Karbala'

Karbala'

On the desert of Karbala' Imam Hussein (a.s.) emerged as a symbol for free men, and a slogan for the revolutionaries throughout the ages and generations.

On the other hand, the Ummayyad authorities, at the helm of which stood Ubaidullah bin Ziyad in Kufa, started sending reinforcements and mobolizing more forces for Karbala'. They knew full well that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was not someone unknown or with no weight. They were still obsessed by fear, in spite of the fact that Imam Hussein (a.s.) would be defended by only a few men, and that the Kufans had failed him. Ziyad replaced al-Hurr with Umar bin Sa'd as the new commander who would engage Imam Hussain (a.s.). First, Umar hesitated to accept the command, but finally he gave in to the lures of governorship and imaginary wealth. He agreed to take up the task. At the head of an army of 4,000, he set off to fight Imam Hussein (a.s.). He ordered his army to encamp nearby.

Imam Hussein (a.s.) started talks with Umar bin Sa'd. They sat down many times. At the end, Umar was convinced to lift the siege he had laid to the camp of Imam Hussein (a.s.), and open the way for him to leave Iraq. He sent a message to Ubaidullah bin Ziyad notifying him of the result of their talks. Ubaidullah conceeded and tried to put it into effect, when Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan, a vowed enemy of Imam Hussein (a.s.) interferred. He warned Ziyad that Imam Hussein (a.s.) would, after the lifting of the siege, act from a position of strength, and it would be extremely difficult to face him. The balance of power would tip in his favor. Persuaded, Ubaidullah wrote a letter to Umar bin Sa'd, in which he threatened him and turned down his offer. He ordered Shimr to deliver the letter in person to Umar. Furthermore, he presented two choices before Umar; he should either go to war with Imam Hussein (a.s.), or he would be relieved of his post as commander of the army. Shimr would occupy his place in this case and dispatch his head, as well, to Kufa. Umar bin Sa'd got the letter. He pondered over it for a length of time. He could either fight Imam Hussein (a.s.) or lose power and his post as commander of the army. Satan, eventually, got the better of him. He chose the loss of this life and the hereafter. He would certainly fight Imam Hussein (a.s.). Accordingly, he moved his troops, on the seventh of the holy month of Muharram, to surround the Husseini army. They cut his camp off from access to the river Euphrates, so as to deprive them of water to force them to surrender. Two days later, on the ninth of Muharram, the treacherous Ummayyad army began closing in on the camp of Imam Hussein (a.s.). Imam Hussein (a.s.) thought of a way to stop the march of the enemies. He asked his brother, Abbas, to call on the army to stop their aggression. Their response was a reply of a weak-willed, helpless army manipulated by the rulers, "Let Hussein accept the judge of the prince, or, otherwise, we will fight him."

Imam Hussein (a.s.) saw that he could not negotiate with this herd of weak-willed men who dedicated themselves to win booty and wealth. He asked his brother, Abbas, once again, to talk to the army and demand a delay of only one night. Umar bin Sa'd and his officers agreed to grant Imam Hussein (a.s.) the delay he asked.

On the morrow, history would turn a new page in the life of Islam. Men would fight one another in a great and glorious battle in Karbala'.

The Day of Ashura'

Imam Hussein (a.s.), together with his pious companions, passed the night before the tenth of Muharram in prayers, supplications and getting ready for the following day.

That night came to an end. It was as if a long history had elapsed. The tenth of Muharram, the day of blood, jihad and martyrdom, the day of the decisive battle, was already born.

Umar bin Sa'd was arranging his troops in line, and mobilizing his soldiers to fight the fifth member of the purified family of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), whose love was decreed by Allah on the ummah through the explicit words of the Holy Qur'an.

Imam Hussein (a.s.) stared unperturbably and strong-hearted at the great army which was equipped to the teeth. Like a towering mountain, determined and unshakable, Imam Hussein (a.s.) did not show the smallest sign of weakness.

