CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT
WHO KILLED AL-HUSAYN?
There is an important question we should now ask: Who really killed Al-Husayn? Was it Sunnis? Was Mu`âwiyah responsible, or was it his son Yazîd?
The astonishing truth is that many Shia sources confirm that the Shia or supporters of Al-Husayn murdered him. As-Sayyid Muhsin Al-Amîn says, “Twenty thousand people in Iraq swore the oath to Al-Husayn, but betrayed him and rose against him. They turned their backs on their pledge and murdered him.”1
Al-Husayn confronted his murderers at Karbala saying:
Did you not write to me and say that the time had come, and that you were presenting me with new recruits? A plague on you! Woe to you! You were driven to distraction and called on me for help. You sharpened a sword for us that was already in our hands, and kindled a fire we had already set to consume your enemies and ours. Then, you turned
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1 As-Sayyid Muhsin Al-Amîn, A`yân As-Shî`ah, 1:34.
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against your friends and joined your enemies. You rushed to swear the oath to me, falling upon me as you fall into your beds. Then you disregarded your oaths foolishly. Away with the tyrants of this nation!2
Al-Hurr Ibn Yazîd, one of Al-Husayn's companions, asked them, “Did you not call this pious servant of Allah? — Yet, when he came, you did not submit yourselves to him. —
Did you not [instead] rise against him and try to make him your prisoner? May Allah not relieve your parched throats on the Day of the Great Thirst (i.e., the Day of Resurrection).”3

Al-Husayn called on Allah saying:
“O Allah, if you will spare them for a while, then split them asunder and never allow them to rise again. Let the imams (those in authority) never be pleased with them.
They called on me and said that they would support me until victory. Then they turned to fight against me.”4
The Shia historian, Al-Ya`qûbî,5 mentions that when `Alî Ibnul-Husayn entered Kufa, he saw the women of the town wailing and screaming and commented saying, "These
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3 At-Tubrasî, Al-Ihtijâj, p. 145.
4 Al-Mufîd, Al-Irshâd, p. 234 and At-Tubrasî, I`lâm Al-Warâ, p. 242.
5`Alî Ibn Abû Ya`qûb Ibn Ja`far Ibn Wahb Ibn Wâdih Al-Kâtib Al-`Abbâsî Al-Ya`qûbî (d.284/897) .
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people are crying for us, but who has been fighting us?"6 He means that it was they who killed the members of the Prophet's Household.
When Al-Hasan renounced his claim on the caliphate, abdicated to Mu`âwiyah, and reconciled with him, he addressed the people of Kufa, who had fought Al-Husayn and betrayed him, saying:
"O People of Kufa! You have confounded my heart thrice. You murdered my father, deprived me of my wealth, and assaulted my person. I have sworn allegiance to Mu`âwiyah, so follow him and obey."
Hearing this, a man from the tribe of Banû Asad stabbed him so hard on the thigh that it split open revealing the bone.7
This is what the Shia scholars have written, page by page. Clearly, those who claim to support Al-Husayn are the same people who murdered him. They continue to shed tears for him, and make a show of their grief. Even today, they march in his funeral procession.
If their grief truly reflects their great love for the Household of the Prophet, why do they not grieve for the Prophet's uncle Hamzah? He was killed in horrible circumstances, which were no easier than those of Al-Husayn at Karbala; Hamzah's belly was cut open and his liver ripped out. So why do they not stage an annual commemoration of his death, slapping themselves in the face, ripping their clothes and striking themselves with swords and daggers? Is Hamzah not a member of the Household of the Prophet? Why
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6 Al-Ya`qûbî, At-Târîkh, 1:235.
7 Al-Arbilî, Kashful-Ghummah, p. 540, Al-Mufîd, Al-Irshâd, p. 190, Al-Mashgharî, Al-Fusûl Al-Muhimmah, p. 190, and Al-Mas`ûdî, Murûj Al-Dhahab, 2:431.
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do they not grieve so for the death of the Prophet? Surely, our loss of the Prophet was greater than any other.

`Âshûrâ’ is an Occasion for Joy, not Grief
`Âshûrâ’ is a time of rejoicing and giving thanks to Allah. The first time the Prophet entered Medina, he found the Jews there fasting. When he asked them why they were fasting, they replied, "This is a great day on which Allah saved Mûsâ and drowned Pharaoh." The Prophet said to them, "I have a greater right on Moses than you." He fasted that day, and ordered the Muslims to do likewise.8 How did the Prophet's act of Sunnah change from fasting out of rejoicing to beating oneself and wailing in grief?

