Imam Hossein (AS) at Karbala: A Short Narration
- last year
After a few days, the Imam was confronted by a Kufan army of about 1,000 horse riders under the leadership of Hurr with orders to arrest the Imam. The Imam resisted, and decided to return to Medina since he was left with no choice. Hurr opposed him, and stated his orders were to not leave the Imam alone under any circumstances. He told the Imam that he did not have an order for war, and gave the Imam two choices, to surrender and come with him to Kufa before Ibn Ziyad, or to go somewhere other than Kufa and Medina. Thus, the Imam had to redirect his caravan away from Kufa.
After a few days, Hurr received a letter from Ibn Ziyad in which he ordered Hurr to stop the Imam in the desert away from any residential areas. Therefore, on the second day of Muharram, the Imam entered the land of Karbala. Some of the Imam’s companions suggested starting a war with the army of Hurr before any reinforcements joined him, but the Imam declined, as he did not want to initiate the war.
The Imam in Karbala
On the third day of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa'ad arrived in Karbala with 4,000 troops, and took away the leadership of the Kufan army from Hurr. Umar ibn Sa'ad was hesitant to come to Karbala, but Ibn Ziyad threatened his candidacy for governorship of Rey in Iran so he accepted. The Kufan army was arriving by the thousands each day. By the sixth day of Muharram, the Kufan army was complete at around 22,000 to 35,000 soldiers.
During this time, the Shia followers in Kufa were no longer united and had lost the power of unity. The majority of them were either in prison or hiding to save their lives and avoid joining the Kufan army. If they were forcefully recruited, they would escape before arriving in Karbala. According to some narrations, up to around 32 soldiers from the Kufan army joined the Imam in Karbala.
Over several days, the Imam held a few meetings with Umar ibn Sa'ad, during which he tried to warn him to avoid bloodshed and allow the Imam to return. Umar ibn Sa'ad wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad and encouraged him to accept the Imam’s offer.
Ibn Ziyad ordered Umar ibn Sa'ad to block access to the water from the Euphrates River to put more pressure on the Imam to pay allegiance. Thus, by the beginning of the seventh day of Muharram, the Imam did not have access to water.
On the ninth day of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa'ad received a letter from Ibn Ziyad, denying his proposal to avoid a war and threatening to replace him with Shimr if he failed to finish the Imam. Ibn Ziyad also asked Umar ibn Sa'ad explicitly to trample the Imam’s body after his victory. Thus, after the afternoon prayers, Umar ibn Sa'ad prepared his army for war, where the Imam sent his brother, Abbas, to postpone the war until the next day’s morning. Umar ibn Sa'ad accepted with hopes that the Imam would surrender.
At nightfall, the Imam delivered a speech to his companions and informed them that everyone who would stay with him would certainly be killed the next day in the war. The Imam appreci
After a few days, Hurr received a letter from Ibn Ziyad in which he ordered Hurr to stop the Imam in the desert away from any residential areas. Therefore, on the second day of Muharram, the Imam entered the land of Karbala. Some of the Imam’s companions suggested starting a war with the army of Hurr before any reinforcements joined him, but the Imam declined, as he did not want to initiate the war.
The Imam in Karbala
On the third day of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa'ad arrived in Karbala with 4,000 troops, and took away the leadership of the Kufan army from Hurr. Umar ibn Sa'ad was hesitant to come to Karbala, but Ibn Ziyad threatened his candidacy for governorship of Rey in Iran so he accepted. The Kufan army was arriving by the thousands each day. By the sixth day of Muharram, the Kufan army was complete at around 22,000 to 35,000 soldiers.
During this time, the Shia followers in Kufa were no longer united and had lost the power of unity. The majority of them were either in prison or hiding to save their lives and avoid joining the Kufan army. If they were forcefully recruited, they would escape before arriving in Karbala. According to some narrations, up to around 32 soldiers from the Kufan army joined the Imam in Karbala.
Over several days, the Imam held a few meetings with Umar ibn Sa'ad, during which he tried to warn him to avoid bloodshed and allow the Imam to return. Umar ibn Sa'ad wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad and encouraged him to accept the Imam’s offer.
Ibn Ziyad ordered Umar ibn Sa'ad to block access to the water from the Euphrates River to put more pressure on the Imam to pay allegiance. Thus, by the beginning of the seventh day of Muharram, the Imam did not have access to water.
On the ninth day of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa'ad received a letter from Ibn Ziyad, denying his proposal to avoid a war and threatening to replace him with Shimr if he failed to finish the Imam. Ibn Ziyad also asked Umar ibn Sa'ad explicitly to trample the Imam’s body after his victory. Thus, after the afternoon prayers, Umar ibn Sa'ad prepared his army for war, where the Imam sent his brother, Abbas, to postpone the war until the next day’s morning. Umar ibn Sa'ad accepted with hopes that the Imam would surrender.
At nightfall, the Imam delivered a speech to his companions and informed them that everyone who would stay with him would certainly be killed the next day in the war. The Imam appreci