المجالس العاشورية في المآتم الحسينية

He said: Then I awoke with the two verses fixed in my memory, and behold, they fit the meter of the muwashshah of which I had composed a portion. So I elegized Hussein (peace be upon him) at her command (peace be upon her), and embedded the two mentioned verses, and it became a muwashshah whose beginning was congratulation after the prelude and whose ending was elegy and lamentation. It is:

The Fifth Gathering, of the Third Day
The worship of Hussein (peace be upon him) and his pilgrimage
and some of his noble miracles
It is stated in the book al-Mazar by al-Mashhadi, may God have mercy on him, in one of the noble visitations: And I bear witness that you fulfilled the covenant of God and His pledge, and all that He stipulated upon you in His Book; that you called to His path, expended your utmost in seeking His pleasure, and led the creation upon the way of prophethood and the paths of the message; that you followed therein the conduct of the prophets and the ways of the trustees, yet no command of yours was obeyed, and no ear gave heed to you. So may the blessings of God be upon your souls and your bodies(2).

And Abu Tammam al-Ta'i said:

Al-Himyari, may God have mercy on him, narrated with his chain to Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him)(1) once set out for Mecca on foot, and his feet became swollen. One of his servants said to him: Were you to ride, this swelling would subside. He said: No. When we reach this station, a black man will meet you carrying oil; buy from him and do not haggle with him. His servant said to him: May my father and mother be your ransom, there is no station ahead of us with anyone selling this remedy. He said: Indeed there is, ahead of you, before the station.

So he traveled a mile, and behold, there was the black man. Hussein said to his servant: There is the man; take from him the oil. So he took the oil from him and gave him its price. The youth said to him: For whom did you want this oil?

He said: For Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them). He said: Take me to him. So the black man came toward him and said: O son of the Messenger of God, I am your servant; I will take no price for it, but pray to God to grant me a sound male child who will love you, the People of the House, for I left my wife in labor. He said: Go to your home, for God has granted you a sound male child. And she bore a sound boy. Then the black man returned to Hussein and prayed for his welfare for the birth of the boy. Then Hussein (peace be upon him) wiped his feet, and he did not rise from his place until that swelling had vanished(2).

And Ibrahim al-Rafi'i narrated, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: I saw Hassan and Hussein (peace be upon them) walking to the pilgrimage. They did not pass by any mounted man but that he dismounted and walked. This became burdensome to some of them, and they said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: Walking has become hard on us, yet we do not find it seemly to ride while these two lords walk. So Sa'd said to Hassan: O Abu Muhammad, walking has become burdensome to a group of those with you, and when people see you two walking, they cannot bring themselves to ride, so if you would

ride. Hassan (peace be upon him) said: We will not ride; we have imposed upon ourselves walking to the Sacred House of God on our own feet. But we will turn aside from the road. So they kept to one side of the people(1).

And Abdullah ibn Ubayd Abu Umair said: Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them) performed the pilgrimage twenty-five times on foot, while the fine riding-camels were led along with him(2).

And Ibn Abd Rabbih mentioned in his book al-Iqd al-Farid that it was said to Ali ibn al-Hussein (peace be upon them): How few were your father's children! He said: The wonder is how any were born to him, for he used to pray a thousand rak'ahs in a day and a night(3). And it was said to Hussein (peace be upon him): How great is your fear of your Lord! He said: None will be safe on the Day of Resurrection save he who feared God in this world(4).

Among what has been narrated of the miracles of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him) is what Ibn Shahr Ashub related from Zurara ibn A'yan, who said: I heard Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) relate from his forefathers (peace be upon them) that Hussein (peace be upon him) visited a sick man with a severe fever. When he entered through the door of the house, the fever flew away from the man. So he said to it: You are content with what was given to them truly, truly, while the fever flees from you? Hussein (peace be upon him) said to him: By God, God has created nothing except that He has commanded it to obey us. He said: Then we heard a voice but saw no person, saying: At your service. He said: Did not the Commander of the Faithful command you not to approach any but an enemy or a sinner, that you might be an expiation for his sins? So what is the matter with this one? And the sick man was Abdullah ibn Shaddad ibn al-Had al-Laythi(5).