The Position of `Alî and his Sons with respect to their “Shia”
Many Shia books, such as Nahjul-Balâghah, speak of the anger of `Alî and his sons at their “Shia.” For example, when `Alî was preparing to go out to fight Mu`âwiyah, he addressed them saying:
"Did I not tell you to fight these people day and night, openly and secretly? Did I not tell you to strike them before they strike you? You dream of victory but will not work for it. You became lazy and enjoyed yourselves until you were attacked. When I called for jihad, you did not fight. I called on you openly and in secret but you did not respond. I fix you in the morning, but you return at noon as mean as the serpent.
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8 Related by Al-Bukhârî and Muslim.
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Would that I had never seen you and never known you. May Allah strike you down. You have filled my heart with rage and lain a heavy weight upon my breast. You have ruined my reputation with your disobedience and desertion, to the point that Quraysh said that `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib is a courageous man but he does not know anything about war.9 ... Would that Allah separate me from you and grant me more worthy companions than you. O Allah, I have grown weary of them and they of me. I have vexed them and they me. Grant me better company than them, and grant them [a leader] less than me.10
"Oh you, whose bodies are present, but whose minds are absent, you who have so many desires and whose leaders are so unlucky to have you, your leader obeys Allah and you disobey him, while the lord of Syria disobeys Allah and his men obey him. By Allah, I wish that Mu`âwiyah would trade with me so that I would trade ten of you for one of his men."
"I give praise to Allah for what He has ordained and for trying me with you. You, the party who when ordered [to do something] does not obey and when called does not respond. By Allah, when it is time to pass away, Allah shall certainly separate me from you as I am averse to your company. Is it not strange that when Mu`âwiyah calls upon scoundrels and louts, they swear allegiance to him without asking him for anything in exchange? When I ask you for help, you break away from me and contradict me!"11
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9 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, pp. 68, 70.
10 Ibid. p. 65.
11 Ibid. part II, p. 100.
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"O People of Kufa! I have been afflicted with three things, and two: The deaf who are hearing, the mute who are speaking, and the blind who are sighted. No free man keeps his word, and no brother is steadfast in adversity. You are like camels without a herdsman. Whenever you are gathered from one direction, you wander off in another."12
"By Allah, I knew that Mu`âwiyah’s people would totally defeat you. Their unity in falsehood is stronger than your difference over the truth. Yours is the rightful Imam but you defy him. They follow a usurper but they obey him. They are honest with their leader while you betray yours. They conduct themselves properly in their country and you ruin yourselves in yours. By Allah, I have come to doubt everything you say, and I am in no need of your support. I cannot confront any foe with the likes of you.
What is the matter with you? What is to be done with you? I seek help with you to overcome distress but in fact you are my affliction."
"Enough! I am weary of rebuking you. Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? When I called you to fight your enemies, eyes revolve as if you would die of hardship. You do not understand a thing. By Allah, I am sure that were you to hear the sounds of battle and catch the smell of death, you would loose your heads and flee from `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib."13
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12 Ibid. pp. 188-189. 13 Ibid. pp. 65, 75, 38-82.
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"When I call you to go out in the days of summer, you say, 'Leave us until the heat breaks.' And when I call upon you in the days of winter, you say, 'Leave us until the cold weather passes.' All of this is only fleeing from hot and cold."14
"I am plagued by men who do not obey when they are commanded, who do not respond when they are called. Why do you turn your backs from every victory from your Lord? Have you no faith to bind you together, no zeal to fire you to battle? I stand in your midst haranguing you, calling for your help, but you do not hear a word nor do you obey an order. I swear by Allah that whoever seeks victory through you is despised  ."15

The Position of Prophet's Household on the Shias
Al-Hasan Ibn `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib said:
"By Allah, Mu`âwiyah is better for me than those [people of Kufa] who claimed to be my Shias (supporters). They hoped to kill me and then robbed me. By Allah, an agreement with Mu`âwiyah through which I spare my blood and secure my own family would be better for me than being killed (at their hands). By Allah, had I fought Mu`âwiyah, they would surely have seized me and handed me over to him. To submit to him willingly and honored is better for me than to [face him] and be killed as a prisoner."
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14 Ibid. p. 69.
15 Ibid. pp. 90, 118.
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According to At-Tubrasî, Al-Husayn said that he was "familiar with the people of Kufa and their treachery. Their loyalty is to no one and they are treacherous in word and deed. They are fond of dispute and say their hearts are with us, yet their swords are raised against us."16 Besides, `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib is quoted as saying, "Basra is the place where Iblîs (Satan) fell to earth; it is the source of every trial and tribulation."17 Further Al-Kulaynî reported that Imam Mûsâ Al-Kâzim said, "If I were to characterize my Shias, I would say I found them to be nothing but heretics."18
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16 At-Tubrasî, Al-Ihtijâj, pp. 149-149.
17 Al-Murtadâ, Nahjul-Balâghah, 3:18.
18 Al-Kulaynî, Al-Kâfî, Ar-Rawdah, 8:228.