Caravan of Captives: Difference between revisions

'''Caravan of Captives''' includes those members of [[Ahl al-Bayt]] and families of [[martyrs of Karbala]] who were captured after the [[martyrdom]] of [[Imam Hussain]] at the [[battle of Karbala]]. They were taken to [[Ibn Ziad]]’s court in [[Kufa]] and then to [[Yazid]]’s court in [[Damascus]]. On this journey, the fiery [[sermons of captives]], in particular sermons of [[Zaynab]] and [[Ali b. al-Hussain|Imam Sajjad]], spread the true message of Imam Hussain’s uprising and wakened the unaware souls of people. These brave speeches turned the gathering of [[Yazid]] in favor of Ahl al-Bayt.

There is disagreement among historians about the names and exact numbers of captives. However, some sources reported 61 women among the captives.

[[Ali ibn al-Hussain]] who was twenty-three years old.<ref>Misab az-Zubairi, Nasab Quraish, p. 58.</ref> He was placed on a lean camel without a saddle, and he was worn out by sickness.<ref>Ibn Tawoos, Al-Iqbal, p. 54.</ref> His son [the later Imam] [[Mohammad al-Baqir|al-Baqir]] <ref>Muhammad Hassan ash-Shaban Kurdi al-Qazwini, Riyad al-Ahzan, p. 49. al-Mas'udi, Ithbat al-Wasiyya, p. 143.</ref>, who was two years and a few months old,<ref>al-Mas'udi, Ithbat al-Wasiyya, p. 143 (Najaf edition). According to p. 203, Vol. 1, of Abul-Fida’‘s Tarikh, Vol. 1, p. 203, he was three years old.</ref> accompanied him. Among the children of [[Hasan B. Ali B. Abi Taleb|Imam al-Hasan]] taken captive were: Zayd, Amr, and al-Hasan II. The latter was captured after he had killed seventeen men. He received eighteen wounds, and his right arm had been cut off. Asma’ ibn Kharijah al-Fizari intervened to get him freed because his mother was also Fizari, so Ibn Sa'd left her husband take him.<ref>al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 10, in the chapter discussing the offspring of Imam al-Hassan. According to p. 28 of Isaf ar-Raghibeen, commenting on a footnote in Nar al-Absar, and also according to p. 8 of Al-Luhuf by Ibn Tawoos, he treated him at Kufa, and when he healed, he transported him to Medina</ref>  

Other male captives included two sons of Ja'far b. Abi Talib, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas b. Ali, Qasim b. 'Abd Allah b. Ja'far, Qasim b. Muhammad b. Ja'far, Muhammad al-Asghar b. 'Aqil, 'Uqbat b. Sam'an ([[Rabab]]'s servant), servant of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Rabbih al-Ansari, Muslim b. Ribah (servant of [[Imam Ali]]), and 'Ali b. 'Uthman al-Maghribi.   

Imam Ali's daughters: [[Zaynab]], Fatima, [[Umm Kulthum]]. Daughters of Imam al-Hussain: [[Sukayna]], Fatima, [[Ruqayya bint Al-Hussain|Ruqayya]], and Zaynab. Imam al-Hussain's wife: [[Rabab]]. Other female captives included [[Umm Muhammad]] (Fatima the daughter of Imam al-Hasan, the Imam al-Sajjad's wife and Imam al-Baqir's mother), and Fakiha the mother of [[Qarib b. Abd Allah|Qarib b. 'Abd Allah b. Urayqit]]. Umm al-Hasan, Khadija the wife of [[Abd al-Rahman b. Aqil]], Umm Hani the wife of [[Abd Allah al-Akbar b. Aqil]].  

After the [[martyrdom]] of [[Imam Hussain]], [[Ibn S’ad|Ibn Sa’d]] stayed one more day at [[Karbala]] to bury the dead bodies of his army, leaving the corpses of the [[Masters of the Youth of Paradise|Master of the Youths of Paradise]] and those of his [[Ahl al-Bayt]] and companions unwashed, unshrouded, and unburied. <ref>al-Khawarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, Vol. 2, p. 39.</ref>

In the afternoon of 11th of [[Muharram]], Ibn Sa'd left for [[Kufa]] with the women, the children, the bondmaids, and the surviving family members of al-Hussain’s companions. They included twenty women whom they mounted on camels without saddles.  

