—O governor, is the way of the powerless.’

al-Nuʿmān replied, ‘For me to be counted among the weak while obeying Allah is dearer than to be ranked among the strong and honoured while disobeying Allah.’ He then stepped down.

That man wrote to Yazīd to inform him of the matter, and ʿImārah ibn ʿUqbah and ʿUmar ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ likewise wrote to Yazīd. Yazīd thereupon removed al-Nuʿmān from the governorship of Kūfah and joined it to Baṣrah under ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād, acting on the counsel of Sargūn, Muʿāwiyah’s freedman.

[Yazīd used to consult him. Sargūn said, ‘Had Muʿāwiyah still been alive, would you have accepted whatever advice he gave?’ Yazīd replied, ‘Yes.’ Sargūn said, ‘Then accept it from me, for no one is fit for Kūfah except ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād; appoint him over it.’ Yazīd disliked ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād and had been intending to dismiss him from Baṣrah, yet he entrusted to him both Baṣrah and Kūfah together because of what Allah had decreed for him and for others] (1).

Yazīd then wrote to Ibn Ziyād: ‘When you reach Kūfah, look for Muslim ibn ʿAqīl; if you are able, kill him or banish him.’ He sent the letter and the writ of appointment with Muslim ibn ʿAmr al-Bāhilī.

Ibn Ziyād set out from Baṣrah to Kūfah. When he entered the city he did so veiled, wrapping his head in a black turban. Whenever he passed a group of people he would greet them with, ‘Peace be upon you,’ and they would reply, ‘And upon you peace; welcome, son of the Messenger of Allah!’—for they imagined he was al-Ḥusayn, whose arrival they were expecting. The crowds thickened about him, and he entered the city with only seventeen mounted men.

Muslim ibn ʿAmr, the envoy from Yazīd, called out to the people, ‘Stand back; this is the governor ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād!’ When they realised who he was, gloom and deep sorrow overcame them. ʿUbayd Allah confirmed the news and took up residence in the governor’s palace at Kūfah.

Once his authority had been secured, he dispatched the freedman of Abū Ruhm—some say a freedman of his named Maʿqil—carrying three thousand dirhams and posing as a messenger from the land of Ḥimṣ who had come to pledge allegiance. That freedman continued to act with tact, inquiring until he discovered the house where Muslim ibn ʿAqīl was receiving pledges. It was the house of Hānīʾ ibn ʿUrwah, to which they had moved from the previous location. He gave the pledge and was admitted to Muslim ibn ʿAqīl, remaining with them for several days until he had learned their exact situation. He then handed the money—on Muslim’s instructions—to Abū Thumāmah al-Ṣāʾidī (2), who used to receive the funds that were brought in and purchase weapons, and who was one of the renowned horsemen of the Arabs. The freedman returned and informed ʿUbayd Allah about the house and its owner.

Muslim ibn ʿAqīl had moved to the house of Hānīʾ ibn ʿUrwah al-Murādī and then to the house of Sharīk ibn al-Aʿwar, one of the leading commanders. News reached him that ʿUbayd Allah intended to pay Sharīk a visit, so he sent word to Hānīʾ, saying, ‘Send Muslim ibn ʿAqīl so that he may be in my house and kill ʿUbayd Allah

[when he comes to visit me.’ Hānīʾ sent him, and Sharīk said, ‘Stay concealed in the inner chamber; when ʿUbayd Allah sits down, (3) I shall ask for water—that will be my signal to you—so come out and kill him.’ When ʿUbayd Allah arrived he sat on Sharīk’s cushion; Hānīʾ ibn ʿUrwah was with him, and a servant of Sharīk called Mihrān stood before him. They conversed for a while, and then Sharīk said:]