YAZID, SAHABA AND THEIR SONS MARTYRED IMAM HUSAYN (A.S.)
YAZID, SAHABA AND THEIR SONS MARTYRED IMAM HUSAYN (A.S.)
Imam Husayn ibn Ali (a.s.), the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), was martyred at Karbala in 61 AH during the rule of Yazid ibn Muawiyah.
The historical record preserves a political and military chain leading from Yazid's government to Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, Umar ibn Sa'd and the forces that fought Imam Husayn. Biographical sources also identify Sahaba, or sons of Sahaba, among individuals connected with the forces opposing Imam Husayn.
The evidence must nevertheless be presented precisely. Ordering Husayn to be confronted, ordering his killing, commanding the army, personally fighting, assisting in his killing and merely being present at the battle are different levels of responsibility.
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1. YAZID'S LETTER TO IBN ZIYAD
Al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, V3 pp115–116, Hadith 2846; also recorded by al-Haythami in Majma' al-Zawa'id, V9 p193
When Imam Husayn (a.s.) headed toward Kufa, a report preserved by al-Tabarani states that Yazid wrote to his governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad informing him of Husayn's movement and warning him that his future depended upon how he handled the situation.
The report continues that Ibn Ziyad killed Imam Husayn and sent his blessed head to Yazid.
خرج الحسين بن علي رضي الله عنهما إلى الكوفة ساخطاً لولاية يزيد بن معاوية، فكتب يزيد بن معاوية إلى عبيد الله بن زياد وهو واليه على العراق: إنه قد بلغني أن حسيناً قد سار إلى الكوفة، وقد ابتلي به زمانك من بين الأزمان، وبلدك من بين البلدان، وابتليت به من بين العمال، وعندها تعتق أو تعود عبداً كما يعتبد العبيد.
فقتله عبيد الله بن زياد، وبعث برأسه إليه.
Al-Haythami regarded the transmitters as trustworthy, while noting that al-Dahhak did not personally witness the event.
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2. AL-SUYUTI ON YAZID'S ORDER
Al-Suyuti in Tarikh al-Khulafa
An Arabic edition of Tarikh al-Khulafa contains the explicit wording:
فكتب يزيد إلى واليه بالعراق عبيد الله بن زياد بقتله، فوجه إليه جيشاً أربعة آلاف عليهم عمر بن سعد بن أبي وقاص.
“Yazid wrote to his governor in Iraq, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, concerning killing him. Ibn Ziyad therefore sent against him an army of four thousand under Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.”
After describing the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, al-Suyuti states:
لعن الله قاتله وابن زياد معه ويزيد أيضاً.
“May Allah curse his killer, Ibn Ziyad along with him, and Yazid as well.”
Important textual variation
Another published version of the same work reads:
فكتب يزيد إلى واليه بالعراق عبيد الله بن زياد بقتاله.
“Yazid wrote to his governor in Iraq, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, concerning fighting him.”
Therefore, the difference between بقتله — killing him and بقتاله — fighting him should be acknowledged rather than concealed.
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3. YAZID DEMANDS THE HEAD OF IMAM HUSAYN
Ibn A'tham al-Kufi in al-Futuh, V5 p18
Ibn A'tham preserves a letter attributed to Yazid in which the governor is instructed that Imam Husayn's head should accompany his response to Yazid. A substantial reward is promised for carrying this out.
وليكن مع جوابك إليّ رأس الحسين بن عليّ، فإن فعلت ذلك فقد جعلت لك أعنّة الخيل، ولك عندي الجائزة والحظّ الأوفر والنعمة واحدة والسلام.
“Let the head of Husayn ibn Ali accompany your reply to me. If you accomplish this, you will have from me a reward, an abundant share and favour.”
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4. AL-DHAHABI ON YAZID'S REIGN
Al-Dhahabi in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, V4 pp37–38
Al-Dhahabi gives an extremely negative description of Yazid and directly associates the beginning of his rule with the martyrdom of Imam Husayn.
كان ناصبياً، فظاً، غليظاً، جلفاً، يتناول المسكر، ويفعل المنكر، افتتح دولته بمقتل الشهيد الحسين، واختتمها بواقعة الحرة، فمقته الناس، ولم يبارك في عمره.
“He was a Nasibi, harsh, coarse and uncouth. He consumed intoxicants and committed reprehensible acts. His rule began with the killing of the martyr Husayn and ended with the incident of al-Harrah. The people therefore hated him, and his life was not blessed.”
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5. IMAM HUSAYN'S HEAD BEFORE YAZID
Al-Dhahabi in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, V3 p319
Al-Dhahabi preserves a report from Rayya, Yazid's nurse, concerning the arrival of Imam Husayn's blessed head before Yazid.
According to the report, after the head was uncovered before Yazid, he struck Imam Husayn's teeth with a stick.
Al-Dhahabi judged this report:
الحكاية قوية الإسناد.
“The account has a strong chain of transmission.”
This is particularly significant because the authentication here comes from al-Dhahabi himself.
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6. AL-ALUSI ON YAZID
Al-Alusi in Ruh al-Ma'ani, V15 p198
Al-Alusi lists among the greatest calamities attributed to Yazid his treatment of the Household of the Prophet, his approval of the killing of Imam Husayn (a.s.), his rejoicing over it and his insulting treatment of the Prophet's family.
Al-Alusi further states that the overall substance of these events had reached tawatur in meaning, even if particular details depended upon solitary reports.
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7. THE GOVERNMENTAL CHAIN
The historical material therefore gives the following political and military chain:
Yazid ibn Muawiyah
↓
Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad — Yazid's governor in Iraq
↓
Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas — commander of the army
↓
Shimr and other commanders and soldiers
↓
The martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.s.)
This does not mean that every person in this chain performed the same act. It demonstrates different levels of political, military and battlefield responsibility.
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8. UMAR IBN SA'D — SON OF SA'D IBN ABI WAQQAS
Umar ibn Sa'd was the son of the famous Companion Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.
Al-Dhahabi in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, V4 p349
وأخوهما عمر بن سعد بن أبي وقاص الزهري، أمير السرية الذين قاتلوا الحسين رضي الله عنه.
“Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri was the commander of the force that fought Husayn.”
Ibn Hajar in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, V7 p396
وذكر ابن أبي خيثمة بسند له أن ابن زياد بعث عمر بن سعد على جيش لقتال الحسين.
فأطاعه وخرج إلى الحسين فقاتله حتى قتل الحسين.
“Ibn Ziyad sent Umar ibn Sa'd at the head of an army to fight Husayn. Umar obeyed him, went out against Husayn and fought him until Husayn was killed.”
Thus, the son of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was not merely present: the sources identify him as the commander of the force fighting Imam Husayn.
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9. SHIMR IBN DHI AL-JAWSHAN
Al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I'tidal, V2 p280, Biography 3742
Al-Dhahabi explicitly identifies Shimr as one of the killers of Imam Husayn:
ليس بأهل للرواية، فإنه أحد قتلة الحسين رضي الله عنه.
“He is not worthy of transmitting reports, for he was one of the killers of Husayn.”
Abu Ishaq confronted Shimr:
كيف يغفر الله لك وقد أعنت على قتل ابن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟
“How can Allah forgive you when you assisted in killing the son of the Messenger of Allah?”
Shimr answered:
إن أمراءنا هؤلاء أمرونا بأمر فلم نخالفهم.
“Our rulers commanded us to do something, so we did not disobey them.”
Abu Ishaq rejected this justification:
إن هذا لعذر قبيح، فإنما الطاعة في المعروف.
“This is an ugly excuse. Obedience is only in what is right.”
This report is especially important because Shimr's defence attributes his conduct to orders from his rulers.
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10. HAJAR IBN ABJAR AL-IJLI
Al-Baladhuri in Ansab al-Ashraf, p1313
ووجه أيضاً إلى الحسين حجار بن أبجر العجلي في ألف.
“He also sent Hajar ibn Abjar al-Ijli against Husayn with one thousand men.”
Ibn Hajar in al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah
ذكره الطبراني في الصحابة.
“Al-Tabarani mentioned him among the Companions.”
The precise claim is therefore that al-Tabarani classified Hajar among the Sahaba, as recorded by Ibn Hajar.
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11. ABD ALLAH IBN HISN
Al-Baladhuri in Ansab al-Ashraf, V3 p1315
While Imam Husayn and his companions were being denied access to water, Abd Allah ibn Hisn al-Azdi called to him:
يا حسين ألا تنظر إلى الماء كأنه كبد السماء، والله لا تذوق منه قطرة حتى تموت عطشاً.
“O Husayn! Do you not see the water, as though it were the heart of the sky? By Allah, you will not taste a drop of it until you die of thirst.”
Imam Husayn replied:
اللهم اقتله عطشاً ولا تغفر له أبداً.
