Imam Husain migrates to Mecca Imam Husain (a.s) had a great following among the people of Medina who had seen the Prophet (s) showering his love and affection on him. Imam Husain’s eminence in teaching the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and his knowledge of the Islamic Jurisprudence and other sciences and his noble character had endeared him to the people of Medina. In addition to this, he had his near relatives (the Hashimites) and several esteemed companions of the Prophet (s) who revered Imam Husain (a.s) so highly. Imam Husain (a.s) enjoyed the respect and admiration of the people of Medina and Mecca. Had Imam Husain (a.s) desired to wage war against the tyrannical establishment with a view to succeed to power, Medina was the most suitable place to commence the struggle. However, Imam Husain (a.s) chose to avoid any conflict. Therefore, he chose to leave Medina when he was threatened and pressurized to accept Yazid as the Caliph. Imam Husain (a.s) was fully aware of the Qur’anic injunction to migrate when faced with oppression.[1] He was also aware that his grandfather, the Prophet (s), acted according to those injunctions. Imam Husain (a.s) was facing severe persecution and extreme pressure to accept Yazid as the Caliph. Had Imam Husain (a.s) sworn allegiance to Yazid it would have amounted to approve all the anti-Islamic deeds of Yazid. If Imam Husain (a.s) had remained in Medina, it would certainly have led to his massacre along with the Banu Hashim and all the true believers. Imam Husain (a.s) consulted Mohammad bin al-Hanafiyya and others who unanimously thought that it would be better for Imam Husain (a.s) to leave Medina and seek sanctuary in Mecca, instead of capitulating to the wretched Yazid. Imam Husain (a.s) preferred to migrate and move away from Medina. The best place he could choose was Mecca. The sanctuary of the Holy   [1] For details see Chapter 2 above.

Kaaba, where even the killing of a mosquito is prohibited right from the pre-Islamic days, should have provided safety to Imam Husain (a.s) and his family. However, this was not to be. In preferring to migrate rather than to stay at Medina and create a possible confrontation with the forces of Yazid, Imam Husain (a.s) followed the footsteps of his grandfather the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) had set an example in his migration from Mecca to Medina in similar circumstances on the command of God. Imam Husain (a.s) could not, at any cost, accept an enemy of Islam as a ruler over Muslims. Moulvi al-Haj Ghulam Abbas Ali gives the reason for Imam Husain (a.s) in leaving Medina:“In fact, the Umayyads fostered an inborn animosity to the Prophet (s) and his family. Their main object was to destroy even the last surviving soul among the Ahlul Bayt and their adherents. Husain (a.s) had noted that his brother’s retirement to private life could not improve the Islamic world and set it thinking to distinguish the right from the wrong. Even his murder in secret was coolly heard by the Arabs and could not bring on a revolution. Husain (a.s) was sure that he would have to share the same fate as that of his elder brother and that the Umayyad’s animosity would pursue and kill him wherever he would go. However, he desired that his valuable blood should not be so easily shed and the whole matter hushed up without a proper consequence. He was prepared to suffer martyrdom publicly and reap its fruit for religion. He wanted to show the public how brutal and irreligious the Umayyads were and how the shedding of human blood, even that of the children of the Prophet (s), was a crime calculated as nothing… Above all, he wanted to set a lesson for upholding the right under the most adverse circumstances, in order to please God and thus tread the most difficult path of love and annihilate his separate existence in the All Pervading Existence, unmindful of the severe persecution at the hands of the devilish folk. His means to this end was not aggression, but passive resistance in order that he might not be blamed for any oppressive act on his part.”[1] Islam deprecates suicide. The protection of one’s life and the prevention from exposing one’s self to imminent danger is an obligatory part of a Muslim’s faith. Mirza Ghulam Abbas Ali further notes, “For fear of being criticized by the public that when he was sure of his murder at Medina, he ought to have taken shelter at Mecca and to be free before God from the blame that he had brought the trouble and ruin on himself, Husain (s) thought it wise to settle within the precincts of the Kaaba.”[2]   [1] Life of Imam Husain the Saviour, p. 131 – 132. [2] Life of Imam Husain the Saviour, p. 134.

On the night preceding his departure, Imam Husain (a.s) visited the tombs of his grandfather the Prophet (s), his mother Fatima (s) and brother Imam Hasan (a.s). At the Prophet’s tomb after performing his prayers, Imam Husain (a.s) dozed off and in his vision, the Prophet (s) said, “I see you being butchered by the very people who expect my intercession. Wretched that they are, I shall not intercede for them. Soon, you will join me, your parents, and your brother. God has reserved for you the place in the Paradise that could only be attained through martyrdom.” Returning home, Imam Husain (a.s) narrated his dream to his relatives and friends.[1] Imam Husain (a.s) met Umm Salama, his step-grandmother and the surviving wife of the Prophet (s). Umm Salama had heard from the Prophet (s) that Imam Husain (a.s) would be martyred at Karbala. She repeated what she had heard from the Prophet (s) and showed a vial of mud given to her by the Prophet (s). Imam Husain (a.s) retold his dream, gave a vial containing mud of Karbala, and asked Umm Salama to keep both vials together. He then told Umm Salama that on the day of his martyrdom the mud in both the vials would turn into blood.[2] A similar incident is reported through the Prophet’s wife Aa’isha. Imam Husain’s elder daughter Fatima as-Sughra (the youngest) was ill at the time when Imam Husain (a.s) left Medina. He entrusted Fatima as-Sughra to the care of Umm Salama. Imam Husain (a.s) met Mohammad bin al-Hanafiyya and discussed the situation. Mohammed suggested that the Imam (a.s) should leave Medina immediately and proceed to Mecca, which was a safe sanctuary for every one. He then suggested that in case there was any threat of bloodshed and desecration of the Kaaba, the Imam should proceed to Yemen. If even in Yemen there would be a threat to his life, the Imam should move on to the desert and mountains and keep moving until things settled down. Hearing these words, the Imam (a.s) blessed Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyya for his advice.[3] Later, in a testament written to Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyya, Imam Husain (a.s) himself set out the reason for his leaving Medina in the following words:“I am leaving (Medina) not to create sedition, corruption,   [1] Amali of Sheikh as-Saduq, Awalimul Ulum, quoted in Imam Husayn [A] & Tragic Saga of Karbala, p. 45. [2] Nafasul Mahmoom, p. 107. [3] Nafasul Mahmoom, p 97, 102.