The Captivity Journey
الناشر: جمعية المعارف الإسلامية الثقافية
تاريخ الإصدار: 2018-03
النسخة: 2010
الكاتب
شبكة المعارف الإسلامية
Introduction
Preface
All praise is to God, who bestowed on us the grace of loyalty to his Prophet and his progeny (Peace be upon them all) whom God intended them to be the rising suns, the enlightening moons, the shining stars, the signs of the religion and the essence of knowledge, whose succession counted a pious descendant after a pious ascendant, a true hearted following his virtuous ascendant, and a right path after another.
Praised be God who awarded us the salvation Ark, the light of guidance, Imam Hussain Bin Ali Q, whom we were commanded to commemorate his martyrdom, and to continuously abide by the Islamic rules in order to honor his cause.
Thus far, the renaissance of Imam Hussain Q was and still constitutes a vast field of research and studies to extract crucial morals. Though more than thirteen centuries elapsed after this immortal battle, the generations of freemen around the world, are still getting inspired by the Karbala’s essence to set their route and enlighten their path.
Yet, since each era has its own Yazeed and own Imam Hussain Q, getting to know the heroes of the immortal battle of Karbala, as well as the course of events and facts preceding it, using both logical and emotional language,
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Introduction
and provided with accurate and deep analysis of such events whether having preceded, accompanied, or followed the tenth day of Mouharram , 61 He, is an essential introduction to pave the way to understanding the requisites of such renaissance, in addition to its circumstances, effects and results.
The Institute of the Master of Martyr, Imam Hussain Q, is glad to fulfill the promise it made in the preface of its previous book (The Journey of Martyrdom), which is to provide you with a new episode of the historical documentary series that deals with the events and the facts following the martyrdom of Imam Hussain Q, the take off of the captivity journey crowned with pain and sadness, and ending with the return of the Prophet’s convoy to the Holy Medina.
We are eager to draw your attention, to the following:
1- We relied on a set of highly considered and recommended historical references to compose this issue. Yet, some of the important ones are:
"Bihar Al-Anwar" – for the Scholar Almajlesy
"Yanabeea Al-Mawadda" – for the Qandozi
"Al-Bedaya wa Al-Nehaya Fi Attareikh" – for Abu Alfedaa Ismaeil Bin Katheir Al-Demashqi
"Tareikh Bin Asaker"- Tarjamatu Imam Hussain Q – for Al-Mahmoudi
"Tareikh Al-Tabari" – for Muhammad Bin Jareer Al-Tabari
"Tareikh Al-Yaaqoubi" – for the Yaaqoubi
"Tathkerat Al-Khawas" – for Sebt Bin Al-Jouzi
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"Al-Fottouh" – Bin Al-Aatham Al-Kufi
Al-Kamel Fi At-Tareikh" – for Bin Al-Atheir Al-Jazri
Al-Lohoof Ala Qatla Al-Tofoof" – for Raddi Al-Dein Bin Tawoose
"Mutheir Al-Ahzan" – for Bin Nama
"Mukhtasar Tareikh Demashq" – for Bin Manthour
"Morooj Al-Thahab" – for Al-Masoudi
"Maqtal Al-Hussain Q – for Al-Khawarezmi
2- Regarding some of the cases, requiring a high level of analytical narration, we provided the results that most renowned bibliographers have adopted without getting into the details of their analysis.
3- This edition is composed using simple and easy terminologies. The non professional reader may easily understand it, while preserving its scientific and historical value.
As for us, we ask Allah (SW) to make this edition a knowledge linking bridge between us and the Lord of emancipated freemen, steering to the heart and emotional fondness, hoping thus to be amongst those comprised within his intercession on the Judgment Day!
And Allah’s consent is our intention
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The Aftermath of the Hussainy Epic, 61 A.H.
The Aftermath of the Hussainy Epic, 61 A.H.
The Implication of the Hussainy Epic
The tragic scene of the epic is not completed yet, it is noon time of the 10th day of Muharram, 61 A.H. as this day marked the beginning of a new phase of striving, revolution, and the objective and conscious exploitation of all the achievements of the Ashura Epic.
The heroes of the ongoing strive (Jihad) on the path of Karbala and its method are different than the heroes of the battle of Karbala. As Zeinab O seemed a shining star in leading the captives’ convoy while following the orders of the Imam of her time, Imam Sajjad Q, whom the legitimate mandate required, in order to preserve the Imamate line, for his stand to be the same as the stand of his grandfather, the Prince of the believers Q, on the day of the Dar, though he was the main director of the course of events after the battle.
And the families of martyrs, consisting of widows and orphans, had materialized the terminologies to perfect the Mohammedan striving scene. That allowed history to write once again with the help of the rising tears, the rebel cry of pain, and the stands of challenges and confrontations in the Caliph’s castles, the Muslims’ Mosques, their markets, homes and gathering places, as the captives’ convoy was an inseparable part of the blessed revolution of Imam Hussain Q.
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The Manifestation of the Divine Wrath after the Murder of Imam Hussain Q
It was not long for the Devine Manifestation, for the death of Imam Hussain Q, to be reflected on all the mirrors of the worlds of creations in many various and marvelous universal terminologies.
This anger was shown on earth, in the sky, by plants and animals, in the sea, and on land. In some regions, people knew the reason behind such signs, while in other regions, people had no idea what was going on. Thus, it was known between Muslims, indeed they enormously agreed upon the origin of such universal changes. Many historians stated some of these changes, and here is some of it(1): The sky rained thick blood, any stone lifted in Jerusalem, was ought to find thick blood under it, the blackening and crying of the sky, and other facts that no Muslim can deny.
The Despoilment of Imam Hussain’s Q Camp
It was not enough for the Umayyad thieves, the enemies of Allah and his Prophet P, to kill Imam Hussain Q and break his holy body with the hooves of their horses, yet they exceeded that by attacking the camp to plunder everything in it. They also exposed the sanctity of the ladies related to Prophet Muhammad P by stealing everything they had in a violent way that upsets any ardent person. That was due to the direct orders of Omar Bin Saad who spoke to his soldiers saying: "Beneath you are the tents, do plunder them!" Among the first robbers was Shamer Bin Zi Al-Jawshan. The soldiers attacked
(1) References: "Kamel Alzeyarat", "Maqtal Imam Hussain Q" for Al – Khawarezmi- "Tareikh Bin Asaker", "Sharih Almawaheb Alludniyah" for the Zarqaw, "Almujam Alkabeer", "Mujama Alzawaed", "AlsawaeqAlmuhriqa", "Tareikh Alkulafaa","Yanabei Almawadda", "Tahtheebu Altahtheeb", "Al-Hadaeq Alwardeyya", "Fotouh Bin Al-Aatham Alkufi", "Alkashef wa Albayan" for the Thaalabi, "Dalael Alnubowwa", "Thakhaero Alaqabi", "Tareikh Madinat Demashq", and etc….
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the tents and started to rob whatever the ladies and children had on them. They even injured Lady Um Kalthoum’s ear while pulling an earring out of it. When they were done distributing the goods, they started ripping off the tents with their swords and set them on fire. Then, the daughter of the Prince of the believers O came out and said: "O Bin Saad, Allah shall be the Judge between us; He may prohibit you from our Grandfather’s intervention and shall not allow you to drink from his trough for what you have done to us and gave your orders to fight against the grandson of the Prophet P, with no mercy for his children or passion for his ladies…"
But Bin Saad did not pay attention to her.
It was narrated that Imam Reda Q had said: "Indeed Muharram was a month that the people of Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic state of ignorance) used to forbid fighting during it. Yet, in it our blood was shed, our reputation was defamed, our descendants and women were captivated, our camps were set on fire, and were plundered of all the valuables that we owned".
The Attempted Murder of Imam Zien El-Abedeen Q
Imam Zein El-Abedeen and Sayyed Al-Sajjadeen Ali bin Al-Hussain Q was present in Karbala with his father, but he was sick, and it was not documented in the historical references how long did his sickness last, but it was understood from some of the historical indications that he Q was still very sick and weak even when they reached Damascus.
Yet, Shamer Bin Zi Al-Jawshan entered the tent where Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q was, while he was resting down on a mattress and said: "Kill this one!" A man among his soldiers said to him: "Praised Be Allah! Do you want to kill such a young and sick man who did not fight you?"
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Just then Sayyeda Zeinab O came to him and said: "By Allah, he shall not be killed unless I am killed first! So stay away from him".
Here, it is important to point that his sickness Q even though it was a helping factor in driving the enemies away from killing him, since they thought he is very close to being dead due to his sever sickness, but it was not the main reason that had stopped them. Indeed, it was the great heroic stand of his aunt, Sayyeda Zeinab O when she held him and said to Shamer: "You had enough of our blood! By Allah, I shall never separate from him, if you want to kill him you shall kill me as well!" She O had repeated this great heroic act in many occasions.
The Burning of the Tents
After Shamer Bin Zi Al-Jawshan had failed to kill Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q, the soldiers started to pull the ladies and children out of the tents and set them on fire. So they came out weeping, bare footed and without any of their belongings. And it is not hidden that all the tents had been set on fire, as it was said by Imam Reda Q: "Our camps were set on fire" Yet it appears that this pavilion, where all the ladies and children had gathered along with Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q, was the last one to be burned after they had been pulled out of it.
That is when Sayyeda Zeinab O went out calling with a sad voice and a depressed heart: ""Alas Muhammad, May the King of Heavens bless you, this is Hussain, covered with blood and dirt, while his body parts are cut off, How saddening is that! And your daughters are now captives. To Allah we complain, to Muhammad Al-Mustafa, to Ali Al-Murtada, to Fatima Al Zahra’a and to Hamza the Master of Martyrs!"
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"Alas Muhammad this is Hussain thrown on the desert land, in the hot wind. He had been murdered by the sons of wrong doers. Alas how sad and distressed I am for you Aba Abdullah! Today, My Grandfather, Allah’s Prophet P, died". O Muhammad’s companions, here are the Pedigrees of Al-Mustafa treated like captives!!"
The Head of Imam Hussain Q and the Head of the Martyrs
Indeed, the incident of carrying the head of the Prophet’s grandson P and the rest of the pure heads is another crime of the many horrible crimes that Karbala had witnessed. This crime had uncovered another veil off the malicious intention of the Umayyad regime.
Thus Omar Bin Saad had sent off on that day, the Day of Ashura, the head of Imam Hussain Q with Khewalli Bin Yazeed Al-Assbahi to Obayd Allah Bin Ziad. Then he ordered the same for the rest of the martyrs’ heads, except for the head of Al-Hurr Al Riyahi, due to his tribe objecting the cutoff of his head, and he ordered Shamer Bin Zi Al-Jawshan to take it along with Qeiss Bin Al-Ashaath and Amro Bin Al-Hajjaj.
So they kept going until they reached Bin Ziad.
Thus tribes like Kinda, Hawzan, Banu Tameem, and Banu Asad all competed to carry the martyrs’ heads.
The Holy Bodies
The body of Imam Hussain Q along with the bodies of the other martyrs among his family and his companions out in the open while not buried, it was blazed by the hot sun, and hit by the strong wind; while the cursed, Omar Bin Saad, had buried his soldiers and performed the proper prayer for
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leaving the body of Imam Hussain Q and the bodies of his supporters.
The Final Hours of the Day of Ashura
All the women of Imam Hussain Q along with his daughters and children had gathered under the captivity of the enemies, while occupied by sadness, distress and weeping. That day had ended while they were in so much sorrow and grieve that no heart can bear. They spent that night having lost their men and protectors, strangers where ever they reside or travel. Yet, the enemies exaggerate in abandoning them and staying away from them, aiming for the consent of the hypocrite Omar Bin Saad who had wounded the hearts and caused for the children of the Messenger of Allah P to become orphans. Also, they wanted to become closer to the libertine, Obayd Allah Bin Ziad, who was appointed by the infidel, Yazeed Bin Muawiya, the head of obstinacy and disbelieving.
The Holy Head in the House of Khewalli Al-Assbahi
Khewalli Bin Yazeed Al-Assbahi hastened to deliver the Holy Head to Obayd Allah Bin Ziad, he stopped on his way by a house called "Al-Hannanah", and when he reached the reign’s castle in Kufa, the door was closed, so he headed to his home. He put the Head under a bowl then went to his wife, Annawwar Bint Malik Bin Aqrab. She asked him about the news, so he answered her happily: "I came to you with the wealth of all times; this is the Head of Hussain with you in the house". She went insane and yelled: "Woe to you, people had come with gold and silver and you came with the Head of the Prophet’s grandson P. By Allah, I shall never live in the same house with you, be happy! As your enemy tomorrow (Resurrection Day) is His Grandfather, Muhammad P!"
It was narrated that she helped in killing him when Al-
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Mukhtar took revenge from the killers of the Master of Martyrs Q.
The Depart of the Rest of the Hussain Convoy from Karbala to Kufa
Bin Saad spent the remainder of that day in Karbala till the noon of the second day. Then, he headed to Kufa along with whoever is left from the family and children of Imam Hussain Q. He made the ladies of the Imam Q ride on the camels’ backs with no cover or saddles, while their faces were exposed to the enemies even though they were the sacred ladies of the family of the best of Prophets P. Yet, they were driven and treated just like the captives of Turkish or Rome in such tragic and distressing captivity.
Bin Saad (May Allah Curse Him) gave his orders to pass by the dead bodies, in order for them to see their brothers and sons and say good bye to them. So, the soldiers made them go through the battle field. When the ladies saw the dead bodies, they started to weep and hit their cheeks (a way to show deep distress).
Just then Sayyeda Zeinab O started saying:
"Alas Muhammad, May the King of Heavens bless you, this is Hussain, covered with blood and dirt, while his body parts are cut off, while your descendants are killed, left alone under the bad, hot wind". So she caused for every one cry whether an enemy or a friend.
Thus the historical resources did not mention what happened to the Hussain convoy in their way from Karbala to Kufa.
The army of Bin Saad, along with the remainder of the Hussain Convoy, reached the borders of Kufa on the night of
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the eleventh day of Muharram. They spent that night in one of the houses on the roads that were very close to Kufa or near its borders. Thus they entered Kufa on the twelfth day of Muharram during day light, which was an important publicity factor to shed the lights on their triumph and to show off their victory.
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The Preparatory Measures of Bin Ziad for the Reception of the Rest of the Hussain Convoy
When the news of the return of Bin Saad’s army to Kufa reached Bin Ziad, he ordered that no one shall carry weapons in Kufa. He also ordered ten thousand knights to spread on the roads, markets and streets due to his fear of people moving out of rage to what happened to Ahlu El-Bayt(3) R, especially if they saw who is left of them in such miserable state of captivity. Thus, the population of Kufa was at that time around three hundred thousand. He ordered for the heads of the martyrs to be put among the ladies and to make them walk the streets and roads in order to inculcate fear in the hearts of the people. Bin Ziad also ordered for the holy head to be put on top of a spear and to walk with it all the streets of Kufa.
Thus the head of Imam Hussain Q was the first head to be put on a spear.
Kufa’s Reception of the Rest of the Hussain Convoy
All the people of Kufa went to the streets to witness the celebration of Bin Ziad welcoming his victorious army!
Yet the streets, roads, and passages of Kufa got full of all the men, women and children, and when the women saw the state of the captivated women, how they were riding on camels’ backs with no saddles, they started to weep and hit their cheeks. Just then, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q said to
(1) An Arabic term used for the elite family of the Prophet R.
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them with a faint voice, while the chain was around his neck and his hands were tied up: "These ladies are weeping! So, who did kill us?!"
One of the ladies of Kufa looked from her roof and asked the ladies: "To which families do you belong?" They answered: "We are the families of the progeny of Muhammad P".
So, the woman came down of her house to gather some veils, covers and clothes, and she gave them to the ladies, and they covered themselves.
Muslim Al-Jassas had narrated that while he was mending the Imamate Castle, he heard loud screams from Kufa, so he asked about the reason and he was told that the army had brought the head of a repellent who did not obey Yazeed. When he learned that it was the head of Imam Hussain Bin Ali Q he started slapping his face until his eyes almost popped out. He also saw ladies, women, and the children of Fatima O, while Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q was on a camel’s back with no saddle while blood was coming out of his veins. He went on saying:
O bad nation, may your lands never be watered
O nation that did not care for our Grandfather’s sanctity when dealing with us.
