DAY OF 'ASHURA'
Day of 'Ashura ; the tenth of Muharram,. was unique in its tragedies, misfortunes, and disasters. On that day , the Ahl al-Bayt had to suffer the ever mst horrible adversity of this world. Hence, it is certainly the day of griefs.
From early morning, Imam al-Husayn (a) left his tant and saw in front of him innumerable warriors and horsed fill up the desert and unsheathe their swods for shedding his blood. Thus, he asked for a copy of the holy Qur'an to put it on the head and raised his hands upward for supplicating to his Lorrd for seeking His refuge, saying:
اللهم أنت ثقتي في كل كرب , و رجائي في كل شدة و أنت لي في كل أمر نزل بي ثقة و عدة. كم من هم يضعف فيه الفؤاد, و تقل فيه الحيلة, و يخذل فيه الصديقو و يشمت فيه العدو, أنزلته بك و شكوته إليك رغبة مني إليك عمن سواك, ففرجته و كشفته , و أنت ولي كل نعمة, و صاحب كل حسنة, و منتها كل رغبة.
O Allah: I trust in You in hard times and confide in you hopefully in tribulations, and in You lie my faith and hope in every misfotune that inflicts me. Many were the griefs that crinkled my heart, were hardly curable, caused my frieds to disappoint me, and made my enemies rejoice (over my helplessness); but when I relegated them -i.e. the griefs- to You and complained about them to You, because I drearily intended You, no one else, You relieved them andhelped .You are certainly the source of all graces, the cause of all favors, and the only intention of aspirations.1
He then decided to deliver a speech before those troops so that they would be full acquainted with the reality of the
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1- See al-Nuri al-Tabrasi, Mustadrak al-Wasa'il, vol. 11,p.112, as qouted from Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Irshad.
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situation. he rode on, went towards them, and reised his voice with the finest words of wisdom so that most of them, at least, would hear him. He said:1
أما بعد, فتبا لكم أيتها الجماعة و تروحا, حين استصرختمونا والهين فأصرخناكم موجفين سللتم علينا سيفا كان في أيماننا و حششتم علينا نارا اقتدحناها علي عدونا و عدوكم, فأصبحتم إلبا علي أوليائكم ويدا لأعدائكم, بغير عدل أفشوه فيكم و لا لأمل اصبح لكم فيهم و عن غير حدث كان منا و لا رأي تفيل عنا. فهلا - لكم الويلات- تركتمونا والسيف مشيم والجأش طامن و الرأي لما يستحصف . ولكن إستسرعتم إليها كتطائر الدبا و تداعيتم عنها كتداعي الفراش. فسحقا و بعدا لطواغيت الأمة و شذاذ الأحزاب و نبذة الكتاب و نفثة الشيطان و محرفي الكلام و مطفئي السنن و ملحقي العهرة بالنسب, المستهزئين الذين جعلوا القرآن عضين.
So then, fie and grief be on you, O group. When you appealed for our help grievouslyand we hurried for you help exhaustingly, you unsheathed agaist us a sword that had been in our right hands and ignited against us the fire that we had struck against your and our cnemy. You therefore formed groups of your enemies although they did not spread justice among you and you lost any hope in them. In addition , you noticed no heresy or new opinion come out of us.
Why did you -woe to you- not leave us when swords were sheathed, malice was hidden, and the decision was not taken? But, you hurried to the sedition like locusts and fell on it like the falling of butterflies (in fire). Damn and away with the idols of the ummah,
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1- See Ibn Shu'bah al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul; the Masterpieces of the Intellects, p. 282, translated by Badr Shahin, First Edition, Ansariyan Publication, 2001.
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irregular of the parties, deserters of the Book, expectorants of Shaitan, distorters of the meaning extinguishers of the traditions, avowers of the bastards, and the mockers who divided the Qur'an believing in some parts and rejecting others.
