Imam Husain's (A.S.) Final Battle

After he had buried the baby, he met in duel with many a man who never stood a chance of emerging alive. He then charged the enemy troops who did not stand their ground in the face of his attacks.
Thereupon Omar bin Sa'ad yelled at the crowd, "Mind! He is the son of the exterminator of the Arabs. Set upon him from every direction." They rained him with 4,000 arrows. The soldiers cut him off his camp. He shouted, "O followers of Abi Sufian! If you arc godless and you do not dread the Day of Judgement be free in his world and recall your ancestry if you claim to be Arab".
Shimr exclaimed, "What are you saying, son of Fatimah?" Hussain replied, "I am the one who is fighting you, and the women are not at fault. So long as I am alive, forbid your insolent thugs from harassing my inviolable".
Shimr acceded to his request, whereupon the enemy soldiers targeted him. A fierce fighting raged. Since he was very thirsty, he attacked the flank of the army which was sealing off the River Euphrates. He managed to disperse them and make his way to the river. Once he was in the water, he extended his hand to drink. A caller shouted, "Do you enjoy drinking water whilst the integrity of your family is being violated?" He let the water spill from his hands without drinking, and returned to the tents.
Imam Hussain bade his family farewell for the second time and ordered them to show forbearance saying, "Get ready for affliction, and be reassured that Allah is your protector; He will guard you against the evil of the enemy, turn your mishap into good, chastise your enemy with all sorts of torment, and compensate you for this tragedy with a plethora of bounties and dignity. So do not complain, and do not utter that which may degrade your lofty prestige".
Hussain turned to his daughter Sukaina who was standing aloof, crying and lamenting. He stood by her showing sympathy and solace.
"To lay down life, he forward surged,
Upon the foe, a lion converged.
Bedecked was he by an aureole crown,
Immortal fashioned from entrenched renown.
A conundrum he was indeed,
Signified glory, though heart did bleed
Splendid, dignified, distinguished,
Tormented, distraught, hurt, anguished.
Though with chivalry, to the end, he fought,
The renegades got the prize, sought"
"The job concluded, the camp ransacked,
For final departure, the hoodlums packed.
They called my guests by the 'prisoners' name,
As prisoners left, as guests who came
With 'watery eyes'; and heaving swell,
(Shattered my being) I said, farewell".
A soul searing, sad finale
Woeful 'tis, but a glorious tale.

Surrounded by the enemies of Islam
Omar bin Sa'ad yelled, "Woe unto you! Attack him while he is busy with himself and his family. By the Almighty! Once he is free neither your right nor your left flanks would be more lucky." They swooped on him, raining him with arrows which were so abundant that they lodged in to the tent ropes; some found their way to the women's mantles, startling and causing them to cry and enter the tent; they looked at Hussain in the expectation that he might do something.
Imam Hussain attacked the enemy like a roaring lion, No sooner he could engage anyone he left him dead. He received many wounds all over his body mainly as a result of arrows.
He returned to his position, repeating the saying, "There is neither power nor strength save in God Almighty". He asked for water, Shimr answered, "You are not going to taste it until you enter hell fire!" Another one called him, "O Hussain! can you not see the waters of the River Euphrates flow, glittering like the belly of a snake? You are not going to drink from it till you die of thirst". Imam Hussain invoked God, "O Lord! Let him die of thirst". It was then reported that the man used to ask for water, once he drank, the water gushed out of his mouth. He continued thus until he perished of thirst.
Abul Hutoof al-Ju'fai shot Hussain with an arrow which lodged into his forehead, Hussain took it off causing the blood to stream down his face, whereupon he said, "O Lord! You are witnessing the transgression against me by your sinful creatures. O Lord! Do not let anyone of them get away with it. Kill them all and do not let anyone of them live on the face of the earth. Never forgive them their trespasses."
He shouted, "O Bunch of evil! Shame on you. What bad guardians of the household of the Prophet you turned out to be. Since there is no man of my band left, you are not going to be deterred from killing anyone after me, for killing me would make it a forgone conclusion. By God! I hope that Allah bestow on me martyrdom, and avenge my death whence you do not expect."
Al-Hosein said, "How is he going to exact revenge on us?" Imam Hussain said, "He will sow enmity amongst you, shed your blood, and pour down punishment upon you, pouring it in abundance".
