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The Beauties of Ashura: The Most Beautiful Repent; Hur ibn Yazid Riyahi

A lot of people in the world repent. But there are no stories more beautiful than that of the repent of Zuhayr ibn Ghin and Hur ibn Yazid Riyahi

Hur ibn Yazid Riyahi

Imam Hussein went to Hosam’s house on Sunday, the 27th of Dhu Al-Hijjah, year 60 AH. At noon, Hur bin Yazid got there with his thousands of warriors. Imam Hussein ordered his men to give water to Hur, to his men, and to their horses. Hur was the first person, who went to find Imam Hussein, but after his repent, he was named ‘the first martyr in the way of Hussein in Karbala’.

In the morning of Ashura, Hur commanded Ghorat bin Gheis to bring his horse and he went towards Imam Hussein’s tent. A man called Mohajer bin Ows asked why he was shaking.

Hur said, “I know I can choose between the Heaven and the Hell, and I swear I want the Heaven. Even if they slay and burn me in fire because of it.”?

When he got to the tent of Imam Hussein, he bowed and said, “You, son of the prophet! I would like to sacrifice my life for you. I came here and troubled you. But I did not expect them to treat you so unfair and not to listen to you. I swear I would have never done this if I knew they would treat you this way. I want to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. Will He forgive me?”?

“Yes, God will forgive you,”? said Imam Hussein, “dismount your horse now.”?

“Let me stay on the horse and fight for you. I will dismount the horse at the end,”? said Hur bin Yazid.

“God bless you!”? said Imam Hussein, “You can do as you wish.”?

Hur then told the army of Kufa, “You people of Kufa! You are unbelievable! You called upon this man of God and you said that you would sacrifice your lives for him. But now, with swords in your hands, you have besieged him. You do not even let him move in this vast land. He is a captive in your hands. You do not let him, or his women and daughters to drink the water in Euphrates, while you let the non-Muslims to drink it. You have disrespected Prophet Muhammad. You will pay for this on the Doomsday!”?

Hur attacked them, saying, “I am Hur. I am the host to those people. I will fight you in support of the best guest we have ever had in this land. I am not afraid of you.”?

He killed more than forty warriors in Umar bin Sa'ad’s army. And finally, he was killed. Imam Hussein sat next to his body, wiped the blood from his face and said, “You are free, just as your name means.”?

It is said that Imam Hussein composed a poem about Hur that talks about a free man from the Bani Riyahi tribe; someone who stood strong against the enemy’s attack; a virtuous man who sacrificed his life for Hussein at the dawn.

Hur’s repent was so beautiful that it even affected his body. When Shah Ismail Safavi took him out of grave after hundreds of years, he found his body still like the first day. He had Imam Hussein’s handkerchief on his forehead. When Shah Ismail untied the handkerchief, Hur’s head started bleeding. Nothing could stop the bleeding but Imam Hussein’s handkerchief, which was Hur’s Medal of Honor.

By: Hojjatuleslam Seyed Javad Hosseini