Unspoken Aspects of Muawiya’s Planning for the Tragedy of Ashura
Author: Hamed Sarem
The Pure Imams, peace be upon them, bear from God the duty of guiding His creatures in the universe. One of the great stations of the pure Household is that they manifest God’s name, “the Guide.” Every creature guided from the beginning of creation until today, and until the Trumpet and the Resurrection, has been and will be guided through the blessing, light, and guidance of these sacred lights.
In their luminous creation, the Pure Imams taught the angels nearest to God. The angels learned glorification from their glorification, and it was through their declaration of divine unity that they uttered “There is no god but God.” In brief: “Whoever affirmed His oneness did so before you”; whoever worshipped God as One and attained knowledge of tawhid received it from the Household of Infallibility and Purity.
From the angels to Adam, and from Adam until the luminous existence of the Fourteen Infallibles took human form and set foot on this earthly ground, all those who attained knowledge of tawhid were illuminated by the guidance of these fourteen sacred lights. On this earth too, the existence of the Household was guidance for humankind.
One aspect of the guidance of the Household of Infallibility and Purity was identifying God’s enemies: enemies captive to Satan, who chose the depths of Hell and, like their unbelieving leader Iblis, absurdly waged war against God, blessed and exalted. They were heedless that God made this world a place of trial, not because He was unable to destroy and annihilate these enemies.
Muawiya and Yazid: Enemies of God
Muawiya, Yazid, and the forebears of these two embodiments of corruption and ruin, all servants of Satan, spread traps like their teacher Iblis for servants who truly wished to move toward guidance, in order to block its path. The Umayyads sought to present these apes of the accursed tree as the goodly tree to seekers of truth, so that God would not be worshipped on His earth. But through Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn, peace be upon them, drinking patience sip by sip and death sip by sip, this plot of the Umayyad apes did not succeed. Perhaps this is the secret of the Prophet’s saying that Hasan and Husayn are the two masters of the people of Paradise.
Muawiya’s Plot for the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn
Muawiya spared no crime in his mischief. He colored his wicked inner self with religion so thoroughly that some foolish people imagined him to be a scribe of revelation and the Lord’s caliph. Thus his crime in the martyrdom of the Master of Martyrs has remained hidden from many researchers, even from Shiites of the Master of Martyrs. Two earlier writings briefly examined Muawiya’s plot for this martyrdom and considered several points:
- The people of Kufa invited Abu Abd Allah during Muawiya’s life and rule.
Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, said in reply to letters from his brother Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya: “They will shed my blood.”
Imam Husayn’s words: “Indeed, these people only want to attain leadership through us, to gain ascendancy through us, and to draw forth the blood of people and our blood”; they seek power through us and will shed our blood.
An examination of Walid, the governor of Medina, treating the Imam peacefully.
In the first sermon Yazid delivered in Damascus, he announced a coming war with the people of Iraq and a victory to be achieved through Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad.
Kufans Who Obeyed Muawiya
It can readily be understood that Muawiya intended the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him. The crucial point was that he did not want himself and his accursed son Yazid to be accused of this crime; he therefore assigned Iraq and its people to commit it. During Muawiya’s lifetime, the people of Kufa corresponded with Imam Husayn and invited him to form a government against Muawiya.
Which Muawiya? Let us not forget the Muawiya who put many to the sword for loving the Commander of the Faithful; the Muawiya who killed people even on the suspicion and accusation that they loved Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and made streams of the blood of Ali’s lovers flow in Kufa.
How could the people of Kufa undertake such an act during the rule of this Iblis? There is a very strong possibility that they made this invitation at Muawiya’s instigation. A future examination of Umar Sa‘d’s soldiers and the inviters will make this clearer.
The Certain Martyrdom of Imam Husayn
Muawiya pursued only one goal: the martyrdom of Imam Husayn. Therefore, even had Imam Husayn not travelled to Karbala and remained in Medina, resided in Mecca, or gone somewhere other than these two cities, he would in any case have been martyred by Umayyad mercenaries. From the totality of the indications, it may be understood that Imam Husayn, apparently, had no choice between living and pledging allegiance or being martyred and refusing allegiance; his sole choice was the manner of his martyrdom, so that it would leave the Umayyads in disgrace and ignominy until the Resurrection and separate truth from falsehood. One must not overlook that the inner reality of Karbala and Imam Husayn’s movement was a special command from his Lord, for “God has willed to see you slain.”
So that Imam Husayn would not be martyred in Medina, Muawiya and Yazid did not order the governor of Medina to kill him; rather, he was instructed to deal with the Imam with a degree of forbearance. The conduct of Mecca’s Umayyad governor toward Imam Husayn and the manner of the Master of Martyrs’ entrance into and departure from Mecca also deserve attention.
Leaving Medina for Mecca
When Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, left Medina for Mecca, he recited this noble verse: “So he left it, fearful and watchful, and said: ‘My Lord, save me from the wrongdoing people.’” (Qur’an 28:21). Moses left the city fearful and awaiting an event, saying: “My Lord, deliver me from this wrongdoing people.”
The recitation of this noble verse indicates the Umayyads’ decision to kill the Master of Martyrs. He left Medina because, had Imam Husayn insisted on staying there, the Umayyads would ultimately have been forced to martyr him in Medina.
On Friday night, the third of Sha‘ban, the Master of Martyrs entered Mecca and recited: “And when he turned toward Midian, he said: ‘Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right way.’” (Qur’an 28:22) (1).
