SCENE 5: KARBALA, 10 MUHARRAM, Dawn
Click here to listen to the drum sounds at the beginning of
Scene 5 (play them twice)
(War
drums again)
Ali
Akbar: (doing the adhaan) Allahu
akbar, allahu akbar
Imam
Husain: Alhamulillah. All praise be to Allah, for Allah has
decreed that you will be martyred. Be
patient, and prepare for battle. Soon,
they will attack.
Muslim
ibn Awsaja: Let me shoot now while we have the chance.
Imam
Husain: No. We will not start the battle, even though
they marched against us. We will not be
in the wrong. (army across the way
stands at attention and Ibn Sa'd investigates troops) (pointing to tents) We covered the rear last night with
trenches. Our best defense is one line.
Over here. Abbas, Muslim, Habib, this
way (arranges male companions except Qassim in one battle line and faces
army) .
(Qassim
approaches)
Qassim: Uncle, I am ready to fight too.
Imam
Husain: No Qassim.
You are too young. Go back to
the tents and guard the women.
Qassim: (looks disappointed) Yes, uncle. (leaves)
Imam
Husain: (Retrieves standard and hands to Abbas) Abbas, my brother, hold this high! As long as they (points to his tents) see
it, they will know that we still live.
Abbas: I will not let you down.
(Imam
Husain steps into center position)
Imam
Husain: O Lord!
You are our hope in every adversity, and our trust in every
difficulty. To You alone do we
complain. Every blessing is from You,
and every hope is in You.
Ibn
Sa'd: (to soldiers) Ready!
Imam
Husain: [faces Ibn Sa'd] Ya ayyuha an-naas! People! Fear Allah, for this life is short. Do not let the life of this world deceive you, for it will soon
desert you, and you will face the consequences of the wrath of Allah. Know that I did not come here to fight for
power. I did not come here to fight for
status or for wealth. (Looks pointedly
at Ibn Sa'd who looks down guiltily) I
came here to reform my grandfather's ummah. I came here to enjoin the right and forbid
the wrong.
Shimr: You are the one who is in the wrong, son of Fatimah!
Imam
Husain: All of you know as well as you know your own
sons that your leader Yazid and his followers have taken the religion of Allah
into their own hands and are playing with it like a child plays with a
toy. Look into their palaces where wine
flows faster than water and the hard work of the Muslims feeds their
bellies. They have permitted what Allah
has prohibited, and prohibited what Allah has permitted, for just as they enjoy
living off of you, they suppress the teachings of the Prophet to keep control. Meanwhile, your people are suffering. You all know what happened in Makkah, in
Madinah under this rule. The Prophet
forbade us to support an unjust ruler, and so I will stand up against your khalifah, whether you support me, or
whether I stand alone.
Ibn
Sa'd: Enough!
Prepare to die, transgressors!
Imam
Husain: People of Kufa! Yes, there are Kufans among you.
How much did they buy you for?
(some response among soldiers) I
came when you called. Eighteen
thousand of you wrote to me and said, "We do not have an Imam. Come and guide us, and save us from this
calamity." Remind them of what
they wrote. (Points to Abbas who pours
out a gigantic bag of letters) If you
do not want me here, then leave us in peace, and we will go back to where we
came from.
Ibn
Sa'd: The time has passed for that already.
Imam
Husain: Ibn Sa'd, why do you want to kill us? What crime have we committed? Have we stolen from you, fought you, or
killed one of your own? What did we do
to warrant this ambush?
Ibn
Sa'd: We will kill you if you do not do what we
want.
Imam
Husain: Fear Allah.
Do you not see that I am the grandson of your Prophet? Yes, the very Prophet that you and your army
follow? Do you see any other
grandchildren of any Prophet alive today other than myself and my family? Did you not hear my grandfather say, Innal hasan wal husayn sayyiday shababi
ahlil jannah, Hasan and Husain are --
Ibn
Sa'd: (sarcastically) “The chiefs
of the youths of Paradise”? We know who
you are, and we have made up our minds.
