The First Campaign
‘Umar Ibn Sa’d advanced towards al-Husayn's troops and shot an arrow saying,“Testify for me with the governor that I shot the first arrow.”
Others followed suit.
Hardly any of al-Husayn's men escaped being shot at by an arrow.
The Imam (‘a) said to his companions,“Stand, may Allah be Merciful unto you, and meet the imminent death, for these arrows are messengers of these people to you.”
He and his companions charged together
and fought for a while. By the time the cloud of dust dissipated, fifty men had been killed.
It oppressed even as the desert crushed its valiant ones
And the face of the morning its battle curiously examines.
Their faces were with the battle elated.
How many faces of valiant men then turned grim?
Pleased they are when the lances come to them
And music it is to their ears to hear swords' clamour.
Dignified, they are, yielding in hardship to none,
Nor do they fear any calamity,
Only to glory their souls yearn
Only glory do their souls earn,
So if glory in a star does reside,
They would have gone to that side,
And the men of honour always seek
What is honourable and what glorifies.
So their swords on the battle day drip of blood,
And their hands are with glory always dyed.
Their flesh is always with the swords' brink,
And from its blood do the spears always drink,
Till they, like stars, to the ground did fall,
Though after them I wish no star remains at all.
They fell, so say that the brightest stars are no more
They fell, so say the mountains were crushed to the core.
Yasar, Ziyad's slave, and Salim, a slave of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad, came out and challenged anyone to fight them in a duel. Habib and Burayr leaped to meet their challenge, but al-Husayn (‘a) did not permit them. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Omayr al-Kalbi, of Banu ‘Alim, who was known as “Abu Wahab,” a tall and masculine man with broad shoulders, a man who was held with very high esteem among his people, and a man of courage and martial experience, stood up.
Al-Husayn (‘a) permitted him saying,“I believe he is a match for both of them.” “Who are you?”
the challengers inquired. He identified himself to them, but they could not recognize him. One of them said, “We do not know you; let either Zuhayr or Habib or Burayr come out.” Yasar stood nearby.
The latter said to him, “You son of the adulteress! Do you not wish to fight me?!”
then charged at him and engaged him in a sword duel.
Meanwhile, Salim attacked him, so his companions warned him saying,“The slave is now charging at you!”
But he did not pay attention to him, so Salim hit him with his sword.
‘Abdullah tried to protect himself from it with his left hand, getting his fingers cut off in the attempt. Then ‘Abdullah swiftly turned to him with his own sword, killing him instantly. Having killed both men, he went back to al-Husayn (‘a) reciting rajaz (martial) poetry.
Having seen how her husband so valiantly fought, Umm Wahab daughter of ‘Abdullah, who belonged to al-Nimr Ibn Qasit, took a rod and came to him saying,“May both my parents be sacrificed for you! Do defend the good ones, the offspring of Muhammad, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny!”
He wanted to take her back to the tent, but she kept persisting, holding to his clothes and saying,“I shall not leave you till I die with you!”
Al-Husayn (‘a) called out to her saying,“May you be well rewarded on behalf of your Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)! Go back to the tent! Women are not required to fight!”
She did.
Duels Between Two or Four Warriors
When the rest of al-Husayn's companions saw the large number of those who had been killed from their camp, two, three, or four men simultaneously sought al-Husayn's permission to let them defend him and his ladies. Each member of these groups tried his best to protect the other or others as they fought.
Two men, both with the last name of al-Jabiri, namely Sayf Ibn al-Harith Ibn Sari’ and Malik Ibn ‘Abd Ibn Saree’, both cousins, came out weeping. Al-Husayn (‘a) asked them,“Why are you weeping? I hope after a short while you will see what will cool your eyes!”
They said,“May Allah accept us as your own sacrifice! We are not mourning our own death, but we are weeping only because we can see how you are thus surrounded while we cannot do much for you.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) prayed Allah to reward them both with goodness.
They both fought near him till they were killed.
‘Abdullah and ‘Abdul-Rahman, sons of ‘Urwah al-Ghifari, came and said, “People have driven us to you [against our wish].”
They kept fighting al-Husayn's enemy till they were both killed.
‘Amr Ibn Khalid al-Saydawi and his slave Sa’d, as well as Jabir Ibn al-Harith al-Salmani and Majma’ Ibn ‘Abdullah al-’A'ithi
, came out and collectively attacked the Kufians. Once they were in the latter's midst, they were soon circled.
Al-Husayn (‘a) asked his brother al-’Abbas to go to their rescue, which he did, but not before all those men received heavy wounds. On their way, the enemy came close to them. Despite their wounds, they kept fighting till they were all killed at the same place.
An Appeal for Help and Guidance
When al-Husayn (‘a) saw that a large number of his companions had died, he took hold of his sacred beard and said, “Allah's Wrath intensified against the Jews for having attributed a son to Him, and His Wrath intensified against the Christians who made Him one of three [Triune], and His Wrath also intensified against the Zoroastrians who worshipped the sun and the moon instead of worshipping Him.
And His Wrath intensified against people who collectively agreed to kill the son of their Prophet's daughter. By Allah! I shall never agree with them about anything they want me to do till I meet Allah drenched in my blood.”
Then he called out,“Is there anyone who would defend the ladies of the Messenger of Allah?!”
Hearing him, the women cried and wailed.
Two Ansaris, Sa’d Ibn al-Harith and his brother Abul-Hutuf, heard al-Husayn (‘a) pleading for help, and they also heard the cries of his children. They were both with the army of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Sa’d. They suddenly turned against al-Husayn's enemy around them and kept killing them till they themselves were killed.
The Right Wing Remains Firm
Having seen how the number of their fighting men became so small, al-Husayn's companions resorted to fight individually, i.e. in duels. Thus, they were able to kill a large number of the Kufians. ‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj then shouted loudly at his men,“Do you really know who you are fighting?!
You are fighting the land's knights, the people of vision, those who stay firm till death. None of you comes out to fight them except that he gets killed despite their small number. By Allah! If you throw rocks at them, you will be able to kill them all!”
‘Umar Ibn Sa’d said to him, “Yes, you have said the truth Your idea is the sound one; so, send word to everyone and tell them not to come out to them for any duel. True, if you fight them singly, they will finish you.”
‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj attacked al-Husayn's right wing, but the men were able to maintain their ground, kneeling down as they planted their lances. They were thus able to frighten the enemy's horses. When the horsemen came back to charge at them again, al-Husayn's men met them with their arrows, killing some of them and wounding others.
‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj kept saying the following to his men,“Fight those who abandoned their creed and who deserted the jama’a!”
Hearing him say so, al-Husayn (‘a) said to him,“Woe unto you, O ‘Amr! Are you really instigating people to fight me?!
Are we really the ones who abandoned their creed while you yourself uphold it?! As soon as our souls part from our bodies, you will find out who is most worthy of entering the fire!”
Muslim Ibn Awsajah
‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj attacked from the Euphrates' side, fighting for a while. This engagement involved Muslim Ibn ‘Awsajah. Muslim Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Dababi and ‘Abdullah Ibn Khashkarah al-Bijli attacked him, causing a huge cloud of dust which, once dissipated, showed Muslim lying on the ground drawing his last breath.
Escorted by Habib Ibn Muzahir, al-Husayn (‘a) walked towards him and said,“May Allah be Merciful unto you, O Muslim!
‘Among them are those who died, and among them are those who wait, and they never changed aught in the least' (Qur’an, 33:23).”
Habib came closer to him and said,“Your being killed is truly devastating me, O Muslim! Receive the glad tidings of Paradise!”
In a very faint voice, the dying hero said,“May Allah convey to you, too, such glad tidings!”
Habib said,“Had I not known that I will soon be following you, I would have liked you to convey your will to me with regard to anything on your mind.”
Muslim said,“All I want you to do is to look after this man,”
pointing to al-Husayn (‘a), adding,“and to defend him till death” Habib said, “I will Insha-Allah do exactly so.”
It was then that Muslim breathed his last as he was lying between both men. His woman cried out,“Wa Muslimah [O Muslim!] O master! O son of ‘Awsajah!”
Ibn al-Hajjaj, feeling elated about Muslim's martyrdom, kept shouting in excitement that they killed Muslim.
Shabth Ibn Rab’i said to those around him,“May your mothers lose you! Do you really feel elated when a man such as Muslim is killed?! A great stand which I saw with my own eyes involving him was in Azerbaijan where he killed six polytheists even before the Muslim cavalry had enough time to form its ranks!”
The Left Wing
Al-Shimr and his company attacked the right wing of al-Husayn's army, but the latter was able to stay firm in their positions, forcing the attackers to withdraw.
In that engagement, ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Omayr al-Kalbi participated, killing nineteen horsemen and twelve footmen. Hani Ibn Thabit al-Hadrami charged at him, cutting his right hand off
as Bakr Ibn Hayy was cutting his left. He was taken captive and instantly killed.
His wife, Umm Wahab, walked towards his corpse and sat at his head, wiping the blood from it and saying, “Congratulations for having earned Paradise! I plead to Allah Who blessed you with Paradise to make me join you.” Al-Shimr heard her and told his slave Rustam to hit her head with a rod, which he did. She died there and then. She was the first woman to be martyred from among al-Husayn's companions.
‘Abdullah's head was cut off then thrown in the direction of Husayn's camp. His mother took it, wiped the blood from it then grabbed the pillar of a tent and ran in the direction of the enemy's camp.
Imam al-Husayn (‘a) sent her back saying, “Go back, may Allah have mercy on you, for you are exempted from participating in jihad.”
She went back saying,“O Allah! Do not disappoint me!”
Al-Husayn (‘a) said to her,“May Allah never disappoint you!”
Al-Shimr now attacked, piercing al-Husayn's tent with his lance and loudly shouting, “Give me a torch of fire to burn the tent and everyone in it!”
The women inside the tent screamed in peril as they fled. Al-Husayn (‘a) called out to him saying,“O son of Thul-Jawshan! Are you calling for fire to burn my Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)?!
May Allah burn you with His fire!”
Shabth Ibn Rab’i asked Shimr,“Have you sunk so low so as to be one who thus frightens women?! I have never seen anyone doing a worse thing than what you have done, nor a situation more ugly than yours.”
The rogue felt ashamed of himself, so he went away. Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn, heading a company of ten fighters, attacked al-Shimr's company till they succeeded in distancing them from their quarters.
‘Izrah Requests More Re-enforcements
When ‘Izrah son of Qays, who was head of the cavalry division, noticed how weak his fellows were and how they failed in their mission whenever they charged, he sent a message to ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d asking for more men.
‘Umar Ibn Sa’d said to Shabth Ibn Rab’i, “Why don't you attack them?”
He answered: “Ya Subhan-Allah! [Praise to Allah] Are you asking the dignitary of the land to shoulder such a responsibility while there are with you those who can spare him such a task?!” Shabth Ibn Rab’i, in all reality, remained all the while too reluctant to fight al-Husayn (‘a).
He was even heard saying,“For five years did we fight the offspring of Abu Sufyan on the side of ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a) then on the side of his son [al-Hasan] after him, then we transgressed on his son [al-Husayn] who is the best man on the face of earth, fighting him in support of Mu’awiyah's offspring and in support of the son of Sumayya, the adulteress!
How we have strayed! By Allah! The people of this country will never be granted goodness, nor will they ever be rightly guided!”
Yet he sent him al-Hasin Ibn Namir in charge of five hundred archers, and fighting intensified. Al-Husayn's companions suffered most of the wounds, their horses were hamstrung. The riders were thus forced to fight on foot
.
Yet the enemy forces failed whenever they attacked them from any direction due to the fact that their homes were close to one another. Ibn Sa’d, therefore, dispatched men with instructions to demolish those homes then surround them. Each group of three or four persons from among al-Husayn's band would stand before each tent.
They would attack and kill every man as he attempted to plunder, shooting him with an arrow from a close distance.
Ibn Sa’d issued his order to burn all the tents. His order was carried out. Women screamed in fright; children were dumbfounded. Al-Husayn (‘a) said, “Let them burn them, for once they have done so, they would not touch you with any harm. And so it was.
Abu al-Sha’tha’
Abu al-Sha’tha', namely Yazid Ibn Ziyad al-Kindi, was first fighting on the side of ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d. Having seen what happened to the women and the children, he defected and joined al-Husayn's camp.
He was an excellent archer; he knelt down in front of al-Husayn (‘a) and shot at least a hundred arrows as al-Husayn (‘a) kept supplicating,“O Allah! Guide his shots and reward him with Paradise!”
Having run out of arrows, he stood up and said,“It is clear to me that I have killed five of them”
.
Then he charged at the enemy and killed nine more before he himself was killed.
At the time of Zawal
Abu Thumama al-Sa’idi
looked at the sun and saw that it was already after-noon, so he said to al-Husayn (‘a),“May I be sacrificed for your sake! I can see that these folks have advanced towards you. No, by Allah, you shall not be killed before I die defending you, and I love to return to Allah after having performed the prayers whose time has approached.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) raised his head to the heavens and said,“You have remembered the prayers, may Allah count you among those who uphold the prayers and who remember Him often. Yes, this is the beginning of its time. Ask them to leave us alone so that we may perform the prayers.” Al-Hasin, who had heard the Imam (‘a) say these words, commented by saying, “It [your prayer] will not be accepted!”
Habib Ibn Muzahir
Habib Ibn Muzahir heard what that rogue had said, so he responded to him by saying,“Do you claim that prayers are not accepted from the Prophet's Family but yours are accepted, you ass?!”
Al-Hasin charged at him, so Habib slapped the face of al-Hasin's horse, causing it to leap and throw its rider on the ground. Al-Hasin's men had to rush to his rescue and to carry him away to safety.
Habib, despite his advanced age, fought them valiantly, killing as many as sixty-two men. Badil Ibn Sarim attacked him and dealt a sword blow to him as a man from Tamim hit him with his lance. Habib now fell on the ground.
As he attempted to stand up again, al-Hasin hit him with his sword on the head, causing him to fall again on his face. The man from Tamim alighted and severed Habib's head. Habib being thus killed shook al-Husayn (‘a) who said,“It is only to Allah that I complain about what has happened to me and to my companions.”
For a good while, the Imam (‘a) kept repeating the statement: Inna-Lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajia’un
[We belong to Allah, and to Him is our return].
al-Hurr al-Riyahi
After him, al-Hurr Ibn Yazid al-Riyahi came out accompanied by Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn who was protecting him from the rear. Whenever one of them attacked and the situation became critical, the other would attack to rescue him, and they kept doing so for a while.
The horse on which al-Hurr was riding received hits on its ears and eyebrows, and it was bleeding as its rider was quoting the following verse by Antar Ibn Shaddad al-’Abasi:
I kept shooting them at its very mouth,
At its chest, till blood drenched it all.
Al-Hasin said to Yazid Ibn Sufyan, “Is this al-Hurr whom you wished to kill?” “Yes,” said Yazid, so the first came out and challenged al-Hurr to a duel. It turned out that al-Hasin was asking for a swift death, for it did not take al-Hurr long to kill him!
Ayyub Ibn Mashrah al-Khaywani shot al-Hurr's horse with an arrow, hamstringing it. The poor horse leaped, so the rider leaped from it like a lion,
holding his sword in his hand. He kept fighting on foot till he killed more than forty men.
A company from the footmen fiercely attacked him and killed him. Al-Husayn's companions carried his body and put it before the tent in front of which they were fighting. They were doing so whenever a man was killed, and al-Husayn (‘a), each time, kept repeating this statement:“He has been killed as prophets and the offspring of prophets are killed.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) turned to al-Hurr, who was breathing his last, and said to him, as he wiped out the blood from his face,“You are al-Hurr [which means: the free man], just as your mother named you, and you are free in this life and in the life hereafter.”
One of the companions of al-Husayn (‘a), who some say was [al-Husayn (‘a)’s son] ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn,
eulogized him with the following verses which some people claim the Imam (‘a) himself had composed:
How good al-Hurr of Banu Riyah!
How patient when the lances intertwined!
How good al-Hurr when he defended Husayn!
And in the morning his life he sacrificed!
Prayers
Al-Husayn (‘a) stood to perform his prayers. It is said that he led the prayers' service before the survivors from among his companions. It was a special prayer called Salat al-khawf, the prayer said by one fearing for his life. In front of him stood Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn and Sa’id Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hanafi and half of the surviving companions.
Other historians say that he and his companions offered their prayers individually.
Far away it was from being a prayer in fear,
For it was not of death frightened,
Though death was from it quite near.
But the bloody stand did not cause it to bend,
Nor did the army stop it from near or from far.
It charged, though thirsty,
And the sun was burning,
From it the ground was as though on fire.
It shook the hosts so it was as though
Al-Taff
's plains and valleys were not vast at all.
Ask the battlefield about it and you will see
How it stamped it with stabs and with blows,
How it defended Allah's every sanctity
So it did not harm any glory at all
Nor did it in fear flee.
How it defended Allah's creed,
The guided ones were few.
Their enemies filled the place
They had arrows and swords but no grace,
About them wrote history:
Their mischief filled the valley.
When Sa’id's wounds became overwhelming, he fell on the ground as he was supplicating thus:“O Allah! Curse them as You cursed the peoples of ‘Ad and Thamud and convey my Salam to Your Prophet (S) and tell him
about the pain of the wounds which I have received, for I desired Your rewards when I supported the offspring of Your Prophet, Peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny.”
He turned to Imam al-Husayn (‘a) and asked him,“Have I carried out my obligation, O son of the Messenger of Allah?” “Yes,”
said the Imam (‘a),“and you shall reach Paradise before I do.”
Then the hero died.
As many as thirteen arrows were found planted in his body in addition to the blows which he had sustained from swords and lances.
Having finished his prayers, al-Husayn (‘a) addressed his companions thus:
O honourable men! Here is Paradise with its gates wide open for you, with its rivers joining one another, with its fruits ripened, and here is the Messenger of Allah and the martyrs who were killed in the Cause of Allah: they all are waiting for you to join them. They are congratulating one another on your account; so do defend the religion of Allah and of His Prophet (S), and do protect the women of the Messenger of Allah (S).
They all said to him,“May our lives be sacrificed for yours, and may our blood protect yours! By Allah! So long as blood flows in our veins, no harm shall reach you or your ladies.”
The Horses Harmstrung
‘Umar Ibn Sa’d dispatched ‘Amr Ibn Sa’id in charge of a company of archers to shoot arrows at al-Husayn's companions and to hamstring their horses.
Not a single horseman remained with al-Husayn (‘a) except al-Dahhak Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Mashriqi who recounted this report:
“ Having seen how the horses of our fellows were being hamstrung, I came with my horse and entered a tent belonging to our fellows. They fought most fiercely.
Whoever wanted to come out to fight would bid al-Husayn (‘a) farewell and say, “Peace be upon you, O son of the Messenger of Allah!” Al-Husayn (‘a) would then respond to him by saying,“And upon you, too, be peace, and we shall soon join your company.”
Then he would quote the Qur’anic verse saying,
“... so of them is he who accomplished his vow, and of them is he who yet waits, and they have not changed in the least” (Qur’an, 33:23).
Abu Thumamah
Abu Thumama al-Sa’idi came out and fought till he was very heavily wounded. He had a cousin named Qays Ibn ‘Abdullah who was fighting with ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d, and there was a great deal of enmity between them both The latter attacked him fiercely and killed him.
Zuhayr and Ibn Mudarib
Salman Ibn Mudarib al-Bajali, a cousin of Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn al-Bajali, came out and fought till he was killed. He was followed by Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn who put his hand on al-Husayn's shoulder and sought permission to fight with these verses:
Advance, may you guide, O guided one!
For today shall I your grandfather the Prophet meet!
And I shall meet al-Hasan and ‘Ali the pleased one!
And the one with Two Wings, the valiant youth greet,
The lion of Allah, the living martyr!
Zuhayr am I and the son of al-Qayn
With the sword do I defend Husayn!
Al-Husayn (‘a) responded by saying, “And I, too, shall follow.”
As he fought, Zuhayr kept reciting this verse:
Zuhayr am I and the son of al-Qayn
With my sword do I defend Husayn!
He killed a hundred and twenty men. Kathir Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Sa’bi and al-Muhajir Ibn Aws jointly attacked and killed him. It was then that al-Husayn (‘a) stood up and said,
“May Allah never keep you distant from us, O Zuhayr, and may He condemn those who killed you as He had condemned those whom He turned into apes and pigs”.
‘Amr Ibn Qarzah
‘Amr Ibn Qarzah al-Ansari
came and stood before al-Husayn (‘a), protecting him from the enemy and exposing his own chest and face to their arrows. Thus, al-Husayn (‘a) was not harmed. But when his wounds overpowered him, he turned to Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) and said, “Have I carried out my responsibility towards you, O son of the Messenger of Allah?”
The Imam (‘a) said, “Yes, indeed, and I will be the next person to be in Paradise; so, convey my Salam to the Messenger of Allah (S) and inform him that I will soon follow.” Having heard these words, the man fell dead.
His brother, who was fighting on Ibn Sa’d's side, shouted,“O Husayn! You liar! You deceived my brother till you got him killed!”
The Imam (‘a) said,“I did not deceive your brother; rather, Allah is the One Who showed him the right guidance while leaving you to stray.” “May Allah kill me,”
the man responded,“if I do not kill you!”
Having said so, he attacked al-Husayn (‘a) with the intention to stab him, but Nafi’ Ibn Hilal al-Jamali intercepted and stabbed him seriously but not fatally. His friends carried him away and treated him till he was healed.
Nafi al-Jamali
Using poisoned arrows, Nafi’ Ibn Hilal al-Jamali al-Mathhaji shot arrows on which he had written his name
as he recited these verses:
I shoot it, and its tips trained
In poison, on the wind borne,
To fill the earth with shots, and the soul
Is not benefitted by fear at all.
He killed twelve men, not counting those whom he injured. Having run out of arrows, he pulled his sword to fight them, but he was hurled with stones and spearheads till his arm was broken, and he was taken captive.
Al-Shimr and those in his company dragged him away. [‘Umar] Ibn Sa’d asked him, “What caused you to do to yourself what you have done?”
He said,“My God knows what I want.”
A man who saw how blood was
pouring down his face and beard said to him,“Can't you see in what condition you are?”
He said,“By Allah, I have killed twelve of your men, not counting the ones I injured, and I have no regret at all for resuming the jihad against you if I remain alive and if I have any strength at all, had you only not taken me captive.”
Al-Shimr pulled his sword out of its scabbard to kill him, but Nafi’ said to him,“O Shimr! Had you been Muslim at all, you would have found it very hard to meet Allah stained with our blood; so, all Praise is due to Allah Who caused our death to be at the hands of the very worst of His creatures.”
Al-Shimr pulled him and struck his neck with his sword.
Wadih and Aslam
When Wadih, a Turkish slave of al-Harith al-Mathhaji, received a heavy blow, he sought the help of al-Husayn (‘a) who came to him and hugged him. Having seen that, he retorted saying, “Who can be as lucky as I am when the son of the Messenger of Allah (S) puts his cheek on mine?!” Having said so, his pure soul parted from his body.
Al-Husayn (‘a) walked to Aslam, his slave, and hugged him. He was breathing his last and was able to smile. He felt proud and died with a smile lighting his face.
Burayr Ibn Hudayr
Yazid Ibn Ma’qil
called out,“O Burayr! How do you see what Allah has done to you?!”
Burayr answered:“Allah has done very well to me while afflicting you with evil.”
Yazid said,“You have lied, and before today you were never known to lie.
Do you remember the day when I was walking with you in the quarters of Banu Lawthan,
when you said that Mu’awiyah had strayed and that the Imam of guidance is ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib?”
Burayr answered:“Yes, I testify that such is my view.”
Yazid said,“And I bear witness that you are among the misguided!”
Burayr then challenged him to a Mubahala; they both raised their hands and supplicated to Allah, Glory to Him, invoking Him to curse the liar and to kill him. Then they fought one another.
Burayr hit the man on his head with his sword, splitting it in two halves. Yazid fell as Burayr's sword was still planted in his head. As he was trying to take it out, Radiyy Ibn Munqith al-’Abdi attacked Burayr and engaged him in a fight for some time. Burayr subdued this one, too, sitting on his chest.
The loser screamed for help, whereupon ‘Afif Ibn Zuhayr Ibn Abu al-Akhnas shouted at him saying,“This is Burary Ibn Hudayr, the qari who used to teach us the Qur’an at Kufa's mosque,”
but he did not pay him any attention and stabbed Burayr in the back.
Burayr fell on Radiyy and bit him on the face, cutting the tip of his nose off. Ka’b used his lance to remove him from the man's chest then hit him with his sword, killing him.
The al-’Abdi man stood up to remove the dust from his clothes saying,“O brother of the Azd! You have done me a favour which I shall never forget.”
When Ka’b Ibn Jabir returned to his family, his wife, al-Nuwar, rebuked him saying, “You have sided with the enemies of Fatima's son and killed the master of [Kufa's] qaris...; you have done something monstrous... By Allah! I shall never speak to you a word.” He said in his answer the following verses:
Ask about me and you will be told,
Even if you may be held in low esteem,
How al-Husayn fared when the lances were bold
Did I not do the most of what I did seem?
Hate and no fear did I feel from what I did.
With me was my sword never disappointed,
White, sharp edged, cutting,
So I unsheathed it against a gang
Whose creed is not mine at all.
And I know who the son of Harb and call
Him what he really is. Never have eyes
Seen anyone like them in their time
Nor before their time even in my youth
More striking with the sword on the battlefield,
Except one who protects his honour to the extreme.
They for the blows and the stabs persevered
Though they had none to protect,
And they would have dueled, had it been of any use.
So tell ‘Ubaydullah if him you meet
That I obey the caliph, that I hear and obey.
Burayr did I kill: a bliss I carried, became excited,
Of Abu Munqith when he to duel invited.
Radi son of Munqith al-’Abdi responded to him with these verses:
If my Lord willed, I would not have fought them at all,
Nor Jabir's son would have sought my bliss.
That day was nothing but a curse and a shame
Sons after friends will call it by its name;
So how I wish before killing him I better knew
And on Husayn's Day was in the grave, too.
Hanzalah al-Shabami
Hanzalah Ibn Sa’d al-Shabami called out,“O folks! I fear for you the like of the day of al-Ahzab, the like of the people of Noah, of ‘Ad, of Thamud, and of those who came after them. Allah never intends to deal unjustly with His servants.
O people! I fear for you the Day of Arguing, when you go without having anyone to protect you from Allah. Whoever Allah permits to stray, none can guide him. O people! Do not kill Husayn else Allah should chastize you with a terrible chastisement, and those who falsify shall be disappointed.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) prayed Allah to reward him well for having made such a statement saying,“May Allah have mercy on you! They have now become
worthy of the chastisement because they rejected your call to the truth and rose to spill your blood and that of your companions; how is it now that they have killed their righteous brethren?”
Hanzalah said,“You have said the truth, O son of the Messenger of Allah! Are we not going to the hereafter?”
Al-Husayn (‘a) then permitted him to go to performjihad
, so he bid al-Husayn (‘a) farewell and advanced. He fought till he was killed.
‘Abis
‘Abis Ibn Shabib al-Shakiri came to Shawthab
, a slave of Shakir. Shawthab was a sincere man whose house was always frequented by the Shi’as; it was there that they discussed the merits of Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). He said,“O Shawthab!
What do you intend to do?”
Shawthab said,“I shall fight on your side till I am killed.”
He prayed Allah to reward him well then said to him,“Advance to greet Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) so that he may pray for you just as he prayed for the others, for this is a day when we seek as much reward as we can.”
Shawthab advanced and greeted al-Husayn (‘a) then fought till he was killed.
‘Abis stood before Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) and said:“None on the face of earth received the night, be he a near or a distant kin, who is dearer to me than you. Had I been able to ward off injustice from you with anything more precious than my life, I would have done so. Peace be with you, and I testify that I am on your and your father's guidance!”
He walked towards the enemy with his sword raised despite a wound which he had already received on his forehead. All men who saw him shouted,“O men! Stay away from him!
”
They knew very well that he was most courageous. Observing the situation, ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d shouted,“Kill him with your stones!”
He became the target of a shower of stones. Having seen that, he put down his shield and charged, causing as many as two hundred men to flee away from him. Soon they surrounded him from all directions and killed him.
A number of them disputed with one another about who among them would take his head covering as a booty. Ibn Sa’d said,“This man was not killed by one single person.”
He distributed the slain hero's head-gear among them.
John
John
, a slave of Abu Tharr al-Ghifari, stood before al-Husayn (‘a) requesting him to grant him permission to fight.
The Imam (‘a) said,“O John! You followed us seeking your good health, so you are excused.”
But the old man fell on the Imam's feet kissing them and saying,“I in the time of prosperity lick what is served on your tables; so, should I in the time of hardship betray you?
My smell is surely bad; my lineage is lowly; my colour is black; so do bestow upon me a breeze from Paradise so that my smell will be good, my lineage will be honoured, and my colour will be whitened! No, by Allah, I
shall never abandon you till this black blood mixes with yours!”
Al-Husayn (‘a), therefore, granted him permission.
He killed as many as twenty-five men before he himself was finally killed. Al-Husayn (‘a) stood by his corpse and supplicated saying,“O Lord! Whiten his face, make his smell good, join him with Muhammad (S) and link him to the progeny of Muhammad (S)!”
Whoever thereafter passed by the battleground was able to smell his corpse emitting a fragrance sweeter than that of musk.
Anas al-Kahili
Anas Ibn al-Harith Ibn Nabih al-Kahili was an old man and a renowned sahabi who had met and listened to thehadith
of the Prophet (S) and fought in his company the battles of Badr and Hunain. He, too, sought al-Husayn's permission to go and fight.
He came out tying his waist with a turban, his forehead bandaged. Having seen him looking like that, al-Husayn (‘a) cried and said,“May Allah thank you, O shaikh, for what you are doing for us!”
Despite his old age, he killed eighteen men before being finally killed.
‘Amr Ibn Junadah
‘Amr Ibn Junadah al-Ansari came out after his father had been killed. He was only eleven years old. He sought al-Husayn's permission to fight, but al-Husayn (‘a) refused saying,“This is a young boy whose father was killed in the first campaign, and perhaps his mother hates to see him go, too.”
But the boy said,“It was my mother who ordered me to do so!”
It was then that the Imam (‘a) permitted him to fight. It was not long before he was killed and his head was thrown in the direction of Husayn's camp. It was taken by his mother who wiped the blood from it and used it as a weapon to hit a man nearby, killing him instantly.
She went back to the camp and took a rod or, according to other accounts, a sword, and recited these verses:
An old women and a weakling am I
Crumbling, skinny, and old;
Yet I with force strike you and try
To defend Fatima's son, the honourable and bold.
Al-Husayn (‘a) took her back to the tent after she had killed two men using a tent pole.
al-Hajjaj al-Ju’fi
Al-Hajjaj Ibn Masruq al-Ju’fi fought till his body became soaked with blood. He went to al-Husayn (‘a) reciting:
Today shall I meet your Grandfather, the Nabi,
Then your father, the generous one, ‘Ali,
The one we know as the wasi.
Al-Husayn (‘a) responded by saying,“And I, too, shall meet them soon after you.”
He, therefore, went back and fought till he was killed.
