Why Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah is to be Cursed

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

Speaking about Karbala, Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.) said, “The most despicable thing was not that ibn Ziyad ordered the killing of al-Husayn, that he sent ‘Umar ibn Sa’d and Shimr to carry out the deed, nor even that he ordered the heads to be carried off to him.  Verily, what is truly despicable were Yazid’s own actions, especially his poking of al-Husayn’s head with his staff, his carrying off of the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) family on the backs of camels in the manner of captives, and his attempt to give Fathimah bint al-Husayn to the man in his court who demanded her for himself! 

Moreover, his recitation of the infamous verses of ibn al-Zub’ari, ‘I wish my forefathers at Badr were here to witness …’ and his sending the head of al-Husayn to Madina in order for it to be displayed publicly as if he were a Khwarij rebel are just as deplorable! 

Yet, even Khwarij and rebels are given the dignity of being shrouded in cloth, prayed over, and buried!  Yazid’s statement that he had the right to enslave, as is evident from his treatment of Fathimah bint al-Husayn is itself sufficient proof that he should be cursed!  If Yazid was not driven by pre-Islamic inclinations and hatreds, he would not have disrespected the head of al-Husayn by poking and mocking it; rather he would have allowed it to be shrouded in cloth, prayer over and buried in dignity; he would also have shown due respect to the family of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and treated them well.”