Chapter Four
Armed Confrontation
The Start of the Revolution
Imam Zayd spent fourteen months in Iraq. He moved incognito from and to urban and rural areas. He corresponded with people of insight telling them to break with the heavy-handed regime by joining the ranks of the mujahideen. During that whole time-period Yusuf ibn ‘Umar al-Thaqafi had informers and spies throughout the land trying to gauge what Imam Zayd and his followers were doing.
After the Imam finished the initial preparations for the military encounter he agreed with his companions that the launching day of the revolution should be the first day of the month of Safar (122 HE). Subsequently he sent his emissaries to adjacent lands to prepare for the hour of reckoning.
Hisham had received some information about Imam Zayd. He felt uneasy. He expressed his extreme apprehension towards this movement because he knew how firm, influential, and determined Imam Zayd was. Hisham ordered Yusuf ibn ‘Umar to be in hot pursuit of Imam Zayd.
Yusuf ibn ‘Umar redoubled his efforts and increased the number of his informants and undercover agents. He ordered his security forces to check pedestrians and to interrogate suspects. After long and hard work he managed to identify one of the places in which Imam Zayd used to spend some time. He ordered his men to break in there at night. They found that Imam Zayd had changed his location and was not inside. They apprehended two men and hauled them off to Yusuf ibn ‘Umar who tried to extract some information from them but was unable to do so. He threatened to kill them but still without any results. (A true Muslim on this type of mission is more keen on his cause than on his life). When everything else failed they were executed. They were the first two martyrs in this instalment of eternal revolutionary pursuit.
Imam Zayd knew of their execution. He was upset about it. He knew that his program has had been exposed. He had to take control of this situation with courage and wisdom so that the revolution will not be preempted. He moved to the residence of Mu‘awiyah ibn Is-haq on the outskirts of Kufah. He called whomever he could of his companions to a meeting. They, henceforth, began to prepare in earnest for a military stand-off and any surprise attack by the regime. Yusuf ibn ‘Umar realized that he will no longer be able to easily take on Zayd and his companions. He was even afraid of being taken as a prisoner of war or that he may fall into a siege of sorts. He stayed in the city of al-Hirah at a distance of three miles from Kufah. There he was training his soldiers and receiving reinforcements from al-Sham. Both sides now were preparing for the inevitable.
The Battle Flow
At the residence of Mu‘awiyah ibn Is-haq in full military gear Imam Zayd appeared to his companions for the first time on a white mule. His garment was white, it concealed an armor. His headdress was black. He had a sword and carried a copy of the Quran. He stood and said: “O People! Help me against the litter of al-Sham. I seek for anyone who does so a secure appearance on the Day of Resurrection until he passes the si-rat and enters paradise.
Then he said: Ask me. By Allah, whether it is a question pertaining to halal and haram (the lawful and the unlawful), or to the verses of obvious meanings and the verses of imperceptible meanings, or about proverbs and chronicles, I have an answer for you. I have not reached this position and taken this stand except after having read the Quran, honed the obligations and injunctions, the supererogatory and ethical conduct. I have come to know the revealed word as well as the unrevealed meaning (ta’wil). I came to understand ayats that abrogate and ayats that were abrogated, ayats of clear meaning and ayats of possible meanings, the specific and the general. In my household I am the most versed on the requirements of the ummah, and I am on a foolproof and certain path to my Sustainer.”[34]
Then Imam Zayd looked around at his companions and realized that there were only a few of them. So he sent one of his most courageous men al-Qasem ibn Kathir to the streets of Kufah to call out to the public the motto: Ya Mansur amet (O Victorious! court death). People were called to Zayd’s camp. One contingent of Umayad soldiers interrupted the troops and they fought on until he was wounded and fell to the ground. He was taken to Yusuf ibn ‘Umar who ordered the executioner to cut off his head. He became the first martyr to fall in combat.
Nasr Ibn Khuzaymah and Early Reinforcements
One of Imam Zayd’s outstanding companions was Nasr ibn Khuzaymah. He was known for his enthusiasm and devotion. He was to Imam Zayd what Malek al-Ashtar was to Imam ‘Ali (AS). He, like others, had left Kufah to garner support from adjacent areas and to prepare them for the military task ahead. Extenuating circumstances forced him and those with him to prematurely join Zayd’s detail. When he reached the environs of Kufah he was intercepted by a legion of Umayad military personnel. He and his men engaged them in battle and rooted them. He then proceeded to Imam Zayd’s camp where he raised the spirits of the fighters there.
Hoisting the Banner and Fulfilment of Deen
Imam Zayd began to arrange the military formations and assign military responsibilities to his men. In the first show of force Nasr ibn Khuzaymah stood on Zayd’s right while Mu‘awiyah ibn Is-haq was on his left. The flags of jihad were lifted and strips of cloth were tied to the head. Zayd was at long last happy. For the first time words were choking in his mouth because of his elation and high spirit as his dream is being fulfilled. He finally found himself where he always belonged: in the ranks of jihad practicing the ultimate ‘amr bi al-ma‘ruf and nahy ‘an al-munkar (commanding the good and interdicting the evil). He burst out saying: “Thank Allah that He has accomplished my deen for me. I was ashamed of myself thinking I would approach Rasul Allah while not being able to enjoin the good and forbid the wrong.”
Then he said to his companions: “By Allah! I do not care if in the process of implementing Allah’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet I would have to be thrown into a blazing fire after which I go on to Allah’s mercy. No one comes out today in support of me except that he will be in the divine company and in the presence of Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatimeh, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (P). Folks of fiqh and intellectuals! I am Allah’s evidence against you. I extend my hand to you so that we all together are able to put Allah’s regulations into motion and to work Allah’s will as expressed in His Holy Book. We will share the war booty equally. Ask me about your deen; and if I am not able to answer all your questions then go and have anyone that satisfies you and is more knowledgeable than me to rule over you. By Allah! I have not lied since the time I could distinguish my right from my left hand. And I have never been in violation of Allah since I realized He will take me to task for it.”
