with which you threaten me? By Allah, to die in his company is dearer to me than everlasting life with you.’

Zuhayr then turned toward the crowd and, raising his voice, proclaimed:
‘Servants of Allah! Let not this coarse, hard-hearted fellow and those like him deceive you about your religion. By Allah, no people who shed the blood of the Prophet’s descendants and kill those who aided them and defended their sanctity will ever receive the intercession of Muhammad ﷺ.

Al-Hur ibn Yazid said to ʿUmar ibn Saʿd, ‘May Allah set your affairs right! Are you going to fight this man?’
He replied, ‘Yes, by Allah—a battle whose least result will be heads rolling and hands flying.’

Al-Hur was among the bravest men of Kufah, yet some of his companions reproached him for joining al-Husayn. He said to them, ‘By Allah, I am choosing between Paradise and Hell. By Allah, I will choose nothing over Paradise, even if I am cut to pieces and burned.’ He spurred his horse, caught up with al-Husayn, apologized for what had passed, and then said:

‘People of Kufah! May your mothers be bereaved of you (1)! You invited al-Husayn, and when he came you betrayed him. You claimed you would lay down your lives for him; instead you have turned against him to kill him. You have barred him from travelling through the vast lands of Allah—lands denied neither to dog nor swine—and you have kept him from the flowing Euphrates, from which dogs and swine drink, while his family lie stricken with thirst! Evil indeed is the legacy you leave Muhammad concerning his offspring. May Allah refuse you drink on the Day of the Greatest Thirst unless you repent and turn back this very day, this very hour.’

Foot soldiers advanced on him, shooting arrows, so he withdrew until he stood before al-Husayn.

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd said, ‘Had the matter been mine, I would have granted al-Husayn what he asks (2), but ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad has forbidden me. He has already addressed the people of Kufah, censuring, rebuking, and reviling them.’

Al-Hur ibn Yazid retorted, ‘Woe to you! You have denied al-Husayn, his womenfolk, and his daughters the water of the Euphrates—water the Jews and Christians drink and in which the swine and dogs of this plain wallow—so that he stands like a captive in your hands, unable to ward off harm or procure benefit for himself.’

ʿUmar ibn Saʿd stepped forward and said to his servant, ‘O Duraid, bring your standard nearer.’ When he had done so, ʿUmar rolled up his sleeve, loosed an arrow, and said, ‘Bear witness that I am the first to shoot at this company.’

The two sides then exchanged volleys of arrows.

Yasar, the freedman of Ziyad, and Salim, the freedman of ʿUbayd Allah, advanced, crying, ‘Who will duel with us?’ ʿAbd Allah (3) ibn ʿUmayr al-Kalbi, having sought leave from al-Husayn, came forth. He killed Yasar first, then Salim, though Salim had struck him a blow that severed the fingers of his left hand.

A man called ʿAbd Allah ibn Hawzah charged forward until he stood before al-Husayn and said, ‘O Husayn, rejoice in the Fire!’ Al-Husayn replied, ‘Never! Woe to you! I am going to a merciful Lord and an obeyed Intercessor; rather, you are more deserving of the Fire.’

They say that as Ibn Hawzah turned away, his horse stumbled; he fell, and one foot became caught in the stirrup. [Al-Husayn had asked his name and he had answered, ‘I am Ibn Hawzah.’] Al-Husayn raised his hand and said, ‘O Allah, deliver him to the Fire.’ Ibn Hawzah became enraged and tried to hurl his horse straight at him