Pilgrimage to the grave of Hani bin Urwah Muradi

It is quoted in the Mazar of Mohammad bin Mashhadi, Misbahuz Zaer of Sayyed Ibne Tawoos, Mazar of Shaikh Mufeed, and Mazar of Shaikh Shaheed (may Allah sanctify their souls) in context to the supplications of the Mosque of Kufa that: Stand near his (Hani bin Urwah’s) grave and send salutations upon Mohammad (s.a.w.s) and his Progeny and then say, 

Peace and His Benediction be upon you, O Hani bin Urwah! Peace be upon you O (the) devout and sincere slave of Allah and His Prophet …(till the end).” Then recite two units of Prayers as gift and pray for him and bid farewell.

Besides, Hani was among those who had fought alongside Imam Ali (a.s) in the battle of Jamal. It is quoted in Manaqib of Ibne Shahr Ashob, that he recited the following Rajaz in that battle “It is a battle in which the guide is a Camel, their woman, the chief of misguidance, is in the fore‌front, while Ali is the Master of the masters and a Master.”

Sayyed Mohsin Kazmi in his Takmelah writes that, “Hani was included among the praise-worthy men and whatever we have quoted (of his virtues) proves it.” Then he says, “Formerly Sayyed Mahdi Bahrul Uloom was in doubt regard‌ing (the sincerity of) Hani. Then when he investigated the reports, he repented and in apology compiled a couplet in praise of Hani.”

The author (Shaikh Abbas Qummi) says that the above-referred Sayyed Mahdi Bahrul Uloom in his Rijal has discussed in detail on the subject of Hani, and then states that, “These different reports unanimously agree that Hani bin Urwah offered shelter to Muslim bin Aqeel (a.s) in his house. He took necessary steps for him and organised manpower and ammunitions. He refused to hand over Muslim to Ubaydullah, and was even ready to sacrifice his life for it, until he was harrased, beaten, tortured and imprisoned, and was ultimately killed with his hands bound together. While this being a clear proof of his virtue and a fruitful end. He is included among the companions of Imam Husain (a.s) and his Shi’ah, who laid down their lives for him. The words which he spoke to Ubaydullah is enough proof of (his sincerity) that, “The man has come who is more worthy of Caliphate than yourself and your master (Yazeed)” besides that which is quoted in Muntakhab of Shaikh Fakhruddin Turayhi that he said, “Even if a child of the family of Mohammad (s.a.w.s) is hiding below my feet, I shall not lift it up until it is cut off.” And similar speeches which he delivered bear witness, that whatever he did was due to his foresight and intelligence, and not due to prejudise or pride or simply because he gave refuge to Muslim (and was thus bound to protect him). The following words of Imam Husain (a.s) bear witness to it. When Imam received the news of his Martyrdom and that of Muslim, he prayed for Allah’s Mercy for them and repeated it numerous times and said, “A heart rending news has reached us that Muslim bin Aqeel, Hani bin Urwah and Abdullah bin Yaqtoor have been martyred.”

It is quoted in Malhoof of Sayyed Ibne Tawoos that when the news of Martyr‌dom of Abdullah bin Yaqtoor reached Imam Husain (a.s), whose Martyrdom occurred after that of Muslim and Hani, his eyes were filled with tears and he

said,

“O Allah! Bestow a merciful status for us and our Shi’ah, and unite us in the place of repose of Your Blessings. Verily You have power over all things.”

Our masters (the Ulama) (may Allah’s Benediction be upon them) have quoted salutations for Hani and still visit his grave. They have explicitly stated that he was among the felicitous martyrs, who were devot‌ed to (serve) Allah and His Prophet. They died in the way of Allah and thus entered His Mercy and Benediction, the salutation being “Allah’s immense Peace… (till the end).”

Then it is said that the contents of this salutation is not textual or mere reports, and even if it is so, then the contents itself prove that he was a felicitous martyr, a noble dignatory and one whose end was fair. I have witnessed our Shaikhs like Mufeed and other Ulama, who have included Hani among the noblemen, and have added, “May Allah be pleased with him”, or “May Allah have mercy upon him” after his name. And I have not found any of our Ulama ever reproaching or criticising him.

As regards the episode which is reported, that when Ubaydullah came to Kufa, Hani went to pay his respects to him and with the other noblemen kept visiting him until the time Muslim bin Aqeel came to his house. This epi‌sode does not in any way give way for suspicion regarding Hani, for this was due to dissimulation (taqiyyah). Hani was a renowned person and Ubaydullah considered him and held good relations with him. Thus if under these circumstances, had he kept himself aloof and remote from Ubaydullah, then his dissimulation would go waste, which formed the basis of Muslim’s task. Hence it was necessary for him to keep contact with Ubaydullah and visit him frequently so that he may not fall a prey to his suspicion. But when Muslim came to his house, he lessened going to Ubaydullah and pretended to be ill, but whatever he had not deemed, took place.