And from Salih ibn Maytham, who said: I and Abaya al-Asadi entered upon Habbaba al-Walibiyya, and he said to her: This is your nephew Maytham. She said: My nephew, by God, truly. Shall I not relate to you a hadith from

Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them)? I said: Indeed. She said: I entered upon him and greeted him, and he returned the greeting and welcomed me. Then he said: What kept you from visiting us and greeting us, O Habbaba? I said: Nothing kept me from you save an illness that befell me. He said: And what is it? She said: So I uncovered my veil to reveal leprosy. She said: He did not cease praying until he raised his hand, and God had removed that leprosy. Then he said: O Habbaba, there is none upon the religion of Abraham in this nation but us and our Shi'a; all others are free of it(1).

And in Uyun al-Mu'jizat by al-Murtada, may God have mercy on him: From al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), from his father, from his grandfather (peace be upon them), who said: The people of Kufa came to Ali (peace be upon him) and complained to him of the withholding of rain, and they said to him: Pray for rain for us. So he said to Hussein (peace be upon him): Rise and pray for rain. He rose, praised God and extolled Him, and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and said: O God, Giver of good things, Sender-down of blessings, send the sky upon us pouring abundantly, and water us with a rain copious, generous, vast, overflowing, enveloping, streaming, gushing, far-reaching, by which the weak among Your servants may revive, and by which the dead among Your lands may live. Amen, Lord of the Worlds.

He had not finished his supplication before God Almighty sent rain suddenly, and a Bedouin came from one of the outskirts of Kufa and said: I left the valleys and the hills surging one into another(2).

And it is narrated in some reliable books from al-Tabari, from Tawus al-Yamani, that Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them), when he sat in a dark place, people would find their way to him by the whiteness of his forehead and his throat, for the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) used often to kiss his forehead and his throat. And one day Gabriel (peace be upon him) descended and found al-Zahra (peace be upon her) asleep while Hussein was crying in his cradle. So he began to coo to him and soothe him until she awoke, and she heard the voice of one cooing to him. She turned but saw no one. So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) informed her that it had been Gabriel (peace be upon him)(3).

Ibn al-Jawzi said in his book al-Muntazam: And in this year there came from Wasit a wondrous report, brought by the letter of Ibn Wahban al-Wasiti, recounting a wondrous tale: that a woman among them in the Fasili canal was afflicted with leprosy, until it caused her nose and lips and the fingers of her hands and feet to fall away, and her odor turned foul, and her family was harmed by her. So her husband and son cast her out beyond the quarter, a bow-shot away from it, and made her a hut, and she dwelt in it. None could pass by her because of the stench of her odor. Her son would only bring her two loaves and toss them to her. One day he came, and she said to him: O my son, by God, stop so that I may see you, and bring me a draught of water to drink. But he did not, and fled.

Near the place was a pool of water for flax, and thirst drove her to seek it. She struggled toward it and collapsed beside it and fainted. After she recovered, she recounted that she had seen two men and two women seated beside her. They brought out for her two loaves upon which was a green leaf, and brought her a jug containing water, and said to her: Eat of this bread and drink of this water. She said: Each time I ate, the loaf returned as it had been, until I was sated. And I drank from the jug water more delicious than any I had ever drunk. So I said: O my masters, who are you? One of them said: I am al-Hasan, and this is al-Hussein, and this is Khadija the Great, and this is Fatima al-Zahra. Then al-Hasan passed his hand over my chest and face, and al-Hussein his hand over my back, and my lips and nose returned, and my fingers grew back. They raised me up, and about three pounds of something like fish scales fell from me. So people came from the lands to behold her and seek blessing from her(1).

And among the miracles of Hussein (peace be upon him) is what Ibn Asakir narrated with his chain from Abdullah ibn Ja'far, from Abu Awn, who said: When Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon them) left Medina intending Mecca, he passed by Ibn Muti', who was digging his well. He said to him: Where to, may my father and mother be your ransom? He said: I intend Mecca. He said:

And he mentioned to him that his Shi'a there had written to him. Ibn Muti' said to him: Where to, may my father and mother be your ransom? Stay with us and do not go to them. But Hussein (peace be upon him) refused. Ibn Muti' said to him: This well of mine, I have just dug it out, and today is the time—yet nothing of water has come up to us in the bucket. So if you would pray to God for blessing in it for us. He said: Bring some of its water. So he brought some of its water in the bucket. He drank from it, then rinsed his mouth, then returned it to the well, and it became sweet and abundant. Then he bade him farewell and traveled to Mecca(1).

