The Reverence Shown to Imam Husayn (A.S.) by his Companions

By: Hojjat al-Islam Husain Ansariyan
Hadrat Sajjad(a), the Pearl among all Worshippers of God, says about the reverence held for Imam Husayn(a) by his companions:
The Imam(a) spent one part of the night of Ashura (the night before he was martyred) with his companions, the second part for his prayers and the third part in getting prepared for the battle. First, he thanked his Lord for His graces bestowed upon him and his family and his appointment as the leader of all the Muslims, for his being a descendant of the Prophet(a) and forgiving him the knowledge of the Qur'an and the tenets of Islam. He then addressed his companions saying that he knew of no better or more devoted men than they were.
He further said that they were about to fight a bloody battle which would result in their death. Since the enemy had a quarrel with him alone, the Imam announced that he had freed them of their allegiance to him. If they were not inclined to fight without it being any sin or blameworthy action on their part. In addition they had his permission to take any of the folk of his household with them if they so desired.
Abbas, in his response, said that they would never abandon him. Then the Imam(a) gave his permission for his cousins-the children of Muslim ibn-Aqil to leave the camp, their father had been martyred in the course of the events leading up to Karbala and his martyrdom would have been a sufficient enough contribution for them. But in reply they thanked their uncle and said that they would stand by him no matter what would befall them.
Like the men from the tribe of Bani Hashim, other companions of Imam Husayn(a) including Muslim ibn-'Awsaja, Zuhayr and Ibn Bashir Hadrami, all said that they would stand firm by the side of their exalted leader and valiantly meet their fate. It would be a great honour they said to lie among the fallen at the side of the beloved of the Prophet(s).
Qasim, the nephew of the Imam(a) asked his uncle whether he would be among the fallen. The Imam(a) replied that he would be killed as well as his own infant Abdullah. Qasim shuddered, at the thought of such a terrible thing, that their enemies could be so cruel and fiendish that they would not spare the lives even of a helpless infant.

Good versus Evil
In Karbala, two groups were arrayed in opposition to each other.
One group was the symbol of truth, honour, magnanimity, faith, virtue, honesty, worship and devotion, in other words, representatives of the Absolute Good, objective proofs of the Scripture and of sacred knowledge.
Salman Farsi was one of the most notable companions of the Prophet Muhammad(s). So high was his status that the Prophet(s) is reported to have said that God had ordered him to love four persons: 'All ibn-Abitalib, Miqdad ibn-Aswad, Abudar Ghaffari and Salman al-Farsi. (Kashi, Rijal p. 24).
Hadrat Ali(a) said that Salman was the gateway to truth in the earth, those who acknowledged his sublime position were believers and those who denied it were disbelievers. (Kashi, Rijal p.20)
Fadl ibn-Shadhan, the renowned author, said that no one was comparable to Salman in knowledge and insight. The Prophet(s) and Imam Baqir(a) knew him to be a member of the Household of the Prophet(s) and Hadrat Sadiq(a) said that Salman had known the Greatest Name (The secret great name of God). (Kashi, Rijal p. 18, 22). This man of such extraordinary caliber, on his arrival in Iraq, was recorded to have said that the battlefield of Karbala was the place where Imam Husayn(a) and his companions would fall. (Kashi, Rijal p.24).
Of those who were standing in opposition to the Imam(a), a number of them had seen the Prophet(s) and had witnessed his miracles. Nevertheless, in their actions, they denied his mission as God's messenger and attacked the members of his inviolable Household, beheading their men and innocent male children, and making prisoners of their pure womenfolk. Some among them had lived during the heyday of Amir al Mu'minin, All, the Master of the Lovers of God, the Imam of mystics and the Paragon of honesty, and during the era of his illustrious son Hadrat Mujtaba. Their deeds, however, showed that they denied this divine source of light manifested to them and chose to remain in abysmal darkness. They actually denied revelation and rather than monotheism and the mission of the Prophet(s) and the Imams(a) they chose Yazid, the drunkard, and Ibn- Ziad, the bastard and became themselves incarnations of vice. Yes, those who go astray, who with all their capabilities support irrationalism, who repress their consciences and defy the Truth are the most wicked of people.
The Qur'an says:
*Lo! the worst of hearts in Allah's sight are the deaf and the dumb who have no sense * (8/22)
Elsewhere the Qur'an says:
*Lo! the worst of hearts in Allah's sight are the ungrateful who will not believe* (8/55)

