Yazid’s forces gather at Karbala

oppose Imam Husain (a.s). Umar bin Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas brought an army of six thousand soldiers, four thousand men were headed by Shibth bin Rib’iy, various contingents of between ten and twenty thousand men each headed by Urwa bin Qays, Sinan bin Anas an-Nakh’iy, Hussayn Bin Numair, Shimr bin Thil Joushan, Mudha’ir bin Raheena al-Mazini, Yazid bin Rikab al-Kelbi, Nadhr bin Harasha, Muhammad bin al-Ash’ath, Abdullah bin Hussayn, Khouli al-Asbahi, Bakr bin Ka’b bin Talha, Hajjar ibn Abhur[1] besides the warriors under the command of Umar bin Hajjaj.

On the fourth of Muharram, Umar bin Sa’d wanted Urwa bin Qais a prominent figure from Kufa to go to Imam Husain (a.s) and inquire why he had come. Urwa was one of those who had repeatedly written to Imam Husain (a.s) inviting him to come to Kufa. He made a lame excuse from the task of meeting Imam Husain, as he felt ashamed to face the Imam (a.s). Ibn Sa’d tried to persuade other prominent personalities of Kufa to go on the errand, but they refused out of shame as it was they who had written letters inviting Imam Husain (s) to come to Kufa.[2] Then, Katheer bin Abdullah agreed to go to Imam Husain’s tent. He was stopped by Zohair ibn al-Qain or by Abu Thumama according to some sources, and asked to remove his weapons that he did not agree and went back.[3] Umar ibn Sa’d then sent Qurra bin Qeis al-Handhali. Imam Husain (a.s) asked if anyone knew Qurra. Zohair ibn al-Qain said that Qurra was his sister’s son and belonged to the clan of Tameem. Qurra agreed and deposited his weapons with Zohair and was allowed to meet Imam Husain (a.s). To Qurra’s question, Imam Husain (a.s) replied that the people of Kufa wrote letters inviting him to come to Kufa and guide them in religious matters as they were without an Imam. Imam Husain (a.s) further said that in those circumstances, as an Imam, it was his divinely entrusted mission to come and guide the people of Kufa even at the cost of his life. Imam Husain (s) then said that if the people of Kufa had changed their mind and they did not want him to come to Kufa, he was ready and willing to go back. Zohair told Qurra that it was unfortunate that Qurra was with the opponents of the grandson of the Prophet (s).[4] On hearing this, Qurra replied that before taking any decision he would  

first prefer to convey the reply of Imam Husain (a.s) to ibn Sa’d and watch his reaction.

On the nights of the fourth and the fifth of Muharram, Umar bin Sa’d wanted to meet Imam Husain (a.s). Arrangements were made in an open space between Imam Husain’s camp and Umar’s army when a long conversation ensued during which Imam Husain (a.s) showed hundreds of letters written by the people of Kufa. The next night a similar meeting took place in which Imam Husain (a.s) explained that he had come only in response to the invitation of the people of Kufa; that it was his Divinely entrusted mission, as an Imam, to guide Muslims and that he had no other aspirations.[1]

Umar bin Sa’d wrote to Ibn Ziyad, “By God’s grace, an inevitable conflict and unnecessary bloodshed has been avoided in my dialogue with al-Husain. He showed me over twelve thousand letters written by the people of Kufa inviting him to guide and lead them in religious matters. Al-Husain has not come with any ulterior motive of grabbing power, but only to perform his religious obligation as an Imam. If, however, the people of Kufa say that they do not need him, he intends to go back to Medina or to any far-off place or even to any foreign country. As a last alternative, al-Husain suggested that there should be a meeting between him and Yazid and the matter of leadership of the Muslims should be decided by public choice. Let me know what you propose to do in the matter keeping in mind all the alternatives, so that the matter may be resolved peacefully, without hurting the Prophet’s grandson.”[2]

Khouli, who was inimical to the Ahlul Bayt, wrote to Ibn Ziyad that Umar ibn Sa’d appears to have been impressed with Imam Husain’s reasoning and mellowed and hence might not carry out the purpose for which he was given the command of the army. On hearing this, Ibn Ziyad said sarcastically, “Look, here is an advisor and well wisher of Muslims.” Ibn Ziyad was enraged by the attitude of Ibn Sa’d and he called for Shimr bin Thil Joushan to whom he gave a letter to be delivered to Umar ibn Sa’d. Shimr gleefully took the letter to Karbala and gave it to Umar bin Sa’d on the night of the sixth of Muharram.

The contents of the letter were recorded by Abu Makhnaf as well as A’sam al-Kufi, and translated into English by Mirza Ghulam Abbas Ali as follows:  

“O son of Sa’d! I have known that you spend whole nights out of your camp along with Husain near the bank of the Euphrates. You hold friendly discourses with him on various topics and show him mildness. Now as soon as this reaches you and you read it, see that no drop of water is carried to Husain’s camp, if you mind your own welfare. Post your men between the Euphrates and Husain’s soldiers. Attack and destroy them. I allow the use of water of the Euphrates by Christians and Jews, but refuse it to Husain, his relatives and friends. Guard the banks, so that they may not be able to take any water in return for what they have done to Uthman who was so badly treated. I know that harming dead bodies does no good or evil, but I command you to trample their dead bodies under the hoofs of horses after you will have killed them. If you are reluctant to carry out my orders, hand over the charge of my forces to the bearer Shimr bin Thil Joushan and come to me to wait for my future orders. As soon as you receive this letter, seal the banks of the river and see that not a drop of water reaches Husain’s camp.”[1]

Umar bin Sa’d realized that Shimr had always carried a grudge against him for being preferred and given command of the army and that he was overlooked; therefore, he incited Ibn Ziyad against him. The possibility of losing his command of the army as well as the riches promised by ibn Ziyad, was enough to, once again, blind Umar ibn Sa’d from the reality placed before him by Imam Husain (a.s) during the preceding nights. He forthwith ordered the closure of the banks of the Euphrates by posting several battalions under the command of Amr bin al-Hajjaj, and Hussayn ibn Numair with strict instructions not to allow anyone from Imam Husain’s camp to come near the river and take any water.[2]