Suwar
Suwar Ibn Abu Humair, a descendant of Fahm Ibn Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Qadim al-Fahmi al-Hamdani, was involved in a fierce engagement till
he was overwhelmed with wounds
and was taken captive. Ibn Sa’d wanted to kill him, but his people sought to intercede on his behalf, so he stayed with them as long as he was wounded; he died six months later.
When people go for the ziyara of the sacred places, they recite the following:
“Peace be upon you, O wounded captive, O Suwar Ibn Abu Humair al-Fahmi al-Hamdani, and upon the bereaved one, ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Junda’i.”
Suwayd
When the wounds inflicted upon Suwayd Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Abul-Muta’ became too much to bear, he fell on his face, and people thought that he had died. When al-Husayn (‘a) was martyred and he heard people talking about it, he took out a knife that he had with him whereby he fought till he was overwhelmed by their masses and killed. He was the last of the companions to die after al-Husayn's martyrdom.
The refuge of the asylum seeker they are
When in fright, and the hope of the hopeful.
If the fire of the battle dies down,
With their swords they would light and say:
Ignite! Heavy in steps but for the battle light,
With swift steps, sure of their march
If they raise their lances you would think
They are stars in the light of the pitched dark,
Or if under the dust clouds the regiments collide,
One after another they would seek death
They charged even when the steps of the valiant stray
And the person of death under the dust makes its way.
They turned away from injustice so they
On the ground they did fall:
A master after a master, each and all.
They fell to the ground and the swords on them feasted.
Their bodies bare, by their virtues attired,
The Grandson kept turning his eyes
Seeing only their corpses on the ground lying
Seventy thousand surrounded him so he
Kept them at bay: like ostriches did they flee,
And the unsupported one stood among their crowds
Alone defending Muhammad's law,
Till he fell on the ground, may they first be paralyzed
And his heart could not quench the fire of thirst.
He fell, so Tawhid did fall down
And guidance was obliterated, losing its crown,
And the pillars of the creed crumbled and fell
Though before they had stood very well.
Allah support him, how his heart yearned for water
But was spent on the ground that burnt like fire.
He fell in the burning heat of the sun
With his face dusted, shaded by the spears
And the steeds kept on his chest going back and forth
Going to battle and returning therefrom,
And a woman cried from the side of her tent
She lost her protector, beating her cheek she kept.
The whips hurt her, so she under them bends;
She cries, and her voice oft
Causes even the stones to get soft.
She was carried on lean beasts in captivity
From a place to place displayed as booty.
She went away led by asses: Umayyad,
From one apostate to another she was led.
Martrydom of Ahl al-Bayt
‘Ali al-Akbar
None remained with al-Husayn (‘a) except his Ahl al-Bayt who were determined to face death with their might and to maintain their dignity. They came bidding each other farewell
the first being Abul-Hasan
‘Ali al-Akbar
who was twenty-seven years old.
He was born on the 11th of Sha’ban, 33 A.H/653 A.D.
, and he was a mirror reflecting the Prophet's own beauty and a model of his own sublime code of ethics, a specimen of his wise speech. One poet of the Messenger of Allah (S) praised him saying:
Never have any eyes seen better than you
Never have women begotten more beautiful than you
Fault-free you have been made
As if you as you wished were made.
Al-Madih al-Akbar says
:
No eyes saw him have ever seen
Anyone walking, bare-footed or not.
Flesh boils till when it is ripe,
The eater finds it not expensive at all,
Whenever fire for it was lighted,
He with lofty honour ignited.
Just as a poor person sees it in hope,
Or a lone man with no family.
Never did he prefer his life over his creed,
Nor did he sell what is right for a misdeed.
I mean the son of Layla, the one of the dew,
I am describing the son of high lineage to you.
‘Ali al-Akbar is the one who branched out of the tree of Prophethood, the man who inherited the great merits. He was truly worthy of being a caliph had it not already been determined by the Lord of the Heavens. The most Glorified One had recorded their names in the tablet brought by Gabriel (‘a), to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny.
He inherited the merits his legacy
From every valiant warrior and brave
In Hamzah's might, in Hayder's bravery
In al-Husayn's loftiness, in Ahmad's dignity
Good in make and in conduct,
Wise in speech like the Prophet Ahmad.
Once he was about to start his role in defending Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), it rested extremely heavily for the ladies who grew up in the lap of Imamate because he was the one upon whom they rested their hopes for their protection and security, their only hope after al-Husayn (‘a) is gone.
One of them would see the Message about to be muted with his death, while another would see the sun of Prophethood nearing an eclipse, while yet another would see Muhammad's code of ethics coming to an end.
They all surrounded him and pleaded to him saying,“Have mercy on our being strangers in this land! We cannot bear your separation!”
But he did not pay them any attention because he could easily see how his enemies were to the end determined to spill his pure blood. He sought his father's permission then came out riding a horse belonging to al-Husayn (‘a) named Lahiq.
From the camp of Layla, mother of ‘Ali al-Akbar and daughter of Maymuna daughter of Abu Sufyan,
a man shouted,“O ‘Ali ! You have kinship with the commander of the faithful Yazid, and we wish to safeguard it; so, if you wish, we can grant you security.”
He (‘a), said,“The kinship I have with the Messenger of Allah, peace of Allah and His blessings be upon him and his progeny, is now more worthy of being safeguarded,”
then he recited these rajaz verses, identifying his holy self and his sublime objective:
I am ‘Ali son of al-Husayn son of ‘Ali
We, by the House's Lord, are more worthy of the Nabi.
By Allah! We shall never be ruled by the da’i
With the sword shall I defend my family
And strike like a young Hashemi, Qarashi!
Al-Husayn (‘a) could not help flooding his eyes with tears
and shouted at ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d: “What is the matter with you?!
May Allah cut off your lineage just as you have cut off mine and just as you have not respected my kinship to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, and may He send upon you someone to slay you on your own bed!”
Then he uncovered his hair and raised his hands to the heavens supplicating thus:
“O Allah! Bear witness against these folks that a man who looks most like Your Messenger Muhammad in his physique, manners, and eloquence
has come out to fight them! Whenever we missed seeing Your Prophet, we would look at him.
O Allah! Deprive them of the blessings of the earth, create dissension among them, and make them into many parties, and do not let their rulers ever be pleased with them, for they invited us to support us, then they transgressed on us and fought us!”
Then he recited the Qur’anic verse saying,
“Allah surely chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran over all people, offspring of one another, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing (Qur’an, 3:34).”
He kept charging at their right and left wings, diving in their midst. Whenever a group of fighters met him, he would repulse them, all of them, and whenever a brave man faced him, he would kill him:
He assaults the regiments as the ground closes in on them
All because of his fiery might,
So he forcibly sends them back on their tails
In his might he resembles the angry lion.
He killed a total of one hundred and twenty knights. Thirst took its toll on him, so he returned to his father to rest and to complain about suffering from thirst.
Al-Husayn (‘a) wept and said, “O help! How quickly shall you meet your grandfather who will give you a drink after which you shall never suffer of thirst.” He gave him his tongue to suck then his ring to put in his mouth.
He returns to bid farewell, and he is heavy-hearted,
His heart is thirsty, his iron is heavy,
His insides burn, his sword's thirst is quenched with dew,
But his own thirst was not, mind you.
Yet he with his saliva preferred him over his own self
Had only his saliva not dried yet.
As soon as he was bent to meet his death with a smile,
Death, from his ears and sight, stayed only for a while.
He turned the battle around and moved its grinding stone,
With his sword he struck their flesh and their bone,
With his withered shoulders he meets their braves
And places his sword in the necks of their knaves,
While on his body it leaves its mark
From their midst he disappeared and did not come back,
Mounting his steed though almost bear.
Time stumbled on him, so his body now
Is food for every sword and every bow.
‘Ali went back to the battlefield feeling very happy about the good news which he had just heard from the Imam, theHujjah
(‘a), who had told him that he would soon meet his grandfather, the chosen one, peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny.
He, therefore, advanced towards them with courage reminiscent of [his grandfather] Imam ‘Ali (‘a). He met the enemies face-to-face. The latter could not tell whether it was ‘Ali al-Akbar who was chasing the enemy or whether it was the wasi (‘a), roaring like a lion on the battlefield, or whether thunderbolts came emitting in an array from his sword. He kept killing the Kufians till the number of those whom he killed reached fully two hundred.
Murrah Ibn Munqith al-’Abdi
said,“I shall bear all the sins of the Arabs should I not succeed in causing his father to lose him for good!”
He stabbed him with his lance in the back
and hit him with his sword on the head, splitting it in half.
‘Ali embraced his horse that carried him to the enemy camp. There, he became the target of their swords, so they cut his body into bits and pieces.
He wiped out shame, Allah fight the shame
A crescent in the dark, a shining one
The one sought by both houses of Hashim
The haven of both honour and loftiness
How could death to you reach?
You have not hesitated nor tarried.
May my life be for him a sacrifice
Like a fresh flower that dried
In the ocean of thirst and the heat of the sword.
Early did witherness visit his fresh flower,
Withering is the foe of a fresh flower.
By Allah! What a moon on them did he shine!
The sword mixed his substance with its gold,
The water of youth and the blood both flew
Within him, and his heart was still on fire.
Never shall I him forget
How he was turbaned with the youth of the deer
Among the warriors, wearing only their every spear,
Drenched in blood was he yet the Euphrates was
Turning green what was still black.
He called out saying,“Peace be upon you from me, O father of ‘Abdullah!682 My grandfather has given me a drink with his own cup after which I shall never suffer any thirst, and he says that there is another one reserved just for you!”
Al-Husayn (‘a) came to him and placed his cheek on his as he said,“There is no good in life after you... How dare they defy the most Merciful One, and how dare they violate the sanctity of His Messenger!684 Hard it is upon your grandfather and father that they cannot respond to you when you call upon them, and that they cannot help you when you ask for their help.”
Then he took a handful of his pure blood and threw it towards the heavens. Not a drop of it fell. This explains the recitation in hisziyarat
of the following statement:
“May my father and mother be your sacrifice! How you were slaughtered without having committed a crime! May my father and mother be your sacrifice! How your blood ascended to the one loved by Allah! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you!
He mourns you with a burning heart, raising your blood to the depth of the heavens, not a drop whereof returns, nor one sigh of your father finds an ease!”
He ordered his servants to carry him to the tent. His corpse was brought to the tent in front of which they were fighting.
The honourable ladies who grew up in the home of revelation kept looking at him as he was carried away with blood covering him with its red mantle of dignity. Stabs and wounds had spared no place in his body.
They welcomed him with very heavy hearts, their hair uncovered, their wailing defeaning the world. Before them stood the wise lady of Banu Hashim, namely Zainab, the great one, daughter of Fatima daughter of the
Messenger of Allah (S), crying and wailing.
She threw herself on the corpse of her nephew, hugging it, grief-stricken, for he was the guardian of her home and its pillar.
My heart goes for the ladies of the Prophet
When thus they saw him in that condition.
Their wailing and their cries did intensify
So the minds and the souls were baffled by their cry.
The wise ladies mourned their protector
And so did virtues and merits.
My heart goes for her when she seeks
The Messenger's help,
The mountains were almost to disappear.
My heart goes for her since she lost
The one she could depend on,
And how can anyone equal the one she lost?
Who can in honour equal the one who was
Like in manners Yasin, like in form Taha?
O Allah help his father when
The light of al-Akbar went out.
He at theTaff
saw the Friend of Allah from Mina,
The one whom he sacrificed was now
Sought by the swords.
He was mourned by what can be seen and what cannot
From the zenith of the ‘Arsh
To the deepest of the earth
He was mourned by the master of all creation.
For his calamity was indeed the greatest of all.
He was mourned by the eyes of guidance and uprightness
And by the one appointed as the wasi.
His father's condition could best be described thus:
Son! From my heart did I make you, so why
From me you now severed your tie?
Son! Your ties eclipse the hue of death
And the eclipse precedes perfection.
Son! Never shall I ever sleep
While your body on the burning sands lies.
Son! You insisted on reaching the heights,
Leaving for me only the dark nights.
Son! Men's eyes mourn you till the Day
Of Gathering and of Accounting.
Son! The attributes of perfection do you mourn,
And the tenderness of youth and the angels.
You rushed to meet your father the Prophet at the Pool
Having arranged the hearts of men's eyes.
‘Abdullah Ibn Muslim
After him ‘Abdullah son of Muslim Ibn ‘Aqil Ibn Abu Talib and Ruqayya, the great daughter of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali (‘a),
charged as he recited this verse:
Today Muslim, my father, shall I meet
With a band sacrificed for the Prophet's creed.
He killed a number of the enemy troops in three of his assaults.
Yazid Ibn al-Ruqad al-Jahni
shot him with an arrow that he unsuccessfully tried to avoid with his hand, but it pierced his hand and found its way to his forehead.
He could not remove it from his forehead.
He, therefore, said,“O Allah! They have found us few in number, so they humiliated us. Kill them, O Lord, as they have killed us.”
As he was thus engaged, a man threw a spear at him which pierced his heart, killing him instantly.
Yazid Ibn al-Ruqad came to him, took out the arrow from his forehead as its tip remained inside.
Campaign of the Family of Abu Talib
When ‘Abdullah Ibn Muslim was killed, the family of Abu Talib undertook a collective campaign. Al-Husayn (‘a), called out to them saying,“Be patient, O cousins! By Allah! After today you shall not meet any hardship at all.”
The assailants were comprised of ‘Awn Ibn ‘Abdullah, son of Ja’far at-Tayyar and the wise lady Zainab, his brother Muhammad son of al-Khawsa, ‘Abdul-Rahman Ibn ‘Aqil Ibn Abu Talib,
his brother Ja’far son of ‘Aqil, and Muhammad son of Muslim Ibn ‘Aqil.
As many as eighteen wounds were received by al-Hasan II son of Imam al-Hasan, [older] grandson of the Prophet (S), and his right hand was cut off, but he was not martyred yet.
Abu Bakr son of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a),
whose first name was Muhammad,
came out and was killed by Zahr Ibn Badr al-Nakh’i.
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Aqil now came out and kept fighting till his wounds overwhelmed him, so he fell. ‘Uthman Ibn Khalid al-Tamimi took advantage of the situation, walked to him and killed him.
Arabs are not only names for glory
The sons of ‘Amr are only offspring,
For there is for Prophethood a crown
And for the Imamate a necklace worn.
Two ornaments none but they can wear
How can you a wearer with a bare one compare?
From Shaybat al-Hamd descended youths who
Happily marched to support the creed
Neither arrogantly nor for a show.
They smile as the heroes frown
Showing pearls their front ones.
Like ships they sailed to the war
And ships are only their vanguards.
Had happiness not been their goal
I would not have left any of their foes at all.
They do not mind as the swords clamour
With warriors covering the plain like an armour.
And the lances collide and sound
And the arrows vary in their round,
And heads get severed from their shoulders
And chests are arranged in their insolence.
Al-Qasim and His Brother
Abu Bakr, son of Imam al-Hasan son of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a), came out. His first name was ‘Abdullah al-Akbar [‘Abdullah senior] and his mother was an “umm walad”
named Ramla.
He fought till he was killed.
After the latter, his full-blooded brother, al-Qasim, came out.
He was a lad who had not yet come of age. When al-Husayn (‘a), looked at him, he hugged him and wept.
Then he permitted him to fight, so he came out with a face looking like a full moon
bearing a sword and wearing a shirt and a mantle. On his feet he wore sandals. He had to fight on foot.
The sandal's string on his left foot was cut off,
so he, the son of the great Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, hated to walk bare-footed on the battlefield.
He, therefore, stopped for a moment to tie his sandal,
regarding those enemies as no more valuable than his own sandal, paying no heed to their multitude, feeling unconcerned about their thousands.
He leaned to mend his shoe
As the war near him drew
Their war, they knew,
Was no more precious than his shoe,
Carrying his sword, by its sheath shaded,
Do not worry about what he did,
For a branch is rendered to its root.
After the clouds comes the rain
And a cub is but a lions' son.
As he was thus engaged, ‘Amr Ibn Sa’d Ibn Nafil al-Azdi attacked him. Hamid Ibn Muslim asked him,“What do you want to do to this lad? Are you not satisfied to see all the crowd that surrounds him?”
He said,“By Allah I shall attack him!”
He hit al-Qasim with his sword. The lad fell face forward crying out,“O uncle!”
.
Al-Husayn (‘a) came out to his help like an angry lion and struck ‘Amr with his sword. ‘Amr tried to avoid it with his arm, so the Imam cut it off from the elbow, causing him to let out a very loud scream which was heard by the entire army. The cavalry of Ibn Sa’d charged in order to rescue him. ‘Amr met them face-to-face, causing their horses to trample upon him and to eventually kill him.
After some time the cloud of dust dissipated, so al-Husayn (‘a) was now seen standing at the head of the young boy, examining his feet. Al-Husayn (‘a) said,“Away with people who have killed you while their opponent on the Day of Judgment will be your grandfather (S)!”
Then he said,“Hard it is, by Allah, that you call upon your uncle to help you and he cannot answer your call, or that he does answer it but cannot do much for you. It is a lone voice whose enemies are numerous and whose supporters are few.”
Then he carried him away. Al-Qasim was on al-Husayn's chest; his legs were dragging on the ground. Al-Husayn (‘a) put the corpse beside that of ‘Ali al-Akbar and of those of his family who had been killed.
Then he raised his eyes to the heavens and supplicated thus:
“O Allah! Count their numbers, and do not leave any of them alone, and do not forgive a single one of them! Be patient, O cousins! Be patient, O my Ahl al-Bayt! You shall never meet any hardship after today at all.”
Never can I tell you enough about al-Qasim
Son of the chosen one al-Hasan,
Engaged in the war paying no heed
To what in it went on,
As if its swords to him spoke,
As if they were beauties with him flirting,
As if their lances were cups
Served to him by their waiter to drink.
Had he minded any danger or had he
Feared death, he would not have mended a shoe
In its midst before him stood his foe,
As many as the sands in count.
From beneath comes the assault and from high
He would not have worn on his head a shield.
So with his white sword he was painted red,
Except when you did see him being distracted
From the struggle, and souls do slacken,
And that was only a lion's slumber,
One who paid no heed to the number
Of his foes, of what their sword could do,
So he fell down and for help cried,
And the Prophet's grandson did to him respond,
And it was what it was from its da’i.
The falcon took him and with his peers joined.
Their first were killed and so was their last.
Oppressed was he, yet the sun's heads were ripe,
And only his sharp sword was the harvester,
Till became fed-up was the sword,
And from the sword the valley overflowed.
The dark clouds by the steeds raised
Were uncovered showing their riders
And what was hidden was revealed.
He was seen hugging on his chest a moon
Decorated by the blood on his forehead.
He took him carrying him to the camp
And his eyes were reddened by their tears.
On the page of the ground did his feet leave marks
Dotted by his tears, followed by his heart.
O what a shining moon that removed
With his eclipse how he wiped it out!
Brothers of al-’Abbas
When al-’Abbas (‘a), saw how such a large number of his family members were being killed, he said to his brothers ‘Abdullah, ‘Uthman, and Ja’far,“Advance, O brothers, so that I may see you supporting the cause of Allah and His Messenger (S).”
Then he turned to ‘Abdullah, their oldest, and said,“Advance, O brother, so that I may see you receiving the honour of martyrdom.”.
They fought in front of Abul-Fadl, al-’Abbas, till they were all killed.
How good the Lord's many sacrifices
Offered on the banks of the Euphrates!
The best of guidance is that
Sacrifices come from those who guide,
After having said their prayers
Spent to be for the prayers sacrifices.
Martrydom of al-‘Abbas
Al-’Abbas could no longer bear life after having seen how his companions and the members of his family killed and how theHujjah
of his time was suffering from the great number of the enemies surrounding him after his supply route had been cut off and after hearing the women wailing and the children crying of thirst.
He, therefore, sought permission from his brother. Since al-’Abbas (‘a) was the most precious asset to the grandson of the Prophet (S), who is soon to be martyred, especially since the foes always dreaded having to fight him and feared his advance, and how the ladies felt a sense of security upon seeing the standard raised high, the sacred soul of the Father of the Oppressed did not accept to part with him.
The Imam (‘a) said to him,“O brother! You are my standard-bearer!”
Al-’Abbas (‘a) said,“I am fed-up with these hypocrites, and I want to seek revenge against them.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) ordered him to bring water for the children, so al-’Abbas went to those people and admonished them, warning them of the Wrath of the Omnipotent, but all of that fell on deaf ears.
He then shouted:“O ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d! Here is al-Husayn son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah! You have killed his companions and family, and here are his children suffering from thirst! Give them some water, for thirst has burnt their hearts!”
As he kept repeating his pleas, he also kept saying to them,“Let me go to Rome or to India, and I shall leave Hijaz and Iraq for you all.”
There were some people among the enemy ranks who were genuinely moved by those pleas, so they wept, but al-Shimr shouted as loudly as he could,“O son of Abu Turab! Had the face of earth been entirely covered with water, and had it been in our hands, we would still have not given you a drop of it to drink unless you swear the oath of allegiance to Yazid!”
Al-’Abbas went back to his brother to tell him of the outcome of his negotiations with those ruffians. Al-’Abbas heard the children crying of thirst,
so he could not tolerate the situation any longer. He was fired up with his Hashemi zeal.
The one whose light enables all to see
At Karbla’ is killed and none to bury,
O Grandson of the Prophet! May He
Reward you with goodness for us and for me,
May your balance of Good Deeds never fall short.
To me you were a mountain where I seek resort.
To be kind to kinsfolk you used to always exhort.
Who now shall to the orphans and the destitute import
And to whom shall the helpless go when in need?
By Allah! Never shall I fall short of my every deed
By trading you for anyone else's worth
Till I am buried between the sands and the earth
Then he rode his horse and took the water bag. As many as four thousand archers soon surrounded him and shot him with their arrows, yet their large number did not impede his attempt. He kept chasing those throngs alone as his standard kept fluttering above.
Those people could not tell whether that was al-’Abbas who was thus slaughtering their heroes or the wasi roaring on the battlefield. Their men could not maintain their grounds before him, and he succeeded in getting into the Euphrates river heedless of the huge crowd around him.
The mighty lions mourn their youths
And their saviours when calamity overwhelms,
Mourning them with blood. So tell the burning heart
How the red sigh does ascend;
It yearns, but its yearning is crying,
It mourns, but its mourning is only by sign.
The moment he took one handful of water to drink he remembered how thirsty al-Husayn (‘a) and those with him were, so he spilled it then said:
O soul! After al-Husayn nobody does count!
After him, you should to nothing amount,
Here is al-Husayn nearing his end
While you drink of cool water?!
By Allah! Such is not a deed
At all enjoined by my creed!
Then he filled the water bag, rode his horse, and went in the direction of the camp. His path was blocked, so he kept killing those who blocked it till he was able to make his way through them as he was saying:
I do not fear death when it calls upon me,
Till among the swords you bury me.
My soul protects the one
Who is the Prophet's grandson,
Al-’Abbas am I, the water bag do I bear
When I meet evil, I know no fear!
Zayd Ibn al-Ruqad al-Jahni ambushed him from behind a palm tree assisted by Hakim Ibn al-Tufayl al-Sanbasi, dealing a sword blow to his right arm, completely severing it. He (‘a), said,
By Allah! If you cut off my right hand,
I shall not cease defending my creed,
And an Imam true to his conviction do I defend,
A son of the trustworthy Prophet whom Allah did send.
He did not pay attention to the fact that his right hand had been cut off because he was only concerned about getting the water to the children and the family of al-Husayn (‘a), but Hakim Ibn al-Tufayl was still hiding behind another palm tree when he passed by.
Hakim struck him with his sword on his left hand, amputating it, too,
and soon a large number of men were surrounding him. Arrows fell on him like rain, piercing the water bag and boring a hole in it through which its water was completely spilled. An arrow pierced his chest.
A man hit him with a pole on his head, severely injuring him.
Beside al-’Alqami he fell, how I wish to witness
Those who subdued him drinking of bitterness.
He fell on the ground shouting, “Peace unto you from me, O father of ‘Abdullah!” Al-Husayn (‘a) rushed to him.
How I wish to know in what condition he went to him, with a soul imperiled by this great loss, or by the brotherhood that pulls a brother to his beloved brother...
Yes; al-Husayn (‘a) reached him and witnessed how sacrifice is being offered to the Holy One on a plain covered with blood and crowned with arrows. Al-’Abbas had no might nor speech nor anything whereby he could keep his foes away. He could not even see anything; his head was on the ground bleeding.
Is it accurate to say that al-Husayn (‘a) saw all of these calamities and still had any strength whereby he could stand on his feet? Only al-Husayn remained after the martyrdom of Abul-Fadl. He remained a figure staring in the sky, stripped of all the necessities of life.
He, Allah's peace be upon him, described his condition best when he said,“Now my spine has been split and my endeavour is further weakened.”
Disappointment marked his forehead,
So the mountains crumbled for his pain.
Why not since it was the beauty of his face
And on his forehead the pleasure of his heart?
O supporter of his family, waterer of his children,
Bearer of the standard with all his determination!
He left him where he had fell and did not move him anywhere due to a hidden reason which time later unveiled:
He was to be buried where he had fallen separately from the other martyrs so that he would have a mausoleum of his own visited by those who seek his intercession with the Almighty to grant them the fulfillment of their wishes, and so that his gravesite would be a place for theziyarat
of the people who seek nearness to the Almighty, Praise to Him, under its dome that stands lofty in the sky, glowing.
It is there that dazzling miracles manifest themselves and the nation thereby comes to know his lofty status and station with Allah Almighty. It then carries out its obligation of loving him which is renewed by continuous visits.
Greeting him will establish a link between them and Allah, the most Exalted. It was the desire of theHujjah
of his time, the father of ‘Abdullah (‘a), and of the Omnipotent, Praise to Him, that the apparent status enjoyed
by Abul-Fadl al-’Abbas should be similar to the one preserved for him in the hereafter, and so it was.
Al-Husayn (‘a) went back to the camp feeling extremely depressed, tearful. He kept wiping his tears with his cuffs as men raced with one another to assault his camp.
He called out:“Is there anyone who helps us?! Is there anyone who grants us security?! Is there anyone who seeks justice, so he supports us?! Is there anyone who fears the Fire, so he defends us?!”
Sukayna, his daughter, came to him and asked him about her uncle al-’Abbas. He told her of his being killed. Zainab heard him revealing this sad news, so she cried out,“O brother! O ‘Abbas! O our loss after you!” Women wept, and al-Husayn (‘a) wept, too, and said, “O our loss after you!”
He called, filling the valleys with his cries
Even solid stones from their horrors are in pain
O Brother! Who after you shall guard Muhammad's daughters
When they seek mercy from the merciless?
My hands after you are paralyzed,
My eyes blinded, and split is my spine,
For others, cheeks are beaten,
But these white deer before my eyes
Are now beating their cheeks.
Between your terrible death and my own
Is like I call you before and you are pleased,
Here is your sword: Who after you
Shall with it subdue the foes?
And here is your standard: Who shall with it advance?
O son of my father! You have dwarfed in my eyes
The death of all my offspring,
And the wound is healed only by
What is more painful, so
He knelt over and his tears
Painted the ground like gold,
He wished to kiss his lips but he found
No place spared from a weapon's kiss.
The Master of Martyrs on the Battle Field
When al-’Abbas was killed, al-Husayn (‘a) turned to see none to help him against his foes. He looked and saw how his family members and companions lied slaughtered on the ground.
He heard the wailing of the orphans and the cries of the children. As loud as he could, he called out, “Is there anyone who defends the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah?
Is there anyone who believes in the Unity of Allah and who fears Allah in our regard? Is there anyone who comes to our rescue and who wishes by doing so to please Allah?” The women's voices now grew even louder as they cried.
Al-Sajjad (‘a) stood up. He was leaning on a cane and dragging a sword. He was sick and could hardly move, but al-Husayn (‘a) called on his daughter Umm Kulthum saying, “Confine him so that the world may not run out of the progeny of Muhammad (S),” so she took him back to his bed.
Al-Husayn (‘a) now ordered his dependents to be silent, and he bade them farewell. He was wearing a dark silk jubba (long robe)
and a florid turban with two tresses let loose on the sides and wrapped himself with the same burda (gown) which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, used to wear, and was carrying his [Prophet’s] sword.
He asked for a thawb (garment) which nobody wanted and which he put underneath his clothes so that nobody would be interested in it and, hence, in removing it from his body, since he knew that he was going to be killed soon.
They brought him small trousers but he was not interested in them since they were the outfits of ignominy,
so he took a worn out garment which he ripped, placing its pieces underneath his clothes.
Then he asked for wrapping trousers which he also tore then put on so that nobody would take them away from his corpse.
The Infant
He then ordered his infant son [‘Abdullah] to be brought to him so that he would say good-bye to him. Zainab brought him his baby son ‘Abdullah
as well as the latter’s mother al-Rubab. He placed him in his lap and kept kissing him
and repeating this statement:“Away with these people when your grandfather the chosen one (S) is their opponent.”
Then he brought him to those folks and asked for some water for him. Harmalah Ibn Kahil al-Asadi shot the infant with an arrow that slaughtered him. Al-Husayn (‘a) received his blood in his hand then threw it up towards the heavens.
Imam Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (‘a) has said,“Not a drop of it fell.”
In this regard, theHujjah
of the Progeny of Muhammad (S), may Allah hasten his reappearance, says,“Peace be unto ‘Abdullah, the slaughtered infant, the one shot with an arrow, the one whose blood was shed in a most cruel manner and whose blood ascended to the heavens, the one slaughtered with an arrow in his father's lap! The curse of Allah be upon the person who shot him, Harmalah Ibn Kahil al-Asadi, and upon his kinsfolk.”
Hard it is for me how you carried your thirsty babe
And the fire of his thirst could not be quenched.
From the parching of the sun his voice changed,
In a tribulation from which what is solid melts.
You came to the people asking for water,
But how could you reach the watering place?
For the bow surrounded his neck as if
It was a string of the crescent wherein the star rests.
And on the prairie, in the tents, are mourners
Pointing to your babe with agony and repeat;
How many an infant did their arrows suckle
One Fatima would have rather nursed?
So my soul weeps for him since the arrow surrounded him
Just as it was decorated before by amulets.
He yearned smiling for the Prophet's grandson to plant his kiss
To bid him farewell, and what else other than
Such kissing suits him?
My heart goes for the infant's mother when the night descends
Upon her, and when the doves mourn.
In the dark does she come to see her babe
As his mark showed among the victims;
So once she saw the arrow in his neck planted,
She wished she shared his arrow of death
In her hands she places him as she kisses his lips
And kisses a neck before her the arrow had kissed.
She brought him closer to her chest in earnest
So once she sings lullabies for him and once she to him talks:
Son! Wake up from the slumber of death!
My breast should you suck.
Maybe my heart will then calm down...
Son! I have milk for you, and I know your thirst
So maybe I thereby quench your burning thirst.
Son! You used to entertain me in my loneliness
And my solace whenever the oppressors oppress.
Al-Husayn (‘a) said, “What decreases my affliction is the fact that it is witnessed by Allah Almighty.
