KARBALA
PLACE OF KARBALA
When they reached Nineveh the governor of Kufa sent a letter to Hur with a messenger stating that Imam Husain and his people should be taken to an open place where there is no water or shelter. The letter also stated that the messenger was to stay with Hur until governor's ordered had been carried out. When Hur informed Imam Husain of governor's letter, Imam Husain said, "Let us stay here and do not give us too much trouble, and if you cannot do this then let us go to a Gatheria Mashifiya." (This was a place where there were trees and water ). Hur said, "You know that I cannot do this as The governor has sent a messenger to watch over me and ensure I obey his orders."
Zuhair bin Keen who was from Imam Husain`s group said, "My village is very near and if you wish we could go there. My advice is that we should start a battle with Hur's men now, as tomorrow the governor will send more men and it will be impossible to defeat them." Imam Husain said that he did not want to start the battle. Zuhair bin Keen then suggested, "We should leave for my village because Hur and his army will try to stop us, and then we can fight with them and you would not have started the fight. Although there are already thousands of them, their numbers are increasing daily." Imam Husain continued with the journey and eventually on 2nd Muharram 61 Hijra they reached Karbala.
UMAR BIN SA`D ARRIVES AT KARBALA
Umar bin Sa`d was the son of one of the companions of our Prophet (p.b.u.h.). He lived in Kufa. The governor told him that a movement had emerged against the government in Dalam and he should go there and destroy it. He would be given an army of 4,000 men and after he has destroyed this movement he will be appointed as the new governor of the province of Rayye." When Umar bin Sa`d was ready to leave, Ibn Ziyad suddenly changed his mind and said, "Instead of going to Dalam, go to Karbala where Imam Husain has gone and is camping and is trying to mobilize the people against this government." Umar bin Sa'd said, "If I have to go into battle or arrest Imam Husain then I am not willing to go." The governor said, "You know that I have appointed you the governor of Rayye. I will suspend you and not give you the governorship of Rayye unless you do as I demand." Umar bin Sa'd asked for sometime to reconsider his options. He thought very deeply and asked his friends and advisers on what he should do. Deep down inside he did not want to go and his advisers also told him not to go as Imam Husain was the grandson of the Prophet ( p.b.u.h.). He went to Ibn Ziyad and recited a poem saying, "I have two options before me. One is that I become governor of Rayye and fulfil my desires. Secondly, I should confront Imam Husain and kill him in battle and be hated amongst all the people and enter into Hell." After reciting this poem he said to Ibn Ziyad, "I am not going to fight against Imam Husain and I do not want your governorship of Rayye but if you send so and so he will go and fulfil your orders."
Ibn Ziyad said, "If you do not want to go then go home, I do not require your advice on who to send or who not to send. I am above you in rank and have greater knowledge on these matters than you do." When the governor said this, Ibn Sa`d was startled; he began to reconsider his position. After careful consideration he decided to take the post and become in charge of the army. He got his men ready and left for Karbala. Upon reaching Karbala he met Imam Husain and enquired, "Why did you come to Kufa?" Imam Husain replied, "I came to Kufa because I was invited through letters, messages and personal invitations and now that I have reached here you do not want me to be here."
Ibn Sa`d said that he would write a letter to his governor Ibn Ziyad to see what he would like Imam Husain to do. Imam Husain said, "Could you write in your letter that if you do not let us enter Kufa then would you please let us return to Makkah because I dod not want to cause anarchy in the country." When Ibn Ziyad received the letter from Ibn Sa`d, he wrote back saying, "Tell Imam Husain to swear allegiance to King Yazid. If he does, then we shall come to an agreement but if he does not then we shall fight with him and his people. We will also stop their supply of drinking water." Ibn Sa`ad sent 500 of his men with Umar Ibn al-Hajjaj as their leader. On 7 th of Muharram he was given orders to go to the river and stop Imam Husain and his people from obtaining any water from it. When Imam Husain and his men started to run out of water from their containers, Imam Husain told his brother to take 20 people with him and go to the river Euphrates to get some water. On the way back from the river Imam Husain`s brother and the people with him were attacked by the enemy. After this incident Imam Husain sent Umar bin Qurza to go and see Umar Bin Sa`d, and tell him that Imam Husain would like to have a meeting with him. Both Imam Husain and Umar Bin Sa`ad met and had a long discussion and then went back to their own camps. They had several meetings like this and then Umar Bin Sa`ad wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad.
