ASHURA PART 5 THE REMAINING COMPANIONS Yazid Ibn Maqil, from the army, called Burayr and said, O, Burayr! How do you find what God did to you? Burayr said, God chose what is best for me and what is worst for you. You do not remember when you were criticizing Muawiyah and called him astray? Burayr then asked him to ask for divine intervention before they fight so that God kills whoever of them is evil. Ibn Maqil agreed, they fought, and Burayr killed him. On his way back, another group of soldiers attacked Burayr and killed him. Handalah Ibn Said al-Shabbami called the Imam aside and said to him, These people deserve the punishment of God when they refuse your call and after killing all of your friends and followers. Do not prevent me from fighting. He went and fought until he was killed. Abis Ibn Shabib al-Shakiri came and said to the Imam, There is no one dearer to me on this earth than you. If I were able to help you by anything better than my soul, I would. May peace be upon { 97 } you. I bear witness that, indeed, you are on the path of guidance. He took his sword, went to the enemy, and said, Who wants to fight? They recognized him but did not answer. They loaded the catapults with boulders. When he saw that, he took off his armor and his helmet and attacked them with his sword. More than two hundred of them ran away. Then they regrouped, surrounded him from all sides, and killed him. After that, John, the only African in Imam Husayns camp, asked permission from the Imam to go. The Imam answered him, O, John! You did not join this caravan for this battle. John collapsed at the feet of the Imam and said, I was following you when things were easy, and I am not going to leave you in this difficult time. I know that I may not have an excellent genealogy, but I have my black skin. Let me enter heaven for your honor. Indeed, I am not going to leave you until my black blood is mixed with your blood! The Imam allowed him to go and fight, and he killed three hundred and twenty four soldiers before he was killed. The Imam prayed for him. Then, Anas Ibn Harith Ibn Nabih al-Khalili asked for permission. He was in old man, a companion of the Prophet, and fought with him at the battles of Badr and Hunayn. He went and he killed eighteen soldiers before being killed. Next, Amr Ibn Junadah al- Ansari who was eleven years old asked the Imams permission. The Imam turned and said, This is the one whose father was killed in the first attack. Maybe his mother does not want him to fight. { 98 } Amr said, My mother ordered me to do so and that is why I am asking your permission. The Imam allowed him to fight. When he was killed, his head was cut off and thrown to the Imams camp. His mother picked up his head, then took a tent pole and killed two soldiers, but the Imam went to her and took her back. Then, Hajjaj Ibn Masruq al-Jufi fought until he was killed. Then, Sawwar Ibn Abi Hamr al-Fahmi fought, until he was captured as a prisoner. Umar wanted to kill him, but his tribe prevented him. He lived through the massacre at Karbala, but died after six months. The last one, Suwayd Ibn Amr Ibn Abi al-Muta went and, during the fighting, fell down on his face. Everyone thought that he was dead, but suddenly when he heard that Imam Husayn was killed, he got up, took out a small dagger from his waist, and started fighting with it. They surrounded him and killed him. He was the last of Imam Husayns companions to be killed. THE IMAMS SON, ALI AL- AKBAR By now, no one was left but the Imams family. The first one that came forward was Ali al-Akbar. He was twenty-seven years old, born on the 11th of Shaban in the 33 Hijrah (653 CE). He was similar to the Prophet in his features and speech. The women were very upset when he volunteered to fight. His mother was related to Abu Sufyan (Yazids grandfather) because she was the daughter of Maymunah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. { 99 } Because of this, a man called to Ali al-Akbar and said, You have a relationship to the leader of the faithful Yazid, and we want to honor that relationship. If you want clemency we will give it to you. Ali al-Akbar replied, The relationship of the Messenger of God is more important that your relationship, and he attacked the enemies while reciting this poetry: I am Ali son of Husayn son of Ali We are closer to the Prophet than any Indeed, Ibn Ziyad does not rule over us I will fight to protect my father The fighting of a Qurayshi and Hashemi. When the Imam heard that, he cried and said, Umar Ibn Sad, you did not honor the relationship to the Prophet. May God send someone to kill you in your bed. Then he said, O, God! Indeed, the one who is most like the Prophet in his features, manners, and his talk, has gone to them. Whenever we wanted to be reminded of the Prophet, we looked at him. O, God! Prevent from them the blessings of the earth, and divide them and do not make anyone pleased with them. Then he recited: Indeed, God has chosen Adam and Noah and the House of Abraham and the House of Imran over the worlds. [1] Ali al-Akbar fought once on the right flank, then again on the left flank and killed one hundred and twenty horsemen. He came back to his father so thirsty, that the Imam cried and said, Soon you will 1. The Holy Quran; Sura of Aal-Imran 3:34. { 100 } see your grandfather. He will give you water which you will never forget. He put his tongue on his sons tongue to show him how dry his own mouth was, and then gave him his ring to put in his mouth and whet his mouth with it. Ali al-Akbar went back again to fight until he killed eighty more soldiers. Meanwhile, on the enemy side, Hurrah Ibn Munqidh said, I am going to kill this boy, and went after him. He hit Ali in the back with a spear, then hit him on the head. Ali leaned forward and hugged the neck of his horse, and the horse kept going forward until they were at the enemys side, and they started cutting him into pieces. He screamed to his father the Imam saying, To you, from me, peace! O, father! This is my grandfather giving me my water and he says yours is here waiting for you. The Imam reached him, scattered the soldiers away, put his cheek on his sons cheek, and said, There is nothing good in this world after you. Now disgraceful are these people against God, by humiliating the family of the Prophet. It is difficult for your father and grandfather that you call them but they do not answer you. You call them for help but they cannot help you. The Imam then asked the others to take Ali al-Akbar to the tent. The women all cried and beat their chests. Next, Abdullah Ibn Muslim Ibn Aqil attacked the enemy and killed three of them. Yazid al-Raqqad shot an arrow at him. Abdullah tried to block it with his hand, but it hit him in the forehead and he could not take it out. Another arrow pierced through his heart and he died.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 22:25:15 +0000
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