O Allah! It is not less in Your esteem than the life of a son! Lord! If You have kept victory away from us, then let it be so for something even better, and seek revenge on our behalf from the oppressors,
and let what has happened to us in this life be a treasure for us in the hereafter.
O Allah! You are the Witness against people who killed the one who looked most like Your Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny.”
He (‘a), then heard a voice saying, “Leave him, O Husayn, for there is a nurse for him in Paradise.!”
Then he (‘a), alighted from his horse and with his sword dug a grave for him and buried him; his blood was mixed with the sands, then he offered the funeral prayers for him.
Some accounts say that he placed him together with those of his family who had already been killed.
My heart burns for his father when he saw
How, because of the thirst, his eyes deeply sank.
He could find no water for his babe,
So he found no choice except to beg
Though begging for a father is the greatest calamity.
So how when deprivation follows begging?
Of his pure blood he towards the heavens flung,
How great his kindness, how magnanimous!
Had he not thrown it to the heavens,
The earth would have swallowed everyone.
The heavens was painted red from his blood
Woe upon them from Allah's curse!
And how was his mother's condition when she did see
Her infant going through what had to be?
He left her like a white pearl
And returned like a red sapphire.
She yearned to him as she would her babe,
She mourned him in the morning and at sunset.
My heart goes for her how she mourned her infant,
A mourning that echoed her painful heart:
Says she: O son! O my ultimate hope!
O my desire and my joy!
My milk when no water was there did dry,
No water to drink, nothing to sustain you by;
So your thirst took you to drink of death,
As if your quenching rested in the foe's arrows.
O tears of mine, the life of my heart!
My greatest calamity that you had to depart.
I wished you would be the best to succeed
And a solace for me from their every vile deed.
Never did I think an arrow would wean,
Till my days showed him how one could be so mean.
Al-Husayn (‘a) advanced towards the enemy raising his sword, losing all hope of survival, challenging them to a duel. He killed all those who accepted his challenge, and their number was quite high.
Then he charged on the army's east flank as he recited these verses:
Death is better than accepting ignominy,
While ignominy is better than the Fire!
and on the left flank as he recited:
I am al-Husayn son of ‘Ali
I decided never to bow nor bend,
Protecting my father's family,
Remaining on the Prophet's creed.
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Ammar Ibn Yaghuth said,“Never have I seen someone surrounded by a huge number of enemies and whose son is slaughtered, and so are his family and companions, and who still maintained his composure, remained relentless, and stayed courageous more than al-Husayn (‘a). Men kept fleeing in front of him whenever he charged at them, and none kept his ground.”
‘Umar Ibn Sa’d shouted to everyone saying, “This is the son of the quarrelsome one, the one with the stomach! This is the son of the killer of the Arabs! Attack him from all directions!” Four thousand arrows
were at once shot at him, and he was forced to alight from his horse.
Al-Husayn (‘a) shouted at them,“O followers of Abu Sufyan! If you have no religion at all, and yet you fear the returning to your Maker, then at least you should remain free in your life, and you should go back to your lineage, if you are Arabs as you claim!”
Al-Shimr addressed him saying,“What are you, son of Fatima (‘a), saying?”
He (‘a) said,“I am the one who is fighting you, and women are
not held accountable; so, keep your rogues away from them and stop them from harming my women as long as I am alive.”
Said he: “Face me, not my women,
“My time is come, destiny is done.”
Al-Shimr said, “We shall grant you that.”
He became the target of the fighters, and the fighting intensified. His thirst intensified, too.
From the direction of the Euphrates, he attacked ‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj who was surrounded by four thousand men, clearing them from the water and forcing his horse into the river.
When his horse was about to drink, al-Husayn (‘a) said to it,“You are thirsty, and so am I, yet I shall not drink before you.”
The horse raised his head as if he understood what the Imam (‘a) had said to him.
When al-Husayn (‘a) stretched his hand to drink, a man asked him,“Do you enjoy water while the sanctity of your women has been violated?”
He, therefore, spilled the water and did not drink then went in the direction of the tent.
Their blood quenches the earth's thirst
As his insides from thirst were burning.
Had the burning of his heart been made manifest,
The most solid of objects would be melting.
The heavens mourn him with blood.
Had it only wept water for his thirsty heart!
O how my heart burns for you,
O son of Muhammad's daughter!
O how the foes were able to achieve their goals!
They prohibited you from reaching
The Euphrates river all the while,
So, may people after you never enjoy
The Euphrates or the Nile.
The Second Farewell
Then he (‘a), bade his family farewell for the second time, ordering them to be patient. He put on the outer mantles as he said, “Get ready for the affliction, and be advised that Allah Almighty shall protect and safeguard you, and He shall save you from the evil of the enemies and make the ultimate end of your affair good.
He shall torment your enemy with various types of torture, and He shall compensate you for this trial with many sorts of bliss and honour; so, do not complain, nor should you say anything that may demean your status.”759
Indeed, anyone may say that that was the most critical situation the Master of Martyrs had to face that day.
The ladies who were raised in the lap of Prophethood saw then the pillar of their security, the bulwark of their protection, the defender of their prestige, and the symbol of their honour telling them of a departure from which he would never return, so they did not know who would after him protect them from the oppression of the foes or who would be their solace once he is gone.
No wonder, then, that they all assembled and surrounded him, holding to his clothes as the children were moaning, being stunned by the situation,
and little girls kept begging for security against their fear while others kept begging for water.
How, then, would have been the condition of the master of those endowed with a conscience and the example of affection as he saw, through his vast knowledge, the trustees of the Message and the ladies who descended from the Infallible Ones, who had never known before anything but honour and prestige, now running in this empty desert wailing, crying in a way that splits the most solid of stones, sighing most depressingly...?
They were in a constant danger of being plundered and beaten, having none to protect them besides the Imam (‘a) whom fatigue had exhausted.
Had Job suffered as he did for one day
He would surely have stood to say:
“This one is he whose calamity
“Is greater than what happened to me.”
As for the wise lady of Banu Hashim, namely Zainab al-Kubra, she saw all of that. We see how the secure niche of the religion was about to be dislocated, the rope of Prophethood to be cut off, the lantern of theShari’a
to be put out, and the tree of Imamate to wither.
The mighty lions mourn their young,
And their saviour when calamity overwhelms
Mourning them with blood, so tell the burning heart
How the red sigh does ascend.
It yearned but its yearning is crying,
And it mourns, but its mourning is only by sign.
Al-Husayn (‘a) turned to his daughter Sukayna who was described by al-Hasan II as one “who was always overcome by a deep meditation upon Allah,” finding her staying aloof from the other women, crying, wailing. He stood to ask her to be patient and to solace her. His condition could best be described in these verses:
This is my farewell, my dear one, and we shall meet
On the Day of Judgment at the Pool of Kawthar
So bid your tears good-bye and come to greet
And enjoy the fruits of your patience forever.
And when you do see me lying on the ground
Bleeding, bear it and do not be by tears bound.
It was then that ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d said to his men,“Woe unto you! Attack him, since he is distracted and surrounded by his women! By Allah! Should he direct his full attention to you, your right wing will not be separated from the left!”
They, therefore, assailed him with their arrows till the arrows reached his camp and some of them pierced through the clothes of some of the women, causing them to be stunned and frightened.
They screamed and entered the tent as they looked at al-Husayn (‘a) to see what he would do. Al-Husayn (‘a) attacked the enemy like an angry lion. Anyone who could catch up with him he stabbed with his sword and killed as he was receiving the arrows from all directions, bracing them with his chest and neck.
He went back to his quarters profusely repeating this statement:La hawla wala quwwata illa billah al-’aliyy al-adim
(There is no might nor power except in Allah, the Sublime, the Great.”
In such a condition, he asked for some water.
Al-Shimr said to him,“You shall not have a taste of it till you reach the Fire.”
A man shouted at him saying:“O Husayn! Do not you see how the Euphrates water is as clear as the snakes' bellies? You shall not taste of it till you die of thirst.”
Al-Husayn (‘a) said,“O Allah! Do cause him to die of thirst.”
That particular man, to be sure, kept asking for water ever since, and water was always brought to him, yet it would come out of his mouth and never goes down, and he kept doing so till he died of thirst.
Abul-Hutuf al-Ju’fi shot al-Husayn (‘a) with an arrow in his forehead that he pulled out, causing blood to run on his face. The Imam (‘a) said,“O Allah! You see in what condition I am with regard to Your servants, these disobedient ones!
O Allah! Decrease their number, kill them and leave none of them on the face of earth, and do not ever forgive them.”
In a loud voice did al-Husayn (‘a) shout,“O nation of evil! It is, indeed, evil the way how you succeeded Muhammad (S) in faring with his ‘Itrat! You shall not kill anyone after me and contemplate on the consequences of killing him; rather, you will think very lightly of it once you have killed me.
By Allah! I hope that Allah will grant me the honour of martyrdom then will He seek revenge on my behalf from whence you know not.”
Al-Hasin said to the Imam (‘a),“And how will He seek revenge on our behalf on you, O son of Fatima?!”
The Imam (‘a) answered,“He will cause you all to kill one another and thus get your blood spilled, then shall He pour His torment upon you in the most painful manner.”
Having become too feeble to fight, he stood to rest. It was then that a man threw a stone at him, hitting his forehead and causing his blood to run down his face.
He took his shirt to wipe his blood from his eyes just as another man shot him with a three-pronged arrow that pierced his chest and settled in his heart.
He instantly said,“In the Name of Allah, through Allah, and on the creed of the Messenger of Allah [do I die].” Raising his head to the heavens, he said, “Lord! You know that they are killing a man besides whom there is no other son of Your Prophet's daughter!”
As soon as he took the arrow out of his back, blood gushed forth like a drain pipe.
He placed his hand on his wound and once his hand was filled with blood, he threw it above saying,“Make what has happened to me easy for me; it is being witnessed by Allah”
Not a single drop of that blood fell on the ground.
Then he put it back a second time and it was again filled with blood. This time he rubbed it on his face and beard as he said,“Thus shall I appear when I meet my Lord and my grandfather the Messenger of Allah (S), drenched in my blood. It is then that I shall say: ‘O grandfather! So-and-so killed me.'”
In the al-Hajeer he fell on the ground,
Under the swords and their every sharp edge.
The stars stood motionless when he fell,
And their motions turned still.
In them the Spirit mourned him as he said.
Sadly echoing the bereaved one's heart:
O conscience of Allah's ghayb, how could you
Be the victims of their very spears?
They pierced from behind His preserved veil,
And swords struck your forehead and they
Without your right hand would have had no right.
You were not, when you were killed, weak in might,
But no help came to your rescue
O by your blood-stained beard, gray in hue,
It is the most glorious of every right hand,
Had you preferred at all in your stand,
The fates would have made everything
Precious for you as though it were nothing,
Or if you had wished your foes to be wiped out,
None of them would have remained on the ground.
You would have removed them from every land,
And you would have raised death-conquering hosts,
So none would remain to light a fire
Nor to build a fort nor a highway,
But a band invited you to spend your all
When their misguidance spread what was buried before.
So you saw that meeting with your Lord
Sacrificing for Him would surely be
Better than to live in misery.
You took to patience even as the deer from thirst on fire
Striking every valiant in a way melting every heart,
And the lances, like ribs, over you bend,
And the white swords over you like lids descend.
So your life did you spend among folks
Who tried to subject you to their yokes,
Folks who are your enemy and mine,
Born in the vilest of womb and of loin.
Bleeding soon sapped his strength, so he sat down on the ground, feeling his head being too heavy. Malik Ibn al-Nisr noticed his condition, so he taunted him then dealt him a stroke with his sword on the head. Al-Husayn (‘a) was wearing a burnoose that soon became full of blood. Al-Husayn (‘a) said,
“May you never be able to eat nor drink with your right hand, and may Allah gather you among the oppressors.”
Having said so, the dying Imam (‘a) threw his burnoose away and put on a turban on top of his capuche cap.
Muhammad Ibn abu Sa’id
Hani Ibn Thabit al-Hadrami has said,“I was standing with nine other men when al-Husayn (‘a) was killed. It was then that I looked and saw one of the children from al-Husayn's family wearing a robe and a shirt, and in his ears there were two rings. He held a post from those buildings and stood startled looking right and left.
A man came running. Having come close to that child, the man leaned from his horse and killed that child with his horse. When he was shamed for thus killing a helpless child, he revealed his last name...”
That child was Muhammad Ibn Abu Sa’id Ibn ‘Aqil Ibn Abu Talib.
His mother, dazed and stunned, kept looking at him as the incident unfolded before her very eyes.
‘Abdullah son of Imam al-Hasan (‘a)
The enemies of Allah waited for a short while then returned to al-Husayn (‘a) whom they surrounded as he sat on the ground unable to stand. ‘Abdullah son of Imam al-Hasan (‘a), grandson of the Prophet (S), who was then eleven years old, looked and saw how his uncle was being surrounded by those people, so he came running towards him.
Zainab wanted to restrain him but he managed to evade her and to reach his uncle. Bahr Ibn Ka’b lowered his head to strike al-Husayn (‘a), so the child shouted,“O son of the corrupt woman, are you going to strike my uncle?”
The man dealt a blow from his sword that the child received with his hand, cutting it off. The child cried in agony, “O uncle!”
Then he fell in the lap of al-Husayn (‘a) who hugged him and said,“O son of my brother! Be patient with regard to what has befallen us, and consider it as goodness, for Allah, the most Exalted, will make you join your righteous ancestors.”
Then he (‘a) raised his hands and supplicated saying, “O Allah! Let them enjoy themselves for some time then divide them and make them into parties, and do not let their rulers ever be pleased with them, for they invited us to support us, then they turned their backs to us and fought us.”
Harmalah Ibn Kahil shot the child with an arrow, killing him as he sat in his uncle's lap.
Al-Husayn (‘a) remained lying on the ground for some time. Had those rogues wished to kill him, they could have done so, but each tribe relied on the other to do what it hated to do itself.
A planting field for the lances he became
A practice target for every blood-shedder,
Dusted whenever eyed by a valiant warrior,
Stealing, of fright, their very color,
Greater than him no war has shown,
As he was slain, turning each valiant a villain.
His forehead dusted, the heavens did think
That on the earth was its own Saturn.
Strange how I see, O stranger in theTaff
,
How your cheeks use its heaps for a pillow.
Strange how unfairly you were slain by those
Whose fathers yours had bent, whose idols he broke.
Should you, may the world be your sacrifice,
Be starved, left scorched by thirst?
Al-Shimr shouted, “What are you standing like that for?! What do you expect the man to do since your arrows and spears have wounded him so heavily? Attack him!”
O sorrow how they charged from every side at him,
Hitting his sacred shoulders with blows,
That left him on the ground lying.
Zar’ah Ibn Sharik struck him on his left shoulder with his sword while al-Hasin shot him with an arrow that penetrated his mouth;
another man struck him on the shoulder. Sinan Ibn Anas stabbed him in his collarbone area of the chest then shot him with an arrow in the neck.
‘Salih Ibn Wahab stabbed him in the side...
Hilal Ibn Nafi’ has said,“I was standing in front of al-Husayn (‘a) as he was drawing his last breath Never did I ever see anyone whose face looked better than him or more glowing as he was stained with his own blood!
In fact, the light emanating from his face distracted me altogether from the thought of killing him! As he was in such a condition, he asked for some water to drink, but they refused to give him any.”
A man said to him,“You shall not taste of water till you reach hell from whose hot boiling water shall you drink.”
He (‘a) said,“Am I the one who will reach it?
Rather, I will reach my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, and will reside with him in his abode of truth near an Omnipotent King, and I shall complain to him about what crimes you committed against me and what you have done to me.”
They all became very angry. It is as if Allah did not leave one iota of compassion in their hearts.
Had only Ahmad seen you on the ground lying,
He would have spread for you his very insides,
Or had your mother, al-Zahra’, seen your thirst atal-Taff
,
She would have from her tears given you to drink.
How I wish none tastes of the Euphrates at all
So long as the Prophet's sons its waters desire
How many free ladies whose homes the foes did plunder!
How their insides shared the shame, I wonder!
They flee, yet they are by the foes pursued,
Like wild beasts the foes ensued,
She called upon her supporter and defender,
Who remained on a burning ground: to death did he surrender.
The Supplication
When his condition worsened, al-Husayn (‘a) raised his eyes to the heavens and said,
“O Allah! Sublime You are, Great of Might, Omnipotent, Independent of all creation, greatly Proud, Capable of doing whatever You please, Forthcoming in mercy, True of Promise, Inclusive of Blessings, Clement, Near to those who invoke Him, Subduing His creation, Receptive to Repentance, Able, Overpowering, Appreciative when thanked, Remembering
those who remember Him! You do I call upon out of my want, and You do I seek out of need
!
From You do I seek help when in fear and cry when depressed! Your help do I seek in my weakness, and upon You do I rely! O Allah! Judge between us and our people, for they deceived and betrayed us!
They were treacherous to us, and they killed us though we are the ‘Itrat of Your Prophet and the offspring of the one You love: Muhammad (S) whom You chose for Your Message and entrusted with the revelation! Do find an ease for our affair and an exit, O most Merciful of all merciful ones!
Grant me patience to bear Your destiny, O Lord! There is no god but You! O Helper of those who seek help!
I have no god besides You, nor do I adore anyone but You! Grant me to persevere as I face Your decree, O Helper of the helpless, O Eternal One Who knows no end, O One Who brings the dead back to life, O One Who rewards every soul as it earned, do judge between me and them; surely You are the best of judges.”
Had Isma’yl to slaughter surrendered,
In the lap of the one who would to him have mercy,
Becoming Allah's sacrifice and was not greeted by
White deer, nor did they shake his hands peacefully,
Husayn patiently surrendered his soul
To be slain by the sword of his own oppressor,
And to defend Allah's creed he surrendered his soul
And every precious one so its pillars would stand tall.
His ribs and body were by the steeds trampled upon
As his ladies on bare beasts to captivity borne.
The Horse
His horse came circling around him, rubbing his head on his blood.
It was then that Ibn Sa’d shouted,“The horse! Get the horse, for it is one of the horses of the Messenger of Allah (S)!”
Horsemen surrounded that horse which kept kicking with its front legs, killing forty riders and ten horses. Ibn Sa’d then said,“Leave him and let us see what he does.”
Once he felt secure, the horse went back to al-Husayn (‘a) to rub his head on the Imam's blood as he sniffed him. He was neighing very loudly.
Imam Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (‘a) used to say that that horse was repeating these words:“Retribution! Retribution against a nation that killed the son of its Prophet's daughter!”
The horse then went to the camp neighing likewise.
When the women saw the horse without its rider and its saddle twisted, they went out, their hair spread out, beating their cheeks, their faces uncovered, screaming and wailing, feeling the humiliation after enjoying prestige, going in the direction of the place where al-Husayn (‘a) had been killed.
One kneels in earnest at him to hug
While another covers him with a robe,
Another with the flow of his bleeding neck
Her faces does she for glory paint,
And another wishes she was his own sacrifice,
And another does not help kissing him.
Yet another out of fear seeks with his corpse refuge,
And another because of her calamity knows not what to do.
Umm Kulthum, namely Zainab the wise, cried out,“O Muhammad! O father! O ‘Ali ! O Ja’far! O Hamzah! Here is Husayn in the open slain in Karbala’!”
Then Zainab said, “I wish the heavens had fallen upon the earth!
I wish the mountains had crushed the valley!”
She was near al-Husayn (‘a) when ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d came close to her flanked by some of his men.
Al-Husayn (‘a) was drawing his last breath She cried out,“O ‘Umar! Should Abu ‘Abdullah be killed as you look on?!”
He turned his face away. His tears were flooding his beard.
She said,“Woe unto you! Is there any Muslim man among you?”
None answered her.
Then [‘Umar] Ibn Sa’d shouted at people,“Alight and put him to rest!”
Al-Shimr was the first to do so. He kicked the Imam (‘a) with his foot then sat on his chest and took hold of his holy beard. He dealt him twelve sword strokes.
He then severed his sacred head...
Al-Husayn (‘a) Murdered
Those folks now took to maurauding the Imam (‘a). Ishaq Ibn Hawayh took his shirt. Al-Akhnas Ibn Murthid Ibn ‘Alqamah al-Hadrami took his turban. Al-Aswad Ibn Khalid took his sandals. Jami’ Ibn al-Khalq al-Awdi, but some say a man from Tamim named al-Aswad Ibn Hanzalah, took his sword.
Bajdal came. He saw the Imam (‘a) wearing a ring covered with his blood. He cut his finger off and took the ring... Qays Ibn al-Ash’ath took his velvet
on which he since then used to sit, so he came to be called “Qays Qateefa.”
The Imam (‘a)’s worn out garment was taken by Ja’oonah Ibn Hawiyyah al-Hadrami. His bow and outer garments were taken by al-Rail Ibn Khaythamah al-Ju’fi, Hani Ibn Shabib al-Hadrami and Jarir Ibn Mas’ud al-Hadrami.
A man from among them wanted to take his underpants after all his other clothes had been taken away by others.
This man said, “I wanted to take it off, but he had put his right hand on it which I could not lift; therefore, I severed his right hand...
He then put his left hand on it which I also could not lift, so I severed it, too, and was about to bare him and take it off. It was then that I heard something like an earthquake, so I became frightened. I left him and fell into a swoon.
While I was unconscious, I saw the Prophet (S), ‘Ali, Fatima, and al-Hasan (‘a). Fatima was saying, ‘O son! They killed you! May Allah kill them!' He said to her, ‘O mother! This sleeping man has severed my right hand!' She then invoked Allah's curse on me saying, ‘May Allah cut your hands and legs, and may He blind you and hurl you into the fire!'
Indeed, I am now blind. My hands and legs have already been amputated, and nothing remains from her curse except the Fire.”
O slain one snatched by death away,
Without being helped, without being supported,
They washed him with the blood of his every wound,
They shrouded him with the earth of the ground,
They killed him though they knew,
That he was the fifth of Ashab al-Kisa’.
O Messenger of Allah! O Fatima!
O Commander of the Faithful al-Murtada!
May Allah's rewards for you be great,
For the one whose insides were killed
By thirst till he spent,
At Karbala’ he struck his tent,
Hardly he erected it before it was no more,
Dead mourned by Fatima, by her father and by ‘Ali
The man for him testifies sublimity.
Had the Messenger of Allah been after him raised,
He would have now been mourning him.
They carried a head whose grandfather they greet,
Be it is out of their free will, involuntarily,
Being handled by them as they pleased.
They neither honoured him nor sanctified...
O Messenger of Allah! If you only eyed
How they kept killing and taking captive,
How they were prohibited from enjoying any shade,
How their thirsty ones were met with the spears
How they were driven, stumbling, one following behind,
Another transported on a bare conveyance, how unkind!
Your eyes would have seen a sight
That would surely have grieved your insides
And would surely have been for your eyes a sore.
Such should not be how the Messenger of Allah,
O nation of oppression and corruption, be treated
They slaughtered like sacrifices his offspring that day,
Then they drove his family like slaves away.
They kept calling upon the Messenger of Allah
Whenever marching was hard, whenever they stumbled.
Post Martrydom Events
O Kufians! Do you know what liver of the Messenger of Allah (S) have you cut off? Do you know what blood you have shed?
Which daughter of his have you frightened? What sanctity of his have you violated? Should you be surprised if the sky rains blood? Surely in the torment of the hereafter there is more shame, and they shall not be helped! ---“Umm Kulthum”
Zainab
The Eleventh Night
And what a night it was for the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) whom lofty eminence never forsook ever since they were born!
It was only yesterday that they lived in the pavilions of greatness and the chambers of dignity, lit during the day by the sun of Prophethood and
during the night by the star of caliphate and by the lanterns emitting the radiance of sanctity.
During this night, they were left in the pitch dark, having lost those shining lights, their belongings plundered, their chambers burnt, fear overwhelming them.
They remained among the corpses of those who used to be their protectors. Now they have neither protectors nor defenders. They do not know anyone who could defend them if they were to be attacked, or who would repel those who might terrorize them, or who would calm and pacify those who have lost their loved ones.
Yes, there were among them children crying in anguish. There were mothers of children waned by the arrows, sisters of those who were martyred, mothers who lost their sons. And they were mourning their dear ones.
Next to them were body parts amputated, corpses slashed and cut, necks covered with blood. And they were in a desolate desert...
Behind the low marshes stood the army of treachery savouring its“victory”
: the recklessness of winners and the meanness of vanquishers. Besides all of this, they did not know what the morning would bring them and what the caller would announce.
Will he announce their slaughter, or will they be taken captive? None other than the ailing Imam (‘a) could defend them, had he only been able to defend himself against the danger of being killed.
A nurse set out to suckle her infant
With feelings that caused her infant to die of patience.
She saw his cradle, with grief after him overflowing,
And it used to overflow with happiness.
And her breast with her pure milk is weighed
For her infant used to overflow.
Swiftly to the infant's resting place did she go,
Perhaps she would find in him some life so he would suckle,
But she only saw a corpse at a slaughter place,
In it an arrow rested that killed the neck,
So she yearned and over him knelt
With her ribs to shade him from the heat.
She hugged him, though dead,
And from his spilled blood she dyed her chest.
And she wished, having seen his cheeks covered with blood
That with his arrow her own cheeks were split.
Over his grave she poured her heart
With feelings overflowing.
She now eulogizes him with the best of verse.
She sings lullabies once and once she
Hugs his corpse that decorated the pearls.
And she often kneels down and sniffs
Where his neck was slit and then kisses him again,
So how miserable you are and how bereaved
With the like of your tears did al-Khansa’ mourn Sakhr!
Of her emotions and yearnings she had that day
A cage for eternity from which the bird had flown away...
Vexation overwhelmed the world of the domain and of the unseen; thehuris
in the chambers of Paradise were crying, and so were the angels in the strata between the heavens, as the jinns mourned.
Ibn Abul-Hadid says, “‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad built four mosques in Basra to disseminate hatred towards ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a).”
This is not how to reward Allah's Messenger
O nation of oppression and corruption!
Had the Messenger of Allah lived after him,
He would have today mourned him exceedingly.
Umm Salamah saw the Messenger of Allah (S) in a vision
with his hair looking quite untidy, dusty, with earth soil on his head. She asked him,“O Messenger of Allah! Why do I see your hair looking so untidy and dusty?”
“My son,”
he (S) said, “has been killed, and I have not yet finished digging his grave and those of his companions.”
She woke up terrified and looked at the bottle containing a specimen of the soil of Karbala'. She found it boiling in blood.
It was the bottle given to her by the Prophet (S) who ordered her to keep it. Moreover, she heard in the depth of the night a caller mourning al-Husayn (‘a) saying
O killers of al-Husayn out of ignorance
Receive the news of your torture and annihilation.
The son of David had cursed you
And so did Moses and the man of the Gospel.
All the people of the heavens condemn you
Every prophet, every messenger, and every martyr.
In fact, she heard in the depth of the night other voices mourning al-Husayn (‘a) but could not see them. Among the poetry she had heard was the following:
O eyes! This is a day for your tears
So cry hard and spare not.
Who after me shall the martyrs mourn
Over folks led by their fates
To a tyrant in the reign of slaves?
On the day of ‘Ashura, Ibn ‘Abbas saw the Messenger of Allah (S) in a vision with his hair looking very untidy, and he was holding a bottle of blood. He said to him,“May my parents be sacrificed for your sake! What is this?!” “This is the blood of al-Husayn (‘a) and of his companions;”
he said, adding,“I have been collecting it, and I have not yet finished doing so.”
They kept al-Husayn's naked corpse on the ground for three days although he was the essence of existence itself, being part of the Prophet (S) who is the cause of all causes, the one whose light was derived from the holiest light of the Most Holy One.
Three days saw nothing but pitched darkness,
and the nights were even more so.
People thought that Doomsday had dawned.
Stars appeared at midday.
And they kept colliding with one another.
The rays of the sun could not be seen,
and all this continued for three long days.
Nobody should be surprised at seeing the light of the sun diminishing during the period when the master of the youths of Paradise was left naked on the ground, for he is the cause in the cosmos running due to what you have come to know of his being derived from the very truth of Muhammad (S), the truth which is the cause of all causes and the first reason.
It is due to the tradition, which confirms the same, and which is related to how the responsibility of wilaya was offered to everything in existence: whoever accepted it would surely benefit therefrom, and whoever refused would be deprived.
If the talk about the cosmos undergoing some change on account of the birth of a great prophet till the heavens are filled with clouds, and that it rained when a Christian scholar at Surra-man-Ra'a [Samarra’]
prayed for rain, although he did not uncover the body of the prophet [but only a bone of whose body he was holding], nor were his limbs cut off; so, how could it not undergo a change, or why should not the sunlight or the moonlight not be obliterated when the [corpse of the] Master of the Youths of Paradise was left on the ground after being mutilated?
Why did not the heavens when he was killed not collide?
Why did the earth when he fell not crack?
I after him excuse the moon of the morn
If it does not appear, and if the sun does not shine.
And the comet if let loose and their clouds, too,
If they departed, and if the beasts do not graze,
And the water if not pure and the trees
If they do not blossom, and the birds
If they do not sing at all,
And the wind if it does not blow
Except becoming storms and gales
And water shall I never drink near him
But stay grieved, heart-rent.
May the foes shoot my heart with a fateful blow
If what the most Exalted Glory did would not let me grieve so.
Borne on a bare and lean hump stayed,
If I ever forget how his offspring were conveyed.
Yes! The condition of everything changed, and all beings were altered. The wild beasts mourned him with tears in their eyes.
The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) has said,“By my parents! Al-Husayn (‘a) will be killed in the outskirts of Kufa. It is as if I can see the wild beasts stretching their necks on his grave mourning him all night long till the morning.”
And it rained blood.
Water urns and jars and every other container was filled with blood.
For a long time did its stain remain on houses and walls.
Whenever a stone was removed, blood was found underneath it,
even in Jerusalem.
When the head was brought into the governor's mansion, the mansion's walls dripped blood
and a fire broke out from a number of its walls. That fire ran in the direction of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad who, noticing it, ordered those who were in his company to keep what they had seen to themselves.
He fled away from it. It was then that the holy head spoke loudly saying, “Where are you running to, O cursed one?! If it does not reach you in this life, the Fire shall be your abode in the hereafter.” The head kept speaking till the fire was out. Everyone in the mansion was amazed.
For two or three months did the people see the walls stained with blood at sunrise and at sunset.
Another incident is that of a raven stained with the blood of al-Husayn (‘a). It flew to Medina and fell on the walls of the house where Fatima, the youngest daughter of al-Husayn (‘a), was living at the time.
She used this incident as a theme in mourning the killing of her father [before its news reached Medina] (‘a). When she mourned him to the people of Medina, they said, “Here she is reviving the witchcraft of ‘Abd al-Muttalib's offspring!”
It was not long before the news of his martyrdom came. This is narrated by the most eloquent among all the orators of Khawarizm, namelyAhmad Ibn Mekki [al-Khawarizmi]
who died in 568 A.H/1173 A.D. as we read on p. 92, Vol. 2, of his bookMaqtal al-Husayn
.
This coincident should not surprise anyone especially when we come to know the fact that al-Husayn (‘a) had another daughter besides Fatima and Sukayna.
Al-Husayn's martyrdom was surrounded with super-natural events. It is as though the Almighty, the most Exalted One, wanted then to inform the nation, as well as the succeeding generations, to be acquainted with this epic the like of which has never been witnessed.
