and offered him no support—“She granted union when union can no longer avail.” (1)
They therefore met in the house of Sulayman ibn Surad, a venerable Companion. [The leaders of the uprising were five: the Companion Sulayman ibn Surad (2), al-Musayyab ibn Najabah (3) al-Fazari—one of the foremost partisans of Ali—ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd ibn Nufayl al-Azdi, ʿAbd Allah ibn Wal al-Taymi, and Rifaʿah ibn Shaddad al-Bajali. All of them were among the followers of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.] After a series of sermons and admonitions they unanimously agreed to install Sulayman ibn Surad as their commander. They bound themselves by solemn pledges, fixing al-Nukhaylah as their rendez-vous and stipulating that whoever answered their call should assemble there in the year 65 AH. They then pooled a large quantity of money and weaponry and set it aside for the purpose.
[Al-Musayyab ibn Najabah then rose to address them. After praising and extolling Allah he said: “To proceed: we have been tried with long lives and many tribulations. Allah has tested us and found us false in our support of the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After we had written to him and corresponded with him, he came to us in hope of our aid, yet we abandoned him and broke our word. We delivered him into the hands of those who slew him, together with his sons, descendants, and noble kinsmen. We did not help them with our hands, defend them with our tongues, or strengthen them with our wealth. Woe to us—unceasing, everlasting woe—unless we kill his murderers and those who abetted them, or else are killed in the attempt, our wealth lost and our homes laid waste. O people! Rise to this cause as one man, repent to your Creator, and kill your own selves; that will be better for you with your Creator…” He spoke at length. They then wrote to all their brethren, instructing them to assemble at al-Nukhaylah in the coming year] (4).
Sulayman ibn Surad wrote to Saʿd ibn Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was then governor of al-Madā’in, inviting him to join the cause. Saʿd agreed, and summoned all those in al-Madā’in who would obey him. They hastened to comply, united around the project, and fixed al-Nukhaylah for the appointed date. Saʿd ibn Hudhayfah wrote back to inform Sulayman, and the people of Kufah rejoiced that the people of al-Madā’in had concurred with them, gaining renewed energy for their undertaking.
When Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah died, followed shortly by his son Muʿawiyah ibn Yazid, they grew confident, believing the Syrians had become weak and that no one remained to uphold their authority. They therefore consulted Sulayman about declaring themselves openly and marching to al-Nukhaylah before the appointed time.
He forbade them, saying, “No—wait until the term we agreed upon with our brothers arrives.” Meanwhile they continued, in secret, to stockpile arms and muster strength, unnoticed by the general populace. At that juncture the majority of Kufans turned against ʿAmr ibn Hurayth—the deputy of ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad over Kufah—and expelled him from the palace. They then agreed upon ʿĀmir ibn Masʿud ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf, nicknamed Duhrujah, and swore allegiance to him.