Al-Husain: To Karbala

1. Al-Husain: To Karbala By A.S. Hashim. MD

2. Al-Husain at Age 37 • Al-Hasan, being sick with the poison: • vomiting blood material • Jaundiced and feeling very weak • Al-Hasan designates Al-Husain as the 3rd Imam • Wants to be buried by the Prophet if possible • Al-Husain’s Imamah starts

3. Al-Husain as the Imam

4. Al-Husain Continues • Al-Husain continues to conduct his discourses at the Masjid Al-Nabawi • Is busy at home with family • Helps the poor and disadvantaged • Thinks about the future course of the Ummah with alarm

5. Mu’awiya sends Yazid for Haj • Yazid agrees to go for Haj • Yazid takes supply of liquor with him and singers to entertain him • Takes girls of ill-repute for company • The show was a disgrace, and the people see for themselves

6. Mu’awiya sends to the Ummah: Government workers Secret Agents (spies) Collaborators To bribe and reward people who accept Yazid To punish people with losing jobs or even being killed, if they oppose Yazid To Install Yazid for Khilaafah

7. Mu’awiya dies • At age 75 Mu’awiya dies • At the time, Yazid was entertaining himself, hunting • Yazid was 30 years old by then • Mu’awiya ruled for 40 years and: • Introduced Monarchy • Lived Caesar like • Used the Public treasury as if it was his own • Hadith fabrication became common

8. Yazid and the People • Majority of people refuse Yazid • People look for Husain’s leadership • Gloomy and resentful feeling prevails • High emotions in Iraq • 12,000 letters reach Al-Husain from Iraq urging him to lead them

9. In Medina • Governor of Medina (Waleed ibn Ut’ba) calls on Al-Husain for interview • Atmosphere: somber and tense • Asks Al-Husain to give Allegiance to Yazid • Al-Husain answers: Tomorrow I’ll announce it to the People • Next morning Al-Husain leaves Medina for Mecca

10. Al-Husain and family in Mecca • It was Haj time, Husain was advised by many not to go to Iraq • Al-Husain sends his cousin (Muslim ibn Aqeel) to Kufa to ask for full support • Gives a very stirring Du’aa at Jabal Arafat • Leaves Mecca with family to Iraq before performing Haj

11. Husain goes with family and close associates. Sees Farazdaq (the poet) who says: Iraqis’ hearts are with him but their swords are against him They hear that Aqeel was doing well in Iraq Al-Husain is intercepted by Al-Hur and 1000 troops On the Way to Kufa

12. Meanwhile in Kufa • At first Muslim ibn Aqeel was supported by 18,000 enthusiastic people in Kufa • The new Governor (Ibn Ziyad) induced an atmosphere of terror • Betrayal at its worst, people run away leaving ibn Aqeel to fend for himself • Alone, Muslim ibn Aqeel had to take refuge in a house

13. Muslim ibn Aqeel Killed • Muslim was overwhelmed by the troops • Was taken as a captive to Ibn Ziyad • Was promised by Al-Ash’ath to send a message to Al-Husain, but did not do it • Was killed and body thrown from top of building to the street • Same thing happened to Hani ibn Ur’wa

14. The Interception • Al-Hur did not allow Al-Husain except to go north, waiting for orders • Ibn Ziyad sent a force of 4000 under Omar ibn Sa’ad • The force stopped at Karbala • Al-Husain was intercepted, and the enemy swelled to 5000 (some say 30,000) fighters • Al-Husain’s group consisted of 72

15. Karbala • It was during Summer, the heat was blazing • Al-Husain was aware of Karbala and what the Prophet had said about it. • Al-Husain was also aware of what Ali had said about Karbala • Al-Husain knew Karbala was the place for confrontation

16. Mecca to Karbala • Distance about 1000 miles • 18 overnight stops • Distance between overnight stops varies from 35 to 55 miles • The route is across the desert • Trip is arduous to say the least Karbala

17. On the way to confront Mu’awiya, they passed by a dreary place Ali asked about the name of the place The answer was Karbala Ali’s face showed profound grief and he said: هنا محطُّ رِحالهم   ومهراق دمائهم "IT IS HERE WHERE THEY WILL BE STOPPED AND IT IS HERE WILL BE THE BLOOD-SHED." Al-Husain Remembers Ali Saying:

18. With Al-Husain • 72 persons were at Husain’s camp • 3 year old Al-Baaqir was with them • 8 were old Sahaaba (one was older than 90) • 20 were Companions of Ali • Al-Husain’s family (total of 44) • All knew they were facing imminent death • They faced an enemy of 5,000 (some say 30,000)

