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تیرے شہر سے جاتے ہیں، دے ہم کو دعا نانا

آباد  کریں گے ہم ، ہائے اب  کرب و بلا  نانا

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) was sitting with his young grandson, Husain (A.S.), and granddaughter, Zainab (S.A.), sitting in front of him. Suddenly, tears started streaming down his face.

Husain (A.S.) asked him, “Grandfather, why are you crying?”

The Prophet replied, “Jibraeel is here. He just told me that you will be slaughtered in Karbala in the way of Allah and is asking for my approval on it.”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana (Grandfather), I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Water will be stopped for three days…”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana, I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Your friends and family will be killed…”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana, I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Your son Ali Akbar (A.S.) will die in your arms…”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana, I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Your brother Abbas’s (A.S.) arms will be cut off…”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana, I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Your six-month old infant Ali Asghar (A.S.) will be slaughtered by an arrow…”

Husain (A.S.): “Nana, I accept!”

Prophet (S.A.W.W.): “Your sister Zainab’s (S.A.) chaadar (head cover) will be snatched…”

Husain (A.S.) did not speak.

Zainab (S.A.): “My brother Husain (A.S.), I accept!”

**************

In 60 AH, Muawiya (L.A.) died and his son Yazid (L.A.) captured the throne in Damascus and claimed to be the defacto ruler of the Muslim world. People from all over the Muslim world came for his Bayaah, or Bayat (paying allegiance). But Imam Husain (A.S.) did not.

After Hazrat Ali (A.S.), Imam Hasan (A.S.) became Caliph but he gave it to Muawiya (L.A.) after only four months to save the Muslims from division. But he stated in the deal made with Muawiya (L.A.) that when Muawiya (L.A.) dies, the Caliphate would come back to him, or in the case of his passing, to Imam Husain (A.S.).

Muawiya (L.A.) had Imam Hasan (A.S.) poisoned and martyred by bribing his wife Jauda (L.A.), daughter of Ash’as (L.A.) , son of Shees (L.A.). So on Muawiya’s (L.A.) death, the Caliphate was Imam Husain’s (A.S.) right. But Muawiya (L.A.) appointed Yazid (L.A.) as his successor before death.

Even though Imam Husain (A.S.) never made any claims for the throne, yet Yazid (L.A.) feared his popularity with the people and knew someday the people would ask for him to step down for Imam Husain (A.S.).

It is necessary here to mention that Muawiya (L.A.) and Yazid (L.A.) were drinkers, tyrants and indulged in sexual sins. Even more important is the fact that they denounced Prophet Muhammad’s (A.S.) Prophethood openly by saying:

There was no Wahi (revelation), it was only a sham (nauzobillah) by the Bani Hashim (A.S.).

With fear of being dethroned in his mind and the want of disgracing Islam by dishonoring the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) grandson, having no regard for the Prophet or Allah openly, Yazeed asked Imam Husain for his Bayat (to pay allegiance to him) or be beheaded.

With Yazeed (L.A.) and his forefather’s records of infidelity and polytheism, the question of Imam Husain’s (A.S.) allegiance became one of the very survival of Islam. If Imam Husain (A.S.) had paid his allegiance to Yazid (L.A.), it would have meant his acceptance of the above mentioned claims of the Bani Umayyah (L.A.) that Islam was a farce (nauzobillah) and claims of Prophethood by Muhammad (S.A.W.W.) were false. Why would the people have trusted in Islam and Allah when even the grandson of the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) was submitting to Yazid (L.A.)? It’s no wonder that Imam Husain (A.S.) refused to bow to Yazid’s (L.A.) fancies. Imam Husain (A.S.) ordered his brother Abbas (A.S.) to prepare to leave Madinah. He took with him, almost all women and children to prove that he did not want to fight and it was Yazid (L.A.) who wanted bloodshed.

تیرا دین ہے مشکل میں، میں کیسے رہوں گھر میں

طفلی  میں  کوئی  وعدہ ، تھا  تجھہ  سے کیا  نانا

ریحان    لرزتا    تھا  ،   مرقد   بھی    پیمبر   کا

شبّیر  جو  کہتے  تھے  ،  میں  مرنے   چلا   نانا

تیرے شہر سے جاتے ہیں ،  دے  ہم  کو  دعا  نانا

آباد  کریں  گے  ہم ،  ہائے  اب   کرب و بلا   نانا

Imam Husain (A.S.) left Madinah and the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) grave, with his family and friends, on 28th Rajab, 60 AH.

