Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Yazid's Army at Karbala

The reported strength of the brutal forces that were sent by YAZID to martyr the holy Imam at KARBALA According to ABU MIKHNAF the total strength of YAZID'S army at KARBALA was 80000 of KUFEES excluding the Syrians and the HIJAZI forces. The first one who left for KARBALA with his army on behalf of YAZID was:

OMAR-E-SA'D, with 6000 men Following OMAR went SINAN BINE ANAS with 4000 men ORWAT IBNE WAIS with 4000 men SHEBS BIN RUB'EE with 4000 men SHIMR-ZIL JAUSHAN with 4000 men

---------------- 22000 men ARQAM IBNE ZIAD enrolled further 22000 men YAZID IBNE RIKABE KALBI 2000 HASEEN BIN NAMEER IBNE ASKOONI 4000 MA'ZANI 3000 NASE MA'ZANI 2000 33000 men This is according to the unanimous report of the Historians. BIHARAUL-ANWAR, V. 10 p. 182 ABU MIKHNAF p. 32 TARIQUE ASAME- KUFEE p. 269

NO ROOM FOR ANY CRITICISM LEFT

If the holy Imam had stayed at Medina and got slain there, it would have been said, why did he not migrate to Mecca to take shelter in the Great Sanctuary there? He did go to the KA'BA and if he had stayed there to be killed by YAZID'S agents, it would have been said why did he not leave the holy place to avoid bloodshed in the Great Sanctuary? HUSSAIN left Mecca too, even though it was the very eve of the pilgrimage. And if he had gone to KUFA it would have been said why did he go to a place where his Deputy Muslim had been killed, and when he knew the situation there. HUSSIAN avoided going to KUFA. HUR'S offer, if HUSSIAN had rejected, it would have been said why did he refuse to escape when the enemy's agent himself offered the opportunity to do it. HUSSAIN availed also of the opportunity given by HUR. Now when the enemy became cruel, heartless and aggressive, he avoided bloodshed by shifting his camp into the interior of the desert, abandoning the bank of the river to the enemy.

HUSSAIN BESIEGED AT KARBALA

When the whole plain of KARBALA was full with YAZID'S regiments and the holy Imam's camp was totally surrounded by the enemy's forces, IBNE-E-SA'D the Commander of the Brute's armies met HUSSAIN on the banks of the River and demanded 'BAIAT' on behalf on the tyrant YAZID and said: "if you pay homage to YAZID, everything will go well for you and whatever worldly comforts and privileges you desire for, will be at your disposal. Otherwise, it will end in a wholesale massacre of yourself and all your dear ones here". HUSSAIN firmly refused to pay the 'BAIAT' saying:

"Tell YAZID tempt with the worldly comforts those who are after this World. I am the Imam, the Representative of the Apostle of God. I shall never yield to the one who beleiveth not in God and who defieth the Word of the Lord, in word and deed, and who spreadeth godlessness on the earth. Let any calamity befall me and my dear ones, the will of the Lord shall be done. HUSSAIN will cheerfully meet any catastrophe but never surrender Truth to falsehood".

WATER SUPPLY TO HUSSAIN'S CAMP CUT OFF

At last on the 7th MUHARRAM 61 A.H. (October 680 A.D) the Commander of YAZID'S forces received orders to cut off all sources of supply to the holy Imam's camp and not to allow even a drop of water to reach any of the inmates therein. It can better be imagined than described what the condition of HUSSAIN'S camp would have been under the scorching Arabian sun. the camp was in the midst of the burning desert, with the heat-waves blowing from all sides. The unavailability of water, with nothing to feed even the young children, the wriggling of the babies for mild which the poor mothers, who were themselves suffering from the killing it must be, and how did those holy ones suffer all these unbearable tortures, it is very difficult for any human mind to conceive, but all these are facts which the holy Imam and his godly companions suffered with wonderful fortitude and patience. Over and above all these tortures, the sight of the enemy's forces preparing all around for the massacre and a wholesale destruction was there, before the ladies and the children in the besieged camp.

In short, the torture of thirst which actually began from the 7th MUHARRAM and the sufferings of the Imam with his companions including the young children and the babies, could not be described here. The sufferings of the holy ones for the sake of Truth can better be imagined than described. ABBAS, the brave, who was next only to the holy Imam in charge of the holy Imam's camp, after a very strenuous fight with the enemy at the river, got a sack of water but when the sack filled with water was placed before the thirsty children, the poor innocents not waiting till it was properly opened, and not knowing how to open the sack, rushed to it and fell upon it, one over the other, in the haste to at least cool their burning bodies.

But alas! The knot at the mouth of the sack gave way to the pressure and the whole water flowed away on the sand. It can be imagined what the feelings of despair and disappointment of the poor children and the helpless mothers would have been, and how disappointed the brave son of Ali, who got the water, would have felt at the loss of the water which he could get for the poor children and the inmates of the camp after so much of fight with the enemy guarding the banks of the river. Attempts to dig a well also made but in vain, for instead of water, stones came out. The holy imam preached patience and fortitude to every one at each disappointment and torture saying:

"Be all cheerful and always surrender to the will of the All-Merciful, Lord, for the end of all these trials in hand and the water of Paradise awaiteth there to quench your thirst".