He wanted to inform them about the extent of cruelty of the Umayyads in dealing with Abu ‘Abdullah, the man who sacrificed his all for the sake of the Divine Call.
This implies attracting everyone's attention to the status al-Husayn (‘a) enjoys with Allah, and that his killing will refute all misguidance and will herald the revival of the creed, the survival of which was desired by the Lord of the World, till the Day the dead shall be resurrected.
Du’bal al-Khuza’i narrated a story that he traces back to his grandfather thus:
His mother, Su’da daughter of Malik al-Khuza’i, was alive and aware of the fact that a tree belonging to the mother of Ma’bid al-Khuza’i
had long been dead. The Prophet (S) happened to make his ablution there and he poured the left-overs of his ablution water under that tree.
Through such a blessing, the tree was brought back to life: it became green once more, and its produce was quite bountiful.
When the Prophet (S) died, its produce decreased a great deal, and when the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) was killed, all its fruit fell at once on the ground. People continued to use its leaves as a medicine. After some time, they looked at it and noticed how its trunk was literally bleeding.
They were terrified for having seen something nobody else had ever seen. When the night brought the mantle of its darkness, they heard someone weeping and wailing without seeing anyone at all. They heard another voice saying:
O martyr, and martyr is his uncle, too
The best of uncles, Ja’far at-Tayyar
Strange how a polished one dared to hit you
On the face, and dust had covered you.
It was not long after having witnessed such an odd phenomenon that news came of the killing of al-Husayn (‘a). Du’bal al-Khuza’i dedicated three lines of poetry complementing the above wherein he said,
Visit the best of graves in Iraq
And disobey the ass, for whoever forbade you is an ass
Why should I not visit you, O Husayn?
May my life be sacrificed for you,
And may my people and everyone to me dear.
All do not at all with you compare,
For you there is love in the hearts of the wise
Your foe is annihilated; him do we despise.
The meaning of the second line was borrowed by a Shi’a poet of old and reworded in three lines [the rough translation of which runs thus]:
How strange should a sword blow be dealt to you
On the day when dust high and wide flew!
And strange how arrows snatched you from the ladies
Who called upon your grandfather with tears abundant.
Why did not someone the arrows break?
Should your holy and exalted body them overtake?
In fact, anyone who touched the sassafran which had been plundered [from Husayn's family] was burnt thereby and reduced to ashes. The taste of the meat of the camels which they had looted was bitterer than that of colocynth, and they saw fire coming out of it.
Nobody had ever seen the sky turning red except on the day when al-Husayn (‘a) was killed.
Ibn al-Jawzi has said,
“Whenever anyone among the people was angry, anger left permanent physical marks on his face. Since the Truth, Exalted is He, is far above having a physical form to manifest to people, He manifested His wrath for the killing of al-Husayn (‘a) through the redness of the horizon on account of the magnanimity of the crime committed...
The Prophet (S) could not sleep as he heard the moaning of his uncle, al-’Abbas Ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, who had been taken captive and who was tied during the battle of Badr; so, what would his condition have been had he heard the moaning of al-Husayn (‘a)?
When Washi, Hamzah's killer, embraced Islam, the Prophet (S) said to him, “Get your face away from my sight, for I do not like to see the killer of my loved ones.”
This was so despite the fact that Islam wipes out whatever sins one had committed prior to accepting the faith; so, what would his condition have
been had he seen the person who killed his [grand]son and who transported his family on camels’ bare humps?”
Yes! The [soul of the] Messenger of Allah (S) did, indeed, attend and witness the huge host which was bent on eradicating his family from the face of earth, and he saw the wailing of the orphans and the sobbing of the ladies who had lost their loved ones, and he heard the cries of the children because of thirst. In fact, the army heard a thunderous voice saying,
“Woe unto you, O people of Kufa! I see the Messenger of Allah (S) eying you, once looking at you, and once looking at the heavens, holding his holy beard!”
But the desires and the misguidance that have taken control of the souls of that greedy host inspired to them that it was just“a mad man”
[who was calling]. The crowd among them shouted,“Let it not frighten you!”
Abu ‘Abdullah, Imam as-Sadiq (‘a), used to say,“I do not think that that voice came from anyone another than Gabriel.”
Some angels shouted,“O nation that has become confused and misguided after its Prophet! May Allah never accept your Adha nor Fitr [Eid] prayers!”
Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) has said,“By Allah! There is no doubt at all that they were not successful, nor will they ever be, till a revolutionary rises for [the offspring of] al-Husayn (‘a).”
Suppose John's blood on the ground did boil,
Husayn's blood in the hearts did indeed boil.
Should Bucht-Nuzzar of old seek for John revenge?
His justice was indeed fully redressed,
But the blood of the Prophet's grandson shall not
Calm down before al-Qa’im,
By Allah's leave, seeks his revenge.
Shaikh al-Baha'i has narrated saying that his father, Shaikh Husayn Ibn ‘Abd al-Samad al-Harithi, entered Kufa's mosque once and found a carnelian stone upon which these lines were written:
I am jewel from the heavens, so scatter me
When the parents of the Prophet's grandson betrothed;
More clear than silver I once used to be
Now my color is that of al-Husayn's blood.
The Eleventh Night in the Company of al-Husayn (‘a)
Anyone who follows the path of the Infallible Imams, peace be upon them, will surely feel very grieved if he had the opportunity to spend the eleventh night at the grave of the oppressed Imam (‘a).
Signs of disappointment and depression as well as grief will have painted their marks on his face upon witnessing such a tremendous calamity. He would have heard the moaning and groaning, the sighs and cries of those whom al-Husayn (‘a) had left behind.
He would have closely witnessed the corpses of the Progeny of Muhammad (‘a), who had sacrificed themselves for Islam, lying on the ground drenched in their blood as the wind blew upon them in that wilderness: parts cut off by the spears, from whose blood swords drank, and whatever was left was crushed under the horses' hooves...
Whoever had the chance to come close to the ladies, who grew up in the home of revelation, would find them shedding their tears on those sacred corpses. The women were crying, sobbing, beating their chests, their hair protruding on their faces
.
He would then console them with his own incessant tears, with his loud cries and generous grief.
It goes without saying that such a grief is related to the truthful one, Fatima al-Zahra’ (‘a), to consoling her, and to fulfilling the wish of the Imams of Guidance, peace be upon them, according to many traditions reported in all such circumstances.
There are traditions from which one may derive such a conclusion if he only contemplates upon them. For example, there is a tradition reported by Malik al-Juhni who quotes Imam [al-Baqir] Abu Ja’far [as-Sadiq] (‘a) saying,
“Whoever visits al-Husayn's grave on ‘Ashura and remains there mourning will meet Allah on the Day of Judgment receiving the rewards due to two million performances of the Hajj and two million performances of the ‘umra and two million campaigns in the company of the Messenger of Allah and the Guided Imams.”
Scholars of Arabic who examined the original text of this statement conclude that all such rewards are due to one who remains there all day long till the night even if he does not spend the night there. But Jabir al-Ju’fi's tradition, wherein he quotes Abu ‘Abdullah [Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq] (‘a), sheds a light that may help understand it better.
He has said, “One who visits al-Husayn's grave [shrine] and spends a night there will be as though he had been martyred in his company.”
This statement apparently implies staying there for one night prior to spending the day at his gravesite.
Discerning this tradition will let one conclude that one who stays at the grave of the one who sacrificed himself for Islam, and who did so suffering from thirst, for a full day, ought not depart from there during the [eleventh] night the like of which had never been witnessed by the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) and the trust of the caliphate.
They were left behind in the desert by shining moons and by the elite from among the men of honour. Beside them lay the parts that the swords of oppression and misguidance had cut off. They were frightened, not knowing what to expect from the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger.
One who pays homage to them and who spends that night at al-Husayn's grave will demonstrate through his grief and mourning his sadness for being too late to come to his aid and to earn the greatest salvation. He would keep repeating the statement saying: Ya laytana kunna ma’akum fa nafooza fawzan azeema,
“How we wish we were with you so we would earn a great achievement.”
He would console the Lady of all Women (‘a) who mourned her son who was forbidden from drinking water. Tharra, the mourner, saw her once in a vision standing at al-Husayn's grave weeping, and she ordered Tharra to eulogize her son (‘a) with these lines:
O eyes! Overflow and do not dry
And do over the one killed atTaff
cry.
They left his body in every place hit,
But I could not, alas, tend to it.
No, nor was he sick at all...
Abu ‘Ali, al-Muhsin Ibn ‘Ali al-Tanukhi, the judge, quotes his father saying,
“Abul-Hasan, the scribe, inquired once about who the son of the mourner was. Nobody in the meeting place at Karkh
knew the answer besides myself. I asked him, ‘What is the context of the question?’
He said, ‘I have a bondmaid who fasts and who recites tahajjud quite often, yet she cannot [besides] correctly pronounce even one Arabic word! Moreover, she even quotes poetry, and her accent is heavily Nabatean. Last night, she woke up terrified, trembling.
Her bed was close to mine. She cried out to me, ‘O father of al-Hasan! Come help me!' I asked her what was wrong with her.
She said, ‘I performed my prayers and supplications then went to bed. I saw myself walking in one of the Karkh alleys. Soon I saw a clean room, white and beautiful, decorated with teak wood, and its door was open.
There were women standing in it whom I asked about who had died and about what the matter was. They pointed to the interior of the house, so I entered and found a clean and most beautiful room. In its courtyard stood a young woman who was the best, the most radiating, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
She was wrapped in white clothes, and in her lap there was a head bleeding. I asked her, ‘Who are you?' She said, ‘Never mind..., I am Fatima daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S), and this is the head of my son al-Husayn (‘a). Tell Ibn Asda’ on my behalf to euologize him with this verse:
I did not dress his wound,
No, nor was he sick at all.'
I, therefore, woke up frightened.'” She was calmed down by the old lady in the house [apparently the mother of the narrator] till she was able to sleep.
Abul-Hasa, the scribe, said to ‘Ali al-Tanukhi, “O father of al-Qasim! Since you yourself know Ibn Asda’, you are now morally obligated to convey the message to him.” Al-Tanukhi agreed saying, “I hear and I obey the order of the Lady of all the Women of the World, peace be upon her.”
All this happened during the month of Sha’ban when people were suffering a great deal from the persecution of the Hanbalis who resisted their going to al-Ha'ir. I kept pleading to them till I was permitted to go. I reached al-Ha'ir in the eve of the middle of Sha’ban.
I kept inquiring about the whereabouts of Ibn Asda’ till I was able to see him. I said to him, “Fatima, peace be upon her, orders you to mourn the martyrdom of her son with the poem starting with:
I did not dress his wound,
No, nor was he sick at all.
... and I was at that time unfamiliar with that poem. He felt very vexed, so I narrated to him and to those in his company the incident above. They allburst in tears, and everyone who mourned al-Husayn (‘a) that night used this poem as a eulogy. It starts with
O eyes! Overflow and do not dry
And do over the one killed at Taff cry.
It is written by a poet from Kufa. I went back to Abul-Hasan and told him.”
The Looting
O father of al-Hasan! The one best to protect his neighbour,
To you do I complain with overflowing tears,
Let alone a great shame that overspread
Wherein tears are part of my address.
Should you overlook as you today see
How Umayyah's offspring sought and achieved
All their mischievous revenge?
How many for you at theTaff
, where
A mourner bitterly mourned,
Were wailing like pigeons in their necks
Iron collars they had to wear?
And how many a child did they scare?
Mourning one who never knew but kindness.
And how many a child decorated with gold
Did they shackle and did they scold?
And with arrows was he shot.
How many a free lady with hair
Uncovered came out of the tent
Having nothing to veil her except her hands?
Should you have witnessed how she
With a heavy heart sighed as her heart burned.
It would have been hard for the Commander of the Faithful
That she should thus come out at all,
In a condition that grieved everyone with a heart.
Who then should tell al-Zahra’ about Zainab
Being taken into captivity
And being driven among the foes to Damascus?
She has none from the foe to protect
Except one in the robes heavily tied up,
For those who came to Karbala’
All fell on its ground, one glorious martyr after another.
They spent and the greatness of their glory covered their faces
And died in dignity without kneeling before a tyrant.
No excuse shall be for my heart if I say so,
Should my eyes with tears forever overflow.
When Abu ‘Abdullah al-Husayn (‘a), was killed, people fell upon his luggage and belongings looting everything they could find in his tents,
then they set the tents ablaze. People raced to rob the ladies of the Messenger of Allah (S). The daughters of Fatima al-Zahra’ (‘a) tearfully ran away, their hair uncovered.
Scarves were snatched, rings were pulled out of fingers, earrings were taken out, and so were ankle-rings.
A man took both earrings belonging to Umm Kulthum, riddling her ears in the process.
Another approached Fatima daughter of al-Husayn (‘a) and took her ankle-rings out. He was crying.
“What is the matter with you?” she asked him. “How can I help crying,” he answered, “since I am looting the daughter of the Messenger of Allah?” She asked him to leave her alone. He said, “I am afraid if I do not take it, someone else will.”
Another man was seen driving the women with the butt of his spear, after having robbed them of their coverings and jewelry as they sought refuge with one another. He was seen by the same Fatima. Having realized that she had seen him, he went towards her, and she fled away. He threw his spear at her.
She fell headlong and fainted. When she recovered, she saw her aunt Umm Kulthum, sitting at her head crying.
She was from her sleep disturbed
Like doves startled after their slumber
Deploring the protection she now lost
By losing the best a woman could lose.
She lost the best pillar,
So she invoked the “manliness” of Banu ‘Amr.
For moons she mourned and cried
For the one whose spilled blood she sighed.
And through whom everything with light shone,
Now they are slaughtered and their corpses strewn.
Some had their parts scattered and some lost their arms
One after another on the plain they did fall
Did one with his feet to a lion's den walk?
They shattered the pitched darkness,
Now on the ground they lie motionless.
A woman from the clan of Bakr Ibn Wa'il, who was accompanied by her husband, saw the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) in such a condition, so she cried out, “O offspring of Bakr Ibn Wa'il! Do you permit the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) to be thus robbed? There is no judgment except Allah's!
O how the Messenger of Allah (S) should be avenged!” Her husband brought her back to his conveyance.
The rogues reached ‘Ali son of al-Husayn (‘a) who was sick on his bed unable to stand up.
Some were saying, “Do not let any of them, young or old, remain alive.”
Others were saying,“Do not be rash in your judgment till we consult the governor ‘Amr Ibn Sa’d.”
Al-Shimr unsheathed his sword with the intention to kill ‘Ali.
Hamid Ibn Muslim said to him, “Glory to Allah! Do you really kill children?! He is only a sick lad!”
He said, “Ibn Ziyad ordered all al-Husayn's sons killed.” Ibn Sa’d went to extremes to stop him
especially after having heard the wise lady Zainab daughter of the Commander of the
Faithful (‘a) saying,“You will not kill him before killing me first;”
so, they left him alone.
His remedy from them was their whips as they
Hit them then did they say, “May you stay!”
They dragged him and prepared for him the leather mat
After having filled his body with thistles and with thorns.
Ibn Sa’d himself came to the ladies who burst in tears upon seeing him. He ordered the men to stay away from them.
Those men had already taken all the ornaments those ladies had had and never returned any of them back.
He assigned to a group of men the task of protecting them, then he returned to his tent.
Perplexed the ladies were
From their sleep deprived,
Startled when their chambers were assaulted.
In pavilions they lived and thrived.
They camped in honour, from hardship exempt,
From awe almost none comes near them except
The angels that were there to serve,
Now people's hands from mischief do not swerve,
Now the people's hands are free to steal, to plunder
For none is there to stop them, none to hinder.
Yes, she bent her body to chide
Her people, and fire filled her inside.
She rebuked them for fighting over what she had to wear,
For what the foe's snatched, but who will hear or care?
The Steed
Ibn Sa’d shouted, “Who volunteers to make sure that the chest and the back of al-Husayn (‘a) are run over by the horses?” Ten men stood up.
Those miscreant “volunteers” were: Ishaq Ibn Hawiyyah,
al-Ahbash Ibn Murshid Ibn ‘Alqamah Ibn Salamah al-Hadrami, Hakim Ibn al-Tufayl al-Sinbisi, ‘Amr Ibn abi al-Saydawi, Raja' Ibn Munqith al-’Abdi, Salim Ibn Khaythamah al-Ju’fi, Salih Ibn Wahab al-Ju’fi, Wakhit Ibn Ghanim, Hani Ibn Thabit al-Hadrami, and Asid Ibn Malik.
They rode their horses and trampled upon the body of the fragrant flower of the Messenger of Allah. Then the ten “men” went back to Ibn Ziyad with Asid Ibn Malik in their vanguard reciting this rajaz verse of poetry:
We did crush the chest and the back:
Mighty steeds made it like a river track.
Ibn Ziyad ordered generous awards to be given to them.
What a martyr whose body the sun baked,
And its rising from his origin is born!
And what a slaughtered one trampled upon
By the steeds from whose names the cavaliers freeze.
Did they not know that Muhammad's soul,
Like his Qur’an, in his grandfather personified?
Had those steeds, like their riders, only knew
That the one under their hooves was but Ahmad,
They against their riders would mutiny declare,
Just as they against him rebellious they were.
Al-Biruni has said,
They did to al-Husayn (‘a) what no other nation had ever done to their most evil ones: killing with the sword or the spear, with stone throwing, and with horse trampling.
Some of those horses reached Egypt where their shoes were pulled out and fixed on doors as means of seeking blessings. This became a custom among them, so much so that many of them started making the like of those shoes and hanging them over the doors of their houses.
May hands that fought you be to pieces chopped,
May feet that oppressed you be forever paralyzed,
May the steeds over your body charged be hamstrung,
Crushing your ribs, having lost to your swords their riders.
You became their victim, so no pleasure shall today be
Nor a moon in the night shall ever be shiny.
The Severed Heads
Ibn Sa’d ordered the heads to be severed from their bodies. They were distributed to various tribes that used them as means to seek favour with Ibn Ziyad. The Kindah tribe took thirteen brought by their envoy, Qays Ibn al-Ash’ath.
The Hawazin tribe brought twelve with their “man,” Shimr Ibn Thul-Jawshan. The Tamim tribe brought seventeen; the Banu Asad tribe brought sixteen; the Mathhaj tribe brought seven, and the other tribes brought the rest.
The tribe to whom al-Hurr al-Riyahi belonged refused to cut anyone's head or to trample on the Imam's body with its horses.
On the tenth day, Ibn Sa’d had already entrusted the head of Imam al-Husayn (‘a) to Khawli Ibn Yazid al-Asbahi and Hamid Ibn Muslim al-Azdi. He entrusted the heads of the Imam's family members and those of his companions to al-Shimr, Qays Ibn al-Ash’ath and ‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjaj.
Khawli's house was one farasang from Kufa. Khawli hid the head from his Ansari wife whom he knew to be loyal to Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them. But when she saw a light emanating from the bakery oven [where it was hidden], she was terrified. When she came closer, she heard the voices of al-Husayn's women mourning al-Husayn in the most somber way.
She mentioned this to her husband then went out crying.
Since then, she never used any kohl nor any perfume out of her grief for al-Husayn (‘a). She was called ‘Ayoof.
In the morning, Khawli took the head to the governor's mansion. By then, Ibn Ziyad had returned from his camp at al-Nakhila. Khawli put the head in front of Ibn Ziyad as he recited these poetic verses:
Fill my stirrup with silver or with gold:
I killed the master of every honour told,
Their best when they mention descent.
I killed the best of people, son of the best parent.
But these words, spoken in front of everyone, were met by Ibn Ziyad with outrage.“Since you knew that he was that honourable,” said Ibn Ziyad, “why did you then take part in killing him?! By Allah, you will receive nothing from me at all.”
Departing from Karbala’
When Ibn Sa’d sent the heads to Kufa, he remained with the army till the time of zawal on the eleventh day [of Muharram].
He gathered those killed from his army and performed the funeral prayers for them then buried them, leaving the corpses of the Master of the Youths of Paradise and the fragrant flower of the most honourable Prophet (‘a) and those of his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and companions unwashed, without shrouds, unburied,
exposed to the wind and to the wild beasts of the desert.
On the dust, bare, should he remain?
None to mourn him except his women?
Which folks were not touched by his corpse?
Which hearts did not mourn him?
After the time of zawal, Ibn Sa’d left for Kufa with the women, the children, the bondmaids, and the surviving families of al-Husayn's companions.
They included twenty women
whom they mounted on camels without saddles as was the custom then with Turks or Romans taken captive, although they belonged to the best of all prophets (S). With them was al-Sajjad, ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a), who was twenty-three years old.
He was placed on a lean camel without a saddle, and he was worn out by sickness.
His son [later Imam] al-Baqir,
who was two years and a few months old,
accompanied him. Among the children of Imam al-Hasan (‘a) taken captive were: Zayd, ‘Amr, and Hasan II.
The latter was captured after he had killed seventeen men. He received eighteen wounds, and his right arm had been cut off. Asma' Ibn Kharijah al-Fizari intervened to get him freed because his mother was also Fizari, so Ibn Sa’d let her husband take him.
With them was ‘Uqbah Ibn Sam’an, a slave of al-Rubab, al-Husayn's wife. When Ibn Ziyad came to know that that man was al-Rubab's slave, he released him.
Ibn Ziyad was informed that al-Muraqqa’ Ibn Thumama al-Asadi had scattered his arrows around then fled to his tribe where he sought and received protection, he ordered him to be banished to al-Zara.
How did the modest ladies receive the night
After being “vanquished,” and in defense of the camp died?
Do you see them to captivity surrendering
Or against their wish did their protectors depart?
They departed after their strength was crushed
And after the blows took their toll.
In the blood of martyrdom did they build a throne
One none before them ever built.
Stunned after that by the steeds assaulting,
Where are the men of honour to defend?
The ladies screamed and sought help
From their slain men in slumber,
And from the captives besides every valiant one
A free lady fell pleading for help,
And so did every girl...
They complained from the whips giving them pain.
Have ever suiters sought the help from the slain?
They feebly fall down from the animals' backs, perturbed,
Whenever the she-camels are by the hadis
disturbed.
The ladies pleaded thus: “For the love of Allah! Please take us to those killed.” When they saw how they had lost their limbs, how the spears had drank of their blood, and how the horses had trampled upon them, they screamed and beat their faces in anguish.
Zainab cried out, “O Muhammad! Here is Husayn in the desert covered with blood, his limbs cut off! Here are your daughters taken captive and your offspring slaughtered!” These words caused friends and foes alike to weep,
even the horses' tears ran on their hooves.
Then she put her hands under his sacred body and lifted it as she supplicated saying, “O Lord! Do accept this sacrifice from us.”
This stand demonstrates to us the fact that Zainab was then elevated to the height of sacred responsibility, that of holding a holy covenant, that she would henceforth carry out a sacred revival like the one started by her brother, al-Husayn (‘a), while keeping the difference in mind.
Once al-Husayn (‘a) carried out his responsibility through his martyrdom, the wise lady, Zainab, started her duty that included presenting the sacrifice to the Mighty Lord and promoting his cause. Then she, peace of Allah be upon her, shouldered her other responsibilities. This should not be discounted outrightly, for theirnoor
is one and the same, and so is the substance.
She and al-Husayn share their complain
Fate decided that they should.
One fell to the swords and to their pain
And the other by life's agonies taken captive.
Sukayna
hugged the body of her father al-Husayn (‘a) and kept telling him how she had heard him saying:
O my Shi’as! Whenever of water you drink
Never from mentioning my name should you shrink.
And whenever you are a stranger on a sojourn,
Or see a martyr, me should you remember and mourn.
Only a number of them could collectively remove her from his corpse, forcefully dragging her away.
An orphan girl with being orphaned startled
Her heart is filled with pain,
Like a bird by an eagle chased,
One whose nest is assaulted.
A cry she let out when the horsemen assaulted
Her, though orphaned, so she now is more startled,
And to the one lying on the burning sands she went
Pouring over him from her eyes a river she wept.
She fell upon al-Husayn's body so he kept
To his chest taking her between a right and a left.
She seeks refuge with him, having lost her headscarf,
And it was hard for him to see her without it;
He would not have left their whips cause her to seek help
With her father's body when, from him,
She was forcibly removed.
When ‘Ali son of al-Husayn (‘a) looked at his slaughtered family and noticed how al-Zahra’ was in a condition which the heavens deplored and for which the earth would split and the mountains crumble, he felt greatly grieved and worried.
When Zainab al-Kubra, daughter of ‘Ali (‘a),
read his face, she felt upset on his account and took to consoling him and admonishing him to be patient although even the mountains could not match him in his patience and fortitude. Among what she said to him is the following:
“Why do I see you pleading for death, O the legacy of my grandfather, of my father and brothers? By Allah, this is something which Allah had divulged to your grandfather (S) and to your father (‘a).
Allah took a covenant from people whom you do not know, the mighty ones on this land, and who are known to the people of the heavens, that they would gather these severed parts and wounded corpses and bury them, then shall they set up on thisTaff
a banner for the grave of your father, the Master of Martyrs (‘a), the traces of which shall never be obliterated, nor shall it ever be wiped out so long as there is day and night.
And the leaders of apostasy and the promoters of misguidance shall try their best to obliterate and efface it, yet it shall get more and more lofty instead.”
To Allah do I complain about the patience of Zainab the pure
How many a tribulation did she have to endure?
From the calamities and from the pain
From pains, from which death is welcome, she did suffer.
She witnessed the men of dignity from her people of honour
On the ground slaughtered in a row without cover:
The winds on their corpses freely blow,
The beasts over their bodies come and go.
Her people's chief lying slain she saw,
To them did the folks’ swords deal many a blow.
She saw heads on the lances carried
And corpses with only sands shrouded.
She saw an infant with an arrow waned
And children after their father orphaned.
She saw the enemies gleeful, with their misery pleased,
She saw how with her brother they dealt every foul deed.
Zajr Ibn Qays came to them and shouted at them to leave as he kept whipping them. Others surrounded them and mounted them on camel humps.
Zainab the wise rode her own she-camel. She recollected the days of lofty honour and inviolable prestige, guarded by fierce and honourable lions of ‘Abd al-Muttalib's offspring, surrounded by anxious swords and polished spears. And she was surrounded by servants who would not enter without her permission.
None like her prestige in the morning was
Nor like her condition on the after-noon.
Where is she going? To what fate?
What is her refuge and what is her aim?
On whose shoulder should she lean
When she was conveyed, and her cameleer rebukes,
And Shimr is her cameleer?
O Muhammad! Light the house for Zainab so
Even in the night none can see her shadow.
How I wish on theTaff
your eyes saw
Your daughters' ornaments to looters did go.
Their ears torn, either slain or widowed,
Moaning like camels that lost their young.
To Allah do I complain and say:
Allah help him how he was bereaved,
And suddenly both prestige and men deceased.
No loss by death is to them a cause of complain
Except it was done by those who were not humane,
And with humiliation they were treated,
They received the night in a condition that
Before it you would stand and feel awfully,
If only you stand to think about it carefully.
Kufa
When the daughters of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) entered Kufa, the city's residents gathered to see them, so Umm Kulthum shouted at them,“O people of Kufa! Do not you have any sense of shame before Allah and His Messenger so you look at the ladies of the Prophet (S)?”
One of Kufa's women came to them and saw their condition for which even a most bitter enemy would feel sorry. She asked them what captives they were, and she was told: “We are captives belonging to the Progeny of Muhammad (S).”
The people of Kufa kept doling out dates, walnuts and bread to the children, whereupon Umm Kulthum, that is, Zainab al-Kubra, shouted at them that they were prohibited from accepting charity. She threw away what had been given to those children.
O father of Hasan!
She overlooks and in the slumber she delights
Now only with her hand can Zainab cover her face
O father of Hasan!
Are you pleased with your women in captivity,
As Banu Harb's women in their chambers veiled with grace?
Does your side on the bed find comfort and ease,
While your daughters on the camels to Syria are brought?
Do you find life pleasing when your wise ladies are uncovered?
Whenever they cry, with lashes they are whipped.
To the east they are once taken by the mean gangs,
And once towards the land of shame are taken, to the west.
None to protect them as they cross every plain,
None heeds their complaints when they complain.
Their voices were lost and their hearts melted,
Their breath by grief is almost snatched away.
Amazed am I about one who thinks of fate
And contemplates upon it and wonders alone:
A fornicator turns about on his throne,
As Husayn on the ground is left unburied,
And his head is on a lance openly carried,
And with the crown is crowned the son of a whore.
For three days did Husayn stay unburied or more.
One's body is to cruel elements left exposed
As the other covers his with silk and with gold...
Zainab’s Speech
The daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) explained to people Ibn Ziyad's villainy and meanness in a speech which she delivered to them. She signaled to the large crowd to calm down. They did, standing as if birds were resting on their heads.
Nothing could quieten the commotion nor silence the numerous voices other than the divine dignity and the magnificence of Muhammad (S) that crowned the wise lady who descended from his Progeny (S).
When Zainab daughter of ‘Ali (‘a) signaled to people to calm down, they did. They stood speechless and motionless, and even the bells of their animals stopped ringing. It was then that she, calm and composed and with courage reminiscent of that of [her revered father] Hayder (‘a), addressed them saying:
“All Praise is due to Allah Peace and blessings be upon my [grand]father Muhammad (S) and upon his good and righteous Progeny (‘a). May the resounding [of this calamity] never stops. Your similitude is one who unspins what is already spun out of the desire to violate [a trust]. You make religion a source of your income...
Is there anyone among you one 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, one submissive like bondmaids, an instigator, a pasture of what is not wholesome, a reciter of a story to someone buried?
Truly bad is that which your souls have committed. You have reaped the Wrath 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, and how could you do so?
The descendant of the Bearer of the Last Message (S), the very essence of the Message, the source of your security and the beacon of your guidance, the refuge of the righteous from among you, the one who saves you from calamity, the Master of the Youths of Paradise... is killed. O how horrible is the sin that you bear...!
Miserable you are and renegades from the path of righteousness; may you be distanced and crushed. The effort is rendered futile, the toil is ruined,
the deal is lost, and you earned nothing but Wrath from Allah and from His Messenger (S).
You are doomed with servitude and humiliation. Woe unto you, O Kufians! Do you know whose heart you have burned, what a“feat”
you have laboured, what blood you have shed, 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, 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 they 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. Your Lord is waiting in ambush for you.”
Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) said to her,“That is enough, O aunt, for you are, Praise to Allah, a learned lady whom none taught, one who comprehends without being made to do so.”
The wise lady discontinued her speech. The crowd which had been brainwashed by lies and by greed stood stunned. Her statements caused many to wake up and the minds to listen to reason. Her speech had the greatest effect on people's hearts, so they realized the magnanimity of what they had committed; now they did not know what to do.
From the wasi did she inherit wisdom
Particularly hers in its beauty and oratory.
Whenever she expounds you would believe
From oratory she derives her treasures.
Or like a sword in the hand of a valiant she may be
With it he defended and won victory.
Or that she leads a whole regiment of hosts
And drives from facts' hosts a crowd.
Or in the Imamate's woods a lioness
For her roaring even heads bow down.
