Battle of Harra: Difference between revisions

|casualties1= over 4000 or 10,700 or 11,700 people were killed including 700 memorizers of the [[Quran]] and 80 people of [[Sahaba]]

'''Battle of Ḥarra''' (Arabic: {{ia|وقعة الحرّة}}) is the violent attack of the [[Syria]] army under the commandership of [[Muslim b. 'Uqba]] on the people of [[Medina]] who rose against [[Yazid b. Mu'awiya]]. In [[63]]/682, the people of Medina rose against the rule of Yazid b. Mu'awiya under the leadership of [['Abd Allah b. Hanzala]]. In this event, many people were killed, including 80 of [[the Prophet Muhammad (s)]]'s [[Sahaba]] and 700 of memorizers (hafiz) of the [[Qur'an]], and people's property were plundered.

The word "harra" refers to black rocky terrains. Since the uprising took place in rocky terrains East of [[Medina]], called "Harra Waqim" or "Harra Zuhra" (attributed to Banu Zuhra, a Jewish tribe), it was called the event of Harra. Most historical sources take the event to have occurred on the second day of [[Dhu l-Hijja]] or two or three days to the end of Dhu l-Hijja, [[63]] ([[August 2]], or [[August 27]]-[[August 28|28]], 682), thus the accounts according to which it took place in [[62]]/683 are wrong.

Upon the order of Yazid, [[Muslim b. 'Uqba]] announced that his army is at liberty to do anything to people's lives and property for three days. According to Ibn Kathir and al-Suyuti, the plunders and crimes of the army in these three days led to a horrific catastrophe. And according to al-Mas'udi, it was the most hideous event after the [[martyrdom]] of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]]. In these three days, the army of Muslim b. 'Uqba committed abhorrent crimes such as rapes, taking fetuses out of pregnant women's wombs, killing infants, offending the outstanding [[sahaba|companions]] of the [[Prophet (s)]], such as [[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari]] who was blind and [[Abu Sa'id al-Khudri]].

According to some sources, over 4000 or 10,700 or 11,700 people were killed in the Event of Harra. Of these, 700 people were memorizers of the [[Quran]] and 80 people were the [[Sahaba]] (companions) of the [[Prophet (s)]] such that none of the Sahaba who fought in the [[Battle of Badr]]—who were called "[[Badriyyun|People of Badr]]" (Ahl al-Badr)—stayed alive. [['Abd Allah b. Hanzala]] and his sons were also killed.

'''Imam al-Sajjad (a)'s neutrality with respect to the uprising''': Imam al-Sajjad (a) did not accompany the people of [[Medina]] in the uprising. The reasons for his neutrality included the facts that the uprising began by the permission and support of [['Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr]], and the number of people in Medina was very small in comparison with the number of Syria's violent, cruel army. Moreover, Imam al-Sajjad (a) wanted to stay away from the accusations of the [[Umayyad]] government, which was, on one account, [[Muslim b. 'Uqba]]'s main motivation for his attack on Medina, and he wanted his few followers to survive (in order for [[Shiism]] to survive) and he wanted to preserve the dignity of the [[Prophet (s)]]'s progeny and household.

'''[[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]]'s house as a safe refuge''': since Imam al-Sajjad (a) did not accompany the rebels, his household remained safe, and his house came to be a safe place for many women and children and even the family of [[Marwan b. Hakam]]. Imam al-Sajjad (a) sent Marwan's family, together with his own family, to [[Yanabu']].

'''The neutrality of some [[Sahaba]] with respect to rebels''': some Sahaba, such as [['Abd Allah b. 'Umar]], [[Abu Sa'id al-Khudri]] and [[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari]] stayed neutral and did not accompany the people of [[Medina]].

Muslim b. 'Uqba is reported as having said that, after his confession to [[tawhid]] (monotheism), his best deed was the massacre of people in Harra. Some Muslim historiographers maintain that the violent oppression of people in the Event of Harra was motivated by the revenge of the [[Umayyad]] bloods who were killed in the [[Battle of Badr]] by Muslims and the revenge of the murder of [['Uthman]] by people of Medina, especially [[Ansar]].