Muslim b. Aqil: Difference between revisions

Upon Muslim's arrival in Kufa, [[Nu'man b. Bashir]] was the ruler of the city. According to historical sources, he was pacifist and gentle. According to some narrations, Nu'man was not on good terms with [[Yazid]]. When the news of people's allegiance to Muslim b. 'Aqil was circulated in Kufa, Nu'man b. Bashir gathered people and recommended them to avoid divisions. However, he said, "as long as people do not fight with me, I will not fight with them." When advocates of the [[Umayyad]] dynasty objected to Nu'man and called him "weak", he replied, "this is more pleasant to me than being strong and disobeying God." Yazid's advocates and agents, including [['Umar b. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas]] and [[Muhammad b. al-Ash'ath al-Kindi]], wrote a letter to Yazid and told him that if he wanted to retain Kufa, he had to act quickly because Nu'man b. Bashir, the present ruler of Kufa, was weak or pretended that he was weak. Thus, Yazid appointed 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad, who was the ruler of Basra at the time, as the ruler of Kufa as well. According to historians, in his will to Yazid (which was kept by his servant and was then delivered to Yazid), Mu'awiya recommended Ibn Ziyad as a person who can suppress possible riots.

Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad and his father, [[Ziyad b. Abih]], were widely known by people as violent and cruel. Earlier caliphs usually deployed the family to suppress riots. For example, 'Ubayd Allah had violently suppressed [[Khawarij]] riots in Basra. Once he arrived in Kufa, things turned against Muslim b. 'Aqil all of a sudden, and many people of Kufa who intended to participate in an uprising against Yazid's government were scattered around to stay out of danger.

When he arrived in Kufa, Ubayd Allah tracked down the associates of Muslim b. 'Aqil. He threatened the heads of tribes and told them to provide him with names and whereabouts of people in their tribes who pledged allegiance to Muslim or promise that no person from their tribe will oppose the Umayyad; otherwise, their blood would be shed and their property would be confiscated.

After 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad's arrival in Kufa and his threats and actions, Kufa was no longer safe. Thus, to protect his life, Muslim b. 'Aqil left Mukhtar's house and went to [[Hani b. 'Urwa]], a prominent figure in Kufa at the time, asking him to give him refuge. Although Hani b. 'Urwa was worried about the risks, he gave refuge to Muslim. Thereafter, Shi'as went to Hani's house to meet Muslim.