In the letter he stated, "I feel that we will not have to go into battle with Imam Husain and his followers because Imam Husain has made three requests, and if we agreee to any one of these requests then this problem can be solved.
His requests are:
1. Allow him to return to Makkah where he had come from.
2. Allow him to join one of the forces that are in Jihad with
the non-believers, so he may fight along side them.
3. Take him to king Yazid in Syria so he may personally
have a conversation with him.
NOTE: In some narrations Imam Husain has asked to let him go to Yazid so he could swear allegiance to him. But this narration is not authentic, if he had said this then there was no need for the war to take place because this was what the government wanted. This narration has been rejected by Uqbah bin Saman, who was reported to be present with Imam Husain during all meetings and claimed that he did not say such a thing.
When Ibn Ziyad read this letter he said, "I accept these requests because the letter which has come to me is from a person who is thinking of the best interests of the government and the people."
SHIMAR BIN ZIL JAWSHAN`S ADVICE
Shimar bin Zil Jawshan was present when Ibn Ziyad read the letter. He stood up and said to Ibn Ziyad, "How can you let someone leave who has come to overthrow you? He is in your area at the moment, in your grip, I swear by Allah Most High that if he leaves now without swearing allegiance to you, he will become more powerful than you. He will gather a large number of his followers and then you will not be able to stop him fulfilling his ambition. I advise you to force him to pledge allegiance to you at this moment and if he refuses then you should punish him. If you forgive him and let him go then you will be blamed. I swear by Allah Most High again that I have also found out that there have been meetings going on at night between Imam Husain and Umar bin Sa'd. From this you can imagine that they are conspiring against you."
LETTER OF IBN ZIYAD
Shimar's advice appealed to Ibn Ziyad and he gave him a letter to take to Umar bin Sa'd. In the letter he told Umar bin Sa'd, "I did not send you to talk to Imam Husain and waste time pleading with him on my behalf. I order you to attack and kill Imam Husain and his followers if they refused to pledge their allegiance to me. After you have killed them, I want you to decapitate them, cut off their noses and ears and poke out their eyes, so that they are not recognisable. That is the punishment they deserve for rebelling against the government. Then take their bodies and throw then into an open field and ride your horses over them at high speed so that their flesh is separated from their bones. If you obey my orders, then you will be rewarded with gifts from me, but if you do not then I am immediately suspending you from your post and appointing Shimar in charge of the army." Ibn Ziyad also told Shimar that he would be appointed commander of the army if Umar bin S'ad failed to comply with his orders.
Shimar took this letter to Umar bin Sa'd. After reading the letter Umar bin Sa'd said, "I thought Ibn Ziyad might compromise and make peace with Imam Husain but I did not expect him to react in such a cruel manner." Shimar said, "You were mistaken then. Now tell me whether you are going to obey his orders or will I have to kill you and cut your head off and send it to Ibn Ziyad?"
Umar bin Sa'd assured Shimar that he would obey Ibn Ziyad's orders. Then Shimar called some of his relatives who were in Imam Husain's group; their names were Abdullah, Abbas, Jaffer, and Uthman. He said, "Come with me and live a life of peace and tranquillity." They replied, "You are cursed and evil, we are not going to come with you. We will stay with Imam Husain. If we come with you we will be punished with Hellfire, and if we stay with Imam Husain then we will enter Paradise."
