Retelling the tragedy of Karbalâ has traditionally been an important feature
of Shî‘î spirituality. The passion plays of Iran and the Indian subcontinent,
the literature, both prose and poetry, composed upon the subject of the
martyrdom of Sayyidunâ Hussain (radiyallâhu ‘anhu) and the general atmosphere of
mourning that reigns amongst the Shî‘ah during the month of Muharram, all bear
eloquent testimony to importance of that event in the Shî‘î calendar. To the
Shî‘ah, ‘Âshurâ is probably the most important day of the year.
However, it is regrettable
that despite the huge amount of attention the subject of Karbalâ enjoys, the
event is persistently portrayed as two-sided. It is always depicted as Hussain
against Yazîd, Right rising up against Wrong, the Quest for Justice against
the Forces of Oppression. Many an opportunist has even gone to the extent of
superimposing upon the event the theme of Shî‘ah against Ahl as-Sunnah.
In this partial retelling
that concentrates upon what actually happened at Karbalâ, and conveniently
draws attention away from the other guilty party in the ‘Âshûrâ tragedy, lies
another tragedy in itself. For while Hussain's martyrdom has been oft
commemorated, and his physical opponents and killers identified, cursed and
eliminated, no one has spared a moment's anger for those who deserted him at
the crucial hour.
It is these men in the shadows, who squarely deserve to be
called the real villains of Karbalâ, upon whom this article seeks to cast
light.
The People of Kufaa
invite al-Hussain
It was in Ramadân 60AH that
the letters from Kûfah started to arrive at the house of ‘Abbâs ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
in Makkah where Hussain ibn ‘Alî was staying after his flight from Madînah,
letters urging him to lead the Kûfans into revolt against Yazîd ibn Mu‘âwiyah,
and assuring him of their loyalty and allegiance. Mu‘âwiyah died two months
earlier, and there was much resentment for his son Yazîd for whom the bay‘ah
was taken as his successor. The people of Kûfah especially were looking at
Hussain for leadership, and soon there was stream of letters coming in from
Kûfah. On certain days there would be as many as 600 letters, with messengers
who enthusiastically described the support he would receive from the Kûfans.
Kûfah was a unique place, and
the Kûfans a peculiar people. In 37AH Sayyidunâ ‘Alî (radiyallâhu ‘anhu) shifted
his capital from Madînah to Kûfah, and ever since that city became the home of
those who claimed partisanship of the Ahl al-Bayt. After the reconciliation
between Hasan and Mu‘âwiyah in 41AH many of those who had been in Sayyidunâ
Hasan's army settled in Kûfah. At the time of Mu‘âwiyah's death in 60AH pro-‘Ali
sentiments were still to be found in abundance in Kûfah. At the time of
Mu‘âwiyah' s death in 60 AH Kûfah was still very strongly pro-‘ Ali. Thus
when the opportunity arose the Kûfans, who still regarded themselves as the
Shî‘ah (supporters) of the Ahl al-Bayt, turned to Hussain to lead them against
Yazîd.
Sayyidunâ Hussain decided to
send his cousin Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl to investigate the situation in Kûfah. If he
found it feasible he would write to inform Hussain, who would depart with his
family from Makkah to join him in Kûfah. Muslim arrived in in Dhul Qa‘dah. The
Kûfans, when they learnt of his arrival presented themselves at the residence
of Muslim ibn ‘Awsajah al-Asadî where he was staying. Soon there were 12 000
Kûfans who had given their solemn pledge to support and protect Hussain with
their lives and all they possessed. When this number rose to 18 000 Muslim
felt confident enough to dispatch a messenger to Hussain informing him of the
bay‘ah of the Kûfans, and urging him to proceed from Makkah.
Yazîd
replaces the Governor of Kufah with Ubaydullâh ibn Ziyâd
Rumours of what was happening
in Kûfah soon reached Yazîd in Damascus. He immediately replaced Nu‘mâ n ibn
Bashîr, the governor of Kûfah, with the ruthless ‘Ubaydullâh ibn Ziyâd with
orders to find Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl and kill him. Ibn Ziyâd entered Kûfah early in
Dhul Hijjah, accompanied by seventeen men on horseback. With the end of his
turban drawn over his face he was unrecognizable, and the people of Kûfah, who
were expecting Sayyidunâ Hussain, mistook him for Hussain. " Peace upon you, o
son of Rasûlullâh," they hailed him. Thus it was that Ibn Ziyâd learnt the
truth of the rumors. It was only when one of his mounted men shouted at them,
" Stand back! This is the governor ‘Ubaydullâh ibn Ziyâd!" that the Kûfans
realized the seriousness of their blunder.