Courtesy: Syed Awn Husain Rizvi

He headed to Makkah with the intention of performing Hajj. There he learned that Yazid’s (L.A.) people were lurking in the form of Hajis (pilgrims) to kill him so he changed his Hajj plans to Umrah and left Makkah. He headed to Kufah but on the way he learned of Yazid’s governor Ubaidullah (L.A.)’s [son of Ziyad (L.A.)] massacre of those who wanted to help him.

One of Yazid’s (L.A.) armies met him on the way. Their water had finished and people and animals alike were thirsty. Imam Husain (A.S.) ordered for their thirsts to be satiated and even the animals to be given water. But later on, this same army stopped him from going towards Kufah and diverted him towards Karbala.

When the caravan reached Karbala on the 2nd of Muharram, 61 AH, Imam Husain (A.S.) remarked:

“This is the promised land where our blood shall be spilled!”

Imam Husain (A.S.) ordered the tents to be erected on the bank of the river Euphrates (Furaat). On the 4th of Muharram, the camps of Husain (A.S.) were forced by to be removed from the banks of the river by the Yazidi (L.A.) armies which had begun to arrive. On the 7th of Muharram, water was stopped from reaching the Husaini (A.S.) camps and the Yazidis (L.A.) took the riverbanks under their control.

Imam Husain (A.S.) tried many times to convince the Muslims against shedding the blood of the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) family, to try to save them from the humiliation that would follow but they did not listen. On the 10th day of Muharram, known by the name of Ashurah, Yazidi (L.A.) armies forced the battle onto Imam Husain’s (A.S.) caravan.

One by one, all men, except one, in the Husaini (A.S.) camp were martyred including Husain’s (A.S.) eighteen year old son Ali Akbar (A.S.) [who resembled the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and people used to come from far and wide to look at him], extremely devoted brother Abbas (A.S.) [who always called Husain (A.S.) 'Master'], six month old infant Ali Asghar (A.S.), etc. Husain (A.S.) was slaughtered in the state of prostration to Allah during the Asr prayer, after he had put his sword back in its sheath, to pray.

The chaadars (head covers/veils) of all women were snatched and the tents of the Husaini (A.S.) camp burned. Women and children were made prisoners and taken to Damascus, Syria, on foot. The sole surviving man was Ali Zain-ul-Abideen (A.S.), the eldest son of Husain (A.S.) and the fourth Imam, who was weak and unconscious from illness at the time.

However, the Husaini (A.S.) men did not go down easy. Martyrdom was their ultimate goal but not before they had caused a huge blow to the enemy’s forces. As the imprisoned Lady Zainab (S.A.) stated in her sermon in the court of Yazid (L.A.):

“O Ruler of Syria! Go out into the streets and you will not find a single house that the Sword (Zulfiqar) of my Brother has spared from which the wails of mourning can not be heard.”

**************

Husain’s (A.S.) caravan lost 72 men. Even these were not all men. Many were of the age 7-14 and Ali Asghar (A.S.) was only six-months old.

According to one account, Yazid’s (L.A.) forces numbered 900,000. Only 80,000 returned alive!

According to another account, Yazidis (L.A.) totaled 460,000. All of Husain’s (A.S.) men killed 25,000 Yazidis (L.A.), Husain’s (A.S.) brother Abbas (A.S.) killed 25,000 while Husain (A.S.) himself sent 330,000 Yazidis (L.A.) to Hell. Total is 380,000 which leaves 80,000 to return home.

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More about Karbala here.

More about the infant Ali Asghar here.

About Husain’s (A.S.) daughter Sakinah (S.A.) here.

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SAWJ’s Note: All verses above are from Rehaan Aazmi’s Nauha (Elegy)

تیرے شہر سے جاتے ہیں، دے ہم کو دعا نانا

We are leaving your city, pray for us Grandfather

from the 1996 Nauha album of Syed Nadeem Raza Sarwar. You can download it here.