Never did he think of reconsidering his decision. There was no one but Allah to look to. He raised his hands in prayer:

"O Allah! It is You in Whom I trust amid all grief. You are my hope amid all violence. You are my refuge and provision in everything that happens to me. How many grievances that weaken the heart, leaving me with no means to handle them, during which friend deserts me, and the enemy rejoices in it. I lay it before you and complain of it to You, because of my desire in You. You alone. You relieve me of it and remove it from me. You are the Master of all grace, the Possessor of all goodness, and the Ultimate Resort of all desire." ⁶⁰

Imam Hussein (a.s.) went out of his tent, completely ready to engage the enemy. The battle was unescapable. So he started fortifying his camp where the children and women were waiting for what would happen next. He ordered the digging of a trench at the rear of the camp. This was to prevent the army from attacking the camp from that point. He set the trench ablaze. Secure as the back of the camp was, the battle would be fought in the front only.

Once again, Imam Hussein (a.s.) delivered a speech. He reminded the Kufans of their letters and envoys, combined with their pledge of allegiance, but to no avail. His call fell on deaf ears.

He mounted his horse, and galloped to a place before the hostile army, in his hand he grasped the Qur'an. He opened it, raising it above his head, and said: "O people! Let us have the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of my grandfather, the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.), to arbitrate between us." ⁶¹

No one seemed to be influenced by the words of Imam Hussein (a.s.). Rather, Umar bin Sa'd ordered the standard-bearer of his army to advance and gave the go-ahead for the war to start. He, himself, fired the first arrow toward the camp of Imam Hussein (a.s.), shouting, "All of you be witness that I am the first to shoot."

That was the outset of a catastrophe and tragedy which victimized the scion of prophethood and the leader of the Muslims, the grandson of the noble Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), Hussein bin Ali bin Abi-Talib.

The men lunged at one another, first in single battles, then in a full war. It was only natural that strength would help the army of Yazid bin Mu'awiyah massacre this small group of warriors.

The whole tragedy of the Ahlul-Bait (a.s.), and their painful suffering at the hands of their enemies was crystally incarnated in the battle of Karbala'.

History tells us of scenes and tragic sights which are extremely difficult for writers, poets and artists to depict. A baby, for example, was in the arms of Imam Hussein (a.s.). It was his son, Abdullah, sometimes called Ali Asghar. It is after this child that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was given the title "Abu Abdullah" recorded in many books and salutations when referring to Imam Hussein (a.s.). He took Abdullah to the Ummayyad camp asking them to give him some water. Detachments were stationed at the banks of the Euphrates. With no access to the water, the family of Imam Hussein (a.s.) and their followers felt thirsty. Imam (a.s.) wanted to awaken their conscience and stir their human sentiments; but the stone-hearted enemies targeted the six-months old baby with an arrow which struck him in the throat and slaughtered him instantly.

Imam Hussein (a.s.) felt an unbearable wave of pain. The sight of the slaughtered baby was etched forever in his mind.

But his heart did not give way to weakness. He filled his palm with the blood of his little baby, and threw it upwards, complaining to his Lord, "I find consolation in the fact that what I am suffering is witnessed by Allah."

The battle got more horribly ferocious. One after the other, the followers and the members of Imam Hussein's (a.s.) family attained martyrdom. The last one to be martyred in that eternal battle was Imam Hussein (a.s.) himself. He became the sacred offering and the "greater sacrifice" to Allah. A three-pointed arrow hit Imam Hussein (a.s.) in the chest. Deeply embedded, he could not dislodge it. The blood gushed out of his holy chest unhalted. He fell down to the ground swimming in a pool of his blood.

The Ummayyad were not satisfied. Their hatred for Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) was too blazing to be extinguished by this. One criminal from the army of the Ummayyad, Shimr bin Dhil-Jawshan, walked over to Imam Hussein (a.s.), sat on his chest and cut off his head from the back of his neck. Ibn Sa'd ordered the horsemen to trample over the supine body of Imam Hussein (a.s.).

The star of Imam Hussein (a.s.) set. The tragedy set in. The head of Imam Hussein (a.s.), along with the heads of his companions (and even the tiny head of Abdullah) were distributed among the criminals, as gifts, carrying them to the Ummayyad governor of Kufa.

