Abbas ibn Ali
Al-ʻAbbās ibn ʻAli, also known as Qamar Banī Hāshim "the moon of Banu Hashim"and Abolfazl, was a son of Ali and Fatima bint Hizam, commonly known as Umm al-Banīn "Mother of the Sons".
Abbas, also known as Alamdar, is highly revered in Islam for his loyalty to his brother Husain, his respect for the Household of Muhammad, and his role in the Battle of Karbala. Abbas is buried in the Shrine of Abbas in Karbala, Karbala Governorate, Iraq, where he was martyred during the Battle of Karbala on the day of Ashura. He was praised for his "handsome looks" and was also well known in the Arab community for his courage, bravery, strength and ferocity as a warrior. Ibn Manzur narrates in his al-Ayn that Al-Abbas was the "lion that other lions feared" as a testament to his accolades as a warrior. Sheikh at-Turaihi describes Abbas's appearance as resembling an unshakable mountain, with his heart firmly rooted, due to his qualities as a "unique horseman" and a "fearless hero".
Birth and early life
Abbas was born in the month of Sha'ban in the year 26 AH in the city of Medina to Ali and Umm al Banin. Abbas had three full brothers, Abdullah ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, Jafar ibn Ali, and Usman ibn Ali. Abbas married a distant cousin, Lubaba. They had three sons, Fadl ibn Abbas, Mohammad ibn Abbas, and Ubaydullah ibn Abbas. His mother would recite famous lines of poetry in supplication to ward off the evil of those who envied him.Battle of Siffin
Abbas debuted as a soldier in the Battle of Siffin, one of the main conflicts of the struggle between Abbas's father, Ali, and Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria, in 657 CE. Wearing the clothes of his father, who was known to be a great warrior, Abbas killed many enemy soldiers. Muawiya's forces actually mistook him for Ali. Therefore, when Ali appeared on the battlefield, Muawiya's soldiers were astonished to see him and confused about the identity of the other soldier. Ali then introduced Abbas by saying:He is Abbas, the moon of the Hashimites.
Abbas was trained by his father and his elder brother Hassan in the art of battle, which may be one reason he resembled his father on the battlefield. When describing his fighting on the battlefield, many historians call him a furious lion because of his courage, fearlessness and strength as an attacker. Abbas then became the trainer of most of his elder brothers' sons in the art of battlefield. A example of this is the courage of Ali Akbar, son of Hussain.
Battle of Karbala
Abbas showed his loyalty to Hussein at the Battle of Karbala. After succeeding his father Muawiya I as caliph, Yazid I demanded that Hussein pledge allegiance to him, but Hussein refused, saying:Yazid is a person who kills people without cause, and an individual like me doesn't pledge allegiance to someone like him...
As Yazid's behaviours were prohibited in Islam, if Hussein had pledged allegiance to Yazid, his act would have ruined the basics of Islam. Hussein's elder brother Hassan had made a pact, that they would be responsible for religious decisions and would not interfere in other matters. Hussein wanted to do what had been agreed upon, but Yazid I wanted to take total control of diverse affairs.
With the help of Ubayd Allah, Yazid I conspired to kill Hussein by sending a letter to him in the name of the people of Kufa, inviting him to come to Kufa and guide them on the right path, an invitation that was accepted by Hussein. However, most historians state that the letters were actually sent by the people of Kufa who later betrayed him when the body of Muslim ibn Aqeel was thrown from a building in the centre of Kufa by Yazid's army while the people of Kufa stood silent.
In 60 AH, Hussein left Medina for Mecca with a small group of companions and family members to travel to Kufa. He sent his cousin, Muslim, on ahead to he could make his decision to enter Kufa based on the advice of his cousin. But, by the time Hussein arrived near Kufa, his cousin had been killed.
On the way of Kufa, Hussein and his group were intercepted. They were forced into a detour and arrived in Karbala on the 2 Muharram, 61 AH. Hussein's camp was surrounded and cut off from the Euphrates river. The camp ran out of water on the 7 Muharram.
Martyrdom
Apart of being the "standard bearer" of Hussain ibn Ali's army, Abbas was asked by Hussain to provide some water for the thirsty children. The Euphrates river was occupied by Yazid I's army to prevent the camp of Hussain from getting water. Because of his skill and bravery, Abbas could have attacked Yazid I's army, occupied the river, and retrieved water for the camp alone. However, Abbas was only allowed to be defensive because his brother Hussain didn't want him to fight. He was only allowed to get water .Eventually, Abbas went to the river to get water for the children in Hussein's camp. Sakinah was very attached to Abbas, who was her uncle. To her, Abbas was their only hope for getting water. Abbas could not stand to see her thirsty and crying, Thy thirst!. When Abbas entered the battlefield, he only had a spear, and a bag for water in his hands. He was also given the authority to hold the standard in the battle and Hussain gave the standard to him who was the bravest one; therefore he came to be known as Abbas Alamdar. Once he had made it to the river, he started filling the bag with water. Abbas's loyalty to Hussein was so great that, although he was very thirsty, Abbas drank no water because he could not bear the thought that Sakinah was thirsty. This story illustrates how Abbas conquered the Euphrates river, held it with his mighty hands, yet still did not drink.
After gathering the water, Abbas rode back towards the camp. On his way back, he was struck from behind, and one of his arms was amputated. Then he was struck from behind again; the attack amputated his other arm. Abbas continued, carrying the water-bag in his mouth. Yazid's soldiers started shooting arrows at him. One arrow hit the bag, and water poured out of it. Immediately after the bag of water was hit, the enemy shot an arrow at Abbas that hit his eye. One of Yazid's men hit Abbas' head with a mace, and, lacking the support of his arms, Abbas fell off his horse. As he was falling, he called, "Oh brother!", . Abbas fell on his face before he let the standard fall.
