gifts full of life for the farmers, when she receives the bridal showers and the creative dew. I deck out also corn-tending Summer (Theros) [Hora] the messenger of harvest, flogging the wheatbearing earth with hotter beams."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 577 ff :
"The Horai (Horae, Seasons), handmaids of Helios (the Sun), to do grace to Lyaios (Lyaeus) [Dionysos], painted with flowers the fountain's margin, and fragrant whiffs from the new-growing meadow beat on the balmy air. There were the clustering blooms which have the name Narkissos (Narcissus) the fair youth . . . there was the living plant of Amyklaian (Amyclaean) iris; there sang the nightingales over the spring blossoms, flying in troops above the clustering flowers."
HORAE GODDESSES OF PEACE, JUSTICE & ORDER
As an extension of their function as the goddesses of the ordering of the year, the Horai (Horae) also presided over the ordering of human affairs personified as Good Order, Justice and Peace.
Pindar, Olympian Ode 13. 6 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Here [in this city] dwells Eunomia (Good Order) and that unsullied fountain Dike (Justice), her sister, sure support of cities; and Eirene (Irene, Peace) of the same kin, who are the stewards of wealth for mankind--three glorious daughters of wise-counselled Themis (Order). Far from their path they hold proud Hybris (Insolence), fierce-hearted mother of full-fed Koros (Corus, Disdain) . . . But to you sons of Aletes, how often the Horai (Horae, Hours), decked in their wreaths, have given the glory of the victor's triumph for supreme valour in the sacred games."
Greek Lyric V Anonymous, Fragment 1018 (from Stobaeus, Anthology) (trans. Campbell) (Greek lyric B.C.) :
"Listen, Moirai (Moirae, Fates) . . . hear our prayers . . . send us rose-bloomed Eunomia (Good Order) and her bright-throned sisters Dike (Justice) and garland-wearing Eirana (Irene, Peace), and make this city forget its heavy-hearted misfortunes."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 72. 5 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"To Zeus also were born, they say, the goddesses . . . Horai (Horae), as they are called, Eunomia (Good Order) and Dike (Justice) and Eirene (Irene, Peace) . . . The Horai, as they are called, to each of them, according as her name indicates, was given [assigned by Zeus] the ordering and adornment of life, so as to serve to the greatest advantage of mankind; for there is nothing which is better to build a life of felicity than obedience to law (eunomia) and justice (dike) and peace (eirene)."
For MORE information on the Horai as abstractions see DIKE , EIRENE , EUNOMIA
HORAE NURSES, MIDWIVES & ATTENDANTS OF THE GODS
Horae of the four seasons, Greco-Roman mosaic A.D., Red Castle Museum, Tripoli
The Horai (HOrae) were close companions of the gods of spring, such as Hera queen of the heavens, Aphrodite the goddess of procreation (including animals in spring), Hermes god of the herds and flocks, and Persephone goddess of the spring growth. They were often depicted as nature's midwives, as were their sisters, the Moirai or Fates.
I. NURSES & HANDMAIDENS OF HERA
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 13. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Olen [legendary Greek poet, unknown date], in his hymn to Hera, says that Hera was reared by the Horai (Horae, Seasons)."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 3 :
"[In the temple of Hera near Mykenai (Mycenae) in Argolis, the statue of the goddess] is wearing a crown with Kharites (Charites, Graces) and Horai (Horae, Seasons) worked upon it."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 17. 1 :
"[At Olympia :] In the temple of Hera is an image of Zeus, and the image of Hera is sitting on a throne with Zeus standing by her . . . The figures of Horai (Horae, Seasons) next to them, seated upon thrones."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 10. 334 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"Hera . . . throned in the Olympian palace-court of Zeus. And seated at her side were handmaids four whom radiant-faced Selene (the Moon) bare to Helios (the Sun) to be unwearying ministers in Heaven, in form and office diverse each from each; for of these Horai (Horae, Seasons) one was summer's queen, and one of winter and his stormy star, of spring the third, of autumn-tide the fourth."
For MORE information on this goddess see HERA
II. ATTENDANTS OF ZEUS
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 40. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[In the temple of Zeus at Megara :] Above the head of Zeus [in his temple at Megara] are the Horai (Horae, Seasons) and Moirai (Moirae, Fates), and all may see that he is the only god obeyed by Moira (Destiny), and the he apportions the seasons as is due."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 11. 7 :
"[Among the images decorating the throne of Zeus at Olympia :] On the uppermost parts of the throne Pheidias has made, above the head of the image [of Zeus], three Kharites (Charites, Graces) on one side and three Horai (Horae, Seasons) on the other."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 10. 334 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"So in four portions parted is man's year ruled by these Queens [the Horai, Seasons] in turn--but of all this be Zeus himself the Overseer in heaven."
III. NURSES & HANDMAIDENS OF APHRODITE
Homeric Hymn 6 to Aphrodite 2 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.) :
"[Aphrodite was born of the sea-foam near :] Sea-set Kypros (Cyprus) . . . and there the gold-filleted Horai (Horae, Seasons) welcomed her joyously. They clothed her with heavenly garments : on her head they put a fine, well-wrought rorwn of gold, and in her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichale and precious gold, and adorned her with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breats, jewels the gold-filleted Horai wear themselves whenever they go to their father's house to join the lovely dances of the gods. And when they had fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when they saw her."
Homeric Hymn 3 to Pythian Apollo 186 ff :
"[Apollon] speeds from earth to Olympos (Olympus) , to the house of Zeus, to join the gathering of the other gods : then straightway the undying gods think only of the lyre and song, and all the Mousai (Muses) together, voice sweetly answering voice, hymn . . . Meanwhile the rich-tressed Kharites (Charites, Graces) and cheerful Horai (Horae, Seasons) dance with Harmonia (Harmony) and Hebe (Youth) and Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, holding each other by the wrist."
Alcaeus, Fragment 308 (from Menander the rhetorician, Declamations) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric I) (C6th B.C.) :
"Alkaios (Alcaeus) . . . deals with the mid-wifery of the Kharites (Charites, Graces) and the nursing of the Horai (Horae, Seasons)."
Ibycus, Fragment 288 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric I) (C6th B.C.) :
"Euryalos (Euryalus), offshoot of the blue-eyed Kharites (Charites, Graces), darling of the lovely-haired Horai (Horae), Kypris (Cypris) [Aphrodite] and soft-lidded Peitho (Persuasion) nursed you among rose-blossoms."
Apuleius, The Golden Ass 10. 30 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :
"[From a description of an ancient Greek play portraying the Judgement of Paris :] Each maiden representing a goddess was accompanied by her own escort . . . Next floated in charming children [attending Aphrodite], unmarried girls, representing on one side the Gratiae (Graces) [Kharites (Charites)] at their most graceful, and on the other the Horae (Seasons) [Horai] in all their beauty. They were appeasing the goddess by strewing wreaths and single blossoms before her, and they formed a most elegant chorus-line as they sought to please the Mistress of pleasures with the foliage of spring."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 3. 380 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The childbed Horai (Horae, Seasons) had just delivered her [Aphrodite's] baby [Harmonia] still wet, when her breasts were tight and swollen with the gushing white sap."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 41. 155 ff :
"The four Horai (Horae, Seasons) struck up a tune together, when Aphrodite brought forth her wonderful daughter [Beroe]."
For MORE information on this goddess see APHRODITE
IV. COMPANIONS OF PERSEPHONE
Orphic Hymn 43 to the Horae (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"[The Horai (Horae)] attending Persephone, when back from night the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) and Kharites (Charites, Graces) lead her up to light [out of the Underworld in spring]; when in a band harmonious they advance, and joyful found her form the solemn dance."
Orphic Hymn 29 to Persephone :
"[Persephone] associate of the Horai (Horae, Seasons), essence bright, all-ruling virgin, bearing heavenly light. With fruits abounding, of a bounteous mind, horned, and alone desired by those of mortal kind. O vernal queen, whom grassy plains delight, sweet to the smell, and pleasing to the sight: whose holy form in budding fruits we view, earth's vigorous offspring of a various hue."
For MORE information on this goddess see PERSEPHONE
V. NURSES OF HERMES
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1. 26 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"[From a description of an ancient Greek painting at Neapolis (Naples) :] Birth of Hermes . . . He is born on the crest of Olympos (Olympus), at the very top, the abode of the gods . . . There the Horai (Horae, Seasons) care for Hermes at his birth. The painter has depicted these also, each according to her time, and they wrap him in swaddling clothes, sprinkling over him the most beautiful flowers, that he may have swaddling clothes not without distinction. While they turn to [Maia] the mother of Hermes lying on her couch of travail, he slips out of his swaddling clothes and begins to walk at once and descends from Olympos."
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 5. 15 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biography C1st to C2nd A.D.) :
"[Hermes] remembered the Horai (Horae, Seasons), by whom he himself had been nurtured on the peaks of Olympos, and bethought how once, when he was still in swaddling clothes, they had told him a story about the cow, which had a conversation with the man about herself and about the earth, and so set him aflame after the cows of Apollon."
For MORE information on this god see HERMES
VI. NURSES OF ARISTAEUS (ARISTAIOS)
Pindar, Pythian Ode 9. 58 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"There shall she [Kyrene (Cyrene)] bear a son [Aristaios (Aristaeus)], whom glorious Hermes will take from his fond mother's breast, and carry to the enthroned Horai (Horae, Seasons) and Mother Gaia (Gaea, Earth); and they will gently nurse the babe upon their knees, and on his lips distil ambrosia and nectar, and shall ordain him an immortal being, a Zeus or holy Apollon, a joy to men who love him."
[N.B. Aristaios was the rustic god of shepherds and beekeeping.]
For MORE information on this god see ARISTAIOS
VII. COMPANIONS OF PAN
Orphic Hymn 11 to Pan (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Throned with the Horai (Horae, Seasons), Bacchanalian Pan, goat-footed, horned, from whom the world began; in endless dance and melody divine."
