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

Al-Hurr b. Yazid b. al-Najiya b. al-Qa'nab b. 'Attab b. Harith b. 'Amr b. Hammam b. Bani Riyah b. Yarbu' b. Hanzala belongs to one of the branches of Tamim tribe. That is why he has been mentioned with different titles like al-Riyahi, al-Yarbu'i, al-Hanzali and al-Tamimi. Both in pre-Islamic period and after it, his family were from the elite.

Al-Hurr was one of the best warriors of [[Kufa]]. In some sources, he has been mistakenly listed as one of the bodyguards of [['Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad]], the ruler of Kufa. However, his appointment as one of the commanders of 'Ubayd Allah's Army (that were mainly from Tamim and Hamdan tribes) to confront Imam al-Husayn (a), his military discipline and full obedience to administrative edicts, can be taken as proofs of his military rank (not necessarily a bodyguard) in 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad's government.

Having noticed the departure of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] toward [[Kufa]], [['Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad]] summoned al-Hurr who was the head of his tribe in Kufa, appointed him as the commander for an army of nearly thousand soldiers and dispatched them to stop Imam al-Husayn (a).

It has been narrated from al-Hurr that: "upon my departure from the palace of Ibn Ziyad to confront al-Husayn b. 'Ali (a), I heard a call from behind, repeating for three times: "O' al-Hurr! Glad tidings for paradise be for you." Al-Hurr continues: "I looked back but couldn't see anyone, and thought: By God this is not a glad tiding; how can it be glad tidings while I am on my way to a war with [[al-Husayn b. 'Ali (a)]]?" Al-Hurr kept this incident in mind and when he joined the camp of Imam al-Husayn (a), told this story to the Imam, Imam al-Husayn (a) said: "you have been directed to goodness and reward."

==Meeting Face to Face with Imam al-Husayn (a)==

In [[Dhu Husam]], the army of al-Hurr arrived at the campsite of Imam al-Husayn's (a) caravan. Historical sources have explicitly mentioned that al-Hurr had been dispatched, not to start a war with the Imam but to take him to [['Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad|Ibn Ziyad]]; that's why he lined up his army before the campsite of Imam al-Husyan (a).

After this, Imam al-Husayn (a) and his caravan took the route of [['Udhayb al-Hijanat]] and [[Qadisiyya]]; and al-Hurr, along with his army, followed them.

In 'Udhayb, four Shi'a from Kufa joined Imam al-Husayn (a). Al-Hurr intended to arrest or send them back to Kufa, but the Imam prevented him. They told the Imam about the tense situation in Kufa, the martyrdom of [[Qays b. Mushir al-Saydawi]] (Imam's envoy to Kufa) and the preparation of a great army to confront the Imam.

[[Muharram 2]]/[[October 5]] was the deadline of al-Hurr's agreement with Imam al-Husayn (a). Both Imam's caravan and al-Hurr's army had arrived at a village called [[Naynawa]] when al-Hurr received a letter from Ibn Ziyad, ordering him to pressure the Imam and stop him and his companions in a plain area that has no water or tree. It was written in [[Ibn Ziyad]]'s letter to al-Hurr: "upon the arrival of my messenger and receiving my letter, take it hard on al-Husayn and never let him camp unless in a dry and treeless land. I have commanded my messenger not to leave you alone till he brings me the news about the fulfillment of my order. End." Al-Hurr came to Imam al-Husayn (a) and read Ibn Ziyad's letter for him. Imam said: let us camp in Naynawa or [[Ghadiriyya]]."

Being caught in a dilemma and feeling the surveillance of Ibn Ziyad's messenger, al-Hurr stopped Imam's caravan and refused their suggestion to camp in the nearby village Naynawa (or Ghadiriyya or Suqayh). Having no exit, the Imam's caravan camped in [[Karbala]] (according to some reports, close to the village 'Aqr) near the [[Euphrates]]. [[Zuhayr b. Qayn]] told Imam al-Husayn (a): "by God I feel that after this, it turns even harder on us, O' son of Allah's Apostle! Now fighting this group (al-Hurr and his soldiers) is easier for us than fighting those who come after this group, I swear by my own life that there will come a group after this whom we can't stand against." The Imam replied: "you are right Zuhayr, but I won't be the one who starts the war."

Imam al-Husayn (a) moved with al-Hurr and reached Karbala, al-Hurr and his soldiers stood against Imam's caravan and stopped them from any further move. Al-Hurr said: "camp here, for the Euphrates is close by." Imam asked: "What's the name of this land?" they replied: "Karbala..." Imam al-Husayn (a) came down from his horse. Al-Hurr and his soldiers camped nearby. Upon the settlement of Imam's caravan in Karbla, al-Hurr wrote to Ibn Ziyad and informed him about their situation.

Although al-Hurr was serious, his behavior with the Imam was respectful. Even once, he mentioned the special reverence for Imam's mother, [[Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a)]].

It is reported that he went to the Imam showing his regret. He asked for forgiveness and said that he had never imagined the situation would end up in actual war. Imam al-Husayn (a) requested God's forgiveness for him and said: "You are hurr (a freeman) in this world and in the hereafter." In another report, al-Hurr, while carrying his war shield upside-down, entered the campsite of Imam al-Husayn (a), he went to the Imam and said: "may I be your sacrifice O son of Allah's Apostle, I am the one who prevented you to go back (to your hometown) and I kept being with you so that you had to camp in this land, I had never imagined they would turn down your suggestions and get you caught in such a fate, by God if I'd known the situation would end up here, I would have never gotten involved in it. Now I repent to God from what I have done, would my repentance be accepted?"

There was not a long time between al-Hurr's repentance and his martyrdom. According to one report, al-Hurr requested Imam to give him permission to be the first warrior and martyr, as he'd been the first to stand against him.

Shortly after joining Imam's camp, al-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.

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

According to [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin]], when some members of the tribe [[Banu Asad]] were burying the bodies of Karbala martyrs, some members of al-Hurr's tribe did not allow them to bury his body with the rest of the martyrs, and buried al-Hurr's body in a farther 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 material for this article is mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net/view/%D8%AD%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D9%86_%DB%8C%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%AF_%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AD%DB%8C {{ia|حر بن یزید ریاحی}}] in Farsi Wikishia.

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