Soon after reaching the
governor's residence ‘ Ubaydullâh sent a servant of his own with a bag
containing 3000 dirhams to pose as a newcomer from the Syrian town of Hims
eager to join the imminent revolution, and thereby discover the whereabouts of
Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. He located Muslim in the house of Hânî ibn ‘Urwah, and took
the pledge of allegiance at his hands. The money he handed over to Abû
Thumâmah al-‘Âmirî who was acting as Muslim' s treasurer. After staying with
them for a few days, during which he learnt most of what there was to know
about their intrigue, he returned to Ibn Ziyâd and informed him. Hânî ibn
‘Urwah was arrested. At first he denied all knowledge of Muslim' s
whereabouts, but when the " newcomer from Hims" was brought before him he
confessed. But he still refused to reveal where Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl was.
In the meantime Muslim came
to hear about the arrest of Hânî ibn ‘Urwah. Realizing that the hour for a
decisive encounter had arrived, he raised his battle cry " Yâ Mansûr" , at
which 4000 of the men who had given him their oath of allegiance and loyalty
to Hussain gathered around him and proceeded towards the governor' s fort. When
he saw Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl with the Kûfans at his gate, ‘Ubaydullâh sent some of
the tribal leaders of Kûfah to speak with their people and draw them away from
Muslim and warn them of the wrath that would descend upon them when the armies
from Damascus arrived.
Soon Muslim's army was called upon by mothers telling their
sons, "Come home , there are enough other people here," and fathers ominously
warning their sons, "What will happen tomorrow when the Syrian armies start
arriving from Damascus? What will you do?"
The resolve of the men who had
taken a sacred oath to support and defend the cause of Hussain and the Ahl al-Bayt
against Yazîd and his Syrian armies could not hold in the face of such threats
and discouragement, even though Hussain was on that very moment making his
way to Kûfah with his nearest and dearest relying upon the promises of the
Kufans.
The Kufans start
deserting one by one
One by one the Kufans deserted Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl under the gates of the governor' s fort. At sunset
he was left with only 30 men. He led them in Maghrib, and then moved away to
the doorway of the Kindah quarter of Kûfah. He went through that door with no
more than 10 men, and before he knew it, he was all on his own in the streets
of Kûfah. Of all those who had so anxiously and enthusiastically written to
Hussain to come and lead them in revolt against Yazîd, and out of the 18 000
men who but days before placed their right hands in his, solemnly pledging
allegiance to the cause for which they had invited the grandson of Rasûlullâh
, not a single one was there to offer Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl the solace of their
company or refuge from the night.
Eventually, parched with
thirst, he knocked at a door. The occupant, an old lady, took him in when she
learnt that he was Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. She hid him away in her house, but her
son, from whom she extracted a promise not to tell anyone of his presence
there, waited only till the morning to take the news to the governor' s
residence. The next thing Muslim realized was that the house was surrounded.
Thrice he managed with his sword to drive the attackers out of the house, but
when they started putting fire to the house he was forced to face them
outside. It was only when ‘Abd ar-Rahmân ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash‘ath, one of
those sent to arrest him, promised him the safety of his life, that he lowered
his sword. It was a mistake, for they took away his sword and mounted him upon
an ass to be taken to Ibn Ziyâd.
Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl
fears for Al-Hussain's life
Muslim knew his death was at hand. Tears
flowed from his eyes, not at his own fate, but at the thought of Hussain and his
family traveling through the harsh, merciless desert towards a fate much more
harsher and merciless, to an enemy firmly resolved to bring an end to his
venture, and to the most treacherous of partisans whose desertion at the hour
of need had brought his life to this tragic end. He begged Ibn al-Ash‘ath to
send someone to Hussain with the following message: “Ibn ‘Aqîl has sent me to
you. He says to you: ‘Go back with your family. Do not be deceived by people
of Kûfah. They are those same supporters of your father from whom he so dearly
wished to part, by death or by being killed. The Kûfans have lied to me and
have lied to you, and a liar has no sense.’ ”
Later that day —the Day of ‘
Arafah, the 9th of Dhul Hijjah— Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl was taken up to the highest
ramparts of the fort. As he was being led up, he recited the tahlîl, tasbîh,
takbîr and istighfâr. His last words reflect his intense disappointment with
the people of Kûfah, "O Allâh, You be the Judge between us and our people.