Or she is the tumultuous ocean whose waves
Crushed one another in knowledge, might and dignity.
Or from the Lord's Wrath lightning ensues
From which Harb's clan could not escape.
Or that Hayder on his steed wipes out
The hosts of misguidance one after another.
Or the summit of the pulpit embraced him,
So for theShari’a
did he ignite a light.
Or in wisdom has the wise lady
of Hashim shattered blindness greatly.
Fatima, Daughter of Al-Husayn (‘a) delivers a Speech
Fatima, al-Husayn's daughter,
delivered a speech saying,
“All Praise is due to Allah, as much as the number of the sands and of the stones, as much as the ‘Arsh weighs up to the ground. I praise Him, believe in Him, and rely upon Him, and I testify that there is no god other than Allah, the One and Only God, there is no partner with Him, and that
Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and that his offspring have been slaughtered by the Euphrates river neither on account of blood revenge nor out of dispute over inheritance
.
Lord! I seek refuge with You against telling a lie about You and against saying anything contrary to what
You have revealed of taking many a covenant regarding the vicegerency of ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a), the man whose right is confiscated and who was killed without having committed a sin, just as his son was only yesterday killed, at one of the houses of Allah, the most Exalted One, at the hands of those who give Islam nothing but lip service.
Destruction may afflict their heads that did not ward off from him any injustice as long as he lived nor at his death, till Allah Almighty took his soul to Him while his essence was praised, his dealing with others was commendable, his merits were well known, and his beliefs well admitted by everyone. Never did he ever accept anyone's blame nor the criticism of any critic in doing what is right.
Lord! You guided him to Islam even when he was a child and praised his virtues when he grew up. Never did he ever cease enjoining others to follow Your Path and that of Your Messenger (S). He always paid no heed to the riches of this world. He always desired the hereafter, a man who carried out jihad for Your Cause.
With him were You pleased, so You chose him and guided him to a Straight Path. O people of Kufa! O people of treachery, of betrayal and conceit! We are members of a Household tried on your account by Allah, afflicted by you.
He made our dealing with you good, and He entrusted His knowledge to us, and He bestowed upon us its comprehension; so, we are the bastion of His knowledge, understanding and wisdom, and His Arguments on the earth which He created for the good of His servants!
Allah bestowed upon us His blessings and greatly honoured us with His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his Progeny, favouring us over many of those whom He created.
Yet you called us liars and apostates, and in your eyes you deemed killing us as lawful, and so is looting our possessions, as if we were the offspring of the Turks or of Kabul, just as you killed our grandfather in the past. Your swords drip with our blood, the blood of Ahl al-Bayt, out of past animosity.
Thus have your eyes been cooled, and thus have your hearts been elated, telling lies about Allah and out of evil plans which you hatched, while Allah is the very best of planners. So do not be carried away with your excitement because of our blood that you have spilled or our wealth that you have snatched away, for what has befallen us is truly a great tragedy and a momentous calamity
“In a Book even before We created them; surely this is easy for Allah, so that you may not be grieved because of what you missed nor feel happy because of what you acquired, and Allah does not love anyone who is conceited, boastful” (Qur’an, 57:23).
May you be ruined! Expect to be cursed and to be tormented, for it seems as though it has already befallen you, and more and more signs of Wrath are on their way to you from the heavens till He makes you taste of the chastisement and make some of you taste of the might of others, then on the Day of Judgment shall you all remain for eternity in the painful torment on account of the injustice with which you have treated us; the curse of Allah be upon the oppressors.
Woe unto you! Do you know what hand you have stabbed, what soul found fighting us agreeable? Rather, by what feet did you walk towards us with the intention to fight us? Your hearts became hardened, and Allah sealed your hearts, your hearing, and your vision, and Satan inspired to you and dictated, placing a veil over your eyes, so you can never be guided.
Destruction is your lot, O people of Kufa! What a legacy of the Prophet (S) is standing before you, and what blood revenge will he seek from you on account of your enmity towards his brother, ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a), my grandfather, and towards his good and righteous offspring, yet you even brag about it saying:
We killed ‘Ali and the sons of ‘Ali,
With Indian swords and spears,
And we placed their women in captivity
Like the Turks! We crushed them with severity.
May stones and pebbles fill your mouths! You brag about killing people whom Allah chose and purified with a perfect purification and from whom He kept away all abomination. Suppress it, then, and squat just as your fathers did, for each will get the rewards of what he earns and will be punished for what he committed.
You envied us, woe unto you, for what Allah, the most Exalted One, favoured and preferred us. Such is Allah's favour: He bestows His favours upon whomsoever He pleases, and surely with Allah are great favours. For whoever Allah does not make a noor, he shall have no noor at all.”
Voices were raised with weeping and wailing, and they said to her,“Enough, enough, O daughter of the pure ones, for you have burnt our hearts and necks,”
so she took to silence.
Umm Kulthum Speaks Out
Umm Kulthum
said,
“Silence, O people of Kufa! Your men murder us, while your women mourn us! The judge between us and you is Allah on the Day of Final Judgment. O people of Kufa! Horrible, indeed, is what you have committed. Why did you betray Husayn? Why did you kill him, loot his wealth, then take his women captive? May you be ruined, and may you be crushed!
Woe unto you! Do you know what adversities have befallen you and what a burden of sins you have placed on your backs? Do you know what blood you have shed and what honourable ladies you have afflicted, what children you have orphaned, and what wealth you have looted?
You killed the best of men after the Prophet (S), so mercy was removed from your hearts! Surely Allah's party shall be the winner, whereas the party of Satan shall be the loser.”
People burst in tears, women pulled their hair in grief and beat their faces and cheeks, crying and wailing, and there were more tearful eyes that day than anyone could ever recall.
al-Sajjad (‘a) Delivers a Speech
‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) was brought on a lean camel. Chains were placed on his neck, and he was handcuffed. Both sides of his neck were bleeding. He was repeating these verses:
O nation of evil, may your quarter never tastes of water!
O nation that never honoured in our regard our Grandfather!
Should we and the Messenger of Allah meet
On the Judgment Day, how would you then plead?
On bare beasts of burden have you
Transported us, as if we never put up a creed for you!
He signaled to people to be silent. Once they were silent, he praised Allah and glorified Him and saluted the Prophet (S). Then he said,
“O people! Whoever recognizes me knows me, and whoever does not, let me tell him that I am ‘Ali son of al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a). I am the son of the man whose sanctity has been violated, whose wealth has been plundered, whose children have been seized.
I am the son of the one who has been slaughtered by the Euphrates neither out of blood revenge nor on account of an inheritance. I am the son of the one killed in the worst manner. This suffices me to be proud. O people!
I plead to you in the Name of Allah: Do you not know that you wrote my father then deceived him? Did you not grant him your covenant, your promise, and your allegiance, then you fought him? May you be ruined for what you have committed against your own souls, and out of your corrupt views!
Through what eyes will you look at the Messenger of Allah (S) when he says to you, “You killed my Progeny, violated my sanctity, so you do not belong to my nation”?”
Loud cries rose, and they said to each other,“You have perished, yet you are not aware of it.”
Then he (‘a), said,“May Allah have mercy on anyone who acts upon my advice, who safeguards my legacy with regard to Allah, His Messenger (S), and his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), for we have in the Messenger of Allah (S) a good example of conduct to emulate.”
They all said,“We, O son of the Messenger of Allah, hear and obey, and we shall safeguard your trust. We shall not turn away from you, nor shall we disobey you; so, order us, may Allah have mercy on you, for we shall fight when you fight, and we shall seek peace when you do so; we dissociate ourselves from whoever oppressed you and dealt unjustly with you.”
He (‘a), said,“Far, far away it is from you to do so, O people of treachery and conniving! You are separated from what you desire. Do you want to come to me as you did to my father saying, ‘No, by the Lord of all those [angels] that ascend and descend'?!
The wound is yet to heal. My father was killed only yesterday, and so were his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), and the loss inflicted upon the Messenger of Allah (S), upon my father (‘a), and upon my family is yet to be forgotten. Its pain,
by Allah, is between both of these [sides] and its bitterness is between my throat and palate. Its choke is resting in my very chest.”
Wait, O Banu Harb, for what we have gone through
Is seen by the Lord of Heavens who well knows all.
It is as if on Judgment Day I see Ahmad
Before the messengers comes rolling up his sleeves
And to you shall he say: Woe unto you!
My sanctity did you violate
And your swords drank of my blood,
Do you know what blood you on the ground spilled?
Or which ladies you took to captivity?
Is it just that you safeguard your girls
And leave my free ladies taken captive like the Daylams?
And should you make water for the wild beasts permissible
While my children because of thirst are on fire?
O by Allah! If the hosts of unbelievers
Had ever vanquished my offspring,
They would never have committed such great injustice.
O how Muhammad will feel when you have
Stabbed the necks and slit the throats?
Such is your reward for me so
How soon you were untrue
To the trust with regard to my daughter
And with regard to my brother?
The Burial
Historians record that the Master of Martyrs (‘a) set up a tent on the battlefield,
ordering those killed from among his companions and Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) to be carried to it.
Whenever a fresh martyr was brought, he (‘a), would say, “You have been killed just as the prophets and the families of prophets are killed.”
He did so to everyone with the exception of his brother Abul-Fadl al-’Abbas (‘a), whom he left where he fell near the riverbank of the Euphrates.
When ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d accompanied those whom he arrested of the custodians of the Message and left for Kufa, he left behind those who were described by the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) as the masters of martyrs in the life of this world and in the hereafter, an honour to which nobody ever preceded nor will anyone succeed them,
lying on the sands incinerated by the sun and sought by the wild beasts of the desert.
Stabbing changed every sense of theirs
Except virtues, from all they are secure.
Among them was the Master of the Youths of Paradise who was in a condition that would split the hardest of the stones, yet divine lights were emanating from his corpse, and sweet scents were surrounding him from all directions.
A wounded one whose beauty the swords could not change,
Nor did they make of him something new
He was a moon and now he is the morning sun,
Since the hand of blood outfitted him with its garment.
His rays protect the eyes so
Whenever they try a path, I fancy it blocked,
And trees of lances give him shade,
So the heat refused to send him missive.
A man belonging to Banu Asad has narrated the following:
“Once the army had left, I came to the battlefield and saw light emanating from those corpses that were covered with blood yet smelled sweet scents.
I saw a terrifying lion walking between the amputated parts till he reached the Embodiment of Sanctity and the Sacrifice of Guidance. He rubbed himself on his blood and rubbed his body on his as he kept muttering and letting out a very strange sound. I was amazed. Never have I ever seen such a fierce lion abandon what would be for his likes nothing but a meal.
I hid among the marshes and kept watching to see what else he would do. I was more amazed when midnight came. It was then that I saw candles and heard voices that filled the earth with painful cries and wailing.”
On the thirteenth day of Muharram, Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) came to bury his martyred father (‘a), since only an Imam buries another Imam.
This brings to memory a dialogue that once took place between Imam [‘Ali son of Musa] al-Rida (‘a) and ‘Ali Ibn Abu Hamzah. The Imam [by way of testing the veracity of the man] (‘a) was asked, “Tell me: Was al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali (‘a) an Imam?”
He (‘a) answered in the affirmative. The Imam (‘a) was again asked, “If so, then who took care of burying him?” ‘Ali (‘a) said, “‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad (‘a) did.” Imam al-Rida (‘a) in turn asked him, “But where was ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn at the time?”
‘Ali Ibn Abu Hamzah said, “He was jailed at Kufa inside Ibn Ziyad's prison, but he came out without their knowledge in order to bury his father then returned to the prison once he was through”
Imam al-Rida (‘a) said, “Then the One Who enabled ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) to go to Karbala’ in order to take care of his [slain] father then return is the same One Who will enable the person entrusted with a similar task [meaning himself] to go to Baghdad [from Khurasan, northeast Iran] in order to take care of his father, and he is neither jailed nor confined.”
When al-Sajjad (‘a) came to the place, he saw Banu Asad assembled around the slain not knowing what to do. They could not identify the corpses especially since their killers had separated the heads from the bodies. Had it been otherwise, they could have inquired about them with the families and the tribes of those slain.
But he (‘a), informed them that it was his task to bury those pure bodies. He informed them of the names of the slain, identifying those who belonged to Banu Hashim from the rest. Crying and wailing rose, and tears filled the eyes of everyone present there and then. The ladies of Banu Asad loosened their hair in grief and beat their cheeks.
Imam Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) walked to his father's body, hugged it and wept loudly. Then he came to the gravesite and lifted a handful of its soil. A grave already dug appeared, and so did a pre-constructed shrine...
He placed his hands under the Imam's back and said,“In the Name of Allah, and according to the creed of the Messenger of Allah Allah has said the truth, and so has His Messenger (S). The will of Allah be done; there is no power nor might except in Allah, the Great.”
Then he took it and went down without being assisted by anyone from among the Banu Asad to whom he said,“I have with me someone who will assist me.”
Once he laid it down in the grave, he put his cheek on his father's sacred neck and said,“Congratulations to the land that contains your pure body, for the world after you is dark whereas the hereafter in your light shall shine.
As to the night, it is the harbinger of sleep, while grief remains forever, for Allah shall choose for your Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) your abode wherein you shall abide. From me to you is Salam, O son of the Messenger of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
On the grave he wrote:“This is the grave of al-Husayn son of ‘Ali son of Abu Talib, the one whom they killed even as he was a thirsty stranger.”
Then he walked to the body of his uncle, al-’Abbas (‘a), and he saw him in a condition that had left the angels in the heavens' strata baffled and caused thehuris
to weep even as they were in the chambers of Paradise. He fell upon it kissing his sacred neck and saying,“May the world after you be obliterated, O moon of Banu Hashim, and peace from me to you, O martyr, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”
He dug a grave for him and took him down in it by himself just as he had done to the corpse of his martyred father (‘a). He said to Banu Asad,“There is someone with me to help me.”
Yes, he gave a piece of jewelry to Banu Asad as a token of appreciation for consoling him in burying the martyrs, and he assigned for them two places, ordering them to dig two pits in the first of which he buried those slain from Banu Hashim and in the second those slain from among their companions.
As regarding al-Hurr al-Riyahi, his corpse was taken away by his tribe that buried it where it now stands. It is said that his mother was present then and there, and when she saw what was being done to the corpses, she carried her son's corpse somewhere else.
The closest in proximity to the grave of al-Husayn (‘a) from among the martyrs is his son ‘Ali al-Akbar (‘a).
In this regard, Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) says to Hammad al-Basri,“The father of ‘Abdullah was killed as a stranger, away from home; he is mourned be whoever visits his gravesite, and whoever does not visit it grieves for him; whoever does not see him is very depressed on account of being deprived of doing so, therefore he grieves; whoever sees the grave of his son at his feet in a desolate land, far away from his kin, invokes Allah's mercy for him because of the fact that he was not supported when he called upon people to uphold righteousness, and because the renegades assisted one another against him till they killed him and did not have any respect for him, so much so that they exposed his corpse to the wild beasts and prohibited him from drinking of the water of the Euphrates of which the dogs drink.
They disregarded their obligations in his regard towards the Messenger of Allah (S) who had enjoined them to be kind to him and to his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). He was abandoned in his grave, slain among his kinsfolk and Shi’as.
In loneliness, being near his grave removes the pain of loneliness and so is his being distant from his grandfather (S) and from the house which none could enter except those whose conviction of heart Allah tested, and by those who recognize our rights.
My father has told me that since he was killed, his place has never been empty of those who bless him from among the angels, the jinns, mankind, and even the wild beasts. Whoever visits it is envied and is rubbed for blessing, and looking at his grave is done in anticipation of earning goodness.
Allah boasts to the angels of those who visit it. As far as what such pilgrim receives from us, we invoke Allah's mercy for him every morning and every evening. It has come to my knowledge that some Kufians as well as others in Kufa's outskirts pay it a visit in the eve of the middle of Sha’ban. They recite the Holy Qur’an; they narrate his story; they mourn him, and women eulogize him while others compose their own eulogies.”
Hammad said to the Imam (‘a),“I have personally witnessed some of what you have just described.” The Imam (‘a), then said, “Praise to Allah Who has made some people come to us, praise us, and mourn us, and praised is He for making our enemy shame them for doing so, threaten them, and describe what they do as ugly.”
Today fell the one who
Most protects honour,
The most true teller,
The one who most feeds the beasts
With his foe's corpses,
The one who most stains
The bird and the vulture.
He is spent, having returned the swords
To the lances. He left his impact
On them and on death itself.
The man of glory passed away
Under the swords, and what was
Broken on him buries him.
So if he does receive
The time of the eve
With a dusted forehead,
The war's morning did turn
The regiment dusted.
And if he is spent thirsty, heart-broken
He had terrified the heart of death
Till the heart is split.
And he crushed the foes
And he did annihilate
What fates give birth to suckle on death
From between two shields he emerged:
Battle and patience, and patience is
The strongest of all.
He showed his might,
The most mighty protector of all
A protector of honour he was,
And the most courageous to lead the hosts.
His support in the heat of blows was keen:
Though his supporters were a few,
They were still many.
It stumbled till it died
The edge of his sword
But his grip did not.
As if the sword granted him patience,
So he did not leave the battle
Till his sword was broken to pieces.
Allah is his Supporter, how his heart
From patience was split then did depart.
Had patience been stone, it would have cracked.
He bent to kiss his son
But the arrow before him kissed his neck.
Both he and death were born in an hour
And before him the arrow in his neck make Takbir,
And in captivity there were elite ones of chambers,
Hard for their men to see them thus driven.
They had, before, protected their chambers
And in protecting their honours
They remained ever vigilant.
On the Day ofTaff
fate walked blindly
Not leaving any support for them
Without taking him away.
He forced them to traverse the desert at night,
Never before theTaff
did they know
What the desert was, nor did they know
How to traverse at night,
Not even their eyes
Had seen their shadows.
Till they appeared and wailed
At the Ghadiriyya, unveiled...
At The Governor's Mansion
At The Governor's Mansion
Having returned from his camp at Nakhila, [‘Ubaydullah] Ibn Ziyad went straight to his mansion.
The sacred head was brought to him, and it was then that the walls started bleeding
and a fire broke out from one part of the mansion, making its way to the place where Ibn Ziyad was sitting.
He fled away from it and entered one of the mansion's rooms. The head spoke out in a loud voice that was heard by Ibn Ziyad as well as by those who were present there and then. It said: “Where do you flee to?
If fire does not catch you in the life of this world, it shall be your abode in the hereafter.” The head did not stop speaking till the fire was out. Everyone at the mansion was stunned; nothing like this had ever taken place before.
Yet Ibn Ziyad was not admonished by an incident such as this, so he ordered the captives to be brought to him. The ladies of the Messenger of Allah (S) were brought to him, and they were in the most pathetic condition.
She was brought with nothing to cover her head
In a condition that left no patience for the skin.
With nothing to cover her face;
Did they keep any cover for the ladies of guidance?
No, by the One Who outfitted her with His Light,
They robbed her even of her cover.
May those hands be forever
Paralyzed; they left no veil for them at all.
Al-Husayn's severed head was placed in front of him, so he kept hitting its mouth with a rod which he had in his hand for some time. Zayd Ibn Arqam said, “Stop hitting these lips with your rod, for by Allah, the One and Only God, I saw the lips of the Messenger of Allah (S) kissing them,” then he broke into tears.
Ibn Ziyad said to him,“May Allah cause you never to cease crying! By Allah, had you not been an old man who lost his wits, I would have killed you.”
Zayd went out of the meeting place saying,“A slave is now a monarch ruling them, treating them as his property. O Arabs! Henceforth, you are the slaves!
You have killed Fatima's son and granted authority to the son of Marjana who kills the best from among you and permits the evil ones to be worshipped. You have accepted humiliation, so away with whoever accepts humiliation.”
Zainab daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) kept a distance from the women as she remained disguised, but she could not disguise the prestige of being brought up in the lap of prophethood and in the glory of Imamate, so she attracted Ibn Ziyad's attention.
He inquired about her. He was told that she was Zainab, the wise lady, daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a). He wanted to tell her how rejoiced he was at what had happened. Said he,“Praise be to Allah Who exposed you to shame, Who killed you and proved you liars.”
She, peace be upon her, responded with:“Praise be to Allah Who honoured us by choosing Muhammad [from among us] as His Prophet and purified us with a perfect purification. Rather, only a debauchee is exposed to shame, and a sinner is proven to be a liar, and we are neither.”
Ibn Ziyad asked her,“How have you seen what Allah has done to your Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)?”
She, peace be upon her, said,“I have seen Him treating them most beautifully.
These are people to whom Allah prescribed martyrdom, so they leaped from their beds welcoming it, and Allah shall gather you and them, and you shall be questioned, and your opponents shall charge you;934 so, you will
then find out whose lot shall be the crack of hell, may your mother, O son of Marjana, lose you.”
This statement enraged Ibn Ziyad, and her words incinerated him with ire, especially since she said it before such a huge crowd. He, therefore, was about to kill her when ‘Amr Ibn Harith said to him,“She is only a woman; can she be held accountable for what she said? She cannot be blamed when she thus prattles.”
Ibn Ziyad turned to her one more time and said, “Allah has healed my heart by letting me seek revenge against your tyrant and against the rebels and mutineers from among his Ahl al-Bayt!” The wise lady calmed herself and said,“By my life! You have killed my middle-aged protector, persecuted my family, cut off my branch and pulled out my roots; so, if all of this heals your heart, then you are indeed healed.”
He then turned to ‘Ali son of al-Husayn (‘a) whom he asked what his name was.“I am ‘Ali son of al-Husayn (‘a),”
came the answer. Ibn Ziyad asked ‘Ali,“Did not Allah kill ‘Ali (‘a)?”
Al-Sajjad (‘a) answered,“I used to have an older brother,937 also named ‘Ali, whom [your] people killed.”
Ibn Ziyad responded by repeating his statement that it was Allah who had killed him. Al-Sajjad, therefore, said,“Allah takes the souls away at the time of their death; none dies except with Allah's permission”.
Ibn Ziyad did not appreciate him thus responding to his statement rather than remaining silent, so he ordered him to be killed, but his aunt, the wise lady Zainab, put her arms around him and said,“O Ibn Ziyad! Suffices you what you have shed of our blood..., have you really spared anyone other than this?938 If you want to kill him, kill me with him as well.”
Al-Sajjad (‘a) said [to Ibn Ziyad],“Do you not know that we are used to being killed, and that martyrdom is one of Allah's blessings upon us?”
Ibn Ziyad looked at both of them then said,“Leave him for her. Amazing is their tie of kinship; she wishes to be killed with him.”
Al-Rubab, wife of Imam Husayn (‘a), took the head and put it in her lap. She kissed it and said,
O Husayn! Never shall I ever forget Husayn!
Did the foes' lances really seek him?
They left him in Karbala’ slain,
May Allah never water Karbala's sides.
When it became clear to Ibn Ziyad that there were many people present who were voicing their resentment of what he had committed and how everyone was repeating what Zainab had said, he feared an uprising, so he ordered the police to jail the captives inside a house adjacent to the grand mosque.1
Ibn Ziyad's doorman has said,“I was with them when he issued his order to jail them. I saw how the men and women assembled there weeping and beating their faces.”
Zainab shouted at people saying,“Nobody should tend to us except either a bondmaid, a freed bondmaid, or umm walad,944 for they were taken captive just as we have been.”
What Zainab meant is that only a female captive is familiar with the pain and humiliation of captivity; therefore, she would be sympathetic and would not rejoice nor enjoy seeing them in captivity. This is undeniable. It is
reported that when Jassas Ibn Murrah killed Kalib Ibn Rabi’ah, it happened that his sister was in the company of Kalib at the time.
When the women of the quarter met for the funeral ceremony in Kalib's memory, they said to the latter's sister,“Get Jalila (Jassa's sister) out of this ceremony; her presence causes her to rejoice, and it is a shame among the Arabs; she is the sister of one who has killed one of us.”
The woman voluntarily left as Kalib's sister said,“This is the departure of the aggressor and the parting of one who rejoices on account of our misfortune.”
Ibn Ziyad again called them to his presence. When they were brought to him, their women saw al-Husayn's head in front of him with its divine rays ascending from its curves to the depth of the heavens. Al-Rubab, al-Husayn's wife, could not check herself from falling upon it and kissing it as she said:
The one that was in Karbala’ a luminary
Is now slain but not buried at all
O grandson of the Prophet! May Allah reward you
On our behalf with goodness and may you
Be spared the shorting of the scales.
To me you were a mountain, a refuge
And you used to be our companion in lineage and in creed
Who will now help the orphans and those in need?
To whom shall the needy go for help?
By Allah! I shall never exchange your kinship with anyone else
Till I am lost between water and mud.
Ibn ‘Afif
Hamid Ibn Muslim has said,“Ibn Ziyad ordered to hold a congregational prayer service. They assembled at the grand mosque. Ibn Ziyad ascended the pulpit and said, ‘All Praise is due to Allah Who manifested the truth and elevated those who act according to it and Who granted victory to the commander of the faithful Yazid and to his party, and Who killed the liar and the son of the liar, al-Husayn son of ‘Ali, and his Shi’as.
'
Nobody among that crowd that had sunk in misguidance objected to such a preposterous statement except ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Afif al-Azdi and also one of the sons of Walibah al-Ghamidi who both stood up and said to him, ‘O son of Marjana! The liar and the son of the liar is you and your father, and so is everyone who accepts your authority and his son!
O son of Marjana! Do you really kill the offspring of the prophets and still talk about who is truthful and who is a liar?!'
Ibn Ziyad asked who the speaker was. Ibn ‘Afif answered by saying, ‘I am the speaker, O enemy of Allah! Do you really kill the righteous offspring from whom Allah removed all abomination then claim that you are a follower of the Islamic creed?! Oh! Is there anyone to help?!
Where are the sons of the Muhajirun and the Ansar to seek revenge against your tyrant, the one who and whose father were both cursed by Muhammad (S), the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds?' Ibn Ziyad's anger now intensified. He ordered him to be brought to him. The police grabbed him.
It was then that Ibn ‘Afif shouted the slogan used by the Azdis that was: ‘Ya Mabroor!' This caused a large number of the Azdis present there to leap to his rescue and to forcibly free him from the police and take him safely home.”
‘Abdul-Rahman Ibn Mikhnaf al-Azdi said to him,“Woe unto someone else other than you! You have surely condemned yourself and your tribe to destruction!”
Ibn Ziyad then ordered a number of men from the Azd tribe, including ‘Abdul-Rahman Ibn Mikhnaf al-Azdi,
to be jailed. During the night, a band of men working for Ibn Ziyad went to the latter's house to bring him intelligence of what the Azd tribesmen were discussing.
When these tribesmen came to know about such spying, they gathered their fighting men, as well as the fighting men of their allies in Yemen, together. Ibn Ziyad came to know about such assembling of troops, so he sent Mudar tribesmen headed by Muhammad Ibn al-Ash’ath
to fight them.
A fierce battle broke out, and many men from both sides were killed. Wasil Ibn al-Ash’ath reached the house of Ibn ‘Afif. He and his men broke its door open. His daughter screamed warning her father saying, “The people have come to you!” He said to her, “Do not be concerned, just hand me my sword” with which he kept defending himself as he was reciting these lines:
The son of the honoured, the clement, and the pure am I
Clement is my mentor and the son of Umm ‘Amir
How many of you shielded or did not shield,
How many a hero left slain on the battlefield?
His daughter kept saying,“How I wish I had been a man so that I could defend you against these sinners, the killers of the righteous Progeny of the Prophet (S)!”
For some time, no man was able to come close to him due to the fact that his daughter kept warning him about the direction from which they were attacking him since he was blind. In the end, however, they overwhelmed him.
His daughter cried out:“What humiliation! My father is surrounded and there is none to help him!”
He kept circling with his sword in his hand as he repeated this line:
I swear, should I am permitted to see,
Unable to face my might shall you be.
By Allah do I swear! Had I been able to see
You wouldn't know whence and how I attack thee!
Once they overpowered him, they arrested him and brought him to Ibn Ziyad who started by saying to him,“Praise be to Allah who subjected you to such humiliation!”
Ibn ‘Afif asked him:“What did He humiliate me for?!”
Then he recited this line of poetry:
By Allah do I swear! Had I only been able to see
You wouldn't know whence and how I attack thee!
Ibn Ziyad asked him,“O enemy of Allah! What do you think of ‘Uthman [Ibn ‘Affan]?”
Ibn ‘Afif verbally abused ‘Uthman then said to Ibn Ziyad, “What do you have to do with ‘Uthman whether he was good or bad?
Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, is in charge of His creatures; He judges between them and between ‘Uthman with justice and equity. You should instead ask me about your father and about Yazid and his father.” Ibn Ziyad said,“I shall not ask you about anything; rather, you shall taste of death one choking after another.”
Ibn ‘Afif said,“Then Praise to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! I have been for years praying my Lord to grant me the honour of martyrdom even before your mother gave birth to you, and I prayed Him to let it be at the hands of one whom He curses and hates the most!
When I lost my eyesight, I lost hope of attaining martyrdom, but now I praise Allah Who has blessed me with it though I had lost that hope, responding to my supplications of old!” Ibn Ziyad ordered his neck to be struck with the sword and to crucify him in the salty tracts of the land.
Ibn Ziyad ordered Jandab Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Azdi, who was an old man, to be brought to him. He said to him, “O enemy of Allah! Did you not fight on Abu Turab's side during the Battle of Siffin?”
The old man answered,“Yes, and I love him and am proud of him, while I despise you and your father especially after you have killed the grandson of the Prophet (S) and his companions and the members of his family without fearing the One and Only God, the Great Avenger.”
Ibn Ziyad said,“You have less feeling of shame than that blind man, and I seek nearness to Allah through shedding your blood.”
Jandab said,“In that case, Allah shall never bring you closer to Him.”
Ibn Ziyad, on a second thought, feared the might of the man’s Azd tribe, so he left him alone saying,“He is only an old man who has lost his mind and wits.”
He released him.
al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi
At the same time when Ibn Ziyad ordered the captives to be brought to his meeting place, he also ordered al-Mukhtar son of Abu ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi to be brought to him, too. Al-Mukhtar had been in prison since the assassination of Muslim Ibn ‘Aqil.
When al-Mukhtar saw that horrific and most deplorable scene, he sighed loudly and an exchange of harsh words took place between him and Ibn Ziyad wherein the harshest words were al-Mukhtar's. Ibn Ziyad became burning with outrage and ordered him to be sent back to jail.
Some say that he whipped him, blinding one of his eyes.
After the execution of Ibn ‘Afif, al-Mukhtar was released due to the interference of ‘Abdullah son of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab who asked Yazid to have him released. Yazid was the husband of al-Mukhtar's sister, Safiyya daughter of Abu ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi. But Ibn Ziyad postponed carrying out Yazid's order for three days.
Having ordered the execution of Ibn ‘Afif, Ibn Ziyad delivered a speech wherein he abused the Commander of the Faithful (‘a), causing al-Mukhtar to denounce and to taunt him to his face saying,“You are the liar, O enemy of Allah and enemy of His Messenger! Rather, Praise to Allah Who
dignified al-Husayn and his army with Paradise and with forgiveness just as He humiliated Yazid and his army with the fire and with shame.”
