ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ, the deputy of the Two Sanctuaries, wrote to him:

"I ask Allah to inspire you with right judgment and to turn you away from whatever would bring about your ruin. I have been informed that you have resolved to set out for Iraq. I seek Allah’s protection for you from sowing dissension. If you are afraid, then come to me; you will have safety, kindness, and the bond of kinship from my side."

Al-Ḥusayn replied to him:

"If, by your letter, you intended righteousness toward me and the maintenance of kinship, then may you be rewarded with good in this world and the Hereafter. We have never opposed anyone who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds, and says, ‘I am one of the Muslims.’ The best security is the security granted by Allah, and whoever does not fear Him in this life has not truly believed in Him. We therefore ask Allah for a fear of Him in this world that will secure for us safety with Him on the Day of Resurrection."

They said:

Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah then wrote to Ibn ʿAbbās, informing him that al-Ḥusayn had set out for Makkah. “I suspect,” he said, “that some men from the East have come to him and promised him the caliphate. You know them well and have experience with them. If he has done this, he has severed a firmly rooted bond of kinship. You are the elder of your household and the one to whom people look, so restrain him from pursuing division.”

Along with the letter he sent these verses to him and to the Quraysh who were in Makkah and Madinah:

1. O rider hastening forth at dawn toward your goal,
   Mounted on a bay mount whose stride never tires,

   Convey to Quraysh—though their abode is far—
   That between me and Ḥusayn stand Allah and the tie of kinship.

   By the station in the courtyard of the House I remind him
   Of God’s covenant and the pledges that faithful men fulfill.

   You vaunt before your people because of your mother—by my life,
   A chaste, devoted, noble lady she indeed is!

   None can match her excellence: she is the Prophet’s daughter,
   And the best of mankind know her worth.

   Her merit is merit for you, yet others of your clan
   Also possess a share in that same merit.

   I know—or deem with the certainty of knowledge,
   And surmise is sometimes true and cohesive—

   That he will soon leave you, over the claim you advance,
   As corpses that eagles and vultures toss between them. (2)

2. My people, do not rekindle war now that it has subsided;
   Hold fast to the cords of peace and cling to them.

   Generations before you have tasted war,
   And nations were annihilated because of it.

3. Deal justly with your kin; do not perish in arrogance, (3)
   For many an arrogant man has found his foot slip. (4)

He said:

Ibn ʿAbbās wrote back to him, “I hope that al-Ḥusayn’s departure is not for something you dislike, and I shall never stop advising him in every matter that unites hearts and extinguishes rebellion.” Ibn ʿAbbās then went in to al-Ḥusayn, spoke with him at length, and said—