Mus'ab
bin Zubair's Imprudence
It has been mentioned above that
Basra was ruled over by Hamza bin Abdullah bin Zubair for less than a year and
after that its administration was also entrusted to Mus'ab bin Zubair. Mus'ab
bin Zubair personally went to Basra and appointed Amr bin Obaidullah his deputy
there, and instructed him to go to Persia to discipline the Khawarij if needed,
and to depute someone else in Basra. After shifting and replacing the governors
and lieutenants of these provinces and staying for a few days there, he left
Basra and returned to Kufa. In 70 A.H., the mischief of the Khawarij gained
momentum. Mughira bin Muhallab and Amr bin Obaidullah failed to stamp it out.
Mus'ab bin Zubair transferred Muhallab bin Abu Sofra from the Governorship of
Mosil to that of Persia and ordered him to suppress the Khawarij there. It is
understood that none other than Muhallab bin Abu Sofra could have tackled the
problem of the Khawarij. He said, "I am glad to go to Persia but to shift
me from here will be extremely harmful for you because Abdul Malik bin Marwan
has begun to spread his net of secret conspiracies in Iraq. I have been
studying his manipulation very minutely. I am afraid if he depart from here, he
might succeed in his maneuverings."
Mus'ab bin Zubair considered the
urgency of Persia more of a priority to a problem that was not yet manifested.
Muhallab was therefore ordered to leave for Persia. Mus'ab had two very
efficient and experienced generals Ibrahim and Muhallab. He had one of them
part from him. He sent Abdullah bin Hzim as Governor of Khurasan. Abbad bin
Haseen was put with Muhallab both of whom were seasoned veterans and
experienced generals. Thus, Mus'ab bin Zubair separated his able men from him
and sent them to distant places. Only Ibrahim bin Malik in Kufa and Amr bin
Obaidullah bin Mamar in Basra were left.
Abdul Malik bin Marwan, being freed
from the internal danger to his caliphate by killing Amr bin Sayeed had begun
to hatch conspiracies against the rule of Abdullah bin Zubair (رضي الله عنه). He sent his men to Persia and tempted
and lured the Khawarij and incited them to revolt. Then he sent his agents to
Kufa and Basra also, and succeeded in spreading his net of conspiracies through
the supporters of Banu Umayyah. He began to tempt the military officers of
Mus'ab bin Zubair by sending letters to them. He went to the extent of trying
to lure and bring Muhallab and Ibrahim to his side but they were not the type
to betray Mus'ab bin Zubair. That is why Muhallab was very pensive and
concerned when he left Syria for Persia.
Abdul
Malik's War Preparations
Abdul Malik sent Khalid bin
Obaidullah bin Khalid bin Usaid to Basra on a secret mission to convert the
people to support Banu Umayyah and oppose Abdullah bin Zubair bin Zubair. Khalid,
therefore, visited Basra and initiated the conspiratorial process and won a
number of people to his side. When Amr bin Obaidullah bin Mamar came to know of
it, he sent an army to Basra. Khalid's men fought but Khalid was driven out of
Basra. When the disturbing news reached Kufa, and the state of affairs was
fully conveyed to Mus'ab bin Zubair, it was impossible for him to remain
passive once he understood the conspiracy.
The disturbing news brought Mus'ab
bin Zubair from Kufa to Basra. He punished and fined Khalid's companions and
had the houses of some pulled down. Similarly in Kufa too, Abdul Malik's men
had been working secretly. The greatest trouble was from some military leaders
like Attab bin Warqa who had entered into a plot with Abdul Malik.
On the one hand, Abdul Malik began
to make preparations for a major battle, and spread conspiracies of rebellion
among the armies of Kufa and Basra on the other. One day, Ibrahim bin Ushtur
received a sealed letter from Abdul Malik bin Marwan. He immediately knew what
it contained. He gave it to Mus'ab unopened with the seal still intact. When
Mus'ab read it, it disclosed that Abdul Malik had written to Ibrahim,
"Come to my side. I shall make you the Governor of Iraq."
The
Death of Mus'ab bin Zubair
At last, after completing his
preparations, Abdul Malik left Syria and marched towards Iraq. He left Damascus
after he had received many letters from the noblemen of Kufa inviting him to
invade it at once. His counselors forbade him saying the letters from Kufa might
be similar to those received by Husain (رضي الله عنه).
Abdul Malik said, "Imam Husain (رضي الله عنه)
was fully dependent on Kufa. I am going with a strong army. Their breach of
trust and betrayal can not harm me. I am sure, once they see me with a strong
army, they will not go back on the promise they made in their letters."
At last, Abdul Malik marched with
his army. Mus'ab bin Zubair also started from the other side. At the time when
Abdul Malik's news of attack reached Kufa, Mus'ab bin Zubair had already sent
Amr bin Obaidullah bin Mamar to Persia to help suppress the Khawarij. So even
Amr bin Obaidullah was away from the battle. Both the armies pitched their
tents at Dair jathaleeq. Mus'ab bin Zubair's army was small because at the
last-minute many of his men refused to go and presented lame excuses. A large
number of those who ventured to come on to the battlefield were in collusion
with the enemy and were waiting to join the enemy the moment the battle
started. The fight began and Abdul Malik first attacked the part of the army
commanded by Ibrahim bin Malik because he feared him. The attack was launched
by Abdul Malik's brother Mohammad bin Marwan. Both sides displayed exemplary
valor. Ultimately Ibrahim pushed Mohammad bin Marwan back. Seeing him retreat,
Abdul Malik sent Obaidullah bin Yazid with a fresh group of soldiers to help
Mohammad because they were in a pitched battle. It was in this fight that
Muslim bin Umar Bahli (Qutaiba bin Muslim's father) was killed.