Yes, he traveled to Mecca, but in what state did he travel (peace be upon him)! It is narrated from Sukayna that she said—as has been related from her: We left Medina on a dark night, full of thunder and lightning, until we thought the sky had closed down upon the earth(2).

Yes, Hussein (peace be upon him) left Medina for Mecca, but he left the house desolate after it had been radiant with the light of his luminous face. And how excellent are the words of the eminent scholar Sheikh Ali al-Jishi, may God have mercy on him, when he says:

The First Gathering, of the Fourth Day
The people of Kufa write to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)
and his sending Muslim ibn Aqil (peace be upon him) to them
It is stated in the noble Ziyarat al-Nahiya: Peace be upon you—the peace of one who knows your sanctity, sincere in your allegiance, drawing near to God through your love, free of your enemies; the peace of one whose heart is wounded by your affliction, whose tears flow at your mention; the peace of one stricken, grief-stricken, distraught, abject; the peace of one who, had he been with you at al-Tuff, would have shielded you with his own self from the edge of the swords, given his last breath for you before death, struggled at your side, aided you against those who wronged you, and ransomed you with his soul and body, his wealth and children—his soul a ransom for your soul, his family a shield for your family. So if the ages have held me back, and the decree has barred me from aiding you, and I was not among those who warred against your enemies nor able to confront those who set up enmity against you, then I shall surely lament you morning and evening, and weep for you blood in place of tears, in anguish over you and grief over what befell you and yearning, until I die from the agony of the affliction and the choking of distress(2).

The narrator said: News of Mu'awiya's death reached the people of Kufa, and they spread alarming rumors about Yazid, and they knew the report of Hussein (peace be upon him) and his refusal to pledge allegiance to him, and what had occurred of Ibn al-Zubayr's affair in that, and their going out to Mecca. So the Shi'a of Kufa gathered in the house of Sulayman ibn Surad al-Khuza'i. They mentioned the death of Mu'awiya, praised God and extolled Him, and Sulayman said: Mu'awiya has perished, and

Hussein has refused the people his pledge of allegiance and has gone out to Mecca, and you are his Shi'a and the Shi'a of his father. So if you know that you will aid him and struggle against his enemy, then write to him; but if you fear weakness and faltering, do not delude the man regarding himself. They said: No, rather we will fight his enemy and slay ourselves before him. So write to him.

So they wrote to him: In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. To Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), from Sulayman ibn Surad, al-Musayyab ibn Najaba, Rifa'a ibn Shaddad al-Bajali, Habib ibn Muzahir, and his believing and Muslim Shi'a of the people of Kufa. Peace be upon you. We praise to you God, besides whom there is no god. To proceed: praise be to God who has shattered your tyrannical, obstinate enemy, who leapt upon this nation and usurped its affairs, seized its spoils, and ruled over it without its consent, then slew its best and preserved its worst, and made the wealth of God a possession passed among its tyrants and rich. So away with him, as Thamud was cast away. We have no Imam, so come; perhaps God will unite us through you upon the truth. Al-Nu'man ibn Bashir is in the governor's palace; we do not gather with him for Friday prayer, nor go out with him to the festival. And were word to reach us that you had come toward us, we would expel him until we drove him off to Syria, God willing.

Then they dispatched the letter with Abdullah ibn Misma' al-Hamdani and Abdullah ibn Wal, and ordered them to make haste. So they set out swiftly until they came to Hussein at Mecca on the tenth night of the month of Ramadan.

Then the people of Kufa waited two days after dispatching the letter, and sent Qays ibn Mushir al-Saydawi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Shaddad al-Arhabi, and Umara ibn Abdullah al-Saluli to Hussein (peace be upon him), with them about a hundred and fifty letters from one man, two, or four.

And the Sayyid, may God have mercy on him, said: Yet despite this, he held back and did not respond to them. Then in a single day six hundred letters reached him, and the letters poured in continuously until there had gathered with him, in various batches, twelve thousand letters.

And Sheikh al-Mufid, may God have mercy on him, said: Then they waited two more days and dispatched to him Hani' ibn Hani' al-Sabi'i and Sa'id ibn Abdullah al-Hanafi, and wrote to him: In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. To Hussein ibn Ali, from his Shi'a of the believers and Muslims. To proceed: Hasten, for the people are awaiting you; they have no opinion but you. So hurry, hurry, then hurry, hurry. And peace.

