Ibn ʿAsakir relates, in his biographical notice of Shamir ibn Dhi al-Jawshan—Dhi al-Jawshan being a respected Companion; some say his name was Sharaḥbīl, others say ʿUthman ibn Nawfal, and it is also reported that he was Ibn Aws ibn al-Aʿwar al-ʿĀmirī al-Ḍibābī, of the Kilāb tribe; Shamir’s kunyah was Abū al-Sābiġah—
then, through the chain of ʿUmar ibn Shabbah: Abū Aḥmad narrated to us; my uncle, Fuḍayl ibn al-Zubayr, narrated to me, from ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Maymūn, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥasan, who said:

“We were with al-Ḥusayn at the two rivers of Karbala. He looked at Shamir ibn Dhi al-Jawshan and said, ‘Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“As though I behold a mottled dog lapping up the blood of my Household.”’

Shamir—may Allah disgrace him—was leprous. ⦗1⦘

Sanan and others stripped al-Ḥusayn of his belongings, and the people divided whatever remained of his money, equipment, and even the contents of his tent—down to the pure garments worn by the women.

Abū Mikhnaf reports, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad: “When al-Ḥusayn was killed, we counted on his body thirty-three spear thrusts and thirty-four sword blows. Shamir ibn Dhi al-Jawshan then attempted to kill ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn the Younger—Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn—who was a sick child, until Ḥumayd ibn Muslim, one of Shamir’s own companions, dissuaded him.

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd arrived and said, ‘Let no one enter upon these women, let no one kill this boy, and whoever has taken anything of their property must return it to them.’

He added, ‘By Allah, not a single person returned anything.’

ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn said to him, ‘May Allah reward you with goodness, for by your words Allah has turned harm away from me.’ ⦗2⦘

They say that Sanan ibn Anas then came to the door of ʿUmar ibn Saʿd’s pavilion and cried out at the top of his voice:

“Load my beasts with silver and with gold—
For I have slain the veiled, majestic king!
I slew the best of mankind in mother and in father,
The very noblest whenever lineage is reckoned.” ⦗3⦘

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd said, ‘Bring him in to me.’ When Sanan entered, ʿUmar struck him with a whip and said, ‘Woe to you—are you mad? By Allah, if Ibn Ziyād heard you say that, he would cut off your head!’

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd granted clemency to ʿUqbah ibn Simʿān when the latter informed him that he was a freedman; none but he escaped their hands. Al-Murfaʿ ibn Yamānah ⦗4⦘ was captured, and Ibn Ziyād pardoned him.

Seventy-two men from among al-Ḥusayn’s companions were killed ⦗5⦘, and the people of al-Ghāḍiriyyah ⦗6⦘ of Banū Asad buried them one day after they were slain.