SIXTY-FOUR -- The Amir sets out for Mecca the Great, and is martyred at the ever-victorious side of the Master of the Universe, God’s peace and blessing be upon him, and the dastan is concluded.
The narrators who weigh their words tell this interesting dastan in this way: When the Amir had become somewhat resigned, and his heart had found some peace after its anguish, Ga’olangi said, “You said that you would cause me to kiss the feet of the Final Prophet of the Age, God’s peace and blessing be upon him, and would surely show me his auspicious beauty. So please now proceed to Mecca.” The Amir, taking Ga’olangi and his companions, set out for Mecca. He arrived in Fate and Destiny. Saryal bin Salsal, welcoming him, took the Amir to his house, and fulfilled the duties of hospitality. After some days, Saryal’s father passed away. The Amir, having him shrouded and buried, comforted Saryal. Seating him on the throne, he went on toward Mecca.
After some days of traveling, he drew near to Mecca. Ga’olangi and all the Amir’s companions, kissing the feet of the Final Prophet of the Age, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, were ennobled by Islam, they were well thought of by everyone. One day the Final Prophet of the Age, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, was in the mosque, when a Bedouin submitted, “Oh Prophet of God, God’s peace and blessing be upon you and your family. The infidels of Egypt and Rum and Syria have joined together to create turmoil, they have brought a numerous army with them.”
First Hazrat sent Amir Hamzah, with other warriors, to Mount Abu Qubais. Later, he himself went there. The infidels arrayed their ranks. The Amir gave Ga’olangi permission to fight. An infidel powerful of body made many proud boasts before Ga’olangi. Ga’olangi lifted him up from the ground and spun him around so many times that he was half-killed, he was extremely helpless and shocked. When Ga’olangi hurled him to the ground, the small breath of life that was left in him went out of his body. Another infidel came. The same thing happened to him. In this way a number of infidels died at Ga’olangi’s hands. The infidel army was utterly terrified; no one came out to confront Ga’olangi, all their hearts were full of fear.
Finally the Prince of Hind, whose name was *Pur-e Hindi, urged his horse into the field. Doing battle with Ga’olangi, he gave him such a spear-thrust in the chest that the spear came out from Ga’olangi’s back, and from this thrust Ga’olangi rendered up his soul. The Amir was very sorrowful at this. Growing angry, he himself came to confront him. Pur-e Hindi said, “Oh old man, why have you come to give up your life, what half-baked notion do you have in your heart? Whereas even the young men don’t have the courage to confront me! Anyway, tell me your name, so you won’t die anonymously.”
The Amir said, “Oh you jabberer of nonsense, my name is Hamzah bin ‘Abdul Muttalib.” He replied, “I’ve heard that Hamzah has gone to Bakhtar.” The Amir said, “That’s true. I’ve been back from there for some days. Come on, show me--what kind of an attack can you make?” Pur-e Hindi aimed his spear straight at the Amir. The Amir, seizing its hilt, snatched the spear away, and left him helpless. And he drove that same spear into his liver, so that it came out from his back. Pur-e Hindi, falling from his horse, died, he gave up his soul at once.
The Amir, raising a battle-cry, fell on his army, and killed many infidels; thousands of wretches were killed. The infidels, helpless before the Amir, took the path of flight, they all alike showed their backs. The Home of Prophethood, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, took the Amir and entered Mecca, victorious and triumphant; he returned thanks to the Lord for this victory.
The narrator writes that Pur-e Hindi’s mother, hearing of her son’s death, came to Ctesiphon with the kings of Hind, Rum, Syria, China, Zanzibar, and Turkestan, and a fierce army. She demanded justice from Hurmuz. Hurmuz too, with an army, joined her. Eventually, all these armies drew near to Mecca. The Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, hearing of this, said, “My uncle Hamzah by himself is sufficient to destroy these armies.” Since Hazrat had not first uttered, “If God Most High wills,” the Indivisible One was displeased.
When Hazrat, with his companions, went to confront the infidels, Hurmuz said to his army, “Don’t fight these Arabs one by one! Fall on them all together, and kill them hand-to-hand; otherwise you won’t prevail over them.” Hurmuz’s army burst on the army of Islam all together. Landhaur, and Sa’d bin ‘Amr bin Hamzah, and ‘Adi, etc., all the comrades of Amir Hamzah were martyred, to the last man. And the infidels began to rain arrows on Hazrat ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, God be pleased with him; arrows began to come at him from all directions. And one infidel, throwing a stone, martyred the tooth of the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family and companions.
‘Amar bin Umayyah Zamiri gave this news to Amir Hamzah, he informed him of this mortal peril. The Amir armed himself and mounted his horse, he prepared to kill the infidels. And he slaughtered the infidels until he reached Hurmuz himself. Hurmuz, seeing Amir Hamzah, jumped down from his throne and ran away. His army too fled, no one had the hardihood to remain. The Amir pursued them for eight miles, and in a number of places he piled up heaps of the slain. At length, victorious and triumphant, he turned back toward Mecca.
