Al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi: Difference between revisions

After repentance, Hurr turned toward Ibn Ziyad's army and addressed them: "O people! Haven't the suggestions given by al-Husayn (a) prevented you from fighting with him?" they said: "tell your word to 'Umar b. Sa'd." Hurr repeated the same question for 'Umar, he replied: "I am eager to fight al-Husayn (a) and if I had any other choice, I would do that." Then Hurr addressed the army: "O people of Kufa, may your mother grieve over you! Did you summoned this good man to yourselves and said you will help him to fight his enemies, now he has come to you, you refrain from helping him, and have lined up against him and want to kill him? You have grabbed his soul, won't let him breathe, surrounded him from every angle and prevented him from going to the vast cities and lands of God, in such a way that he is like a captive in your hands, he cannot do anything positive for himself nor protect himself from harms, and you have prevented him and his family and children from drinking the water of Euphrates, from which Jews and Christians and Magus drink and in which black pigs and dogs swim, to the point that he has lost his energy due to thirst; how badly you observe and respect the right of (Prophet) Muhammad (s) in his progeny! May God not quench your thirst on the day of thirst (resurrection)." At this point, the archers in Umar's army throw arrows toward him and he retreated and stood in front of Imam al-Husayn (a).

Shortly after joining Imam's camp, Hurr went to the battlefield and after his word with Umar b. Sa'd and his army, attacked them while reciting Rajaz, after several rounds of combat, he was martyred. He fought bravely and even though his horse was injured and was bleeding from forehead and ears, he kept reciting Rajaz and attacking the enemy on the same horse. He killed more than forty members of Umar's army. Then the infantry part of the army rushed to him at once and martyred him. It's been reported that two individuals killed him, Ayyub b. Musarrah and a horseman from Kufa.

However, some other reports indicate that shortly before the noon and after the martyrdom of [[Habib b. Muzahir]], Hurr together with [[Zuhayr b. Qin]] went to the battlefield and attacked the enemy. They supported each other in the fight and whenever one of them was surrounded by the enemy, the other would help him out. They were continuously fighting until Hurr was martyred and Zuhayr came back. Other companions brought the body of Hurr, Imam al-Husayn (a) sat beside his body, wiped off the blood on his face and said: "you are [truly] Hurr (a freeman), like the way your mother has named you, you are a freeman both in this world and in the hereafter."

According to some sources, Hurr's children, his brother and his slave, joined Imam al-Husayn's camp along Hurr and were martyred in the battle of 'Ashura. However, these reports are not reliable since none of early sources have mentioned them.

There are some reports about the descendants of Hurr. Throughout history, two famous families are known to be descendants of Hurr: the Mustawfis of Qazwin, Hamd Allah Mustawfi the well-known Iranian historian is from this family; and Al Hurr in the region [[Jabal al-'Amil]] in Lebanon, one of the most famous figures of this family is [[Shaykh Hurr al-'Amili]], the author of the reputable book, [[Wasa'il al-Shi'a]].

According to [[Sayyid Muhsin Amin]], when some members of the tribe Banu Asad were burying the bodies of Karbala martyrs, some members of Hurr's tribe didn't allow them to bury his body with the rest of the martyrs, and buried Hurr's body in a further location, which was called Nawawis at the time. Therefore, his body was buried at a distance of around one league from the holy tomb of Imam al-Husayn (a).

===the Story of Exhumation===

In the tenth hijri century, the grave of Hurr had been known and it is reported that Shah Isma'il the first, of Safavid dynasty, built a dome over it.

In one account, it is reported that after he conquered Iraq and went to Karbala, the king became suspicious about the story of Hurr and his tomb. To investigate its truth, he ordered to exhume Hurr's grave. Upon the exhumation, they saw a body wearing bloody clothes and the wounds were still fresh. There was a sword-made wound on his head and a piece of cloth was fastened over it. Since it had been reported in historical sources that this cloth belonged to Imam al-Husayn (a) and he had fasted it over Hurr's head, the king ordered to open it and replace it with another piece of cloth. However, when they opened it, the wound started bleeding, they fastened it with another piece of cloth but the flow of blood did not stop. Inevitably, they fastened the same piece of cloth that belonged to Imam al-Husayn (a) and the blood stopped. The king only took a little part of that cloth … and ordered to build a more respectful shrine over the tomb of Hurr.

During Qajar period, the Mother of Aqa Khan Mahallati financed the repair of Hurr's tomb, and built a castle-like courtyard around it, so that visitors can seek refuge in it against bandits. In 1325 hijri, Husayn Khan Shuja' Sultan repaired the tomb of Hurr, and in 1330, Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Keliddar, repaired the balcony of the building.

Hurr has been mentioned in [[Ziyara al-Nahiyya al-Muqaddasa]] in the following phrase: Peace be upon Hurr b. al-Riyahi.