In this year, the incident of al-Harra took place. The reason for this event was as follows: When the people of Medina deposed Yazid, son of Muʿāwiya, they appointed ʿAbdullāh b. Muṭīʿ as governor over the Quraysh and ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala b. Abī ʿĀmir as governor over the Anṣār. At the beginning of this year, they publicly announced these actions. They gathered by the minbar. One of them said, "Just as I remove this turban from my head, I have removed Yazid from the position of leadership," and he would take off his turban and throw it down. Another said, "Just as I remove this shoe from my foot, I have removed Yazid from the caliphate," and he would throw his shoe. Thus, many turbans and shoes piled up there. Then, they decided to expel ʿUthmān b. Muḥammad b. Abī Sufyān, the governor appointed by Yazid, and to exile the Banū Umayya from Medina. The Banū Umayya gathered in the house of Marwān b. Ḥakam. The people of Medina surrounded and besieged this house. ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, son of al-Ḥusayn, kept away from these events, as did ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar. These two did not depose Yazid. No one from Ibn ʿUmar’s family deposed Yazid either. Ibn ʿUmar said to his family: "None of you should depose Yazid. Either we will reach a decisive judgment among ourselves, or the sword will come between us."
He criticized and protested the people of Medina for giving the pledge of allegiance to Ibn Muṭīʿ and Ibn Ḥanzala on the basis of death, saying: "We only gave the pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) not to flee from the battlefield." None of the sons of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib deposed Yazid either. When Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya was asked to depose Yazid, he refused and strongly opposed and debated the matter. He defended Yazid and did not accept the accusations that Yazid drank wine and neglected some prayers. We will discuss these matters in detail, God willing, when we mention Yazid’s biography.
The Banū Umayya sent a letter to Yazid, informing him that they were under siege, had been betrayed, were hungry and thirsty, and that if he did not send someone to rescue them, they would all be killed to the last man. They sent this letter with a messenger to Yazid. When the messenger arrived, he found Yazid sitting on his throne, with his feet immersed in water to cool them due to gout.
When Yazid read the letter, he was distressed and said to the messenger: "Woe to you! Are there not a thousand men among the Banū Umayya?"
"Yes, there are."
"Could they not fight for even an hour during the day?"
After this, he summoned ʿAmr b. Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ. When ʿAmr arrived, Yazid read him the letter and asked whom he should send to rescue the Banū Umayya under siege. When ʿAmr said he wished to go himself, he objected, saying:
"Commander of the Believers, when things were in order there, you dismissed me from the governorship. Now the blood of the Quraysh is being spilled there. In this situation, I do not wish to govern them. Let someone more distant from them take on this task."
Thereupon, Yazid sent his messenger to Muslim b. ʿUqba al-Muzanī, an old and weak man, who accepted the task. Yazid sent him to Medina as commander of 10,000 cavalry (according to another narration, 12,000 or 15,000). He gave each of these cavalrymen 100 dinars (or 400 each). Then he reviewed them as they rode past him on their horses.
Al-Madāʾinī said: "Yazid appointed ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿada al-Fazārī as commander of the cavalry from Syria, Ḥusayn b. Numayr al-Sakūnī over those from Ḥimṣ, Hubaysh b. Dulja al-Qaynī over those from Jordan, Ruh b. Zinbaʾ al-Judhāmī and Sharīk al-Kinānī over those from Palestine, and Ṭarīf b. Ḥashās al-Ḥilālī over those from Kinnasrīn. The overall commander was Muslim b. ʿUqba al-Muzanī from the Ghaṭafān tribe. The early scholars called Muslim ‘Musrif b. ʿUqba’. Nuʿmān b. Bashīr said:
"O Commander of the Believers! Appoint me as their governor. I will save you from their trouble."
Nuʿmān was the maternal brother of ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala; both their mothers were ʿAmra bint Rawāḥa. But Yazid said:
"No, I will only send this tyrant as their governor. By Allah, after having shown them favor and pardoned them many times, now I will kill them." Nuʿmān replied:
"O Commander of the Believers! For the sake of Allah, your kin, and the Helpers (Anṣār) of the Messenger of God, do not harm them."
ʿAbdullāh b. Jaʿfar also said to Yazid:
"If they return to your obedience, will you accept it?"
