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14 July 2024

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8th Day of Muharram; Mourning for Martyrdom of Hazrat 'Ali-Akbar' ibn Imam Al-Hussain

ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic:علي بن الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب ), (b. 33/654 - d. 61/680), also known as Ali al-Akbar (علي الأکبر), was the son of Imam al-Husayn (a). He is said to have resembled the Prophet (s) in both appearance and disposition. During the Battle of Karbala, Ali al-Akbar (a) displayed incredible bravery and selflessness, ultimately being martyred while fighting the Yazid's army in combat.

'Ali al-Akbar (a)

ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic:علي بن الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب ), (b. 33/654 - d. 61/680), also known as Ali al-Akbar (علي الأکبر), was the son of Imam al-Husayn (a). He is said to have resembled the Prophet (s) in both appearance and disposition. During the Battle of Karbala, Ali al-Akbar (a) displayed incredible bravery and selflessness, ultimately being martyred while fighting the Yazid's army in combat. Narrations state that on the Day of Ashura, he (a) was the first martyr from Banu Hashim. He is buried next to his father in Karbala.

Biography

Ali al-Akbar (a) was born in Medina on Sha'ban 11, 33/March 7, 654. His father was Imam al-Husayn (a) and his mother was Layla bt. Abi Murra.[1] In historical reports, his title is mentioned as al-Akbar and his Kunya is Abu l-Hasan.[2]

He was martyred in the Battle of Karbala on Muharram 10, 61/October 10, 680 together with his father, many men of Banu Hashim, and the comanions of Imam al-Husayn (a).[3] He (a) was buried beside Imam al-Husayn (a) in Karbala. Genealogists and historians have reported his name with the title of Akbar as the eldest son of Imam al-Husayn (a).

However, some Shi'a scholars believed that he (a) was smaller than Imam al-Sajjad (a);[4] but, this opinion has been criticized by late Tustari.

Wife and Children

Regarding the texts of ziyarah of Ali al-Akbar (a), it seems that he (a) had wife and children,[5] since his Ziyarah reads, "Peace be upon you and upon your family and your household and your forefathers and your children."

Also, Imam al-Sadiq's (a) advice to Abu Hamza al-Thumali was, "when you arrived at his grave, put your face on the grave and say, 'peace be upon you, O Aba l-Hasan!" which suggests that he (a) had a son named Hasan.

Although some genealogists and scholars have clarified that he had no children and the progeny of Imam al-Husayn (a) only continued through Imam al-Sajjad (a).[6]

Naming

Imam al-Husayn (a) named him 'Ali to stand against those who wanted to eliminate the name and manner of Imam Ali (a). Imam al-Husayn (a) did not just name his son Ali, but he (a) named all his sons Ali.

Appearance

His face was majestic and shined like the moon. He (a) was adorned with beauty and cleanliness. He was middle height with white skin tending to pink. He (a) had black big eyes with long eyelashes. He (a) had a normal body, not fat and not thin with broad shoulders.[7]

He (a) walked fast as if he (a) was coming downhill. When he (a) turned to someone, he (a) turned all his body towards him. He (a) looked mostly down, rather looking up. He (a) smelled a fragrance of musk.

Imam al-Husayn (a) introduced him the most similar to the Prophet (s) in creation, manner, and attributes among people.[8]

Attributes, Virtues, and Merits

Since he (a) narrated many hadiths from his grandfather Imam Ali (a), he (a) was known as a Muhaddith.[9]

As Imam al-Husayn (a) acknowledged, Ali al-Akbar (a) was the full mirror of the appearance and personality of the Prophet (s).[10]

Steadfastness on the Path of Truth

At the station of Banu Maqatil, Imam al-Husayn (a) took a short sleep and after waking up repeatedly said, "'Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him do we indeed return (Qur'an 2:156). And All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds". 'Ali al-Akbar (a) asked about the reason, and Imam (a) answered, "O My son! I fell asleep and suddenly heard a horseman saying, 'This caravan moves on, and death follows them.' So, I learned that our death would come." 'Ali al-Akbar (a) said, "Dear father! May God never wills bad for you. Are we not having the rights?" Imam (a) said, "Yes, by the One all servants return to!" Ali al-Akbar (a) said, "O father! While we have the rights, We do not fear death."[11] Imam (a) prayed for 'Ali al-Akbar (a) and said, "May God gives you best of rewards a child may receive from his father."[12]

On the day of Ashura

On the day of Ashura' when Ali al-Akbar entered the battlefield, a man shouted, "O Ali! You are a relative of Amir al-Mu'minin (Yazid) and we want to value them, and if you want, we can give you safe conduct." Ali al-Akbar (a) answered, "the relationship with the Prophet (s) is more important to be valued."

After Ali al-Akbar (a) rejected the safe conduct of 'Umar b. Sa'd, he (a) began his recurrent attacks on them with this motto, "I am Ali son of Husayn (a), the son of Ali (a). By the house of God (Ka'ba) I swear we are the closest to the Prophet (s); By God, this son of adultery cannot rule over us. I will kill you by the sword and support my father, a blow of sword by a young Hashemite from Quraysh."[13]

First Martyr of Banu Hashim

Ali al-Akbar (a) was the first martyr of Banu Hashim on the Day of Ashura,' and it is mentioned in the text of Ziyara al-Shuhada, "Peace be upon you, O first one murdered from among the generation of good descendants."