Our Great Responsibility Concerning the event of Karbala
In this great battle between these two tribes-one the representative of good and the other the representative of evil-lies a very important lesson for us. From Husayn(a) we can learn the lesson of virtue and morality and protect ourselves against such hideous transgressions the like of which Yazid and his men were notorious.
Sa'adi, a celebrated poet in the literary firmament of Iran, said:
One should follow every piece of good advice even if written on a wall. Take as null and void whatever as the contrary, because one who is asleep can awaken not others that are asleep as well.
Luqman the famous gnostic and saint said that he learnt morality from immoral people, by doing the opposite of what they did. We can never claim to be as virtuous as the companions of Husayn(a), but we can claim we are on the path of good, as were those in the Caravan of Light.

The Constancy of Husayn’s (a) Companions
The companions of Imam Husayn characteristically manifested the highest degree of stamina and endurance.
No military commander would undermine the morale of his men if they were less in number or ammunition than their enemy; rather, with fiery speeches he would try to make them feel confident of victory and incite them to fight.
On the night of the battle however, the Imam(a) told his men that the enemy would win the day by force of numbers and that they would be all killed. They were exhilarated by this news and did not hesitate to declare their readiness to stand firm by his side and fight to the bitter end. In their eyes, it was the most grievous state to befall them if they survived their leader even for a single moment. (Bihar, vol. 44, p. 392, 393)
Imam Sadiq(a) said that those who were ignorant of the rights of the Household of the Prophet(s) would not be rewarded even if they lived to be a hundred years and spent all of it in devotion.
The world is like a deep and stormy sea which without being guided by God or His Messenger(s), man would indeed succumb to the perils of the ocean. Husayn(a) is the torch for the Straight Path and the guide of the shipwrecked to the shore of salvation. We must abandon the path of transgression and embark on the path of Truth as his companions one of whom Hurr ibn-Yazid did.
Hurr, knowing full well that it would cost him his life, repented of his sins, he stopped following Yazid and accepted the Imamates of Husayn(a) and that of Husayn's father(a). Hurr, while he was still commander in Yazid's army, or 'wo occasions had shown his reverence to Imam Husayn(a). The first occasion was at the time of the noon prayers when the Imam(a) asked Hurr if he would prefer to say his prayers with his own men or with him and Hurr answered that he preferred to be with the Imam(a). On the second occasion, Hurr was present with his army when the Imam(a) addressed the soldiers facing him saying:
Lo! O you Kufans! If you are God fearing, you know that it is we, the folk of the Household of the Prophet(s) who are the righteous leaders of the people, not those who treat you unjustly.
The Imam(a) further mentioned the letters the people of Kufa had written supporting him and ordered a companion, Aqa ibn-Sam'an, to bring the letters to show the soldiers as proof. In reply, Hurr, among whose soldiers were many Kufans, said that they were not among those who had written the letters and that they had orders to take the Imam(a) back to Ubeidullah in Kufa.
When the Imam(a), in order to avoid confrontation, ordered his men to ride back to Mecca or Medina, Hurr barred their way and thus paved the way for more of Yazid's troops to arrive and surround the Imam's(a) small group of fighters.
On the day of Ashura however, the prick of his conscience induced a great remorse in him. He went back to Husayn's(a) camp to seek his forgiveness and to cast his lot with the Caravan of Light. The Imam(a) replied that God would accept his repentance. Later on, Hurr and his son launched a brave and relentless attack upon the enemy and were both eventually killed in the path of God. The Qur'an says:
*O you who believe! Shall I show you a commerce that will save you from a painful doom? You should believe in Allah and His messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with your riches and lives. That is better for you if you did but know* (61/10 -11)
What is meant here by commerce, is the willingness to trade a good, comfortable life in this world for an abode in Paradise in the Hereafter.
Husayn(a) was victorious in the battle between truth and falsehood, between light and darkness. Because of his valor and devotion, this descendant of Mustafa taught human beings the lesson of self sacrifice. The hero on the battlefield of courage took up the sword for his divine cause and because of this the tree of religion bore fruit and the palace of faith remained standing on solid foundations. Its threshold is the Ka'aba of hope for those with certainty of faith and its court the Qiblah for those of perspicacity.
For Yazid the palace of tyranny collapsed when he decided to extinguish the light of God. It is indeed wonderful to behold that after all these centuries, the fundamental distinction between truth and falsehood has remained; that the truth continues-eternal-while that falsehood represented by the Yazidi forces has utterly vanished.
Husayn(a) was a free man, a descendant of Heidar-Hadrat Ali(a)-and Fatima(a), daughter of the Best among Mankind. How could such a symbol of religious perfection yield to the will of a tyrant usurper? If his chest should be the target of a poisoned arrow and if he should die of thirst, he would never stoop to an enemy. We must learn to be free like Husayn(a) and gain victory.
Rasa, the poet, has said in a verse:
The fragrance of his dust animates me and I long to embrace his grave.
The Qur'an says:
*He will forgive you your sins and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eden. That is the supreme triumph. And (He will give you) another blessing which you love: help from Allah and present victory. Give good tidings (O Muhammad) to believers * (61/12-13)