As he was weakened, he paused to rest. A man hurled him with a stone hitting him on the head causing the blood to stream down his face. He took out a piece of cloth to wipe the blood from his face, whereupon another archer aimed at him with a three-pronged arrow; it lodged into his chest in the area of the heart. He said, "In the name of Allah, by Allah, and following the path of the Apostle of Allah". He then raised his head towards the sky and said, "O Lord! You know full well that they are killing a man there is not on the face of the earth, a son of the daughter of the Prophet, save him!!".
He pulled out the arrow causing the blood to gush out. He put his band underneath the gaping wound. When it was filled with blood he threw it towards the sky and said, "My only solace is that what has befallen me is in the way of Allah". It was reported that not a single drop of that blood fell down. He filled it again. This time be stained his head, face, and beard with it saying, "I want to meet Allah and my grandfather in this state - splattered with blood".
Since losing blood weakened his body, he sat on the ground hardly lifting his head, whereupon Malik bin an-Nisr approached him, called him names, and hit him with his sword on his head, which was covered with a burnoose.
The burnoose was drenched with blood. He took of the burnoose, wrapped his turban on the cap and said, "May Allah deprive you of eating with your right hand, and gather you [on the Day of Judgement] with the oppressors".
Hani bin Thubait al-Hadhrami was quoted as saying, "I was one of a group of ten people when Hussain was killed. I was looking to a boy from the household of Hussain, who was wearing a shirt and loin cloth; two rings dangling from his ears, clutching to a shaft; he was distraught turning left and right. A horsemen headed towards him, leaning over the boy and hitting him on the head causing his death".
The boy was Mohammed bin Abi Sa'eed bin Aqeel bin Abi Talib. His mother was overwrought by the spectacle of witnessing the killing of her son.
After a short while the enemy troops came back to Hussain who was still in a sitting position for he was overcome by the severity of his wounds.
Abdullah bin al-Hassan, an eleven-year-old boy looked towards his uncle only to see him surrounded by the enemy. He rushed towards his uncle after he managed to break free from his aunt, Zainab, When he arrived at the scene near his uncle, Bahr bin Ka'b descended his sword to hit Hussain. The boy yelled at him, "O son of the bad woman! Are you dealing a blow to my uncle?" He hit the boy who lift his arm to protect his head causing it to be severed. The boy shouted, "O uncle!" and fell into his uncle's lap.
Hussain embraced him and said, "0 nephew! Be patient at what has befallen you and consider it as a blessing for Allah, the Exalted will reunite you with your noble ancestors". He then raised his hands in supplication and said, "0 Lord! If you had granted them enjoyment for a while, cause them to divide among themselves, disperse them into sects following different ways, do not let the rulers be pleased with them for they called on us so that they may be among our partisans, instead they transgressed against and killed us".
Harmalah released an arrow towards the boy, whilst he was in his uncle's lap, and slew him.
Imam Hussain, fatally wounded, was left lying for a considerable time.
What prevented them from finishing him off sooner was the fact that every tribe was relying on the other to do the job i.e. each tribe hated to be seen as the one which killed Hussain.
Shimr yelled, "Why are you standing idly by? The man is critically wounded. Attack and finish him off". Zar'a bin Shariek hit him on the shoulder blade; al-Hosein shot him in the mouth; another hit him on the shoulder, Sinan bin Anas lodged his spear in the area of the collarbone, then in his chest; he also shot him with an arrow in the throat, Saleh bin Wahab stabbed him in the loin.
Hilal bin Nafi' was reported as saying, "I was standing near Hussain as he was on the brink of dying. By God, I never saw a person getting killed with own blood all over his body in a better state than Hussain. His face was exuding with light and awe! I was so overwhelmed by the radiance of his face that I refrained from contemplating killing him! He asked for water; they did not give him any to drink".
The torrent stem, keep him at bay
Hold your own, and win the day.
Hussain observed him, did not move
Beckoning the renegade; to act and prove.
Face to face when Hussain he saw
The foe was overwhelmed, with awe.
Ravished he was by the dazzling scene
Such angelic face had never seen
With celestial sheen his visage bestowed
In propitious lustre glistened, glowed
So intense was the divine hue
His sight could not endure to view.
By the glorious sight he was dazed
But looked on still; gaped and gazed.

Hussain is killed on the Plains of Kerbala
One from amongst the crowd said to him, "You are not going to drink water until you enter hell fire, whereupon you can drink from its boiling water". Imam Hussain replied, "I do not enter hell fire, but enter unto my grandfather, the Apostle of God and stay with him in his own house (in the seat of honour with a most powerful King) and complain to him of that which you have done to me and your transgression against me". All were very furious at his remarks as if Allah did not instil a grain of mercy in their hearts.
