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Hussain ibn Ali: Difference between revisions
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In Kufa the leaders of the Shiʿa, on learning of Muawiya’s death, assembled again in the house of Solayman b. Sorad. They wrote to Hussain praising God for having destroyed the obstinate tyrant Mu’awiya, who had seized the rule of the Muslim community without its consent, appropriated its fayʾ (immovable properties acquired by conquest) and made it pass into the hands of the wealthy and powerful, who had killed their best men and retained the most evil among them. They urged Hussain to join them, since they had no [[imam]]. They informed him that they did not attend the Friday prayer with Mu’awiya’s governor Noʿman b. Bashir Ansari and would drive him out of the town as soon as Hussain agreed to come to them. They sent him in short order seven messages with bags of letters of support by Kufan warriors and tribal leaders. The first two of them arrived in Mecca on 10 Ramazan 60/13 June 680. Hussain wrote the Kufans that he understood from their letters that they had no imam and they wished him to come to unite them by right guidance. He informed them that he was sending his cousin [[Muslim ibn Aqil]] b. Abi Taleb to report to him on the situation. If he found them united as their letters indicated he would speedily join them, for it was the duty of the imam to act in accordance with the Koran, to uphold justice, to proclaim the truth, and to dedicate himself to the cause of God. | In Kufa the leaders of the Shiʿa, on learning of Muawiya’s death, assembled again in the house of Solayman b. Sorad. They wrote to Hussain praising God for having destroyed the obstinate tyrant Mu’awiya, who had seized the rule of the Muslim community without its consent, appropriated its fayʾ (immovable properties acquired by conquest) and made it pass into the hands of the wealthy and powerful, who had killed their best men and retained the most evil among them. They urged Hussain to join them, since they had no [[imam]]. They informed him that they did not attend the Friday prayer with Mu’awiya’s governor Noʿman b. Bashir Ansari and would drive him out of the town as soon as Hussain agreed to come to them. They sent him in short order seven messages with bags of letters of support by Kufan warriors and tribal leaders. The first two of them arrived in Mecca on 10 Ramazan 60/13 June 680. Hussain wrote the Kufans that he understood from their letters that they had no imam and they wished him to come to unite them by right guidance. He informed them that he was sending his cousin [[Muslim ibn Aqil]] b. Abi Taleb to report to him on the situation. If he found them united as their letters indicated he would speedily join them, for it was the duty of the imam to act in accordance with the Koran, to uphold justice, to proclaim the truth, and to dedicate himself to the cause of God. | ||
Hussain was also visited by a Shiʿite supporter with two of his sons from Basra, where Shiʿite sentiment was otherwise limited. He then sent identical letters to the chiefs of the five divisions into which the Basran tribes were divided for administrative purposes. He wrote them that God had preferred the Prophet Muhammad above all His creatures and that his family were his legatees (awsiaʾ) and heirs of his position. Their people (Qoraysh) had illegitimately claimed the right which belonged exclusively to the Prophet’s family. The family had consented to their action for the sake of the unity of the community. Those who had seized the right of the Prophet’s family had set many things straight and had sought the truth. He, Hussain, prayed to God for mercy on them and on the Prophet’s family. He was now summoning them to the Book of God and the tradition (sunna) of His Prophet. The tradition had indeed been destroyed while innovation had been spread. Hussain promised to guide them on the path of righteousness if they would obey and follow him. The contents of the letter closely reflected the guideline set by [[ʿAli]], who had strongly upheld the sole right of the family of the Prophet to leadership of the Muslim community but had also praised the conduct of the first caliphs Abu Bakr and ʿOmar. While most of the recipients of the letter kept it secret, one of them suspected that it was a ploy of the governor [[ʿObayd-Allah Ibn Ziad]] to test their loyalty and turned it over to him. ʿObayd-Allah seized and beheaded Hussain’s messenger and addressed a stern warning to the people of Basra.