ভূমিকা

Arrival of the Captives of Karbala to Syria - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Arrival of the Captives of Karbala to Syria 2024-08-02 1094 Views Karbala Captives , Prisoners of war The Battle of Karbala is the most sorrowful incident in the history of Islam, in which the beloved grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam Husain (PBUH) fought against the army of Yazid ibn Mu’awiya (the second Umayyad caliph), who was a tyrant leader of the Muslim community.

On the land of Karbala, two armies engaged in battle on the Day of ‘Ashura, i.e., Muharram 10, 61 AH (correspondence to October 10, 680 BC). In this battle, Imam al-Husain (PBUH), his brother, ‘Abbas ibn ‘Ali (PBUH), the two sons, ‘Ali al-Akbar and ‘Ali al-Asghar, 17 members of Banu Hashim, along with more than fifty companions of Imam Husain (PBUH) were martyred.

After the martyrdom of Imam Husain (PBUH), the army of the enemy attacked the tents of Imam Husain (PBUH) and took away anything they could as booties, including the earrings, necklaces etc. of daughters. It is reported that Shimr rushed to the tents of the family of Imam (PBUH) with a group of soldiers to kill Imam Ali Zayn al-Abideen (PBUH) who was ill then, but Lady Zaynab (s.a) did not let them do so.

Thus, the remaining members of Imam Husain’s family, including his sister, Lady Zaynab bint Ali; and his surviving son, Ali Zayn al-Abideen and the families of some of the martyrs of Karbala were taken by the army as prisoners of war and they were thereafter sent to the court of ‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad in Kufa and thereafter to the court of Yazid in Syria. Historians disagreed about the number of captives from (PBUH) and the survivors of Imam al-Husain’s companions.

Some sources reported that there were 61 women among the captives. The enemy army mounted the captives on bareback camels and horses. When they entered Kufa, people came out to see them; the women of Kufa were crying for them. Meanwhile, there is no explicit report about the exact date of their arrival to Kufa in early sources. However, according to a sentence of al-Sheikh al-Mufid, they entered Kufa on Muharram 12 61 AH (correspondence to October 12, 680 BC).

The captives were therefore taken to the palace of ‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad in Kufa. A harsh conversation between Lady Zaynab (s.a) and Ubaydullah is reported. Ubaydullah sent a group of soldiers along with the captives to Damascus.