ʿAbbās reached Madinah; when the pledges of allegiance arrived from the provinces, Ibn ʿUmar gave his pledge (1) along with the people. Ḥusayn and Ibn al-Zubayr, however, had already come to Makkah and found ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ there. Alarmed, they declared, “We have come as ʿuwwādh (2), seeking sanctuary in this House.”

In that same year—during Ramadan—Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah dismissed al-Walīd ibn ʿUtbah from the governorship of Madinah because of his negligence and added the city to the jurisdiction of ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ, the deputy of Makkah. He entered Madinah in Ramadan—some say in Dhū al-Qaʿdah—and took up residence there in an arrogant, overbearing manner (3). ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd empowered ʿAmr ibn al-Zubayr—an avowed enemy of his brother ʿAbd Allah—to wage war against him, and he kept sending detachments to Makkah to fight Ibn al-Zubayr.

It is authentically reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that Abū Shurayḥ al-Khuzāʿī said to ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd while the latter was dispatching troops to Makkah: “Permit me, O emir, to relate to you a statement (4) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered the morning after the Conquest. My ears heard it, my heart retained it, and my eyes beheld him (5) as he spoke:

“He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said:

‘Allah has sanctified Makkah; people did not sanctify it. Fighting in it was never lawful for anyone before me, nor shall it be lawful for anyone after me. It was made lawful for me only for one short hour of the day. Its sanctity has now returned exactly as it was yesterday. Let those who are present convey this to those who are absent.’

“In another wording he said:

‘If anyone seeks a license from the fighting of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ therein, then say: Allah granted permission to His Messenger, but He has not granted it to you.’ ”

They asked Abū Shurayḥ, “What did he reply to you?” He said, “He answered, ‘We know that better than you, Abū Shurayḥ! The Sanctuary does not protect a sinner, nor one fleeing with blood on his hands, nor a fugitive from ruin (6).’ ”

Al-Wāqidī relates that ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd appointed ʿAmr ibn al-Zubayr to command the Madinan police. He pursued his brother’s supporters and anyone inclined toward him, flogging them severely; indeed, among those he beat were his own brother al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr (7), his son Muḥammad ibn al-Mundhir, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd Yaghūth, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām, and Khubayb ibn—