Was Ibn Ziyad Shia al-Khasa??

The Nasibi accusation that Ibn Ziyad was Shia al-Khasa and not a Shia of Muawiya

It is interesting that some present day Nawasib claim that Ibn Ziyad was amongst the Shias of Imam Hussain [as] i.e. was Shia al-Khasa as a method to cover the sins of their ancestors. The unbiased readers of history should know that besides believing in the caliphate of Shaykhayn, he also believed in the caliphate of Uthman. He is a narrators of Sunni hadith literature, no Sunni scholar of Hadith has declared him Shia. Yazid in his views about Ibn Ziyad stated:

O cup-bearer, make me such a drink that shall quench the thrust of each joint of my body. Then stand up and give a similar drink to Ibn Ziyad.Who is a pure friend, who is honest, who supports me, who is the investment of my life and my hand during a war.

Murooj al-Dahab, Volume 1 page 377

The deviation of Ibn Ziyad from the path of Allah and his apostle was well known amongst the people of Kufa. That is why we read that when Muslim bin Aqeel was residing at the house of Hani bin Urwah, the news that Ibn Ziyad was about to come to meet Sharik bin Awur disseminated to which Sharik asked Muslim bin Aqeel to make the most of the opportunity and kill Ibn Ziyad but he came and went while Muslim did not make any attempt to kill him. Later, Sharik asked Muslim bin Aqeel the reason for not killing Ibn Ziyad to which Muslim replied:

“There were two reasons for that. Firstly Hani didn’t like Ibn Ziyad to be killed in his house, secondly no believer should be murdered.”

To which Hani replied:

“By Allah, had you killed him, it would not have been a murder of a Muslim rather of a Fasiq, Fajir and a dishonest person, no doubt I did not like him to be killed in my house…”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 6 page 4

The facts are as follows:

Ibn Ziyad was son Ziyad bin Sumaya the bastard brother of Muawiya

Muawiya appointed Ziyad as the Governor of Kufa,

Yazid appointed Ibn Ziyad to the same post

In light of this reality we ask those with open minds, was Ibn Ziyad Shia al-Khasa or Shia of Muawiya.

The arrival of Ibn Ziyad and fear this struck in the people of Kufa

With regards to Ibn Ziyah we read in the History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 33-34:

“When he reached al-Kufah, he was wearing a black turban and he was veiled. News of Husayn’s departure had reached the people; they were expecting his arrival. When Ubaydallah came, they thought he was al-Husayn. Ubaydallah could not pass a group of people without their greeting him. They said,

“Welcome, son of the Apostle of God your arrival is a happy event”. He saw in their joy at seeing al-Husayn something to trouble him. Muslim b. Amr said, “Retire, for this is the governor, Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad”. As he came in view he checked his mount, and he only had some ten men with him”.

The fleeing of the people evidences the fact that none of the Kufans did not deem Ibn Ziyad to be a Shia al Khasa they deemed him a Nasibi like his cruel illegitimate father.

The imposition of curfew like conditions in Kufa

Arab districts had a caretaker that would act as a registrar who would record births, marriages, deaths, conduct a local census locate the whereabouts of know felons.

We read in the History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 34:

“Then he went down; he put the arifs and the people to a severe test and said, Write to me about the strangers, those among you who are sought by the Commander of the Faithful, those among you from Haruriyaah and the trublemakers whose concern is discord and turmoil. Whosoever of you makes these lists for us will be safe from harm. But those of you who do not write anyone will have to guarantee that there is no opponent in his irafah who will oppose us, and no opponent who will try to wrong us. Anyone who does not do so will be denied protection, and his blood and his property will be permitted to us. Any arif in whose irafah is found anyone who is wanted by the Commander of the Faithful, whom he has not reported to us, will be crucified at the door of his house, and I will cancel that irafah from [the diwan] of payment, or he will be sent to a position in Uman [or] al-Zarrah”

This rule of fear and tyranny wherein people were in effect being watched over by state spies, created fear amongst the Kufans who knew only to well the consequences of opposing Ibn Ziyad, this reality had a greater influence over the Kufan populous than their support for the Imam [as] .

The official forces of Muawiya were already situated in Kufa

The thing that most people overlook when discussing Kufa and its people is the official army and police that were present in Kufa from the outset of Muawiya’s reign had been dispatched from Syria. Ziyad bin Sumaya used these troops to co-ordinate mass slaughter of the Kufans over many years. These same troops then came under the command of Ibn Ziyad, so the Kufans knew what to expect from the governor and his troops, if he was making threats there was a reasonable prospect that ot would be carried out.

The arrest of those who aided Muslim bin Aqeel [as]

Later, one of the tactics used by Ibn Ziyad was apprehend those that supported Muslim bin Aqeel, he gave this task to the Yemeni tribal leader Kathir b. Shibab and Muhammad b. al-Ashath.

We read in the History of Tabari Volume 19 page 49:

“Kathir met a man from Kalb called Abd al-Ala b. Yazid. He was carrying arms with the intention of joining Ibn Aqil with his fellow youths. He seized him and took him to Ibn Ziyad. Kathir told Ibn Ziyad about the man, but the man told Ibn Ziyad that he had been intending to come to him. Ibn Ziyad retorted “Sure, sure! I remember that you promised me that!” Ibn Ziyad ordered the man to be imprisoned.

Muhammad b. al-Ashath went out until he reached the houses of the Banu Umarah. Umarah b. Salkhan al-Azdi came to him; he was on his way to Ibn Aqil and was carrying arms. Muhammad b. al-Ashath seized him and sent him to Ibn Ziyad who imprisoned him”

It is also worth noting that the enemy of Ahlulbayt Muhammad bin al-Ashath cited above, was from amongst the the Aama i.e. the ancestors of present day Ahle Sunnah and not from the Shia al-Khasa. The very Muhammad bin al-Ashath is a narrator of those principle Hadith books of Ahle Sunnah that have been deemed reliable enough to take the guidance from in shape of Hadith.

The books that contain his narrations can be found in:

1. Mu'wata, v2, p519

2. Sunnan Abu Dawoud, v2, p146

3. Sunnan al-Nisai, v7, p302

4. Sunnan Kubra, by Bayhaqi, v5, p332

Imam Ibn Haban included him in his collection of Thiqa narrators i.e. al-Thiqat as recorded in Tahdib al-Kamal, Volume 24 page 496 whilst Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani in Taqreeb al-Tahdeeb, Volume 2 page 57 biography 5760 counted him amongst the Tabayeen and when it comes to his rank as a narrator of Sunni Hadith he has been graded as ‘Maqbool’ by him. The tradition narrated by him in one of the six principle Hadith books of Ahle Sunnah namely Sunnan Abu Dawoud has been graded ‘Sahih’ by the Imam of Salafies Nasiruddin Al-Albaani in his book Sahih Sunnan Abu Dawud, Vol 2 page 670 Hadith 2997.

This enemy of Ahlulbayt [as] was also amongst those killed by Mukhtar when he avenged for the murder of Imam Hussain [as] as we read in Tahdeeb al Kamal, Volume 24 page 496:

“Al-Mukhtar killed him in year 66”

This Nasibi benefied from his familial links with a prominent Sahabi family, as we read in Tahdeeb al Kamal, Volume 24 page 495:

“Muhammad bin al-Ash'ath bin Qays al-Kindi Abu al-Qasim al-Kufi, his mother is Um Farwa bin Abi Quhafa the sister of Abu Bakr al-Sidiq”

The news about the arrival of supporting forces from Syria

Another tactic used by Ibn Ziyad was the dissemination of the rumors across Kufa that central forces were about to arrive in Kufa from Syria so as to create panic amongst the people to the extent that:

“Women began to come to their sons and brothers, urging them to go away as the people would be enough without them. Every man went to his son or his brother telling him, ‘Tomorrow the Syrians will come against you. What have you to do with the war and this evil doing? Go away.’ Thus, each took someone away. They continued to disperse so that by the time evening came Muslim b Aqil only had thirty men with him in the mosque”.

