Stories from Islamic History (2 page)

Mu’awiyah send a message to Hassan, may Allah
be pleased with both of them, to surrender the
khilafat
to
him, on the condition that the
khilafat
would revert to
Hassan after his death, that no one of the people of Madinah, Hijaz
or Iraq would be sought out for revenge or retaliation for anything
that had happened in the time of Ali, and that he would pay off
Hassan’s debts for him. They concluded a treaty on that basis, and
the Messenger of Allah’s saying “Allah will make peace through him
between two groups of Muslims” became evident.

Some of Hassan’s companions, aghast at the
abdication would say “O disgrace of the
muminin
.” Hassan
would reply “Disgrace is better than the fire.” A man said to
Hassan “Peace be upon you, humilator of the believers,” to which
Hassan replied “I am not the humilator of the believers, but I
disliked killing you for the sovereignty.”

Hassan was probably poisoned to death. It is
said that his brother Hussain asked him who had given the poisoned
drink. But Hassan would not tell, saying “Allah is most severe in
revenge if it should be the one I suspect. If not, then no innocent
person must be killed in retaliation for me.”

And Allah knows best.

It was Ramadan 60AH (June 680 CE) when
letters from Kufah started to arrive at the house of Abbas ibn
Abdul Muttalib in Makkah.

“Ya Hussain bin Ali, light of our light. The
garments of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah, peace be upon him
has not yet withered, the pot in which he ate is still not broken,
and the dust from the shoes of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,
your illustrious father has not yet settled, but oppression and
fitnah
has raised its head again. Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah has
been forced upon as the ruler, and his Umayyad cohorts have started
doing everything the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him forbade.
As the leading light of the illustrious family, we call upon you
for justice and to lead us in
jihad
against Yazid. The
people of Kufah will fight till the very last and we give our
solemn oath to support you and never desert you.”

In 37AH (657 CE) Ali, may Allah be pleased
with him shifted his capital from Madinah to Kufah, and ever since
that city became the home of those who claimed partisanship of the
Ahl al-Bayt. After the reconciliation between Hassan and Mu’awiyah,
may Allah be pleased with them in 41AH (661 CE) many of those who
had been in Hassan's army settled in Kufah. When the opportunity
arose the Kufans, who still regarded themselves as the
Shi’ah
(literarily meaning “supporters”) of the Ahl al-Bayt,
turned to Hussain to lead them against Yazid.

Hussain send his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil to
investigate the situation in Kufah.

Muslim arrived at Kufah in Dhul Qa’dah
(August 680 CE). The Kufans, on learning of his arrival presented
themselves at the residence at the house of Muslim ibn Awsajah
al-Asadi. Soon there were twelve thousand Kufans who gave their
solemn pledge to support and protect Hussain with their lives and
all they possessed. When this number rose to eighteen thousand,
Muslim felt confident enough to dispatch a messenger to Hussain
informing him of the oath of allegiance of the Kufans, and urging
him to proceed from Makkah.

Upon receipt of the letter, Hussain decided
to depart immediately. A number of the eminent
sahabah
like
Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abu Said
al-Khudri, Hussain’s own brother, Mohammed, and his brother-in-law
and cousin, Abdullah ibn Jafar, may Allah be pleased with all of
them tried to dissuade him from going to Kufah.

“Don’t trust the Kufans. They are
treacherous. You know how they left down your father Ali at
Naharwan,” Abdulla ibn Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him was
accepted by the people of Makkah as their
kalifah
.

“Our beloved Messenger of Allah, peace be
upon him did not fight at Makkah. Only after he reached Madinah and
consolidated himself did he start to retaliate against oppression.
My advice is that you first establish yourself in Makkah, and with
loyal troop proceed wholeheartedly against Yazid. We will be right
behind you:” Abdullah ibn Umar, the son of the Umar ibn Khattab,
may Allah be pleased with them was the most popular choice for the
kalifah
, but he did not want to take up the responsibility
even if one Muslim was against the idea.

Hussain’s mind, however, was made up. He set
out from Makkah on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah 60 AH (9 September 680
CE).

