lying about Allah, Almighty and Majestic, His Messenger, the Companions, the Prophet’s relatives, and others. Their lies about Yazīd are like their lies about Abū Bakr, Umar, and Uthmān; indeed, their lies about Yazīd are far less grave.

Another group regards him as one of the rightly guided leaders, the just caliphs, and the righteous believers. Some even regard him as one of the Companions, while others regard him as a prophet. This too is among the clearest examples of ignorance and misguidance, and among the most outrageous lies and absurdities. Rather, he was one of the Muslim kings, with good deeds and bad deeds, and he should be judged as other kings like him are judged. We have discussed this at length elsewhere.

As for al-Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—he was killed at Karbalā’, near the Euphrates, and his body was buried where he was killed. His head was brought before Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyād in Kufa. This is what al-Bukhārī reported in his Sahīh, as did other leading scholars.

As for his head being taken to Yazīd in Syria, this has been reported through disconnected chains of transmission, none of which has been established as authentic. Indeed, the reports contain indications that they are fabricated lies. They mention that “Yazīd” began tapping al-Husayn’s front teeth with a rod, and that some of the Companions present—such as Anas ibn Mālik and Abū Barzah—objected to this. This is a deceptive conflation: the person who tapped the teeth with a rod was Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyād. That is how it is recorded in the Sahīh and the hadith collections arranged by Companion. They merely substituted “Yazīd” for Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyād. There is no doubt that Ubayd Allah ordered al-Husayn’s killing and had his head brought before him. Ibn Ziyād was subsequently killed because of this.