| Hazrat Muslim had taken with him his two sons Muhammad and Ibraheem. After Hazrat Muslim was killed, Muhammad and Ibraheem were also arrested and put into a dungeon. It is said that Muhammad was just ten years old and Ibraheem was eight years old.On the 20th of Dhul-Hajj in 60 Hijrah, when the jailer came to give the children their evening meal, he saw them saying their prayers. The jailer waited. When the boys had finished their prayers, he asked them who they were. When the jailer learnt that they were the sons of Muslim Ibne Aqil and the grandsons of Hazrat Ali, he let them escape. The children came out of the prison.
It was a dark night. Their first thought was to go to Imam Hussain and warn him not to go to Kufa. Everywhere they went, they found the roads blocked by Ibne Ziyad soldiers. It was impossible to get out of Kufa. Now it was almost day-break. Where could these two young boys go?
They found themselves by the side of the river Euphrates. They drank some water from the river and then went up a tree to hide for the day. Just then a woman came to the river to get water. She saw the two young boys and asked them who they were. Ibraheem said, “We are two orphans, could you please leave us alone and not tell any one that you have seen us?” The woman asked them to accompany her to her mistress who would help them.
The woman’s mistress was a kind lady. After talking to the boys for a while she realized who they were. She gave them food and said to them, “You can spend the day here and I will try to help you. Unfortunately my husband Harith is working for Ibne Ziyad. He is out at the moment. You can rest in the spare room but make no noise otherwise when he comes back, he will find out you are here”.
The children said their prayers and went to sleep. In the evening Muhammad woke up and started crying. Ibraheem asked him why he was crying. Muhammad said “I saw our father in a dream. He was calling out for us”. Ibraheem said, “Brother, be patient. I also saw our father in a dream beckoning us to him”. They both started weeping. Harith, who had come back, heard the children crying. He opened the door and asked the children who they were. On learning they were the sons of Muslim Ibne Aqil, he tied both the boys to a pillar. Harith’s wife tried to stop him, but he beat her up. Harith wanted to collect the reward which Ibne Ziyad had offered to anyone capturing the children.
The children spent the whole night tied to the pillar. In the morning Harith dragged them to the river-bank. He took out his sword. Ibraheem asked him, “Harith, are you going to kill us?” Harith said “Yes!” Ibraheem said, “In that case give us time to finish our morning prayers”. The two boys said their prayers. They raised their hands and cried out “Inna Lillaah wa Inna Ilay-hi Rajeeoon! O Allah we are coming to you. Give our mother courage when she hears of our death and judge between us and our killers!!” The sword came down! There were splashes in the water. Two young bodies were seen floating away in the waters of the river Furaat. |
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