And then Hussain (PBUH) called upon the enemies to fight him and said,” Martyrdom is better than getting humiliated, and humiliation is better than entering the Hellfire.
One of the narrators says,” I had never seen a man who had lost his children and companions and had suffered so much pain and difficulty, but still entered the battlefield with courage and challenge the enemies. It got to a level that the enemies attacked him as a group, but he fought them back with his sword and the enemies ran away like a flock of animals”.
Imam Hussain (PBUH) at times attacked the condensed lines of the thirty thousand army of enemies, destroyed them, and made them scattered. Then he returned to his place and said,” There is no power and strength except with Allah, the Exalted and Great”.
The narrator says,” Imam Hussain (PBUH) used to fight continuously until the enemies separated between him and his family.
Imam Hussain (PBUH) called upon them and said,” Vow on to you, O followers of the family of Abi Sufyan! If you do not have a religion or do not fear the Hereafter, at least be free men in this world…”
Shimr said,” What are you saying, O son of Fatimah?”
Imam Hussain (PBUH) replied,” What I am saying is that I am fighting you and you are fighting me; but the women have no sin, so stop your dissolute, rebellious, ignorant men from attacking my family as long as I am alive”.
Shimr said,” You deserve this…”
When Hussain (PBUH) got so many wounds, Salih bin wahab hit him strongly with his sphere, and Hussain (PBUH) fell down from his horse on his right cheek; while he was saying,” In the name of Allah, by Allah, and on the path of the Messenger of Allah…”
Shimr screamed,” What are you waiting for about this man?” So the army attacked him from every direction.
Hilal ibn Nafi says,” I was with the army of Umar ibn Sa’ad when someone called,’ Glad tidings O commander! This is Shimr who has killed Hussain”.
He says,” I stood besides Hussain (PBUH) in between the lines of the army as he was in his last moments. I swear to God that I had never seen a person covered in his own blood whose face was more beautiful and shining than Hussain. His beauty and his shining face stopped me from thinking about his killing…”
After Imam Hussain (PBUH) was martyred, according to the narrator,” The enemies preceded one another in looting the tents of the family of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP); it got to a level that they took away the cover on the shoulders of the women. At this point, daughters of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) came out while they were crying and mourning over the loss of their loved ones”.
The narrator continues,” Then they took the looted, barefoot women out of the tents as captives and put the tents on fire.
The women said,” We ask you by Allah to take us to where Hussain (PBUH) was killed”.
When the women saw the dead bodies, they screamed and scratched their faces”.
Then he says,” I swear to God that I will never forget that Zainab (PBUH), daughter of Ali (PBUH) , was mourning over Hussain (PBUH) , and she recited with a sad voice:” O Muhammad…””
(The above is a selection taken from “Al-Luhuf Ala Qatili al-Tufuf”, by Sayyid ibn Tawoos)(1)
The Roshd Website offers condolences to all freemen, especially you dear friend, upon Ashura, the day of martyrdom of the master of the martyrs and leader of the freemen, Imam Hussain (PBUH) and his honorable companions.
Footnotes:
1- The above is selected from the Farsi version of the book Luhuf, translated by Sayyid Abolhassan Mir Abutalebi.