Memories of al-Abbas
Discussion on a clip recounting memories of al-Abbas ibn Ali, the son of Imam Ali, and the flag bearer on the Day of Ashura
In His Name, the Most High, the Lord of the Martyrs and the Truthful
أَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ وَعَلىٰ الأَرْوَاحِ الَّتِي حَلَّتْ بِفِنَآئِكَ
عَلَيْكَ مِنِّي سَلاَمُ اللّٰهِ أَبَداً مَا بَقِيتُ وَبَقِيَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ
وَلاَ جَعَلَهُ اللّٰهُ آخِرَ الْعَهْدِ مِنِّي لِزِيَارَتِكُمْ
أَلسَّلاَمُ عَلىٰ الْـحُسَيْنِ
وَعَلىٰ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْـحُسَيْنِ
وَعَلىٰ أَوْلاَدِ الْـحُسَيْنِ
وَعَلىٰ أَصْحَابِ الْـحُسَيْنِ
Peace be upon you O’ Aba ‘Abdullah and upon the souls which were annihilated with you.
Upon you, from me, is the peace of Allah for eternity, as long as the night and the day remain
And please do not make this visitation (Ziyarat) as my last contact with you.
Peace be upon Husayn
And upon ‘Ali the son of Husayn
And upon the children of Husayn
And upon the companions of Husayn.
Memories of al-Abbas
This is a clip from Episode 21 of Mokhtarnameh, the episode is titled ‘Doldol’ (which is the name of Mokhtar’s horse and was also the name of the horse of Imam Ali).
Mokhtarnameh is a series directed by Iranian director Davud Mir-Bagheri and produced by SimaFilm, in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The series covers the entire epic of Mokhtar ibn Abu Obayd ath-Thaqafi, who was imprisoned by the forces of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I during the massacre of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Husayn, his companions and family on the Day of Ashura.
Mokhtar led an uprising that brought to justice the immediate killers of Imam Husayn, such as Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, Omar ibn Sa’ad, Harmala ibn Kahil al-Asadi and others.
The events depicted in this clip are set just prior to the uprising.
Home of Ibrahim ibn Malek al-Ashtar,
Outskirts of Kufa
The clip starts with Ibrahim ibn Malek al-Ashtar, the son of the famous companion of Imam Ali, preparing to visit Mokhtar, as they plan to start the uprising. He dons his armour and speaks to his wife.
Ibrahim says that previously he had some doubts and concerns about Mokhtar and his uprising. When he spoke directly with Mokhtar, all his doubts and concerns were dispelled; he realised that Mokhtar was sincere in his intention to avenge the blood of Imam Husayn, and to bring the perpetrators of that terrible crime to justice.
Raheleh, Ibrahim’s wife, tells him that when he wears his armour, she is reminded of Malek al-Ashtar, his father. She tells him that her mother used to tell her about the heroic deeds of Malek al-Ashtar when she was a child.
She relates that when she was to become the daughter in law of Malek al-Ashtar, she felt like she was in some sort of dream state, she was so awestruck at becoming part of the family of Malek al-Ashtar.
She tells Ibrahim, that, while he is not Malek, but rather he is Ibrahim, he is he. She tells him that no-one can be like Malek.
Ibrahim says that it was the love that Malek had for Imam Ali, a love that led him to Allah, to God, that made him as he was.
They reminisce about Malek, and the love he had for Imam Ali. He recalls that even when he was dying by way of the poison given to him by Amr ibn al-Aas, the governor of Egypt appointed by the Umayyad Caliph, Mu’awiyah I, in a place known as Qulzum (sometimes named al-Qilzim), which is a resting place for travellers at the borders of Egypt, he still kept his smile and kept remembering Ali (and by extension keeping his connection and remembrance of God alive).
She says that Malek always had a smile on his face, even though he had great pain in his heart; due to the way that the Muslims were being manipulated by Mu’awiyah I and his agents, due to the naivety of the Muslims, who would believe the lies, the fake news so to speak.
Fake news, misinformation and lies that led to sedition, that led to the usurping of the rights of the people, that led to the harming of the entire community. Sadly, this is also the case in our time.
It leads to such harm that the community starts to distance itself from God, from Allah, and ultimately leads itself to its own destruction.
He knew that the leader of the Muslims, Imam Ali, was the best of the best, was the door to the city of knowledge, but that the people refused to listen to him, instead listening to the voices of the liars and agents sent by Mu’awiyah I.
