The Ziyarat of Nahiya – To the Immortal Heroes of Kerbala
One of the most important sources of the names of these heroes and martyrs is a Ziyarat, taught by the Twelfth Imam (A), known as Ziyarat of Nahiya, which has been copied by all the great authorities in their reliable books. The Ziyarat of Nahiya, as it has come down to us, omits certain names of martyrs, although they are well known for their participation in the holy struggle at Kerbala. This omission may be due to some lapse in memory on the part of the reporters or inaccuracy or inadvertence of copyists.
A translation of the Ziyarat is given below, for those who are not acquainted with Arabic. It is the only Ziyarat which mentions the martyrs of Kerbala by name, and in some cases it also gives the names of those who slew them and throws light upon some of the circumstances of their martyrdom.
1. Peace be upon you, O first of the martyrs from among the scions of the noblest descendants of the Prophet Ibrahim, Friend of Allah.
May Allah bless you and your father, who at your death lamented,
“O my son, what made them so bold against the Merciful Allah as to commit such sacrilege against the Holy Prophet.
May Allah slay the people who slew you.
After you, the world is worthless.”
I salute you as if I were with you, in your vanguard, whilst you fought against the disbelievers, exclaiming:
“I am Ali bin Hussain bin Ali;
By the House of Allah, we are the Prophet’s nearest kin.
I will keep attacking you with my lance till you mow me down;
I will strike you with my sword that was bestowed on me by my father,
with the strokes of a Hashimite youth.
By Allah, the son of adultery shall not rule over us.”
Until at last, you fulfilled your promise and went to meet your Lord. I bear witness that you are the most preferable to Allah and His Messenger, and that you are a child of Allah’s Proof and Allah’s Trustee.
May Allah judge your murderer, Murrah bin Munqiz bin Nu’man al Abdi, the curse of Allah be on him and on whomsoever was his accessory in your murder, or helped the miscreants against you. May He consign them to Hell, and what an awful place it is!
And may Allah make us one of those who will meet you and befriend you and who are loyal to your grandfather, father, uncle, brother and your mother, who was oppressed. I dissociate myself from your enemies, most stubborn in rebellion.
Peace be upon you and the Mercy and Favours of Allah.
2. Peace be upon Abdullah the son of Hussain, the infant, who was sucking milk, whose blood was shed and the blood was taken up to Heaven; whose throat was slit by an arrow, while he rested in the arms of his father. Allah curse the archer who shot and killed him, Harmala bin Kahil al Asadi.
3. Peace be upon Abdullah the son of Amirul Mu’mineen, the sufferer of calamity, the holder of the title of Divine Love, hero of the field of Kerbala, who was struck by the foes from before and behind. May Allah curse his murderer, Hani bin Thubaet al-Hadhrami.
4. Peace be upon Abul Fazl al-Abbas, the son of Amirul Mu’mineen, defender of his brother (Imam Hussain) with his life and soul, who prepared for the fateful morning since the day before, and lay down his life for Hussain, faithful unto death; and who strove to bring water for him and his children, but whose arms were both cut off.
May Allah curse his murderers, Yazeed bin Ruqaad al-Heeti and Hakeem bin Tufail at-Taai.
5. Peace be upon Ja’far, the son of Amirul Mu’mineen, the patient and circumspect soul, who parted from his home in search of nearness unto Allah, and was resigned to his fate on the battlefield; who fell, outnumbered by the foemen. May Allah curse his slayer, Hani bin Thubaet al-Hadhrami.
6. Peace be upon Uthman, the son of Amirul Mu’mineen, named after Uthman bin Maz’oon. May Allah curse those who shot at him, namely Khooli bin Yazeed al-Adhbahi al-Ayadi and Abaani ad-Daarimi.
7. Peace be upon Muhammad, the son of Amirul Mu’mineen, who was slain by the accursed Abaani ad-Daarimi. May Allah increase the dire punishment for his slayer and may He bless you, O Muhammad, and the patient people of your house.
8. Peace be upon Abi Bakr son of Imam Hassan, the pure and saintly, who was struck down by a deflected arrow. May Allah curse his slayer, Abdullah bin Aqabat al-Ghanavi.
9. Peace be upon Abdullah, son of Hassan, the pure, and the curse of Allah be on his slayer Harmala bin Kahil al-Asadi.
10. Peace be upon Qasim, the son of Imam Hassan, mortally wounded and distressed, when he was called to his rescue he found his young nephew in convulsion, rubbing his heel upon the sand. Then the Imam exclaimed,
“Away with the people who have killed you. They will be arraigned by your father and grandfather on the Day of Judgement. Grievous indeed it is that I was unable to respond soon enough to your cry for help, so that by the time I could reach you it was too late and you were already martyred. Truly, this is a day whereon the killers are many and the helpers are few.”
