الحر الرياحي
Caravan of Husayn
Hurr ibn Yazid al-Riyahi
The commander who repented
He chose right at the last possible moment.
Hurr ibn Yazid al-Riyahi was the commander of the first thousand horsemen sent to intercept the Imam's caravan and steer it to the waterless plain.
On the morning of Ashura, with battle imminent, his conscience overwhelmed him. He broke from the army of ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d, rode to the Imam, asked forgiveness, and died fighting in his defence.
His name — which means ‘the free man' — became a byword for repentance and the freedom of choosing right even at the eleventh hour.