O Muhammad! Here is al-Hussain in the desert covered with blood, his limbs cut off! Here are your daughters taken captive and your offspring slaughtered!" These words caused friends and foes alike to weep<ref>al-Maqrazi, Khutat, Vol. 2, p. 280. According to the authors of both Maqtal al-Husayn and Al-Luhuf, the mourning was even on a much larger scale.</ref>, even the horses’ tears ran on their hooves.<ref>al-Khawarizmi, Maqtal al-Husayn, Vol. 2, p. 39. Shaikh LutfAllah ibn al-Mawla Muhammad Jawad al-Safi al-Gulpaigani, Al-Muntakhab al-Athar fi Akhbar al-Imam at-Thani Ashar (usually referred to as simply Al-Muntakhab), p. 332.</ref> Then she put her hands under his sacred body and lifted it as she supplicated saying, "O Lord! Do accept this sacrifice from us."<ref>al-Birjandi al-Safi, Al-Kibrit al-Ahmar, Vol. 3, p. 13, citing Al-Tiraz al-Muthahhab.</ref>  

Or see a martyr, me should you remember and mourn

After the day of [[Ashura]], an eye witness account, reported by historians, reveals: “In Muharram the year 61 A.H., I came to Kufa at the same time Umar ibn Sa'ad’s army brought 'Ali ibn Hussain and the women of [[Ahl al-Bayt]] to Kufa. People came out of their houses to see them and when the women saw the Ahl al-Bayt ladies riding on camels without respect and with insufficient covering, they started crying and slapping their heads and chests.” The eye witness said: “I heard 'Ali ibn Hussain with a very weak and shaken voice, while the illness took all his energy, his neck and hands restrained by chains saying: “These women cry; then how did they kill us.”<ref>Al-Amali by Tusi :91, al-Amali by al-Mufid :321, al-Ihtijaj by al-Tabarsi, 2:29.</ref>  

It is also reported that ʿObayd-Allah b. Ziad ordered Ali ibn Hussain’s execution but left him alive at the entreaty of his aunt, Zaynab. He was taken with the women to Yazid in Damascus.

There are various reports about the route of the caravan from Kufa to Damascus. However, some sacred places which have been claimed to may indicate the probable route of the [[Caravan of Captives]].

[[Ibn Shahr Ashub]], in his [[Manaqib]] says that one of the excellences of Imam Hussain are the marvels which have manifested from the place of his head from Karbala until Asqalan, and in between them in Mosul, Nusaybin, Hamah, Hums, Damascus and other places.

Shaikh Kaf’ami, Shaikh Bahai and Muhaddis Kashani narrate, that on the first day of the month of Safar, the head of Imam Hussain was brought into Damascus. It is related that when the Karbala captives arrived in Damascus, an old man came close to Imam Sajjad and told him: “Praise be to Allah who annihilated you and gifted our Amir with victory!”  

It was then that the elderly man threw his turban on the ground and held his hand to the sky as he said, “I disassociate myself before Allah from whoever killed you.<ref>Maqtal al-Khawarizmi, 2:61, Ibn Tawus fi al-Luhuf fi Qatli al-Tufuf:100, Maqtal al-Muqaram :449 from Tafsir ibn Kathir al-Alusi, Lawa’aj al-Ashjan 219, Kitab al-Futuh 5:130.</ref>”  

“We were splitting heads of men held by us as dear.<ref>Shaykh al-Mufid, Kitab al-Irshad 2:119- 1, Waq'at al-Taff by Ibn Mikhnaf: 168&271, Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih al-Andalusi, al-‘Iqd al-Farid 5:124, Maqatil al-Talibain: 80.</ref>  

He didn't know how to reply so he said, “You liar, you enemy of Allah!” She, toned down her language and said to him, “You are an Amir over the destiny of people; you oppressively taunt and subdue others.” Yazid was embarrassed from this talk and became silent, then the same Shamian repeated his plea to Yazid, who now rebuked him and said, “May Allah grant you a fate that will put an end to you!”

Sermons of Zaynab and Imam Sajjad at Yazid’s court left a great impression on audience. Yazid’s intention was to insult the family of Imam Hussain and boast about his victory over Imam Hussain. However, the fiery [[sermons of captives]] revealed the true message of Karbala and turned the gathering of Yazid’s court in favor of [[Ahl al-Bayt]].  

[[Sermon of Imam Sajjad at Yazid’s Court|Imam Sajjad’s Sermon at Yazid’s Court]]: In his speech, Imam Sajjad first introduced himself and then recounted the events leading to the [[martyrdom]] of Imam Hussain. After this sermon, those who figured out the truth began to cry and gathered around Imam Sajjad.

Yazid became so afraid of rumours and trouble that he ordered No'aman b. Bashir to take the ladies of the Ahl al-Bayt and the remainder of the Prophet's family back to their homes in [[Madina]] and his fear was so great that he ordered him to take them back during the night. However, the exact date of departure of captives from Damascus was not clear.

[[Category:Events]]

[[Category:Battle of Karbala]]

[[Category:Hussain’s Family]]