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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Uprising of Ashura and Responses to Doubts Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah and the Massacre of the People of Medina Some biased scholars and partisans of Bani Umayyah such as Ibn Taymiyyah have endeavored to come to the defence of Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah. They have gone so far as to recognize him as the legitimate Muslim caliph of his time.

However, in the end, reality compelled most scholars to admit Yazid’s atrocious crimes because his entire life was full of abominable actions and he was the cause of numerous calamities for the Muslims, especially during the three years of his usurped caliphate. In the long term, biased adherents of Bani Umayyah could not continue to overlook Yazid’s many atrocities. Therefore, some schemed to either completely deny or justify Yazid’s brutal crimes.

One of the acts of sheer barbarity and inhumanity Yazid brought down on the Muslims was the event of Harrah. This incident resulted in the brutal killing of thousands of the Muslim people of Medina. The order for this massacre was issued by Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah himself. The event of Harrah is a well-known incident which has been discussed either briefly or in detail by numerous historians.[^1] Now, let us examine this event.

The event of Harrah The deplorable atrocity of Harrah, which blackened the pages of history, took place in the sixty-third year of the Islamic calendar during the reign of Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah between the powerful armies of Sham and the people of Medina. Harrah literally means a rocky and uneven terrain full of black stones passage through which is quite difficult.

This well-known event acquired its name because the assault, which the government armies of Sham made on the ordinary people of Medina, began in a rocky eastern region of Medina.[^2] The event of Harrah is in all truth one of the most savage and horrible crimes of human history and the most appalling incident which occurred during the reign of Bani Umayyah.

Ibn Mushkuwiyyah narrates, “The incident of Harrah is one of the most dreadful and formidable events of history.”[^3] Origins of the uprising of the people of Medina The uprising by the people of Medina occurred in 63 AH. Besides being an uprising against Yazid’s authoritative reign and Bani Umayyah’s tyrannical sultanate, it was more a peoples’ uprising against government policies.