Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah sanctify his soul—was asked:
Has any scholar or hadith scholar, or anyone regarded as an authority in the religion of Islam, established as authentic the report that the Commander of the Faithful, Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—said, “When I die, place me on my she-camel and let her go. Wherever she kneels, bury me,” and that she then went off and no one knew where his grave was? Is this authentic or not? Has any scholar known where he was buried or not? Why was he killed? When did this happen? Who killed him?
Who killed al-Husayn, and why was he killed? Is it authentic that the family of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, were taken captive; that they were made to ride camels naked, with nothing to cover them, so Allah Most High created two humps for the camels they were riding, behind which they concealed themselves; and that, when al-Husayn’s head was severed, it was paraded throughout all the lands, taken to Damascus, then taken to Egypt and buried there? And that Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah was the one who did this to the Prophet’s family—is this authentic or not?
Is someone who makes these assertions thereby an innovator in Allah’s religion? And what is required of him if