Moreover, it is well known that burying it nearby, beside his mother and brother in al-Baqīʿ, would have been better for him.

The fifth point: Burial in al-Baqīʿ is what their customary practice supports. During times of civil strife, when they killed a man who was not one of their own, they would hand his head and body over to his family. This is what al-Hajjāj did with Ibn al-Zubayr: after killing him and crucifying him, he handed his body over to his mother.

It is well known that al-Hajjāj’s efforts to kill Ibn al-Zubayr, and the warfare between them, were far greater than what took place between al-Husayn and his opponents. Ibn al-Zubayr claimed the caliphate after al-Husayn’s death, and most people pledged allegiance to him. Yazīd fought him until his own death, with his army still fighting Ibn al-Zubayr after the Battle of al-Harra. Then, when ʿAbd al-Malik came to power, he wrested Iraq from Ibn al-Zubayr, adding it to Syria. He then sent al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf against him, who subjected him to the well-known siege until he was killed. He then crucified him before handing his body over to his mother.

Al-Husayn’s body was buried where he fell at Karbalāʾ; it was neither exhumed nor mutilated. They would therefore not have refused to hand his head over to his family, just as they handed Ibn al-Zubayr’s body over to his family. And if his family received his head, they would not have forgone burying it with them in Medina the Radiant, beside his uncle, mother, and brother, and near his grandfather, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, only to bury it in Syria, where at that time no one would support them against