You have though that you can come out of my grip...

You have though that you can come out of my grip, and that my authority does not reaches you. How far! Not all the possessors of mind are correct in opinion, nor all the possessors of opinion are loyal in their advice. Yesterday you were a slave; and today you are the commander of a plan none like you has ever ascended, O son of Sumayya! When this letter of mine comes to you, then urge the people to obey and to pledge allegiance to me. Respond (to me) quickly!

For surely if you did, you would spare your blood and set right yourself; otherwise I would kidnap you with the weakest feather and obtain you with the easiest effort! I have taken an oath that I will bring you among flutes and make you walk bare-footed from the land of Persia to Sham. I would show you in the marketplace, sell you as a salve, return you to where you were and bring you out of it! With Greetings.” In his letter Mu’awiya has ascribed Ziyad to ‘Ubayd and acknowledged his slavery.

He said that if he had captured him, he would have sold him in the marketplaces of Damascus and returned him to his origin. When this letter reached Ziyad, he became angry. He ordered the people to gather. He made speech before them. He praised and lauded Allah.

Then he said: “(Mu’awiya)-the son of the woman who ate (Hamza’s) liver and killed the lion of Allah (Hamza), the one who showed the difference, hid hypocrisy, the head of the allies and who spent his money on putting out Allah’s Light-has written (a letter) to me. He thundered and lightened from a waterless cloud; shortly the wind will change the cloud into rack. The thing that shows me his weakness is his threat before the power (over me).

Is it an act of mercy on me that he warns and excuses (me)? No! But he has followed another way. He has clattered to one who grew up among Tuhama thunderbolts! How shall I fear him and there is between me and him (al-Hasan), the son of the daughter of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. (There is between him and me) the cousin of his uncle with whom there are one hundred thousand (people) from among the Muhajireen and the Ansar.

By Allah, if he (al-Hasan) permitted me in respect of him or summoned me to him, I would show him the stars during the daylight and make him snuff mustard water! The speech is before him today; the meeting is tomorrow; and the consultation is after that, Allah willing!” Ziyad lightened, thundered, threatened, and promised.