Ibn Ziyad hurled an iron bar at him that fractured his forehead, then he ordered him to be sent back to jail, but people reminded him that ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d was the husband of his sister while another brother-in-law was none other than ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar [Ibn al-Khattab].
They reminded him of his lofty lineage, so he changed his mind of having him killed, yet he insisted on sending him back to prison. For the second time did ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar write Yazid who in turn wrote ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad ordering him to release the man.
Al-Mukhtar incessantly kept after that informing the Shi’as of the merits which he knew of the companions of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a), of how he rose seeking revenge for al-Husayn (‘a), and how he killed Ibn Ziyad and those who fought al-Husayn (‘a).
One incident he narrated was the following that he recollected about the time when he was in Ibn Ziyad's jail:
‘Abdullah Ibn al-Harith Ibn Nawfal Ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and Maytham al-Tammar were among his cellmates. ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Harith asked for a piece of iron to remove the hair in certain parts of his body saying, “I do not feel secure against Ibn Ziyad executing me, and I do not want him to do so while there is unwanted hair on my body.”
Al-Mukhtar said to him,“By Allah he shall not kill you, nor shall he kill me, nor shall you face except very little hardship before you become the governor of Basra!”
Maytham heard their dialogue, so he said to al-Mukhtar,“You yourself will rise seeking revenge for al-Husayn's blood, and you shall kill the same man who wants us to be killed, and you shall trample on his cheeks with your very foot.”
This came to be exactly as these men had said. ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Harith was released from jail after Yazid's death and became the governor of Basra.
After only one year, al-Mukhtar rose seeking revenge against the killers of al-Husayn (‘a), killing Ibn Ziyad, Harmalah Ibn Kahil, Shimr Ibn Thul-Jawshan and a large number of the Kufians who had betrayed al-Husayn (‘a).
As Ibn Nama al-Hilli tells us, he [and his army] killed eighteen thousand Kufians, then almost ten thousand
of them fled away from him and sought refuge with Mis’ab Ibn al-Zubayr. Among them was Shabth Ibn Rab’i who reached him riding a mule whose ears and tail he had cut off and who was wearing a torn outer garment and shouting,“Help! Lead us to fight this debauchee who demolished our homes and killed our honourable men!”
The Sacred Head Speaks
My heart goes for your head atop a spear
Outfitted with its own lights with an attire,
Reciting the Book from the top of the spear,
Through him did they raise the Book even higher.
The martyred grandson of the Prophet (S) remained an ally of the Qur’an since his early childhood. Thus were he and his brother (‘a), for they were
the legacy of the Messenger of Allah, his vicegerents over his nation. The greatest Prophet (S) had stated that they and the Holy Qur’an would never part from one another till they meet him at the Pool of Kawthar.
Al-Husayn (‘a), therefore, never ceased reciting the Qur’an all his life as he taught and cultivated others, when he was at home or when travelling. Even during his stand in the Battle ofTaff
, though surrounded by his foes, he used the Qur’an to argue with them and to explain his point of view to them.
Thus was the son of the Messenger of Allah (S) energetically marching towards his sacred objective, so much so that his sacred head kept reciting the Qur’an even as it stood atop a spear, perhaps someone among the people would be enlightened with the light of the truth But this lamp-post of guidance did not see except people whose comprehension was limited, whose hearts were sealed, and whose ears were deafened:
“Allah sealed their hearts and hearing, and over their vision there is a veil” (Qur’an, 2:7).
This must not surprise anyone who comprehends divine mysteries. The Lord, Praise to Him, mandated upon the Master of Martyrs (‘a) to rise in order to close the gates of misguidance in that particular fashion defined by the circumstances, place, and method.
He did so for the achievement of certain objectives set by the Great One. He had inspired His holiest Prophet (S) to recite this particular page to his son, al-Husayn (‘a); so, there is no way other than its acceptance and the submission to whatever best pleases the Lord of the Worlds:
“He is not asked about what He does, whereas they are asked” (Qur’an, 21:23).
The Omnipotent and the Exalted One wanted such a sacred uprising to make the nation then, as well as the successive generations, to become acquainted with the misguidance of those who deviated from the Straight Path and who played havoc with theShari’a
.
He liked any and all deeds that would firm the foundations of this martyrdom whose epic was recorded by al-Husayn's pure blood, bringing about shining pages narrating the deeds of those who rose against abomination. This became enshrouded with many extra-ordinary events that most minds could not comprehend.
One such strange event was the recitation by the great head of the sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an. The speech of a severed head is a most eloquent means to drive the argument home against those who were blinded by their own desires.
It underscores the fact that his stand was right, a stand which he never undertook except in obedience to the Lord of the Worlds and to the detriment of those who in any way harmed or oppressed al-Husayn (‘a). It drew the nation's attention to the misguidance of those who dared to oppress.
Divine Providence did not do something for the first time when it enabled al-Husayn's head to speak in order to serve the interests the essence of which many fail to comprehend. It had enabled a tree
to speak to Moses son of Imran [Amram], prophet of Allah (‘a), and how can a tree be
compared to a severed head in as far as obedience to the most Merciful One, Praise to Him, is concerned?
Zayd Ibn Arqam has said,“I was sitting in my room when they passed by, and I heard the head reciting this verse:
‘Or do you think that the fellows of the cave and the inscription were of Our amazing Signs?' (Qur’an, 18:9)
.
My hair stood up, and I said, ‘By Allah, O son of the Messenger of Allah! Your head is much more amazing!”
When the holiest of severed heads was placed at the money changers' section of the bazaar, there was a great deal of commotion and noise of the dealers and customers. The Master of Martyrs (‘a) wanted to attract the attention to him so that people would listen to his terse admonishment, so his severed head hawked quite loudly, thus turning all faces to it.
Never did people hear a severed head hawking before the martyrdom of al-Husayn (‘a). It then recited Surat al-Kahf from its beginning till it reached the verse saying,
“They are youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased their guidance” (Qur’an, 18:13) , “... and do not (O Lord!) increase the unjust in aught but error” (Qur’an, 71:24).
The head was hung on a tree. People assembled around it looking at the dazzling light that emanated from it as it recited the verse saying,
“And those who oppressed shall come to know what an end they shall meet” (Qur’an, 26:227)
Hilal Ibn Mu’awiyah said,“I saw a man carrying the head of al-Husayn (‘a) as it [the head] was saying, ‘You separated between my head and my body, so may Allah separate between your flesh and bones, and may He make you a Sign for those who shirk from the Straight Path.' He, therefore, raised his whip and kept whipping the head till it ceased.”
Salamah Ibn Kahil heard the head reciting the following verse from the top of the spear where it had been placed:
“Allah shall suffice you for them, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing” (Qur’an, 2:137).
Ibn Wakida says that he heard the head reciting Surat al-Kahf, so he was doubtful whether it was, indeed, the voice of the Imam (‘a), whereupon he (‘a), stopped his recitation and turned to the man to say,“O son of Wakida! Do you not know that we, the Imams, are living with our Lord receiving our sustenance?”
He, therefore, decided to steal and bury the head. It was then that the glorious head spoke again to him saying,“O son of Wakida! There is no way to do that. Their shedding my blood is greater with Allah than placing me on a spear; so, leave them alone, for they shall come to know when the collars are placed around their necks and when they are dragged with chains.”
Al-Minhal Ibn ‘Amr has said,“I saw al-Husayn's head in Damascus atop a spear and in front of it stood a man; the head was reciting Surat al-Kahf. When the recitation came to the verse saying,
‘Or did you reckon the fellows of the Cave and the Inscription among our amazing Signs?' (Qur’an, 18:9),
the head spoke in an articulate tongue saying, ‘More amazing than the fellows of the cave is killing me and thus transporting me.’”
When Yazid ordered the killing of a messenger sent by the then Roman [Byzantine] emperor who resented what Yazid had committed, the head loudly articulated these words: La hawla wala quwwata illa billah! (There is no power nor might except in Allah).
Is it your soul or the soul of Prophethood that does ascend
From the earth to Paradise as thehuris
prostrate?
Is it your head or the head of the Messenger atop the spear
Repeating the ayat of the fellows of the cave?
Is it your chest or the reservoir of knowledge and wisdom
That crushed a host of the ignorant attempts?
Is it your mother or the Mother of the Book that did sigh
So her sighing heart did indeed melt,
And the earth echoes the heavens in its sighs
So while one wails, the other cries?
The Wahi held a mourning of its own
At his house, and the one solaced is Muhammad,
Seeing the Two Weighty Things: One to pieces torn
With arrows, and the other with the sword to pieces sawn,
So his ‘Itrat some killed by the sword and some by the arrows,
Some martyred and some expelled in the plains full of sorrows.
What a martyr whose body did the sun bake?
Though from its very origin did its own rays take?
And what a slain save one whose body the horses crushed
Though from his mention their riders freeze and are hushed.
Did you know that Muhammad's very soul,
Like his Qur’an, is in his grandson personified?
Had those horses, like their riders, only come to know
That the one under the hooves was in fact Ahmad,
They would have against their riders declared a mutiny
Just as they against him revolted and declared.
Injustice slit a throat the moon's light does envy
And in each of his veins for the truth there is a star
And crushed ribs wherein compassion does reside
And stopped breathing wherein the Truth is Glorified.
Yet the greatest calamity of all
Is the suffering of his free ladies' every soul.
Oppressed they were as their only protector is tied
Some were handcuffed complaining from their pain,
While other ladies were being slapped and in chain,
As if said to his people the Messenger of Oneness:
Seek revenge against my ‘Itrat and with cruelty oppress.
Oppression of al-Ashdaq
Ibn Jarir [al-Tabari] narrates the following:
Ibn Ziyad wanted to send ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn al-Harith al-Salami to Medina in order to inform ‘Amr Ibn Sa’id al-Ashdaq
of the killing of al-Husayn (‘a), but he sought to be excused of such an undertaking, claiming
to be sick. Al-Ashdaq refused to accept his excuse. Ibn Ziyad was described as very heavy-handed, nobody could tolerate his ire.
He ordered the man to rush and to buy another she-camel if the one he was riding was not fast enough, and not to let anyone reach the destination before him. He, therefore, rushed to Medina. A man from Quraish met him and asked him why he seemed to be in such a hurry. ‘The answer rests with the governor,' was his answer.
When Ibn Sa’id was informed of al-Husayn (‘a) having been killed, he was very happily excited and was subdued with elation. He ordered a caller to announce it in the city's alleys, and before long, the cries and the wailing coming from the Hashemite ladies mourning the Master of the Youths of Paradise (‘a) were heard like never before.
Those cries reached all the way to the house of al-Ashdaq who laughed and quoted a verse of poetry composed by ‘Amr Ibn Ma’di-karib saying,
Noisy with grief were the women of Banu Ziyad
As noisy as our women on the Rabbit Day.
He maliciously added saying, “A wailing noise like the one we raised when ‘Uthman was killed.”
Then he turned to the grave of the Messenger of Allah (S) and again maliciously said, “Now we have gotten even with you, Messenger of Allah, for what you did to us during the Battle of Badr.” A number of men from the Anar rebuked him with shame for having made such a statement.
He ascended the pulpit and said,“O people! It is a blow for a blow, and a crushing for a crushing! A sermon followed another! This is sound wisdom, so no nathr can do any good. He condemned us as we praised him, cut off his ties with us though we did not, just as it was his habit, and just as it was ours, but what else can we do to a man who drew his sword with the intention to kill us other than to put an end to the danger to which he exposed us?”
‘Abdullah Ibn al-Sa’ib stood up and said to him,“Had Fatima (‘a) been alive, and had she seen al-Husayn's [severed] head, she would have wept for him.”
‘Amr Ibn Sa’id rebuked him and said,“We are more worthy of Fatima than you: Her father was our uncle, her husband was our brother, his mother was our daughter. And had Fatima been alive, she would have cried but would not have blamed those who killed him in self defense.”
‘Amr was very crude and uncouth, a man of legendary cruelty. He ordered ‘Amr Ibn al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam,
head of the police force, after al-Husayn (‘a) had been killed, to demolish all the houses of Banu Hashim [the Prophet's clansmen]. He did, persecuting them beyond limits... He also demolished the home of Ibn Muti’ and beat people with cruelty.
They fled from him and went to [‘Abdullah] Ibn al-Zubayr.
The reason why he was called “al-Ashdaq” [one whose jaws are twisted to the right or to the left] is due to the fact that his jaws were twisted after having gone to extremes in taunting Imam ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a).
Allah, therefore, punished him [in this life before the hereafter] in the worst manner. He was carried to ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan in chains; once he had profusely remonstrated with the latter, he was ordered to be killed.
Escorted by a number of women from her kinsfolk, the daughter of ‘Aqil Ibn Abu Talib went out to visit the grave of the Prophet (S) where she threw herself on it, burst in tears then turned to the Muhajirun and the Anasr and came forth instantaneously with these verses:
What will you on the Judgment Day
To the Prophet stand and say?
Surely what you will hear will be true:
Those who betrayed his Progeny were you.
Were you present, or were you not there at all
And justice is combined in the Lord of all...?
You handed it over to those who are never fair
So your intercession with Allah will go nowhere.
Though on theTaff
Day absent was he,
Yet all the dead did your very eyes see.
You saw all those who did die
So to Allah you shall never come nigh
All those present wept. There was no such weeping ever before.
Her sister, Zainab, kept mourning al-Husayn (‘a) in the most somber manner while repeating these verses
What will you say when the Prophet to you will say:
How did you fare, since you are the last of nations,
With my Progeny and family after my demise?
Some of them were taken captives and some in blood stained.
That was not my reward for having advised you
That you should succeed me in faring ill with my family.
Umm Al-Baneen
I could not find any reliable reference clearly stating that Umm al-Baneen
was alive during the Battle ofTaff
, and there are three theories refuting anyone's claim to the contrary:
First:
‘Allama Muhammad Hasan al-Qazwini says on p. 60 of his bookRiyad al-Ahzan
, “The mourning of that tragedy was held at the house of Umm al-Baneen, wife of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) and mother of al-’Abbas and his brothers.”
Second:
On p. 31 of the second edition of al-Samawi's book Ibsar al-’Ayan, it is stated that, “I find my heart pouring out for the eulogy of his mother Fatima, Umm al-Baneen, which was recited by Abul-Hasan al-Akhfash in his book Sharh al-Kamil.
She used to go to al-Baqi’ [cemetery] daily in order to mourn him, and she would carry his son ‘Abdullah. The people of Medina used to assemble and listen to her eulogies. Among them was Marwan Ibn al-Hakam. They would all weep for the grief in her mourning.”
Third:
Abul-Faraj [al-Isfahani] in his book Maqatil al-Talibiyyin says the following when he discusses how al-’Abbas was killed: “It is reported from Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Hamzah who quotes Hammad Ibn ‘Eisa al-Juhni citing Mu’awiyah Ibn ‘Ammar citing Ja’far saying that Umm al-Baneen was the mother of four brothers who were all killed. She used to go out to al-Baqi’ to mourn the death of her sons in the most sad of tones and the most burning to the hearts. People would assemble to listen to her.
Marwan used to go among those who went there; he listened to her mourning.”
This is all I could find indicating that she was alive during the Battle ofTaff
. But the first quotation contains no proof; all it says is that the mourning was held at the house of Umm al-Baneen. There is no clue in it to her being present there and then, and it is no more than a tale recorded by Abul-Faraj that he accepted without conducting the least amount of investigation regarding its authenticity.
The second statement is clearly a quotation of what Abul-Faraj has written. Al-Samawi's Ibsar al-’Ayan contains pretty much what is included in Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, hence it cannot be regarded as a second independent opinion.
As to the text in Sharh al-Kamil, which is attributed to al-Akhfash, I could not find even one single biographer referring to it, although I examined the biographies of everyone named “al-Akhfash” As regarding shaikh al-Samawi, I personally quite often asked him about the source of the said Sharh, but he always met me with silence.
I even told him frankly that the verses of poetry in it must be his own, and that he built his tale around them; so, his reward will nevertheless be with the Almighty, all Praise to Him. Such is the case with al-Majlisi who quotes Abul-Faraj on p. 201, Vol. 10, of his encyclopediaBihar al-Anwar
. The narrative by Abul-Faraj with regard to this incident is faulty due to the following:
1. Nobody pays attention to the men upon whom he relies for his isnad. Yazid Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Nawfal Ibn al-Harith Ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib Ibn Hashim al-Nawfali is mentioned on p. 347, Vol. 11, of Ibn Hajar's bookTahthib al-Tahthib
where Ahmad is quoted as saying that the man has much to be criticized for. Abu Zar’ah describes his traditions as weak and affirms that most of what he narrates is not known to others.
Abu Hatim has said, “His traditions are very bad.” Al-Nasa’i says that the traditions he narrates should be discarded. On p. 214, Vol. 10, of Ibn Hajar’s book titled Tahthib al-Tahthib, Mu’awiyah Ibn ‘Ammar Ibn Abu Mu’awiyah cites Abu Hatim saying that his traditions are not to be used as arguments; besides, he is not well known [to other scholars of traditions].
2. Umm al-Baneen quotes a great deal of spiritual knowledge and prophetic ethics from the master of wasis as well as from the Masters of the Youths of Paradise (‘a), so much so that what she learned lifted her to the highest degrees of conviction.
She could not have said anything contradictory to the canon of theShari’a
that prohibits a woman from being exposed in any way to strangers either through prohibition or as a precaution so long as there was no extreme necessity for it.
It goes without saying that when a woman mourns someone she has lost, she ought to sit in her house and fortify herself against being seen by strangers or her voice being heard by them as long as there was no urgency for it.
Al-Sajjad (‘a), once said to Abu Khalid al-Kabuli who expressed his astonishment at finding the Imam's door open,“O Abu Khalid! One of our
neighbours has just left our house and was not aware of the door not shutting properly. It does not fit the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) to go out and [noisily] slam the door behind them.”
So, whoever grows up at their homes and learns their ethics does not deviate from their path. There is no room to charge Umm al-Baneen of having crossed the divine boundaries legislated by theShari’a
for women.
As regarding the truthful lady, al-Zahra’ (‘a), Medina's elders forced her to go out to the Baqi’ cemetery to mourn her father (S), so the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) built her a shed of palm leaves to shield her from the strangers, a shed which he called “Bayt al-Ahzan” (the house of griefs).
Historians never say that people used to go there to hear her mourn the setting of the sun of Prophethood, the cessation of the heavens' wahi, and the obliteration of the divine counsels.
3. A woman mourns her lost one at the cemetery where he is buried. Nobody has written saying that a woman went out to a cemetery to mourn her dear one who is buried somewhere else. Such is the case in all generations. The claim made by Abul-Faraj that Umm al-Baneen used to go to al-Baqi’ cemetery is an evident fabrication since there is no proof for it.
His objective was to say that Marwan Ibn al-Hakam was kind of heart, for weeping is a sign of grief caused by oppression inflicted upon a dear deceased person to whom one is linked by a certain tie, so his heart gets excited and the emotion overflows, hence the tears pour down from his eyes when he weeps.
Marwan Ibn al-Hakam was the one who rejoiced at the killing of al-Husayn (‘a), and he demonstrated his elation and happiness about such a calamity when he looked at al-Husayn's head then instantly came forth with these verses:
How I wish your garment were on your arms
And redness were on your cheeks,
Looking like pieces of gold twain,
How happy I am today having killed Husayn!
4. Abul-Faraj, in his book Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, contradicts himself when he discusses the martyrdom of al-’Abbas (‘a) then comments by saying,“He was the last to be killed from those among his full-blooded brothers whom he inherited.”
Such narrative agrees with what Mis’ab Ibn al-Zubayr has recorded on p. 43 of Nasab Quraish where he says,“Al-’Abbas inherited his brothers who did not have offspring, and al-’Abbas inherited his son ‘Ubaydullah.
‘Umar and Muhammad were both alive; so, Muhammad handed over his inheritance from his uncles to ‘Ubaydullah whereas ‘Umar did not till someone mediated, and he accepted his share.”
Abu Nasr al-Bukhari has said on p. 89 of Sirr al-Silsila al-’Alawiyya (printed at Najaf by the Hayderi Press),“On the Taff Day, al-Husayn (‘a) advanced the brothers of al-’Abbas, namely Ja’far, ‘Uthman, and ‘Abdullah, who were all killed, so al-’Abbas inherited them. Then al-’Abbas was killed, so his son ‘Ubaydullah Ibn al-’Abbas inherited them all.”
This confirms our belief that Umm al-Baneen was dead during the Battle ofTaff
. Had she been alive, she would have inherited the wealth that
belonged to al-’Abbas's brothers, being their mother, and they would not have been inherited by al-’Abbas till the inheritance is transferred to his son ‘Ubaydullah.
Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyya did not dispute with ‘Ubaydullah about his uncles' inheritance, in accordance with theShari’a
, because al-’Abbas was related through both his father and mother to his brothers who had by then been martyred, whereas Muhammad was related to them only through his father. A full-blooded brother is given priority in as far as inheritance is concerned over his half-brother.
‘Umar al-Atraf did not understand the problem although he was the son of ‘Ali (‘a), the gateway of the City of Knowledge (S), and he should have referred to the nation's Imam, Zayn al-’Abidin, in order not to fall in perdition.
The dispute attributed to him was true. What is stated in ‘Umdat al-Talib (Najaf's edition) confirms the existence of such a dispute: He went out to people wearing red-dyed clothes and made a statement wherein he said, “I am the wise man who did not go out to fight.”
The contradiction in what Abul-Faraj says becomes obvious: To say that Umm al-Baneen went out to al-Baqi’ cemetery to mourn her sons is to say that she was alive then, whereas his discussion of al-’Abbas's estate being inherited by his brothers testifies to the fact that she was actually dead by then... How often he [Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani] has fallen in error!
‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far
Ibn Jarir [al-Tabari] has said that when the news of al-Husayn's martyrdom was announced, ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far held a mourning majlis, so people came to him to offer their condolences. His slave, Abul-Lislas,
said to him, “This is what we got from al-Husayn!” He hurled his sandal at him as he said,“O son of the stinking woman
!
How dare you say something like that about al-Husayn (‘a)?! By Allah! Had I been with him, I would not have liked to part with him before being killed defending him. By Allah! What consoles me is that both my sons were martyred in his defense together with my brother as well as my cousin who all stood firmly on his side.”
Then he turned to those in his presence and said,“Praise to Allah! It surely is very heavy on my heart to see al-Husayn (‘a) get killed, and that I could not defend him with my life, but both my sons have.”
It is truly amazing to read in the books of history how al-Balathiri
and al-Muhsin al-Tanukhi
claim that ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far went to meet Yazid, and that the latter was generous to him more than his father Mu’awiya had been!
Anyone who studies the psychology of Ja’far's son will find it evident that this incident, which is taken for granted by al-Mada'ini and upon which al-Balathiri and al-Tanukhi depend, is simply a lie. Anyone who sees how those men lost their loved ones cannot help concluding that their fires were full of nothing but grief over such a loss as they waited for the opportunity to seek revenge.
This is proven by the statement made to the Prophet (S) by ‘Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul. When Ubayy did something because of which the Qur’anic verse saying,“Should we return to Medina, the mighty ones shall
get the weak out of it” (Qur’an, Al-Munafiqun [The Hypocrites]:63),
‘Abdullah came to the Prophet of Islam (S) and said, “You have heard this statement made by Ubayy, have you not?”
The Prophet (S) said,“I have.”
The man then said, “You know very well that there is nobody more kind than me to his father, yet if you want him killed, then order me to do it, for I am afraid you will order someone else to do it, and I hate to look at the face of my father's killer then attack and kill him and get myself thrown into the fire [of hell]...”
This incident gives us a glorious idea about the human nature, about how the relatives of someone killed feel, and how they wait for the opportunity to seek revenge, even when such killing throws them into the pitfalls of shirk.
Such is the nature of all people. ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab used to say to Sa’id Ibn al-’As, with whom he met one night in the company of ‘Uthman, ‘Ali (‘a), and Ibn ‘Abbas,“Why do you thus turn away from me as if I killed your father?! I did not kill him; al-Hasan's father [Imam ‘Ali, as] did.”
The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) said,“O Allah! I seek Your forgiveness! Shirk and everything else therein is by now gone, and Islam obliterated whatever was before it; so, why do you, O ‘Umar, thus stir old hostilities?”
It was then that Sa’id said,“The man who killed him was apt to it, a man of nobility, and it is dearer to me that he killed him than anyone else who did not descend from ‘Abd Manaf.”
It was not easy for Sa’id to remember how his father had been killed even though the latter was an apostate whom the sword of Muhammad's Call killed, and even though the killer [‘Ali] is a man of honour whose feats are numerous, and even though the latter did not kill him except in obedience to the Order of the Lord, the Mighty One, as the wahi was brought from the heavens by the “messenger of the heavens” [Gabriel].
But his fear of the sword of justice obligated him to pretend to be satisfied, although the fire was burning inside him as he kept waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge. Such fire of animosity manifested itself by his son, ‘Amr Ibn Sa’id al-Ashdaq, on the same day when he was appointed by Yazid as Governor of Medina.
He looked in the direction of the Prophet's grave and, with such a big mouth, loudly said,“This day do we seek revenge for the Battle of Badr, O Messenger of Allah!”
And when he heard the wailing of the women of Banu Hashim mourning the Master of the Youths of Paradise, he said,“Mourners mourning: thus did we mourn ‘Uthman.”
The heart of ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far was burning against Maysoon's son, and he very much hoped for an opportunity to annihilate him, to finish him, as well as his family and kinsfolk. No matter how forgetful he may have been, he could not have forgotten that he killed the “Father of the Oppressed” and the stars on earth belonging to ‘Abd al-Muttalib as well as the peerless from among his companions.
He hit with his rod the lips of the fragrant flower of the Messenger of Allah (S)! Could Ja’far's son, since the case was as such, look at Yazid in the eyes as his sword was dripping with their own blood, and as he was
deafened by hearing one who felt rejoiced at the calamity that befell the Prophet of Islam? Yazid had said this line:
The cream of their crop have we killed
Then did we turn and set the record for Badr straight.
He denied the Islamic Message altogether saying:
Banu Hashim with authority played,
No message came, nor any revelation revealed.
Could the son of Ja’far possibly forget how the ladies who descended from the Prophet (S) stood with their faces unveiled, exposed to the looks of those who were near as well as those who were distant, knowing that they were the source of all honour, the fortress of the creed?
What makes things more tolerable is the fact that the person who accepts this tradition is none other than al-Mada'ini who is well known for his loyalty to the Umayyads, and his book is full of“traditions” raising the status of Banu Umayyah and lowering that of the ‘Alawides. Anybody who is familiar with the biographies of notable men and with the personalities of the narrators pays no attention to such “traditions”.
‘Abdullah Ibn Abbas
Having come to know that ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas refused to swear the oath of allegiance to Ibn al-Zubayr, Yazid wrote him saying,
“It has come to my knowledge that the atheist son of al-Zubayr invited you to swear the oath of allegiance to him and to be obedient to him so that you might support him in his wrongdoing and share his sins, and that you refused and kept your distance from him because Allah made you aware of our rights we, family members of the Prophet (S); so, may He grant you the rewards due to those who maintain their ties of kinship, who are true to their promise.
No matter what I forget, I shall never forget how you always remained in contact with us, and how good the reward you have received, the one due to those who obey and who are honoured by being relatives of the Messenger of Allah (S).
Look, then, after your people, and look at those whom the son of al-Zubayr enchants with his words and with his promises and pull them away from him, for they will listen to you more than they will to him; they would hear you more than they would that renegade atheist, and peace be with you.”
Ibn ‘Abbas wrote Yazid back saying,
“I received your letter wherein you mentioned Ibn al-Zubayr's invitation to me to swear the oath of allegiance to him, and that I refused due to recognizing your right. If that is the case [as you claim], I desire nothing but being kind to you.
But Allah knows best what I intend to do. And you wrote me urging me to encourage people to rally behind you and to discourage them from supporting Ibn al-Zubayr...
Nay! Neither pleasure nor happiness is here for you; may your mouth be filled with stones, for you are the one whose view is weak when you listened to your own whims and desires, and it is you who is at fault and who shall perish! And you wrote me urging me to hurry and to join my ties of kinship.
Withhold your own, man, for I shall withhold from you my affection and my support. By my life, you do not give us of what is in your hand except very little while withholding a lot; may your father lose you!
Do you think that I will really forget how you killed Husayn (‘a) and the youths of Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the lanterns that shone in the dark, the stars of guidance, the lamp-posts of piety, and how your horses trampled upon their bodies according to your command, so they were left unburied, drenched in their blood on the desert without any shrouds, nor were they buried, with the wind blowing on them and the wolves invading them, and the hyenas assaulting them till Allah sent them people who do not have shirk running through their veins and who shrouded and buried them...?
From me and from them come supplications to Allah to torment you!
No matter what I forget, I shall never forget how you let loose on them the da’iyy and the son of the da’iyy, the one begotten by that promiscuous prostitute, the one whose lineage is distant, whose father and mother are mean, the one because of whose adoption did your father earn shame, sin, humiliation and abasement in the life of this world and in the hereafter.
This is so because the Messenger of Allah (S) said, “The son is begotten by wedlock, whereas for the prostitute there are stones.” Your father claims that the son is out of wedlock, and it does not harm the prostitute, and he accepts him as his son just as he does his legitimate offspring! Your father killed the Sunnah with ignorance while deliberately bringing to life all misguidance.
And no matter what I forget, I shall never forget how you chased Husayn (‘a) out of the sanctuary of the Messenger of Allah [Medina] to that of Allah Almighty [Mecca], and how you dispatched men to kill him there.
You kept trying till you caused him to leave Mecca and to go to Kufa pursued by your horsemen, with your soldiers roaring at him like lions, O enemy of Allah, of His Messenger (S), and of his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)! Then you wrote Marjana's son to face him with his cavalry and infantry, with spears and swords.
And you wrote him ordering him to be swift in attacking him and not to give him time to negotiate any settlement till you killed him and the youths of Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib who belong to Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) with him, those from whom Allah removed all abomination and whom He purified with a perfect purification.
Such are we, unlike your own uncouth fathers, the livers of donkeys! You knew fully well that he was most prominent in the past and most cherished now, had he only sought refuge in Mecca and permitted bloodshed in its sanctuary.
But he sought reconciliation, and he asked you to go back to your senses, yet you went after the few who were in his company and desired to eradicate his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) as if you were killing dynasties from the Turks or from Kabul!
How do you conceive me as being friendly to you, and how dare you ask me to support you?! You have killed my own brothers, and your sword is dripping with my blood, and you are the one whom I seek for revenge.
So if Allah wills, you shall not be able to shed my blood, nor shall you be faster than me in seeking revenge so you would be more swift in killing us just as the prophets are killed, considering their blood equal to that of others. But the promise is with Allah, and Allah suffices in supporting the wronged, and He seeks revenge for the oppressed. What is truly amazing is your own transporting the daughters of ‘Abd al-Muttalib and their children to Syria.
You see yourself as our vanquisher, and that you have the right to humiliate us, although through me and through them did Allah bestow blessings upon you and upon your slave parents. By Allah! You welcome the evening and the day in security indifferent to my wounds; so, let my own tongue wound you instead, and let my tying and untying not provoke you to argue.