Imam Husain and some of his followers were sat outside their tents at the time of Asar prayers. They saw that Umar bin Sa`ad was coming towards them with some of his followers. Imam Husain's brother Sayyiduna Abbas said, "I have a feeling the people who are coming towards us are here to fight. Get up and get ready to attack them," Imam Husain told them to prepare for the battle. His brother said, "Let me go first and ask why they have come." Sayyiduna Abbas took twenty people with him and said to Umar bin Sa'd "What is your reason for coming her?" Umar bin Sa'd replied that he had come to inform Imam Husain of the contents of the letter which Ibn Ziyad had sent. Upon finding out Ibn Ziyad's intentions, Imam Husain told Sayyiduna Abbas to tell Umar to give them until tonight to make Dua (supplication), recite the Qur'an and perform Salah (prayers). Whatever is destined to happen tomorrow will happen. Umar agreed to give them until the morning to prepare for the battle. They each returned to their own tents.
IMAM HUSAIN GAVE A TALK TO HIS COMPANIONS
Imam Husain gathered all his people together and said, "All praise to Allah Most High, and praise to Allah Most High that he gave my grandfather the Prophet hood. And O Allah Most High I thank you for the fact that I was born into the family of the Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam) and for giving us the Holy Qur'an. O people! You have been very loyal to me, you have stayed with me through good and bad. My sons and my relatives are all related to the Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam) and are all pious people.
"O People! I had a dream last night and in it I am looking at someone in the distance mounted on a horse and he was saying to me that people are moving, and death is following them. And I also saw the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) who said tomorrow evening we would be meeting together. As you know these people are thirsty for my blood, they want to kill me. I give you my permission to go back to Makkah because they only want to kill me. I am happy with you all and willingly give you permission to go."
When they heard this they all spoke together and told him that they were prepared to sacrifice their lives for him. "We swear to Allah Most High that wherever you go we will go with you; whatever hardship you endure, we will suffer with you. What use are our lives without you?" When he heard them say this he told them to go to their tents.
IMAM HUSAIN GAVE COMFORT TO HIS SISTER ZAINEB
In the evening, Imam Husain was reciting some sad poetry when his sister Zaineb heard him. She came out of her tent, and said, "O I wish that I were not alive today, so that I would not have to see this day." Imam Husain said to his sister, "What are you saying? Where is your patience? Be afraid of Allah Most High, and believe in his commands and thank Allah Most High. My mother, Fatima, who was the daughter of our Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam) has passed away. My father, Ali, has also passed away. My brother, Hasan, has gone as well. And all the people who are on this earth will one day have to die and even the angels will have to die. And there is no doubt that one day will come when everything will be destroyed, and there will be only Allah Most High. My father was better than me, my mother was better than me, my brother was better than me. We all have to obey our Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam). If the people who were better than us have gone then who are we to think we will not? We will have to go one day. O my sister, if I were to die tomorrow then I do not want you to pull your hair or beat your chest or cry loudly. Be patient because Allah is pleased with those who are patient." When she heard this, she became very quite and went inside her tent.
Imam Husain called his people and said, "Tighten all the ropes which are connected to each tent, and dig a trench around the tents and set fire in them, so when the enemy come to attack us in the morning they will not be able to reach the tents." After doing this, they went and prayed until Fajar. Imam Husain led the Fajar prayer for his followers, and Umar bin Sa'd lead the prayer for his men. It was Friday the 10th of Muharram 61 AH.
IMAM HUSAIN'S HISTORICAL SERMON
When Imam Husain saw that both sides were ready to go to war, he mounted a camel and faced the opposition and made the following speech:
"O people do not rush to kill me as I am the grandson of our Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam), I have not come here of my own accord but have been called by you people. At this time, there is not a man on earth who is the grandson of a prophet apart from me. Pause to think for a while who am I ? If you want to know about me, go and ask the Prophet's companions who are still alive. Go and ask Jaffer bin Abdullah, Abu Sa'id, Suhail bin Sa'd, Zaid bin Arkam and Anas bin Malik. They will tell you how the Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam) used to love us. Tell me is it right for you to receive me with un-sheathed swords? Tell me, for what crime do you want to kill me? Have I killed anyone that you want to punish me for his or her murder? Or have I taken anybody's property? O people listen to me, did you not write letters asking me to come? Once again I say, I have come here because you have invited me. But since I have come here, you do not recognise me and you do not want to support me." He then finished his sermon and dismounted the camel.