EMEMY DECIDES TO ATTACK

All efforts of the enemy through temptation, promises, persecutions and tortures, to persuade the holy Imam, to yield to YAZID were in vain. Even the killing heat and the thirst of three continuous days suffered by himself, his faithful companions, the helpless ladies and even the innocent infants and the babies, could not move the holy Imam to effect the least change in the strength of his will to re-establish the Truth paying any price the task might demand. On the 9th day of MUHARRAM, the enemy's forces advanced towards the camp of the helpless Imam to effect a wholesale massacre of all the inmates therein. HUSSAIN sent word to the enemy's Commander, IBN I-SA'D through the brave ABBAS with the request for a night's time to spend it in his last prayers to the Lord which was at first refused but ultimately with much reluctance granted.

THE HOLY IMAM AND IBN I-SA'D CONFER

The holy Imam sent for the enemy's Commander IBN I-SA'D and proposed three honorable conditions:

"Leave me, and I shall quit the Muslim empire with my whole family and children and live in some non-Muslim lands. I shall go away to YEMAN or to Iran or to far off Hind (i.e., India)".

The Tyrant answered: "It can never be so". HUSSAIN said: "Will you at least allow to have some water for the helpless ladies and the innocent babies who are dying of thirst in my camp?" The tyrant replied: "First pay 'BAIAT' (Allegiance) and then take the water from the river". HUSSAIN at last said: "IBN I-SA'D, why dost thou destroy the house of the holy Prophet? If the whole world were to be given to me to rule over, I shall never yield to the tyrant".

HUSSAIN had done the best possible to avoid bloodshed, but every offer for a peaceful settlement was rejected and the surrender to YAZID was insisted upon. HUSSAIN then decided to fight the might of the Devil for the truth and to surrender his all in the way of the Lord and to demonstrate to be human race what Braver, Steadfastness, Patience and Fortitude, even in the worst of the painful sufferings, those who really love God should put up with to defend the Truth and uphold it.

When all efforts through exhortations to the enemy's forces proved futile and the only alternative left was to fight for the cause of Truth, the holy Imam decided first to prove the miraculous strength and the matchless prowess the godly ones possessed, and how bravely the huge host of the enemy could be resisted, and then to surrender himself and his dear ones to drink the cup of martyrdom and to fulfill the Covenant of the Lord to save the Truth for all times HUSSAIN asked IBN I-SA'D: "will you at least agree to conduct tomorrow's battle in single combats between one from either side?" IBN I-SA'D consented but the treacherous Brute did not keep to his promises.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE 10TH MUHARRAM

The night following the ninth day of MUHARRAM presented a unique spectacle which has no parallel in the history of the world. A detailed description of the scene of that night in KARBALA requires at least a separate chapter. However, only a few important events of the dreadful night are briefly related here.

Since his arrival at KARBALA on the 2nd MUHARRAM, the holy Imam used to gather all those who had accompanied him from Mecca, and address them after every night prayer, advising them to leave him to his own fate and to return to their homes, giving them every assurance that the consequences of his journey would be quite a different one from what had been imagine by them to be. It is reported that hearing the holy Imam announcing the ultimate end to his journey, the people began deserting him in groups.

THE FINAL SHIFTING

HUSSAIN had to offer the sacrifice which had been termed by God Himself as 'ZIBHE AZEEM' the Great Sacrifice (37:104-108). The purity of his body and the divinity of his own soul was unquestionable, but those whom he had offer along with himself in the way of the Lord, had to be of some purity worthy to be blessed with the martyrdom. There were the good and the bad ones, mixed up, in his camp but what he needed was only a pure and clean stuff to be presented to God along with himself. Many who had accompanied him with selfish intentions, had deserted him, and that only those who desired nothing but the pleasure of the Lord, might remain to accompany him in his resignation to be Divine will, to resist against the onslaught of the falsehood of the Devil. At last on the 9th MUHARRAM, soon after the enemy's consent to wait till the following morning, the holy Imam, after the 'ISHA' or the night prayers summoned the remaining people and addressed them thus:

"Brothers! You are sadly mistaken if you have hoped that tomorrow's battle will bear any fruit for you to fulfill any of you worldly ambitions. I tell you openly that I will be mercilessly butchered. My Brother ABBAS will lose both his hands and die on the banks of the river. My eighteen year old son ALI-E-AKBAR will by the lance pierced through his breast. QASIM, my nephew, will be killed and be trampled under the hooves of the enemy's cavalry. And similarly, every one of my companions who will remain with me here, be he a relative or a friend of mine, will be rolling in his own blood and ultimately be slain. I tell you, not even my baby son ALI-E-ASGHAR will be spared; he will receive an arrow on his tiny neck in my own arms and pass away. Only my son ALI who is sick will survive to suffer the worst of tortures along with the people of my family. Friends! You need not worry yourself about the 'BAIAT' or the allegiance you have paid me. I release you from the oath. You leave me to my fate and save yourselves.

