The third [3] day of muharram, ‘Umar b. Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas arrived from Kufah with four thousand soldiers. This cavalry of soldiers had originally been dispatched by ‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad to subdue the people of Daylam in Dastaba. By then, Ibn Ziyad had appointed ‘Umar b. Sa‘d as governor of Rayy. With the predicament of Husayn, who was moving towards Kufah, Ibn Ziyad changed Ibn Sa‘d’s assignment. His instructions to Ibn Sa‘d were, “Go towards Husayn. When you complete this task, return back to your Governorate.” ‘Umar b. Sa‘d petitioned, “If you can relieve me of this mission, then do so. May God have mercy on you.” ‘Ubaydallah replied, “Yes, if you hand over to us our governorate of Rayy.” Ibn Sa‘d requested a day to reflect on this matter.
Ibn Sa‘d left to seek the counsel and advice of his sincere friends. Everyone advised him not to undertake this mission. Hamzah b. Mughirah, who was his sister’s son, said to him, “O uncle, I implore you, in the name of God, to desist from moving against Husayn, for it will constitute a great sin in the sight of your Lord and violates the bond of kinship. By God, it would be better to give up all your worldly wealth and your governorate than to meet God, burdened with the responsibility of having spilled Husayn’s blood.” ‘Umar b. Sa‘d responded, “Indeed, I will follow your advice, God willing.”
Hisham reports that he went to see ‘Umar b. Sa‘d after the latter had been instructed to march against Husayn. Ibn Sa‘d said to him, “The governor has ordered me to go out against Husayn and I refused to do so.” Hisham said to him, “May God guide you to do what is proper and right. Do not undertake this mission of combat against Husayn.” Then, he left him. Someone came to Hisham and informed him, “This ‘Umar b. Sa‘d is inciting people against Husayn.” He went to ‘Umar b. Sa‘d and found him seated. When the latter saw Hisham, he turned his face away from him. By this gesture, Hisham realized that he had decided to march against Husayn and left him.
‘Umar b. Sa‘d went to Ibn Ziyad and said, “May God make you prosperous. You have entrusted me with the governorship of Rayy and the mission against Husayn. People have heard about my appointment. If you consider me suitable for this post, then do so. Otherwise, dispatch an army of the eminent leaders of Kufah with this army. I am not the best candidate to fight on your behalf.” Thereupon, he proposed some names.
Ibn Ziyad replied, “Do not try to teach me about the eminent leaders of Kufah. I am not seeking your advice on who to send out. Either you set out against Husayn with your soldiers or hand over your governorate.” Noting the insistence of ‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad, he agreed to undertake the mission with four thousand soldiers. They arrived at Ninawa the next day, 3 Muharram.
‘Umar b. Sa‘d instructed ‘Azrah b. Qays to go to Husayn and ask him about his purpose for coming here and his intentions. ‘Azrah was one of those who had sent written invitations to Husayn and was thus embarrassed to go to him. Other eminent leaders who had written to Husayn faced the same awkward situation, expressed displeasure and refused to meet Husayn.
In the meantime, Kathir b. ‘Abdallah Sha‘bi, a courageous horseman who never shied away from anything said, “I will go to him. By God, if you wish, I will kill him.” ‘Umar retorted, “I do not want you to kill him. Rather, go and ask him why he came here.” On his way towards Husayn, Kathir was spotted by Abu Thumamah Sa’idi, who told Husayn, “May God makes you prosperous, O Abu ‘Abdallah. The most wicked person on earth who has spilled blood and killed people is coming toward you.”
Abu Thumamah approached him and said, “Lay down your sword.” The man replied, “By God, no. There is no cause for that. I am only a messenger. If you listen to me, I will tell you what I have been asked to convey. If you refuse, I will go back.” Abu Thumamah said, “I will grasp the hilt of your sword and then you can convey the message.” He replied, “No, by God, you will not hold on to it.” Abu Thumamah said, “In that case, give me the message for Husayn and I will convey it to him on your behalf. I will not allow you to go near him, for you are a treacherous man.” They exchanged curses. Kathir returned to ‘Umar b. Sa‘d and informed him of what had transpired.
‘Umar b. Sa‘d called out for Qurrah b. Qays Hanzali and said to him, “Shame on you, Qurrah. Go to Husayn and ask him what has brought him here and what he wants.” Qurrah began to walk towards the camp of Husayn. When Husayn saw him approaching, he asked, “Does anyone know him?” Habib b. Muzahir replied, “Yes. He is from the Hanzalah clan of Tamim and the son of our sister. I used to know him as a man of sound understanding and would not have imagined his presence on the other side.”
Qurrah entered and greeted Husayn. Then he conveyed ‘Umar b. Sa‘d’s message to him. Husayn replied, “The people of your town wrote to me invitations to come. If they are now averse to my presence, I’ll leave them and go away.” Qurrah returned to Ibn Sa‘d to inform him of this conversation. Ibn Sa‘d said, “I hope that God will exempt me from engaging him in battle or declare war on him.”
Letter of ‘Umar b. Sa‘d to Ibn Ziyad
‘Umar b. Sa‘d wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad:
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
When I reached Husayn, I sent my messenger to him and asked him what his purpose for coming here was and what he wanted. He responded, “The people of this town wrote to me letters of invitation and their messengers came to me appealing to me to come. Therefore, I have come to them. Since they are displeased with my presence here and hold to views that differ from what their messengers brought to me, I am prepared to go back.”
When the letter was read to Ibn Ziyad, he said, “Now that our claws have seized him, he seeks for a way out, but now is not the time for escape.”
Response of Ibn Ziyad to ‘Umar b. Sa‘d’s Letter
Ibn Ziyad wrote to ‘Umar b. Sa‘d as follows:
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
I have received your letter and have understood the contents. Offer Husayn and his followers the opportunity to pledge allegiance to Yazid b. Mu‘awiyah. If they do so, we will determine our decree. Peace.
Upon reading the letter, Ibn Sa‘d said, “I had a feeling that Ibn Ziyad will not accept a conciliatory posture.”
Imam Husayn and his Followers Denied Water
Another letter came from ‘Ubaydallah b. Ziyad addressed to ‘Umar b. Sa‘d, “Prevent Husayn and his followers from reaching the water supply. They should not be allowed ever to taste a drop of it¾as was done with the righteous, pious and oppressed caliph, ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan.” Consequently, ‘Umar b. Sa‘d dispatched ‘Amr b. Hajjaj with five hundred horsemen to be stationed along the river in order to prevent Husayn and his followers from obtaining a drop of water. This was done three days before the battle against Husayn.
source : sibtayn