When Mus'ab bin Zubair saw Ibrahim
getting mobbed, he sent Attab bin Warqa to his rescue. Attab bin Warqa had
already taken the oath of allegiance secretly for Abdul Malik. He fled from the
field accordingly. Ibrahim, though surrounded by enemies, killed fighting
bravely. His death boosted the morale of Abdul Malik and the Syrians and they
were now very sure of their victory.
Mus'ab bin Zubair asked his other
generals and associates to move ahead and launch an attack but no one moved
from his place. They all turned as if deaf. Only a few fighting and the
remaining Kufan soldiers were only spectators.
The Kufan's betrayal this time even
exceed the betrayal which they had perpetrated on Imam Husain (رضي الله عنه) because they were forced by Ibn Zeyad and
his army not to support Imam Husain (رضي الله عنه)
and they were terror stricken to the extreme.
It was nothing but greed and their
sheer disobedience, betrayal and ingratitude that stopped them from siding with
Mus'ab bin Zubair. Abdul Malik did not want Mus'ab to be killed so he sent his
brother Muhammad bin Marwan to him with the word, "The fight has taken a
turn for the worse for you. You can never win. I give you security and pardon.
Please accept it." Mus'ab refused, saying, "Allah's security is
sufficient for me." Then Mohammad bin Marwan said to Mus'ab's son Isa,
"Amir al-Muminin Abdul Malik has granted security to you and to your
father." Hearing that he came to his father. Mus'ab said, "Yes, I do
believe that the Syrians will keep their promise with you. You may go with
their security if you like." Isa said, "I shall not give the chance
to the women of Quraish to say that Isa has betrayed his father for the sake of
his own life." Mus'ab said, "Well, then go to your uncle Abdullah bin
Zubair (رضي الله عنه) in Makkah and
narrate to him about the Iraqi's betrayal. Leave me here. I have considered
myself already killed." Isa said, "I won't go to break that kind of
news. You can leave the battlefield and go to Basra. The people there are very
pleased with you. They are loyal to you in all respects. Some alternative might
be thought out in Basra or let us go to Makkah then."
Mus'ab said, "My son, this is
not possible because my flight from the field would become a topic of heated
discussion among the Quraish. Better give up this idea and attack the
enemy." Isa then took his troops and attacked the enemy and after killing
many of the enemy soldiers, he dropped dead before his father's eyes.
Abdul Malik came forward and
entreated Mus'ab, "Please go back from the field or accept the offer of
security. In his appeal, he was humble but Mus'ab ignored it. That must have
been a strange time, Abdul Malik was pleading with his enemy for his safety
while simultaneously seeing the consequences of his secret plots. The Kufan
army was in the field but it was not obeying its 'Amir' and silently watching
from a distance. Mus'ab bin Zubair was puzzled seeing the army that had
followed his orders and sacrificed their lives, treacherously abandoning him.
By killing Mus'ab bin Zubair and Imam Husain (رضي الله
عنه) the Kufans committed a crime of the same magnitude although
these two crimes were accomplished in two different ways. Imam Husain (رضي الله عنه) wanted his enemies to let him leave the
battlefield and go to either Makkah or Damascus or any other place and Mus'ab
bin Zubair's enemies themselves wished him to leave the battlefield and go to
the place of his choice. Imam Husain's enemies did not listen to him and here
Mus'ab bin Zubair rejected his enemies appeal to escape. The consequences in
both the cases were the same.
Mus'ab bin Zubair went to his tent
after his son's death, put oil on his hair, perfumed himself, came out and
attacked his enemies. Only seven persons were left with him and they were all
killed together with him. He attacked so fiercely that he disturbed the
Syrian's lines. At last, he dropped unconscious after receiving innumerable
wounds of arrows, swords and spears. As soon as he collapsed, the Syrians cut
off his head and so in 71 A.H. a decade after, the drama of Karbala it was
repeated at Dair Jathaleeq.
Abdul Malik took the oath of
allegiance from all the Kufan army for his caliphate on that same battlefield.
He left it and reached Nakhlah near Kufa and halted there for forty days. When
he felt satisfied that the Kufan's would remain loyal, he entered the city. He
delivered a sermon at the central mosque in which he promised to treat them
kindly. Then he pleased them with gifts and by treating them honorably. He
wrote to the Governors of Persia, Khorasan, Basra and Ahwaz to take the oath
from their people for him.
He retained Muhallab bin Abu Sofra
in his original position. They all recognized Abdul Malik's caliphate since
there was no other alternative. Only Abdullah bin Hazim who governed a part of
Khorasan, refused to take the oath and was killed by Bahr bin Warqa after a few
days.
Abdul Malik made Khalid bin Osaid
and his own brother Bashir bin Marwan the Governors of Basra and Kufa
respectively. He sent Mus'ab bin Zubair's head to Damascus. When it reached
there, the people wanted to make a display of it but Abdul Malik's wife named
Atika bint Yazid bin Muawiya forbade them to do so. She had it washed and then
buried. Muhallab bin Abi Sofra also surrendered to Abdul Malik and took the people's
oaths on his behalf.
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