The people of Kufa started to hand the children who were on the camels’ backs some dates, bread and walnuts. Yet, the daughter of the Prince of believers Q yelled at them saying: "O people of Kufa, charity is prohibited to us!" And she started taking the food away from the children’s hands and mouths and said: "Quiet O people of Kufa, your men kill us, and your women weep for us! Allah shall be the Judge between you and us on the Judgment Day".
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She intended O from returning the charity of the people of Kufa to let the people know that the captives of this convoy are not ordinary people, indeed they are the family of the Messenger of Allah P, whom love and obedience were imposed by Allah (SW).
The Speeches of the Family of Prophecy R in the Streets of Kufa
The Speech of Sayyeda Zeinab, the Daughter of Ali L
When Al-Aqeela Zeinab O saw that the huge crowds of the people of Kufa had filled up the streets, she precipitated explaining what had happened to the family of the Prophet, and she held them responsible for breaking their promise and allegiance and causing the killing of the beloved grandson of the Messenger of Allah P. She was prickling their conscious and grieving their hearts by pointing out the magnitude of the sin they have committed. She gesticulated to the people to be silent, so they all held their breaths and the bells stopped ringing, and then she said:
"Thank God, and Peace be upon my Grandfather, Muhammad, and his kind and pure progeny, then…
O people of Kufa, O you people of treachery and deceit. Are you crying?! May your tears never stop! And your weeping shall never be stilled. Indeed you are just like that lady who untied her yarn after she had worked hard knitting it.
You take your oaths to deceive and cheat each other. Is there any one among you but a shameful arrogant, repugnant and revolting, who speaks what he does not mean, who is the aim of the enemies (proverb), like sheep feeding from a
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dung, or like silver on a dead body(1)! Oh how bad is what you made for yourselves, that brought Allah’s wrath upon you and you shall forever be in torment!
Are you crying and weeping?!! Indeed by God, do cry a lot and laugh a little, since you have gained its shame and disgrace, and you will never be able to wash it away, how can you wipe off killing the descendant of the last Prophet, the core of the prophecy, the master of the Heaven’s youths, the haven for good people, the refuge from calamities, the light for your arguments, and the core of the Sunna (rules set by the Prophet). How bad is what you are baring, demise and distraction are for you. As your striving had failed, your hands are tied, and the deal was lost, as you came out with the rage of Allah, and humiliation and degradation shall be your destiny!
Woe to you O people of Kufa! Are you aware which liver of the Messenger of Allah you had torn?! Which dignified granddaughter you had exposed?! Which of his blood you had shed, and which sanctity of his you have revoked?! Indeed you have done it, loud and clear, black and dark, enough to fill the earth and the sky of your bad deeds.
Is it a wonder to you that the sky rained blood?!! Indeed the torture of the afterlife is more degrading and you shall not be helped! Do not be taken by the awaiting time, as God might hasten to punish you, and He shall take the revenge and your God is watching!"
(1) A term used to show uselessness, just like when you decorate a dead body with silver..
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Thus people were puzzled and crying while had put their hands in their mouths.
An old man cried until his beard got soaked, while he was saying: "You are worthier to me than my father and mother, your old men are the best seniors, your young men are the best youth, your ladies are the best women, and your offspring is the best offspring, which shall not be defeated or distressed"
The Speech of Fatima Bint Al-Hussain Q:
Then, Fatima Bint Al-Hussain Q had lectured saying: … "Then, O people of Kufa, O people of cunning, treachery and hauteur. Indeed God had afflicted us, Ahlu El-Bayt, by you, and had tested you by us. So, He made our performance good, He gave us His knowledge and apprehension. We are the depositary to His knowledge, the container for His wisdom and apprehension, and His proof on earth in His lands for His worshipers. He dignified us with His dignity, and He vividly distinguished us from many of his creations with his Prophet, Muhammad P. So, you accused us of lying and disbelieving! And you considered your fight against us to be legitimate! And our money is for you to plunder! …. As you have murdered our Grandfather before, the Prince of believers, Ali Q, your swords are soaked with our blood being the family of the Prophet R due to an old animosity!!
Your eyes are rested for that and your hearts are pleased, out of calumny to Allah, and you plotted conspiracies and Allah is the Best of those who plot…".
So, the cries got louder and the people said: "That is enough, O daughter of the kind people! Indeed, you have burned our hearts, hurt our throats, and flamed up our souls". So, she stopped.
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The Speech of Um Kalthoum Bint Ali Q:
Um Kalthoum had raised her crying voice and addressed the people saying: "O people of Kufa, shame on you! You let Hussain down and murdered him; you plundered his money and inherited him?! And you captivated his women and harmed him?! So demise and perish shall be for you… You had killed the best of men after the Prophet P! Thus mercy had been removed from your hearts. Indeed, the party of Allah will be the victorious and the party of Satan will be the losers".
So the people cried louder and started to whimper and groan, the women spread their hairs (sign of distress) and started putting dirt on their heads, they scratched their faces and hit their cheeks, and wished for torment and destruction. And the men cried as it was never seen people crying more than that day.
While the people were crying loudly, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q signaled to them to be quiet, so they did. Then he got up, thanked and praised Allah, and he mentioned the Prophet Muhammad P and praised him, then he said:
"O people! For he who knows me, I do not need to introduce myself to him, and for he who does not know me, Indeed I am Ali the son of Hussain the son of Ali Bin Abi Taleb Q, I am the son of whose sanctity was breached, whose boon was robbed, whose money was stolen, and whose family was captivated. I am the son of who was slaughtered on the Furat’s docks for no personal hatred or revenges! I am the son of who was killed unjustly, which by itself is enough to be proud of!
O people! I do ask you By Allah, do you know that you have written to my father and deceived him?! And you
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pledged to him your allegiance and you assured him with your lives, to then fight against him!
How bad is what you brought to yourselves! And what a bad decision! How are you going to face the Messenger of Allah Q when he tells you: You killed my progeny and violated my sanctity, so you are not of my Nation?!!"
So, the voices became louder coming from all directions, while people were saying to each other: you are doomed and you do not know it!
The Most Important Main Trends of the Speeches of Ahlu El-Bayt R on the Streets of Kufa
Thus the Family of the Prophet R had spoken to the people of Kufa with a common main trend, which is that they all blamed the people of Kufa and spoke to them as they are the murderers who had committed the crime of killing the Master of martyrs Q and his family and supporters. Since the people were the fuel for the fire that the mighty tyrants had lightened its sparkle, they were the murdering tool, indeed they were those who committed the crime, and this was pointed in many of the narrations of the members of the purified family R, part of it is this paragraph from Ziyarat Ashura:
"… So God’s curse shall be upon the nation that set the basis for your oppression, and God shall curse the nation that pushed you away from your place and removed you from the ranks that God had appointed you for them, and Allah shall curse a nation that killed you…".
Indeed the nation’s role is very important and effective, as the leaders of goodness need the nation to achieve victory and without it they are unable to achieve any of the goodness and reformation objectives, and by the nation the leaders of
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wickedness win and without it they cannot reach their evil objectives.
The Holy Head between the Hands of Bin Ziad
Bin Ziad sat in the ruling castle, and called for the public to come to him. He ordered for the Holy head to be put in front of him, and started looking at it while smiling! He also was hitting its parts with a stick he held in his hands!
The Hussain Convoy’s Confrontation with Bin Ziad
The Hashim’s women were taken to the ruling castle while the children of Imam Hussain Q were taken to Bin Ziad. Sayyeda Zeinab O entered along with them disguised in non attracting clothes, and she sat in one of the corners of the castle.
So Bin Ziad said: "who is this lady that went aside with her women?"
And he repeated the question about her a second and a third time.
Then some of the ladies said to him: "This is Zeinab the daughter of Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, May Allah’s peace be upon them all"
Thus Bin Ziad approached her and said to her: "Thank is to God that he exposed and killed you; and he proved you wrong!"
Then Sayyeda Zeinab O said:
"Thank God who had honored us with his Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him and his Progeny, and He had purified us from all wrong doing thoroughly. Indeed, only a dissolute can be exposed, and only an extravagant
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shall be proved wrong, and both are not us, thank God!"
So, Bin Ziad said: "How did you see what God had done to your family?"
She O said: "I only saw what is good! These are people that God had destined them to be killed, so they emerged to their resting places. God shall confront you with them and you will discuss and argue, and you will see who will be the loser then, may your mother mourn you, son of Murjana!"
This made Bin Ziad angry and flared him up.
Then Amro Bin Hareeth said: "My Prince, she is just a woman, and women are not blamed for what they say, and are not disparaged for their speeches"
Bin Ziad said: "God pleased my soul with what he had done to your tyrant and the rebellions of your family!!"
So, she O cried and said: "Indeed, you killed my elderly, finished my family, cut off my branch, and uprooted my origin, if this pleases you, then you shall be pleased!"
Obayd Allah said: "This rhymes! Indeed your father was a good rhyming poet".
So she O answered: "What a woman has to do with rhyming?! I have other important things than rhyming to occupy me…".
Imam Sajjad’s Confrontation with Bin Ziad
They brought Imam Zein El-Abedeen before him, so he said: "Who are you?"
He Q said: "I am Ali the son of Hussain".
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Then he said: "didn’t God kill Ali Bin Hussain?!"
So he Q said: "I had a brother called Ali, and the people killed him".
Bin Ziad said: "Indeed, God had killed him".
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q said: "God is who terminates the life of people when they die".
Bin Ziad got angry and said: "and you dare to talk back to me! Are you still able to answer me? Go, and cut off his neck".
Then, Sayyeda Zeinab O held on to him and said: "O Bin Ziad, enough of our blood!"
She hugged him and said: "By Allah, I shall not leave him, if you want to kill him, do kill me with him!"
Bin Ziad looked at her and said: "How strange is kinship! By Allah, I do believe that she wanted me to kill her with him! Leave him".
Afterwards, Bin Ziad asked that they reside next to the Great Mosque.
Al- Rabab, the Wife of the Imam Q with his Holy Head
Bin Ziad had asked for them one more time, and when the ladies entered, they saw the Head of Imam Hussain Q between his hands, while divine lights were shedding from it towards the sky. The Rabab, the wife of Imam Hussain Q, could not control herself, so she threw herself on him and started kissing him.
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The Stance of Sayyeda Um Kalthoum in front of Bin Ziad
The cursed man spoke to Um Kalthoum, the daughter of Ali Q and said:
"Thank is to God who killed your men! So, how do you view what He did to you?"
She said: "O Bin Ziad! If your eyes are comforted by the killing of Imam Hussain Q, you shall know that the eyes of his Grandfather were comforted by seeing him long before that, he used to kiss him, kiss his lips, and carry him on his shoulder! O Bin Ziad, do prepare an answer for his Grandfather, as he is your opponent tomorrow!"
Indications in the Stances of the Ahlu El-Bayt R
1 - The supreme courage that is enjoyed by Ahlu El-Bayt R in many of the responses that were shown in their speeches. Amongst them is what Sayyeda Zeinab O had said: "Indeed, only a dissolute can be exposed, and only an extravagant shall be proved wrong…" "I only saw good doing!", and in the saying of Sayyeda Um Kalthoum: "O Bin Ziad, do prepare an answer for his Grandfather, as he is your opponent tomorrow!"
2 - The strong believe in Allah The Only and the loving of The Almighty are shown in the stance of our lady Sayyeda Zeinab O and her answer to Bin Ziad: "I only saw what is good!", and she did not say I only saw good doing in Karbala, but declared the absolute viewing of goodness! That means since she began to see, she only saw good doings from Allah, in Karbala, before it and after it. And in this is the ultimate acceptance of God’s destiny, the ultimate thanking for Him, and a way to view the results of the situations without getting confused with the current details.
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As for her redemption and sacrifice O they were embodied by her continuous willingness to die in the many situations where she was defending Hujjatu Allah(1), Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q.
3- To clearly show that the immolation of God and the one being murdered in Karbala is the heart of the Messenger of Allah P, so his murderer is the killer of the Messenger of Allah P and the latter will be his opponent on the Day of Resurrection.
4- Denying the fatalism logic that the Umayyad propagated, while Bin Ziad had insisted on inculcating it in the people’s minds in his parlor. This is shown in his saying to Sayyeda Zeinab O: "How did you see what God had done to your family?" and his saying to Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q: "Didn’t God kill Ali Bin Hussain?!" And what we mean by the fatalism logic is that the Umayyad wanted to delude the people into believing that everything that was happening, all the incidents, events, oppression and killing were due to the Willing of Allah and to the fulfilling of His orders and no one has the right to object His Will. And to face this logic, Ahlu El-Bayt R were determined to popularize another doctrine, which states that everything that is happening by the hands of the oppressing tyrants from killing, oppression, injustice, and corruption do not represent the Will of Allah, because Allah the Almighty, as He had stated in His Wise Book, does not want oppression, corruption, or injustice. Allah the Almighty had asked his good believers to order the good doing, forbid the wrong doing and restraint the oppressors from committing injustice.
(1) Hujjatu Allah: an Arabic term used for the Imam of the time, who is the guide of the people to Allah, where people can come to him if they need any ruling or guidance.
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Thus Sayyeda Zeinab O had replied to Bin Ziad’s claim that everything that happened to her family was of Allah’s (SW) doing by saying: "These are people that God had destined them to be killed" which means they were obeying the legitimate rule of Allah to rise against the Umayyad ruling, and if this uprising had lead to their martyrdom, they would have went to their resting places in compliance to the legitimate ruling.
Oppression and rejoice have always been signs of tyrants, and this was clearly shown in Bin Ziad’s parlor when he said, while deploring Imam Zein El-Abedeen’s courage and bravery in answering back to him: "And you dare to talk back to me?"… "God had pleased my soul with what he had done to your tyrant and the rebellions of your family!!"
The Hussain’s Convoy in Bin Ziad’s Prison
Bin Ziad ordered that the captive ladies to be taken to a jail far from the castle and the mosque, thus the guard who was taking them to the prison said: "There was no alley that we passed by that was not full of men and women who were hitting their faces and crying".
After the daring discussions that went between Bin Ziad and the captive ladies, Bin Ziad feared that things might go against him, especially that people started to blame him. So he ordered that they be put in a closed jail in a confinement near the mosque or inside the castle, and he tightened the security around them so that no one would dare enter their prison.
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The Burial of Imam Hussain Q and the Rest of the Martyrs
Indeed the burial of Imam Hussain Q along with his family members and his companions, who died as martyrs while defending him may Allah’s peace be upon them all, in the way and allocation known from their graves, negates that the people of Asad (who are from Al-Gadereyya), being among the village people who did not witness the battle, were able to achieve that without a guide who knows these martyrs very well, especially that the honorable heads were removed. Thus, there must have been a knowing guide who is able to identify each and every body; otherwise we would not have had this planned allocation of the graves.
Since "only an Imam can take care of the burial procedure of a similar Imam", the body of Imam Hussain Q must have been buried by an Imam, and the Imamate after him was handed to his son Zein El-Abedeen Q, so he should have been the guide that helped the people of Asad to bury the martyrs.
However, how did that happen while Imam Zein Al-Abedeen was a prisoner in Kufa?
The travelling of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q from his jail was done by a miracle that enabled him to reach Karbala and bury his father’s body while "the authority" did not know about it. But his leave was not in the eleventh day for sure, since he did not go to prison till the twelfth day. As Omar Bin Saad did not enter Kufa along with the captives till the morning of the twelfth day, and since we know that for whoever is left from Ahlu El-Bayt R most of the twelfth day had passed while they had to be present before the people and Bin Ziad, this shows us that Bin Ziad had ordered them to jail in the afternoon or at the end of the twelfth day. Then, he sent after
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them to later send them back to jail; and that would have been their first night in jail where they stayed till the day Bin Ziad sent them to Yazeed.
Moreover, if he had to leave the prison without them noticing, we conclude that his leave from jail was done at a time when the tyrant was done with the inquisition so he would not ask for them again. This means it should be at a time when Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q was assured that if he is to leave, he would not be missed by the authority for the whole period he needs to bury his father Q and all his supporters, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Based on all that, it is most likely that he Q had left to Karbala by a miracle on the thirteenth day to bury the bodies.
