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THE
STORY OF KARBALA - PART 10
THE END OF THE BATTLE
Husayn came
back to his tent and went to see his ailing 24 year old son, also known
as Ali (Zaynul Abid-een) who was in high fever. Zaynul cAbideen had no
idea what had passed over his father. He opened his eyes and looked at
Husayn. When Husayn told him that all male members of the family were
already killed in battle, he stood up in emotion and asked for his sword
so that he could also go and fight. But the fever was so high that he
could not stand and passed out immediately.
Husayn went to see his children, wives and sisters to bid farewell. He
came out of the tent, mounted his horse and fell on the enemy troops
ferociously. Historians have recorded that Husayn was fighting and
killing the enemy soldiers left, right and centre; and he kept saying:
' Do you see how Fatima's son fights,
Do you see How Ali's son fights,
Do you see how Banu Hashim fight in three days of hunger and thirst.'
Eyewitness reporters have recorded that they had not seen anybody fight
so bravely after having seen so many killings in a few hours time in his
own family.
At last, Shameer Ibn Ziljawshan collected his troops and asked them to
attack Husayn from all directions at the same time, which they did.
Husayn fell from his horse, not far from the tent where his sister
Zaynab stood watching the battle apprehensively. When Shameer proceeded
to behead the fallen Husayn, Zaynab looked to Umar Ibn Sacad and said:
'O son of S'ad, you will watch while Abu Abdullah will be killed.'
At the same time a young boy ran out of the tent and watching the
assassin approaching his uncle, stretched his hands out and said:
'O please do not kill my uncle'
But the blow had struck and the boy's both arms were severed.
In spite of all the fighting and crowding, nobody was prepared to behead
the grandson of the Prophet. At last it was Khawli and Shameer together
who did it and Husayn's head was raised on a lance, Umar Ibn S'ad's
commanders started congratulating him for winning the battle of Karbala.
On Yazeed's express wish, Umar Scad ordered that Husayn's dead body be
trampled under hoofs. Husayn's camp was plundered. Everything including
the ladies' cloaks were looted. Even earrings from Husayn's four year
old daughter's ears were snatched brutally and she bled. The goat skin
on which Zaynul Abideen lay in fever, was pulled away.
AFTER cASHOORA
The ladies and children spent the night under the desert sky, hungry and
thirsty. The next morning, they were all tied in ropes and put on naked
backs of camels, which were herded through the battle-field where
Husayn's and his relatives' headless bodies lay, covered in their own
blood and dust. Heads of all the followers of Husayn were raised on
lances and carried with the caravan. Then it occurred to the Umayyad
soldiers that Husayn had actually buried one of his 'soldiers', the
six-month old baby. They poked the soft ground with their lances and
finally discovered the grave. The head of even the six-month old baby
was raised on a lance. Why? Because, the more severed heads from the
family of Banu Hashim, the more rewards they could expect from Yazeed.
These two barbaric customs, i.e., trampling the dead warriors' bodies
and taking the women where their men lay dead, were absolutely pro-hibited
by Muhammad during his expeditions against the infidels. It is ironic
that both customs were revived by those who claimed to be Muhammad's
followers and against his own family.
Thank you for reading.
sincerely,
Syed-Mohsin Naquvi |