HAZRAT ABBAS(a.s)
Bismillah ar Rahman ar Rahim
‘When you refer to my fore-fathers, you should stop at
Adnan,’
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Hazrat Adam (as)
( Skipping many generations and following the guidance of our Prophet pbuh )
Adnan : Through his speeches foretold about the coming of Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh) who would be from his descendants. He also ordered his next generations to follow him
Maad : Was a great warrior and fought many battles against those who opposed the idea of monotheism. One of the Prophets was told by the Lord, by revelation that one of the descendants of Maad would be the seal of Prophets.
Nizar : Was a famous celebrity from whose forehead the light of prophecy was glittering
Madhar : Was a faithful monotheist and the first one to offer camels as sacrifice to the Holy House of God. He was the chief of his people and one of the two faithful individuals who believed in Almighty God. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had warned against reviling at Madhar because of his faith
Mudrika : was a good looking, high ranking celebrity . Arabs would visit him for learning from his knowledge and and virutes. He had also predicted the coming of Prophet Muhammad (as)
An-Nadhr : was a Koreish and a man of wisdom & knowledge
Fihr : When invaders from Yemen invaded the Holy Kaaba to take its stones to build a similar house in Yemen, Fihr who was a monotheist, overcame them in battles. He was therefore feared and respected. He also spoke very well and was eloquent.
Kaab : composed poetic verses to support his commandment predicting the coming of Prophet Muhammad pbuh. He is credited with long speeches predicting the coming of our Prophet Muhammed and history records him as Kaab ibn Luway. He held high honor and a personality among his people
Kelab : was well known for his courage and had the light of Prophecy shining from his forehead
Qussay : was called chief of the Holy City. He started the custom of serving pilgrims with food and gained control of the Holy House. His high standards, morals and virtue are on record and he warned his people against drinking wines
Abd-Menaf : was a person of such honor that he was appointed chief of his people. The title of “Moon of Bat’haa” was bestowed on him for his good looks and personality. He was also known for his acts of kindness and generosity
Hashim : followed the tradition of his fathers and served pilgrims with food. He was a man of many virtues.
Abd-ul-Muttalib
Abd‐ul‐Muttalib was called Shaibat‐ul‐Hamd ‐personality of praiseworthiness‐, because people
praised him so laudably for his remarkable situations of honoring, wisdom, and sagacity. To refer
to his rank, it is sufficient to mention the following saying of Prophet Mohammad (s): "O Ali, in the
pre‐Islamic era, Abd‐ul‐Muttalib passed five laws that Allah (swt) enacted in Islam. For eg
He forbade sons from marrying their fathers' women, and Allah (swt) revealed: "Do not marry, from now on, the ex-wives of your fathers.” ( Sura An-Nisa (4) Verse 22 )
As Abd‐ul‐Muttalib found a treasure, he gave its one‐fifth as alms. Allah (swt) revealed: "Know that whatever property you may gain, one fifth belongs to Allah , the Messenger, the kindred, orphans, the needy and those who need money while on a journey." ( Sura Al-Anfal (8) Verse 41)
When he dug the Zamzam Spring, he called it 'the watering of the pilgrims'. Allah (swt) revealed: "Do you, because you served water to the pilgrims and constructed the Sacred Mosque, consider
yourselves equal to those who have believed in Allah , the Day of Judgment, and have fought for the cause of Allah ?" Sura At-Tawbah (9) Verse 19
Abd‐ul‐Muttalib used to say: “I follow the religion of my father Abraham the prophet (a). "
Historians have recorded that Abd‐ul‐Muttalib was one of the prophets' successors and had full
acquaintance with the Heavenly Books. From this cause, he foretold Abu‐Talib, his son, about the
prophecy of Mohammed (s). In this regard, Abu‐Talib was related to have said: "My father had full
knowledge of all the Heavenly Books. He once said: A prophet will be from my offspring. I wish I
would catch up his time to believe in him. Hence, anyone of my sons who will catch up his time
must believe in him." Bihar ul-Anwar 9/31
ABU‐TALIB
Like his father, Abu‐Talib was the chief of his people and had knowledge of the Heavenly Books. He was the leader of the Banu Hashim, a clan of the Quraiyshi tribe. He was known for his grandeur, wisdom and generosity. It is said that the day he gave food to the needy nobody else in Quraiysh gave food. Abu-Talib was also known for his poetry, which could go into 1000 lines at times.