Therefore O Qasim ibnul Hassan, may the Lord join us with you on the Day of Resurrection and make you home our resort; and may He curse your murderer, Umar bin Sa’d bin Nufail al-Azdi and send the culprit to hell and punish him with a painful torment.
11. Peace be upon Aun, son of Abdullah bin Ja’far at-Tayyar, the winged martyr who flies about in paradise, loyal supporter of the faith, guest of his saintly kinsmen, giver of good advice for the Merciful’s sake, reciter of the “seven oft-repeated verses” and the Qur’an. The curse of Allah be on his slayer Abdullah bin Kutayya al-Nabahani.
12. Peace be upon Muhammad, son of Abdullah bin Ja’far at-Tayyar, who achieved martyrdom in place of his father, and who seconded his brother in the battlefield, shielding him with his body. The curse of Allah be on his slayer Aamir bin Nashal at-Tameemi.
13. Peace be upon Ja’far son of Aqeel, and the curse of Allah be on his slayer Khalid bin Asad al-Johani.
14. Peace be upon the martyr, son of the martyr, Abdullah son of Muslim bin Aqeel, and the curse of Allah be on the culprit who shot and killed him, namely, Aamin bin Sa’sa’ah.
15. Peace be upon Abu Abdullah, son of Muslim bin Aqeel, and the curse of Allah be on his slayer Amr bin Sudaih Sa’davi.
16. Peace be upon Muhammad, son of Abu Sa’eed bin Aqeel, and the curse of Allah be on his slayer, Laqeet bin Naashir al-Johani.
17. Peace be upon Sulaiman, slave of Imam Hussain and the curse of Allah be on his slayer, Sulaiman bin Awf Hadhrami.
18. Peace be upon Qaarib, slave of Imam Hussain.
19. Peace be upon Munjih, slave of Imam Hussain.
20. Peace be upon Muslim, son of Awsaja al-Asadi, who declared to Imam Hussain on the occasion when the Imam permitted him to depart from his camp,
“Should we desert you? What excuse shall we put forward before the Almighty regarding our duty to you? No, by Allah! I shall fight against your foes until I pierce their breasts with my lance, and cut them with my sword so long as it remains firm in my grip, rather than leave your service; and even if I have no weapon left, I will hurl stones at them, but I can never leave you until I am killed in your defence.”
And true to your word, you were the first to lay down your life, and you were the first of the martyrs for the sake of Allah. By the Lord of the Holy Ka’ba, you attained success. May Allah reward you for taking the initiative and for your fidelity to your leader, who stood by you as you lay wounded on the battlefield and exclaimed, “May Allah have mercy on you, O Muslim bin Awsaja” and then he recited the verse of the Qur’an:
“Among the faithful are some who have fulfilled their promise to Allah, and some whose period has ended, and some who are waiting to fulfil it… and they shall not change their course.”
The curse of Allah on the two who joined in killing you, namely, Abdullah adh-Dhubabi and Abdullah Khashkara al-Bai Ali.
21. Peace be upon Sa’eed son of Abullah al-Hasafi, who exclaimed unto Imam Hussain, when the Imam gave him permission to depart,
“No, by Allah! We will never desert you, until Allah will see that we have defended the Holy Prophet by defending you; by Allah! If I knew that I would be killed and then made alive again and burnt and my ashes strewn upon the winds and if I were made to suffer all this seventy times, even then I would not desert you but I would meet my fate along with you (not apart from you); and why should I not do so, knowing that I have to die or be killed only once, and after that there awaits for me honour and reward for days without end, eternally?”
So you went forth to meet your destiny and to help your Imam; and you attained honour from your Lord, in the everlasting abode. May Allah revive us with you, among the seekers of martyrdom, and may He bestow upon us the grace of your friendship in the regions of the highest of the high.

22. Peace be upon Bish bin Amr Khadrami. May Allah reward you for your saying unto Imam Hussain, when he permitted you to leave him,
“May the beasts of the wilderness devour me alive, if I desert you, or ask you to provide me with any conveyance in order to leave you, while the helpers are so few; no, that will never be!”
23. Peace be upon Yazeed bin Haseen, the reciter of the Qur’an, who was the target of the enemy’s onslaught.
24. Peace be upon Imran bin Kalb al-Ansari.
25. Peace be upon Na’eem bin Ajlan al-Ansari.
26. Peace be upon Zuhair bin Qain al-Bajali, who said to Imam Hussain, when the Imam permitted him to depart,
“No, by Allah! This I shall never do. What? Me a deserter of the child of Allah’s Messenger, forsaking him while he is a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, and saving my own life! May Allah not let me live to commit such disloyalty.”
27. Peace be upon Amr bin Qurzah al-Ansari.
28. Peace be upon Habeeb bin Mazahir al-Asadi.
29. Peace be upon Hurr bin Yazeed ar-Riyaahi.
30. Peace be upon Abdullah bin Umair al-Kalbi.
31. Peace be upon Nafi’ bin Hilal Jamali al-Muradi.
32. Peace be upon Anas bin Kahil bin Harith al-Asadi.
33. Peace be upon Qais bin Musahar as-Sa’dawi.
34. Peace be upon Abdullah, and
35. Abdur Rahman, sons of Urwah bin Haraaq al-Ghifari.

36. Peace be upon Shabeeb bin Abdullah Nahshali.
37. Peace be upon Jaun, slave of Abu Zar al-Ghifari.
38. Peace be upon Hajjaj bin Zaid al Sa’di.
39. Peace be upon Qasit, and
40. Kursh (Muqsit), the sons of Zuhair ath-Tha’labi.
41. Peace be upon Kinanah bin Ateeq.
42. Peace be upon Zarghamah bin Maalik.
43. Peace be upon Juwain bin Maalik adh-Dhaba’i.
44. Peace be upon Zaid bin Thubait al-Qaisi.
45. Peace be upon Abdullah, and
46. Ubaidullah, sons of Zaid bin Thubait al-Qaisi.
47. Peace be upon Amir bin Muslim.
48. Peace be upon Qa’nab bin Amir an-Namari.
49. Peace be upon Salim, the slave of Amir bin Muslim.
50. Peace be upon Saif bin Malik.
51. Peace be upon Zuhair bin Bashi al-Khath’ami.
52. Peace be upon Zaid bin Mi’qal al-Ja’fi
53. Peace be upon Hajjaj bin Masrooq al-Ja’fi.
54 and 55. Peace be upon Mas’ood bin Hajjaj and his son.
56. Peace be upon Majma’ bin Abdullah al-Aizi.
57. Peace be upon Ammar bin Hassan bin Shuraib at-Taai.
58. Peace be upon Hayyan bin Harith al Salmani al-Azdi.
59. Peace be upon Jundab bin Hujair al-Khanlani.
60. Peace be upon Umar bin Khalid as-Saidawi, and
61. Peace be upon his slave, Sa’eed.
62. Peace be upon Yazid bin Ziad bin Mazahi al-Kindi.
63. Peace be upon Zaahir the slave of Amir bin al Humuq al-Khuzaa’i.
64. Peace be upon Jabalah bin Ali ash-Sha’baani.
65. Peace be upon Saalim, the slave of Bani Madinat al-Kalbi.
66. Peace be upon Aslam bin Khatteer al-Azdi.
67. Peace be upon Zuhair bin Sulaim al-Azdi.
68. Peace be upon Qaasim bin Habeeb al-Azdi.
69. Peace be upon Umar bin Uhdooth al-Hadhrami.
70. Peace be upon Abu Thamaamah Umar bin Abdullah as-Saa’idi.
71. Peace be upon Hanzalah bin As’ad ash-Shaami.
72. Peace be upon Abdur Rahman bin Abdullah al-Arhabi.
73. Peace be upon Ammaar bin Abu Salaamah al-Hamdaami.
74. Peace be upon Aabis bin Shabeeb ash-Shaakiree.
75. Peace be upon Saa’zab the slave of Shaki.
76. Peace be upon Shabeeb bin Haarith bin Saree.
77. Peace be upon Malik bin Abdullah bin Saree.
78. Peace be upon the wounded martyr who was captured and died in prison, Sawwar bin Abi Uman al-Nohami al-Hamdaani.
79. Peace be upon the martyr who was pierced together with him, Amar bin Abdullah al-Junda’i.
Peace be upon all of you, the best of the helpers.
Peace be upon you for all who suffered patiently; behold how good is the ultimate abode!
May Allah treat you as He treats the virtuous.
I bear witness that through you, Allah has lifted the curtain and prepared for you penetration (into the Truth) and beautified for you His award; and you clung faithfully to the Truth without faltering.
You infuse us with zeal and we shall mingle with you in the abode of immortality.
So, Peace and the Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon all of you.

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