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Part 5 - Departure From Madinah And Muslims Martyrdom In Koofa |
At the meeting with Waleed Husayn realized that the Umayyads were not going to relent. He gauged the situation in Madinah. He saw that the Madinans had no courage to stand up to Yazeed.
At the same time, Husayn had been receiving letters from the people of Koofa to come and help them in their effort to save themselves from the tyranny of Yazeed.
On the 28th of Rajab Husayn left Madinah with a handful of his relatives, women and children and arrived in Makkah on the 3rd of Sh’ban. He stayed in Makkah until the month of Zilhijja began. He received still more letters from Koofa and Basra. Finally one letter that Husayn received was decisive in his plans. It said: We have been calling you to come and help us get rid of a tyranny. You are not responding to us. If you don’t come then we will hold you responsible on the Day of Judgement and will complain to Allah that we had called our Imam and he did not respond.” Eyewitness reports tell us that Husayn shook when he read that letter and at that moment he decided to leave for Iraq. Many companions including Abdullah bin Abbas exhorted Husayn not to go to Iraq in view of their previous perfidious behaviour, but Husayn had already decided.
We can imagine how Husayn felt at moment. Husayn must have felt like the father of a little child who was drowning. The father jumps in the water to save his child knowing very well that he does not know how to swim. Knowing that he jumps in the water hoping that something will happen and he will be able to bring his child to the shore.
Husayn knew that the physical strength that he had at his command was no match for the enormous Umayyad power. But he saw that his followers were helpless against the tyranny of the Umayyads and they were calling out for help. He had to act even if it was at the great risk to his, his family and his friends’ safety and security.
On the first of Zilhijja Husayn sent his cousin Muslim bin Aqeel to Koofa for finding out the situation and write back to him. Muslim was welcome by the Koofans with open arms. Some 18,000 Koofans swore to help and join him. However, Koofans also had a very fickle nature and they would be intimated very quickly. Ibn Ziyad, the governor of Koofa, sent his spies to arrest all the leaders of Koofa who were sympathetic to Husayn, and their women and children.
He gave money freely to all those Koofans who would spy and report back any sympathy with Husayn. All roads in and out of Koofa and Basra were guarded.
Three days later, Ibn Aqeel was arrested on a spy’s report and brutally killed. His remains were thrown from the roof of the Governor’s palace and his dead body was dragged in the streets of Koofa.
Husayn received the news of Muslim’s killing as he had already left Makkah for Koofa.
Ibn Ziyad ordered that Husayn should be stopped from entering Koofa t any cost. He sent a detachment of two thousand cavalry under the command of a man named Hurr bin Yazeed Riyahee to check Husayn. The two caravans met at the foot of mount Zu Hasm in the desert. When they met, Hurr’s contingent had lost its way in the desert and they were on the verge of dying of thirst. Husayn commanded that water should be provided freely to man and beast alike. When Hurr recovered he asked Husayn to change his course. Husayn refused.
Hurr had a lot of respect for the family of the Prophet. He refused to fight with Imam Husayn but he followed the caravan.
On the second of Muharram in the 61st year of Hijra, both Hurr and Husayn arrived at the plane of Karbala.
Husayn called the owners of that land and bought it off the owners at 60,000 dirham. He then made a gift of that land back to the previous owners with three promises.
He asked them not to use the lands for cultivation. He explained to them that in a few days Husayn and his companions will be killed at that place and their graves will be made there. Husayn asked the owners to respect and be hospitable to the visitors to the graves.
From the third of Muharram, various contingents of the Umayyad armies began to arrive at Karabla.
Husayn had only a handful of companions with him. The most popular figure in history is given as 72. They may have been a hundred or a few more. They were definitely not 200 in number. However, the strength of Yazeed’s army tells us how scared the Umayyads were of Husayn and his small band of soldiers.
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