When Allah, the Divine, has not intervened in the meaning of a given word, it means that the Divine Legislator has entrusted the duty of applying the meanings and themes of that word as is deemed relevant according to common parlance, common wisdom a...

When Allah, the Divine, has not intervened in the ...

1. Khalil ibn Ahmad Farahidi says, “Sha‘artuhu (from the same root as sha‘a’ir) means: I contemplated and reasoned it out and I understood it…”15 2. Jawhari says, “Sha‘a’ir are the deeds and rites of the hajj, and anything which is a standard...

1. Khalil ibn Ahmad Farahidi says, “Sha‘artuhu (fr...

People who believe that it is permissible and even desirable to hold religious ceremonies have resorted to a number of proofs. We will now refer to some of them: A. Verses of the Holy Qur’an that permit ceremonies There are many verses in the Holy ...

People who believe that it is permissible and even...

Religious rites, which have been subject to objection or disagreement by certain sects of Islam, are of diverse kinds listed as follows: 1. Celebrating the birth anniversaries of the great personalities of the religion, such as birth anniversaries o...

Religious rites, which have been subject to object...

Ibn Qutaybah writes, “Jabir was a blind man when the event of Harrah took place. He used to walk in the streets of Medina and say, ‘May the person who tormented Allah and the Holy Prophet (S) perish!’ A man asked him, ‘Who terrorized Allah and his Pr...

Ibn Qutaybah writes, “Jabir was a blind man when t...

Ibn Qutaybah recounts that, “‘The Sham army entered Medina on the twenty seventh day of Dhu al-Hijjah in 63 AH. For three days Medina was plundered by the Sham army up to the appearance of the new moon of the month of Muharram.”34 Following Yazid ib...

Ibn Qutaybah recounts that, “‘The Sham army entere...

To protect Medina, the Islamic resistance forces of Medina used a trench which had remained since the Prophet’s (S) time. They neglected the eastern part of the city because they believed that there was a remote possibility that the Sham army would b...

To protect Medina, the Islamic resistance forces o...

At first, Yazid chose Dahhak ibn Qays Fihri to be the army commander responsible for carrying out the attack on Medina, but he declined to accept this responsibility. Then Yazid chose ‘Amru ibn Sa‘id Ashdaq. He also declined to accept the responsibil...

At first, Yazid chose Dahhak ibn Qays Fihri to be ...

One of the main causes for the uprising by the people of Medina against the Umayyad government was the immoral behavior and corruption that characterized political decisions. ‘Abd Allah ibn Zubayr wrote a letter to Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah in which he cri...

One of the main causes for the uprising by the peo...

Ibn Khaldun recounts, “When Yazid’s tyranny and the oppression by his deputies became widespread, and after he killed the Prophet’s (S) son, the people of Medina started a rebellion and uprising.”10 When Bashir ibn Jadhlam brought the news of the ma...

Ibn Khaldun recounts, “When Yazid’s tyranny and th...

The uprising by the people of Medina occurred in 63 AH. Besides being an uprising against Yazid’s authoritative reign and Bani Umayyah’s tyrannical sultanate, it was more a peoples’ uprising against government policies. The uprising of the people of ...

The uprising by the people of Medina occurred in 6...

The deplorable atrocity of Harrah, which blackened the pages of history, took place in the sixty-third year of the Islamic calendar during the reign of Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah between the powerful armies of Sham and the people of Medina. Harrah literall...

The deplorable atrocity of Harrah, which blackened...

Some biased scholars and partisans of Bani Umayyah such as Ibn Taymiyyah have endeavored to come to the defence of Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah. They have gone so far as to recognize him as the legitimate Muslim caliph of his time. However, in the end, reali...

Some biased scholars and partisans of Bani Umayyah...

Some opponents say that because there is a long distance between Kufah and Sham, which was then the administrative centre of the Umayyad government, it is unreasonable to imagine that Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah could have been getting accurate reports and d...

Some opponents say that because there is a long di...

According to some texts, Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah claimed himself to be innocent of killing Imam al-Husayn (as). They say Yazid cursed ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad and laid the blame on him for this heinous crime.63 Response Firstly, according to evidence pre...

According to some texts, Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah claim...

Some people say that Mu‘awiyah ibn Abu Sufiyan had ordered his son in his last will and testament not to offend al-Husayn (as) nor to interfere with him in any way whatsoever because al-Husayn (as) had a greater right of kinship and nearness to the H...

Some people say that Mu‘awiyah ibn Abu Sufiyan had...

As previously mentioned, many Sunni scholars have strongly criticized Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah for killing Imam al-Husayn (as) and for numerous other crimes he committed. We will now mention some of these scholars and some of their criticisms: 1. Alusi s...

As previously mentioned, many Sunni scholars have ...

For anyone who examines historical accounts, it becomes clear that Yazid had a treacherous personality. When one understands Yazid’s real personality, he can easily see why he could not refrain from killing such a revered person as Imam al-Husayn (as...

For anyone who examines historical accounts, it be...

When we pay careful attention to diverse historical documents, it becomes clear that Yazid was very happy with killing al-Husayn (as). There are many historical documents which provide evidence beyond doubt that Yazid was pleased with what had transp...

When we pay careful attention to diverse historica...

On various occasions, Imam al-Sajjad (as) made it clear that Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah was Imam al-Husayn’s (as) killer. 1. When they brought Imam al-Sajjad (as) to Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah, the son of Mu‘awiyah addressed Imam al-Sajjad (as) in this way, “Are ...

On various occasions, Imam al-Sajjad (as) made it ...

Mas‘udi and other historians have recounted, “Yazid was always a pleasure-seeking man… One day after killing al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali (as), he was seated in a gathering where liquor was being served with ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad on his right hand side...

Mas‘udi and other historians have recounted, “Yazi...