The Massacre of Karbala A Historical Analysis - Corrected Lecture

News became public that Husayn had fled and had not given the oath of allegiance to Yazid. When this spread to Iraq, the people of Iraq, and in particular the people of Kufa, they rejoiced. Because they were waiting for rebellion.

And they start sending letters and delegations to Husayn in Makkah. Telling him that the time is now ripe. "We will be behind you. Come and we will fight against the forces of the Umayyads." And it is said in our books that more than 60 messages came to him from the people of Kufa.

The Mission of Muslim ibn Aqeel

Now, Husayn after getting all of these letters, he decided to send his cousin to check out. "Is it really worth it for me to go? Are we sure that we're able to go?" And he sent his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqeel ibn Abi Talib.

So Muslim ibn Aqeel left with a small group to find out, is Kufa ready or not? Are they really serious about this or not? So Muslim arrives in Kufa in the month of Dhul-Qa'dah, 60 AH.

And the people rejoice like they have never rejoiced before. And thousands upon thousands of people - At-Tabari says more than 12,000 people in the course of the next two weeks gave the oath of allegiance directly to Muslim on behalf of Husayn.

Muslim ibn Aqeel is overjoyed. He's never seen this enthusiasm and support. And so he writes back a letter to Husayn that, "All of the people of Kufa are behind you. So as soon as you get this letter, do not delay, come immediately."

Ibn Ziyad's Intervention

The Appointment of a Ruthless Governor

Now, rumors of all of this eventually reach the ears of Yazid. And so, Yazid sends in the most vicious politician he knows - Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad ibn Abihi. He's known as Ibn Ziyad.

And Ibn Ziyad was really a Machiavellian politician. He got the job done regardless of the cost. And nobody really has any respect for Ibn Ziyad amongst the historians in terms of his morals.

So Ibn Ziyad enters Kufa in the month of Dhul Qa'dah 60 AH. And when he entered early morning with an entourage, the people thought he might be Husayn. So the people began chanting and praising, "As- salamu alayka ya ibn rasoolillah, marhaban."

So Ibn Ziyad understood that these rumors are true. Until finally one of his entourage gets angry and says, "Shut up, be quiet, this isn't Husayn, this is your governor, Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad."

The Capture of Muslim ibn Aqeel

Ibn Ziyad takes one of his 17 men, anonymous, and he dresses him like a traveler, and he gives him a sack of gold coins. And he gives him the plot: "You shall pretend that you are Ahl al-Shia from Sham. You make yourself known to the Shia, until you say, I have to hand this money to the one in charge."

This spy eventually uncovers that Hani ibn Urwa is the main person organizing it. And Ibn Ziyad calls Hani to his residence. "Hand me over Muslim and I might forgive you." He denies. Then he calls the spy out. And Ibn Ziyad takes his spear and causes him to bleed.

Muslim ibn Aqeel realizes the plot's exposed. He sends the secret message to his followers. There's a secret code: (يَا مَنْصُور أَمِتْ - "Ya Mansur Amit" was the code that we're going to attack.

When the cry comes out, a semi respectable 4,000 come forth. Out of the 12,000 that actually gave the bay'ah, 4,000 come armed to the hilt ready for battle.

But Ibn Ziyad, the shrewd politician that he is, works out with every single tribe, what do they need that they're going to not support Husayn. One by one, people began deserting the army, until within that day, by the time Asr comes along, less than 70 men are left.

By the time Muslim ibn Aqeel prays Maghrib, barely 30 people prayed Salah behind him. And when he turned around and darkness has fallen, from 30 it is now 10. And as he's walking in the alleyways, every one of these 10 slinks away, until he literally finds himself alone.

The Execution of Muslim ibn Aqeel

Muslim ibn Aqeel is literally left penniless, in a city that had promised 40,000 men. After a while, tired, hungry, thirsty, he is forced to go to an anonymous door and knock. An old lady gives him food and water. He tells her, "I am Muslim ibn Aqeel, can you help me?"

