A Muslim Convert Once Before

Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi knew what was coming because the Prophet had told him.  And so, he asked Allah to take him before he had to witness it.  Allah Accepted his supplication.  He died in 59 AH — one year before Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah assumed the Caliphate and one year before the events that would culminate in Karbala’. The Sources Imam Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Shaybah al-Kufi, the teacher of Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari himself, whose Muswannaf is among the most significant hadits compilations of the classical period, recorded that Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah used to supplicate, “O Allah, Protect me from the sixtieth year and the rule of the boys.” Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani — whose Fath al-Bari , the definitive commentary on Swahih al-Bukhari , remains the most authoritative explanation of that collection — wrote in explanation: “He was referri...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali ( r.a. ) said, about Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, “I am on the path of truth; Yazid personifies falsehood and corruption.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It was recorded, by Imam Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman ad-Darimi ( r.a. ), that Imam Abu Muhammad Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib ( r.a. ) said, “In the days of al-Harrah,” referring to the event when Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah attacked Madina, “there was no adzan or iqamah in the Prophet’s Mosque for three days.   I was in the Mosque alone.   I heard the adzan from the grave of our Prophet ( s.a.w. ), and that is how I knew the time of swalah .”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   This is a Wahhabi school named after the heretic and murderer of the grandsons of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah.   Would any person name a school after the killer of his sons?   What then the killer of Husayn ( r.a. ), the grandson of Rasulullah ( s.a.w. ), and one of the leaders of the youths of Paradise?   This is the naswibiyyah of the Wahhabi sect, and strips away their pretense of Islam.   This is another example of their kufr .   According to our scholars, it is permissible, even meritorious to curse Yazid.   It is impermissible to narrate ahadits from him, and it is kufr to support him against the Ahl al-Bayt .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a video of the current Grant Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi scholar, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shaykh.   Here, he is recorded stating that Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali ( r.a. ), the grandson of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), and one of the chiefs of the youth of Paradise, was guilty of rebellion against the “rightful caliph”, the apostate and tyrant, Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, and exonerated Yazid of wrongdoing.   This is contrary to the position of the entirety of Sunni and Shi’ah Islam, and is an outrageous slur upon the Ahl al-Bayt .   This is a clear example of the kufr of this sect.   As the Grand Mufti, he is also the head of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research & Issuing Fatwas.   In this capacity, he has made some controversial statements and fatawa .   In 2007, for example, he announced plans to demolish the Green Dome over the Rawdhah , and flatten the maqamat of the Prophet Muhammad...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Battle of al-Harrah took place after the massacre of the family of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) at Karbala.   The army of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah attacked Madina whose residents had revolted against his tyranny and outrage over the murder of the Ahl al-Bayt .   In Madina, they massacred 10,000 of the best Muslims then, including 700 swahabah who fought valiantly until the end.   Among the dead were the swahabah who had participated in the Battle of Badr.   More than a 1,000 of their daughters were raped and impregnated.   For three entire days, there was no adzan and swalah in Masjid an-Nabawi.   The pillars of the mosques were used by Yazid’s army to tether their horses, and the animals defecated therein, soiling the place.   The pillage was done at Yazid’s explicit order, as recorded in the history books.   The people of Madina, the swahabah and the tabi’un , were forced to give bay’ah to Yazid as slaves...

Muslims may remember that Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah’s army massacred the family of the Prophet.  But the story did not end there.  There were the rape and massacre of the people of Madina and the desecration of the Prophet’s mosque. After the massacres of Karbala and Madina, the accursed army of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah marched toward Makkah, where the people had also revolted against him.  They were outraged at the murder of the Ahl al-Bayt in Karbala and Madina.  Under the leadership of the swahabi , Sayyidina Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, they had put up a competent defence.  Since Yazid’s army could not enter Makkah, they set up siege engines and shot fireballs of pitch into the city.  Many worshippers in the Haram were killed by these.  One of these fireballs hit the Ka’bah itself and set it on fire.  Due to the fighting, it remained on fire for a significant amount of time, causing a large part of it to be burnt. The Battle of al-Harrah, which pr...

Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani wrote, in al-Imta’ bi al-Arba’in , on Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, “Loving and glorifying him is not done except by a heretic who has void belief because he had such characteristics that his lover deserves to be faithless, because to love and hate just for the sake of God is a sign of faith.” And yet, in this age, we have people like Zakir ‘Abd al-Karim Nayk, and others of the Wahhabi sect, who are on record praising and making excuses for this kafir .  The scholars of Sunni Islam have no good to say of him.  The heretics of the Wahhabi sect do. The Weight of This Verdict Imam ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani is not a marginal figure whose opinion can be waved away.  He is the author of Fath al-Bari , the definitive commentary on Swahih al-Bukhari , a text that has anchored Sunni ahadits scholarship for six centuries.  When a scholar of this stature states that loving Yazid is not merely a moral failing but a marker ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Sulayman ibn Muhammad al-Bajarmi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Hashiyat al-Bajarmi , “Imam Ahmad has statements about cursing Yazid both directly and indirectly, and so has Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifah.   And we have similar statements in the madzhab of Imam ash-Shafi’i, and al-Bakri also said the same.”   Referring to some of the followers of Imam Abu ‘Ubayd ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Bakri ( r.a. ), he said, “Some of his followers said about Yazid, ‘May Allah Increase his disgrace, and Put him in the lowest level of Hell.’”