They deceived us and deserted us." From high upon the ramparts his head fell
down in the dust, in full view of those whose invitations and oaths of
allegiance had given him so much to hope for, but whose cowardice and
treachery had left him with nothing but despair. And Hussain was on his way…
‘Ubaydullâh ibn Ziyâd had
entered Kûfah with only seventeen men. For each man that came with him there
was over a thousand who had taken the oath of allegiance at the hands of
Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. Yet not a single sword was raised in his defense. Not a
single voice had the courage to protest his execution. And these were the same
men who had been telling Hussain, “Come, we are with you.”
Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl's
letter reaches Al-Hussain
Upon receipt of Muslim’s
letter, Sayyidunâ Hussain started making arrangements to travel to Kûfah. He
immediately dispatched a messenger, Qays ibn Mus-hir, to inform the Kûfans of
his imminent arrival. This messenger was captured by ‘Ubaydullâh ibn Ziyâd, who
ordered him to mount the walls of the fort and publicly curse Hussain and his
father. Instead he praised Sayyidunâ ‘Alî and Sayyidunâ Hussain, telling them
that Hussain was on his way, and exhorting them to assist him as they had
promised. He ended his brief address by imprecating curses upon Ibn Ziyâd.
Upon the order of Ibn Ziyâd he was flung from the ramparts and killed. Despite
this impassioned plea, the men of Kûfah were unmoved.
In Makkah, a number of the
eminent Sahâbah and children of Sahâbah tried to dissuade Hussain from going to
Kûfah, and reminded him of the fickleness of the Kûfans with both his father
and his brother. ‘Abdullâh ibn ‘Abbâs, ‘Abdullâh ibn ‘Umar, Jâbir ibn
‘Abdillâh, Abû Sa‘îd al-Khudrî, his own brother, Muhammad, and his
brother-in-law and cousin , ‘Abdullâh ibn Ja‘far all remonstrated with him and
tried to persuade him not to go to Iraq. His mind, however, was made up. He
set out from Makkah on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, not knowing of the sad end of
Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl.
Al-Hussan reaches
Iraq
After an arduous journey of
almost a month, his party reached Iraq. It was there that he first heard of
the treachery of the Kûfans and the death of Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. Later he also
learnt of the death of Qays ibn Mus-hir. A large number of desert Arabs had by
that time attached themselves to his party, thinking that Kûfah was already
practically his. Hussain addressed them, saying, "Our Shî‘ah have deserted us.
Therefore, whoever wants to leave is free to do so." Soon he was left with
only those who left Makkah with him. With them he continued towards Kûfah.
Meanwhle Kûfah was placed
under heave surveillance by Ibn Ziyâd. When news of Hussain’s approach reached
him, he dispatched a 4000 strong contingent, which was on its way to fight the
Daylamites, to stop Hussain. This contingent was put under the command of ‘Umar
ibn Sa‘d. There can be little doubt that the Kûfans witnessed the departure of
this force from Kûfah with their own eyes. This would be their last chance to
honor the oaths of allegiance to Hussain which they had taken upon the hands
of Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. This was the final opportunity to rush to the side of the
grandson of Rasûlullâh . It was after all their invitations and assurances of
support that encouraged him to abandon the safety of Makkah for the precarious
battlefields of Iraq. But once again faithfulness, courage and commitment was
found lacking in the people of Kûfah. Only a handful emerged to join Hussain at
Karbalâ.
Al-Hussan is
Martyred
And when the sun set on the
10th of Muharram, it was too late for the faithless Shî‘ah of Kûfah to make
amends, for the sands of Karbalâ was stained red with the blood of Sayyidunâ
Hussain and his seventy-one followers.
Four years later the Shî‘ah
of Kûfah attempted to make amends for their desertion of the family of
Rasûlullâh . There emerged a group of Kûfans calling themselves the Tawwâbûn
(Penitents) who made it their duty to wreak vengeance upon the killers of
Hussain. On their way to Syria in pursuit of Ibn Ziyâd they passed by Karbalâ,
the site of Sayyidunâ Hussain' s grave, where they raised a great hue and cry,
and spent the night lamenting the tragedy which they allowed to happen four
years earlier. Had they only displayed that same spirit of compassion for
Hussain when he was so much in need of it the history of Islâm might have taken
a different course.
The Sheites seek to
hide their Treachery
There have been attempts by
certain writers to absolve the Shî‘ah from the crime of deserting Hussain. Some
find an excuse for them in Ibn Ziyâd’s blockade of Kûfah. S. H. M. Jafri
writes in his book The Origins and Early Developments of Shi’ah Islam:
…it should be noted again
that the blockade of all the roads coming into Kûfa and its vicinity made it
almost impossible for the majority of those Shî‘îs of Kûfa who were in hiding,
and also for those residing in other cities like Basra.
