In the second year...

In the second year, he had Medina attacked and allowed his soldiers to plunder and ransack, kill the inhabitants and rape their ladies. Hundreds of companions of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) and memorizers of Qur’an were put under the sword. Prayer was not conducted in the Prophet’s mosque for three days at a stretch as Yazid’s soldiers had converted it into a stable for their horses.

Thousands of women lost their honor and the Medinites were compelled to pay oath of allegiance to Yazid in the words, “We are slaves of Yazid. If he likes he can sell us and if he wants he can release us.” In the third year of his rule, Yazid’s forces attacked Mecca and laid siege to it. Catapults were employed to throw fireballs on the Holy Ka’ba, which was consequently damaged. The siege was in process when Yazid died in Damascus. This was a brief sketch of Yazid’s biography.

How the times had changed and how the circumstances became inverted that such a person should demand allegiance from Husayn (a.s)! Who was Husayn? The beloved one of ‘Ali and Fatima (a.s) and in the words of Qur’an, the son of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w). He was absolutely sinless and had scaled the heights of purity of self and the best of deeds. Love and regard towards him is made obligatory for the Muslims.

According to the sayings of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) Husayn was from the Prophet and the Prophet was from Husayn (a.s). In other words, every saying of Husayn was the saying of the Prophet and every action of Husayn was the action of the Prophet. That is why Yazid was so keen to obtain the allegiance of Husayn. Because he felt that if Husayn gave him allegiance, each of his acts, beliefs and policies would get the seal of approval of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w).

Husayn was also aware of this fact and thus he refused to give allegiance, and as a result bore with absolute resignation and tranquility, the mountains of calamities that befell him. He had to leave Medina. He had to bid farewell to the shrine of his maternal grandfather, the grave of his mother and the tomb of his brother. Then he took refuge in the Holy city of Mecca.

Here also no security was found, because Yazid sent 30 militants in the garb of pilgrims to assassinate Imam Husayn (a.s) in Mecca. They were ordered to kill Husayn (a.s) even if he was found circumambulating the Ka’ba. Husayn (a.s) was compelled to leave Mecca along with his family members one day before the Hajj and he headed for Iraq.