The lady has pity on him and says, "Come, I will protect you." But her son is greedy for money. Within a day or two, he tells the lieutenant of Ibn Ziyad. And so, the next thing, Ibn Aqeel knows his whole house is surrounded by troops.

And on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah in the 60th year of the Hijrah, Muslim ibn Aqeel, the grandson of Abu Talib, the son of the cousin of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the first cousin of Husayn, he is taken to the highest ramparts on the fortress, and in front of the whole city, he is thrown to his death.

And the last words that he said, he said, "O Allah, You be the judge between us and our own Shia, our own people. They deceived us and they deserted us."

Husayn's Journey to Iraq

The Warnings from the Sahaba

Ibn Aqeel was killed either 9th or 10th of Dhul Hijjah. And Muslim ibn Aqeel had sent the letter to Husayn weeks ago. And he makes his preparation to leave, and he announces that, "I am going to Kufa."

In Mecca, every single one of the senior sahaba that was alive, advised him against it. Abdullah ibn Abbas especially, and Abdullah ibn Umar, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, every one of the sahaba that was in the Hijaz warned him.

But Husayn was insistent, and he showed them the letters of the people of Iraq. And he said, "Look at all of these letters." And he had two bags full - these are the massive bags you put on the camels.

So he left with his family on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, one day before Muslim ibn Aqeel is thrown from the top. On the 8th of Dhul Hijjah he leaves Mecca.

Ibn Umar's Final Warning

Ibn Umar tracks him down on the way, and Ibn Umar says to him something very profound, and this is mentioned in our books of hadith. Ibn Umar says to him: "Let me tell you a hadith, I heard from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and I've never told anybody this hadith before. You're the first person I am telling."

He said, "When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was on his deathbed, Jibreel came to visit him. And Jibreel gave him the choice, if you want this dunya, you shall have it. And if you want the akhirah, you shall have it too."

Then Ibn Umar said, "And you are a part of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) you are the grandson. So, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) chose the akhirah, he chose for you basically. And so you will not get any share of power. Allah has only turned it away from you to give you something better instead."

But he still refused to listen.

The Confrontation at Karbala

The Interception

Husayn makes his way to Kufa, and it is in the plains of Karbala, where 4,000 men intercept Husayn. Now, Karbala is literally a stone's throw away from Kufa.

On the 3rd of Muharram, in the year 61 Hijrah, this is when the forces of Ibn Ziyad intercept the small entourage of Husayn. The leader of the army that was sent was Umar ibn Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas.

The Negotiations

Umar ibn Sa'ad sends a messenger to Husayn. "Why have you come? Why have you left Mecca?" And Husayn says, "I have come at the invitation of the people of Kufa. Here are their messages."

And he sees the situation is tense, he says, "Look, if they no longer want me, if they have abandoned me as I have heard, then I will abandon them and I will go back as well. Let me go back now."

So Umar ibn Sa'ad sent a messenger to Ibn Ziyad. And Ibn Ziyad sends the message back, "Tell Husayn, he must come to me in the palace, and give me the oath of allegiance on behalf of Yazid."

When the message came from Ibn Ziyad, Husayn then says to Umar Ibn Sa'ad, "Look, I give you three options, choose whichever you want:

1. Let me go back to Mecca. Let me go back the way I was.
2. Take me to Yazid directly, and I will speak to him directly.
3. Send me into exile into one of the far away lands. You have won, and I will just worship Allah in some far away land."

Ibn Ziyad's Ultimatum

Ibn Ziyad refused all three. And Ibn Ziyad said, "Either war or my hand. These are the two options you have. You either come and you put your hand in mine, and you give the bay'ah on behalf of Yazid, or else there is no other alternative."

And by the time this message comes, this is the ninth of Muharram. Finally, on the ninth of Muharram, the message comes: "You either come to Ibn Ziyad, or else tomorrow there will be war."

The Battle of Karbala

The Day of Ashura

And so, it came to pass on the morning of the 10th of Muharram, of 61 Hijrah, that a cruel and pitiless battle took place. On the one hand, you have barely 60-70 men. And on the other hand, you have 3-4 thousand people.