They are only after my life. The night is dark and you can easily escape".

At the end of his speech, the holy Imam asked his brother ABBAS to put out the lamp in the tent so that people may walk away in the darkness without being ashamed of being seen by him.

It is reported that as soon as the lamp was put out, all those who accompanied the holy Imam from Mecca in their vain hopes of making their own fortune, began to desert the holy Imam in batches and when the lamp was again lit after a while, there were left only a few here and there, and those who remained constituted the godly band of the holy Seventy-two who stood fast by the holy Imam in the battle for Truth to save the human race against its falling into the abyss of falsehood.

This small band of godly souls, pure in their spirit and sincere in their desire to fight and fall in the way of the Lord, spent the night in prayers reciting audibly the holy QUR'AN and rejoicing in the hope to drink the fast-approaching cup of martyrdom the following morning. Everyone anxiously waited for the break of dawn, to lay down his life in the way of the Lord in supporting the cause of Truth. The ladies were preparing their young children to be sacrificed along with the holy Imam in upholding the cause of the Lord. The noble mothers of the family of the holy Prophet were busy advising their young sons to be steadfast in facing the might of the Devil in defense of the right, and to lay down their lives cheerfully and thus to drink the cup of martyrdom in the cause of the correct guidance of the Human Race.

ABBAS THE BRAVE, GUARDS THE CAMP OF THE HOLY IMAM

The Camp of the holy Imam contained the ladies and the children of the House of the holy Prophet. Apprehending a surprise attack from the enemy's forces which consisted of people who had turned treacherous to the holy Imam and his family, a ditch was dug around the camp and fire was lighted the whole night and ABBAS the Brave, guarded the camp in a vigil the whole night walking around it with his sword in his hand mindful of the safety of the holy Imam and the inmates of the camp, with a vigilant eye on the ranks of the enemy.

The Night in the Yazidian Camp

While the hungry and thirsty devotees of God in the holy Imam's camp spent the night in prayers and the devotional supplicative services to God, the soldiers in the YAZIDIAN ranks in the opposite camp spent the whole night in drinking, feasting and making merry in the hope of the promised rewards form YAZID in return for the destruction of the family of the holy Prophet. God alone knows how many thousands of bowls of wine were emptied of that night. The YAZIDIAN forces anxiously awaited the break of the dawn of the next day to effect the brutal slaughter of the holy Imam and the small band of his kith and kin and faithful devotees.

THE HOLY IMAM'S LAST PRAYER WITH HIS DEVOTEES ON EARTH

At the break of the fateful day, 10th MUHARRAM 61 A.H. (October 680 A.D.), HUSSAIN called his son ALI-E-AKBAR who resembled the holy Prophet the most, and said: "Ali, my dear! Let me hear they 'AZAN' (the call for prayer) for the last time in this world".

When ALI-E-AKBAR gave call 'AZAN' in the Sahara, reporters say that the voice resembled the voice of the holy prophet and HUSSAIN hearing the last 'AZAN' of his son in the voice of his Grandfather, remembering the Apostle of God, shed tears, and as the voice of ALI-E-AKBAR reached the inmates in the camp, ZAINAB along with UMME LAILA, the mother of ALI-E-AKBAR and the other ladies came out of the tents to hear the call for prayer in the sweet enchanting voice of the beautiful son of HUSSAIN resembling the voice of the Apostle of God, raising their hands to heavens prayed for the safety of their dear Caller to prayers.

It was the third day of the thirst Inflicted on the whole camp of the holy Imam. The holy Imam and his devotees performed 'TAYAMMUM' instead of 'WOZU' (Ablution) and the holy Imam offered the last congregational prayers with his devotees on earth. An Urdu poet has referred to this historic 'NAMAZ' (Prayer) and the 'NAMAZIES' i.e., the supplicants in a beautiful couplet:

"CHAND SHAR'MAA'EY CHAH'RAY MUTAJALLI AISAY NA IMAM AISA HOWA PHIR AN MUSALLI AISAY" Ashamed would be the Moon, faces so bright The Imam of the kind, never did appear Nor the supplicants like these.

HUSSAIN had not even finished his prayers when a rain of arrows from the YAZIDAIN forces began to shower on the praying Imam and his godly devotees. It is reported that OMAR IBNE SA'D was the first to take the bow in the YAZIDIAN camp and shoot an arrow towards HUSSAIN saying: (addressing the men of his forces):

"Witness ye all that I am the first to shoot an arrow against HUSSAIN".

Reporters of the event relate that along with OMAR 4.000 archers in the YAZIDIAN ranks simultaneously shot towards the holy Imam's camp, and before the holy souls could conclude their prayers, thirty (30) of the godly ones, who were engaged in the prayer, were shot dead. Soon after the prayer was over, the holy Imam ordered all his faithful companions to fall in, and divided his small godly band into three flanks, i.e., the right and the left wings and the central body. HUSSAIN called his brave brother, ABBAS, the Faithful and presented to him the holy Standard of Truth and thus ABBAS from that day came to be known as 'ABBAS-E-ALAMDAR' or ABBAS the Standard Bearer.