Allah shall not give you a respite following your killing of the Progeny of the Messenger of Allah (S) except for a very short while before He takes you as a Mighty One does, and He shall not take you out of the life of this world except as an abased and dejected sinner; so, enjoy your days, may you lose your father, as you please, for what you have committed has surely made you abased in the sight of Allah.
The Captives Taken To Syria
Ibn Ziyad sent a messenger to Yazid to inform him that al-Husayn (‘a) and those in his company were killed, that his children were in Kufa, and that he was waiting for his orders as to what to do with them. In his answer, Yazid ordered him to send them and the severed heads to him.
‘Ubaydullah wrote something, tied it to a rock then hurled it inside the prison where the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, was kept. In it he said,“Orders came from Yazid to take you to him on such-and-such a day. If you hear the takbir, you should write your wills; otherwise, there is security.”
The post returned from Syria with the news that al-Husayn's family is being sent to Syria.
Ibn Ziyad ordered Zajr Ibn Qays and Abu Burda Ibn ‘Awf al-Azdi as well as Tariq Ibn Zabyan to head a band of Kufians charged with carrying al-Husayn's severed head and of those killed with him to Yazid.
Another account says that Mujbir Ibn Murrah Ibn Khalid Ibn Qanab Ibn ‘Umar Ibn Qays Ibn al-Harith Ibn Malik Ibn ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Khuzaymah Ibn Lu'ayy did so.
They were trailed by ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) whose hands were tied to his neck in the company of his family
in a condition the sight of which would cause anyone's skin to shiver.
With them was Shimr Ibn Thul-Jawshan, Mujfir Ibn Thu’labah al-’A'idi,
Shabth Ibn Rab’i, ‘Amr Ibn al-Hajjas, in addition to other men. They were ordered to mount the heads on spears and to display them wherever they went.
They hurried till they caught up with them.
Ibn Lahi’ah is quoted as saying that he saw a man clinging to Ka’ba's curtains seeking refuge with his Lord and saying,“And I cannot see You doing that!”
Ibn Lahi’ah took him aside and said to him,“You must be
insane! Allah is most Forgiving, most Merciful. Had your sins been as many as rain drops, He would still forgive you.”
He said to Ibn Lahi’ah,“Be informed that I was among those who carried al-Husayn's head to Syria. Whenever it was dark, we would put the head down, sit around it and drink wine. During one night, I and my fellows were guarding it when I saw lightning and beings that surrounded the head. I was terrified and stunned but remained silent
.
I heard crying and wailing and someone saying, ‘O Muhammad! Allah ordered me to obey you; so, if you order me, I can cause an earthquake that will swallow these people just as it swallowed the people of Lot.' He said to him, ‘O Gabriel! I shall call them to account on the Day of Judgment before my Lord, Glory to Him.
' It was then that I screamed, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I plead to you for security!' He said to me, ‘Be gone, for Allah shall never forgive you.' So, do you still think that Allah will forgive me?”
At one stop on their journey, they put the purified head down; soon they saw a pen made of iron which came out of the wall and which wrote the following in blood:
Does a nation that killed Husayn really hope for a way
His grandfather will intercede for them on the Judgment Day?!
But they were not admonished by such a miracle, and blindness hurled them into the very deepest of all pits; surely Allah, the most Exalted One, is the best of judges.
One farasang before reaching their destination, they placed the head on a rock; a drop of blood fell from it on the rock. Every year, that drop would boil on ‘Ashura, and people would assemble there around it and hold mourning commemorations in honour of al-Husayn (‘a). A great deal of wailing would be around it.
This continued to take place till ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan ascended the throne. He ordered that the rock should be removed. It was never seen after that, but the spot where that rock stood became the site of a dome built in its honour that they called “al-Nuqta” [the drop].
Near the town of Hama and among its orchards stood a mosque called “Masjid al-Husayn.” People there say that they escorted the rock and the head of al-Husayn (‘a) that bled all the way to Damascus.
Near Aleppo there is a shrine known as“Masqat al-Saqt”.
The reason why it was called so is that when the ladies of the Messenger of Allah (S) were taken to that place, al-Husayn's wife had miscarried a son named Muhsin
.
At some stops, the head was placed atop a spear next to a monk's monastery. During the night, the monk heard a great deal of tasbih and tahlil, and he saw a dazzling light emanating from it. He also heard a voice saying, “Peace be upon you, O father of ‘Abdullah!”
He was amazed and did not know what to make of it. In the morning, he asked people about that head and was told that it was the head of al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a), son of Fatima (‘a) daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S). He said to them,“Woe unto you, people! True are the accounts that said that the heavens would rain blood!”
He asked their permission to kiss the head, but they refused till he paid them some money. He declared his Shahada and embraced Islam through the blessing of the one who was beheaded just for supporting the divine call. When they left that place, they looked at the money the monk had given them and saw this verse inscribed on it:
“And those who oppressed shall come to find how evil their end shall be” (Qur’an, 26:227).
Is the head of Fatima's son really gifted to the Syrians?
And is it with a rod hit by its killer?
Are the Prophet's virtuous daughters really taken captive
With their heads left without a cover,
Struggling with the pain of loss,
Seeing al-Husayn's head from a distance atop a spear?
They weep, and its sight prohibits patience from coming near,
And his beard with his own blood drenched:
Whatever wind comes teases it and whatever goes.
In Syria
When they were near Damascus, Umm Kulthum sent a message to al-Shimr asking him to let them enter the city from the least crowded highway, and to take the heads out so that people might be diverted by looking at them rather than looking at the women. He escorted them as they were in a condition from which skins would shiver and senses quiver.
Al-Shimr instead ordered his men to take the captives for display before onlookers and to place the severed heads in their midst.
On the first day of Safar, they entered Damascus
and were stopped at the Clocks Gate.
People came out carrying drums and trumpets in excitement and jubilation.
A man came close to Sukayna and asked her, “What captives are you all from?” She said,“We are captives belonging to the family of Muhammad (S).”
Yazid was sitting at a surveillance outpost overlooking the mountain of Jayrun. When he saw the captives with the heads planted atop the spears as their throng came close, a crow croaked, whereupon he composed these verses:
When those conveyances drew nigh
And the heads on the edge of Jayrun,
The crow croaked so said I:
Say whatever you wish to say
Or say nothing at all,
The Messenger this very day
What he owed me he did repay.
It is due to these verses that Ibn al-Jawzi and Abu Ya’li, the judge, as well as al-Taftazani and Jalal al-Suyuti permitted cursing Yazid and labelling him as kafir.
Sahl Ibn Sa’d al-Sa’idi came close to Sukayna daughter of al-Husayn (‘a) and asked her,“Is there anything I can do for you?”
She asked him to pay the man who was carrying the head some money and to ask him in return to stay away from the women so that people would be distracted by looking at the head instead of looking at the women. Sahl did so.
An elderly man came near al-Sajjad and said, “Praise be to Allah Who annihilated you and Who granted the governor the upper hand over you!”
At such a juncture, the Imam poured of his own kindness over that poor [ignorant] man who was brainwashed by falsehood in order to bring him closer to the truth and to show him the path of guidance.
Such are the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a): their light shines over those whom they know to be pure of heart and pure of essence and, as such, who are ready to receive guidance.
He (‘a), asked the man, “Have you read the Qur’an, O shaikh?” The man answered al-Sajjad in the affirmative.“Have you read,”
continued al-Sajjad,“the verse saying,
‘Say: I do not ask you for a reward for it [for conveying the Islamic Message to you] except that you treat my kinsfolk with kindness,' (Qur’an, 42:23
), the verse saying, ‘And give the [Prophet's] kinsfolk their due rights,'(Qur’an, 17:26), and the verse saying, ‘And be informed that whatever you earn by way of booty, for Allah belongs the fifth thereof and for the Messenger [of Allah] and for the [Prophet's] kinsfolk' (Qur’an, 8:41)?”
The man answered by saying, “Yes, I have read all of them.” He (‘a) then said,“We, by Allah, are the kinsfolk referred to in all these verses.” Then the Imam (‘a) asked him whether he had read the verse saying
,
“Allah only desires to remove all abomination from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and purifies you with a perfect purification” (Qur’an, 33:33).
“Yes”
was the answer. Al-Sajjad (‘a), said to him,“We are Ahl al-Bayt whom Allah purified.” “I ask you in the Name of Allah,” asked the man, “are you really them?”
Al-Sajjad (‘a), said,“By our grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, I swear that we are, without any doubt.”
It was then that the elderly man fell on al-Sajjad's feet kissing them as he said,“I dissociate myself before Allah from whoever killed you.”
He sought repentance of the Imam (‘a) from whatever rude remarks he had earlier made. The encounter involving this elderly man reached Yazid who ordered the man to be killed.
What miracle will Yazid bring
On the Day the Books of deeds are read
When the Lord of ‘Arsh will recite
And in denial stunned will be every being?
Before they were brought to Yazid's court, they were tied with ropes. The beginning of the rope was around the neck of Zayn al-’Abidin [‘Ali son of Imam al-Husayn (‘a), also called al-Sajjad, the one who prostrates to Allah quite often], then around the necks of Zainab, Umm Kulthum, up to all the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S).
Whenever they laxed in their walking, they were whipped. This went on till they were brought face to face with Yazid who was then sitting on his throne. ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) asked him, “What do you think the reaction
of the Messenger of Allah might have been had he seen us looking like this?” Everyone wept. Yazid ordered the ropes to be cut off.
They were lined up on the stairs to the gate leading to the [Umayyad Grand] mosque as was their custom with all captives, and the sacred head was placed in front of Yazid who kept looking at the captives and reciting these verses:
We took to patience, and on patience we set our minds,
While our swords chopped off heads and hands.
We were splitting heads of men held by us as dear
But they to unkindness and injustice were more near.
Then he turned to al-Nu’man Ibn Bashir and said,“Praise to Allah Who killed him [al-Husayn].”
Al-Nu’man said,“Commander of the faithful Mu’awiyah used to hate killing him.”
Yazid said,“That was before he rebelled. Had he rebelled against the commander of the faithful, he would have killed him.”
May the heavens crush the earth
And may annihilation or resurrection overwhelm the world.
The veils of ‘Ali 's daughters, the best of all women,
Are made freely accessible to the da’is.
Captives on lean beasts of burdens were they conveyed,
With heads uncovered, a country bids them farewell
As another, bemused, eyes them.
So should their eyes be tearful,
Or should they of exhaustion be unable to walk,
The chambered lady that she is,
With cruelty the Shimr of prostitution would whip her,
And with his cruelty agonize her as he
In his grudge would rebuke her.
She has none to protect her except a haggard
Ailing, with sickness afflicted and in pain,
A sick man suffering nightly from cuffs and chain,
Conveyed on a conveyance of hardship and cruelty.
They took him at night, handcuffed, into the depths
Of a plain he never before traversed.
Iron consumed his flesh
And affected him so his blood in his neck overflowed.
He sees children cry and women wail,
And livers from fear almost soar.
As the head of his father, Muhammad's grandson
Is hoisted before the captives on a spear.
They took him to Syria unwelcome
As its people celebrated their “victory”.
They took him to the court of Hind's son
Pleased with his “victory”.
And Marwan with pleasure is elated
And the head of his father, the grandson of the nabi,
Is presented in a gold washbowl before a da’i
Overtaken by pleasure and arrogance,
One who used to hide his apostasy.
But when he to his fathers at Badr referred
Exposed his apostasy most manifestly.
Yazid Meets al-Sajjad (‘a)
Yazid turned to al-Sajjad (‘a) and asked him,“How did you, ‘Ali, see what Allah did to your father, al-Husayn?” “I saw,”
answered al-Sajjad (‘a),“what Allah, the One and Only God, the most Exalted One, had decreed before creating the heavens and the earth.”
Yazid consulted those around him as to what to do with al-Sajjad (‘a), and they advised him to kill him.
Imam al-Sajjad, Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a), said,“O Yazid! These men have advised you to do the opposite of what Pharaoh's courtiers had advised Pharaoh saying: ‘Grant him and his brother a respite.' The ad’iya’
do not kill the prophets' sons and grandsons.”
This statement caused Yazid to lower his head and contemplate for a good while.
Among the dialogue that went on between both men is Yazid quoting this Qur’anic verse to ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a):
“Whatever misfortune befalls you is due to what your hands commit” (Qur’an, 45:22).
‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) responded by saying, “This verse was not revealed in reference to us. What was revealed in reference to us was this verse:
‘Whatever misfortune befalls the earth or your own selves is already in a Book even before we cause it to happen; this is easy for Allah, so that you may not grieve about what you missed nor feel elated on account of what you receive' (Qur’an, 57:23).
We do not grieve over what we missed nor feel elated on account of what we receive.”
Yazid then cited the following verse by al-Fadl Ibn al-’Abbas Ibn ‘Utbah:
Wait, O cousins, wait, O masters, do not hurry!
Do not bring to surface what we did bury.
Al-Sajjad (‘a) sought permission to speak. “Yes,” said Yazid, “provided you do not utter verbal attacks.” He (‘a) said, “I am now standing like one who ought not verbally attack anyone, but tell me: How do you think the Messenger of Allah (S) would have felt had he seen me looking like this?” Yazid ordered him to be untied.
Yazid ordered the person who used to recite the Friday khutba to ascend the pulpit and to insult ‘Ali and al-Husayn (‘a), which he did. Al-Sajjad (‘a) shouted at him saying, “You have traded the pleasure of the creature for the Wrath of the Creator, so take your place in the fire [of hell].”
Should you on the pulpits publicly taunt him on demand,
While through his sword did these very pulpits stand?!
He asked Yazid saying, “Do you permit me to ascend this pulpit to deliver a speech that will please Allah Almighty and that will bring good rewards for these folks?” Yazid refused, but people kept pleading to him to yield, yet he was still relentless.
His son, Mu’awiyah II, said to him, “Permit him; what harm can his words cause?”
Yazid said,“These are people who have inherited
knowledge and oratory1
and are spoon-fed with knowledge.”
They kept pressuring him till he agreed.
The Imam (‘a) said:
“All Praise is due to Allah for Whom there is no beginning, the ever-Lasting for Whom there is no end, the First for Whom there is no starting point, the Last for Whom there is no ending point, the One Who remains after all beings no longer exist. He measured the nights and the days.
He divided them into parts; so, Blessed is Allah, the King, the all-Knowing... O people! We were granted six things and favoured with seven: We were granted knowledge, clemency, leniency, fluency, courage, and love for us in the hearts of the believers.
And we were favoured by the fact that from among us came a Prophet, a Siddiq, a Tayyar, a Lion of Allah and of His Prophet (S), and both Masters of the Youths of Paradise from among this nation. O people! Whoever recognizes me knows me, and whoever does not recognize me, let me tell him who I am and to what family I belong: O people! I am the son of Mecca and Mina; I am the son of Zamzam and al-Safa; I am the son of the one who carried the rukn on his mantle; I am the son of the best man who ever put on clothes and who ever made tawaf and sa’i, of whoever offered the Hajj and pronounced the talbiya.
I am the son of the one who was transported on the buraq and who was taken by Gabriel to sidrat al-muntaha, so he was near his Lord like the throw of a bow or closer still. I am the son of the one who led the angels of the heavens in the prayers.
I am the son to whom the Mighty One revealed what He revealed. I am the son of the one who defended the Messenger of Allah (S) at Badr and Hunayn and never disbelieved in Allah not even as much as the twinkling of an eye.
I am the son of the best of the believers and of the heir of the prophets, of the leader of the Muslims and the noor of those who offer jihad and the killer of the renegades and those who deviated from the straight path and who scattered the ahzab and the most courageous one, the one with the firmest determination: such is the father of the grandsons of the Prophet (S), al-Hasan and al-Husayn (‘a), such is ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a).
I am the son of Fatima al-Zahra’ (‘a), the Head of all Women, the son of Khadija al-Kubra. I am the son of the one with whose blood the sand mixed. I am the son of the one who was slaughtered at Karbala’. I am the son of the one for whom the jinns wept in the dark and for whom the birds in the air cried”.
Having said this much, people's cries filled the place, and Yazid feared dissension, so he ordered the mu'aththin to call the athan for the prayers. The latter shouted: Allahu Akbar! The Imam (‘a) said: “Allah is Greater, more Magnanimous, and more Kind than what I fear and of what I avoid.” The prayer caller now shouted: Ashadu an la ilaha illa-Allah! He (‘a) said, “Yes, I testify with everyone who testifies that there is no god besides Him nor any other Lord.” The caller shouted: Ashahadu anna Muhammadan rasul-Allah!
The Imam (‘a) said to the prayer caller, “I ask you, by Muhammad, to stop here till I speak to this man,” then he turned to Yazid and asked him, “Is this great Messenger of Allah (S) your grandfather or mine? If you say that he is yours, everyone present here, as well as all other people, will come to know that you are a liar.
And if you say that he is mine, then why did you kill my father unjustly and oppressively and plundered his wealth and took his women captive? Woe unto you on the Day of Judgment when my grandfather will be your opponent.”
Yazid yelled at the prayer caller to start the prayers immediately. A great deal of commotion now could be heard among the people. Some people prayed whereas others left.
The Most Sacred Head
Yazid ordered al-Husayn's head to be brought to him. He put it in a gold washbowl.
The women were behind him. Sukayna and Fatima stood and tried anxiously to steal a look at it as Yazid kept hiding it from them. When they did see it, they burst in tears.
He then permitted people to enter to see him.
Yazid took a rod and kept hitting al-Husayn's lips with it
saying, “A day for a day: this day is [in revenge] for Badr”.
Then he cited these verses by al-Hasin Ibn al-Hamam:
Our folks refused to be to us fair
So swords dripping with blood were to them fair;
We were splitting heads of men held by us as dear
But they to unkindness and injustice were more near.
Yahya Ibn al-Hakam Ibn Abul-’As, brother of Marwan Ibn al-Hakam, who was sitting near him, recited these verses:
A head at theTaff
is closer in kinship
Than Ibn Ziyad, slave of a mean and lowly descent;
Sumayya's offspring count as many as the stones
But the Progeny of the Chosen One now have no offspring.
Having heard and understood them, Yazid hit him [with the iron rod still in his hand] on his chest saying, “Shut your mouth, motherless man!”
Abu Barzah al-Aslami said,“I bear witness that I saw the Prophet (S) kissing his lips and those of his brother al-Hasan (‘a) and say to them: ‘You are the Masters of the Youths of Paradise; may Allah fight whoever fights you; may He curse him and prepare hell for him, and what an evil refuge it is!'”
Yazid became angry and ordered him to be dragged out of his court.
A [Christian] messenger sent by Caesar was present there; he said to Yazid,“We have in some islands the hoof of the donkey upon which Jesus rode, and we make a pilgrimage to it every year from all lands and offer nathr to it and hold it in as much regard as you hold your sacred books; so, I bear witness that you are wrongdoers.”
This statement enraged Yazid who ordered him to be killed. The messenger stood up, walked to the head, kissed it and pronounced the kalima. At the moment when that messenger's head was cut off, everyone heard a loud and fluent voice saying: La hawla wala quwwata illa billah! (There is neither power nor might except in Allah).
The head was taken out of the court and hung for three days on the mansion's gate.
When Hind daughter of ‘Amr Ibn Suhayl, Yazid's wife, saw the head on her house's door
with divine light emanating from it, its blood still fresh and had not yet dried, and it was emitting a sweet fragrance,
she entered Yazid's court without a veil crying, “The head of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S) is on our door!”
Yazid stood up, covered her and said,“Mourn him, O Hind, for he is the reason why Banu Hashim are grieving. [‘Ubaydullah] Ibn Ziyad hastily killed him.”
Yazid ordered the heads to be hung on the land's gates and on the Umayyad Mosque, and his order was carried out.
Marwan [Ibn al-Hakam] was very happy about al-Husayn (‘a) being killed, so he composed this poetry:
Dawser hit them with such a blow
That firmed authority's foundations,
So authority now is stable.
Then he kept hitting al-Husayn's face with a rod as he was repeating these poetry lines:
How I wish your garment were on your arms
And redness were on your cheeks,
Looking like pieces of gold twain,
How happy I am today having killed Husayn!
A Syrian Encounters Fatima
Historians record that a Syrian looked at Fatima daughter of ‘Ali (‘a)
then asked Yazid to give her to him to serve him. This daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) was terrified; she clung to her sister Zainab and said,“Serve him?! How could I do that?!”
Zainab said to her,“Do not be concerned; this shall never happen at all.”
Hearing her, Yazid said,“It could if I would!”
She said to him,“Not unless you renege from our religion.”
He answered her by saying,“Those who reneged from the religion are your father and your brother.”
Zainab said,“By Allah's religion and the religion of my grandfather do I swear that it was through my father and brother that you and your father received guidance, had you been a Muslim at all.”
He said to her,“You lie, you enemy of Allah!”
She, peace be upon her, toned down her language and said to him,“You are an Amir over the destiny of people; you oppressively taunt and subdue others.”
The same Syrian repeated his plea to Yazid who now rebuked him and said,“May Allah grant you a fate that will put an end to you!”
Zainab’s Speech
Both Ibn Nama and Ibn Tawus
say that Zainab daughter of ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib
(‘a) heard Yazid quoting the following verses by Ibn al-Zub’ari:
I wish my forefathers at Badr had witnessed
How the Khazraj are by the thorns annoyed,
They would have Glorified and Unified Allah
Then they would make tahlil and say in elation:
May your hands, O Yazid, never be paralyzed!
We have killed the masters of their chiefs
And equated it with Badr, and it was so, indeed;
Hashim played with the dominion so
No news came, nor a revelation descended.
I do not belong to Khandaf if I do not
Seek revenge from Ahmad's offspring
For what he had done.
She reacted to these lines by stating the following:
“All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Allah has blessed His Messenger and all His Messenger's Progeny. Allah, Glory to Him, has said the truth when He said,
“Then the end of those who committed evil was that they disbelieved in Allah's Signs and they were ridiculing them” (Qur’an, 30:10).
Do you, O Yazid, think that when you blocked all the avenues before us, so we were driven as captives, that we are light in the sight of Allah and that you are superior to us? 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 as 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”? (Qur’an, 3:178).
Is it fair, O son of taliqs, that you keep your free and slave women in their chambers and at the same time drive the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (S) 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 honourable, having none of their protectors with them nor any of their men?
But what can be expected from one [descended from those] whose mouths chewed the livers of the purified ones 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 hatred and malice, would not hate us, we Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)? Besides, you, without feeling any guilt or weighing heavily what you say, recite saying:
Then they would make tahlil and say in elation:
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 you stirred a wound that almost healed and all mercy is removed from your heart when you shed the blood of the offspring of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his Progeny, and the stars on earth from among the family of ‘Abd al-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.
O Allah! Take what belongs 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! 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 sanctities which you violated, the sanctities of his women, his kinsfolk, his flesh and blood, 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” (Qur’an, 3:169).
Allah suffices you as your Judge and Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, as your opponent, and Gabriel as your foe. All those who instigated you to do what you did and who put you in charge so that you might play havoc with the lives of the Muslims: 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 forced me to speak to you, I nevertheless see you small in my eyes and find your verbal attacks great, and I regard your rebuke too much to bear, but these eyes are tearful, and the chests are filled with depression.
What is even strangeer is that the honoured Party of Allah is being killed by the taleeq party of Satan. 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 find us as your opponents, that will be when you find nothing but what your hands had committed, and your Lord never treats His servants unjustly. 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 Allah, you shall never be able to obliterate our mention, nor will you ever be able to kill our inspiration, nor will your shame ever be washed away. Your view shall be proven futile, your days numbered, and your wealth wasted on the Day when the caller calls out, “The curse of Allah be upon the oppressors.”
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 with martyrdom and mercy. We plead to Allah to complete His rewards for them and grant them an increase and make succession good for us; He is the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Allah suffices us, and how great He is!
Yazid responded to her speech by first quoting this poetic verse:
O cry, a praiseworthy one,
How easy it is for the mourners to mourn!
Anyone who is familiar with Yazid and with his misguidance cannot be surprised at all to hear him asking with a big mouth the Syrian jackals around him: “Do you know where Fatima's son came from, and what prompted him to do what he did and fall into the pitfalls of what he committed?” They answered in the negative.
Said he, “He claims that his father is better than my father, that his mother Fatima (‘a) daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S) is better than mine, that his grandfather (S) is better than mine, and that he is more worthy than me of taking charge. As regarding his saying that his father is better than my father, my father had asked Allah, the Great, the Sublime, to arbitrate between them, and people know best in whose favour He ruled.
As regarding his saying that his mother is better than mine, by my life, Fatima (‘a) daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S) is better than my mother. As regarding his saying that his grandfather (S) is better than my grandfather, by my life, nobody who believes in Allah and in the Last Day can find anyone among us equal to the Messenger of Allah But he speaks with a little understanding of what he says and has not read the verse saying,
‘Say: Lord! Owner of the domain! You grant authority to whomsoever You please, and you take the authority from whomsoever You please; You exalt whomsoever You please, and You abase whomsoever You please' (Qur’an, 3:26),
and he did not read the verse saying,
‘Allah grants His domain to whomsoever He pleases' (Qur’an, 2:247).”
The House of Ruins
The speech quoted above, which Zainab delivered, shook the very foundations of Yazid's court, and people started discussing with one another as to what extent they had been misled, and in what valley of abyss they had been hurled.
Yazid had no choice except to get the women out of his court and to lodge them at a house of ruins that could not protect them against any heat or any cold. They remained there weeping and wailing, mourning al-Husayn (‘a)
for three days.
One day, al-Sajjad (‘a) went out for a walk. Al-Minhal Ibn ‘Umar met him and asked him,“How have you received the evening, O son of the Messenger of Allah (S)?” “We have received the evening,”
the Imam (‘a) answered,“like the Israelites among the people of Pharaoh: they kill their sons and take their women captive.
The Arabs brag before the non-Arabs saying that Muhammad (S) was one of them, while Quraish boasts before the rest of the Arabs of Muhammad (S) belonging to it. We, his Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), are now homeless; so, to Allah do we belong, and to Him shall we all return.”
Al-Minhal is quoted as saying,“While he was thus talking to me, a woman came out after him and said, ‘Where are you going, O best of successors?' He left me and hurried back to her. I inquired about her, and I was told that she was his aunt, Zainab (‘a).”
Back to Medina
Yazid was very happy about killing al-Husayn (‘a) and those with him as well as the capture of the ladies who descended from the Messenger of Allah, peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny.
He was seen at his court looking very excited, paying no heed to the fact that he was an atheist and an apostate as testified by his citing the poetry of al-Zub’ari quoted above to the extent that he denied that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (S) had ever received any revelation.
But when he was rebuked by more and more people, it gradually appeared to him how he had failed and erred in what he had committed: a sin the like of which had never been committed by anyone belonging to the Islamic creed.
It was then that he realized the implication of Mu’awiyah's will to him wherein he said,“The people of Iraq shall not leave al-Husayn till they pressure him to revolt. If he rebels against you, forgive him, for he was begotten in sacred wombs, and he enjoys a lofty status”.
His closest courtiers, and even his family members and women, stayed away from him. He saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears the statements uttered by the most sacred severed head when he ordered the envoy of the Roman emperor to be killed: La hawla wala quwwata illa billah! (There is neither power nor might except in Allah).
Yazid's most abominable crime and extreme cruelty were now being discussed at every gathering, and such discussions were finding an echo throughout Damascus. Yazid, at that juncture, had no choice except to shift the blame to the shoulder of [‘Ubaydullah] Ibn Ziyad in order to distance the taunting from him, but what is already established cannot be removed.
When he feared dissension and repercussions, he rushed to get al-Sajjad and the children out of Syria and send them back home. He carried out their wishes, ordering al-Nu’man Ibn Bashir and a number of other men with him to escort them to Medina and to treat them with kindness.
When they reached Iraq, they asked the road guide to take the highway leading to Karbala’. They reached the place where al-Husayn (‘a) had been martyred. There, they found Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari accompanied by a group of Banu Hashim and some of the family members of the Messenger of Allah (S).
They had all gone there to visit al-Husayn's grave. They met each other weeping and grieving, beating their cheeks. They stayed there mourning al-Husayn (‘a)
for three days.
Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari stood at the grave and burst in tears then thrice called out al-Husayn's name, then he said, “Why a loved one does not answer one who loves him?” But soon he answered his own query by saying,“How can he answer while his cheeks are torn, his head separated from his body?
Yet I bear witness that you are the son of the Seal of Prophets (S), the son of the Master of the Faithful (‘a), the son of the inseparable ally of piety, the descendant of guidance, the fifth of the fellows of the kisa’, the son of the master of naqibs, the one who was brought up in the lap of the pious, that
you were raised on the milk of iman, that you were weaned with Islam, so you were good when you were alive, and you are so when dead
.
But the hearts of the faithful are not pleased with parting with you, nor do they have any doubt about goodness being yours. So peace of Allah be upon you and His Pleasure. And I bear witness that you treaded the same path treaded before you by your brother [prophet] Zachariyya [Zacharias].”
Having said so, Jabir turned his head around the grave as he said, “Assalamo Alaikom, O souls that abide at al-Husayn's courtyard! I bear witness that you upheld the prayers and paid zakat, enjoined what is right and prohibited what is wrong, struggled against the atheists and adored Allah till death overtook you.
By the One Who sent Muhammad, peace of Allah be upon him and upon his Progeny, as His Prophet with the truth, we have a share in what you have earned.”
‘Atiyyah al-’Awfi [his companion who was leading him, since he, a maternal relative and one of the greatest sahabis of Prophet Muhammad (S) was by then a blind old man] asked him,“How so when we did not descend a valley nor ascend a mountain, nor did we strike with a sword, whereas the heads of these people have been severed from their bodies, their sons have been orphaned and their wives widowed?”
Jabir answered:“I heard the Messenger of Allah (S), whom I very much love, saying, ‘One who loves a [certain] people will be lodged with them, and one who loves what some people do will have a share in [the rewards of] their deeds.' By the One Who sent Muhammad (S) as a Prophet with the truth, my intention and that of my companions is identical to the one for which al-Husayn (‘a) and his companions were all killed.”
The Severed Head Rejoins the Body
Once Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) came to know of Yazid's consent, he asked him for the heads so that he would bury them. Yazid showed no hesitation to do so, ordering the heads, including those of Zayn al-’Abidin's family members, to be handed over to him. Zayn al-’Abidin reunited them with their respective bodies.
Writers of biographies who recorded his bringing the heads to Karbala’ include the author of Shaikh ‘Abbas al-Qummi,Nafs al-Mahmum
who discusses this issue on p. 253 of his book, and it is also discussed on p. 155 ofRiyad al-Ahzan
of al-Qazwini.
As regarding al-Husayn's head, we read about it on p. 165 of al-Fattal's bookRawdat al-Wa’izin
, and on p. 85 ofMuthir al-Ahzan
by Ibn Nama al-Hilli. The latter reference is the one the Shi’as consider as the most accurate as stated on p. 112 ofAl-Luhuf
by Ibn Tawus.
On p. 151 of al-Tabarsi's book I’lam al-Wara, as well as on p. 154 ofMaqtal al-’Awalim
, as is the case with bothRiyad al-Maa'ib
andBihar al-Anwar
, the same view is the most famous among scholars. On p. 200, Vol. 2, of his book titled Al-Manaqib, Ibn Shahr Ashub says,“In some of his letters, al-Murtada has stated that al-Husayn's head was reunited with its body in Karbala’.”
