Hashim is son of Otbeh Ibn Abi Vaqas from  Quraish tribe. He was famous to Marqal and a’var. [1] He is one of the tens who have been given glad tidings of entering to paradise. [2]

His father “Otbeh”  was one of the Polytheist of Mecca who broke the teeth of holy Prophet during the War of  Ohod and cut holy Prophet’s lip.

Hashim is the son of such  a father  who converted to Islam in the process of conquering Mecca and migrated  to Medina  [3] .

 faith  and  loyalty  to  Imam  Ali  Pbuh

Hashim ibn Otbeh (Hashim Marqal) is one of the five Quraishes whose faith and respect toward Ali (p.b.u.h.) was  pure. [5] He defended from the right of Vilayat  of Imam Ali Pbuh with all his existence, by his sincere activities. He also defended courageously  beside Imam Ali Pbuh in the wars of seffin and jamal.

 Hashim Marqal is one of the companions, and immigrants whom after the murder of Uthman, took  allegiance with Amiralmomenin Pbuh and defended  his vilayat till his death. [6]when he was in Kufa, he announced his promise with Imam Ali Pbuh openly while  Abo Mosa Ashari was  (present there ) against Imamate and leadership of Amiralmomenin Pbuh. [7]

his faith and love to Imam Ali Pbuh was to the extent that Amiralmomenin also expressed his interest in him about his valiantly and courageous  and loyalty and he  trusted on Hashim too. [8] He was the first  among Believers who joined Imam Ali Pbuh in  Ziqar to go  to Siffin. [9]
He also carries the first letter of the Imam to Kufa  from Ziqar  for Abu Musa Ash'ari to send Kufa people to support Imam Pbuh in Siffin, which was disobeyed by Abu Musa. so this time Imam sent Ibn Abbas and Muhammad bin Abu Bakr to Kufa which  Abu Mousa still did not follow Imam Pbuh, until Imam Pbuh wrote the third letter and Imam Hassan and Malek Ashtar took  the letter to Kufa and dismissed Abu Musa from Kufa government and then joined Imam Ali Pbuh with a great troops. [10]
 

Enemy recognition

Nasr ibn Mozahem says:
When  Amiralmomenin Pbuh decided to leave to suppress Moavieh Corps, first he gathered the immigrants and Ansar and asked  their ideas about attacking Siffin and Damascus. Hashim Marqal was an understanding, open-minded man and can distinguish between friends and enemies.

 He introduced people of Damascus to Imam Ali like this:

    Oh  Amir Almomenin I am fully aware of the intention of this people, They are your enemies and  the enemies of your followers,

They are very friends of those who aspire Worldliness. They will fight with you, and in this way they will not desist.

They are greedy about world’s pleasures  and they are very stingy about whatever they earned.Their only wish and aim is to reach world’s pleasure  and  being Avenger of   Uthman’s blood is just an excuse to fool ignorant people; they tell lie because they did not against killing of Uthman and it is an excuse to them to go after world.
    Oh  Amir  Almomenin! take us to fight them, if they accept the right,  what a good thing; otherwise  they will be strayed. …I swear to God, they never swear allegiance to you, but still may remain some among them that if they are advised to do good deeds or not to do bad deeds, they accept your command and walked back from their wrong path. [11]

Hashim wisely and truly introduced Moavieh companions  and also expressed his ideas about the war with Damascus.

 Struggle  in Siffin

According to some historians, in Siffin War,  Amir Almomenin Pbuh assigned  Ammar Yasser for cavalry and  Abdullah bin Badil for Infantry and gave the flag of troops  to the hand  of Hashim Marqal .

