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While the formal standoff continued, Hussain sent a messenger to ʿOmar b. Saʿd, suggesting that they meet privately at night between the camps. They met and are said to have talked for much of the night. No one was present to hear their conversation, but there were rumors that Hussain proposed that they both leave their armies and together go to see Yazid. ʿOmar b. Saʿd, however, refused to do so, afraid of being punished by ʿObayd-Allah. The majority of the transmitters, rather, maintained that Hussain offered ʿOmar three choices: Either he would return to where he had come from, or he would go to Syria to submit to Yazid personally, or he could be sent to one of the border stations to fight the infidels. ʿOmar is reported to have transmitted these proposals to ʿObayd-Allah. This offer ascribed to Hussain was, however, emphatically denied by ʿOqba b. Semʿan, a client of Hussain’s wife Rabab, who survived the battle of Karbala. He testified that Hussain never offered anything but to depart and travel the land until the affairs of the people would clarify.<ref>Tabari, II, p. 314; tr., pp. 108-9</ref> An offer by Hussain to submit to Yazid at this stage must appear unlikely in view of his religious convictions, and the reports are in line with the tendency of the early tradition to accent the primary guilt of ʿObayd-Allah in Hussain’s death. | While the formal standoff continued, Hussain sent a messenger to ʿOmar b. Saʿd, suggesting that they meet privately at night between the camps. They met and are said to have talked for much of the night. No one was present to hear their conversation, but there were rumors that Hussain proposed that they both leave their armies and together go to see Yazid. ʿOmar b. Saʿd, however, refused to do so, afraid of being punished by ʿObayd-Allah. The majority of the transmitters, rather, maintained that Hussain offered ʿOmar three choices: Either he would return to where he had come from, or he would go to Syria to submit to Yazid personally, or he could be sent to one of the border stations to fight the infidels. ʿOmar is reported to have transmitted these proposals to ʿObayd-Allah. This offer ascribed to Hussain was, however, emphatically denied by ʿOqba b. Semʿan, a client of Hussain’s wife Rabab, who survived the battle of Karbala. He testified that Hussain never offered anything but to depart and travel the land until the affairs of the people would clarify.<ref>Tabari, II, p. 314; tr., pp. 108-9</ref> An offer by Hussain to submit to Yazid at this stage must appear unlikely in view of his religious convictions, and the reports are in line with the tendency of the early tradition to accent the primary guilt of ʿObayd-Allah in Hussain’s death. | ||
Whatever proposals ʿOmar b. Saʿd submitted to ʿObayd-Allah, they were evidently designed to avoid fighting or the surrender of Hussain to the governor in Kufa. ʿObayd-Allah is reported to have at first been ready to accept them. | Whatever proposals ʿOmar b. Saʿd submitted to ʿObayd-Allah, they were evidently designed to avoid fighting or the surrender of Hussain to the governor in Kufa. ʿObayd-Allah is reported to have at first been ready to accept them. Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan advised him, however, not to allow Hussain to escape from his territory without having submitted to his authority, since this would be a sign of weakness on his part and an acknowledgment of the power of Hussain’s position; but if Hussain and his followers submitted, the governor could either punish or forgive them. ʿObayd-Allah now changed his mind and wrote to ʿOmar b. Saʿd that he had not sent him to hold him off from fighting Hussain and to intercede on his behalf. If Hussain and his supporters submitted to his authority, ʿOmar could send them to Kufa in peace. Otherwise, he should fight, kill, and disfigure them, as they deserved that. If Hussain was killed, he should make the horses trample on his chest and back since he was a disobedient rebel, an evil wrongdoer who split the community, since he, ʿObayd-Allah, had made a vow to do that to Hussain in case he was killed. If ʿOmar refused to comply with these instructions, he should surrender the command to [[Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan|Shimr b. Dhi’l-Jawshan]], with whom ʿObayd-Allah sent the letter. On reading it, ʿOmar b. Saʿd cursed Shimr but agreed to carry out the orders himself. | ||
