ابومخنف و جایگاه اخبار عاشورا در مقتل الحسین (ع) او

Abu Makhnaf is one of the best, most dexterous and greatest chronicler of the event of the dawn of Islam, especially the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussein, peace be upon him, on Ashura or the tenth of Moharram. Through his extensiveresearch and meeting with and speaking to the witnesses of the event of Karbala or people who in one way or another were aware of it he has collected valuable first-hand informationand reliable and original reports. Evidently it is necessary to introduce the character of this researcher and historian and elaborate on the precise information which he has gathered and made available in his book. The aim of this article is that by discussing the character of this well-known historian and explaining his effectiverole in the field of historiography and the occurrence of Ashura to analyze and study a book on the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussein which remains extant and has been published many times under his name. Therefore, this article attempts to answer the objections made against Abu Makhnaffor being a common person and the great influence that his tendency for being a Shiite exerts on the way he reported the events and the use made abundantly of his reports by almost all Shii and Sunni historians. More importantly, it explains this point that what Abu Makhnaf reported on Ashura has vanished in the passage of time except for what comes sporadically of the name or his  writings in history books. The oldest text extant which reports the narrations of Hisham al-Kalbithrough his master Abu Makhnaf is The History of al-Tabari. However, the book which is called The Martyrdom of al-Hussein and is attributed to Abu Makhnaf and went through many editions in Iran, India and Iraq is undoubtedly and most certainly not by him. Its insubstantial and fake and false reports are the best reason of its being falsely attributed to Abu Makhnaf.