Ibn Saads arrival in Karbala

Before the Imam (peace be upon him) arrived in Iraq, Ibn Ziyad was busy preparing his army. He appointed Umar ibn Sa’ad as the commander of the army before the Imam (peace be upon him) entered Karbala, and on the third of Muharram, Umar ibn Sa’ad entered Karbala with four thousand men. In important matters, the Quraysh were always prioritized over the nobility of the Arabs. Ziyad bin Abiha, the father of Obaidullah, was the first to ascend from the family of Abu Sufyan to high ranks.

Since Obaidullah was also from Quraysh and the family of Abu Sufyan, he too was expected to utilize the first rank of Quraysh for important tasks.

When Ziyad decided to execute Hujr ibn Adi al-Kindi, one of the greatest Shi’as and notable Arabs, who was a pious and righteous Muslim, on the grounds that he was a follower of Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), he ordered witnesses to testify that Hujr had separated from the Muslim community, cursed the caliph Mu’awiya, and wanted to fight the Muslims.

Ziyad said: “First, let Quraysh testify, and after them, let people with good reputations and experience give testimony.”

For this act, three of the sons of Talha, one from the descendants of Zubair, and Umar ibn Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqqas from Quraysh testified.

Whereas Ziyad bin Abiha ordered that Quraysh be the first to testify for the execution of Hujr ibn Adi, his son Obaidullah certainly intended to apply this order for the killing of the grandson of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

It can be said that at this time, the most prominent Qurayshite from the nobility of Kufa was Umar ibn Sa’ad.

Saeed ibn Abi Waqqas was an early convert to Islam and a migrant to Medina. He was a conqueror of parts of Iran and one of the six whom Umar chose for the council.

It should be noted that the selection of these individuals was solely to diminish the status of Ali (peace be upon him); none of the five were comparable to Ali (peace be upon him) in terms of lineage, proximity to the Prophet (peace be upon him), early conversion to Islam, services to the Prophet (peace be upon him), jihad in the path of truth, status and favor with the Prophet (peace be upon him), personal qualities, knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, piety, and governance.

Even Zubair, after the Prophet (peace be upon him), was among those who wanted to pledge allegiance to Ali (peace be upon him), and Saeed ibn Abi Waqqas wished to have just one virtue of Ali (peace be upon him).

Before the incident of Karbala, there was a rebellion in Iran, and the infidels of Daylam had risen.

Ibn Ziyad had appointed Umar ibn Sa’ad with four thousand men to address this issue and entrusted him with the governorship of Ray. Meanwhile, the Imam (peace be upon him) arrived in Iraq.

Ibn Ziyad, wanting to appoint one of the Quraysh nobility to lead the army, found it best to assign the task to Ibn Sa’ad. Ibn Ziyad summoned Umar and said: “First, go to war against Hussein (peace be upon him), and after the war, move towards Ray.”

Umar replied: “Exempt me from this task.”

Ibn Ziyad said: “On the condition that you give up the governorship of Ray.”

Umar said: “Then give me time until today.”

In my opinion, it is unlikely that if Ibn Sa’ad had been initially appointed to fight Hussein (peace be upon him), he would have accepted, but after being assigned the governorship of Ray and leaving Kufa, it was very difficult for Ibn Sa’ad to relinquish this mission.

It can be said that the governorship of Ray was a pretext for this task and was intended to deceive him, and Ibn Sa’ad was unaware of this plan. Therefore, after the killing of the Imam (peace be upon him), Ibn Ziyad did not grant him the governorship, and a rift developed between them.

The case of Ibn Ziyad and Ibn Sa’ad is like that of Satan and man:

“The example of Satan when he says to man, ‘Disbelieve.’ But when the man disbelieves, Satan says, ‘I am disassociated from you’” (Surah Hashr, 16).

In any case, his intense desire for the governorship of Ray made him blind and deaf, ignoring the advice of his friends who all counseled him against this action.

Thus, Ibn Sa’ad, in pursuit of the governorship of Ray, decided to kill Hussein (peace be upon him).

He went to Ibn Ziyad and said: “You have given me the governorship of Ray, and the people have heard and are aware of it. Therefore, it is better to appoint me to Ray and assign the task of killing Hussein to other Quraysh nobility. I am not better or more knowledgeable in military strategy than they are…” and he named several nobles.

Ibn Ziyad said: “I will not consult you on whom to send with the army; rather, I say: If you are ready to fight against Hussein, then go with the army, otherwise, return the governorship of Ray to me.”

Seeing that there was no other option and he could not relinquish the governorship of Ray, Ibn Sa’ad said: “I will go.”

So he departed with four thousand men and entered Karbala a day after the Imam (peace be upon him) arrived and settled in Nainawa.

Ibn Ziyad wanted Hussein (peace be upon him) to be killed by a reputable and prominent member of Quraysh so that the outrage of the act would be somewhat mitigated, and the disgrace of the deed would be obscured. Therefore, he chose Ibn Sa’ad and did not assign it to anyone else.

Due to his killing of the Imam (peace be upon him), Ibn Sa’ad not only stained his own reputation but also failed to attain the governorship of Ray.

However, if he had not killed the Imam (peace be upon him), he might have obtained the governorship of Kufa and parts of Iraq after the demise of Yazid.