"If they return to my obedience, they will not be harmed." Yazid instructed Muslim b. ʿUqba: "Invite them to obedience three times. If they return, accept it and do not harm them. If they do not, seek Allah’s help and fight them. If you defeat them, consider Medina lawful for three days. Kill them. After this period, refrain from the people. Pay attention to ʿAlī, son of al-Ḥusayn; do not harm him, treat him well, and bring him close to your council, for he did not enter by the door the others entered, nor did he commit the corruption they did."
After this, Yazid ordered Muslim b. ʿUqba that, once he had finished his task in Medina, he should go to besiege Ibn Numayr in Mecca, and said: "If anything happens to you, the commander of your troops will be Ḥusayn b. Numayr al-Sakūnī."
Yazid also sent a letter to ʿAbdullāh b. Ziyād, instructing him to go against Ibn al-Zubayr and besiege him in Mecca. However, he refused, saying: "No, by Allah, I will not add a second sin to my previous one for the sake of that wicked man. Shall I kill the grandson of the Messenger of God, and then go to the Sacred House to fight? Is this possible?"
When he killed al-Ḥusayn, his mother Marjāna rebuked ʿAbdullāh b. Ziyād harshly, saying: "Woe to you! What have you done? What a sin you have committed!"
It is reported that people informed Yazid of what Ibn al-Zubayr said in his sermon: "Yazid among the monkeys, the wine-drinker, the one who abandons prayer, the one who keeps company with singing slave girls."
When Muslim b. ʿUqba prepared his troops and paraded them before Yazid, he said:
"When night falls and these troops reach Wādī al-Qurā, say to Abū Bakr: Is this drunken crowd you see, woe to the one who apostasizes in the Mother of Cities! Woe to the one who deceives with religion and utters lies and slander."
In another narration, it is said he said:
"When the army falls into the hands of the people of authority and descends into Wādī al-Qurā, inform Abū Bakr. Is this crowd of 20,000 young and old the drunken crowd you see?"
Muslim set out with his troops toward Medina. As he approached, the people of Medina began to besiege the Banū Umayya and demanded from them a firm pledge that they would not hand them over to the approaching Syrians, would not cooperate with them against the people of Medina, nor reveal their secrets. The Banū Umayya gave them this pledge. When the Syrian army arrived, the Banū Umayya went out to meet them. Muslim b. ʿUqba questioned them, but they said nothing. Muslim became frustrated. ʿAbd al-Malik, son of Marwān, came to him and advised: "If you want victory, camp east of Medina at al-Harra. If they oppose you, the sun will be at your backs and in their faces. Invite them to obedience; if they respond, so be it. Otherwise, seek Allah’s help and fight them. Allah will help you against them, for they have opposed the imam and rebelled." Muslim thanked him for this advice and followed it, camping at al-Harra east of Medina. He invited the people of Medina to obedience for three days, but they refused each time and only agreed to fight. After three days, on the fourth day—which was Wednesday, the 28th of Dhu al-Ḥijja in the sixty-third year of the Hijra—he said to them:
"O people of Medina! The three days are over. The Commander of the Believers said to me: 'The people of Medina are my kin and tribe. I do not wish for their blood to be shed.' He ordered me to give you three days. That time has passed. What will you do now? Will you make peace or fight?"
"We will fight."
"Do not do this; make peace. Turn your strength against this impious Ibn al-Zubayr."
"O enemy of Allah! If that is your aim, we will not allow you to achieve it. Leave, so that you do not commit impiety in Allah’s Sacred House." After this, the people of Medina prepared for battle. They had dug a trench between themselves and Muslim b. ʿUqba. They divided their forces into four groups, each with a commander. The strongest and most organized group included ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala al-Ghasīl. The people of Medina fought fiercely, but were ultimately defeated. Many prominent figures from both sides were killed, including ʿAbdullāh b. Muṭīʿ and his seven sons, ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala al-Ghasīl, his maternal brother Muḥammad b. Thābit b. Shammās, and Muḥammad b. ʿAmr b. Ḥazm. As Muḥammad b. ʿAmr b. Ḥazm lay on the ground, Marwān passed by and said: "May Allah have mercy on you. How often I saw you standing long in prayer and prostration by the pillars of the Prophet’s Mosque."
