At the Battlefield [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Part 4 - Hussain, the Grandson of the Prophet (S)

"Oh people! Track back my lineage. Relate me and consider who I am. Then look back
and remonstrate with yourselves. Consider whether it is right for you to kill me and
encroach upon my integrity. Am I not the son of your Prophet's daughter and the son of his
vicegerent and cousin, the first of the believers in Allah and his Messenger? Was not
Hamza, the master of martyrs, the uncle of my father? Was not the 'winged' Ja'far my
uncle? Have you not heard of the tradition of the Prophet (S) concerning myself and my
brother, "These are the two lords of the youth of the inhabitants of
paradise". Whether you believe in what I say - and it is the truth, for I swear
by the Almighty I have never told a lie since I learnt that Allah hated people who told
them - or you regard me as a liar, and chose not to believe my statement, there are
amongst you who, if you asked them, would tell you! Ask Jabir bin Abdullah Al-Ansari, Aba
Sa'eed Al-Khudri, Sahl bin Sa'ad Al-Sa'idi, Zaid bin Arqam and Anas bin Malik, to tell you
that they heard these words from the messenger of Allah (SAW) in favour of me and my
brother."

"Is there not (sufficient) deterrent in this to prevent you from shedding my
blood?"

"If I understand what you are saying," interrupted Shimr bin Thil al-Jawshan,
"then I only worship God (very shakily) on the edge".

"I think that you worship God (very shakily) on seventy edges", said Habib b.
Mudhahir, "For I testify that you are right. You do not understand what he is saying.
For God has impressed (ignorance) upon your heart".

"If you are in any doubt about this", Imam Hussain (A) told them, "you
are in doubt that I am the son of the daughter of your Prophet. By God there is no son of
a Prophet other than me among you and among the peoples from East to West. Shame on you,
are you seeking retribution from me for one of your dead I have killed, or for property of
yours I expropriated, or for a wound I have inflicted?"

They did not say anything to him. Then he called, "Shabath b. Rib'ie, Hajjar b.
Abjar, Qays b. al-Ash'ath, Yazid b. al-Harith, didn't you write: 'The fruit has
ripened; the dates are ready for picking; come to an army which has been gathered for you'
?"

"We don't know what you are talking about", said Qays b. al-Ash'ath,
"Submit to the authority of your kinsmen (the Umayyads). They have never treated you
with anything but what you liked".

"By God, I will never give you my hand like a man who has been humiliated; nor
will I flee like a slave", said al-Hussain (A). Then he called out, "0 servants
of God, I take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from your stoning." (44:20). "I
take refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every haughty man who does not believe in the
Day of Reckoning." (40:27).

A holy war it means, indeed

If waged to crush the devil's creed.

No rancour, 'gainst you, I hold

But faith do cherish - as I told.

Islam I will resolutely shield

Burnt will stand and never yield.

Would welcome death (and make it tame)

Would rather die than live in shame":

"Your Prophet's scion I'm - you know

At least some regard to his name show.

His singular dictum is my creed

"Universal good" I adore, indeed

Ali, the paragon, the seraphic Imam

Cham of the faith, the shield of Islam

Inimitable, impeccable: I am his son

His peerless attributes I have won.

My heart is virtues' abode and nest

Blessedness harbours in my breast

Condone the rule of right, I do

And believe, that right is might too

Your vulgar sway vanquish I will

This sacred duty will fulfil

My soul is couched on eminence

I was born with a divine sense.