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Tragedy of Karbala as reported by the Sunnis (Part V)
He, peace be on him, went on from Batn al Aqaba until he
stopped at Sharaf (for the night). At dawn he ordered his boys to get
water and more (for the journeys When he continued from there until
midday. While he was journeying, one of his followers exclaimed:
"God is greater (Allahu akbar)!"
"God is greater (AllAhu akbar)!" responded al-Husayn, peace be
on him. Then he asked: "Why did you say Allahu akbar?"
"I saw palm-trees," answered the man.
"This is a place in which we never see a palm-tree," a group of his
followers asserted.
"What do you think it is then?" asked al-Husayn, peace be on him.
"We think it is the ears of horses," they answered.
"By God, I think so too," he declared. Then he said: "(So that) we
can face them in one direction (i.e. so that we are not surrounded), we
should put at our rear whatever place of refuge (we can find)."
"Yes," said to him, "there is Dhu Husam over on your left. If you
reach it before them,it will be (in) just (the position) you
want." So he veered left towards it and we went in that direction with
him. Even before we had had time to change direction the vanguard of
the cavalry appeared in front of us and we could see them clearly.
We left the road and when they saw that we had moved off the road,
they (also) moved off the road towards us. Their spears looked like
palm branches stripped of their leaves and their standards were like
birds' wings. Al-Husayn ordered his tents (to be put up) and they
were erected. The people came up; (there were) about one thousand
horsemen under the command of al-Hurr b. Yazid al-Tamimi. (It
was) during the heat of midday (that) he and his cavalry stood (thus)
facing al-Husayn, peace be on him. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, and
his followers were all wearing their turbans and their swords (ready to
fight).
"Provide (our) people with water and let them quench their thirst and
give their horses water to drink little by little," al Husayn
ordered his boys. They did that and they began filling their bowls and
cups and took them to the horses. When a horse had drunk three or
four or five draughts, the water was taken away and given to another
horse-until they had all been watered.
[ Ali b. al Taan al Muharibi reported: ]
I was with al-Hurr on that day, I was among the last of his followers
to arrive. When al-Husayn, peace be on him, saw how thirsty both I
and my horse were, he said: "Make your beast (rawiya) kneel." I
thought rawiya meant water-skin so he said: "Cousin, make your
camel (jamal) kneel." I did so. Then he said: "Drink." I did so, but
when I drank, water flowed from my water-skin.
"Bend your water-skin," said al-Husayn. I did not know how to do
that. He came up (to me) and bent it (into the proper position for
drinking). Then I drank and gave my horse to drink.
Al-Hurr b. Yazid had come from al-Qadisiyya. Ubayd Allah b.
Ziyad had sent al-Husayn b. Numayr and ordered him to take up (his)
position at al-Qadisiyya. Then al-Hurr had been sent in advance with
one thousand horsemen to meet al-Husayn.
Al-Hurr remained positioned opposite to al-Husayn, peace be on
him, until the time for the midday prayer drew near. Al-Husayn,
peace be on him, ordered al-Hajjaj b. Masruq to give the call to
prayer. When the second call to prayer immediately preceding the
prayer (iqama) was about (to be made) al-Husayn came out (before
the people) dressed in a waist-cloth czar) and cloak (rida') and
wearing a pair of sandals. He praised and glorified God, then he said:
People, I did not come to you until your letters came to me,
and they were brought by your messengers (saying), 'Come to
us for we have no Imam. Through you may God unite us under
guidance and truth.' Since this was your view, I have come to
you. Therefore give me what you guaranteed in your covenants
and (sworn) testimonies. If you will not and (if you) are (now)
averse to my coming, I will leave you (and go back) to the place
from which I came.
They were silent before him. Not one of them said a word.
"Recite the iqama," he said to the caller for prayer (mu'adhdhin)
and he recited the iqama.
"Do you want to lead your followers in prayer?" he asked al-Hurr
b. Yazid.
"No," he replied, "but you pray and we will pray (following the
lead of) your prayer."
Al-Husayn, peace be on him, prayed before them. Then he
returned (to his tent) and his followers gathered around him. Al-Hurr
went back to the place where he had positioned (his men) and entered
a tent which had been put up for him. A group of his followers
gathered around him while the rest returned to their ranks, which
they had been in and which now they went back to. Each of them held
the reins of his mount and sat in the shade (of its body).