For MORE information on this god see PAN
VIII. MIDWIVES OF DIONYSUS
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 8. 3 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"For to Kronides (Cronides) [Zeus] Semele's house was lovely heaven, and the quickfoot Horai (Horae, Seasons) of Zeus became the attendants in the palace of Kadmos (Cadmus)."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 8. 33 ff :
"Round about the boy [i.e. Dionysos in the womb of Semele] Kronion's (Cronion's) [Zeus'] attendants the Horai (Horae, Seasons) went their rounds about the sky."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 9. 12 ff :
"[Dionysos was birthed from the thigh of Zeus :] No sooner had he [Dionysos] peeped out by this divine delivery, than the childbed Horai (Horae, Seasons) crowned him with an ivy-garland in presage of things to come; they wreathed the horned head of a bullshaped Dionysos with twining horned snakes under the flowers."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 16. 392 ff :
"[The nymphe Nikaia (Nicaea) was impregnated by the god Dionysos :] When the time came for her delivery, the lifewarming Horai (Horae, Seasons) played the midwives to a female child [Telete], and confirmed the nine-circled course of Selene (the Moon)."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 794 ff :
"O midwife Horai (Horae, Seasons), be witness of her delivery."
For MORE information on the Horai & the birth of Dionysos see:
For MORE information on this god see DIONYSOS
IX. HANDMAIDENS OF HELIUS (HELIOS)
The Horai (Horae, Seasons) were often represented as the handmaidens of Helios the sun, who guided his seasonal path across the heavens.
For INFO on the as handmaidens of Helios the sun see:
For MORE information on this god see HELIOS
X. NURSES OF DARDANUS (DARDANOS)
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 3. 195 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Dardanos, Emathion's brother, was one whom the bed of Zeus had begotten, whom Dike (Justice) nursed and cared for a the time when the Horai (Horae) ran to the mansion of Queen Elektra (Electra), bearing the sceptre of Zeus, and the robe oHoraif Time, and the staff of Olympos, to prophecy the indissoluble dominion of the Ausonian race [the Trojans]. The Horai brought up the baby; and by an irrevocable oracle of Zeus, the lad just sprouting the flower of recrescent youth left Elektra's house, when for the third time a deluge of rain had flooded the world's foundations with towering billows."
HORAE & THE CROWN OF ARIADNE
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 5 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Crown [Constellation Corona]. This is thought to be Ariadne's crown, placed by Father Liber [Dionysos] among the constellations. For they say that when Ariadne wed Liber on the island of Dia, and all the gods gave her wedding gifts, she first received this crown as a gift from Venus [Aphrodite] and the Horae (Seasons)."
HORAE GODDESSES OF IMMORTALITY
The Horai (Horae) were regarded as goddesses of immortality: they guarded the gates of heaven, admitting only gods; were present as midwives and nurses of the gods; and delivered ambrosia, the food of the gods.
I. AMBROSIA, THE FOOD OF THE GODS
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 4. 128 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"Singing of Peleus' Bridal of Delight [the wedding of Peleus and Thetis], which all the blest Immortals brought to pass by Pelion's crests; sang of the ambrosial feast when the swift Horai (Horae, Hours) brought in immortal hands meats not of earth, and heaped in golden maunds; sang how the silver tables were set forth in haste by Themis [i.e. the mother of the Horai] blithely laughing . . . sang how the Nymphai (Nymphs) in golden chalices mingled ambrosia."
II. GUARDIANS OF THE PATH TO GODHOOD
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 19. 3 - 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[Among the scenes depicted on the throne of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) near Sparta :] The Moirai (Moirae, Fates) and Horai (Horae, Seasons), and with them Aphrodite, Athena and Artemis. They are carrying to heaven Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus) and Polyboia (Polyboea), the sister, they say, of Hyakinthos [i.e. who were granted immortality in heaven]."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 13. 22 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[Iris delivers a message from Zeus to the young god Dionysos :] ‘Come, lift the thyrsus of battle in your hands, and earnheaven by your deeds. For the immortal court of Zeus will not receive you without hard work, and the Horai (Horae, Hours) will not open the gates of Olympos (Olympus) to you unless you have struggled for the prize [i.e. the Horai admit new gods into heaven].’"
For MORE info on the Horai as gatekeepers of heaven see:
HYMNS TO THE HORAE
Orphic Hymn 43 to the Horae (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"To the Horai (Horae, Seasons), Fumigation from Aromatics. Daughters of Zeus and Themis, Horai bright, Dike (Justice), and blessed Eirene (Irene, Peace) and Eunomia (Lawfulness) right, vernal and grassy, vivid, holy powers, whose balmy breath exhales in lovely flowers; all-coloured Horai (Seasons), rich increase your care, circling, for ever flourishing and fair: invested with a veil of shining dew, a flowery veil delightful to the view: attending Persephone, when back from night the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) and Kharites (Charites, Graces) lead her up to light; when in a band harmonious they advance, and joyful round her form the solemn dance. With Mother [Demeter] triumphing, and Zeus divine, propitious come, and on our incense shine; give earth a store of blameless fruits to bear, and make these novel mystics' life your care."
CULT OF THE HORAE & CULT ART
I. MEGARA Main Town of Megaris (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 40. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[In the temple of Zeus at Megara :] Above the head of Zeus are the Horai (Horae, Seasons) and Moirai (Fates), and all may see that he is the only god obeyed by Moira (Destiny), and the he apportions the seasons as is due."
II. Near MYCENAE (MYKENAI) Town in Argolis (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 3 :
"[In the temple of Hera near Mykenai (Mycenae) in Argos, the statue of the goddess] is wearing a crown with Kharites (Charites, Graces) and Horai (Horae, Seasons) worked upon it."
III. ARGOS Main City of Argolis (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 20. 5 :
"[Near the Khorea (Chorea) in Argolis city :] A little further on is a sanctuary of the Horai (Horae)."
IV. SPARTA Main City of Lacedaimonia (Lakedaimonia) (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18. 10 - 16 :
"[The throne of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) near Sparta :] is supported by two Kharites (Charites, Graces) and two Horai (Horae)."
V. OLYMPIA Village & Sanctuary in Elis (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 11. 7 :
"[Among the images decorating the throne of Zeus in his temple at Olympia :] On the uppermost parts of the throne Pheidias has made, above the head of the image [of Zeus], three Kharites (Charites, Graces) on one side and three Horai (Horae, Seasons) on the other. These in epic poetry are included among the daughters of Zeus. Homer too in the Iliad says that the Horai have been entrusted with the sky, just like guards of a king's court."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 15. 2 :
"[At the shrine of Olympia :] Well, there is in the Altis, when you are about to pass to the left of the Leonidaion, an altar of Aphrodite, and after it one of the Horai (Horae, Seasons)."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 17. 1 :
"[At the shrine of Olympia :] In the temple of Hera is an image of Zeus, and the image of Hera is sitting on a throne with Zeus standing by her, bearded and with a helmet on his head. They are crude works of art. The figures of Horai (Horae, Seasons) next to them, seated upon thrones, were made by the Aeginetan Smilis. Beside them stands an image of Themis, as being mother of the Seasons. It is the work of Dorykleidas (Dorycleidas), a Lakedaimonian by birth and a disciple of Dipoenos (Dipoenus) and Skyllis (Scyllis)."
VI. MEGALOPOLIS Main City of Arcadia (Arkadia) (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 31. 1 :
"[At Megalopolis in Arkadia (Arcadia)] is an enclosure sacred to the Great Goddesses (Megalai Theai) [Demeter and Persephone] ... Before it stands a table, on which are carved two Horai (Horae), Pan with pipes, and Apollon playing the harp. There is also an inscription saying they are among the first gods."
VII. ERYTHRAE (ERYTHRAI) Town in Ionia - Lydia (Asia Minor)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 5. 9 :
"[By the temple of Athena in Erythrai (Erythrae) in Ionia :] The white marble images of Kharites (Charites, Graces) and Horai (Horae) that stand in the open before the entrance."
ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART
| i don't know |
Seal Point and Blue Point are types of which cat? | What Does "Seal Point Cat" Mean? - Pets
Pets
What Does "Seal Point Cat" Mean?
by Elton Dunn
The seal point is one recognized coloration of colorpointed cats.
Those impish Siamese cats from the Disney classic "Lady and the Tramp" are well-known members of the seal point club. Seal point designates a cat's physical appearance rather than one specific breed of cat. Take pride in knowing your seal point kitty's features are distinguishing markings with a history.
Seal Point
Seal point refers to the coloration of certain types of cats. A seal point cat has a beige or fawn colored body and dark brown legs, ears and a tail. The paw pads and nose pad will be brown on a seal point, and the eyes will be deep blue.
Differences
Seal point may look similar to two other recognized color points: chocolate point and tortie point. A chocolate point cat has milk chocolate limbs, compared with the blackish-brown of a seal point. Check Kitty's nose and paw pads for clues. A chocolate point will have pinkish paw pads, compared to the seal's brown pads. The tortie point has orange and brown coloration on limbs and mottled paw pads, compared to the plain brown pads for a seal cat.
Types of Cats
Generally, seal point coloration occurs in purebred cats, including the Siamese, Himalayan and ragdoll. In the 1940s to 1950s, breeders created shorthaired cats with color points by breeding a Siamese to an American shorthair. The resulting colorpoint shorthair cat comes in seal point color too. While domestic shorthairs can display seal point coloration, it's far less common.
Time Frame
When born, kittens have pale pink paw pads and creamy white skin. The seal point coloring develops in the first few weeks of a kitten's life. A splotch of brown color on the nose should appear within the first two weeks. It can take a full year for the remainder of the seal point markings to really become apparent.
| Siamese |
How many gills are in an Imperial pint? | Balinese Cat History,Balinese Breed Origin/Information (TresorCats)
Blue Point
Lilac Point
God made the cat in order that man might have the pleasure of caressing the lion.
-
© All images, content, and text are Copyright reserved @TresorSiameseCats.com 2010-
2017
Elcy Crouch with a Seal Pointed Balinese Cat named “Surprise Girl”, circa 1960’s.
