After Karbala'

:Ali Hussain Jalali

2012/10/27

1843

THE NIGHT OF THE TENTH

One of them asked, "What kind of revenge do you think God will take?" The Imam said, "Some of you will kill others and the punishment of God will come pouring down on you."That night, the sky was red like blood. It was the hardest night for the family of the Prophet. In the emptiness of the desert, they faced the darkness and loneliness of night. During the night, they could hear a voice coining from the darkness. The disguised person recited the following lines of poetry:

One of them asked, "What kind of revenge do you think God will take?"

The Imam said, "Some of you will kill others and the punishment of God will come pouring down on you."

One of them asked, "What kind of revenge do you think God will take?"

The Imam said, "Some of you will kill others and the punishment of God will come pouring down on you."

"O those who killed Imam Husayn!
Be prepared for the punishment
You are cursed by every Prophet and every religion.
This was not the reward for the Messenger of God.
If he was alive now, he would have cried."

Also oh this night, Umm Salamah had a dream in which she saw the Prophet. He was upset and dust was on his head. When Umm Salamah asked him why he was so dusty, the Prophet replied, "My son was killed and I was digging a grave for him."

Then, the army of 'Umar marched towards the women and children and looted whatever was in the tents. When they were done, they set the remaining tents on fire. The soldiers fought over the women, but they resisted, and ran in all different directions.

The soldiers took their robes, rings, and earrings. One of them ripped Umm Kulthum's earrings out of her ears and they bled. A soldier approached Fatimah, daughter of Husayn, crying as he took her ankle bracelet.

She asked him, "Why are you crying?"

He answered, "Because I am stealing this from a daughter of the family of the Prophet."

She asked, "Then, why are you taking it?"

He said, "Because if I do not take it, somebody else will!"

A man came with his spear and herded all the women together. When he looked at Fatimah, he put his eyes on her to snatch her for himself. She ran in the middle of the herd. He went after her and hit her with his spear, knocking her unconscious. Zaynab protected her, drove away the soldier, and then took Fatimah in her lap until she woke up.

There was a woman with Bakr Ibn Wa'il in 'Umar's army. When she saw what was happening to the women, she yelled, "The children of the Prophet of God in this Situation? What is your answer to the Prophet of God? There is no Law but God's. We must take revenge for the Prophet of God!"

Her husband hurried and took her away.

They captured 'Ali al-Sajjad, son of Imam Husayn, while he was lying in bed unable to move. Some of them said, "Kill him. Do not leave anyone of them alive."

Others said, "No, wait until we hear our orders from 'Umar."

Shimr took his sword and moved to kill him.

Hamid Ibn Muslim said to him, "Shame on you! Killing a young boy!"

Shimr said, "Ibn Ziyad has ordered to kill all of the children of Husayn."

Hamid sent a messenger to ask 'Umar if it was true, and 'Umar denied. Zaynab put her body on 'Ali and said, "You cannot kill him without killing me!"

'Umar went to check the aftermath and see the women and the battlefield. When the women saw him they cried in his face and cursed him.

The army wanted to hurt them but he refused. He ordered them to restrain themselves, and assigned a group to guard them.

He called and asked his army, "Who would be willing to come forward and run his horses on the chest of Husayn?''

Ten of them replied, and they trampled over the bodies of the Imam and his followers.

'Umar ordered the heads to be cut off, and all of them were cut off. He distributed them among the chiefs of the various tribes.

The tribe of Hurr saved his head from being cut, and took his body away from the battlefield before the army rode their horses over the bodies.

Then 'Umar sent the head of Imam Husayn with Khuwali Ibn Yazid and Hamid Ibn Muslim; and the rest of the heads were sent with Shimr. Khuwali took the head and hid it in Kufah away from his wife because he knew that she was a Follower. When she heard women crying for the Imam, she realized that it was the head of Imam Husayn and never put on perfume again.

In the morning he took the head to Ibn Ziyad, and recited this poem,

"O governor! You should fill my sacks with gold or silver!
I have killed the most honorable master.
The one who is best in genealogy
And who had the best father and mother."

Ibn Ziyad said, "If you know he was like that, why did you kill him? By God, I am not going to give you anything!"

'Umar remained in Karbala' with the rest of his army and the women until noon of the eleventh day.

He gathered all of his dead, buried them, and prayed on them. He left the Imam's body and his followers without burial.

After noon he left towards Kufah carrying all of the women and children. They were twenty women all together.

'Ali al-Sajjad was twenty-three years old. He was on a camel without saddle. His son, Imam Mohammad Baqir, was two years old. The women begged for the army to let them see the dead bodies on their way. The army agreed and took them. When they saw the scene they fell on the bodies, each one kissing and crying on the bodies.

Suddenly, Zaynab yelled, "O Muhammad! This is Husayn, stoned by catapults, mixed with blood and sand! His body parts cut off! O, Muhammad! Your children are taken captives and your descendants are killed!"

Then, she put her hand under the body of Imam Husayn, and said, "O God! Accept this sacrifice from us!"

When the army saw this, they cried. Sukaynah dropped onto the body of her father and heard someone saying:

"O my followers! Whenever you drink water, remember me.
And whenever you hear of a stranger or a martyr, cry for me."

Suddenly, Zaynab looked at 'Ali, the only surviving male. She saw him very weak and almost about to faint. She went to him and said, "O the memory of my grandfather, my father, and my brothers! This is the covenant of God to your grandfather and your father. The tyrants of this earth do not understand that. Indeed, the followers of the Prophet's House will come and honor these decapitated bodies, and the parts and limbs that were cut off, and raise a flag on this land, a flag which would never be lowered. The tyrants work day and night to eradicate his name, but whatever they do only increases the respect for his name."

The women and children did not want to leave the bodies. Finally, Zajr Ibn Qays came and whipped them with lashes, and they were forced to leave.