[2]
This explanation of their
desertion does not seem plausible when one considers the large number (18 000)
of those who had taken the bay‘ah at the hands of Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl. Ibn Ziyâd,
as we have seen, entered Kûfah with only 17 men. Even the force that he
dispatched to engage the party of Sayyidunâ Hussain at Karbalâ consisted of
only 4000 men. [3]
Furthermore, that force was not recruited specifically for Karbalâ; it was only passing through Kûfah on its way to fight the Daylamites.
It is not at all credible to assume that Ibn Ziyâd was able to cow the Kûfans
into submission with forces such as these, whom they outnumbered by far. It
was rather their own treacherousness and fickleness that led them to abandon Sayyidunâ
Hussain. This can be clearly seen in the manner they deserted Muslim ibn ‘Aqîl.
There is also the tendency of
claiming that those who deserted Sayyidunâ Hussain were not of the Shî‘ah.
Jafri
writes:
… of those who invited Hussain
to Kûfa, and then those 18,000 who paid homage to his envoy Muslim b. ‘Aqîl,
not all were Shî‘îs in the religious sense of the term, but were rather
supporters of the house of ‘Alî for political reasons - a distinction which
must be kept clearly in mind in order to understand the early history of Shî‘î
Islam. [4]
Jafri' s motive in excluding
the deserters of Sayyidunâ Hussain from the ranks of the “religious” (as
opposed to the “political”) supporters of the house of Sayyidunâ ‘Alî is quite
transparent. He is clearly embarrassed by the fact that it was the Shî‘ah
themselves who abandoned their Imâm and his family after inviting him to lead
them in revolt. What leads us to reject this distinction between “religious”
and “political” supporters is the fact that Sayyidunâ Hussain himself, on more
than one occasion, referred to the Kûfans as his Shî‘ah.
There are also the
numerous references to the people of Kûfah as the followers (albeit capricious
followers) of his father and brother. And were we to assume that many, or even
most of them were not Shî‘ah in the “religious” sense, the question which next
presents itself is: Where were the real Shî‘ah when their Imâm required their
help?
Were they only that handful who emerged from Kûfah? It is strange that
while there is so much reluctance on the part of the Shî‘ah to accept the
deserters of Kûfah as their own, they are quite proud and eager to identify
themselves with the movement of the Tawwâbûn. The speeches made at the
inception of the movement of the Tawwâbûn very clearly prove that they were
the same people who invited Sayyidunâ Hussain and then deserted him. [5]
Their
very name is indicative of their guilt in this regard. The attempt by the Shî‘ah to absolve themselves from the crime of deserting Sayyidunâ
Hussain is
therefore at best nothing more than pathetic.
The Sheite
Treachery again
st Zayd ibn ‘ Alî ibn
Hussain
Karbalâ was not to be the
last act of treason by the Shî‘ah against the Family of Rasûlullâh . Sixty
years later the grandson of Sayyidunâ Hussain, namely Zayd ibn ‘ Alî ibn
Hussain,
led an uprising against the Umayyad ruler Hishâm ibn ‘Abd al-Malik. He
received the oaths of allegiance of over 40 000 men, 15 000 of whom were from
the very same Kûfah that deserted his grandfather.
Just before the battle
could start they decided upon a whim to ask his opinion about Abû Bakr and
‘Umar. Zayd answered: “I have never heard any of my family dissociate himself
from them, and I have nothing but good to say about them.”
Upset with this
answer, they deserted him en masse, deciding that the true imâm could only be
his nephew Ja‘far as-Sâdiq. Out of 40 000, Zayd was left with only a few
hundred men. On the departure of the defectors he remarked: “I am afraid they
have done unto me as they did to Hussain.” Zayd and his little army fought
bravely and attained martyrdom.
Thus, on Wednesday the 1st of Safar 122 AH
another member of the Ahl al-Bayt fell victim to the treachery of the Shî‘ah
of Kûfah. [6]
This time there could be no question as to whether those who
deserted him were of the Shî‘ah or not.
The fact that the thousands
of Shî‘ah who deserted Zayd ibn ‘Alî looked upon Ja‘far as-Sâdiq as their true
Imâm shows that by and large they were the same as the Ithnâ ‘Asharî, or
alternatively Imâmî or Ja‘farî Shî‘ah of today.
