The Ahulbayt in Quran [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Tragedy of Karbala as reported by the Sunnis (Part VI)

[Humayd b Muslim reported:]

By God,
later I visited him when he was ill.

By God, other

than Whom
there is no deity, I saw him drinking water without

being able
to quench his thirst, and then vomiting.

He would

cry out,
"The thirst, the thirst!" Again he would drink
water

without
being able to quench his thirst, again he would vomit.

He would
then burn with thirst.

This went on until he died,

may God
curse him.

When al-Husayn saw the extent of the number of troops
encamped

with 'Umar b.

Sa'd, may God curse him, at Ninawa in
order to do

battle against him, he sent to 'Umar b.

Sa'd that
he wanted to meet

him.

The two men met at night and talked together
for a long time.

(When) 'Umar b.

Sa'd went back to his camp, he
wrote to Ubayd

Allah b.

Ziyad, may he be cursed.

God has put
out the fire of hatred, united (the people)

in one
opinion (lit.

word), and set right the affairs of

the
community.

This man, al-Husayn, has given me a
promise

that he will
return to the place which he came from, or he

will go to
one of the border outposts - he will become

like any
(other) of the Muslims, with the same rights and

duties as
them; or he will go to Yazid, the Commander of

the
faithful, and offer him his hand and see (if the

difference)
between them (can be reconciled).

In this (offer)

you have the
consent (to what you have demanded) and the

community
gains benefit.

When Ubayd Allah read the letter, he said: "This is the
letter

about a sincere man who is anxious for his people.

"

"Are you going vo accept this from him," demanded
Shamir b.

Dhi

al-Jawshan, jumping up,

When he has
encamped on your land nearby? By God if he was

a man from
your land and he would not put his hand in yours,

whether he
was in a position of power and strength (or) whether

he was in a
position of weakness and impotence you would not

give this
concession, for it would be (a mark) of weakness.

Rather let
him and his followers submit to your authority.

Then if you
punish them, (it will be because) you are the (person)

most
appropriate to punish, and if you forgive them, you have

the right
(to do so).

"

"What you have suggested is good," replied Ibn
Ziyad.

"Your view

is the correct view.

Take this message to 'Umar b.

Sad
and let him

offer al-Husayn and his followers (the opportunity of)
submitting to

my authority.

If they do that, let him send them to
me in peace.

If they

refuse, he should fight them.

If he ('Umar b.

Sa'd)
acts (according to)

my instructions, then listen to him and obey him.

However
if he

refuses to fight them then you are the commander of the army
(lit.

people), attack him, cut his head off and send it to me.

"

Then he wrote to Umar b.

Sa'd:

I did not
send you to al-Husayn for you to restrain

yourself
from (fighting) him, nor to idle the time

away with
him, nor to promise him peace and preservation

(of his
life), nor to make excuses for him, nor to be an

intercessor
on his behalf with me.

Therefore see that if

al-Husayn
and his followers submit to my authority and

surrender,
you send them to me in peace.

If they refuse,

then march
against them to fight them and to punish them;

for they
deserve that.

If al-Husayn is killed, make the

horses
trample on his body, both front and back; for he is a

disobedient
rebel, and I do not consider that this will be

in any way
wrong after death.

But it is my view that you

should do
this to him if you kill him.

If you carry out your

command
concerning him, we will give you the reward due to

one who is
attentive and obedient.

If you refuse, then we

withdraw
(the command of) our province and army from you and

leave the
army to Shamir b.

Dhl al-Jawshan.

We have
given him

our
authority.

Greetings.

Shamir b.

Dhi al-Jawshan brought the letter to 'Umar
b.

Sad.

After he had brought it and read it, 'Umar said to him:

Shame upon
you, what is this to you? May God never show

favour to
your house.

May God make abominable what you

have brought
to me! By God, I did not think that you would

cause him to
refuse what I had written to him, and ruin for

us a matter
which we had hoped to set right.

Al Husayn will

not
surrender, for there is a spirit like (his) father's

in his body.

"

"Tell me what you are going to do," demanded Shamir.

"Are
you

going to carry out the governor's command and fight his enemy
or are

you going to leave the command of the army to me?"

"No, (there is going to be) no advantage to you.

I
will carry that out

instead of you.

you take command of the
foot-soldiers.

"

'Umar b.

Sa'd prepared to (do battle with) al-Husayn,
peace be on

him, on the night of Thursday, 9th of the month of Muharram.

(In
the

meantime) Shamir went out and stood in front of the followers
of al-

Husayn, peace be on him.

"Where are my sister's sons?" he demanded.

Al
Abbas,

Jafar, Abd Allah and Uthman, sons of Ali b.

Abi
Talib, peace be

on him, came forward.

"What do you want?" they asked.

"Sons of my sister, you are guaranteed security,"
he said.

"God curse you and curse the security which you offer
without

offering itlto the son of the Apostle of God," the young
men replied.