<ref>Tabari, II, pp. 235-36, 240-41</ref> | Hussain was also visited by a Shiʿite supporter with two of his sons from Basra, where Shiʿite sentiment was otherwise limited. He then sent identical letters to the chiefs of the five divisions into which the Basran tribes were divided for administrative purposes. He wrote them that God had preferred the Prophet Muhammad above all His creatures and that his family were his legatees (awsiaʾ) and heirs of his position. Their people (Qoraysh) had illegitimately claimed the right which belonged exclusively to the Prophet’s family. The family had consented to their action for the sake of the unity of the community. Those who had seized the right of the Prophet’s family had set many things straight and had sought the truth. He, Hussain, prayed to God for mercy on them and on the Prophet’s family. He was now summoning them to the Book of God and the tradition (sunna) of His Prophet. The tradition had indeed been destroyed while innovation had been spread. Hussain promised to guide them on the path of righteousness if they would obey and follow him. The contents of the letter closely reflected the guideline set by [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|ʿAli]], who had strongly upheld the sole right of the family of the Prophet to leadership of the Muslim community but had also praised the conduct of the first caliphs Abu Bakr and ʿOmar. While most of the recipients of the letter kept it secret, one of them suspected that it was a ploy of the governor [[ʿObayd-Allah Ibn Ziad]] to test their loyalty and turned it over to him. ʿObayd-Allah seized and beheaded Hussain’s messenger and addressed a stern warning to the people of Basra.<ref>Tabari, II, pp. 235-36, 240-41</ref> | ||
==Muslim b. ‘Aqil’s Martyrdom== | ==Muslim b. ‘Aqil’s Martyrdom== | ||
The mission of Muslim b. ʿAqil was initially successful. The Kufan Shiʿites visited him freely, and 18,000 men are said to have enlisted with him in support of Hussain. He wrote to Hussain, encouraging him to come swiftly to Kufa. The situation changed radically when Yazid replaced Noʿman b. Bashir by ʿObayd-Allah b. Ziad, ordering the latter to deal severely with Muslim b. ʿAqil. ʿObayd-Allah succeeded in intimidating the tribal chiefs. A revolt collapsed when the rebels failed to capture the governor’s palace. Muslim b. ʿAqil was found and delivered to ʿObayd-Allah, who had him beheaded on the top of the palace and his body thrown down to the crowd. [[ | The mission of Muslim b. ʿAqil was initially successful. The Kufan Shiʿites visited him freely, and 18,000 men are said to have enlisted with him in support of Hussain. He wrote to Hussain, encouraging him to come swiftly to Kufa. The situation changed radically when Yazid replaced Noʿman b. Bashir by ʿObayd-Allah b. Ziad, ordering the latter to deal severely with Muslim b. ʿAqil. ʿObayd-Allah succeeded in intimidating the tribal chiefs. A revolt collapsed when the rebels failed to capture the governor’s palace. Muslim b. ʿAqil was found and delivered to ʿObayd-Allah, who had him beheaded on the top of the palace and his body thrown down to the crowd. [[Haniʾ b. ʿUrwa al-Muradi|Haniʾ b. ʿUrwa]], chief of the tribe of Morad, was also crucified for having sheltered him. Yazid wrote to ʿObayd-Allah, commending him highly for his decisive action and ordering him to set up watches for Hussain and his supporters and to arrest them but to kill only those who would fight him. | ||
==Hussain’s Departure to Kufa== | ==Hussain’s Departure to Kufa== | ||
Before news of the adverse turn of events arrived in Mecca, Hussain set out for Kufa on 8 or 10 Dhu’l-Hejja 60/10 or 12 September 680, breaking off his hajj for the ʿomra (the lesser pilgrimage). He was accompanied by some fifty members of his family, close kin, and a few supporters. He had been advised by ʿAbd-Allah b. ʿOmar and other prominent men of Qoraysh against his move. According to most accounts, ʿAbd-Allah b. Zobayr, seeing him as a rival in his own bid for popular support, urged him to join his partisans in Kufa <ref>see esp. Ibn Saʿd, p. 56</ref>, but this is contradicted by other reports, according to which he offered to support him if he would rise in Mecca.