Mithli la yubayi'u mithlah
Mithlī lā yubāyiʿu mithlah (Arabic: مِثْلِی لَا یُبَایِعُ مِثْلَه) or Mithlī lā yubāyiʿu mithla Yazīd (One like me does not pledge allegiance to one like him) is a famous statement of Imam al-Husayn (a) uttered in response to the demand for allegiance to Yazid b. Mu'awiya. According to historical sources, after the death of Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan in 60 AH/679, Yazid wrote to Walid b. 'Utba ordering him to secure allegiance from Imam al-Husayn (a). The Imam refused. Subsequently, Marwan b. al-Hakam threatened him to pledge allegiance, to which Imam al-Husayn (a) responded with this statement.[1]
This narration is transmitted in sources such as al-Futuh,[2] Maqtal al-Khwarazmi,[3] Muthir al-Ahzan,[4] and al-Luhuf.[5] In some Sunni sources, the wording is reported as "Inna mithlī lā yubāyiʿu sirran" (One like me does not give allegiance in secret).[6]
'Abd Allah Jawadi Amuli, a Shia scholar, regards this statement as a symbol of the perennial confrontation between truth and falsehood[7] and believes that whoever thinks like Imam al-Husayn (a) will never compromise with oppression and tyranny,[8] nor accept the rule of a tyrant nor submit to humiliation.[9]
Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei, the then-Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in his last speech before his martyrdom, in response to the U.S. president's remarks about Iran's submission, referred to this statement and said: "The people of Iran, with this civilization, culture, and sublime knowledge, will never pledge allegiance to the corrupt leaders of America."[10] Following the martyrdom of Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei, especially during the Ramadan War, this phrase became a widely used slogan and discourse in Iran. It was employed in public gatherings, media productions, placards, and anthems as a symbol of resistance and opposition to compromise and imposed peace.
Notes
- ↑ Khwārazmī, Maqtal al-Husayn, 1423 AH, vol. 1, p. 267.
- ↑ Ibn A'tham, al-Futūḥ, vol. 5, p. 14.
- ↑ Khwārazmī, Maqtal al-Husayn, vol. 1, p. 267.
- ↑ Ibn Namā al-Ḥillī, Muthīr al-Aḥzān, p. 24.
- ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Luhūf, p. 23.
- ↑ See: Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 5, p. 302; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Istī'āb, vol. 1, p. 396.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Ḥamāsa wa 'Irfān, p. 174.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Shukūfā-yi 'Aql, p. 197.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Surūsh-i Hidāyat, vol. 2, p. 204.
- ↑ Khamenei, "Bayānāt dar Dīdār-i Mardum-i Āzarbāyjān-i Sharqī," Website of Ayatollah Khamenei's Works.
References
- Ibn A'tham, Aḥmad. Al-Futūḥ. Edited by 'Alī Shīrī. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwā', 1st ed., 1411 AH.
- Ibn Namā al-Ḥillī, Ja'far b. Muḥammad. Muthīr al-Aḥzān. Edited by Madrasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a). Qom: Madrasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 3rd ed., 1406 AH.
- Ibn Ṭāwūs, 'Alī b. Mūsā. Al-Luhūf 'alā Qatlā al-Ṭufūf. Translated by Aḥmad Fihrī Zanjānī. Tehran: Jahān, 1st ed., 1348 SH.
- Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. 'Abd Allāh. Al-Istī'āb fī Ma'rifat al-Aṣḥāb. Edited by 'Alī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1st ed., 1412 AH.
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā. Ansāb al-Ashrāf. Edited by Iḥsān 'Abbās. Beirut: Jāmi'at al-Mustashriqīn al-Almāniyya, 1400 AH.
- Jawādī Āmulī, 'Abd Allāh. Ḥamāsa wa 'Irfān. Edited by Muḥammad Ṣafā'ī. Qom: Asrā, 8th ed., 1384 SH.
- Jawādī Āmulī, 'Abd Allāh. Surūsh-i Hidāyat. Qom: Asrā, 5th ed., n.d.
- Jawādī Āmulī, 'Abd Allāh. Shukūfā-yi 'Aql dar Partaw-i Nahḍat-i Ḥusaynī. Edited by Sa'īd Band 'Alī. Qom: Asrā, 5th ed., 1388 SH.
- Khamenei, Sayyid 'Alī. "Bayānāt dar Dīdār-i Mardum-i Āzarbāyjān-i Sharqī". Website of the Office for the Preservation and Publication of Ayatollah Khamenei's Works. Accessed: 2026/07/01.
- Khwārazmī, Muwaffaq b. Aḥmad. Maqtal al-Husayn (a). Qom: Anwār al-Hudā, 2nd ed., 1423 AH.