Undergoing the Divine Test
The army of Imam Husayn(a) undergoing a very severe test, unprecedented in human history, defeated the enemy. Arif Samadani, the learned gnostic says:
You are but a slave of your sensual desires and neglectful of too many other far more subtle pleasures in the domain of your existence. The soul is purified through divine tests, just as gold is melted in the crucible of perfection. Those who worship their Lord in distress are superior to those who worship him in affluence.
It has been said that a life of hardship is a token of God's mercy and favour upon upright people. In this respect see how dear Imam Husayn(a) and his companions were to God.

Nafi ibn- Hilal
Nafi was of noble birth, a reader of the Qur'an, narrator of the Sunna of Muhammad(s) and a companion of Amir al-Mu'minin `Ali(a). Before Muslim ibn-Aqil was martyred, he left Kufa to join Imam Husayn(a).
Ibn-Shahr Ashub said when Hurr ibn Yazid barred the Imam(a) and his companions from going to Mecca or Medina, the Imam addressed his men and told them that death was God's gift for the believers and that living under the yoke of despotic rulers would be a painful torture. When Nafi heard this, he eloquently answered:
O you, descendant of God's Messenger(s), You know well that your forefather did not live long enough to show the affection he had towards these people to its fullest capacity. Indeed among his people were hypocrites that promised to help him in time of need but did not abide by their promise when the need came. This also held true in the case of your father. Many promised to help, but in fact refrained from helping him. Now you are in the same predicament as regards to the hypocrites h, those who broke their promise, acted to the detriment of themselves and God has made it so that we do not find ourselves reliant upon them. Now lead your men to their fate. We love your friends and hate your enemies.
Nafi fought bravely in the battle. He killed as many men of Omar Sa'ad as he could and then was crowned with martyrdom.

Nafi ibn- Hilal’s Very Strange Story
Shaykh Mufid, the outstanding theologian, narrated that for most of the time in Karbala, Nafi ibn-Hilal had closely accompanied Imam Husayn(a), especially when there was the danger of enemy ambush.
One night Husayn(a) left his camp for a reconnaissance tour of the site. Seeing this, Nafi shadowed the Imam(a) with his sword unsheathed. Suddenly the Imam(a) looked back and saw him. Nafi told him that he was very afraid for the Imam(a) to see him alone out there so near the enemy camp. The Imam(a) said he came to explore if there might be a hidden position from which the enemy could attack. After they both returned to camp, the Imam(a) entered his sister's tent while Nafi stood nearby. All of a sudden Hadrat Zeynab, Husayn's(a) sister, broke into tears at the thought of the impending death facing her brother and his companions and expressed fears about the constancy of his men. The Imam(a) in response had tried to assure his sister of their loyalty and devotion. On hearing this, Nafi headed for the tent of Habib ibn-Mazahir, another brave, loyal companion of Imam Husayn(a) and told him what he had heard. Then they both went up to the tents of the women-folk in the camp to assure them of the loyalty of the Imam's troops. The Imam(a) told the women to come out of their tents and thank those loyal men outside for their willingness to sacrifice their lives, standing by the Household of the Prophet(s). In their response it seemed as if the companions of Husayn(a) were saying:
If we failed to stay at Mina (a place in Mecca where the pilgrims to the Ka'aba stay overnight) we would make our tryst in Karbala, another Mina; If we said farewell to Zamzam and Safa (respectively a well and a high cliff in Mecca), we should make of Karbala, a pillar of loyalty and sincerity (Safa) In order for human beings to know their Maker, we would make ourselves a mirror to show the image of God; To treat the abyss of people 's ignorance, we would make of Karbala a place where people are cured of their illnesses; To liberate mankind from bondage, we would hoist the banner of freedom; We would overthrow oppressors and liberate the oppressed; We would tear down the palace of despotism and in its place build the palace of justice. If religious revolution was about to occur in the world, we would make it ring with the call for truth.

