ʿAmr, Imam Husayn (‘a)’s Emissary
ʿAmr ibn Qarẓah ibn Kaʿb al-Anṣārī: his fathers was one of the companions of the Prophet (s) and that of Amir al-Mu’minīn (‘a). He also took part in all the battles that Imam Ali (‘a) faced during his caliphate. He j o i ned Imam Husayn (‘a) in Karbala and was sent by the Imam to speak to ʿUmar ibn Saʿd so as to guide him[1].
Nāfeʿ ibn Hilāl accompanies Abbas ibn Ali to break through the enemies lines and fetch water from the Euphrates drinking place
On Muharram 8th, Imam Husayn (‘a) called his brother Abbas ibn Ali and asked him to fetch some water for the caravan; so he set out with a number of men with Nāfeʿ ibn Hilāl riding on the front line, holding up a special banner.
Nāfeʿ ibn Hilāl was one of the companions of Imam Ali (‘a) who had fought alongside him in every battle he had been in. He was an honorable and brave man and a reciter of the Qur’an.
He had j o i ned Imam Husayn (‘a)’s caravan on the road to Karbala a while before Muslem ibn ʿAqīl was martyred.[2] On the Day of Ashura, Nāfeʿ ibn Hilāl entered the fray reading the following poem as his battle cry[3]:
أَنَا الْغُلامُ الْيَمَنيُّ الْبَجَلِيّ دينِي عَلَى دينِ حُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيّ عليه السلام
“I am the Yemeni man from the clan of Bajal [or Jamali]
And my religion is that of Husayn ibn Ali”[4]
According to Abu-Mikhnaf, on the day of Ashura Nāfeʿ shot arrows on which he had carved his name and which he had dipped in poison. When he finally ran out of arrows, he drew his sword and attacked the enemy saying the following:[5]
أَنَا الْهُزَبْرُ الْجَمَلِي أَنَا عَلى دينِ عَلِيّ
“I am a lion heart from the clan of Jamali
And I am the follower of the creed of Ali”[6]
When the enemy realized that they were no match for Nāfeʿ, they attacked him in large numbers and they finally took him captive after both his arms had been broken. They then took him to their camp and there Shimr killed him[7]. [8]
Imam Husayn (‘a)’s last word of warning with Umar ibn Saʿd
On Muharram 8th, Imam Husayn (‘a) sent a messenger to ʿUmar ibn Saʿd and told him that he wished to meet him at night in a region between the two camps. So at nightfall, ʿUmar ibn Saʿd and Imam Husayn (‘a) met each other at the appointed place, each being accompanied by twenty of their men[9].
The Imam then ordered all his companions except his brother Abbas and his son Ali al-Akbar to leave them, and ʿUmar ibn Saʿd Also ordered all his men except his son Ḥafṣ and his servant to leave[10].
So when they were finally alone, Imam Husayn (‘a) began talking and said:
“وَيْلَكَ يَابْنَ سَعْدٍ أَما تَتَّقِي اللَّهَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ مَعادُكَ؟ أَتُقاتِلُنِي وَ أَنَا ابْنُ مَنْ عَلِمْتَ؟ ذَرْ هؤُلاءِ الْقَوْمَ وَ كُنْ مَعي، فَإِنَّهُ أَقْرَبُ لَكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعالى”[11]
“Woe to you, O’ Ibn Saʿd! Do you not fear Allah to Whom is your return?! Do you intend to fight me though you know my noble lineage?! Leave these people and j o i n us, for this will bring you nearer to Allah”.
Ibn Saʿd replied: “I fear, if I leave them, they will demolish my house!”
The Imam replied: “I will restore it for you!”