Going back to Karbala, where the demises of Ahlu El-Bayt R, we find that the women of Bani Asad (the people of Asad) went to where the dead bodies were while crying and weeping and they said to their husbands: "How are you going to apologize for the Messenger of Allah P, the Prince of the believers Q, and Lady Fatima El-Zahra O when you face them while you did not support his sons, you did not defend them with neither a sword strike, a spear stab, nor with a single arrow?!"
The men said to them: "Indeed, we are afraid of the Umayyad people!"
So the women kept going around them while saying to them: "Since you had missed supporting this prophetic group, you should hasten now to bury their pure bodies…".
They said: "We will do that..".
Their main concern was to bury the body of Imam Hussain Q first and then the rest of the bodies. They started looking
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at the cops in the battle field, but were not able to tell which one was of Imam Hussain Q since their heads were cut off and the sun had changed their skin color. While they were in that state, a knight came to them and when he reached them he said: "What is the matter?"
They said: "We came to bury the body of Imam Hussain Q and the bodies of his children and supports, but we don’t know which body is for Imam Hussain Q"
Then he said to them: "I will guide you".
He went down from his horse back and started walking between the dead bodies till he saw the body of
Imam Hussain Q, so he hugged it while crying and saying:
"O Father, killing you had pleased the eyes of the gloaters! O Father, the Umayyad people are happy with your murder, O Father, after your martyrdom our grief is extended! O Father, after your martyrdom our sorrow has been prolonged!"
Then he walked to a place near his dead body and he dug out some sand, then a pre dug grave and a sepulcher appeared, so he put the holy body down and buried it in that holy shrine, and he extended his hands under the body of Imam Hussain Q and said: "by the name of Allah, and for the sake of Allah, and on the path of the Messenger of Allah, Allah and his Messengers had said the truth, this is what Allah willed, and there is neither power nor strength but of Allah the Almighty…"
Then he put him down in his grave, and the people of Asad did not help him as he told them: "Indeed, I have with me who are helping me…" and when he settled him in his grave,
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he put his cheek on the honorable neck and said: "Beatitude is for the land that contains your holy body, as after your demise this lower life is in total darkness, and the afterlife is glowing with your lights, thus the night is very long, and the grief is endless! Or God shall choose your family your home that you are residing in! I wish you peace O son of the Messenger of Allah with Allah’s mercy and blessings".
Then he wrote on the grave: "This is the grave of Hussain Bin Ali Bin Abi Taleb who was killed while being thirsty and a foreigner!"
Then he walked towards his uncle, Al-Abbass Q, and he saw him in the state that staggered the angles between the layers of the sky! And made the guardian angels cry in the rooms of heaven! And he fell upon him kissing his holy neck while saying: "Life is worthless after your demise, O the moon(1) of Bani Hashim, and peace be upon you from me O dear martyr with Allah’s mercy and blessings…"
Then, he dug his grave and put him down by himself just like he did with his father and he told the people of Asad: "Indeed, I have who are helping me…"
Then he turned to the bodies of the supporters and he dug one big hole and put them all in it except for Habib Bin Muthaher as some of his cousins objected to that and they buried him near the rest of the martyrs.
When the people of Asad were done burying the dead bodies of the supporters, the Imam told them: "Let us bury the corps of Al-Riyahi".
So, they went with him and he Q stood next to his body and said: "As for you, God has accepted your repentance
(1) meaning most beautiful and handsome
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and amplified your happiness due to you sacrificing yourself for the sake of the son of the Prophet P"
The people of Asad wanted to carry him to the martyrs’ place, but the Imam Q said to them: "No, but bury him in his place".
When they were done burying him, Imam Zein Al-Abedeen rode his horse, so the people of Asad held on to him and said: "By the right of whom you buried with your hands, tell us who you are?"
So, he said Q: "I am the Imam of your time (Hujjatu Allah), I am Ali bin Al-Hussain Q, came to bury my father’s dead body along with my brothers, uncles, cousins, and their supporters who sacrificed their hearts defending him, and now I am going back to Bin Ziad’s prison (May God curse him). As for you, congratulations to you, you shall not be terrified or blamed for not helping us".
The Uprising of Abdu Allah Bin Afeef Al-Azdi
The head of Imam Hussain Q was put up the door of the Governing castle, Then Bin Ziad called the people to gather in the Greatest Mosque, then he went out, entered the mosque, and went up the rostrum to thank Allah and praise Him, and part of what he said was: "Thank God who elevated the truth and its people, who helped the prince of believers (referring to Yazeed) and his parties, who killed the liar, the son of a liar!"
It was said that he did not add a word to this till Abdu Allah Bin Afeef jumped on him, he was among the companions of the Prince of believers Q, and he also was among the best of the leaders of Shia. His left eye was blinded during "Yaoum Al-Jamal" battle, and his right eye was blinded during the battle of Seffeen. He used to stay in the Greatest Mosque and pray till night time, and then he would go to his home.
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So, when he heard what Bin Ziad had said he jumped on him and said: "O son of Murjana, Indeed the liar and the son of a liar are you and your father! And he who used you and his father! O enemy of Allah and his Messenger, Do you dare to kill the children of the prophets and then speak such words on the rostrum of the Muslims?!"
Obeid Allah Bin Ziad got angry and asked: "Who said that?"
So he said: "I am the speaker O enemy of Allah! Do you dare to kill the pure progeny whom Allah had cleansed them from all wrongdoings and then claim that you are a Muslim?! God help us! Where are the descendents of Muhajereen(7) and Ansar(8) to take revenge from this cursed tyrant, the son of a person who was cursed by the Messenger of Allah and the Lord of humanity?!"
Bin Ziad’s anger fumed up till his arteries swelled up and said: "Bring him to me!"
The guards hurried to get him, so he called with the Azd’s slogan: "O Mabroor!"
Abdu Al-Rahman Bin Makhnaf Al-Azdi was in the mosque, so he said: "Woe to yourself, you killed it and killed your people!"
On that day, seven hundred fighters from the People of Azd came to Kufa, so they jumped to help him, snatched him from their hands and hastened with him to his house.
Bin Ziad, after had returning to the castle, he sent after Amro Bin Al-Hajjaj Al-Zubaidi, Muhammad Bin Al-Ashath,
(1) An Arabic term used for the people who had migrated to preserve their Islamic believes from the torture of the disbelievers during the first years of the Islamic revelation.
(2) An Arabic term used for the supporters of the Prophet P, who had resided in Medina and were among the first believers.
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Shebith Bin Rubei, and a group of his friends, then he said to them: "Go to that blind man whom God had blinded his heart as he had blinded his eyes and bring him to me".
So, they went to get Abdu Allah Bin Afeef, and the news reached the people of Azd. So they gathered and some tribes from Yemen joined them to defend their relative.
Bin Ziad was notified about that, so he gathered the tribes of Mudar and he made them join Muhammad Bin Al-Ashath, and he commanded him to go and fight those people.
So, the tribes of Mudar went and fought heavily till a group of the Arab was killed, and the people reached the house of Abdu Allah Bin Afeef, so they broke the door and attacked him.
Then his daughter screamed: "O father, the people are attacking you from the place you feared!"
So he said: "Don’t worry my girl, just hand me my sword".
She gave him the sword and he started defending himself, then his daughter said to him: "I wish I was a man so I could have fought these dissolute people".
The people started attacking him from all sides and he was defending himself with his sword while saying:
I swear if I would have my sight back
You will never be able to get me.
So no one was able to overpower him, and every time they would attack him from a certain direction, his daughter used to tell him: "They are attacking you for that direction!" till they outnumbered him and surrounded him from all sides, then his
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daughter said to him: "What a humiliation! They surrounded my father and no one to support him!"
They took him to Obayed Allah Bin Ziad and when he was brought before him, he said to Bin Afeef: "Thank God who had degraded you!"
So, Bin Afeef replied: "O enemy of Allah, how did He degrade me? By Allah if he would just bring me back my sight…"
Then Bin Ziad said to him: "What do you say of Othman?"
Bin Afeef answered: "O son of Murjana, O son of Sumayyah, O you servant of the people of Elaj, what do you want with Othman?! Whether he did good or bad? Whether he reformed or corrupted? God is the judge of the people, he rules between them with the truth and just. But do ask me about you and your father, about Yazeed and his father!"
So, Bin Ziad said: "I shall not ask you about anything till you die"
Bin Afeef then said: "Thank God the Lord of humanity, I have been asking Allah to grant me martyrdom before your mother, Murjana, gave birth to you, and I asked to make my death to be by the hands of his worst and meanest creatures whom He despises the most, and when I lost my sight I lost the hope of martyrdom. But now, I do thank God who gave it to me after the despair of achieving it, and he accepted my old supplication!"
So, Obayed Allah said: Cut of his head!" so he was beheaded and crucified!
After that, Bin Ziad tried to gain the trust of the people of
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Azd along with other tribes that had a social influence in Kufa and tried not to aggrevate them against him by not killing some of their leaders who were in allegiance to the Prophet’s progeny R.
Bin Ziad Demands from Bin Saad the Letter that Commanded the Killing of Imam Hussain Q
After the return of Bin Saad from the battle during which he killed Imam Hussain Q, Bin Ziad demanded of him the letter he had sent him, in which he ordered him to kill Imam Hussain Q.
So, Bin Saad said: "I obeyed your orders, and then the letter got lost!"
Bin Ziad said: "Get it for me".
Bin Saad said: "It is lost!"
He said: "Get it for me!"
Bin Saad said: "By Allah, it was left to be read to the elderly women of Medina as a form of apology! By Allah, I gave you an advice about Al-Hussain if I had given it to my father, Saad Bin Abi Waqqass, I would have fulfilled my duty towards him!"
Just then, Othman Bin Ziad, the brother of Obayd Allah, said: "He is right, by Allah I would rather that no man left of the Bani Ziad without an earring in his nose(1), than killing A-Hussain!" and Obayd Allah Bin Ziad did not deny that.
(1) A sign of humiliation as they used to do this to slaves.
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Al-Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi Learned about the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain Q
Obayd Allah Bin Ziad could not kill Al-Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi due to his kinship with Omar Bin Al-Khattab and Omar Bin Saad. Bin Ziad ordered Al-Mukhtar out of jail after having put him in it after the killing of Muslim and Hani. As after he got the letter of Yazeed in which he ordered him to kill and imprison people for any suspicion, he imprisoned a group from the Shia, and Al-Mukhtar was one of them. He stayed in jail till they brought the head of Imam Hussain Q and it was put between his hands, so he covered it with a veil. Then he took Al-Mukhtar out of the jail and when Al-Mukhtar saw the Noble Head, he shouted a loud cry. Thus, Al-Mukhtar was released afterwards, after Bin Ziad had injured his eye.
How the Rest of the Progeny were Driven to Yazeed
When the letter of Yazeed Bin Muawiya reached Bin Ziad, in which he ordered him to send him the head of Imam Hussain Q and the heads of those who were killed with him, along with his women, children and belongings.
And when the people were done roving with the Holy Head, Bin Ziad gave it to Zuhr Bin Qaeis and the heads of his companions as well, and he sent him off to Yazeed Bin Muawiya. He also sent with him Aba Baradah Bin Awf Al-Azdi and Tareq Bin Abi Thubian with a group from the people of Kufa till they reached Yazeed in Damascus.
It was narrated that Jaafar Bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq Q had said: My father, Muhammad Bin Ali told me: "I asked my father, Ali Bin Al-Hussain about the way Yazeed took him, so he said: I was put on a camel’s back with no saddle, while the head of Al-Hussain Q was raised on a flag! Our women were behind me on mules… if one of us would
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have a tear in his eyes, they would hit his head with a spear! When we entered Damascus a person yelled: O people of Sham (old name for Damascus), these are the captives of the cursed family!"
Consequently, the duration that the Hussain convoy stayed in Kufa was twelve days(1).
The Stopping Places on the Way from Kufa to Sham
There are two roads that connect Kufa to Sham:
The Sultani road: This way is too long and has so many stops. As it is not possible for whoever takes this road, even if he walks fast, not to taking it’s curves and stopping at the resting places, to pass it in less than ten days. So, if we would accept that the Hussain convoy took this path, and if we would accept all what happened to them in the stopping places, then this path would have taken them a whole year as some of the historians might say. Some of the main stopping points are: Harran, Hassassah, Tekreet, Wadi Al-Nakhlah, Bersabad, Al-Moussel, Ayn Al-Wardeh, Qansareen, Maarrato Al-Noeman, Kafer Tab, Al-Sheirz, Al-Hamah (Hama), Humess and Balabak.
The straight path (the road of the Arab of Aqeel): This is a way that could be passed in one week since it is straight, and it is the road that the mail man takes.
(1) It looks from many narrations that there was a direct path between Sham and Iraq, which a traveler can usually pass it in one week, and the Arab Aqeel used to take this path. As for the Arab of Saleib, they used to go from Hooran to the Najaf in about eight days. So, if we assume that Bin Ziad had wrote to Yazeed about the Al-Taff battle as soon as it ended, and the mail man moved with his letter on the night of the eleventh or on the eleventh day, thus we can presume, on a basis that the mailing period is one week, that the letter reached Damascus approximately on the seventeenth day of Muharram.
And if we suppose that the mail moved from Damascus to Kufa with Yazeed’s reply on the same day, so it is also possible that it would have reached Kufa on the twenty fourth day of Muharram.
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Perhaps the enemies of Allah and his Messenger P did take the shortest path when taking the Hussain convoy from Kufa to Sham.
That it was only normal at that time for Yazeed, Bin Ziad and their soldiers, who were in charge of the Hussain convoy, to try to deliver the convoy in the fastest time possible. As Yazeed was anxious to feel the satisfaction by gloating at the progeny of the Prophet R, and as for Bin Ziad, he was eager to show Yazeed how he carried his orders as he wanted. Also, the guards who were escorting the Hussain Convoy, they were eager the most to reach Sham to obtain the rewards.
It is important to point that the soldiers of Bin Ziad, when they left with Al-Hussain’s Q head from Kufa, they were afraid that the Arab tribes might get angry, so they used to spread among people that they are carrying the head of an outlaw.
There is another opinion that states that most likely they purposely went through the road that passes through the largest number of cities and villages, as the authority in such situation would use terror as a way to impose its respect, and this is supported by the idea of them carrying the heads from one city to another.
Nearby Damascus
When the Hussain Convoy reached nearby Damascus, Sayyeda Um Kalthoum approached Shamer and said: "I need to ask you something?"
So he said: "What do you need?"
She said: "If we are to enter the city, do take us from a way where only few people can see us, and ask them to
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take out the heads from between our rides and carry them away from us, as we are humiliated from all the looks we are getting while we are on this situation!"
So, the cursed man answered to her request by placing the heads that was on the spears in the middle of the women’s rides and he went through the staring crowds while in their bad situation till they reached the gate of Damascus.
Thus the first of Safar was the day that the head of Imam Hussain Q was brought to the city of Damascus.
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The Festivals of Sham and the Suffering of the Family of the Prophet (peace be upon them)
The Festivals of Sham and the Suffering of the Family of the Prophet (peace be upon them)
The Sham Regions:
The Sham is a name that includes most of the regions that are nowadays part of Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. As the Sham was the first region that the Prophet P had thought of to spread the word of monotheism and to invite the people to Islam. The Prophet had prepared many troops and battles for that purpose. During his last days, he prepared an army and appointed Osama Bin Zayd as the army commander and said: "Allah shall curse whoever does not join Osama’s army…" The objective of the Prophet was not to widen his geographical governing area, but that was something that needed to be done to spread monotheism, have people revolve around the banner of Islam, and to guide the people to Allah the Almighty. But things had changed after the death of the Prophet P, and the measurements were turned upside down. Life had seduced lots of people, where profits, temporal positions, gaining authority and influence became the main objectives to conquer new countries.
Thus, after the Muslims had conquered it (the Sham), Omar appointed Yazeed Bin Abi Soufian as its ruler, after him came his brother Muawiya Bin Abi Soufian. In the year 41 the people of Sham pledged allegiance to him as the new Calif.
He was the founder of the Umayyad Regime that made Damascus the center for the Islamic civilization. It stayed that way till year 132 A.H., and Muawiya appointed Yazeed as his successor by inheritance.
