Muslim
bin Aqil and Hani bin Urwa Murdered
Muslim bin Aqil رضي الله عنه in this situation fled from the place and
took refuge in someone's house in Kufa. Obaidullah bin Zeyad sent Amr bin Jarir
Makhzumi to arrest him. Seeing no way out Muslim bin Aqil رضي الله عنه drew out his sword. But Amr bin Jarir said to him,
"Why do you ruin your life unnecessarily? Just surrender yourself to me
and at my own risk, I will take you to Obaidullah bin Zeyad and promise that I
shall get you pardoned." Muslim bin Aqil رضي الله
عنه laid down the sword and put his hands into those of Amr. He
took him to Obaidullah. Obaidullah imprisoned him in the same room in which he
had imprisoned Hani bin Urwa. The next day about ten thousand people who had
taken bay'at collected and surrounded Obaidullah bin Zeyad's house. They
demanded that Muslim bin Aqil and Hani bin Urwa should be released willingly
otherwise, they would snatch them away by force. Obaidullah bin Zeyad ordered
them to be taken to the roof and executed before their eyes. Both were
therefore killed. Seeing the execution all of them dispersed as if they had
only come for the purpose of getting their leaders killed. Obaidullah ordered
the gate of the palace to be opened, their bodies were hung on a stake and
their heads were carried off to Yazid in Damascus. Yazid wrote to Obaidullah
bin Zeyad, "Imam Husain رضي الله عنه
has set out from Makkah and is about to reach Kufa very soon. Protect yourself
fully and depute the army to stop him on the way so that he may not reach
Kufa."
Imam
Husain رضي الله عنه Leaves Makkah
Imam Husain رضي الله عنه prepared himself to leave Makkah. When
everything was ready and the news spread that he was going to Kufa, all those
who had love and sympathy with him came and insisted on his giving up his
intention and tried to make him understand that leaving for Kufa was not free
from danger. First Abdur Rahman bin Harith came and requested him not to go to
Kufa because the governor of Iraq, Obaidullah bin Zeyad was present there. The
inhabitants of Kufa are greedy and it is just possible that those who called
you might come out to fight against you. Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنه came and said to him, "Don't go out
of Makkah to take ba'it and leadership, Allah gave the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the option to select either this world or
the Hereafter. He chose the Hereafter. You also belong to the family of the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Don't yearn after
this world. Don't let yourself be contaminated with worldly filth."
Having exhorted thus Abdullah bin
Umar رضي الله عنه burst into tears.
Imam Husain رضي الله عنه also began to weep
but refused to act upon his advice. Being helpless Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنه parted from him. Then Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه said to him,
"Don't leave Makkah. Don't be
away from the House of Allah. Your respected father preferred Kufa to Makkah
and Madinah but don't you know how the inhabitants of Kufa treated him? They
martyred him. They robbed your brother Hasan رضي الله
عنه and ultimately poisoned him to death. You must not rely on
them. Neither their bay'at nor their promise is believable nor are their
letters and messages trustworthy." Hearing this Imam Husain رضي الله عنه said, "You are a hundred percent
justified in what you say. But Muslim bin Aqil's letter has come. Twelve
thousand people have taken ba'it. Before that one hundred and fifty letters
from the noblemen of Kufa have also come. Now there is no danger. My visit to
that place is the right thing." Hearing this Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه said, "All right, at least let this
month of Dhul Hijja end and the new year begin and then think of undertaking
the journey. Now the season of Hajj is approaching and people from a far are
coming to Makkah, and you are leaving Makkah and going out only for the sake of
ruling over the worldly people and bringing into your possession the fortunes
of the world. It is proper for you to participate in the Hajj and let the
people return after performing Hajj, and even after that if you think it
necessary, then you may set out." Imam Husain رضي
الله عنه said, "The issue is such as I cannot defer it. I must set
out at once." Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه
said, "Well, if you don't agree with me, at least don't take the women and
children with you because the inhabitants of Kufa are absolutely unreliable. It
was the duty of the twelve thousand people who have taken ba'it for your
Caliphate to have first turned Yazid's administrator out of Kufa, taken the
treasury in their possession and then called you. But in the present situation,
it seems that they are incapable of doing anything against Yazid's
administrator in Kufa. Now as they have neither the treasury nor the courage to
drive the administrator out, this administrator might frighten or tempt them
and use them according to his own will, and it is just possible that these
people who are calling you, might jump onto the battlefield on Yazid's side to
fight against you. Considered from this angle your life seems to be in danger.
If women and children are also with you, then, just as Uthman bin Affan رضي الله عنه was slain under the very eyes of the
members of his family similarly your family will also have to witness you being
murdered and there is apprehension of their becoming slaves and slave girls
after being arrested by your enemies." When Imam Husain رضي الله عنه did not accept his advice, he said,
"If you are so much interested in leadership and the caliphate, first go
to Yemen. Your sympathizers also live there in good number. The chain of
mountains can also be of great help in your protection. If you want the kingdom
of Hijaz, you can get it very easily." At last, Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه became quite helpless and Imam Husain رضي الله عنه did not accept even a single piece of his
advice. Then Abdullah bin Zubair came and said to him, "Don't try to go to
Kufa. Ever since your intention to visit Kufa has spread in Makkah, I have been
hearing some people say that Abdullah bin Zubair رضي
الله عنه will be very glad if Husain bin Ali رضي
الله عنه leaves because there would remain no rival in Makkah. I
therefore, and in order to prove such misguided people wrong, request you with
all sincerely to accept the kingdom of Makkah and out-stretch your hands so
that I may take ba'it on them and go out into the battlefield to fight in
obedience to your command." Imam Husain said, "Now I have informed
them and have made up my mind to leave. I cannot postpone it any longer."
