Examining certain objections raised about Imam Husain

Examining certain objections raised about Imam Husain

There are a number of objections that the Nawasib and Khawarij raise regarding Imam Husain, and with the help of Allah Most High, I will attempt to answer their questions and refute their claims, Insha' Allah.

Question: If the people and the companions of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) advised Imam Husain not to travel to Kufa, why did he do so against their counsel?

Answer: To answer this, we can examine the Imam Tabree's book of Tareekh Tahzeeb at-Tahzeeb and Hafiz Ibn Kathir's book, Tareekh Kathir. Imam Tabaree and Hafiz Ibn Kathir both write that the reason the companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told Imam Husain not to venture into Kufa was because they did not trust the inhabitants of Kufa. They also believed that the time was not right to go and accept allegiance from the people of Kufa. However Imam Husain decided to go to Kufa because he had seen the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his dream, and the Prophet, (Allah bless him and give him peace) had given him an order to go to Kufa.

[Tareekh Ibn Kathir and Tareekh at Tabari chapters on Karbala]

From the above reasoning, it can be deduced that the companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) were in no way opposing Imam Husain or the group of people who were to accompany him on his journey to Kufa. The truth of the matter is that they were simply suggesting that the time to go to Kufa was not right.

There are also other factors to take into consideration. The letters and invitations that Imam Husain received from the people of Kufa made him believe that he urgently need to go to Kufa to help the people choose a righteous leader. Imam Husain wanted to obey the commands of Allah and the Prophet, (Allah bless him and give him peace), who have ordered the Muslims not to compromise with those who do wrong and cause anarchy in the land.

Question: If Imam Husain made the correct decision, why did he requested the following three things:

(A) To be allowed to return to Madina,
(B) To be allowed to do Jihad, and finally
(C) To be given permission to meet Yazid so that he could swear allegiance to him.

Answer: Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Imam Tabari and Hafiz Ibn Athir all write that Imam Husain's wife, Rubab, had a servant whose name was 'Uqbah bin Sam'an. Uqbah was not killed in Karbala, (as some suggest) but survived and travelled to Madina with Rubab. He reported that whenever Imam Husain travelled, he was with him. He further commented that he had listened to everthing that Imam Husain had said to the people, and swore by Allah Most High that there were some people who were claiming that Imam Husain had said that he would go to Yazid and swear allegiance to him. 'Uqbah insisted that Imam Husain had never said these words. What he did in fact say was that he should be allowed to go back to Madina and see if the people want Yazid as their ruler or Imam Husain.

[Tareekh Ibn Kathir chapter on Karbala Tareekh Tabari chapter on Karbala Tareekh Ibn at Athir chapter on Karbala. By Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Imam Tabari, Imam Ibn Athir.]

I ask if Imam Husain had said that he wanted to go to Yazid so that he could swear allegiance to him, what was the point of the war? Why did he sacrifice the lives of his friends and his family at the battle of Karbala?

Question: Why did none of the companions of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) accompany Imam Husain when he made the journey to Karbala?

Answer: It is wrong to say that none of the companions went with Imam Husain to Karbala - the companions supported, and encouraged people to join him and later, the companions fought against Yazid and achieved martyrdom. The incident of Sayyiduna Anas Ibn Al-Harith is an illustration of this fact.

Hafiz Ibn Kathir notes from Al-Bukhari that Ibn al-Harith had heard a hadith from the Prophet and while acting upon this hadith, he went to Karbala with Imam Husain. : The hadith reads: "My son will be martyred in Karbala, and whoever is present there at that time should help my son." For this reason, Anas bin Harrith helped Imam Husain and was martyred with him.

[Tareekh Ibn Kathir chapter on Karbala by Hafiz Ibn Kathir] [Tareekh al Kabeer biography Anas Ibn al-Harrith by Imam Bukahri]

I mam Dhahabi writes that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar Ibn al -'Aas, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, encouraged Furzooq [the poet], to go and help Imam Husain. Another important fact was that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair may Allah Most High be pleased with him, and a group of the Prophet's companions in Madina, and in Makkah, fought against Yazid.