SERMON OF THE HOLY IMAM ON THE DAY OF ASHOORA

At last when it became sure that the devilish forces were bent upon a wholesale massacre, HUSSAIN spoke out aloud addressing the men of the YAZIDIAN forces in an apostolic tune.

"O' people! Do ye recognize me? By God tell me?" The reply from the enemy was:

"By God, yes, we do recognize thee, thou art the Son of the holy Prophet". HUSSAIN said: "Do ye know me! Am I not son of the Apostle of God?" "Yes, we do know thee, Thou art the son of the Apostle of God". HUSSAIN said:

"Do you know that my father is ALI AL-MURTAZA son of ABU TALEB, and my mother is FATEMA ZAHRA, the daughter of the Apostle of God and my grandmother is Lady KHADIJA daughter of KHOWAILID, who was the first to embrace Islam?" The reply was: "Yes, it is so". HUSSAIN said:

"By God, tell me, is not HAMZA the Chief of the Martyrs of Islam, one of my uncles?" The reply was: "Yes" HUSSAIN said:

"O' people! Do ye recognize this turban on my head, is it not the turban of the holy Prophet and this sword in my hand, that of the Apostle of God?" The reply was: "Yes., we do recognize". HUSSAIN said: "Do ye know my father ALI IBNE ABI TALEB was the first among men to join the holy Prophet in the faith of Islam, and he was the most learned, and the most forbearing of all men and was the 'MAULA' (or the Master, Lord) of all men and women?" The reply was:

"Yes! We know that everything thou sayest is truth". Then HUSSAIN asked aloud: "Say ye then, why do ye make lawful the shedding of my blood?" The reply from the brutal forces was: "Yes! We shall kill thee in they thirst". The voice of the holy Imam was heard in the tents in camp. The ladies and the children hearing the last reply from the enemy began to wept for HUSSAIN and ZAINAB and OMME KULTHOOM the two sisters of HUSSAIN, the daughter of ALI and FATEMA were the most effected. (ZINDAGANI HUSSAIN- IMADZADEH, TEHRAN)

HUR JOINS THE HOLY IMAM

HUR, the Commander of YAZID'S regiment, who had obstructed HUSSAIN'S way near KUFA, was also present in the enemy's forces in KARBALA. He spent all his time in repenting for having obstructed the way of the son of the holy Prophet. The enemy's officers and soldiers were only wondering at the mysterious sorrowful silence and the serious pensive mood in which HUR spent all his time since his arrival on the plain. While he distributed weapons of defense to his devotees in his camp, the holy Imam reserved a lance but did not say for whom it was. He only announced in a mysterious tone that a faithful one in the enemy's ranks was to join the ranks of the fighters for Truth. In the meanwhile, there in the ranks of the enemy HUR called his brother and his son secretly in his tent and said:

"We are doomed, driven towards 'Hell'. There is yet time. I have decided to dash out of the ranks of Satan and join the side of the holy Imam and seek pardon of the son of the Apostle of God. Would you like to accompany me or stay where you are?"

The brother and the son of HUR both readily consented to accompany him and HUR'S slave who was a faithful and trusted one of his master, was present in the tent and implored saying: 'Master! Take me away from this God's cursed side, along with thee. Pray leave me not for his', and HUR agreed. HUR, with his son, brother and a slave, dashed out of the enemy's ranks and joined the holy Imam. HUR appearing before the holy Imam, begged his pardon for the wrong he had done. The return of HUR had already been foretold by HUSSAIN in his camp. HUR was received very warmly by HUSSAIN and his companions and when the fight against the Devil began, HUR was the first one who went into the field against the enemy and laid down his life.

THE BATTLE OF TRUTH AGAINST FALSEHOOD

Thus the Battle of Truth against Falsehood began. One after another of the godly ones from the holy Imam's side went into the field and laid down his life after exhibiting wonderful bravery, courage, valor and prowess. It looked as if the thirst, hunger, heat and the wounds had no effect whatsoever on the patience, the strength and the determination of HUSSAIN'S devotees. At last when the deceitful IBN-I-SA'D saw the wonderful fight, he was astonished that each one from the holy Imam's side easily destroyed dozens before he fell, and who proved unconquerable, he ordered a sally in contravention of the solemn agreement entered into, the previous night. The bravery and the skill displayed by the faithful supporters of the sacred cause, the matchless resignation of each one of the hungry and thirsty suffers of the godly camp, to the holy Imam and to the sacred cause of Truth, drowned the Devil's army and their officers in wonder and astonishment, and they had become so awe-stricken at the miraculous strength and unparalleled courage of the helpless sufferers that they began to dread the very countenance of each of the godly devotees of the holy Imam who came alone into the field and fought and fell in the way of God.

Thus, whenever a supporter of the holy cause went against the Devil's forces and fell, the holy Imam rushed out and brought his body and laid it in a tent pitched particularly and the supporters of the Truth fell one after another, the tent containing the bodies of the martyrs was turned into a 'GANJE SHAHEEDAN' or the 'Repository the Martyrs'.