For three days the pure, holy bodies of the martyrs were left lying on the desert of Karbala' before men from the tribe of Bani-Asad who were living not far away from the battlefield buried them. The criminals, not yet satisfied with all this, carried the children and women, in addition to the sick son of Imam Hussein (a.s.), Imam Zain Al-Abideen (a.s.), as prisoners from Kufa to Syria. At the front of the sad procession were the heads of Imam Hussein (a.s.) and his followers.

Role of Women in the Uprising

It is a historically foregone conclusion that Imam Hussein (a.s.) was fully aware of the fact that his opposition to the Ummayyad policy and the strong stance he took against it would only lead to his martyrdom in the way of Allah, whether he remained in the city of Medina, Mecca or any other city. But he wanted his martyrdom to have an impact on the life of the ummah as wide and great as the personal reward, comfort and eternal pleasure of Allah which he won. That is why he planned to foil all attempts of assassination against him, hatched by the Ummayyad rulers. That kind of death has no reverberations, or at least its consequences are quite limited. No turmoil would follow it as big as desired, nor would there be a furor that would be potential in the life of the ummah.

Thus, the key elements that would promote a historical shock in the body of the ummah, that would leave its marks on the present and future of the ummah, had to be ripened. Imam Hussein (a.s.) began preparing himself and his followers for a real battle between his camp, the camp of the faith, and the camp of falsehood led by the Ummayyad house. He called on the men to join the revolutionary forces. He spared neither tribes, nor the Arab neighborhoods which he passed by on his way to Iraq, without calling them to aid him and join his forces. Historically and horizontally, the outcry would be sharper. This fact made him to bring his womenfolk and children, though he was totally convinced that he would not survive the battle. Imam Hussein (a.s.) had a conviction, to the point of certainty, that his women and those of his supporters would be taken captives and would be humiliated at the hands of the regime's stooges. But he also knew that this outrageous abuse would not be publically approved of. It would serve as a good and effective element in disclosing the nature of the Ummayyad policy and leave it, undisguised, before the masses. Shedding off the layers of humiliation and passivity, the Muslim conscience would be thrown into the center of the big challenge.

The women, on the other hand, played no less effective roles. In captivity they talked to the people, laid the facts bare before them, and unveiled the schemes and plots of the Ummayyad policy, both in Kufa and Syria. Through the speeches, discussions and tirades on the part of the women, Imam Hussein (a.s.) drove home his message. The reader will not remain in doubt as to why Imam Hussein (a.s.) brought with him his women to Karbala'.

Based on these considerations, we ascertain, without the slightest doubt, that the participation of the women in the Husseini revolution was planned and pondered over beforehand.

Hence, Imam Hussein's (a.s.) reply to his brother, Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyyah, who asked him why he was taking the women with him prior to his departure from Mecca, "Certainly, Allah desires to see them captive." ⁶²

We deem it of great use to quote texts from the addresses delivered by Zainab, the Great Lady, and the other virtuous women from the house of Imam Hussein (a.s.).

Zainab, the noble woman from the tribe of Bani-Hashim, the daughter of Fatima al-Zahra' and Imam Ali (a.s.), the sister of Imam Hussein (a.s.), stood among the Kufans, assuming her responsibility as the spokeswomen for her brother' s revolution, addressed them in these words:

"Praise be to Allah and divine blessings be sent on my grandfather, Muhammad, and his good and exemplary descendents. O People of Kufa! Do you shed tears? May your tears never dry up, and your loud lamentations never cease. You are like the woman that unravels to bits the thread which she has formerly spun. Your faith is nothing but deceit and betrayal. Are there any among you but the immodest, disgraced, proud, spiteful, idolator, enemy, and reviler? There are among you those who are as guileful plants growing in filth, or the silver on a grave.

"Certainly evil is that which your souls have sent before for you. Allah is displeased with you and in punishment shall you abide. Are you crying and wailing? Indeed, by Allah. Do cry endlessly and laugh but little, for your deed was so horrendously disgraceful that you will never be able to atone for it. How can you wash away the crime of murdering the scion of the Seal of the Prophets, the essence of the message, the lord of the youth in paradise, the refuge of your nobles, the refuge to whom you resorted during affliction, the bright divine proof of yours, and your master who spoke for you.

"What an awful sin you did commit! Away with you, there will be no forgiveness for you. Certainly, your efforts failed, your hands suffered loss, and your bargain was brought to naught. You have made yourselves deserving of the wrath of Allah. Abasement and humiliation have been brought down upon you.

