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Tragedy of Karbala as reported by the Sunnis (Part IX)

When the head of al Husayn, peace be on him, arrived and
after

Ibn Sad arrived on the next day (bringing) with him the
daughters

and household of al-Husayn, peace be on him, Ibn Ziyad sat
before

the people in the governor's palace.

He had given
the people a general

summons and had ordered them to be present (to see) the head.

He

put it in front of him, and he began to look at it with a
smile.

In his

hand he had a cane and he began to poke at the teeth with it.

When Zayd b.

Arqam, a Companion of the Prophet who
was

(then) an old man, saw him poking at the teeth with the cane,
he said

Take your
cane away from those two lips.

For, by God,

other than
Whom there is no deity, I have seen the lips

of the
Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family,

touch those
two lips countless times.

(With that) he began to weep.

"Does God make your eyes weep?" asked Ibn Ziyad.

"Or
are you

weeping because of God's victory? If it was not for the fact
that you

are an old man who has become silly and your mind has left
you, I

would cut off your head.

"

Zayd b.

Arqam stood up in front of him and went to
his house.

(Meanwhile) the family of al-Husayn, peace be on him, was
brought

before Ibn Ziyad.

Zaynab, the sister of al-Husayn,
peace be on him,

came in in the middle of the group, pretending not to be
herself; she

was wearing her dirtiest clothes.

She went and sat
in a corner of the

palace and her maids crowded around her.

"Who is that woman who has gone to the side and has sat
in a

corner with her women?" Ibn Ziyad demanded but Zaynab
did not

answer.

He repeated the question about her a second
time.

This is
Zaynab, daughter of Fatima, the daugher of the

Apostle of
God, may God bless him and grant him peace,

one of her women told him.

"Praise be to God Who has disgraced you, killed you and
revealed

the false nature of your claims," said Ibn Ziyad as he
came towards

her.

Praise be to
God Who has favoured us with His Prophet,

Muhammad,
may God bless him and his family, answered

Zaynab, and
He has purified us completely from sin.

He

only
disgraces the great sinner and reveals the false

nature of
the profligate.

Such men are not among us,

praise be to
God.

"How do you consider God has treated your House?"
asked Ibn Ziyad,

God decreed
death for them and they went forward (bravely)

to their
resting-places, Zaynab replied, God will gather

you and us
together.

You will plead your excuses to Him and

we will be
your adversaries before Him.

Ibn Ziyad became enraged and burnt with anger.

"Governor," intervened 'Amr b.

Hurayth,
"She is only a woman

and women are not responsible for anything that they say.

Do
not

blame her mistakes.

"

"God has healed my soul from your tyranny and the
rebellion of

your House," he said to her.

Zaynab, peace be on her, became weak and wept.

By my life,
she cried out to him, You have killed the

mature ones
(of my family); you have pierced my family;

you have cut
down my young branches; and you have pulled

out my root.

If
this heals you, then you have been healed.

"By my life," declared Ibn Ziyad, "this is a
woman who makes

poetry.

Your father was a poet.

"

What has a
woman to do with poetry?, she answered.

Indeed

I have
(things) to distract me from poetry but my heart

causes me
say what I am saying.

Ali b.

al-Husayn, peace be on them, was presented
to him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Ali b.

al-Husayn" he answered.

"Didn't God kill 'Ali b.

al-Husayn?"

"I have a brother who is also called Ali," answered
'Ali, peace be

on him, "the people killed him.

"

"Rather God killed him," affirmed Ibn Ziyad.

"God receives the souls at the time of their death [
XXXIX : 42].

"

"How dare you answer me like that!" shouted Ibn
Ziyad angrily,

"and that will be the last of you because of (your)
answer to me.

Take

him away and cut his head off!"

Zaynab, his aunt, clung on to him, pleading: "O Ibn
Ziyad, haven't

you had enough of our blood?"

Then she clung on to him and said: "By God, I will not
leave him.

If

you kill him, kill me with him.

"

Ibn Ziyad looked at her and at him, and said, "How
wonderful is

family relationship! I think she wants me to kill her with
him.

Leave

him, for I see him (now) for what he is.

"

He rose from his assembly to leave the palace and go to the

mosque.

He went up on the pulpit.

