In a letter to Ibn Ziyad...

In a letter to Ibn Ziyad, Yazid wrote, “Put Muslim ibn ‘Aqil under strict surveillance. Follow and track him down. If you arrest him, put him to death.”[^5] Muslim ibn ‘Aqil had come to Kufah as Imam al-Husayn’s (as) envoy. His mission was to inform the people that Imam al-Husayn (as) was on his way to Kufah.

Yazid and Ibn Ziyad were in constant contact History bears witness to the fact that when Yazid appointed ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad as the governor of Kufah, he ordered Ibn Ziyad to be in constant consultation with him on every matter, large or small, that involved Imam al-Husayn (as). From this, one can rightly infer that all the crimes which the son of Ziyad committed, including the killing of Imam al-Husayn (as), were carried out on direct orders from Yazid.

Tabari writes, “After martyring Muslim ibn ‘Aqil and Hani, ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad cut their heads from their bodies and sent them together with a letter to Sham for Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah. In his reply to ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad’s letter, after mentioning various issues, Yazid pointed out, ‘News has reached me that al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali has set off towards Kufah. Enlist spies to keep anyone allied to al-Husayn under strict surveillance and employ armed men to arrest his followers.

Imprison al-Husayn’s followers on any accusation you can trump up, and inform me about everything that takes place. May God’s peace, mercy and blessing be upon you’.”[^6] We can deduce from this historical evidence that Yazid not only entrusted the city of Kufah and confrontation with Imam al-Husayn (as) to ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, but that Yazid himself was also personally involved in the events that took place and in direct command of all affairs.

Consequently, ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad kept reporting whatever he did to Yazid. Additional evidence to substantiate that Yazid had complicity in all the crimes committed by ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad is that Yazid extolled Ibn Ziyad for every decision and action he took. Yazid’s order: allegiance or death History bears witness that Yazid was determined to kill Imam al-Husayn (as) in the case that he refused to pay him allegiance.

In his book of history, “ Tarikh Ya‘qubi ”, Ya’qubi writes, “In a letter which he wrote to Walid ibn ‘Aqabah ibn Abi Sufiyan, his agent and governor in Medina, Yazid commanded, ‘When my letter reaches you, summon al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali and ‘Abd Allah ibn Zubayr. Make sure that you get allegiance from them on my behalf.