Martyrs of bani hashem

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, in his book Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, lists the martyrs from the Banu Hashim who were martyred on Ashura along with Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) and Muslim ibn Aqil, who was martyred in Kufa, totaling twenty-two individuals. In the Ziyarat al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa, as reported in Bihar al-Anwar from Iqbal of Sayyid Ibn Tawus, seventeen names are mentioned. Additionally, according to a narration by Ibn Abbas, Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) during his visit to the land of Nineveh on his way to Siffin said: “This is the land of Karbala and tribulation, where Hussein (peace be upon him) and seventeen men from my progeny and the progeny of Fatima will be buried.”

It seems that the reference to Fatima is meant to be Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim, the mother of Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), rather than Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her). This is supported by a narration where Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: “Seventeen people were killed, all of whom were the children of Fatima bint Asad, the mother of Imam Ali (peace be upon him).”

In the narration from Rayan ibn Shabib, Imam al-Ridha (peace be upon him) mentioned: “Eighteen men from his family were killed, who had no equals on earth.”

According to Abdullah ibn Rabi’a al-Humayri, Zuhar ibn Qais told Yazid ibn Muawiya: “Congratulations to you that Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) came to us with eighteen men from his household and sixty of his followers.”

Martyrs from the Progeny of Aqil ibn Abi Talib:

• Muslim ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib
• Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, whose mother was a slave woman, was martyred after killing seventeen people from the armies of Syria and Kufa, and he was killed by Uthman ibn Khalid ibn Asid and Bashir ibn Huwat.
• Ja’far ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, who was martyred by Urwa ibn Abdullah al-Khath’ami. His battle cry was: I am the young man from the Hashim clan,
  From a lineage that is dominant.
  Truly, we are the masters of the clan,
  Here is Hussein, the purest of the pure.
• Abdullah al-Akbar ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, who was martyred by Uthman ibn Khalid al-Juhani and a man from the Hamdan tribe.
• Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, whose murderers included Abu Marham al-Asadi and Luqayt ibn Iyass al-Juhani.
• Abdullah ibn Muslim ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, whose noble mother was Ruqayya, daughter of Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), was martyred by Amr ibn Sabih. It is said that Amr shot an arrow that pierced Abdullah’s hand to his forehead and then another arrow that pierced his heart. Some say Abdullah was the first martyr from Banu Hashim, though many scholars consider Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them) to be the first martyr. According to a narration from al-Samawi in Manaqib, Abdullah fought and recited: Today, I face my father as a martyr,
  And a band that has perished for the religion of the Prophet. He killed ninety-eight men from the Kufa army in three attacks before being martyred.
• Muhammad ibn Abi Sa’id al-Ahwal ibn Aqil ibn Abi Talib, whose father Abu Sa’id was quick-witted and humorous like his father Aqil and had humiliated Abdullah ibn Zubair in the court of Muawiya.

Martyrs from the Progeny of Ja’far al-Tayyar:

Sheikh al-Mufid writes: “When Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) left Mecca for Iraq, Abdullah ibn Ja’far sent his two sons, Aoun and Muhammad, with a letter to him:

‘Afterward, I swear by Allah, upon receiving this letter, return from this path; I fear that you and your family may be martyred on this journey. If you are killed today, the earth will be darkened; for you are the only sign of guidance, and the faithful hope only in you. So do not rush to leave until I arrive to follow up on my letter. Peace.'”

Abdullah then went to the ruler of Mecca, Amr ibn Sa’id, to obtain a letter of safety for Imam (peace be upon him). Amr, along with his brother Yahya, wrote and gave a letter of safety. Abdullah and Yahya left Mecca and reached Imam (peace be upon him), who insisted on continuing. When asked about his dream, Imam (peace be upon him) replied: “I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a dream, and he commanded me to pursue a matter, and I have no fear of what may come.” They asked him to explain his dream, but Imam (peace be upon him) said he had not mentioned it before and would not do so as long as he lived.

When Abdullah saw the determination of the Imam (peace be upon him), he instructed his two sons to accompany the Imam (peace be upon him) and sacrifice their lives for him.

According to al-Samawi, Abdullah ibn Ja’far, after the event of Karbala, said: “Praise be to Allah, for though I was deprived of accompanying Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and martyrdom for his sake, I sent my two dear sons with him, and they achieved martyrdom with honor.”

• Aoun ibn Abdullah ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, whose mother was Zainab al-Kubra, daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). Aoun ibn Abdullah was martyred by Abdullah ibn Qutba al-Nabhani.
• Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, whose mother was Khawsa, daughter of Hafsa ibn Thaqif, was killed by Amir ibn Nuhshil al-Tamimi.

“Peace be upon Aoun ibn Abdullah ibn Ja’far al-Tayyar in paradise – an ally of faith and a companion of equals – the adviser to the Most Merciful, the follower of patience and the Quran – may Allah curse his killer Abdullah ibn Qutba al-Nabhani – peace be upon Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ja’far – the witness in place of his father and the successor to his brother and protector with his body – may Allah curse his killer Amir ibn Nuhshil al-Tamimi – peace be upon Ja’far ibn Aqil – may Allah curse his killer and his shooter Bishr ibn Huwat al-Hamdhani – peace be upon Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil – may Allah curse his killer and his shooter Uthman ibn Khalid ibn Asim al-Juhani.”

The name Abdullah al-Akbar, son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib, is not mentioned in Ziyarat al-Nahiya.

“Peace be upon the martyr, son of the martyr Abdullah ibn Muslim ibn Aqil… Peace be upon Abu Ubaidullah (Muhammad) ibn Muslim ibn Aqil… Peace be upon Muhammad ibn Abi Sa’id ibn Aqil…”

In the book Maqtal al-Khwarizmi, there is a narration similar to what was mentioned from Amali of Sheikh al-Saduq. However, it differs in that it lists the two sons (Muhammad and Ibrahim) as descendants of Ja’far ibn Abi Talib and states that Ibn Ziyad’s reward was ten thousand dirhams. The narration ends with Ibn Ziyad ordering a slave named Nadir to kill the man in the same place where the two children were martyred and to behead him, promising him the spoils and ten thousand dirhams as a reward, and that he would be freed. The slave carried out the order and burned the man’s body as per Ibn Ziyad’s command.