Photo above is of the late Sylvia Holland, with her Seal and Blue pointed Balinese kitty’s, circa 1968.
Seal Point Balinese Kitten In Black & White, Eye Color Preserved.
*Blue Point Balinese Kitten in Black & White, eye color preserved.
Balinese Cat Breed History
Balinese cats are regarded as the long haired version of the Siamese cat. They are considered to be a spontaneous mutation of the Siamese cat by some breed fanciers, but a stronger theory is that they are derived by past breeding's between the Siamese & Turkish Angoras. This explains why may of today's Siamese cats still produce Balinese kittens in their litters from time to time. Balinese kittens that are resultant of Siamese breeding's are explained as being the result of the 'long hair recessive gene' that is present in many of the Siamese lines today's. Further proof lies in the fact that DNA testing facilities like UC Davis (CA) can actually test a Siamese cats DNA to find out if that particular cat carries the 'long hair recessive gene'. Another strong fact that Balinese may share a common link to the Turkish Angoras is that Balinese are considered to be one of the top hypoallergenic breeds, but the Siamese cat is not. This is found in that the long hair gene is shared with the Turkish Angora, a common link.
In writing about the Balinese breeds history, I do need to mention that the breed originated and was established in America. The Cat Fanciers Federation (CFF) had a longhair Siamese (which is what Balinese actually are and they were formerly called) registered in 1928. But the breeds history skyrockets a lot later, in the 1950's, when true Balinese breeding programs were established for the Balinese breed. It is believed that 'fluffy or fuzzy' kittens were born to Siamese litters from time to time, and unfortunately these 'fluffy or fuzzy' kittens were considered undesirable to the Siamese breeders who desired only short haired Siamese cats be produced in their litters. This all changed in the 1950's when two Siamese breeders, Mrs. Marion Dorsey of Rai-
Mar cattery in California, and Mrs. Helen Smith of MerryMews Cattery in New York, both found longhaired kittens in their Siamese litters and were so smitten with their beauty that instead of placing them as pets as most breeders of the breed would do, they began propagating the long haired kittens by allowing them to reproduce. Mrs. Helen Smith is credited with giving the Balinese breed their name, as they were formerly only known as 'long haired Siamese'. Mrs. Helen Smith stated that she decided to call them Balinese after Balinese Dancers, because their fur swayed gently and gracefully, which reminded her of the Balinese dancers from Bali. Marion Dorsey later sold her cattery (Rai-
Mar) to Sylvia Holland (Hollands Farm Cattery) in 1965. Sylvia Holland was a Siamese breeder originally, but once she was introduced to the Balinese breed she became the leading pioneer to have C.F.A. officially recognize the long haired Siamese as Balinese. It is thanks to these three women's efforts that we are able to enjoy this breed today, and to see the Balinese breed recognized as an official breed by all cat registry associations in North America and abroad.
Balinese Breed Type's:
Similar to the Siamese, there are two known and accepted Balinese style type's (head/body). There is the Original Balinese (commonly referred to as the apple head, old style type), and there is the Modern Balinese (aka wedge head, and show style type).
Balinese (aka Apple head, Traditional, Original, Old Style):
The Balinese breed is a hearty, robust type. The head is large and round, with small ears and large rounded shaped eyes with a small almond shaped slant at the end of the eyes. The body hair is about 2+ inches long throughout, with a thick and fluffy plumed tail. There is also a long top-
coat, with a short medium undercoat. The Balinese often have thick lions mane type hairy chests and head of hair. The hair on their ears is also long, fanning outwardly from inside the ear to the outside of the ear. The texture of the fur is silky, velvety and clear of mats. The boning is thick on the legs, and the paws are large with fur tufts surrounding the paw pads. The nose is often wide, and short, but can be narrow and tall.
Modern Balinese (aka wedge head, show style, classic):
Photo of modern/contemporary Balinese cat: © Helmi Flick
The ideal Modern Balinese is a medium sized, svelte, refined cat with long tapering lines, very lithe and somewhat muscular. The head is a long tapering wedge. The total wedge starts at the nose and flares out in straight lines to the tips of the ears forming a triangle, with no break at the whiskers. No less than the width of an eye between the eyes. When the whiskers are smoothed back, the underlying bone structure is apparent. The skull is flat. In profile, a long straight line is seen from the top of the head to the tip of the nose. The ears are strikingly large, pointed, wide at base; continuing the lines of the wedge. The eyes are almond shaped, medium in size, neither protruding nor recessed, slanted towards the nose in harmony with the lines of the wedge shape and ears, uncrossed. The nose is long and straight, a continuation of the forehead with no break. The tail is long, whippy, thin and plumed. More details are found of the Modern Balinese type by visiting: http://www.cfainc.org/Breeds/BreedsAB/Balinese/BalineseArticle.aspx
Balinese Breed Personality
Balinese cats are highly intelligent, affectionate, playful and very fun to be around. Just like the Siamese, they are well known for their ability to communicate vocally. The Balinese breed has a special distinct vocal range, from a sweet low chirp to loud yowls when in distress. This bred is highly social, friendly, and sensitive to your moods and feelings. This is the type of cat you want around when you are feeling down, moody, or plain old bored. They are like little children, and needs loads of attention and affection. They are the perfect companions for growing children, as they will be known to play for hours on end without being destructive. They have the most innocent little faces, that hide a sometimes mischievous personality trait. They crave attention from their human companions and are known to sometimes act out to get it.
They are agile, and can leap far distances of many feet. They can be taught to fetch, just like a dog, and learn new games very easily and quickly. They can keep you entertained with their playful antics and still maintain a loving disposition. They can be quite a bit assertive in their requests for love or attention, but will still possess a special dignity particular to the Balinese and Siamese breeds.
Color Points
There are four recognized color points in the Balinese breed. They are Seal Point, Chocolate Point, Blue Point, and Lilac Point. I will describe the color points and show pictures of them as examples. Photo’s of adult cats for color point observation viewable, click here .
Seal Point Balinese cats have very dark, almost black, seal-
brown points with facial masks, ears, tail, paws, nose leather, and paw pads all the same color. Of all the color points, they have the widest variation in body color. At a young age their body base might be a pale white or light cream, but as they age the color will change to a light brown or dark beige, or beige.
There should always be a contrast between the body color, and the points. Though it is not unusual depending on the environmental climate at birth (cold climates tend to create darker pigmentation in kittens) and a combination of genetics for a Seal point to become the same color throughout. This is known as 'the ruddy' factor. Although the fur on their chest, neck and stomach may stay lighter, their backs tend to darken to a warm toned dark caramel beige, and may even turn dark brown, so that later in life there may be little difference in color between the hair on their backs and their tails.
The Chocolate Point has ivory-
white fur on the body base which remains pale throughout the cats lifetime, although the chocolate points darken and spread within the respective point parameters. This differs from Seal Points whose coats tend to darken as they get older. Occasionally, though, you may find a chocolate point with a cinnamon tone to their coat, this is set off by warm toned milk chocolate colored points ( of the facial mask, ears, tail, paws).
The nose leather and especially the paw pads, have a pink-
ish undertone. If in doubt, this pink-
ish undertone is a good way of telling a chocolate point from a seal point, as the seal point has a dark brown (black-
ish) colored paw pad and nose flesh.
Chocolate points are less common than seal points and the kittens develop their full coloration later in life than their darker seal and blue point counterparts.
The Blue Point is related genetically to the seal point, being a version of the very much darker seal point. It is believed that the Russian Blue cat was bred with the Seal Point Siamese, and the blue points were the variation in coloration from that cross mating between the two breeds. From there, the rest of the color point dilutes were created (Chocolate Point, and Lilac Point).
The blue point has cold-
toned, deep slate-
gray-
bluish points (facial mask, ears, tail, paws, nose leather, and paw pads), and a bluish white body fur which, like that of seal points, tends to darken with age.
All members of this color point should have cold-
toned, light fur rather than a warm-
toned beige, but occasionally you'll find cats with lighter, silvery-
blue color points rather than the slate-
gray points.
Lilac Points are the palest of the pale, with pinkish toned, light frosty gray ears, tail, and paws. They are the lightest of the four major breed colors (seal, chocolate, blue, and lilac).
There are sometimes some lilac points that can be so light that they are referred to as 'frost points'. Frost point paleness is rare, and you must use certain color points to acquire this coloration in offspring.
The lilac point color pattern is actually a paler version or dilute of the blue point. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘albino’ of the breed in that they do not darken as they age, whereas the other color points do tend to darken as they age. This however does not mean that they are genetically defunct, but rather the lightest of the four respective color points.
Conclusion
The Balinese breed is a spectacular cat, with many benefits and positive breed traits. With an interesting history, breed type, personality galore and virtually no genetic health defects, they are the perfect choice for the most discerning cat fancier. This breed is highly exclusive, as only a small fraction of North American breeders specialize in Apple Head Balinese mating's.
Special Note: I had the privilege of having some of my Balinese cats and kittens filmed for the Animal Planet show, “Cat’s 101”, season 3, episode 2, original air date: 9/25/2010. Find the episode on amazon prime, or your cable lineup.
The Balinese is quickly gaining notoriety and popularity in the cat world due in part to their hypoallergenic benefits, so don’t wait any longer snuggle up to a Balinese cat or kitten today.
Size & Longevity of the Balinese Cat Breed
The Balinese breed is of a medium to large build. Males tend to weigh anywhere from 10-
16 pounds (more or less depending on the parents involved in the mating), and females average somewhere around 8-
14 pounds full grown. A healthy diet and lifestyle ensures proper growth and longevity. This breed is considered to be one of the longest lived in the long haired breed division. Again, with proper diet, and routine veterinary care, a Balinese cat can have the potential to live anywhere from 17 years to their mid 20’s.
