is the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and by Allah no one whose safety Allah grants is dearer to us than al-Ḥusayn. So beware of provoking against yourself a matter that nothing can mend, that the masses will never forget, and whose mention will never cease to the end of time. And peace.

ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ also wrote to him:
To proceed: al-Ḥusayn is heading toward you. On an occasion such as this a man is either set free or becomes a slave to be enslaved like other slaves.

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār said:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk related to me from his father that Yazīd wrote to Ibn Ziyād: “News has reached me that Ḥusayn has set out for Kūfah. Your era among the eras, your land among the lands, and you among the governors have been put to the test by him. In the outcome you will either be emancipated or revert to slavery, reduced to bondage as ordinary slaves are.” Ibn Ziyād therefore killed him and sent his head to Yazīd.

I say: The sound view is that he did not send al-Ḥusayn’s head to Syria, as will be mentioned.

[Another narration states that Yazīd wrote to Ibn Ziyād: “It has reached me that al-Ḥusayn has set out toward Iraq. Post lookouts and patrols, remain on your guard, detain on suspicion and arrest on accusation, yet fight no one unless he fights you. Write to me about every new development. And peace.”] (1)

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār also said:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk narrated to me that when al-Ḥusayn resolved to leave Makkah for Kūfah he passed by the gate of the Sacred Mosque and recited:
“May I never alarm the grazing herds at dawn in a sudden raid,
 nor ever be summoned to yield to Yazīd; (2)
The day I, for fear of death, would swallow humiliation—
 while doom lies in wait should I turn aside.”

Abū Mikhnaf reported, citing Abū Janāb Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ḥiyyah (3) from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥarmlah al-Asadī, who in turn related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sulaym and al-Mudharrī (4) ibn al-Mashmaʿill al-Asadī:

We set out from Kūfah on pilgrimage and arrived in Makkah. On the Day of Tarwiyah, near mid-morning, we found al-Ḥusayn and Ibn al-Zubayr standing between the Ḥijr and the door [of the Kaʿbah]. We heard Ibn al-Zubayr saying to al-Ḥusayn, “If you wish to stay, then stay; take charge of this affair and we will back you, aid you, counsel you sincerely, and pledge allegiance to you.”

Al-Ḥusayn replied, “My father told me that a ‘ram’ would violate its sanctuary, and I do not wish to be that ram.”

Ibn al-Zubayr said, “Then stay if you wish and entrust the matter to me; you will be obeyed and not disobeyed.”

Al-Ḥusayn answered, “That, too, I do not desire.” The two of them then lowered their voices so that we could not hear, and they continued whispering until the pilgrims’ calls rang out as the people set off (5) heading for