History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 50-51

This was the time when fear and awe among the people of Kufa was at its climax and hence no one was coming out of his home and pin drop silence type of situation had developed in the city with no one knowing the situation of another of his friend or relatives.

The situation faced by the Shia al-Khasa due to the efforts of Ibn Ziyad

The handful Shia al-Khasa of Kufa that remained were most affected by the situation. They sought safe havens in Kufa but in vain. Ibn Ziyad knew that Hussain bin Ali [as] was due to arrive in Kufa and although the determination and morale of the people was badly debilitated by that time, his arrival would have been resurrected their morbid states, hence in the wake of this apprehension, he started tracing all such individuals who posed a risk to the State and would support Hussain [as] arriving in Kufa and had them arrested including Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaida Thaqafi, Abdullah bin Harthi bin Nofal etc.

On the other hand, after the martyrdom of Muslim bin Aqeel [as], Yazid wrote to Ibn Ziyad:

“I have been informed that al Husayn b. Ali has set out for Iraq. Therefore set lookouts and watches, and be vigilant against suspicious characters. Arrest anyone on suspicion but only kill those who fight against you”

History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 64

A policy of arrests and incarceration were swiftly implemented. The extent of this operation can be understood from the testimony of Ibn Ziyad following the death of Yazid:

“There was no individual who about whom were suspicions that he might oppose the government that was not imprisoned”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 18

Furthermore, when following the death of Yazid, Ibn Ziyad was fleeing from Kufa to Syria he met Sayf, to whom Ibn Ziyad said:

“I was just saying to myself that I wish I had issued an order that the prisoners be brought out and beheaded”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 70

[This is because the same prisoners such as Mukhtar brought about a revolution to overthrow the Umawis]

It was through these methods that the State quashed the machinations of their opponents and gained complete control over Kufa. Ibn Ziyad then set about apprehending and threatening the residents cities neighbouring Kufa wherein sizeable Shia communities resided such as Basrah and Madain.

Installing barricades in Kufa and its subrubs to prevent the arrival of Shias from other cities

Now upon the instructions of Yazid, strict surveillance of all the exits of different cities and barricades were installed for this purpose. Tabari informs us Ibn Ziyad sent:

“al Husayn b. Tamim, the commander of the police to station himself at al-Qadisiyyah to set the cavalry between the area of al-Qadisiyyah to Khaffan and the area of al-Qadisiyyah to al-Qutqutanah and to La’la”

History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 83

Professor Howard in his footnote on the same page informs us that:

“La’la was a halting place between al-Kufah and al-Basrah”.

What this means is that armies had been strategically posted in a manner that made entry into Kufa near impossible, access into Kufa had in effect been blocked.

We learn on the next page that, Qays bin Mushir who was carrying the letter of Imam Hussain [as] to the people of Kufa was arrested by al-Husayn b. Tamim at al-Qadisiyyah who transferred him to Ibn Ziyad who had him executed. When Imam Hussain [as] himself arrived at the said locations, he enquired about the situation from the people living at desert areas who told Him [as]:

“By Allah we don’t know anything except the fact that neither we can exit nor can we enter”

Hurr bin Yazid al-Rahiaye and his troops who had intercepted Imam Hussain [as] and his supporters at al-Qadisiyyah and said to him:

“These men from al-Kufah are not among the party that came with you. I will either detain them or send them back”. Al-Husayn answered, ‘I will defend them in the same way I would defend my own life. They are only my supporters and helpers…they are my followers and they are just like those who came with me”

History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 98

By the time when that Imam Husasin [as] had reached Karbala, men were being recruited from al-Nukhaylah to fight him.

See History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 129.

