The Martyrdom of Husayn رضي الله عنه

The Martyrdom of Husayn رضي الله عنه

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم

السلام عليكم ورحمت الله و بركاته

الحمد الله

The Virtues of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه :

1) Once ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله تعالى عنه saw that Hasan and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه on the shoulder of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and he رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “O’ what a beautiful ride you have?” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “No ‘Umar! What beautiful ride I have on my shoulder”

2) Upon an occasion the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was giving the Juma’ah Khutbah, Hasan and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه entered the Masjid and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم descended from the pulpit and he صلى الله عليه وسلم picked Hasan and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه up and then he صلى الله عليه وسلم ascended the pulpit and said, “Indeed Allah speaks the truth, ‘Innama Auladukum Wa Amwalukum Fitnah’”

3) The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was once walking though the streets of Madinah and he صلى الله عليه وسلم saw Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه playing with the children. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم started to run after him رضي الله تعالى عنه . And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه would run this way and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would run after him رضي الله تعالى عنه until finally he صلى الله عليه وسلم caught him رضي الله تعالى عنه , embraced him رضي الله تعالى عنه and kissed رضي الله تعالى عنه .

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم once lifted up the garment of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and kissed him رضي الله تعالى عنه on his navel.

4) The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Husayn is from me and I am from Husayn.”

5) The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told Hasan and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه that, “Your houses will opposite my house in Jannah.”

The Story of the Martyrdom of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه :

When Mu’awiyah رضي الله تعالى عنه passed away, he رضي الله تعالى عنه made his son, Yazid, the caliph. Many of the people of ‘Iraq felt that Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه should have been the caliph and they began to write letters. The narration mentions that sent 12,000 letters to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه that, “Husayn come to us and we will give bay’ah to you!” What Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه did was, he رضي الله تعالى عنه sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه to see what was happening in Kufah. When Muslim ibn Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه leave, he رضي الله تعالى عنه left with two guides. On the way, the first one passed away and then later on, second one passed away and Muslim ibn Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه got a very bad feeling about this journey and he wrote a letter to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه saying, “I got a very bad feeling about this journey.” Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه told him to carry on. He رضي الله تعالى عنه reached Kufah and within a few days, 32,000 people gave bay’ah on the hands of Muslim ibn Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه for Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه . And Muslim ibn Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه wrote a letter to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , who was in Makkah, “Husayn! Come to Kufah for the people’s hearts’ are with you!” At that time the Governor of Kufah was Nu’man ibn Bashir رضي الله تعالى عنه who was a very pious person and the people said, “O’ Nu’man! What are you doing? Why don’t you sort Muslim out?” And Nu’man ibn Bashir رضي الله تعالى عنه didn’t want to be tested through the family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and he رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “I rather be weak for the truth than be strong for falsehood!” And when Yazid saw that Nu’man ibn Bashir رضي الله تعالى عنه had turned a blind eye, he replaced him with a tyrant called ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad. What ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad did that he entered Kufah with his face covered and people of Kufah were already waiting for Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and they thought it was him رضي الله تعالى عنه because ‘UbayduLlah had a small entourage with him . And the people started to say, “Assalamu ‘Alaikum O’ grandson of the Prophet!” Then ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad understood the seriousness of the situation and he went straight to the governor’ palace and then the people understood that this man wasn’t Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه but it was somebody else. And the first thing he did was, that ‘UbayduLlah sent out scouts to look for the gatherings of Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه and one of the found his gathering. What he would do was that he would sit there and would see who would come and go. Then he would report back to ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad. One of the persons who would come to the gatherings was man called Hani who was the leader of his people. So, once ‘UbayduLlah summoned him and asked, “O’ Hani! Tell me where Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel is?” He replied, “I don’t know where Muslim is. I don’t even know who Muslim is!” ‘UbayduLlah then called his slave out and then Hani understood game over and then he said, “I swear by Allah! If Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel was under my foot, I would never reveal him to you!” When Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه found out that Hani had been arrested, he marched to the Governor’s palace with 4,000 people. And ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad gathered all the leaders of the tribes and told them, “If you peel off your men then you will be my cronies!” So they went out and began to peel off their men. The narrations mention that in the morning, Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه had 4,000 men, in the afternoon he had 400 men, at Maghrib; he had 30 men and after Maghrib; he was all by himself. He was walking and hiding in the streets of Kufah and ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad’s men were looking for him until he finally came to a house and he knocked on the door. An old lady opened the door and he said, “O’ Lady! Do you have any water for the traveller?” She said, “Indeed!” She gave him some water and he رضي الله تعالى عنه the water and he sat there. The lady then said, “Why are you sitting? What’s wrong?” Then he told her, “I am Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel.” And she said, “The family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ?” He said, “Yes!” She was honoured and took him in and then later on her son came and she told him, “We are honoured, we have the family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in our house!” But he was a sell out who wanted a dollar or dime and the next morning he went straight to the Governor’s Palace and said, “If you give me some money, I will tell you where Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel is?” He gave him some money and the boy told him where he was. They besieged the house and arrested Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel. When he came to the palace, ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad said, “Take him and Hani to the roof and behead them and throw their heads over the palace hall so the people will know whoever rebels against the Khalifah, this will be his outcome!” This happened on the day of ‘Arafah. Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه left Makkah one or two days before this. When the eminent Sahabah found out the he was going, they tried to convince him not go. When ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه found out, he said, “Husayn! Where are you going?” He continued, “Don’t you know what they did to your father? Don’t you know what the people of ‘Iraq did to your brother? So where you going?” Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه insisted that he wanted to go but ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “I swear by Allah! If I had the power I’ll tie a rope upon your neck and keep you in Makkah!” When ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Umar found out, he travelled for three days to catch up with Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and he said to him, “Husayn! Where are you going?” And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “Look at the letters they sent to me, they want to give Bay’ah to me!” Then ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Umar رضي الله تعالى عنه then said, “This can never happen because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that he is from you and you are from him and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was given the option of the Dunya and the Aakhirah and he chose the Aakhirah so you can never attain the Dunya!” And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه insisted upon going and then ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Umar رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “Show me the place where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to kiss you” He رضي الله تعالى عنه lifted his garment and ‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Umar kissed him on the very spot where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to kiss him. And then Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه advanced and met a man called Farazdaq, who was a very famous poet. Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه asked him about the situation of the people of Kufah, Farazdaq replied, “Their hearts are with you but their souls are with Bani Umayyah!” And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه went on and started to say, “Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar!” They said, “O’ Husayn! What’s wrong?” He رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “I have seen an Angel as a rider and he has told me that the army is coming and death awaits you!” They said, “What do you see? What do you see?” Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “Upon the second time I have seen the Decree of Allah سبحانه و تعالى !” And when he went on, ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad had set up an army of 1,000 men under Hurr ibn Yazid. When Hurr ibn Yazid confronted Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , he said, “O’ Husayn! Don’t make Allah test me through the family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم !” And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه carried on with his caravan and Hurr ibn Yazid began to follow him with his army and then Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “May your mother lose you!” Hurr ibn Yazid said, “O’ Husayn! I swear by Allah if anyone other than you would have said this to me, I would have taken revenge from him and his mother but what can I say. Your mother is the leader of all the women of this Dunya and all the women of the Aakhirah.” ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad sent reinforcements of 4,000 men under ‘Umar ibn Sa’d, another 4,000 men under Shimar, another 1,000 men under Husayn ibn Numayr and another 1,000 men under Muhammad ibn Ash’ath. Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه saw the seriousness of the situation, 11,000 men and he only had 72 people with him. Then he turned to ‘Umar ibn Sa’d and said, “O’ ‘Umar! Give me one of three options either allow me to fight for the rest of my life in the path of Allah or allow me to speak to Yazid or allow me to go to Makkah!” And ‘Umar ibn Sa’d a letter to ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad and he agreed but Shimar was sitting there and said, “You can not agree! For you if you agree on one o his three conditions, he wins! Tell him that he must surrender with any conditions and his fate will lie in our hands!” Then they sent a letter to ‘Umar ibn Sa’d that he must surrender without any conditions. And when ‘Umar ibn Sa’d read the letter to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , he said, “O’ ‘Umar I swear by Allah! If a kafir had asked me of one of these conditions I would have accepted them, don’t you know who I am? The son of ‘Ali! The son Fatimah! The grandson of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who said, ‘Husayn is from me and I am from Husayn. Whoever hurt Husayn has hurt me.’ What will you on the Day of Judgement when you will come to my grandfather and you will want him to intercede on your behalf and you have done this to me?” And Hurr ibn Yazid was listening to this and he walked to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and said, “Husayn! From now I am with you.” He turned to the people of Kufah and said, “What kind of people are you? You right him letter upon letter and when he comes, you deceive him and you deprive him of water! And nearby is the river from which the dogs and pigs drink water, from which the Jews and Christians drink water and you have stopped it from the family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ?” And then came the 3^rd day and from this day Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه came out and he drew his sword and he sat down and fell asleep and saw a dream. The only thing which woke him up was sister Zaynab رضي الله تعالى عنه , she came out running and screaming because the enemies were advancing. Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه said to his brother, “Tell them to give us one more day, that’s all what we want to think over things!” And ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه spoke to them and they gave them one more day. Upon that night, Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه gathered all his men and he said, “O’ People! Know that the only man they want is me, so why don’t you go back?” They said, “O’ Husayn! There is no life for us after you.” And then he turned to the family of Muslim ibn ‘Aqeel رضي الله تعالى عنه and said, “O’ Muslim! Your family has given the sacrifice, why don’t you go back?” They said, “O’ Husayn! What will the people say that you left your master because you wanted to live in this Dunya? I swear by Allah! For this can never happen, we will die with you!” And then Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه said, “The reason I took one more night was not because I will join with the falsehood but because I saw dream in which I saw my grandfather the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who said, ‘O’ Husayn! Get ready to come to me!’ And the reason I took one more night is that I wanted to stand in front of my Lord so I could cry, I wanted to repent to my Lord this is the only reason why I took one more night otherwise, had it been that we would join with the falsehood, the family of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم can not join falsehood” Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه spent the entire night crying in front of his Lord and was reciting this poetry:

أوفى لك يا دهر من خليلى
كم لك بى أشرقى وأصيلى
من صاحب أو طالب كفيلى
والدهر لا يترك بالبديلى
أنما الأمر الى جليلى
وكل هيئ مثلك سبيلى

“Uffi Laka Yaddakhru Min Khalilee,

Kam Laka Bi Ishraqi Wa Asilee,

Min Sahibin Au Talibin Kafilee,

Wadahru La Yatru Bil Badilee,

Inna Mal Amru Ilaj Jalilee,

Wa Kullu Hai’in Miththluku Sabilee”

“O’ Time! What an awful friend you are!

For all those who have pursued you, you have killed them by day and night

And you have always attained your target,

But all matters will go back to the Sublime One,

And every person who is living will walk my path.”

And Zaynab رضي الله تعالى عنه listened to this and she began to weep and he said, “O’ Zaynab! Don’t let the shaytaan get the better of you for I swear by Allah! That my mother was better than me and she died, my brother was better than me and he died, my father was better than me and he died and my grandfather was better than me and they all died. A time will come when me and you will leave this Dunya so don’t allow the shaytaan to get the better of you.” The next day was Friday, Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه came out with his men, the Kufans also came out and the conventional warfare at that time was that people had duels, one-to-one. Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه ’s men started slaughter them one-by-one and the Kufans thought if things carried out this way they won’t have any men left. Then 3,000 Kufans attacked the men of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and the first man to fall was Muslim ibn Awsij and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه moved up to him and said, “Muslim, glad tidings unto you for you are the first one to fall for the family of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم !” And then Habib ibn Musahhib moved forward and he said, “Glad tidings be unto you Muslim for you are guaranteed Jannah for falling for the family of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم !” Then Muslim turned to Habib and said, “O’ Habib! Don’t die after Husayn, die before Husayn, die protecting Husayn!” Then, one-by-one all those who were around Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه fell. Hurr ibn Yazid, Habib ibn at-Tahir, Habib ibn ‘AbduLlah, who said to Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , “Husayn! I swear by Allah if I had a thousand lives I would give each one for you but the thing is that I only have one life!” All of them fell until the family of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه was left. And the first person to come out of the family of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه was ‘Ali Akbar رضي الله تعالى عنه , the eldest son of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه who was 19 years old at that time and came out and fought like a lion until they cut of his hand and they struck him and when he was breathing his last, Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه took him in his arms and said, “O’ my son! On the Judgement your grandfather will bear witness to your shahadah!” Then the cousins of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم moved forward, four of them came until they were martyred. Then Qasim, the son of Hasan رضي الله تعالى عنه , came forward. He was a very beautiful young man and he fought until they struck him over the head, when they did so, he called out, “O’ my uncle!” Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه came forward and he took him in his arms and said, “O’ my son, today your uncle is so incapacitated that he can not reply to your call because his enemies are many and strengths are few! But I swear by Allah that after this day you will not need to call upon anybody!” Then one-by-one, the family of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه got martyred until there were only two people left: ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه . Then they martyred ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه . And Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه fought bravely for 3 days and he tasted a sip of water until finally he retreated into his camp and he had a young child called ‘AbduLlah and he knew his time was up. So, he took his son in his arms and began to kiss him and embrace him. Suddenly, one of the Kufans shot an arrow which hit the neck of ‘AbduLlah and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه put ‘AbduLlah to the floor, lifted his hands up to the sky and said, “O’ Allah! Give me Sabr upon your Decree! O’ Allah! Give me Sabr upon your Decree! O’ Allah! Give me Sabr upon your Decree!” Then Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه saw a river and approached it so he could drink some water and one of the Kufans shot an arrow which hit Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه who fell to the floor. The Kufans surrounded him and he said, “Give me some water for what will you do on the Day of Judgement when you will come to my grandfather and you will ask for water? What will you do on the Day of Judgement?” And the narrations mention, that the scene was so touching that many of the Kufans took a step back. But, Shimar said, “What you waiting for? Finish him off!” All the womenfolk of the family of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه were watching, his wife, his sisters and his daughters. They stepped upon on him and they struck him 60 times! But it didn’t finish there because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Allah has a certain station for people often they can not attain this station through their own deeds so Allah puts them through trials and tribulations.” And one of the Kufans got hold of his neck and other one removed his head from the body. Then they took the womenfolk of the family of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه as captives. When Zaynab رضي الله تعالى عنه walked pass the bodies and they beheaded every single one and she started saying, “O’ my grandfather! O’ my grandfather! May the Angels of the sky send salutations upon you! This is Husayn, lying in the battlefield and today his shroud and clothes are blood and his limbs have been cut (What they did was that after killing Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , they made horses trample his body!). O’ my grandfather! Today, your daughters have become captives and your progeny has been killed!” Even when some of the soldiers heard this, they lost control and began to cry and Allah سبحانه و تعالى didn’t even give these people Tawfeeq to bury Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه until Bani Asad came and buried his body. When the Kufans found out, they sent water over the places where the bodies were and then one of the Bedouins from Bani Asad came to Karbala. But Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه wasn’t the first person to see Karbala. Imam Ahmad (RahimahuLlah) has narrated in his Musnad that upon occasion Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting with the Angel of rain and Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه was a small child sitting with Umm Salma رضي الله تعالى عنه and he wanted go to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . He ran into the room and began to jump on the shoulders of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Angel said, “O’ Messenger of Allah! Do you love Husayn?” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Indeed I love Husayn!” Then he said, “People from your Ummah will kill Husayn and if you wish I will show you the place where they will kill him.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Yes, show me!” And he struck his hand and the land of Karbala opened up and he bought some red soil and Umm Salma mentions, “I used to tie this soil in my scarf” When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw this land, he said, “From this land I smell Karb (which means difficulty and pain) and Bala’ (thousand tribulations)” Then the Bedouin came and he began to smell the soil of Karbala. He came to the place where he smelled the fragrance which he hadn’t smelled before and he said that this was the place where Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه was buried. And then they took the head of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه to ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad. When he saw the head of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه , even he was amazed by the beauty and said, “What Beauty!” Anas ibn Malik رضي الله تعالى عنه was standing there and was saying, “There was no man who resembled the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم more than Husayn” When the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم died, the Sahabah used to miss the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . So, they used to go the house of ‘Ali رضي الله تعالى عنه and used to see Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and he would remind them of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . Then ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad took a cane and hit the lips of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and Abu Darda’ رضي الله تعالى عنه was standing there and said, “Remove that cane for I swear by Allah I saw the lips of the Prophet :saws: upon those lips!” Then they took the head to Yazid who sent the head with the womenfolk of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه to Madinah where his head was buried with Fatimah رضي الله تعالى عنه in some narrations. This took place in 61H and in 66H the Governor of Kufah became a person called Mukhtar ibn ‘AbdiLlah who rounded all those people who killed Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and he executed them one-by-one. The narrations mention that dogs dragged the body of Shimar through streets of Kufah. Regarding ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad, Imam at-Tirmidhi narrates in his Jami’, when they beheaded him and they brought his head to the Masjid, they saw a huge serpent come out and serpent went into the head of ‘UbayduLlah ibn Ziyad and remained there for a while and then it came out and disappeared. Imam ad-Dhahabi narrates in his book, Siyar a`lam al-nubala’, that one of the traveller’s mentioned, “I went to Kufah and I stayed at a person’s house and I said to him, ‘All those who killed Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه, died a treacherous death!’ He said, ‘You are lying! For I am from amongst them and nothing happened to me. Look I am fine!’ Even so, he went straight to the lantern, his fingers got stuck to the lantern and tried to blow the lantern out, and his beard caught on fire. He managed to find some water and he jumped into the water but still burnt like a charcoal!”

‘AbduLlah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه mentioned, “The day Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه passed away, I saw the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in a dream and he had unkempt hair, he had dirty clothes and he had a glass full of blood and I asked him, ‘O’ Messenger of Allah! Where have you come from?’ He صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘I have come from witnessing the martyrdom of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه and on the Day of Judgement, I will give witness of the Martyrdom of Husayn رضي الله تعالى عنه!’”