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The Festivals of Sham and the Suffering of the Family of the Prophet (peace be upon them)
The Hussain Convoy Heading to Sham
When the letter of Bin Ziad reached Yazeed Bin Muawiya, he read it and then replied by ordering him to send the head of Imam Hussain Q and the heads of those who were killed with him, along with his women, children and belongings.
And when the people were done roving with the Holy Head, Bin Ziad gave it to Zuhr Bin Qaeis with the heads of his companions as well, and he sent him off to Yazeed Bin Muawiya. He also sent with him Aba Baradah Bin Awf Al-Azdi and Tareq Bin Abi Thubian with a group of the people of Kufa till they reached Yazeed in Damascus.
Thus, they took the captives of the Prophet’s progeny R from women and children on boney camels while the soldiers were surrounding them, if one of them would have a tear in his eyes, they would hit his head with a spear! They were wandered with from one place to another just like they would do with the captives from Rome or Daylam (non- Islamic countries). Ahead of them was the Master of Sajjadeen, Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q, while they had chains on his neck and hands; he was riding on a boney camel with no saddle.
It was narrated that Sayyeda Zeinab O said: "Thus, God knew what happened to us, as the best of us was killed, we were wandered by like animals, and we rode on the camel’s back".
The people traveled with the head of Imam Hussain Q and the captives, and when they got close to Damascus, Sayyeda Um Kalthoum approached Shamer and said: "I need to ask you something?"
So he said: "What do you need?"
She said: "If we are to enter the city, do take us from
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The Festivals of Sham and the Suffering of the Family of the Prophet (peace be upon them)
a way where only few people can see us, and ask them to take out the heads from between our rides and carry them away from us, as we are humiliated from all the looks we are getting while we are on this situation!"
So, the cursed man answered to her request by placing the heads that were on the spears in the middle of the women’s rides and he went through the staring crowds while in their bad situation till they reached the gate of Damascus. They stopped on the stairs of the Gathering Mosque where captives usually stay.
Thus, the Hussain convoy entered Damascus during day time while its people had hung the decorations everywhere happily and excitedly, at the time where their women were playing the tambourines as if it was their greatest Eid (festival).
It was narrated about Sahl Bin Saad Al-Saedy (the Prophet’s companion) that he had said: "I was going to Jerusalem and when I reached the Sham, I found myself in a city with long rivers and heavy trees, while its people had hung the decorations everywhere happily and excitedly, and their women were playing the drums and the tambourines, so I said to myself: maybe the people of Sham has an Eid (festival) that we are not aware of it! I saw some people talking among themselves, so I said: do you have an Eid that we do not know? They said: O old man, we see that you are a stranger, I said: I am Sahl Bin Saad, I had seen the Messenger of Allah P and narrated his Hadith (Sayings). So they said: O Sahel, it is a wonder that the sky does not rain blood, and the earth does not swallow its people! I said: why is that? They said: this is the head of Hussain, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah P, it is being carried as a gift from Iraq to Sham and it is almost here. So I said: It is a wonder! As the head of Hussain is given as a gift and the people are pleased?!!
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Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q and the Old Man from Sham
When the captives were on the ladder of the mosque’s door, an old man approached them and said: "Thank God who had killed and vanished you, he released the people from your authority, and enabled the prince to overpower you!"
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q said: "O old man, did you read the Quran?" He said: "Yes, I did read it".
He Q said: "So did you read this verse: "No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin(1)".?
He said: "I have read that…"
He Q said: "We are the kinship O old man! So, did you read in Bani Israel "And render to the kindred their due rights(2)"?
The old man said: "I did read that".
So, Q said: "We are the kindred O old man! But, did you read the verse: "And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to near relatives(3)"? We are the near relatives, O old man, and did you read this verse: "And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye Members of the Family, and to purify you a thorough purification(4)"?
The old man said: "I did read that"
So, he Q said: "Indeed we are the members of the
(1) Surat Al-Shura, verse: 23
(2) Surat Al-Israa, verse: 26
(3) Surat Al-Anfal, verse: 46
(4) Surat Al-Ahzab, verse: 33
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family, who were talked about in the Purification verse…"
So, the old man started crying and he threw down his turban, then he raised his head towards the sky and said: "O God, indeed I exculpate myself from the enemy of the progeny of Muhammad R, whether a human or Jinn (demon), then he said: "Would my repentance be accepted?"
So, he Q said: "Yes, if you repent, God will forgive you and you would be considered with us…"
So he said: "I do repent…"
Thus, Yazeed learned what the old man had said, so he ordered to kill him.
We conclude many things from this incident:
This was the first time Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q had spoken after having bared the travelling exhaustion. As the narrated story says That Imam Q was silent all along the way from Kufa to Sham and did not speak to anyone.
The Imam performs his duty at the first chance and on the first spot in which he finds the good soil for that. Even though that the old man from Sham had only lived under the Umayyad regime and he did not see Imam Ali Q or any of his sons, but he has a good nature. Whilst many of the people who murdered Al-Hussain Q and captivated his family were among who had seen Ali, Hassan and Hussain R, and had prayed behind them!
The dominance of the poisoned media on the society, as they had propagated that the murdered man was an outlaw who disobeyed "the prince of the believers", and
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he wanted to spread sedition and division in the society. That is why we see that the man from Sham started his speech by expressing his thanks to God for killing the "outlaw" and finishing his family.
The Head of Imam Hussain Q and the Rest of the Hussain Convoy between the Hands of Yazeed Bin Muawiya
Yazeed was overwhelmed with pleasure and delight, and he ordered an assembly full of nobles, dignitaries and public figures from among the people of Sham and representatives from other countries and religions, just like what they did for the head of Goliath. So, it was a very important assembly internally and externally. Thus, he wanted to present himself as the victorious king who overpowered his enemy. And when the captive’s convoy of Ahlu El-Bayt R was admitted to him, the people started congratulating him for his victory.
Imam Baqer Q said: "We were brought before Yazeed Bin Muawiya (may God curse him) after they had killed Hussain, we were twelve children, no one of us was left without chaining his hands to his neck! And among us was Ali Bin Al-Hussain…"
Then the head of Imam Hussain Q was brought and put between the hands of Yazeed, so the brat was pleased with his killing, and he started patting the head with a cane.
While the murderer of Imam Hussain Q came to Yazeed and said:
Fill up my bags with gold and silver,
As I have killed the unreachable king!
I killed the son of the best mother and father,
And the best of all, should we speak about parentage.
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So, the cursed man said to him: "If you knew he is the best person why did you kill him?"
He answered: "I wanted the reward!"
So, Yazeed answered him: "Get out of my sight, no reward for you".
This was the only public assembly that Yazeed had gathered the nobles in it, as there were many private sittings where the head of Imam Hussain Q and Ahlu El-Bayt were presented to Yazeed. Yazeed used to attend the places where they drink alcohol, sing songs, and listen to music while having the head of Imam Hussain Q between his hands.
Yazeed Patting the Head of Imam Hussain Q for the Second Time
Yazeed put the head of Imam Hussain Q between his hands, while he had the women seated behind it so they do not see it. The two daughters of the Imam were stretching their necks trying to view the head, but Yazeed tried to hide it with his body so they could not see it, as he was patting it with a stick in his hand while reciting some verses from a poem for Hussayne Bin Al-Hamam Al-Mary:
We split the heads of dear men, while
They were ungrateful to us and more oppressing.
Then he said: "I have never seen a better looking face than his!"
It was said to him: "He used to look like the Messenger of Allah P"
So he kept quiet, and no one was left in that sitting without blaming and leaving him. One of the people was Abu Baraza
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Al-Aslami who was one of the Prophet’s companions, he resided in Medina and then in Basra, so he said to him: "Woe to you O Yazeed, do you bat the mouth of Hussain Q, the son of Fatima O?! I do testify that I have seen the Prophet P kissing his mouth and that of his brother Hassan R while saying: You are both the Masters of the people of Heaven, God shall kill and curse your killer and prepare Jahannam (Hell) for him as it is the worst destiny".
So, Yazeed got fumed up and he ordered the guards to take him out, and he was dragged outside.
The stand of that companion was at the most critical time and in the most dangerous place, and that is why Yazeed did not tolerate it.
Then Abdu Al-Rahman Bin Al-Hakam, brother of Marwan Bin Al-Hakam, was among the people in the public assembly, and when he saw what Yazeed had done to the head of Imam Hussain Q and heard the verses he recited, he said:
Sumayya’s(15) pedigree has become
As many as pebbles (countless),
While the daughter of the Messenger of Allah
Does not have any pedigree
Just then, Yazeed, out of fear that things might turn against him, hastened to say: "Indeed, may Allah curse the son of Murjana (Obayd Allah, since he killed Hussain the son of Fatima) if I was in his place I would have fulfilled all his requests and conditions, and would have done all what I could to push away his death even if I had to lose some of my children! But Allah had destined this and that’s why no one could have stopped it".
(1) Or Ummaya
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Then, he turned to Abdu Al-Rahman and said: "Praised be Allah! Can you not be quiet! What do you have to do with this issue?!"
Thus Yazeed falsely and untruthfully showed regret in some of his words, while blaming the murdering of Imam Hussain Q on Bin Ziad. His regret was a result of his dishonesty and his fear to lose his kingdom, and to be in line with the general situation and the people’s condemnation to that act. And what proves that he was lying is that he did not punish Obayd Allah Bin Ziad, and he did not depose him from his position, but indeed he invited him to his castle where they drank wine together and he gave him a big reward.
Yazeed and the Clear Deception
Yazeed had changed his tone during the presence of the Prophet’s convoy in Sham. As after he was showing his pleasure for killing Imam Hussain Q, he was compelled to change his attitude due to the hidden yet strong condemnation of the people that was expressed most of the time with weak remarks.
In the context of him showing his joy he said in his parlor: "Do you know what killed Abu Abdullah?" They said: "No" so he answered: "from the jurisprudence and the interpretation! he was too proud of Ali, he used to say: "my father is better than Yazeed’s father, my mother is better than his mother, my Grandfather is better than Yazeed’s grandfather, and I am better than Yazeed". And this is what killed him! As for his saying that "indeed my father is better than Yazeed’s father" thus my father had debated his father and God destined for my father to win over his father, as for his saying: "my mother is better than Yazeed’s mother" I swear he is telling the truth, indeed Fatima the daughter of the Messenger of Allah P is better than my
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mother, and as for his saying: "my Grandfather is better than Yazeed’s grandfather" there is no one among the believers of Allah and the Judgment Day who would claim that he is better than Muhammad P, and for his saying: "I am better than Yazeed" I do swear he did not read the verse that says: (Say O Allah the Owner of Sovereignty)(1)"
Yazeed did take this position to delude the people that even though he had killed the son of the daughter of the Prophet P, he is still a Muslim, ending his speech by mentioning Allah’s will, His fatalism and predestination to give his abominable crime a religious aspect, by instilling the predestination principle that the tyrants used to hold on to it to silence the voices of those who oppose them as well as the naïve people.
Yazeed Using the Poetry of Bin Al-Zubary
Most of the narrations had confirmed that Yazeed Bin Muawiya had recited the poetry of Al-Zubary during his public assembly, Al-Zubary is a poet from Quraish at the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic stage) who was very tough on Muslims:
I wish my old chiefs at Badr could witness
Al-Khazraj’s fearing of the impact of rush
They would have cheered and shouted happily,
Then they would have said, good job O Yazeed
I shall not be from the Khandaf if I do not avenge,
From the family of Ahmad for what he had done
Hashim had manipulated the Reign
So, neither news arrived nor revelations happened
(1) Surat Aal-Imran, verse 26
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Thus, Yazeed had added to these verses what shows his disbelief and his bad intention; it also exposes what is in his heart from disbelief and hatred towards the Messenger of Allah P and his progeny R:
I shall not be from the Utbata if I do not avenge,
From the family of Ahmad for what he had done
Thus Sayyeda Zeinab O did refer to Yazeed’s reciting of these verses during the public assembly by saying: "It did not take him long to show his hatred to us, Ahlu El-Bayt …, as he was happily announcing the killing of his son and the captivation of his pedigree, without regrets or any guilt: (I wish my grandparents)..."
Thus one of the companions told Yazeed after having said these verses: "O prince of believers, you have renounced your Islam!"
Yazeed said: "Yes indeed, I do repent to Allah…"
So the companion replied: "I swear to God, I shall never be with you in the same place!" then he got up and left.
And this was a confession from Yazeed that what he had said does imply disbelieving and the renouncing of one’s religion. Nevertheless, after Yazeed had batted the mouth of Imam Hussain Q, he ordered them to hang it, so it was hung up for three days at the door of the mosque in Damascus.
The Debates of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q with Yazeed
The psychological warfare did reach the peak after the painful battle of Al-Taff, and it was not less important than the war with swords. Yazeed wanted to look like the most victorious winner in all aspects. He wanted to see things end by finishing them, to finalize everything to his favor, while he
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knew he could never reach that, unless he wins this war.
On the other side, we see the right front following the footsteps of its leader, moving towards achieving its objectives. So, we see Sayyeda Zeinab O standing behind Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q in all situations, why not? As he was Hujjatu Allah after the martyrdom of his father Q.
It was said that Yazeed had told Sayyeda Zeinab O: "Do speak!" so she O answered: "Indeed, he is our speaker" meaning Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q. By doing this, she wanted to point to the leader of the triumph journey.
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q was facing many problems that he needed to overcome:
1- An arrogant tyrant who was living the pleasure of the claimed victory, that needed to be confronted in front of the people to uncover his infidel reality and to expose his truth particularly in front of his followers and loyalists.
2- A suppressing regime that Muawiya established based on temptations, intimidations and the dead body skulls and carnages. Satan wanted for him to be the establisher of the Umayyad Empire which would be considered by the "Cursed Tree in the Quran" as a mean to obliterate the religion (Islam) and to falsify the canon of the Master of the messengers.
Thus, it was necessary to shake the pillars of this empire that considered God’s money to belong to it aside from other people, and used to think of the worshipers of Allah as their slaves while using Islam and the succession of the Messenger of Allah Q as coverage.
3- A misleading media and a poisoned environment that learned about Islam through Muawiya Bin Abi Soufian
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and then Yazeed. Here they hear that these captives were captivated during a battle with an outlaw who rebelled against "the prince of believers"!
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q had to confront all that to tear apart the clouds of ignorance that dominated the skies for around four decades.
Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq Q said: "When the head of Imam Hussain Q was brought in front of Yazeed, may God curse him, then they brought Ali Bin Al-Hussain along with the daughters of the Prince of believers Q, while Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain was restrained and chained up".
Yazeed said: "O Ali Bin Al-Hussain, thank God who killed your father!"
So Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q said: "May Allah curse whoever killed my father".
Then Yazeed got fumed up and ordered them to behead him.
So, Ali Bin Al-Hussain said: "If you kill me, then who is going to return the daughters of the Messenger of Allah P to their homes, while there is not a chaperone (Mahram, unmarriageable kin) other than me?"
Then, Yazeed said: "You shall take them back to their homes".
Then he asked for a file to scrape the chain off the Imam’s neck with his own hands, then he said to the Imam: "O Ali Bin Al-Hussain, do you know why am I doing this?"
He Q said: "Yes, you do not want anyone to do me this favor but you".
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So, Yazeed said: "Indeed, this is exactly what I wanted to do…, O Ali Bin Al-Hussain (Whatever misfortune happens to you, is because of the things your hands have wrought(1))
Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q said: "Not really, this verse was not intended for us! But the one intended to us is (No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence, that is truly easy for Allah* In order that you may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favors bestowed upon you. For Allah loves not any vainglorious boaster(18)) as we are those who do not feel sorry for what passed us and we do not exult over what life brings to us"
By this, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q had shattered the roots of the supporting base that Yazeed used, and he Q exposed how ignorant Yazeed was with the true meaning of the holy verse. Then, a man from Sham jumped up and said: "Allow me to kill him!" So, Sayyeda Zeinab O threw herself down on him.
While Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q was saying:
Do not expect us to respect you if you are dishonoring us,
And to stop harm from reaching you, while you are hurting us
Indeed God knows that we do not like you,
And we do not blame you if you do not like us.
Thus Yazeed said: "You are saying the truth, but your father and grandfather wanted to become princes, so, thank God who had humiliated them and shed their blood!"