19. The Negotiation • Al-Husain and Omar ibn Sa’ad negotiated about the direction to take • Commands came from Kufa by Ibn Ziyad as follows:

20. Water was cut off by the seventh day • For 3 days water was cut off • Children were crying of devastating thirst • No water for cooking • No water for horses • Much Suffering and misery because of thirst • Conditions were desperate by the 10th day

21. The 9th day is Spent in Prayer • Al-Husain gives a speech to all to leave him alone and go for safety • They adamantly refuse • Night spent in intensive Prayer in anticipation to meet their Lord • Women preparing for the eventuality ahead

22. Al-Husain’s Speech on the 9th

23. Facing each other on the 10th • 72 of Al-Husain’s facing thousands of the enemy • Many of the enemy were those who previously urged Al-Husain to join them against Yazid • They were Arabs, Muslims, Iraqi: Bound and determined to kill • To kill the very family of the Prophet and desecrate it

24. Al-Hur breaks away • Seeing the malice ahead, Al-Hur breaks away to join Al-Husain’s camp • Al-Hur asks forgiveness and is granted • Omar ibn Sa’ad throws an arrow to start the fight • Al-Hur was one of the firsts to face the enemy to fight till death • Al-Husain’s side had only 32 on horses

25. The Fight • Al-Husain’s fighters were on the offensive • Enemy had to ask for reinforcement • They burned the tents in the back • The companions started to fall one after the other • By noon they stopped for Dhuhr Prayer • Ibn Mudhahir protected Al-Husain with his body, and fell of his wounds dead as the Prayer was finished

26. In the afternoon • Left were the family consisting of: • Son Ali, about 19 Yrs old • Son, Zainul Abideen who was sick with fever • Al-Abbas with 4 of his brothers • 17 Nephews all teenagers • Women and other young children

27. Al-Abbas • Al-Abbas was the Commander and the flag bearer • Went to get water for the parched mouths • On way back fought an overwhelming enemy and was killed, arms cut, an arrow in his eye • He was preceded by all 4 brothers in fighting the enemy. All by then killed • Al-Husain in great grief at the loss

28. The Fighting in the Afternoon • Ali ibn Al-Husain fights bravely and ferociously, but is eventually overwhelmed by the enemy • Women and children watch in horror and anxiety, have very heavy feeling • 17 Teenagers go out for the fight, get killed one after the other • A crying baby a few months old is hit with an arrow as Al-Husain was pleading for a drink of water for him

29. O' LORD!  MAY I ASK YOU TO TAKE AWAY YOUR BOUNTY FROM THESE PEOPLE!  AND IF YOU, LORD, ALLOW THEM A RESPITE, MAY I ASK YOU TO SOW DIFFERENCE AMONG THEM AND LET THEM BE DIVIDED! Al-Husain supplicates facing the enemy

30. IT IS MY BLOOD THAT YOU WANT, BUT I ASK ALLAH ALMIGHTY TO HAVE ME HONORED BY DISGRACING YOU AND HUMILIATING YOU, AND IN WAYS YOU CANNOT IMAGINE, TAKE A FULL RETRIBUTION FROM YOU.  At another time Al-Husain said:

31. Al-Husain bids farewell • Al-Husain bid his family good-bye • Saw to it to confer Zainul Abideen the Imamah • The heavy burden, emotional, physical, and thirst was unbearable • Goes to fight off the enemy in the service of Islam

32. Gets Severely Wounded • Cut in many places and severely bleeding • Al-Husain becomes weak and falls from his horse • No one dared to finish him off • Shimr screamed at them, but they refuse • Then Shimr himself finished him off • Shimr’s mother was a disbeliever (Majoosi)

33. WITH THAT, A SUDDEN LOUD THUNDER WAS HEARD AS IF IT WAS FROM FAR, HIGH ABOVE. Was the Heavens welcoming Al-Husain, its Hero! Or: Was the Heavens giving a notice to the atrocities committed!!! And with that:

34. The horror to see • Flabbergasted women in anguish watched Al-Husain’s head severed • The heads of everyone else were severed • The horses trampling on the slain holy bodies • Cloths were stripped of the bodies • Zainul Abideen while sick was in great anguish, as well as others

35. The Enemy • The enemy stole the women’s jewelry • Desecrated the family of the Prophet • Took all of them as captives to Ibn Ziyad in Kufa • Food and water was finally allowed

36. They face Ibn Ziyad • Ibn Ziyad tried to intimidate them, thinking he had shattered them beyond repair.  • Husain's sister, Zainab, answered him so sharply and in such a cutting manner he was taken aback • He turned back to the sick Zainul Abideen, and did the same.  Zainul Abideen's answer was just as sharp as his aunt’s, but through quoting the Holy Quran. • A few days later they were taken to Damascus

37. To Damascus • A trip of 800 miles, on camel’s back, taking many weeks to arrive • In front of them were 72 heads on the tip of spears • People in Syria were under the fabricated propaganda that Al-Husain was simply a rebel • On finding who he was, feelings changed dramatically • Processions were pathetic, to see how haggard and how humiliated the family of the Prophet was!