“O Allah, cause him to die of thirst and never forgive him.”
Ibn Hajar in al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, V4 p53
عبد الله بن حصن بن سهل: ذكره الطبراني في الصحابة.
“Abd Allah ibn Hisn ibn Sahl: al-Tabarani mentioned him among the Companions.”
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12. ABD AL-RAHMAN IBN ABZA
Al-Dinawari in al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, p298
وأتي بعبد الرحمن بن أبزى الخزاعي، وكان ممن حضر قتال الحسين.
“Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza al-Khuza'i was brought forward, and he was among those present at the fighting against Husayn.”
However, the continuation must also be included. Abd al-Rahman himself claimed:
لا، بل كنت ممن حضر، ولم يقاتل.
“No. Rather, I was among those present, but I did not fight.”
Therefore, this source establishes his presence, not conclusively that he personally struck or fought Imam Husayn.
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13. IBN UMAR REMAINED LOYAL TO YAZID
Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7111
When the people of Medina deposed Yazid, Abdullah ibn Umar gathered his household and children and reminded them that they had pledged allegiance to Yazid.
He warned them against joining any attempt to depose him.
وإنا قد بايعنا هذا الرجل على بيع الله ورسوله، وإني لا أعلم غدراً أعظم من أن يبايع رجل على بيع الله ورسوله ثم ينصب له القتال.
“We have pledged allegiance to this man according to the pledge of Allah and His Messenger, and I know of no greater betrayal than that a man should pledge allegiance and then raise war against him.”
Thus, after Karbala, Ibn Umar continued to recognize his allegiance to Yazid and warned members of his household against joining the revolt against him.
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14. THE REVOLT OF MEDINA AND AL-HARRAH
Opposition to Yazid eventually spread to Medina.
Al-Dhahabi summarized Yazid's reign:
افتتح دولته بمقتل الشهيد الحسين، واختتمها بواقعة الحرة.
“His rule began with the killing of the martyr Husayn and ended with the incident of al-Harrah.”
The people of Medina eventually repudiated Yazid, resulting in the catastrophic event of al-Harrah.
This provides important historical context: Karbala was not the only major controversy associated with Yazid's short reign.
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15. THE IMPORTANT COUNTER-POSITION
A fair historical study must also mention the major defence of Yazid found in some Sunni scholarship.
Ibn Taymiyyah argued that Yazid did not explicitly order Imam Husayn's killing. According to this interpretation, Yazid ordered Ibn Ziyad to prevent Imam Husayn from taking political control in Iraq, even through fighting if necessary, but did not command that Imam Husayn be killed.
Reports are also transmitted in which Yazid expresses grief or places blame upon Ibn Ziyad after the killing.
This position therefore distinguishes between:
Yazid ordering Imam Husayn to be stopped or fought
and
Yazid explicitly ordering Imam Husayn to be killed.
The historical sources themselves explain why the issue remains disputed.
Against this defence stand reports of Yazid's threatening letter to Ibn Ziyad, Ibn A'tham's report demanding Imam Husayn's head, the Tarikh al-Khulafa textual version explicitly reading بقتله, and reports concerning Yazid's conduct after Imam Husayn's head reached him.
Accordingly, the most accurate conclusion is not that every source uses identical wording, but that substantial early and classical historical material connects Yazid's government and orders to the chain that resulted in the killing of Imam Husayn.
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CONCLUSION
Imam Husayn (a.s.) was not killed by an unidentified crowd acting independently of political authority.
The historical record identifies a structured chain:
Yazid held supreme political authority.
Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad governed Iraq for Yazid and organized the response against Imam Husayn.
Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas commanded the army that fought Imam Husayn.
Shimr was among those directly implicated in his killing and reportedly defended himself by appealing to the commands of his rulers.
Alongside them, historical and biographical sources record men classified as Sahaba by some scholars, and sons of Sahaba, among those present in or participating in the forces against Imam Husayn.
At the same time, historical precision requires acknowledging that the sources differ over one crucial question: whether Yazid explicitly ordered Imam Husayn to be killed, or ordered him to be stopped and fought while Ibn Ziyad escalated this into his killing.
What is considerably clearer across the sources is the governmental chain under which Karbala occurred:
Yazid → Ibn Ziyad → Umar ibn Sa'd → the forces at Karbala.
Thus, the case should rest not on slogans or a single disputed narration, but upon the cumulative historical evidence concerning political authority, correspondence, military command, battlefield participation and the subsequent assessments of Muslim historians.