أهؤلاء تعضدون و عنا تتخاذلون؟ أجل والله إنه لخذل فيكم معروف, قد و شجت عليه عروقكم و توارت عليه أصولكم فكنتم أخبث ثمرة شجا للناطر, وأكلة للغاصب. ألا فلعنة الله علي الناكثين الذين ينقضون الايمان بعد توكيدها و قد جعلوا الله عليهم كفيلا. ألا وإن الدعي ابن الدعي قد ركز منا بين اثنتين و بين السلة و الذلة , و هيهات منا الذلة: يأبي الله لنا ذلك و رسوله و المؤمنون و حجور طابت و أنوف حمية و نفوس أبيه أن نؤثر طاعة اللئام علي مصارع الكرام. و إني زاحف إليهم بهذه الأسرة علي كلب العدو و كثرة العدد و خذلة الناصر.
How is it that you are supporting those ones and disappointing us? Yes, why not? by Allah I swear, your disloyalty is expected because it is entwined with your arteries and it recurred in your origins. You therefore are the bitterest fruit that causes its caretaker to choke and gives good taste for its usurper. Allah as their Guarantor. The bastard, son of the bastard, has forced me to choose one of two things -either unsheathing of swords or ignominy. Ignominy is impossible for us. Allah , His Apostle, the (faithful) believers, chaste laps, jealous noses (individuals), and noble souls (personalities) refuse for us to prefer obedience to the mean to the death of the honorable, I am advancing to them with this family despite the alliance of the enemies, their great numbers, and the betrayal of the supporters.
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He then recited poetic verses:1
If we defeat, then we've been always triumphant
If we're defeated, we've not wonted to impairment
Cowardice is not our manner, but it's our
Time of death, and others' time in power
If death is postponed for some, not all
It shall certainly on others fall
It has hence seized my people's celebrities
As it had terminated the ancient humanities
If kings had remained forever, we'd have too remained
If chiefs had been maintained, we'd have too been maintained
Then say to the gloaters over our grief: wait
You shall for sure encounter the same fate!
أما ولله لا يلبثون إلا كريث ما يركب الفرس حتي تدور رحا الحرب و تعلق النحور. عهد عهده إلي أبي عن جدي, صلي الله عليه و آله. فأجمعوا أمركم ثم كيدون فلا تنظرون , إني توكلت علي الله ربي و ربكم , ما من دابة إلا هو آخذ بنا صيتها , إن ربي علي صراط مستقيم.
By Allah I swear it, you shall not be respited very long; very soon, horses will be ridden, days will revolve around you like millstones, war will flare up, and necks will be decapitated, My father, on the authority of my grandfather, foretold me of it. So, Plan against me without delay. I trust Allah Who is my Lord as well as yours, It is Allah Who controls the destiny of all living creatures. It is my Lord Who knows the right path.
Imam al-Husayn (a) then reised his two ahnds towards the heavens and invoked Allah's curse upon them, saying:2
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1- See Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin al-'Amili, Lawa'ij al-Ashjan, p.131.
2- See Sayyid Murtada al-'Askari, Ma'alim al-Madrasatayn, vol. 3, p.101.
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اللهم احبس عنهم قطر السماء وابعث عليهم سنين كسني يوسف وسلء عليهم غلام ثقيف يسومهم كأسا مصبرة, فإنهم كذبونا و خذلونا وأنت ربنا , عليك توكلنا و إليك أنبنا و إليك المصير.
O Allah, deprive them of the drops of the heavns, and inflict them with years like those (which occurred in the time) of Prophet Joseph, and set up upon them the man of the (tribe of) Thaqif1 as absolute ruler to belied and disappointed us. youare our Lord on Whom we depend, to Whom we trust, and under Whose control everything lies.
The harem could hear some of these words; they therefore wept and cried, but the Imam (a) asked his brother Al-'Abbas and his son 'Ali al-Akbar to order them to stop it.
he then continued with such bright word that should have led every deviant to the right path. However, the Umayyad army could not understand the Imam's words because they were too ignorant to understand anything other than criminality. Rather, they could not say a single word as an answer.
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1- The man of the tribe of Thaqif is either al-Mukhtar ibn Abu-"Ubaydah al-Thaqafi who led a revolution after the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a) and retaliated upon those who had fought against the Imam (a), or al-hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi who was given a free hand on the people of al-Kufah and, accordingly, ruled them extreme oppressively. However, Shaykh al-Shurayfi, in his book titled Mawsu'at Kamilat al-Imam al-Husayn, p.423, and 'Abdullah al-Bahrani, in his book titled al-'Awalim -al-Imam al-Husayn, p. 253, recording this supplication of Imam al-Husayn, adds to it the following statement, "and set up upon them the man of the (tribe of) Thaqif as absolute ruler to kill all of them each according to the sort of his participation (in the battle against the Imam)." Accordingly, the "man of the (tribe of) Thaqif" is al-Mukhatar ibn Abu -'Ubaydah al-Thaqafi.
