When Mukhtār realized that Ibn al-Zubayr was on guard against him and could not sleep, and that ʿAbd al-Malik would send the Syrian troops against him in great numbers under the command of Ibn Ziyād, he tried to influence Ibn al-Zubayr, win his trust, and entrap him. He also sent him the following letter:
"I have decided to listen to your command, obey you, and offer you counsel, and on this condition I have pledged allegiance to you. However, when I saw that you had turned away from me, I distanced myself from you. If you are still committed to the promise you made to me before, I will also listen to your command and obey you."
However, Mukhtār concealed all these actions from the Shiʿa. If anyone spoke to him about such matters, he would claim that he was further removed from such things than anyone else. When the letter reached Ibn al-Zubayr, he wanted to determine whether Mukhtār was sincere or lying. He summoned ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥārith b. Hishām al-Makhzūmī and said to him: "Prepare yourself, I have appointed you governor of Kūfa. Go there." ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān replied: "How can that be, when Mukhtār is there?" Ibn al-Zubayr said: "He claims he will listen to our command and obey us." He gave ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān about 40,000 dirhams to make the necessary preparations. ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān set out on his journey. On the way, he encountered Zāʾida b. Qudāma, who had been sent by Mukhtār. Zāʾida commanded 500 armored cavalry and also had 70,000 dirhams with him, which Mukhtār had given him. When Zāʾida set out, Mukhtār instructed him: "Give the goods and money to ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. If he turns back and leaves, so much the better; otherwise, show him your men and fight him until he retreats." When ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān realized the seriousness of the situation, he took the money and returned to Baṣra. He held a meeting with Ibn Muti in the presence of the governor, Ḥārith b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Rabīʿa. This incident occurred before the movement of Musannā b. Makhrama and before Musʿab b. al-Zubayr arrived there.
ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān also sent his cousin ʿAbd al-Malik b. Ḥārith b. al-Ḥakam at the head of a military unit to Wādī al-Qurā, so that he might seize Medina from the governor of Ibn al-Zubayr.
Mukhtār also sent a letter to Ibn al-Zubayr, stating that he could come to his aid if he wished. In reality, by writing this letter, he intended to entrap Ibn al-Zubayr. Ibn al-Zubayr sent him the following letter in response:
"If you continue to obey me, I accept your proposal, and so that they may support and reinforce us in fighting the Syrians, send a military unit to Wādī al-Qurā." Upon receiving this letter, Mukhtār prepared a military unit of 3,000 men under the command of Shurahbīl b. Wars al-Hamadānī. In this unit, there were only 700 Arab soldiers. He gave the following instructions to Shurahbīl, the commander of the unit: "Continue your march and go to Medina. When you enter Medina, write me a letter and await my command." In reality, Mukhtār wanted to seize Medina from Ibn al-Zubayr. Then he intended to proceed from there to Mecca and besiege Ibn al-Zubayr there. Ibn al-Zubayr, as a tactical measure, was concerned about Mukhtār sending this military unit. He dispatched ʿAbbās b. Sahl b. Saʿd al-Saʿīdī with 2,000 soldiers. He ordered him to seek help from the Bedouins and said: "If you see them obedient to me, so much the better; otherwise, lay a trap for them until Allah destroys them." ʿAbbās b. Sahl set out and eventually encountered Ibn Wars at Raqīm. Ibn Wars was at the head of his soldiers. ʿAbbās and Ibn Wars met by a water source. ʿAbbās asked Ibn Wars:
- Do you not obey Ibn al-Zubayr?
- We do.
- Ibn al-Zubayr ordered me to go to Wādī al-Qurā and fight the Syrians there.
- I was not ordered to obey you. Rather, Ibn al-Zubayr ordered me to enter Medina, then write to Mukhtār and await his command.
ʿAbbās understood Ibn Wars's intention but did not reveal that he had understood and said to him: "Your opinion is better. Act according to your view." Then he left and sent them camels, sheep, and flour. They were in great need of food and were extremely hungry. They slaughtered the animals, cooked the meat, made bread from the flour, and ate the meat and bread by the water. When night fell and darkness set in, ʿAbbās b. Sahl launched a surprise attack on them, killed their commander, and killed about seventy of their soldiers. He took many prisoners. The few remaining soldiers returned to Mukhtār in defeat. Abū Mikhnaf narrates from Yūsuf as follows: "When ʿAbbās b. Sahl approached Ibn Wars and his soldiers, he was saying:
"I am the hero, son of Sahl, not one who retreats; when the rams fall back, I am bold. Upon the heads of the tall warriors,
I strike with the sword until they fall to the ground on the day of terror."
