Page 259 - Pure Life 20

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Spiritual Journey 261
Husayn's representative to Kufa, Muslim ibn Aqeel
was welcomed by the people of Kufa, and most of

them swore allegiance to him. After this initial

observation, Muslim ibn Aqeel wrote to Hussein ibn
Ali that the situation in Kufa was favorable.
However, after the arrival of the new Governor of
Kufa, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, the situation changed.
Muslim ibn Aqeel and his host, Hani ibn Urawa, were
executed on Dhu al-Hijjah 9, 60 AH (September 10,
680 AD) without any real resistance of the people. This
shifted the loyalties of the people of Kufa, in favor of
Yazid and against Hussein ibn Ali.
Hussein ibn Ali also discovered that Yazid had
appointed `Amr ibn Sa`ad ibn al Aas as the head of an
army, ordering him to take charge of the pilgrimage
caravans and to kill al Hussein ibn Ali wherever he
could find him during Hajj, and hence decided to leave
Mecca on 8th Dhu al-Hijjah 60 AH (9 September 680
AD), just a day before Hajj and was contented with
Umrah, due to his concern about potential violation of
the sanctity of the Kaaba.
He delivered a sermon at the Kaaba highlighting his
reasons to leave, that he didn't want the sanctity of the
Kaaba to be violated, since his opponents had crossed
any norm of decency and were willing to violate all
tenets of Islam.
When Hussein ibn Ali was making up his mind to
leave for Kufa, Abd Allah ibn Abbas and Abd Allah
ibn al-Zubayr held a meeting with him and advised him
not to move to Iraq, or, if he was determined to move,
not to take women and children with him in this
dangerous journey.