Muslim Arrested And Martyred

Muslim Arrested and Martyred

HAVING DESPATCHED HIS sons, Muslim, discarded by one and all in Kufa and hunted by the men of Ibne Ziad, wandered in Kufa, as a homeless destitute without any shelter or shade to lay his head or

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even to rest awhile against the scorching sun. None dared to give him even a cup of water. Passing through a street Muslim halted at the door of a godly lady Tau'a who asked him, not recognising him, who actually he was:

Muslim replied :-

The good lady looked at Muslim and asked:-

Muslim replied

Tau'a, immediately as she learnt about the identity of Muslim and the name of the Holy Imam, told him to get into her house No sooner had Muslim taken shelter in Tau'a's house, theson of the lady, an incorrigible delinquent, returned home and Tau'a advised the lad repeatedly not to let any one know about the whereabouts of Muslim. Early next morning, the lad informed the state authorities. Muslim heard the approach of the soldiers to Tau'a's house and apprehending that if he stays any longer in the house, the house of the poor lady will be ruined, rushed out and after a wonderful resistance, was arrested by the contingent and carried to the court of the Amir. Muslim entered the court without the usual salutation to the Amir. When questioned why he avoided the usual courtesy of the salutation to the Amir, Muslim replied:

The Amir retorted :-

Muslim replied:

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Ibne Ziad called his men and commanded Muslim to be taken on the roof of a building to be beheaded and his body to be thrown down from the top, to the ground.

Hearing the verdict of the Amir about him, Muslim replied:

"Ready I am to pass on in the way of the Lord" and then turning to the audience in the court asked, if there was any Qoreishite among them there to hear his last desire in this world and execute it. Omar ibne Sa'd, a Qoreishite, replied:

Muslim said:

Omar replied we will act as deemed desirable by us. The people seated around in the court wept but none spoke a word against the brutal behaviour against Muslim.

Muslim when taken on the top of a building, asked respite of the executioners to offer his last prayer to the Lord. After the prayer he turned toward Mecca and cried :-

No sooner Muslim had finished his prayer, and his cry to the Holy Imam, fell the stroke of the sword from the executioner. His head was taken and the body was thrown down on the ground.

The heads of I Iani ibne Orwah and Muslim ibne Aqeel were despatched to Yazid as a token of the faithful execution of his orders by his Deputy Ibne Ziad.

The bodies of Muslim and Hani, with a rope tied in the legs, were dragged into the streets of Kufa, as an active and visual warning

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to the people against their loyalty to the House of the Holy Prophet and particularly to Husain the Holy Imam. At last the body of Muslim and Hani were hung at the gateway of the City and remained there hanging for days together. None of the last desires of Muslim was executed and immediately orders were issued to comb the city and its surroundings and find out the children of Muslim. A tempting prize was announced on the heads of the innocents.

Children of Muslim Martyred

THE TWO . YOUNG souls in their concealed march from Kufa, travelling during nights, lost their way in the desert. Once they were arrested and imprisoned but the pitiful guard of the prison, allowed them to escape and at last they were found by the goodhearted lady, the wife of Harith, who was already in search of the innocents to win the rich reward. The good-hearted lady hid the children in her house and Harith returned late in the night complaining to his wife saying that day and night, he was in search of the children of Muslim but could not find them. The lady asked I Iarith:-

Harith replied:

The lady kept quiet and Harith went to bed but at midnight the innocents saw their father in a dream telling them:

Both the children awoke crying:

Hearing the cry of the innocents, Harith awoke and asked his wife as to whose cry was that, that came from one of the rooms. The good lady could no longer conceal the fact and the moment Harith came to know of the presence of the innocents in his very house, he jumped with joy and getting into the room dragged those two young souls out of their beds saying:-

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The brute kept the innocents tied to a post the whole night and at dawn I Iarith took them to the bank of the Euphrates and the good lady accompanid them pleading for them. When Harith wanted to behead them, the children cried to the good lady addressing her as 'Mother dear!' The poor lady was already imploring the brute of her husband not to lay his hands on the helpless innocents. But the heartless brute would not listen to the implorations from the lady. When he raised his sword, the lady ran to intervene and stop the stroke, and got her two hands severed. It is reported that the two innocents prayed to the brute to allow them to offer their last prayers to w hich the brute consented and no sooner the holy souls had finished their supplication to the Lord, then I Iarith wanted to behead them. The elder brother implored saying:

With a stroke of the sword the head of the elder one of the two innocents fell and Harith threw the body into the river, and then turning to the younger one, he did the same. It is said that w hen the first body, i.e., of the elder brother was thrown into the river, the younger one cried to it saying:

It is said that the body of the first innocent floated stationary in the waves of the river until the body of the second one joined it and both floated away together.