38. Face to face with Yazid • The evil 30 year old Yazid was sitting like the Byzantines. He was the fruit of Mu'awiya and Abu Sufyan • Seventy two severed heads with the horrible mask of death on them, were brought forward. • The women along with Zainul Abideen were in fetters. • Yazid had the audacity to play with the lips of Al-Husain with the end of his stick!! • These lips represented Muhammad (pbuh) and taught Islam. • It was these very lips that were kissed by Muhammad (pbuh) 57 years back

39. The Exchange • A powerful exchange took place between the two sides • Yazid was rebuffed by Zainul Abideen through quotes from the Quran, and so did Zainab • They put the women and children in special quarters where the first Majlis took place, done by Zainab • Zainul Abideen gave a stirring speech at the Mosque • There was fear of uprising against the 30 Yr old Yazid

40. They return • Given the choice to return to Medina or stay in Damascus: • They chose to return • Accompanied by a contingency of guards, they headed towards Medina • Zainab and Zainul Abideen worked incessantly to expose the disgrace that befell the Ummah at the hands of Benu Umayya

41. About the End:

42. إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا (Surah  33:  Ayah  33.  According to A'isha, Ayah of Tat'heer (Purification) was revealed on behalf of Fatima, Ali, Al-Hasan, and Al-Husain, see Sahih Muslim Vol. 3, Page 130.) VERILY, ALLAH HAS DECREED TO PURIFY YOU, O' AHLUL BAYT, AND SANCTIFY YOU IN A PERFECT WAY Husain for whom the Quran Says

43. الحسـن والحسـين سـيدا شـباب اهل الجنه مََنٍ أحبَّ الحسـنَ والحسـين  فقد أحبَّنِي ومَنٍ أبغَضَـهُما  فقد أبغَضَني أنا سِلمٌ لِمَن سالمـتم،   وحربٌُ لِمَن حاربتُم AL-HASAN AND AL-HUSAIN ARE EACH A PRINCE OVER THE YOUTHFUL IN HEAVEN". THE ONE WHO LOVES HASAN AND HUSAIN WILL ALSO HAVE LOVED ME, AND HE WHO DETESTS THEM,WILL HAVE DETESTED ME. "IN PEACE I AM WITH HIM WHOM YOU ARE IN PEACE WITH AND IN BATTLE I AM WITH HIM WHOM YOU ARE IN BATTLE WITH Husain for whom the Prophet Says

44. THE TRIUMPH OF VIRTUE OVER VICE 

45. Ziyarah (Visitation) of Al-Husain • اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ‏ • السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا خِيَرَةَ اللَّهِ وَابْنَ خِيَرَتِه • السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَابْنَ سَيِّدِ الْوَصِيِّينَ‏ • السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ فَاطِمَةَ سَيِّدَةِ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ‏ • السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ثَارَ اللَّهِ وَابْنَ ثَارِهِ وَالْوِتْرَ الْمَوْتُورَ • السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ وَ عَلَى الْأَرْوَاحِ الَّتِي حَلَّتْ بِفِنَائِكَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنِّي جَمِيعاً سَلاَمُ اللَّهِ أَبَداً مَا بَقِيتُ وَ بَقِيَ اللَّيْلُ وَ النَّهَارُ …..

46. Ziyarah (Visitation) of Al-Husain • Peace be on you, O Aba Abdillah! Peace be on you, O son of the Messenger of Allah! • Peace be upon, O the Finest of God’s Creatures and the son of the Finest of God’s Creatures! • Peace be on you, O son of the Commander of the Faithful and the forebear of the Prophet's successors! • Peace be on you, O son of Fatima, the choicest among the women of the worlds! • Peace be on you, who was martyred while fighting in the cause of Allah, and the son of Allah's fearless warrior, who was attacked with a vengeance! • Peace be on you and on those souls which had gathered in your camp, in your journey. • To all of you I pray Allah to be in Peaceas long as I live, and as long as nights follow the days.

47. Shrine of Imam Al-Husain

48. May Allah Bless youBe in Allah’s CareA.S. Hashim MD