He
praised and glorified God,

then he said:

Praise be to
God Who has revealed the truth and the

followers of
the truth, and has given victory to the

Commander of
the faithful, Yazid, and his party, and

has killed
the liar who is the son of a liar and his

Shia.

At this 'Abd Allah b.

Afif al-Azdi, who had been
one of the

Shiaa of the Commander of the faithful (Ali b.

Abi
Talib) stood in

front of him and shouted:

O enemy of
God, you are the liar and your father and (the man)

who
appointed you and his father.

O Ibn Murjana, you
kill the

sons of
Prophets and take the place of men of truth on the pulpit.

"Get him for me," ordered Ibn Ziyad.

The soldiers seized him but he gave the battle cry of al-Azd.

Seven

hundred of them (quickly) gathered and took him away from the

soldiers.

At night Ibn Ziyad sent someone to get him out of his house.

He

was executed and crucified in al-Sabkha, may God have mercy
on him.

The (next) morning Ubayd Allah b.

Ziyad sent the
head of al-

Husayn, peace be on him, (to Yazid) after it had been taken
through

all the streets and tribes of Kufa.

[It is reported from Zayd b.

Arqam:]

It was
brought past; it was stuck on a spear and I was

in a room in
my (house).

As it was opposite me I heard

it recite:
"Or do you think that the Companions of the

Cave and the
inscription were among Our wonderful signs.

[ XVIII, 9
].

"

My flesh shuddered and I called out,

O son of the
Apostle of God, your head is miraculous,

miraculous.

[ This account is not in Tabari ]

When they had finished taking it around Kufa and had brought
it

back to the palace door, Ibn Ziyad gave it to Zahar b.

Qays
and he

(also) gave him the heads of his companions.

He
despatched him to

Yazid b.

Muawiya and he sent with him Abu Burda b.

'Awf
al-Azdi,

and Tariq b.

Abi Zubyan al-Azdi together with a
group of Kufans, to

take them to Yazid b.

Mu'awiya in Damascus.

[ Abd Allah b.

Rabiaa al-Himyari reported: ]

I was with Yazid b.

MuCawiya in Damascus when Zahar
b.

Qays

brought the head to him.

"Woe upon you! What is behind you? What have you
got?"

demanded Yazid.

O Commander
of the faithful, he replied, I bring good

news of
God's victory and support.

Al-Husayn b.

Ali,

peace be on
them, came against us with eighteen men

of his House
and sixty of his Shi'a.

We went out to

meet them
and we asked them to surrender and submit

to the
authority of the governor, 'Ubayd Allah b.

Ziyad,

or to fight.

They
chose to fight rather than to surrender.

We attacked
them as the sun rose and surrounded them on

every side.

Eventually
(our) swords took their toll of

the heads of
the people and they began to flee without

having any
refuge (to go to).

They (tried to) take refuge

from us on
the (open) hills and in the hollows, like the

doves seek
refuge from a hawk.

By God,
Commander of the faithful, it was nothing but the

slaughtering
of animals for slaughter.

(It was only the time

taken by)
the sleep of a man taking his siesta (before) we

had come
upon the last of them.

There were their naked
bodies,

their
blood-stained clothes, their faces thrown in the dust.

The sun
burst down on them; the wind scattered (dust) over

them; their
visitors were (scavenging) eagles and vultures.

Yazid looked down for a time, then he raised his head and
said:

I would have
been satisfied with your obedience (to my

orders)
without this killing of al-Husayn, peace be on

him.

If
it had been me who had accompanied him, I would

have let him
off (such a fate).

After Ubayd Allah b.

Ziyad had despatched the head
of al-

Husayn, he ordered the women and the young boys to be made
ready

for travelling.

He ordered Ali b.

al-Husayn,
peace be on them, to be

chained with a chain around his neck.

Then he
despatched them, to

follow the heads, with Muhaffir b.

Thalaba al Aidhi
and Shamir b.

Dhi al-Jawshan.

They set out with them until they
caught up with the

people with the head.

Ali b.

al-Husayn
did not speak a word to any of

the people who had the head on that journey.

Eventually
they reached

(their destination).

When they reached the door of
Yazid's (palace),

Muhaffir b.

Tha'laba raised his voice and shouted:
"Here is Muhaffir

b.

Thalaba who has brought the Commander of the
faithful these vile

profligates.

"

Ali b.

al-Husayn, peace be on him, answered him:

What did the
mother of Muhaffir give birth to more evil and

more
grievous (than him)?