Then Muslim b. ʿUqba—whom the early scholars called Musrif b. ʿUqba, may Allah curse him, what an ignorant and evil old man he was—declared Medina lawful for three days by Yazid’s order, disregarding its sanctity. May Allah not reward him with good. He killed many of the city’s notable Qurʾān reciters and plundered much wealth. As many have reported, great and widespread corruption occurred there. Among those killed before Muslim was Maʿqil b. Sinān, a former friend of his, but who had spoken ill of Yazid and whose words reached Muslim, who then took revenge on him.
Muslim summoned ʿAlī, son of al-Ḥusayn. ʿAlī came to him, accompanied by Marwān b. Ḥakam and Marwān’s son ʿAbd al-Malik, so that they might secure safety for him, though ʿAlī was unaware that Yazid had instructed Muslim to treat him well. As he sat before Muslim, Marwān asked for a drink. Muslim had brought snow from Syria to Medina, which he mixed with his drink to cool it. When the sherbet was brought, Marwān drank some and gave the rest to ʿAlī, hoping to secure safety for him. Marwān loved ʿAlī, son of al-Ḥusayn. When Muslim saw ʿAlī holding the cup, he said: "Do not drink from our drink." Then he asked: "Did you come with Marwān and his son so they could secure safety for you?"
At this, ʿAlī’s hand trembled; he could neither put down the cup nor drink from it. Then Muslim said: "If the Commander of the Believers, Yazid, had not instructed me to treat you well, I would have struck off your head. Now, drink if you wish, or do not. Let them bring you another cup." ʿAlī said: "I wish to drink from this cup in my hand," and he drank. Afterwards, Muslim said: "Come, sit here," and seated him on his throne. Then he said: "The Commander of the Believers, Yazid, instructed me to treat you well. I have been preoccupied with these others and could not attend to you; perhaps your family is now worried for you." ʿAlī replied: "By Allah, that is so." Muslim then ordered a mount to be prepared and saddled for him, and sent him home with honor.
He then summoned ʿAmr, son of ʿUthmān, who had not left with the Banū Umayya, and said: "If the people of Medina had prevailed, you would have claimed to be with them; if the Syrians had prevailed, you would have claimed to be the son of the Commander of the Believers." Then he ordered that ʿAmr’s thick beard be plucked in his presence.
Al-Madāʾinī said: "Muslim b. ʿUqba declared Medina lawful for three days, disregarding its sanctity. His soldiers killed everyone they met and plundered property. Suʿdāʾ bint ʿAwf al-Mirrī sent word to Muslim, saying: 'I am your cousin. Order your men not to touch our camels at such-and-such a place.' Upon hearing this, Muslim ordered his men: 'First seize this woman’s camels.' Another woman came and said: 'I am your supporter. My son is among the captives.' Muslim ordered: 'Quickly seize her son and bring him.' He then had her son beheaded and handed the head to his mother, saying: 'Would it not have been better if you had not spoken and thus he would not have been killed? Would you not have preferred that?' It is said that Muslim’s soldiers raped the women of Medina, and that about a thousand women became pregnant out of wedlock during those days. Allah knows best.
Al-Madāʾinī narrated from Hishām b. Ḥassān: "After the incident of al-Harra, a thousand unmarried women of Medina gave birth." Leading Companions (ṣaḥāba), including Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh, hid from Muslim b. ʿUqba’s soldiers. Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī left Medina and sought refuge in a cave in the mountains. However, a Syrian soldier pursued him. Abū Saʿīd said: "When I saw him, he drew his sword and attacked me. Realizing he was determined to kill me, I sheathed my sword and said: 'I wish that you bear both my sin and your own and be among the people of Hell. That is the recompense of the wrongdoers.' (al-Māʾida 5:29)"
The man asked:
"Who are you?"
"I am Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī."
"Are you one of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him)?"
"Yes."
After that, the man left me alone."
Al-Madāʾinī said: "They brought Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab to Muslim b. ʿUqba. When Muslim told him to pledge allegiance, he replied: 'I will pledge allegiance only to an emir who follows the way of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.' Thereupon, Muslim ordered his execution, but someone present testified to Saʿīd’s madness, so he was released."
