Martyrdom
of Ibn Zubair (رضي الله عنه)
After going through the letter
Abdullah bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه) went to his mother,
Asma bint Abu Bakr Siddiq (رضي الله عنها),
and said to her: I have been left with no one (to support me). Only five
persons worth the name of friend are with me who have supported me until now.
The people have betrayed me just as they betrayed Husain bin Ali (رضي الله عنه). Their sons fought with their swords in
front of their fathers only as long as they lived. My sons also went over to
the wicked. Now Hajjaj tells me: "you too come under my security and I
shall give you all you demand". I have therefore come to you to seek your
advice.
Asma (رضي
الله عنها) replied: You understand your problem better than I do. If you
are on the right path and invite people to it, keep doing it. Your friends died
on this right path. You should also remain steadfast on it and meet your
martyrdom. If you had intended to seek worldly prosperity, you are a great
misfit. You have not only landed yourself in trouble but also those who are with
you. As for my opinion, don't hand yourself over to Banu Umayyah. Death will
come on time. You should live and die like a man. Your statement that you are
justified and that people have made you weak by their betrayal, is a kind of
complaint that does not come on the tongue of the pious.
Abdullah bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه) said: "I am afraid that after
killing me they have my body trampled by horsemen and hang it on the
scaffold." Asma (رضي الله عنها)
said: My son! When the goat is slaughtered, it does not care whether it is
skinned. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it with insight and keep asking for
Allah's help.
Abdullah bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه) kissed his mother's head and said:
"I am also of the same view. I never wished for the world or desired a
worldly kingdom. I took this work because the commandments of Allah were not
being obeyed and the people did not shun the forbidden things. As long as I
breathe, I shall continue to fight for the right. I thought it necessary to
take counsel from you and it has strengthened my will. Mother! I am sure I
shall be killed today. Don't be sad. Surrender me to Allah. I never intended to
do anything unlawful. I never committed a breach of trust nor did I perpetrate
an atrocity on anyone nor did I support any oppressor. I never did anything
against the Divine wish. O Allah! I haven't said all these things out of pride
but for the consolation and satisfaction of my mother."
Asma said, "I hope Allah will
reward you for it. Go and attack the enemy with Allah's Name."
When Asma (رضي
الله عنها) embraced her son at the time of bidding him good-bye, her
hands happened to touch his armor. She asked, "Why have you put on this
armor?" He said, "For satisfaction and strength."
Asma (رضي
الله عنها) said: "Take it off and fight against the enemy in your
ordinary clothes."
Ibn Zubair (رضي الله عنه) took the armor off and threw it away. He
lifted up the end of his shirt and tied it to his waist. He rolled up his
sleeves and came out of his house and said to his friends:
"O children of Zubair (رضي الله عنه)! Don't be afraid of the clanging of the
swords because applying ointment to a wound hurts it more than what is felt
when the wound is received. Hold your swords. Save it, from unlawful killing as
you save your face. Lower down your eyes so that they may not get dazzled.
Attack your counterpart. Don't look for me. If you do look for me, you will
find me fighting with the enemies in the forefront."
Saying that he launched a very
ferocious attack on the Syrians. Chopping through their battle array, he
reached the rear line of the Syrians and came fighting back to his place.
Hajjaj incited his soldiers to the utmost but none dared to face Abdullah bin
Zubair (رضي الله عنه). At last, Hajjaj
took the infantry and surrounded Abdullah bin Zubair's flag holder. Abdullah
bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه) at once led an
attack and brought his flag holder out of the siege and pushed the enemies
back. He returned and offered two 'rakats' of 'salat' near Maqam Ibrahim
(Station of Ibrahim). Hajjaj attacked again and the flag holder was killed at
Bab Banu Shaiba. The Syrians had stood guard at all the doors of the Haram
Sharif (the honored sanctuary). Hajjaj and Tariq had laid siege up to Marwa
from the side of Al BataH (this final battle took place in the holy confines of
the sanctuary of the Ka'bah).
Now Ibn Zubair (رضي الله عنه) was attacking from one side to the other.
Having offered his prayer, he resumed fighting. He attacked in the direction of
Bab Safa and pushed the Syrians to the distant rear. Somebody shot an arrow
from the top of Mount Safa. It hit his forehead and he started bleeding. He
continued to fight in that condition. In short, he and his companions, from the
morning until after the post noon prayer, displayed such exemplary agility and
bravery in putting the Syrians to death that the world has never witnessed. At
last, all his companions laid down their lives one by one. The enemies rained
down stones and arrows on him from all sides threw spears and swords had
already left him wounded. At long last, on Tuesday in Jamad al-Awwal 73 A.H.
this grand hero and pious man of the world met his martyrdom. With the
exception of valor and dauntlessness, piety and prayer, courage and nobility,
there was none there to mourn over his dead body. The Syrian army cut off his
head. When it was taken to Hajjaj, he prostrated out of thankfulness to Allah.
The army raised the cry Allahu Akbar. The dead body was hung on a scaffold at
the same place Hajun and the head was sent to Abdul Malik. Another tradition
says that it was not sent to him but it was hung on the wall or the rain
channel of the Ka'bah.
Asma bint Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنها) sought permission to bury the dead body
but Hajjaj refused. When Abdul Malik came to know of it, he condemned and
cursed Hajjaj and allowed it to be buried. Asma also died after a few days.
After Ibn Zubair's martyrdom, Hajjaj
entered the Ka'bah. The entire floor was littered with stones thrown from the
catapult. It was stained with patches of blood. He had the stones removed and
the blood washed. He took from the Makkans the oath for Abdul Malik's caliphate
and then returned to Madinah. He lived there for two months and considering the
entire population of Madinah as the killers of Uthman bin Affan (رضي الله عنه) he perpetrated atrocities on them. He
tortured some of the Prophet's (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) Companions. Then he left for Makkah and after pulling down the
construction done by Abdullah bin Zubair on the Ka'bah, he reconstructed it.
Abdul Malik made him the Governor of the Hijaz and Hajjaj bin Yusuf began to
live in Madinah in place of Tariq.
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