UBAYDULLAH,
SON OF ZIYAD
Ziyad, the father of Ubaydullah is commonly attributed with various fathers as his debauched mother was known to have committed adultery with many men; therefore, he is known by various names such as:
-Ziyad, son of his father;
-Ziyad, son of his mother;
-Ziyad, son of Ubayd;
-Ziyad, son of Sumayyah.
His name has become linked to Mu'awiyah for the same reason; indeed he is also known as the son of Abu Sufyan as it is believed his mother also slept with the latter. We can see from these and other examples that all the men who opposed the Prophet (s.a.w.a) and his Shi'ahs
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had immoral parents or grand-parents .Four persons, in particular who became notorious for their opposition to Ali (a.s) and his progeny ,were illegitimate. The four ,noted for their treachery, cunning and evil were Mu'awiyah, Amr ibn al-As, Ziyad and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah.
It was Ziyad who had the Shi'ahs of Ali (a.s) and other Muslim leaders captured and put them to death. Before killing them , he would have his victims' arms and legs cut off and would blind them by thrusting a hot iron into their eyes. Ziyad, through hypocritical cunning, managed to worn his way into the Shi'ah ranks and get to know the most important among them. After this despicable treachery, he would order his men to take them prisoners and subject them to torture.
Ziyad was the first to employ bitter aloes (a plant used in small quantities for medicinal purposes) to poison the Shi'ahs of Ali (a.s) and it was he who began the practice of burying his victims alive. It was Ziyad, too, who encouraged
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the people to curse and slander Ali (a.s).
Ubaydullah 's mother (Marjanah) was notorious for her immorality.
THE WAR BETWEEN TRUTH
AND FALSEHOOD
During the early period of Abd al-Malik's rule, the Shi'ahs of kufah rose up in revolt determinated to avenge the bloody death of Husayn ibn Ali (a.s). They chose five of the bravest and most militant from among them as leaders and started out towards Sham (Syria) to try and destroy Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad who was of Abd al-Malik's rivals. Ubaydullah also went out to meet them at the head of a thirty-thousand strong army of his henchmen and torturers. A fierce battle ensured between the forces of Truth and Falsehood and after terrible slaughter on both sides, the Shi'ahs, unable to withstand the sheer size of the enemy army, were defeated. It was Ubaydullah who planned the killing of Imam Husayn and his supporters.
It was not long, however, before Mukhtar
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ath -Thaqafi rose up to avenge the death of Imam Husayn (a.s) .He defeated the armies of Ubaydullah and killed large number of the enemy. Ubaydullah ,the brutal tyrant, was put to death at the hands of Mukhtar at-Thaqafi himself,the latter cut off the tyrant's head and brought it before Imam As-Sajjad (a.s) (the fourth Shi'ite Imam), who expressed satisfaction at the death of one of the bitterest enemies of Islam.
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