Day 6

The lesson

1. The Imam set out from Mecca for Kufa on 8 Dhu l-Hijja (al-Irshad; Ansab al-Ashraf); some reports say he learned of a plot to kill him in Mecca and left to preserve its sanctity (al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya; al-Tabaqat al-Kubra). On the way al-Hurr ibn Yazid al-Riyahi and a thousand horsemen barred his road; the Imam had their men and horses given water, and al-Hurr's men prayed behind him (Tarikh al-Tabari; al-Kamil fi l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir).
2. Most sources say he reached Karbala on 2 Muharram 61 AH (al-Irshad; Tarikh al-Tabari; al-Futuh); al-Dinawari gives 1 Muharram. The next day Umar ibn Sa'd arrived with four thousand men; there were negotiations, but Ibn Ziyad would accept nothing except allegiance to Yazid (Ansab al-Ashraf; al-Akhbar al-Tiwal; Tarikh al-Tabari; al-Irshad).
3. On 7 Muharram, on Ibn Ziyad's order, Amr ibn al-Hajjaj with five hundred horsemen cut the camp off from the Euphrates; al-Abbas led a party that fought through and brought water back (al-Akhbar al-Tiwal; Ansab al-Ashraf; Tarikh al-Tabari; al-Irshad; Maqatil al-Talibiyyin).

Questions

Next lesson

Questions are written by AI from the lesson’s facts, and each answer was checked against its fact.