Ibrahim then, prepares to go to Lafqa, a small village near Kufa, where Mokhtar is based with his wife Umreh, the daughter of Nu’man ibn Bashir, the companion of the Prophet, and the then governor of Kufa, as appointed by Mu’awiyah I.
Home of Mokhtar ibn Abu Obayd ath-Thaqafi
Lafqa, Outskirts of Kufa
Zerbi, Mokhtar’s bondsman, is preparing Mokhtar’s horse, Doldol. Making her ready for Mokhtar. Mokhtar, himself, is putting on his armour and getting ready, as he is aware that Ibrahim will be arriving soon, and the time to begin the uprising is getting closer.
Mokhtar comes out, looks at Zerbi and Doldol, and turns towards his wife, Umreh. She is his second wife.
His first wife, Nariyeh, was the daughter of Samarat ibn Jondab, a companion of the Prophet, but who was closely allied to the Umayyad dynasty, and according to some historians was responsible for attempts to legitimise the despotic rule of the Umayyads, and he opposed the rule of Imam Ali as the fourth caliph of the Muslims, in favour of Mu’awiyah I.
These types of machinations, by Samarat and others like him – primarily at the behest of the Umayyads and at their head, Mu’awiyah I - led to the instigation of the Battle of Siffien (amongst others), which resulted in the death of many Muslims, and the confusion of many more. The ramifications of which, tragically, resonate to this day.
Nariyeh, had upset Mokhtar hugely by pushing for the marriage of his half-sister – Jariyeh – who he had raised, with Omar, the son of another companion of the Prophet, Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqas. Omar was a known ally and agent of Mu’awiyah I, and indeed was the primary commander of the forces of Yazid I on the Day of Ashura and bears great responsibility for the atrocities and crimes committed on that day and following it.
Omar was also from those who fought and instigated against Imam Ali and the Muslims in the battle of Siffien.
As Mu’awiyah I was about to lose the battle of Siffien. As the Muslim army was almost at the door of his tent, he instigated one of his generals, Amr ibn al-Aas – the same person who will go on to murder Malek al-Ashtar as has been mentioned earlier – to raise pages of the Quran upon spears, to indicate that Mu’awiyah I wanted the Quran to arbitrate between the two forces.
The Epic of Siffien is itself a great tragedy, that led to the rise of the extremist faction known as the Khawarej. Omar ibn as-Sa’ad, while not part of the Khawarej, was part of the Umayyad army that was the harbinger of the Khawarej movement.
The Khawarej were an extremist faction, that was led by weak minded and selectively literalist people, much like the way Daesh (aka ISIS or ISIL), al-Qaeda and such in our times are.
They are easily manipulated and coerced into doing things that harm the Muslims and indeed that harm humanity – but serve an agenda of their hidden masters - all the while thinking themselves that they are doing something good and positive.
The Khawarej were known, and history is a witness to this, to have torn open the wombs of pregnant women, if they were from factions they disagreed with, or considered ‘heretical’, and to murder both the child and the mother in the most atrocious manner. If the father was present, he would be forced to watch all of this, and then he too would be killed.
This was the Khawarej, and we can see its analogue in our times doing similar things, as and when it is convenient for the Mu’awiyah’s and Yazid’s of this age.
While the Khawarej faction professed to follow Islam, they didn’t. In the same vein, the latter day Khawarej, which may profess to follow Islam, Christianity, Judaism or other faiths; but the reality is that they follow nothing but their own whims and base desires, even if they don’t realise it.
This is how it was, how it is, and how it will be, when it comes to historic, current and future versions of the Khawarej corruption. This is the nature of this extremist and selectively literalist, highly manipulatable, corrupted and further corruptible faction, in all ages, and in all its versions.
Given that Omar ibn Sa’ad was fully allied with Mu’awiyah I and the Umayyad regime, it was unthinkable for the half-sister of Mokhtar to marry such a person. Nariyeh working to ensure that marriage happened, even against Mokhtar’s will, led to her ceasing to be the only wife of Mokhtar.
Since the marriage of Jariyeh and Omar, Mokhtar chose to, while keeping his first wife, Nariyeh, get a second wife, Umreh. He had children with Nariyeh and didn’t wish them to be without their mother; and as a Muslim, he chose to not divorce his wife, but rather exercise the option available to him of taking a second wife.