Imam Husayn Did Not Intend the Hajj
During the Hajj season, Abu Abd Allah entered Mecca intending the lesser pilgrimage, not Hajj. This shows that the Master of Martyrs knew that he would not remain in Mecca either. Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: “In Dhu al-Hijja Imam Husayn entered consecration for the lesser pilgrimage, then departed for Iraq on the Day of Tarwiya while people were going to Mina. Whoever does not wish to perform Hajj may enter consecration for the lesser pilgrimage in Dhu al-Hijja.” (2) If he had intended to stay in Mecca and perform Hajj, a lesser pilgrimage in the Hajj days would have been meaningless.
Mecca’s Governor and Imam Husayn
Mecca’s governor was Amr ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As al-Ashdaq. In light of Muawiya’s predesigned plan, he came to Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, and asked: “Sir, why have you come to Mecca?” The Imam replied: “Seeking refuge in God and in this House.” (3)
History reports no more than this conversation between Imam Husayn and Mecca’s Umayyad governor. Contrary to the ferocity that was the custom and practice of the Umayyads, the governor dealt with Imam Husayn in this manner, which is thought-provoking in light of the record of the Umayyads and of Amr ibn Sa‘id. Eventually Imam Husayn left Mecca, and at the request of some Banu Hashim, Amr ibn Sa‘id sent him a guarantee of safety saying: “If you remain in Mecca, no harm will come to you from me.”
When Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, ignored this guarantee and continued on his way, Amr ibn Sa‘id wrote to Kufa’s governor: “Husayn is coming to Kufa. Know that if you do not kill him, your own end will be in danger.” (4)
It is strange that Mecca’s governor apparently did not mistreat Imam Husayn and even sent him a guarantee of safety, while he urged Kufa’s governor to kill the Master of Martyrs. Could it not be because Mecca’s governor too knew Muawiya’s plot?
Yazid’s Letter to Ibn Abbas
As stated, Medina’s governor treated well the one who had not pledged allegiance to Yazid, and Mecca’s governor followed the same course. This conduct by the governors of Mecca and Medina cannot be said to have been accidental, for their records show them to have been bloodthirsty and brutal people wholly alien to piety and faith. It can therefore be understood that they acted according to the plan and plot designed by Muawiya. Had Imam Husayn been assassinated in Mecca too, the event would have been arranged so that the Umayyads would not be accused of the killing.
Yazid wrote to Abd Allah ibn Abbas: “Now then, your cousin Husayn and also Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr—who is God’s enemy—have refused my allegiance and gone to Mecca, putting their lives in danger. We shall soon kill Ibn al-Zubayr. But Husayn has severed kinship, and you are the elder of the family. So meet Husayn and turn him away from this sedition. If he accepts, whatever guarantee of safety you give him, I shall accept it.”
- The difference in the Umayyads’ treatment of Imam Husayn and Ibn al-Zubayr.
The certain killing of those who refused allegiance.
Yazid’s deception of Imam Husayn and the proposal of a guarantee of safety.
Ibn Abbas replied: “Now then, Zubayr is a man with no connection to us... But when Husayn left the city, homeland, and dwelling of his fathers, I asked him why he had moved. He replied that your agents and officials in Medina had mistreated and insulted him, failed to preserve his respect, and that he had sought refuge in God’s House.” He further wrote to Yazid: “Practice piety toward God in public and private... and do not dig a pit for anyone. How many dug pits for others but fell into them themselves.”
Ibn Abbas’s letter makes clear that Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, would in every case be martyred by Yazid and the Umayyads. In response to the proposed guarantee of safety, Ibn Abbas tells him not to dig a pit for another.
The Character of Amr ibn Sa‘id al-Ashdaq
Historians wrote of Amr ibn Sa‘id al-Ashdaq, governor of Mecca: “He was a tyrant among the tyrants of the Umayyads.” (5) Ibn Kathir reports that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: “A tyrant among the oppressors of the Umayyads will sit upon my pulpit and suffer a nosebleed, such that his blood will flow upon the pulpit.” (6)
The Sunni community applies this saying of the Prophet to Amr ibn Sa‘id al-Ashdaq. From such a tyrant, regarding the Master of Martyrs, only the report that he asked the Imam why he had come is narrated, and he made no further assault. Yet this same Amr ibn Sa‘id said of Ibn al-Zubayr: “By God, we will seize him; even if he enters the Ka‘ba, we will set the Ka‘ba ablaze over his head. Let whoever wishes be upset!” (7)
The Unified Conduct of the Governors of Mecca, Medina, and Kufa
Yes: although each of the governors of Mecca and Medina came from the wicked Umayyad tree, they did not deal harshly with the Master of Martyrs. Why? Were these rulers good toward the Household and their friends? Never. Whoever entertains such an illusion is gravely mistaken. Rather, close attention to their conduct shows that they were implementing the plot to martyr Imam Husayn. Therefore, these two governors also share in Imam Husayn’s blood.
The same conduct is seen in examining Kufa’s governor’s treatment of Muslim, Imam Husayn’s envoy in Kufa, until Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad became governor of Kufa. Notably, Ubayd Allah held Kufa’s governorship during Yazid’s time, but his decree had been written by Muawiya.
Notes
- Adapted from: Unspoken Aspects of the Events of Ashura, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Milani.
Al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid, vol. 2, p. 35.
Wasa’il al-Shi‘a, vol. 14, p. 311, chapter 7 of the chapters on the lesser pilgrimage, hadith 3.
Tadhkirat al-Khawass, p. 237.
Unspoken Aspects of the Truths of Ashura, p. 114.
Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, vol. 8, p. 342.
Musnad Ahmad, vol. 2, p. 522; and Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, vol. 8, p. 342.
Tarikh al-Islam, vol. 4, p. 170.
Author: Hamed Sarem
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