CONTEXT : On the death of Mu’awiya, people of Kufa doubted the caliphate of Yazid and were informed that Imam al-Husayn (a) had refused to give allegiance to Yazid and had gone to Mecca. The letter was send through ‘Abd Allah b. Musamma’ al-Hamdani and ‘Abd Allah b. Wa’il and the letter was delivered to the Imam (a) in Mecca on Ramadan 10.
TEXT
In the Name of God the All Compassionate, the Most Merciful
From
The believers and faithful ones in Kufa.
To
Al-Husayn b. ‘Ali, from Sulayman b. Surad, Musayyib b. Najba, Rifa’a b. Shaddad, Habib b. Muzahir and his other followers.Â
Peace be upon you and we praise with you for God, there is no God but Him alone.
But then, praise be to God who defeated your oppressing and rebellious enemy, the one who attacked this Umma, confiscated the caliphate and the treasure of the people and took their caliphate without their consent. Then, he killed the good and remained the evil and shared the treasure of God among the oppressors and the wealthy. So, may the curse of God be upon him the way the people of Thamud were inflicted by the curse of God.
Indeed, we do not have any leader, so come to us, may God unite us through you. Nu’man b. Bashir is in the palace of the governorship and we neither pray with him on Fridays, not do we go out with him on the days of Eid; and when we know you have come to us, we will throw him out of the city to Syria. God Willing.
The elders of Kufa
Imam Hussain`s Reply
In the Name of God the All Compassionate, the Most Merciful
From
Husayn b. Ali to all the Muslims and believers
But then, Hani and Sa’id came to me with your letters and they were your last messengers who came to me, and I found what you mentioned and most of you stressed that, ‘we do not have an imam; so, come to us; may God unite us over the guidance and truth through you.’
Now, I send my brother, my cousin and a reliable person in my relatives to you. If he writes that the opinions of most of you and your wise and elder ones is in agreement with what your messengers inform about and I read in your letters, I will soon come to you by the will of God; for I swear by my soul that Imam (a) is not anyone but one who rules according to the Book of God, rises to justice, observes the religion of truth and commits himself to what God has said and ordered.
The end.
The reply was sent through Hani b. Hani al-Sabi’i and Sa’id b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hanafi.
