Hisham ibn al-Kalbi said:

ʿAwana ibn al-Hakam related to me from Labata ⦗1⦘ ibn al-Farazdaq, who related from his father:

I performed the pilgrimage with my mother. While I was leading her camel and had just entered the Sacred Precinct during the days of Hajj—in the year 60 AH—I met Ḥusayn as he was leaving Mecca, carrying his swords and shields.

I said to him, “May my father and mother be your ransom, O son of the Messenger of Allah! What has made you depart before completing the Hajj?”

He replied, “Had I not hurried, I would have been seized.”

He then asked, “Where are you from?”

I answered, “A man from Iraq.” He inquired about the state of the people, and I told him, “Hearts are with you, but the swords are with the Umayyads,” repeating something similar to what has been mentioned earlier.

Al-Farazdaq said: I questioned Ḥusayn about various matters and about the rites of pilgrimage, and he clarified them for me.

He was, however, slow of speech because of a birsām ⦗2⦘ (a cerebral inflammation) that had afflicted him in Iraq.

I continued on until I saw a pavilion ⦗3⦘ pitched within the Sanctuary, handsomely arranged. It belonged to ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ. He asked me, and I told him that I had encountered Ḥusayn.

He said, “Why did you not accompany him? No weapon will pierce ⦗4⦘ Ḥusayn; nothing will reach either him or his companions.” I regretted not joining him and was on the verge of setting out after him. Ibn ʿAmr’s remark weighed on my heart, but when I remembered the prophets and the fact that they had been killed, that kept me from following him. When word later reached me that Ḥusayn had been slain, I cursed Ibn ʿAmr.

Ibn ʿAmr used to say, “By Allah, this matter will not spare a tree, a palm-trunk, nor even a small child until it comes to pass and becomes manifest.”

By his words, “no weapon will pierce him,” Ibn ʿAmr meant the weapon that had not been decreed to kill him; other explanations have been offered, and some say he was only jesting with al-Farazdaq ⦗5⦘.

They said: Ḥusayn then travelled on without turning aside for anything until he halted at Dhāt ʿIrq.

Abū Mikhnaf said:

Al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb al-Wālibī narrated to me from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, who said:

When we left Mecca, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar wrote to Ḥusayn and sent the letter with his two sons ⦗6⦘, ʿAwn and Muḥammad:

“To proceed: I implore you by Allah—when this letter reaches you—turn back and reflect on its contents. I fear that the path you have taken will bring about your death and the eradication of your household. Should you die today, the light of Islam will be extinguished, for you are the standard of the guided and the hope of the believers. Do not hurry on your journey, for I am following close behind this letter. Peace.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar then went to ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd, the deputy governor of Mecca, and said,

“Write a letter to Ḥusayn in which you grant him safety, promise him kindness and generosity, give him firm assurances in writing, and ask him to return—perhaps he will feel reassured and come back.”

ʿAmr replied, “Write whatever you wish on my behalf and bring it to me so that I may seal it.” So Ibn Jaʿfar drafted a letter in the name of ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd.