—the supplication mentioned earlier—:
“O Allah, You are my reliance in every distress, my hope in every hardship …” to the end of the prayer.

His son ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn—who was weak and ill—then mounted a horse called Lāḥiq (1).

Al-Ḥusayn called out, “People! Listen to the counsel I shall give you.” Everyone fell silent. After praising and extolling Allah he said:

“People! If you accept my words and deal with me justly, you will be the happier for it and you will have no claim against me. But if you will not, then: ‘So resolve upon your plan and your partners; let not your plan be hidden from you; then carry it out against me and grant me no respite’ (Yūnus 10:71). ‘Indeed, my Guardian is Allah who sent down the Book, and He befriends the righteous’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:196).

“When his sisters and daughters heard this they raised their voices in tears. At that he said, ‘May Allah not distance Ibn ʿAbbās!’—referring to Ibn ʿAbbās’s earlier advice that he should not take the women with him but leave them in Mecca until affairs were settled. He then sent his brother al-ʿAbbās to quiet them.

“He next began reminding the people of his virtue, the greatness of his lineage and the loftiness of his rank, saying:

‘Examine yourselves and hold them to account. Is it fitting for you to fight someone like me? I am the grandson of your Prophet, and there is no other grandson of a prophet alive on earth today. My father is ʿAlī, my uncle is Jaʿfar of the two wings, and Ḥamzah, the leader of martyrs, is my father’s uncle. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me and my brother, “These two are the lords of the youth of Paradise” (2). If you believe what I say—and it is the truth—by Allah, I have never knowingly told a lie since I learned that Allah detests falsehood. Otherwise, ask the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah, Abū Saʿīd, Sahl ibn Saʿd, Zayd ibn Arqam and Anas ibn Mālik; they will tell you.

‘Woe to you! Do you not fear Allah? Is there nothing to restrain you from shedding my blood?’ (3)

“At this Shamir ibn Dhī al-Jawshan said, ‘He worships Allah on the edge; I have no idea what he is saying.’

“Ḥabīb ibn Muẓāhir replied, ‘By Allah, Shamir, you worship Allah on seventy edges! As for us, by Allah, we understand what he is saying, but your heart has been sealed.’

“Al-Ḥusayn then said, ‘People! Leave me to return to some place of safety on earth.’

“They said, ‘What prevents you from submitting to the judgement of your cousins?’

“He answered, ‘I seek refuge in Allah [that I should give them my hand in the manner of the abased, or submit the submission of a slave, servants of Allah] (4): “Indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning” (Ghāfir 40:27).’

“He then made his mount kneel and told ʿUqbā ibn Simʿān to hobble it. Then he said, ‘Tell me: are you seeking me for someone I have killed, for wealth I have consumed, or for a wound I have inflicted?’ They gave him no answer.

“He called out, ‘O Shabath (5) ibn Ribʿī, O Ḥajjār ibn Abjar, O Qays ibn al-Ashʿath, O Zayd ibn al-Ḥārith, did you not write …”