EXCHANGE OF WORDS BETWEEN ZUHAIR AND SHIMAR
Zuhair bin Qayn, one of the supporters of Imam Husain, said, "O people of Kufa! We are all brothers, and we have not yet started to fight. On one side is the grandson of our Prophet and on the other side is Ibn Ziyad. You should leave that evil man and come and join Imam Husain's group. Those who contribute to the killing of the grandson of the Prophet will be in utter loss on the Day of Judgement because the Prophet will not intercede on their behalf. Victory lies with Imam Husain; with King Yazid and the governor there is nothing but shame." Shimar responded that Zuhair bin Qayn his group would all be punished and killed. Zuhair replied, "You should not interrupt us. We are honest supporters of Imam Husain, and for that reason we will be granted Paradise." Zouhair wanted to continue with this verbal battle, but Imam Husain told him to go back to his tent.
SEPARATION OF HUR BIN YAZID FROM THE ARMY OF UMAR BIN SA'D
When Umar bin Sa'd decided to attack, Hur came before him and asked him if they were going to fight with Imam Husain. And if they had not accepted his proposals.Umar bin Sa'd said that he wanted to accept one of those proposals but Ibn Ziyad had not agreed to any of those conditions. After listening to this Hur started to move closer and closer towards Imam Husain and his followers with thirty of his men. One person said, "Hur, why are your legs shaking? Hur answered "I am trying to decide whether to go to Paradise or to Hell." Before they knew it, he and his men were beside Imam Husain. He said "I am the person who made you encamp here and stopped you from going back to Makkah. I swear by Allah Most High I did not realise that the situation would escalate to such a degree that they would want to kill you. Whatever I have done was wrong. Can you tell me, if I ask for forgiveness, will Allah Most High forgive me? Imam Husain said, "Of course, Allah Most High will forgive you and I will make Dua for you that Allah Most High forgives you for your past sins."
In this way Hur joined Imam Husain and left Umar bin Sa'd's army. Hur then addressed Umar bin Sa'd's army:
"O people, why did you not accept any of the terms offered by Imam Husain? Do you think that Allah Most High will allow you to succeed and defeat the grandson of his beloved Prophet (pbuh)? Do you think that by killing Imam Husain you will gain salvation? O residents of Kufa! you called Imam Husain and have now left him alone. How sad it is that you have surrounded him in a place where he cannot go anywhere. And how pathetic it is that you have blocked the river (Euphrates) so that no person from his followers can have water. The Jews, Christians, Fire worshipers, dogs, pigs and other animals are drinking water but Imam Husain cannot have water. Is he not even worthy of drinking our water? O people, if you do not repent from this and give Imam Husain water, on the Day of Judgement Allah Most High will also not let you drink water from the river Kauther."
While Hur was making his speech the people started throwing arrows at him and he went inside the camp.
BEGINNING OF THE WAR
On 10th of Muharram Umar bin Sa'd got his bow and arrows ready and started to fire them towards Imam Husain and his followers. He said "O people, be my witness that I was the first one to shoot my arrows towards Imam Husain." When his people saw this they also started to shoot their arrows towards them. Afterwards Yassar the slave of Ziyad, and Salam, the slave of UbayduLlah came from Umar bin Sa'd's army and challenged Imam Husain and said, "Send two of your champions and we shall fight them." From Imam Husain's side, Abdullah bin Omair Kalbi came out to fight. He killed Yassar. Salam tried to kill Abdullah and struck a blow with which Abdullah lost the fingers of one of his hands. Then Abdullah struck a blow on Salam and killed him too. Nearby was his wife who came running towards him and said, "I am proud of you for your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the grandson of our Prophet (sallal laho alhi wasallam) and I am also with you." Abdullah said to her, "You should go back to where Imam Husain is." Then Abdullah went towards Umar bin Sa'ds army and started to fight with them. They all attacked him and martyred him. (May Allah grant him Paradise, Ameen)
END OF IBN JOZAH
Ibn Jozah was from the army of Umar bin Sa'd. He left his post and started to say to Imam Husain and his followers, "Where is Imam Husain? Which one of you is Imam Husain?" The third time he asked this, one of the people from the crowd said, "He is with us. What would you like to say to him?" Ibn Jozah said "O Imam Husain I have come to tell you that you are shortly going to enter the Hell fire." Imam Husain said, "You are a lair, after my death I am going to meet Allah Most High, who is the most Merciful and most Kind. Who are you?" Ibn Jozah told his name. Imam Husain then made a supplication (Dua) "O Allah Most High send him to the Hell Fire." Upon hearing this Ibn Jozah became angry when he heard this and tried to ride his horse towards Imam Husain at high speed. But his horse became frightened and tossed him over, whereby his foot got caught in the stirrup and he was left hanging to the ground. The horse started to gallop very fast and he was dragged along the floor. It got to the point that there was no flesh left on his face and he died. One of Ibn Jozah's friends said, "I am not going to fight with Imam Husain as his supplications are accepted immediately."