Then he said: “O Allah! For You I have taken up arms and opposition. It is You I am seeking; I request your satisfaction with me. I am in pursuit of Your enemy. Be [O Allah] victorious to Yourself, Your Deen, Your Book, Your Prophet, Your Prophet’s household, and to the dearest of Your committed Muslims. O Allah! This is my effort to You and You are the source of help.”[35]
Kufah Under Imam Zayd’s Control
Yusuf ibn ‘Umar sent some of his men to the streets of al-Kufah to terrorize its people. He called people to a meeting at the central masjid (mosque). The city was put under a curfew and people were banned from carrying or possessing arms. Rumors began to circulate about an army soon to arrive from al-Sham.
But Imam Zayd along with his supporters went to break the siege imposed on the mosque and to reassure the people of Kufah. On his way to the masjid a fierce battle erupted between him and Umayad infantry. Zayd scored a military victory there. When he reached the area of the mosque he identified himself by his motto and banners were passed through the windows of the mosque. Nasr ibn Khuzaymah was calling out: “People of Kufah come out of your humiliation to the ‘izzah/glory [of Allah] and from obscurity to the guidance [of Allah]. Come out to the prosperity of this world and the next because as you are you have neither.” But their old propensity was irresistible: treachery and betrayal. They apologized and said that they could not fight because of the [imaginary] siege and sanctions regime clamped on them.
Zayd’s companions spread throughout Kufah. Imam Zayd ordered them to publically declare: Whoever turns in his weapons will be safe. There were mopping up operations against the Umayad remnants in the city. All of a sudden the Umayad militia that had come from al-Hirah showed up. The Imam’s companions engaged them, the fighting was ferocious, they fought valiantly until the Umayads retreated. Then Imam Zayd gathered his companions and said to them: “Fight for victory with me over the folks of al-Sham. By Allah! Anyone who does so I will take him by the hand to paradise. By Allah! If I but knew of anything better to satisfy Allah than to fight against these iniquitous forces from al-Sham I would do so. I remind you of what I said earlier: do not pursue to kill those who are in retreat, do not “finish off” those who are wounded, do not open up new fronts. I heard them cursing ‘Ali ibn Abi Taleb. Take them on from all directions.”[36]
The military duels continued between both camps. The Umayad corps were increasing but the cavalry of Imam Zayd was decreasing. Imam Zayd turned to Nasr ibn Khuzaymah and told him: O Nasr! I’m afraid that the people of Kufah are repeating what they did with Imam Husayn! Nasr replied: I would give my life for you; by Allah I will continue to strike with my sword with you until I die!
The Tragic Infliction
Imam Zayd and his companions fought with chivalry. They fought until the bitter end. None dare do them in. When the Umayads figured it was useless to continue in this manner they barricaded themselves behind walls and hills. Then they used another type of warfare: they began shooting their arrows at Imam Zayd and his companions.
The sun began to set. And with it the radiating light of forbearance and sacrifice also set. Night fell on the hillsides. It covered the valleys and the plateaus. Voices were silent; weapons have spoken and the smell of death was in the air. Kufah was sad and in a state of sorrow when its inhabitants once again tarnished it with their treason and perfidy.
During those moments of deafening silence at the head of the forces the voice of Imam Zayd could be heard. He was saying: Al-Shahadah… al-Shahadah. I thank Allah that He has blessed me with it. People ran to the source of the voice and they found the epic Imam in a pool of blood. An arrow had penetrated his forehead. When he felt the sting of that arrow he raised his voice with those eternal words. He had expressed it all: his objective and his hopes.
It is noteworthy that Imam Zayd was born at sunrise and he died at sunset.
Imam Zayd’s companions withdrew. The Umayads thought that they did so because of nightfall. The companions gathered around their Imam. A physician came and realized that the arrow was fatal; it had penetrated his brain, a brain that was always thinking about the Muslims’ well being and how to rid them of their social and political maladies.
The Eternal Will
Yahya came to his father’s corpse crying. Blood was still oozing. The arrow was still embedded in the skull. Yahya took his shirt and wiped the blood off his father’s face. He said to him: Glad tidings to you, the grandson of Allah’s Prophet. You will be joining Allah’s Prophet, ‘Ali, Fatimeh, Khadijeh, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn. They will all be pleased with you.
The Imam said: True my son; but what will you do?
Yahya said: I will struggle against them unless I find no support.
He said: Yes, my son. Do struggle against them. By Allah, you are firmly right, and they are firmly wrong. Your casualties are in paradise and their casualties are in the fire.[37]
That was the Imam’s will. And that was his heritage to reawaken the reality of this deen by taking on unjust rulers… loving what is good for people… and the ultimate sacrifice for such lofty goals.
He then parted for eternal peace and to the company of his Maker and His true promise:
Behold, Allah has bought of the committed Muslims their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return, [and so] they fight in Allah’s cause, and slay, and are slain: a promise which in truth He has willed upon Himself in [the words of] the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Quran. And who could be more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Rejoice, then, in the bargain which you have made with Him: for this: this is the triumph supreme! 9: 111
Imam Zayd paid with his life for the Quran and for all the vital elements for the ummahs honor, pride, and dignity. He traded Allah for his soul… by sacrificing, by saying the truth. Nothing can be superior to this trade and this transaction. The Imam advanced and he could not have had anything better. He satisfied his living conscience. He raised the insignia of jihad very high although it bore his and his companions’ blood. He raised it for all the peoples of the world as a guide to their freedom and self-respect.
