They let their poetry target those who participated in all...

They let their poetry target those who participated in all of that or did not stop it. Some of them were contemporary to the Imams (as), or their time was close to that of the Imams’. This is regarded as a reliable and strong historical record. Its strength underscores the fact that its contexts were true as it was transmitted by traditionists and historians. Here we would like to cite a bouquet of such poetry in successive centuries and till our time: Sayyid al-Himyari[^3] (d.

173 A.H./789 A.D.) Sayyid al-Himyari, may Allah have mercy on him, was contemporary to Imams al-Sadiq and al-Kazim (as) and he says the following: Beaten, she was, and of her rights deprived, And was made to taste after his demise of wounds. God sever the hands that her did they hit, And of that who agreed thereto and followed suit. God may never forgive him nor Spare him of the horror of leaving the grave .[^4] Al-Barqi (d.

245 A.H./859 A.D.) Al-Barqi, namely ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ammar, has said, They gathered the firewood at the house, And those who ignited it kept taunting, While none were at the house except The Purified Lady, the Truthful one, And the Prophet’s two grandsons . ^5 Al-Nu’man, the Judge (d.

363 A.H./974 A.D.) Judge al-Nu’man, an Isma’ili, composed a poem about what happened following the demise of the Messenger of Allah S in one inclusive poem wherein he says, Both swore fealty to him and said: The best, you are, of everyone in state! Among them were people of those at Badr slain, And at others, people of confined grudge, plain. They swore fealty, the heads of their folks, So people swore, too, on that day Except a few who recognized the way Of their Prophet, so they kept away.

To Ali, their Imam, they went; Said he: Your effort is already spent! They said: No, We shall do it for sure! So he said: Set out now and your heads shave So people will know you then come in a wave To me so we may fight, God will make a way For us to judge, and we will see what He does say. They failed when they saw him determined, So those who went to him counted only seven, While fealty was sworn by all the rest Who thought swearing it was the best. I did call them by their very names.

He said: I shall not fight you for sure For few you are and cannot meet the rest So they sat to see what he would do With them and what order to issue. ‘’Umar came to them with a group Seeing the man they installed was not obeyed Till they reached the door of Fatima The Batul lady who boycotted them.