THE ISSUE OF A
POLITICAL RIVAL
On the final day of the confrontation, 10 Muharram 61 AH, Imam Husain delivered a speech before Yazid’s army on the field of Karbala. It was a masterpiece of eloquence. Among other things, he said, “Had even the donkey of Jesus survived, the Christians would have cared for it until the Day of Judgement. What kind of Muslims and followers of the Prophet are you that you seek to kill your Prophet’s grandson?”
In reality, had it been a question of the Prophet’s donkey, Muslims too would have venerated it. They were fully prepared to honour the Prophet’s grandson. The problem, however, was that Imam Husain had appeared before them as a political rival. And no one spares a political rival, whether Christian or Muslim.
The same Yazid who, in 61 AH, appointed the ruthless Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad to deal with Imam Husain’s opposition with an iron hand, sent Muslim ibn Uqbah to march on Madinah in 62 AH. Yet he gave him strict instructions to take special care of Imam Husain’s son, Ali ibn Husain ibn Ali (38–95 AH), and to ensure that no harm came to him. This was because, after the tragedy of Karbala, Ali ibn Husain—Imam Zayn al-Abidin—had withdrawn from politics and settled on the outskirts of Madinah.
When the people of Madinah wished to pledge allegiance to him, he categorically refused to accept their pledge. He said, “Both my father and my grandfather lost their lives over the question of the caliphate. Should I too involve myself in it and have myself killed?”
After the Battle of Karbala, Yazid treated the surviving members of Imam Husain’s family with great honour and respect. He provided them with every possible assistance and sent them back to Madinah.
Yazid used force to obtain the allegiance of Husain ibn Ali, Abdullah ibn Zubayr, and others. However, he did not interfere with Abdullah ibn Umar. He wrote to his governor in Madinah, Walid ibn Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan, instructing him that if Abdullah ibn Umar declined to pledge allegiance, he should be left alone. Yazid knew that Abdullah ibn Umar was a devout and ascetic man with no political ambition.
Yazid’s father, Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, had once summed up his political principle in a single sentence: “I do not stand between people and their words, unless they stand between us and our rule.” (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 5, p. 336) Yazid inherited this principle of politics—if not completely, then to a large extent. The reaction to the tragedy of Karbala in Madinah was that people rose in rebellion against Yazid’s rule. At that time, nearly a thousand members of Yazid’s tribe (the Banu Umayyah) were living in Madinah. They began to be harassed and attacked. The Umayyads sent a messenger to inform Yazid of the situation. When the messenger reached Damascus and explained what was happening, Yazid recited this verse:
“They have changed the patience that was in my nature; So I have changed my way with my people—gentleness replaced by harshness.” (Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir, Vol. 3, p. 311)
From this it becomes clear that if Imam Husayn had not become Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah’s political rival, Yazid’s treatment of him would have been entirely different.
