Kufa
From the Analysis of the conditions
of the Kufans so far stated, strange ideas about Kufa and the Kufans grip our
hearts and Kufa appears to be one of the most perplexing places on the surface
of the entire earth. Abdullah bin Saba and all the conspiring groups scored
successes there. It was the Kufans who were in the fore-front in murdering
Uthman bin Affan (رضی اللہ عنہ); they were again the
greatest admirers and lovers of Ali (رضی اللہ عنہ)
and it was they who harassed him more than others and were responsible for many
of his failures; it was again they who courted Husain (رضی اللہ عنہ) and were ready to demand the revenge for
Ali's death and his caliphate and, at last, it was they who caused Husain's
martyrdom and had him murdered mercilessly at Karbala; it was they who first of
all were instrumental in demanding the compensation for Husain's blood to prove
their love for him in a splendid manner; it was again they who opposed the
greatest supporter of the Prophet's descendants Mukhtar bin Abu Obaid and by
inviting Mus'ab bin Zubair to attack Kufa had Mukhtar killed; it was they who
caused the death of Mus'ab bin Zubair (رضی اللہ عنہ);
they showed matchless bravery as well as base cowardice; sometimes they got
themselves killed fearlessly and opposed the Kufan rulers openly and sometimes
they were so terrified that they executed every oppressive measure of the Kufan
rulers like Obaidullah bin Zeyâd without any question.
To understand such contradictory and
contrasting traits and situations, we should make an attempt to acquaint
ourselves with the conditions and the reality of the inhabitants of Kufa.
During the regime of Umar bin Khattab (رضی اللہ عنہ),
Kufa was made as a cantonment for those who were at war with the
fire-worshippers (Magian/Zoroastrian) of Iran. One part of it consisted of
those who came from the Hijaz, Yemen and Hadaramout. They had assembled in
Madinah at Umar bin Khattab's instance and were sent to Iraq. Some of them were
those who were the inhabitants of the provinces of Arabia, which bordered on
Iraq and were comparatively near Kufa and Basra. They embraced Islam at the
hands of the Prophet's companions and then joined the Islamic army and could
not establish a particular link with Madinah nor had they ever seen it. Some
were those whose mother tongue was Arabic but they were the subjects of the
kingdom of fire-worshippers and then converted to Islam, they found the Islamic
way congenial to them and became its supporters from the core of their hearts
and fought against the Iranians on behalf of the Muslims. Some were dignitaries
of the 'Muhajirs' (Emigrants) and 'Ansars' (Helpers) of Madinah. When Kufa was
made a cantonment for the army and the deputy of the caliph and the
commander-in-chief of the Iraqi army began to live in Kufa, the city-dwellers
of many cities of Iran were forced by necessity to establish a rapport with the
capital of Kufa and because of this groups of Iranians began to live there.
Compared to the ascetic lives of the Arabian deserts, the royal and victorious
lives of the victors of the countries of Kisra, Nausherewan, Kekaus and Kekusru
in Kufa must have been very pleasant indeed: the excess of spoils of war must
have contributed its part in enticing them. The greater part of the army
acquired land and settled there. Through this evolution, Kufa not only remained
a temporary cantonment and retreat but also turned into a big city very quickly
and finally, it assumed the status of Iraq's capital. As the population
consisted mainly of soldiers and lacked the facilities of learning and
teaching, disciplining of morals and self, the temperament and morality of the
city, on the whole, was prone to constant change. It is easy to understand that
in such a place knowledge and wisdom, thought and understanding cannot be found
but sentiments and emotions can be amply utilized. The Kufans therefore always
remained under the control of their emotions and whatever they did it was under
the influence of their emotions.
That was why whosoever wanted to
incite them, succeeded, and whosoever wanted to entice them, did not fail.
Whenever they were threatened, they were terrified; and whenever they were
goaded to oppose anyone, they obliged. Whenever they were made bold, they
turned so and whenever they were made to betray, they did accordingly; and
whenever they were reminded of their old loyalty, they began to fulfill its
conditions:
Kufa had a plethora of emotions but
lacked intelligence. It had emotions, not sense; it had a tumult of emotions
but ran short of serenity of thought. Therefore, Kufa was expected to do that
which happened. When a few generations passed and the events of the world
endowed the heterogeneous elements by chemical amalgamation with a particular
shape to its temperament, making Kufa, the old mercurial nature gradually
vanished.
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