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The Imam (a) then addressed to some of them particularly and reminded them of the messages they had sent to him, but they denied the whole matter!
Qays ibn al-Ash'ath then asked the Imam(a) to surrender and submit to the Umayyad government, but the Imam (a), souragerously and steadfastly, refused and declaring his unchangeable situation:
لا والله! لا أعطيكم بيدي إعطاء الذليل و لا أقر لكم إقرار العبيد.
No, by Allah. I will never extend my hands to you like the abject do, and I will never submit to you like slaves do.1
The Imam's companions, then, spoke similar words before the Umayyad army, but uselessly.
Finally, the Imam (a) decided to advise them again so so that none of them would excuse he had not nown the matter clearly.
At these moment, the conscience of al-Hurr ibn Yazid woke up. He began to think of his destiny if he sould fight against Imam al-husayn 9a) who represented the right party and the true religion of Allah. Finally, he decided to join him. He went to 'Umar and said, "Do you really want to fight against this man?"
"Yes I do," answered "Umar, "I want to as intensely as possible."
"Why do you not respond to his calls and accept one of the options he had offered?" asked al-Hurr.
"I would do it was my right to choose. But the matter is not mine. It is your governor's," answered 'Umar.
Only then al-Hurr realized that 'Umar was fully ready to fight Imam al-Husayn (a); therefore , he directed towards the
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1- Shaykh al-Mufid, in his al-Irshad, vol. 2,p.98, this statement is recorded as follows:
"No, by Allah! I will never extend my hands to you like the abject do, and I will never flee like slaves do."
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Imam (a) and proceeded as he felt sorry for his past deeds against him.
When the Imam (a) conferred upon him with pardon,1 al-Hurr turned the face towards the troops of 'Umar and went on addressing words of reproach and blame for disappointing the Imam(a). Anyhow, his words did not find any place in their hearts.
THE WAR
Because 'Umar ibn Sa'd anticipated that other commanders would copy al-Hurr, he hurried towards the Imam's camp and threw and arrow shouting, "Be the witnesses. I am the first to throw at al-Husayn!"
This was the opening to hundreds of arrows thrown towards the Imam's camp. Seeing the situation, the Imam (a) turned to his companions and said, "Stand up, generous people. These arrows are you enemies' messaengers to you."2
Hence, thirty-two horsemen and forty warriors had to encouter ten thousands. However, this little party could stop against those huge well-equipped numbers and show unprecedented scenes of courage and bravery. Then 'Umar gave the order fo waging a wide campaign during which all of the Imam's companions were killed during that campaign, they combated extremely courageously and could cause great losses to the Umayyad army.
After this general campaign, the other companions began to wage individual campaign. In fact, their unparalleled heroism frightened the whole camp o the Umayyad army and caused it great losses; therefore, 'Amr ibn al-Hajjaj cried at them, "Do you know against whom you are fighting? You are fighting against the most courageous horsemen of this country. They will keep killing anyone of you who intends to face them. By Allah I swear, if you only
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1- See Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-tarikh, vol.3,p.289.
2- See Ibn Shahrashub's Manaqib Al(i) Abu-Talib; 3:250.
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throw at them stones, you will kill them."1
'Umar agreed on 'Amr's opinion and ordered his forces to leave facing those heroes. he then gave the order of waging a general attack against them. Nevertheless, the companions caused great losses to the attacking forces to the degree that 'urwah ibn Qays asked the commander in chief to supply him with more men and weapons.
'Umar then had to call al-Husayn ibn Numayr and supply him with fuve hundred bowmen who could wound the riding animals of the Imam's conpanions. Thus, all the companions, including al-Hurr ibn Yazin, had to fight against their enemies on feet. This fighting, which was described by historians as the fieriest all over history, continud to midday. In the midst of that horrible scene, Abu Thumamah al-Sa'idi: one of the Ima's companions, reised his head to the sky and told the Imam about thetime of the Zhuhr prayer. The Imam (a) asked his companions to demand with cease fighting so that they sould offer the prayer. They responded to this demand, but as soon as the Imam(a) and his conpanions stood erect for the prayer, the Umayyad army began throwing darts at them. Sa'id al-Hanafi made his body as the armor that protected the Imam (a) while he was praying. When the Imam (a) finishedhis prayer, Sa'id was heavily wounded that he fell dead.
