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Hassan and Hussain ibn Ali (RA) were the beloved grandsons of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and the sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA). The Prophet (SAW) said, “Hasan and Hussain are the leaders of the youths of the people of Paradise’ [Tirmidhi]. What happened on the plains of Karbala continues to have an effect even today across the Muslim Ummah.There are two prophecies that we should take note of here. One is with regard to al-Hassan and the other is with regard to al-Hussain (RA). First – There was a conflict of leadership between Hassan and Mu’awiyah (RA). Seeing the treacherous past of the Kufans, how they had troubled his father, and who were now supposedly supporting him, Hasan went ahead and concluded a peace treaty between himself and Mu’awiyah in 41 AH. Both Hasan and Hussain (RA) pledged allegiance to Mu’awiyah who would go one to rule for two decades. This year was called the year of unity (Aam al-Jama’ah) because the people united under Mu’awiyah in that year. All the sahabah who had stayed away from the conflict between the two groups also swore allegiance to Mu‘awiyah at this point. Hasan(RA)would pass away in 49 AH at the age of 47 years. Second – There are multiple narrations that mention how the Prophet (SAW) was divinely informed that Hussain(RA)would be martyred. Imam Ahmad (RA) records on the authority of Anas ibn Malik(RA)that – the Angel of Rain took permission from his lord to visit the Prophet (SAW) so He gave him permission. The Prophet (SAW) told Umm Salamah (RA)ا to watch the door so no one could come in. al-Hussain(RA)came wanting to enter and I stopped him. But he jumped, entered, and started sitting on the back of the Prophet (SAW) (al-Hussain was a young child at the time), and on his shoulders. Then the angel asked the Prophet (SAW), “Do you love him?”. He said, “Yes”. The angel said, “Indeed your Ummah will kill him, and if you wish, I can show you the place where he will be killed”. Then, he struck with his hand and came up with red clay. So Umm Salamah (RA)ا took it and tied on it in her veil. Thabit (the sub-narrator) said, “It has reached us that it’s Karbala”. [Musnad Ahmad] Narrated Wakee’, narrated Abdullah bin Sa’eed, from his father from Aisha or Umm Salamah that the Prophet (SAW) said to one of them (either Aisha or Umm Salamah), “An angel entered the house on me, he never entered on me before, and he said to me, ‘this son of yours, al-Hussain, will be killed, and if you wish I can show you the soil from the earth where he will be killed’. Then he took out some red soil” [Musnad Ahmad]. All these narrations have some element of weakness in them but the scholars of hadith note that by putting them all together, it allows us to reach the conclusion that the Prophet (SAW) was informed of the martyrdom of Hussain.
Matters Leading Up To Karbala : At the death of Mu’awiyah(RA)in 60-61 AH, his son Yazid took over the rule of the Muslim lands at the decision of his father. Mu’awiyah could have made this decision of appointing his son solely for the sake of not having further strife, division, and disunity in the Ummah. al-Hafiz Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi (R) said regarding Yazid, “His caliphate was valid; sixty of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) including Ibn Umar, swore allegiance to him.” This is mentioned here just to highlight a technical point. Just because the caliphate is valid doesn’t automatically mean that the ruler was good and just. In reality, Yazid has gone down as one of the most evil and unjust rulers in our history. Imam Salih ibn Ahmad said, “I said to my father, ‘Some people say that they love Yazid.’ He said, ‘O my son, does anyone love Yazid who believes in Allah and the Last Day?’ I said, ‘O my father, why do you not curse him?’ He said, ‘O my son, when did you ever see your father curse anybody?’ To say that Yazid was an open drunkard and fornicator is a fabrication that has been inauthentically attributed to him. If that was the case, the bulk of the sahaba would not have silently pledged allegiance to him. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (R) wrote, that Muhammad bin Muti’i and his companions came to Muhammad bin Ali bin Abi Talib, known as Ibn al-Hanafiyyah and desired that he removes Yazid (from the post of a leader). Ibn al-Hanafiyyah blatantly refused. Ibn Muti’i remarked: “Verily Yazid consumes wine, omits prayers and trespasses the laws of the Qur’an.” Ibn al-Hanafiyyah responded: “I never found him to be how you mention. Instead I stayed by him and found him punctual on prayers, pursuing good, asking matters of din and steadfast on the Sunnah” [al-Bidayah wal Nihayah]. Initially, Abdur Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Abdullah Ibn Umar, Hussain ibn Ali, and Abdullah ibn Zubair (RA) from the sahaba refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid at the request of Mu’awiyah. In the meantime, Abdur Rahman and Mu’awiyah had both passed away. After assuming authority, Yazid asked everyone via his governors to pledge allegiance to him. The governor of Madinah was Waleed ibn Utbah, a person who had had a property dispute with Hussain(RA)just months ago. This governor was further incited by Marwan ibn al-Hakam against Hussain (RA). He was a person who used to curse Ali(RA)from the minbar. Hussain and Ibn Zubair (RA) were both called upon to pledge allegiance to Yazid immediately. Marwan pushed Waleed to get them to pledge allegiance there and if not, then kill them for dissent. Eventually, both Hussain and Ibn Zubair got away and found their way to Makkah. It is reported that Ibn Zubair told him that if he had enjoyed the support as Hussain did in Kufa, he would have gone out to be with them. It was during this period that groups in Kufa (in present-day Iraq) sent over 500 letters to Hussain, inviting him to come to Kufa such that people could pledge allegiance to him instead.