Al-Tusi has said that that incident was the basis forziyarat
al-Arba’yin. The author ofBihar al-Anwar
citesAl-’Udad al-Qawiyya
by the brother of ‘Allama al-Hilli
. On p. 67 of his book‘Aja'ib al-Makhluqat
, al-Qazwini indicates that it was on the twentieth of Safar that al-Husayn's head was returned to its body.
Al-Shabrawi says,“The head was returned to the body after forty days.”
According to Ibn Hajar's bookSharh al-Busiri's Hamziyya
, forty days after his martyrdom, al-Husayn's head was returned [to its body]. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi has said,“It is most widely known that it [the head] was returned to Karbala’ and buried with the body.”
On p. 57, Vol. 1, of his bookAl-Kawakib al-Durriyya
,al-Manawi
records the consensus among Imamite Shi’as that the head was returned to Karbala’, and that this view was the one accepted by al-Qurtubi. He did not list his sources but attributed it to“some people of knowledge as well as eye witnesses,”
becoming evident to him that the head was, indeed, returned to Karbala’. Abul-Rayhan al-Biruni states that it was on the twentieth of Safar that al-Husayn's head was reunited and buried with its body.
Based on the above, any statements to the contrary should not be taken seriously especially those claiming that he was buried with his father (‘a), a claim with which the scholars mentioned above are familiar and which they all discard. Their rejection of such a claim proves that it cannot be relied upon especially since its isnad is not complete and its narrators are not famous. Abu Bakr al-'Alusi, who was asked once where the head of al-Husayn (‘a) was, composed the following verses:
Seek not al-Husayn's head in the east or in the west,
Leave all and come to me: in my heart does it rest.
The Arba’in
It is customary to pay tribute to the deceased forty days after his death by doing acts of righteousness on his behalf, by eulogizing him and enumerating his merits. This is done at organized gatherings in order to keep his memory alive just when people's minds start to forget about him and their hearts start to ignore him.
An immortal portrayal is brought back to such minds through the medium of well composed poetry transmitted from one person to another, one which takes its place in people's hearts. Epochs, hence, pass by, and so do years, while his memory remains fresh and alive.
Or maybe someone delivers a moving speech recorded in books and in other records, so it would become an enduring part of history. The lost one remains alive whenever such poetry is recited, or whenever a researcher comes across what was said in his eulogies recorded in books, so he develops an interest in investigating him and in getting to know his merits and feats.
Such a commendable custom becomes more significant as the greatness of the lost one increases and is proportionate with his feats. Such is the case with reformers and role models emulated by others. This is more important because disseminating their merits and teachings calls for following them and walking on their footprints to effect reform and to cultivate the souls.
Both Abu Tharr al-Ghifari and Ibn ‘Abbas quote the Prophet (S) as saying, “The earth mourns the death of a believer for forty mornings.”
Zurarah quotes Abu ‘Abdullah Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) saying,“The sky wept over al-Husayn (‘a) for forty mornings with blood, while the earth wept over him for forty mornings with blackness. The sun wept over him for forty mornings with the eclipse and with redness, whereas the angels wept over him for forty mornings.
No woman among us ever dyed with henna, nor used any oil or any kohl nor cohabited with her husband till the head of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad was brought to us, and we are still grieving even after all of that.”
This is the basis of the ongoing custom of grieving for the deceased for forty days. On the 40th day, a special mourning ceremony is held at his gravesite attended by his relatives and friends. This custom is not confined to Muslims.
Christians hold mourning ceremonies forty days after the death of their lost one. They gather at a church and repeat a special prayer that they call a funeral prayer service. They do likewise six months after his death and then one year after his death. Jews renew their mourning service thirty days after one's death, nine months after one's death, and one year after one's death.
All of this is done in order to keep his memory alive and so that people may not forget his legacy and deeds if he is great with merits and feats.
At any rate, a researcher does not find in the band described as reformers a man so well shrouded in feats of the most sublime meanings, one whose life, uprising, and the tragic way in which he was killed, a divine call and lessons in reform, even social systems, ethics, and sacred morals..., other than the Master of the Youths of Paradise, the man who was martyred for his creed, for Islam, for harmony, the martyr for ethics and cultivation, namely al-Husayn (‘a).
He, more than anyone else, deserves to be remembered on various occasions. People ought to make a pilgrimage to his sacred gravesite on the anniversary of the passage of 40 days following the date of his martyrdom so that they may achieve such lofty objectives.
The reason why most people hold only the first such an anniversary is due to the fact that the merits of those men are limited and temporal, unlike those of the Master of Martyrs: his feats are endless, his virtues are countless, the study of whose biography keeps his memory alive, and so is the case whenever he is mentioned. To follow in his footsteps is needed by every generation.
To hold an annual ceremony at his grave on the anniversary of his Arba’in brings his revolution back to memory. It also brings back to memory the cruelty committed by the Umayyads and their henchmen. No matter how hard an orator tries, or how well a poet presents his theme, new doors of virtue, that were closed before, will then be opened for him.
This is why it has been the custom of the Shi’as to bring back to memory on the Arba’in those events every year. The tradition wherein Imam al-Baqir (‘a) says that the heavens wept over al-Husayn (‘a) for forty mornings, rising red and setting red,
hints to such a public custom.
So is the case with a statement made once by Imam al-Hasan al-’Askari (‘a) wherein he said,“There are five marks of a believer: his fifty-one rak’at prayers, ziyarat al-Arba’in, audible recitation of the basmala, wearing his ring on the right hand, and rubbing his forehead with the dust.”
Such a statement leads us to the ongoing public custom being discussed. Holding a mourning ceremony for the Master of Martyrs and holding meetings in his memory are all done by those who are loyal to him and who follow him.
There is no doubt that those who follow his path are the believers who recognize him as their Imam; so, one of the marks highlighting their iman, as well as their loyalty to the Master of the Youths of Paradise, the one who was killed as he stood to defend the divine Message, is to be present on the Arba’in anniversary at his sacred grave in order to hold a mourning ceremony for him and remember the tragedies that had befallen him, his companions and Ahl al-Bayt (‘a).
To twist the meaning ofziyarat
al-Arba’in
by saying that it means visiting the gravesites of forty believers is simply indicative of twisted mentalities, an attempt at distortion, one which good taste resents. Moreover, it is without any foundation. Had the goal been to visit forty believers, the Imam (‘a) would have used the term“ziyarat Arba’in [mu'minin].”
The original wording indicates thatziyarat al-Arba’in
is one of the conditions enumerated in thehadith
cited above saying that it is one of the marks of one's iman and an indication of his loyalty to the Twelve Imams (‘a).
All the Imams who descended from the Prophet (S) were the gates of salvation, the arks of mercy. Through them can a believer be distinguished from a non-believer.
They all left this world after being killed as they stood to defend the Divine Message, accepting the possibility of their being killed for the stand which they took in obedience to the Command of their Lord, Glory to Him, the One Who sent His wahi to their grandfather, the Prophet (S). Father of Muhammad, al-Hasan (‘a), son of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali (‘a), has pointed out to this fact saying,“The mission that we undertake is assigned to Twelve Imams (‘a) each one of whom is either to be killed or poisoned.”
A mourning ceremony ought to be held in commemoration of theArba’in
of each one of them. The statement made by Imam Hasan al-’Askari (‘a) does not contain any clue restricting the commemoration of theArba’in
to al-Husayn (‘a) alone, but scholars have understood it to imply emphasis on visiting al-Husayn's gravesite in particular, since the cause defended by the Master of Martyrs (‘a) is the one characterized by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.
This is why it is said that Islam started with Muhammad (S) and it stays alive through al-Husayn (‘a). So is the implication of onehadith
by the Messenger of Allah (S) saying:“Husayn is of me, and I am of Husayn.”
Thishadith
conveys the same message because the hardship from which the Master of Martyrs (‘a) suffered was for the sake of firming the
foundations of Islam and removing the thorns of falsehood from the path of theShari’a
, and to warn the following generations of the crimes committed by the promoters of misguidance. This is exactly the cause for which the Prophet of Islam (S) stood to disseminate the divine call.
For all of these reasons, the Imams from among the Prophet's Progeny (‘a) found no alternative to attracting the attention to such a glorious revolution because it contains tragedies that would split the hardest of rocks. They knew that persistence in demonstrating the injustice dealt to al-Husayn (‘a) would stir the emotions and attract the hearts of sympathizers.
One who hears the tales of such horrible events will come to conclude that al-Husayn (‘a) was a fair and just Imam who did not succumb to lowly things, that his Imamate was inherited from his grandfather, the Prophet (S), and from his father, the wasi (‘a), that whoever opposes him deviates from the path of equity. Whoever absorbs the fact that right was on al-Husayn's side and on that of his infallible offspring would be embracing their method and following their path.
This is why the Imams (‘a) did not urge the holding of mourning ceremonies for theArba’in
anniversary of any of them, not even for that of the Prophet of Islam (S), so that it alone would be the memory of his tragedy that would make a strong case for safeguarding the religious link.
Turning attention to it is more effective in keeping the cause of the Infallible Ones dear to all those who discuss it:“Keep our cause alive, and discuss our cause.”
The kind reader, anyway, can easily see whyziyarat
al-Arba’in
is an indication of one's iman when he gets to know similar indications to which thehadith
has referred.
The first of such marks, namely the 51-rak’at prayers, legislated during the night of the Prophet's mi’raj, and which, through the Prophet's intercession, were reduced to only five during the day and the night, are: seventeen rak’at for the morning, the noon and the afternoon, the sunset and the evening, and thenafl
prayers timed with them, in addition to night'snafl
prayers: they all make up thirty-four: eight before the noon-time prayers, eight before the after-noon prayers, four after sunset prayers, and two after the evening prayers regarded as one, and two before the morning prayers, and finally eleven rak’at for the night'snafl
prayers.
Add to them the shaf’ and witr rak’at, and you will come to a total of obligatory and optional prayers of fifty-one rak’at. This is applicable only to the Shi’as.
Although they agree with the Shi’as with regard to the number of obligatory rak’at, the Sunnis differ when it comes to optional prayers. On p. 314, Vol. 1, of Ibn Humam al-Hanafi's bookFath al-Qadir
, they are: two rak’at before thefajr
prayers, four before the noon prayers and two after that, four before the afternoon prayers, or just two rak’at, two more after the sunset prayers and four thereafter, or just two, making up twenty-three rak’at.
They differ about the night'snafl
prayers whether they ought to be eight, only two, or thirteen, or even more. Hence, the total of optional and
compulsory rak’at will in no case be fifty-one; so, the fifty-one rak’at are relevant to Imamite Shi’as only.
The second on the list of marks referred to in the saidhadith
is the audible pronunciation of the basmala. Imamites seek nearness to Allah, the most Exalted One, by making it obligatory to pronounce it audibly in the audible prayers and voluntary in the inaudible ones, following the text of their Imams (‘a).
In this regard, al-Fakhr al-Razi says, “Shi’as are of the view that it is a Sunnah to audibly pronounce the basmala in the audible prayers as well as in the inaudible ones, whereas the majority of [Sunni] faqihs differ from them.
It is proven through tawatur that ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) used to audibly pronounce the basmala. Anyone who follows ‘Ali (‘a), in as far as his creed is concerned, will surely be on the right guidance by token of the hadith saying: ‘O Allah! Let right be with ‘Ali wherever he goes'”.
This statement of al-Razi was not digested by Abul-Thana' al-Alusi who followed it with a comment in which he said,“Had anyone acted upon all what they claim to be mutawatir from the Commander of the Faithful (‘a), he will surely be an apostate; so, there is no alternative to believing in some and disbelieving in others.
His claim that anyone who emulates ‘Ali (‘a) in as far as his creed is concerned will be on the right guidance of Islam is accepted without any discussion so long as we are sure that it is proven as having been said by ‘Ali (‘a). Anything else besides that is steam.”
Shi’as are not harmed when al-'Alusi and others assault them especially since their feet are firm on the path of loyalty for the Master of wasis (‘a) to whom the Messenger of Allah (S) says,“O ‘Ali ! Nobody knows Allah, the most Exalted One, (fully well) except I and you, and nobody knows me (fully well) except Allah and you, and nobody knows you (fully well) except Allah and I.”
If you, woe unto you, never heard of his merits and feats,
Then hear them from“Hal Ata,”
O fool,
For it should suffice you!
Sunnis have opted to do the opposite with regard to such a pronouncement. On p. 478, Vol. 1, of Ibn Qudamah's bookAl-Mughni
, and also on p. 204, Vol. 1, ofBadai’ al-Sanai
’ by al-Kasani, and also on p. 216, Vol. 1, of al-Zarqani'sSharh of Abul-Diya's
Mukhtasar of Malik'sfiqh
, audible pronouncement is not a Sunnah in prayers.
The third mark mentioned in the saidhadith
, that is, wearing a ring in the right hand, is something practiced religiously by the Shi’as on account of the traditions they quote from their Imams (‘a). A multitude from among the Sunnis disagrees with them.
Ibn al-Hajjaj al-Maliki has said,“The Sunnah has recorded everything as abominable if handed by the left hand and everything tahir if handed by the right. In this sense, it is highly recommended to wear a ring in the left hand to be taken by the right one and then placed on the left.”
Ibn Hajar narrates saying that Malik hated to wear a ring on his right hand, believing it should be worn on the left.
Shaikh Isma’il al-Barusawi has said the following in ‘Iqd al-Durr
:“Originally, it was a Sunnah to wear a ring on the right hand, but since this is the distinguishing mark of the people of bid’as and of injustice, it became a Sunnah in our time to place the ring on a finger on the left hand”.
The fourth mark mentioned in the saidhadith
is the placing of the forehead on dust [or dry soil]. Its message is to demonstrate that during the sajda, the forehead has to be placed on the ground. Sunnis do not place their forehead on the ground.
Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Ahmad are reported as having authorized the prostrating on turban coils,
or on a piece of garment
worn by the person performing the prayers or any piece of cloth. Hanafis have authorized placing it on the palms if one feels grudgingly that he has no other choice.
They also permit prostrating on wheat and barley, on a bed, on the back of another person standing in front of you who is also performing the same prayers...!
The objective behind such a reference is that it is highly commendable, when one prostrates to thank Allah, to rub his forehead on the dust as a symbol of humility and to shun arrogance. An examination of the original text will show any discreet person that it is equally commendable to rub both sides of the face on it. It is to this meaning that Sayyid Bahr al-’Ulum, may Allah sanctify him, refers in a poem wherein he says this line about sajdat al-shukr:
The cheek is more worthy of being rubbed,
Thehadith
clearly says so
Whereas in reference to the forehead,
It states it can be done, too.
Rubbing the cheeks exists when reference is made to sajdat al-shukr,
something whereby prophet Moses son of ‘Imran [Amram] (‘a) deserved to be drawn closer to the Almighty whenever he addressed Him silently [during the munajat].
Nobody contradicted the Imamites with regard to such rubbing, be it on the forehead or on the cheeks. Sunnis never obligate themselves to rubbing their foreheads on dust when performing their prayers or when performing sajdat al-shukr. This is so despite the fact that al-Nakh’i, Malik, and Abu Hanifa have all disliked performing sajdat al-shukr, although the Hanbalis observe it,
and so do the Shafi’is
whenever they receive a divine blessing or whenever a sign of Allah's wrath is removed from them.
A Summary of the Marks of a Mu’min
From all what we have indicated while discussing the issues enumerated by the saidhadith
as the marks of iman, the gist ofziyarat
al-Arba’in
connotes directing those who are loyal to Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) to visiting the shrine of the one who was slain in a foreign land, the Master of Martyrs (‘a), in order to mourn him and to renew the memory of what he had to bear of cruelty the like of which was never committed by anyone who has a tint of humanity in him, let alone those who claim to follow Islam. To be present at the gravesite of al-Husayn (‘a) on theArba’in
anniversary of his martyrdom is the most evident of all signs of iman.
Amazement never ends about someone who twists the meaning of this statement by claiming that it means visiting forty believers despite the absence of reference to any such forty believers, nor is there any clue referring to such a meaning.
Surely Islam commends a believer to visit forty others; this is enjoined by Islam and is not a distinguishing mark between the Shi’as and the Sunnis, nor is it directed only to the believers in order to distinguish them from others.
Yes, visiting the shrine of al-Husayn (‘a) on the anniversary of forty days after his martyrdom is called for by those who have a pure faith in and loyalty to Ahl al-Bayt (‘a). It is underscored by the eagerness to be near al-Husayn (‘a). It is known that those who are present at this most sacred shrine (forty days after the martyrdom's anniversary) of the master of the youths of Paradise are, in particular, those who are his Shi’as and who follow in his footsteps.
A testimony to the sacredhadith
quoted above is the fact that the renowned scholars do not dispute in their understanding of the significance of visiting the gravesite of al-Husayn (‘a) on the 40th of Safar.
One of them is Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi who discusses the merits of visiting the shrine of al-Husayn (‘a) on p. 17, Vol. 2, of his bookAl-Tahthib
. Having narrated the traditions referring to the merits of any visit to his shrine, he started discussing those to be performed on specific dates one of which is ‘Ashura. After that he quoted this samehadith
.
On p. 551 ofMisbah al-Mutahajjid
(Bombay edition), the month of Safar is discussed and so are the significant events that took place during it. Then the author goes on to say, “On the 20th of Safar, the ladies of Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) returned from Syria to the city of the Prophet (S).
They were the first to make such a visit (ziyarat
). Also, Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari came at the same time to visit the gravesite of Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a), thus becoming the very first person outside al-Husayn's family to do so. Such isziyarat
al-Arba’in
.
Imam Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-’Askari (‘a), is quoted as saying,‘The marks of a mu'min are five..., etc.' Abul-Rayhan al-Biruni has said, ‘On the 20th of Safar, the head [of al-Husayn] was returned to the body and buried with it. In it, there is ziyarat al-Arba’in, and so is the event of the return of his ladies from Syria.'”
‘Allama al-Hilli
says the following in his book ofziyarat
after one performs theHajj
as recorded in his book Al-Muntaha:“It is highly recommended to visit the gravesite of al-Husayn (‘a), on the twentieth of Safar.” The shaikh quotes Imam Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-’Askari (‘a) saying, “There are five marks for a believer..., etc.”
Sayyid Radiyy ad-Din ‘Ali Ibn Tawus, in his bookAl-Iqbal
, discusses theziyarat
of al-Husayn's shrine on the twentieth of Safar saying,“We have narrated through isnad to my grandfather Abu Ja’far [Imam al-Baqir (‘a)] what he narrated by way of isnad to our master, al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali al-’Askari, saying, ‘The marks of a believer are five..., etc.'”
Al-Majlisi, may Allah elevate his status, in his bookMazar al-Bihar
, quotes the samehadith
as he discusses the virtues of visiting the shrine of al-Husayn (‘a) on the Arba’in. In the discussion ofziyarat
that follows the Hajj, shaikh Yousuf al-Bahrani includes in his bookAl-Hada’iq
the topic of visiting al-Husayn's gravesite on the 20th of Safar, describing it as one of the distinguishing marks of a mu'min.
In the same reference, shaikh ‘Abbas al-Qummi narrates the same tradition fromAl-Tahthib
andMisbah al-Mutahajjid
as proof for the preference ofziyarat
al-Arba’in
without making any reference to visiting“forty believers”!
Some scholars base their exclusion ofziyarat
al-Arba’in
on the claim that the Imam (‘a), never referred to rewards in the hereafter for those who visit his shrine during it despite the fact that when Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) encourage visiting the shrine of the oppressed Imam (‘a) and those of other Imams of Guidance (‘a), they mention the rewards in the hereafter due to one who performs such aziyarat
. Such a claim should be discarded in the light of the fact that when narrating the said tradition, the Imam (‘a) was highlighting the marks that distinguish a mu'min from others, countingziyarat
al-Arba’in
as one such mark of distinction. This is what we have already clarified. He was not discussing the rewards due to one who performs such a visit.
Shaikh al-Mufid, in his bookMasar al-Shi’a
, discusses how commendable and rewardable it is to perform a visit to the Imam's grave on the 20th of Safar. So does ‘Allama al-Hilli
in his bookAl-Tathkira
wal Tahrir. The same applies to Mulla Musin al-Fayz in his bookTaqwim al-Muhsinin
. The reason why shaikh al-Baha'i, in his book titled Tawzih al-Maqasidal-Arba’in
, suggests the 19th of Safar instead, is based on the tenth day of the Arba’in (forty days) under discussion, something that contradicts what is already established.
Hosts reached you in earnest roaring,
Rare among the hosts, to defend you.
Do not grant any respite to the lowly one;
How humiliated was lowliness by Hayder!
And revive the life of uprising anew,
Wherein dignity is supported and aided,
And draw for the victors a scheme
Wherein the thrones of the reckless are annihilated.
If a charged hour did not to your call respond
It is shamed, and in more times opportune
Did it indeed to you respond.
Rise and eye the Sacred House,
Then cast another look at your shrine:
That surely is the greatest pilgrimage:
It has become the pride of life and it is rightly so.
Proud of him: the blood of martyrdom is a cause of pride.
Whatever elevated your status they sanctified,
I hide it as do the oppressed,
Yet it surely manifests itself:
Authority complained about its luck and missed
Its pillars, from abusers who took charge,
Blackened, its forehead charred, its pillars
Resent those who with it play havoc and conspire,
And caliphate no longer knows the Muslims,
Abomination therein assails righteousness.
Blackened with a forehead charred
In it apes flourished, tigers filled with filth,
Its cups on the ears poured its tones,
And even during the prayers are cups circulated around!
Such farce is renounced by each and every mosque
That lost its glory, and it causes every pulpit to cry.
So it complains to you, for it then to a hero complains,
One who is mindful and vengeful for the sake of reform.
Virtues are folded up, how great!
This is the mother of virtues every year unfolded!
Leafless, its branches withered, with your blood watered,
So how good and fruitful what you had cultivated!
Against abominations are you called upon.
By a call for help, red, bloody, on a bloody day
TheShari’a
did complain about limits changed
And about injunctions there altered.
Their beauty did Umayyah rob so they became
Images formed as misguidance pleases;
Desires blew on them so they are captives complaining:
Who other than Husayn can emancipate?
He met his youths in the morning and led to be
For the Lord's creed sacrifices,
So they were slaughtered.
He conveyed the message as much as he could
Its conveyance was through blood spilled and shed.
In care of reform is the forehead of a man of honour
Bloodied, while the forehead is rubbed with dust.
Labbayk! A lonely man surrounded by large hordes
Counting as many as the pebbles in number, none can count.
Labbayk! A thirsty man whose thirst was never quenched
While in his palms seas of virtues flowed.
These are the tears of those loyal to you,
So quench from them a head almost split
And be kind to these hearts for they wish
You had been in the ribs entombed.
They stampede to uphold the rites
Less magnificent are the Safa and the Mash’ar.
They rode for their sake every sort of danger
Hands almost cut off, skulls almost sawed.
They came to you on the Arba’in and how I wish they
Were with you on theTaff
Day when you solicited help!
They found your path to be one for safety
To which they erected the bridge of loyalty
And they hold you as their hope in a fearful Hour
Either to Hell, or to the Pool of Kawthar.
And both opponents when they meet you shall know
Who will drink of it, and who will not a drop draw.
In Medina
Al-Sajjad (‘a) had no choice except to leave Karbala’ and set forth to Medina after having stayed there for three days. It was too much for him to see how his aunts and the other women, as well as the children, were all crying day and night while visiting one grave after another.
She complains about her foes
And his folks does she mourn,
What a condition wherein patience unfolded
And patience did depart.
So we mourn her and complain
With the blood of the insides tears are mixed.
And agony penetrates even a solid stone
So the heart is into bits and pieces torn.
Bashir Ibn Hathlam has said, “When we came close to Medina, ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) alighted and tied his she-camel then set up a tent where he lodged the women. He said to me, ‘O Bashir! May Allah have mercy on your father! He was a poet. Can you compose any of it at all?' I said, ‘Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah! I, too, am a poet.'
He (‘a) said, ‘Then enter Medina and mourn the martyrdom of Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a).' So I rode my horse and entered Medina. When I came near the Mosque of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, I cried loudly and recited these verses:
O people of Yathrib! May you never stay therein!
Al-Husayn is killed, so my tears now rain,
His body is in Karbala’ covered with blood
While his head is on a spear displayed.
“Then I said, ‘Here is ‘Ali son of al-Husayn (‘a) accompanied by his aunts and sisters; they have all returned to you. I am his messenger to you to inform you of his place.’ People went out in a hurry, including women who had never before left their chambers, all weeping and wailing. All those in Medina were in tears. Nobody had ever seen such crying and wailing.
They surrounded ‘Ali Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) to offer him their condolences. He came out of the tent with a handkerchief in his hand with which he was wiping his tears. Behind him was one of his slaves carrying a chair on which the Imam (‘a) later sat, being overcome by grief. The cries of the mourners were loud. Everyone was weeping and wailing. He signaled to people to calm down.
Once they stopped crying, he (‘a) said,
“All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment, Creator of all creation Who is Exalted in the high heavens, Who is so near, He hears even the silent speech.
We praise Him on the grave events, on time's tragedies, on the pain inflicted by such tragedies, on the crushing of calamities, on the greatness of our catastrophe, on our great, monstrous, magnanimous and afflicting hardships. O people! Allah, the most Exalted One, Praise to Him, has tried us with great trials and tribulations, with a tremendous loss suffered by the religion of Islam.
The father of ‘Abdullah, al-Husayn (‘a), and his family have been killed, and his women and children taken captive. They displayed his head in every land from the top of a spear... Such is the catastrophe similar to which there is none at all. O people! Which men among you are happy after him, or which heart is not grieved on his account?
Which eye among you withholds its tears and is too miserly with its tears? The seven great heavens wept over his killing; the seas wept with their waves, and so did the heavens with their corners and the earth with its expanse; so did the trees with their branches and the fish in the depths of the seas. So did the angels who are close to their Lord. So did all those in the heavens.
O people! Which heart is not grieved by his killing? Which heart does not yearn for him? Which hearing hears such a calamity that has befallen Islam without becoming deaf?
O people! We have become homeless, exiles, outcasts, shunned, distanced from all countries as though we were the offspring of the Turks or of Kabul without having committed a crime, nor an abomination, nor afflicted a calamity on Islam! Never did we ever hear such a thing from our fathers of old. This is something new.
By Allah! Had the Prophet (S) required them to fight us just as he had required them to be good to us, they would not have done to us any more than what they already have.
So we belong to Allah, and to Him is our return from this calamity, and what a great, painful, hard, cruel, and catastrophic calamity it is! To Allah do we complain from what has happened to us, from the suffering we have endured, for He is the Omnipotent, the Vengeful.”
“Suhan Ibn Sa’sa’ah al-’Abdi, an invalid who could barely walk on his feet, stood up and apologized to the Imam (‘a) for not rushing to help his family due to his handicap. He (‘a), responded to him by accepting his excuse, telling him that he thought well of him, thanked him and sought Allah's mercy for his father. Then Zayn al-’Abidin entered Medina accompanied by his family and children.”
Ibrahim Ibn Talhah Ibn ‘Ubaydullah came to the Imam (‘a) and asked him,“Who won?”
The Imam (‘a), answered,“When the time for prayers comes, and when the athan and iqama are called, you will know who the winner is.”
As for Zainab, that is, Umm Kulthum, she recited the following verses of poetry:
O city of our Grandfather! Accept us not
For with sighs and griefs we come;
We left you surrounded by kith and kin
And returned with neither sons nor men.
Then she took both knobs of the mosque's door and cried out,“O grandfather! I mourn to you my brother al-Husayn!”
Sukayna cried out,“O grandfather! To you do I complain from what we have been through, for by Allah, I never saw anyone more hard-hearted than Yazid, nor have I ever seen anyone, be he an apostate or a polytheist, more evil than him, more rough, or more cruel. He kept hitting my father's lips with his iron bar as he said, ‘How did you find the battle, O Husayn?!'”
The ladies who were born and grew up in the lap of Prophethood held a mourning ceremony for the Master of Martyrs (‘a). They put on the coarsest of clothes; they shrouded themselves in black, and they continued to weep and wail day and night as Imam al-Sajjad kept cooking for them.
Once Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) said,“No lady who descended from Hashim used any dye, nor any oil or any kohl, for full five years; it was then that al-Mukhtar sent them the head of ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad.”
As regarding al-Rubab, she mourned [her husband] Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) till her eyes were no longer capable of producing tears. One of her bondmaids told her that using a particular type of herb was a tear stimulant, so she ordered it to be prepared for her in order to induce her tears.
Among the poetry she composed in eulogizing her husband, Abu ‘Abdullah al-Husayn (‘a), is the following:
The one that used to be a lantern
Is now at Karbala’, killed, unburied.
O grandson of the Prophet! May Allah
Reward you on our behalf and may you
Never fall short of the Scales.
A great mountain you used to be
A shelter, secure, for me,
And a companion in family
And in faith a surety.
Now who shall for the orphans be
Of help, and who shall be for the needy?
Who shall be the resort of the destitute?
By Allah! Never shall I seek
For you at all any substitute,
Till between the sands and the mud is my abode
Wherein I will be hidden from the world.
Conclusion
Imam ‘Ali Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a), son of Imam Husayn (‘a), stayed aloof from public life in order to avoid being involved in their disputes with one another and in order to dedicate his entire time to worshipping Allah and mourning his father. He kept weeping day and night. One of his slaves said to him,“I fear for you lest you should perish
”
He (‘a) said to him,“I only convey my complaints and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah what you all do not know. Jacob was a prophet from whom Allah caused one of his sons to be separated. He had twelve sons, and he knew that his son was still alive, yet he wept over him till he lost his eyesight.
If you look at my father, my brothers, my uncles, and my friends, how they lay slain all around me, tell me how can my grief ever end? Whenever I remember how Fatima's children were slaughtered, I cannot help crying. And whenever I look at my aunts and sisters, I remember how they were fleeing from one tent to another...”
The fire burning in the tent did he see
While he was the tent of honour and dignity.
He saw how apostasy and misguidance assailed
The daughters of the wahi and the creed.
He saw about the ladies of Prophethood
What the norms of manliness hold as abhorred:
Their looting and their beating
While none to help them besides their Lord.
He saw shy and pure ladies' faces uncovered
To the son of the prostitute driven.
He saw how the pure and virtuous ladies stood
Before ignominy: Yazid, the tyrant, how they cried.
And they were in the ropes tied
Before the assembly of every villain and dastard displayed.
To you, O Messenger of Allah (S), is our complaint from the way whereby your nation treated your pure offspring, from the oppression and persecution to which they were subjected, and all Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
Eulogies
Arabs eulogize their lost ones with poems. Since the tragedy took place, innumerable poems have been composed eulogizing Imam Husayn (‘a) and innumerable others will be composed till the Day of Judgment. The following are some of them. We preferred to keep them without an English translation due to our belief that no translation into any language can do justice to them. They are better appreciated in their own language.
We pray the Almighty to grant His guidance to all those who read this book, who benefit from it, and who pass it on to others, Allahomma Ameen.
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Author: Abd al Razzaq al-Muqarram