No Refuge for the Holy Imam Even in the Holy Ka'ba

NEWS HAD REACHED Damascus that Husain had left Madina for Mecca. Yazid hired thirty men to guide themselves as pilgrims (Hajies) with daggers hidden in their pilgrim garbs to murder the Holy Imam even while performing the pilgrimate rites, be he even in the very precincts of the Great Sanctuary of the holy Ka'ba.

Husain had received the letter from his Deputy Muslim in Kufa to proceed to the place, the letter which Muslim had written before what befell him later. Husain only waited for the pilgrimage

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to start for Kufa thereafter. But he got intelligence about the plot to kill him even in the Holy Sanctuary.

Husain saves the Sanctity of the Great Sanctuary

THE HOLY KA'BA, a Sanctuary, the Holiest of the Holy Places of Islam, a Sanctuary wherein no creature animate or inanimate could be disturbed wherein even a confirmed convict could not be killed, nor even a plant be plucked out. If the sanctity of the Holiest Shrine of Islam be violated by the shedding of the blood of the Holy Imam which was the very blood of the Holy Prophet himself, no security for any one else would be left thereafter, the Holy Ka'ba would cease to be a Sanctuary.

The next day was the day of the pilgrimage and Husain in the interest of the sanctity of the place could remain there no more. The Holy Imam decided to leave the place with his whole caravan, performing the briefer pilgrimage 'Omra' instead of the full pilgrimage, Haj, which could be done only the next day.

People uninformed of the secret plot of Yazid against the life of the Holy Imam, wondering at the surprising decision of Husain to move out of Mecca on the very eve of the Pilgrimage when every muslim rushes to the place and covets to be there, thronged to the Holy Imam enquiring about his mysterious move. Husain replied :-

When the people asked where the animals of sacrifice were, Husain replied :

Saying this Husain said :

Husain called his brother Abbas, his eighteen-year-old son Ali (Ali-e-Akbar), his nephews Qasim, Aun and Muhammad and others. When all these had come and stood before him, Husain said :-

Husain left Mecca for Kufa in response to the implorations of the people of the place.

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The Holy Imam learns of the Fate of His Deputy, Muslim

HUSAIN WAS PROCEEDING to Kufa and a large number of the people thinking that if Husain, the Holy Imam, the grandson of the Apostle of God stands against Yazid, the Muslim World as a whole would support the Holy Imam of the age and those who support Husain's cause will certainly get the share of the booty, accompanied him. At every step Husain warned them saying their imagination, was totally wrong and will never be realised. However, the crowd accompanied Husain until when the news of the fate of llusain's Deputy, reached him on the way, an the crowd began deserting Husain in large numbers.

Where should Husain go?

IF AFTER KNOWING the fate of his Deputy, Muslim, at Kufa, Husain proceeds towards the town, the world would know about the atmosphere at Kufa haying turned totally hostile to him, why he threw himself and his family in the jaws of death. He could not stay any longer in Madina, nor at Mecca even until the Haj and now he could not proceed to Kufa. Where should Husain go ? Husain now directed his move towards an unknown destination.

Water stored for the Enemies

As THE CARAVAN proceeded, at a certain place the Holy Imam directed his brother Abbas to see that the caravan carries with it as much water as possible. People submitted to the Holy Imam that there would not be any dearth of water in any of the coming stations. The Holy Imam mysteriously insisted saying 'I tell you, you do it.' The people were told that it would be required, but did not disclose for whom, and every one wondered at this mysterious command. However, the order was carried.

