And ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd al-Ashdaq wrote to him:

“To proceed: Ḥusayn is on his way to you, and in circumstances such as this a man is either set free or enslaved.”

Al-Zubayr narrated: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk told us, from his father, who said:

When Ḥusayn left, Yazīd wrote to his deputy Ibn Ziyād (1): “Ḥusayn is heading for Kūfah, and by him your era—above all other eras—has been put to the test, your city above all other cities, and you above all other governors. At that moment you will either be liberated or return as a slave.”

So Ibn Ziyād killed him and sent his head to Yazīd.

Ibn ʿUyaynah related: A Bedouin called Bujayr from al-Thaʿlabiyyah (2), who was one hundred and sixteen years old, told me:

“Ḥusayn passed by while I was a youth, accompanied by only a few men. My brother said to him, ‘O grandson of the Messenger of Allah through his daughter, I see you with but a small company.’ He tapped his whip—pointing to the saddle-bag—and said, ‘This behind me is filled with letters.’ ”

Ibn ʿUyaynah also reported: Shihāb ibn Khirāsh, from a man of his own tribe, said:

“I was in the force of four thousand men that ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād had outfitted for al-Daylam, but he redirected them against Ḥusayn. I met him and said, ‘Peace be upon you, O Abū ʿAbd Allah.’ He replied, ‘And peace be upon you,’ his voice carrying a gentle nasal tone. Shihāb said, ‘I later recounted this to Zayd ibn ʿAlī and it pleased him; his own speech had that same nasal tone.’ ” (3)

Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān, from Yazīd al-Rishk, said:

“Someone who had spoken face-to-face with Ḥusayn narrated to me: ‘I saw tents pitched for Ḥusayn, so I approached them and found an elderly man reciting the Qur’an, tears streaming down his cheeks. I said, “May my father and mother be your ransom, O son of the Messenger of Allah! What has brought you here?” ’ ”