They have asserted that Yazid only intended to protect his...

They have asserted that Yazid only intended to protect his legitimately acquired position when he brutally massacred Imam al-Husayn (as) and all his companions at Karbala. In fact, however, the reality is quite the opposite. The real imam and caliph was Imam al-Husayn (as). His Imamate and caliphate were sanctioned by Allah and the Holy Prophet (S). It was actually Yazid who secured the caliphate by means of usurpation and extortion.

Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah’s caliphate, in fact, lacked any legitimacy. Therefore, Imam al-Husayn’s (as) uprising against Yazid was not only legitimate and rational, but also an obligatory and binding duty upon Imam al-Husayn (as) as well.

Evidence for these assertions follows: The Imamate of Husayn ibn ‘Ali (as) In a sound and well-established hadith recounted by successive witnesses among the Sunnis, the Holy Prophet (S) explicitly mentioned the Twelve Imams who would come after him and introduced them as the rightful caliphs. Jabir ibn Samrah recounts, “I heard the Holy Prophet (S) saying, ‘As long as the Twelve Caliphs govern, Islam will always be honored.’ Then, he said something I did not understand clearly.

I asked my father, ‘What has the Prophet just said?’ My father answered, ‘They will all belong to the tribe of Quraysh’.”[^7] On his own chain of transmission, Bukhari, too, quotes from Jabir ibn Samrah that the Holy Prophet (S) said, “They will be twelve Amir s (leaders). Then he said something that I did not hear properly.

My father said, ‘They will all belong to the tribe of Quraysh’.”[^8] With recourse to the Hadith al-Thaqalayn , we understand that these twelve people are of the Prophet’s (S) Household. With attention to the Hadith Ghadir al-Khumm , we come to know that the first of them is ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).

All the hadith s mentioned above were quoted from the Holy Prophet (S) during the same period of time and can therefore be used to interpret each other, especially when it is born in mind that, according to other hadith s, the names of these twelve people were explicitly mentioned by the Holy Prophet (S). In the book “ Fara’id al-Samtayn ”, Hamawayni recounts on his own chain of transmission from Ibn ‘Abbas that a Jewish person named Na‘thal was granted an audience by the Holy Prophet (S).

Na‘thal asked him, “O Muhammad! I will ask you a number of questions about certain issues that have remained hidden in my heart for a long time.