—to ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr—and he managed the affairs until Ibn al-Zubayr’s deputies could arrive.

When Friday came, with eight days still remaining of Ramadan that year—64 AH—two governors entered Kufah on Ibn al-Zubayr’s behalf: ʿAbd Allah ibn Yazid al-Khatmi, charged with military and frontier matters, and Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Talhah ibn ʿUbayd Allah al-Taymi, responsible for land tax and public revenue.

A week earlier, on the fifteenth of the month, Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd— the impostor al-Mukhtār al-Thaqafī—had already arrived. He found the Shiʿah tightly rallied around Sulaymān ibn Surad, exalting him beyond measure and fully prepared for war. Once settled in Kufah, Mukhtār began—covertly—to call people to the imamate of the Mahdī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, better known as Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah; his epithet was “the Mahdī.” Many among the Shiʿah followed him and abandoned Sulaymān ibn Surad.

Thus the Shiʿah split into two factions: the larger group remained with Sulaymān ibn Surad, determined to rise up and avenge al-Ḥusayn, while another faction sided with Mukhtār, intent on proclaiming the imamate of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah. This, however, was done without Ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah’s knowledge or approval; they merely invoked his name to market their cause among the people and to reach their corrupt ends.

Reliable intelligence reached ʿAbd Allah ibn Yazid al-Khatmi— Ibn al-Zubayr’s deputy—informing him that, despite their differences, both Shiʿah factions were conspiring to take up arms against the populace and promote their respective agendas. Some advisers urged him to act swiftly: to take precautions, dispatch the police and the troops, and crush them before they could unleash the evil and turmoil on which they had agreed.

He therefore rose to address the people. In his sermon he relayed what he had learned about these groups and their common resolve, adding, “Some of them claim they wish to avenge al-Ḥusayn. They know full well that I had no hand in killing him; by Allah, I was among those stricken by his death and loathed his slaying. May Allah have mercy on him and curse his killer! I will not attack anyone unless he first commits aggression against me. If they truly seek to avenge al-Ḥusayn, let them pursue Ibn Ziyād, for he is the one who killed al-Ḥusayn and the best of his Household. Let them demand retribution from him, and let them not march with weapons against the people of their own city, for that would only spell their doom and annihilation.”

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Talhah, the other governor, then rose and declared, “People, do not be deceived by the words of this flatterer. By Allah, we are certain that a faction intends to rise against us, and we shall surely seize father for son, son for father, kinsman for kinsman, and the countryside for what lies within its quarter, until they submit to the truth and humble themselves to obedience.”

At that, al-Musayyab ibn Najabah al-Fazārī sprang forward, cut him off, and said, “Son of the oath-breakers! Do you threaten us with your sword and your brutish violence (1)? By Allah, you are too contemptible for that. We do not blame you for hating us—after all, we killed your father and your grandfather—but, by Allah, we hope to send you to join them before you leave this palace.”

A group of labourers who were among Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Talhah’s followers sided with al-Musayyab ibn Najabah, and turmoil erupted.