Unfortunately, Nariyeh didn’t care much for Umreh, as she felt that ‘she had stolen her man’, but she tolerated the situation, later she began to understand that her support and encouragement of the marriage of Jariyeh and Omar was a mistake, but of course by that time, it was all too late.
Umreh, for her part, did her utmost to avoid conflict with Nariyeh, and was generally very respectful and kind to her when they met or had interactions.
Mokhtar ensured that he provided for both wives and their families, emotionally, financially, spiritually and in all ways – as is the Islamic requirement for when a Muslim man takes more than one wife.
Umreh, looks at Mokhtar, the love and respect she has for him is clear on her face.
Mokhtar turns to Umreh; and tells her that as the uprising is about to start, Lafqa will not be a safe place for her; and so, she should go with him to Kufa. She had always been a strong supporter of Mokhtar and had the same strong and unconditional love for Prophet, Imam Ali, Lady Zahra and the Ahl al-Bayt as Mokhtar did, indeed that was what brought them together. Indeed, the most important point in her attraction to, and marriage to Mokhtar was his love for Imam Ali, and his adherence to the commands of God, of Allah.
Umreh doesn’t want to leave Lafqa, she has her home, her land, her crops, her livestock, her workers, and doesn’t want to disrupt that; but as Mokhtar explains to her that Lafqa will not be safe, she acquiesces and agrees, and as he has said, she goes to pack and prepare for the temporary migration from Lafqa to Kufa.
As Mokhtar goes towards Doldol, Umreh, prays that God, that Allah, grant her patience and fortitude in the face of the taunts of Nariyeh, and that He help her to have great patience, and more importantly for the success of the uprising, and that the killers of Imam Husayn are brought to justice.
Mokhtar sits astride Doldol, the horse that he has raised for years, the horse he named after the horse of Imam Ali, in memory of Imam Ali, who was the greatest love and guide for Mokhtar. He had raised Doldol for this great task that he had, to avenge the innocent blood shed by the enemies of God, of Allah on that fateful Day of Ashura.
Ibrahim rides towards Mokhtar, stopping next to him.
Ibrahim says, shall we go ‘Amir Mokhtar’ – the term Amir is used as an honorific title, meaning commander, or leader – to which Mokhtar replies – with one condition Sardar. Sardar is also an honorific title and translates to General.
Ibrahim says that my allegiance to you is not conditional; you are my commander, you give the order, and I will obey.
Mokhtar then says that let the horses decide on where we go, to which Ibrahim says, my horse only knows the way to Kerbala (where Imam Husayn was massacred, and where he is buried). Ibrahim continues by saying that, if you let my horse alone and let it go itself, it only knows how to get to Kerbala, to the banks of the stream known as Alqameh.
Mokhtar replies that Doldol doesn’t know the way to anywhere; but, that Doldol is tasked with taking Mokhtar on his me’raj. Me’raj, which while a direct reference to the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad, from Makkah to Jerusalem al-Quds and from there to the heavens, in this context means, that it is to take Mokhtar on the path that leads to heaven.
They then agree, to go to Kerbala.
As they ride off, Umreh looks on, whispering silent prayers for their safety and success.
The Banks of the Stream of Alqameh,
Kerbala
We now see Mokhtar and Ibrahim at the banks of the stream of Alqameh. Both looking down at the stream.
Ibrahim says that the place they are, is where Abbas managed to reach – on the Day of Ashura – while trying to get water for the children in the camp of Imam Husayn, who had been deprived of water by the enemy blockade for three (3) days.
Mokhtar asks Ibrahim:
“You and Abbas were very close, right?”
To which Ibrahim tells him that they had spent many of their years of youth together, at each other’s side. During the battle of Siffien, Abbas and Ibrahim supported and helped each other, they shared the same tent.
Abbas was the son of Imam Ali, from his wife named Umm ul-Baneen. She was from a noble Arab family, and it is said that Imam Ali had married her to have a son, who would be a companion and support for Husayn.
Abbas even as a child, as a youth was known to be brave, courageous, chivalrous, honourable and given he had been raised by Imam Ali directly, was also someone who had great and strong belief in God, in Allah, and was from the most righteous, pious and God aware of people.
He knew the trials and tribulations that were visited on Imam Ali and Imam Hasan (his half-brother), and he was amongst those who had been sent by Imam Ali, alongside Imams Hasan and Husayn and others from the youth of the Family of Hashim, to protect the third Caliph of the Muslims, Uthman bin al-Affan, when he was being brutally attacked by agents of the – at that time fledgling and forming – Umayyad regime. A regime that worked to create a schism and rift within the Muslim community.