When the heads were put in front of Yazid and among them was
the

head of al-Husayn, peace be on him, Yazid recited:

We will
split the skull of proud men (who come) against us;

they were
very disobedient and oppressive.

Yahya b.

al-Hakam, the brother of Marwan b.

al-Hakam
recited:

On the bank
(of the river) a great army met him who is

closer in
kinship (to Yazid) than Ibn Ziyad (is), the man

with a false
lineage.

The offspring of Sumayya has acquired status, while the

offspring of the daughter of the Apostle of God is (given)
none.

Yazid struck his hand against the chest of Yahya b.

al-Hakam
and

shouted, "Be quiet!"

Then he said to Ali b.

al-Husayn, peace be on them

Son of al
Husayn, your father cut (the bond of) kinship with

me and
showed ignorance of my rights, trying to deprive me of

my position
of authority.

(Now) God has treated him in the way

you have
seen.

No
misfortune strikes the earth nor yourselves unless

it has been
written in a book before we bring it into

existence;
that is easy for God [ LVII : 22 ]

replied 'Ali b.

al-Husayn.

"Answer him," Yazid urged his son, Khalid.

However
Khalid did

not know what to say in reply.

So Yazid answered:

Say rather: Whatever misfortune has struck you is because

of what your hands have earned.

And (God)
forgives much

[ XLII : 30 ]

He summoned the women and the children and they were made to

sit in front of him.

What he saw was dreadful.

"May God detest Ibn Murjana," he said: "If
there had been (any

bond of) kinship between him and you, he would not have done
this

to you; he would not have sent you in this state.

"

[Fatima, daughter of al-Husayn, peace be on him, reported:]

When we sat before Yazid, he showed pity on us.

An
Ahmar of the Syrians

stood up and said to Yazid: "Commander of the faithful,
give me this one.

"

He meant me.

(Then) I was a pretty young girl.

I
shuddered for I

thought that that would be allowed to them.

I
caught hold of the skirt

of my aunt Zaynab and she told (me) that that would not
happen.

She

said to the Syrian:

By God, you
are a liar.

By God, you are (too) lowly born! Such

a thing is
not for you nor for him (to decide).

"You are a liar," Yazid cried out angrily.

"That
is for me (to

decide).

If I wish to do anything, I can do it.

"

No, by God,
she replied, God would only let you do that

if you left
our faith and professed belief in another

(religion).

"It is me," screamed Yazid, distraught with anger,
"whom you are

treating in this (way).

It is your father who has
left the religion, and

your brother

I am led by
the religion of God, the religion of my father

and the
religion of my brother, she answered, and (it is what)

you are led
by, and your grandfather and your father, if you

are a
Muslim.

"Enemy of God, you lie," he shouted.

You are a
Commander of the faithful, (yet) you vilify

unjustly and
you have become oppressive with your authority,

she
answered.

(At this) he was ashamed and became silent.

"Give me
that girl,"

repeated the Syrian.

"Be a bachelor,"
Yazid said to him, "May

God strike you dead!"

Then he ordered the women to be lodged in a house on (the)
banks

(of the river).

With them (also he sent) their
brother, 'Ali b.

al-

Husayn, peace be on them.

(Later) a house was set
aside for them,

which was attached to Yazid's own house.

They
resided (there) for

several days, (After a short time) he summoned al-Nu'man b.

Bashir

and told him to make preparations to take these women back to

Medina.

When he was aoubt to despatch them, he
summoned

Ali b.

al-Husayn, peace be on them.

He
took him aside.

"God curse Ibn Murjana," he said.

"If
I had been with your father,

he would never have asked me for a favour without me granting
him

it; I would have protected him from death with all my power.

But

God has decreed what you have seen.

Write to me
from Medina and

everything that you need will be yours.

"

He presented clothes to him and to his family.

He
sent with them in

the group (of men under the command) of Numan b.

Bashir,
a

messenger, who brought him (al-Numan) the order to set out
with

them in the night; and that they should go in front of him
but they

should never be out of his sight.

When they
stopped, he should go

aside from them and he and his followers should separate
around

them like a group of guards over them.

He should
(only) keep away

from them when any person of their group wanted to wash or

perform a need, so he (or she) would not be ashamed.

(The messenger) set off with them amid the group of al-Numan.