So, Imam Zein El-Abedeen stood up to remind Yazeed Bin
(1) Surat Al-Shoura, verse: 30
(2) Surat Al-Hadeed, verse: 2223
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Muawiya of his parents and ancestors and to make him aware of his father and grandfather’s reality: "O son of Muawiya, Hind and Sakhr, my fathers and ancestors had held the reign before you were even born, and my grandfather, Ali Bin Abi Taleb Q, was on the Days of Badre, Uhud, and Ahzab holding the flag of the Messenger of Allah P in his hand, while your father and your grandfather were holding the flags of the disbelievers in their hands".
Then he Q said: "Woe to you Yazeed, indeed if you are aware of what you have committed against my father, my family, my brother and my uncles, you would have escaped to the mountains, to sleep on the bare sand while calling for punishment and death, for that the head of Imam Hussain Q is hung on the doors of the city while he is the consignation of the Messenger of Allah P among you, So do enjoy the feeling of regret and humiliation tomorrow, when the people are to be gathered for that Day that no one doubts".
Then Yazeed called for the women and children to be seated in front of him, when he saw their painful situation, he said: "May God punish the son of Murjana, as if there were a kinship between you and him, he would not have done this to you, or have sent you in this condition".
These speeches of Yazeed and other similar ones were on the second stage that followed the stage of expressing his joy and ultimate pleasure, but he was surprised with a reaction from the people that he did not account for at all, which obliged him to push the responsibility away from him and blame it all on Bin Ziad.
Many points emerge from the stances of Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q that must be studied and contemplated:
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The solid stance of the Imam Q and his stability during the assembly.
The Imam Q blamed the responsibility for the killing of Imam Hussain Q, what happened in the Al-Taff battle, and all after that on Yazeed, while warning of the profundity of the Great Tragedy and threatening of Hell’s fire.
Exposing the truth about Yazeed, that he, his father and his grandfather were all on the wrong path, declaring war against the Messenger of Allah P and his progeny R, and the Hussain renaissance is only a continuation for that confrontation and defiance.
Yazeed Gets Close to Killing Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q
As Yazeed’s position, from what happened in Karbala, was fluctuating between the joy for what occurred and trying to escape the responsibility for it, Yazeed’s stances from Imam Sajjad Q did fluctuate between the gloating, trying to kill him, or implying that he was honoring him.
Yazeed, may Allah curse him, tried during his arguments with Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q to drive him to say something that would allow Yazeed to kill him, and the Imam Q used to answer him in accordance with his speech while holding a small chaplet and turning it with his fingers as he was speaking.
So, Yazeed said to him: "I am speaking to you, and you are answering me while turning your fingers over the chaplet that is in your hand! How appropriate is that?"
So, He Q said: "My father had narrated to me about my Grandfather P: that he used to hold a chaplet in his hands
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and not talk to anyone after finishing his noon prayer and say: "God I woke up this morning while praising you, thanking you, acclaiming you, and glorifying you by the count of the beads I am turning on my chaplet", then he used to hold the chaplet in his hands while speaking of whatever he wants, without saying the glorifying words, and he mentioned that it is all counted to him as good deed and it would protect him till he goes to bed. When he went to bed, he used to say the same thing and then put the chaplet under his head, so he would get all the good deeds as if he was repeating them till he gets up", so I only acted this way to follow the steps of my Grandfather P".
Then, Yazeed, may God curse him, said: "I am not able to speak to any of you without him confounding me with a strong comeback!"
Yazeed consulted his counsels in regards to the captives’ issue in an assembly that was on last days of the presence of Ahlu El-Bayt R in Sham, so they advised him to kill the Imam and they said: "Do not take in a puppy from a bad dog"
So, the Imam Q accosted Yazeed by thanking God and glorifying Him then he said: "Indeed, these people had advised you against what the councilors of Pharaoh had advised him when he consulted them about Prophets Moses and Aaron, as they had said: let go of him and his brother, while these people advised you to kill us".
Then Yazeed kept quiet.
The Head of the Jews in the General Assembly of Yazeed
After the arguments that went on between Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q and Yazeed, a rabbi among the Jewish rabbis
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was there so he turned to Yazeed and said: "O prince of believers, who is this young man?"
So Yazeed said: "This head belongs to his father"
Then the rabbi said: "and who is the owner of this head, O prince of believers?"
Yazeed said: "Al-Hussain Bin Ali Bin Abi Taleb".
The rabbi asked: "and who is his mother?"
Yazeed said: "She is Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad P"
So, the rabbi said: "Glory is to Allah! This is the son of your Prophet’s daughter, and you were this quick to kill him! What a bad way to repay him in dealing with his pedigree, By God, if Moses Bin Omran had left us one of his grandchildren, I believe we might have worshiped him instead of God, and you, your Prophet had just died, so you attacked his grandson and killed him, what a bad nation you are…"
Sayyeda Zeinab Bint Ali O In Yazeed’s Parlor
She is the hero of the battle in Yazeed’s parlor; she stands to face his tyranny with utmost solidity while talking to him with full courage since she can view the actual reality with Allah. That is why we see that she speaks the logic of her father who was the soul of the beloved Mustafa (chosen one), in a way that makes the Sham and its Umayyad Castle an extension to the fields of Karbala, the rise of the Master of martyrs, and a perfect embodiment for its noble values and dignified objectives.
Here she is saying to Yazeed: "O Yazeed, do you not fear Allah and his Messenger for killing Al-Hussain Q? As if
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that was not enough for you, till you brought the daughters of the Messenger of -Allah P from Iraq to Sham, and it was not enough either till you brought us here the way you bring slaves on rides with no saddles! Indeed no one killed my brother Al-Hussain Q but you, and if it was not for your orders, the son of Murjana would have never been able to kill him, since he has less men and he does not have the courage to do it. Did you not fear Allah for killing him when the Messenger of Allah P had said about him and his brother: "Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain are the masters of the youth in heaven among all people"? If you say "No", you would be lying, and if you say "Yes", you would have opposed yourself and admitted your bad mistake…"
So, Yazeed said: "A pedigree each one follows the other…"
Thus Sayyeda Zeinab O focused in this speech on three points:
1 - The kinship to the Messenger of Allah P.
2 - To hold Yazeed responsible for killing Imam Hussain Q to invalidate all his attempts to repudiate that.
3 - To prove that Yazeed does not relate to Islam, neither from near nor from far.
Sayyeda Zeinab O with the Holy Head
The stance of Sayyeda Zeinab O took an emotional direction when she saw the Holy Head, as she called with a grieving voice that saddens the hearts: "O Hussain, O the beloved of the Messenger of Allah, O son of Mecca and Mena, O son of Fatima Al-Zahra the Lady of all women, O son of the daughter of the Mustafa…"
So, she made everyone, of the attending people, cry
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The Speech of Sayyeda Zeinab O(1)
It is the documented script of Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain, which took its place along the speech of the beloved Mustafa on the Ghadir Day, the speech of her mother the Great Siddiqa, the Martyr, in the Prophet’s mosque, and the speech of her father that is known by the name "Al-Shaqshaqiyya" in a way for all these speeches to form the most prominent proofs for whoever had a heart and paid attention while witnessing this.
Thus she O delivered this speech after Yazeed had recited the verses of Al-Zubary poem:
"O Yazeed, God and his Messenger had said the truth (Then it was the worst ramification for those who have done evil; for that they rejected the signs of Allah, and used to ridicule it(2)). O Yazeed, did you think, since we are overpowered on that side of earth and under the fringes of the sky till we were treated the way the captives are treated, that God does not care for us while He cares for you?!! And that is due to your superiority, so you lifted your nose and looked upon your shoulder (sign of acting arrogance), cheerful and happy when you viewed this life as it belongs to you, and things are going your way, indeed your punishment just being delayed and put off and that is clear from the words of Allah the Exalted, the Almighty: (Let not the Unbelievers think that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: but they will have a shameful punishment(3)). Is it fair, O son of the freedmen, that you dignify your ladies and slaves while the daughters of the Messenger of Allah P were brought to you, after you had exposed them, caused their voices to
(1) As it was narrated by Bin Tayfoor (T: 280)
(2) Surat El-Room, verse: 10
(3) Surat Al-Omran, verse: 178
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be husky due to their grief, you made them ride on weak camels, their enemies were yelling at them while taking them from one country to another, they were not cared for or sheltered. Everyone, near or far, was staring at them, they did not have any of their men to protect them. And how is it possible for someone to ask us not to hate him while he is looking at us with hatred, antagonism, implacability, and resentment, do you say: "I wish that my grandparents from Bader had witnessed…" without feeling guilty or sorry while batting the lips of Abu Abdu Allah in your parlor? Why wouldn’t you behave like this, when you have already poked the ulcers and cauterized the tumor by shedding the blood of the pedigree of the Messenger of Allah P and the earth’s stars from the family of Abdu Al-Muttaleb, you will soon go back to Allah as they did, and then you would wish if you had been blinded or muted before you said: "They would have cheered and shouted happily". O God, do punish them for our rights, and take our revenge from those who have wronged us. I swear to God, you only abraded your skin, and did not cut but your own flesh, you will surely, despite your will, be brought in front of the Messenger of Allah P, his family, and his supporters in Heaven, on the Day when Allah will reunite them after having been scattered, and that is the saying of Allah the Exalted, the Almighty: "Think not of those who are killed in the Way of Allah as dead, but indeed they are alive, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord.(1)" Thus, the one who enabled you to rule the believers shall know, especially if the Judge is Allah, your opponent is Muhammad P, and your limbs are the witnesses against you, this is the worst ending for the wrong doers, he shall know who of both of you is in a weaker position with less supporters. Even though, I swear to God O enemy of Allah and the son of His enemy, I do not
(1) Surat Al-Imran, verse: 169
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have any respect for you even to reprimand you, but the fact is that the eyes are tearful, and the hearts are sorrow and all this does not make up for our loss, as Al-Hussain Q was killed, and the party of Satan is handing us over to the party of fools to be rewarded from the Money of Allah for rending the sanctities of Allah! As these hands are soaked with our blood, these mouths are fed from our flesh, and those blessed corpses are being eaten by the wild animals. So, if you consider this a victory for you, you would indeed be gaining a chastisement at the time when you do not find but what your hands had already committed, you would cry for help from the son of Murjana and he would cry for your help as well, you and your followers will howl for each other at the weighing scale, where you would find that the best provision Muawiya had provided you is your killing of Muhammad’s Q Pedigree. Indeed, I have only feared Allah, and to him only is my compliant. So, plot your machination, strive all you want, and do your best, but, By Allah, you would never be able to eradicate the disgrace you earned for what you did to us. And Thank God for sealing the ending of the Masters of heavens with happiness and forgiveness so that He enjoined them to go to Heaven. I do ask Allah to elevate their ranks, and to enjoin them with many of His Merit, as He is the Powerful Protector".
This speech hit Yazeed like a thunder on his head, so he said:
O what a beautiful outcry better than others,
How easy it is to cry over tribulations.
Bafflement had overwhelmed Yazeed, and he did not know what to say, so all he did was to recite a poet’s verse, while there is no link between what this tyrant had heard, of the many thunders that had hit him and the Umayyad people, reminding
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him with each and every word of the hits of Thu Al-Fiqar (Imam Ali’s sword) between the hands of the Messenger of Allah Q, and between the poetry he recited by announcing that the outcry is a good one among others! And that it is easy to weep over catastrophes! Indeed it is a failed attempt of a muted person to hide behind gloating.
A Quick Glance of the Contents of the Great Speech
1- Starting from a central theme in the Islamic knowledge which is the reprieving time Allah the Al-Mighty gives to the oppressing tyrants and the dissolute disbelievers, and clarifying that this was only to complete the proofs against them and to increase their iniquity.
2- To expose the unfair ruling of Yazeed, even though he claimed to be the Caliph.
3- Stressing the point of preserving the woman’s status and the importance of the ardor for her protection.
4- Stressing the fact that what Yazeed had done was a result of his infidelity, and that what he had committed was to revenge the killing of his disbelieving relatives by the Messenger P during the Badr Battle, by raising the swords against the Messenger of Allah fifty years after the death of the Prophet P.
5- Confirming that the Reign and ruling is for the Progeny of Muhammad and no one else, and that shows in her saying: "…and when took control of our reign and kingdom…"
6- Pointing to the responsibility of the person who had enabled the tyrant to control the Muslims, this was the reply to those who wanted to refer this to God’s fate and
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destiny.
7- Declaring that neither Yazeed nor his followers were able to erase the history of the Prophet’s progeny, as this is something no one is able to do.
8- Illustrating the great rank of the martyr and the exalted value of martyrdom in the Islamic culture.
9- Blaming the major responsibility for killing Imam Hussain Q directly on Yazeed.
The Stance of Sayyeda Zeinab O from the Request of the Man from Sham
It was narrated about Sayyeda Fatima Bint Al-Hussain Q that she had said: "When we were sitting before Yazeed, a man from the people of Sham got up and said: O prince of believers, grant me this odalisque, meaning me, so I was terrified thinking that it is allowed for him to do that, so I held to my aunt Zeinab’s clothes, and she knew that it is not permissible.
So, my aunt O said to the man from Sham: "You are a despicable liar; By God neither you nor he has the right to do that!"
Then Yazeed got angry and said: "You are the liar, indeed it is my right and if I wanted to do it, I would have done it!"
She said: "I swear by God, Allah did not allow you do this unless you renounce from our denomination and believe in another religion".
So, Yazeed was flared up and said: "Are you saying this to me? Indeed who had renounced the religion are your father and your brother!"
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Sayyeda Zeinab O said: "By the religion of my God, my Father and my brother you were guided along with your grandfather and father that is if you are a Muslim!"
He said: "You are a liar, O you enemy of Allah!"
She O said to him: "You are a prince who wrongfully scorns and overpower with your authority…" As he was ashamed so he kept quiet…
Then the man from Sham said again: "Grant me this odalisque".
So, Yazeed said to him: "Stop, may God grant you an eliminating death".
Thus, Sayyeda Zeinab O had accomplished a decisive victory over the tyrant while he was at the peak of authority and had the apparent power, as she had confuted him one time after another.
Thus, she was able to expose the ignorance of the person claiming to be the Caliph of the people, as she also had revealed his lack of knowledge of the religious rules and regulations, as it is not permissible to consider the Muslim women as captives of the wars and they should not be treated as captives either. So how is it when these women are the daughters of the Messenger of Allah Q?
The Role of the Ladies of the House of the Prophet R at Yazeed’s Parlor
The rest of the ladies of the Hussain’s convoy followed the steps of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q and Sayyeda Zeinab O to accomplish the same goals. They intended to expose the unjust authority, while presenting themselves as captives from Ahlu El-Bayt R in each and every situation, which
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caused things to turn against Yazeed Bin Muawiya. This is what Sayyeda Sukaina, the daughter of Imam Hussain Q, did when she presented to the people that these captives are from the family of Muhammad P in order to control the media’s poisoned atmosphere.
As it was narrated by Imam Jaafar Bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq that his father Q had said: "When Yazeed brought the women of Imam Hussain, they entered during day time while their faces were uncovered, then the harsh people of Sham said: We have never seen better looking people than these! Who are you? So, Sukaina Bint Al-Hussain Q said: "We are the captives from the family of Muhammad!"
When the head of Imam Hussain Q was placed in front of Yazeed, Sayyeda Sukaina said to him: "I swear to God I have never seen a harsher heart than that is of Yazeed, nor a disbeliever or an infidel more evil or more ruthless than him".
This is also what Fatima Bint Al-Hussain Q had done, and she was older than Sukaina, when the women of Imam Hussain Q were brought before Yazeed, the women of Yazeed and the daughters of Muawiya and his family started to weep and cry, then Fatima Bint Al-Hussain Q said: "Is it possible for the daughters of the Messenger of Allah to become captives, O Yazeed?"
The Speech of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q
Yazeed gave his orders to bring a rostrum and a speaker to mention to the people the flaws of Imam Hussain Q and of his father Imam Ali Q, so the speaker went up the podium and started by thanking Allah and praising Him, and he started to excessively slander Ali and Hussain L, and exaggerated in praising Muawiya and Yazeed. So, Imam Zein El-Abedeen
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Q yelled at him saying: "Woe to you O speaker, did you buy the approval of the creature with the exasperation of the Creator! Do await your place in Hell then". Then He Q said: "O Yazeed, allow me to climb up these sticks to say few words that would please God and grant these people good reward and compensation…"
Yazeed denied him that, but the people said: "O prince of believers, give him the permission to speak, maybe we can hear something good from him". So he told them: "if he goes up that rostrum, he shall never come down before humiliating me and the whole family of Abi Sufian…"
Then they said: "How much could this one know?!"
He said: "He is from a family that was fed the knowledge from birth…"
They kept arguing till he allowed him to speak, so he climbed the rostrum, thanked God and praised him then he delivered a speech that caused the eyes to cry and the hearts to be terrified, and that is what he said:
"O people, we were awarded six and distinguished by seven, we were awarded the knowledge, the tolerance, the indulgence, the eloquence, the courage, and the love in the hearts of the believers. And we are distinguished as one of us is the Chosen Prophet Muhammad P, the Siddiq (Imam Ali), the Tayyar Q (meaning Jaafar Al-Tayyar), the lion of Allah and the lion of the Messenger of Allah P, the Lady of all the women of the worlds Fatima Al-Batoul O, and from our family come the two grandsons of this nation and the two Masters of the youth in Heaven.
Who had met me he should know me, and for he who does not know me I shall inform him of my parentage
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and lineage. O people, I am the son of Mecca and Mena, I am the son of Zamzam and Safa, I am the son of who carried the Zakat within his clothes, I am the son of the best person who ever wore clothes, I am the son of the best person who wore shoes or walked barefooted, I am the son of the best person who performed Tawaf and Saei (duties of Hajj) I am the son of the best person to perform Hajj and answer the call of Allah, I am the son of the person who rode on Buraq (special horse) in space, I am the son of the one who travelled at night from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque, Praised be who made him travel, I am the son of he who travelled with Gabriel till he reached Sudrat Al-Montaha (special tree in the seventh heaven), I am the son of who approached and came close, and was at a distance of the length of two bows or even nearer, I am the son of who had led the prayer for the angels of the skies, I am the son of the person whom Al-Jaleel (The Exalted) had revealed to him the revelation, I am the son of Muhammad Al-Mustafa, I am the son of Ali Al-Murtada, I am the son of who fought the people till they admitted that there is no God but Allah (believed in God), I am the son of he who fought before the Messenger of Allah with two swords, stabbed with two spears, migrated two times, pledge allegiance in both times, prayed towards the two Qiblah, fought in Bader and Honain, and did not ever disbelieve in God not even for a glance, I am the son of the best of believers, the heir of Prophets, the suppressor of infidels, the Chief of Muslims, the light of fighters (Mujahedeen), and the beauty of worshipers, the crown of the weepers (out of fear of Allah), the most patient of all, and the best one of the family of Yaseen, the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, I am the son of who is assisted by Gabriel, and supported by Michael, I am the son of the defender of the Muslims’ sanctities, the killer of the promise breakers, the cheaters and the hypocrites, who
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strove against his eminent enemies, the best person ever to walk among all of Quraish people, the first believer to answer and respond to the call of Allah, the first of the first believers, the crusher of the aggressors, the demolisher of the polytheists, an arrow of the bows of Allah against the hypocrites, the speaker for the wisdom of the worshipers, the supporter for Allah’s religion, the guardian for Allah’s orders, the garden for Allah’s wisdom, the vantage point for Allah’s knowledge, pliable and generous, smiley, pure and the outgoing, pleasing and pleased by God, brave and courageous, patient who fasts during the days, polite who stays up late to pray, valiant and giving, the backs’ breaker, the parties divider, who has the bravest heart of all, who has the utmost self control of all, who does not speak too soon, with the strongest determination of all, the most powerful of all, a valiant lion, a torrential raining storm, who grinds his enemies in a close compact where swords and riding horses join together the way that a quern would grind the wheat, then he will toss them the way the wind would throw ashes in the air, the lion of Hijaz, the owner of miracles, the ram of Iraq, he is an Imam stated in the authentic text and by worthiness, from Mecca and Medina, from Bathaa and Tuham, from Khaifa and Aqaba, from Bader and Uhud, among the people of the Shajara (Tree treaty) and the migrants, among the Arab he is the leader and the lion of the battles, the heir of the poets, the father of the two grandsons Hassan and Hussain, the presenter of wonders, the splitter of troops, the shooting star, the dominant light, the victorious lion of God, the desideratum of every seeker, and the predominant of every dominant, that is my grandfather, Ali Bin Abi Taleb.
I am the son of Fatima Al-Zahra, I am the son of the Lady
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of all women, I am the son of the pure Batoul(23), I am the son of the daughter of the Prophet, I am the son of Ali Al-Murtada, I am the son of Fatima Al-Zahra, I am the son of Khadija Al-Kubra, I am the son of the one who was unjustly murdered, I am the son of the one who is slaughtered from the back, I am the son of the one who was thirsty till he died, I am the son of the fallen in Karbala, I am the son of the one whose turban and clothes were plundered, I am the son of who was cried over by the angels of the skies, I am the son of who was wept for by the Jinn in the ground and the birds in the air, I am the son of whose head was given as a present on spears, I am the son of whose women were captivated and brought from Iraq to Sham, O people, indeed Allah the Almighty, and thank is to him, had tested us, Ahlu El-Bayt, with a good test by placing the banner of guidance, just and pious with us, and had placed the banner for deception and killing on others…"
Then people started to cry and weep loudly, which made Yazeed fear from sedition, so he ordered the muezzin to call for prayer, and to interrupt his speech and silence him.
When the muezzin said "God is Great" Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q said: "You glorified the Great God who could not be measured or realized with the senses, and no one is greater than Allah".
And when he said: "I testify that there is no God but Allah". The Imam Q said: "My hair, skin, flesh, blood, brain and bones all had testified that it is true".
When he said: "I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" the Imam Q turned to Yazeed and said: "O Yazeed, is this Muhammad my grandfather or yours? If
(1) Batoul: an Arabic nick name used to describe how Sayyeda Zahra O used to isolate herself for the worshiping of Allah.
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you claim he is your grandfather, then you would have lied, and if you say he is my grandfather, so why did you kill his progeny?"
Then the Muezzin finished the call for prayer and Yazeed got up and performed the noon prayer.
A Glimpse at the Speech of Imam Al-Sajjad Q and its Resonance
The Imam Q had confined in this speech to the identification of his family and himself and did not go near other subjects, and perhaps the secret behind that is his previous knowledge that the Sham’s community did not know anything about Ahlu El-Bayt R and their high status, since they were raised in the arms of the authority of the Umayyad tyrants who had concealed the truth away from them, and fed them the allegiance towards the descendants of the cursed tree and the hatred towards the family of the Messenger of Allah P. From this point of view, we see that he Q dealt with the issue from an emotional perspective, because its effect in this situation is stronger than any other approach, and the content of the speech indicates that the audience were from the general public and not limited to the nobles and dignitaries, as the atmosphere of the assembly differed from the atmosphere of Yazeed’s general assembly that was crowded with nobles, dignitaries, senior Christian and Jewish scholars, and representatives of the top countries of that time. That is why we see that the Imam Q lists the merits of Ahlu El-Bayt R and he talks in particular about some men among them who have no substitute or anyone even comparable to them. So, he Q says: among us is the Chosen Prophet, and among us is the Siddiq – meaning Ali Bin Abi Taleb Q - and he lists many of the characteristics without stating at the beginning whom he meant by these traits, like being truthful, the two Masters of the youth of Heaven,
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and …, till he lists many of their traits that shows some of their merits and virtues to have a stronger impact on people, as this what had happened indeed.
After that, the Imam states his roots and origin as to his lineage and homeland, so that everyone shall know that he is the branch of the tree of the Prophet, the fruit of Ali, the jewel of Fatima and the pearl of Hussain, and that he is from the heart of Mecca and Medina, and how the oppressing authority and the autocratic government had distorted the reality for the people and spread the lies and the authority introduced them to the nation as being rebels against the prince of the dissolute, Yazeed!
Thus the Imam Q, after having stated the characteristics of his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah P, like the revelation and the ascension, he starts to indicate the attributes of his grandfather, the Prince of believers Ali Q, while the Sham community hears descriptions of him that they hear for the first time. As he is the one who fought with the Messenger of Allah with two swords and stabbed with two spears…
Then he Q mentions the merits of his grandmother, the Grand Siddiqa and the human angel, Sayyeda Fatima Al-Zahra O. Then he had reached the peak of his speech when he said: "…I am the son of the one who is slaughtered from the back, I am the son of the one who was thirsty till he died, I am the son of the fallen in Karbala, I am the son of the one whose turban and clothes were plundered…".
This is what happened in Karbala, and this is the reality of the killing of Imam Hussain Q. But as for the current issue that the heedless and lost people of Sham must pay attention to is that even though the pure body of Imam Hussain Q was in Karbala, but his holy head and his women were in Sham.
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Thus Yazeed did not find an escape other than to recourse to the muezzin by using the call for prayer as an excuse, as he had known from the beginning that if the Imam Q would climb the rostrum, he Q would turn things against him, but he did not know that he might reach to this level, otherwise he would have never allowed it.
The speech of the Imam had a strong impact on the Sham’s community, as people started to look at each other and speak secretly to each other about their bad situation of failure and disappointment till they changed their attitude towards Yazeed and started to look at him with disgrace and contempt.
The Most Important Meetings of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q in Sham
The first meeting was when Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q went down from the rostrum and sat at a corner of the mosque, so Bin Makhoul from Sham met with him, and he was the Imam for Sham, a companion of the Messenger of Allah P, and an averse to the Prince of the believers Ali Q, so he said to him: "How did you become O son of the Prophet?"
He Q said: "We have become among you like the Bani Israel among the people of Pharaoh, they were killing their children and captivating their women, and that is a great ordeal for you from your God".
As for the second meeting for the Imam Zein El-Abedeen, it was with Menhal Bin Omar Al-Asdi in one of the markets of Damascus, when he said to him: "How did you become O the son of the Prophet?" he Q said: "Woe to you, isn’t time for you to know how did we become? We have become among our people like Bani Israel among the people of Pharaoh, they are killing our children, and captivating our
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women, the best person of all human after Muhammad is being cursed publicly on the rostrums, our enemy is being granted money and dignity, and he who loves us has become disgraced and taken advantage of, as the situation of the believers, and the non-Arabs became respectful of Arabs since Muhammad was from them, and Quraish has become proud over the Arab since Muhammad was from it, and the Arab are paying respect to Quraish since Muhammad was from it, and the Arabs are proud over the non Arab since Muhammad was from them, and we, being the family of the Prophet, no one knows our right!! So, this is how we have become O Menhal".
And we point out that the incident and the conversation was repeated with Makhoul and Menhal and it was not the same one. Especially as it was narrated that the conversation with Makhoul was on a corner of the mosque, and the conversation with Menhal was in the market of Damascus, and it is not strange to repeat and have a similar answer for the same question.
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q Makes Discussions with the Deluded Public Opinion
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q took interest in enlightening the thoughts and exposing the facts more than any other thing. We had mentioned parts of his words, conversations and speeches that dealt with this aspect. Thus, a man from Sham came to him and said: "Are you Ali bin Al-Hussain?"
He Q said: "Yes".
He said: "Your father had killed the believers!"
So the Imam Q cried then wiped his face and said: "Woe
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to you, how did you decide that my father had killed the believers?"
He said: "by his saying that our brothers had wronged us, so we fought their oppression".
So he Q said: "Do you read the Quran?"
He said: "Yes, I do read it"
He Q said: "did you not hear His saying: (And to the ‘Ad people (We sent) Hud, one of their own brethren…And to the Thamud people (We sent) Saleh, one of their own brethren…And to the Madyan people (We sent) Shuaib, one of their own brethren )...(1)"
He said: "Yes, indeed"
So he Q said: "Was he their brother from the same community or from the same religion?"
He said: "from their community".
He Q said: "you have relieved me, may Allah relief you as well".
The Imprisonment of the Rest of the Hussain Convoy in Sham
It was narrated about Fatima, the daughter of Ali Q that she said: "then Yazeed, may Allah curse him, had ordered for the women of Hussain Q to be jailed with Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q in a prison that does not protect them from heat or cold, till their faces were pealed of".
The house was in a bad shape, as it was feared it would fall on them, it was narrated about Abi Abdu Allah Al-Sadiq Q
(1) Surat Hud, verses 50, 61, 84
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that he had said: "Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q was brought to Yazeed Bin Muawiya along with the women who were with him as captives, so they put them in a house and they put some non-Arab people, who do not speak Arabic, to guard them. So they said to each other: they have put us in this house to have it fall on us and kill us all in it. Then Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q said to the guards in their language: do you know what these ladies are saying? They are saying this and that…, so the guards said: they told us that you are going to be taken out tomorrow to be killed, so Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q said: no indeed, Allah will never allow that, then he approached them and started teaching them using their language".
Commemorating Imam Hussain Q in the House of Yazeed was for Misleading and Deceiving Purposes
When the Hussain’s convoy was brought to Yazeed, and the head was placed in front of him, Hind Bint Amer, the wife of Yazeed, heard the dialogue that went on in the castle hall, so she covered her face with her clothes, went out to Yazeed and asked him: "O prince of believers, is this the head of Al-Hussain the son of Fatima the daughter of the Prophet?"
So he answered her: "Yes, do weep for him and mourn for the son of the daughter of Allah’s Messenger P and the cry of Quraish, as Bin Ziad had hastened in killing him, may Allah kill him".
Then she tore her clothes out of grief, so Yazeed jumped and covered her.
Then the Hashim’s women were brought to Yazeed’s house, and no woman was left from the family of Yazeed but had approached them and expressed their grief and sorrow for what happened to them and what was inflicted on them.
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Yazeed did send after the lady captives of the prophetic house R and said to them: "Which one do you prefer, to stay in my castle, or go back to Medina? And you shall be rewarded generously!"
They said: "First, we need to mourn over Hussain Q"
He said: "Do whatever you want".
Then the rooms and houses in Damascus were emptied for them, and no lady from Hashim or Quraish was left without wearing black clothes for the Imam Q and they wailed over him during all the time they had spent in Sham, and the people of Sham cried till their voices became really loud.
So Yazeed, may Allah curse him, felt compelled to pretend crying in front of the people due to his fear from their strong anger towards him. Then he feared sedition or a revolution, so he started to apologize, condemn the act of Bin Ziad and began to show glorification and dignifying of Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q. Then, he moved the women of the Messenger of Allah to his private house, and he refused to eat lunch or dinner without the presence of the Imam Q.
The Head of Imam Hussain Q with his Orphan
Imam Hussain Q had a young daughter named Roqayya, she was three years old, and she was among the captives in Sham. She was crying day and night for her father’s parting, and they used to tell her: "he had travelled- meaning travelled to the Hereafter". Thus one night she saw him in her dreams and when she woke up, she was frightened and panicked and she said: "Get me my beloved father", and every time Ahlu El-Bayt R tried to calm her down, she would cry even more. And due to her crying, the grief of the family of the Prophet
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R was stirred up, so they started to cry, they slapped their faces, threw sand over their heads and they started to howl. Yazeed heard their howling and crying and said: "What’s wrong?" it was said to him: "it is the young daughter of Al-Hussain Q, she saw her father in her sleep and woke up crying, howling and asking for him". When Yazeed heard that he said sarcastically: "take her father’s head to her and put it in front of her, so she would be comforted!", so they brought the head on a plate while covered with a veil, and they placed it before her, so she said: "Hey you, I asked for my father and not for food!", so they said: "your father is in there". She lifted the veil and saw a head and said: "whose head is that?" they said: "it is the head of your father" so she raised the head, held it close to her chest and said: "O father, who had pigmented your face with your blood? O father, who had cut off your veins, O father, who made an orphan of me even though I am still young, O father, who is going to take care of the orphan till she grows up? O father, who is going to comfort the grieving ladies, O father, who is going to help the captivated widows, O father, who is going wipe the tearing eyes? O father, who is going to protect the lonely and lost ladies, O father, who is going to take care of us after your depart? O what a disappointment! O father, who is to protect us after you, how lonely is it going to be after your depart! O father, I wish I had been sacrificed for your sake, O father, I wish I was blinded before this day, O father, I wish I was dead rather than seeing your grey hair pigmented with blood".
Then she put her mouth over the mouth of the oppressed martyr, and she cried till she fainted. When they moved her, they found that she was dead. Then the voices of Ahlu El-Bayt R became loud with the crying and howling, and the grief and mourning were renewed, along with whoever had heard
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their crying from the people of Sham, as it was not seen on that day anyone, man or woman, but was crying.
Yazeed Expresses his Regret and Curses the Son of Murjana
Yazeed was compelled to express his regret towards the killing of Imam Hussain Q and his companions. He instigated the cursing of Obayd Allah Bin Ziad, and that is for many reasons:
1- The general public condemnation: as he was informed of the people’s hatred towards him along with their cursing and badmouthing him. Thus he had declared this himself when he said: "May Allah curse the son of Murjana! As he had caused Muslims to despise me and inculcated the hatred for me in their hearts".
2- The private condemnation:
a.The dignitaries of Sham: as the people of Sham had condemned his act and their faces had changed after they had seen what he had done to the head of Imam Hussain Q.
b. Yazeed’s soldiers: After he had recited some of the verses of Al-Zubary, no one of his soldiers was left without feeling mad at him and blaming him for what he did.
c. The condemnation of Yazeed’s household.
It is clear here that this remorse was instigated by the hatred and enmity of Muslims towards him, otherwise, why all this happiness, delightfulness and the celebrations for the killing of the Imam Q before the people of Sham knew the reality of what had happened.
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In addition, blaming the responsibility on Bin Ziad and cursing him was nothing but a false stand that it was soon compromised by the big reward that Yazeed had given to Bin Ziad for his killing of Imam Hussain Q, and by him spending nights with Bin Ziad in the castle while drinking wine and celebrating.
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The Medina of the Prophet
The Medina of the Prophet
Meeting the Returnees
Preparing the Captives of Ahlu El-Bayt R to Return to Medina
The media of the Hussain Convoy had succeeded in fulfilling their missionary duties in Sham, and the speeches that were delivered by the family of the Prophet R the main subject in all the groups’ meetings and the sittings. Thus the people of Sham got to know the cruelty of Yazeed and his slyness, and the Sham community became like the boiling lava against the oppressing regime. Yazeed feared from seditions, the instability of the public opinion, and that things might get out of his hands, as no one of the people anywhere in the world was pleased with what he had done, so he thought seriously of a way to get rid of the problem of the presence of Ahlu El-Bayt R in Sham. Thus he said when offering Sayyeda Um Kalthoum some money: "O Um Kalthoum take this money as a consolation for what happened to you".
So she O answered: "O Yazeed, how shameless you are and how ignorant! Do you kill my brother and my family and then offer me a consolation?!"
Then he called for Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q and said to him: "If you like you can stay with us where we keep in contact with your kinship and respect your rights, or if you rather we can send you back to your home country".
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The Medina of the Prophet
So, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q said: "rather you send me back to my home country..".
Thus Yazeed ordered Al-Noueman Bin Bashir to prepare the captives with everything they needed, and he asked him to send with them a good and trustworthy person from Sham to accompany them to Medina.
So, he chose Mehrez Bin Hareeth Al-Kalbi to escort them, and he was one of the best people of Sham. Thus, he used to accompany the convoy from far along with his riders, and he placed the women in the forefront to make sure they do not get lost, when they stepped down to rest, he and his soldiers used to stay away from them to give them some space, they were around them acting like guards, he also used to ask about their situation and was nice to them in all aspects, and he did not make the travel hard for them, till they reached Medina.
It is very strange someone might say, for Yazeed to send people like these just to protect them, even though it is the apparent side of this issue, however, in reality it was to first protect them and secondly to control the situation. And most likely the second reason was the intended one, as it is normal for Yazeed to fear a mutiny or a rebellion against him in some of the countries located in their path. Thus the authority thought of this, so they sent to Medina after some of the elderly who were loyal to the family of Hashim and for the children of Ali to accompany the convoy.
Hence, the departure day of the Hussain convoy from Sham was on the twentieth of the month of Safar, accordingly they have stayed in Sham for twenty days.
The Remaining of the Hussain Convoy in Karbala
When the ladies of Imam Hussain Q had left Sham and reached Iraq, they said to the guide: "We ask you by the lord you worship to show us the way that leads to Karbala"
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So he did. And they held memorial processions in the land of Taff for three consecutive days, and accordingly it became a good tradition that continued from that time until now.
As for the Majlis (reciting of the Karbala stories) that they did in Karbala, which was witnessed by Jaber Bin Abdu Allah Al-Ansari, a group of Bani Hashim and some men from the family of Prophet P who came to visit the grave of the Imam Q, it was not performed when they R reached Karbala coming from Sham, but in a different period of time, as they were continually visiting the graves.
Indeed, the first one to visit Imam Hussain Q was the respectful companion, Jaber Bin Abdu Allah Al-Ansari (VI)(1), who had left from the Holy Medina to Karbala in order to visit the Master of martyrs Q. Yet, he reached Karbala on the twentieth of Safar, which was the first fortieth memorial of Imam Hussain Q, along with Atteiah Bin Saad Bin Abi Janada Al-Awfy(2), and it was the same day on which the Husain convoy had left the Sham; which made it impossible for them to meet in the first visit, as the Hussain convoy did not return to Karbala on the first fortieth memorial of Imam Hussain Q and not on the second memorial either but during the period in between.
Then Ahlu El-Bayt R had left Karbala heading to Medina, after having performed the memorials for the Master of martyrs Q.
(1) Jaber Al-Ansari was the last one of the remaining companions of the Prophet P, he witnessed Bader and eighteen other battles with the Prophet P, and was one of the elite companions of the Prince of believers Ali Q, and he was loyal to the family of the Prophet R, he used to sit in the mosque while wearing a black turban and calling in a loud voice: "O Baqer Al-Elm" and he used to lean on his cane while wandering the streets of Medina and saying: "Ali is the best person" and he was old so Al-Hajjaj did not harm him. He had visited the grave of Imam Hussain Q many times and he was a very old and blind man.
(2) Ateiah Al-Awfy was one of the well known scholars for their knowledge and Hadith (narration of the Prophet’s sayings), and he had narrated many sayings about the merits of the Prince of Believers Q.
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O city of our Grandfather do not welcome us,
As we came with grieves and sorrows.
Do tell the Messenger of Allah on our behalf that,
We were shocked with the loss of our father.
And that our men are all, in the Taff, dead
Headless, while they had slaughtered our children.
The Medina before Getting the News about the Demise of Imam Hussain Q
Indeed some of the relatives and friends of the Prophet P were aware of the destiny of Imam Hussain Q in general, and that is through what they had heard from the Prophet P directly or indirectly. Even though they had missed the great victory and did not fulfill their duty in supporting the son of their Prophet’s daughter Q, but this did not stop them from living in a situation full of fear and worries while being watchful for the coming events.
The Soil of Imam Hussain Q
It was narrated that Um Salama had said: "One day, The Messenger of Allah P was sitting in my house and he said: Do not let anyone come into my room, so I waited, and then Hussain Q did go in. Later I heard the loud cry of the Prophet P, so I looked and saw Hussain sitting in his lap while the Prophet is wiping his forehead and crying, so I said: By Allah I did not see him when he entered, so he said: "Indeed Gabriel Q was present in our home and he said to me: "do you love him?" I said: "Yes, as for this worldly life", then he said: "Your nation will kill this one in a land called Karbala, and then Gabriel Q grabbed some of its soil and showed it to the Prophet P".
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Thus, Sayyeda Um Salama was not the only one who had narrated the news about Gabriel’s bringing the soil of Imam Hussain Q to his Grandfather the Great Messenger P, but there were many people who had narrated that story and the Prince of believers Ali Q was on the top of the list:
1 - It was narrated by the Prince of Believers Q: "One day, I entered the room of the Prophet P and saw that his eyes were full of tears so I said: Did any one bother you O Prophet of Allah? Why am I seeing your eyes full of tears? So he said: "Gabriel had just left and he had told me that my nation shall kill my grandson, Al-Hussain", then he said: "do you want me to show you some of his soil?" I said: "Yes", so he stretched his arms and grabbed some of it and when I saw it I could not hold my tears".
2 - Abu Baker, Omar, Huthaifa, Ammar, and Abu Thar: One day, the Messenger of Allah Q came out to his friends while crying, so they said: "why are you crying O Messenger of Allah?" so he P said: "Gabriel had told me that my son, Hussain, will be killed after my demise on the land of Taff and he brought this soil to me and said that he will rest in it".
Um Salama Knows of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain Q
Sayyeda Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet P who gained an honorable rank of knowledge and became the confidant of the Prophet P, had fulfilled her great role in this tragedy, as the Prophet P had trusted her with some of Karbala’s soil many years before the killing of Imam Hussain Q, and he P said to her: Q: "put this soil in a urn, and keep it with you, and when you see it becoming like thick blood that means that Hussain Q was killed," and
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it, and its red color became a sign that the tragedy had came true.
Thus Um Salama had kept two urns of the soil of Imam Hussain Q, one of them was given to her by the Messenger of Allah P, and the other was handed to her by Imam Hussain Q before he left Medina when he said to her: "…if they both flood with blood, you shall know that I was killed".
It appears that Sayyeda Um Salama had mixed the soil that was given to her by Imam Hussain Q with the one she had; that is because after she had seen the Prophet P in her dreams with his head and beard covered with sand, she asked him: "what is wrong with you O Messenger of Allah P?"
So he Q answered her: "I had just witnessed the wrongful killing of Hussain!"
Then she woke up scared from her sleep and she opened one urn and found that if is flooding with blood.
Accordingly, Um Salama was the first one to scream in Medina, so all men and women of Medina headed to her house where they found her screaming: "O Hussain! O son of the Prophet!" so the ladies started howling from every direction of Medina until the whole medina heard the loud squeal that was never heard like it before.
Abdu Allah Bin Al-Abbas Learns about the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain Q
Bin Abbas was one of the people who knew about the destiny of Imam Hussain Q and it was natural for him to await the news about his martyrdom, and it was narrated about Bin Abbas that he said: "When I was sleeping in the middle of the day, I saw the Prophet P, he was disheveled while holding an urn full of blood in his hand, so I said: "I love you
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more than my father and mother O Messenger of Allah, what is that?" he said: "This is the blood of Al-Hussain and his companions, I am still collecting it since this day".
The Arrival of Bin Ziad’s Messenger to Medina:
Bin Ziad had dispatched his messenger, Abdu Al-Malik Bin Abi Al-Hareth Al-Selmy, to Amro Bin Saeid Bin Al-Ass who was the governor of Medina to deliver the good news about the demise of Imam Hussain Q.
So he entered the house of Amro Bin Saeid, and Amro said: "what’s behind you?"
Abdu Al-Malek said: "May the prince be pleased, indeed Al-Hussain Bin Ali was killed.
Amro, may Allah curse him, said: "This is a catastrophe just like the catastrophe of Uthman Bin Affan!"
Then Amro Bin Saeid climbed up the rostrum and spoke to the people and informed them of what happened. Thus the calamity of Bani Hashim was greater, and then they performed the customs for such catastrophes and funerals.
The Speech of Amro Bin Saeid Bin Al-Ass
Amro Bin Saeid climbed up the rostrum, so he spoke to the people and then mentioned Imam Hussain and what happened to him and said: "it was a strike after a strike, a shock after a shock, and an advice after the other "Perfect wisdom (the Quran), but (the preaching) of warnings benefit them not".(1), By Allah, I would have loved for Hussain’s head to be with his body and for his soul and body to be alive and he would insult us and we would praise him, he would cut us off and we would stay in touch with him as it was our habit and
(1) Surat Al-Qamar, verse: 5
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that was his habit, rather than seeing this happens to him. But what should we do to who had drawn his sword wanting to kill us? We had no choice but to defend ourselves".
So Abdu Allah Bin Al-Saeb stood up and said to him: "If Fatima was alive and had seen the head of Hussain, she would have cried for him". So Amro Bin Saeid answered him and said: "We are more close to Fatima than you! Her father and her husband were like our brothers, and her son was like our son, indeed if Fatima was alive, her eyes would have cried and her heart would have felt sad, but she would not have blamed who had killed him while defending himself".
A person who thinks about this speech while being aware of its conditions would not find it strange, as he would know that it was delivered on unstable conditions after the arrival of the news to Medina and the arrival of the holy head to it. That is why we see this spiteful person who used to hate the Prince of Believers, Ali Q, the most, is now backing down in his speech and showing himself in the place of a touched defender.
The Role of Um Salama after the Obituary of Imam Hussain Q
After the news of the demise of Imam Hussain Q had reached Um Salama, she had many upfront and daring stands towards that terrible crime. Thus when she learned of his death she said: "They did? May Allah fill their graves and their houses with fire", then she fainted out.
Even though Um Salama was living in very bad conditions, but she did make it clear that the people had committed a crime against the last one left of the people of Garment, and he is the pure and a son of a pure man, Al-Hussain Bin Ali Q. This great woman did not stop at this limit in expressing her stance, but she declared the mourning and wore the black clothes (a
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sign of grief) openly, in front of the general public and inside the Prophet’s mosque.
The Stances of Abdu Allah Bin Jaafar Bin Abi Taleb
Abdu Allah Bin Jaafar had some noble stances after the tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of his two sons, and they were Awn and Mohammad, while being with their uncle Abu Abdu Allah Al-Hussain Q.
Thus to explain his absenteeism from Karbala, someone can rely on what was mentioned in "Ziyarat Al-Nahiya Al-Moqaddasa" that is attributed to Imam Al-Hujja Q, where he said about his son: "Peace be up on Mohammad the son of Abdu Allah Bin Jaafar, who was present on behalf of his father", to conclude that perhaps he had an excuse, that we are not aware of, which prevented him from attending.
When Abdu Allah Bin Jaafar Bin Abi Taleb got the news of his two sons’ death while being on Hussain’s Q side, some of his loyalists came in to his house while there were other people consoling him. So, Aba Alleslas said to him: "This is what we got and gained from Al-Hussain". Just then Abdu Allah Bin Jaafar threw his shoes at him and then said: "O son of Lakhnaa!(1) Do you say this about Al-Hussain? By Allah, if I was with him, I would have loved not to leave him unless I die for his sake, I swear to God that is my only consolation and what eases my sorrow for their death is that they were killed with my brother and cousin while facing the same destiny as him and tolerating the same suffering".
Then he turned to his guests and said: "Thank God the Al-Mighty Who had comforted me for not being with Hussain by having my two sons there for him instead".
(1) An Arabic term used to call bad women.
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The Role of the Daughters of Aqeel
The daughters of Aqeel had an important role in motivating the sympathy of people and turning their views against Yazeed after the demise of Imam Hussain Q and his companions. Thus when Yazeed had dispatched his two messengers to the Medina to inform the people about the death of Imam Hussain Q, Asmaa the daughter of Aqeel Bin Abi Taleb heard about that, so she went out with a group of ladies till she reached the grave of the Messenger of Allah P and held on to it and started to sob next to it, then she turned to the Muhajereen and Ansar (migrants and supporters) while saying:
What you are going to say if the Prophet asked you,
On the Day of Judgment, and only the truth would be heard.
You let down my progeny while I was absent,
And all the truth will be revealed by Allah.
So no one had seen more people crying than that day.
Then Zeinab the daughter of Aqeel went out with some of her related women wandering while saying: "O Hussain, O brothers, O family, O Mohammad". Then she said:
What you are going to say if the Prophet asked you,
What did you do being the last nation of all.
With my Progeny and supporters, do you not have,
An old pledge, do you not fulfill your oaths
The Return of the Rest of the Hussain Convoy to Medina
They are close to the Medina… the city of their Grandfather… the migration place of their father… the haven
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of their mother… their birth city…and the home land for their beloved ones, how hard is it to enter it while being in such condition. They had left with Imam Hussain Q and today they are back without Al-Hussain Q…
And it is only normal for the journey to take an emotional curve more than anything else, as the people of Medina had lived with Imam Hussain Q, got used to him, and they felt that his presence represents the presence of his Grandfather in his knowledge, his grace, his manners, his braveness, his caring and all of his good morals. Thus today they hear of the arrival of his family members near his home land, the family members who had left with him and came back alone, but still carrying his message.
