rawzah al- shuhada: from spurious narratives to creating impression

rawzah al- shuhada, by mulla husayn wa‘iz-i- kashifi (d. 910 a.h), is one of the most influential books on karbala tragedy in recent centuries. nevertheless, it has been criticized by the shi‘a scholars for spreading spurious narratives among later works and public beliefes as well. the present article, discussing uncreditable narratives and falsifications in the work of kashifi, intendes to investigate causes of its wide influence. the findings of the present study show that not all the unfounded narratives on the karbala tragedies originated from rawzah al- shuhada since many of them are found in the earlier sources. moreover, it was not the intention of kashifi to write a history but to provide a simple comprehensive believabale report on the karbala. these advantages, bringing acceptability for the work of kashifi, made it the best available source for shi‘a preachers and narrators of the tragedies of karbala.