A New Campaign to Absolve Yazeed of the Responsibility of the Martyrdom of Hussain Has Been Intensified

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 29 July 2023 Some Ulema Give Arguments in Favour of Yazeed Main Points: 1. Yazeed was the caliphate at the time of the battle of Karbala. 2. Ibn Ziyad was the governor of Kufa. 1. 3.72 members of the prophet’s family faced Yazid's army at the banks of Euphrates. ------ On the 10th day of Muharram in 60 A.H. the family of the prophet pbuh led by his grandson Hazrat Hussain faced Yazeed's army in Karbala at the banks of the river Euphrates, Furat in Arabic meaning that which quenches the thirst. The irony is that it was prevented from quenching the thirst of the prophet's holy family. Before the arrival of Hazrat Husain a.s. to Karbala, the governor of Kufa was Noman bin Bashir, a Sahabi (the prophet's companion) and was naturally sympathetic to the Ahlul Bayt ( prophet's family). The caliph Yazeed knew it well that as long as Noman bin Bashir was the governor, his plan of executing Hazrat Hussain would not be possible. So he removed Noman bin Bashir and appointed Ibn Ziyad as the governor of Kufa. The family of Hazrat Husain a.h. comprised 40 women and children and 32 men. They had arrived at Karbala on horses and camels. On 10th of Muharram, when Yazeed was convinced that Hazrat Hussain a.h. would succumb to pressure tactics and would not accept him as the caliph, he was martyred along with other male members of his family except Ali bin Husain alias Zainul Abedin. This was not the end. Yazeed's army tied the women and children with ropes and brought them on camels and horses like prisoners of war first to Kufa and then to Damascus, the capital of Yazeed's caliphate. There they were lodged in a dilapidated building near the palace of the caliph for three days. Then the palace was decorated and announcement was made that the prisoners of war will be produced before the caliph. The prophet's family members, mostly women were produced in the court before Yazeed where Hazrat Hussain's severed head was placed on a pedestal and Yazeed was smiling. Hazrat Zainab's speech before Yazeed is recorded in the history of Islam, She warned Yazeed against showing disrespect to Hazrat Hussain's head and the women of the holy family. After that the women and children were released and they travelled back to Karbala where they mourned at the dead bodies still lying there and then travelled back to Madina. This is the history of Karbala read and heard since 61 A.H. and Yazeed is cursed for the martyrdom of Hazrat Husain a.h. and his family members. But in recent years a campaign for giving Yazeed clean chit has been intensified. Even some maulvis advised Muslims not curse Yazeed because in their view Yazeed was innocent. They only hold Ibn Ziyad responsible and argue that Yazeed was not aware of what happened on that fateful day. This campaign is run mainly by Deobandis or Wahhabis and the reasons for this is unknown. If Hazrat Hussain a.s.'s assassination was not the plan of Yazeed, why did he remove Noman bin Bashir and appoint Ibn Ziyad as the governor. A governor's duty was to execute the orders of the caliph. He could not have assassinated a very important personality like the grandson of the holy prophet pbuh without Yazid's order. And if he had ordered the assassination of Hazrat Hussain a.h. without the discretion of Yazid, Yazeed would not have ordered the bereaved women to be brought to Damascus with hands tied with ropes. He would have punished Ibn Ziyad and would have apologised not only to the women but also to the entire Muslim community. Nothing of that sort happened. On the contrary when the people of Madina revolted after the martyrdom of Hazrat Husain a.h., Yazeed's army invaded Madina and massacred Muslims and raped thousands of women, according to Engineer Md Ali Mirza. These are the facts that have been concealed from general Muslims for 1400 years only to give clean chit to Yazeed. They do not also say how some senior holy companions were forced to pay allegiance to Yazeed. They also present the argument that Yazeed was a Sahabi and therefore he should be called Yazeed Rahmatullah Alaih but they forget that the killer of the prophet's uncle Hazrat Hamza r.a. was also a Sahabi but the prophet pbuh could not forget his deed even after he accepted Islam and told him not show his face. Would then the prophet pbuh have tolerated Yazeed who killed not only killed his grandson but all the male members of his family if he were alive? Why is this happening that a man who was not a legitimate caliph in the first place and who massacred the whole family of the prophet is being defended and given clean chit but some ulema and historians of Islam? The reason is simple. Ulema in every age have supported the rulers. With the rise of the Umayyad dynasty, the ulema of the age sided with Banu Umayya for power and perks because they saw that the lobby of Hazrat Ali r.a. was not powerful. These pro- Umayyad ulema prepared literature glorifying and defending Banu Umayya. The arguments that the present day ulema give in favour of Yazeed have actually been prepared by the ulema of the Umayyad dynasty. They concealed harsh facts and made light of the wrongdoings of Yazeed and his ilk. Do whatever these Yazeedi ulema can, the Muslims know that Yazeed was behind the martyrdom of Hazrat Hussain a.s. and his family members because he knew that his caliphate was illegitimate and the Ahlul Bayt posed a threat to his political ambitions. The Muslims will curse Yazeed, Ibn Ziyad and the Yazeedi ulema till the day of judgment. The Yazeedi ulema will be raised with Yazeed and Ibn Ziyad on the Day of Judgment. 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