These contradictions were mentioned by Farazdaq when Imam...

These contradictions were mentioned by Farazdaq when Imam Husain (‘a) asked him about the conditions of Kufa. He said to the Imam, “The hearts of the people are with you but their swords are against you.” Although it was necessary that their swords should have supported what they had faith in and confronted in the path that they believed in, and such a phenomenon is not seen in the history of any community.

Among the strange things about these contradictions was that the Kufa society in a positive way involved itself in the political field and they actively participated in those events and raised the slogan of overthrowing the Umayyad rule. People wrote letters to Imam Husain (‘a) imploring him to save them from the oppressions and injustice of the Umayyads. They sent delegations and messengers with thousands of letters to the Holy Imam (‘a) in order to invite him to their land.

And when His Eminence sent his emissary, Muslim bin Aqil to them they welcomed him with great enthusiasm and assured him of their full support, so much so that he wrote to Imam Husain (‘a) to come over there at the soonest.

However when Ibn Marjana arrived in Kufa and unleashed terror and fear among them, they became aloof from Muslim shutting their doors upon him and said, “Who are we to interfere in the affairs of rulers?” Their practical life was not in consonance to their beliefs and in what they had faith in. Because they gave promises to their leaders that they would stand beside them and then in a delicate moment they become aloof from them.

Among examples of their contradictions was that after they had compelled Imam Hasan (‘a) to make peace with Muawiyah and His Eminence left their lands they lamented upon their own shortcomings regarding him. And when they had slain Imam Husain (‘a) and the prisoners of Ahle Bayt (‘a) arrived in their city, they raised their voices in lamenting for them.

Such that Imam Ali Ibn Husain (‘a) considered this action of theirs astounding and he said, “They are lamenting for us and wailing, then who has killed us?” Absence of balance in the life of that society for the people there brought calamities and problems and involved them in a great mischief. Disloyalty and Deceit Another phenomenon present in Kufa society was deceit and betrayal and they became so famous for this quality that idioms began to be coined regarding this specialty.