“O my dear son! How do you consider death to be near you”?

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Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (a.s.) that he said:

“On the night preceding his Martyrdom, my father gathered his family and companions and said, “O people of my family and my Shi’ah! Consider this night, which has come to you as a mounting Camel and save yourselves, for these people do not desire anyone else except me. Then after having killed me, they shall not pursue you. May Allah have mercy upon you! Save yourselves. Verily I lift the responsibil­ity of the allegiance and pledge which you have taken at my hands.”

Hearing this his brothers, relatives and companions unanimously said, “By Allah O our Master! O Aba Abdillah! We shall never betray you, so that people may say that we had abandoned our Imam, our chief and master until he was mar­tyred. Then we would seek excuses between ourselves and Allah. And we shall not leave you until we ransom ourselves upon you.”

Imam said, “Verily I shall be killed tomorrow and everyone from among yourselves too shall be killed with me, and none among you shall be spared.” To which they replied, “Praise be to Allah, that He has bestowed grace upon us to assist you, and has offered distinction to us to get martyred along with you. Then do we not like that we should be along with you in your elevated station (in Paradise) O son of the Prophet of Allah”?

Imam replied, “May Allah reward you favorably” then he prayed for them. When it dawned all of them were martyred.”

Then Qasim bin Hasan (a.s.) asked, “Am I too included in the list of the martyrs”? Hearing this Imam was moved and said,

“O my dear son! How do you consider death (martyrdom in the way of Allah) to be near you”?

Qasim re­plied, “It is sweeter than honey.” Imam said,

“Verily, by Allah! May your uncle be your ransom! You are one of them, who shall be martyred along with me after having fallen prey to a severity, and my (infant) son Abdullah (Ali Asghar) shall be martyred too.”

Hearing this Qasim asked, “O dear uncle! Then will the enemies reach the womenfolk so as to kill the suck­ling child Abdullah”? Husayn replied,

“Abdullah will be killed at that time when I, absorbed in intense thirst, will come back to the tent and ask for water or honey and nothing will be available. Then I will request my child to be brought to me so that I may kiss his lips (and thereby find relief). The child will be brought and placed in my hands, and a lewd man (from among the enemies) will shoot an arrow upon his neck and the child shall raise a cry. Then his blood will get filled in my palms and I shall raise my hands to the heavens and say: O Allah! I forebear and leave the ac­countability to You. The lances of the enemies will then be hurriedly thrown at me, while the fire in the trench dug behind the tents shall be roaring. Then I will attack them, the moment being the most bitter of my life. Then whatever Allah wills shall come forth.”

Reference : Nafasul Mahmoom – Shaikh abbas Qummi (r.a.)