The sermon of Zuhair bin Qain and the prevention of Shimar due to the fear of revolution

Zuhayr ibn Qayn, this brave and noble man, was one of the greatest supporters of the martyred Imam. Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) entrusted the right wing of his small army to Zuhayr. In battle, he was one of the greatest heroes and martyrs, and it was he who suggested to the Imam (peace be upon him), “Fight Hurr ibn Yazid before another enemy army arrives, for we will not be able to withstand them.”

Before the battle, Zuhayr was also one of the greatest orators. On the day of Ashura, he mounted his horse and stood before the people of Kufa and said: “I warn you of God’s punishment. We are brothers in faith as long as we do not draw our swords against each other. But after drawing swords, each of us will be held accountable separately. It is the duty of every Muslim not to withhold advice from his fellow Muslim. God is testing us and you with the descendants of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to see what we will do.

We invite you to support the descendants of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and to abandon obedience to ‘Ubayd Allah. What have you seen from Ziyad and his son ‘Ubayd Allah during their reign except oppression and tyranny? They blinded your eyes, cut off your hands and feet, mutilated you, and hanged you on the gallows. They killed your best men and Qur’an reciters, like Hujr ibn ‘Adi and his companions, and Hani ibn ‘Urwa and others like them.”

At this moment, the enemy army began to insult Zuhayr and praise ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, praying for him and saying: “By God, we will not leave you and Husayn until we kill you or capture you alive to ‘Ubayd Allah.”

Zuhayr said: “The son of Fatimah (peace be upon her) is more deserving of love and support than the son of Sumayyah. If you do not support him, at least do not fight him. Leave him to Yazid to decide his fate; Yazid will be satisfied with you without killing Husayn.”

These were the words of Zuhayr, not the words of the Imam (peace be upon him). Zuhayr, in his argument with the army, tried to highlight the flaws of Ziyad and ‘Ubayd Allah and their oppression of the people, aiming to stir the emotions of the crowd. He pointed out the killing of the chiefs of Kufa and tribal leaders, like Hujr and Hani ibn ‘Urwa, by these two in order to incite their tribes to rebellion. At this point, some of the army’s ruffians began to praise Ibn Ziyad and curse Zuhayr.

When Zuhayr saw that this approach did not achieve his goal, he took another route and said: “Leave Husayn to Yazid, let Yazid decide his fate. He will be satisfied with you without killing Husayn (peace be upon him).”

With these words, Zuhayr tried to incite the army against Ibn Ziyad, aiming for them to say: “We do not accept the rule of Ibn Ziyad, but we accept the rule of Yazid, so Husayn (peace be upon him) should not be killed.” However, the commanders of the army were afraid of this talk, and they needed to silence Zuhayr. Thus, Shamir threw a spear at Zuhayr and said: “Be quiet, may God silence you! You have exhausted us with your endless talk.”

Zuhayr replied: “O son of the one who urinates on his heels! (This is a phrase of contempt) I am not speaking to you. You are nothing more than an animal. You do not know even two verses of God’s Book, and I give you glad tidings of God’s punishment!”

Shamir said: “Within an hour, you and Husayn will be killed.”

Zuhayr responded: “Do you threaten me with death? By God, death with him is better than eternal life with you.”

From these words, it is clear that Shamir’s intention was to stop Zuhayr from speaking further, fearing that he might influence the people, awaken the army, and incite a rebellion. Zuhayr, however, continued to insult Shamir, revealing his strong heart, eloquence, courage, nobility, and leadership, as he boldly confronted Shamir, who was then the commander of the army, and insulted him in such a harsh manner.

Then, as if Zuhayr realized that Shamir’s goal was to divert him from his purpose, he again addressed the people, saying: “O servants of God! Do not let this foolish, hard-hearted man (Shamir) and others like him deceive you in your religion, for the intercession of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will not reach those who kill his descendants or those who kill the supporters of the pure family and those who defend their families.”

At this point, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) called for Zuhayr, and a man shouted: “Abu ‘Abd Allah says, come, you have strived like the believer of the Pharaoh’s family in guiding and saving these people.”

However, just as the advice of the believer of the Pharaoh’s family did not affect the Pharaoh’s followers, the advice of Zuhayr also did not bear fruit. Those who were the most wretched and miserable surrounded the Imam (peace be upon him) and his companions, while those who claimed to be friends were a little further away, merely swelling the ranks of the army. These ruffians prevented the Imam’s (peace be upon him) advice and that of Zuhayr or others from reaching the people. And even if it did reach them, love of worldly goods had blinded their eyes and deafened their ears.

Al-Tabari, in his chain of narration from Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaydah, reports that some elders of Kufa stood on a hill weeping and praying to God, saying: “O God! Help Husayn (peace be upon him).” The narrator says to them: “O enemies of God! Why don’t you go down and help Husayn (peace be upon him)?”

This narration shows that those who claimed love for the Ahl al-Bayt were mere onlookers, and at the time of martyrdom, they climbed to higher places to watch what calamities befell Husayn (peace be upon him), and when they saw, they wept! Such people were in the army of Ibn Sa’d, and they were among the elders and leaders of Kufa. The commanders of the army feared a rebellion by these people, but love of worldly goods had brought them to Karbala, as “love of the world is the root of all evil.”