whatever wording ʿAbd Allāh wished; then he brought the letter to ʿAmr, who sealed it with his own signet. ʿAbd Allāh said to ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd, “Send your brother with me,” so he sent his brother Yaḥyā. The two of them set out until they overtook Ḥusayn and read the letter to him. He refused to return and said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in a dream, and he commanded me to do something, and I am proceeding to carry it out.” They asked, “What was that vision?” He replied, “I will not relate it to anyone until I meet my Lord—Exalted is He—.” ⦗1⦘

Abū Mikhnaf said: Muḥammad ibn Qays told me that Ḥusayn continued on until, when he reached al-Ḥājir in the valley of al-Rumma ⦗2⦘, he dispatched Qays ibn Mushir al-Ṣaydāwī to the people of Kūfa with a letter that read:

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful (bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm). From Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī to his brothers among the believers and the Muslims: peace be upon you. I praise Allah before you—there is no god but He. To proceed: the letter of Muslim ibn ʿAqīl has reached me, informing me of your good opinion of us and of the unanimous resolve of your leaders to support us and claim our right. We ask Allah to grant us the best outcome and to reward you for that with the greatest recompense. I departed toward you from Mecca on Tuesday, the eighth of Dhū al-Ḥijja, the Day of Tarwiya. When my envoy reaches you, be prudent⦗3⦘ in your affair and exert yourselves, for I am coming to you in these very days, if Allah Most High wills. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.”

The narrator added: Muslim’s letter had reached Ḥusayn twenty-seven nights before Muslim was killed, and it said: “To proceed: the scout does not lie to his people; all the inhabitants of Kūfa are with you, so come as soon as you read this letter. Peace be upon you.”

Qays ibn Mushir al-Ṣaydāwī set off with Ḥusayn’s letter to Kūfa. When he reached al-Qādisiyya, al-Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr seized him and sent him to ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād, who said, “Climb to the top of the palace and curse the liar, son of a liar.” Qays ascended, praised Allah and extolled Him, and then proclaimed:

“O people! This is Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, the best of Allah’s creation; he is the son of Fāṭima, daughter of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and I am his envoy to you. I left him at al-Ḥājir in the valley of al-Rumma, so answer him, listen to him, and obey him.” He then cursed ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād and his father, and sought forgiveness for ʿAlī and Ḥusayn.

Ibn Ziyād ordered that he be thrown from the roof of the palace, and he was hurled down so that his body was torn apart. Some say rather that his bones were shattered and a spark of life remained in him, whereupon ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr al-Bajalī came and slit his throat, saying, “I only wished to relieve him of his suffering”—though others maintain that it was a man who merely resembled ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr. Another report states that the messenger was actually ʿAbd Allāh ibn Buqṭur, Ḥusayn’s foster-brother, and that he too was thrown from the palace roof. Allah knows best. ⦗4⦘

Ḥusayn meanwhile continued his journey toward Kūfa, unaware of what had transpired.