The other companions continued fighting for sake of their Imam(a) courageously until they all were killed.
After the companions, it was the turn of the youths of the Prophet's household. Like attacking lions, they rushed themselves to the battlefield and began to bid farewel each other with teary eyes for loneliness of their Imam who would very soon be helpless.
The first to advance was the eighteen-year-old2 young man and the most similar to the Holy Prophet (s) form,
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1- See Muhammad ibn Jariri al-Tabari Tarikh al-Umam wa al-Muluk: vol.4, p.331.
2- See muhammad Baqir al-Mjlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.44, p.42.
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morals, and personality. This was 'Ali al-Akbar son of Imam al-Husayn (a). The Imam felt greatly sad when he knew for certain that his son would proceed for fighting. He therefore raised his beard towards the heavens and complained to the Lord against the gang who fought against him and would be ready to kill his dearest one. He, as well as the ahrem of the Prophet's household, saw 'Ali al-Akbar off with tears, cries, moaning. He then put his hand under his beard, raised it towards the heavens, and prayed:
اللهم اشهد علي هؤلاء القوم, فقد برز إليهم غلام أشبه الناس خلقا و خلقا و منطقا برسولك, و كنا إذا اشتقنا إلي نبيك نظرنا إلي وجهه. اللهم امنعهم بركات الأرض, و فرقهم تفريقا, و مؤقهم تمزيقا, واجعلهم طرائق قددا, ولا ترض الولاة عنهم أبدا. فإنهم دعونا لينصرونا ثم عدوا علينا يقاتلوننا.
O Allah: be the witness on those people! A youth who is the most similar to Your Prophet in form, morals, and personality is now facing them in the battlefield. We used to look at his face whenever we missed the Prophet. O Allah: deprive those people of te blessing of the earth, scatter them thoroughly, strew paths, and never make their rulers pleased with them, for they are fighting us aggressively after they promised they would support us.
The Imam (a) then turned to 'Umar and shouted, "What is the matter with you? I (nvoke allah against you and) implore to Him to teminate your kinship, unbless your deeds, and give a free hand to someone who will slay you in your bed, because you have terminated my kinship and violated my relation to the Messenger of Allah (s)."
Imam al-Husayn (a) then recited Allah's saying:
إن الله اصطفي ءادم و نوح و ءال ابراهيم و ءال عمران علي العلمين(33) ذرية بعضها من بعض والله سميع عليم (34).
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Surely, Allah chose Adam and Nuh (Noah) and the descendants of Ibrahim (Abraham) and the descendants of 'Imran above the antions. Offspring one of the other; and allah is Hearing, Knowing.
The young proceeded declaring the priciples for which he was fighting and his tremendous determination to protect the religion of allah even if this would cost him his life. He then encountered the enemies and showed indescribable courage and heroism to the degree that historians have described his fighting by saying, "'Ali al-Akbar's fighting reminded the enemies of the attacks of his grandfather Amir al-Mu'ainin."
In the midst of the fighting , 'Ali was seriously thirsty because the enemies deprived them of water. He therefore had to return to his father and ask for some water, but the father (a) had nothing to do. He had no single drop of water to give to his son. Painfully, he apologized and promised that the Prophet (s) would very soon give a drink of water that would save from tirst forever.
The young then returened to the battlefield and fought courageously despite the many wounds he had in the body. The whole camp of the Umayyad amy complained about the great losses that the young son of Imam al-Husayn (a) caused to them; therefore, Murrah ibn Munqidh decided to kill him. So, he stabbed him with a spear from the back and struck him with his sword so heavily on the head. 'Ali held fast on his horse's neck thinking the horse would take him towards his father's camp. Unfortunately, the horse took him towards the enemies'. They encircled him and cut his body into pieces. The air carried the son's cries to his father who hurried to him and found him in the last sparks of life. He put his cheek on his son's severed body and shed tears for him, saying:
قتل الله قوما قتلوك, يا بني , ما أجرأهم علي الله و علي انتهاك حرمة الرسول. علي الدنيا بعدك العفا.