[Sayyar A'alam An-Nubala by Imam Dhahabi - chapter about Abdullah bin Umar Ibn al-'Aas ]

Those who feel hatred towards Imam Husain use a quote by Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi to support their point of view. Ibn al Arabi asserted that it was correct to kill Imam Husain according to the Qur'an and Sunna since he had rebelled aginst the government. The quote is found in the Muqaddamah of Ibn Khaldun. We maintain that Ibn al-Arabi was wrong by saying this; and that Ibn Khuldun has not actually verified this quote. We will, with the help of Allah, explain and provide hadith as evidence that Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi held an incorrect opinion. Why was it that when Yazid, Ibn Sa'd and UbayduLlah bin Ziyad heard of Imam Husain's martyrdom, they had said that a grave wrong had been done. How is it that Abu Bakr Ibn al -Arabi says that it was right to kill Imam Husain?

Imam Muslim writes that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said that if any of you should see something bad that is happening, a muslim should stop it with his strength, and if he cannot do it with his strength, then he should try to stop it with his tongue, and if he cannot do it with his tongue, then he should feel in his heart that it is wrong and this is the weakest degree of faith.

[Sahih Muslim Kitab al Iman]

Imam Nawawi, while commenting upon this hadith, writes that if the King of the time becomes so evil that it is not possible for the people to tolerate him, it is incumbent upon the righteous people to refrain him from doing injustice and evil deeds. If he resists, then it becomes incumbent upon the people to fight him. This is the interpretation of Imam of the Haramain.

[Sharh Sahih Muslim chapter on Iman by Imam Nawawi]

Imam Tirmizi notes that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "You should never let the fear of others prevent you from speaking the truth," and the Prophet also said "Speaking the truth in front of a wicked King, (or tyrant) is the greatest jihad."

[Tirmidhi chapter Fitan]

Imam Husain acted upon the hadith and was martyred as a result of his actions. So we ask, how can it be said that it was permissible to kill Imam Husain according to Qur'an and Sunna?

The enemies of Imam Husain claim that he should not have gone against King Yazid. We say, do they not know that our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said that it is permissible to take steps against a wicked and evil king - and our scholars have unanimously verified Imam Husain's actions.

Imam Nawawi writes in the commentary of Sahih Muslim that a group of scholars have said it is permissible to fight against a wicked, evil king because Imam Husain, Abdullah bin Zubair, and the pious people of Madina and Makkah fought against Yazid, and the Taba'een fought against Hajajj bin Yusuf

[Sharh Sahih Muslim chapter al-Amarah by Imam Nawawi Hafiz Asqalani has also noted Imam Nawawi's words in his book, Fath al -Bari, chapter on Fitan]

From this we can understand that the steps that Imam Husain took were correct as verified by the scholars of Hadith. Imam Husain provides an example for others to follow; they could use Imam Husain's courage as a model to fight against unjust rulers or Kings.

Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write that when Yazid was informed that Imam Husain had been martyred, he himself cursed Ibn Ziyad. At a later stage, when Yazid asked Ibn Ziyad to become a commander of the army that was to be sent to attack Madina, Ibn Ziyad responded to Yazid saying that once before he had made a mistake in killing Imam Husain so he did not wish to make another mistake again.

[Hafiz Ibn Kathir Tareekh Katheer, and Imam Tabari, in Tareekh Tabari chapter on attack on Madina]

Again, we see that even when Ibn Ziyad showed remorse at killing Imam Husain, how can Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al Arabi say that killing Imam Husain was correct according to the Qur'an and Sunna?

There are even some people who claim that Imam Husain actually broke the unity of Muslims by opposing Yazid [when everyone had accepted him as Khalif] and his rebelliousness caused a breakaway group to emerge. The answer to this is that it is incorrect to say that everyone had pledged allegiance to Yazid - none of the great companions had accepted Yazid as the ruler of the Muslims, and for this reason Yazid had written a letter to the governor of Madina urging him to make the people of Madina pledge allegiance to him. When Imam Husain was called to the governor's house to swear the allegiance, he asked the governor to call the people the next morning and he would be the first among them to speak. If the people of Madina had pledged allegiance toYazid already, then what was the purpose of calling them the next day? (An opposing view is that it could have been to convinve the people otherwisw.)