***

The palace in Damascus was in far contrast to
the thatched hut in Makkah where Hussain was residing. Yazid ibn
Muwaiyah, the
kalifah
was clearly disturbed at the turn of
events. Marwan, his uncle, and for shielding whom Uthman was
murdered, advised him: “What has happened has happened. Allah has
vested the
khilafat
on you, and it is your duty to ensure
peace is maintained at all costs, even if the means the head of the
Prophet’s grandson has to roll.” He followed up this advice by
immediately issuing a decree replacing the governor of Kufah -
Numan ibn Bashir, with the ruthless Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, who was
then ordered to find Muslim ibn Aqil and kill him.

Early in the month of
Dhul Hajj
,
Ubaydullah ibn Zayd, accompanied by seventeen men on horseback
entered Kufah. With the end of his turban drawn over his face he
was unrecognizable, and the people of Kufah were expecting
Hussain.

"Peace upon you, o son of the Messenger of
Allah," some Kufans hailed Ubaydullah Ibn Zayd, who immediately
learnt the truth of the rumors. One of his mounted men shouted back
at them, "Stand back! This is the governor Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad!"
the Kufans now realized the seriousness of their blunder.

Soon after reaching the governor's residence
Ubaydullah sent a servant of his own with a bag containing three
thousand dirham to pose as a newcomer from the Syrian town of Hims
eager to join the imminent revolution. He located Muslim in the
house of Hani ibn Urwah, and gave the pledge of allegiance. The
money, he handed over to Abu Thumamah al-
Amir
i, Muslim's
treasurer. After staying with them for a few days, during which he
learnt most of what there was to know about the intrigue, he
returned to Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad. Hani ibn Urwah was arrested.

“Where is Muslim ibn Aqil”

“Muslim who?” came the reply.

Ubaydullah was chosen for the task because he
was adept in getting things done. The “newcomer from Hims” was
brought before him.

“There is no point in pretending now. But I
swear that I don’t know where Muslim ibn Aqil is now,” Hani
replied.

In the meantime Muslim heard of Hani’s arrest
and realized that the hour for a decisive encounter had arrived. He
raised his battle cry "Ya Mansur," and proceeded towards the
governor’s fort. Of the men who had given him their oath of
allegiance, four thousand joined him.

When Ubaydullah saw Muslim ibn Aqil with the
Kufans at his gate, he sent some tribal leaders to speak with their
people and warn them of the wrath that would descend when armies
from Damascus arrive.

Soon Muslim's army was called upon by mothers
telling their sons, "Come home, there are enough other people
here," and fathers ominously warning their sons, "What will happen
tomorrow when the Syrian armies start arriving from Damascus? What
will you do?"

Hussain was at this moment making his way to
Kufah with his nearest and dearest, relying on the allegiance
pledged by the Kufans. But the resolve of these men could not hold
in the face of such threats and discouragement.

One by one, the Kufans deserted Muslim ibn
Aqil. At sunset, he was left with only thirty men. He led them in
maghrib
, and then moved away to the doorway of the Kindah
quarter of Kufah. He went through that door with no more than ten
men, and before he knew it, he was all on his own in the streets of
Kufah.

Eventually, parched with thirst, he knocked
at a door. “Who is it,” An old coarse voice muttered.

“I am Muslim bin Aqil from Madinah. For the
love of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his
descendents, please give me some water and let me stay for the
night.”

The door banged shut, but almost
instantaneously opened up again.

The old women stood alongside her son. “Come
in son. You are safe here. The entire city has deserted you in your
time of need, but you will be safe here. You can stay here as long
as you want. I have extracted a promise from my son here not to
tell anyone of your presence there.”

No sooner had the sun rose than the ‘son’
took news to governor's residence. The next thing Muslim knew was
the house being surrounded by troops. Thrice he managed to drive
the attackers out of the house, but when they started putting fire
to the house he was forced to face them outside. It was only when
Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mohammed ibn al-Ashath, one of those sent to
arrest him promised him safety of life that he lowered his sword.
It was a mistake, for they took away the sword and mounted him upon
an ass to be taken to Ubaydullah.