MARTYRDOM OF IBN KHUZAIR
Yazid bin Ma'qil came from the other side to challenge Imam Husain's companions to single combat. Ibn Khuzair came out from Imam Husain's side and said, "You people are liars and cheats. You should repent because you came to fight with Imam Husain." They started to fight and Ibn Khuzair killed Yazid bin Ma'qil. When his people saw this, they rushed over to attack Ibn Khuzair and K'ab bin Jabir martyred him. K'ab's wife was on Imam Husain's side. When she saw that her husband had killed Ibn Khuzair, she came over and said to him, "How can you kill a person who was the best amongst us in reading the Holy Qur'an, and was known as Sayyidul Qurah. I do not want anything to do with you. I am asking for a divorce from you as we have nothing in common."
MARTYRDOM OF UMAR BIN QURZAH
One of Imam Husain's followers Umar bin Qurzah came to help Ibn Khuzair and fought til he was also martyred. One of his brothers was in the army of Umar bin Sa'd. He shouted in a loud voice, "O Husain, you are a liar and your father was a lair also, and you brain-washed my brother so that he became your follower and was killed for you." Imam Husain answered, "I did not mislead your brother but Allah Most High guided him on the straight path. You are being misled." Upon hearing this Umar got angry and started to attack Imam Husain's side and said, "There will be either me or you left; only one of us will survive this battle." In the mean time, Nafi' bin Hilal from Imam Husain's side shot an arrow at him and injured him badly and then pulled his sword out ready to go and cut off his head. Just as he was about to do some people from the other side came and took him back, thus he survived.
After this two other people, Muzahim bin Harees and Yazid bin Sufyan came out to fight. They challenged anyone, asking who wanted to confront them. Nafi' bin Hilal and Hur came out for the single combat. It was the saem Hur who had deserted Umar bin Sa'd's army and had repented. They both went out to fight these two people and Allah Most High gave them victory over both of them. The losses suffered by Umar's army greatly worried Amar bin Hujjaj, so he suggested that rather than meeting Imam Husain's supporters in single combat,a general attack should be launched.Umar bin Sa'd agreed with his plan.
When Imam Husain heard this he said, "O Umar bin Hajjaj how can you turn the people against us. If you were to die in this position, in your heart you know who is speaking the truth and who is telling lies. Which of the two groups is on the straight path and which one is not." Hajjaj could not bear to listen to the truth so he attacked Imam Husain's side with the entire right-wing of the army under him. The attack was resisted by Imam Husain's companions but Muslim bin 'Awsaja was left on the ground of the battlefield. Imam Husain came to him and comforted him saying, "May Allah Most High be Merciful to you." Habib bin Muzahar, who was close-by, said, "May Allah Most High grant you Paradise." Muslim bin 'Awsaja opened his eyes and said, "Whatever happens, until you are alive do not leave Imam Husain's side as he is on the straight path." Thus 'Awsaja passed away.