ZAINAB SENDS HER TWO YOUNG SONS

When devotee after devotee fought and fell, in defense of the holy Family, HUSSAIN'S sister, ZAINAB, called her two young sons, AUN and Muhammad aged 10 and 9 years respectively, who were with the holy Imam, and asked them: "What! Death has come to so many of the holy Imam's devotees and you are still alive?" The children submitted: "Mother dear! We are only waiting for the holy Imam's permission, get it for us now, our mother dear! And then see what these two slaves of yours would do ".

ZAINAB immediately sent for her brother the holy Imam and implored that her tow sons be permitted to go into the field. HUSSAIN could not say no to his sister. When these two boys went into the field, they got martyred. HUSSAIN and ABBAS brought the two bodies of the young martyrs and laid them down in the tent of ZAINAB. ZAINAB came to the two bodies of her sons and addressing them said: "My dear children! Now I am pleased with you for you have proved your worth and laid down your lives for Truth and pleased God and His holy Prophet".

QASIM, SON OF HASSAN

When the young QASIM aged about fourteen years, son of Imam HASSAN sought permission to go, it is reported that HUSSAIN remembered the wish of his late brother HASSAN that one of his daughters be wedded to his son QASIM. At the same time QASIM presented to the holy Imam a closed note, written and given to him by his father, to be opened only when the worst calamity befell him, in which was written addressing QASIM: "My dear Son QASIM when your uncle HUSSAIN is besieged by his enemies from all sides and when every true lover of God and the holy Prophet, lays down his life, defending the cause of Truth, you sacrifice yourself for the cause on my behalf".

The holy Imam kissed his late brother's writing. QASIM took his uncle's permission and went into the battlefield and after killing five famous warriors of the Devil's army (AZRAG and his four sons) fell from his horse. Alas! Before HUSSAIN could reach QASIM in response to his call for help, the whole cavalry of the Devil moved trampling over QASIM'S body.

ABBAS THE BRAVE: THE STANDARD BEARER

When ABBAS, the Lion-Hearted son of Ali, went into the field, his fight very much resembled the fight of his father Ali, the Lion of God. ABBAS' fight can never be described in a line or two. Anis and DABIR, the two famous Urdu Poets, have beautifully given a classical exposition of the marvelous encounter of ABBAS with the Devil's forces. ABBAS' strength valor, dexterity, prowess, his devotion to the cause of Truth and his attachment to the holy Imam, are unique in the history of the world. Against the wonderful dash which the Lion-Hearted son of Lion of God-made, the Devil's men had to give way. After a terrible fight, ABBAS reached the bank of the river and filed the sack with water for the thirsty children in HUSSAIN'S camp but never tasted a drop of it saying:

"Ah! When my Lord, the holy Imam and his innocent children are thirsty, how can ABBAS taste this water". Alas! While ABBAS was returning from the river with the sack of water on his shoulder, he was attacked from al sides and at last he fell near the bank of the river but not until he had lost both his hands which were severed by a treacherous attack from a hiding.

ALI-E-AKBAR'S MARTYRDOM

After ABBAS, came the turn of ALI-E-AKBAR, to go to the battlefield. It is reported that his eighteen year old son was so very much loved by one and all in the camp that the account of his taking leave of his mother, aunts, sisters, brothers and other relatives is so pathetic that none can resist shedding at least a few tears over the heart-rending event. At last when the holy Imam sent ALI-E-AKBAR, the 'AHMED-I-THANI' i.e., (Muhammad the Second), to the battlefield, he raised his head towards Heaven and said: "Lord! Here is sent in Thy way, the one who resembleth the most with Thy Prophet Muhammad, whenever we did desire to have a view of holy Face departed away from us, we used to look the face of this youth".

"Lord! HUSSAIN has one ALI-E-AKBAR and he is sent to be sacrificed for thy cause, had I many more like him, I would have similarly offered them all in Thy way". Is not this offer more acceptable to God than that of Abraham who offered with his eyes blindfolded? Is not this a Greater Sacrifice than that of ISMAEL?

When ALI-E-AKBAR went into the battlefield, it is reported that the Devil's forces were so much amazed at his resemblance with the holy Prophet that such of those who had seen him before, wondered if the holy Prophet had reappeared in the world to help his dear grandson HUSSAIN. People were so anxious to have a look at the enchanting beauty of the youth that those in the rear of the enemy's ranks, mounted on the horses and camels, even stood on the backs of the animals to have a look at the matchless and the wonder-striking beauty of this son of the holy Imam. But no! there was a treacherous onslaught and ALI-E-AKBAR fell with lance pierced through his breast as the holy Imam had prophesied. God alone knows what a patient heart the holy Imam had been endowed with, which never gave way against any catastrophe even that of the loss of such a son. The holy Imam stood looking at his son dying before his eyes and lifting his head towards Heaven said:

"Lord! It will be quite sufficient for Thy HUSSAIN if thou accepteth this sacrifice and if thou art pleased with this humble offer".

HUSSAIN STANDS ALONE

When every one his devotees was slain and none was left on the holy Imam's side, he stood all alone in the field with his head resting on a lance and his garments drenched not only in his own blood but also of his martyred son, brothers, nephews and devotees, with the Devil's forces all around him.

