Lady Zaynab Regards the Day of Saqifa as the Day of Imam Husayn's Martyrdom

Given the importance of the Umayyads' effects on the Muslim community, we examined the role of Mu'awiya and the Umayyads in Karbala. The role of the Umayyads in Karbala is very clear and has many proofs and pieces of evidence. Unfortunately, because of neglect and lack of attention to this important matter, and because Mu'awiya's role in Karbala has been forgotten, the ground has been prepared for contemporary followers of the Umayyads to spread doubts.

Today, one of the most important doubts raised is the attempt to absolve the Umayyads and Yazid of the crime of Karbala. The followers of the Umayyads claim that Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, was killed by his own Shi'a, because the Shi'a invited the Imam to Karbala and then betrayed him; therefore, Yazid and the Umayyads had no role in the killing of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him.

In this article, while showing the truth that Karbala was the result of the policies of Banu Umayya, this doubt will also be answered, and it will become clear that the killers of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, were attached to the Umayyad current.

The Uthmanis had a prominent presence in Karbala, and the Kufans who came to fight the Imam, or at least their commanders, were Uthmani. Those who openly introduced themselves as Uthmani in Karbala include: Abu Burda ibn Awf al-Azdi, Abu Asma Bishr ibn Hawt al-Qabidhi al-Hamdani, the killer of the sons of Aqil, Husayn ibn Numayr, responsible for the assassination attempt against the Prophet at Tabuk, Shayban ibn Makhram, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Umayr al-Thaqafi, Azra ibn Qays al-Bajali, Amr ibn Sa'd, Shabath ibn Rib'i, Shimr, and Amr ibn Hajjaj al-Zubaydi.

Zuhayr ibn Qayn abandoned being Uthmani; otherwise, he would not have fought against the caliph. Zuhayr sacrificed himself, gave up all his existence, and the celestial aspects of Karbala indicate his becoming Shi'i. Shurayh the judge was not in Karbala, but he too was Uthmani and issued the fatwa for killing the Imam.

These Uthmanis, in their letters inviting Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, to Kufa, spoke of wheat and prosperity. In reality, their invitation to Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, was not because of belief in his Imamate. Rather, because they had seen the injustice and tyranny of the previous ruler, they were seeking a just person to come and govern.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that not all Kufans were Uthmani, but the Uthmanis made use of the lack of insight among the Shi'a of Kufa. The Uthmanis, through threats and temptations, and by knowing the background of the government, became willing to fight against the Imam, and the Shi'a too came under the influence of the policies of Banu Umayya.

Of course, a serious reminder is necessary: these Shi'a were historical Shi'a, not doctrinal Shi'a, and calling them Shi'a should not be confused with Shi'a in today's meaning. Those who were called Shi'a in that historical period did not hold the beliefs of today's Shi'a; they were called Shi'a merely because of love for the family of the Ahl al-Bayt. Shi'a in today's meaning were few in number and were generally counted among the special companions of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.

Regarding the Uthmani identity of the killers of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, one can point to this: when the governor of Medina saw the wailing of Banu Hashim over Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, he said: This wailing of yours is in place of the wailing that rose from the family of Uthman.

In Karbala, two Uthmani acts were carried out on the basis of Umayyad thought:

1- Preventing water: They imagined that the Commander of the Faithful had killed Uthman and said that Uthman had been killed thirsty. Yet the Commander of the Faithful had delivered water to Uthman, and Uthman did not die thirsty. Historical books reported this delivery of water, but the Uthmanis turned the claim that Uthman had been killed thirsty into a slogan.

On the seventh night, Ibn Ziyad wrote to Umar ibn Sa'd and ordered him to block the water, just as they claimed water had been blocked from Uthman: 'Now then, place a barrier between Husayn and his companions and the water, and let them not taste a drop of it, as was done to the pious, pure, oppressed Commander of the Faithful, Uthman ibn Affan!' (1). That is, prevent Husayn from reaching the water and let him not taste a single drop, just as this was done to the pious! pure! oppressed! Uthman ibn Affan.

Following this order, Umar ibn Sa'd sent Amr ibn Hajjaj with five hundred horsemen to take position at the riverbank and prevent Husayn, peace be upon him, and his companions from drinking even a single drop of that water. Umar ibn Sa'd repeatedly said that this prevention of water happened in revenge for Uthman.

2- Doctrinal conversations about Uthman are also frequently reported in Karbala. One example is the conversation between Zuhayr and Azra ibn Qays on the night of Ashura, when Azra ibn Qays said to Zuhayr: 'O Zuhayr! In our view you were not one of the Shi'a of this Ahl al-Bayt, Imam Husayn; you were only Uthmani.'

