Ummul
Baneen the first Noheh (lamentation poetry) Reciter for the martyrdom of
Imam Husain (A.S.)
Hazrat Abbas(A.S.) was
the son of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib(A.S.).His mother's name was Fatima
Binte Hazam bin Khalid Ibn-e-Rabi'e Ibn-e-Amer Kalbi. She was also known
as 'Ummul Baneen'. She belonged to the clan of Banu Kilah, which was one
the noblest families amongst the Hashimites and famous for the bravery
and valour of its warriors.
According to historical accounts Hadrat Ummul Baneen was born in the
year 5 A.H.
Some years after the martyrdom of Fatima Zahra (A.S.), Imam Ali (A.S.)
asked his brother Aqil ibn Abi Talib(A.S.) to offer the marriage
proposal to a woman from a brave progeny. Being so knowledgeable in this
regard, Aqil wooed Fatima Binte Hazam (Ummul Baneen) for Imam(A.S.) and
they got married.
One of the bravest of the Holy Prophet's followers Ja'far Tayyar, the
brother of Hazrat Ali(A.S.).In the battle of Muta, Ja'far Tayyar carried
the Banner of Islam and in that battle he was out-numbered by the
enemies and killed.
When the news reached the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) he cried and prayed for
Ja'far's soul and the angel Gabriel came down and consoled (the
Prophet), saying "Ja'far was a brave and loyal soldier. God has given
him everlasting life, and in place of two arms which were cut off in the
battle, the Lord has given him a pair of wings".
Hazrat Ali(A.S.), who was sitting near the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) at that
time, said, "Please pray to God that I should die fighting for the cause
of Islam and become a martyr."
But the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) said, "0 Ali(A.S.), your death has already
been decreed. You shall die in the mosque during your prayers, but the
Almighty will give you a son who will die in the battle on Ashura day".
From that time Imam Ali(A.S.) eagerly awaited the birth of that son.
(This prophecy was made in the year 8 A.H. when Imam Hasan(A.S.) was 5
years old and Imam Husain(A.S.) was 4.)
Imam Ali(A.S.) weds Hadrat Ummul Baneen
The world around the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) witnessed and history has
vouched the fact that the gap in the domestic life and the happiness of
the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.), created by the demise of Hadrat Khadija(A.S.)
doubtlessly proved as irreparable for no other woman fittingly filled it
up to give the Apostle of God the happiness at home or the harmony in
his domestic life, and it is only about the good Hadrat Umme Salamah
that the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) said: Ante ala! Khair,' i.e., Thou art on
goodness, which the good Lady proved true by not leaving the house of
the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) even after his departure from this world, and
remaining as attached to his Ahlul Bayt(A.S.) as she was during his
lifetime.
The same was the case with Hadrat Ali(A.S.) the First Imam, the
Vicegerent of God on earth, succeeding the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.). After
the martyrdom of the Holy Hadrat Fatima Zahra(A.S.), there was none in
the world to take her holy place in the house of Imam Ali(A.S.) and the
good Lady Ummul-Baneen served Hadrat Ali(A.S.) after Holy Hadrat Fatima
Zahra(A.S.) as did Umme Salamah to the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) after the
demise of Hadrat Khadija(A.S.).
The Alliance for a Holy Cause
The prophecy from the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) about the impending Zibhe
Azeem' or the Great Martyrdom of Husain(A.S.), had gained so much
currency and had become a matter of such a conviction and concern to the
Ahlul Bayt(A.S.) that after the martyrdom of Holy Hadrat Fatima
Zahra(A.S.), Imam A1i(A.S.) called his brother Aqeel who was known for
his knowledge about the tribal genealogies and told him to find out a
respectable lady of a noble family, known for its bravery, for him to
wed for he wanted to have a brave son from her to be his own
representative there at Karbala to serve Husain(A.S.) the son of the
Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) and help him in the calamitous situation against
his enemies and lay his life defending Husain(A.S.) on his own behalf,
for Hasan(A.S.) and Husain(A.S.) were hailed as the sons of the Holy
Prophet(S.A.W.) and each one was addressed as Ibne Rasoolullah' (son of
the Holy Prophet).
