and Ibn al-Zubayr made for Mecca, while Ibn al-Hanafiyyah stayed behind. When he heard that Musriff’s army was drawing near during the al-Ḥarrah events, he also set out for Mecca and stayed with Ibn ʿAbbās.
When Yazīd died the people pledged allegiance to Ibn al-Zubayr. He summoned the two of them to give him their oath, but they replied, “No—only when all the provinces have united behind you.”
At times he would glare at them, at other times he would speak gently; then he turned harsh, matters flared up between them, and they became afraid of him. Their womenfolk and children were with them, yet he treated them badly, laid siege to them, and singled Muḥammad out—openly abusing and disparaging him. He ordered him and the Banū Hāshim to remain in their mountain pass, stationed guards over them, and kept saying, “By Allah, you will swear allegiance or I shall burn you!” So they were alarmed.
Sulaym Abū ʿĀmir said, “I saw Ibn al-Hanafiyyah confined inside Zamzam, and people were being kept from entering to see him.
“I said, ‘By Allah, I will go in to him.’
“I entered and asked, ‘What is the matter between you and this man?’
“He replied, ‘He called me to pledge allegiance. I said, “I am merely one of the Muslims; if they all agree on you, I will be one of them.” He was not satisfied with that. Go to Ibn ʿAbbās, greet him for me, and ask, “What do you advise?”’
“So I went in to Ibn ʿAbbās—his sight had gone—and he said, ‘Who are you?’
“I said, ‘A man of the Anṣār.’
“He said, ‘Many an Anṣārī proves harder on us than our enemy.’
“I said, ‘Do not fear; I am altogether on your side.’
“He said, ‘Speak.’
“I told him what had happened, and he said, ‘Tell him: “Do not obey him in the slightest; hold to what you have already said, and add nothing to it.”’
“I delivered the message. Ibn al-Hanafiyyah then resolved to travel to Kūfah. News of this reached al-Mukhtār, and the prospect of his arrival weighed on him, so he said:
‘Among the signs of the Mahdī is that he will come to your town; a man in the marketplace will strike him with a sword, yet it will neither harm him nor even leave a mark (1).’
“When Ibn al-Hanafiyyah heard this he remained where he was. Someone said to him, ‘Why not send word to your supporters in Kūfah and inform them of your situation?’
“So he dispatched Abū al-Ṭufayl to his partisans. He told them, ‘We do not feel safe from Ibn al-Zubayr in regard to these people,’ and he explained the fear they were experiencing.
Al-Mukhtār then detached a force to Mecca; four thousand men volunteered, and he put Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Jadalī in command of them,