Why then, if he had so many
devoted followers, did Imâm Ja‘far not rise up in revolt against the Umayyads
or the ‘Abbâsids? The answer to this question is provided in a narration
documented by Abû Ja‘far al-Kulaynî in his monumental work al-Kâfî, which
enjoys unparalleled status amongst the hadîth collections of the Shî‘ah:
Sudayr as-Sayrafî says: I
entered the presence of Abû ‘Abdillâh ‘alayhis salâm and said to him: “By
Allâh, you may not refrain from taking up arms.” He asked: “Why not?” I
answered: “Because you have so many partisans, supporters (Shî‘ah) and
helpers. By Allâh, if Amîr al-Mu’minîn (Sayyidunâ ‘Alî) had as many Shî‘ah,
helpers, and partisans as you have, Taym (the tribe of Abû Bakr) and ‘Adî (the
tribe of ‘Umar) would never have had designs upon him.” He asked: “And how
many would they be, Sudayr?” I said: “A hundred thousand.” He asked: “A
hundred thousand?” I replied: “Yes, and two hundred thousand.” He asked again:
“Two hundred thousand?” I replied: “Yes, and half the world.” He remained
silent.
Then he said: “Would you
accompany us to Yanbu‘?” I replied in the affirmative. He ordered a mule and a
donkey to be saddled. I quickly mounted the donkey, but he said: “Sudayr, will
you rather let me ride the donkey?” I said: “The mule is more decorous and
more noble as well.” But he said: “The donkey is more comfortable for me.” I
dismounted. He mounted the donkey, I got on the mule, and we started riding.
The time of salâh arrived and he said: “Dismount, Sudayr. Let us perform salâh.”
Then he remarked: “The ground here is overgrown with moss. It is not
permissible to make salâh here.” So we carried on riding until we came to a
place where the earth was red. He looked at a young boy herding sheep, and
remarked: “Sudayr, by Allâh, if I had as many Shî‘ah as there are sheep here,
it would not have been acceptable for me to refrain from taking up arms.” We
then dismounted and performed salâh. When we were finished I turned back to
count the sheep. There were seventeen of them. [7]
It seems from this narration
that the tragedy of Karbalâ taught Imâm Ja‘far as-Sâdiq something about those
who claimed to be his followers which the Shî‘ah of today are still refusing
to come to terms with: that in the trials and misfortunes of the Family of
Rasûlullâh the role of the Shî‘ah was as great, if not greater, than that of
their physical enemies. It therefore does not come as a surprise that none of
the supposed Imâms after Hussain ever attempted an armed insurrection against
the rulers of their times. Karbalâ had taught them the fickleness and
treacherousness of those who claimed to be their Shî‘ah.
It is about them that Imâm Ja‘far is reported to have said:
"No one bears us greater
hatred than those who claim to love us." [8]
Imâm Ja‘far is also reported
as having said: "No verse did Allâh reveal in
connection with the Munâfiqîn, except that it is to be found in those who
profess Shî‘ism." [9]
Before Sayyidunâ Hussain, his
elder brother Sayyidunâ Hasan was the victim of the treacherousness of the
Kûfans. In his book al-Ihtijâj the prominent Shî‘î author Abû Mansûr at-Tabarsî
has preserved the following remark of Sayyidunâ Hasan: "By Allâh, I think Mu‘âwiyah
would be better for me than these people who claim that they are my Shî‘ah."
[10]
When Sayyidunâ Hasan
eventually became exasperated at the fickleness of his so-called Shî‘ah, he
decided to make peace with Mu‘âwiyah. When someone protested to him that he
was bringing humiliation upon the Shî‘ah by concluding peace with Mu‘âwiyah,
he responded by saying:
"By Allâh, I handed over power
to him for no reason other than the fact that I could not find any supporters.
Had I found supporters I would have fought him day and night until Allâh
decides between us. But I know the people of Kûfah. I have experience of them.
The bad ones of them are no good to me. They have no loyalty, nor any
integrity in word or deed. They are in disagreement. They claim that their
hearts are with us, but their swords are drawn against us." [11]
Imâm Mûsâ al-Kâzim, the son
of Imâm Ja‘far, and the seventh of the supposed Imâms of the Shî‘ah, describes
them in the following words:
"If I had to truly distinguish
my Shî‘ah I would find them nothing other than pretenders. If I had to put
them to the test I would only find them to be apostates. If I were to
scrutinize them I would be left with only one in a thousand. Were I to sift
them thoroughly I would be left with only the handful that is truly mine. They
have been sitting on cushions all along, saying: " We are the Shî‘ah of ‘Alî."
