Today, in the eighteenth episode of our daily series, we look at the events which occurred on the 6th Moharram in the year 61 AH in the fateful field of Karbala where Imam Husain (PuH), his family members, and his small group of loyal companions were besieged by the growing number of Omayyad forces demanding that he either pledge allegiance to the Godless rule of the tyrant Yazid or surrender to them.
Every day, Obaidullah Ibn Ziyad, the tyrannical governor of Iraq used to send groups of hundreds of soldiers to Karbala to join his already huge army besieging the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). These groups of cavalry and foot soldiers eventually, on the 6th Moharram, swelled to over 20,000 (twenty thousand). Omar Ibn Sa’d was the top commander of this huge army in Karbala.
Slowly, the prospects were growing of a very uneven and asymmetrical battle in view of the fact that Imam Husain (PuH), as the grandson and 3rd Infallible Heir of the Prophet, was willing to court martyrdom in combat rather than surrender or acknowledge the rule of a libertine like Yazid over the Muslim Ummah. The Imam, the male members of his family and his companions numbered around 72, while on the other side; Omar Ibn Sa’ad had over 20,000 fully armed men under his command as part of the strategy to try to intimidate the Prophet’s family. Another important event on the 6th Moharram was a letter sent by Obaidullah Ibn Ziyad to Omar Ibn Sa’d. In his letter Ibn Ziyad said: “I have given you all the foot soldiers and cavalrymen that I could muster. Beware that I have appointed agents to give me regular reports every day from Karbala.”
On receipt of this letter, Omar Ibn Sa’d tightened the siege on the Imam Husain and his small group of companions.
Also on the 6th Moharram, when the Imam’s childhood friend, Habib Ibn Mazaher, reached Karbala, he immediately noticed the asymmetry in the battle which was shaping up. The Omayyad army was huge, in comparison to the number of individuals who had gathered round the Imam. Habib told the Imam: “If you allow me, I will approach my clansmen the tribe of Bani Assad, who are not very far from here, and I will invite them to join you and assist you; may the Lord guide the tribe of Bani Assad”.
The Imam agreed with Habib Ibn Mazaher’s suggestion. Thus Habib went to the Bani Assad tribe and conveyed to them the situation in relatively near-by Karbala – the fact that the Imam and his companions were outnumbered hugely by the Omayyad army. Habib told the Bani Assad tribe: “Today, listen to what I tell you, and rush to the aid of Imam Husain (PuH), so that the honour of this world and the Hereafter will be yours”.
The Bani Assad tribe responded positively, and seventy men from the tribe joined Habib Ibn Mazaher, and together they set out towards the encampment of the Prophet’s grandson in Karbala. It was nighttime and they hoped to bypass the army of Omar Ibn Sa’d, but the fearful enemy commander had stationed about 400 men, headed by one of his henchmen, Azraq bin Harb Saidawi, close to the banks of the River Euphrates. This group of 400 soldiers effectively blocked the way of Habib Ibn Mazaher and the men from Bani Assad tribe. A fierce fight followed but in the end the men of Bani Assad decided to return to their tribe, the same night, before their identity was discovered, and thus effectively abandoned their attempt to help Imam Husain (PuH).
The courageous attempt by Habib Ibn Mazaher and the men of Bani Assad tribe got nowhere in the end, but Habib managed to return to the Imam’s camp to inform him of what had happened. Imam Husain (PuH) looked at Habib and said: “La Houla wa la Qowwata illah-Billah”, which literally means “There is no power but the Power of God”.
source : irib
