Yazīd had already dismissed ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ from the Ḥijāz and appointed al-Walīd ibn ʿUtbah ibn Abī Sufyān in his place. Once the latter entered Madinah (1) he imposed tight control over the funds, storehouses, and landed properties, seized the slaves who belonged to ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd—about three hundred in all—and threw them into prison. ʿAmr thereupon prepared to set out to Yazīd, sent word to his slaves to break out of the jail and follow him, and provided camels for them to ride. They did as he ordered but did not catch up with him until he had already reached Yazīd. Yazīd welcomed him, honoured him, seated him close, and then reproached him for his failure in the matter of Ibn al-Zubayr.
ʿAmr replied, “O Commander of the Believers! The eyewitness perceives what the absentee cannot. Most of the people of Mecca and the Ḥijāz have taken his side and come to love him. I had no forces strong enough to meet him in open battle. He was constantly on guard against me, while I treated him gently and coaxed him so that I might gain the upper hand and then strike. Even so, I tightened the noose around him and barred him from many things. I stationed men over Mecca, its roads, and its mountain passes who would not let anyone enter until they had written down his name and his father’s name, the land he came from, the reason for his journey, and what he wanted. If the traveller proved to be one of his supporters, or someone I suspected of intending to join him, I sent him back in humiliation; otherwise, I let him proceed. Now you have appointed al-Walīd, and news of his conduct will soon reach you. Through it you may recognise how quickly I acted, how diligently I served your cause, and how sincerely I advised you, if Allah wills. May Allah work for your benefit and rout your enemy.”
Yazīd answered, “You are more truthful than the one who accused you and turned me against you. You are among those in whom I place my trust, from whom I hope for assistance, and whom I reserve for critical moments, to shoulder grave tasks and dispel formidable crises …,” and he continued in a lengthy speech.
As for al-Walīd ibn ʿUtbah, he remained in the Ḥijāz and on several occasions contemplated seizing ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, but always found him alert, entrenched, and fully prepared. In al-Yamāmah another man, Najdah ibn ʿĀmir al-Ḥanafī, rose up after the killing of al-Ḥusayn. He rebelled against Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah but not against Ibn al-Zubayr; rather, he kept to himself and had followers who trailed him. On the eve of ʿArafah al-Walīd would lead the general pilgrims forward, while the partisans of Ibn al-Zubayr and of Najdah held back; afterwards each faction would proceed on its own.
Najdah then wrote to Yazīd: “You have sent us a blundering man who neither perceives the path of right guidance nor heeds the admonition of the wise. Were you to send us a person of easy temperament and gentle bearing, I would hope that through him the difficult matters would be eased and what is scattered would be gathered together. Consider this, for in it lies the welfare of both our elite and our common folk, if Allah Most High wills.”
They say that Yazīd thereupon dismissed al-Walīd and appointed ʿUthmān [ibn] (2) Muḥammad ibn Abī Sufyān. The latter set out for the Ḥijāz, but he proved to be an inexperienced, untested youth, and the people saw an opening in him. When he entered Madinah he dispatched from it a delegation to Yazīd that included ʿAbd Allah ibn Ḥanẓalah al-Ghasīl al-Anṣārī, ʿAbd Allah ibn Abī ʿAmr ibn Ḥafṣ ibn al-Mughīrah al-Ḥaḍramī, al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr, and many other notables of the city.