Grooming Of The Balinese Cat & Hypoallergenic Details
The traditional Balinese shed very little and their coat is usually no longer than 2 to 2.5 inches and does not mat, making grooming requirements minimal. However, there are certain hair textures that are very fine, and prone to static energy, that do require more care and brushing. According to "The Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds" By J. Anne Helgren which offers comparative evaluations of various traits of various breed, it lists Persians and Himalayans as a '10' on a scale of 1-
10 regarding need for grooming' and the Balinese a '4' on the same scale. 10 being the highest need for grooming, and 1 being minimal grooming. Only short-
haired cats require less grooming, the Siamese and Tonkinese being listed as a '2' for the short haired grooming scale.
It will be necessary at times to trim the hairs around the back-
end area, as fecal matter or litter debris may clump onto the fur. This is only required on a need to basis depending on the cat. The paw pads do require some care and grooming, as there are hair tufts that grow around the paw pad that can grow quite long, and in order to help your cat with it's grooming needs, these hairs should be trimmed periodically to prevent excessive ingesting of litter over time. Bathing is not necessary except as needed.
Brushing as often as needed with a de-
shedding tool is best advised as regular brushes do not remove enough loose fur, that subsequently ends up on furniture, clothing, and as hairball's over time. The best de-
shedding tool I've found and currently use for my Balinese cats is the 'furminator', which can be found at select retail locations. You may find more information regarding the 'furminator' by visiting their their web-
site at: www.furminator.com .
There are great news for cat allergy sufferers! As mentioned earlier, the Balinese breed is considered to be one of the top hypoallergenic cat breeds. The prefix 'hypo' in the word hypoallergenic means 'less than normal'. Therefore the word hypoallergenic does not mean non-
allergenic. A hypoallergenic cat is less likely than other cats to produce allergenic reactions in some people.
The Balinese is one of the few breeds that produces less of the Fel d 1 & Fel d 4 proteins than other cats, thus causing fewer allergic reactions in allergy sufferers. Cat allergies can be very serious in some people, so meeting a cat breed first before making a purchase or adoption is highly encouraged if a person suffers from cat allergies. However if this cannot be arranged, most experienced breeders offer a 'cat allergy test kit' in which they provide a sample of fur, cat saliva, and dander which exposure instructions. I offer this option, and more details about that can be found on my "Allergy Test Kits" page. "Cat Allergy" in humans is an allergic reaction to one or more of the five known allergens produced by cats. The most common of these are the glycoprotein Fel d 1, secreted by the cat's sebaceous glands and Fel d 4, which is expressed in saliva. An allergic reaction is a histamine reaction that is usually characterized by coughing, wheezing, chest tightening, itching, nasal congestion, rash, watering eyes, sneezing and similar allergy symptoms. Thankfully cat allergy sufferers now have several choices when picking a cat breed. Listed below are some of the most popular cat breeds considered to be hypoallergenic (in no particular order):
*Balinese
| i don't know |
The Estadio de Maracana football stadium is in which country? | Maracanã - Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho: the stadiums for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - FIFA.com
Listen
Built for the 1950 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, the Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, better known as the Maracana, provided the venue for that year’s truly memorable decider between the host nation and Uruguay, one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of the competition.
The Rio de Janeiro stadium will be in the limelight once again at Brazil 2014, hosting seven games in all, more than any other venue. Among those matches will be the Final on 13 July.
Once the largest stadium in the world, packing in crowds of up to 200,000 – among the highest attendances ever seen in the history of the game – the Maracana now has a reduced capacity of 74,738 for Brazil 2014. It remains, nevertheless, the country’s biggest football ground.
Respecting the original layout of the stadium, the project for its refurbishment included the demolition of the lower ring of seats, the construction of a new ring offering improved visibility, the expansion of the access ramps and the replacement of all seating. The stadium is also be fitted with a new roof complete with a rainwater collection system. The facade, which has been listed by the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage, remains untouched.
Rio’s second most popular tourist attraction, the Maracana continued to attract football fans from all over the world, even as it underwent renovation. Visitors to the stadium could watch work unfold from the Torre de Vidro (Glass Tower), built especially for the occasion, and could even take a piece of the old stadium away with them as a souvenir.
| Brazil |
Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, a collection of symptoms caused in some people after eating Chinese food, is said to be caused by which food additive? | Estádio do Maracanã - Rio de Janeiro - World Cup Brazil 2014 Guide
World Cup Brazil 2014 Guide
Join the World Cup Experience
Primary menu
Location: Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Capacity: 78,000
Full name: Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho
Home ground of: Flamengo and Fluminense
Interesting fact: 2nd time Maracanã will host a World Cup Final
About Maracanã
Estádio do Maracanã in 1950
Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, the undisputed largest iconic stadium of Brazil and South America will experience its 2nd World Cup. Estádio do Maracanã has been opened in 1950 and has hosted the legendary 1950 World Cup Final between Brazil and Uruguay. It will be the 2nd time a stadium will be used again for a World Cup Final; the first stadium to have hosted 2 World Cup Finals, was the Azteca Stadium in Mexico. In the 50s, Maracanã was considered the largest stadium in the world with a capacity of almost 200,000 people attending the Final! The stadium however was only officially finished in the year 1965.
The Estádio do Maracanã is one of Rio’s most famous attractions, visited by many football fans around the world. Its official name comes from the journalist Mario Filho who used his influence to start a campaign regarding a stadium construction in the Maracanã area. The word Maracanã comes from the name of the area, which again is derived from the river Maracanã.
Together with the Nacional Mané Garrincha , Estádio do Maracanã will host the most 2014 World Cup matches: 7 times including the Final.
Estádio do Maracanã has hosted 3 matches including the Final during the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil and will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Maracanã Renovation
Estádio do Maracanã is ready
The Estádio do Maracanã has been renovated multiple times, in the year 2000 (after its 50th anniversary), in 2006 and in 2013 for the 2014 World Cup. On the 27th of April 2013, the first match was played since the renovations were completed. This was a test match with teams led by the legendary Brazilian players Ronaldo and Bebeto.
Currently, the capacity is less than in 1950, with a capacity of around 78,000 for the 2014 World Cup. The stadium is completely refurbished with respect to the original layout. If you look at the difference between the 50s Maracanã and the current Estádio do Maracanã, you see obvious differences, but the original form never changed. Aside from a new roof which has been installed together with a rainwater collection system, all seats have been replaced by 4 types of seats and a new ring of seats has been installed which ensures improved visibility. The facade has been left intact since it has been listed by the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage.
The Estádio do Maracanã complies with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certificate requirements, which is granted if the construction has dealt sufficiently with sustainability, energy and environmental issues.
Matches To Be Played: 7
Match
| i don't know |
What is the national flower of Australia? | Australia National Flower - Facts About Golden Wattle
Buy From OurStores
Australia National Flower
Did you know? Golden Wattle are the most fragrant flowers and are used in making perfumes, bath herbs, and potpourris.
Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. The Golden Wattle blooms in spring, - beginning September - in Australia, with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each Golden Wattle flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Acacias are popularly called Wattle.
Kingdom
Genus
Acacia
The tiny Golden Wattle flowers have five very small petals, almost hidden by the long stamens, and are arranged in dense rounded or elongated clusters. The Golden Wattle flowers are yellow in most species, whitish in some, and are widely cultivated as ornamentals.
Autralia's Acacias vary in size but have a distinctive yellow colouring. Most of the species flower during the end of winter or the beginning of spring. The most common Acacia, the Golden Wattle (Arcacias pycnantha) is found in the South Eastern parts of Australia, and the hotter and drier climates.
The Golden Wattle tree, is a shrub of about 4-8 metres. The shrubs and trees genus, Acacia comes from the Pea Family (Fabaceae) and is originally Gondwanian. About 1300 species of Acacia abound worldwide, with about 950 of them being native to Australia. The Golden Wattle features prominently on the Australian coat of arms. Australia celebrates Wattle Day on September 1.
from our stores - Pickupflowers - the flower expert
Facts About Golden Wattle
Since the Golden Wattle is native to Australia's Capital territory, the flower was the obvious choice for the floral emblem.
Australian Acacia pycnantha species are called Golden Wattles, while the African and American species tend are generally called Acacias.
Golden Wattle are sometimes used as food by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus.
Even several years old Golden Wattle seeds germinate, provided the outer covering of the seed is sufficiently abraded for water to penetrate.
The largest Golden wattle is the Blackwood Wattle (Arcacias melanoxylon), which is found within the eastern and southern parts of Australia.
In Australia, Acacias are called Wattles as they were believed to have been used by the early settlers to make the wattle and daub houses.
The most common Golden Wattle is Acacia pycnantha, which is found in the South Eastern parts of Australia, as well as the hotter and drier climates.
Inland, the most common Golden wattle is the Mulga Wattle (Acacias aneura), which has a harder wood than many of the other species. It was also used to make tools and weaponry by the Aboriginal people.
The strong scent of Golden Wattles, creates an illusion of an allergic reaction in some people sensitive to perfumes.
Facts About Australia
Australia was originally a geographical part of the giant continent Gondwana, which broke apart over one hundred million years ago.
The name Australia comes from Terra Australis- the southern land. Australia, is a country, an island and a continent and is nicknamed as the Land Down Under
The capital is Canberra.
The 6th largest nation in the world, Australia is the world's smallest continent and the driest inhabited continent on earth.
Australia's national flag features a blue background with a Union Jack ( UK flag) in the upper left hand quarter; a large seven pointed star is under the Union Jack, accompanied by five small starts on the right hand side.
Australia is located between the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. Australia boasts of a coastline of 36,735 kilometers, with land mass nearly 7.7 million square kilometers. Australian currency is the Dollar.
The predominant language in Australia is English, with over 80 other languages spoken. As at December 2003, Australia is estimated to have a population of over 20 million.
The Koala, one of Australia's most well known animals, is not a bear but a marsupial.
Acacia Gardens is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries, with about 70 per cent of the population living in the 10 largest cities.
Subscribe
Get 10% off on pickupflowers.com
explore
| Acacia pycnantha |
What is the first name of comic-book hero Captain Marvel’s twin sister? | Australian national flower,bottlebrush tree, acacia, kangaroo paw, sturts desert pea, wattle, waratah, wax flower, flora - Aussie-Info.com
WATTLE
(Golden Wattle Acacia pycnantha)
Australia's official national floral emblem, featured on the coat-of-arms. Possibly the best known amongst the Australian plants. With 600 or more kinds of wattles, they can be found in every part of the country, from well-watered areas to the arid Centre to the cold mountain regions. They are usually the first to appear after bush-fires. They can be found growing in the most remote areas, from low, spreading shrubs to large, upright growing trees. The individual flowers are always very small and massed together in pom-pom heads or rod-like spikes.
