On the day of Tasu\u2019a, the army of\nShaam completely besieged Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his companions, and they got\nprepared to start the battle. Abbas (PBUH) realized their intention from the\nloud noise, so he went to Imam Hussain (PBUH) and said,\u201d O brother! The army\n(of Umar Sa\u2019ad) is coming towards you\u201d. Imam Hussain (PBUH) stood up and said,\u201d\nO brother Abbas! Get on your ride and go meet with them, may I sacrifice my\nlife for you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abbas (PBUH) and twenty cavaliers went\nto the army of Shaam and asked them,\u201d What is all this uproar and movement\nabout?\u201d They replied,\u201d The Caliph has ordered us to ask you to go under his\ncommand and obey him; otherwise we will fight you\u201d. Abbas (PBUH) answered,\u201d So\ndo not rush until I take your message to my brother and return to you\u201d. Then he\nquickly went to Imam Hussain (PBUH) and conveyed the message. Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) said,\u201d Go back to them, ask them to give us respite for tonight and\nleave the battle for tomorrow, so that I would pray, supplicate and worship\ntonight; Allah (SWT) knows that I love prayer, reciting the Holy Quran,\nsupplication, and asking Allah (SWT) for forgiveness\u201d(1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his\ncompanions got this opportunity to spend the entire night in worship,\nsupplication, recitation of the Holy Quran, and prayer in a way that the voice\nof their supplication and Quran recitation was loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the day of Ashura, the army of\nShaam began the battle. First, Umar Sa\u2019ad threw an arrow towards Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) and his army also threw arrows towards the army of the Imam (PBUH). The\narrows fell at the army like drops of rain. There, Imam Hussain (PBUH) turned\ntowards his companions and said,\u201d Get up and be prepared for death, because\nthere is no escape from it. May Allah (SWT) include you in His mercy\u201d. After\nthis order, the companions started fighting; the attacked the army of Umar\nSa\u2019ad and fought bravely until all of them got martyred one after another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the evening, there was no one left\nfrom the companions of the Imam (PBUH). Then, Imam Hussain (PBUH) looked around\nhimself and found all of his seventy two companions martyred with their bodies\non the ground. So after bidding farewell to the women and children, he went\ntowards the battlefield. Anyone who went towards him got killed to a level that\nthe Imam (PBUH) killed so many of the brave warriors of the opponent army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the narrators of the incident\nof Karbala who was among the army of Umar Sa\u2019ad has described this as follows:\u201d\nI swear to God that I have never seen a man being besieged by a huge army, all\nhis companions and children being killed, his family being surrounded, yet keep\nup his bravery and assurance like Hussain (PBUH). Although he was bounded with\ncalamities, suffered from severe thirst and had got wounded, he was not\nagitated; his appearance and actions were filled with dignity; he did not get\noverwhelmed as he continued fighting. When the brave soldiers would attack him,\nhe would fight back so intensely that they would get dispersed like a flock of\nsheep when they see a wolf. When the army would get together again and those\nthirty thousand people would attack him, he would attack the huge army and they\nwould again get dispersed like a flock of locusts. He would attack the heart of\nthe army while reciting \u201cThere is no might or power except by Allah (SWT)\u201d (2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibn Shahr Ashub and others have\nnarrated that Imam Hussain (PBUH) killed a great number of the army besides\nthose whom he injured. At this point, Umar ibn Sa\u2019ad realized that no one could\nconfront Imam Hussain (PBUH) individually, and if things went on like that, he\nwould kill the entire army with his sword. Therefore, he called upon his army\nand said,\u201d Vow on to you! Do you know whom you are fighting? Do you know which\nbrave man you are facing? This is the son of the victorious of all victorious\nones, Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH). This is the son of the father who killed the\nbrave men among Arabs. Get together and attack him as a group\u201d (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the army attacked the Imam (PBUH)\nin group; however, many of them got killed by the strike of Imam Hussain\u2019s\n(PBUH) sword. Then, being thirsty, Imam Hussain (PBUH) turned towards\nEuphrates. The army knew that if Imam Hussain (PBUH) drank water, he would gain\npower. So they made a line in front of the river and blocked the way. Whenever\nImam Hussain (PBUH) went towards the river, they attacked him and made him go\nback. So Imam Hussain (PBUH) had to continue fighting while being thirsty and\nexhausted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The army surrounded Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) from every direction and around 4000 archers started throwing arrows at\nthe Imam (PBUH). The entire army had surrounded the Imam (PBUH) in a way that\nhis way towards his tents was blocked as a group among the army attacked the\ntents. As soon as Imam Hussain (PBUH) realized this, he screamed,\u201d O followers\nof Abu Sufyan! If you do not follow the religion and fear the Day of Judgment,\n(at least) be free men in this world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having heard the saying of the Imam\n(PBUH), Shimr turned towards him and said,\u201d What are you saying O son of\nFatimah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam (PBUH) replied,\u201d I am saying that\nI am fighting you and you are fighting me. What is the sin of these women? (At\nleast) As long as I am alive, stop your aggressive men from attacking my tents\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point, Shimr shouted,\u201d O army!\nGet away from the tents of this man; he is an honorable man. Get prepared to\nkill him since this is our purpose.\u201d (4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once again, the entire army surrounded\nImam Hussain (PBUH) based on Umar Sa\u2019ad\u2019s command and started throwing arrows\nat him. The arrows sat the Imam\u2019s (PBUH) face, neck, and chest to the extent\nthat his chest became like a hedgehog due to abundance of arrows. At this\npoint, Imam Hussain (PBUH) pause for a moment and the army also stopped\nfighting. Then, again the army attacked the Imam (PBUH), surrounded him, and\neventually martyred him while thirsty, oppressed (5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cMuntaha al-Aamaal\u201d, by Late Shaykh Abbas Qummi (with some\nchanges))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all freemen of the world, especially you dear friend, upon Ashura, the\nanniversary of the martyrdom of master of martyrs and the leader of the\nfreemen, Imam Hussain (PBUH), and his respected companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Irshaad of\nShaykh Mufid, vol. 2, pp. 81-91<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Tarikh\nTabari, vol. 6, p. 259-Maqtal Abi Mikhnaf, p. 194 (Quotation from Abdullah ibn\nAmmar ibn Yaghooth- Luhoof, p. 199- Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 50<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Manaaqib Ibn\nShahr Ashub, vol. 4, p. 110<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Bihar\nal-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 51<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the day of Tasu\u2019a, the army of Shaam completely besieged Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his companions, and they got prepared to start the battle. Abbas (PBUH) realized their intention from the loud noise, so he went to Imam Hussain (PBUH) and said,\u201d O brother! The army (of Umar Sa\u2019ad) is coming towards you\u201d. Imam […]<\/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":[20555,20330,20554,20245,18131,17892,18200,20553,18418,18207,17943,20552],"class_list":["post-4267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2013-11-14","tag-army","tag-brave","tag-brother","tag-holy","tag-imam-hussain","tag-love","tag-man-of-god","tag-occasion-letters","tag-prayer","tag-quran","tag-zealous"],"yoast_head":"\n