(Al-Nu'man) continued to stay close to them along the road
but he

was kind to them as Yazid had instructed him and he looked
after

them until they entered Medina.

After Ibn Ziyad had despatched the head of al-Husayn, peace
be on

him, to Yazid, he went to Abd al-Malik b Abi al-Harith
al-Sulami

and told him,

Go to 'Amr
b.

Sad b.

al-As in Medina and give him

the good
news of the killing of al-Husayn (peace be

on him).

[ Abd al-Malik reported: ]

I rode my mount and went towards Medina.

(On the
way) one of

Quraysh met me.

"What is the news?" he asked.

"The news is for the governor, (then) you will hear
it," I answered.

"We belong to God and to Him we will return," he
said.

"By God,

al-Husayn, peace be on him, has been killed.

"

When I went to Amr b.

Said, he asked: "What is
your purpose?"

"What will please the governor," I answered,
"Al-Husayn, peace

be on him, has been killed.

"

"Go out and announce his being killed," he told me.

I announced (it).

I have never heard such wailing
as the wailing of

the Banu Hashim in their houses for al-Husayn b.

Ali,
peace be on

him, when they heard the announcement of his death.

I
went back (in)

to 'Amr b.

Said.

When he saw me, he
smiled at me and laughed.

Then

he quoted a verse of Amr b.

Madikarib:

Then women
of Banu Ziyad raised a great lament like

the
lamentation of our women mourning (after the battle)

of al-Arnab.

"This lamentation is in return for the lamentation for
Uthman,"

'Amr exclaimed.

Then he went up on the pulpit and
informed the

people about the killing of al-Husayn b.

Ali, and
he summoned

(them to obey) Yazid b.

Muawiya.

(After
that) he went down.

One of the retainers (mawali) of Abd Allah b.

Jafar
b.

Abi Talib,

peace be on him, went to him and announced the news of the
killing of

his two sons and he said that we (all return) to God.

"This is what we have through al-Husayn b.

Ali,
peace be on

them," said Abu Salasil, the retainer (mawl؛) of Abd
Allah.

O son of an
obscene (woman)," exclaimed Abd Allah b.

Jafar,
taking off his shoe (to strike him).

"Are you

saying this
of al- ,Husayn, peace be on him? If I had

been present
with him, I would have preferred not to

leave him
and to be killed with him.

By God, I would not

have
withheld those two from him and I take consolation

fromwhat
befell them in that these two were struck down

with my
brother and cousin, consoling him and enduring

with him.

He went forward to those who were sitting with him and said:

Praise be to
God, Who has (made life hard for me) through

the death of
al-Husayn.

For I did not console al-Husayn

with my own
hands, my two sons consoled him.

Umm Luqman, the daughter of Aqil b.

Abi Talib, may
God have

mercy on them, came out crying when she heard the news of the
death

of al-Husayn, peace be on him.

With her were her
sisters Umm Hani',

Ramla and Zaynab, daughters of Aqil b.

Abi Talib,
may God have

mercy on them.

She wept for her (relatives) slain
on the bank and

she recited:

What would
you say if the Prophet asked you: What have

you, the
last of the (religious) communities, done

With my
offspring and my family after my departure from

them? They
are prisoners and slain and have been stained

with their
own blood.

What sort of
reward is this for my advice to you, that

you should
oppose me by doing evil to my blood relations?

On the night of the day upon which Amr b.

Said had
given the public

notice of the killing of al Husayn b.

Ali, peace be
upon them, in

Mecona, in the middle of the night the Medians heard a voice
calling

out.

They listened to the voice but they did not
see any person.

The voice called out:

O men who
ignorantly killed al Husayn; hear the news of

punishment
and chastisement

All the
people of heaven, prophets, angels and slain,

prosecute
you.

You have
been cursed by the tongue of the son of David,

and (that)
of Moses and (that) of the master of the

Gospels.

End of Part IX

End of this Series

References:

The History of al Tabari

Volume XIX The Caliphate
of Yazid b.

Muawiyah

Translated by I.

K.

A
Howard

Paper back - ISBN
0-7914-0041-7

Extra quotes are from:

Kitab al Irshad

Shaykh al Mufid

Translated by I.

K.

A
Howard

Tahrike Tarsile Quran

Paper back - ISBN
0-940368-11-0

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