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May Allah kill those who killed you, son! They are so reckless that they have regarded neither Allah nor the Messenger of Allah to whom you belong. After you, let dust cover this (meaningless) world.1
As soon as th news of 'Ali al-Akbar's martyrdom reached her, Lady zaynab sould not control her feelings. She hurried to the severed body shoutin, "Oh, for my dear one! Oh, for my nephew!2 Oh, for the light of my eyes! Oh, for the fruit of my heart!"3 She threw herself on the dead body, stained it withher ceaseless tears, and moaned for the martyred 'ali al-Akbar. Imam al-Husayn (a) had nothing to do but trying to console. He then held on her sister's hand and took her back to the tent.4
After that, the young descendants of 'Aqi ibn Abu Talib rushed for jihad intending to sacrifice their souls for their leader. They fought courageously and caused great losses to the Umayyad army. However, they were all martyred.
Then the turn of Imam al-Hasan's descendants came. They also pushed themselves for protecting their uncle and defending their religion. Among them was al-Qasim whom historians have described as bright asmoon. Before he fought against the enemies, he had declared, "As long as I am alive, my uncle al-husayn shall not be killed." Teh Imam (a) however did not permit al-Qasim to fight, but he insisted importunately, kissed his uncle's hands ad feet, and begged him to let him fight. The Imam (a) then had to permit him with weeping eyes and buning heart. Like the other heroes of the Hashemites, al-Qasim fought bravely ad killed numbers of the Umayyad army. In the midst of the fighting, the heel of his slipper was cut. As he nodded down
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1- See Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Mashhadi, al-Mazar al-Kabir, p.487.
2- See Abu'l-Faraj al-isfahani, Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, p.76.
3- See Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.45,p.44.
4- See Sayyid Ibn Tawus al-Hasani, al-Lahuf fi Qatla al-Tufuf, p.68.
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for repairing it out of his disdain, one of the Umayyad soldiers seized that opportunity and struck him on the head. He fell down and cried at his uncle who hurried towards him and killed his killer. He then carried the dead body of his nephew and lined it beside the other martyrs. He looked at the dead bodies for a while and then cursed their killers.
'Awn ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, son of Lady Zaynab, proceeded for fighting, thought he was too young to fight. Like the other courageous youths, 'Awn fought so bravely until he was martyred. His mother received his dead body with steadfastness and offered him for Allah, anticipating His limitless reward.
At any rate, that scene was not strange for her; before her son, she had received a rank of moonlike, yet killed, youths.
It was nothing but her unshakable faith which provided her with endurance and ability to keep steadfast before such scenes.
Thus, all the Hashemite warriors were martyred, and none remained except the guardian of the Prophet's harem and the right hand of Imam al-Husayn (a), namely the hero Abu'l-Fadl al-'Abbas.
Al-'Abbas watched all these crises and misfortunes patiently, and waited for the proper opportunity to begin fighting against the enemies and take revenge upon them. After the martyrdom of the youths of the Prophet's household, he directed towards his full brothers ad said to them, "Brothers, proceed for fighting so that I will be sure that you have done sincerely for sake of Allah and His Messenger and I will surely avenge your blood. You have no children." All his full brethren welcomed his call and went for fighting courageously. One by one, they were martyred before their elder brother al-'Abbas who stood near their dead bodies and shed tears for these bright faces.
MARTYRDOM OF AL-'ABBAS
Al-'Abbas was the dearest one to Imam al-Husayn (a) who brought him up on nobilities of character and high moral standards. The Imam also taught him the rulings of
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the Islamic Shari'ah that he has been regarded as one of the most virtuous scholars of Islam. Al-'Abbas continually sought the company of his brother and gave comfort to him in all misfortunes. Brightness was very clear in the lineaments of al-'Abbas's face, that he was called 'moon of the Hashemites.' Because he was an unmatched hero, al-'Abbas was given the leadership of Imam al-Husayn's army and was the holder of the standard. In addition, he was the guardian of the harem and children. Finally, he had a special relationship with his sister, Lady Zaynab, who took care of him from early life and loved him tenderly. He, too, loved his sister very much and undertook the task of guarding her and settling all her needs.
