Maqtal al-Husayn
Those Whose Conscience is Free
One night before his martyrdom[^1], al-Husayn (‘a) went to his
companions to say:
“I glorify Allah in the best of glorification and praise Him for both
ease and adversity. Lord! I praise You for having honoured us with
Prophethood, taught us the Qur’an, made us faqihs in the creed, made for
us the hearing, the vision, and the understanding, and You did not let
us be among the polytheists.
I know no companions more worthy, nor better, than mine, nor any members of a family more joining of the ties of kinship than my Ahl al-Bayt (‘a); so, may Allah reward all of you on my behalf.[^2] My grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (S), told me that I would be taken to Iraq and settle in a land called ‘Amura and Karbala’ where I would be martyred. That very time has come quite close.[^3]
I think that our day of confronting these enemies shall be tomorrow, and I have given you permission, all of you, to freely go. You are not obligated henceforth to stay with me.
The night has already covered you, so ride it as a camel, and let each
man among you take with him one man from my Ahl al-Bayt (‘a); so, may
Allah reward you all! Disperse to your cities and villages, for these
folks are after me, and if they get hold of me, they will not seek
others.”
The Imam’s brothers, sons, nephews and the sons of ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far
said, “And why should we do that? Just to survive you? May Allah never
permit us to see that day.” The first to speak from among them to make
this statement was al-’Abbas Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a) followed by the
offspring of Hashim.
Al-Husayn (‘a) turned to ‘Aqil's sons and said, “Suffices you of the
loss the killing of Muslim. Go, for I have permitted you to leave.”
They all said, “What would people, in that case, say about us, and what
can we say to them?
Shall we tell them that we left our mentor, master, and the son of the
best of our uncles without having shot an arrow or stabbed with a lance
or dealt a sword blow in his defense, and that we do not know what they
did? No, by Allah! We shall never do anything like that! Rather, we
shall sacrifice our lives, wealth and families for you, and we shall
fight on your side till we meet your fate. We loathe life after
you.”[^4]
Souls insisted on upholding their father's legacy
So they are either shot or are shooting.
Their souls are to the battlefield accustomed
Just as their feet are to the pulpits used.[^5]
Muslim Ibn ‘Awsajah said, “Are we the type of people that would abandon you?! And what excuse shall we produce before Allah for not having carried out our responsibilities towards you?! By Allah!
I shall never part with you till I stab their chests with my lance and
strike them with my sword so long as my hand can hold it. And even if I
have no weapon to fight them, I shall hurl stones at them till I die
with you.”
Sa’id Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hanafi said, “By Allah! We shall never abandon
you till Allah ascertains that we safeguarded our word to His Messenger
in his absence with regard to you.
By Allah! Had I come to know that I shall be killed, then I die, then I
shall be burnt alive, then my ashes will be strewn, and this will be
done to me seventy times, I shall still refuse to part with you till I
meet my death defending you. And why should I not do so since it is only
one time's killing followed by eternal bliss?!”
Zuhayr Ibn al-Qayn said, “By Allah! I wish I will be killed, then
brought back to life, then killed again, and so on for thousands of
times, and that Allah, the most Exalted, the Great, will let such
fighting keep you and these youths from among your Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)
alive.”
The rest of the companions made similar statements, so al-Husayn (‘a)
invoked Allah to reward them well.[^6]
Meanwhile, someone said to Muhammad Ibn Bashir al-Hadrami, “Your son
has been captured in the outskirts of Rey.” He said, “I do not like him
to be arrested while I survive him.” Al-Husayn (‘a) said to him, “You
are relieved from your oath of allegiance to me; so, go and secure the
release of your son.”
“No, by Allah,” said he, “I shall never do so; may the wild beasts
devour me should I ever part with you!” The Imam (‘a) said to him, “Then
give your [other] son these five outfits so that he would utilize them
in securing his brother's release,” and their value was estimated at one
thousand dinars.[^7]
A band raced to defend him, one that
Inherited glories, young and aged.