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 dign...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ‘Izz ad-Din ibn Muhammad al-Atsir ( r.a. ) wrote, in his al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh , that Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah went on the haj like a prince during the era of his father.   After that, he came to Madina, and commenced with his drinking parties.   At one stage, Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali ( r.a. ) and Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ) came to see him.   So, his companions advised him not to let Sayyidina ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ) enter, so he was turned away.   They allowed Sayyidina Husayn ( r.a. ) to enter, and he smelt the alcohol mixed with the scent of perfume, so he asked Yazid, “What is this?” Yazid replied, “A perfume from Sham.”   Then he called for a cup, and asked Sayyidina Husayn ( r.a. ) to join him in drinking it.   Sayyidina Husayn ( r.a. ) refused.   Then Yazid, who was a known poet, recited couplets the summary of which was, “My friend, I invite you to fulfill your desires: wi...

Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Nur ad-Din ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani wrote, in his Fath al-Bari , “Those who praise Yazid have no faith,” referring directly to Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah.  This is not a minor scholarly aside.  It is one of the most severe judgements a hadits authority can pronounce, embedded inside the single most authoritative commentary on Swahih al-Bukhari that Sunni scholarship has ever produced. Imam ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani served as Chief Qadhi of Egypt under the Mamluk Sultanate, and spent roughly twenty-five years compiling Fath al-Bari , a commentary that runs to well over a dozen printed volumes depending on the edition, and that subsequent generations of Sunni scholars have treated as effectively indispensable to serious ahadits study.  This is not marginal commentary tucked into a footnote by a fringe writer.  It is a considered statement, placed deliberately inside the definitive explanation of the most authoritative ahadits colle...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ We should be amazed that there are Muslims who dare make excuses for Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah in his murder of Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali ( r.a. ) and the Ahl al-Bayt .  There are even those who make this preposterous claim that since Yazid “was the son of a great swahabah ”, he would not have done that.  Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan was not exactly exemplary amongst the swahabah .  The ignorance of such Muslims is astounding.  We should not forget that Abu Lahab ‘Abd al-‘Uzza ibn ‘Abd al-Muththalib was the paternal uncle of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).  Here are some facts that Muslims are uncomfortable with because of their influence by the Wahhabi sect.   The Hanafi scholar, Imam Sa’ad ad-Din Mas’ud ibn ‘Umar at-Taftazani ( r.a. ) said, “The truth is that Yazid was pleased by the killing of Husayn and his humiliation of the Ahl al-Bayt is mutawatir , even if the details are narrated by single individuals.”   Hafizh ‘Imad ad...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ One of the great lies the Wahhabis spread is that Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah was guaranteed Forgiveness because he led the first Muslim invasion of Constantinople.   They cite the hadits recorded, in Swahih al-Bukhari , and on the authority of Imam Khalid ibn Ma’dan ( r.a. ).   Hadhrat ‘Umayr ibn al-Aswad al-Ansi ( r.a. ) told Imam Khalid ibn Ma’dan ( r.a. ) that he went to Sayyidina ‘Ubadah ibn asw-Swamit ( r.a. ) while he was staying in his house, at the seashore of Hims, with his wife, Sayyidatina Umm Haram bint Milhan ( r.a. ).   Hadhrat ‘Umayr ( r.a. ) said. “Umm Haram informed us that she heard the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) saying, ‘Paradise is Granted to the first batch of my followers who will undertake a naval expedition.’”   Sayyidatina Umm Haram ( r.a. ) added, “I said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger ( s.a.w. ), will I be amongst them?’   He replied, ‘You will be amongst them.’   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) then said, ‘The first a...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A group of scholars in Baghdad asked Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy ( r.a. ) about Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah.   He responded, “What do you say about a man who ruled for three years; in the first he murdered al-Husayn, in the second he sacked Madina for three days, and in the third he assaulted the Ka’bah with catapults until it was destroyed?”   They said, “Verily, we curse him!”   Imam Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzy ( r.a. ) said, “So curse him!”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Proof for Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah’s hatred and vile behaviour can be seen in his summoning ‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad to Damascus after Karbala, and bestowing upon him illustrious gifts and large sums of money, elevating his status, granting him access to his women and making him his intimate boon-companion.   One night, after becoming drunk, Yazid ordered his slave-girl to sing but before she began, he recited the verses:   “Pour me a drink that will satisfy my innermost soul! And fill a large cup like it for ibn Ziyad. Verily, he is my most intimate companion and I trust him absolutely! For he realised my deepest goal and struggle! He killed the Kharijite, the treacherous rebel al-Husayn, And terrified my enemies and those who envy!”   Imam Abu al-Wafa’ ‘Ali ibn ‘Aqil ( r.a. ) said, “Among the many things that reinforce the fact that he was a disbeliever and an apostate, and not merely someone who should be condemned an...