The
Journey of Imam Husain - Part 3
Taken from Kitab-al Irshad by Shaykh
Al-Mufid
Part 3
(Continued from Part 2)
He, peace be on him,
went on from Batn al Aqaba until he stopped at Sharaf (for the night).
At dawn he ordered his boys to get water and more (for the journeys When
he continued from there until midday. While he was journeying, one of
his followers exclaimed:
"God is greater (Allahu
akbar)!"
"God is greater (AllAhu
akbar)!" responded al-Husayn, peace be on him. Then he asked: "Why did
you say Allahu akbar?"
"I saw palm-trees,"
answered the man.
"This is a place in
which we never see a palm-tree," a group of his followers asserted.
"What do you think it
is then?" asked al-Husayn, peace be on him.
"We think it is the
ears of horses," they answered.
"By God, I think so
too," he declared. Then he said: "(So that) we can face them in one
direction (i.e. so that we are not surrounded), we should put at our
rear whatever place of refuge (we can find)."
"Yes," said to him,
"there is Dhu Husam over on your left. If you reach it before them,it
will be (in) just (the position) you want." So he veered left towards it
and we went in that direction with him. Even before we had had time to
change direction the vanguard of the cavalry appeared in front of us and
we could see them clearly. We left the road and when they saw that we
had moved off the road, they (also) moved off the road towards us. Their
spears looked like palm branches stripped of their leaves and their
standards were like birds' wings. Al-Husayn ordered his tents (to be put
up) and they were erected. The people came up; (there were) about one
thousand horsemen under the command of al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Tamimi. (It
was) during the heat of midday (that) he and his cavalry stood (thus)
facing al-Husayn, peace be on him. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, and his
followers were all wearing their turbans and their swords (ready to
fight).
"Provide (our) people
with water and let them quench their thirst and give their horses water
to drink little by little," al Husayn ordered his boys. They did that
and they began filling their bowls and cups and took them to the horses.
When a horse had drunk three or four or five draughts, the water was
taken away and given to another horse-until they had all been watered.
[ Ali b. al Taan al
Muharibi reported: ]
I was with al-Hurr on
that day, I was among the last of his followers to arrive. When
al-Husayn, peace be on him, saw how thirsty both I and my horse were, he
said: "Make your beast (rawiya) kneel." I thought rawiya meant
water-skin so he said: "Cousin, make your camel (jamal) kneel." I did
so. Then he said: "Drink." I did so, but when I drank, water flowed from
my water-skin.
"Bend your water-skin,"
said al-Husayn. I did not know how to do that. He came up (to me) and
bent it (into the proper position for drinking). Then I drank and gave
my horse to drink.
Al-Hurr b. Yazid had
come from al-Qadisiyya. Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad had sent al-Husayn b.
Numayr and ordered him to take up (his) position at al-Qadisiyya. Then
al-Hurr had been sent in advance with one thousand horsemen to meet
al-Husayn.
Al-Hurr remained
positioned opposite to al-Husayn, peace be on him, until the time for
the midday prayer drew near. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, ordered al-Hajjaj
b. Masruq to give the call to prayer. When the second call to prayer
immediately preceding the prayer (iqama) was about (to be made)
al-Husayn came out (before the people) dressed in a waist-cloth czar)
and cloak (rida') and wearing a pair of sandals. He praised and
glorified God, then he said:
People, I did not come to you until your letters came to me,
and they were brought by your messengers (saying), 'Come to
us for we have no Imam. Through you may God unite us under
guidance and truth.' Since this was your view, I have come to
you. Therefore give me what you guaranteed in your covenants
and (sworn) testimonies. If you will not and (if you) are (now)
averse to my coming, I will leave you (and go back) to the place
from which I came.They were silent before him. Not one of them said a word.
"Recite the iqama," he
said to the caller for prayer (mu'adhdhin) and he recited the iqama.
"Do you want to lead
your followers in prayer?" he asked al-Hurr b. Yazid.
"No," he replied, "but
you pray and we will pray (following the lead of) your prayer."
Al-Husayn, peace be on
him, prayed before them. Then he returned (to his tent) and his
followers gathered around him. Al-Hurr went back to the place where he
had positioned (his men) and entered a tent which had been put up for
him. A group of his followers gathered around him while the rest
returned to their ranks, which they had been in and which now they went
back to. Each of them held the reins of his mount and sat in the shade
(of its body).
At the time for the
afternoon (asr) prayer, al-Husayn, peace be on him, ordered his
followers to prepare for departure. Then he ordered the call to be made,
and the call for the easr prayer was made, and the iqama. Al-Husayn,
peace be on him, came forward, stood and prayed. Then he said the final
greeting (of the prayer) and turned his face towards them (al-Hurr's
men). He praised and glorified God and said:
People, if you fear God and recognise the rights of those
who have rights, God will be more satisfied with you. We
are the House of Muhammad and as such are more entitled to
the authority (wilaya) of this affair (i.e. the rule of the
community) over you than these pretenders who claim what does
not belong to them. They have brought tyranny and aggression
among you. If you refuse (us) because you dislike (us) or do
not know our rights, and your view has now changed from what
came to us in your letters and what your messengers brought,
then I will leave you.