Imam al-Husayn's (a) Word about 'Ali al-Akbar (a)

Imam al-Husayn (a) was watching the fight of Ali al-Akbar (a) and shouted, "O son of Sa'd! May God block your generation the way you blocked mine and did not respect my relationship with the Prophet (s); May God assigns someone to rule over you who beheads you in your bed."

He (a) then continued, "O God! I hold You witness upon these people. Against them, a man has gone to fight who is the most alike among people in appearance, manner, and speech to Your Messenger (s), Muhammad (s)."[14]

He (a) also said, "[O God!] when we loved to see Your Prophet (s), we looked at him (Ali al-Akbar (a))."[15]

Imam (a) also said, "O God! Prohibit the blessings of the earth from them and make disunity among them, and severely tear them apart and place them in different factions; do not make statesmen and rulers happy with them; they actually invited us to support us, but then they became our enemy and began fighting us while they themselves invited us."

Then Imam (a) recited two verses of Sura Al 'Imran: "Indeed Allah chose Adam and Nuh, and the progeny of Ibrahim and the progeny of Imran above all the nations (33) some of them are descendants of the others, and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing."

Fighting

First Fight

In his first fight, Ali al-Akbar (a) attacked the army of Kufa in the left and right and the center. None of them managed to resist him. They say he dropped 120 horsemen in his attacks while thirst had taken away his strength. To regain his energy, he (a) returned to his father and let him about this thirst.

When Imam (a) found about that, he began crying and gave Ali al-Akbar (a) his ring and said, "take this and put it in your mouth, I hope you soon meet your grandfather, and he (s) will remove your thirst with a bowl of water so that you would never again be thirsty."[16].

Second Fight

After Ali al-Akbar (a) met Imam al-Husayn (a), he returned to the battlefield and dropped about 200 of the people of Kufa. However, they did not still show any interest in killing him.[17]

His Martyrdom

When Ali al-Akbar (a) bravely attacked the enemy, suddenly the eyes of Murra b. Munqidh fell on Ali al-Akbar (a) and said, "I accept responsibility for sins of Arabs if I do not make his father mournful for his death." And blow his sword on Ali's (a) head, which made him confused, and others attacked him and hit him all over his body.[18] He (a) still had a little strength when he (a) shouted, "O Father! Peace be upon you, this is my grandfather, the Prophet (s) who now has come and removed my thirst with an overflown bowl of water. He (s) says, 'Rush to us'" and then breathed his last and passed on to the next."[19]

After Martyrdom

Coming of Imam al-Husayn (a) to his Son

Imam al-Husayn (a) came to his son, threw himself on him, and put his chick on his son's.[20] Imam al-Husayn (a) cursed them: "May God kills people who killed you."[21] He (a) then said, "O my son! How rude and shameful these people are, and they disrespect the holiness of the Prophet (s)." and continued, "After you, O my son! Woe be to this world!"[22] Imam (a) then took a handful of Ali's (a) blood and threw it towards the sky. And not a drop of that spilled on the ground.[23]

Moving his Body towards the Tent of Martyrs

Zaynab al-Kubra (a) came forth mourning together with other women and cried,[24] "O my brother! O, my brother!" She (s) came and threw herself on Ali's body. Imam al-Husayn (a) sent her sister towards tents. To move Ali's (a) body, Imam al-Husayn (a) called the youths of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) saying, "carry your brother!" So, they took Ali al-Akbar (a) from where he (a) was martyred and placed him on the ground against the tents.[25]

Cursing the Killers of Ali al-Akbar (a)

The murderer of Ali al-Akbar (a) has been cursed by Imam al-Mahdi(a) in the Ziyarah al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa where it reads, "May God Himself judges about your killer, Marra b. Munqidh b. Nu'man al-Abdi. May God curse him and humiliate him, and make anyone who participated in your killing and assisted them to taste hell which is such a horrible place."[26]

Notes

  1.  Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 86; Abī Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-ṭaff, p. 276; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 184.
  2. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, P. 86.
  3. Samāwī, Ibṣār al-ʿayn, p. 61.
  4. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 114.
  5. Ibn Qulawayh, Kāmil al-zīyārāt, p. 239.
  6. Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 184; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 5, p. 311.
  7. Maḥallātī, Farsān al-hayjāʾ, p. 409-410.
  8. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 34.
  9. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 86.
  10. Ibn Aʿtham, al-Futūḥ, vol. 5, p. 114; Ḥillī, Muthīr al-aḥzān, p. 68.
  11. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 82.
  12. Abī Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-ṭaff, p. 276; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 3, p. 309.
  13. Muqarram, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, p. 321; Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 106.
  14. Ḥillī, Muthīr al-aḥzān, p. 68; Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 139.
  15. Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 139; Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 35.
  16. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 35.
  17. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, 1380 Sh, p. 459.
  18. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 115; Mufīd, al-Irshād, 1380 Sh, p. 459.
  19. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 115; Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 49.
  20. Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 139.
  21. Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 106; Ḥillī, Muthīr al-aḥzān, p. 278.
  22. Mufīd, al-Irshād,1380 Sh, p. 459; Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 139.
  23. Muqarram, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, p. 257.
  24. Ḥillī, Muthīr al-aḥzān, p. 247.
  25. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 3, p. 336.
  26. Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, vol. 3, p. 74.
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