Muslim ibn Aqeel in Kufa
- 10 months ago
When the people of Kufa found out that the Imam had not paid allegiance to Yazid and had migrated to Mecca, they decided to invite the Imam to Kufa, and pledged to support his uprising against Yazid. A flood of letters arrived to the Imam from Kufa. In just one day, the Imam received around 600 letters from Kufa, with a total of about 12,000 letters. The Imam had many Shia followers in Kufa and they had more political freedom. Kufa was a bigger city than Mecca or Medina, with a larger population and potential for troops. It was the main center of opposition to the Umayyads since the caliphate of Imam Ali. Thus, the Imam sent his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqeel, to investigate whether the Kufans were sincere in their intentions.
Muslim ibn Aqeel arrived in Kufa and 18,000 people paid allegiance to him on behalf of the Imam. He informed the Imam of this, and asked him to come towards Kufa immediately. People were continuously coming to Muslim for giving allegiance and a total of up to 40,000 people paid allegiance.
Yazid’s supporters were continuously reporting the political status of Kufa to Yazid, and wanted him to replace the current governor of Kufa with a hostile one. Yazid thus gave the governorship of Kufa to Ibn Ziyad, the governor of Basrah, and ordered him to suppress the uprising of the Kufans.
Ibn Ziyad immediately departed towards Kufa and, upon arrival, he delivered a speech in the mosque during which he introduced himself as the new governor of Kufa. He promised kindness to the obedient citizens and threatened the supporters of Muslim. Ibn Ziyad also asked the city’s record keepers to provide him with a list of all the politically active residents that were in support of Muslim’s uprising. He also spread rumors in the city that Yazid’s army was underway to suppress them.
Ideally, Muslim wanted the Imam to arrive before initiating the uprising. He secretly relocated to Haani ibn Urwah’s house, who was an influential Shia leader. However, Ibn Ziyad’s spies found Muslim’s location and arrested Haani. People from Haani’s tribe came in large numbers to Ibn Ziyad’s palace to free him. The city’s judge, whom the people trusted, lied to them by telling them that Haani was safe and would be released soon, leading his supporters to disperse.
Muslim noticed his supporters dividing and scattering. With a governor like Ibn Ziyad, no one, including himself, would be safe in Kufa. Thus, Muslim started an uprising to release Haani by calling his supporters. As a result, nearly 4,000 people surrounded Ibn Ziyad’s palace.
Ibn Ziyad ordered the elderly and influential individuals of Kufa to make promises to the people in obedience to the government, and to create fear in the hearts of the protesters by threatening them with a war against the army of Yazid. This fear caused families to separate their relatives from Muslim’s army. The number of Muslim’s supporters dwindled so drastically by nightfall, that Muslim was left completely alone.
Muslim ibn Aqeel arrived in Kufa and 18,000 people paid allegiance to him on behalf of the Imam. He informed the Imam of this, and asked him to come towards Kufa immediately. People were continuously coming to Muslim for giving allegiance and a total of up to 40,000 people paid allegiance.
Yazid’s supporters were continuously reporting the political status of Kufa to Yazid, and wanted him to replace the current governor of Kufa with a hostile one. Yazid thus gave the governorship of Kufa to Ibn Ziyad, the governor of Basrah, and ordered him to suppress the uprising of the Kufans.
Ibn Ziyad immediately departed towards Kufa and, upon arrival, he delivered a speech in the mosque during which he introduced himself as the new governor of Kufa. He promised kindness to the obedient citizens and threatened the supporters of Muslim. Ibn Ziyad also asked the city’s record keepers to provide him with a list of all the politically active residents that were in support of Muslim’s uprising. He also spread rumors in the city that Yazid’s army was underway to suppress them.
Ideally, Muslim wanted the Imam to arrive before initiating the uprising. He secretly relocated to Haani ibn Urwah’s house, who was an influential Shia leader. However, Ibn Ziyad’s spies found Muslim’s location and arrested Haani. People from Haani’s tribe came in large numbers to Ibn Ziyad’s palace to free him. The city’s judge, whom the people trusted, lied to them by telling them that Haani was safe and would be released soon, leading his supporters to disperse.
Muslim noticed his supporters dividing and scattering. With a governor like Ibn Ziyad, no one, including himself, would be safe in Kufa. Thus, Muslim started an uprising to release Haani by calling his supporters. As a result, nearly 4,000 people surrounded Ibn Ziyad’s palace.
Ibn Ziyad ordered the elderly and influential individuals of Kufa to make promises to the people in obedience to the government, and to create fear in the hearts of the protesters by threatening them with a war against the army of Yazid. This fear caused families to separate their relatives from Muslim’s army. The number of Muslim’s supporters dwindled so drastically by nightfall, that Muslim was left completely alone.