Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (8/261)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

I wounded, and I do not blame myself for the effort; had my upper arm and forearm still been sound, you would never have taken me captive.’

Shamir then said to ʿUmar, ‘Kill him.’ ʿUmar replied, ‘You brought him; if you wish, then kill him yourself.’ Shamir rose and drew his sword.

Nāfiʿ said, ‘By Allah, O Shamir, were you truly one of the Muslims, it would weigh heavily upon you to meet Allah with our blood on your hands. Praise be to Allah, who has decreed that our deaths should come at the hands of the vilest of His creatures.’ Shamir thereupon slew him.

Shamir next charged at al-Husayn’s followers, and the people massed around him until they nearly reached al-Husayn himself. When al-Husayn’s companions saw how greatly their enemies had multiplied and realized that they could no longer protect either al-Husayn or themselves, they vied with one another to be killed before him.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and ʿAbd Allah, the two sons of ʿAzrah al-Ghifārī, came forward and said, ‘O Abā ʿAbd Allah, peace be upon you! The foe has driven us toward you, and we wish to die before you while defending you.’

He answered, ‘Welcome to you both; come close to me.’ They drew near and fought beside him, chanting:

The clan of Ghifār knows full well—and Khindif after the sons of Nizār—
That we shall strike the immoral horde with every keen, severing, biting blade.
O people, shield the family of the noble ones with Indian swords and barbed spears. (1)

Thereafter his companions came to him two at a time and singly; they fought in front of him while he prayed for them, saying, ‘May Allah reward you with the finest reward of the God-fearing.’ They bade al-Husayn farewell, fought, and were killed.

Then ʿĀbis ibn Abī Shabīb approached and said, ‘O Abā ʿAbd Allah! By Allah, there is no one on the face of the earth, near or far, dearer to me than you. If I were able to ward off humiliation or death from you with something more precious to me than my own self and my own blood, I would surely do so. Peace be upon you, O Abā ʿAbd Allah; bear witness that I am upon your guidance.’ He then advanced with his sword (2) bared, a gash already across his forehead—he was the bravest of men—and cried out, ‘Is there a man to face a man? Come out to me!’ They recognized him and shrank back.

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd said, ‘Pelt him with stones,’ and stones rained upon him from every side. Seeing this, he cast off his breast-plate and helmet and charged the crowd; by Allah, I saw him drive (3) more than two hundred men before him. Then they closed in on him from every direction and killed him—may Allah have mercy on him. I saw his head in the hands of several men, each claiming the kill. When they brought it to ʿUmar ibn Saʿd he said, ‘Do not quarrel over it; no single man killed him.’ With these words he silenced their dispute. (4)

(1) The verses appear in al-Tabari’s History, vol. 5, p. 442. (2) This phrase is omitted in the printed edition. (3) “yakarrid”: he drives. (4) Here the lacuna in the manuscript ends with the addition of several accounts along with their poems. In their place one reads instead: “He reached al-Husayn (peace be upon him), and the champions of his companions defended him. Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn was killed before him, and Nafi‘ ibn Hilal al-Jumali fought on his behalf until he killed twelve of Ibn Ziyad’s men, apart from those wounded. Then his arms were broken, and yet they struck his neck in the presence of ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d.”

جَرحت، وما ألوم نفسي على الجهد، ولو بقيتْ لي عضد وساعد ما أسرتموني. فقال شَمِر لعمر: اقتله، قال: أنت جئت به، فإن شئت فاقتله. فقام شَمِر فأنضى سيفه، فقال له نافع: أما واللَّه يا شَمِر لو كنتَ من المسلمين لعظم عليك أن تلقى اللَّه بدمائنا، فالحمد للَّه الذي جعل منايانا على يدي شرار خلقه. ثم قتله. ثم أقبل شَمِر فحمل على أصحاب الحسين، وتكاثر معه الناس حتى كادوا أن يصلوا إلى الحسين، فلما رأى أصحاب الحسين أنهم قد كثروا عليهم، وأنهم لا يقدرون على أن يمنعوا الحسين ولا أنفسهم، تنافسوا أن يُقتلوا بين يديه، فجاءه عبد الرحمن وعبد اللَّه ابنا عَزْرة الغفاري، فقالا: أبا عبد اللَّه عليك السلام، حازَنَا العدو إليك فاحببنا أن نُقتل بين يديك وندفع عنك. فقال: مرحبًا بكما، ادنُوَا مني، فدنَوَا منه، فجعلا يقاتلان قريبًا منه وهما يقولان: قد علِمتْ حقًّا بنو غِفَار … وخِنْدِفٌ بعدَ بني نِزَار لنَضْرِبنَّ معشرَ الفُجَّار … بكلِّ عَضْبٍ قاطعٍ بَتَّارٍ يا قومُ ذُودُوا عن بني الأَخْيار … بالمشْرَفيِّ والقَنَا الخَطَّار (١) ثم أتاه أصحابه مَثْنى وفرادى يقاتلون بين يديه وهو يدعو لهم ويقول: جزاكم اللَّه أحسن جزاء المتَّقين. فجعلوا يسلِّمون على الحسين ويقاتلون حتى يقتلوا. ثم جاءه عابس بن أبي شَبيب فقال: يا أبا عبد اللَّه! أما واللَّه ما أمسى على ظهر الأرض قريب ولا بعيد أعز عليَّ منك، ولو قدرتُ أن أدفع عنك الضَّيم أو القتل بشيء أعز عليَّ من نفسي ودمي لفعلتُه، السلام عليك يا أبا عبد اللَّه، اشهد لي أني على هَدْيك. ثم مشى بسيفه (٢) صَلْتًا وبه ضربة على جبينه -وكان أشجع الناس- فنادى: ألا رجل لرجل؟ ألا ابرزوا لي. فعرفوه فنكلوا عنه، ثم قال عمر بن سعد: ارضَخُوه بالحجارة، فرُمي بالحجارة من كل جانب. فلما رأى ذلك ألقى درعه ومغْفره ثم شدَّ على الناس، واللَّه لقد رأيته يَكْرُد (٣) أكثر من مئتين من الناس بين يديه، ثم إنهم عطفوا عليه من كل جانب فقُتل (رحمه الله) ، فرأيت رأسه في أيدي رجال ذوي عدد كلّ يدَّعي قتله، فأتوا به عمر بن سعد فقال لهم: لا تختصموا فيه فإنه لم يقتلْه إنسان واحد. ففرَّق بينهم بهذا القول] (٤) .

(١) الأبيات في تاريخ الطبري (٥/ ٤٤٢). (٢) سقطت هذه اللفظة من المطبوع. (٣) "يكرد": يسوق. (٤) هنا ينتهي نقص في النسخة ب ضم عددًا من الأخبار مع أشعارها، وقد ورد فيها بدلًا عنه: "ووصل إلى الحسين ﵁ ، ودافع عنه صناديد أصحابه، فقُتل زهير بن القين بين يديه، وقاتل دونه نافع بن هلال الجملي حتى قَتل من أصحاب ابن زياد اثني عشر سوى من جرح، ثم كسرت عضداه، ومع هذا ضرب عنقه بين يدي عمر بن سعد =