The arrest of those Kufans that did not want to fight Hussain bin Ali [as]

The reality is the Shia al-Khasa were either murdered or imprisoned whilst on the orders of Ibn Ziyad, the Aama of Kufa were being forced to go Karbala and fight Hussain bin Ali [as]. Such Aama of Kufa did not want to fight the Imam [as], which is why they fled back to Kufa if they got the opportunity. Ibn Ziyad sought to counter their efforts through the dispatching of Suwayd bin Abdulrehman Munqari and other men to Kufa who would apprehend such people and return them back to the army against the Imam [as] . On one occasion Suwayd arrested a Syrian man on personal business in Kufa he sent him to Ibn Ziyad who sought to create an example of him by having him executed, thus all those Aama who had sought to avoid the pending battle were returned to Karbala,

see Akhbar Tawal, page 252.

All this proves the following points:

The majority of Shia al-Khasa of Kufa who were the proven helpers and supporters of Imam Hussain [as] were brutally murdered with the remainder imprisoned, in this way, a great number of those who might have otherwise reached the Imam [as], were deprived of that opportunity.

For the non Shia al-Khasa of Kufa who could have shown a determination and willingness to help Hussain bin Ali [as], the surveillance and barricade system leading upto to Kufa made it impossible for them. Had they sought to come out, they would have been arrested either at al-Nukhaylah which was situated between Kufa and Karbala or somewhere after al-Nukhaylah such as Khaffan and the area of al-Qadisiyyah to al-Qutqutanah or La’la.

Ibn Ziyad introduced military conscription for all Kufans of fighting age that required them to join the forces against Hussain bin Ali [as] and in this way, as a way of protecting their lives, those of their families and their material possessions.

Duress was complimented with efforts to ‘convince’ the Shia Aama that Yazid was legitimite head of state

It is clear that when Ibn Ziyad began his terror campaign it was the second group of “Shi’a” the ‘Aama’ that were brought to heel – not the ‘Shia al Khasa’ mentioned earlier since they had already been exterminated in Kufa. This group of Shi’a still believed that Imamate was the right of the people, they were happy and the manner in which Yazid had acquired power and deemed Imam Hussain [as] to be the right candidate for the job, could be swayed easily since their beliefs were not based on any religious conviction.

A two-pronged strategy was formulated to essentially change the hearts and minds of those Kufan majority, duress to bring to people in line, coupled with convincing the people to get behind Yazid as he was legitimate Head of State. If they had any doubts these were laid to rest by advocates of Yazid such as the sahaba Abdullah Ibn Umar (as we shall expand on later). This group therefore set aside their personal views and abandoned support for Imam Hussain [as] and joined hands with Yazid as he in their eyes had obtained the ijma of the people. These individuals were Shi’a when they gave bayya and sided with Ali [as] following the death of Uthman. They deemed Imam ‘Ali [as] to be the legitimate fourth khalifa as he had obtained the ijma of the people. Their being Shi’a of Ali [as] was only as long as Imam ‘Ali [as] was khalifa.

Once these people were convinced that Yazid had secured bayya from the other Arab provinces and had ardent supporters like Ibn Saba it was easy for them to revise their view on Yazid and recognize his succession as Khalifa was indeed legitimate as it was based on ijma. The Kufans may have had sympathies towards Imam Hussain [as] that influenced their decision to write to him, but influential words of support for Yazid’s right to rule from notables such as Ibn Umar, ensured that their faltering loyalty to Khalifa Yazid was restored.

The aid of Imam Hussain [as] by Shia al-Khasa even after severe hardships

Despite such extreme obstacles, we see in the annals of history that the Shia al-Khasa who had initiated the movement and had written letters to Imam Hussain [as] and had promised their support to Him [as] did reach him [as] in Karbala and died for him [as] .

Those that heard Muslim bin Aqeel [as] read out the letter of Imam Hussain [as], and pledged their support included Abis b. Abbi Shabab al Shakiri, Said b. Abdallah al Hanafi and Habib bin Muzahir al Faqasi,

 (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 29)

 all three reached the Imam [as] and were martyred defending him.