He was martyred on Friday, 10 Muharram, 61 AH, near the bank of the river Euphrates. Hence, he is called the "Hero of the Euphrates." His death is generally commemorated by the Shiite Muslims on the eighth night of Muharram. Muslims, particularly Shiites, mourn the death of all the martyrs who fell at the Battle of Karbala with Hussein in the Islamic month of Muharram, mainly in the first ten days of the month. Fadl ibn Abbas and Qasim ibn Abbas also laid down their lives in Karbala. Ubaydullah ibn Abbas lived to continue the lineage of Abbas with five sons of his own.
Abbas was buried at the spot where he fell from his horse in Karbala, Iraq. The Shrine of Abbas was built around his grave, at which millions of pilgrims pay homage every year. The Albanian Bektashi community also maintain a shrine to Abbas on the summit of Mount Tomorr, where an annual pilgrimage is held every August.
Descendants
Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib had 5 sons, namely: Ubaidullah, Fadhl, Hassan, Qasim and Mohammad; and also 2 daughters. Ibn Shahrashub, the prominent historian, recorded that: "Muhammad ibn Abbas was martyred in Karbala with his father." The mother of Ubaidullah and Fadhl was Lubaba. Genealogists consider that the progeny of Al-Abbas came from his son Ubaidullah. Sheikh al-Futouni, however, mentioned that Hassan ibn Abbas also had sons and descendants. Ubaidullah ibn Abbas, who died in 155 AH, was a celebrated scholar known for his handsomeness, perfect morality and fine personality. He had three wives.Ali, had great respect for his uncle Abbas. He often wept when his eyes fell on Ubaidullah, explaining that he reminded him of his father's heroic and tragic exploit on that day in Karbala.
Al-Hassan, son of Ubaidullah, lived to age 67 and had five sons, Fadhl, Hamza, Ibrahim, Abbas, and Ubaidullah, all of whom became honourable, virtuous authors.
and cinnamon powder on the Iranian dessert, Sholeh-zard
Al-Fadhl was such an eloquent, religious and courageous personality that even caliphs respected him. He was named 'Ibn al-Hashimiyya – son of the Hashemite woman . He had three sons, Ja'far, al-Abbas al-Akbar, and Mohammad.
Hamza ibn al-Hasan ibn Ubaidullah was another descendant of Abbas ibn Ali, and was like "Ali ibn Abu Talib" who was his ancestor. A Pakistani tribe namely Awan are descendants of Qutb Shah who is a direct descendant of Hamza ibn al-Hasan ibn Ubaidullah and his lineage is traced as Qutb Shah ibn Yaala ibn Hamza ibn Qasim ibn Tayyar ibn Qasim ibn Ali ibn Jaffar ibn Humza ibn al-Hassan ibn Ubaidullah ibn Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib.
Abu'l-Abbas al-Fadhl ibn Mohammed ibn al-Fadhl ibn al-Hasan ibn Ubaidullah ibn al-Abbas who was an orator/poet, composed several poetic verses eulogizing his ancestor, Abbas ibn Ali.
Ibrahim Jardaqa was another descendant of Abbas ibn Ali. Jardaqa was a jurist and writer who was well known for his ascetics. Abdullah ibn Ali ibn Ibrahim wrote several books, including one titled al-Ja'fariyya. He died in Egypt in AH 312. Al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan ibn Ubaidullah ibn al-Abbas was a well-known poet among the Hashemites. He visited Baghdad at the time of Harun ar-Rashid reign.
Abu't-Tayyib Mohammad ibn Hamza was also one of Abbas' descendants who was known for hsi good personality, his regard for his relatives and his virtue. Abu-Tayyib had properties in Jordan where he was killed in 291 AH . His descendants were called "sons of the martyr".
Abdullah ibn al-Abbas is another son of Abbas ibn Ali whose name has been mentioned among the "martyrs of Karbala", He was known for his virtue. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'moun mentioned about him that: "All people are the same after your departure, son of al-Abbas!".
Ubaidullah ibn al-Hasan, descedant of Abbas, was the governor/qadi of Mecca and Medina during the reign of al-Ma'moun. Abu-Ya'la al-Hamza ibn al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Hamza ibn al-Hasan ibn Ubaidullah ibn al-Abbas ibn Ali, was another descendant of Abbas. He was a knowledgable man. He was great hadithist who instructed many scholars and wrote many books, such as "Kitab ut-Tawhid", "Kitab uz-Ziyaraatu wel-Menasik", and many others in different fields of knowledge, particularly in Ilm ur-Rijal and Ilm ul-Hadith. Many scholars described him with words of praise.
In a village called al-Hamza in al-Jazira, central Iraq, between the Euphrates and the Tigris, is a handsome shrine built over the tomb of al-Hamza that continues to be visited by many people.
Titles
Abbas is known as Abu al-Fazl, meaning the father of heavenly graces and/or the father of the graceful manner. Abbas was chivalrous and loyal companion to his half brother Hussain. Abbas ibn Ali is also known as-Qamar Banu Hashim, meaning the moon of the Hashim clan.He is also known as Ghazi, meaning "soldier who returns successfully from the battle". Although Abbas was killed at Karbala, he is known as Ghazi because, when he carried out the first strike against Yazid's army, his mission was to rescue the horse which was seized by Shimr during the battle of Siffin. This horse belonged to his other brother, Hasan ibn Ali. Abbas retained control over the horse and presented it to Husayn.