On the road *Hindah, the mother of Pur-e Hindi, who was lying in ambush for him with an army, came from behind and struck Ashqar such a sword-blow that all his four feet were cut off. Amir Hamzah was not alert; the moment his horse fell he landed on the ground. That ruinous bitch struck such a blow with her blood-drenched, poisoned sword at Amir Hamzah’s blessed head, that the Amir’s head was separated from his body. And cutting open the Amir’s stomach, she pulled out his liver and ate it, and she cut his blessed body into seventy pieces.
Afterwards, when her intoxication of heedlessness abated, she was worried: “When Quraishah, Amir Hamzah’s daughter, hears of her father’s martyrdom, she will come with an army of Devs and Jinns and take vengeance on me!” With this thought, she went to the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, and sought refuge with him, and pleaded and wept a great deal before the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family. And she accepted Islam. Hazrat commanded, “Show me the corpse of my revered uncle, show me where that Lion of the Lord is.”
Hindah, taking Hazrat with her, showed him the Amir’s body, she brought Hazrat to where Amir Hamzah’s body lay. The Hazrat, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, collecting the pieces of the Amir’s body, said a separate prayer over every piece. And at that time Hazrat stood on tiptoe. After burying the body, people asked him why he had said the prayers while standing on tiptoe. Hazrat said, “I stood like that because there were so many angels that there was no room in the field, and the angels offered prays seventy times over every piece of the body.” He gave everyone the good news of this exalted rank and holiness.
At last, when Hazrat returned after burying the Amir, Hindah came before the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family. The Hazrat turned his face away from her, he paid her no attention at all. Just then a revelation descended: “Oh my dear one, Hamzah has been martyred. But look up into the sky!” Hazrat lifted his head and saw Amir Hamzah seated on a jewel-encrusted throne in Paradise, while Houris and youthful slaves stood before him with folded hands. Hazrat, God’s peace and blessing be upon him, smiled and gave redoubled thanks to the Lord.
After some days, Quraishah, with a countless army, presented herself in the Hazrat’s service, and demanded her father’s murderer. Hazrat showed her the heavenly rank of Commander of the Faithful attained by Hamzah, God be pleased with him, and commanded, “Be very happy, and give thanks to the Lord. Oh Quraishah, if your father had not been martyred, he would not have attained this rank, why would God Most High have raised him to such a station? Thus you must give up your revenge.” The narrator writes that it was then that the Sura of the Jinn descended. Finally Quraishah, as Hazrat, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, had ordered, gave up her revenge, she spoke no more of vengeance. Taking leave, she went to her own land.
One school of thought holds that Hazrat, without saying, “If God Most High wills,” had said, “My uncle by himself is sufficient to destroy this army, this warrior by himself is sufficient to slaughter hundreds of thousands of infidels.” These words displeased the Most High Presence, and for this reason Amir Hamzah’s blessed body was cut into seventy pieces, and the Hazrat’s blessed tooth was martyred.
And the second account is that one ‘A’ishah the Truthful,/1/ God be pleased with her, was mending her robe, she was sewing up and putting to rights her torn garments, when the Hazrat came in, and it happened that the lamp was blown out, and the thread slipped out of the needle’s eye; the Mother of the Believers was very distressed. The Hazrat smiled. In the light of his teeth, Hazrat ‘A’ishah, God be pleased with her, threaded the needle. Hazrat said, “Do you see how bright my teeth are? You threaded the needle in their light! My teeth served as a candle.” These words displeased the Most High Presence, and for this reason the Hazrat’s tooth was martyred.
And in this same battle an arrowhead broke off in the foot of Hazrat ‘Ali, may God exalt him, the Commander of the Faithful, and remained lodged there. However much the surgeons sought to pull the arrowhead out of the wound, it wouldn’t come out. However, when Hazrat was performing the final prostration of his prayers, the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, commanded, “Pull out the arrowhead from ‘Ali’s foot, God be pleased with him, right now, so he won’t feel the pain.”
Some champions seized the arrowhead in a pair of forceps and pulled it out. The Hazrat was not at all aware it. When he had finished his prayers, he saw the blood and asked, “Where does this blood come from, when did you pull the arrowhead out of my wound?” His companions told him what had occurred, and asked, “Oh Hazrat, did you really not know?” He said, “La vallah la”/2/--that is, “I swear by God, I didn’t know at all when the arrowhead was pulled out.”
Oh Lord, by virtue of the martyrdom of the blessed tooth of the Prophet, God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his family, and through the grace of the wound in the blessed foot and the prayers and humility of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, God be pleased with him, may this translator and writer come to a good end in the world to come, and not be indebted to anyone in this world, and be honored as much as he wishes with treasures of the Unseen; and may the truth or falsehood of this qissah be attributed to the inventive narrators.
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/1/ The Prophet’s favorite wife.
/2/ “No, by God, no” in Arabic.