"Cavalry of God, mount and announce the news of Heaven
(i.

e.

death)," Umar b.

Sa'd called out and the
people mounted and he

approached (the supporters of al-Husayn) after the afternoon

(asr) prayer.

Meanwhile, al-Husayn, peace be on him, was sitting in front
of his

tent dozing with his head on his knees.

His sister
heard the clamour

(from the enemy's ranks).

She came up to him and
said, "My brother,

don't you hear the sounds which are getting nearer?"

I have just
seen the Apostle of God, may God bless him

and grant
him peace, in my sleep," said al-Husayn, peace

be on him,
as he raised his head.

"He said to me: 'You
are

coming to
us.

'

His sister struck at her face and cried out in grief.

"You have no (reason) to lament, sister," al-Husayn,
peace be on

him, told her.

"Be quiet, may God have mercy
on you.

"

Then he turned to al-Abbas b.

Ali "Brother,
the enemy have

come, so get ready; but first, al-Abbas, you, yourself, ride
out to

meet them, to talk to them about what they have (in mind) and
what

appears (appropriate) to them and to ask about what has
brought

them (against us).

"

Al-Abbas went towards them with about twenty horsemen,

among whom was Zuhayr b.

al-Qayn.

"How do you see (the situation)?" he asked.

"What
do you want?'

"The command of the governor has arrived that we should
offer

you (the opportunity of) submitting to his authority,
otherwise we

(must) attack you," they answered.

"Do not hurry (to do anything) until I have gone back to
Abu Abd

Allah (al-Husayn) and told him what you have said, 'Abbas

requested.

They stopped (where they were) and told him: "Go to him
and

inform him, and tell us what he says to you.

"

Al 'Abbas went galloping back to al Husayn, peace be on him,
to

give him the information.

While his companions
remained

exchanging words with the enemy, trying to test them and
dissuade

them from fighting against al-Husayn, peace be on him, (al-'Abbas)

told him what the enemy had said.

Go back to
them," he, peace be on him, said, "if you can,

delay them
until the morning and (persuade) them to keep

from us
during the evening.

Then, perhaps, we may be able

to pray to
our Lord during the night to call upon Him and

seek His
forgiveness.

He knows that I have always loved His

formal
prayer, the recitation of His Book and (making) many

invocations
to Him, seeking His forgiveness.

Al Abbas went back to the people, and returned (after) being
with

them, accompanied by a messenger on behalf of Umar b.

Saed,
who

had said: "We will grant you a day until tomorrow.

Then
if you

surrender, we will send you to our governor, Ubayd Allah b.

Ziyad

but if you refuse we will not leave you (any longer).

"

(After) he departed, towards the evening al-Husayn gathered
his

followers around him.

[ Ali b.

al Husayn, Zayn al Abidin, reported: ]

I went near
to hear what he would say to them (even

though) at that time I was sick.

I heard my
father

say to his
followers: I glorify God with the most perfect

glorification and I praise Him in happiness and
misfortune.

O God, I
praise You for blessing us with prophethood,

teaching us
the Qur'an and making us understand the religion.

You have
given us hearing, sight and hearts, and have made

us among
those who give thanks (to You).

I know of no
followers

more loyal
and more virtuous than my followers, nor of any

House more
pious and more close-knit than my House.

May God

reward you
well on my behalf.

Indeed, I do not think that
there

will be
(any further) days (left) to us by these men.

I

permit you to
leave me.

All (of you) go away with the
absolution

of your oath (to
follow me), for there will be no (further)

obligation on you
from me.

This is a night (whose darkness)
will

give cover to you.

Use
it as a camel (i.

e.

ride away in it).

His brothers and sons, the sons of his sisters and the sons
of 'Abd

Allah b.

Ja'far said:

We will not leave
you to make ourselves continue living

after your
(death).

God will never see us (do) such a thing.

Al Abbas b.

Ali, peace be on them, was the first of
them to make

this declaration.

Then the (whole) group followed
him, (all) declaring

the same thing.

"Sons of 'Aqil" said al-Husayn, "enough of
your (family) has

been killed.

So go away as I have permitted you.

"

"Glory be to God," they replied, "what would
the people say?

They would say
that we deserted our shaykh, our lord, the

sons of our uncle,
who was the best of uncles; that we had

not shot arrows
alongside them, we had not thrust spears

alongside them, we
had not struck swords alongside them.

(At such an
accusation) we do not know what we would do.

No, by God, we
will not do (such a thing).

Rather we will

ransom you with
our lives, property and families.

We will

fight for you
until we reach your destination.

May God make

life abominable
(for us) after your (death).

"

Then Muslim b.

Awsaja arose and spoke:

Could we leave you
alone? How should we excuse ourselves

before God
concerning the performance of our duty to your

By God, I
will stab them with my spear (until it breaks),

I will
strike them with my sword as long as the hilt is

in my hand.

