Yazid I

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Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiyata ibn Abī Sufyān Arabic: يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان‎ (July 23, 645 - 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683 CE. The period of Yazid's rule was a great disaster for the Muslims and his rule is still remembered by many, especially Shia Muslims. His period witnessed the tragedy of Kerbala, the Muslim forces suffered losses in North Africa, their supremacy at sea was lost. During this period, Muslims also saw the spoliation and profanation of the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah by the Syrian army. Yazid was the first hereditary caliph of Islam died at a young age of 38, he hardly ruled for three years. Many regard Yazid as a tyrant who did great disservice to the cause of Islam.^[1][2]

Oath of Allegiance of Yazid

Muawiyah I was succeeded by his son Yazid I. As it was common in Arabia at those time, Yazid asked Governors of all provinces to take the oath of allegiance to him. The necessary oath was secured from all parts of the country except from Husain and Abdullah ibn Zubayr ^[1][2]

Husayn ibn Ali and Ibn az-Zubair

Husayn ibn Ali did not give his oath of allegiance to Yazid. He was living in Madina with his family, but Yazid considered him a threat to his rule and ordered his governor either to take oath from Husayn by any mean or execute him. Husayn ibn Ali refused this demand and hence was pushed to a limit that he finally decided to leave Madina. He first went to Makkah with an intention to perform Hajj. But even at this holy place he couldn't do it with peace as Yazid conspired to kill him in the Kaaba during Hajj. So Husayn had to cut short his plan and performed Umrah instead of Hajj.

Kufa, a garrison town in what is now Iraq, had been Caliph ‘Alī's capital and many of his supporters lived there. Husayn ibn Ali received many letters from the Kufans expressing their offer of support if he claimed the caliphate. They were also trying to restore Kufa's power against Damascus, the Umayyad capital.

Abd-Allah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Zubayr held a meeting with Husayn in Mecca to advise him to refuse to travel to Iraq. Meanwhile, Husayn corresponded with nobles of Basrah and asked them to support him. Major tribes of Basrah gathered and prepared for the fight against Yazid I.

At the same time Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, governor of Basrah, executed one of Husayn's messengers and then addressed the people and warned them to avoid the insurgency. Husayn departed towards Kufa despite many warnings and during the trip, he and many members of his family were killed or captured at the Battle of Karbala.

The complications of Yazid's accession to the Caliphate didn't end there. Many Sahaba and fellow Muslims refused to give their oath of allegiance to Yazid simply because they saw it as usurpation of power and not the proper way of choosing a Caliph by the Shura or Council. The most prominent among these resistors was Abdullah ibn Zubayr.

Abdullah ibn Zubayr opposed Yazid's position as Caliph. He launched an insurgency in the Hejaz, the heartland of Islam, where Mecca and Medina are. Yazid sent armies against him in 683. After the Battle of al-Harrah, Medina was recaptured and Mecca was also besieged. During the siege, the Ka‘bah was damaged. The siege ended when Yazid died suddenly in 683 CE.

Setbacks

During the caliphate of Yazid Muslims suffered a great deal of setbacks. In 682 AD Yazid restored Uqba ibn Nafi as the governor of North Africa. Uqba won battles against the Berbers and Byzantines.^[3] From there Uqba marched on thousands of miles westward towards tangier, where he reached the Atlantic coast, and then marched eastwards through the Atlas Mountains.^[4] With a cavalry of about 300 horsemen, he proceeded towards biskra where he was ambushed by a Berber force under kaisala. Uqba and all his men died fighting. The berbers launched an attack and drove Muslims from north Africa for a period.^[5] This was a major setback for the Muslims, because of this they lost supremacy at sea, and had to abandon the islands of Rhodes and Crete.

Death

Yazid I died at the age of 38. He ruled for 3 years. Yazid I was succeeded by his son Muawiyah II^[6].

Sunni view of Yazid

Ahmad ibn Hanbal was reputedly asked by his son about Yazid , and he is said to have replied with a reference to the Qur'an and said it was in reference to the murder of Husayn:

Do you then have the sign that if you get the authority, spread disorder in the land and sever your ties of Kinship? These are they whom God has cursed and made them deaf from the truth and made their eyes blind.^{[Qur'an 47:22][7]}

• Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari records under the year 49 Hijri (or 669-670 CE) during the reign of Muawiyah I, a number of forces, including one under Yazid attacked Constantinople. However Yazid was not in the first army that attacked constantinople and it was the 7th attack in which Yazid participated, the first attack being in 42 Hijri.^[8] This First Arab siege of Constantinople was a naval assault lasting through the years 670-677. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was also among the notables accompanying Yazid. This journey marks an important event in the life of young Yazid (27 at that time).

While most Sunni and Shi'i scholars consider Yazid to be a villain of Islamic history on account of his hatred towards the household of Muhammad, many Islamic scholars also believe that Yazid should not be cursed.^[9]

• Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi Maliki another scholar did not hold permissible the cursing and abusing of Yazid nor declaring him to be a disbeliever.

