I shall respond to you whenever you call out...

I shall respond to you whenever you call out, and shall fight your enemies by your side. And in your presence I shall strike them with the sword until I meet Allah, and I do not intend anything except Allah’s favor (in lieu of all this).” Then Habib bin Mazahir Faq’asi stood up and said, “May Allah’s blessings be upon you! You have revealed concisely whatever you had in your mind.

I swear by Allah, besides Whom there is no other Deity, that I too am of the same belief as of this man (referring to Abis who preceded him)”, and then he repeated what Abis had said. Hajjaj bin Ali says that I asked Muhammad bin Bashr that, “Did you not reply to him (Muslim)”?

He replied, “I desired that Allah would grant success and esteem to my friends, but I did not appreciate being killed nor did I like to utter a lie.” (Irshad) Eighteen thousand men swore the oath of allegiance to Muslim and hence he wrote to Imam Husayn (a.s.) informing him about their oath, and invited him to come to Kufa. This letter was written by Muslim some twenty seven days before his martyrdom. The Shi’ah visited Muslim quite frequently and the place of his whereabouts became known.

Nu’man bin Basheer issues warning to the people of Kufa This news reached Nu’man bin Basheer, who was made the governor of Kufa by Mu’awiyah and Yazid too had let him remain in his place. He ascended the pulpit and after Praising and Glorifying Allah said, “Now then! O slaves of Allah! Fear Allah and do not make haste in spreading mischief and discord, for it will result in the murder of men, bloodshed and confisca­tion of wealth.

I do not fight the one who does not confront me, nor do I advance towards the one who does not advance towards me. I do not vilify you nor do I call for account anyone by mere suspicion or accusation. But if you turn your face away from me and break the oath of allegiance or try to oppose your Imam, then by Allah, besides Whom there is no other Deity, I shall then strike you with my sword until it’s hilt remains in my hand even if there does not remain my supporter among you.