Ashura and the Embodiment of Haydari Courage in the Sermons of Aba al-Fadl al-Abbas

Would you frighten a people who played with death in childhood? Like a hunting falcon attacking sparrows, I will destroy you. As long as I am alive, your hands will not reach Aba Abdillah.

Every action needs insight and awareness. If actions are not based on insight, not only does a person fail to reach the destination, he becomes distant from the path. Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him, says: "One who acts without insight is like one who travels on a pathless way; the faster he goes, the farther he becomes from the path." (1)

People of insight are those who reach the destination and stand in the highest ranks and stations. Insight stands opposite fanaticism. Fanaticism is a blind movement. A fanatic does not pay attention to proof and argument and has nothing to do with truth and falsehood. The movement of a fanatic is based on personal and tribal motives. But insight is a movement based on awareness and evidence. A person of insight never moves fanatically, never speaks fanatically, and defends his idea and belief with proof and evidence. Although a person of insight has no fanaticism, he has zeal for what he believes.

Following the infallible Imam is valuable as long as it is based on insight and awareness. Otherwise, such following has no durability or continuity. Many people who supported Amir al-Mu'minin at Siffin, while their support was not based on insight, did not continue accompanying him; to the point that at Nahrawan they drew swords against Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him.

The important feature of Aba Abdillah's companions was insight: an insight that caused them not to abandon helping their Imam in the hardest conditions. Among the companions of Sayyid al-Shuhada, the standard-bearer of Karbala held a special rank. He created one of the greatest epics of Karbala. He was the manifestation of courage and insight in Karbala. Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, says about him: "Our uncle al-Abbas had penetrating insight and firm faith. He struggled alongside Aba Abdillah, endured a beautiful trial, and passed on as a martyr."

Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, mentions two important features in the personality of Hazrat Abbas: penetrating insight and firm faith; penetrating insight regarding the Imam of his time, and firm faith in the wilayah of Husayn ibn Ali, peace be upon him.

His insight can be found in his words. In his sermon he exposes the enemy with courage and clarity and cries out the truth of his oppressed Imam. In a sermon he delivered in the land of Batha in the Sacred Mosque, he said: "Look, then look again: from whom should one follow? From the one who drinks wine, or from the one who owns the Pool and Kawthar? From the one whose house contains revelation and the Qur'an, or from the one whose house contains amusement and impurities? From the one whose house contains purification and the signs?" (2)

With full courage in the city of Mecca and in the Sacred Mosque, he threatened Banu Umayyah, warned them, and declared his unstinting support for Aba Abdillah, peace be upon him. In this sermon he both introduced himself and threatened the Umayyads. In his words, he introduced Sayyid al-Shuhada and humiliated and threatened the enemies: "Were it not that the will of my master is molded from the will of the All-Merciful, I would fall upon you like an angry falcon upon flying sparrows."

This statement shows the lofty knowledge of Hazrat Abbas regarding the Imam of his time. He sees the will of his master as the will of God Most High, and obedience to Sayyid al-Shuhada as obedience to God Most High. He threatens the enemies with a humiliating example, saying that like a hunting falcon attacking sparrows, he would destroy them.

He describes himself in this way: "Do you frighten a people who played with death in childhood? How then are they now in manhood? I would sacrifice my life for the master of all creation, not for animals." He asks whether they frighten a people who played with death in childhood, now that they are men. He describes death as the plaything of his childhood. Therefore he cannot be frightened by the threat of death, war, and fighting. With a loud voice he says that all his life is sacrificed for his master and the master of all beings.

He speaks words full of epic courage and insight, words that reveal the state of Banu Umayyah in the past and their enmity toward the Prophet. He exposes the past of Banu Umayyah, who sought to kill the Seal of the Prophets. At the same time, at the height of epic courage, he presents himself as the shield of Sayyid al-Shuhada. He says: "You have fallen into the same error into which Quraysh fell, for they wanted to kill the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, and you want to kill the son of your Prophet's daughter. That was not possible for them as long as Amir al-Mu'minin was alive; so how can killing Aba Abdillah al-Husayn be possible for you while I am alive? Come, I will tell you the way: hasten to kill me and strike my neck so that your desire may be fulfilled. May God not let you reach your desire, and may He scatter your lives and your children; and may God's curse be upon you and upon your forefathers."

With all courage and insight, in an epic statement he says: as long as I am alive, your hands will not reach Husayn, peace be upon him.

His words were not mere claims. He proved the truth and sincerity of his words with his whole being on Ashura. During battle, he recited:
I swear by God, the Mightiest and Greatest,
and by the stones, truthfully, and by Zamzam,
and by the Lord of Hatim, Fana, and the Sacred,
today my body will be dyed with blood
before the possessor of virtue and generosity,
that is Husayn, the one of ancient glory.

He swore that his body would be dyed with blood before Husayn, the possessor of virtue, generosity, and ancient honor. (3)

When he entered the river, took the water, and the mass of the enemy army blocked his path, he attacked the heart of the army and recited:
O soul, after Husayn be humbled;
after him may you not remain to exist.
This is Husayn entering death,
while you would drink the cool, clear water?
Far be it; this is not the act of my religion,
nor the act of one true in certainty.

O soul, what meaning does life have after Imam Husayn? May you not remain alive after him to see life. This is Imam Husayn who has fallen into hardship; do you want to drink cold, pleasant water? This action has no place in my religion and culture, and it is far from the act of one truly sincere in certainty. (4)

His steadfastness and resistance reached the point that his hands were cut off, and even then he expressed his courage and zeal for Sayyid al-Shuhada and for the path and belief of Sayyid al-Shuhada:
By God, though you cut off my right hand,
I will forever defend my religion,
and defend the Imam true in certainty,
the son of the pure and trustworthy Prophet.

By God, even if you cut off my right hand, I will always and in every state defend my religion and defend the true and rightful Imam, the son of the pure and trustworthy Prophet. (5)

In the path of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, he had firm faith, and in knowing the enemy he possessed penetrating insight. In battle and in the field of action, he was the embodiment of the courage of Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him. He created an eternal epic in human history, the like of which had not existed before him and will not exist until the uprising of Hazrat Mahdi, peace be upon him.

1- al-Fiqh attributed to Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him, p. 381
2- Manaqib Sadat al-Kiram by Sayyid Ayn al-Arifin Hindi, found in the library of Allamah Mir Hamid Husayn Musawi Nishapuri Kashmiri, and compiled by Ali Asghar Yunesian in a book titled Khatib-e Ka'bah.
3- al-Futuh, vol. 5, p. 125; Absar al-Ayn, p. 30; Maqtal al-Husayn, vol. 2, p. 30
4- Maqtal al-Husayn wa Masra Ahl Baytih, p. 91; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 41
5- Maqtal al-Husayn wa Masra Ahl Baytih, p. 337; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 45, p. 40

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