All expressly and particularly stressed when he told Aqeel for the
selection of a lady, that he wanted the determined issue from the lady
to be the bravest one in the world, to serve Husain(A.S.) at Karbala on
his own behalf. Aqeel said: "Marry thou, Ummul-Baneen-e-Kalbi, the
daughter of Hazm bin Khalid-e-Kalbi, for braver than her father, there
was none in the tribes.
Fatima Binte Hazam was an accomplished and cultured lady, and bore
Hazrat Ali's four sons, Abbas, Abdulla, Ja'far and Usman. The meaning of
'Ummul Baneen' is 'Mother of Sons'. All of her sons were martyred along
with Imam Husain. After their martyrdom, she requested people not to
call her 'Ummul Baneen' ever again.
The day she entered the household of Hazrat Ali, she made it very plain
to Imam Hasan(A.S.) and Imam Husain(A.S.) that she considered herself
their slave, and she hoped and prayed that they would accept her as one.
Her respect and affection for there was soon reciprocated by the two
brothers, and even after her children were born, Imam Hasan(A.S.) and
Imam Husain(A.S.) occupied a foremost place in her heart.
When Imam Husain(A.S.) was leaving Madinah for Iraq Hadrat Ummul Baneen
asked her four sons, Hadrat Abbas(A.S.), Abdulla, Ja'far and Usman to
sacrifice their lives in the sacred cause of Imam Husain(A.S.).
On 10th Muharram 61A.H.,the day of martyrdom of Imam Husain(A.S.) and
his 72 faithful companions at the battlefield of Karbala when Hadrat
Umme Salamah witnessed that the earth in the bottle given to him by the
Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) has turned into blood she raised the cry of "Ya
Husain" Ya Husain" and declared that according Imam Husain(A.S.) has
been martyred according to the prophecy foretold to her by the Holy
Prophet(S.A.W.) about the martyrdom of Imam Husain(A.S.).
Then Ummul Baneen gathered women of Madinah in her house and all cried
for the martyrdom of Imam Husain(A.S.).This was the first ever Majlis
conducted after the martyrdom of Imam Husain(A.S.).
Ummul Baneen had such sincerity toward the Holy Prophet's progeny that
she loved Imam Hussain (A.S.) more than her own children. A feeling
which was from the bottom of her heart. It was to the extent that when
she received the news stating the martyrdom of her four children, she
said: "Tell me about Hussain (A.S.)" and when she received the news of
Imam Hussain (A.S.)'s martyrdom she said: "All of the arteries of my
heart are torn. May all of my children and what ever that exists under
this azure heaven be sacrificed for the sake of Imam Hussain (A.S.).
The first Noheh(lamentation poetry) Reciter for the martyrdom of Imam
Husain(A.S.)
After the arrival of Imam Sajjad(A.S.) and Hadrat Zainab(A.S.) in
Madinah Hadrat Ummul Baneen used to gather women in her house and used
to narrate them how Imam Husain(A.S.) and his companions were martyred
by Yazidi forces.
Hadrat Ummul Baneen was a great poet and she is considered as the first
Noheh(lamentation poetry) Reciter for the martyrdom of Imam
Husain(A.S.).She used to visit regularly the famous Jannat al-Baqi
cemetery in Madinah and recite her Noheh in a very sad and pathetic
voice that everybody present there used to weep bitterly.
She transformed the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery in Madinah as "the Centre of
Azadari of Imam Husain(A.S.)". The Noheh recited by Hadrat Ummul Baneen
for the martyrdom of Imam Husian(A.S.) is recorded in history and is
considered as masterpiece in Arabic literature.
It is recorded in historical accounts that Hadrat Ummul Baneen died on
13th Jamadi al-Thani 64 A.H. and was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi
cemetery in the holy city of Madinah.
Compiled by Dr Hyder Reza Zabeth
|