"By God," declared
al-Hurr, "I know nothing of these letters and messengers which you
mention."
"Uqba b. Siman,"
al-Husayn, peace be on him, called to one of his followers, "bring out
the two saddle-bags in which the letters to me are kept."
He brought out two
saddle-bags which were full of documents, and they were put before him.
"We are not among those
who wrote these letters to you," said al- Hurr, "and we have been
ordered that when we meet you we should not leave you until we have
brought you to Kufa to 'Ubayd Allah."
"Death will come to you
before that (happens)," al-Husayn, peace be on him, told him. Then he
ordered his followers, "Get up and get mounted."
They got mounted and
(then) waited until their women had been mounted,
"Depart," he ordered
his followers.
When they set out to
leave, the men (with al-Hurr) got in between them and the direction they
were going in.
"May God deprive your
mother of you," said al-Husayn, peace be on him, to al-Hurr, "what do
you want?"
"If any of the Arabs
other than you were to say that to me," retorted al-Hurr, "even though
he were in the same situation as you, I would not leave him without
mentioning his mother being deprived (of him), whoever he might be. But
by God there is no way for me to mention your mother except by (saying)
the best things possible."
"What do you want?"
al-Husayn, peace be on him, demanded.
"I want to go with you
to the governor, Ubayd Allah," he replied.
"Then by God I will not
follow you."
"Then by God I will not
let you (go anywhere else)."
These statements were
repeated three times, and when their conversation was getting more
(heated) al-Hurr said: "I have not been ordered to fight you. I have
only been ordered not to leave you until I come with you to Kufa. If you
refuse (to do that), then take any road which will not bring you into
Kufa nor take you back to Medina, and let that be a compromise between
us while I write to the governor, 'Ubayd Allah. Perhaps God will cause
something to happen which will relieve me from having to do anything
against you. Therefore take this (road) here and bear to the left of the
road (to) al Udhayb and al-Qadisiyya."
Al-Husayn, peace
be on him, departed and al-Hurr with his followers (also) set out
travelling close by him, while al Hurr was saying to him:
Al-Husayn, I remind you (before) God to (think of) your
life; for I testify that you will be killed if you fight.
"Do you think that you
can frighten me with death?" said al- Husayn, peace be on him. "Could a
worse disaster happen to you than killing me? I can only speak (to you)
as the brother of al-Aws said to his cousin when he wanted to help the
Apostle of God, may God bless him and grant him and his family peace.
His cousin feared for him and said: 'Where are you going, for you will
be killed?' but he replied:
I will depart for there is no shame in death for a young
man, whenever he intends (to do what is) right and he
strives like a Muslim,
(Who) has soothed righteous men through (the sacrifice
of) his life, who has scattered the cursed and opposed
the criminal.
If I live, I will not regret (what I have done) and if
I die, I will not suffer. Let it be enough for you to
live in humiliation and be reviled.
When al-Hurr heard that
he drew away from him. He and his followers travelled on one side (of
the road) while al-Husayn, peace be on him, travelled on the other,
until they reached Udhayb al- Hijanat. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, went
on to Qasr Bani Muqatil. He stopped there and there a large tent had
(already) been erected.
"Whose is that?" he
asked.
"That belongs to Ubayd
Allah b. al-Hurr al-Jufi," he was told.
"Ask him to come to
me," he said.
The messenger went to
him and said: "This is al-Husayn b. Ali, peace be on them, and he asks
you to come to him."
"We belong to God and
to Him we shall return," said 'Ubayd Allah. "By God, I only left Kufa
out of dread that al-Husayn, peace be on him, would enter Kufa while I
was there. By God, I do not want to see him, nor him to see me."
The messenger returned
to him (al-H. usayn). Al-Husayn, peace be on him, rose and went over to
him. He greeted him and sat down. Then he asked him to go with him.
Ubayd Allah b. al Hurr repeated what he had said before and sought to
excuse himself from what he was asking him (to do).
"If you are not going
to help us," al-Husayn, peace be on him, said to him, "then be sure that
you are not one of those who fight against us. For, by God, no one will
hear our cry and not help us without being destroyed."
"As for that (fighting
against you)," he replied, "it will never happen, if God, the Exalted,
wishes."
Then al-Husayn, peace
be on him, left him and continued to his camp. Towards the end of the
night, he ordered his boys to get provisions of water. Then he ordered
the journey (to continue). He set out from Qasr Bani Muqatil. |