‘Umar bin Sa‘d told him...

‘Umar bin Sa‘d told him: ‘I hope that Allah will spare me from making war on him and fighting against him.’ [Then he wrote to Ibn Ziyad about all this].” [ This is the end of the supplementary reports that were from other than Abu Mikhnaf ]. Ibn Sa‘d’s First Letter to Ibn Ziyad The letter of ‘Umar bin Sa‘d reached Ibn Ziyad and it read: “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. When I reached the place where al-Husayn had stationed, I sent to him my messenger.

He asked him what brought him and what he wants and he replied: ‘The people of this city wrote to me and their messengers came to me asking me to come, so I came. But if they [now] dislike me and [the position] now appears different to them from what their messengers brought to me, [then] I will go away from them.” When the letter was read for Ibn Ziyad he recited the following verse: Now when our claws cling to him, he hopes for delivery but there is no time to escape!

Ibn Ziyad’s Response to Ibn Sa‘d He wrote to Ibn Sa‘d: “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Your letter has reached me and I have understood what you mentioned. Offer al-Husayn [the opportunity] of him and all his companions pledging allegiance to Yazid bin Mu’awiyah. If he does that, we will then see what our judgement will be. That is all.” When the letter reached Ibn Sa‘d, he said: “I had anticipated that Ibn Ziyad would not spare…