Also, the people of Basra and the people of Kufa had not yet accepted Yazid as the true ruler of the Muslims. These factors prove that not all the people and the companions had yet accepted Yazid. So to say that Imam Husain broke the unity of the Muslims is a false allegiation. All that Imam Husain was trying to do, was to make awake the Muslims from the state of apathy to the injunctions of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. Imam Husain not only fulfilled the hadith of the Prophet to stand up against an unjust ruler and to speak the truth but he also serves as a role model for future Muslims on how to confront evil or unjust rulers/kings.

SCHOLARS' OPINION ABOUT YAZID

Imam Abu Ya`lah narrated a Hadith from Wazai that Abu 'Ubaid bin Jarrah, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, has said that our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had said that my "Ummah will remain guided on the Sirat al- Mustaqim until a man called Yazid will appear from the tribe of Bani Ummiyah. He will destroy the king who will lead my Umma on the straight path.

There was once a person present in the company of Sayyiduna 'Umar bin 'Abd al Aziz who mentioned that Yazid bin Mu'awiyah was "Amir al Mu'amineen." When 'Umar heard this, he ordered for that person to receive twenty lashes. What we can observe from this incident is that any individual who respected Yazid (as the one in the above narration clearly did) would be punished for displaying this 'respect' - since 'Umar bin 'Abd al Aziz clearly did not tolerate this. Imam Tabari records that when Imam Husain was martyred and news reached 'Abdullah bin Zubair, he made a speech criticising Yazid's characteristics and praising Imam Husain. He said, "I swear by Allah, that he (Yazid) has martyred Imam Husain, someone who used to spend his nights standing in prayer whereas Yazid spent his nights listening to the music and watching women dancing. Yazid used to drink alcohol in the day whereas Imam Husain kept fast throughout the day. Imam Husain was the rightful leader of the Muslims as he was more God-fearing and noble than Yazid who rather than reciting and listening to the Qur'an listened to music. Imam Husain was more God-conscious than Yazid, as he would immerse himself in the rememberance of Allah, while Yazid would go hunting on horses."

'Abdullah bin Zubair reminded people about the un-Islamic behaviour of Yazid in order to make them realise that by accepting Yazid as the true ruler of the Muslims, they had earned the wrath of Allah and had paved their way to destruction in the Hereafter.

(Tarikh-I- Tabari -History of Karbala by Imam Tabari

Imam Bilazuri also notes the comments that Abdullah bin Zubair made upon hearing the news of Yazid's death. He records that Abdullah bin Zubair said that he had been informed that Yazid spent his mornings and evenings in the state of intoxication.

[Kitab Ansabul Ashraaf vol. 4 page 21 by Imam Bilazuri]

'Allama Ibn Hazm writes that Yazid was the person who martyred Imam Husain, the companions, the Tabi`in; he also disrespected, insulted and waged a war in the noble cities of Makkah and Madinah and martyred many of the pious people. His abomination went to such an extent that when Yazid's army attacked Madinah, their horses urinated in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah, and also in Riyad al Jannah (a special place in the Mosque of the Prophet).
At prayer times, no one said the prayers in congregation since they were always disrupted and this repeatedly happened until no one was left in the Prophet's Mosque except Sa'id Ibn Musaib, who pretended to be insane and so was left alone.

[Asma al Khulafa biography of Yazid bin Mu'aviyah]

Imam Bukhari records that Abu Huraira was reported to have said that; "I have learned from the Messenger of Allah two different types of knowledge. One is that which I am telling you, whereas with the second type, if I were to tell the people, they would surely cut my head off." In the commentary of this Hadith, Ibn Hajr mentions that the latter type of knowledge that Abu Huraira possessed, was about the names of the tyrant rulers and the periods of their rule. Sometimes Abu Hurairah would indirectly talk about the aggressors without mentioning their names specifically - for fear of his life. It is interesting to note that Abu Hurairah consistently made supplication to Allah, that he be protected from the 60th year of Hijra and the government of young people. We can clearly see, that this year was also the year of Yazid's ascension to the thrown. Allah indeed accepted Abu Hurairah's supplication, and he passed away, one year before Yazid became the ruler.