From this point, we see that the journey did not stop at the influence of the emotional aspect only, but it paid more attention to the ethical and methodical aspects. It continued this way using different means, whether by performing the mourning processions where they narrate the Karbala stories, the continuous crying, the delivery of speeches, or by broadcasting the supplications with valuable contents, or other means.
Thus, the purpose from all this is to enlighten the thoughts and to awaken the society from the deep sleep that had been dominating all its members, except for whoever had embraced the Quran and the Progeny of Mohammad R.
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Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q dispatches Bashir Bin Haltham
Whoever is following the course of the Hussain convoy from Karbala to Kufa and then to Sham, would notice that the Imam Q was in control of the situations.
He used to breach the distorted media, to turn things against the governors, and to reveal the hidden facts. Thus his method and behavior were to take action and influence the people, and not an approach of reacting and vulnerability.
This makes us understand the reason why Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q had sent the Bashir Bin Haltham, the Poet, to Medina. Thus he was able, being the delegate of the Imam Q and a strong poet with emotional influence, to strongly affect the society till he almost had turned the situation in Medina upside down, where all the people of Medina, whether old or young, men or women, had all moved out to meet the Family of the Messenger of Allah P, where the Imam Q did benefit from this chance.
Bashir Bin Haltham said: "when we were near Medina Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q came down of his ride, put his things down, set up his tent and helped the women to come down of their rides and said: "O Bashir, may Allah have mercy on your dad, he was a poet; do you have any of his skills?" I said: "Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah P, indeed I am a poet". He Q said: "So, do enter the Medina and mourn Abu Abdu Allah Q".
Bashir said: so I rode my horse and started to run till I entered Medina, and when I reached the mosque of the Prophet P I raised my voice crying and started to say:
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O people of Yathrib, you should not stay here,
Since Hussain was killed, and my tears are flooding.
His body is still in Karbala covered with blood,
And his head was raised on spears to wander the streets with it.
Thus Ali Bin Al-Hussain along with his aunts and sisters are near your place, and I shall guide you to them.
Hence no covered or wearing Hijab lady in Medina stayed in her home, they all came out of their homes while howling, hitting their faces, weeping, and wishing to have been dead before that, as it was never seen more crying people than that day and no more bitter day had the Muslims faced since the death of the Messenger of Allah Q. And all the people of Medina went out to meet the rest of the Hussain convoy.
The Speech of Imam Sajjad Q near his Grandfather’s Medina
Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q was inside his tent, then he went out while wiping his tears with a handkerchief in his hand, and behind was a servant holding a chair, so he put it down for him, and he sat down while not able to stop his tears. So the people started to cry loudly, women started to seep, and people from every place came to console him, which made that place very noisy. So he signaled with his hand for the people to be quiet, so they calmed down and then he Q said: "All praise be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Owner of the Day of Recompense, the Creator of all creations, who stayed as far as the high skies, yet close enough to know what goes in the hearts. We thank him for the grand things, for the disasters of the times, for the pain of the tragedies, the soreness of the stingers, the great catastrophe, and the grand, horrible,
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distressful, burdening and severe calamities.
O People, indeed Allah the Al-Mighty, thank be to Him, had tested us with enormous catastrophes, and great notch (devastation) of Islam, Abu Abdu Allah was killed along with his pedigree, his women and children were captivated, and the people wandered with his head in the different cities, while placed on the top of the spears, and this is the catastrophe that has no like.
O people, so who of you will be able to feel happiness after his demise? Or which eye of you might hold its tears from running?
Hence the strong lions cried for his demise, the seas with their waves, the trees with their branches, the whales in the darkness of the seas, the close angels, along with all the people of the skies all had cried for him.
O people, we have became expelled, homeless, vilified, and far from our land, as if we were from Turkey or Kabul (far countries), all this for no crime we have committed, a sin we have done, or notch in Islam we have made. We had never heard of such thing in the history of our ancestors, indeed this is only a fabrication.
I swear to God, if it was the Prophet Q who had asked them to fight us as he had indeed asked them to take care of us and listen to us, they would have never done anything worse than what they have done. Thus to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return, from such grand, painful, shocking, distressful, horrible, bitter, and burdening catastrophe , so only to Allah we complain what happened and occurred to us, as He is Strong and would take our revenge".
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Then Imam Zein El-Abedeen stood up and walked towards the Medina to enter it.
Notes about the Speech
1 - Focusing on thanking God and continuously praising him in all situations and all conditions.
2 - Demonstrating what happened in the universe, as all the worlds including the seas, the skies, the earth, the trees, the whales, the angles and the people of the skies all had cried over Hussain Q…
3 - Demonstrating the depth of the tragedy they had committed, as it is not possible for something more terrible to happen, and how nothing like it in history had ever happened, even if the Prophet P had asked them to do so, hypothetically speaking, they would have never done worse than what they did to them…
4 - Awakening the people and instructing them of the importance of taking stances, by his Q saying: "which heart would not be broken for his demise?
The Rest of the Hussain Convoy inside the Medina of the Messenger P
When the women of Imam Hussain Q entered the Medina, the ladies of the family of Hashim started to weep, and the whole Medina bawled a loud cry. Then Imam Zein El-Abedeen with a group of his men entered the house of the Messenger P, and saw it desolated, empty of its people, and lonesome with its grieves.
As for Sayyeda Zeinab O she held to the hangers of the mosque’s doors and called: "O Grandfather, I do deliver to you the bad news about the demise of my brother Hussain
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", then she was always sad with her tears never drying. She did not stop crying and weeping, and whenever she looked at Ali Bin Al-Hussain, her grief would renew and her pain would increase.
Thus the ladies of the Hashim’s family wore black and sackcloth(1) and they did not complain of hot or cold. Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q used to prepare the funeral food for them.
It was narrated that Imam Jaafar Bin Mohammad Q had said: "Al-Hussain Bin Ali was mourned for one whole year every day and night; and for three years from the day of the tragedy…"
This indicates the depth of the grief of the Hashim’s family and how they were keen to mourn the Master of martyrs Q. They had passionately grieved and longed for him, and they kept on doing that as a way to keep remembering Abu Abdu Allah Q and as continuation of his approach.
Rewarding the Guards
The daughters of Ali had thanked all the people who had took care of them while in their way from Sham to Medina. And there was a guard who had always asked how they were doing, was nice to them in all the conditions, and did not make the journey hard for them till they arrived to Medina. So Fatima, the daughter of Ali, said to her sister Zeinab O: "This man was nice to us, so would you give him a reward?" So she O said: "By Allah, we do not have anything to reward him with except for these jewelry". so she said: "kindly do then".
So they grabbed for him two bracelets and two bangles
(1) Mourning clothes: clothes made from sackcloth, formerly worn as a sign of mourning or penitence.
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and sent it to him, but he returned them and said: "If I had done what I did for the sake of this worldly life, I would have accepted what is much less than that, but I swear to God, I had only did it for the sake of Allah, and because of your kinship with the Messenger of Allah P".
Thus Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q had insisted on rewarding him, so after he had rejected the jewelry, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q took a small black stone and stamped it with his personal stamp then said: "Take it and do ask whatever you need from it. As by Allah, who had sent Mohammad with the truth, I used to ask it to light the house so it would lighten in the darkness, and put it on the locks to open for me, and I do take it with me to meet the Sultans and see of them only what pleases me".
Destroying the Houses that belongs to Imam Hussain’s Q Family
What takes the mask off the Umayyad repression strategy is what they had committed by destroying some of the houses that belonged to the family of Abu Abdu Allah Al-Hussain Q, and this is another proof of what we have mentioned earlier.
The Greif of Um Al-Baneen, the Wife of the Prince of Believers, Ali Q
Um Al-Baneen(1), the wife of the Prince of believers Q, started the mourning processions (Funeral) for Imam Hussain Q, and all the ladies of the Hashim’s family did gather in her house to mourn the Imam Q and his family.
Thus what shows her strong belief, is that when Bashir
(1) An Arabic nick name usually said to the women who had many sons, which is a sign of strength and confident.
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delivered to her the death news of her four sons after he came to Medina, she used to ask about Imam Hussain Q, so when he told her about the death of her four sons, she said: "Indeed you had torn the veins of my heart, my children along with everyone under the sky are all a sacrifice for the sake of Abu Abdul Allah Al-Hussain Q"
As Um Al-Baneen used to go out to the Baqie and mourn her sons in a very sad and heart breaking way, while carrying Obaydu Allah the son of Al-Abbas Q. So people used to gather around her to listen to her, and Marwan Bin Al-Hakam was one of the people who used to come, so he used to listen to her mourning and cry.
And some of what she said was:
Do not call me Um Al-Baneen any more,
As it reminds me of the Lions of the Den.
They were sons for me, to be called by them
Thus they reached death and were killed.
The Grief of Al-Rabab, the Daughter of Imreo Al-Qeiss and her Weeping and Mourning
Al-Rabab, the wife of Imam Hussain Q, had joined the convoy to Karbala, and she is the mother of Sukaina and Abdu Allah Al-Radeae (the infant). She was among the captives of his Q family who were taken to Sham and then came back to Medina. Many of the Quraish nobles had proposed for her, so she said: "I would never accept a father-in-law other than the Prophet P".
And she stayed alive for one year after the death of Imam Hussain Q, during which she had never stayed inside a house, till she died out of distress.
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The Continuous Crying of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q and his Grief
It was narrated that Abdu Allah, Jaafar Bin Mohammad Al-Sadiq Q had said: "The weepers are five, Adam, Jacob, Joseph, Fatima the daughter of Mohammad P, and Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q. As for Adam, he did cry over the heaven till his cheeks had wrinkles like valleys. As for Jacob, he did cry over Joseph till he lost his sight and it was said to him: (They said: By Allah! You will never cease remembering Yusuf (Joseph) until you become weak with old age, or until you be of the dead)(1), As for Joseph, he did cry over Jacob till the people of the prison got annoyed with him and said to him: You either cry during the day and be quiet at night, or cry at night and be quiet during the day, so he picked one of the two choices. As for Fatima the daughter of Mohammad P, she cried over the death of the Messenger of Allah P till the people of Medina were annoyed by her crying, and they said to her: You are hurting us with your continuous crying, so she started to go to the grave yard of the martyrs and keep crying till she feels satisfied and then go back. And as for Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q he cried over Al-Hussain Q Twenty or forty years, and whenever they used to put food in front of him, he used to cry, until a servant of him once told him: May I be sacrificed for your sake O son of the Prophet! I do fear that you might become among the dead. So he Q said: Indeed I do complain to God my unbearable grief and sorrow, and I do know of Allah what you all do not know, I do remember the demise of the children of Fatima and I cannot but feel that I am choked with tears".
Abu Hamza Al-Thamali had said: "Imam Zein El-Abedeen
(1) Surat Yousuf, verse: 85
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was asked about his excessive crying so he said: "Indeed Jacob did lose one of Sebt of his sons, so he kept crying over him till his eyes turned white that is while his son was still alive in this world and did not know for sure that he was dead, but I did see my father and seventeen ones of my family all killed in one hour, so do you expect for their grief to leave my heart?..".
Um Salama Returns the Consignments to its Owners
When Imam Hussain Q went to Iraq, he had entrusted Um Salam with the books and the will, then he brought his son, Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q who was sick at that time, and entrusted him with the Great Name and the Heirs of the Prophets and he informed him that he had given the knowledge books, the old scripts and the weapon (the weapon of the Prophet) to Sayyeda Um Salama and he asked her to give it all back to him when he returns from the battle.
This is another indication of the majesty of Sayyeda Um Salama and her great status, as she was entrusted by the Messenger of Allah P and his Progeny till the last days of her life. Thus the things she kept were those that should be with the Hujjatu Allah on earth in all times.
And when Imam Zein El-Abedeen returned to Medina, she gave back the consignments to him.
The Role of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q in the Continuation of the Message
Indeed Imam Zein El-Abedeen had performed his role in the best way possible in regards to the continuance of the Hussain’s Message, strengthening its foundations and its results, and using it to train the people’s souls, and that is through many things:
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1 - Confirming the aspect of Imamate: Thus the oppressive authority wanted to see everything settled down after the killing of Imam Hussain Q, but Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q with the role he played, had proofed that the Imamate is something that is more powerful than the determination of humans, and that it is a divine commandment that is guarded and protected by a special divine care.
2 - Educating the people: Thus Imam Zein El-Abedeen started educating the people through his speeches and advices, which probably was delivered on Fridays and in the Mosque of the Prophet P, and it is known that the attendance of people on Fridays differs from other days.
3 - Broadcasting the Divine knowledge: Since the Imam Q was living in a very hard political conditions, it was normal that he was not able to be present in the fields as needed, and that is why we see that he had presented a great wealth of knowledge in the form of supplications, which had dealt with many issues with different aspects like the disciplinary, the spiritual, the societal and the political aspects….
4 - The Imam Q and the issue of taking revenge from the killers of Imam Hussain Q: There are many proofs and evidences of the leading role of the Imam Q in regards to taking revenge from the killers of Imam Hussain Q, as judge Noeman said: Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q used to pray every day and night for God to enable him to see the killer of his father dead. And when Mukhtar Al-Thaqafi killed the killers of Imam Hussain Q he sent the head of Oubayd Allah Bin Zeiad and the head of Amro Bin Saad with his messenger to Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q. When Ali Bin Al-Hussain Q
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saw the head of Oubayd Allah, he prostrated to God and said: "Thank God, who had answered my prayer and took my revenge from the killers of my father". Then he prayed for Al-Mukhtar and rewarded him.
The Reactions of the Authority towards the Role of Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q
1 - Hurting him and scolding him on the rostrum: Hisham the son of Ismael Al-Makhzomi became the governor of Medina, and he used to hurt Imam Zein El-Abedeen and scold the Imam Q on the rostrum and humiliate him. Also the rest of the governors of Medina used to hurt and upset Imam Zein El-Abedeen Q.
2- The intention to kill the Imam Q or to poison him: The Tabary had narrated that: when the Battle of Hurra occurred and army had invaded the Medina and stayed in it for three days, Burdua Al-Himar who is friend of Yazeed, sent after Ali Bin Al-Hussain in order to kill or poison him.
The Role of Sayyeda Zeinab O in the Continuation of the Message
The great Sayyeda Zeinab O did not abandon the Hussain message till the end of her life in many places, and one of these places were the Holy Medina, as she had performed her great role towards that tragedy. She used to incite people to avenge Al-Hussain Q, and to renounce Yazeed Bin Muawiya. She used to make speeches in front of the people with that content. These speeches had a strong influence on the people to a point that the authority could not tolerate her presence in the Medina anymore. So Omar Bin Saad was informed of that, and he wrote to Yazeed to inform him. The latter wrote back to
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The Medina of the Prophet
him that he should separate her from the people. Then he gave his orders to her to leave the Medina and reside wherever she wants, so she said: "Allah had known what happened to us, the best one of us was killed, and we were driven from town to town like they do with herds, and we were forced to ride on the camels’ backs, So By Allah, I would never leave even if they kill me".
Then Zeinab the daughter of Aqeel said to her: "O cousin, Allah had fulfilled his promise, and he inherited us the earth to live wherever we please, so take it easy and do not worry and Allah will punish the oppressors, So do you want after this high rank to be humiliated, do travel to a safe place…".
Then the Hashim’s ladies gathered around her to soft talk her and tried to comfort her…
All this indicates the influence of Sayyeda Zeinab O on the society to a degree that made the corrupted gang feels the danger of her presence and they had to expel her from Medina.
When Sayyeda Zeinab O had left the Medina of her Grandfather P, many of the Hashim’s women had left with her along with her sister Sukaina and her cousin Fatima…
And that was the path of the victorious procession, and that was the history of the noble Hussain convoy. Thus Bani Harb did not enjoy kingdom after Karbala till God had took away their kingdom, vanished them, and inherited them shame and disgrace till the end of time. Abdu Al-Malek Bin Marwan had written to Al-Hajjaj Bin Yousef: "Do spare me the blood of Ahlu El-Bait, as I had seen the people of Harb had lost their kingdom when they killed Al-Hussain".
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