When Mukhtār heard that his men had been defeated, he rose and addressed his soldiers as follows:
"The wicked and depraved have killed the select and righteous. Know that this was a predestined matter. It was Allah's decree." After this, he wrote a letter to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, sending it with Ṣāliḥ b. Masʿūd al-Ashʿamī. In his letter, he explained that he had sent a military unit to Medina to help him, and that the soldiers of Ibn al-Zubayr had betrayed this unit. He stated that if Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya deemed it appropriate, he could send another military unit to Medina and would send envoys on his behalf. Ibn al-Ḥanafiyya sent him the following reply:
"Of all matters, the one I love most is that in which I obey Allah. I obey Allah in every situation, openly and secretly. Know that if I wished to fight, I know that people would hasten to my side and my supporters would multiply, but I live apart from them. I will be patient until the time comes when Allah decrees His judgment concerning me. He is the best of judges." When he gave this letter to Ṣāliḥ b. Masʿūd, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya said to him: "Say to Mukhtār: Let him fear Allah and cease the shedding of blood." When Mukhtār received the letter from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, he said: "I have been commanded to gather all good and ease, and to cast away all denial and treachery."
Ibn Jarīr, through the transmission of al-Madāʾinī and Abū Mikhnaf, relates: "Ibn al-Zubayr went against Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya. He also imprisoned seventeen notables from among the nobles of Kūfa, deciding to keep them in prison until they pledged allegiance to him. They refused to pledge allegiance to anyone except the one whom the umma had unanimously accepted as imam. Thereupon, Ibn al-Zubayr threatened and frightened them, and imprisoned them by the Zamzam well. They wrote a letter to Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd seeking help, saying: 'Ibn al-Zubayr has threatened to kill and burn us. Do not abandon us as you abandoned Ḥusayn and his family. Extend your helping hand to us.' Thereupon, Mukhtār gathered the Shiʿa, read them the above letter, and said: 'This is the Ahl al-Bayt seeking your help. They expect help and support from you.' He went around gathering help and support from people and sent word to the prisoners: 'If I do not help you with all my might, then I am not the father of Isḥāq. If I do not send you cavalry like a torrent, and if these horsemen do not bring disaster upon Ibn Kahiliyya, then I am not the father of Isḥāq.'
Then he sent Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Jadalī with seventy strong horsemen, Zibyān b. ʿAmr al-Taymī with 400 men, Abū Muʿtamir with 100 men, Hānī b. Qays with 100 men, and ʿUmayr b. Ṭāriq with forty men. He also sent a letter to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya through Ṭufayl b. ʿĀmir, informing him that he had sent reinforcements. Finally, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Jadalī reached Dhāt Irq and encamped there. After a while, 150 horsemen joined him. He then set out with these reinforcements, entered the Masjid al-Ḥarām openly during the day, and as they entered, the soldiers shouted: 'O vengeance for Ḥusayn!' Ibn al-Zubayr had prepared wood to burn Ibn al-Ḥanafiyya and his men if they did not pledge allegiance to him. There were two days left until the deadline. Mukhtār's men went to the prison where Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya was held and rescued him, saying: 'If you permit us, let us fight Ibn al-Zubayr.'
But he said: 'I do not support fighting in the Masjid al-Ḥarām.' Ibn al-Zubayr said to them: 'Unless you and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya pledge allegiance to me, I will not leave here, nor will I allow you to leave.' Mukhtār's men paid no heed to his threat, and then their other companions joined them. Within the sanctuary, they began to shout loudly: 'O vengeance for Ḥusayn!' When Ibn al-Zubayr saw this, he became afraid and withdrew from them. Then they took Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya with them. They also seized much property from the pilgrims. All together, they entered Shiʿb ʿAlī. There, 4,000 men gathered around Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, and he distributed the acquired goods among them."
This is how Ibn Jarīr has narrated it. There is doubt as to its accuracy; Allah knows best.
Ibn Jarīr said: In this year (the sixty-sixth year of the Hijra), ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr led the people in the ḥajj. His governor in Medina was his brother Musʿab. The governor of Baṣra was Ḥārith b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Rabīʿa. Mukhtār had seized Kūfa. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥazm was the governor of Khurāsān. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥazm fought battles in Khurāsān, the details of which are lengthy to relate.