The Captivity Journey

The Debates of Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) with Yazeed

The psychological warfare did reach the peak after the painful battle of Al-Taff, and it was not less important than the war with swords. Yazeed wanted to look like the most victorious winner in all aspects. He wanted to see things end by finishing them, to finalize everything to his favor, while he knew he could never reach that, unless he wins this war.

On the other side, we see the right front following the footsteps of its leader, moving towards achieving its objectives. So, we see Sayyeda Zeinab (O) standing behind Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) in all situations, why not? As he was Hujjatu Allah after the martyrdom of his father (Q).

It was said that Yazeed had told Sayyeda Zeinab O: "Do speak!" so she (O) answered: "Indeed, he is our speaker" meaning Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q). By doing this, she wanted to point to the leader of the triumph journey.

Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) was facing many problems that he needed to overcome:

1- An arrogant tyrant who was living the pleasure of the claimed victory, that needed to be confronted in front of the people to uncover his infidel reality and to expose his truth particularly in front of his followers and loyalists.

2- A suppressing regime that Muawiya established based on temptations, intimidations and the dead body skulls and carnages. Satan wanted for him to be the establisher of the Umayyad Empire which would be considered by the "Cursed Tree in the Quran" as a mean to obliterate the religion (Islam) and to falsify the canon of the Master of the messengers.

Thus, it was necessary to shake the pillars of this empire that considered God’s money to belong to it aside from other people, and used to think of the worshipers of Allah as their slaves while using Islam and the succession of the Messenger of Allah (Q) as coverage.

3- A misleading media and a poisoned environment that learned about Islam through Muawiya Bin Abi Soufian

and then Yazeed. Here they hear that these captives were captivated during a battle with an outlaw who rebelled against "the prince of believers"!

Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) had to confront all that to tear apart the clouds of ignorance that dominated the skies for around four decades.

Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq (Q) said: "When the head of Imam Hussain (Q) was brought in front of Yazeed, may God curse him, then they brought Ali Bin Al-Hussain along with the daughters of the Prince of believers (Q), while Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain was restrained and chained up".

Yazeed said: "O Ali Bin Al-Hussain, thank God who killed your father!"

So Ali Bin Al-Hussain (Q) said: "May Allah curse whoever killed my father".

Then Yazeed got fumed up and ordered them to behead him.

So, Ali Bin Al-Hussain said: "If you kill me, then who is going to return the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (P) to their homes, while there is not a chaperone (Mahram, unmarriageable kin) other than me?"

Then, Yazeed said: "You shall take them back to their homes".

Then he asked for a file to scrape the chain off the Imam’s neck with his own hands, then he said to the Imam: "O Ali Bin Al-Hussain, do you know why am I doing this?"

He (Q) said: "Yes, you do not want anyone to do me this favor but you".

So, Yazeed said: "Indeed, this is exactly what I wanted to do…, O Ali Bin Al-Hussain (Whatever misfortune happens to you, is because of the things your hands have wrought)17

Ali Bin Al-Hussain (Q) said: "Not really, this verse was not intended for us! But the one intended to us is (No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence, that is truly easy for Allah* In order that you may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favors bestowed upon you. For Allah loves not any vainglorious boaster)18 as we are those who do not feel sorry for what passed us and we do not exult over what life brings to us"

By this, Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) had shattered the roots of the supporting base that Yazeed used, and he (Q) exposed how ignorant Yazeed was with the true meaning of the holy verse. Then, a man from Sham jumped up and said: "Allow me to kill him!" So, Sayyeda Zeinab (O) threw herself down on him.

While Imam Zein El-Abedeen (Q) was saying:

Do not expect us to respect you if you are dishonoring us,

And to stop harm from reaching you, while you are hurting us

Indeed God knows that we do not like you,

And we do not blame you if you do not like us.

Thus Yazeed said: "You are saying the truth, but your father and grandfather wanted to become princes, so, thank God who had humiliated them and shed their blood!"

So, Imam Zein El-Abedeen stood up to remind Yazeed Bin

Muawiya of his parents and ancestors and to make him aware of his father and grandfather’s reality: "O son of Muawiya, Hind and Sakhr, my fathers and ancestors had held the reign before you were even born, and my grandfather, Ali Bin Abi Taleb (Q), was on the Days of Badre, Uhud, and Ahzab holding the flag of the Messenger of Allah (P) in his hand, while your father and your grandfather were holding the flags of the disbelievers in their hands".

Then he (Q) said: "Woe to you Yazeed, indeed if you are aware of what you have committed against my father, my family, my brother and my uncles, you would have escaped to the mountains, to sleep on the bare sand while calling for punishment and death, for that the head of Imam Hussain (Q) is hung on the doors of the city while he is the consignation of the Messenger of Allah (P)  among you, So do enjoy the feeling of regret and humiliation tomorrow, when the people are to be gathered for that Day that no one doubts".

Then Yazeed called for the women and children to be seated in front of him, when he saw their painful situation, he said: "May God punish the son of Murjana, as if there were a kinship between you and him, he would not have done this to you, or have sent you in this condition".

These speeches of Yazeed and other similar ones were on the second stage that followed the stage of expressing his joy and ultimate pleasure, but he was surprised with a reaction from the people that he did not account for at all, which obliged him to push the responsibility away from him and blame it all on Bin Ziad.

Many points emerge from the stances of Imam Ali Bin Al-Hussain (Q) that must be studied and contemplated:

The solid stance of the Imam (Q) and his stability during the assembly.

The Imam (Q) blamed the responsibility for the killing of Imam Hussain (Q), what happened in the Al-Taff battle, and all after that on Yazeed, while warning of the profundity of the Great Tragedy and threatening of Hell’s fire.

Exposing the truth about Yazeed, that he, his father and his grandfather were all on the wrong path, declaring war against the Messenger of Allah (P) and his progeny (R), and the Hussain renaissance is only a continuation for that confrontation and defiance.