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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Chapter 16: Muslim bin Aqeel: Imam Husayn’s Ambassador to Kufa Imam Husayn (a.s.) called his cousin Muslim bin Aqeel and asked him to proceed to Kufa to ascertain the veracity of the thousands of letters written by the people of Kufa. Muslim took with him two guides for the journey. The guides lost the way in the desert. They died of severe thirst. Muslim was fortunate to find a well. He reached Kufa with some difficulty.

He stayed in the house of the great warrior al-Mukhtar, son of Abu Ubayda ath-Thaqafi. Muslim was warmly welcomed by the people of Kufa who gathered in great numbers. Within a few days, over eighty thousand of them took the oath of allegiance. By taking the hand of Muslim in paying allegiance, they accepted Imam Husayn (a.s.) as their Imam . Muslim presided over the daily five-time prayers at the huge mosque of Kufa which was filled to capacity.

Muslim wrote to Imam Husayn (a.s.) about the warm welcome and the oaths of allegiance he received from most of the residents of Kufa. Muslim wrote confirming the need for Imam Husayn (a.s.) to come to Kufa, for religious guidance of the Ummah. He sent the letters through Aabis bin Shabeeb ash-Shakiri, Qais bin Mushir as-Saidawi, and others.

At this point of time, if Muslim had any political inclination, he could have easily overthrown the governor of Kufa with the help of his host, the great warrior al-Mukhtar, son of Abu Ubayda ath-Thaqafi and the public support he enjoyed. However, he neither wished nor was he authorized by Imam Husayn (a.s.) to do anything that would amount to interference in the affairs of the government.

The governor of Kufa, an-No’man bin Basheer, was informed about the growing popularity of Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) and the perceived threat of a possible interference with the government. However, the governor found that Muslim’s mission was purely religious and it did not constitute a threat to the government.

From on the pulpit, an-No’man proclaimed that he would neither harm anyone who did not interfere with the government, nor would he let anyone go unpunished if he found any such interference. The failure on the Governor’s part to take any action against Muslim created panic among the Umayyads of Kufa.