Martyrdom of the commander of the Faithful

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On the fajr of the 19th of the month of Ramadhan in the year 40 AH Ibn Muljim hit his poisoned sword on the head of the Imam Ali (peace be upon him) that cracked his skull. The Imam (peace be upon him) immediately said, “In the Name of Allah; and on the Religion of Allah’s Messenger. I have really won. I swear it by the Lord of Ka`bah! O People! The son of the Jewess, Ibn Muljim, has killed me.”

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) suffered from that evil and poisonous strike three days and nights, while angels in the sky buzzed with supplication, and a black wind blew and made the world dark and gloomy, and Gabriel (peace be upon him) called between heaven and earth with a voice heard by every awake person:

"By Allah, the pillars of guidance have collapsed. By Allah, the stars of knowledge of all the prophets are no longer lit, the signs of piety have disappeared. By Allah, the ropes to God [orwat-ul-wothqa] are unraveled. All because Prophet Mohammad's cousin, the chosen Wasiy, Ali the Mortadha has been martyred. By Allah, the Master of guardians was killed by the most miserable of all."

Mohamad Ibn Hanafiyyah has said: "When it was the eve of the twenty-first of the Holy month of Ramadhan; and it got dark, my father gathered his children and his family to bid farewell, then he told them his commandments.

Then the Imam (peace be upon him) fainted for a while, when he woke up he said: "This is the Messenger of Allah (Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household), my uncle Hamza, my brother Ja'far and the companions of the Messenger of Allah (Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) are saying: Hasten your coming to us, we are longing to you!" Then he turned his eyes to his family and told them: "I bid farewell to you all, may Allah give you all success, and may Allah protect you all..."

Then he replied: "And peace be upon you, O messengers of my Lord." Then he recited: {For the like of this let the workers work.} (37:61) and {Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.} (16:128). His forehead sweated and his sough calmed. He mentioned Allah a lot and then his pronounced the Shahada, directed himself to the Qibla, closed his eyes, and stretched his legs and arms and said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without partner, and I bear witness that Mohammad is his slave and messenger. Then he (peace be upon him) died.

At that point, his daughter Zaynab (peace be upon her) and all other ladies of his family cried out: O Imam! O Ali! O Master! The people of Kufa knew then that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) died, women and men rushed in groups, all of them crying. All Kufa, its tribes, houses and all its surroundings were crying loud. And this day was like the day in which the Holy Prophet (Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) was martyred!

Mohamad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah said: We started preparing the funeral at night. Al-Hassan (peace be upon him) was washing him while al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) was pouring water on him. The Imam (peace be upon him) did not need someone to change his position to be washed, rather his was moving right and left as the washer wished! His smell was better than Musk and Ambar. Them al-Hassan (peace be upon him) called his sister Zaynab: O sister, bring me the burial scent of my grandfather; the Messenger of Allah (Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household). Zaynab rushed and brought it to him.

Then they wrapped him in five cloths as he (peace be upon him) has ordered, then they put him on the bed. Then al-Hassan and al-Hussayn (peace be upon both of them) carried the bed from the back, while its front rose without a seen holder. They were Gabriel and Mikael who were carrying the front of the bed.

When they arrived to his grave, the bed was placed, and then al-Hassan (peace be upon him) stood up and led the funeral prayer, he recited “Allah Akbar” seven times as his father ordered him.

Mohamad Ibn al-Hanafiyyah said: "We moved his bed a bit and removed the soil, we found a built grave, a cleft sepulchre and a carved piece of teak wood in which it is written: "This is what Noah the prophet has saved for the righteous, immaculate and purified slave." And when they wanted to put him down in sepulchre of his grave, they heard a voice saying: "Bring him down to the pure soil, the lover is longing to his beloved one!" People got astonished and perplexed! And so the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was buried before Fajr.




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