Qays b. Mushir al-Saydawi: Difference between revisions

==Parentage==

According to some accounts, he was an honorable, brave man who loved the households or [[Ahl al-Bayt]] of [[the Prophet (s)]]. [[Kumayt al-Asadi]], the well-known early Shiite poet, mentioned him in one of his poems as Shaykh (senior) of Banu Sayda'.

* Carrying the letter from people of [[Kufa]] to [[Imam Husayn (a)]] in [[Mecca]].

* Carrying [[Muslim b. 'Aqil]]'s letter to Imam Husayn (a).

* Returning Imam Husayn (a)'s reply to Muslim.

* Accompanying Muslim b. 'Aqil in his trip and carrying his letter to Imam Husayn (a) with regard to the allegiance of people in Kufa to Imam Husayn (a).

A number of letters from people of Kufa were carried to Imam Husayn (a) on the tenth day of the [[Ramadan]] month, 60 A.H. (September 12, 679) by [['Abd Allah b. Sabu' al-Hamadani]] and [['Abd Allah b. Wal al-Timi]]. A couple of days later, Qays b. Musahhar, [['Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah al-Arhabi]], and [['Amara b. 'Ubayd al-Saluli]] carried 150 more letters from people of Kufa to Imam Husayn (a).

This shows that Qays resided in Kufa and went to Mecca just in order to carry letters from people of Kufa to Imam Husayn (a).

After he rested for three days, by the command of Imam Husayn (a) and in order to accompany Muslim b. 'Aqil from Mecca to Kufa, Qays left Mecca on Ramadan 15, 60 A.H. (September 17, 679). They first went to [[Medina]] in order for Muslim to bid farewell to his friends and relatives. On this trip they were accompanied by two guides who died on the way because of serious thirst and dehydration.

The first letter from [[Muslim b. 'Aqil]]: on his way in this trip in a place called evil canyon, Muslim wrote a letter to Imam Husayn (a). Qays carried the letter to Imam (a) and returned his reply to Muslim.

Further on the way: Qays continued to accompany Muslim b. 'Aqil, and they were joined by people such as 'Amara b. 'Ubayd al-Saluli and 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd Allah b. Kadan al-Arhabi.

 

 

Muslim's second letter: when people of Kufa pledged their allegiance to Muslim, he wrote a letter to Imam Husayn (a) and informed him about the allegiance. The letter was carried to Imam (a) by [['Abis b. Abi Shubayb al-Shakiri]] and Qays b. Musahhar al-Saydawi. According to some sources, Shawdhab also accompanied them in carrying the letter.

[[Imam Husayn (a)]] sent Qays from Hajiz to Kufa with his reply to Muslim's letter. According to some other accounts, the letter was sent from [[Karbala]] to [[Kufa]]. However, it was sent after [[Muslim b. 'Aqil]] was martyred.

When Qays arrived in [[Qadisiyya]], he was captivated by [[Husayn b. Numayr]]. Ḥuṣayn had Qays taken to [['Ubaydullah b. Ziyad]] so that he could decide about him. Before he was captivated, he had torn up the letter to prevent the leak of information to the enemy.

When Qays was taken to 'Ubaydullah b. Ziyad's emirate building, an argument occurred between them.

Ibn Ziyad angrily said: I swear to God that you should either tell me their names or go on [[minbar]], cursing [[Husayn b. 'Ali]] and his father and brother; otherwise I will tear you up.

By Ibn Ziyad's command, Qays went on minbar in order to curse 'Ali (a) and his two sons, [[Hasan b. 'Ali (a)]] and Husayn b. 'Ali (a). When he went on minbar, he first praised and thanked God. He then expressed his regards to the Prophet (s) and to 'Ali and his sons, Hasan and Husayn (a). And then he cursed 'Ubaydullah b. Ziyad and his father and the cruel rulers of [[Banu Umayyad]], saying to people that: "I am Husayn's messenger to you; I last met him in such and such a place; please join him".

After Qays's brave remarks, [['Ubaydullah b. Ziyad]] threw him down from the roof of his palace and martyred him. He then ordered his men to mutilate Qays's corpse.

According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]]'s account, he was thrown down with his hands tied up and his bones were broken. He was still alive, but a man called [['Abd al-Malik b. 'Umayr al-Lakhmi]] decapitated him. People criticized him, but he replied: "I just wanted to give him comfort."

 

However, according to some other sources, this story happened to [['Abd Allah b. Yaqtar]].

It is not known exactly when Qays was martyred. According to some accounts, [[Imam Husayn (a)]] was informed about his martyrdom in [['Adhib al-Hajanat]]; thus he was martyred before Imam Husayn (a) arrived in [[Karbala]].

However, according to an account according to which he was carrying Imam Husayn (a)'s letter from Karbala to [[Kufa]], he must have been martyred sometime between the second and the tenth of Muharram 61 A.H. (August 31 to September 8, 680).

What is certain, however, is that Qays departed to Kufa after the martyrdom of Muslim. Therefore, his martyrdom is definitely after the [[Day of 'Arafa]].

When [[Tirimmah b. 'Adiyy]] gave the news about Qays's martyrdom to Imam Husayn (a), he shed tears, and recited the [[Quranic verse]]:

According to some other sources, it was [[Majma' b. 'Abd Allah al-'A'idi]] who gave the news of Qays's martyrdom to Imam Husayn (a).

In a part of [[Ziyarah al-Nahiyya al-Muqaddasa]], regards are sent to martyrs of [[Karbala]] one by one; Qays is mentioned in this part: "peace be upon Qays b. Musahhar al-Saydawi".

==Similar Historical accounts about 'Abd Allah b. Yaqtur and Qays b. Musahhar==

[[Imam Husayn (a)]] first sent 'Abd Allah b. Yaqtar with a letter to Kufa; he went to Kufa from a certain path. He then gave another letter to Qays b. Musahhar, but he went to Kufa from a different path. However, they both were captivated by forces of 'Ubaydullah b. Ziyad and were martyred. But they were martyred in similar ways.

Imam Husayn (a) sent 'Abd Allah b. Yaqtar from [[Hajiz]] to Kufa and learned about his martyrdom in a place called Zabala. But he sent Qays b. Musahhar from a place called Bayda to Kufa, and learned about his martyrdom in a place called 'Adhib.