The Hunt for the Holy Imam

INFORMATION ABOUT THE Holy Imam's leaving Mecca and proceeding towards an unknown destination reached Kufa and Damascus and fearing that Husain would escape away out of the muslim dominion and thus get out of the grip, military contingents were immediately despatched in all directions in the desert to stop

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the Holy Imam where he may be found and not allow him to go any further but to get him either to Kufa or to Damascus and in case of resistance to kill him wherever he is found.

Husain saves the Enemies from Death

As THE CARAVAN of the Holy Imam proceeded, suddenly the men in the forefront cried aloud 'Allah° Akbar' (God the Greatest). Husain smiled and asked what the matter was and what had made the people glorify God all of a sudden; what was the occasion for it. People submitted that a garden is sighted which usually was not found on that route. Husain smiled and told the people to look ahead carefully. Shortly afterwards the men reported to the Holy Imam saying that it was not a garden but an army coming towards them. It was a contingent of Yazid's army which had been sent under the command of a famous Commander 'Hue to arrest the move of Husain and divert the course to Kufa or Damascus or to fight and kill the Holy Imam.

When the contingent of the Yazidian forces under 'Hue reached the caravan of the Holy Imam, both the men and the animals were dying of thirst-I laving exhausted the store of water they had, the whole regiment was practically trapped in the burning desert with the heat from all sides roasting their bodies. The whole army was about to perish. They could not get any trace of water anywhere for miles together. Hur and his men, instead of capturing Husain or attacking the Caravan, shouted aloud in appealing voices 'Thirst! thirst!' water, and begged the Holy Imam to quench their thirst first. The Holy Imam at once ordered the whole of the stored water to be placed at the disposal of the enemy army under Hur. Hur, his soldiers and all the animals of the army were fully served and were rescued from the jaws of death.

When the enemy had quenched their thirst, Husain asked Hur, the purpose of his coming out into such a killing heat in the desert. Whether the expedition was for him or against him. Hur related his object and also said that he was there not to allow the Holy Imam to move from that place. The Caravan stopped.

Hur was a good man, noble and a gallant officer, but could not allow Husain to have his way, in the presence of his men, for he feared that they would bring calamity upon him. Without the knowledge of his men, Hur begged the Holy Imam to have his own

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way as if without the knowledge of his men to some direction and to facilitate this he camped his regiment a little away from Husain's camp. Husain had to accept Hur's offer and direct his Caravan to move on, but to none did he mention the destination. The Holy Imam's Caravan moved on but none knew to what destination it was bound for. It was a mysterious move divinely guided by the will of the Lord, to fulfil the Great Sacrifice destined to take place in the seed of Abraham.

The Prophesied Desert of Karbala

AT A PLACE near the Euphrates, the Holy Imam's steed suddenly stopped and inspite of the unusual spurrings, the animal did not move; but raised its head towards heaven, as if to say that it was helpless and could not step forward any more. Husain changed six horses one after another but none of the animals moved from the spot. Gathering the people in the neighbourhood, the Holy Imam enquired the name of the place. Some said 'Maria' some said Wainawa' and some said 'Shattul-Furat' but the Holy Imam was not satisfied and continued his enquiry asking if there was any other name for the place. An old man stepped forward and said "0' Son of the Apostle of God! I have heard from no, ancestors this plain being called also as 'Karbala'." The moment the Holy Imam heard the name of 7' -1)ala, he smiled and thanked God and said :-

Saying this, the Holy Imam ordered the Caravan to be stopped and declared that the journey had ended as he had arrived at the desired destination. Tents were ordered to be pitched but. Hazrat Zainab, Husain's sister, hearing of the Imam's decision to camp there, wept and sent for Husain and requested him saying:

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Husain, hearing his mother's name, shed tears and said:-

Tents were pitched at the bank of the Euphrates for the Holy Imam's Caravan.

The Holy Imam points out the destined Spots

WHILE THE MEN were busy pitching the tents, the Holy Imam went into the surrounding lands stopping at certain spots thoughtfully; and at a certain spot, he laid himself down on the earth and raised his head to look towards his camp. When asked what he meant by the action, he said:-

The Holy Imam took his brother Abbas around and pointed out the various spots in the plain where each one of his comrades would fall and be slain.