 [12] In the second day of fighting, Hashim came to battle field with the forces under his command  of Cavalry and Infantry Corps, to fight with Abolaor Salmy – the Commander-in-chief  of  Damascus- they fight all day long, cavalry with cavalry and infantry with infantry . [13]

Zayd ibn Vahab Jhny said:
One day Imam Ali Pbuh gave the flag of troop to Hashim Marqal.  On that day, Hashim wore two armors.  Imam Pbuh said teasingly:
O Hashim don’t you fear about yourself  that you have one eye, …

In response, he  said:
soon you will know that I do not fear. I swear to God, I will raid to the front like one who does not want to be in this world any longer. Then he took a spear and waved it but it broke, then took another spear and moved it, found it inflexible, threw it away, then asked for a soft spear and fix the flag on it.

 Then  while raising it , he came to battle field. Suddenly a man from bakr ibn Vael  tribe who was a friend of Hashim Shouted several times: go ahead! Go ahead hushim! what is the matter?  do you fear??

 Hashim asked:
Who is the owner of the sound? Some said: that man.   Looking at him, said: "Yes, he deserves such a word, if you see me falling on earth when I am going ahead,  take the flag and attack, then addressed his companions said:
fasten your shoes laces and your belts, when you  saw the flag is waved  three times, be aware that I mean I want to attack and no one should outrun me in attacking.

After that Hashim looked at various coorps of Damascus and asked about their chief - commander name and finally, he decided to attack Amro Aas  troops.
on this day of battle of Siffin, Hashim fought  such a Bravely fight which no one heard so far. Many people killed from two sides . [14]
  Anxiety of Moavieh  due to Hashim’s attacks
Narrator says:
One day in the war of Seffin Moavieh  told Amro " Damn you! today the flag of Iraqi army is in the hand of Hashim ibn otebh and as you know he is very tough and  fast and he  attacks very hard but I hope he comes to fights with a group of his followers, so you  can separate them and Seal them off.

 In the other hand, Ammar encouraged and persuade Hashim Marqal to attack, finally Hashim began his attack against  Moavieh troops.  Moavieh was looking from afar,  he send a group of his powerful armies, among them Abdullah son of Amro  Aas,  to confront Hashim.

on that day,  Hashim had two swords that one was used as a shield and the other  for fight, but due to wise tactics of him and his fellow cavalry, they succeeded in sealing off 'Abdoullah, the son of Amro Aas in no time and it was too near that Abdullah would be killed. When Amro Aas saw this  breathtaking scenery, shouted:
O Allah, O Beneficent, my son, my son.
Moavieh , who witnessed the sorrow of   Amro Aas due to his son surrounded by Hisham troops, was immediately comfort her and said:
Wait, Wait Do not restless

 Amro Aas  said:
O Moavieh, if your son Yazid was in such a blockade, would you wait?

Out of efforts of special forces of Moavieh troops, Abdoullah, the son of Amro Aas got rid of the blockade safe but Hashim was wounded.

 Omar Saad says:
This is the day in which Ammar Yasser was martyred. [15]

 Hashim and guiding a young boy in  Siffin

An armed young boy came out from Damascas troops and stood against Hashim bin otbeh singing:
   - I am the son of Ghassan and today I am for Uthman bin afan.
- Our elders, have informed us that  Ali Ibn Abi Talib Pbuh killed Othman.

 While singing, this young boy attacked and began to curse Imam Ali Pbuh more and more. Hashim Marqal got close to him and said:

A nobleman, why keep talking with no knowledge? You should know that after this curse and contempt is the day everyone show answer for his deeds.

Cursing the one who is the master of pious people will bring you the eternal torture.

The young man said:
If Allah ask me about this, I will say: O Lord, I fought with the Iraqi people because they  and their leader did not pray Allah and their leader killed our Caliph "Uthman" and his people  helped him too.

 Hashim said to him:

When companions of prophet Mohammad Pbuh and Qur'an readers saw that Uthman made a deviation in Islam and opposed Allah's orders and His Book,so they killed him due to these reasons.
Young was impressed and said:
I swear to Allah that you guided me. Then Hashim said: Our Lord is the first prayer who prayed  with the prophet Pbuh, and the first one who accept Islam and all those you see with him are believer and carriers of Quran. They are usually stay up to Worship Allah.

Now fear from Allah and do not let the Satan and his followers cheat you anymore.