Then there wrote Shabath ibn Rib'i, Hajjar ibn Abjar, Yazid ibn al-Harith ibn Ruwaym, Urwa ibn Qays, Amr ibn Hajjaj al-Zubaydi, and Muhammad ibn Amr al-Taymi: To proceed: the meadows have grown green, the fruits have ripened, the earth has become verdant, and the trees have leafed out. So whenever you wish, come to an army marshaled for you. And peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings, and upon your father before you.

All the messengers met before him (peace be upon him). He read the letters and questioned the messengers about the people. Then he wrote with Hani' ibn Hani' and Sa'id ibn Abdullah—who were the last of the messengers:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. From Hussein ibn Ali to the assembly of the believers and Muslims. To proceed: Hani' and Sa'id came to me with your letters, and they were the last of your messengers to reach me. I have understood all that you recounted and mentioned, and the statement of most of you that you have no Imam—so come, perhaps God will unite us through you upon the truth and guidance. I am sending to you my brother and cousin and trusted one of my household, Muslim ibn Aqil. If he writes to me that the opinion of your assembly and of those of understanding and merit among you has agreed upon what your messengers brought and what I read in your letters, then I shall come to you shortly, God willing. For by my life, the Imam is none but he who rules by the Book, upholds justice, professes the religion of truth, and devotes himself to that for God's sake. And peace.

Hussein (peace be upon him) summoned Muslim ibn Aqil and dispatched him with Qays ibn Mushir al-Saydawi, Umara ibn Abdullah al-Saluli, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah al-Azdi, and commanded him to fear God, to conceal his affair, and to act gently; and if he saw the people united and resolute, to hasten word of that to him.

So Muslim (peace be upon him) set out until he came to Medina. He prayed in the mosque of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) and bade farewell to those of his family whom he loved, and hired two guides from Qays. They set out with him, turning aside from the road, but they lost their way, and severe thirst afflicted them so that they were unable to travel. They pointed him to the course of the road after it had become clear to them. So Muslim followed that course, and the two guides died of thirst. And the narrative continues until the narrator said:

Muslim (peace be upon him) went on until he passed by a water of the Tayy, and halted there, then departed from it. And behold, a man was shooting game. He watched him shoot a gazelle as it appeared to him, and bring it down. So Muslim ibn Aqil said: We shall slay our enemy, God willing.

Then Muslim (peace be upon him) went on until he entered Kufa and lodged in the house of al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayda—which is the one called today the house of Muslim ibn al-Musayyab. The Shi'a began to come to him, and whenever a group of them gathered before him, he read to them the letter of Hussein (peace be upon him) while they wept. The people pledged allegiance to him until eighteen thousand of them had pledged, and he wrote to Hussein urging him to come. The Shi'a continued to frequent Muslim ibn Aqil (peace be upon him) until his whereabouts became known.

Word of that reached al-Nu'man ibn Bashir—who was governor over Kufa on behalf of Mu'awiya, and Yazid confirmed him over it. He mounted the pulpit, praised God and extolled Him, then said: To proceed: fear God, servants of God, and do not rush toward sedition and division, for in them men perish, blood is shed, and wealth is plundered. I will not fight one who does not fight me, nor assail one who does not assail me; I will not rouse your sleeper, nor provoke you, nor seize upon mere suspicion, conjecture, or accusation. But if you display your hostility to me, break your pledge of allegiance, and oppose your Imam, then by God, besides whom there is no god, I will strike you with my sword as long as its hilt holds in my hand, even if I have no helper among you. Yet I hope that those of you who know the truth will be more than those whom falsehood destroys.

Abdullah ibn Muslim ibn Rabi'a al-Hadrami, an ally of the Banu Umayya, rose to him and said: Indeed,

what you see fit will not be set right except by harshness, and this course you take between yourself and your enemy is the opinion of the weak. Al-Nu'man said to him: That I should be among the weak in obedience to God is dearer to me than that I should be among the mighty in disobedience to God. Then he descended.