1st September is Australia's Wattle Day. Whilst most wattles are spring-flowering, there are some that bloom all year round.
for more info
WAX FLOWER Eriostemon
Shown here is the Long-leaf Wax Flower (Eristemon myoporoides). There are about forty species of waxflowers, having five petals and five sepals. The petals spread in a star-like pattern and they are usually a shade of pink to almost white.
They grow along the east coast of Australia.
How much can a Koala bear: Fauna »
Recommended...
| i don't know |
Which actor replaced Charlie Sheen in the US television series ‘Two and a Half Men’? | Charlie Sheen won't appear in 'Two and a Half Men' finale, report says - LA Times
Charlie Sheen won't appear in 'Two and a Half Men' finale, report says
Charlie Sheen
Todd Williamson / Invision/AP
Don't look for Charlie Sheen in the "Two and a Half Men" series finale, a new report says. The actor is pictured in 2012.
Don't look for Charlie Sheen in the "Two and a Half Men" series finale, a new report says. The actor is pictured in 2012. (Todd Williamson / Invision/AP)
Scott Collins
Don't look for Charlie Sheen in 'Two and a Half Men' series finale, report says
Thursday's series finale of "Two and a Half Men" may have to win without Charlie Sheen , according to a new report.
Talks for Sheen to return to the sitcom - from which he was famously sacked in 2011 - "just didn't go anywhere," according to a report at the gossip site Radaronline.com.
"The two sides were unable to come to an agreement about how Charlie's return would be handled," an anonymous source was quoted as saying.
Representatives for CBS and Warner Bros., which makes the series, did not immediately respond to Showtracker's requests for comment.
Such a return would test the writers' creativity, as they killed off Sheen's character, incorrigible playboy Charlie Harper, back in Season 9, shortly after the mercurial actor exited the show and was replaced by Ashton Kutcher .
Actor
Charlie Sheen stood up for embattled "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday with a lengthy open letter in which he criticized the network.
In the letter , the “Anger Management” star called Williams “a stone cold passion driven and (PERFECTLY) fact based journalist.”
This week,...
Actor Charlie Sheen stood up for embattled "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday with a lengthy open letter in which he criticized the network.
In the letter , the “Anger Management” star called Williams “a stone cold passion driven and (PERFECTLY) fact based journalist.”
This week,...
(Ryan Parker)
There could also be some lingering bad feelings. Sheen, after all, publicly dissed his boss, executive producer Chuck Lorre , as a "clown" and called costar Jon Cryer "a traitor and a troll." But that was back in the days when Sheen gave maniacal interviews in which he spoke of "winning" and being "a rock star from Mars." He's simmered down a bit since then.
What do you think of Sheen? Will you watch the "Men" finale?
Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT
| Ashton Kutcher |
In boxing, what is thrown into the ring to stop a fight? | Charlie Sheen may return to 'Two and a Half Men' - NY Daily News
Charlie Sheen may reprise role on 'Two and a Half Men' for series' final season
Charlie Sheen may return to 'Two and a Half Men'
‘Two and a Half Men’ had starred, from left, Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, Angus T. Jones as Jake and Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, until Sheen’s explosive exit.
(Greg Gayne/Warner Bros./Getty Images)
Monday, September 22, 2014, 3:52 PM
"Three and a Half Men"?!
Charlie Sheen is in talks to make a return as Charlie Harper in the final season of "Two and a Half Men," E! News reports .
It's been three years since the outspoken actor's very public fallout with the show creator, Chuck Lorre, which resulted in Sheen getting the boot. His firing made history as the first television comedy series to ever ditch the leading man.
Outside of their discord, Sheen and Lorre share a mutual friend, who reportedly posed an idea to which both men were receptive regarding the "Anger Management" star's return to the hit CBS series.
"A balloon was floated so to speak," Sheen's rep Jeff Ballard told E! "Everyone kind of went, hmmm, that could be kind of interesting. And that is the state where it is."
Charlie Sheen, right, and ‘Two and a Half Men’ exeuctive producer Chuck Lorre, left, had a major falling out but reportedly are willing to put their differences aside.
(NICK UT/AP)
Sheen is "most certainly" on board to make a comeback.
"(Sheen) would like to do that for all the fans that watch the show all those years and continue to watch it in syndication," Ballard continued.
While the final determination on the 49-year-old actor's return to "Men" remains in limbo, so does the future of his FX run.
"We are waiting to hear if 'Anger Management' is going to get picked up for an additional 50 episodes," Ballard explained , as the series was originally set to air 100 episodes, which it has currently surpassed.
Ashton Kutcher (right) plays Walden Schmidt, a replacement for the character portrayed by Charlie Sheen.
(Cliff Lipson/CBS)
"But either way he is making himself available to do 'Two and a Half Men,'" Ballard added.
And either way, the show will go on, as it did after Sheen's exit in 2011 when Ashton Kutcher stepped in.
"I was delighted that it kept everybody working for another three years," Lorre told E! "We've got these two great leads in Ashton and Jon and they're imminently funny and watchable, so it worked out OK."
Lorre wasn't so forthcoming with information of Sheen's resurgence except to say, "We haven't discussed that, really. We've been really focused on finding a storyline that puts Jon (Cryer) and Ashton front and center in a really interesting, provocative, hopefully fun story."
When Cryer was put on the spot to respond to Sheen's rumored return, he left it open ended.
"I know that the story doesn't include his character in any way, and I don't know how they'd do it in any way," he said.
Sheen's role was killed off the show after his firing.
"But, this is 'Two and a Half Men,'" Cryer added about the hit series, whose final season premieres Oct. 30. "And often the show goes off in ways that you don't expect it to go, so I'm not ruling it out."
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO .
Tags:
| i don't know |
In which building is London’s Whispering Gallery? | Whispering Gallery, St Paul`s Cathedral « Sound Tourism
Whispering Gallery, St Paul`s Cathedral
(7 Votes, average 3.86)
Loading...
St Paul’s Cathedral is an iconic building in the centre of London. High up in the central dome is a Whispering Gallery, which I remember visiting as a child. Climb 259 steps inside the dome, stand on one side of the circular gallery and talk very quietly and your speech can be heard quite clearly on the other side some 30m away.
St Paul’s is a circular whispering gallery. In this case, sound hugs the walls, allowing it to move from one side of the room to another without getting a lot quieter – the diagram shows some of the paths that the whispers take around the perimeter of the gallery.
Sound paths in a circular whispering gallery
Location and Logistics
St Paul’s Cathedral, St Paul’s Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AD. Admission information . It’s worth arriving early in the morning and going straight to the Dome, because once the space gets busy it’s hard to pick out the whispering gallery effect amongst the hubbub.
| St Paul's Cathedral |
In mathematics, what is 3.14159 better known as? | NIST-led Research Group Creates First Whispering Gallery for Graphene Electrons | NIST
NIST-led Research Group Creates First Whispering Gallery for Graphene Electrons
May 08, 2015
15cnst007_graphene_whispering_gallery_lr.jpg
An international research group led by scientists at NIST has developed a technique for creating nanoscale whispering galleries for electrons in graphene. The researchers used the voltage from a scanning tunneling microscope (right) to push graphene electrons out of a nanoscale area to create the whispering gallery (represented by the protuberances on the left), which is like a circular wall of mirrors to the electron.
Credit: Jon Wyrick, CNST/NIST
GAITHERSBURG, MD--An international research group led by scientists at the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a technique for creating nanoscale whispering galleries for electrons in graphene. The development opens the way to building devices that focus and amplify electrons just as lenses focus light and resonators (like the body of a guitar) amplify sound.
They reported their findings in the May 8, 2015, issue of Science.*
In some structures, such as the dome in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, a person standing near a curved wall can hear the faintest sound made along any other part of that wall. This phenomenon, called a whispering gallery , occurs because sound waves will travel along a curved surface much farther than they will along a flat one. Using this same principle, scientists have built whispering galleries for light waves as well, and whispering galleries are found in applications ranging from sensing, spectroscopy and communications to the generation of laser frequency combs .
"The cool thing is that we made a nanometer scale electronic analogue of a classical wave effect," said NIST researcher Joe Stroscio. "These whispering galleries are unlike anything you see in any other electron based system, and that's really exciting."
Ever since graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, was first created in 2004, the material has impressed researchers with its strength, ability to conduct electricity and heat and many interesting optical, magnetic and chemical properties.
However, early studies of the behavior of electrons in graphene were hampered by defects in the material. As the manufacture of clean and near-perfect graphene becomes more routine, scientists are beginning to uncover its full potential.
When moving electrons encounter a potential barrier in conventional semiconductors, it takes an increase in energy for the electron to continue flowing. As a result, they are often reflected, just as one would expect from a ball-like particle.
However, because electrons can sometimes behave like a wave, there is a calculable chance that they will ignore the barrier altogether, a phenomenon called tunneling. Due to the light-like properties of graphene electrons, they can pass through unimpeded—no matter how high the barrier—if they hit the barrier head on. This tendency to tunnel makes it hard to steer electrons in graphene.
Enter the graphene electron whispering gallery.
To create a whispering gallery in graphene, the team first enriched the graphene with electrons from a conductive plate mounted below it. With the graphene now crackling with electrons, the research team used the voltage from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to push some of them out of a nanoscale-sized area. This created the whispering gallery, which is like a circular wall of mirrors to the electron.
"An electron that hits the step head-on can tunnel straight through it," said NIST researcher Nikolai Zhitenev. "But if electrons hit it at an angle, their waves can be reflected and travel along the sides of the curved walls of the barrier until they began to interfere with one another, creating a nanoscale electronic whispering gallery mode."
