Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was
a companion of Rasulullah ﷺ. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn
Awsaja RA assisted Muslim ibn Aqeel RA in Kufa. Then Abu Hajal Muslim ibn
Awsaja RA joined Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA army with his family. Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was killed in battle of Karbala.
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA, is
Muslim son of Awsaja son of Sa'd son of Tha'laba son of Dudan son of Asad son
of Khuzayma al-Asadi. His Kunya is Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA. Abu Hajal
Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was a companion of Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA.
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA and Habib ibn Madhahir both were from the tribe
of Banu Asad.
Abu Hajal Muslim b. ‘Awsaja RA was
a brave warrior among Arab Muslims who fought alongside other Muslims in
conquering Azerbaijan and other battles. He was martyred in the beginning of
the Battle of Karbala.
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was
the commander of the tribes of Banu Asad and Madhhij in Kufa, at the time that
Muslim b. ‘Aqeel RA began an uprising in this city. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja
RA attended the Battle of Karbala with his family and his son was martyred in
the battle, too.
Abu Hajal Muslim b. ‘Awsaja RA was
a companion of Rasulullah ﷺ. Rasulullah ﷺ in his lifetime and narrated hadith form him. Abu Hajal
Muslim b. ‘Awsaja RA was a brave warrior whose name is mentioned in the battles
and conquests of Muslims.
In Kufa
Muslim b. ‘Aqeel RA traveled to
Kufa before the Battle of Karbala. When he arrived in Kufa, Abu Hajal Muslim
ibn Awsaja RA supported him with weaponry and tried to take oath of allegiance
for Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA.
According to a number of
narrations, when Muslim bin ‘Aqeel RA arrived in Kufa at first he went to Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA’s house. People gathered there to take oath of
allegiance. They swore to Allah ﷻ they would defend Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA to
their last breath. They sent letters to Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA about
the allegiance of people. Then Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA began his
travel to Kufa. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA played a crucial role in all
these events.
Name and Lineage
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA.
Sa’d ibn Tha’laba, Dudan ibn Asad RA. Khuzayma al-Asadi was also a companion of Saiyidina
Ali RA Ibn Abi Talib and Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA, Abu Hajal Muslim ibn
Awsaja RA and Habib b. Muzahir both were from the tribe of Banu Asad. Abu Hajal
Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was an honorable man who was famous for worship, fairness
and generosity.
IN KUFA
Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA supported
Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA ambassador, Muslim ibn Aqeel RA, in Kufa
with weaponry and tried to take oath of allegiance for Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA.
The spy of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad,
Ma'qil found the safe house of Muslim ibn Aqeel RA through Abu Hajal Muslim
ibn Awsaja RA. Consequently, Hani ibn Urwa RA who sheltered Muslim ibn Aqeel RA in
his house was arrested. Then Muslim ibn Aqeel RA to organizing an army chose Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA as commander of Banu Asad and Madh'hij and some
other commanders. Soon after Hani ibn Urwa RA and Muslim ibn Aqeel RA were
killed by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA hid in a safe
house for a while. Afterward, he joined Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA army
with his family in Karbala.
The Night before Ashura
At Tasu'a night, Saiyidina Hussain
ibn Saiyidina Ali RA told his soldiers:
You are allowed to leave Karbala
and your promises and oath of allegiance have served well so far, you are not
obligated to stay for the battle.
Then, some companions proclaimed
their allegiance and loyalty to Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA over
again. After the descendants of Banu Hashim, Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was
the first one who said:
Oh, Abu Abd-Allah! We would never
leave you alone. How it is possible to bring excuses to Allah? O, by Allah,
never! We will never leave you alone; I will never give up; I will slay the
enemies with my spear and sword until it drops on the ground; then I stone
them. By Allah ﷻ, I would never leave you alone until I fulfill my
duties to Allah and defend the descendants of Rasulullah ﷺ. O, by Allah, if I am perished, I would reborn, and then if
I am burnt and turned into ashes, I would reborn; and if it happens seventy
times I would reborn and fight for you until I am martyred for you. I would
never leave you as I know I will be perished once. Consequently, eternal
prosperity and dignity would be mine.
His motto in the battle of Karbala
He repeatedly expressed this motto
in the battle of Karbala:
If you desire to know me, I am
brave as a lion; my lineage goes back to Banu Asad. If you treat me with
tyranny, you are strayed from the right path, and you are guilty of ingratitude
toward Allah ﷻ.
It should be noted that Asad means
lion.
DEATH
Abu Hajal
Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was the first one who was killed in the battle of Karbala
before Amr ibn Qartah RA. He was about 70 years old.
In Kufa, Muslim b.
‘Aqeel RA traveled to Kufa before the Battle of Karbala. When he arrived in
Kufa, Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA supported him with weaponry and tried to
take oath of allegiance Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA.