Abdullah ibn Muslim went out and wrote to Yazid ibn Mu'awiya a letter: To proceed: Muslim ibn Aqil has come to Kufa, and the Shi'a have pledged allegiance to him for Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. So if you have any need of Kufa, send to it a strong man who will carry out your command and deal with your enemy as you would. For al-Nu'man ibn Bashir is a weak man, or he feigns weakness. Then Umara ibn Uqba wrote to him to similar effect, then Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas wrote to him likewise.

When the letters reached Yazid, he summoned Sarjun, the freedman of Mu'awiya, and said: What is your opinion? Hussein (peace be upon him) has sent Muslim ibn Aqil to Kufa to receive pledges for him, and word has reached me of al-Nu'man's weakness and evil speech. Whom do you think I should appoint over Kufa? Now Yazid was displeased with Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Sarjun said to him: Tell me, if Mu'awiya were revived for you alive, would you take his counsel? He said: Yes. So Sarjun brought out the appointment of Ubaydullah over Kufa and said: This is the opinion of Mu'awiya; he died having ordered this letter. So join the two cities to Ubaydullah. Yazid said to him: I will do so. Send Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad's appointment to him.

Then he summoned Muslim ibn Amr al-Bahili and wrote to Ubaydullah with him: To proceed: my Shi'a of the people of Kufa have written to me informing me that Ibn Aqil is there, gathering forces to split the staff of the Muslims. So travel, when you read this letter of mine, until you come to Kufa, and seek out Ibn Aqil as one seeks a lost bead, until you find him; then bind him fast, or slay him, or banish him. And peace.

He handed over to him his appointment over Kufa. So Muslim ibn Amr set out until he came to Ubaydullah in Basra and delivered to him the appointment and the letter. Ubaydullah ordered preparations to be made at once, and to march

and make ready for Kufa the next day. Then he departed from Basra and appointed his brother Uthman as his deputy(1).

And Ibn Nama, may God have mercy on him, said: It has been narrated to Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman that the people of Kufa wrote to him—meaning to Hussein (peace be upon him): We are with you, a hundred thousand. And from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from al-Sha'bi, who said: Forty thousand of the people of Kufa pledged allegiance to Hussein (peace be upon him) that they would war against whomever he warred and make peace with whomever he made peace. Thereupon he returned the answer to their letters, giving them hope of acceptance, promising them his swift arrival, and sent Muslim ibn Aqil(2).

And the Sayyid, may God have mercy on him, said after that: Hussein (peace be upon him) had written to a group of the nobles of Basra a letter with a freedman of his named Sulayman, with the kunya Abu Razin, calling them to support him and adhere to his obedience—among them Yazid ibn Mas'ud al-Nahshali and al-Mundhir ibn al-Jarud al-Abdi. Yazid ibn Mas'ud gathered the Banu Tamim, Banu Hanzala, and Banu Sa'd. When they were present, he said: O Banu Tamim, how do you see my standing among you and my worth to you? They said: Bravo, bravo! By God, you are the backbone and the head of pride; you have settled in the midst of honor and advanced foremost in it. He said: I have gathered you for a matter regarding which I wish to consult you and seek your aid. They said: By God, we grant you sincere counsel and commend your judgment; so speak, and we shall listen.

He said: Mu'awiya has died—how worthless is he, by God, as one perished and lost! Behold, the gate of injustice and sin has been broken, and the pillars of oppression have been shaken. He had instituted a pledge of allegiance by which he secured a matter he supposed he had made firm. But far from it, what he intended! By God, he strove and failed, consulted and was forsaken. And now Yazid has arisen—a drinker of wines, a head of debauchery—claiming the caliphate over the Muslims and lording over them, with little forbearance and scant knowledge, knowing not where his foot treads of the truth. So I swear by God a binding oath that struggle against him for the sake of religion is better than struggle against the polytheists. And this is Hussein ibn Ali,

son of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), of noble lineage and well-rooted judgment, possessing merit beyond description and knowledge that cannot be exhausted. He is most worthy of this affair for his precedence, his age, his seniority, and his kinship. He shows tenderness to the young and compassion to the old. So how excellent a shepherd of a flock, and Imam of a people! Through him God's proof has become binding, and through him the admonition has been fulfilled. So do not turn blind from the light of truth, nor flounder in the pit of falsehood. Sakhr ibn Qays disgraced you on the Day of the Camel; so wash away that disgrace by going forth to the son of the Messenger of God and supporting him. By God, no one falls short of supporting him but that God will bequeath abasement upon his offspring and paucity in his clan. And here I am, having donned for war its armor, and clad myself for it in its coat of mail. He who is not slain shall die, and he who flees shall not escape. So give me a good answer, may God have mercy on you.

