Marj Adhra'
Marj ʿAdhraʾ (Arabic: مَرْجُ عَذْراء) is a place near Damascus where Hujr b. 'Adi (a companion of Prophet Muhammad (s)) and his associates were martyred at the command of Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan.
'Adhra'
'Adhra' is a place in the Ghouta area of Damascus (about nineteen km from the city). Hujr b. 'Adi was one of the first Muslims who entered the area. He is quoted as saying that he was one of the first Muslims who recited takbir in this area. "Marj" means pasture; so, the phrase, "Marj 'Adhra'", means the pasture of 'Adhra'.
The Martyrdom of Hujr and his Friends in Marj 'Adhra'
When Mughira b. Shu'ba and others cursed Imam Ali (a) on minbar in Kufa, Hujr b. 'Adi al-Kindi, 'Amr b. Hamiq al-Khuza'i and their associates stood up and cursed them back. When Ziyad b. Abih became the ruler of Kufa, he tried to arrest them. 'Amr b. Hamiq al-Khuza'i and some others fled to Mosul, but Hujr b. 'Adi and thirteen men from his associates were arrested and sent to Mu'awiya. In his letter to Mu'awiya, Ziyad wrote that they opposed the Muslims in their curse of Abu Turab and told lies about the rulers, and thus they broke our order. When the arrestees arrived in Marj 'Adhra', a few miles from Damascus, Mu'awiya ordered their decapitation there. Some figures interceded for six people from Hujr's associates and so they survived, but the other seven men were killed: Hujr b. 'Adi al-Kindi, Sharik b. Shidad al-Hadrami, Sayfi b. Fasil al-Shibani, Qabisa b. Dubay'a al-'Abasi, Muhriz b. Shahab al-Tamimi, Kaddam b. Hayyan al-'Anzi, and 'Abd al-Rahman b. Hassan al-'Anzi.
The Burial Place of Hujr
Hujr b. 'Adi and his associates were buried in the area of Marj 'Adhra' after their martyrdom. On May 2, 2013, Hujr b. 'Adi's grave and darih was destroyed by al-Nusra Front, an opposition of the Syrian government. According to some news agencies, after the exhumation of the grave, they took away the remnants of Hujr's corpse to an unknown location.
References
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