His most famous poem is Qasida al-Lamia which begins with the following lines …
"O, my friends, I never hear the blame of the reprover, and I have no tendency to evil."
Author : The whole purpose of the research to bring out the lineage of Hazrat Abbas ( as) is to help viewers to understand the kind of blood that flowed in the veins of Maula Abbas (as) the grandeur, the wisdom, the gallantry, the governance, the spirit of Quraish, the education, the literature, the poetry and mind you this is only from the paternal side and we have not even touched upon the virtues, wisdom, persona and magnificence of his father Imam Ali ( as) of whom the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has said “ Man Kunto Maula Fahaza Ali Maula “
Whoever accepts me as a master, Ali is his master too
Imam Ali (a.s.)
One doesn’t even know where to start when one has to write an introduction of Maula Ali (as) .. the fact that He was born inside the Holy Kaaba , the fact that He protected The Holy Prophet (pbuh) from a very early age, the fact that He fought in almost all the battles to serve and protect Islam, the fact that he slept on the Prophets (pbuh) bed during Mearaj, the fact that He told his followers 14 times “ Saloni, Saloni Qabla Un Tafqidooni” Ask me, ask me before you miss me..
Maula Ali’s knowledge of things in this world and the next was so vast that Prophet Mohammad ( pbuh) has said, “If I am the city of knowledge, Ali is the door”
The fact that Ali( as) had a sword like nobody else ever had “Zulfikar” which is often interpreted as “Zul” or two and “Fiqar” comes from “fakir” and if this sword strikes somebody, that person is a fakir in both the worlds.. La Fattah illa Ali La Saif Zulfiqar.. There is no victor like Ali, there is no sword like Zulfiqar
And yet this is the same Ali (as) who when he passed away all the orphan children of Kufa wept like they had lost their own father, as Maula Ali ( as) used to treat and feed the orphans like they were his own…
This is the same Ali (as) who warned his opponent in the battle of Khyber to turn away with these words, “Turn back, remember your mother has warned you, I am the one whose mother has named him Hyder”
And this is the same Ali(as) who ate dried bread and fasted for days, wore simple clothes and helped Bibi Fatima (as) with household chores
And this is the same Ali(as) whose letter to his Governors published in his book, Nahjul Balagah, was read out by Kofi Annan as he took over as Secretary General of the United Nations
And this is the same Ali ( as) who expressly asked for his assailant to be dealt with justly and this is the same Ali (as) who asked his elder brother Aqil after Bibi Fatima (as) passed away to “ Choose for me a woman who is the descendant of the Arab heroes so that I will marry her and she will give birth to a horseman”
Aqil ibn Abu Talib replied “ Marry Umm-ul-Banin, from the tribe of Kelab, for no Arab individual is more courageous than her fathers and forefathers”
And Imam Ali(as) did exactly that and to them was born the horseman – Hazrat Abbas ( as)
Lady Umm-ul-Banin
Fatima bint Hazam al-Kilabiyya notably known as Hazrat Umm ul-Banin or “mother of several sons” was a descendant of a valiant family. Her father was Hazam bin Khalid ibn Rabiah ibn Kilab.
Her respected mother, called Leila or Shamamah daughter of Suheil came from the family of Sahl ibn Amir ibn Malik ibn Jafar ibn Kilab, all brave Arab forefathers well-known in the region of Hijaz. ( Hijaz is also the region where our 7th Imam Musa Al – Kazim a.s. was born ) Also, Hazrat Umm ul-Banin was a descendant of Prophet Muhammad’s great-grandfather, Abd Manaf, through some generations.