On the 3rd of Dhul Hijja 60 A.H.
Monday, Imam Husain رضي الله عنه along with the
members of his family left Makkah. On the same day Muslim bin Aqil رضي الله عنه was slain in Kufa. When Imam Husain رضي الله عنه was leaving Makkah, Amr bin Sa'id bin
Al-Aâs رضي الله عنه and other noblemen of
Makkah came and wanted to stop him. They said, "If you do not agree, we
will stop you by force and face you." Imam Husain رضي الله عنه said, "Do whatever is in your power
to do and fulfill your wish of fighting with me also." Hearing this all of
them opened the way and left. At the time of departure Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه said to him, "I would have lain down
before your camel so that it could not go ahead without trampling upon me. But
I know that you will not stop even then and desist from the intention of going
there." After he left Makkah, they met a caravan at Tan'iem, which was
taking gifts to Yazid from the administrator of Yemen. He stopped that caravan
and took some goods from it and moved on. In between Makkah and Kufa at Safah,
he came across Farzdaq, the well-known Arabic poet, who was coming from Kufa.
When Farzdaq left Kufa, Obaidullah bin Zeyad had not yet entered it. When Imam
Husain رضي الله عنه made queries about
the people of Kufa, he said, "Their hearts are with you but their swords
cannot be flags in your support." He had not gone far when Abdullah bin
Jafar's letter, sent through his sons Aun and Mohammad from Madinah, reached him
in which he requested him, in the name of Allah, to desist from going to Kufa
and come to Madinah instead because he apprehended danger to his life and
because of this he must not be hasty in the matter. The messenger also handed
over to him the letter from the governor of Madinah that said that if he wished
to go to Madinah and settle there, he would be given all protection. But Imam
Husain رضي الله عنه absolutely refused to
return. He took Mohammad and Aun along with him and asked the escort, an
inhabitant of Basra, to bring him to Kufa as soon as possible, so that he might
enter the city before Obaidullah bin Zeyad's arrival there and because the
people there were anxiously waiting his arrival. By chance on the same day
Yazid's letter was also received by Obaidullah bin Zeyad asking him to protect
himself and depute armed forces on every road and path because Imam Husain رضي الله عنه might be moving towards him and that he
should be stopped from reaching Kufa. Imam Husain رضي
الله عنه on the other hand, went ahead thinking that people were taking
ba'it at Muslim bin Aqil's hands everyday and the group supporting him would be
getting bigger. But the reality was that in Kufa Obaidullah bin Zeyad was busy
selecting armed personnel for his arrest or execution. After a few days journey
he met Abdullah bin Mutie. Finding out his intention, he insisted to stop Imam
Husain رضي الله عنه from executing his
plan and tried to make him swear to turn back to Makkah. He tried to make him
understand that he should not be deceived by the Iraqis because if he wanted to
take the caliphate from Banu Umayya, they would instantly kill him and feel
encouraged in killing every Hashmite every Arab and every Muslim who supported
him, and by destroying himself, he could dishonor Islam, the Arabs and the
Quraish. But his speech was ignored by Imam Husain رضي
الله عنه and he continued his journey to Kufa. From Hajr through Qais
bin Mishar he sent a letter to the people of Kufa that he had reached near and
that they should continue to wait for him. As soon as Qais reached Qadisiya, he
was arrested by ibn Zeyad's soldiers. He was taken to him with the letter. He
had him taken up to the roof of the palace of the Amir and thrown down. Qais
died on the spot. Again, from the next stage of his journey, he sent his foster
brother Abdullah bin Yaqtur, with a letter. He also met the same fate. When
that caravan reached Salba, they found out that Muslim bin Aqil رضي الله عنه had been killed in Kufa, and that not even
a single supporter of Imam Husain رضي الله عنه
was left in Kufa. That news threw a pall of gloom over the entire caravan and
it intended to retrace its steps because in moving towards Kufa there was strong
probability that the caravan would meet the same fate which Muslim bin Aqil had
met. Hearing this Muslim bin Aqil's sons said, "We must not go back. We
will avenge Muslim bin Aqil's murder or we will die as he died. Secondly,
Husain bin Ali رضي الله عنه is not like Muslim
bin Aqil رضي الله عنه. When the people of
Kufa see him, they will accompany him and arrest Ibn Zeyad." Several
honored people were with the caravan and had joined it on the journey, they
kept multiplying at each stage. However, after the news moved through the
caravan the people of the tribes began slowly and gradually to take leave until
only the members of Husain bin Ali's family and tribe were left. They were said
to number seventy or eighty by some sources and about two hundred and fifty by
other authorities.
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