Tasu'a: Difference between revisions

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On the day of Tasu'a, before noon, [[Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan]] and 4000 soldiers entered [[Karbala]] and brought a letter for [['Umar b. Sa'd]] from [['Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad]]. In that letter, 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad had asked 'Umar b. Sa'd to either force Imam al-Husayn (a) to make [[allegiance]] to [[Yazid]] or fight him.

'Ubayd Allah had also threatened 'Umar in the letter, that if he refuses the order, he had to withdraw from the command of the army and leave it to Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan.

When 'Umar b. Sa'd read the letter, told Shimr, "I will not leave the command of the army to you since I do not see the competence in you; so, I will finish this myself and you shall be the commander of the foot soldiers."

When Shimr took the letter of 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad, he was with [['Abd Allah b. Abi l-Mahal]], the nephew of [[Umm al-Banin]] and they asked 'Ubayd Allah for a safe-conduct for their nephews and 'Ubayd Allah accepted their request.

'Abd Allah b. Abi l-Mahal sent the safe-conduct to Karbala through his slave, Kazman or 'Irfan. After he arrived in Karbala, read the text of the safe-conduct for the sons of Umma al-Banin (a), but they refused it.

It is mentioned in another report that Shimr took the safe-conduct with himself to Karbala to 'Abbas (a) and his brothers [['Abd Allah b. 'Ali|'Abd Allah]], [[Ja'far b. 'Ali|Ja'far]] and [['Uthman b. 'Ali|'Uthman]].

'Abbas (a) and his brothers were sitting with Imam al-Husayn (a) and did not answer Shimr. Imam (a) told 'Abbas (a), "Although he is a mischief-maker, but you answer him for he is one of your uncles." [['Abbas (a)]], 'Abd Allah, Ja'far and 'Uthman came out and asked Shimr, "What do you want?" Shimr told them, "you are my nephews; so, you are safe and free to go since I took a safe-conduct of you from 'Ubayd Allah." But, 'Abbas (a) and his brothers said, "May God curse you and your safe-conduct! We would be safe and the son of the Prophet's (s) daughter would not be safe?!"

After rejecting the safe-conduct, the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd was ordered to prepare for the war; so, everyone got on his horse and prepared to fight [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] and his companions on the evening of Thursday, [[Muharram 9]].

In the evening of Muharram 9, movements of the army of Kufa increased and 'Umar b. Sa'd prepared to fight with Imam al-Husayn (a) and ordered his army to prepare for the war. He shouted among his soldiers, "O the army of God! Got on [your horses] for I give you the good news of the Paradise!" The army of Kufa got on [their horses] and prepared for the battle.

'Abbas (a) and twenty horsemen including [[Zuhayr b. Qayn]] and [[Habib b. Muzahir]] went to the army of the enemy and asked, "What has happened and what do you want?" They answered, "It is an order of the commander to tell you that you either make allegiance or prepare for the war." 'Abbas (a) said, "Do not move until I go to Imam al-Husayn (a) and deliver your message to him." They accepted, so 'Abbas (a) went to Imam al-Husayn (a) alone and gave him the news.

Imam (a) told 'Abbas (a), "See if you can convince them to postpone the war to tomorrow and give us time for tonight so that we worship and pray to God; for He knows how much I love praying to Him and reciting [[Quran|His book]]."

During the time 'Abbas (a) was speaking with Imam (a), his companions, Habib b. Muzahir and Zuhayr b. Qayn used the opportunity and spoke with the army of 'Umar b. Sa'd and advised them not to war with Imam (a) and prevented them to come forth.

'Abbas (a) returned to the army of the enemy and delivered the request of Imam (a) to them and asked them to give them the night. 'Umar b. Sa'd agreed with the request of Imam al-Husayn (a) and his companions. On that day, the tents of Imam al-Husayn (a), his family and his companions were surrounded.

 

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