It is authentically narrated in our own Sunni books of hadith that Ali ibn Abi Talib once came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And he saw him crying. And he said, "Why are you crying, O Messenger of Allah?"

He said: "Jibreel just came to me. And he told me that my own ummah shall kill Husayn. Next to the Euphrates River. And he brought me some of that sand where he will be killed." (Ahmad 1705, Tabarani)

The Final Moments

And the army zoomed in on the camp. And there was no warriors or fighters here. These are just a small group of men. Most of whom are Ahl al-Bayt. And Husayn in the beginning was protected by the Ahl al- Bayt. But one by one as they were killed, Husayn is left standing.

Who amongst them would dare come forth and raise a sword against the grandson of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? Until it was that infamous, that evil, that brute - it was Shimr ibn Dhil Jawshan that gave the commands to attack.

And Shimr led a small group of 3 or 4 people, along with the person they say who actually dealt the actual final blow. His name is Sinan ibn Anas. And as a final act of brutality, Shimr and Sinan, they cut off the head of Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib.

The Aftermath

And they sent it to ibn Ziyad on a plate as a gift. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. And ibn Ziyad, when he got this plate with the head, he took a stick and he began poking the head of Husayn.

And Anas ibn Malik was there in Kufa at the time. He was an old man - the famous sahabi. And he could not stand this. And he stood up in the gathering. And he said:

"Wallahi I saw the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) kiss those very lips that you are now hitting with this stick. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. And nobody resembled the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) more than Husayn."

In total over 70 people were killed in the party of Husayn. 15 of them Ahl al-Bayt. And all of the women and children were protected. None of them were harmed. The only male survivor was the son of Husayn, Ali known as Zayn al-Abideen.

Analysis and Effects

The Consequences

Four years after the death of Husayn, 65 Hijrah, the people of Kufa who called themselves Shia to Ali kept on feeling guilty for what they had done. And in the 65th year of the Hijrah, on the 10th of Muharram, a group emerged from amongst them who called themselves the Tawwaboon - "We're sorry, the repenters."

And they made it their duty to extract vengeance on those who had killed Husayn. And they passed by Karbala and spent the whole night lamenting and crying and singing poetry and beating themselves for having failed to protect Husayn when Husayn needed their help.

With this incident, we can mark the beginnings of theological Shiaism. Up until this point in time, Shiaism is a political movement. They don't say that the Ahl al-Bayt are infallible. It's just politics - Umayyads versus Ahl al-Bayt.

With this incident, slowly but surely theology got added into it. From this day on, a theology began to be devised.

The Repetition with Zayd

This incident was very similarly repeated. A deja vu took place in 122 AH. Zayd, the son of Ali ibn al- Husayn, Zayn al-Abideen, once again in Medina, the people of Kufa promised him the same thing.

So in 122 AH, Zayd did the same journey from Medina to Kufa. And in Kufa, the people quizzed him and most of them rejected him. Why? Because they said to him, "Do you curse Abu Bakr and Umar?"

And Zayd ibn Ali said: وزيري رَسُول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم - "These were the wazirs of the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم. You want me to curse Abu Bakr and Umar? No, not possible."

And this shows us the real clash between theological Shi'ism and political Shi'ism. The Ahl al-Bayt were Shi'a politically, not theologically.

The irony of irony is when Zayd came, they rejected their own imam as being too Sunni. They rejected their own imam, that "You don't curse Abu Bakr and Umar, how can we fight behind you?"

Who Is to Blame?

The Primary Culprits

The Sahaba that were alive at the time, they knew exactly who to blame. The companions squarely placed the blame on the people of Kufa. The number one culprits were the very people who claimed to be the partisans of Ali.

And it is authentically narrated in the books of Hadith that when Umm Salama - the wife of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) - heard of the death of Husayn, she said:

"May Allah's curse be upon the people of Iraq. They were the ones who murdered him. They killed him. May Allah curse them. They seduced him. They promised him. And then they abandoned him right at the very end."

