The Martyrdom of Ali al-Asghar

Imam Husain’s call had its effect on his son Ali al-Asghar (a.s), who was six months old. The child fell out of his cradle in response to Imam Husain’s call for help. This caused a great commotion among the women, who feared that the infant was about to die out of the three day’s thirst. The commotion and wailing attracted Imam Husain (a.s) who returned to the camp. He took the child and covered him with a cloth to protect him from the scorching sun. He brought the child into the battlefield. The enemy soldiers assumed that Imam Husain (a.s) was holding the Qur’an in his hand as a prelude to surrender. When Imam Husain (a.s) lifted the cloth, the soldiers gasped with surprise to see an infant. The infant smiled as if taunting the enemy in the face of adversity.

Imam Husain (a.s) told the surrounding army:

“On account of you, this child has gone without water for the past three days and you can see that the extreme thirst will kill him shortly. Is there anyone who would provide water to this child?”

Several enemy soldiers were moved by the sight and a murmur of sympathy was heard. Umar ibn Sa’d realized the seriousness of the situation and said, “Beware my soldiers! Do not be beguiled by al-Husain’s word. He is only tricking you into getting some water for himself. Even if al-Husain gets only a sip, it will reinvigorate him and several of us will lose lives.”

Imam Husain (a.s) replied,

“I only seek water for the infant, whose condition and agony is before you. Since you fear that I may myself drink the water, I am placing this infant on the ground so that you may yourselves take the child and quench his thirst.”  

The child, placed on the burning sand of Karbala, protruded its tongue as if to show the severity of the thirst. This act of the infant was so eloquent that it created great pathos and several of the enemy soldiers cried in grief. The eloquent gesture did not go unnoticed by Umar bin Sa’d who considered it to be much more powerful than all the eloquent sermons of Imam Husain (a.s) and all the martyrs. He therefore ordered Harmala to interrupt Imam Husain’s words.

The cruel Shimr said, “Beware soldiers! Al-Husain is only playing on your sentiments. Do not forget that the emir ibn Ziyad’s order is that not a drop of water should reach al-Husain or his family. Any disobedience of his order will invite immediate punishment.”

The wretched Umar ibn Sa’d called his archer, Harmala, who was renowned for the velocity and strength of his arrows. He commanded Harmala to kill the child with his arrow and thus to terminate the pathos created by Imam Husain’s infant. Harmala’s arrow whizzed towards the child whom Imam Husain (a.s) held close to his chest. The arrow slit the throat of the six-month child and pinned him to Imam Husain’s ribs and arms. Imam Husain (a.s) collected in his palm the dripping blood from the child’s throat, looked towards the sky and then downwards towards the earth, and finally applied it to his own face. He was seen muttering something.

Several years later in a gathering, Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s) was asked why Imam Husain (a.s) had applied the infant’s blood to his face and what was he muttering then. He replied, “My father was saying:‘Before God, I swear that these wretched people are cruel even to an infant. If I throw the blood of this innocent martyr toward the sky, no rain will ever fall anywhere on the earth, and if I throw it on the earth, it will become parched and unproductive forever. Therefore, I am applying it to my face so that I may complain to my Creator about the cruelty of these people.’

Imam Husain (a.s) was perplexed whether he should take the dead child back to the camp or to bury him there. The cruel nature of Yazid’s army was brought into full focus when, after the battle, the heads of martyrs were counted, and not finding the infant’s head, soldiers were ordered to find it. The wretched Harmala, Shimr and Khouli went about striking their spears to find the soft earth where the child was buried and ultimately unearthed the infant’s body, severed his tiny head and carried it on a lance along with the heads of the other martyrs.