The exact number of the persons who were martyred on the day...

The exact number of the persons who were martyred on the day of Ashura is not known. It is usually said that seventy two persons were martyred with Imam Husayn. Tabari writes that seventy two companions of the Holy Imam were martyred. Shaykh Mufid writes that Amr bin Sad sent the head of Imam Husayn to Ibn Ziyad on the very day of Ashura and ordered the heads of his companions and Ahlul Bayt to be severed from their bodies and these heads were seventy' two in number.

Furthermore, in the homage (Ziyarat) which has been quoted in Iqbal of Sayyid bin Tawus the names of 72 martyrs of Karbala have been mentioned. This Ziyarat, the date of issue…