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 eight years old and Ibraheem was
ten 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 Aqeel 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 Imaam 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 Aqeel, 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 IIay-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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