A schism that is felt to this very day, and that is exploited further by the later day Umayyads and their associates, regardless of who or what they may present themselves as.
Ibrahim goes on to say that Abbas wanted to become so strong that he would be worthy of the sword of Imam Ali, known as Zulfiqar. He understood the loneliness of his father, Imam Ali, only too well.
Ibrahim recalls that Abbas wanted to be such that, should he be standing alongside Imam Ali, that Imam Ali himself would say that he has no need for any army.
That Abbas for him is like an entire army.
He recalls an event, saying that since they were young at that time, and the elders didn’t take them so seriously (regarding matters of war and such), and that this used to upset Abbas greatly.
So, one time, finally, his patience ran out; and he came to Malek al-Ashtar, Ibrahim’s father, one of the closest companions of Imam Ali, and one of the senior commanders in the army of Imam Ali, stood next to him, and implored him to take him to the battlefield.
Malek, looked at Abbas, and laughed (not a mocking laugh, but a laugh of love, like a father to a son), but this made Abbas angrier; and he said to Malek:
“Do you think me less capable than you? If so, then I challenge you, if I win, then you must take me to the battlefield!”
Malek, once more, looked at Abbas, and laughed; to which Abbas retorted:
“Oh Malek! I’m not joking around, why are you laughing!?”
On hearing this, Malek stopped laughing, and said:
“Oh, my dear beloved Abbas, I know that you can fight well, but you are the ‘Qamar-e-Bani Hashem’ (the moon of the Hashemites). You need to stay here and light up the dark skies over Siffien.”
The ‘moon of the Hashemites’ is an honorific title given to al-Abbas.
After hearing this, he stayed silent.
Ibrahim then relates that when Abbas got to the banks of Alqameh, he was extremely thirsty, but he didn’t take even a drop of water. He didn’t take even a drop of water, as he didn’t want to satiate his thirst while the thirst of his Imam, Imam Husayn, as well as that of the women and children was left unsatiated.
Ibrahim, then walks away, crying profusely at this remembrance of Abbas. He collects himself, and continues,
One night, during Siffien, as they slept in their tent, Abbas jumped out of bed, he kept looking at his hands, and at Ibrahim.
Ibrahim asked him:
“Did you see a dream?”,
Abbas nods. Ibrahim then asks him:
“What did you see?”.
Abbas, breathing heavily, looks at Ibrahim and says:
“I saw in my dream that I have no hands. My hands have disappeared. I was looking for my hands, suddenly, I saw a bird, that looked like a vulture, it had my hands in its claws and beak. It wanted to eat my hands!”
Abbas continues:
“I wanted to pick up some stones to throw at it, but I didn’t have any hands! I cried out to the vulture: ‘Oh vulture! Don’t eat my hands. Those are my hands!’
The vulture then started to speak, saying:
‘Oh Abbas, what do you want with these hands when you have two beautiful wings! I’m hungry, I’m injured and unable to fly, your hands will give me strength. You should fly with your two beautiful wings, fly over the clouds and mountains and enjoy’”
Ibrahim then says:
“When I heard that they had cut both of Abbas’s hands; I understood the wisdom of this dream, the interpretation of this dream.”
The Grave of Imam Husayn and the Martyrs of Kerbala,
Kerbala
Following this, both Mokhtar and Ibrahim perform their ritual ablution in the stream and don the white cloth of ihram to perform the visitation to the shrine of Imam Husayn.
It should be noted; that this wearing of the ihram is symbolic in the clip; going to the shrine of Imam Husayn does not require one to wear the ihram (the white cloth, made up of two unstitched pieces of cloth), and indeed the ihram is required only when visiting the House of God, the most sacred place in Islam, the Ka’bah in Makkah.
The ritual ablution is however something very strongly recommended prior to any direct visitation (Ziyarah) to any of the shrines of the lovers of Allah, and especially the shrines of the Prophet and Ahl al-Bayt.
The reason for the ihram, here, is symbolic.
Many thinkers, philosophers, scholars and poets have written; the Epic of Ashura, that stand of Imam Husayn, and the 96 martyrs of Kerbala, indeed, saved the very soul of Islam.
Had there been no Epic of Ashura, then Islam would have been corrupted by the behaviour and corruption of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I. A person who actively oppressed, who went against divine edicts, who was entirely amoral and much more besides.
