of al-Ḥusayn and then chanted that couplet.

ʿAlī replied, “No calamity strikes on earth—nor in your own selves—except that it is inscribed in a Book before We bring it into being…” (al-Ḥadīd 57:22).

It irked Yazīd that he himself had recited a mere line of poetry while ʿAlī had answered with a Qurʾānic verse, so he retorted: “Rather, ‘it is because of what your own hands have earned’” (ash-Shūrā 42:30).

ʿAlī said, “By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were to see us, he would wish to set us free.”
Yazīd answered, “You have spoken the truth—release them.”

ʿAlī added, “And if we were standing before him, he would love to draw us near.”
He said, “You have spoken the truth—bring them close.”

Sukaynāh and Fāṭimah then stood on tiptoe, trying to catch sight of the head, while Yazīd kept stretching himself in his seat so as to shield it from their view.

He next ordered that they be supplied for the journey and that their provisions be put in order; they then departed for Madinah (1).

Kathīr ibn Hishām related: Jaʿfar ibn Burqān told us, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, who said:

“When the head of al-Ḥusayn was brought to Yazīd, he began prodding its teeth with a rod and saying, ‘I never imagined that Abū ʿAbd Allah had reached this age.’ By then, the dye had faded from his beard and hair.”

Among those killed with al-Ḥusayn were his four brothers—Jaʿfar, ʿAtīq, Muḥammad, and al-ʿAbbās al-Akbar; his eldest son ʿAlī; his son ʿAbd Allah; while his son ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn had been ill and thus survived—Yazīd used to honor and care for him.

Also slain with al-Ḥusayn were his nephew al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥasan; ʿAbd Allah and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the two sons of Muslim ibn ʿAqīl ibn Abī Ṭālib; and Muḥammad and ʿAwn, the two sons of ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib.

Al-Madāʾinī transmitted: from Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad, from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār. Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to us from his father, who said:

“Al-Ḥusayn was killed, and we were brought into Kūfah. A man met us, took us into his house, and covered us with blankets. I fell asleep and did not wake until I heard the clatter of horses in the alleyways. We were then taken to Yazīd. His eyes filled with tears when he saw us, and he gave us whatever we asked for. He said, ‘Your people will soon be caught up in turmoil, so do not join them.’

“When the events of the Day of al-Ḥarrah later unfolded, he wrote…”