When his condition deteriorated, he raised his eyes towards the sky in supplication and said, "0 Lord! You are mighty in Prowess, the Supreme, the Possessor of every greatness and glory, not in need of the creation, having mastery over everything; Your mercy is high, Truthful in your promise, Giver of bounty and favour; You are close to those who invoke You; encompassing all Your creation; You accept repentance from those who repent, capable of exacting Your will, Having full knowledge of what You are after, Thankful when thanked, remembering when remembered.
I invoke You as I am in dire need, ask You as I am poor! I seek refuge in You for I am fearful, weep for I am grieved; I rely on Your succour for I am weak; I put my trust in You alone. 0 Lord! You are the Arbiter between our folk and ourselves for they trespassed against us,
let us down, betrayed us, and killed us not with-standing our kinship to Your Prophet whom You chose for delivering the Message and made the repository of revelation. Alleviate our predicament and relieve our suffering for You are the Most Merciful".
"Forbearance with what You have destined is our solace, 0 Lord! There is no god but You. You are the Deliverer of the distressed. I have no God save You. Surely, You are the only Refuge for those who are without one."
"There is no other one to worship apart from You. Forbearance with that which you have resolved is our consolation. 0 Lord! You are the Everlasting. 0 Lord! You are the Resurrector of the dead. 0 Lord! You are Watching over every soul and what it did. Adjudge between me and them for You are the best of judges".
Hussain's horse started roaming around Imam Hussain and staining its forehead with his blood, whereupon Ibn Sa'ad yelled saying, "Stop the horse as it is a thoroughbred of the horses of the Apostle of Allah." A company of horsemen surrounded him. He started galloping and kicking with his forelegs killing some men and horses. Ibn Sa'ad ordered the soldiers to leave the horse and to see what it was going to do. When the horse calmed down and felt secure enough, it went back to Hussain's blessed body staining its forehead with his blood, smelling him, and neighing loudly.
Imam Abu Ja'far al-Baqir was quoted as saying, "The horse was saying: What an injustice was done to the grandson of the Prophet by his own umma (community)."
His horse, in ecstasy, danced and pranced
by his equestrian, was entranced
A perfect horse, sans any defect
With his head high, and neck erect.
Had tiger's courage, and panther's zeal
His sinews were akin to pure steel
A thoroughbred's, all traits sustained
His sire's blood, in the veins maintained.
By innate courage, he was led
In the thick of battle, had no dread
His prancing steps, and goodly shape
The admiring eyes, with awe, did gape,
His amble faultless, a rhythmic flow,
His steps measured, neither fast nor slow.
His gait, the art of music graced
Was on rhythm, and tempo based.
The aggressor's will, to act, ruptured
He was charmed, dazzled, captured.
A feeble blow, the dastard tired
Hussain parried, with contempt defied
repeated strokes, the renegade rained
Hussain remained placid, calm, restrained
He hurled defiance, and braved it out
Thus paved the way ft)r the dastard's rout.
To keep his ground, stood firm
His superior hold he did confirm.
With lofty demeanour, at a serene pace
Hussain advanced, with chivalrous grace.
Moved ahead, with careless ease
Less to liquidate him, more to tease
The youth, in panic, turned his pack.
The horse, still neighing, then headed towards camp. Once it was there, the women saw the horse stained with blood and its saddle twisted, they came out from their tents spreading their hair! unveiling their faces, beating their cheeks, screaming, seeing their glory vanish, and spontaneously taking to the place where Imam Hussain fell and died, headed by Zainab who was wailing On arriving at the scene, she put her hand under his body raising it to the level of her breast where she left the body to rest. She said, "O Lord! Accept this sacrifice from us".
In the meantime Omar bin Sa'ad with a group of soldiers were approaching the scene as Imam Hussain was at the point of death. Zainab shouted at him, "Yes Omar! Abu Abdillah is being killed and you are standing watching him perish?!" He turned his face away from her with his tears streaming down his beard.
She said, "Woe unto you! Is there not amongst you a Muslim?" Nobody replied! Thereupon Ibn Sa'ad ordered the crowd, "Descend upon him and administer the mercy shots to him". Shimr initiated the attack; he kicked him, sat on his chest, got hold of his blessed beard, dealt 12 sword blows to his body, and finally beheaded him.