What Imam Husayn, his companions and family, numbering no more than 96, did in the Epic of Ashura protected and saved Islam, such that today, we – all Muslims, Shia and Sunni – all understand that Islam never allows for its adherents to accept humiliation, and that the name of Allah, the name of God, is always the Most High. Indeed, Islam even demands justice for those who are not Muslim; for injustice is a crime against God, regardless of who is perpetrating it.
Indeed, to save the Quran, and given that corruption had spread across the world by the hands of humans; this was required; and it is said, that the notion of “Every day is Ashura and Every place is Kerbala” is testimony to this. That in every age, in every place, there is a Husayn and there is a Yazid.
Therefore, one imperative, for anyone wanting to follow the line of Imam Husayn, is to recognise the Husayn of their time and the Yazid of their time.
Furthermore, had this stance not been taken, while perhaps the ink and paper of the Quran would have remained; its meaning, its understanding, the divine protection against oppression that it leads to, would have been lost; and ultimately the promise of Allah in Quran, where he says, would not have been fulfilled:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Surely, We revealed the Message, and We will surely preserve it.
Quran, Surah al-Hijr (the Stoneland) #15, Verse 9
Mokhtar and Ibrahim then circumambulate the grave of Imam Husayn and al-Abbas.
Once they have completed their visitation. They both mount their horses; and ride towards Kufa.
As they ride, Mokhtar prays that they will God willing, achieve success in the uprising, and that they will be able to bring to justice the murderers of Imam Husayn.
Ibrahim then says to Mokhtar, using his honorific title ‘Abu Ishaaq’, saying:
“Abu Ishaaq, I want to revive once more the name of Malek”
Mokhtar replies:
“Malek hasn’t died Ibrahim, Malek al-Ashtar cannot die. His name will always remain in the hearts and minds of all the believers, until the Day of Resurrection!
In fact, we should make our own epic, so that we are not lost (to time)!”
He then says that the second step is to liberate the city of Kufa from the Zubayri regime.
The Zubayri regime is that which is from the children, specifically the eldest son, Abdullah ibn Zubayr, of the companion of Prophet, Zubayr ibn Awam.
Indeed, Abdullah ibn Zubayr (along with Abdullah ibn Umar and Husayn ibn Ali) were the three people that Mu’awiyah I had instructed Yazid to ensure he got allegiance from.
Abdullah ibn Zubayr had taken Makkah, and on his watch, the plunder of Madinah took place, where Yazid’s troops (following the Epic of Ashura), ransacked and destroy the Mosque of the Prophet in Madinah. Killing, raping and plundering. Allowing animals to jump around on the pulpit and prayer niche of the Prophet.
Abdullah ibn Zubayr in all this time, did nothing to confront Yazid, but continued to feign piety while in Makkah.
He had great jealousy towards Bani Hashim, the family of the Prophet, and indeed, he is well known to have wanted to burn them all at the stake; and had he been given the opportunity, be certain that he would have.
His oppression of both Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abedeen (also known as as-Sajjad), of Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyeh, the son of Imam Ali, and uncle of Imam as-Sajjad was horrific, and no less than the oppression meted out by the Umayyads against the family of the Prophet Muhammad.
So much so, that while the Imam was in Makkah (following the event of Ashura and Arbaeen), his followers could not come to meet him, except under extremely dangerous circumstances – both for the followers as well as for the Imam.
Indeed, he even dragged Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyeh to his palace, and threatened to kill him when Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyeh refused to condemn Mokhtar and his uprising.
Future discussions will cover the crimes of the Zubayri regime in more details, as we delve into the entire Epic of Mokhtar, which sheds more light on the details of the Epic of Ashura, and the events of Arbaeen.
Mokhtar then instructs Ibrahim, that as the general of the army of the uprising, the army of the believers, he needs to prepare some secret special forces groups; who can enter the battlefield at a moment’s notice; to ensure that any schemes by the enemy can be thwarted, even if the enemy attempts to operate asynchronously and using advanced tactics.
To this, Ibrahim, accepts, finishing with a term that we as lovers of Imam Mahdi and believers in God, should all say:
“We listen, and we obey”.
وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ
As for those who do wrong, they will know by what overturning they will be overturned.
Quran, Surah ash-Shu'ara, (the Poets) #26, Last portion of Verse 227
And from Him alone is all ability and He has authority over all things.
Truth Promoters / Reflections / The Ashura Project
Muharram 1446 / July 2024