Al-Abbas bin Ali – The Staunch Advocate of Dignity and Sacrifice in Islam

This biography of al-Abbas ibn Ali, Imam Husayn's standard-bearer at Karbala, is an English translation of a work by the Iraqi scholar Shaykh Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi, published by the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine in Karbala.

It begins with his lineage, including his mother Umm al-Banin and her clan, then his birth, names and titles (Moon of the Hashimites, the Water-Bearer, Bab al-Hawa'ij) and his courage, faith, patience and loyalty, citing the Imams and poets who praised him. A long middle section surveys the background to Karbala: Imam Ali's government and wars, Imam Hasan's caliphate and treaty, and Umayyad rule under Mu'awiya. The closing chapters narrate the uprising: Muslim ibn 'Aqil in Kufa, the meeting with al-Hurr, the seizure of the Euphrates, Shimr's offer of safe-conduct to al-Abbas and his brothers, and al-Abbas's martyrdom by the 'Alqami.

Translated by Hussein el-Bazzaz and reviewed by Mehdi Baqir al-Qarashi. Published by the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine, Karbala, 2011.