According to a number of
narrations, when Muslim b. ‘Aqeel RA arrived in Kufa at first he went to Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA house. People gathered there to take oath of
allegiance. They swore to Allah they would defend Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA to their last breath. They sent letters to Saiyidina Hussain
ibn Saiyidina Ali RA about the allegiance of people. Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA began his travel to Kufa. Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali
RA played a crucial role in all these events.
The spy of ‘Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad,
Ma’qil, found the safe house of Muslim b. ‘Aqeel RA through Saiyidina Hussain
ibn Saiyidina Ali RA.
After Hani b. ‘Urwa was arrested, Muslim
b. ‘Aqeel RA chose commanders for his army in order to organize the soldiers;
he assigned Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA as the commander of Banu
Asad and Madhhij.
Following the arrest and martyrdom
of Hani b. ‘Urwa and Muslim b. ‘Aqeel RA, Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali
RA decided to hide in a safe house. Then after the arrival of Saiyidina Hussain
ibn Saiyidina Ali RA, Saiyidina Hussain joined the army with his family in
Karbala.
In Karbala
According to some narrations Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA wife and children attended the Battle of Karbala. As
historians said: “Khalaf b. Muslim b. ‘Awsaja, his brave son, were fighting
alongside his father in the Battle of Karbala until finally he was martyred in
the battle. According to some reports: a young boy came out of the tents while
his mother was after him; the boy was Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA’s son.’
The Night before ‘Ashura’
At the night before ‘Ashura’, Saiyidina
Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA told his soldiers: you are allowed to leave
Karbala and your promises and oath of allegiance have served well so far, you
are not obligated to stay for the battle. Then, some companions declared their
loyalty to Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA over again. After the
descendants of Banu Hashim, Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was the first one
who said:
Oh, Abu ‘Abd Allah! We would never
leave you alone. How is it possible to bring excuses to Allah? O, by Allah,
never! We will never leave you alone; I will never give up; I will slay the
enemies with my spear and sword until it drops on the ground; then I stone
them. By Allah, I would never leave you alone until I fulfill my duties to
Allah and defend the descendants of Rasulullah ﷺ O, by
Allah, if I am perished, I would reborn, and then if I am burnt and turned into
ashes, I would reborn; and if it happens seventy times I would reborn and fight
for you until I am martyred for you. I would never leave you as I know I will
be perished once. Consequently, eternal prosperity and dignity would be mine.
Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali
RA expressed gratitude to each one of them and returned his tent.
The Day of ‘Ashura’
As Al-Shaykh al-Mufid said: Saiyidina
Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA and his soldiers dug a trench around the rear part
of their tent and set fire inside it. After seeing the flaming fire, Shimr b.
Dhi l-Jawshan shouted: O Hussain! You are preparing fire of this world for
yourself before the judgment day?! Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA replied:
Who is that man? Is he Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan? Then Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA referred to Sura Maryam, verse 70 and said: “O goatherd boy!
You deserve flames of Hell! Then Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was ready to
kill Shimr with an arrow and asked for Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA’s
permission; however Imam rejected his request and said: I do not want to
commence the battle.
His Motto in the Battle
The mystical and knowledgeable
mottos of Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA should be highly regarded, which
represent his deep understanding of the principles of Ahl al-Bayt (a). He
repeatedly uttered this motto in the battles:
If you desire to know me, I am
brave as a lion; my lineage goes back to Banu Asad. If you treat me with
tyranny, you are strayed from the right path, and you are guilty of ingratitude
toward Allah.
Martyrdom
After fighting the enemy soldiers
in the Battle of Karbala Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA had numerous injuries
and he was bleeding heavily, then he fell on the ground. Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA and Habib b. Muzahir came by his side. Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA said: May Allah ﷻ have mercy on your soul. Then he recited the verse:
“Faminhum man qaza nahbahu wa
minhum man yantaziru wa ma baddalu tabdila (Of them (believers) some have
completed their vow to (the extreme) and some still wait, but they have never
changed (their determination) in the past.)”
Al-Ahzab, verse 23.
Then Habib b. Muzahir said to him:
“your loss is hardly tolerable to me, but I give glad tidings to you on
Paradise”. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA replied with difficulties: May God
send his blessing on you. Habib replied: I wish I could carry out what you
desire as your will. Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA replied: “I advise you to defend
Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA to your last breath and never give up
trying”. And Habib replied: I accomplish what you desire and I will make you
delighted.
Muslim b. ‘Abd Allah al-Dabai and
‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Khushkara have perished Abu Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA in
the Battle of Karbala.
According to Ziyarat al-Shuhada’, Abu
Hajal Muslim ibn Awsaja RA was the first one who was martyred in the Battle of
Karbala. And Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA promised him salvation by
the name of Allah. While those who participated in the martyrdom of Abu Hajal
Muslim ibn Awsaja RA are cursed by Saiyidina Hussain ibn Saiyidina Ali RA.
Ziyarat
The name of Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA was mentioned in the Ziyarat of Saiyidina Hussain ibn
Saiyidina Ali RA in 15th of Sha’ban and other ones.
