Abdullah bin Omeir al-Kalbi was another of the companions of Imam Hussein. In his company were his wife and mother. He was a gallant warrior. When he wanted to join the battle, his wife, a newly wed woman, tried to prevent him and pleaded with him, “With whom you are going to leave me? Who is going to take care of me? Please do not leave me behind for bereavement.”

On hearing her, his mother intervened, “O my son! Do not listen to her. Go and fight in defense of the son of the Messenger of God, so that he would tomorrow, on the Day of Judgment, be your intercessor. I will not be pleased with you until you got killed fighting with al-Hussein.” He assaulted the enemy and got killed in the process.

His mother plucked the courage, arming herself with a pole, and embarked on attacking the enemy. Al-Hussein prevented her from doing so, saying, “May all members of your family be rewarded with that which is best. Go back and join the rest of the women. May God have mercy on you. Being a woman, you are not required to do jihad.”

Among the other supporters of Imam Hussein was a boy, aged either ten or twelve years, whose father was killed earlier on in the fighting. Armed with his sword, he approached the Imam and asked for permission to enter the fight. The Imam did not grant him permission out of sympathy for his mother who had just been bereaved of her husband, saying, “The father of this boy was killed in the first campaign, and maybe his mother does not like him to be killed.” The boy replied that his mother had agreed to his taking part in the fighting and that she would be pleased with him, if he got killed in defense of Imam Hussein.

That boy was of an outstanding character, demonstrating his moral fibre in the battle. His way of joining the battle was different from the manner the rest of the fighters, who were coming forward for their debut in the battle. They introduce themselves and their lineage by way of reciting war poetry in a roaring style (rajaz).

That boy did not follow in the footsteps of the fighters who preceded him and introduced themselves in that pattern. Instead, he recited a couplet, singing the praise of his connection with Imam Hussein (A.S) and being one of his soldiers per se, “My lord is Hussein, the pleasure that descended on the heart of the bearer of good tidings, the warner [Prophet Mohammad]. Ali and Fatimah are his parents. Do you know of anyone thus pure-bred?”

By:Martyr Murtuza Mutahhari