Martyrdom of Hujjat and End of the Siege3

980

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Section 6

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I and the rest of the children were scared, and attempted to escape. Raising the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” we hurried in the direction of our barricades. Some of us were overtaken and made prisoners. As I was fleeing, the man who was pursuing me laid hold of the hem of my garment. I tore myself away from him and managed to reach the gate that led to the approaches of the fort, in a state of utter exhaustion. How great was my surprise when I saw one of the companions, a man named Iman-Qulí, being savagely mutilated by the enemy. I was horrified as I gazed upon that scene, knowing as I did that on that very day the cessation of hostilities had been proclaimed and the most solemn pledges given that no acts of violence would be committed. I was soon informed that the victim had been betrayed by his brother, who, on the pretext of desiring to speak with him, had handed him over to his persecutors.

I straightway hastened to Hujjat, who lovingly received me and, wiping the dust from my face, and clothing me with new garments, invited me to be seated by his side and bade me tell him the fate of his companions. I described to him all that I had seen.

The child then recounts Hujjat’s response, quoting from the Qur’án:

‘It is the tumult of the Day of Resurrection,’ he [Hujjat] explained, ‘a tumult such as the world has never seen before. This is the day on which “man shall fly from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children.” This is the day when man, not content with having abandoned his brother, sacrifices his substance in order to shed the blood of his nearest kinsman. This is the day when “every suckling woman shall forsake her sucking babe; and every woman that hath a burden in her womb shall cast her burden…” ,

Hujjat prepares the companions for the end

Hujjat now called all the remaining companions in the fort together in the main square inside the fort. Standing in the centre of the square, he said to them:

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