You waste your time. Surrender,
or die.
Imam
Husain: Beware the wrath of Allah, for the wrath of
Allah will descend upon you if you spill my blood. Turn back before it is too late.
Ibn
Sa'd: Talk as much as you like,
son of 'Ali. You are here to talk, but
we are here to fight. (to soldiers) Ready!
Hurr: Ibn Sa’d, you aren't really going to kill the son of
Fatimah!
Ibn
Sa'd: Of course we are, Hurr, that's why we're
here!
Hurr:
But you heard what he said. If you let him go, he won't bother you. He wants to be left in peace.
Ibn
Sa'd: My orders are to kill him, and so I will
kill him. And now that I see him, I
want to kill him too.
Hurr:
Dear God.
Ibn
Sa'd: Straighten up, Hurr. War is war.
Hurr:
War is war... (walks off, trembling slightly,
and looks off into the distance)
Harmala:
You're gonna attack him, right?[1]
(Hurr
looks down, shivers, and looks frightened)
Harmala: You? Scared?
Hurr: I see myself standing between jannah and
jahannom. I stand atop a thin bridge,
and the slightest misstep will send me plunging into Hell.
Harmala: What?
Hurr: By Allah, I will not
choose against jannah, even if I am burnt alive! (Turns shield around and rushes off towards Imam Husain's side)
Muslim: He’s attacking! (raises
bow)[2]
Imam
Husain: Wait!
He’s not armed.
Hurr: (puts hands on head like a prisoner) O Allah!
I am turning back to You.
Forgive me! I have fought
against the most beloved of Your Creation and the children of Your
Prophet! My Imam! I prayed behind you and drank your water,
and in return I denied you water and led you to your death. (falls to ground) How can I repent?
Imam
Husain: (puts his hand on him - dramatic pause) You
are already forgiven, Hurr. Join us.
Hurr: Let me die defending you.
I have to offer my life in repentance.
Imam
Husain: Your mother named you well, Hurr, for you are
indeed Hurr -- free in this life, and free in the next.
Harmala:
Defector!
Ibn
Sad: Silence.
I will deal with him myself.
(calls across plain) Hurr, what ploy
is this?
Hurr: Fear Allah, Ibn Sa'd. You are standing before the grandson of Rasul Allah. You are standing before the most beloved to
Allah on this earth. I fought him, and
he forgave me. Lay down your arms. Let these people go. They do not want to fight.
Ibn
Sa'd: What nonsense is this? Hurr, you are not the same man you were
yesterday!
Hurr: No, I am not.
I have seen myself standing above a pit of fire, the fire that never
dies, the fire that burns your skin and all that comes near it. I have seen myself standing over it, and I
have reached towards the next world and chosen the Hereafter. I have seen the naaqat Allah hamstrung, and I have left those people who
transgressed. I have chosen Allah and
the path of Allah. Join me, and save
yourselves. You say you are Muslims;
follow your religion.
(Soldiers
are looking at one another and whispering)
Shimr:
(To Ibn Sa'd) He's influencing the troops.
Ibn
Sa'd: Hurr, you're one of my best. Abandon this folly. Don't let this demagogue bewitch you.
Hurr: You are the one who is deceived.
Repent, and Allah will forgive you.
Shimr: (whispering) Take him out
now
Ibn
Sa'd: We can't, he'll kill anyone we send out
there
Shimr:
Then attack him all at once
Ibn
Sa'd: We are men.
We fight man to man.
Shimr: Then fight him yourself. I won't. But you have to
stop him.
Ibn
Sa'd: We can fight man to man once he's dead. (raises voice and strings bow) Look here! The time for talking has ended,
and the time for valiance has come! On
my honor, witness all that I, ‘Umar Ibn Sa’d, am the first to start this
battle! (shoots arrow) Attack!
(multiple soldiers charge out)
Harmala: (shooting arrows) Traitor!