Hazrat Ali Akbar,the Beloved Son of Imam Hussain(a.s.)

Who Resembled the Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.)

The whole town of Medina was humming with activity. People from all parts of the town were looking into the street of the Hashimites where a caravan was getting ready for a journey. The elders of the town were talking to each other in hushed tones, recalling the words of the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.), that a day will dawn when his beloved grandson Imam Hussain (A.S.) would leave Medina with his sons, brothers, nephews and kinsmen never to return. There was sadness on the faces of all, young and old. The elderly people were aghast at the thought of Hussain(A.S.) going away for ever. They were accustomed to turning to him in all their needs. The youths of Medina were saddened by the thought of Abbas and Ali Akbar and Qasim going away for good. Their anxious inquiries could only elicit this much information, that Hussain with his kinsmen and children, was going for Hajj and from there to an unknown destination.

Thoughts of parting were tormenting not only the male population of Medina but also the womenfolk of the town. They too were accustomed to the munificence of the ladies of the Prophet's house. Who was there amongst them who had not received help and counsel from the daughters of Fatima? Who would be left now to whom they could turn in their hour of need, when Zainab and Kulsum, Umme Rubab and Umme Laila had left Medina? Had not times out of number their children received gifts and favours from Sakina and Rokayya?

As was their want, the people of Medina, men and women, young and old, had gone to the tomb of the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) to pray and seek solace to pray to God with the invocations of His Prophet that they might be spared the ordeal of separation from Hussain and his family. There at the tomb of the Prophet they witnessed a heart-rending scene. They saw Hussain and Zain prostrate with grief and sorrow, bidding farewell to the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.). They saw both of them visiting the grave of Fatima(A.S.) and lamenting over the separation, as if they were parting for ever.