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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Chapter 14: Yazid bin Mu’awiya bin Abu Sufyan In his last days, Mu’awiya warned Yazid that he should be careful about how he would handle four persons; Imam Husayn (a.s.), Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah ibn az-Zubair and Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, who opposed his succession. When Mu’awiya died in Syria, his son Yazid usurped the governorship of Syria and staked his claim as successor of the head of the Islamic State.

Yazid appointed his kin and his henchmen as Governors of various provinces. He appointed his cousin al-Waleed bin Utbah bin Abu Sufyan as the Governor of Medina. Al-Waleed’s predecessor Marwan, who was banished by the Holy Prophet (S) and the first and the second Caliphs , was recalled to act as al-Waleed’s advisor.

Yazid’s fear of Imam Husayn (a.s.) was so great that he sent a special emissary with a letter to al-Waleed commanding him to get the oath of allegiance from Imam Husayn (a.s.), Abdullah Bin Umar, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, with a special stress on Imam Husayn (a.s.), and to kill them if they refused. Al-Waleed sent for the persons named in the letter. His messengers found Imam Husayn (a.s.) and Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair in the mosque. They both replied that they would meet al-Waleed later.

Abdullah ibn az-Zubair realized that for al-Waleed to send for them at that hour of night, the reason might be that Mu’awiya who was known to be seriously sick, must have died and that Yazid would have called for their allegiance. Ibn az-Zubair also realized that the occasion provided the chance for him to grab power that he so long cherished. Instead of going to al-Waleed, ibn az-Zubair collected the members of his clan and his followers and sat with them in the safety of his house.

When al-Waleed sent his henchmen who abused ibn az-Zubair and demanded that he should come out and meet al-Waleed immediately or else be killed. The terrified ibn az-Zubair sent his brother Ja’far to plead with al-Waleed to withdraw his men, with a promise that ibn az-Zubair would meet al-Waleed in the morning. Al-Waleed recalled his men believing that ibn az-Zubair would keep his promise.

Immediately after al-Waleed’s men had left, ibn az-Zubair and his brother Ja’far rushed to Mecca through secret routes under the cover of the night. Next morning, al-Waleed sent for ibn az-Zubair only to find that he had already left Medina under the cover of the night.