Husain (ra) eventually arrived at Nainawa towards the last few days of Dhu al-Hijjah, 60 AH A messenger of Ubaidullah bin Ziyad arrived, ordering Hurr to force Husain to stop in an open plain, without protection and water. In search of water Husain (ra) travelled along the Euphrates River, and reached the plains of Karbala on 2nd Muharram, 61 AH.
The next day, Umar bin Sa’d arrived with an army of 4000 men, some of whom had written to Husain (ra) calling him to Kufa. Husain (ra) began a dialogue with Umar bin Sa’d, to seek a peaceful outcome. Eventually Husain (ra) concluded:
“I present to you three options regarding me:
- Let me go back to the place from where I came [i.e. Makkah]
- Let me go to any frontier, where I can fight and be martyred for the sake of Islam
- Allow me to go to Yazid in Damascus and settle my affair with him directly, just like my elder brother [Hasan (ra)] settled the matter with Amir Mu’awiyah.”
Umar bin Sa’d sent these proposals to Ubaidullah bin Ziyad. His advisor, Shimr bin Dhi al-Jawshan urged him not to let Husain (ra) go now that he was in his grasp as this would indicate weakness. Ubaidullah became paranoid that if Umar accepted Husain’s (ra) viewpoint, it would greatly strengthen his cause and they would gain a considerable army. To prevent this from happening, Ubaidullah wrote back to Umar stating that if Husain (ra) pledged allegiance, they should be granted peace, otherwise he should fight against them. And if he refused or hesitated in taking action, then Shimr would take command of the army.
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