Ashura The Tale of the Imam Hussien (7 page)

John, the servant of Aba Thar, stood before Hussain asking for permission to fight. He said to him, "0 John! You joined us in quest of welfare; you are therefore, free to part my company". John knelt kissing the Imam's feet and pleading with him "In felicity, I lick your bowls; in adversity I will never let you down! Since my smell is bad, my lineage is humble and my colour is black, I look forward to that day in heaven when you breathe in me making my smell pleasant, my pedigree honourable, and my complexion white. Nay! by God I am not parting with you until this black blood of mine is fused with your blood!" Hussain gave him the permission. He fought valiantly killing twenty five soldiers. He then was killed. Imam Hussain attended his body and said, "0 Lord! Whiten his face and sweeten his smell and gather him (on the Day of Resurrection) with Mohammad and let him be identified with the household of Mohammad
"
. It was related that whomsoever passed by the battlefield smelled the aroma of his body which was more pleasant than musk.

Anas bin Al-Harith bin Nabih Al-Kahili, who was an elderly Companion saw the Apostle, heard his talk, and took part with him in Badr and Hunain battles, sought permission from Hussain, With his turban cloth, he assaulted the enemy troops killing about eighteen before he was killed. When Hussain sow him thus he wept and said,

"May Allah reward you!".

Amr bin Junadah Al-Ansari, a boy of eleven years, whose father was already killed in the battle, approached Hussain for permission to join the fight. Hussain was adamant not to let him do so saying, "This is a boy whose father was killed in the early campaign; his mother may hate to see him killed". The boy said, "My mother ordered me". He gave the permission to fight. No sooner the boy was killed and his severed head was thrown towards Hussain's camp. His mother took the boy's head, wiped the blood from it and hurled it at a nearby man and killed him. She then returned to the camp and fetched a tent pole, or some say a sword, singing war poetry and assaulting the enemy. Imam Hussain returned her to the camp after she had injured two men.

Al-Hajjaj bin Masrouq Al-Ju'fi fought until he was drenched with blood. He returned to Hussain to tell him how happy he was to meet Hussain's grandfather, Apostle of God, and his father the, vicegerent. Hussain replied, "I will soon meet them too". He then returned to the battlefield and got killed.

The Ansaris (Medinese) Sa'ad bin al-Harith and his brother Abul Hutoof heard Hussain's cry for help and the wailing of members of his family. They defected from Ibn Sa'ad army and joined Hussain's band. They fought the enemy and got killed.

Abush-Sha'tha Yazid bin Ziad Al-Kindi, who was on Sa'ad's side did the same by joining Hussain's. He was an archer. He knelt in front of Hussain and shot a hundred arrows. Hussain used to pray for him, "0 Lord! Make his shot hit the target and reward him with paradise". When his arrows ran out he stood up and said, "It seems as though I killed five combatants". He attacked the enemy and killed another nine.

Bidding Hussain farewell, Swaid bin Amr bin Abil Muta' set forth and fought bravely until he was critically wounded. He fell face down. It was thought that he was dead; however when heard that Hussain was killed, he got up brandished a knife, and attacked the enemy; he was then set upon by the thugs and was killed. He was the last of Hussain's companions to be killed before Hussain's martyrdom,

"Died other martyrs, one by one,
All were fearless, coward none.
Plucked were the Prophet's "blooms" in a day
Leaf by leaf-on the sand they lay.
Juveniles, adolescents, young and old,
An army not; seventy-two, all told
I groaned aghast as Hussain I saw,
(His visage stately, with no flaw")

Part 11 - The Martyrdom of Ali al-Akbar

The Martyrdom of Ahl ul-Bayt (A) - The Posterity of the Prophet (S)

Since none of the companions who fought with Hussain was spared, members of his immediate family got ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in a manner that was characteristic of the pedigree of the Prophet - sheer determination, unrivalled bravery, and scant regard to personal safety. They bade farewell to each other, The first to come forward was Abul Hassan Ali al-Akbar who was twenty seven years old. He took permission from his father, Hussain and mounted his horse and met in combat with the Kufans. A man from amongst the crowd shouted, "O Ali! You relate to Yazid - for his mother Layla was daughter of Maymoona daughter of Abi Sufyan - and we want to respect this relationship. We may grant you an amnesty and a refuge if you wish". He said "The kinship of the Apostle of God should be second to none." He pressed on proclaiming who he was.

Imam Hussain could not hold back his tears and shouted at Omar bin Sa'ad, "What has become of you? May Allah bereave you of your kindred as you have made me bereft of mine, and did not respect my relationship of the Prophet. May Allah set on you an adversary who will slay you in your bed." He then raised his hands to the sky and said, "0 Lord! Bear witness on those people for he who emerged to them is bearing a strong likeness to Your Prophet in all departments - resemblance of disposition, complexion, and logic. Hence we look at him when we crave to see Your Apostle. 0 Lord! Deprive them of the riches of the land, divide them, rend them asunder and turn them into smithereens. Never make the rulers be happy with them, for they sent for us so that they may support us but transgressed against us and killed us." He then recited Allah's words,
"
Surely, Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of Imran above the nations, offspring, one of the other, and Allah is Hearing Knowing".

Ali al-Akbar continued fighting. He killed all those who had the guts to meet him in duel. He killed scores of combatants.

Since thirst greatly contributed to his overstraining, he returned to his father to rest and complain of what thirst had done to him. Hussain cried, appealed for help and said, "You will soon meet your grandfather who will water you from his tumbler that you will never be thirsty again". He sucked his tongue to alleviate his predicament and gave him his ring to put in his mouth.