Yazid ibn- Thabit’ Abqassi
Ibn Thabit was a Shi'ite of a pure disposition and was lauded by Hadrat Mahdi(a) himself. When the enemy came to know that Imam Husayn(a) intended to leave for Iraq and unite with some people there, Ibn Ziad ordered his agent in Basra to be on the alert and make note of all those who were coming and going from Iraq.
Ibn Thabit, in company with Adham ibn-Umayya and other notables, left Basra for Mecca. On arriving there, they found that the Imam(a) was not in Mecca, so they went searching far and wide in the surrounding wilderness for him. At the same time, the Imam(a) was also searching for Ibn Thabit and eventually came upon his camp and went to his tent. When Tbn Thabit saw the Imam(a) in his tent he mentioned the Qur'anic verse:
*O mankind There has come unto you an exhortation from your Lord, a balm for that which is in the breasts* (10/58)
Then he told Imam Husayn(a) that he had come to fight for the divine cause. The Imam(a) prayed for him and eventually Ibn Thabit and two of his sons were killed in the battle.
Never do men with religious zeal bow to vile people. Well done those who pledge allegiance to the prophet's son and would give both their arms for his cause. Well done those who, disdaining of danger rush upon the enemy. Gallant men who pierce their way through enemy hoards to slake the thirst of others. Martyrdom was a wine in the cup of death. Well done those drunken men who kissed it and drank the wine.

Abis ibn- Shabib Shakeri
He was a pious Shi'ite notable orator and man of Truth. When Muslim ibn-Aqil came to Kufa, the notables among the Shi' a came to visit him. After Muslim had read the letter of Imam Husayn(a), `Abis addressed him saying:
O you messenger of Husayn(a)!, I speak neither for the people of Kufa to make a baseless promise on their behalf to deceive you. I swear by God that I have chosen to fight the enemy side by side with you, to the bitter end.
His fiery words kindled the fire of sacrifice for the cause of Allah. Here `Abis committed himself to uphold nothing but the Truth. He encouraged the people to pledge allegiance to Muslim. Muslim wrote a letter to the Imam(a) and handed it to Abis. In the thick of the battle `Abis Shakeri, in company with Shudhab rode out to defend Islam. `Abis then addressed the Imam and said:
I know of no one dearest to me, but you.
He rushed the enemy with his sword unsheathed. No one dared to fight him, so Ibn Sa'ad ordered his men to rain stones on him in order to crush his attack. `Abis , in a righteous rage, removed his coat of mail and helmet and launched a furious attack upon the soldiers of the enemy, cutting down many in his path. Finally, tired, outnumbered and surrounded on all sides, `Abis was cut down and martyred.

Hafhaf ibn- Mahnah Basrawi
He was a committed Shi'ite and a brave companion of Hadrat `Ali(a), he had fought side by side with the latter in three battles (Jamal, Siffin and Nahrawan) that `Ali(a) had fought against the wrongdoers.
After Hadrat `Ali(a) was martyred, he pledged allegiance to Imam Hasan(a) and then to Imam Husayn(a). In Basra, he found out that Imam Husayn(a) had left Mecca for Iraq. He hastened across the wide deserts between Basra and his destination with utmost speed and reached Karbala on the day of Ashura when the battle had ended. He asked the men in the army of Omar Sa'ad about Husayn(a). They answered:
Don 't you see plunderers are now busy in Husayn 's(a) camp, robbing the womenfolk of their clothing.
In a battle when a soldier sees his commander lying among the fallen, he could become quite confused, but Hafhaf, like a fierce lion, attacked the enemy troops by himself putting them to the sword one by one until he was exhausted and killed.

Suwid Hadrami
He put up a good fight but suffered fatal wounds all over his body and fell unconscious to the ground. The enemy gave him up for dead and left him alone. All of a sudden when he heard the shout that Husayn(a) was killed, he sprang to his feet. Not finding his sword, he seized a dagger and attacked the enemy and was killed.
These were the companions of Imam Husayn(a), companions whose valour defies description. As to the members of the Bani Hashim themselves such as The Moon of the Bani Hashim, Hadrat Abbas - Husayn's(a) brother - and Ali `Akbar - son of Husayn - , no one can ever be able to do justice to them, for they represented the acme of heroism and chivalry.