Al-Tan’im
Al-Tan’im (Arabic: تَنْعیم) is a miqat or station in al-'Umra al-Mufrada where Imam Hussain on his way to Kufa met a caravan carrying some possessions for Yazid b. Mu'awiya. According to al-Shaykh al-Mufid's al-Irshad, Imam al-Hussain rented their camels and asked them to accompany him. However, according to other sources, Imam confiscated the possessions of the caravan.
Location
Al-Tan’im is a region on the northwestern side of Masjid al-Haram between Mecca and Sarif. In al-Buldan[1] , it is said to be a place located two farasangs from Mecca. It is named as such because on its right there is a mountain called Na’im and another on its left called Na’im, while the valley is called Na’iman, and a mosque is there. In Fada’il al-Balad al-Amin[2] , it is said to be three or four miles from Mecca.
Events
Al-Hussain marched on his way out of Mecca via al-Tan’im where he met a caravan laden with merchandise and clothes sent to Yazid b. Mu’awiya by Bahir B. Yasar al-Himyari, his governor over Yemen.
Al-Hussain seized it and said to those who tended to the camels, “Whoever among you wishes to join us in our march to Iraq will be paid in full, and we will keep him good company. And whoever prefers to part with us, we shall compensate him according to the distance he travelled.” Some of them parted from him, whereas others preferred his company. [3]
Al-Hussain considered that caravan his own wealth that Allah Almighty put at his disposal on account of his being the Imam appointed by the Omnipotent, Praise to Him. Yazid and his father had already confiscated what belonged to him as well as what belonged to the Muslims, so it became mandatory on him to take control of the Muslims' spoils to distribute to the needy among them.
He, indeed, gave of it generously to the bedouins who accompanied him on the way and who complained to him of the pain of poverty from which they were suffering. But it was a destiny that the Master of the Youths of Paradise could not give what the oppressors had confiscated of Prophet Muhammad's nation back to its rightful owners, although his precious sacrifice removed from visions the veils of the misguidance of those who transgressed on Divine Authority.
Source
References
- ↑ Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu’jam, al-Buldan, p. 416, Vol. 2.
- ↑ Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Khadrawi, Fada’il al-Balad al-Amin, p. 60.
- ↑ al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 218. Al-Khawarizmi, Maqtal al-Hussain, Vol. 1, p. 220. Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya, Vol. 8, p. 166. Shaikh Al-Mufid, Al-Irshad. Ibn Nama, Muthir al-Ahzan, p. 21. Ibn Abul-Hadid, Sharh Nahjul Balagha, Vol. 4, p. 327 (first Egyptian edition). All these references say that the wealth confiscated by al-Hussain had been transported to Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan, and that al-Hussain wrote Mu’awiya in its regard saying, “A caravan coming from Yemen carrying merchandise, outfits, and amber passed by us on its way to you so that you may deposit it in the coffers of Damascus to thereby elevate the status of your father's offspring after you take of it whatever satisfies you. I need it, so I am taking it.” Mu’awiya wrote him back saying, “You took that wealth while you were unworthy of it after your admission that it belonged to me. The wali has a greater right to fare with the wealth; moreover, he has expenses to pay. By Allah! Had that wealth been left alone till it reached me, I would not have diminished your share of it, but there is in your head a certain desire, and I very much like to see it come out during my own time so that I may recognize your value and overlook what you have done. But I, by Allah, fear lest you should be tried by one who does not regard you more than he regards a she-camel's hiccup.”