When al-'Abbas noticed the loneliness of his brother and the martyrdom of his companins and household, he advanced towards him and asked permission to fight. The Imam(a) did not permit him as he said with a sad tone, "You are the holder of my standard..." He, in fact, felt of power and protection so long as al-'Abbas was with him. But al-'Abbas insisted on the permission and said, "I can no longer stand it. I want to take avenge upon those hypocrites."
As the Imam (a) had nothing to do other than permitting his brother to fight, he asked him first directed towards the Umayyad army with words of admonition and warning against Allah's torture; he directed his speech to their commander, "'Umar, this is al-Husayn son of the daughter of Allah's Messenger. You have killed his companions and household. These are now his children and harem. They are thirsty and I ask you to give them water. Nevertheless , he is still calling you to let him go to Rome or India and leave al-Hijaz and Iraq for you..."
None from the Umayyad army could answer al-'Abbas except Shamr who said to him, "If the whole surface of this earth is being water controlled by us, we will not give you a
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single drop of it before you submit to the leadership of Yazid."
Hence, al-'Abbas had to report this situation to his brother. Meanwhile, he heard the cries of the children because of thirst and saw the changes of their faces and the dryness of their lips. Therefore, he decided to get some water for them. He rode his horse, took a skin of water with him, and pushed himself towards the River Euphrates. The Umayyad troops who were, according to some narratives, about four-thousand warriors, flew away and he alone could occupy the band of that river. His heart was as hot as fire because of thirst, but when he extended the thirst of his brother, as well as his children and harem, in these moments; hence, he threw the water from his hand and declared that he would not drink a single drop of it so long as his brother and leader, Imam al-Husayn (a), is thirsty.
After this tremendous situation of altruism that exceede all dimensions of time and space, al-'Abbas filled the skin with water and took the way back to his brother's camp. For the meantime, the enemies surrounded him from every side and tried to prevent him from taking that water with him. He, fearlessly, fought against them and caused them big losses. Chased by terror and fear, the enemies were fleeing away from Al-'Abbas who copied his father in sourage. However, one of the filthy hypocrites of Kufa waylaid him behind a date-palam tree, struck him from the back on his right hand, and cut it. Nevertheless, al-'Abbas, the hero, did not care, and held the standard in his left hand and went on saying, "Even if you cut my hand, I will keep derending my religion and leader. "A few moments later, another man hid behind a tree, struck al-'Abbas with a sword on his left hand, and cut it. Altought he was bleeding and suffering these wounds besides thirst, al-'Abbas held the skin of water with his teeth and ran trying to take it to his brother's children and harem. Meanwhile, a spear hit that skin of water and caused it to drop on the ground. Seeing this scene,
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al-'Abbas stood in sadness and perplexity. he did not know what to do. A few moment later, another man attacked him with an iron post and struck on the head. Al-'Abbas fell to the ground and shouted, "Peace be upon you, Abu 'Abdullah!"
The air carried these words of farewell to the Imam (a). So, he hurried toward River al-'Alqami where al-'Abbas fell. He pushed himself among the troops of the enemies and threw himself on the body of his brother. Expressing the grave misfortune he suffered by the martyrdom of al-'Abbas, Imam al-Husayn (a) shouted:
الآن انكسر ظهري , وقلت حيلتي , و شمت بي عدوي.
Only now have I become spineless and hopeless and my enemies are rejoicing at my misfortune.
No one can describe the real feelings of the after Imam after the martyrdom of al-'Abbas. However, historians have mentioned that he, as he was leaving the dead body of his brother, could hardly move his feet. His daughter, Sukaynah, received his with the question, "Where is my uncle al-Abbas?"
The Imam (a) wept openly and told her about her uncle's martyrdom. The daughter had nothing to do other than moaning aloud. The situation was more difficult for Lady Zaynab; as soon as she heard the news, she put her hand on her heart and shouted aloud, "Oh, for my brother! Oh, for al-'Abbas! We have certainly lost everything as we lost you."
It was surely grave misfortune for Imam al-Husayn (a) and the Prophet's harem who filled that place with cries and moaning for their guardian and protector. The Imam also participated with them in weeping as he shouted, "We have surely lost everything as we lost you, Abu'l-Fadl al-'Abbas."