Imam Husayn in Mecca
When Yazid came to know that al-Walid had allowed Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) and Abdullah ibn az-Zubair to leave Medina for Mecca without taking their oath of allegiance to him, he became very angry and immediately deposed al-Walid from his post and appointed Amr ibn Sa’d in his place. Amr, in turn, appointed Omer ibn az-Zubair as his chief executive officer. Omer began to harass and intimidate the supporters of Abdullah ibn az-Zubair.
The Imam (ﻉ) understood that those were scaring tactics meant to convey the message that he would be next to harass and intimidate; therefore, he felt that it was not safe for him to stay even in Mecca. There, Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) received thousands of letters, mostly from the people of Kufa, pleading to him to rescue them from the Umayyads’ tyranny. According to the renown writer al-Balathiri, Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) received as many as six hundred letters in one day and a total of twelve thousands, all requesting the same.
Among those who wrote him were these renown Kufians some of whom betrayed him then fought him: Shabth ibn Rab’i, Hijar ibn Abjar, Yazid ibn al-Harith, Izrah ibn Qays, Amr ibn al-Hajjaj, and Muhammad ibn Omayr ibn Utarid.
First, Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) did not respond to any of these letters, then he wrote one letter which he entrusted to Hani ibn Hani as-Subayi and Sa’d ibn Abdullah al-Hanafi wherein he said, “In the Name of Allah, the Most Benevolent, the Most Merciful. Hani and Sa’d brought me your letters, and they are the last to deliver such letters to me. I understand what you narrate, and the gist of most of your letters is: “We have no Imam; so, come to us, perhaps Allah will gather us with you on the path of guidance and righteousness.”
I have sent you my brother and cousin and the confidant of my Ahl al-Bayt and ordered him to write me with regard to your conditions, views and intentions. So, if he writes me saying that your view is united with that of those of distinction and wisdom from among you and in agreement with what your messengers and letters state, I shall, by the Will of Allah, come to you very soon. By my life, an Imam is one who acts upon the Book [of Allah] and implements justice and follows the path of righteousness; he dedicates himself to follow Allah’s Commandments, and peace be with you.”
He handed his letter to his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel saying, “I am dispatching you to the people of Kufa, and Allah shall deal with you as He pleases. I wish that I and you should be in the company of the martyrs; so, proceed with Allah’s blessing and help. Once you get there, stay with the most trustworthy of its people.”
Muslim left Mecca on the fifteenth of the month of Ramadan, corresponding to June 22, 680 A.D., via the Mecca-Medina highway. He reached Medina and went to the Mosque of the Prophet (ﺹ), then he bade his family farewell after having hired two road guides from the tribe of Qays. One night the road guides were lost, and they became extremely thirsty, and it was very hot. They said to Muslim (ﻉ) once they recognized some road marks, “Take yonder road and follow it, perhaps you will be saved.” He, therefore, left them, following their advice. Both road guides died of thirst. He could not carry them because they were about to pass away. What those road guides had actually seen was not the road itself but some landmarks leading thereto.
The distance between them and water was not known, and they were unable to ride on their own, nor could they ride with someone else. Had Muslim (ﻉ) stayed with them, he, too, would have perished. The most urgent matter was to preserve precious lives and to continue the march till water could be reached, hence his decision to abandon them where they were. Muslim and those serving him barely survived till they reached the highway and the water source where they rested for a short while.
Muslim sent a letter to Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) with a messenger whom he hired from those who settled near that water source. He told him about the death of the road guides, about the hardship he underwent, and that he was staying at a narrow passage at Batn al-Khabt awaiting his instructions.
The messenger met Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) at Mecca and delivered the letter to him. Al-Imam al-Husayn (ﻉ) wrote him back ordering him to continue his march to Kufa without any delay. Having read the letter, Muslim immediately resumed his trip and passed by a watering place belonging to the tribe of Tay. He Alighted there then departed. He saw a man shooting and killing a deer, so he took it as a sign of good omen: the killing of his foe.
On the twenty-fifth of Shawwal, 60 A.H./July 27, 680 A.D., Muslim ibn Aqeel entered Kufa and stayed with al-Mukhtar ibn Abu Ubayd at-Thaqafi who was highly respected among his people, a generous man, a man of ambition and daring, one well experienced and determined, and a formidable opponent of the enemies of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them. He was a man of great discretion especially with regard to the rules of the battle and the means of subduing the foe. He kept company with the Progeny of the most holy Prophet (ﺹ), so he benefitted from their ethics and virtuous morals, and he sought their advice publicly and privately.