The first speaker of Imam Husayn was Zuhayr, because he had been Uthmani and had become Shi'i, and the Imam sent him toward the enemy. Someone from Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, said this to Zuhayr: 'Aba Abdillah says to you: Come forward. By my life, if the believer from the family of Pharaoh advised his people and was eloquent in calling them, you have advised these people and have conveyed the message, if advice and conveying could benefit.' From this statement of the Imam to Zuhayr, it becomes clear that most of the Kufan army were Uthmani in belief, a school formed and fashioned by the policies of Mu'awiya and the Umayyads.

Nafi, one of the Imam's companions, fought and recited: 'I am Jamali; I am upon the religion of Ali.' Muzahim came out toward him and said: 'I am upon the religion of Uthman.' Nafi answered: 'You are upon the religion of Satan,' and killed him (2).

When the soldiers came between Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, and the tents, and attacked the tents while Imam Husayn was still alive, he addressed the unbelieving Umayyads and said: 'Woe to you, O Shi'a of the family of Abu Sufyan! If you have no religion and do not fear the Hereafter, then at least be free people.' Imam, peace be upon him, explicitly addressed them as 'Shi'a of the family of Abu Sufyan,' and this was Imam Husayn's explicit statement that his killers were Umayyad (3).

It is worth noting that the Imam, peace be upon him, gave the army that had attacked the tents the title of followers of the family of Abu Sufyan. Therefore, those who martyred the Imam, or who attacked the tents after his martyrdom and committed those crimes, were not Shi'a of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him; rather, by the Imam's own explicit statement, they were followers of the family of Abu Sufyan, meaning Banu Umayya.

In Karbala, they insulted Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, and attributed to him abusive terms such as 'liar, son of a liar' and 'vile,' words that truly befitted themselves. Insult and outrage, recorded in many places in the history of Karbala, were innovations founded by Banu Umayya and insisted upon by them. Therefore, the existence of these insults in Karbala is evidence for the claim that the crimes of Karbala were brought about by followers of the custom of Banu Umayya.

Thus it has become clear here that the innovations of Mu'awiya and his insistence on spreading the culture of hatred toward the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, produced the crime of Karbala. The current of Banu Umayya continued after Karbala as well and caused other crimes in the Muslim world. But one must not forget that Mu'awiya, in all his policies, was a follower of Saqifa, and as explained before, he was in reality a special agent of Saqifa. For this reason, Zaynab al-Kubra does not regard Imam Husayn's martyrdom as having occurred on Ashura, but on Monday.

When Zaynab al-Kubra wept and lamented over the torn body of her brother, she said: 'O Muhammad, blessings of God be upon him and his family! Your daughters have been taken captive, your children have been killed, and the morning breeze blows over their bodies. This is your Husayn whose head has been severed from the back of his neck, whose turban and clothing have been plundered. May my father be sacrificed for the one whose tents were plundered on Monday' (4). Here one must note that Monday was the day Saqifa was formed.

Today, when mourning for Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, and reviving the gatherings of the Ahl al-Bayt break the policies of Banu Umayya, the Umayyads oppose this important slogan of religion in different forms, such as explosions in the shrine of Husayn and killing mourners, or creating doubts about the event of Karbala.

One of the most important doubts spread today in various media, and unfortunately accepted in parts of our Shi'i society because of some negligence, is the claim that Imam Husayn was killed by his Shi'a. They say: 'Husayn was invited by his Shi'a, his Shi'a betrayed him and killed him, and his Shi'a mourn for him.' Therefore, mourning and remembering Aba Abdillah are useless and futile, and cursing the killers of that Imam, including Banu Umayya, is unfair. Thus, they claim, the Shi'a want to continue their existence by slandering the Umayyads.

In this very brief article it was shown that the killers of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, were Umayyad or Uthmani in belief, and that this school was a constructed school supported by Banu Umayya. The majority of the Kufan army was made up of Uthmani-minded people, and there was no trace in Karbala of Shi'a in the theological and doctrinal sense common today.

Even if we suppose that a Shi'i fought against Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, in Karbala, he was a Shi'i who had fallen into the trial of Banu Umayya. What rational person would call such a person Shi'i, except the Umayyads of today whose hearts are filled with love for Mu'awiya and Yazid? 'And they were made to drink the calf into their hearts.'

1- See: Tarikh al-Tabari, vol. 4, p. 314.
2- Waq'at al-Taff, p. 224 [the mutual imprecation of Burayr and his killing], p. 221.
3- Al-Luhuf ala Qatla al-Tufuf, Fahri translation, text, p. 120.
4- Al-Luhuf ala Qatla al-Tufuf, Fahri translation, text 133, the second path in describing the state of battle and what is close to it.