Mas’oodi says that Bukayr bin Humrān Ahmari severed the head of Muslim and threw it down followed by his body. Then Ubaydullāh ordered that Hāni be taken to the market-place and beheaded with hands fastened together. Hāni was calling out to the people of Murād, whose chief and spokesman he was, to assist him. When Hāni would mount, four thousand armored men of the Bani Murād along with eight thousand men on foot would accompany him. If those who were under the agreement with him among the people of Kinda and others would be with him, then thirty thousand armored men would accompany him. Even then at the need of the hour no one responded to him due to slackness and deceit.
Shaikh Mufeed says that Muhammad bin Ash’as came to Ubaydullāh and interceded on behalf of Hāni saying, “You are aware of the honor that Hāni holds in this town while also his family in the tribe. His people know that myself and my colleague have brought him to your presence, hence I request you in the name of Allāh to hand him over to me, for I do not desire enmity with the people of this town.”
Ubaydullāh promised to do so but later regretted and immediately ordered that Hāni should be taken to the market and beheaded. They took him to the market, where the sheep were sold, with hands bound together, while he was calling out, “O Mazhaj! There is no one from the Mazhaj for me today! O Mazhaj! Where is Mazhaj”? When Hāni sensed that no one came forward to render him assistance, he pulled away his hand from the rope and started yelling, “Isn’t there a stick, a knife, a stone or even a bone by which a man may defend himself”?
The guards leapt upon him and tied his hands tightly and told him to extend his neck (so that they may behead him), to which he replied that, “I am not generous in this regard and shall not help you in the matter of my murder.” Then Rasheed, a Turkish retainer of Ubaydullāh, dealt a blow with his sword upon Hāni, which went waste, and Hāni said, “Verily retreat is towards Allāh. O Allāh! (I come) towards Your Mercy and Your Paradise.” Then he dealt a second blow by which Hāni was martyred. (May Allāh’s Mercy and Blessings be upon him).
It is written in Kāmil of Ibn Aseer that Abdul Rahmān bin Haseen Murādi once met the Turkish retainer (who had killed Hāni) traveling along with Ubaydullāh and killed him.
Abdullāh bin Zubayr Asadi said regarding the murder of Hāni bin Urwāh and Muslim bin Aqeel (while some attribute it to Farazdaq, the poet):
“If you do not know what death is, then look at Hāni in the marketplace and the son of Aqeel, a hero whose face was covered with the wounds of sword, and another who fell to death from the roof, the wrath of Ibn Ziyād struck them both, and they became legends for every traveler on road, you see a beheaded corpse whose color death has changed, and his blood flowed abundantly like a river, a young man who was more shy than a young woman, was more incisive than a sharp edged sword, is Asmā riding in safety a mount which moves at walking pace, while Mazhaj urged him to seek revenge, and Murād wander around him? And all of them in fear of the questioner and the questioned, then if you do not avenge (the death of) your two masters, then you are illegitimate (sons), lowly and degraded.”
Ubaydullāh dispatched both, the heads of Muslim and Hāni to Yazid, who sent him a thanksgiving letter as follows:
“I have received news that Husayn is coming towards Irāq, deploy guards over the roads, gather provisions, and keep alert. Imprison and detain the dubious ones and kill those who fight you.”
It is stated in Irshād that Yazid said,
“And arrest people on grounds of suspicion and kill the accused, then keep me informed of the happenings.”
Mas’oodi says that Muslim bin Aqeel (a.s.) revolted in Kufā on Tuesday, the eighth of the month of Zilhaj 60 A.H., this being the same day when Imām Husayn (a.s.) left Makkāh to come to Kufā, and (Muslim) was martyred on Wednesday ninth Zilhaj, i.e., the day of Arafah. Then Ubaydullāh ordered that Muslim’s body be hanged and his head was dispatched to Damascus. This being the first body among the Bani Hāshim, which was hanged upon the (city) door, and the first head among them, which was sent to Damascus.
It is written in Manāqib that both the heads were sent to Damascus with Hāni bin Habooh Wade’ee and were hung at the gate of (the city of) Damascus.
In the Maqtal of Shaikh Fakhruddin it is quoted that the bodies of Muslim and Hāni were being dragged in the market. When the people of the tribe of Mazhaj were informed about it, they mounted on their horses and fought with them until they took the bodies of Muslim and Hāni from them. Then they gave the dead body bath and shrouded and buried them. May Allāh’s Mercy be upon them and may Allāh’s wrath befall their murderers, a severe wrath.
In Praise of Hani
As has been quoted in Habibus, Siyar, Hāni bin Urwāh was a notable of Kufā and an outstanding Shi’āh, and besides it has been related that he met the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and was blessed with his companionship. He was eighty-nine years old when he was martyred and his dignity and eminence can be proven from his bold speech with Ubaydullāh as quoted above.
Mas’oodi says that he was a Shi’āh and chief of the (clan) of Murād, and four thousand armored horsemen and eight thousand on foot would accompany him. When Imām Husayn (a.s.) was informed about the martyrdom of Muslim and Hāni, he said,
“Verily we are Allāh’s and verily unto Him shall we return”, and repeated,
“Allāh’s Mercy be upon both of them.”
Moreover he read a letter in the presence of the people,
“In the Name of Allāh, the Beneficent, the Merciful. A heart rending news has reached us that Muslim, Hāni and Abdullāh bin Yaqtoor have been martyred.”
Pilgrimage to the grave of Hāni bin Urwah Murādi
It is quoted in the Mazar of Muhammad bin Mashhadi, Misbāhuz Zāer of Sayyid Ibn Tāwoos, Mazar of Shaikh Mufeed, and Mazar of Shaikh Shaheed (may Allāh sanctify their souls) in context to the supplications of the Mosque of Kufā that: Stand near his (Hāni bin Urwāh’s) grave and send salutations upon Muhammad (S) and his Progeny and then say,
“Allāh’s Sublime Peace and His Benediction be upon you, O Hāni bin Urwāh! Peace be upon you O (the) devout and sincere slave of Allāh and His Prophet …… (till the end).”
Then recite two units of Prayers as gift and pray for him and bid farewell.
Besides, Hāni was among those who had fought alongside Imām Ali (a.s.) in the battle of Jamal. It is quoted in Manāqib of Ibn Shahr Āshob, that he recited the following Rajaz in that battle “It is a battle in which the guide is a Camel, their woman, the chief of misguidance, is in the forefront, while Ali is the Master of the masters and a Master.”
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References
Nafasul Mahmum, Relating to the heart rending tragedy of Karbala’, Sheikh Abbas Qummi, ISLAMIC STUDY CIRCLE, Mumbai, India