ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Mukhtar a Biograghy Chapter 6 - Kumayl Meets Yazeed Kumayl enters the Syrian border and proceeds directly to Damascus city, and rents a room belonging to a shopkeeper. In view of the political climate at the time, no Shia would show himself up, so Kumayl had to tread carefully about the purpose of his visit.

He goes past Yazeed's palace daily in the hope of somehow getting in, but is refused entry by the guards; this goes on for eighteen days; he goes daily to the local mosque for prayers, and asks of his fellow Namazee to pray to Allah for the granting of his wish without specifying any details.

On the eighteenth day, the local mosque prayer leader, Imam-ul-jamaat, (other sources say it was the shopkeeper from whom he had a rented a room) asks Kumayl the purpose of his visit as for the last eighteen days he has been trying to get into Yazeed's palace. Kumayl is very apprehensive and only after establishing that the person was sympathetic to the Shias, does he say that he has a personal message for Yazeed from Abdulla Omar regarding Mukhtar in Kufa.

The prayer leader says he will show Kumayl of a way to get into Yazeed's palace since the visit is to help avenge the killers of Imam Husein (as); he also says that he would have told this to Kumayl earlier had Kumayl confided in him.

The prayer leader tells Kumayl - in Yazeed's palace, there is a household help, who is a Shia, whom you have to see in order to meet Yazeed; since Kerbala, this helper is always dressed completely in black, is in mourning at all time and does not take subsistence from Yazeed but from his own income of knitting; you need to see this person for Yazeed promised to grant him one wish in his life which he has not as yet asked for, and if your wish is concerning Imam Husein (as) then this person will ask of it from Yazeed.

Question: why would Yazeed allow such an obvious Shia to remain with him? - Shahr Banoo, the first wife of Imam Husein (as) was a princess brought from Iran after a war victory there; she came with her maids, and one of these was Hinda; during Shahr Banoo lifetime, Hinda stayed with her, but after Shahr Banoo's death, Imam Husein (as) allowed all Shahr Banoo's maids to go, except for one who was looking after Imam Zainul Abideen (as) (who was just under two years old at the time).