At the time for the afternoon (asr) prayer, al-Husayn, peace be on
him, ordered his followers to prepare for departure. Then he ordered
the call to be made, and the call for the easr prayer was made, and the
iqama. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, came forward, stood and
prayed. Then he said the final greeting (of the prayer) and turned his
face towards them (al-Hurr's men). He praised and glorified God and
said:
People, if you fear God and recognise the rights of those
who have rights, God will be more satisfied with you. We
are the House of Muhammad and as such are more entitled to
the authority (wilaya) of this affair (i.e. the rule of the
community) over you than these pretenders who claim what does
not belong to them. They have brought tyranny and aggression
among you. If you refuse (us) because you dislike (us) or do
not know our rights, and your view has now changed from what
came to us in your letters and what your messengers brought,
then I will leave you.
"By God," declared al-Hurr, "I know nothing of these letters and
messengers which you mention."
"Uqba b. Siman," al-Husayn, peace be on him, called to one of
his followers, "bring out the two saddle-bags in which the letters to
me are kept."
He brought out two saddle-bags which were full of documents, and
they were put before him.
"We are not among those who wrote these letters to you," said al-
Hurr, "and we have been ordered that when we meet you we should
not leave you until we have brought you to Kufa to 'Ubayd Allah."
"Death will come to you before that (happens)," al-Husayn, peace
be on him, told him. Then he ordered his followers, "Get up and get
mounted."
They got mounted and (then) waited until their women had been
mounted,
"Depart," he ordered his followers.
When they set out to leave, the men (with al-Hurr) got in between
them and the direction they were going in.
"May God deprive your mother of you," said al-Husayn, peace be
on him, to al-Hurr, "what do you want?"
"If any of the Arabs other than you were to say that to me,"
retorted al-Hurr, "even though he were in the same situation as you, I
would not leave him without mentioning his mother being deprived
(of him), whoever he might be. But by God there is no way for me to
mention your mother except by (saying) the best things possible."
"What do you want?" al-Husayn, peace be on him, demanded.
"I want to go with you to the governor, Ubayd Allah," he replied.
"Then by God I will not follow you."
"Then by God I will not let you (go anywhere else)."
These statements were repeated three times, and when their
conversation was getting more (heated) al-Hurr said: "I have not
been ordered to fight you. I have only been ordered not to leave you
until I come with you to Kufa. If you refuse (to do that), then take any
road which will not bring you into Kufa nor take you back to Medina,
and let that be a compromise between us while I write to the governor,
'Ubayd Allah. Perhaps God will cause something to happen which
will relieve me from having to do anything against you. Therefore
take this (road) here and bear to the left of the road (to) al Udhayb
and al-Qadisiyya."
Al-Husayn, peace be on him, departed and al-Hurr with his
followers (also) set out travelling close by him, while al Hurr was
saying to him:
Al-Husayn, I remind you (before) God to (think of) your
life; for I testify that you will be killed if you fight.
"Do you think that you can frighten me with death?" said al-
Husayn, peace be on him. "Could a worse disaster happen to you
than killing me? I can only speak (to you) as the brother of al-Aws
said to his cousin when he wanted to help the Apostle of God, may
God bless him and grant him and his family peace. His cousin feared
for him and said: 'Where are you going, for you will be killed?' but he
replied:
I will depart for there is no shame in death for a young
man, whenever he intends (to do what is) right and he
strives like a Muslim,
(Who) has soothed righteous men through (the sacrifice
of) his life, who has scattered the cursed and opposed
the criminal.
If I live, I will not regret (what I have done) and if
I die, I will not suffer. Let it be enough for you to
live in humiliation and be reviled.
When al-Hurr heard that he drew away from him. He and his
followers travelled on one side (of the road) while al-Husayn, peace
be on him, travelled on the other, until they reached Udhayb al-
Hijanat. Al-Husayn, peace be on him, went on to Qasr Bani Muqatil.
He stopped there and there a large tent had (already) been erected.
"Whose is that?" he asked.
"That belongs to Ubayd Allah b. al-Hurr al-Jufi," he was told.
"Ask him to come to me," he said.
The messenger went to him and said: "This is al-Husayn b. Ali,
peace be on them, and he asks you to come to him."
"We belong to God and to Him we shall return," said 'Ubayd
Allah. "By God, I only left Kufa out of dread that al-Husayn, peace
be on him, would enter Kufa while I was there. By God, I do not want
to see him, nor him to see me."
The messenger returned to him (al-H. usayn). Al-Husayn, peace be
on him, rose and went over to him. He greeted him and sat down.