RAIN OF ARROWS ON IMAM HUSAIN'S FOLLOWERS
The rival force decided to launch their attack at once, and simultaneously began to fire arrows at Imam Husain and his followers. Some of Imam Husain's followers and their horses sustained injuries. Even Hur's horse was injured, and many of the horses were no longer capable of being used in the battle. But the brave soldiers began fighting on foot and the fight dragged until the afternoon. By mid-afternoon the battle was in full force. Umar bin Sa'd and his followers saw that they were losing the battle and lost the courage to continue fighting. Eventually, Shimar and Umar bin Sa'd ordered the others to begin throwing fireballs on the tents of Imam Husain and his followers. When Imam Husain realised what they were planning to do, he came out of his tent and shouted, "Have you got no shame? There are children and women in these tents, how are they going to protect themselves if they get burnt?" He turned to Shimar and asked him, "Are you not ashamed to throw fireballs on my tent when my wife and children are inside it?" Shimar replied, "It does not matter to me that by burning down these tents I will go to Hell, I will burn them down anyway." Eventually, two men Humaid bin Muslim and Shabath bin Rib'i, told him that it was wrong to be attack the tents in this way, and they stopped throwing the fireballs at them.
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB BIN MUZAHAR AND HUR BIN YAZID
As people from Imam Husain's side were martyred during the course of the battle, his group of followers began to look very small in number. In contrast, when members of the opposition lost their lives it made no difference to their strength. In the mean time the hour for the Friday prayer arrived. Abu Thumama Sa'idi suggested to Imam Husain that they should ask the rival force to allow them to offer the Friday prayer, and if the enemy decided to kill them during the prayer then it will still be a great honour to die in the state of prayer. Imam Husain told him to ask Shimar if they were permitted to say the prayer.
He went to ask Shimar to stop the battle so that they could pray. Haseen bin Numair emerged from the ranks of the army saying, "what is the point of saying prayers when your prayers are not accepted." Habib bin Muzahar from Imam Husain's side said, "O dog of the world, do you think your prayers are accepted? How can you say that the prayers of the grandson of our Prophet (sallal laho alihi wa sallam) are not accepted? Are you not ashamed by saying this?" Haseen got angry and got on his horse and came very quickly towards Habib. Habib got his sword and waved it at him and hit him so hard that he fell off his horse and was badly injured. His companions ran to his rescue and took his body away and started to fight with Habib. Habib fought with them with great courage. Habib also killed Badeel bin Suream. Another person attacked Habib from behind and as he turned round to confront him Haseen came again and martyred Habib. When Imam Husain saw this he was deeply saddened by the fact that such a courageous man has been martyred.
Hur asked Imam Husain to allow him to sacrifice himself and take revenge for the death of Habib. Hur used his sword very effectively in the battlefield and killed amny men. This inspired such awe in the hearts of Umar bin S'ad's men that they began shooting arrows at him. Eventually, it was Abu Thamama who martyred him.
MARTYRDOM OF NAFI' BIN HILAL
Nafi' bin Hilal, one of Imam Husain's friends, was a very courageous person; he killed twelve of Umar bin Sa'd's soldiers. Eventually, he was injured so severly that they captured him and took him to Umar bin Sa'd. Umar bin Sa'd looked at Nafi' bin Hilal and said, "Look what we have done to you." Nafi' said, "I have killed twelve of your men and sent them to Hell Fire. If I had any more strength in my arms I would kill you and send you to the Hell Fire as well. But I am glad that I am fighting for Imam Husain and am going to be martyred by people who are on the wrong path. After saying this he breathed his last and joined many others in martyrdom.
SOME OTHER MARTYRS
The fighting continued and people would come to Imam Husain and ask him to be allowed to sacrifice themselves. Abdullah and Abdur'rahman who were from the Gafari tribe came to Imam Husain and asked for his permission to fight. Permission was granted and while fighting with Umar bin Sa'd's men they were martyred. Similarly, Saif and Malik came and begged for his leave. When they went in the battlefield, they told the rival force, "Leave the wrong path and join us on the straight path. How will you explain yourselves to Allah Most High on the Day of Judgement?" When they heard this Umar bin Sa'd's men attacked and martyred them. Similarly, Shawdhb bin Abdullah and Ibn Abi Shabib Shakri's servant, Shuzab, came to Imam Hussian to ask his permission to sacrifice their lives for the sake of saving the valuable principles of Islamic political system. They too achieved martyred. This pattern of events was repeated again and again and may people were martyrdom in this way.