<ref>Baladhori, II, p. 467</ref> His uncle ʿAbd-Allah b. ʿAbbas in particular warned him not to trust the Kufans, who had betrayed his father and his brother and pleaded with him not to take his women and children along if he insisted on accepting their invitation. Hussain regularly thanked his advisers for their concern but replied that he must leave the outcome to the decision of God. After Hussain’s departure, his cousin ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar sent him a letter with his sons ʿAwn and Muhammad, in which he implored him once more not to proceed. He further induced the governor of Mecca, ʿAmr b. Saʿid Ashdaq, to write a guarantee of safety and protection for him if he would return to Mecca. The governor sent his brother Yahya b. Saʿid with a group of men and ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar to persuade Hussain, but he told them that he had seen a vision of the Prophet, who had ordered him to proceed, whatever the outcome. As he continued on his way, there was a minor scuffle between his supporters and the messengers of the governor, who then returned to Mecca. The two sons of ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar accompanied Hussain and were killed with him. | Before news of the adverse turn of events arrived in Mecca, Hussain set out for Kufa on 8 or 10 Dhu’l-Hejja 60/10 or 12 September 680, breaking off his hajj for the ʿomra (the lesser pilgrimage). He was accompanied by some fifty members of his family, close kin, and a few supporters. He had been advised by ʿAbd-Allah b. ʿOmar and other prominent men of Qoraysh against his move. According to most accounts, ʿAbd-Allah b. Zobayr, seeing him as a rival in his own bid for popular support, urged him to join his partisans in Kufa <ref>see esp. Ibn Saʿd, p. 56</ref>, but this is contradicted by other reports, according to which he offered to support him if he would rise in Mecca.<ref>Baladhori, II, p. 467</ref> His uncle ʿAbd-Allah b. ʿAbbas in particular warned him not to trust the Kufans, who had betrayed his father and his brother and pleaded with him not to take his women and children along if he insisted on accepting their invitation. Hussain regularly thanked his advisers for their concern but replied that he must leave the outcome to the decision of God. After Hussain’s departure, his cousin ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar sent him a letter with his sons ʿAwn and Muhammad, in which he implored him once more not to proceed. He further induced the governor of Mecca, ʿAmr b. Saʿid Ashdaq, to write a guarantee of safety and protection for him if he would return to Mecca. The governor sent his brother Yahya b. Saʿid with a group of men and ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar to persuade Hussain, but he told them that he had seen a vision of the Prophet, who had ordered him to proceed, whatever the outcome. As he continued on his way, there was a minor scuffle between his supporters and the messengers of the governor, who then returned to Mecca. The two sons of ʿAbd-Allah b. Jaʿfar accompanied Hussain and were killed with him. | ||
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Hussain’s first marriage was with Rabab, daughter of Emraʾ-al-Qays b. ʿAdi, a chief of the Banu Kalb. Her father came to Medina early during the caliphate of ʿOmar and was appointed by him amir over all tribesmen of Qozaʿa who would convert to Islam. ʿAli proposed to him to establish marriage ties, and he agreed to give three of his daughter to ʿAli, Hasan, and Hussain in marriage. Hasan and Hussain, and no doubt the daughters of Emraʾ-al-Qays, were too young for the wedding to take place immediately, and Hasan may never actually have married the girl chosen for him. Hussain later married Rabab, and in the later years of ʿAli’s caliphate, Emraʾ-al-Qays and his kin were referred to as his in-laws.<ref>ashar; Thaqafi, p. 426</ref> Rabab remained Hussain’s favorite wife, even though she was childless for many years. Probably after ʿAli’s death, she bore him a daughter Amena (Amina, Omayma), commonly known as [[Sokayna]]. Later Rabab bore him his son ʿAbd-Allah, who was still a child when he was killed at Karbala. He presumably had saved his own patronymic (konya), Abu ʿAbd-Allah, for a son by her. In some late Shiʿite sources ʿAbd-Allah is called [[ʿAli Asqar]] (q.v.), but this is without historical foundation. After Hussain’s death, Rabab is said to have spent a year in grief at his grave and to have refused to remarry. No details are known about Hussain’s marriage to Solafa, a woman of the tribe Bali of Qozaʿa. She bore him a son named Jaʿfar, who died during Hussain’s lifetime. | Hussain’s first marriage was with Rabab, daughter of Emraʾ-al-Qays b. ʿAdi, a chief of the Banu Kalb. Her father came to Medina early during the caliphate of ʿOmar and was appointed by him amir over all tribesmen of Qozaʿa who would convert to Islam. ʿAli proposed to him to establish marriage ties, and he agreed to give three of his daughter to ʿAli, Hasan, and Hussain in marriage. Hasan and Hussain, and no doubt the daughters of Emraʾ-al-Qays, were too young for the wedding to take place immediately, and Hasan may never actually have married the girl chosen for him. Hussain later married Rabab, and in the later years of ʿAli’s caliphate, Emraʾ-al-Qays and his kin were referred to as his in-laws.