Abbas ibn Ali Al - ‘ Abbās ibn ‘ Ali ( ) ( born 4th Sha ‘ bān 26 AH – 10 Muharram 61 AH ; approximately May 15 , 647 – October 10 , 680 ) was the son of ‘ Alī ibn Abī Tālib ( the first Imam and fourth Rashidun Caliph ) and Fātimah bint Hizam al - Kilabiyyah ( commonly known as : " Ummul Banīn " – " Mother of the Sons " ) . Al - ‘ Abbās is revered by Shia Muslims for his loyalty to his half - brother Husayn ibn ‘ Alī , his respect for the Ahl al - Bayt , and his role in the Battle of Karbalā . Early life . Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib was born on 4 Shaban 26 AH . He was the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah AlKilabiyya . Abbas had three brothers , Abdullah ibn Ali , Jafar ibn Ali , and Uthman ibn Ali . Narratives state that he did not open his eyes after he was born until his brother Husayn ibn Ali took him in his arms . Abbas married a distant cousin , Lubaba bint Ubaydillah . They had three sons , Fadl , Qasim , and Ubaydullah . Battle of Siffin . Abbas debuted as a soldier in the battle of Siffin , one of the main conflicts of the 657 AD Muslim struggle between Abbas ' s father Ali and Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan , the governor of Syria . Wearing the clothes of his father , who was known to be a great warrior , Abbas killed many enemy soldiers . Muawiya ' s forces actually mistook him for Ali . Therefore , when Ali himself appeared on the battlefield , Muawiya ' s soldiers were astonished to see him and confused about the identity of the other soldier . Ali then introduced Abbas by saying , " He is Abbas , the Moon of the Hashimi family " . He was trained by his Father Ali in the art of battle , which is why he resembled his father in the battlefield . Battle of Karbala . Abbas showed his loyalty to Hussain at the Battle of Karbala . After succeeding his father Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan as Caliph , Yazid ibn Muawiyah required Hussain to pledge allegiance to him , but Hussain refused to do so , saying , " I am the grandson of the messenger of Allah , and Yazid is a drunkard , womanizer who is unfit for leadership . A person like me does not pay allegiance to a person like him . " In 60 AH ( 680 CE ) , Hussain left Medina with a small group of his companions and family to travel to Kufa . The people of Kufa invited Hussain to teach them about Islam . Initially he sent sending his cousin , Muslim , to make his decision after the advice of his cousin . But by the time Hussain arrived near Kufa , his cousin had been killed . On the way , Hussain and his group were intercepted . They were forced into a detour and arrived in Karbala on the 2nd of Muharram , 61 AH . Husayn ' s camp was surrounded and cut off from the Euphrates river . The camp ran out of water on the 7th of Muharram . Martyrdom . The Euphrates river was occupied by Yazid ' s Army to prevent the camp of Hussain from getting water . Shias believe that Abbas , because of his skill and bravery , could have attacked Yazid ' s army , occupied the river , and retrieved water for the camp alone . However , Abbas was not allowed to fight . He was only allowed to get water . Thus , he went to the river to get water for Hussain ' s 4 year old daughter Sakina bint Hussain . Sakina was very attached to Abbas , who was her uncle . To her , Abbas was the only hope for getting water . Abbas could not see her thirsty and crying " " Al - Atash " " ( the thirst ) . When Abbas entered the battlefield , he only had a spear , and a bag for water in his hands . He was also given the authority to hold the standard ( liwa ' ) in the battle . Once he had made it to the river , he started filling the bag with water . Shias emphasize that Abbas ' s loyalty to Husayn was so great , that Abbas did not drink any water because he could not bear the thought that Sakina was thirsty despite being severely thirsty himself . The essence of this event was to illustrate that Abbas conquered the Euphrates river , held it with his mighty hands , yet still did not drink . They claim that until this very day the water from Euphrates river circles the grave of Abbas . After gathering the water , Abbas rode back towards the camp . On his way back , he was struck from behind , and one of his arms was amputated . Then , he was stuck from behind again , amputating his other arm . Abbas was now carrying the water - bag in his mouth . The army of Yazid ibn Muawiyah started shooting arrows at him . One arrow hit the bag and water poured out of it . At that moment , Abbas lost all hope . One of Yazid ' s men hit his head with a mace and Abbas fell off his horse without the support of his arms . As he was falling , he called , " Ya Akkha " ( " Oh brother ! " ) he was actually calling for his brother , Husayn . According to Shia tradition , Abbas fell first onto his face before he let the standard fall . He was killed on Friday , 10 Muharram 61 Hijri on the banks of the river Euphrates . Hence , he is called Hero of " Al - Qamah " ( another name for the river Euphrates ) . His death is generally mourned on the 8th night of Muharram . Shia Muslims mourn the death of all martyrs of Islam associated with Husayn in the month of Muharram , the first of the Islamic calendar , mainly in the first ten days ( see Remembrance of Muharram ) . Fadl ibn Abbas and Qasim ibn Abbas also laid down their lives at Karbala . Ubaydullah ibn Abbas lived to continue the lineage of Abbas with five sons of his own . ‘ Abbās was buried at that ground where he fell from his horse in Karbalā , Iraq . The Al - ‘ Abbās Mosque was built around his grave , to which millions of pilgrims visit and pay homage every year . Nicknames . Ghazi , or " Gha ' Z " ( غازی ) , means " soldier who returns successfully from the battle " . Although Abbas was killed at Karbala , he is known as Ghazi because , when he carried out the first strike against Yazid ' s army , his mission was to rescue the horse which was seized by Shimr during battle of Siffin . This horse belonged to his other half brother Hassan ibn Ali . Abbas retained control over the horse and presented it to Husayn . He ' s also known as Abu Fadl , mean father of Al - Fadl ibn al - Abbas . Horse of Abbas . Abbas was given a horse named " Uqab " ( Eagle ) . Shia claim that this horse was used by Muhammad and Ali and that this horse was presented to Muhammad by the King of Yemen , Saif ibn Zee Yazni , through Abdul Muttalib . The king considered the horse to be very important and its superiority over other horses was evident by the fact that its genealogical tree was also maintained . It was initially named as " Murtajiz " . The name " Murtajiz " comes from Arabic name " Rijiz " which means thunder ( lightning ) .