Lament of the Safe Conduct

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Lament of the safe conduct (rawḍa of Amān Nāma) is among Shi'a lamentations in the month of Muharram, the main theme of which is the safe conduct Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan brought for 'Abbas b. Ali (a) in the Battle of 'Ashura, but he (a) did not accept it and stayed with Imam al-Husayn (a). In this lament, the loyalty of 'Abbas (a) to his Imam (a) and his other attributes such as courage and self-sacrifice are mentioned, and at the end, the way he was martyred is narrated in poems, etc.

'Abbas (a)

'Abbas (a) (b. 26/647 - d. 61/680) was the son of Imam 'Ali (a) and Umm al-Banin, the commander and standard-bearer of the caravan of Imam al-Husayn (a) in the Battle of Karbala and was also known as Abu l-Fadl (a) (the Father of Excellence), Qamar bani al-Hashim (the Moon of Banu Hashim) and Saqqa' (the Water Carrier).[1] To Shi'a, 'Abbas (a) has one of the highest positions among the children of Imams (a) and the ninth day of Muharram (Tasu'a) is called by his name. Shi'a holds mourning gatherings for him, especially on this day and speaks about his merits and virtues.

According to historical reports, in the Battle of Karbala, after the tents of Imam al-Husayn's (a) caravan ran out of water, 'Abbas (a) was successful in bringing water to the family and companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) on Muharram 7. Once again on the day of 'Ashura, he (a) went toward Euphrates to bring water, but when he (a) was returning, they shot his water canteen, cut his hands and shot an arrow to his eye and hit sword on his head and finally martyred him.[2] At that time, Imam al-Husayn (a) said, "Now, my back broke, and I don't see a way out."

Imam al-Husayn (a) upon his brother, 'Abbas b. 'Ali (a)'s martyrdom said,

"الان انکسر ظهری و قلّت حیلتی"

"Now, my back broke and I don't see a way out."

Aman Nama (Safe Conduct) in Sources

In the evening of Tasu'a, Shimr brought a safe-conduct for 'Abbas (a) and his brothers and called them "my nephews,"[3] but 'Abbas (a) did not answer him until Imam al-Husayn (a) asked him to answer Shimr. According to sources, 'Abbas (a) told him,

"May your hands be cut! Curse be on this safe-conduct you have brought! O enemy of God! Do you want me to give up our master al-Husayn b. Fatima (a) and come under the order of the cursed sons of the cursed? Do you give us safe conduct while the son of the Prophet (s) is not safe?"[4]

Shimr called them "my nephews" due to being from the same tribe as Umm al-Banin, mother of 'Abbas (a); since she was the daughter of Hazam b. Khalid from Banu Kilab[5] and Shimr was also from Dhu l-Jawshan from the same tribe.[6]

Rawda

In the Rawda of Aman Nama, the story of bringing the safe-conduct for 'Abbas (a) by Shimr is mentioned. The reciter of rawda mentions the rejections of safe conduct by 'Abbas (a) and also cutting his hands which did not accept to take the safe conduct.[7]

Notes

  1. Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Muthīr al-aḥzān, p. 254; Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 89.
  2. Khwārizmī, Maqtal al-Ḥusayn, vol. 2, p. 34; Muqarram, Ḥādītha-yi Karbalā dar maqtal-i Muqarram, p. 262.
  3. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 390.
  4. Ibn Aʿtham, al-Futūḥ, vol. 5, p. 94; Abī Mikhnaf, Waqʿat al-Ṭaff, p. 219-220.
  5. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 4, p. 118.
  6. Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, al-ʿIqd al-farīd, vol. 3, p. 318-320.
  7. Mujāhidī, Kārawān-i shiʿr-i ʿashūrāyī, p. 589.

References

  • Abī Mikhnaf, Lūṭ b. Yaḥyā. Waqʿat al-Ṭaff. Edited by Muḥammad Hādī Yūsufī Gharawī. Qom: al-Majmaʿ al-ʿĀlamī li Ahl al-Bayt, 1427 AH.
  • Abu l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1408/1987.
  • Amīn, al-Sayyid Muḥsin al-.Aʿyān al-Shīʿa. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf, 1421 AH.
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
  • Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī, Aḥmad b. Aʿtham. Kitāb al-Futūḥ. Edited by ʿAlī Shīrī. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwaʾ, 1411/1991.
  • Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, Aḥmad Muḥammad. Al-ʿIqd al-farīd. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1417/1996.
  • Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad. Muthīr al-aḥzān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Ḥādhiq, 1380 Sh.
  • Khwārizmī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Maqtal al-Ḥusayn. Qom: Anwār al-Hudā, 1418 AH.
  • Muqarram, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-. Ḥādītha-yi Karbalā dar maqtal-i Muqarram. Translated by Muḥammad Jawād Mawlāʾī Nīyā. Qom: Jilwa-yi Kamāl, 1387 Sh.
  • Sibṭ b. al-Jawzī, Yūsuf b. Qazāwughlī. Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ min al-umma bi dhikr khaṣāʾiṣ al-aʾimma. Qom: al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1418 AH.
  • Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-.Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Second edition. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1967.