Umm ul-Banin’s paternal and maternal uncles were both among the valiant Arabs in the pre-
Islamic era. Historians praise them for their courageousness in the battlefields.
Besides heroism, they were the chiefs and leaders of their tribe
When Umm ul-Banins father went to her with the marriage proposal brought by Hazrat Aqil on behalf of Maula Ali (a.s.) her father heard her narrate her dream to her mother :
Oh mother! I dreamed that I was in a green luxuriant garden.
There were flowing brooks and many fruits.
The moon and stars were shining.
I was staring at them, thinking about the greatness of creation,
Allah’s creatures and the sky lying above without any pillar as well as the light of the
moon and stars…
I was lost in these thoughts when the moon came down from the sky and lay on my
lap.
It was glowing so brightly that I was dazzled.
Completely stunned, I saw four other bright stars descend on my lap, too.
( Ref : Exemplary Women : Umm ul-Banin, by Abdul Karim Paknia )
Not only did Fatima bint Hazam al-Kilabiyya inherit courage, strength, valour and character from her parents, she was also an acclaimed poetess as will be seen later
On hearing this her father Hizam ibn Khalid was delighted and asked his wife Shamamah “Do you find your daughter Fatima qualified to be Imam Alis wife Know that his house is the house of revelation, prophethood, knowledge, wisdom, courtesy, and good manners. If you find your daughter deserving of this house, let’s agree with this blessed marriage!”
“Oh Hizam! By Allah, I trained her well and I have requested the Almighty Allah to make her extremely happy. You can give Imam Ali her hand in marriage,”Shamamah said.
After her marriage to Imam Ali (as) Fatima bint Hazam al-Kilabiyya or Umm ul- Banin did give birth to four stars … Sons who were named Abbas, Abdullah, Uthman & Ja’far.
Her loyalty and love for the children of Bibi Fatema Zehra (as) was such that just before Imam Hussain (as) left Medina Umm ul-Banin called her four children and said, “While I love you all very much remember Imam Hussain ( as) is your master. If Imam or his sisters or children are hurt and you are alive, I will never forgive you”
Such was her love for the Imam that when she heard of her four sons being martyred in Karbala she stood firm, but when she heard of the tragedy that befell Imam Hussain ( as) on the battleground of Karbala, she collapsed.
After Karbala where all her sons were martyred, she requested people not to call her Umm ul-Banin ( mother of sons) ever again..
This is a poem she composed to
Oh women of Medina! Do not call me Umm ul-Banin
and do not know me as the mother of the hunting lions anymore.
I had some sons, because of whom I was called Um al-Banin.
But now there is no son left for me and I have lost all of them.
Yes, I had four hawks [sons], which were shot and whose jugular veins were cut.
The enemies slashed their pure bodies with their spears.
My sons ended the day while they were on the ground with severed bodies.
If only I could know if it is true that they cut off the arms of my son, Abbas?
Lady Umm ul-Banin was a great poet and recited the first Nauha for Imam Hussain (as) right after the incident in Karbala..
Her Nauhas are recorded in Arab literature and are considered as masterpieces. It is also recorded that she used to visit Jannat – ul Baqi cemetery in Madina and recite her Nauhas in such a sorrowful voice that everybody present in the cemetery would start sobbing bitterly.
Her narrations were effective and powerful, that even Marwan, an enemy of the house of The Prophet (pbuh) was moved to tears by her lamentations and elegies
When Bibi Zainab(as) and Imam Zain-ul-Abedeen (as) returned to Medina she got the ladies of Medina together and recited Majalis for Imam Hussain (as) narrating in detail the events of Karbala leading to the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as)
Lady Umm ul-Banin was therefore the first person to recite the first Nauha and the first Majalis for Imam Hussain (as)
There are many miracles and cures attributed to the invocation of Umm -al Banin including a story of how a childless couple were able to have a child after calling on Umm al-Banin, to intercede on their behalf to Allah(swt)
The uncles of Hazrat Abbas (as)... Coming soon :