Whoever solicits them for what he dislikes
Will find them lions enraged.
They rushed when a war caller called
Trampling in Karbala’ the plains.
Lions whose ornaments are the swords
Whose clothes are the shields.
They took water-bags as their eyes' decoration,
They dyed their hands with ponds,
Leaning as though the deer sang for them
And as though they served them their cups.
Their swords shone, so they rained
With their blood as the ground turned into clouds,
As though they were welcoming the huris:
Thus did they welcome the lances and the swords.
They found death in defending Muhammad's offspring
Sweet in taste, yet life after them is pain, unpleasing.[^8]
Once he realized how sincere they were in defending him, he acquainted
them with what they did not know of fate. Said he, “Tomorrow, I shall be
killed and so shall you, and none of you will survive,[^9] not even
al-Qasim, nor ‘Abdullah, my infant son, with the exception of my son
‘Ali Zayn al-’Abidin, for Allah will not permit my family line to
discontinue should he be killed, and he shall be the father of eight
Imams.”[^10]
They all said, “All praise is due to Allah Who has granted us the
blessing of being your supporters and honoured us with dying with you!
Should we refuse to be in your degree [of divine bliss], O son of the
Messenger of Allah (S)?!” The Imam (‘a), therefore, wished them
well[^11] then unveiled from their vision what Allah has in store for
them of the bliss in Paradise, showing them their mansions
therein.[^12]
This is not too much to expect in his regard due to the Divine Will of
the most Exalted One, nor was it a strange conduct coming from an Imam.
When they believed in Moses (‘a) and Pharaoh was about to kill them,
Moses the prophet showed them their places in Paradise.[^13]
In a statement, Imam Abu Ja’far, al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said to
his companions, “Good news for you about your entering Paradise! By
Allah! We shall stay as long as Allah wills after whatever happens to
us, then Allah will bring us and you back to life when our Qa'im
reappears, so he will seek revenge against the oppressors.
I and you shall witness them chained and shackled and suffering from various types of pain.” He was asked,
“Who is your Qa'im, O son of the Messenger of Allah?” “He is the seventh from among the offspring of my son, [Imam] Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali al-Baqir (‘a); he is al-Hujjah son of al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Musa Ibn Ja’far Ibn Muhammad son of my son ‘Ali; he is the one who will remain in occultation for a long time then shall he reappear and fill the world with justice and equity just as it had been filled with injustice and inequity.”[^14]
[^1]: al-Fadl Ibn Shathan, Ithbat al-Raj’a. This reference ought to be regarded as a book about the occultation, for it contains only one single hadith referring to the raj’a (the return).
[^2]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, pp. 238-239. Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil, Vol. 4, p. 34.
[^3]: Ithbat al-Raj’a.
[^4]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 238. Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil, Vol. 4, p. 24. al-Mufid, Al-Irshad. al-Tabarsi, I’lam al-Wara, p. 141. al-Thahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’, Vol. 3, p. 202.
[^5]: These verses are cited on p. 17 of Ibn Nama's book Muthir al-Ahzan.
[^6]: al-Mufid, Al-Irshad. al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 239.
[^7]: Ibn Nama, Al-Luhuf, p. 53.
[^8]: These verses were composed by the ‘Allama Sayyid Riďa al-Hindi, may Allah have mercy on him.
[^9]: Shaikh ‘Abbas al-Qummi, Nafs al-Mahmum, p. 122.
[^10]: Sayyid Kaďim al-Ha’iri, Asrar al-Shahada.
[^11]: Shaikh ‘Abbas al-Qummi, Nafs al-Mahmum, p. 122.
[^12]: al-Rawiini, Al-Khara’ij.
[^13]: al-Mas’udi, Akhbar al-Zaman, p. 247.
[^14]: Ithbat al-Raj’a.