  “If it is said justice and knowledge are from the conditions of Caliphate and Yazid neither had justice nor knowledge, then we would have to ask, by what evidence this conclusion was drawn that Yazid had no justice or knowledge.”

^[10]

“Where are those historians who wrote against Yazid in mentioning alcohol and open sinning, do they not have any shame?” – meaning where are the evidences for these accusations.^[10]

• Abdul Mughith Hanbali has the unique distinction of being one of the earliest known biographers of Yazid .Ibn Kathir said about Abdu l-Mughith that, “He was from the righteous Hanbali’s who the common folk referred to.”^[11] Abdul Mugheeth was also not in favor of cursing Yazid or declaring him to be a disbeliever, rather he authored a biography of Yazid with the titles Fadhal Yazid and Fadhal Yazid bin Muawiyah .^[12]
• Ibn Kathir reported on Allamah Abu l-Khayr Qazwini:

  “After he left Qazwain he went to Baghdad where he became a teacher in Madrassa Nizamia and he would admonish and deliver lectures to the people. So on the day of Ashuraa he sat on the minbar to admonish the people, it was said to him to curse Yazid bin Muawiyah. He replied, “He was but an Imam Mujtahid.”^[13]

• Ibn Salah was also not in favor of cursing Yazid or saying he was a disbeliever. Ibn Hajr the Meccan writes,

.

• Ibn Taymiyyah was neither in favor of cursing Yazid nor declaring him to be a disbeliever.{{quote“And the people who curse Yazid and other such people like him then it is upon them to bring evidence, Firstly: that he was an open sinner and an oppressor and therefore prove he really was an open sinner and an oppressor as allowing him to be cursed needs to be proven that he continued this open sinning and oppression to the end up until his death. Secondly: Then after this they must prove that it is permissible to curse specific people like Yazid. ... and the verse, "May the Curse of God be upon the oppressors" is a general verse like the verses concerning punishment... And the Hadith compiled by Bukhari states the first army to wage Jihad against Constantinople is forgiven and it is clear that their commander Yazid ibn Muawiyah was a member of this army and is included in this forgiveness.}} - (ref books: Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah Fee Naqdh Kalaam ash-Shee’ah Wal-Qadariyyah (2/252), al-Muntaqa al-Minhaj al-I’tidaal fi Naqdh Kalaam ar-Rafdh wa l-i’tizaal (pg.290). However, as discussed above, this Hadith clearly did not refer to Yazid as he did not take part in the first battle of Constantinople^[8], it was his father Mu'awiya^[14] during the reign of Caliph Uthman ^[15] therefore this verse did not apply at all to Yazid. In fact according to the scholar Ibn Khaldun Yazid was unwillingly to take part in the 1st 7 Jihads against Constantinople, and was eventually forced to attend the 8th by his father.^[16]

Shi'a and Sunni view of Yazid

For Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, Yazid is viewed as a tyrant for killing Husayn, the grandson of Muhammad, and his family. All Muslims believe that God had purified the household of Muhammad (ahl al-bayt),^[17] however they differ on the definition. Furthermore, all Shia's believe that God commanded the Muslim community to have intense love (Al-Muwadata) and kindness for them.^[18]

Shi'a scholars, while very vocal in their views towards Yazid, show their stand on his nature even through Sunni texts:

• Ibn Taymiyyah, a Sunni scholar stated the following concerning the nature of Yazid's position:

^[19]

• Shaykh al-hadith Muhammad Zakaria, an Indian Sunni scholar, has stated the following regarding the manner in which Yazid came to power:

^[20]

• Ibn Kathir a famously renowned Sunni Islamic scholar, himself reports on the character of Yazid:

^[21]

• Ibn Sa'd, another Sunni scholar, writes in his book, “Tabaqat Al-Kubra” regarding the nature of Yazid:

^[22]

• After Yazid's death, when Muawiyah II (Yazid's son) was made to be the caliph, he stated the following in his inaugural address with regards to his father and his grandfather (Muawiyah I), as recorded by Ibn Hajr al-Haythami another scholar of the Ahl us-Sunnah:

^[23]

• Although many Sunni Muslims are against the cursing of Yazid, Yazid is cursed even according to the definitions of Muhammad, as recorded by Ibn Kathir:

- ^[24]

The events at Karbala figure as fundamental in Shi'a thought, and many Islamist movements liken their causes to Husayn ibn Ali's struggle against Yazid. Leaders of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi government frequently drew such comparisons.

The 10th of Muharram (also known as Ashura), is the Islamic calendar date on which the Battle of Karbala occurred and is commemorated as a day of mourning by Shia Muslims around the world. Rituals on Ashura' usually involve public processions during which the Shi'as reject Yazid's caliphate and recite poems commemorating Husayn ibn Ali and his death. Shi'as and sunnis around the world refer to Yazid as "the tyrant."

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

See also

• Battle of Karbala
• Umayyads
• Islamic empires