When the people of Medina were defeated at the Battle of al-Harra, the women and children screamed. Ibn ʿUmar said: "By the Lord of the Kaʿba, this is retribution for what was done to ʿUthmān."
Al-Madāʾinī narrated from an old man of Medina: I asked al-Zuhrī: "How many people of Medina were killed on the day of al-Harra?" He replied: "Seven hundred of the leading Muhājirūn and Anṣār were killed, as well as about ten thousand of the prominent mawālī, freedmen, slaves, and others, both known and unknown to me."
The incident of al-Harra occurred three days before the end of Dhu al-Ḥijja in the sixty-third year of the Hijra. Muslim b. ʿUqba’s soldiers plundered Medina for three days.
Al-Wāqidī and Abū Maʿshar said: "The incident of al-Harra occurred on Wednesday, two nights before the end of Dhu al-Ḥijja in the sixty-third year of the Hijra."
Al-Wāqidī narrated from Ibn ʿAwn: "In the sixty-third year of the Hijra, ʿAbdullāh b. al-Zubayr led the people in the pilgrimage. He was called al-ʿĀʾidh (the one who seeks refuge, i.e., in the Sacred House). They believed that affairs should be managed by consultation (shūrā). News of the incident of al-Harra reached the people of Mecca on the first night of Muḥarram, brought by Saʿīd, the freedman of Miṣwar b. Makhrama. The people were greatly saddened and began preparing to fight the Syrians."
Ibn Jarīr narrated from Juwayriya b. Asmāʾ:
"I heard the elders of Medina say: When Muʿāwiya was dying, he called his son Yazid and said: 'The people of Medina will one day rise against you. If they do, send Muslim b. ʿUqba against them, for I have found him loyal to us.' When Muʿāwiya died, a delegation from Medina went to Yazid, including ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala b. Abī ʿĀmir, a noble, virtuous, devout man, accompanied by his eight sons. Yazid gave them 100,000 dirhams, and to each son, in addition to clothing and gifts, another 10,000 dirhams. When they returned to Medina, the people asked them: 'What news?' ʿAbdullāh said: 'I have come from a man that, by Allah, even if none of my children were with me, I would still fight him.' When the people of Medina asked: 'We heard he gave you gifts and treated you well,' ʿAbdullāh replied: 'I accepted those gifts only to prepare for war against him.' He then incited the people against Yazid, and they pledged allegiance to him. When Yazid learned of this, he sent Muslim b. ʿUqba against the people of Medina. When the people of Medina heard of Muslim’s approach, they poured tar into all the water sources between themselves and the Syrians, drying them up. But Allah sent abundant rain upon the Syrian army, so they reached Medina without needing a single bucket of water from those sources. The people of Medina confronted the Syrians in great numbers and in an unprecedented manner.
The Syrians, seeing them, were afraid and did not wish to fight. Their commander, Muslim b. ʿUqba, was a harsh man. While the people of Medina were fighting, they heard cries of 'Allāhu akbar' from inside Medina. The Banū Ḥāritha among the Syrians attacked them from the walls. The people of Medina were routed, and many fell into the trench, more than those killed in battle. Eventually, the Syrians entered Medina. ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala was dozing, leaning against a wall. His son woke him. When he opened his eyes and saw what was happening, he ordered his eldest son forward, who fought until he was killed. Muslim b. ʿUqba entered Medina and called the people to pledge allegiance to Yazid, declaring that they were now his servants and that he had authority over their lives, property, and persons as he wished."
Ibn ʿAsākir narrated from al-Madāʾinī: When the people of Medina were killed at al-Harra, a mysterious voice was heard that evening atop Mount Abū Qubays in Mecca, while Ibn al-Zubayr was sitting. The voice said:
"Those who fast, who devote themselves to worship, the righteous and devout,
Those who attained hudā (guidance) and did good, and who preceded to success,
What has happened to the lions who attacked at dawn in Baqīʿ and Waqīm?
What is happening in the region of Yathrib? Woe to those who wail and cry out.
The noble son of the noble, the one with awe and dignity, has been killed."
Ibn al-Zubayr said: "O people! Your companions have been killed. Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."
