and that he quoted verses by Ibn al-Ziba‘rā (1):

“Would that my elders at Badr had witnessed … the Khazraj’s anguish beneath the thrust of spears!
We slew the chief among their leaders … and set him against Badr, and the balance stood even.”

Both positions are false, as every rational person knows. The man was one of the Muslim kings and a caliph among the monarchical caliphs—neither this nor that. As for the killing of al-Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—there is no doubt that he was wrongfully killed as a martyr, just as others like him among the wrongfully slain martyrs were killed.

Killing al-Husayn was an act of disobedience to Allah and His Messenger on the part of whoever killed him, assisted in killing him, [or approved of it] (2). It was a calamity that befell the Muslims, both his family and others. For him, however, it was martyrdom, an elevation in rank, and an exaltation in station. Allah had already decreed for him and his brother a blessedness that could be attained only through a form of trial. They did not have the same record of early distinction as the other members of their household, for they were raised in the bosom of Islam, in honor and security. One (3) therefore died of poisoning and the other was slain, so that through this they might attain the stations of the blessed and the life of the martyrs.

What occurred in this affair was not graver than the killing of the prophets. Allah Most High has informed us that the Children of Israel used to kill the prophets unjustly. Killing a prophet is a graver sin and a greater calamity. Likewise, the killing of Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—was a graver sin and a greater calamity, as was the killing of Uthmān—may Allah be pleased with him.