Those Who Lacked Insight and Didn’t Accompany Imam Hussein to Karbala
In that confrontation, the characters of those individuals were revealed based on the choices they made.
There were some people who did not attend the battle and failed to fight alongside Imam Hussein (AS). Some of them did so because they lacked insight and had doubts about the rightness of the decision Imam (AS) had made.
They included Muhammad ibn Hanifa, Abdullah ibn Jafar, and Omar ibn Ali, half-brothers of the Imam (AS).
Instead of accompanying him, Muhammad ibn Hanifa advised Imam Hussein (AS) to flee to Yemen. He thought that it would be enough for Imam (AS) to save his life. He failed to realize that Imam Hussein (AS) was on a path that required his resistance and highlighting the society’s deviations. He failed to realize that Imam Hussein (AS) had no fear of martyrdom.
Omar ibn Ali, Imam’s (AS) other half-brother, not only did not accompany him to Karbala but also failed to join Mukhtar. Rather, he showed enmity to Imam Sajjad (AS) and joint the camp of ibn Zubair, who was Mukhtar’s enemy.
Suleiman ibn Sard Khazaei was a distinguished Shia Muslim with a high social status. When he heard the news of Muawiya’s death and succession of Yazid and learned that Imam Hussein (AS) is staying in Mecca and refusing to give allegiance to Yazid, he convened a meeting in Kufa with the participation of the city’s prominent figures.
He informed them about the situation and Imam’s (AS) refusal to give allegiance to Yazid, urging them to write a letter to Imam Hussein (AS) to come to Kufa so that they can fight the front of falsehood (Yazid).
All of the participants in the meeting agreed with him and wrote a letter. It was the first letter from the people of Kufa to Imam Hussein (AS) and Suleiman was the first to sign it.
Soon a flurry of letters from Kufa to Imam Hussein (AS) ensued. Even some Sunni Muslims and also some of those known to support Bani Ummayya wrote letters.
Suleiman, however, who had once withdrawn support for Imam Ali (AS), once again displayed his lack of insight. He refused to go to Karbala, citing a curfew in Kufa as an excuse.
