He said to Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a )...

He said to Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a ), hence: “If I had the same position you have in Iraq, I would have hastened to go there.”[^5] The station of the Imam ( ‘a ) was such that his refusal to pay allegiance to the caliph rendered the government of Yazid to be questioned. It was for this reason that the ruling authority insisted on him giving his pledge.

These two persons were held in such high esteem and respect among the Banu Hashim that not only could none from Banu Hashim have a leadership claim during their lifetime, but also none could even claim to be the chief of the Banu Hashim. When Imam al-Hasan ( ‘a ) passed away on the account of the effect of poison given by Mu‘awiyah, ‘Abd Allah ibn al-‘Abbas was then in Sham.

Mu‘awiyah said to him: “Ibn al-‘Abbas, Hasan died and you became the chief of the Banu Hashim.” Ibn al-‘Abbas said: “So long as Husayn is there, I am not.”[^6] Even Ibn al-‘Abbas, in spite of his intellectual and political position, being a reporter of hadith and exegete of the Qur’an and, according to the Sunnis, even higher in rank than Imams al-Hasan and al-Husayn ( ‘a ), was offering services to them.

It is thus narrated in the document of Ibn Abi Ziyad: Ibn al-‘Abbas prepared the riding horses of Hasan and Husayn, keeping the stirrup until they rode. I said: “Why are you keeping stirrup for them even though you are older than them?” He said: “You fool! Don’t you know who they are? They are the sons of the Messenger of Allah.

Is it not a great honor that God has granted me the opportunity to keep the stirrup for them?”[^7] The Impact of the Karbala’ Movement on the Spread of Shi‘ism After Imam al-Husayn’s ( ‘a ) martyrdom the Shi‘ah, owing to the loss of one of their key supporters, were extremely frightened losing hope in an armed confrontation with the enemy. With the occurrence of the heart-rending event of ‘Ashura’ the Shi‘ah movement received a devastating blow within a very short period of time.

As the news of this event spread within the Muslim lands, especially in Iraq and Hijaz, intense fear prevailed in the Shi‘ah communities. This was because it became increasingly clear that Yazid is determined to stabilize his rule even to the extent of killing the son of the Prophet (S), taking as captives his women and children, and that he would not refrain from any crime in order to strengthen the pillars of his government.