Zubala

Zubala (Arabic: زُبالة) is an old way station on the way from Kufa to Mecca where Imam Hussain learned that his foster brother, Abdullah B. Yaqtur, was martyred.

Naming

It is located after al-Shuquq on a traveller's way from Kufa to Mecca. There is a fort there and a mosque for Banu Asad named after Zubala daughter of Mas’ar, a woman belonging to the ‘Amaliqah. The Battle of Zubala is well known to the Arabs, and there are some narrators of hadith whose last names are derived from Zubala as we are told by Mu’jam al-Buldan.

Events

At Zubala, Imam Hussain was informed that Abdullah B. Yaqtur, the man dispatched by Al-Hussain to Muslim b. ‘Aqil, had been killed. Al-Hasin b. Namir arrested him at al-Qadisiyya and sent him to Ubaydullah b. Ziyad who ordered him to ascend the pulpit and to curse the liar son of the liar.

When ‘Abdullah B. Yaqtur looked at the people from the pulpit, he said, “O people! I am the messenger of al-Hussain son of Fatima to you so that you may support and assist him against the son of Marjana,” whereupon ‘Ubaydullah ordered him thrown from the mansion’s rooftop. He was hurled down from there. His bones were crushed, but he did not die.

A man named ‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Umayr al-Lakhmi came to him and cut his throat. When the latter was shamed for having done so, he said, “I killed him in order to put an end to his suffering.” It is also said that the man who killed him was tall and that he looked like ‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Umayr.

The Imam informed those who were in his company of what had happened, giving them the option to leave. They dispersed right and left. Those who remained with him were his own companions who had come with him from Mecca.

Actually, a large number of bedouins had joined him thinking that he was going to a land where he would be welcomed by supporting natives. He, peace be upon him, hated for them to march with him except with their knowledge of what to expect, knowing fully well that if he permitted them to leave, only those who were ready to support him to the end would remain.

Source

• Abd al Razzaq al-Muqarram, Maqtal al-Hussain: Martyrdom Epic of Imam al-Hussain