'Woe to you! Do you know how you tore the liver of the Prophet of Allah? Whom of his womenfolk you exposed? What blood of his you shed? What honor of his you defamed?

"Your deed is most certainly so dangerously ugly and foul, that it filled the earth and sky with its putridness. Are you surprised that it rained blood? Certainly, the punishment of the Hereafter is infinitely more abasing, and you shall not be helped. Do not make light of the delay of punishment in that it is not hastened by the fear of missing the taking of revenge. Most surely Allah is watching ..." ⁶³

Zainab, the Great Lady, alerted the people of Kufa of their crime and punishment and of their responsibilities. The situation was critically dangerous, she told them, after their murdering of Imam Hussein (a.s.). A massive wave of anger went through the masses against the Ummayyad policy and its decision-makers.

Then, it was the turn of Fatima, daughter of Imam Hussein (a.s.), to talk to the Kufans. She said: "... O people of Kufa! O you who are cunning, treacherous, and arrogantly proud. We are the household who are being put to the test (of guiding you to the right path), and put you to the test (of following us). He made our trial good. He imparted His knowledge and sagacity to us. We are certainly the store of His knowledge, the utensil of His sagacity and wisdom, and the divine proof on earth for His servants. Allah honored us with His honor and preferred us over lots of the people He created, by means of His Prophet (s.a.w.). But you charged us with falsehood, and disbelief. You viewed it permissible to fight us, and considered our property as loot, as if we were of Turkish extraction or from the city of Kabul, as you had killed our grandfather not so long ago. Your swords are still dripping with our blood, Ahlul-Bait, due to a deep-rooted rancor. Your eyes delighted, and your hearts rejoiced at our death. You were certainly audacious towards Allah. You plotted, but Allah is the best of plotters. So, do not let yourselves induce you to exalt in the blood of us which you shed, and the money of us which you plundered, for the horrible misfortune and great calamities that have befallen us are ordained before Allah brings them into being. That is easy for Allah; so that you may not grieve for the good things you miss, or be overjoyed at what you gain, Allah does not love the haughty and vainglorious ...

"Woe to you! Wait for the imprecation and chastisement. It is as if I were witnessing the vengence descending on you repeatedly from Heaven. Allah will exterminate you by what your hands had won and make some of you taste severe punishment at the hands of others. Then you will eternally abide in the painful chastisement on the Day of Judgement. That is because you have wronged us terribly. May Allah curse the oppressors." ⁶⁴

In Damascus, the role of the women took a clearer shape. Many discussions, hectic arguments and speeches were made. The women were on the offensive. They assailed the tyrants with sharp words. Yazid bin Mu'awiyah was particulary attacked. Let us take, for example, in the presence of Yazid. It is a brightly unique example of pioneering jihad with words:

"Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Blessings be sent on the Messenger of Allah and all his household. Truthful, indeed, are the words of Allah:

"The evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the sings of Allah and used to mock them." Holy Qur'an (30:10)

"Do you think, Yazid, that since you have literally imprisoned us, having us being driven forward as if we were bondsmaids, we are humiliated in the sight of Allah and you are honored in His eyes and that is because of your great status you enjoy in Allah's eyes? And so you put on airs, and looked happily and joyfully proud. That is because you have the world at your feet, your affairs arranged and sorted out, and you have our right to rulership unjustly taken on your behalf. Wait! Wait! Have you lost sight to what Allah had said:

"And let not those who disbelieve think that Our granting them respites is better for their souls; We grant them respite only that they may add to their sins; and they shall have a disgraceful punishment." Holy Qur'an (3:178)

"Is it fair, son of the people, whom the Prophet (s.a.w.) had set free, to protect your women and bondsmaids, and to drive the daughters of the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.) as captives, after you have unveiled them and exposed their faces? Is it fair that the enemies should drive their mounts from one country to another, while being stared at by the people of the houses which line the roads, and those who live wandering from one place to another, their faces scrutinized by the near and the far-off, the base and the noble, with no one of their protectors to defend them, and no man of theirs to guard them? But how could those who threw up the livers of pure men, and who grew up feeding on the blood of the martyrs, guard themselves against evil ...?" ⁶⁵