If
I have no weapon (left) to fight them with,

I will throw
stones (at them).

By God we will never leave

you until God
knows that we have preserved through you (the

company of His
Apostle) in his absence.

By God, if I knew

what I would die
and then be revived and then burnt and then

revived, and then
scattered, and that would be done to me

seventy times, I
would never leave you until I met my death

(fighting) on your
behalf.

So how could I do it when there

can only be one
death, which is a great blessing which can

never be rejected.

Zuhayr b.

al-Qayn, may God have mercy on him,
spoke:

By God, I would
prefer to be killed and then recalled to

life; and then be
killed a thousand times in this manner;

and that in this
way God, the Mighty and Exalted, should

protect your life
and the lives of these young men of

your House.

All his followers spoke in similar vein, one after the other.

Al-

Husayn, peace be on him, called (on God to) reward them well
and

then went back to his tent.

[ Ali b.

al-Husayn, peace be on them, Zayn al
Abidin reported: ]

I was sitting on that evening (before the morning of the day)
in

which my father was killed.

With me was my aunt,
Zaynab, who was

nursing me when my father left to go to his tent.

With
him was

Juwayn, the retainer (mawla) of Abu Dharr al-Ghiffarl, who
was

preparing his sword and putting it right My father recited:

Time, shame
on you as a friend! At the day's dawning and the

sun's
setting,

How many a
companion or seeker will be a corpse! Time will

not be
satisfied with any substitute.

The matter
will rest with the Mighty One, and every living

creature
will have to journey along my path.

He repeated it twice or three times.

I understood
it and realised

what he meant.

Tears choked me and I pushed them
back.

I kept

silent and knew that tribulation had come upon us.

As
for my aunt,

she heard what I heard - but she is a woman and weakness and
grief

are part of the qualities of women; she could not control
herself, she

jumped up, tearing at her clothes and sighing, and went to
him.

"Then I will lose (a brother)," Zaynab said to him.

"Would
that

death deprived me of life today, (for) my mother, Fatima, is
dead, and

my father, 'Ah, and my brother, al-Hasan, peace be on them
(all).

"

"O sister,' al-Husayn said to her as he looked at her
with his eyes

full of tears, " don't let Satan take away your
forbearance.

(Remember:) If the sandgrouse are left (alone) at night, they
will sleep

(i.

e.

let nature take its course).

"

"O my grief, your life will be violently wrenched from
you and that

is more wounding to my heart and harsher to my soul,"
she lamented,

and then she struck at her face.

she bent down to
(the hem of) her

garment and (began to) tear it.

Then she fell down
in a faint.

Al-Husayn, peace be on him, got up and bathed her face with
water

Then he said to her:

Sister, fear
God and take comfort in the consolation of God.

Know that
the people on the earth will die and the inhabitants

of heaven
will not continue to exist (for ever).

For
everything

will be
destroyed except the face of God Who created creation

by His power
(qudra); He sends forth creatures and He causes

them to
return; He is unique and alone.

My grandfather was

better than
me, my father was better than me and my mother was

better than
me.

I and every Muslim have an ideal model in the

Apostle of
God, may God bless him and his family.

By This and the like he tried to console her and he said:

Sister, I
swear to you - and I (always) keep my oaths - that

you must not
tear your clothes, nor scratch your face, nor

cry out with
grief and loss when I am destroyed.

Then he brought her and made her sit with me.

He
went out to his

followers and ordered them to bring their tents (much) closer

together so that the tent-pegs came within the area of each
other's

tents, and so that if they remained among their tents, the
enemy could

only approach (them), from one side (for there would be)
tents behind

them, and to their right and left.

Thus (the tents
completely)

surrounded them except for the one way which the enemy could
come

against them.

(After that) he, peace be on him, returned to his place and
spent the

whole night in performing the prayer, in calling on God's
forgiveness

and in making invocations.

In the same way, his
followers performed

the prayer, made invocations and sought God's forgiveness.

[ Al Dahhak b.

Abd Allah reported: ]

(A contingent of) Umar b.

Sa'd's (continually)
passed us keeping

watch over us while al-Husayn, himself, recited:

Let not
those who disbelieve think that our giving them a

delay is
better for their souls.

We give them a delay only

that they
might increase their wickedness.

They shall have

a
disgraceful punishment.

God does not leave the
believers

in the
situation you are in until He has made the evil

distinct
from the good.

[ Quran III, 117/8 ]

A man called 'Abd Allah b.

Samir, (who was) among
those

horsemen heard that.

He was given to much laughter,
and was a brave

fighter, a treacherous knight and a noble.

He cried
out: "By the Lord

of the Ka'ba, we are the good, we have been distinguished
from you.

"

"O terrible sinner," cried Burayr b.

Hudayr,
"has God made you

one of the good?"

"A curse on you, whoever you are?" he shouted back.

"I am Burayr b.

Hudayr," he replied.

And
they both cursed each

other.