The facts...
The facts, as they stand, are not to be revealed to just anyone who seeks them due to the different levels of people's comprehension and the differences in their ability to absorb. He, peace be upon him, had to answer each person according to his own condition and ability to comprehend. He, for example, said to [‘Abdullah] Ibn al-Zubayr, “My father told me once that there is a ram in Mecca through which its sanctity would be violated, and I do not like to be it.
Should I be killed outside Mecca even the distance of a span, it is better for me than being killed inside it.[^5] By Allah! Had I been inside one of these holes, they would have taken me out of it and done what they wish to do. By Allah!
They shall oppress me and transgress just as the Jews oppressed and transgressed the sanctity of the Sabbath.” As soon as Ibn al-Zubayr had left, al-Husayn (‘a) said to those in his company, “There is nothing in this world this man loves more than seeing me depart from Hijaz.
He knows very well that people do not equate him with me, so he wished to see me leave so that the space will be all his.”[^6] During the same night following which al-Husayn (‘a) left for Iraq, Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyya came to him and said, “You know very well how the Kufians betrayed your father and brother, and I fear lest your case should be like theirs.
Stay here, then, for you are the most respected one in the Haram , and the most secure.” Al-Husayn (‘a) said to him, “I fear lest Yazid son of Mu’awiyah should assassinate me inside the Haram , thus becoming the one on whose account the sanctity of this House is violated.” Ibn al-Hanafiyya suggested to him to go to Yemen or to other parts of the peninsula, so Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a) promised him to think about it.
During the early hours of the morning, al-Husayn (‘a) started the preparations for his departure. Ibn al-Hanafiyya again came to him and held the reins of the she-camel upon which al-Husayn (‘a) had already mounted, saying, “Did you not promise me to think about my suggestion?” “Yes,” al-Husayn (‘a) answered, “ But after your departure, the Messenger of Allah (S) came to me in a vision and said, ‘O Husayn! Get out!
Allah Almighty has decreed to see you slain.' ” Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyya said, “ Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajia’un ” (We are Allah's, and to Him is our return). He asked him about the reason for letting his family accompany him.