BABY ALI-E-ASGHAR COMES INTO THE FIELD

When the helpless Imam stood all alone in the field surrounded by the enemies, he was summoned by a call from his sister ZAINAB in his camp. When he went into the tent, he found his baby son ALI-E-ASGHAR, dying of thirst in his cradle and the poor mother RABAB, whose mild had dried up by the continuous thirst and hunger for the three consecutive days, could not help the baby with even a drop of her milk. Telling the mother that he would show the baby to the enemy and get some water for it if they give it, HUSSAIN took the baby to the field and getting on a camel and raising it up in his arms to enable everyone in the enemy's forces to see it said:

"O people! If, in your opinion, HUSSAIN is guilty of any sin or crime, this innocent baby has done nothing to hurt any one of you. It does not even speak, and has not even uttered anything against you or your AMIR at Damascus. He is dying of thirst. He had neither mild nor water for the last three days. Would you quench his thirst by a few drops of water. If you suspect that e demand water for myself in the name of the baby, then I will leave him here, if you want, and go away and you may return him with his thirst quenched".

It is reported that the address of the holy Imam and scene, with the thirsty innocent baby in his hands, was so touching, so pathetic and so heart-rending that even the men in the Devil's army could not help weeping and cursing the Devil and his Deputy IBNE ZIAD, Governor of KUFA, who had gathered them there against such holy and helpless ones. IBN-I-SA'D, fearing a revolt of his forces in sympathy for the holy Imam, at once ordered a stonehearted brute named HARMALA to answer HUSSAIN. The tyrant, shot a three-pronged arrow from his bow which after piercing through the Imam's arm got stuck into the tiny neck of the innocent baby. Blood flowed from the neck and the baby looking at its father's face smiled and stopped breathing for ever. HUSSAIN collected the little blood that came out of the tiny neck of his baby son in his hand, and it is reported that when he wanted to drop it on the earth, from the earth the holy Imam heard a voice saying:

"O holy Imam! I can not bear this innocent blood". And when HUSSAIN wanted to throw the blood towards heaven, he heard a voice saying: "O holy Imam! Throw not the innocent blood towards me for I can not bear it". An Urdu poet has versified the event: "INKAR AASMA KO HAI, RAZI ZAMI NAHI ASGHAR TUMHARE KOON KA THIKANA KAHI NAHI". i.e., The heaven refuses and the earth does not agree, O ALI-E-ASGHAR, thy blood has no place in the world. It is reported that the dead baby to be returned to its mother who was waiting anxiously for it, at the door of her tent in the camp. Hence he sat down to bury his baby son in the burning sand of the desert. Does not even this one single sacrifice suffice to touch every human heart? Can we not call this one sacrifice along greater than the sacrifice offered by Abraham? God alone knows the degree o the patience and the fortitude which He had endowed in the holy Imam to bear the series of such unbearable calamities.

THE MESSENGER FROM MADINA

It is reported that when the holy Imam was busy digging a tiny grave for the martyred baby, in the burning desert with his sword a camel rider arrived into the field and wished him. The holy Imam raised his wounded head and looked at him with wonder if there was any one still left to wish him in that hostile land at that very terrible and testing hour. The Arab was a messenger and had brought a letter from FATEMA SUGHRA the sickly daughter of the holy Imam, whom he had left alone in his deserted house at Medina. She had requested him in the letter either to return home soon from his journey or to send her brother ALI AKBAR or her cousin QASIM or her uncle ABBAS, (who were already slain) to take her to him. The most pathetic was her request to her father to kiss her baby-brother ALI-E-ASGHAR, whom HUSSAIN was just then burying. The holy Imam could not help shedding tears, and kissed the dead baby on behalf of its sister at Medina saying:

"ASGHAR dear! Your sister sends her kisses to you". And then addressed the messenger saying: "Brother! Bear witness, that I have complied with the request and have kissed ASGHAR before thee". HUSSAIN took the letter and read it out to his brothers, his son, and his nephews who lay martyred for whom it contained a wish and then turning to the messenger said:

"Bear thou witness Brother! That I have conveyed the messages also to one and all concerned". The messenger stood aghast, stunned and stuck with sorrow and wonder. When he demanded a reply to the letter, HUSSAIN was only thinking as to what should he say in reply to it, when, suddenly an arrow from the enemy's ranks struck his forehead and blood began to drop down from the wound. HUSSAIN took a few drops of his blood on the letter and returned it to the messenger saying: "Brother! Return thou to Medina with this reply and if my daughter asks thee anything more about me, relate what thou hast seen here and tell her on my behalf to be patient".

"But, Beware, get thou quickly out of the ange of thy hearing, away from this plain, for soon I will be issuing my last call, unto all around for help in the way of the Lord, whosoever heareth, it shall be incumbent on him to respond to it. lest thou heareth it and get obliged to respond to the heavenly summon and then thou will not be able to return to Medina without becoming a infidel. Go away my brother, God be with thee". The messenger in utmost wonder and sorrow left the fatal plain with tears in his eyes for the plight of the holy Soul.