Ali returned to the battlefield happy to be told by his father that be would meet his grandfather, the Prophet. He delved into their ranks dispersing them. It seemed as though it were his grandfather, Imam Ali roaring in the battle ground fighting them. He killed more Kufans.

When the death toll mounted, Murra bin Munqidh al-Abdi made a pledge saying, "I shall bear all the sins of the Arabs, if I do not bereave his father." He ran his lance into his back and dealt him a blow on his head causing it to split. He embraced his horse which took him to the enemy camp where he was encircled by the troops who cut him into pieces.

On the brink of dying, he could muster a shout, "0 Aba Abdillah! Farewell. Here is my grandfather; from whose cup I have drunk. Never again I will be thirsty. He says that there will be a cup waiting for you". Hussain hurried to him bending on him, putting his cheek over Ali's and murmuring, "Life is no longer worth living after your departure. How dare they encroach on Allah and violate the sanctity of the Prophet. Alas! It is hard on your grandfather and your father that you call on them for help which they cannot provide".

He then scooped a handful of his pure blood and throw it to the sky; not a single drop fell to the ground! That is why in the visitation ceremony we used to address him, "May my parents be sacrificed for you as you were wrongfully slain; for your blood which ascended to the heavens, for your sacrifice before your father in anticipation of God's reward. Yet he parted with you in extreme heart rending situation when he threw your blood to the sky as an offering and none of it fell to the ground.."

Hussain ordered his youth to carry his body to the tent, where the free females of the household of the Apostle of God gathered around him crying, wailing beating their breasts, and plucking their hair. Zainab al-Kubra (Senior), the pick of Bani Hashim threw herself on his body cuddling it for she saw in his demise her waning strength, the departure of the protector of her privacy and honour, and the crumbling of the buttress of her house.

Part 12 - The Campaign of the Abi Talibs

After Ali ul-Akbar, Abdullah bin Muslim bin Aqeel bin Abi Talib whose mother was Ruqaiyyah al-Kubra, daughter of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali, was next to go to war. In three attacks, he killed a bunch of enemy soldiers. Yazid bin ar-Raqqad al-Juhni shot him with an arrow from which he protected his head with his arm. The arrow pierced his arm and lodged into his forehead sewing the two together. Failing to dislodge his arm from his forehead, he sent an outcry saying, "0 Lord! They trampled on and humiliated us. So, God kill them as they killed us." As he was in that state, a man thrust his spear into his heart causing his death. Yazid bin Ar-Raqqad approached the dead body and plucked his arrow from his forehead causing the arrow to come off leaving the arrowhead buried into the forehead.

Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Akbar (Senior) son of Imam Ali son of Ramla, who was a slave-girl, fought bravely until he was killed.

After Abu Bakr al-Qassim, the turn was for his brother al-Qassim who was just a boy. When Hussain looked at him he embraced him and wept. He gave him permission to fight. His face exuding with light, sword in hand, wearing a shirt and a loin-cloth, and a pair of sandals. As he was engaged in combat his sandals snapped. Paying scant regard to the enemy soldiers, he stopped to tie it up for he did not want to be seen bare-footed by the enemy.

As he was thus Amr bin Sa'ad bin Nufail al-Azdi assaulted him. Hamid bin Muslim said to him, "What do you want of this boy? Is it not enough that all these troops have cut him off!" Amr replied, "By God! I have to harass him." He did not turn away before he dealt him a blow on the head causing him to fall face down. He called on his uncle, "0 Uncle!" Hussain hurried to him as if he were a furious lion and struck Sa'ad with his sword; he lift his arm to protect his head, only to be severed from the elbow. He sent out a loud cry. When the troops heard it, the horsemen launched an attack to evacuate him; he was knocked down and trampled on by the horses and was killed.

When the dust settled, Imam Hussain was seen standing near the boy's head; the boy was kicking. Hussain was saying,
 
"
Lo! to those who killed you. Their adversary on the Day of Judgement shall be your grandfather".

"It is with regret that your uncle has been helpless, when you called on me I could not respond to your call, and when I responded there was nothing I could do. By God! It is a cry met with abundance of harm than help", he added. He carried him to the make-shift mortuary, where the bodies of Ali ul-Akbar and members of the Apostle's household lay. He lift his head towards the sky and invoked God, "0 Lord! Do not lose count of them, and do not forgive them ever! 0 Cousins! forbear in adversity; you shall never see disgrace after today".

Part 13 - The Killing of Al-Abbas and his Brothers

When Abbas saw the death toll mounting amongst members of his family, he said to his brothers, Abdullah, 0thman and Ja'far, "0 Sons of my mother! Go forth to meet the enemy so that I may bear witness that you kept your covenant with Allah and His Apostle". He turned to Abdullah who was older than Othman and said to him, "Come forward, brother, so that I may witness your killing and thus be considered (by God)". So, they all fought in the presence of their brother, Al-Abbas till they were killed.

Al-Abbas reached the tether of his patience not to follow in the footsteps of his brethren and companions, especially when he could see that "The proof of the Time", Imam Hussain is getting increasingly beleaguered, his supply root cut, the screams of women and the crying of children, who were thirsty, filled his ears. He, therefore, asked his brother to allow him to meet the enemy in combat. Since Abbas was the most valued asset Hussain cherished because the enemy are wary of his attack and fearful of his courage, and the women feel safe and secure so long as they saw the standard hoisted, Imam Hussain did not wish to part company with him and said, "0 Brother! You are the bearer of my flag".