joy at his killing; nor did he tap his front teeth with a rod—may Allah be pleased with him—nor did he have al-Husayn’s head—may Allah be pleased with him—taken to Syria. He did, however, order that al-Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—be stopped and prevented from taking power, even if this required fighting him. His deputies exceeded his orders, and Shamir ibn Dhī al-Jawshan urged Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyād to kill him. Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyād then acted unjustly against him.

Al-Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—asked them to let him go to Yazīd, serve as a frontier guard, or return to Mecca. They refused him these options—may Allah be pleased with him—and demanded that he surrender to them as a captive. Ubayd Allah ordered Umar ibn Saʿd to fight him and a group of his family—may Allah be pleased with them—and they killed him unjustly.

His killing—may Allah be pleased with him—was a tremendous calamity. The killing of al-Husayn, and that of Uthmān before him, were among the greatest causes of turmoil in this community, and their killers are among the worst of creation in Allah’s sight.

When their family members—may Allah be pleased with them—came to Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya, he treated them honourably and sent them to Medina. It is reported that he cursed Ibn Ziyād for killing al-Husayn and said: “I would have been content with the obedience of the people of Iraq without al-Husayn being killed.”

Yet, despite this, he showed no disapproval of his killing. Defending his cause and avenging his death were duties incumbent upon him. Thus, those committed to the truth reproached him for neglecting his duty, in addition to other matters. His opponents, however, add fabricated accusations against him.