THE FINAL SEPARATION

The details of the final separation of the holy Imam from the helpless ladies and children and other inmates of his camp, particularly form his sisters ZAINAB and UMME KULTHOOM, are very heart-rending and it is impossible for any one to describe the whole sorrowful scene in a paragraph or two of a brief work like this. The holy Imam at last bade goodbye to all the helpless inmates of his camp foretelling the calamities that were awaiting them following his martyrdom, and preaching patience to one and all. To ZAINAB, his sister, he exhorted in particular to bear every hardship and torture with extreme patience and never to curse the enemy for her curse would surely invoke the wrath of God upon the people and what he had done with so much of patience and fortitude would be undone.

HUSSAIN HANDS OVER THE CHARGE OF THE IMAMAT

Ali, the eldest son of HUSSAIN called ZAINULABIDEEN (i.e., Grace of the pious), was laying unconscious on his sick bed. HUSSAING went to him and handed over the charge of the sacred office of Imamate to him. He enumerated the difficulties and the tortures that would befall him immediately following his martyrdom and advised him (who was to succeed as the Fourth holy Imam) to observe the highest degree of patience and fortitude against every aggression and oppression that would be inflicted on him and his dear ones, and never to get angry or curse the people.

THE PARTING ADVICE TO ZAINAB AND UMM KULTHOMM

To ZAINAB and UMM KU, his two sisters, HUSSAIN said:

"Our camp will be plundered and set on fire. After I am slain, the series of calamities to you all would begin. Your heads will be stripped of your covering cloths veils. Beware O' My Sisters dear, let not patience under any suffering be lost. Bear every calamity in the way of the Lord with patience and fortitude. Sisters dear, let not what I have done be undone by your impatience'. The holy Imam at last came into the field bidding goodbye, to all, not to return again to his camp, but to drink the cup of martyrdom to fulfill the covenant with the Lord to save and secure the Truth for all times until the Day of Judgment.

HUSSAIN IN THE BATTLEFIELD TO OFFER THE GREATEST SACRIFICE FOR THE TRUTH

HUSSAIN first preached to his enemies, the love of God, the obedience to the holy Prophet and abstinence from vice and wickedness, and at last asked the people: "Why do ye kill me?" "Did I commit any sin or crime?" "Did I interfere with any one's affairs?" All stood dumb and none answered. Then the holy Imam continued: "Then why do ye kill me? What answer have you to give to God, and to the holy Prophet on the Day of Judgment?" When no answer form the Devil's forces, the holy Imam said:

"You have killed all my companions, my children, my brothers and even my little baby; now I tell you leave me, I will migrate to YEMAN, to Iran or even to the far of Hind (India), stain not your hands with my blood, which is the blood of the holy Prophet himself, you will not have salvation. It is for you, I tell you, shed not my blood and save yourselves". This last offer of the holy Imam was superb and matchless and yet the devils did not avail of it. It was in fact the fulfillment of the 'HUJJAT' or the argument to give the last chance to the greedy devils to save themselves from the wrath of God.

THE LAST CALL OF THE HOLY IMAM IN THE WAY OF THE LORD

Lest later any one in the surroundings should that he was neither called nor given any opportunity to serve the cause of defending the Truth by helping the holy Imam who was fighting for it, HUSSAIN now standing all alone, bleeding form innumerable wounds from head to foot, having lost one and all of his godly comrades, having offered the last and the greatest of his offering in the way of the Lord, the six months baby ALI-E-ASHGAR, gave his last call to humanity around him, inviting them to join him in the way of the Lord, saying: "HAL MIN NASIRIN YANSORONA" "Is there any helper to help us?"

"HAL MIN ZABBIN YAZUBBO AN HARAME RASOOLILLAH?" "Is there any defender to repulse the enemy form approaching the tents of the family of the holy Prophet?" When there was no response from any one of the thousands standing around him, he then said aloud: "ALAM TASMA'O? ALAISA FIKUM MUSLIMU?" 'Do ye hear me not? is there not even a single Muslim among you?' Yet there was no response.

When HUSSAIN gave his final call to the world around inviting the people in the way of the Lord, HUSSAIN'S son ALI-E-ZAINULABIDEEN who was confined to bed with high fever, and who had just a little before received the charge of the Imamate form his father, got up and leaning on a staff, dragged himself out on his tent with his feeble sickly voice, walking towards the holy Imam saying: "LABBAIK YA ABATA, LABBAIK!"

'Yes, Here I am O Father dear, here I am" HUSSAIN seeing his ailing Ali coming out tottering in the high fever, bade him saying: "Get thee back O' son! My progeny is to spring form thee".

It is reported that in response to the call from the holy Imam, some mysterious voices of 'LABBAIK! LABBAIK! (Yes we are here O' son of the holy Prophet) were heard form the spiritual world above, to which the holy Imam replied 'Thanks to you all, but my concern here today is only with the living in the physical world. Saying this, the Great Godly soul the holy Imam himself to be martyred by the Devil's forces surrounding him

THE UNIQUE UNPARALLELED PRAYER (NAMAZ)

Every awakened mind will surely confess that it is not possible for any mortal to understand the great heavenly personality which enacted the absolute submission to the Lord, which he displayed on the field of KARBALA.