MARTYRDOM OF IMAM HUSAIN'S FAMILY
When all his close friends and the followers who came with him had been martyred, the only people left were members of Imam Husain's immediate family: his young sons, his brother and himself. One of Imam Husain's sons, Ali Akbar, came to request Imam Husain to permit him to sacrifice himself in the cause of the Truth. Permission was granted and as he entered the battlefield, he killed many of Umar bin Sa'd's men but they were too great in number and he suffered repeated attacks at their hands. Murah bin Munqad Abdi attacked Ali Akbar from behind with a spear which made him fall to the ground. When the people saw him falling to the ground, they ran to him and attacked him with swords and martyred him. Oun, Abdur'rahman, and Jaffer went with Imam Husain to bring Ali Akbar's body back to the tent.
Abdullah bin Muslim then went to fight and was injured by Umar bin Subeah Saydani's arrow. He was on the ground. Umar saw his chance and shot another arrow and martyred Abdullah. The enemy were slowly surrounding them and Abdullah bin Qutbah Ta'i martyred Oun bin Abdullah bin Jaffer. Uthman bin Kahlid and Bisher bin Shawoth martyred Abdur'rahman bin Aqeel. Abdullah bin Urah Kashee martyred Jaffer bin Aqeel.
Qasim bin Hasan, Imam Husain's nephew, went to fight and as soon as he entered the battlefield, Umar bin Sa'd bin Nafaill Azdi attacked him viciously from behind. Qasim fell to the ground and shouted "O my uncle, O my uncle." When Imam Husain heard this he quickly went to his assistance and attacked Umar. Umar tried to save himself but his hand got injured and as he fell he shouted to his friends. His friends came in such a disordly fashion that a great commotion was caused by the galloping of so many horses and Umar was crushed to death by them.
Imam Husain stood by Qasim and said "How evil is this group, how bad are these people who have martyred you? Tomorrow on the Day of Judgement I will present you in front of Allah Most High and He will decide their fate. I have been forced into such a weak position that even when my nephew calls out to me for help I cannot help him. I have never before faced such helplessness, and I swear by Allah Most High that my enemies are great in number and my companions are few." While Imam Husain was talking to Qasim, he slowly passed away. Imam Husain carried his body on his back and brought him to where the bodies of Ali Akbar and other relatives had been kept. Abu Bakr bin Hasn was also attacked and martyred.
MARTYRDOM OF ABDULLAH BIN HUSAIN
For a short period of time the battle was less intense, Imam Husain walked out of the tent. After a while he sat down with his son, Abdullah bin Husain, in his lap. Abdullah bin Husain was four or five year old at that time. A person from Bani Asad shot an arrow which penetrated Abdullah's neck, and he was also martyred. Imam Husain looked up towards the sky and said "O Allah Most High, if you do not help us we will be killed one by one, take revenge on these tyrant people."
IMAM HUSAIN'S BROTHERS WERE MARTYRED
Abbas bin Ali, Imam Husain's brother called his two other brothers, Abdullah and Jaffer, and said, "Let us fight the enemy who are against Allah Most High and his Prophet, even if we have to be martyred." They fought with their all hearts, until Hani bin Sabet martyred Abdullah bin Ali and Jaffer bin Ali. A person from the tribe of Bani, Abban bin Daram, attacked Uthman bin Ali and knocked him down. Then he got on top of his chest, cut off his head and martyred him. Another person from the same tribe martyred Muhammad bin Ali. Abu Bakr bin Ali was also martyred.
