In Kufa...

In Kufa, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad felt happy when he was informed that the vanguards of his army seized Imam al-Husain (a.s.). He therefore began to plan for the next step; whom should he choose for the commandment of the army to kill the Prophet’s dearest one? As he reviewed the names of the candidates, he could not realize any individual meaner and more vicious than Umar ibn Sa’d.

At first, Umar refused to fight against the Imam (a.s.), but Ubaydullah threatened he would dismiss him from the governorship of Ray currently Tehran. Thus, he accepted and began his campaign towards Karbala with four thousand horsemen who joined the army of al-Hurr there, Umar ibn Sa’d was chosen for the most horrible crime and he showed no blemish when he led armies to fight against the divinely selected Imam.

He surrounded the Imam (a.s.) from every side laid siege to him and blocked all the ways in order to prevent anybody from joining or supporting him. In Kufa again, Ubaydullah gathered people and spoke: “O People: As you tried the descendants of Abu Sufyan, you have found them as exactly as you like. You have also known your leader, Yazid, as good and praiseworthy man. He treats his subjects kindly, gives everybody his deserved share of the public treasury, and honors people out of his wealth.

He has ordered me to give each of you one hundred dirhams monthly as an addition to your fixed shares of the public treasury. He has also ordered me to call you to participate in the campaign against his enemy al-Husain (a.s.). Hence, you should listen to and obey him...”[^234] Unfortunately, most of them carried out these orders and composed a huge army against the Imam (a.s.) small group.

Afterwards, they traveled to Karbala and occupied the two banks, as well as all the branches, of the River Euphrates. Some historians, however, have mentioned that three days before the encounter, Imam al-Husain (a.s.) was deprivedof water.[^235] This in fact was the most horrible misfortune he had to face. The strange thing is that the band of the Umayyad army took pride in this criminal act that challenged all humanitarian values.

One of them, for instance, shouted at Imam al-Husain (a.s.), “Husain (a.s.): you can see water flow like reptiles. You will not taste it before you die...”[^236] Expressing his joy at this situation, Amr ibn al-Hajjaj addressed, “Husain (a.s.), this is the Euphrates. Dogs, donkeys, and even pegs are licking its water.