Khawli b. Yazid al-Asbahi

From Wikihussain
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Khawli b. Yazid al-Asbahi
Native name
خولی بن یزید الاصبحی
Full NameKhawli b. Yazid al-Asbahi al-Iyadi al-Darimi
LineageHimyar
Death66/685
Cause of DeathHe was killed by al-Mukhtar's companions
EraYazid b. Mu'awiyya, Umayyad dynasty
Known forKilling Ja'far b. Ali and 'Uthman b. Ali

Khawli b. Yazid al-Asbahi (Arabic: خولی بن یزید الاصبحی) participated in the Battle of Karbala on the side of the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd He was one of those involved in the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussain, 'Uthman, and Ja'far (sons of Imam 'Ali). By the order of 'Umar b. Sa'd, after the martyrdom of Imam al-Hussain, Khawli and Humayd b. Muslim al-Azdi took the head of Imam to Ibn Ziyad. Since they arrived there at night when the palace was closed, Khawli took the head of Imam to his house which made his wife seriously admonish him. This story is narrated in the mourning ceremonies of Shi'a as "Elegy of the Oven of Khawli". In some sources, beheading Imam al-Hussain is attributed to Khawli. He was killed in the uprising of al-Mukhtar in 66/685.

Biography[edit | edit source]

There is no accurate information about his birth. He was not a famous nor an important person, thus his lineage is unknown. His father was Yazid al-Asbahi, who is said to be from the tribe of Himyar.[1] He was present in the Battle of Karbala and was considered one of the killers of Imam al-Hussain.[2] Al-Nawar bt. Malik[3] or 'Ayuf[4] was Khawli's wife. When Khawli took the head of Imam to his house, his wife admonished him. She also later revealed the hiding place of Khawli to the companions of al-Mukhtar.[5] Al-Tabari mentioned that al-Nawar bt. Malik was from Banu Asad tribe. He also mentioned that Khawli had another wife from Hadramis.[6]

In the Battle of Karbala[edit | edit source]

In some sources, he is mentioned as one of the killers of Ja'far b. 'Ali and 'Uthman b. Ali.[7] Khawli shot 'Uthman by an arrow and a man from Banu Darim killed him.[8] In Ziyarah al-Shuhada', Khawli is cursed as the person who shot arrows toward 'Uthman b. Ali.[9]

After that Imam al-Hussain had received many injuries and felt exhausted, Khawli, encouraged by Shimr or Sinan, intended to decapitate Imam al-Hussain; but he started shivering in a way that he could not do that. Sinan reproached him and cut Imam al-Hussain's pure head by himself.[10] However, in some reports, it is said that Khawli was the one who decapitated Imam al-Hussain.[11] Regardless of the details, he was counted in most of the reports as one of the killers of Imam al-Hussain.[12]

After 'Ashura'[edit | edit source]

'Umar b. Sa'd gave Imam al-Hussain's pure head to Khawli so that he took it to Kufa to 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad and give him the news of the victory of Kufa army.[13] Khawli arrived in Kufa at night so took the head of Imam to his house and put it under a basin[14] and told his wife, "I have brought you something that will make us needless forever. This is the head of al-Hussain which is in your house." His wife said: "Woe be to you! Others have brought gold and silver and you have brought the head of the son of the Prophet! By God I swear that my head and yours would never gather in one house."[15]

It is famously said among people that Khawli hid the head of Imam in the oven of his house. Mourning for this event is recited in the second and third ten-days of Muharram and is known as "Elegy of the Oven of Khawli".

Death[edit | edit source]

After that al-Mukhtar took control of Kufa, he sent Abu 'Umra to track down the killers of Imam al-Hussain including Khawli.[16] When Khawli knew that al-Mukhtar's companions are at his door, he hid in the cesspit. They asked his wife about him and she, who was displeased with him and had rebuked him for bringing the head of Imam al-Hussain to her house, pointed to his hideout. Al-Mukhtar's companions brought him out and took him to al-Mukhtar. al-Mukhtar ordered them to kill him near his house and then burn his body.[17]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 393; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 206.
  2. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 393; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 468; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 6, p. 276.
  3. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 206; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 8, p. 189.
  4. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 6, p. 407.
  5. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 206; Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 240.
  6. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 6, p. 59.
  7. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 468.
  8. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 201; Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 92; Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 109.
  9. ↑ Ibn Mashhadī, al-Mazār al-kabīr, p. 487.
  10. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 453; Abū Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-ṭaff, p. 255; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 45, p. 55.
  11. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 393; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 204, 218; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 8, p. 272.
  12. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 450; Abū Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-ṭaff, p. 253.
  13. ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 113; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 45, p. 62, 107; Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 4, p. 112.
  14. ↑ Abū Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-ṭaff, p. 258.
  15. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 206; Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 80; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 455.
  16. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 6, p. 407.
  17. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 6, p. 406; Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 240; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 6, p. 59.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

  • Abū Mikhnaf, Lūṭ b. Yaḥyā. Waqʿat al-ṭaff. Third edition. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Mūḥammad Bāqir Maḥmūdī. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf, 1977 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jail, 1412 AH.
  • Ibn Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, 1385 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1415 AH.
  • Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407 AH.
  • Ibn Mashhadī, Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar. Al-Mazār al-kabīr. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1387 Sh.
  • Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Qom: Intishārāt-i ʿAllāma, 1379 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Wafāʾ, 1404 AH.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād. Qom: Kungira-yi Jahānī-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dār al-Turāth, 1387 AH.

Source[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikihussain.com/index.php?title=Khawli_b._Yazid_al-Asbahi&oldid=14610"