Imam Husain (a.s.) came out and addressed the army of Yazid that surrounded him, “Do you not know that I am the grandson of the messenger of Allah? Do you not know that I am the son of only child of the messenger of Allah Fatima? The martyr Hamza was my father’s uncle. The martyr Ja’far was my father’s brother. Have not you heard the messenger of Allah declare and stress his love for the Ahlul Bayt, and that the Qur’an and the Ahlul Bayt are the [1] Imam Husayn [A] & Tragic Saga of Karbala, p. 174, Nafasul Mahmoom, p. 317-318. [2] Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 3 p. 184 quoted in Imam Husayn [A] & Tragic Saga of Karbala, p. 174-175, Nafasul Mahmoom, p. 318. inseparable legacies that the messenger of Allah was leaving behind; and that I and my brother Hasan are the masters of the youths of Paradise? If you do not know all these things, then ask and verify, if you so desire, the truth of what I have said from the surviving companions of the messenger of Allah, such as Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari, Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, Sahl bin Sa’d as-Saa’idi, Zayd bin Arqam, Anas bin Malik…etc..”[1] Imam Husain (a.s) then addressed those who belonged to Kufa and were now in Umar bin Sa’d’s army, “Have you not written to me complaining that you had no Imam and therefore invited me to come to Kufa and guide you in religious matters?” When they pretended ignorance of such letters, Imam Husain (a.s) had the letters brought from his tent and started reading out their contents along with the names of writers. When there was no answer to this, Imam Husain (a.s) said, “Even if you deny writing these letters and assume that the letters are forged, tell me why you have surrounded us and do not allow us to go away.” To this, Qeis ibn Ziyad replied, “First, you acknowledge Yazid as the caliph and sovereign, and then we shall listen to you.” Imam Husain (a.s) replied, “I would rather sacrifice my life than to declare allegiance to Yazid who is a tyrant and oppressor; ho is steeped in worldly, carnal pleasures; brazenly disobeys the Divine Commandments and in the open court makes fun of the Prophet (s). I would prefer to go away from here, but if I am constrained, I will not submit to the threats of a hypocrite and a despot. ” In reply, one from the enemy said, “We will not let you go, nor will we allow you to have even a drop of water until you are slain and your head is presented to Yazid.”[2] [1] Nafasul Mahmoom, p 313, Haeiri’s Balaghatul Husain, p. 156-157. [2] Life of Imam Husain [s] [The Saviour], p. 150-151. Yazid’s forces gather at Karbala Ibn Ziyad had given strict orders to surround and compel Imam Husain (a.s) to proceed to Kufa where a large army was assembled. However, Imam Husain never allowed them to succeed in their plan. He proceeded to take a different route and arrived at Karbala. On the second of Muharram, the year 61 AH when Imam Husain pitched his camp at Karbala, al-Hurr also pitched his camp a little distance from Imam Husain’s camp. Al-Hurr wrote to Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad stating that Imam Husain (a.s.) had finally pitched his camp and settled at Karbala and appeared to have no plan to proceed to Kufa. Had Imam Husain (a.s) proceeded to Kufa, it would have been construed as his seeking to fight the forces of Ibn Ziyad who had already gathered there. By pitching his camp at Karbala, Imam Husain (a.s), forever, removed even the remotest chance of an allegation that he was the aggressor since he sought the stationary army of ibn Ziyad. By making ibn Ziyad to change his plans and send his army to Karbala, Imam Husain (a.s.) showed who was the aggressor and who was after whom. Secondly, by avoiding going to Kufa, Imam Husain (a.s.) forestalled the possible allegation that since he knew that a huge army had gathered and was for him at Kufa, it was suicidal to proceed to Kufa. Lastly sitting at a neutral place, Imam Husain (a.s.) kept the door for negotiations open, as could be seen in the following pages. If at all it can be called a ‘battle’, the battle of Karbala was extremely unequal and one sided. On the one side, when Imam Husain (a.s) pitched his camp in Karbala on the second of Muharram the year 61 AH, there were only few hundreds of persons, including ladies, children, teenagers, old men and only a few able (to fight) persons. According to some historians, there were five hundred cavalry and about a hundred infantry in the camp of the Imam Husain.[1] Some companions of the Imam (a.s) suggested that it was possible to defeat al-Hurr’s army of the thousand men before any additional forces arrived. The Imam (a.s) refused, saying that the Ahlul Bayt never [1] Nafasul Mahmoom, p. 295 quoting Murooj ath-Thahab. commenced any hostility. Instead, Imam Husain (a.s) wrote and sent letters to Sulayman bin Surad, al-Musayyab bin Najaba, Refa’ah bin Shaddad, Abdullah ibn Wal and other known adherents of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s). The letters were identical and were as follows: “Those who do not stand up to a tyrant and transgressor of the faith will suffer in this life and the life to come. You are aware that the Banu Umayya are impelled by their satanic desire, have perpetuated corruption, usurped the treasury for themselves, transgressed religious injunctions and permitted what is prohibited and prohibited what is lawful in Islam. You will recall that you wrote to me complaining that you are left without a guide in religion and had invited me to Kufa. Now, I am besieged by Yazid’s army. If you still hold fast to the pledge you made and the affection you promised to show me, know that at your instance I have come. I will not be surprised if you retract from your pledge, for, you had betrayed my father Ali and my brother Hasan.”[1] Imam Husain (a.s) gathered his small group of companions and said to them, “The course which affairs have taken is manifest to you. The world has changed its colours; virtue has almost vanished. This is the age of Wrong and the followers of Right have passed away. A time has come when the true believer has to separate himself from the mischievous mutineers and turn towards his Creator. Do you not see that the Divine Commands are neglected and what is forbidden is practiced with relish? Life under tyrants is hard to live and I consider death a great honor.”[2] Hilal bin Nafi’ got up and said, “I would prefer to sacrifice my life than to live after you.” Zohair ibn al-Qain said, “If I were to be killed in defending you and then raised to life again a thousand times, I would still defend and not desert you.” The battlefield chronicler Abu Makhnaf records that on the other side, in the course of two days, between the third and the fourth of Muharram, the plains of Karbala were filled with over a hundred and forty thousand warriors from Syria, Iraq, Iran and other countries to.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 00:00:30 +0000
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