"It is enough for you to have Allah as a Judge, the Prophet of Allah a foe and Gabriel a helper of the Prophet. The one who appointed you, (a caliph) [she refers to his father Mu'awiyah] and helped you to seize control over the Muslims, will surely know what a bad substitute the wrongdoers had. Who is worse, and more deviant, you or your father? I am surely belittling you. I do not see that scolding you is something awfully discouraging. I certainly know whom I am addressing. It is you who has left Muslim's eyes tearful, and their chests heated, whenever they remember Imam Hussein." ⁶⁶

"Plan your plots, and do you best, for, by Allah, who had honored us with the revelation, the Book, the prophethood, and preference over other people, you will never attain our status, nor will you reach our end, nor will you erase our end, nor will you erase our remembrance. The disgrace you brought upon yourself will never be washed off. Are not your views but hollow and worthless? Are not your days but numbered? Will not your party be but scattered men on the day when the caller will call out, 'May Allah curse the aggressive oppressor ..." ⁶⁷

These are only a few fragments of the tempestuous statements made by Zainab and her sisters in the way of jihad. We have made a mention of it to ascertain that the women played a highly effective media role in explaining the objectives of the uprising, disclosing the plight of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) and their right to manage the affairs of the people. The women succeeded in uncovering the deviated policy adopted by the Ummayyad house to steer the life of the people as they wished, mislead the ummah, and deceive the weak-willed people among the ummah.

Results of the Uprising

Elsewhere, we have explained that Imam Hussein's (a.s.) uprising aimed, first and foremost, at creating an environment suitable for the making of an anti-Ummayyad wave which would finally wash the Ummayyad entity away and put the ummah back on the track of guidance.

The final result came as the Imam had planned and hoped for. In no time, Imam Hussein (a.s.) along with his followers were made martyrs by the masses. The Ummayyads lost their raison d'être. Naked as they stood before the ummah, they were discovered as holding beliefs contradictory to Islam, and to the vital interest of the ummah. Even those who took part in the tragedy of Taf on behalf of the Ummayyads had undergone a drastic wild change under the swipes of their conscience and new found inner reawakening.

As a result, the Muslim society witnessed a violent shake up, expressed in a series of popular uprisings, including the Tawwabeen (penitents) uprising in Iraq, and that of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who totally liquidated the clique which was responsible for murdering Imam Hussein (a.s.) and his companions.

If these uprisings could not put an end to the Ummayyad rule, they practically served as marks of the change which the ummah had undergone. Anti-deviation opposition was on the rise, and the ummah, as a whole, was taking a different stance; one against the Ummayyad aggressive policy.

The Abbasid movement made good use of the rising anti-Ummayyad passion among the people and called for the support of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.). That set the scene for the Abbasids to eventually liquidate the Ummayyad entity. They, however, were also avid enemies of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) and were responsible for the martyrdom of thousands of their Shi'a.

In conclusion, we can say that Imam Hussein's uprising had practically foiled the Ummayyad policy to derail the Islamic march and plunge the ummah, once more, into the darkness of ignorance. The uprising did that by reviving the spirit of jihad in the ummah and adopting the choice of rejection, perseverance, and challenge towards the current of aberration.

Peace be on the dozens of martyrs, Abu-Abdullah Hussein (a.s.), the grandson of the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.). We make a covenant with him to follow in his footsteps on the path of sacred jihad.

And we promise to be loyal to him, and to ready ourselves to sacrifice ourselves in defending the great message of Islam.

And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
____________
60. Maqtal al-Hussein (a.s.), Sayyid Ibn Tawoos, pp. 32-33.

61. Al-Irshad, p. 223.

62. Maqtal al-Hussein (a.s.), p. 223.

63. Maqtal al-Hussein (a.s.), p. 195. Quoted from Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights), vol. 10, p. 184.

64. Al-Majalis al-Saniyyah, vol. 1, p. 130.

65. Ibid., p. 131.

66. Ibid., p. 146.

67 Extracts from the address of Zainab in Damascus. It is reported in full in al-Ihtijaj (Protests with Citation of Evidence).