Ibn Saʿd said: “I fear they will confiscate all my properties![12]”
The Imam replied: “I will replace your loss with what is better from my properties in Ḥijāz!”[13]
Ibn Saʿd said: “I fear for the life of my family members [and I fear Ibn Ziad might kill them all in his rage]”[14]
At this point, Imam Husayn (‘a) fell silent, seeing that he would not change his mind; then the Imam turned away from him and said, as he was getting up to leave:
“مالَكَ، ذَبَحَكَ اللَّهُ عَلى فِراشِكَ عاجِلًا، وَ لا غَفَرَ لَكَ يَوْمَ حَشْرِكَ، فَوَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأَرْجُوا أَلّا تَأْكُلَ مِنْ بُرِّ الْعِراقِ إِلّا يَسيراً” [15]
“What is wrong with you?! Soon Allah will take your life while you are in bed and He will not forgive you on the Resurrection Day. I swear by Allah! That I hope you will not eat of the wheat of Iraq except a little”[16].
But Ibn Saʿd replied insolently:
“وَ فِي الشَّعيرِ كِفايَةٌ عَنِ الْبُرِّ”
“Then the barely of Iraq will suffice me![17]”[18]
This was, in fact, Imam Husayn (‘a)’s constant approach toward all who had come to fight him: he would warn them, whenever he had the chance, of the adverse consequences of their crimes, so that no one would have any excuse.
Interestingly enough, the commander of the enemy’s army implicitly admits that Imam Husayn (‘a) was the rightful side and that he and the rest of his enemies were wrong. Even more interestingly, his only excuse for refusing to j o i n the Imam was that the enemies of the Imam were atrocious and that he feared them![19]
Imam Husayn (‘a)’s remarks to Harthamah ibn Salīm
Nasr ibn Muzāḥim has related the following story from Harthamah ibn Salīm:
“I was going to the battle of Ṣeffin with Ali (‘a) and when we arrived in Karbala, the Imam ordered us to halt in order to perform our prayer. So we said our prayer in congregation and when we finished the Imam took a fistful of the dust of Karbala, smelled it and said:
“واها لك يا تربة ليحشرن منك قوم يدخلون الجنة بغير حساب”
“O’ sacred land! There will be resurrected from you a group of people on the Resurrection Day who will be admitted in Paradise without reckoning!”[20]”
When Harthamah returned home from the battle he said to his wife “Jurdā’” who was a follower of the Imam: “Let me relate to you an astonishing remark from Ali !” and so he told her what he had heard the Imam say in Karbala, and then said to his wife: “What is with Ali and the knowledge of the Unseen?!”
His wife replied: “Do not say that! Amir al-Mu’minīn speaks but what is right”[21].
Later on Harthamah returned to Karbala, as he himself recounted, as a part of Ibn Ziad’s army to fight against Imam Husayn (‘a). However, when he arrived in Karbala, he remembered what Imam Ali (‘a) had said all those years ago.
So he came to Imam Husayn (‘a) and told him what he had heard Imam Ali (‘a) say.[22] Imam Husayn said: “Now, have you come here to help us or fight us?” he said: “None! I have left my family and children unprotected and I fear for them of Ibn Ziad’s wrath”.[23]
The Imam, then, said: “So leave this place and go far away so you would not see us getting killed, for whoever sees us being killed and does not come to our aid will enter the Fire”, and so did he[24]![25]
Researched, complied, and edited by: the news editorial of the website of the office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: www.makarem.ir
[1] “Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 456.
[2] Ibid, p. 470.
[3] Ibid, p. 471.
[4] Biḥār Al Anwār, vol. 45, p. 27.
[5] “Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 471.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Tabari. Tabari Chronicle. Vol. 4, p. 336; Ibn Athīr. Al-Kāmil. Vol. 3, p. 292.
[8] “Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 471.
[9] Ibid. p. 378.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid, p. 388.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibn Aʿtham. Al-Futūḥ. Vol. 5, pp. 164-166; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 44, pp. 388-389.
[18] “Ashura: the roots, the motives, the events, and the implications”, p. 388.
[19] Ibid.
[20] “An Accurate Translation and Concise Commentary of Nahj al-Balāghah: Text and Translation” vol. 1, p. 348.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid, p. 349.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibn Abel-Ḥadīd. A Commentary on Nahj al-Balāghah. Vol. 3, p. 169.
[25] “An Accurate Translation and Concise Commentary of Nahj al-Balāghah: Text and Translation”, vol. 1, p. 349.