[Fath-ul Bari vol.1 by Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqlanee]

Imam Bukhari narrates a hadith in which the Messenger of Allah said, "My Ummah will be destroyed under the rule of the youth from Quraish." In his commentary, Ibn Hajr writes that this hadith is an indication that one of the young from the Quraish was Yazid. Events unfolded, as the Messenger of Allah had predicted. Yazid became the ruler in 60AH, and died 4 years later.

(Fath-ul Bari)

'Allama Ibn Hazm records that when Yazid was the ruler, the Muslims were subjected to many trials and tribulations. In his early years as a ruler, he gave orders to attack Madinah, martyring many companions and pious men who lived there. He martyred Imam Husain, his family and his followers. In Makkah, he surrounded Ibn Zubair and insulted the God-fearing people. Then within a short time, Allah made him taste death. During his father's rule, he took part in the war of Istanbul.

(Jamahara Ansaab al-Arab biography of Yazid bin Mu'awiya)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes that Yazid would quite often miss his prayers and perform prayers after the time for the prayer had gone, i.e Qada prayer. Ibn Kathir alos notes that Imam Ahmed (Ibn Hanbal) narrates from Abu Sa'id Khudri who heard the Messenger of Allah say that, "after 60 years, there will be (evil) people, who will miss their prayers, and they will do what they believe is right. Soon afterwards, they will be thrown in a part of Hell that is called Gayyei and this is the worst place in Hell."

(Tarikh Ibn Kathir)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Hafiz Ibn Atheer write that Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, wrote a letter to Yazid saying, "O Yazid your army martyred Imam Husain and the family of Abdul Mutalib who acted as a light showing believers the straight path. They were the shining stars guiding people to the straight path. With your orders, your army left them in the middle of a field and robbed all their belongings. They were killed while they were thirsty, without clothes and were left in the battlefield. The wind covered their bodies with the soil, and insects ate their bodies. Then afterwards Allah Most High sent some pious people who covered them and buried them yet through them you had the rule and the respect that you have had. We cannot be allies as you have made grave errors, and the blood of the family of our beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is dripping from your sword. Now I will take my revenge from you and you should not think that you have been victorious, for one day we will have victory over you.

Tarikh Ibn Kathir chapter on Karbala Tarikh Ibn Atheer by Hafiz Ibn Atheer chapter on Karbala

Imam Dhahabi records that Yazid was the enemy of Imam Husain and of the family of the Messenger of Allah. He was described as having a very harsh tongue, an evil mouth, and he swore and drank a lot. At the beginning of his rule, he martyred Imam Husain and his family, and then later during his rule, he publicly killed people. For these reasons, many people have long cursed him. After the tragedy of Karbala, people, including the people of Madina, turned against Yazid. May Allah send his blessings upon those people who turned against him (Yazid).

(As Sayyar al 'Alaam an -Nubala)

SUPPORTERS OF YAZID

The people who support and love Yazid present a Hadith that is noted by Imam Bukhari; they attempt to prove that Yazid was a noble and pious person and will enter Paradise. With the help of Allah Most High I will show that this Hadith was not written about Yazid, and there is no proof that he will enter Paradise. The narrators of this Hadith were enemies of Imam Husain and his family and they were the supporters of Yazid and his tribe. For that reason the hadith does not provide an unbiased and impartial proof which can be used in Yazid's favour.

Imam Bukahri writes that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said that the first group of people from amongst my followers who fights in the battle of Rome (Istanbul) will be granted forgiveness by Allah Most High. When the Muslim fought the battle of Rome in 51 A.H, Yazid bin Mu'awiya was appointed the leader of that Muslim army. In this battle Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari was also martyred while fighting with the Unbelievers.

Bukahri Kitabul Jihad chapter Room

This Hadith was for the people who would willingly go to Jihad (war) and were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Allah Most High. It was not for the people who were be sent by force to participate in that battle. Yazid did not participate in that battle willingly, he was sent to fight by forceby Amir Mu'awiya. Some scholars maintain that this Hadith applies only to those who have not committed any kind of sin which would otherwise prevent them from entering Paradise.