Having lost every one of his faithful comrades including his baby son, himself fully wounded from head to foot with arrows struck in his holy baby with his blood flowing from the wounds, his clothes drenched with blood, and that of his comrades, his kith and kin whose dead bodies he removed from the field of the massacre to a tent in his camp to spare them from being trampled under the hoofs of the cavalry of the heartless enemy, hungry with choking thirst for the last three days, HUSSAIN was seen seated on his horse the ZUL-JINAH, looking every now and then towards Heaven with prayers for the acceptance of his sacrifices. In the midst of the indescribable miseries, sorrow and grief, and under the indefinable agony of the worst torturous and the most painful death, the holy Imam ever remained mindful of the Lord and his submission to Him with the desire not to leave the world defaulting not even a single one of prayers (NAMAZ) prescribed by him for man in this world.

His condition was such that HUSSAIN now could not of his own efforts get down from the horse. HUSSAIN hinted to his horse saying:

"Wilt thou my dear ZUL-JINAH kneel down a little to enable me to roll myself to the ground? I know thou hast also been hungry and thirsty along with me. Pardon me my dear ZUL-JINAH for HUSSAIN is helpless. May the Lord bless thee". The faithful animal which was itself hungry, thirsty and wounded, spread its legs in such a way that the godly soul, one of the most brilliant stars of the heaven of divinity, slid himself down.

Now lying with his bleeding wounds on the flaming sand of the burning desert, HUSSAIN, desirous of offering his prayers gathered the sand in front of him and himself engaged in his last prayer (NAMAZ) on earth, resting his wounded forehead on a heap of the burning sand. Thus ultimately the wounded holy Imam lay in communion with the Lord. Swords and axes began falling on him and HUSSAIN being fully wounded from head to foot, and the sacred blood of the holy Prophet, Ali and FATEMA was flowing on the earth.

Several men one after another, were deputed by the Commander of the Devil's forces to cut off the head of the holy Imam, but every one that came near the holy one lying on the burning sand, found his lips moving and heard to say: "O All-Merciful Lord of the Universe, accept the humble sacrifice of thy HUSSAIN. HUSSAIN has submitted in Thy was all that thou hast given him. If this son of Thy holy Prophet had anything more, he would have submitted that also to Thee-But O' Lord forgive the sinners among the faithful, O' All Merciful One".

And at the end of the prayers it was heard: "O' Lord! Lord O' Lord". Being repeated several times.

Hearing these last prayers of HUSSAIN, none dared to cut off his holy head, even on an offer of thousands of gold coins with promises of highly tempting rewards, but SHIMR, the stone-hearted brute committed the heinous crime. Thus when the head of the holy Imam was being several form his body, the helpless ladies and the innocent children in HUSSAIN'S camp stood at their tents shouting for help and were weeping aloud. And HUSSAIN'S sister, Lady ZAINAB ran bare-headed out of her tent towards her brother shouting to IBN-I-SA'D for mercy but IBN-I-SA'D heart was devoid of mercy.

THE SEVERAL HEAD OF HUSSIAN GLORIFIES GOD

The moment the holy Imam's head was severed from his body and raised on the point of a lance, the severed head began glorifying God, aloud in clear words saying:

"ALLAHU AKBAR' (i.e. God the Greatest)" Thus HUSSAIN won an everlasting victory over the Devil who could not annihilate Truth with the massacre of the holy Imam, for HUSSAIN continued the glorification of the Lord even after his head was severed, from the point of the very lance in the hand of his enemy. Thus the holy Imam by his own example has made it openly known how abhorrent is falsehood and godlessness, how far it should be defied, what value to humanity has Truth and godliness. How dear it must be to every faithful one and at what cost it must be defended and upheld. And how death in the cause of Truth, unfailingly earns the life Real of Eternal Bliss.

BODIES OF THE MARTYRS TRAMPLED BY THE DEVIL'S CAVALRY

With HUSSAIN'S Martyrdom, only the wielding of the sword by the Devil's forces has stopped, but immediately after the massacre of the holy Imam and his faithful devotees, the brutes of the Devil's forces got busy in the other horrible deeds. Horses were shod afresh and the enemy's cavalry was ordered to tide over the holy dead bodies of the martyrs trampling them under the hoofs of their horses.

HUSSAIN'S CAMP PLUNDERED AND SET ON FIRE

The next move of the brutes was towards the holy Camp which now contained only the helpless wailing ladies, the crying children and ALI ZAIN UL ABIDEEN the ailing son of the holy Imam lying unconscious with high fever. They plundered the camp, setting the tents on fire. The gentle and noble ladies, who were the unique models of chaste and modest womanhood, and the innocent children ran hither and thither between the burning tents of the camp, and some of the poor children are reported to have perished in the fire. The brutes took the ladies and the children as captives, and the weak and the sick ALI ZAIN UL ABIDEEN, now the Fourth holy Imam, was bound in heavy thorny chains, fettered and was most heartlessly treated as the sharp, piercing edges were almost choking him.