As regards his desisting Muslim from revolting hastily, could be on account of his foresight and he desired that more and more people may gather and a great number of arms could be collected too. And so that Imam Husain (a.s) himself would come to Kufa, hence the situation would come under control and if fighting would ever occur, it would be under the auspices of Imam himself. And as regards preventing the murder of Ubaydullah in his house, it is already quoted that there is difference in reports. Some narrate that Hani himself had planned that he would pretend to be ill, so that when Ubaydullah would come to visit him, he could be killed by Muslim. And as is quoted that Muslim said, that a woman wept and pleaded with him not to kill Ubaydullah in the house. Thus Sayyed Murtaza alone has quoted this reason in his Tanzeeyahul Ambiyah.

And as regards Ubaydullah’s question to Hani regarding his giving refuge to Muslim, and Hani’s answer that, “By Allah! I have not invited Muslim to my house, nor was I aware of his intentions. Then he came to my house and asked me permission to reside therein and I could not refuse, thus this responsibility fell upon me”, these words were uttered by Hani only to save himself from the clutches of Ubaydullah, and in dissimulation, and it is not possible that Muslim would have taken Hani’s protection without in‌forming him and taking an oath from him, and Hani would be unaware of his intentions. Again it is not possible that Hani, being a notable of the Shi’ah, would be unaware of the intentions of Muslim. Thus it proves the unreliability of whatever is quoted in Rawzatus Safa that Hani told Muslim that, “You have put me great difficulty and pain, and if you had not en‌tered into my door, I would have sent you away”, is not sound, and this statement is not quoted anywhere else.

Ibne Abil Hadeed, in his Sharhe Nahjul Balagha, quotes two narrations re‌garding Hani, one prasing him, while the other vilifying him. The one praising him is his statement regarding Imam Ali (a.s), wherein he says that, “I am the first one to confirm him, and shall not be the first one to deny him.” Sayyed (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) relates the narration praising Hani and quotes the one vilifying him too (from Sharhe Nahjul Balagha, the chapter of empowerement) that Imam Ali (a.s) said in his short Aphorisms,

“The tool of kingship is a wide bosom”,[1]

and in refutation of this he (Sayyed) says that this is nothing more than a fiction and does not contain grounds for being a narration, while it does not even contain any chain of transmitters. Besides it is not quoted from any other book nor from other historical or biographical books. The historians have referred to the incident wherein Mu’awiyah asked the people to take the oath of allegiance to his son Yazeed and has quoted regarding those who yielded and those who refused and other matters, while the above incident is absent therein. Thus if this incident would have been true, then it should have been quoted, for it was certainly a novelty. Furthermore, because Hani later broke off the allegiance of Yazeed and revolted in assistance of Imam Husain (a.s) and was killed for him. They would then have quoted the above guilt of his if it would have been true. While the case of Hani was similar to that of Al-Hurr (Allah’s mercy be upon him) who repented, and his repentence was accepted

[1] The explanation as given by Ibne Abil Hadeed in his Sharhe Nahjul Balagha with reference to the words "The tool of kingship is a wide bosom", reproaching Hani, is the incident at the time when the chiefs of Iraq went to Mu'awiyah when he ordered the people to take the oath of allegiance to Yazid. Hani, who was a representative of the chiefs of Iraq, requested Mu'awiyah to appoint him in charge of taking the allegiance for Yazid, but in the above incidents Hani clearly opposed Mu'awiyah and this narrative is nothing but incongruous.

for what he had done. And his case was more severe than that of Hani, thus Hani is more liable to be forgiven (if he ever erred).

Abul Abbas Mubarrad says that Mu’awiyah gave the governorship of Khurasan to Kaseer bin Shihab Mazhaji. There Kaseer misappropriated too much wealth and ran away taking shelter in the house of Hani bin Urwah. When the news reached Mu’awiyah, he issued orders that Hani’s blood should be spilled with impunity. Hence Hani left Kufa and went to seek refuge with Mu’awiyah. Mu’awiyah did not recognize him, when all the people left, Hani remained seated in his place. When Mu’awiyah inquired of him, he replied that he was Hani bin Urwah. To which Mu’awiyah said, “This day of yours is not (the same) as the other days, when your father boasted that: I comb my tresses and I draw my cloak, my mount is a Bay Horse with a black tale and mane, and I walk accompanied by the chiefs of Bani Ateef, and if oppression comes my way, I roll away the heads.” Hani replied, “Verily I am respected today more than yesterday.” Mu’awiyah asked him the reason for it, to which Hani replied that it was because of Islam. Mu’awiyah said, “Where is Kaseer bin Shihaab”? Hani replied, “He is with me and among your group.” Mu’awiyah said, “Do you see how much wealth he has misappropriated, then take away a part from him and give him a part of it.”

Furthermore, it is related that the troops of Yazeed arrested a man from the helpers of Imam Husain (a.s) in Karbala, and took him to the presence of Yazeed. Yazeed looked towards him and asked, “Are you the son of the man who said: I comb my tresses…?” The man replied in the affirma‌tive, hence Yazeed ordered him to be killed. (Allah’s mercy and Blessings be upon him).