In Kufa, Muslim bin Aqeel, gave positions of responsibility to Muslim b. Awsaja al Asadi and Abu Thumamah al Saidi (History of Tabari Volume 19 page 98) both men fought alongside the Imam [as] and laid down their lives in his path (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 137 and 142)

Those that never flinched from their support for Imam Hussain [as] until their corpses were strewn before Imam Hussain [as] included the Shia al-Khasa of Kufa such as:

1) Burayr b. Hudayr, about whom, Professor Howard writes in the footnote of History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 119 “From his position among the followers of al-Husayn, he seems to have been a leading member of the Kufan Shias. He died fighting for al-Husayn”. Burayr knew the Holy Quran by heart, a fact testified by one of Ibn Sa’d’s very own soldiers who said: “This man Burayr b. Hudayr is the reciter of the Quran (qari). He often recited the Quran to us in the mosque”

History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 133

2) Anas bin Harith, one of the companions of the Holy Prophet [s] who has been mentioned by Ibn Athir in his book Asdal Ghaba and Ibn Hajar Asqalani in his book Al-Isaba. Ibn Athir stated “He was among the people of Kufa and had gone to help Hussain when he had arrived in Karbala”

3) Nafi bin Hilal al Jamali al Muradi (History of Tabari Volume 19 page 145) who was from the Madh-haj tribe of Kufa

4) Hanzala bin Asad al-Shibami (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages pages 146-7)

5) Mujammi b. Abdallah al Aidhi (History of Tabari Volume 19 page 150)

6) al Murraqa Asadi (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 162-3)

7)Sayf bin al Harith (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 146)

8) Malik b. Abd b. Suray (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 146)

9)Abdullah b. Umayr al Kalbi (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 129-130)

10)al Qasim bin Habib Azdi (History of Tabari Volume 19 page 143)

11)Zuhayr b. al-Qaun al Bajali (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 126)

12)Yazid bin Ziyad al Musahir (History of Tabari Volume 19 pages 126)

13)Aiz bin Majma

14)Umar bin Khalid Sedadi

15)Janada bin Harith Salmani

16)Muwaid bin Umro

17)Sawar bin Munam Hamdani

18)Umar Qarza Ansari

19)Naseem bin Ejlan Ansari

20)Abdullah bin Bashar Khash’ami

21)Saalim bin Umro Kalbi

22)Muslim bin Kathir Azdi

23)Harith bin Amra al-Qays Kindi

24)Bashar bin Umar Kindi

25)Dafi’ bin Abdullah Azdi

26)Nauman bin Umro

27)Masud bin Hajaj Tamimi

28)Juwain bin Malik Taimi

29)Umar bin Zabi’ya Taimi

30)Habab bin Aamir Taimi

31)Umya bin Saad Taiyee

32)Zarzam bin Malik Thalabi

33)Kanan bin Attique Thalabi

34)Qasit bin Zuhair Kardus bin Zuhair Thalabin

35)Jibla bin Ali Shebani

It is indeed very strange to see that narrow-minded Nawasib have never noticed the names of the above named al-Shia al-Khasa martyrs. Whilst their bigoted eyes are quick on the Shia Tawabun but become blind when it comes to the textual evidences of the loyalty of but the above cited Shia al-Khasa. They also fail to make reference to the Nawasib killers of Imam Hussain [as] who have been deemed worthy narrators of Sunni Hadith literature.

The above cited men were of the al-Shia al-Khasa who by one way or the other reached to Imam Hussain [as] and laid down their lives. As for those Shia al-Khasa who either did not or were unable to reach to Imam Hussain [as], there exists no evidence of their playing a role in the murder of Imam Hussain [as] whilst those with the Imams blood on their hands have been graded as men of truth in the world of Sunni hadith narrations!

Imam Ibn Jarir Tabari recorded:

“When Hussain was killed and Ibn Ziyad returned to Kufa from al-Nukhaylah, the Shias met and maligned one another and expressed regret at their weaknesses, they thought that they had committed a big crime as they had invited Hussain by promising him their support upon his arrival, they did not go and he was killed in their neighbourhood and they didn’t help him at all and they thought that this mistake cannot be removed from them except by killing those who participated in his murder or lay down their lives in this”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 27

This further debases Nasibi claims and proves that whilst some Shia al-Khasa of Kufa might have failed to help Imam Hussain [as] they certainly played no role in his murder.