We have the even more famous narration of Abdullah ibn Umar. This Hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim. When a group of Hujjaj came to Mecca, and one of them comes and says, "Oh, ibn Umar, if I swat a mosquito, and the blood comes, is my ihram broken?"

He said, "Where are you from?" He said, "From Kufa, from Iraq." He said, "وَا عَجَبًا - Amazing are you people. You kill the grandson of the messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). You murder him. And now you come and ask me about the blood of a mosquito?" (Bukhari 1738, Muslim 1318)

The Hierarchy of Blame

1. The People of Kufa - The number one culprits, according to our own sources, are those who seduced, those who promised, those who swore the most solemn oaths, and then they disappeared.
2. Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad - Ibn Ziyad is the main culprit. The governor, this impetuous, arrogant young man. And there is no doubt, it is clear even in his own lifetime that Allah punished him. His own head was decapitated and brought on a plate, just like the head of Husayn was shown to him.
3. Umar ibn Sa'ad - From the books, it seems he was very reluctant, but when push came to shove, he didn't get in the way.
4. Shimr ibn Dhil Jawshan - When it comes to the actual sword and the blood on the sword, it is Shimr who charged for it. The first person to raise his sword and go towards Ibn Rasulullah.

What About Yazid?

What is our position about Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah? There's a whole spectrum of opinion within Sunni Islam. In my humble opinion, and this is the position of ibn Hajar, and al-Zahabi, and ibn Kathir, and ibn Taymiyyah - this is the standard moderate Sunni position:

We believe that Yazid takes a share of the blame. But he did not intend for Husayn to be killed. He sent the ruthless guy to be ruthless with anything less than actual murder. When the death of Husayn came to him, he did not punish a single person for that.

Ibn Taymiyyah says: "Yazid did not order the killing of Husayn, nor did he show happiness on this. Even though he showed sadness, still he did not support Husayn, nor did he exact any revenge or punishments on those who killed Husayn."

Imam Ahmad was asked about Yazid. His son said, "O my dear father, are we supposed to love Yazid?" Listen to Imam Ahmad's response: "And does anybody with iman love Yazid?"

But when asked, "Should we curse him?" Imam Ahmad said, "Have you ever heard your father curse anybody by name? It is not sunnah to curse people by name. We curse generically: لَعْنَةُ اللهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ - And leave it at that."

Conclusion

To conclude, the tragedy of Karbala is a great tragedy. Our hearts bleed for the death of Husayn. But the tragedy of Karbala is a historical tragedy, not a theological one.

Our love for the Ahl al-Bayt does not cause us to go to the two extremes. We are between the two extremes. We love them for the love of Allah, and we are angry at all those who oppose them.

And we say to those who abandoned him at the very last hour, "You are the primary culprits in the death of Husayn. Don't curse Abu Bakr, don't curse Umar, don't curse Uthman. You were the people who abandoned the very person whom you promised to help."

And therefore this is something that we clearly and firmly believe. And I conclude by saying that we are the true followers of Ahl al-Bayt. We are the true lovers of Ahl al-Bayt. We are the true Shia of Ali ibn Abi Talib. We go between the two extremes.

And we pray that Allah extols their ranks and causes them to enter Jannah, and causes us to be along with them in Jannah. (صَلُّوا كَمَا صَلَّيْتُمْ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ).

Final Questions and Answers

Q: What happened to the head of Husayn?

A: What appears to be the case is that the head of Husayn was sent to Yazid wrapped in a silk cloth. He did not dishonor it. And he handed it to the family of Husayn. And the family of Husayn took it to Medina. And they buried it in Baqi al-Gharqad next to the body of Hassan. So the body of Hassan and the head of Husayn, they are buried in Medina.

Q: Is the salvation of a Muslim dependent upon acknowledging the martyrdom of Husayn?

A: The martyrdom of Husayn is a historical tragedy of the highest magnitude. But it is not a theological issue. Our theology, our aqeedah, our fiqh, our laws, do not change by the death of Ali, or Husayn, or Uthman, or any of those sahaba who passed away. Therefore their martyrdom will be accepted by Allah inshaAllah. But it is not something that changes our beliefs and our theology.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.