Al-Abbas ibn Ali (Arabic: الْعَبَّاس اِبِنْ عَلي, c. 15 May 647 – 10 October 680 CE), also known as Abu al-Fadl (Arabic: أَبو الْفَضْل, lit. 'father of virtue'), was a son of Ali and Umm al-Banin, a half-brother of both Hasan and Husayn, Husayn's standard-bearer in the Battle of Karbala, and one of his principal supporters. His fame and popularity extend across the Muslim world, particularly among Shia Muslims. Abbas is highly revered for his loyalty to Husayn, his courage, and his death while attempting to obtain water from the Euphrates river for Husayn's thirsty children and companions. Abbas accompanied Husayn during his journey from Medina to Kufa, and ultimately to Karbala. He desperately attempted to reach the Euphrates to fetch water for the besieged family of Muhammad, and was killed in the process on 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 CE), the day known as Ashura.
Abbas’s heroic death at the Battle of Karbala contributed to the development of a legendary figure revered among both Shia and Sunni Muslims. It is said that Abbas was the son of Ali who most closely resembled his father, inheriting his boldness and bravery. He is regarded by Shia Muslims as an ultimate paragon of courage and self-sacrifice. Along with the Imam Husayn Shrine, the Al-Abbas Shrine is a holy site in Shia Islam. Each year, millions of people around the world visit the shrines during Muharram and later undertake the Arba'in pilgrimage to the shrines, the world's largest annual public gathering. Over the centuries, the Euphrates river changed course and it now flows around the Abbas Shrine. It is said that the Euphrates has come to Abbas now.
The kunya of Abbas was Abu al-Fadl (lit. 'father of virtue'). Another epithet of him was Qamar Bani Hashim (lit. 'moon of the Hashemites'), and he is often described as tall and handsome. Abbas is said to have inherited the boldness and bravery of his father Ali ibn Abi Talib, always carrying the victorious standard on the battlefield. Abbas is indeed celebrated as shir-i ghazi (lit. 'the warrior-lion') and shir-i awzhan (lit. 'the valiant lion') in Persian language. He is also known as Alam-d'ar (lit. 'standard-bearer') for his role in the Battle of Karbala, and as al-Saqqa' (lit. 'the water carrier') and Abu al-Qirba (qirba means 'a water-skin') for his desperate attempt on the evening of Ashura to bring water from the Euphrates river to quench the unbearable thirst of the besieged Ahl al-Bayt. The Islamicist J. Calmard draws a parallel between Abbas and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, an elder son of Ali and his standard-bearer, saying that Abbas fulfilled the same warrior functions near Husayn.
Abbas was born in Medina to Ali and Fatima bint Hizam ibn Khalid ibn Rabi'a, a woman from the Banu Kilab tribe. Abbas had three full brothers, named Abd Allah, Ja'far and Uthman. Their mother Fatima thus became known as Umm al-Banin (lit. 'mother of the sons'). Abbas' brothers were all killed in the Battle of Karbala just before him. Some sources refer to him as al-Abbas al-Akbar (lit. 'the elder/greater Abbas') to distinguish him from another son of Ali, named al-Abbas al-Asghar (lit. 'the younger/smaller Abbas'). Abbas' date of birth is disputed. According to the Sunni historian Ibn Sa'd (d. 845), he had not yet reached puberty when Ali was assassinated in 661, whereas some others have written that Abbas was thirty-four at that time. The Shia scholar Bahr al-Ulum (d. 1797) reports 4 Shaban 26 (15 May 647) as the birthdate of Abbas. Naturally, much of what exists in sources about Abbas is in connection to the Battle of Karbala. Most scholars record that Abbas was a teenage youth from the ages of 12-14 in 657. A few scholarly sources, particularly in the Shi’a tradition cite that Abbas ibn Ali fought alongside his father and brother in the 657 Battle of Siffin, during which Abbas was a young teenager. The sources record that, Abbas ibn Ali, alongside his brothers Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, Hasan, and Husayn, charged into the battlefield on a horse while concealing his face with a veil. It is said that he slew several enemies of the Umayyad Syrian forces led by Muawiya and fought with such bravery and valour that many soldiers of the opposing army thought that he was Ali himself; and were very intimidated by the young masked warrior. Upon witnessing his son fighting with such bravery and fearlessness, Ali called out to Abbas: “Return back, my Ghazi.” The word ‘Ghazi’ is an epithet used almost exclusively to address Abbas ibn Ali, and it translates in Arabic to ‘a warrior who returns alive and victorious from the battlefield’. Shia sources record that, perhaps this is where the epithet of Abbas originated.
Battle of Karbala and death (680)
In an appointment that violated earlier agreements with Ali's eldest son Hasan, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya (r. 661–680) designated his son Yazid (r. 680–683) as his successor in 676. Yazid is often presented by Muslim historians as a debaucher who openly violated the Islamic norms, and his nomination was indeed met with resistance at the time from sons of some prominent companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, including Husayn ibn Ali. On Mu'awiya's death and Yazid's accession in 680, the latter instructed the governor of Medina to secure Husayn's pledge of allegiance by force, and Husayn immediately left for Mecca to avoid recognizing Yazid as the caliph. He was accompanied by some relatives, including Abbas.
After receiving letters of support from Kufans, whose intentions were confirmed by his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil, Husayn left Mecca for Kufa on 8 or 10 Dhu al-Hijja (10 or 12 September 680), accompanied by few relatives and supporters. A tradition attributed to Husayn identifies his intention as fighting the tyranny of Yazid, even though it would cost his life, as reported in al-Irshad, a biographical work by the prominent Shia scholar al-Mufid (d. 1022). Husayn similarly wrote in his will for his brother Ibn Hanafiyya that he had not set out to seek "corruption or oppression" but rather to "enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong." At any rate, on their way to Kufa, Husayn's small caravan was intercepted by Yazid's army and forced to camp in the desert land of Karbala on 2 Muharram 61 (2 October 680) away from water and fortifications. The promised Kufan support did not materialize as the new governor of Kufa, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad (d. 686), killed the envoy of Husayn and intimidated Kufan tribal chiefs.
On 7 Muharram, on orders of Ibn Ziyad, the Umayyad commander Umar ibn Sa'd (d. 686) cut off Husayn's access to the Euphrates river. Abbas and some fifty companions were nevertheless able to bring back some water to Husayn's camp in a night sortie. Despite this attempt, the Islamicist L. Veccia Vaglieri (d. 1989) believes that the camp suffered from thirst for three days. Among other experts, D. Pinault similarly writes that the camp suffered from thirst and hunger during the siege, and the opinion of A. Hamdar is close. Karbala has a hot desert climate.
Ibn Sa'd was instructed by Ibn Ziyad not to let Husayn leave unless he pledged his allegiance to Yazid. Husayn did not submit to Yazid, but negotiated with Ibn Ziyad through Ibn Sa'd to be allowed to retreat and avoid bloodshed. The governor did not relent, however, and finally ordered Ibn Sa'd to fight, kill, and disfigure Husayn and his supporters unless they pledged allegiance to Yazid, in which case their fate would be decided later.
As a member of the Banu Kilab, the Umayyad commander Shamir ibn Dhi al-Jawshan acquired safe passage for Abbas and his three (full) brothers from Ibn Ziyad. According to the early historian Abu Mikhnaf (d. 773–774), Ibn Ziyad's letter of protection was sent to Abbas and his brothers, who refused it, "God's protection is better than the one offered by Sumayya's son [Ibn Ziyad]." Shamir extended again this offer to Abbas and his brothers on the eve of the battle, but they remained defiant and pledged their full support to Husayn.