But when al-Kumait said to him...

But when al-Kumait said to him, “It is composed about you ( [as]),” the father of ‘Abdullah (‘a) became quite relaxed because doing so is obligatory due to its resulting in keeping the traditions of (‘a) alive. Then he called upon some of his family members to join them both, whereupon al-Kumait recited his poem. There was a great deal of weeping when he recited the verse saying, Shooters hit thereby the mark the others are missing: O last one led to misguidance by the first: Do listen!

It was then that Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) raised his hands and supplicated saying, “ O Allah! Forgive al-Kumait's sins, the ones he committed, and the ones he will commit, the ones he hid, and the ones he revealed! And grant him, O Lord, of Your favours till he is pleased! ”[^2] Abu Ja’far Imam al-Jawad (‘a) permitted ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Salt to eulogize him and mourn his father Imam al-Riďa (‘a).

Abu Talib once wrote the Imam (‘a) seeking his permission to eulogize his father Imam al-Riďa (‘a), so he cut the parchment in which the poem was written and kept it with him, then he wrote him saying, “An excellent job you have done, and may Allah reward you with goodness.”[^3] Imam Abu ‘Abdullah, as-Sadiq (‘a), said to Sufyan Ibn Mis’ab, “Compose for me poetry about al-Husayn (‘a),” then he ordered Umm Farwa and his own children to be brought near them.

Once they all gathered, Sufyan started his poem by saying, “O Farwa! Be generous with your over-pouring tears.” It was then that Umm Farwa cried loudly, and so did the other women with her, whereupon Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) shouted: “The door! (Close) the door!” The people of Medina assembled, so Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) sent them a child who fainted (having become overwhelmed by emotion).[^4] This is one good method of disseminating awareness (of the tragedy of Karbala’) among the public.

Indeed, their children did faint during the Battle of al- Taff , and I do not know which one of them the Imam (‘a) had then in mind. Was it ‘Abdullah, the infant, or was it ‘Abdullah Junior son of Imam al-Hasan (‘a) who was killed with an arrow while in al-Husayn's lap? Or was it Muhammad son of Abu Sa’id son of ‘Aqil son of Abu Talib? Ja’far son of ‘Affan[^5] came once to see Imam as-Sadiq (‘a).

The Imam (‘a) said to him, “ You compose poetry about al-Husayn (‘a), and you do a good job, don't you? ” He answered in the affirmative, whereupon the Imam (‘a) asked him to recite some of it for him. Ja’far did.