The team can control the size and strength, i.e., the leakiness, of the electronic whispering gallery by varying the STM tip's voltage. The probe not only creates whispering gallery modes, but can detect them as well.
NIST researcher Yue Zhao fabricated the high mobility device and performed the measurements with her colleagues Fabian Natterer and Jon Wyrick. A team of theoretical physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the theory describing whispering gallery modes in graphene.
Graphene-based quantum electronic resonators and lenses have as yet untold potential, but if conventional optics is any guide, the ramifications could be huge.
Fabrication and measurement of the device was performed at NIST's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), a national user facility available to researchers from industry, academia and government.
A non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. To learn more about NIST, visit www.nist.gov .
*Y. Zhao, J. Wyrick, F. Natterer, J. Rodriguez-Nieva, C. Lewandowski, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, L. Levitov, N. Zhitenev, and J. Stroscio. Creating and probing electron whispering-gallery modes in graphene . Science. 8 May 2015: Vol. 348, no. 6235, pp. 672-675. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa7469.
| i don't know |
Which is the only planet in out solar system not named after a god? | Mythology of the Planets - Universe Today
Universe Today
by Abby Cessna
[/caption]
Thousands of years ago, ancient civilizations turned to the heavens, marveling at their wonders. These ancient people worshipped various gods and often linked their gods with planets in the sky, which they considered to be “wandering stars.”
Mercury gets its name from the winged messenger of the gods. He was also the god of thievery, commerce, and travel. Most likely, the planet got its name from the rate at which it spins.
Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty, so it is a fitting name for this brightly shining planet. The only objects in our Solar System brighter than Venus are the Sun and the Moon. Ancient civilizations thought that Venus was two different objects – the Morning Star and the Evening Star. Other civilizations have also associated the planet with love. The Babylonians called the planet Ishtar after their goddess of womanhood and love.
Earth is the only planet not named after a Roman god or goddess, but it is associated with the goddess Terra Mater (Gaea to the Greeks). In mythology, she was the first goddess on Earth and the mother of Uranus. The name Earth comes from Old English and Germanic. It is derived from “eor(th)e” and “ertha,” which mean “ground.” Other civilizations all over the world also developed terms for our planet.
Mars is named after the Roman god of war. The planet got its name from the fact that it is the color of blood. Other civilizations also named the planets for its red color.
Jupiter was the Roman king of the gods. Considering that Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System, it makes sense that the planet was named after the most important god.
Saturn was named after the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. While the planet may have gotten its name from its golden color, like a field of wheat, it also had to do with its position in the sky. According to mythology, the god Saturn stole the position of king of the gods from his father Uranus. The throne was then stolen by Jupiter.
Uranus was not discovered until the 1800’s, but the astronomers in that time period continued the tradition of naming planets after Roman gods. In mythology, Uranus was the father of Saturn and was at one time the king of the gods.
While Neptune almost ended up being named after one of the astronomers credited with discovering it – Verrier – that was greatly disputed, so it was named after the god of the sea. The name was probably inspired by its blue color.
Pluto is no longer a planet, but it used to be. The dark, cold, former planet was named after the god of the underworld. The first two letters of Pluto are also the initials of the man who predicted its existence, Percival Lowell.
Universe Today has articles on names of the planets and all the planets .
For more information on the planets check out all about the planets and mythology of the planets.
Astronomy Cast has episodes on all the planets including Saturn .
| Earth |
Which is the softest mineral on the Mohs Scale? | Planets
Planets
Mercury | Venus | Earth | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune |* Pluto
Traditional Definition
Etymology: Middle English planete, from Old French, from Late Latin planeta, modification of Greek planEt-, planEs, literally, wanderer, from planasthai to wander.
any of the seven celestial bodies: Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn that in ancient belief have motions of their own among the fixed stars.
any of the large bodies that revolve around the Sun in the solar system.
[see IAU resolutions below]
a similar body associated with another star.
EARTH -- usually used with "the".
a celestial body held to influence the fate of human beings
a person or thing of great importance : LUMINARY
- plan�et�like /-"lIk/ adjective
* The IAU [ International Astronomical Union ] officially designates planets within our solar system.
STATUS February 2, 2006
"The IAU notes the very rapid pace of discovery of bodies within the Solar system over the last decade and so our understanding of the Trans-Neptunian Region is therefore still evolving very rapidly. This is in serious contrast to the situation when Pluto was discovered. As a consequence, The IAU has established a Working Group to consider the definition of a minimum size for a Planet. Until the report of this Working Group is received, all objects discovered at a distance from the Sun greater than 40 AU will continue to be regarded as part of the Trans-Neptunian population."
UPDATE August 24, 2006
RESOLUTION 5A
The IAU therefore resolves that planets and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:
(1) A planet1 is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and
(c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape2,
(c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and
(d) is not a satellite.
(3) All other objects3 orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar System Bodies".
1The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either dwarf planet and other categories.
3These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies.
Relative sizes of the planets and stars by Dave Jarvis .
Smallest Planets
| i don't know |
Which is the largest ocean on Earth? | What is the largest ocean basin on Earth?
Home Ocean Facts What is the largest ocean basin on Earth?
What is the largest ocean basin on Earth?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the world ocean basins.
The ' Ring of Fire ' is defined by a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, island arcs, and volcanic mountain ranges and/or boundaries of several plates. It encircles the periphery of the Pacific Ocean Basin. (image courtesy of COMET® program)
Covering approximately 59 million square miles and containing more than half of the free water on Earth, the Pacific is by far the largest of the world’s ocean basins. All of the world’s continents could fit into the Pacific basin.
The Pacific is the oldest of the existing ocean basins. Its oldest rocks have been dated at about 200 million years. The Pacific basin is referred to as the “Ring of Fire” due to intense earthquake and volcanic activity occurring near areas of tectonic plate subduction (where one tectonic plate is forced under another).
The Atlantic basin is the second largest basin, followed by the Indian Ocean basin, the Southern Ocean, and finally the Arctic Ocean basin.
Search Our Facts
| Pacific Ocean |
Which is the longest river in the world? | World Geography Facts | Smallest Ocean | Lowest Lake | Largest Waterfall | Longest River
Hate
1
Kidzworld's done some digging around and come up with a list of amazing water facts. Grab your pen cuz this might make your homework load a little lighter.
Deepest Spot in the Ocean
The deepest spot in the ocean is called the Mariana Trench and is approximately 35, 797 ft (10,911 m) deep in the Pacific Ocean. That's deeper than the height of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest , which is 29,035 ft (8,850 m) high.
Highest Navigable Lake
Lake Titicaca in Peru is the highest navigable lake in the world. It is about 12,500 ft (3,810 m) above sea level. This lake is also South America's second largest freshwater lake.
Lowest Lake
The lowest lake is the Dead Sea (it's considered a lake but called a sea), which is in the Jordan Valley of Israel . The surface of the water is 1,340 ft (408 m) below sea level. The Dead Sea is also the saltiest lake in the world. Almost nothing can survive in it besides simple organisms like green algae.
Largest Freshwater Lake
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes and it's also the freshwater lake that covers the greatest surface area in the world. Lake Superior covers over 82,000 km� of land and there's enough water in the lake to fill all the other Great Lakes plus three Lake Eries.
Deepest Lake
Lake Baikal is the world's deepest lake and is located in Siberia, Russia, north of the Mongolian border. It is 5,369 ft (1,637 m) deep - more than one mile straight down.
Largest Ocean
The Pacific Ocean takes the award for being the largest ocean in the world. It covers almost a third of the Earth's surface and goes from the Bering Sea in the Arctic north to the icy waters of Antarctica's Ross Sea in the south.
Smallest Ocean
The smallest ocean is the Arctic Ocean, which is about 10 times smaller than the Pacific Ocean.
Longest River
The Nile River in Egypt is the longest river. It's 4,145 miles (6,671 km) long and flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
Shortest River
The world's shortest river, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the Roe River. It is only 200 feet (61 meters) long and flows between Giant Springs and the Missouri River near Great Falls, Montana. There has been debate, though, about which river is really the shortest. The D River in Oregon has been measured as being only 120 ft (37 m) long. It connects Devil's Lake directly to the Pacific Ocean near Lincoln City. Because the D River flows into the ocean though, it's length changes according to the tide so has been measured at several different lengths.
Largest River
The Amazon Basin in South America is the largest river with the greatest water flow. This is because it flows through the Amazon rain forest - the largest and wettest rainforest on Earth.
Highest Waterfall
Angel Falls (Salto Angel) in Canaima National Park, Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world at 3212 ft (979 m).
Related Stories:
| i don't know |
What colour is a polar bears skin? | Fur and Skin | Polar Bears International
Polar bears are built for cold and beautifully adapted to an arctic environment. Details...
© Dick and Val Beck
Fur. Polar bears' fur consists of a dense, insulating underfur topped by guard hairs of various lengths. It is not actually white—it just looks that way.
Each hair shaft is pigment-free and transparent with a hollow core that scatters and reflects visible light, much like what happens with ice and snow.
Polar bears look whitest when they are clean and in high angle sunlight, especially just after the molt period, which usually begins in spring and is complete by late summer. Before molting, accumulated oils in their fur from the seals they eat can make them look yellow.
Skin. Polar bears have black skin under which there is a layer of fat that can measure up to 4.5 inches (11.5 centimeters) thick.
On land (or on top of the sea ice) the polar bear's thick fur coat—not its fat—prevents nearly any heat loss. In fact, adult males can quickly overheat when they run.
In the water, polar bears rely more on their fat layer to keep warm: wet fur is a poor insulator. This is why mother bears are so reluctant to swim with young cubs in the spring: the cubs just don't have enough fat.
| Black |
The bark of which tree was the original source of making aspirin? | What colour is a polar bear?
What colour is a polar bear?
0 comments
If asked what colour a polar bear is, most people would say “white”, but there’s actually no white on a polar bear at all! If you look beneath their thick fur, a polar bear’s skin is black. This is useful because dark colours absorb heat very well, so the polar bear’s black skin can absorb
If asked what colour a polar bear is, most people would say “white”, but there’s actually no white on a polar bear at all!