Two key points can be gauged from this,

This group of Shias failed to come to the aid of Imam Hussain [as]

They sought vengeance from that group that had partaken in the murder of Imam Hussain [as].

Verily, this group of Shias who were Shias al-Khasa did not play any role in the murder of Imam Hussain [as] and the maximum wrong committed by them was that they were unable to reach to Imam Hussain [as] and help him, and that may have been due to the preventative methods that had been employed by Ibn Ziyad that we cited earlier.

It was then that a gathering was convened in Suleman bin Surd al-Khuzai’s house wherein Musayib bin Najba addressed them:

“We used to be proud of our truthfulness and would praise our Shia party but Allah tested us and it was at that time that we came to know that our claims were wrong. We invited Hussain, sent messages to come and we would help him, but when he came we hid ourselves to the extent that he got killed in our neighborhood, neither did we physically help him nor did we support him through our tongues, nor did we afford him protection in our properties, nor did we send our tribe to aid him. Now how will be respond to Allah and his Prophet [s] when the grandson of the Prophet [s] was killed in our country? Verily, our mistake is not worth hearing. But now we have an opportunity to kill all those who participated in his murder or we can at least lay down our lives in this task”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 48

This further demolishes Nasibi propaganda and proves those that played even a minor role in the murder of Imam Hussain [as] did not have any connection with the group called the al Shia al-Khasa.

Later, Suleiman bin Surd was chosen as the leader of the Tawabun movement and the speech that he had gave, that he subsequently repeatedly delivered on Fridays was:

“We were proudly raising our necks whlist waiting for the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet and kept assuring them of our aid and convinced him to come here. But when he arrived, we displayed weakness and brought clumsiness into our work and kept worrying as to what was going to happen to the extent that the grandson of the Prophet got killed in our country at a nearby location when he was seeking aid but no one was adhered to justice. A group of Fasiqeen made him the target of their spears to the extent that he got martyred”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 49

This also affirms that fact that they had got trapped in Kufa and a group of Fasiqeen that killed Imam Hussain [as] was different from them and these notables acquired the rank of becoming Sunni hadith narrators.

The Shaykh and notable ones of the Aama were responsible for the murder of Imam Hussain [as] not the Shia

Following Yazid’s death a group of Shias came to Suleman bin Surd and suggested that it was the right time to rise up and take vengeance from the state officials during what were uncertain times, Suleman bin Surd responded with this sermon:

“Having analyzed the situation, I have found that the killers of Hussain are the tribal leaders of Kufa and they are responsible for his murder by the time that they learn of your plans and know that it is going to affect them, they will get prepared to vehemently oppose you. And having analyzed those that are prepared to be my supporters, I found that they are in a number from whom avenge could neither be acquired nor could the aim be achieved, nor could any damage be caused to the enemy, on the contrary, these people will be cut down like anything. Thus the best thing is that you dispatch your men around and have them convince people to join us”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 52

This proves that the killers of Imam Hussain [as] were the Shaykhs and tribal leaders of Aama and they had nothing to do with this group of Shia. Moreover, the reality regarding the number of Shia al-Khasa residing in Kufa is also clarified from this sermon, they did not possess a distinct number and could have been eliminated quites easily before the Aama of Kufa. Later, the speech given by Ubaidullah bin Abdullah was:

“The enemies were determined to kill the grandson of the Prophet whilst friends did not assist him. Verily, his killers deserve wrath and those who abandoned him deserve to be admonished, Neither will his killer have any grounds before Allah nor will there be any reasoning worth hearing by those that abandoned him, except if they sincerely repent and conduct Jihad against his killers and fight the oppressors”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 52

When people arrived in Karbala from Kufa with the intention of avenging the murder of Imam Hussain [as], Mathna bin Makhbariya gave a speech that contained the following important sentence:

“Hussain and and his Ansar were killed by a group that we deem them as our enemies and we dissociate ourselves from them, we have now left our homes in order to destroy every one of them”

Tarikh Tabari, Volume 7 page 221

All of these historical evidences make it clear that not a single Shia al-Khasa was the army that killed Imam Hussain [as]