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The sacrifice of Alqasim (A.S)

Al-Qasim (A.S) was standing amongst the rest who were still alive with Imam Husain (A.S). Some of the narrations state that Al-Qasim was martyred before his uncle Al-Abbas (A.S) was martyred, and some say after. Despite all of that, Al-Qasim was in the camp of Imam Husain (A.S) when suddenly, he heard his uncle crying,” "Is there not a protector who can defend the sanctity of the Prophet? Is there not a believer who may fear God of that which is befalling us? Is there not a deliverer who may aspire to God's reward in alleviating our distress?"
On hearing that, the combat spirit, the spirit of sacrificing became high inside the heart of Al-Qasim (A.S). He went to his uncle and said,” O uncle, give me the permission to fight!” He (A.S) told him,” O son Qasim, you are the deposit of my brother, you are the mark!”
He continuously kissed the hands and feet of Imam Husain (A.S) until Imam Husain (A.S) said to him,” O son Qasim, you are walking toward death on your feet!”
Qasim (A.S) answered,” How could not, he who see you with no aid or supporter?! Aren’t you crying for a helper or supporter?” Until he said,” O MY uncle, May I sacrifice my own self for you, and May I sacrifice my soul to protect yours. O uncle, allow me to fight, I cannot stand to live anymore!”
On hearing this, Imam Husain (A.S) hugged him, and started to weep loudly, as if he was calling,” O brother, O Hassan!”
The Sadness returned back on the heart of Abu Abdullah Al-Husain (A.S), because not only was he bidding a young man farewell, but he also bore a strong resemblance to his brother AL-Hassan Almujtaba (A.S).
Before he set off to the battlefield, Imam Husain (A.S) said to him,” O Qasim, come to me”,
Then he took him to the tent of the poisoned Imam Hassan (A.S), where a box was located there.
The box contained deposits of Imam Hassan (A.S), clothes, and the military uniform of Imam Al-Hassan (A.S).
Imam Husain (A.S) took out the clothes of Imam Hassan, his turban, and the sword of Imam Al-Hassan, and put them on Al-Qasim (A.S). Then he (A.S) said,” O son, Qasim! Go to the battlefield!”
He went to the battlefield and was reciting “If you do not know me I am the son of Hassan, the grandson of the Prophet, the chosen one, the confidante, this is Husain similar to the one captivated by the mortgager, in the midst of the people who may be deprived of rain water”.
Then He began to fight the enemies until he killed a large number of them.

Self-Praise of Al-Qasim (A.S)
If we recognize the action of Al-Qasim when he bent to fix the broken strap of his shoe, despite the gathering of the army which surrounded him, and their terrifying shouts, you will touch on the heroism of this young Alawi-Hashimite and his ancestors.
He did not care about any of his enemies, all he was concerned about was avoiding walking in one shoe, especially because there was (karaha: unlikeness, a shar'i ruling) to walk in one shoe, and there might be a faultfinding person who might see him in this way. Let us take a deep look at what Hameed bin Muslim said about this noble and self-praise character.
Hameed bin Muslim, who says that a youth, similar to 'the first Splinter of the New Moon', stepped into the battlefield. He held a sword in his hand and wore a cloak and shirt. He wore shoes on his feet, of which one had a broken strap, and if I do not forget it was the left one.
We can’t imagine the value of Al-Qasims' heroism. He stepped on foot to the battlefield, and even after his shoe was broken, he was not worried about the countless fighters surrounding him, who were all fully armored, and he leaned down to fix his shoe. That is how some historians narrated this incident (the son of messenger of Allah (S.W.T), refused to walk with naked feet in the battlefield). This was unmatched bravery, and remarkable prowess.

Al-Qasim (A.S) following the path of the martyrs
When Al-Qasim bent to mend his shoe, the villainy spirit which was represented by Azdi began to control him. This is what Hameed bin Muslim meant when he narrated the following:
Umar bin Sa'ad bin Nufayl Azdi said, “I desire to attack him”. I said, “Glory be to Allah! Why so? This army which has surrounded him from all sides will surely kill him”. He said, “By Allah! I shall attack him, and I will make his mother to weep over him”. He attacked him while the child was fixing his shoe and before he could turn his face towards him; he dealt a blow upon his head with his sword and slit it. The child fell down on his face upon the ground and called out, “Peace be up on you, O dear uncle! Come to my aid”. Then I saw Husain (A.S) standing at the head of Qasim, who was stretching his feet upon the ground. Imam Husain (A.S) said, “By Allah! It is hard upon your uncle that he could not come to your aid when you called him, or he answered but it could not benefit you”. (May Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon him).
Then Husain (A.S) said,
“By Allah! Here he has numerous murderers while his aides are quite less”.

Historians stated:
Imam Husain (A.S) leaned down to Al-Qasim and held him to his chest –embracing him, and took him towards the camp. Whereas at this influential scene Imam Husain bended and bended down, Al-Qasim’s feet were drawing lines on earth, but why? Was it because he was taller than Imam Husain (A.S)? No, but because the misfortune of losing of Al-Qasim, foiled the morale of our Imam (A.S).
Imam Husain (A.S) Arrived to the tent and lay him down in the tent of the martyrs (A.S). Then he (A.S) said,” O cousins, Patience on death! You won’t see any mortification, after this day, alas!”

Women seek permissions 
Some said that, when Imam Husain (A.S) brought Al-Qasim to the tent where was Ali Al-Akbar, he lay Al-Qasim next to Ali (A.S). He was looking at the face of Ali Al- Akbar once, then to the face of Al-Qasim, while he was wiping his tears with his sleeves. Some said that he reclined between them for a long time.
The mother of Al-Akbar and the mother of Al-Qasim were waiting for him to leave the tent, because they were too shy to weep over their sons in his presence. Therefore, they went to Zainab (S.A), and asked her to go and ask Imam Husain (A.S) to let them cry over the martyred youth.
Later, Zainab (S.A) came to Imam Husain (A.S) and said,” O Abu Abdullah, may Allah help you for this disaster. O Abu Abdullah, these are the mothers of Al-Qasim, and Al-Akbar (A.S), they want to enter to cry over their sons, but they feel shy because of you.”
Imam Husain (A.S),” It’s the chief of disasters and calamities, let them come and cry over their sons”
Then Zainab Alhawra (A.S) called them,” O Laila, O Ramla, come to cry and weep!”

Taken from: The public library of Imam Husain (A.S)

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