Al-Husayn Ibn ^Aliyy the Martyr Imam (4-61H)

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the humans and jinn, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allah raise the rank of our Master Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and his kind Al and Companions, and protect his nation from which he fears for it.

Thereafter; Allah said in verse 33 of Surat al-Ahzab:

﴾إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴿

Allah, the Exalted, has blessed the family of the greatest Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam with a great status and a pure noble kinship. And made among them the generous imams and the knowledgeable scholars who were the lights through the darkness of fitan (seditions) and corruption. They defended the Religion fiercely with speech and spears, commanded the obligatory (ma^ruf) and forbade the unlawful (munkar); nothing ever scared them from obeying and implementing the orders of Allah. Those great people were as fierce as the lions in Jihad and in supporting the truth. They were full of knowledge, inherited from their grandfather the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam what would bring them happiness in this life and in the Hereafter by following his guided path. We ask Allah to reward their deeds and raise their ranks for the great things they did for the nation of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

Among those great ones was the great and noble Imam al-Husayn, the son of (Ibn) ^Aliyy may Allah raise their ranks.

He is Imam al-Husayn, the son of ^Aliyy, the son of Abi Talib al Hashimiyy al-Qurashiyy was born in 4 AH, a year and ten months after the birth of his brother al-Hasan. His mother is the pious and blessed lady Fatimah az-Zahra’, the daughter of the Master of the Messengers Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

The Messenger of Allah was so delighted with his birth, and specified him with a great love which earned him great goodness and blessings. He made the recommended deed of ^Aqiqah for al-Husayn by slaughtering a male sheep. His mother Fatimah weighed his hair, the hair of al-Hasan, and the hair of Umm Kulthum and paid charity with silver for its volume.

The Messenger of Allah chose for him the famous name “al-Husayn” as he did for his brother al-Hasan. At-Tabaraniyy related from the route of Salim that Abi al-Ju^d said: ^Aliyy may Allah raise his rank said: “I was a man who loved war and when al-Hasan was born I wanted to name him: “Harb”; it means: war. However, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam named him: “al-Hasan”. And when al-Husayn was born I wanted to name him: “Harb”, the Prophet named him al-Husayn. Ibn al-Athir said in “Asad al-Ghabah” that the names of “al-Hasan” and “al-Husayn” were not known before that; i.e. in the state of ignorance (Jahilyah). In fact their grandfather Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam was the first one who named with them.

Imam al-Husayn was a nice looking and handsome master, articulate, knowledgeable, polite, sedate, generous, religious, and pious. He had a high status, who used to look like his grandfather the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alyhi wa sallam.Imam ^Aliyy said: “Al-Husayn resembles the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam from between the chest to the feet.” ^Ubayd-ullah Ibn Yazid said: “I saw al-Husayn the son of ^Aliyy with a black hair and beard except some white hairs in the front of his beard.” It was said that he used to anoint his hair with the Wusmah (a kind of tree originated in Yemen, people anoint with its leaves). However, his hair was long which sometimes reached his shoulders.

Master al-Husayn may Allah raise his rank was a great Imam and dignified supporter of the truth, like a mountain walking on two feet, high in status and honor with a generous origin. He earned that due to the great care and knowledge he received from his grandfather the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. He related the hadith from him, and from the route of his parents and his brother-in-law ^Umar al-Faruq. Some of those who related the hadith from his route were: His parents ^Aliyy and Fatimah, his nephew Zayd the son of al-Hasan, his daughter Sakinah, ash-Sha^biyy, and al-Farazdaq the poet.

He was a well respected and dignified scholar among the leaders of the nation as Abu-Bakr, ^Umar, and ^Uthman; and others from the elite Companions. They acknowledged his high status and rank. Many virtues were stated about him, for he was an outstanding individual: Pious, detached from worldly interests, God-fearing, and a great worshipper. He used to pray and fast a lot and it was said that he performed Pilgrimage (Hajj) twenty five times on foot. He was so generous, who pays charity to the poor and supports the weak. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam once covered him, his brother al-Hasan, and his mother Fatimah with his dress and said: “O God those are my family and my special ones, O God keep blasphemy and sins away from them and purify them fully.”

It is no wonder that he had those great virtues and traits, for he had earned the love of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

This is witnessed by what was related by many reliable and trusted sources as at-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Hibban; that the Messenger of Allah said about al-Hasan and al-Husayn: “O my God I love them, grant them Your love.” Also among the virtues of al-Husayn may Allah raise his rank is what was related by Ahmad in his Musnad and at-Tabaraniyy from the route of Abi-Sa^id to the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam: “Al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the Masters of the youth of the people of Paradise.” Also, Albukhariy narrated that the Prophet peace be upon him said (about Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn): “They are the delight of my life”

A man with such a high status to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu wa sallam deserves to be of a great and righteous rank and earns the love and appreciation among people. Master ^Umar may Allah raise his rank made a grant for al-Hussein same as the one for Imam ^Aliyy which was five thousand. Adh-Dhahabiyy mentioned in the biographies from the route of Hammad, from the route of Mu^ammar, from the route of az-Zuhriyy that ^Umar once gave dresses to the sons of the Companions; he did not find among them anything suitable for al-Hasan and al-Husayn. So he sent them to Yemen and got them dresses, then he said: “Now I can have peace within myself.”