ʿOmar b. Saʿd now prepared for immediate battle in the evening of 9 Muharram/9 October. Hussain was sitting in front of his tent when his brother ʿAbbas informed him that the enemy was advancing towards them. He asked ʿAbbas to inquire about the cause of the change of their attitude. They told him that an order of the governor had arrived to attack unless Hussain and his followers submitted to his authority. Hussain asked for a delay until next morning so they would have time to decide on the option. The account stresses that he did so only in order to arrange his affairs and give counsel to his family. ʿOmar b. Saʿd was consulted and, on the advice of some of the army leaders, agreed to the postponement. Hussain once more encouraged all his supporters to leave and scatter in the desert under cover of the night, releasing them from their oath of allegiance. They might also take the members of his family along. He suggested that the enemy was looking only for him and would not search for them once they found him. Nearly all his followers, however, decided to stay and fight and to protect him. They spent the night in prayer and preparation for the battle. On the next morning, as ʿOmar b. Saʿd arranged the Kufan army in battle order, Hurr b. Yazid challenged him and went over to Hussain. He vainly addressed the Kufans, rebuking them for their treachery to the grandson of the Prophet, and was killed in the battle. | ʿOmar b. Saʿd now prepared for immediate battle in the evening of 9 Muharram/9 October. Hussain was sitting in front of his tent when his brother ʿAbbas informed him that the enemy was advancing towards them. He asked ʿAbbas to inquire about the cause of the change of their attitude. They told him that an order of the governor had arrived to attack unless Hussain and his followers submitted to his authority. Hussain asked for a delay until next morning so they would have time to decide on the option. The account stresses that he did so only in order to arrange his affairs and give counsel to his family. ʿOmar b. Saʿd was consulted and, on the advice of some of the army leaders, agreed to the postponement. Hussain once more encouraged all his supporters to leave and scatter in the desert under cover of the night, releasing them from their oath of allegiance. They might also take the members of his family along. He suggested that the enemy was looking only for him and would not search for them once they found him. Nearly all his followers, however, decided to stay and fight and to protect him. They spent the night in prayer and preparation for the battle. On the next morning, as ʿOmar b. Saʿd arranged the Kufan army in battle order, Hurr b. Yazid challenged him and went over to Hussain. He vainly addressed the Kufans, rebuking them for their treachery to the grandson of the Prophet, and was killed in the battle. | ||
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==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
*Abu’l-Faraj Eṣfahāni, Maqātel al-Ṭālebiyin, ed. Aḥmad Ṣaqr, Cairo, 1949, pp. 78-122. | *Abu’l-Faraj Eṣfahāni, Maqātel al-Ṭālebiyin, ed. Aḥmad Ṣaqr, Cairo, 1949, pp. 78-122. | ||
*Idem, al-Aḡāni, ed. Naṣr Hurini, 20 vols., Bulāq, 1869, XLV, pp. 163-65. | *Idem, al-Aḡāni, ed. Naṣr Hurini, 20 vols., Bulāq, 1869, XLV, pp. 163-65. | ||
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*Aḥmad b. Yaʿqub Yaʿqubi, Taʾrikò, ed. M. Th. Houtsma as Historiae, 2 vols., Leiden, 1883; repr., Leiden, 1969, II, pp. 266-67, 286 ff. | *Aḥmad b. Yaʿqub Yaʿqubi, Taʾrikò, ed. M. Th. Houtsma as Historiae, 2 vols., Leiden, 1883; repr., Leiden, 1969, II, pp. 266-67, 286 ff. | ||
*Moṣʿab b. ʿAbd-Allah Zobayri, Ketāb nasab Qorayš, ed. E´variste Lévi-Provençal, Cairo, 1953, pp. 57-59. | *Moṣʿab b. ʿAbd-Allah Zobayri, Ketāb nasab Qorayš, ed. E´variste Lévi-Provençal, Cairo, 1953, pp. 57-59. | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
*[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e141 OXFORD ISLAMIC STUDIES ONLINE] | *[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e141 OXFORD ISLAMIC STUDIES ONLINE] | ||
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA] | *[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA] | ||
[[Category:Individuals]] | [[Category:Individuals]] | ||
[[Category:Historical Character]] | [[Category:Historical Character]] | ||