Then the Banu Hanzala spoke and said: O Abu Khalid! We are the arrows of your quiver and the horsemen of your clan. If you shoot with us, you strike true; if you wage war with us, you conquer. By God, you shall plunge into no flood but that we plunge with you, and you shall meet no hardship but that we meet it. We will aid you with our swords and shield you with our bodies, whenever you wish.

Then the Banu Sa'd ibn Zayd spoke and said: O Abu Khalid! The most hateful of things to us is to oppose you and depart from your opinion. Sakhr ibn Qays had commanded us to abandon fighting, and we commended our course and our honor remained among us. So give us respite to revisit our counsel, and our opinion will come to you.

Then the Banu Amir ibn Tamim spoke and said: O Abu Khalid! We are the sons of your father and your allies. We are not content when you are angered, nor do we settle when you depart. The matter is yours; call us and we will answer, and command us and we will obey. The matter is yours, whenever you wish.

He said: By God—O Banu Sa'd—if you do it, may God never lift the sword from you, and may your sword never cease to turn against you.

Then he wrote to Hussein, the blessings of God be upon him: In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. To proceed: your letter has reached me, and I have understood what you summoned me to and called me for—of taking my share in your obedience and winning my portion in your support. Indeed, God has never left the earth devoid of one who labors upon it

in goodness, or a guide to the path of salvation. You are God's proof over His creation and His trust in His earth. You branched forth from an Ahmadan olive tree; he is its root and you are its branch. So come, may you be fortunate under the most auspicious of omens, for I have humbled for you the necks of the Banu Tamim, and left them more eagerly following in your obedience than thirsty camels rushing to water on the day of their fifth-day return. And I have humbled for you the necks of the Banu Sa'd, and washed away the rancor of their breasts with the water of a rain cloud when its lightning shone and flashed.

When Hussein (peace be upon him) read the letter, he said: May God grant you safety on the Day of Terror, and honor you, and quench your thirst on the Day of Thirst. But when the one referred to was preparing to go out to Hussein (peace be upon him), news of his killing reached him before he could set out, and he grieved at being cut off from him.

As for al-Mundhir ibn al-Jarud, he brought the letter and the messenger to Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad—for al-Mundhir feared the letter might be a ruse from Ubaydullah, and Bahriyya bint al-Mundhir ibn al-Jarud was married to Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. So Ubaydullah seized the messenger and crucified him. Then he mounted the pulpit and threatened the people of Basra against opposition and the stirring up of alarm. He spent that night, and when morning came he appointed his brother Uthman ibn Ziyad as his deputy over them and hastened himself toward Kufa(1).

And Ibn Nama said: Hussein (peace be upon him) wrote a letter to the notables of the people of Basra—among them al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, Qays ibn al-Haytham, al-Mundhir ibn al-Jarud, and Yazid ibn Mas'ud al-Nahshali—and sent the letter with Zira' al-Sadusi—and it is said: with Sulayman, with the kunya Abu Razin—in which was: I call you to God and to His Prophet, for the Sunnah has been put to death. So if you answer my call and obey my command, I will guide you to the path of right conduct. Al-Ahnaf wrote to him: To proceed: be patient, for the promise of God is true, and let not those who are without certainty unsettle you(2).

And how excellent are the words of Sheikh Yusuf Abu Dhi'b al-Khatti, may God have mercy on him, when he says:

The Second Gathering, of the Fourth Day
The entry of Ibn Ziyad into Kufa and the killing of Hani' ibn Urwa

The narrator said: When Ibn Ziyad drew near to Kufa, he halted until evening came, and entered it by night. Its people supposed he was Hussein (peace be upon him). He entered from the side facing al-Najaf, and a woman said: God is greatest! The son of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), by the Lord of the Ka'ba! The people cried out, saying: We are with you, more than forty thousand. They crowded around him until they took hold of his mount's tail, thinking he was Hussein (peace be upon him). So he uncovered the face-veil and said: I am Ubaydullah. The people fell away and trampled one another, and he entered the governor's palace, wearing a black turban.

When morning came, he rose to deliver a sermon, rebuking them, reproaching their leaders, and he promised them