If you look beneath their thick fur, a polar bear’s skin is black. This is useful because dark colours absorb heat very well, so the polar bear’s black skin can absorb the heat of the sun to help keep it warm.
The polar bear’s fur is also unusual. It looks white, but if you look closely, each of the polar bear’s thick guard hairs are hollow and clear – they only appear white because the hollow hair shafts scatter light the way ice and snow do.
This leads to many unusual observations when polar bears are photographed under different lights. Under ultraviolet light, a polar bear looks black. And because they are so well insulated and give off so little heat, polar bears are practically invisible to infrared cameras. One scientist managed to take a picture in which the polar bear disappeared entirely – the only spot in the picture was from the polar bear’s breath!
In addition to their unusual photographs, polar bears may appear to be other colours as well. Arctic animals, including the polar bear, have a very thick layer of yellow fat called blubber that keeps them warm. Often, when a polar bear catches and eats one of these animals, their fur becomes coated in oil and fat and appears yellow.
And most bizzarely, some polar bears in zoos have been observed to turn green! This happens because tiny plants called algae grow within the hollow shafts of the polar bear’s fur!
Share:
| i don't know |
Which desert in Chile is the driest in the world? | Driest Desert | Atacama Desert, Chile
Driest Place: Atacama Desert, Chile
Even the Driest Place on Earth has Water
These incredibly dry mountains see an average of less than .004 inches/.01cm of rain per year. Many times this area will go without rainfall at all for years. Some places in the Atacama Desert have not had rainfall for over 400 years. The Atacama desert is found along the coast of Chile, South America - right next to the Pacific Ocean - the biggest body of water in the world. Much of the desert extends up into the Andes mountains and is very high in elevation. Unlike more familiar deserts, like the Sahara desert in Africa and the Mojave in California, the Atacama is actually a pretty cold place, with average daily temperatures ranging between 0°C and 25°C. The annual rainfall (or lack of it) defines a desert, but that doesn't mean that it never rains in Atacama. Every so often a warming effect over the Pacific Ocean around the equator changes the weather the world over and even places like the driest desert in the world can become doused with drenching storms. Even though Atacama gets almost no rainfall, there is water in this arid place and you'll find it in the following places:
Salt Lakes
During years of heavy rainfall in the distant past, enough water accumulated in basins found throughout the Andes to create lakes. Some of the lakes got their water from melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age. But in some lakes in the Andes mountains, such as Atacama, more water is lost through evaporation than is replaced by rainfall so the lakes are drying up. As the water evaporates, the mineral salts in the water become more concentrated, creating very salty water.
Snow
In the higher elevations when precipitation comes to Atacama snow falls instead of rain. There are small patches of unmelted snow in the mountain tops where in never gets warm enough to melt the snow.
Underground
Anywhere you go in the world, regardless of how much or little it rains, there is always water underground. After it rains, some of the rainwater evaporates back into the air, but much of it trickles down into the ground and stays there - even in the desert. How much water and where depends on a number of things; soil composition, air and soil surface temperature, amount and frequency of rainfall/precipitation, and drainage. Since the Andes is a volcanically active mountain range, the magma beneath the ground will heat the groundwater in certain places causing geysers to erupt.
Fog and Dew
This mummy of a girl is from the Atacama Desert. Her remains are estimated to be about 800 years old. Find out more about mummies.
Most of the precipitation that comes to the Atacama is in the form of fog that blows in the from the Pacific. Fog is essentially very low clouds, consisting of water vapor cooling and beginning to condense. If you've ever been in fog you know that it can leave you a little moist. When the air temperature reaches dew point the water vapor in the air condenses to leave little droplets of water behind. The few things that are able to survive in the Atacama live on the combined moisture from fog and dew.
Does Anything Live There?
Many people have the view that deserts are places forsaken by Mother Nature and that no living thing would possibly want to set up camp in a place so dry. Although it is tough to find anything living in the Atacama there are isolated pockets and small patches of plants, which support life for animals and insects. Some plant species have adapted well to this dry environment by developing tap roots that run very deep into the ground gathering water from below. There are flocks of flamingos that live in and around the salt lakes feeding on red algae that grows in the waters. There are even people living in the Atacama.
There is a town called Calama in the desert which is complete with motels, restaurants and shops, but it is definitely not the norm. For the most part, Atacama is a pretty lonely place. Humans have lived in the Atacama for many thousands of years, based on the cultural relics and artifacts that archaeologists have found. The South American Indians who have set up housekeeping in the desert over the millennia have left relics from their culture and even themselves. Because the Atacama is so bone-dry the bodies of the buried indians have dried perfectly preserved turning them into mummies. Some of the oldest mummies found anywhere on earth have come from the Atacama Desert and have been dated to be 9,000 years old!
What Causes Deserts?
One reason is that the high atmospheric pressure in this region over the Andes can cause dry, cold air from the upper altitudes to compress and come down to earth. This dry air has almost no water vapor so it can be easily heated by the sun, causing high ground temperatures with very low humidity.
Another reason that the Atacama doesn't get enough rainfall is because of a phenomenon called rainshadow. The warm, moist tropical air that blows on the tradewinds from the east, which douse the South American rainforest, get hung-up on the east side of the Andes. The mountains are so high in altitude that the air cools, condenses and rains (or snows) on the mountains. As the air descends the other side of the mountain range it warms, holding in its moisture preventing rain from falling on to the ground below.
This is one of the reasons why the Amazon basin and river are the largest anywhere in the world. The mountains that cause the Amazon to be the largest river from collecting all the rainfall are also responsible for preventing the Atacama from ever receiving any rainfall. The driest and one of the wettest places in the world are right next to each other!
Get Your Degree!
| Atacama Desert |
What are the formations of calcium carbonate which hang down from the roof of a cave? | Chile's Atacama desert is hit by SNOW - and now there are fears it could FLOOD | Daily Mail Online
comments
It is known as the driest place in the world where some weather stations have never recorded any rain.
So visitors to Chile's Atacama desert could be forgiven for being just a little surprised to find snow there in recent days.
Residents of San Pedro de Atacama, around 750 miles from the capital Santiago, say the downfall was the heaviest in three decades for the area, described as the driest hot desert on Earth.
Scroll down for video
Arctic in the Atacama: The world's largest telescope is covered in snow in Earth's driest region after a rare downfall over the last few days
Snow way! Residents of San Pedro de Atacama, around 750 miles from the capital Santiago, say the downfall was the heaviest in three decades for the area, described as the driest hot desert on Earth
Now there are fears the melting ice and accompanying rainfall could cause some rivers to flood as has previously happened.
The national tourism office says the road to the city was blocked temporarily because of the unusual weather, it was reported by Sky News .
RELATED ARTICLES
Share
Officials expect more rain in the coming days, but have not ordered any evacuation.
The Atacama desert, which spans from Chile to Peru, is made up mostly of salt lakes, sand and felsic lava and receives an average rainfall of just 15mm (0.59 in) per year.
Freak weather: There are fears the melting ice and accompanying rainfall could cause some rivers to flood as has previously happened
Parched: The Atacama desert, which spans from Chile to Peru, is made up mostly of salt lakes, sand and felsic lava and receives an average rainfall of just 15mm (0.59 in) per year
A few areas get as little as 1mm and some weather stations have never had any at all.
At night, temperatures can drop to as low as −25C in the zone of Ollague, while during the day it can reach between 25-30C in the shade.
It is so arid that even mountains reaching as high as 22,589 ft are completely free of glaciers.
The desert is also known for being the location of the world's largest telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
| i don't know |
What is the green pigment called which is found in nearly all plants? | Pigments for Photosynthesis
Pigments for Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis in plants is dependent upon capturing light energy in the pigment chlorophyll , and in particular chlorophyll a. This chlorophyll resides mostly in the chloroplasts and gives leaves their green color. The range of light absorption in leaves is extended by some accessory pigments such as the carotenoids , but does not cover the entire visible range - that would make the leaves black!
Some plants and plantlike organisms have developed other pigments to compensate for low light or poor use of light. Cyanobacteria and red algae have phycocyanin and allophycocyanin as accessory pigments to absorbe orange light. They also have a red pigment called phycoerythrin that absorbs green light and extends the range of photosynthesis. The red pigment lycopene is found in vegetables. Some red algae are in fact nearly black, so that increases their photosynthetic efficiency. Brown algae have the pigment fucoxanthin in addition to chlorophyll to widen their absorption range. These red and brown algae grow to depths around 270 meters where the light is less than 1% of surface light.
But the most advanced plants are the land plants, which have the least advanced system for gathering light!
Take a microscopic view.
Chlorophylla-a is the primary pigment for photosynthesis in plants. Its structure is shown at left. It has the composition C55H72O5N4Mg. It exhibits a grass-green visual color and absorption peaks at 430nm and 662nm. It occurs in all photosynthetic organisms except photosynthetic bacteria.
Chlorophyll-b has the composition C55H70O6N4Mg, the difference from chlorophyll-a being the replacement of a methyl group with a CHO. It exhibits a blue-green visual color and absorption peaks at 453nm and 642nm. It occurs in all plants, green algae and some prokaryotes. There is usually about half as much chlorophyll-b as the -a variety in plants.
| Chlorophyll |
How many points do snowflakes have? | Plant Pigments that absorb light
Contact Us
Plant Pigments
Plants have different things in their cells that enable them to absorb light. The most common ones we find in the majority of plants are Chlorophyll A and Chlorophyll B. Below we will briefly discuss the main pigments found in plant cells and relate them to the light spectrum.
The light spectrum.
Chlorophyll
There are actually more than one kind of chlorophyll, but not all are present in all plants. In most plants they have at least Chlorophyll A and often chlorophyll B. Other Chlorophylls, which we won't discuss here, are: Chlorophyll cl, Chlorophyllc2, Chlorophyll d.
Chlorophyll's are arranged in something called "photosystems" which are in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. The main function of chlorophyll is to absorb light energy and transfer it to the reaction center chlorophyll of the photosystem.
