‘Amr Ibn Junadah al-Ansari came out after his father had been killed. He was only eleven years old. He sought al-Husayn's permission to fight, but al-Husayn (‘a) refused saying, “This is a young boy whose father was killed in the first campaign, and perhaps his mother hates to see him go, too.” But the boy said, “It was my mother who ordered me to do so!”
It was then that the Imam (‘a) permitted him to fight. It was not long before he was killed and his head was thrown in the direction of Husayn's camp. It was taken by his mother who wiped the blood from it and used it as a weapon to hit a man nearby, killing him instantly.67
She went back to the camp and took a rod or, according to other accounts, a sword, and recited these verses:
An old women and a weakling am I
Crumbling, skinny, and old;
Yet I with force strike you and try
To defend Fatima's son, the honourable and bold.
It was then that the Imam (‘a) permitted him to fight. It was not long before he was killed and his head was thrown in the direction of Husayn's camp. It was taken by his mother who wiped the blood from it and used it as a weapon to hit a man nearby, killing him instantly.67
She went back to the camp and took a rod or, according to other accounts, a sword, and recited these verses:
An old women and a weakling am I
Crumbling, skinny, and old;
Yet I with force strike you and try
To defend Fatima's son, the honourable and bold.
Al-Husayn (‘a) took her back to the tent after she had killed two men using a tent pole.68
Notes:
67. This is recorded by both Ibn Shahr Ashub on p. 219, Vol. 3, of his book and al-Khawarizmi on p. 22, Vol. 2, of his book Maqtal al-Husayn. This should not strike the reader as far-fetched especially if he reads p. 137 of the book written by the great mentor al-Mufid about the Battle of the Camel (second edition). There, the author says, “Once his leg was cut off, he used it to hit a man, instantly killing him.” Both al-Tabari, on p. 180, Vol. 5, of his Tarikh, and Ibn al-Athir, on p. 35, Vol. 3, of his book Al-Kamil, cite him reciting the following poetic lines after having killed that man:
Do not mind, O thigh,
I do in earnest beg,
The fact is that with me is my
Arm whereby I save my leg.
On p. 140, Vol. 2, of his book Al-Kamil, Ibn al-Athir says, “A man from among the followers of Musaylamah [the Liar] cut off the leg of Thabit Ibn Qays, so Thabit took it and hit the same man with it, instantly killing him.”
68. al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 10, p. 198. al-Khawarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, Vol. 2, p. 22. The author of Al-Isaba (Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani), who details the biography of Asma' daughter of Yazid Ibn al-Sakan, says that during the Battle of Yarmuk, she killed nine Roman soldiers using a tent post.
Do not mind, O thigh,
I do in earnest beg,
The fact is that with me is my
Arm whereby I save my leg.
On p. 140, Vol. 2, of his book Al-Kamil, Ibn al-Athir says, “A man from among the followers of Musaylamah [the Liar] cut off the leg of Thabit Ibn Qays, so Thabit took it and hit the same man with it, instantly killing him.”
68. al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 10, p. 198. al-Khawarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, Vol. 2, p. 22. The author of Al-Isaba (Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani), who details the biography of Asma' daughter of Yazid Ibn al-Sakan, says that during the Battle of Yarmuk, she killed nine Roman soldiers using a tent post.