IMAM HUSAIN WAS LEFT ALONE
Imam Husain's sons, nephews, brothers, relatives, friends and supporters – all had been martyred. Imam Husain was left alone. Imam Husain was thirsty and tired due to all the fighting. He started to go towards the river Euphrates so that he may have a drink. When he was close enough to have a drink, Haseen bin Numair shot an arrow that hit Imam Husain in the face. Imam Husain pulled the arrow out of his face and as he was wiping the blood, he kept saying; "O Allah Most High punish those who are doing these evil things to the grandson of your beloved Prophet. Punish those who are using force against me." Later, Shimar got ten of his men and went towards Imam Husain's tent. Imam Husain admonished them saying, "Don't you have any shame? Are you not afraid of the Hereafter? Have you lost all sense of humanity? Tell your men not to harm the women and children." When noone answered him, Imam Husain picked up his sword and started to fight. Shimar had with him Abdur Rahman bin Jofee, Qasam bin Nazeed Jofee, Sahleh bin Wahhab, Sinan bin Ans Nakhee, Khowlah bin Yazid Asbahee, and he shouted to them to surround Imam Husain, and kill him.
When they tried to surround Imam Husain, he attacked them and they all fell to the ground. In the end they all attacked him simultaneously. Even then Imam Husain fought them off. While this was happening, Sayyiduna Zaineb (Imam Husain's sister) came out of her tent to see what all the commotion was about. When she saw that her brother was being attacked, she looked up towards the sky saying, "O sky, why don't you fall down on the earth when they are attacking Imam Husain?" She saw Umar bin Sa'd and said to him, "Ibn Sa'd, my brother Husain will be martyred before your very eyes. Do you not have any shame?" Upon hearing this Umar bin Sa'd's eyes filled with tears and they rolled down into his beard. He had nothing to say in his defence and turned away from Sayyiduna Zaineb. Imam Husain continued fighting, determined not to surrender to those who had marked the beginning of Monarchism in Islam. He said to them, "You are hungry for my blood. I swear by Allah Most High that Allah Most High will not be pleased with you. Allah Most High will punish you for my death and he will take revenge before you even realise that He has done it. And I swear by Allah Most High that if you kill me the doors of bloodshed will be opened on you, and there will be many killings amongst your people. Why? Because you are trying to kill an innocent person, and that is not permissible in Islam." When Imam Husain told them this, not one person answered him. Meanwhile, Imam Husain was still protecting himself in the fight. In the back of their minds all of the soldiers had the thought that they should not be the one to actually kill him. In their hearts they knew that he was the grandson of the Prophet (Sallal laho alhi wasallam) and nobody wanted to be the person remembered and cursed until the Day of Judgement for killing Imam Husain.
MARTYRDOM OF IMAM HUSAIN
Shimar shouted to his men, "How cowardly you all are? You cannot even kill an injured person. There are so many of you that if all of you were to throw one stone at a time he would be killed and buried. So what are you doing? Attack him at once and kill him instantly." When Imam Husain heard that Shimar was urging the people to attack him, he said, "The prophecy of the Prophet has come true. The Prophet had said that he was looking at a white dog that was sniffing at the blood of his family." The reason Imam Husain said this was because Shimar had leprosy.
When they heard this they started to attack. Some of them started to shoot arrows at Imam Husain. Zurah bin Sahreek Tamimi attacked Imam Husain on his right shoulder, causing him deep and serious wounds. After that Sinan bin Anas Nakhee threw a spear at Imam Husain. The sheer force made Imam Husain fall to the ground, and Khowla bin Yazid Asbahi came forward with the intention of cutting off Imam Husain's head. At that time Imam Husain's whole body was shaking. Sanan said to Khowla, "You get back, I will cut his head off." He came forward and cut Imam Husain's head and separated it from his body. They started to divide Imam Husain's belongings amongst themselves. Baher bin Ka'b took Imam Husain's shirt, Qais took Imam Husain's shoes and Aswad Azdee took his sword. There were spear wounds, and forty-three sword wounds on Imam Husain's body.Umar bin Sa'd ordered ten horsemen to ride over Imam Husain's body at such a speed that the meat would be separated from the bones.
During the course of the battle 72 people had been killed from the opposite side, and 88 people had been martyred from Imam Husain's side. Umar bin Sa'd led the funeral prayer for his deceased and buried them and left Imam Husain and his followers as they were.
According to the Islamic calendar, it was the time of the Friday prayer on the 10th of Muharram in 61 Hijrah when Imam Husain was martyred.
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