“Muslim ibn Aqeel was executed publicly in Kufa, with his body being thrown from a building under the orders of Ibn Ziyad. This brutal act of violence signified the onset of a series of betrayals and tragic events that ultimately led to the Battle of Karbala. The execution of Muslim ibn Aqeel, alongside the fate of Hani ibn Urwah, highlights the severe political and social turmoil of the time, setting the stage for the significant historical conflict that followed”.
Sahabah like Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Umar, and Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah (RA) tried to dissuade Hussain from proceeding to Kufa. They warned him that the situation in Kufa was not as supportive as it seemed and that the people who had sent invitations might not remain loyal to their cause when faced with the might of the Umayyad forces and also how they had deceived his father and brother. He was also cautioned by many in Makkah not to proceed. Ibn Abbas on seeing Hussain’s resolve to leave, suggested him to go to Yemen instead where there were many supporters of Ali and if not, then at least proceed without the women and children to Kufa. Hussain RA)decided to assess the situation in Kufa personally. Before departing for Kufa in 61 AH, he sent Muslim ibn Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, his cousin, and a trusted companion, ahead to gather information about the situation and the sincerity of the people’s support. Muslim ibn Aqeel arrived in Kufa and was initially welcomed by a significant number of people who pledged their allegiance to Hussain. He was first hosted at the house of Mukhtar ibn Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi which he eventually left for Hani bin Urwah’s house. He met many of the Kufans here who came and promised their support for Hussain. However, as the news of Muslim ibn Aqeel’s presence reached Yazid, he switched the governor of Kufa from Nu’man ibn Basheer(RA)and appointed a ruthless 26-year-old man man named Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad who was the ruler of Basrah at the time in order to gain control of the situation, who started a campaign of intimidation and fear. The situation quickly changed, and the supporters of Hussain became hesitant due to the threats from Ibn Ziyad and they flipped. Muslim had written and dispatched a second letter to Hussain updating and warning him of the turn of events. Via a network of treachery and spies, Ibn Ziyad was able to find out that Muslim was hiding at the house of Hani. On hearing of the capture of Hani, Muslim went out with the supporters to the house of Ibn Ziyad. These so-called supporters numbered over 40,000. Ibn Ziyad threatened the people of a severe retaliation if they proceeded in their support and within a little time, only five thousand or so were left. With these drastically shrinking numbers, Muslim continued to proceed towards the house of Ibn Ziyad to gibe them a taste of his cruelty, took the captured Hani to the top of his house and threw him down to his death. Seeing this, many of the Kufans abandoned Muslim till he was left with less than 500 people around him. Ibn Ziyad again threatened the supporters and told them that they were so few in number now that he could easily count them. Not just that, but that he would wipe them as well as their families and houses out completely. Hearing this, more people abandoned Muslim till he was left with less than 50 supporters. They took refuge in Masjid al-Ansar. Ibn Ziyad had the roof of the masjid ripped open and the people were attacked. Muslim was injured as he fled from the masjid. He sought refuge in the house of a lady from the Kinda tribe. He was eventually betrayed and handed over to the authorities by the same Kufan people. Muslim ibn Aqeel was brutally executed publically in Kufa and his body thrown off the top of the building just like Hani ibn Urwah at the command of Ibn Ziyad. This marked the beginning of a series of betrayals and tragic events leading to the Battle of Karbala. Based on the messages and letters from Kufa, a letter of confirmation from Muslim ibn Aqeel, Hussain(RA)at the age of 56 years, along with his family and a small group of loyal companions, decided to travel to Kufa. He initiated his journey, not knowing of the killing of Muslim ibn Aqeel, or of the people’s changed attitude towards him. He had decided to proceed only because of the invitation of the Kufans and also because he did not want to cause any strife and bloodshed in Madinah. If he was indeed going for war to Kufa, he wouldn’t have travelled with the women and children of his family. It was only when he reached close to Kufah that he was informed of the murder of his cousin. He wanted to return but the sons of Muslim ibn Aqeel wanted to proceed and take the rights of their father. Moved by their words and their emotions, Hussain(RA)decided to move forward. It is also interesting to note that Karbala lies on the way to al-Shaam which is where Yazid was based and not Kufa where Hussain was initially heading towards. This change in direction shows us that he wanted to speak to Yazid and settle the matter directly.
(The authors write regularly on Islamic topics exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Bilal Ahmad
Intizar Ahmad