 The Young Ghasanies  said:
O you, the servant of Allah, this word of you shed fear in my heart and I find  you honest and truthful, a while I am guilty and sinful; I want to know, is there any way for me to repent?

That Young Ghasany , heartbroke and regretful, returned to his camp and said:
Hashim showed me the best way and he advised me and he is a good guidance. [16]

Martyrdom  of  Hashim  

After Guiding that young man, Hashim kept fighting with enemies and killed many of them. But Hars bin Monzar Tanokhy  came out of the Damascas army and attacked him. Hashim was injured in a way that he could not continue the war and fell on the ground.

Amiralmomenin Pbuh who saw the flag is not raised any longer, send someone to Hashim to see what happened. Hashim  said to that man: Look at my abdomen! When he looked, he saw the belly of the Hashim is cut and could not take the flag. In this moment, another man from his troop picked up the Flag and moved forward.

 Last  word of  Hashim

On his last day of attack to the enemy, Hashim addressed Imam Ali's companions and said:
O people, I am a robust and strong man, when I fall on the ground, and I became killed,you should not feel  trepidation. Because in the enemy's idea it is the same to kill me or a camel. (it means that by killing Hashim the war will continue by you).  
Then he attacked and fell on the ground, and while he was at the threshold of the martyrdom, a man was passing besides him, Hashim screamed to him and said:
say my regards to  Amiralmomenin Pbuh and  tell him: mercy and blessings of God to you O Ali, I swear you to God that tonight and before the morning, gather the bodies of martyrs  because tomorrow morning the of war win be won by the one who have gathered  the corps earlier because to see the corps on land will lower the spirit of warriors.
The man brought  the message of Hashim  to  Amiralmomenin Pbuh and Imam  did the same and next day  morning when the war started with Damascas crops the triumph was for Imam Ali Pbuh as Hashim bin Merghal predicted. [17]
  

Imam Ali Pbuh alongside the body of  Hashim bin Merghal
When Imam Ali Pbuh became aware of Hashim's martyrdom, he immediately came to him and saw Hashim was among the masses of bodies of martyrs most of them were from the  tribe of Aslam who were Qur'an reciters. When Imam saw this tragic scene, he became  very sad and then he said:

 - God rewards the Aslamiees, these killed-white-faces falling around Hashim

- Yazid and Sadan and Mabad and Sofyan  and two children of Mabad , all were masters of  Grace and mercy and great ethics. [18]
When Hashim was killed, his son Abdullah  who was a true follower of Imam Ali Pbuh, sang poems in elegy of his father. [19]

 Reference

[1]he was called Marghal because he was so speedy moving forward in the battle field and he was called A’var, because in Yarmok war his eye was hurt.  

[2] Sharh ibn Abi al-Hadid, vol.6. p.55

 [3]Tarikh Baghdad, p.196

 [4] Asad Al-Ghabe, p.5,p.49; Al-Esabah,vol.6,p.516

 [5]Mojam Rejal Al-Hadith, vol.19, p.245

 [6]Al-Jamal,p.104

 [7]Al-Esabeh, vol.6, p.517

Nahj Al-Balaghe, Sermon 68

 [9] Sharh Ibn Abi Al-Hadid, vol.2, p.188

 [10] Al-Jamal, p.243; Menhaj Al-Baraee, vol. 17, p.19

 [11] Vaghee Safeen, vol.92; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 3, p.172

 [12] Vaghee Safeen, vol.92, p.205; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 4, p.26

 [13] Vaghee Safeen, p.214; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 4, p.29

 [14] Vaghee Safeen, p.326-328; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 4, p.11

 [15] Vaghee Safeen, p.340; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 8, p.23

 [16] Vaghee Safeen, p.353-355; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 8, p.35

[17] Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 8, p.34

 [18] Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 8, p.35

 [19] Vaghee Safeen, p.348; Sharh Idn Abi Al-Hadid, vol. 8, p.29

• 02/08/2010 07:22 - Ammar ibn Yasser Anasy