Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya: Difference between revisions

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[[Al-Allama al-Majlisi]] mentions a story about Muhammad's presence in that battle. According to the story, during the battle, Imam Ali (a) commanded Muhammad to raid the right side of Mu'awiya's army with his troops. Muhammad fulfilled his father's command successfully but got injured.  

Muhammad was not present in the battle of Karbala. Shia scholars have mentioned several reasons for his absence; they believe that his absence was not out of disobedience or disagreement with Imam al-Husayn (a). These reasons include:

* Muhammad's sickness when Imam al-Husayn (a) left Medina for Mecca, which is mentioned by [[al-Allama al-Hilli]] in response to Muhanna b. Sinan.<ref>Majlisi, ''Bihar al-anwar'', vol.42 p.110</ref> According to some scholars, the sickness was related to his eyes.<ref>Muqarram, ''Maqtal al-Husayn'', p.135</ref>  

* Muhammad was not obliged by the Imam (a) to join him and participate in the uprising. The author of ''[[Tanqih al-maqal]]'' maintains that because Imam al-Husayn (a) did not oblige anyone in [[Medina]] or [[Mecca]] to join him, Muhammad did not commit a sin that would tarnish his integrity. He writes, "When Imam al-Husayn (a) moved from [[Hijaz]] to [[Iraq]], he knew that he was going to be martyred. However, he did not disclose this, so that it does not become incumbent on all believers to join him. It seemed to people that the Imam (a) was moving to [[Kufa]] to take the leadership of the people who had invited him to do so. In this case, it was not obligatory for others to join him, and those who did not accompany him were not sinners … Thus, there were a number of righteous people for whom martyrdom was not written, and they stayed in Hijaz, but no one doubts their righteousness. Therefore, the remaining of Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya and [['Abd Allah b. Ja'far]] in Hijaz is not a reason for their disobedience or deviation."<ref>Mamaqani, ''Tanqih al-maqal'', vol.3 p.111</ref>

:"In the name of [[God]], the most Compassionate, the most Merciful. From al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib addressed to all Banu Hashim. Whoever joins me, shall be a martyr, and whoever does not, shall not attain triumph and safety. The end".'<ref>Al-Hurr al-'Amili, ''Ithbat al-hudat'', vol. 4, p. 42</ref>

Following to [[Imam al-Husayn]]'s (a) refusal to swear [[allegiance]] to [[Yazid]], Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya suggested his brother to set off for [[Mecca]] to protect his life, and to [[Yemen]] if he was also threatened in Mecca, and to take shelter in deserts or mountains in case he was even troubled in Yemen. Imam al-Husayn (a) appreciated his suggestion and said; 'Dear brother, you are free to remain in [[Medina]], so that you can keep your eyes on my enemy and report me of their affairs.'<ref>Qumi, ''Dar Karbala chi guzasht'', P.98</ref>

With their flags in hands, they entered [[al-Masjid al-Haram]], and roaring their desire to retaliation for [[Imam al-Husayn (a)|Husayn b. 'Ali (a)]], arrived at [[Zamzam]]. Ibn al-Zubayr supplied a pile of wood to set them on fire, but having broken the door of al-Masjid al-Haram, they made way to Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, and told him that he was to choose either them or 'Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr. Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya said; 'I do not favor there to be conflict and bloodshed in [[al-Masjid al-Haram|the house of God]].' Meanwhile Ibn al-Zubayr arrived at them and cried; 'woe upon these stick-handed ones! (they were carrying sticks instead of swords, for they could not carry weapons in al-Masjid al-Haram), do you suppose I would let Muhammad go before he swears allegiance to me?' So the rest of al-Mukhtar forces entered al-Masjid al-Haram, shouting out loud that they sought revenge for al-Husayn (a). Ibn al-Zubayr feared them and did not resist anymore. Muhammad then, accompanied by four-thousand men, went to [[Shi'b Abi Talib]] and lived in there until al-Mukhtar was killed.<ref>Al-Nawbakhti, ''Tarjuma-yi firaq al-Shi'a-yi Nawbakhti'', P. 85-86</ref>

Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya knew his brothers, [[Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba (a)|Imam al-Hasan (a)]] and [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]], superior to himself, but after the martyrdom of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] wrote a letter to [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]]  asking him to accept his [[Imama]]. He argued that, contrary to previous Imams, Imam al-Husayn (a) had not assigned anyone as the Imam after himself. Besides, he was the son of [[Imam Ali (a)|'Ali (a)]], and more qualified owing to his age and great number of hadiths narrated by him.

Imam al-Sajjad (a) invited his uncle to piety and avoiding ignorance in return and noted that:

:'My father had recommended me before he set off for [[Iraq]], and had me vow a while before his martyrdom.'

He held a big course in [[Medina]] and this course generated different doctrines, in so far as his course in Medina is comparable to that of [[al-Hasan al-Basri]] in [[Basra]], for the students of his school were the founders of Islamic theology, so much as the latter was the root of [[Mu'tazila]] doctrines and [[Sufism]].

As al-Mukhtar got killed, Ibn al-Zubayr again asked for his [[allegiance]], planning to assail him and his companions in case of his refusal. Meanwhile, he received a letter from 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, who had of late become the caliph, in which he was asked to go to [[Damascus]]. Muhammad and his companions then, got out of Shi'b Abi Talib, and set off for Damascus. But having arrived in [[Midian]], Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya found out about 'Abd al-Malik's disloyalty to 'Amr b. Sa'id (a companion of Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya). Therefore he landed in Ayla, a port on the border of Syria, and got back to [[Mecca]], where he resided in Shi'b Abi Talib, and then traveled to [[Ta'if]]. He remained there until Ibn al-Zubayr was surrounded in Mecca by [[Al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi|al-Hajjaj]], and after that he went back to Shi'b Abi Talib. He rejected al-Hajjaj's request for allegiance to 'Abd al-Malik. Following to the death of Ibn al-Zubayr, asking for refuge, Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya wrote a letter to 'Abd al-Malik, which was accepted.<ref>Al-Nawbakhti, ''Tarjuma-yi firaq al-Shi'a-yi Nawbakhti'', P. 86-87</ref>