Chlorophyll a has an approximate absorption peak of 665 Nm and 465 Nm.
Chlorophyll b has an approximate absorption peak of 640 Nm and 450 Nm.
Accessory Pigments
Accessory pigments are other pigments that are also able to absorb light. Chlorophyll a & b are green and are able to best absorb light in the 450 nm (violet-blue) and 650 nm (red) area of the light spectrum. Well, that leaves (haha) the green, yellow and orange parts of the spectrum unusable. This is why plants have extra pigments (colours), in order to take in light from different wavelengths that chlorophyll is not good at absorbing.
Carotene is an orange pigment capapble of photosynthesis. This pigment transmits light energy to chlorophyll. As well as photosynthesis, these pigments also help protect against too much light, photoinhibition.
Phaeophytin a are gray-brown in colour.
Phaeophytin b are yellow-brown.
Xanthophyll are yellow pigments in the carotenoid group. These pigments seem to absorb best at 400-530nm. These are involved with photosynthesis with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is often much more abundant than xanthophylls, and this is why the leaves are still a green colour. When fall arrives in many countries and the leaves change colour, the chlorophyll "dies back" and the xanthophylls are more apparent in the yellow colour you see (like a maple tree)
-The Xanthophyll cycle is a wondeful skill a plant has. In order to protect itself from absorbing too much light, and thus causing photoinhibition, Xanthophyll cycle converts pigments that do not quench energy into ones that do. When a plant recieves too much light, the xanthophyll cycle changes violoxanthin to antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin which are photoprotective pigments.
Anthocyanin pigments are often red, purple or blue. These pigments have been said to help a plant against light stress and act to help protect a plant from blue-green and UV light. Cacti do not have these, they have Betalain instead.
Betalain These pigments are found in Caryophyllales (cacti and beets for example). They are often a red-yellow-purple colour that is often found in flower colour, but it can also be found in leaves, stems, fruits and roots of these plants as well. It is not really known what the exact purpose of these pigments are.
-Betacyanins are reddish to violet Betalain pigments. They absorb light best at 535 nm.
-Betaxanthins are yellow to orange Betalain pigments. They absorb light best at 480 nm.
In relation to Photosynthesis
It would seem, in my opinion, that given the various pigments, and the areas they are most abundant, that Chlorophyll a & b, and to a lesser extent, the various carotenoids (such as carotene and xanthophyll) would be the most productive in the absoprtion of light for photosynthesis. When applying this to cultivation and artificial lights, it would seem logical to choose lights that peak in the 430-470nm and 640-680nm range, to allow the 2 main chlorophyll types to gather the most energy. Light in the blue spectrum may also be a little stronger to allow the carotenes and xanthophylls to absorb more light as well.
Links
| i don't know |
Nephology is the study of what? | Nephology - definition of nephology by The Free Dictionary
Nephology - definition of nephology by The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nephology
Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia .
Related to nephology: nomology
The branch of meteorology that deals with clouds.
[Greek nephos, cloud; see nebh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + -logy .]
neph′o·log′i·cal (nĕf′ə-lŏj′ĭ-kəl) adj.
nephology
(Physical Geography) the study of clouds
nephological, nephologic adj
nephology - the branch of meteorology that studies clouds and cloud formation
meteorology - the earth science dealing with phenomena of the atmosphere (especially weather)
Translations
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .
Link to this page:
weather
References in periodicals archive ?
President PKLI said Shahbaz Sharif made possible the construction of a non-profit,charity institute which will serve as center of excellence in Urology, Nephology, Hepatology and Transplantation-Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research center (Trust).
Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
| Cloud |
Which English scientist first described the colours of the rainbow as ‘numbering seven’? | Nephology E-Liquid
Nephology E-Liquid
Fields marked with an * are required
Name *
What is thirteen minus 6? *
Copyright 2015 © Nephology E-Liquid.
WARNING: AGE VERIFICATION
The products sold on the Nephologyeliquid.com website are intended for adults ONLY!
By entering Nephologyeliquid.com, you certify that you are of legal smoking age, at least 18 years old.
I AM UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE
Access Denied
You have been denied access to this content. If you feel this is in error, please contact a site administrator.
| i don't know |
Rafflesia Arnoldii, the world’s largest flower, is better known by what name? | What is the largest flower in the world? (Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress)
What is the largest flower in the world?
The Rafflesia arnoldii.
The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.
Another enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the "corpse flower" for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!
Related Web Sites
Virtual Herbarium: Conserving the Giant Titans - This site provides the history, statistics, and frequently asked questions about the Titan Arum, as well as, documented blooms of the Titan Arum in the United States.
Kew Royal Botanic Gardens: Amorphophallus titanum - The Kew provides Amorphophallus titanum species information, description, cultivation and helpful informational links
Kew Royal Botanic Gardens: Rafflesia arnoldii - The Kew provides Rafflesia arnoldii species, geographic distribution, discover information and helpful web links.
Rafflesia arnoldii - This page contains photographs of the Rafflesia arnoldii.
Further Reading
Attenborough, David. The private life of plants: A natural history of plant behaviour. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1995. 320 p.
Emboden, Willliam A. Bizarre plants: magical, monstrous, mythical. London, Studio Vista, 1974. 214 p.
Nais, Jamili. Rafflesia of the world. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Parks, 2001. 243 p
Ross, Edward S. Rafflesia: the superflower. California Wild, v. 56, Summer, 2003 p. 8-11. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/calwild/2003summer/stories/rafflesia.html l
For more print resources...
Search on "Botany," "botany Indonesia," "plants Indonesia," or "tropical plants" in the Library of Congress Online Catalog .
The Rafflesia arnoldii is the world's largest flower. Photograph by Harry Wiriadinata and Suwito Alam from article in Voice of Nature, v. 84, August 1990, p. 14.
| Corpse flower |
The largest individual tree in the world, a Giant Redwood, is known by what name? | Rafflesia arnoldii | OLogy, Science for Kids
Are you right?
Correct!
This scent attracts carrion flies, which lay their eggs in decaying dead animals. Since male flowers may bloom far from females in the rainforest, they need help from carrion flies to spread their pollen.
The corpse flower is a parasite. Parasite comes the Greek word parasitos, which means:
someone who cuts down grape vines
someone who eats at another's table
someone who lives in a rainforest
Are you right?
Correct!
In nature, a parasite is an unwelcome dinner guest! Rather than making or gathering their own food, they let other organisms do the work.
When it's not in bloom, the corpse flower is barely visible because it has no stem, leaves, or roots.
Fact
| i don't know |
Cattleya Labiata is a species of which exotic flowering plant? | Cattleya
Cattleya
CAT-lee-ah (click on the name to hear it spoken)
Tribe: Epidendreae
Subtribe: Laeliinae
Cattleya is a tropical genus of epiphytic and lithophytic plants that produce fairly to exceptionally showy flowers, and by many their species and hybrids are considered THE orchid. There are basically two groups of Cattleyas, the so-called unifoliate and bifoliate. The unifoliate group includes Cattleya labiata, the type species of the genus. Other species in this group include C. mossiae, C. mendellii, C. warscewiczii, C. dowiana, and C. percivaliana. The species in this group produce small to large-sized (up to 8') flowers in colors ranging from yellow to lavender (excluding the color forms, that add a lot of variation); the plants grow fusiform pseudobulbs topped with one fleshy, flattened, elliptic leaf. The bifoliate group, including such species as C. bicolor, C. amethystoglossa, C. elongata, and C. harrisoniana, produces smaller flowers (up to 5' or more, depending on the species), but in larger numbers (up to 40+ on a spike, also depending on species), in colors ranging from green to yellow to brown and pink to lavender; the plants grow tall, cylindric, pencil-like, ringed pseudobulbs that can be up to 5'+ tall in a couple of species - but in most get only to 1' to 2'). The genus was named by John Lindley in honor of William Cattley, a foremost British plant grower of the first half of the 19th Century
Number of species:
The World Checklist of Monocotyledons currently recognizes 46 species and 35 natural hybrids. Many species exhibit a plethora of color forms. Genera Orchidacearum Vol. 5 will transfer all of the expanded genus Sophronitis (Sophronitis sensu strictu and the Brazilian laelias) to Cattleya. The World Checklist will follow soon thereafter.
Distribution:
| Orchidaceae |
Who was British Prime Minister in 1994? | Cattleya | Orchids Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Its members are primarily from Costa Rica to tropical South America growing on wet forest trees as epiphytes.
Description
Edit
They are widely known for their large, showy flowers, and were used extensively in hybridization for the cut-flower trade until quite recently. This genus and the numerous hybrids come close, through their beauty, to the idealized picture we have of the orchids. The flowers of the hybrids can vary in size from 5 cm to 15 cm or more. They occur in all colors except true blue and black. Species of this genus usually have 4 pollinas.
The typical flower has three rather narrow petals : two are fringed, and the third is the conspicuous lip with a fringed margin and various markings and specks. At the base, the fringed margins are folded into a tube. Each flower stalk originates from a pseudobulb. The number of flowers varies; it can be just one or two, or sometimes up to ten.
The genus can be separated into two categories monofoliates and bifoliates. Monofoliate plants have a single leaf and bears 1 to 4 large flowers which last 15 to 20 days. Bifoliates have two or more leaves, many small flowers and a slim stem.
Taxonomy
Edit
Originally, the concept Cattleya included a requirement that the pollinarium contain only four pollinia. Starting some time after December, 2000, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) began re-organizing the generic boundaries with respect to hybrid registration. This has led to multiple senses of the term Cattleya, not only with respect to species, but also with respect to hybrids.
Culture
Cattleyas usually tolerate intermediate to warm conditions and can be grown in medium size fir bark. Plant prefers drying periods between watering and bright light is recommended. Lengthen drying period a bit in the winter.
Naming
Edit
The genus was named in 1824 by John Lindley after Sir William Cattley, who received and successfully cultivated specimens of Cattleya labiata that were used as packing material in a shipment of other orchids and tropical plants. The genus is usually called "the queen of flowers"
Synonyms
| i don't know |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.