Also Abu al-Mahzam said: “As we were in a funeral, Abu Hurayrah was wiping the dust off al-Husayn’s foot.” And it is well known that Master Abu Hurayrah had great love and respect for al-Hasan and al-Husayn.

Abu Hurayrah said: Once al-Husayn was visiting the Prophet, who used to love him a lot. He said to him: “Go to your mother.” I said: “Shall I go with him?”. The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said: “No.” Then a lightning flashed and he walked through its light. This was related by at-Tabaraniyy.

At-Tirmidhiyy related that the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said: “Husayn is from me and I’m from Husayn.” This means that: “My love to him is full and so is his love to me, and my affection towards him is full and so is his affection towards me.”

Al-Hakim related that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said: “He who loves me should love al-Husayn.”

Adh-Dhahabiyy related in the biographies and others from the route of ^Amarah Ibn Zadhan, from the route of Thabit that Anas said: “The Angel of rain Mika’il asked the permission of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam to be with him alone. The Prophet said: “O Umm Salamah keep the door shut on us.” Then al-Husayn came and made his way through the door and started to jump on the Prophet and the Messenger of Allah was kissing him. The Angel said: “Do you love him?” He said: “Yes”. The Angel then said: “Your nation would kill him, and if you want I will show you the spot where he will be killed in.” The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said: “Yes.” The Angel brought some red soil. Thabit said: “We used to say that it is Karbala’ (in Iraq).

The summary of the martyrdom story of Imam al-Husayn may Allah raise his rank is that when the people of Kufah heard about the death of Mu^awiyyah and the appointment of his son Yazid, they sent to al-Husayn pledging allegiance to him. He sent them his reply with their messenger and sent with him his cousin Muslim Ibn ^Uqayl. Upon his arrival at their end, he got from them the oath and pledge of allegiance to al-Husayn, and to protect him and to support him.

When al-Husayn got ready to go to Iraq, the people of wisdom like Ibn ^Abbas and Ibn ^Umar forbade him, he did not listen to them and left. As soon as Yazid heard of that, he appointed ^Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyyad to Iraq and ordered him to confront and fight Imam al-Husayn. Ibn Ziyyad entered Kufah before al-Husayn, he captured Muslim Ibn ^Uqayl and killed him; he then sent an army under the command of ^Umar, the son of Sa^d, the son of Abu Waqqas.

When al-Husayn arrived in Karbala’ with his companions and unloaded his luggage, he did not find anyone of those who wrote to him pledging allegiance. He met ^Umar Ibn Sa^d and said: “Choose for me one out of three; either you let me go and join the defenders of the Islamic state at the borders, or I go to Yazid, or I go to where I came from.” ^Umar Ibn Sa^d agreed to that. Ibn Ziyyad did not agree, and said: “Not until he puts his hand in my hand (meaning to pledge his allegiance to Yazid). To that al-Husayn said: “That will never happen.”

In the following morning which was the tenth of Muharram al-Husayn got ready with 32 horsemen and 40 fighters on foot. ^Umar Ibn Sa^d had 4,000 fighters on his side, and then the war erupted while al-Husayn was defending from the right and the left. Soon Zur^ah Ibn Sharik hit his left hand, another one hit his shoulder; Sinan Ibn Anas stabbed him with a spear which made him feel off his horse to the ground. Shumar Ibn Dhi al-Jushan got down and chopped his head off. They found later that he was stabbed thirty-three times and was hit thirty-four times, he was 56 years old when he died; some said that he was 58. His martyrdom was on the tenth of Muharram 61 AH.

It was mentioned that when al-Husayn, peace be upon him, was killed his head was brought to Yazid; he started to pick his teeth with a stick. Abu Barzah al-Aslamiyy said to him out of shock when he saw that: “Are you picking with your stick the mouth of al-Husayn? I swear by Allah who is the only God that I saw the lips of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam on those lips kissing them.” He then spoke roughly to him and left.

The dignified body of al-Husayn was buried in Karbala’, there were many sayings about his head some said it was buried in Damascus and was later taken to Egypt. This is the saying of the majority of historians.

Among what was said after the death of al-Husayn that Abu Janab al-Kalbiyy said: “I went to Karbala’ and said to a man from the Arab nobles: “I heard that you hear the lamenting of Jinn.” He said: “You will never meet a free or a slave person who will not tell you that he heard that.” I said: “What did you hear?” He answered him with this poem:

The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam wiped his

forehead which brightened on the cheeks.

His parents are among the high-ranked ones of Quraysh  *******      and his grandfather is the best grandfather.

Adh-Dhabiyy mentioned in the biographies that as-Suddiyy said: “I came to Karbala’ as a tradesman. An old man from Taiyy made dinner for us, during the dinner we mentioned the story of the death of al-Husayn. I said: “No one who has ever taken part in his killing and escaped dying in a bad way.” He said: “What great liars you are? I’m one of those who took part in his killing.” Before we left the man approached a lighted-wick as it was soaked with fuel. He started to pull the wick with his finger causing it to catch fire. As he attempted to put it off with his saliva, his beard caught fire. He ran away and threw himself in the water. When I looked at him, he was as a lava.”

We ask Allah to endow his mercy on Master al-Husayn and reward his deeds and make us with him and with our beloved Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam in Paradise. And all praise be to Allah.