Leader of all Martyrs Husain Ibne Ali (A.S.): Birth, Family and Titles

On the 3rd day of Sha’ban, the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) came to his daughter Fatimah’s (S.A.) house. He was greeted with the news:

“O Prophet of Allah! Greetings and salutation, you have another grandson!”

Courtesy: Syed Awn Husain Rizvi

Asma, the maidservant of Hazrat Fatimah Zehra (S.A.), covered the child in a white cloth and brought him to the Prophet (S.A.W.W.). The Prophet (S.A.W.W.), picked the child up in his lap and recited the Azaan in his right ear and Aqamat in the left one.

On the seventh day of birth, Jibraeel (A.S.) came from Allah and delivered the message:

“Just as Haroon (A.S.) was the brother, sympathizer and helper in each and every difficulty of Moosa (A.S.), similarly Ali (A.S.) is your sympathizer, helper and brother in each and every matter of yours. Therefore, keep the name of this child upon the name of Haroon’s son ‘Shabbir’.”

Shabbir translated into Arabic becomes ‘Husain’.

Shabbar and Shabbir were the sons of Hazrat Haroon (A.S.), the prophet. Imam Hasan (A.S.) was named after Shabbar, whose name in arabic became Hasan. Both names were selected by Allah for the grandsons of the Prophet (S.A.W.W.).

On the 7th day of the birth, Hazrat Fatimah Zehra (S.A.) got a sheep slaughtered as the ‘Aqeeqa’ and distributed it’s meat among the needy and poor.

The Prophet (S.A.W.W.) quite often hugged Husain (A.S.) taking him into his lap and used to weep bitterly, saying:

“A very big tragedy will be met by my son Husain (A.S.). The brutal and bloody men of Bani Umayyah (L.A.) will slay my dear son. I will not intercede and mediate for them on the Day of Judgment.”

Family

Husain (A.S.) was born in the year 4 AH, a year after the birth of his brother, Hasan (A.S.). Like his brother and father, he opened his eyes in his grandfather Muhammad’s (S.A.W.W.) arms and sucked on his tongue. He was born to Ali (A.S.) and Fatimah (S.A.), two years after their marriage in 2 AH, the year of the battle of Badr.

One year after his birth, his sister Zainab was born in 5 AH. His second sister, Umm-e-Kulsoom, was born in 6 AH, two years after his birth.

Name, Titles and Kunniyat

The second son of Ali (A.S.) and Fatimah (S.A.) was named “Husain” by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) as per the wish of Allah. He is also known by the name “Shabbir”.

The most famous of his titles is Sayyed-ush-Shuhada meaning Leader of all Martyrs, which he got for his stupendous display of patience, endurance and servitude to Allah when he never complained about any suffering in the land of Karbala. Such was his belief in Allah, even when he saw his whole family being cut to pieces after three days of hunger and thirst, that Allah has called Imam Husain (A.S.) Nafs-e-Mutmainna (Content/Satisfied Soul) in the Quran.

“O (thou) soul in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back thou to thy Lord, well pleased (thyself), and well pleasing unto Him!”

The Holy Quran: Chapter 89, Verses 27 and 28

These verses point out the time of Asr on the Day of Ashurah, 61 AH, long after they had been revealed by the Prophet (S.A.W.W.), when Imam Husain (A.S.) put his sword, Zulfiqar, back into it’s sheath to prostrate and pray to Allah. During this prostration, he was slaughtered by Shimr, son of Zul-Jawshan. Due to this, he was given another title, Zibh-e-Azeem (Most Supreme of Sacrificed/Slaughtered Ones).

His third title is Sayyedi Shabab-e-Ahlil-Jannah, meaning Leaders of the Young Men of Paradise, which he shares with his brother Hasan (A.S.).

“Hasan and Husain are the chiefs of the youth of Paradise and Fatimah is the chief of their women.” – Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.)

Sources:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p660, on the authority of Abu Sa’id and Hudhayfa

Sunan Ibn Majah, Introduction 8

Al-Tabarani, on the authorities of: Umar, Ali, Jabir, Abu Hurayrah, Usamah Ibn Zaid, al-Baraa, Ibn ‘Adi, and Ibn Masud.

Al-Kubra, by al-Nisa’i

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, pp 62,82, v3, pp 3,64, v5, p391

Fada’il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p771, Tradition #1360

Al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, pp 166,167

Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu’aym, v5, p71

Majma’ al-Zawa’id, by al-Haythami, v9, p187

Tuhfatul Ashraf, by Lumzi, v3, p31

Ibn Habban, as mentioned in al-Mawarid, pp 551,553

Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 3, p290

Mishkat al-Masabih, by Khatib al-Tabrizi, English Version, Tdadition #6154

The titles of Imam Husain and the lofty qualities that he possessed are as follows:

Martyr (Shaheed)

Pure (Tayyab)

Grandson. According to a saying of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Husain is my grandson from among the grandsons.” (Source: Al-Mustadrak 2/537 h.6.)

The Rightly Guided One (Rashid)

Wafi (Loyal)

Blessed (Mubarak)

Follower of Allah’s Will (At-tabaye Lemarzi-al-lah)

Proof of the Presence of Allah (Ad-Daleel Ala Zaatullah)

Purified (Mutahhar)

Righteous (Birr)

The ‘One’ of Those Who Swallowed Their Anger (Ahadul Kazmain)

His kunniyat is Aba-Abdullah or the Father of the Devoted Worshipper of Allah. The Worshiper referred to here is Imam Ali Zain-ul-Abideen (A.S.), who was famous for his worship and commanded the titles Sayyed-us-Sajideen (Leader of all Prostrators) and Zain-ul-Abideen (Ornament of Worshipers).