\u201cWhen I exited the house, I heard a voice calling me three times: Glad\ntidings of Paradise to you! I told myself, \u201dMay your mother mourn for you! You\nare going to fight the son of the Messenger of Allah and you hear glad tidings\nof Paradise? (1)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) came across an\narmy on his way. The army, which was commanded by Hurr ibn Yazid Tamimi, moved\namid the unbearable heat of midday till they faced Imam Hussain (PBUH). Hurr\nwas a brave and combatant man, and was famous among people as a hero and swordsman.\nHe was ordered not to leave Imam Hussain (PBUH) unless he takes the Imam (PBUH)\nto Ubaydullah the ruler of Kufa. Imam Hussain (PBUH) refused to follow him,\nturned to his companions and ordered them to return to Medina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Hurr\u2019s army prevented Imam\nHussain (PBUH) from moving, Imam (PBUH) said to Hurr, \u201dMay your mother mourn\nfor you! What do you want? (2)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hurr replied, \u201dIf anyone other than\nyou had told me these words in this situation, I would have told him the same.\nBut by Allah I cannot mention the name of your mother expect with utmost\nrespect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This respect of Hurr towards Imam\nHussain (PBUH) and Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH) (daughter of the Prophet of\nIslam (PBUH&HP)), which revealed his inner decency, changed the path of his\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time passed and passed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the day of Ashura and Umar ibn\nSa\u2019ad was appointed Ubaydullah as the commander of army (3). When Hurr heard\nImam Hussain\u2019s (PBUH) ask for help, he was awakened from the dream of\nnegligence; as he saw the people determined to fight Imam Hussain (PBUH), he\nwent to Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad (the commander of the army) and said, \u201dAre you going to\nfight Imam Hussain (PBUH)?\u201d Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad replied, \u201dYes; I swear to God that I\nwill fight a battle the least incident of which would be beheading and cutting\nof hands\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After this conversation, Hurr\napproached the army of Imam Hussain (PBUH) gradually. Meanwhile, a person asked\nhim, \u201dWhat do you have in mind? Are you going to attack?\u201d Hurr did not answer\nhim and started trembling. That person said, \u201d I\u2019m confused. I swear to God\nthat I have never seen you like this in any battle. If someone asked me who the\nbravest man in Kufa was, I would have definitely named you as one of the\nbravest people. What is this state I\u2019m finding you in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hurr replied,\u201d I swear to God that I\nsee myself choosing between the Paradise and the Hell; and I swear to God that\nI will choose nothing but Paradise, even if my body is torn apart or burned\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hurr had made his choice. Thus, he\ngalloped his horse and joined Imam Hussain\u2019s (PBUH) army while he had his hand\non his head and was saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cO Allah! I have\nreturned to you. Forgive me and accept my repentance, as I have put fear to the\nhearts of your friends and the children of Your Messenger\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hurr came to Imam Hussain (PBUH), greeted\nhim, and said, \u201dMay my life be sacrificed for you O son of the Messenger of\nAllah! It was me who blocked your way, accompanied you, and was harsh to you.\nBut I did not imagine it would get like this! I swear to God that if I had\nknown, I would not have done so\u201d. Then, he repented, and asked to be the first\nperson to go to the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Hurr entered the battlefield, he\naddressed the people and advised them; then, he started fighting and killed a\ngreat number of people from the army of the enemy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the last moments that he was alive,\nhe opened up his eyes and saw Imam Hussain (PBUH). He smiled and asked, \u201dO son\nof the Messenger of Allah! Are you satisfied with me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied, \u201dI am\nsatisfied with you; May Allah be satisfied with you\u201d. Hurr became happy and\nthen passed away, then Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his companions cried over Hurr\n(4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person like Hurr would choose the\nHereafter over this world, whereas a person like Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad would choose\nthe Hell.(5) Some people do not flatter themselves with the promises of this\nworld, but others think of the Hereafter as a void promise! The incident of\nKarbala is one the most evident manifests of human\u2019s free will to choose the\npath of their lives and destiny. In that incident, some people chose the\nParadise for themselves while others chose the Hell; but what is our choice? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom \u201dThe Cloud of Mercy\u201d, by Abbas Isma\u2019ili Yazdi)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all the freemen of the world, especially your dear friend, upon the time of\nmourning for the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) and the true manifestation of love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the month of Muharram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.\nJala\u2019 al-Uyun, p. 377, and similarly in Amaali of Shaykh\nSaduq, p. 154<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.\nMaqtal Kharazmi, vol. 1, p. 232<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3.\nUbaydullah chose Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad instead of Hurr to fight\nagainst Imam Hussain (PBUH). Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad had no popularity among the\ncombatant people and the militants, neither was he famous as a hero or\nswordsman; however, the reason for his appointment was that his father was a\nwell-known person, and Umar himself was a hypocritical and recognized man.\nTherefore, Ubaydullah wanted to make benefit of his recognition; because he\nknew that fighting against Imam Hussain (PBUH) was difficult act, not everyone\nwould accept to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4.\nRawda al-Shuhada, p. 280<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5.\nBefore accepting the suggestion of Ubaydullah for being\nthe commander of the army, Umar Sa\u2019ad consulted his friends and family. His\nwife, younger son, friends, and even one of the friends of his father advised\nhim not to accept the position and made him aware of the bad consequences of\nthis decision, however his elder son encouraged him. Finally Umar Sa\u2019as\naccepted the suggestion and said that the position and wealth of this world is\navailable within hands while the hereafter is not available right now. He added\nthat he does prefer what is available over what is not available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhen I exited the house, I heard a voice calling me three times: Glad tidings of Paradise to you! I told myself, \u201dMay your mother mourn for you! You are going to fight the son of the Messenger of Allah and you hear glad tidings of Paradise? (1)\u201d Imam Hussain (PBUH) came across an army […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[20329,17778,20330,18478,17892,18426,18186,18418,20328,18003],"class_list":["post-4233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2008-12-29","tag-allah","tag-army","tag-house","tag-imam-hussain","tag-messenger","tag-mother","tag-occasion-letters","tag-promptness-of-choice","tag-son"],"yoast_head":"\n