We do not doubt the sincerity of those people...

We do not doubt the sincerity of those people, nor that Husayn (as) was suspecting sincerity in their advice, nor that the situation in Iraq was indeed what they expected. We also believe that the fickleness and perfidiousness of the Iraqis which they foresaw was not hidden from Husayn (as), but he was seeing what they saw not and knew what they knew not.

Husayn (as) was aware that the Umayyad-engendered state of tribulation which challenged the religion and the nation could not be rooted out except by being killed together with his family and companions. He knew this fact clearly and never doubted it. This is what was hidden to those people who were warning Husayn (as) not to be deceived by the letters the Iraqis wrote to invite him. However, there was no way he could have informed them what he knew.

The last time Husayn (as) disclosed to his family and companions that their end would be martyrdom was on the night before the 10th of Muharram. He gathered his companions and gave a speech in which he relieved them of their duty of allegiance to him. He said: “Leave me with these people, they are only after me.

Should they get hold of me and be able to kill me, they will not pursue you.”[^2] When he became confident that they had resolved to face martyrdom together with him he said to them: “You will be killed tomorrow and not a single man among you will escape.” Then they replied: “Praise be to God who blessed us with the honour of being killed along with you”[^3] Anyone who, without prejudice, studies Husayn’s conduct as he traveled from Medina to Karbala will have no doubt that he did not make that journey with an eye on power and authority, and that he was not expecting anything for himself and for his supporters but death and nothing but captivity for his womenfolk and children.

Besides his brother, Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya, the four men, Abdullah ibn Ja’far, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr who advised Husayn to avoid Iraq were not better informed than him about the situation of Iraq and its people during that period. As I said before, this is the most prominent feature of Ashura, and to suppress this feature is tantamount to strip it of its great historical value.