Then he asked him to go with him. Ubayd Allah b. al Hurr repeated
what he had said before and sought to excuse himself from what he
was asking him (to do).
"If you are not going to help us," al-Husayn, peace be on him, said
to him, "then be sure that you are not one of those who fight against
us. For, by God, no one will hear our cry and not help us without
being destroyed."
"As for that (fighting against you)," he replied, "it will never
happen, if God, the Exalted, wishes."
Then al-Husayn, peace be on him, left him and continued to his
camp. Towards the end of the night, he ordered his boys to get
provisions of water. Then he ordered the journey (to continue). He set
out from Qasr Bani Muqatil.
['Uqba b. Sim'an reported:]
We set out at once with him and he became drowsy while he was on
his horse's back. He woke up, saying: "We belong to God and to Him
we will return. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds."
He did that twice or three times, then his son, 'Ali b. al-Husayn
approached him and asked: "Why are you praising God and
repeating the verse of returning to Him?"
"My son," he answered, "I nodded off and a horseman appeared to
me, riding a horse and he said: 'Men are travelling and the fates travel
towards them.' Then I knew it was our own souls announcing our
deaths to us."
"Father," asked (the youth), "does God regard you as evil? Are we
not in the right?"
"Indeed (we are)," he answered, "by Him to Whom all His
servants must return."
"Father," said (the youth), "then we need have no concern, if we
are going to die righteously."
"May God give you the best reward a son can get for (his behaviour
towards) his father," answered al-Husayn, peace be on him.
In the morning, he stopped and prayed the morning prayer. Then
he hurried to remount and to continue the journey with his followers,
veering to the left with the intention of separating from (al-Hurr's
men). However al-Hurr b. Yazid came towards him and stopped him
and his followers (from going in that direction) and he began to (exert
pressure to) turn them towards Kufa, but they resisted him. So they
stopped (doing that) but they still accompanied them in the same way
until they reached Ninawa, (which was) the place where al-Husayn,
peace be on him, stopped. Suddenly there appeared a rider on a fast
mount, bearing weapons and carrying a bow on his shoulder, coming
from Kufa. They all stopped and watched him. When he reached
them, he greeted al-Hurr and his followers and did not greet al-
Husayn and his followers. He handed a letter from Ubayd Allah b.
Ziyad to al-Hurr. In it (was the following):
When this letter reaches you and my messenger comes
to you, make al-Husayn come to a halt. But only let
him stop in an open place without vegetation. I have
ordered my messenger to stay with you and not to leave
you until he brings me (news of) your carrying out my
instructions.
Greetings.
When al-Hurr had read the letter, he told them: "This is a letter
from the governor Ubayd Allah. He has ordered me to bring you to a
halt at a place which his letter suggests. This is his messenger and he
has ordered him not to leave me until I carry out the order with regard
to you."
Yazid (b. Ziyad) b. al-Muhajir al-Kindi who was with al-Husayn,
peace be on him, looked at the messenger of Ibn Ziyad and he
recognized him.
"May your mother be deprived of you," he exclaimed, "what a
business you have come to!"
"I have obeyed my Imam and remained faithful to my pledge of
allegiance," (the other man) answered.
You have been disobedient to your Lord and have obeyed
your Imam in bringing about the destruction of your soul,"
responded Ibn al-Muhajir. "You have acquired (eternal) shame
(for yourself) and (the punishment of) Hell-fire. What a
wicked Imam your Imam is! Indeed God has said: we have made
them Imams who summon (people) to Hellfire and on the Day of
Resurrection they will not be helped. (XXVIII, 41) Your Imam
is one of those.
Al-Hurr b. Yazid began to make the people stop in a place that was
without water and where there was no village.
"Shame upon you, let us stop at this village or that one," said al-
Husayn, peace be on him. He meant by this, Ninawa and al-
Ghadiriyya, and by that, Shufayya."
"By God, I cannot do that," replied (al-Hurr), "for this man has
been sent to me as a spy."
"Son of the Apostle of God," said Zuhayr b. al-Qayn, "I can only
think that after what you have seen, the situation will get worse than
what you have seen. Fighting these people, now, will be easier for us
than fighting those who will come against us after them. For by my
life, after them will come against us such (a number) as we will not
have the power (to fight) against."
"I will not begin to fight against them," answered al-Husayn.