Allahma Ibn Atheer writes that in the 50 Hijra, Sayyiduna Amir Mu'awiya, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, sent an army to Rome and appointed Sufyan bin Au'f as leader of the army and he also ordered his son Yazid to go with the army. Yazid did not obey Amir Mu'awiya and said that he was feeling ill; Amir accepted this excuse and said that he should not go as he was ill. During the war soldiers fell ill due to food shortages. When Yazid heard of this he stated that he had no concern for the plight of the soldiers of Islam, when he was able to enjoy the comforts of his home with his beautiful wife, Umea Kulsum. When Amir Mu'awiya heard what Yazid had said, he called Yazid and ordered him to go where the army was so that he could experience the suffering of the soldiers of Islam. Amir sent a small army of people with him; this small army consisted of many pious people, including Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, Sayyiduna Ibn Umar, Sayyiduna Ibn Zubair, Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari, and a other pious people; eventually they reached Istanbul, and fought in the battle.

[Tareek-Eh-Kamil Ibn Atheer chapter on government of Amir Mu'awiya stories of the 50 Hijra]

This hadith clearly shows that Yazid did not join the army of Mulsims voluntarily, but he was sent by force. Thus how can it be claimed that he will be rewarded with Paradise?

Their first narrator's name is Yahya bin Hamza. Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqlani writes that Imam Mu'een says he was a Qaddri (from a misled sect). Imam Aajiri says I asked Abu Dawud whether Yahya bin Hamza was a Qaddri and he confirmed that he was..

[Tahzeeb ut-Tahzeeb - biography of Yahya bin Hamza]

The second narrator's name is Thur bin Yazid Kelai Himsi. Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqlani writes that Imam Ibn Sa'd said he was a Qaddri, and his grandfather was killed in the war of Siffeen fighting for Amir Mu'awiya. Whenever Thur used to talk about Sayyiduna Ali he used to say that he did not like the person who killed my grandfather. Uthman Darmee notes that he had not seen a person like him who was suspected of being a Qaddri. Ahmed bin Saleh narrated the narration from the people of Syria that Thur was a Qaddri. Imam Uzai used also to say bad things about him. Imam Ibn Hamble says that Thur bin Yazid was a Qaddree. Imam Ibn Mu'een says that Maqhul was Qaddri and later repented, but Thur bin Yazid never repented and remined a Qaddri. Aajiri says that he was a Qaddri and he was exiled from his town. Regarding the second narrator Hafiz Abdur Rahman Ibn Hatim says that Abdullah bin Ahmed Humble says that my father Ahmed Ibn Humble used to say that Thur bin Yazid was a Qaddri. Tahribut Tahzeeb biography of Soar bin Yazid. Imam Dhahbi writes that Imam Ibn Humble said that Thur bin Yazid was a Qaddri and the people from his town threw him out. Abdullah bin Salim says that the people of Hamas threw Thur out his town and set fire to his house because he used to talk against the faith.

Mizanul A'tidal biography Thur bin Yazid by Imam Zahbee.

We can see that the narrators explaining this narration are from a misled sect and thus was the enemy of Sayyiduna Ali and a firm supporter of Yazid. How then can this narration be used as evidence that Yazid will be granted Paradise?

After reading about Yazid no one can say that Imam Husain should not have opposed Yazid. No one can dare say that Yazid was a righteous and pious person, and that Allah Most High was pleased with him. No one can say that Imam Husain should have given his hand in the hands of Yazid and accept him as the true ruler of the Muslims. Only a person who is against our Prophet's family can make such claim.

SHIMAR BIN ZIL JAWSHAN

Imam Zahabee writes that Shimar bin Zil Jawshan is the person who martyred Imam Husain, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, and Shimar is the person who gave the order to martyr him. Abu Ishaq says when Shimar used to say prayers with us he used to make supplication saying, "O Allah Most High you know that I am a good person, for that reason forgive me." On hearing this I said to Shimar how will Allah Most High forgive you when you have martyred the grandson of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and you were the one who helped to have him martyred. Shimar said, "What do you know? We could not do anything other than obey the orders of our King. Had we gone against his commands, we would have been treated worse than the donkeys. I say (Imam Zahabee) that there is no justification for this; a king must only be obeyed if he commands good things to be done and must not be obeyed if his wishes are unjust and evil.

[Mizanul A'tidal biography of Shimar Ibn Dhil Josan by Imam Zahabee]