<ref>ashar; Thaqafi, p. 426</ref> Rabab remained Hussain’s favorite wife, even though she was childless for many years. Probably after ʿAli’s death, she bore him a daughter Amena (Amina, Omayma), commonly known as [[Sokayna]]. Later Rabab bore him his son ʿAbd-Allah, who was still a child when he was killed at Karbala. He presumably had saved his own patronymic (konya), Abu ʿAbd-Allah, for a son by her. In some late Shiʿite sources ʿAbd-Allah is called [[ʿAli Asqar]] (q.v.), but this is without historical foundation. After Hussain’s death, Rabab is said to have spent a year in grief at his grave and to have refused to remarry. No details are known about Hussain’s marriage to Solafa, a woman of the tribe Bali of Qozaʿa. She bore him a son named Jaʿfar, who died during Hussain’s lifetime. | ||
Of Hussain’s two sons named ʿAli, the one who survived him, known as [[Zayn al-ʿAbedin]], the fourth Imam of the Shiʿites, was the elder and probably his first-born son. He was twenty-three at the time of the battle of Karbala and thus was born during the caliphate of ʿAli. His mother was a slave woman, probably from Sind. She was later married to a client of Hussain and had a son with him, ʿAbd-Allah b. Zobayd, who was thus a maternal brother of ʿAli Zayn | Of Hussain’s two sons named ʿAli, the one who survived him, known as [[ʿAli b. al-Hussain|Zayn al-ʿAbedin]], the fourth Imam of the Shiʿites, was the elder and probably his first-born son. He was twenty-three at the time of the battle of Karbala and thus was born during the caliphate of ʿAli. His mother was a slave woman, probably from Sind. She was later married to a client of Hussain and had a son with him, ʿAbd-Allah b. Zobayd, who was thus a maternal brother of ʿAli Zayn al-ʿAbedin. The descendants of ʿAbd-Allah b. Zobayd later lived in Yanboʿ.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, p. 17</ref> Whereas Zayn al-ʿAbedin is called ʿAli al-Asqar in the early Sunnite sources, Muhammad Mofid <ref>pp. 236-37</ref> and other Shiʿite authors are probably correct in calling him ʿAli Akbar. The second ʿAli, called ʿAli Akbar in the Sunnite sources but ʿAli Asqar by Shaikh Mofid, was nineteen when he was killed at Karbala. His mother was Layla, daughter of Morra b. ʿOrwa Ṯaqafi and Maymuna bt. Abi Sofyan, sister of the caliph Muawiya. The marriage must have taken place soon after Hasan’s surrender to Mu’awiya, as it would not have been possible during the lifetime of ʿAli. Hussain evidently named his son by Layla also ʿAli since he, because of his aristocratic Arab mother, had precedence over his elder son by a non-Arab slave woman to become his primary heir. Mu’awiya is even quoted as observing that ʿAli b. Hussain was the one most suited for the caliphate, since he combined the bravery of the Banu Hashem, the munificence of the Banu Umayya, and the pride of Thaqif.<ref>Abu’l-Faraj Esfahani, Maqatel, p. 80</ref> | ||
After the death of Hasan, Hussain married Omm Eshaq, daughter of the prominent Companion Talha. She bore Hussain’s daughter Fatima. Contrary to some reports, Fatima must have been younger than Sokayna. At the time of her father’s death, she was probably engaged, but not yet married, to Hasan b. Hasan, the primary heir of Hasan b. ʿAli. | After the death of Hasan, Hussain married Omm Eshaq, daughter of the prominent Companion Talha. She bore Hussain’s daughter Fatima. Contrary to some reports, Fatima must have been younger than Sokayna. At the time of her father’s death, she was probably engaged, but not yet married, to Hasan b. Hasan, the primary heir of Hasan b. ʿAli. | ||
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==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
* [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e141 OXFORD ISLAMIC STUDIES ONLINE] | *[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e141 OXFORD ISLAMIC STUDIES ONLINE] | ||
* [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA] | *[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA] | ||
[[Category:Individuals]] | [[Category:Individuals]] | ||
[[Category:Historical Character]] | [[Category:Historical Character]] | ||