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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