That was Thursday, 2nd of (the month of) Muharram in the year 61
A.H.(680). On the next day, Umar b. Sad b. Abi Waqqas, set out
from Kufa with four thousand horsemen. He stopped at Ninawa and
sent for 'Urwa b. Qays al-Ahmasi and told him: "Go to him (al-
Husayn) and ask him: What brought you, and what do you want?"
Urwa was one of those who had written to al-Husayn, peace be on
him, and he was ashamed to do that. The same was the case with all
the leaders who had written to him, and all of them refused and were
unwilling to do that. Kathir b. Abd Allah al-Shabi stood up - he was
a brave knight who never turned his face away from anything - and
said: "I will go to him. By God, if you wish, I will rush on him."
"I don't want you to attack him," said 'Umar, "but go to him and
ask him what has brought him."
As Kathir was approaching him, Abu Thumama al-Saidi saw him
and said to al-Husayn, "May God benefit you, Abu Abd Allah, the
wickedest man in the land, the one who has shed the most blood and
the boldest of them all in attack, is coming towards you."
Then (Abu Thumama) stood facing him and said: "Put down your
sword."
"No, by God," he replied, "I am only a messenger. If you will listen
to me, I will tell you (the message) which I have been sent to bring to
you. If you refuse, I will go away."
"I will take the hilt of your sword," answered (Abu Thumama),
"and you can say what you need to."
"No, by God, you will not touch it," he retorted.
"Then tell me what you have brought and I will inform him for
you. But I will not let you go near him, for you are a charlatan."
They both (stood there and) cursed each other. Then (Kathlr) went
back to Umar b. Sad and told him the news (of what had happened).
Umar summoned Qurra b. Qays al-Hanzali and said to him: "Shame
upon you Qurra, go and meet al-Husayn and ask him what brought
him and what he wants."
Qurra began to approach him. When al-Husayn, peace be on him,
saw him approaching, he asked: "Do you know that man?"
"Yes," replied Habib b. Muzahir, "he is from the Hanzala clan of
Tamim. He is the son of our sister. I used to know him as a man of
sound judgement. I would not have thought that he would be present
at this scene."
He came and greeted al-Husayn, peace be on him. Then he
informed him of 'Umar b. Sa'd's message.
"The people of this town of yours wrote to me that I should come,"
answered al Husayn, peace be on him. "However, if now you have
come to dislike me, then I will leave you."
"Shame upon you, Qurra," Habib b. Muzahir said to him, "will
you return to those unjust men? Help this man through whose fathers
God will grant you (great) favour."
"I will (first) return to my leader with the answer to his message,"
replied Qurra, "and then I will reflect on my views."
He went back to 'Umar b. Sa'd and gave him his report.
"I hope that God will spare me from making war on him and
fighting against him," said 'Umar and then he wrote to 'Ubayd Allah
b. Ziyad:
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
I am (writing this from) where I have positioned myself,
near al Husayn, and I have asked him what brought him and
what he wants. He answered: 'The people of this land wrote
to me and their messengers came to me asking me to come and
I have done so. However if (now) they have some to dislike
me and (the position) now appears different to them from
what their messengers brought to me, I will go away from
them.
[Hassan b. Qa'id al-'Absi reported:]
I was with 'Ubayd Allah when this letter came to him, he read it
and then he recited:
Now when our claws cling to him, he hopes for escape
but he will be prevented (now) from (getting) any refuge.
He wrote to 'Umar b. Sa'd:
Your letter has reached me and I have understood what
you mentioned. Offer al-Husayn (the opportunity) of him
and all his followers pledging allegiance to Yazid. If
he does that, we will then see what our judgement will be.
When the answer reached Umar b. Sa'd, he said: "I fear that
'Ubayd Allah will not accept that I should be spared (fighting al-
Husayn)."
(Almost immediately) after it, there came (another) letter from Ibn
Ziyad (in which he said):
Prevent al-Husayn and his followers from (getting) water.
Do not let them taste a drop of it just as was done with
'Uthman b. Affan.
At once Umar b. Said sent Amr b al-Hajjaj with five hundred
horsemen to occupy the path to the water and prevent al-Husayn and
his followers from (getting) water in order that they should (not)
drink a drop of it. That was three days before the battle against al-
Husayn, peace be on him.
Abd Allah b. al-Husayn al-Azdi, who was numbered among Bajila, called
out at the top of his voice: "Husayn, don't you see that the water is
as if in the middle of heaven. By God, you will not taste a drop of it
until you die of thirst."
"O God, make him die of thirst and never forgive him", cried al-
Husayn, peace be on him.
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