Muslim knew death was at hand. He begged Ibn
al-Ashath to send someone to Hussain with the following
message:

“Muslim Ibn Aqil has sent me to you. He says
to you, ‘Go back with your family. Do not be deceived by people of
Kufah. They are those same supporters of your father from whom he
so dearly wished to part, by death or by being killed. The Kufans
have lied to me and have lied to you, and a liar has no
sense.’”

Later that day, the day of Arafah, the 9th of
Dhul Hijjah (10th September 680 CE), Muslim ibn Aqil was taken up
to the highest ramparts of the fort. As he was being led up, he
recited the
tahlil, tasbih, takbir
and
istighfar
.

His last words reflect his intense
disappointment with the people of Kufah: "O Allah, You be the Judge
between us and our people. They deceived us and deserted us."

In the meantime, Hussain had dispatched a
messenger, Qays ibn Mushir, to inform the Kufans of his imminent
arrival. He was captured. Ubaydullah ordered him to mount the walls
of the fort and publicly curse Hussain and his father. Mount the
walls, he did, but he praised Ali and Hussain instead, telling the
Kufans that Hussain was on his way, exhorting them to assist him as
they had promised. He ended his brief address by imprecating curses
upon Ubaydullah.

He was flung from the ramparts and
killed.

Despite this impassioned plea, the men of
Kufah were unmoved, and Hussain was on his way.

Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad had entered Kufah with
just seventeen men. For each man that came with him there were over
a thousand who had taken oath of allegiance at the hands of Muslim
ibn Aqil. Yet not a single sword was raised in his defense. Not a
single voice had the courage to protest his execution. And these
were the same men who had been telling Hussain, “Come, we are with
you.”

After an arduous journey of almost a month,
Hussain and his party reached Iraq. It was there that he first
heard of the treachery of the Kufans and the death of Muslim ibn
Aqil. Later he also learnt of the death of Qays ibn Mushir. A large
number of desert Arabs had by that time attached themselves to his
party, thinking that Kufah was already his. Hussain addressed them,
saying,

"Our Shi‘ah have deserted us. Therefore,
whoever wants to leave is free to do so."

Soon he was left with only those who left
Makkah with him.

Kufah was placed under heave surveillance by
Ubaydullah. When news of Hussain’s approach reached him, he
diverted a four thousand strong contingent on its way to fight the
Daylamites. This contingent was put under the command of Umar ibn
Sa‘d, the son of the famous companion Sad ibn Abi Waqqas.

Only a handful of Kufans emerged to join
Hussain at Karbala.

When the sun set on the 10th Muharram 61 AH
(10 October 680 CE), the sands of Karbala were stained with the
blood of Hussain, may Allah be pleased with him, his infant Asghar
and his seventy-one followers. May Allah have mercy on all of
them.

Hussain’s head was taken to Damascus. On
seeing it, it is said that Yazid wept bitterly and ordered it to be
returned to Karbala and honourably buried.

***

Four years later the there emerged a group of
Kufans calling themselves the tawwabun (penitents) who made it
their duty to wreak vengeance upon the killers of Hussain. On their
way to Syria in pursuit of Ubaydullah ibn Zayd they passed by
Karbala, where they raised a great hue and cry, and spent the night
lamenting the tragedy which they allowed to happen four years
earlier. Had they only displayed that same spirit of compassion for
Hussain when he was so much in need of it the history of Islam
might have taken a different course.

Karbala was not to be the last act of treason
by the “
Shi‘ah
” against the family of the Messenger of
Allah, peace be upon him. Sixty years later Zayd ibn Ali ibn
Hussain, may Allah have mercy on him, led an uprising against the
Umayyad ruler Hisham ibn Abdul Malik. He received the oaths of
allegiance of over forty thousand men, fifteen thousand of whom
were from the very same Kufah that had deserted his
grandfather.

Just before the battle could start, Zaid’s
shi’ah
, upon a whim asked his opinion about Abu Bakr and
Umar.

Zayd answered: “I have never heard any of my
family dissociate himself from them, and I have nothing but good to
say about them.”

Upset with this answer, they deserted him en
masse, deciding that the true
imam
could only be Zaid’s
nephew Jafar as-Sadiq. Out of forty thousand, Zayd was left with
only a few hundred men.