Yazid erred greatly when he ordered Muslim b. ʿUqba to declare Medina lawful for three days and disregard its sanctity. This was a grave and egregious error. He also caused the deaths of many Companions (ṣaḥāba) and their children. As previously mentioned, he had also caused the killing of al-Ḥusayn and his followers through ʿAbdullāh b. Ziyād. During these three days, immense and unquantifiable corruption and devastation occurred in Medina, known only to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Yazid sent Muslim b. ʿUqba to Medina to secure his rule and maintain his caliphate without dispute, but Allah punished him with the opposite of his aim, placing obstacles between him and his goal, and destroyed him as befits tyrannical rulers. "And such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the cities while they are committing wrong. Indeed, His seizure is painful and severe." (Hūd 11:102)
Al-Bukhārī narrated from Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever plots against the people of Medina will dissolve as salt dissolves in water."
Muslim narrated from Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever intends evil against Medina, Allah will melt him in the Fire like lead melts, or like salt dissolves in water."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Sāʾib b. Khallād that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever unjustly frightens the people of Medina, Allah will frighten him. Upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will not accept any obligatory or supererogatory act of worship from him."
Al-Dāraquṭnī narrated from Muḥammad and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, sons of Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh, that they said:
"On the day of al-Harra, we went out with our father, who was blind. He said: 'May the one who frightened the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) be destroyed.' We asked: 'Father, can anyone frighten the Messenger of God?' He replied: 'I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) say: Whoever frightens this tribe of the Anṣār has frightened me' (and he placed his hand on his forehead)."
Those who cite this and similar hadiths as evidence have said that it is permissible to curse Yazid, son of Muʿāwiya. Abū al-Faraj b. al-Jawzī also held that cursing Yazid is permissible. However, other scholars have said it is not permissible and have written works on this, lest cursing Yazid lead to cursing his father or any of the Companions (ṣaḥāba). They have interpreted his evil deeds as errors or misinterpretations, saying: "Nevertheless, Yazid was a wicked imam. When an imam is wicked, he is not deposed solely for his wickedness. Of the two opinions among the scholars, this is the correct one. Nor is it permissible to rebel against him, for this would lead to fitna (civil strife), anarchy, the shedding of innocent blood, plundering of property, and widespread immorality, the consequences of which are even greater sins."
Some have related that Yazid rejoiced greatly when he heard of the rebellion of the people of Medina and the actions of Muslim b. ʿUqba and his troops at al-Harra, because he considered himself the imam (leader) and believed the people of Medina had rebelled against him and recognized another as imam. Thus, he believed he had the right to fight them until they returned to obedience and rejoined the community. He had warned them through Nuʿmān b. Bashīr and Muslim b. ʿUqba, as previously mentioned. In an authentic hadith, it is said:
"When your affairs are settled and your unity established, if anyone comes to divide you, whoever he may be, kill him."
Some have also cited the following poem by Ibn Zibāra regarding the incident of Uḥud as evidence:
"If only my ancestors at Badr could see the panic of the Khazraj under the blows of spears.
How they were driven in chains and with these documents to the city gates, and how death swept through the tribe of ʿAbd al-Ashhal.
Then we killed many more of their nobles, and straightened the crookedness of Badr." Some Rāfiḍīs added this verse: "The Hāshimites played with the angels. No angel came to them, nor was any revelation sent down." If Yazid, son of Muʿāwiya, said this, then may Allah and those who curse be upon him; if not, then may Allah curse the one who fabricated it and sought to incite him. This will be discussed in Yazid’s biography, along with other reports of his evil deeds and statements, and will be addressed in the events of the sixty-fourth year of the Hijra. Shortly after the incident of al-Harra and the martyrdom of al-Ḥusayn, Yazid was seized and destroyed by Allah as befits tyrannical rulers. Allah is All-Knowing and All-Powerful.
During the incident of al-Harra in the sixty-third year of the Hijra, many famous Companions (ṣaḥāba) and other notable individuals were killed. To recount all of them would take too long. Among the most famous Companions killed were: ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥanzala (the governor of Medina during the incident of al-Harra), Maʿqil b. Sinān, and ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād b. ʿĀṣim. May Allah be pleased with them. Masrūq b. Ajdaʿ was also killed.