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The Martyrs Of Karbala Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi This and the next two articles have been taken from The Light (Dar-es-Salaam) vol. XI No. 6 (1977) and vol. XIV No. 2 (1980). ********** This article, giving list of, and some details about, the martyrs of Karbala, is based on Ibsaru ’l- ‘Ain of Shaykh Muhammad as-Samawi, Bihar Al-Anwar of ‘Allamah Majlisi, Manaqib of Ibn Shahr ‘Ashub and Muntaha ’l- ‘Amal of Shaykh ‘Abbas Qummi. This list includes those martyrs also who sacrificed their lives for Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) in Kufa and Basrah shortly before or after the tragedy of Karbala. Banu Hashim All the martyrs of Banu Hashim should more correctly be called Banu Abi Talib, because it was only the descendants of Abu Talib who gave their lives on the altar of Islam in Karbala; no other family from Banu Hashim participated in that supreme sacrifice (dhibh ‘azim). Various narratives put their number from seventeen to thirty. A more reliable list would be as follows: A) Children of Amiru ’l-Mu‘minin ‘Ali (a.s.): 1. Imam Husayn (a.s.). 2. ‘Abbas. 3. ‘Uthman. 4. Ja‘far. 5. ‘Abdullah. 6. Ibrahim. 7. ‘Umar. (His case is doubtful.) 8. Muhammad al-Asghar. (Another tradition says that he was sick and was not martyred.) B) Children of Imam Hasan (a.s.): 1. Ahmad (Abu Bakr). 2. ‘Abdullah. 3. Qasim. 4. Hasan Muthanna was seriously wounded but later recovered. C) Children of Imam Husayn (a.s.): 1. ‘Ali al-Akbar. 2. ‘Ali al-Asghar (‘Abdullah ar-Radhi’). D) Children and grandchildren of ‘Aqil: 1. Muslim bin ‘Aqil (martyred at Kufa). 2. Ja‘far bin ‘Aqil. 3. ‘Abdu ’r-Rahman bin ‘Aqil. 4. Muhammad (or Abu ‘Ubaydullah) bin Muslim bin ‘Aqil. 5. ‘Abullah bin Muslim. 6. Ja‘far bin Muhammad bin ‘Aqil. 7. Muhammad bin Abi Sa‘id bin ‘Aqil. Other two children of Muslim bin ‘Aqil were martyred at Kufa one year after Karbala; and no one remained alive from the progeny of ‘Aqil. E) Grandchildren of Ja‘far at- Tayyar: 1. ‘Awn bin ‘Abdullah bin Ja‘far. 2. Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin Ja‘far. 3. ‘Ubaydullah bin ‘Abdullah bin Ja‘far. (His case is doubtful.) Sahabah Five companions (sahabah) of the Holy Prophet sacrificed their lives to help Imam Husayn (a.s.). They are: 1. Anas bin Harth al-Kahili. 2. Habib bin Muzahir. 3. Muslim bin ‘Awsajah. 4. Hani bin ‘Urwah al-Muradi, (age: more than 80 years; martyred at Kufa). 5. ‘Abdullah bin Yaqtur, (a foster-brother of Imam Husayn; martyred at Kufa). Slaves Sixteen slaves or ex-slaves attained the glory of martyrdom with Imam Husayn (a.s.). Their names are:- 1. Nasr bin Abi Naizar (ex-slave of Imam ‘Ali). 2. Sa‘d bin Harth (ex-slave of Imam ‘Ali). 3. Munjih bin Sahm (ex-slave of Imam Hasan). 4. Aslam bin ‘Amr (ex-slave of Imam Husayn). 5. Qarib bin ‘Abdullah Du‘ali (ex-slave of Imam Husayn). 6. Harth bin Nabhan (ex-slave of Hamzah). 7. John bin Huwai (ex-slave of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari). 8. Sa‘id or Sa‘d (slave of ‘Umar bin Khalid as-Saidawi). 9. Nafi‘ or Rafi‘ (slave of Muslim Azdi). 10. Salim (slave of Bani Madaniyyah al-Kalbi). 11. Salim (slave of ‘Amir al-‘Abdi). 12. Shawdhab (ex-slave of Shabib ash-Shakiri). 13. Shabib (slave of Harth Jabiri). 14. Wadhih (slave of Harth Salmami). 15. Sulayman (ex-slave of Imam Husayn. He was martyred in Basrah.) 16. Zahir bin ‘Amr (ex-slave of ‘Amr bin al-Humuq al-Khuza‘i). Martyred after Imam Husayn Four persons were martyred in Karbala after the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.s.). They were:- 1. Suwayd bin ‘Amr bin Abi ’l-Muta‘. He was unconscious having been fatally wounded at Karbala. When the din of jubilations of Yazid’s army, mingled with the cries of the family of Imam Husayn reached his ears, he regained consciousness. He had hidden a knife in his socks. With it he attacked the enemy and was killed. 2. Muhammad bin Abi Sa‘id bin ‘Aqil. This innocent child was a nephew of Muslim bin ‘Aqil. After the martyrdom of Imam Husayn when he saw the the women crying, he took a stick in his hand and came out of the tent, looking to right and left nervously. Laqit al-Juhani mercilessly killed him then and there. His name has already been mentioned in I.
