Omayyad Paganism Unmasked

By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
“We were taken like sheep tied with ropes towards (the court of) Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah. My neck and that of (my aunt) Omm Kulsoum (SA) was tied with one rope, while the hands of (my elder aunt) Zainab (SA) and (my sister) Sakina (SA) were bound along with the other ladies (of the Prophet’s Household). We were at times whipped for walking slowly and when we reached the court we saw Yazid sitting on a throne while in front of him lay the head of (my father) Imam Husain (AS) in a golden tray. He had a cane in his hand and was showing disrespect to the severed head.”
This is how Sheikh Fakhroddin in his book "al-Muntajab" quotes Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) as saying, when today on the 1st of Safar, the year 61 AH, 20 days after the tragedy of Karbala, the Prophet's noble household were forced to enter the Green Palace, which along with the streets and bazaars of Damascus, had been specially bedecked on the assumption that Omayyad hypocrisy had at last triumphed over Islam.
In other words, as is evident by the words of Yazid on this occasion, the Meccan paganism of Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan that had suffered humiliating defeats at the Battles of Badr, Ohad, and Khandaq before its final surrender to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) at the fall of Mecca in 8 AH, had resurfaced with a deadly vengeance against Hashemite monotheism.
With a goblet brimming with wine in his hand and a Christian crucifix dangling down his neck, the elated tyrant burst out saying: "Had my forefathers seen this deed of mine, they would have been filled with pride and would have said, ‘O Yazid, you have avenged us, may your hands never be afflicted by paralysis!"
He didn't stop at these heathen words and went on to prove his total subservience to the devil by saying: “La’bat Hashem bi’l-mulk; fa la khabar ja’a wa la wahy nazal (The Hashemites played the game of kingdom; neither any message descended [from heaven] nor revelation.)
It is thus fully obvious that neither Yazid was a Muslim, nor were those who had carried out his heinous orders to besiege Imam Husain (AS) and his small band of faithful; deprive them of water; attack them; kill them; decapitate them; and then march in the most savage manner all the way from Karbala to Kufa and thence to Damascus with the heads of the martyrs mounted on lances and the bereaved women and children of the Prophet's household in chain and fetters.
Yet, it was the infidel and his ilk who lost and suffered the most humiliatingly defeat, to such an extent that till this day their memory is cursed all over the world, while their bodies burn in the eternal inferno.
It were the noble captives who triumphed in the face of such extreme brutality, thanks to the patience, courage, and electrifyingly eloquent sermons of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), Hazrat Zainab (SA) and other members of the family, especially Hazrat Ruqaiyyah (SA), the 4-year old daughter of Imam Husain (AS), who unable to bear the tortures, succumbed in the dungeon of Damascus.
The 4th Imam shamed Yazid by calling the pulpit in the court as mere planks of wood, since the 'mimbar' had long ceased to function as the podium of Islam under the Omayyads. And then, when the Azaan or the call to prayer was recited prematurely to stop his exposure of the tyrant's crime against humanity, he said: O Yazid, this Muhammad (SAWA) whose name is mentioned in the Azaan was your grandfather or mine; and if mine, how could you kill his grandson and still pretend to be a Muslim?
The tables were turned. Yazid was now at the receiving end. His elation soon gave way to frustration, as the Prophet's granddaughter, Hazrat Zainab (SA) exposed him and his Omayyad ancestors in their true heathen colours. Here are excerpts of her sermons: "O you the son of freed slaves (yabna at-tulaqa)! Is this your justice that the ladies of your household remain veiled and we, the Prophet’s family should be paraded thus? You have insulted our dignity… “O Yazid! Your misdeeds have clearly proved your rebellion towards God and the message the Holy Prophet brought to this world, and this has proved beyond doubt that you refuse to honour the Prophetic Message sent by God.
“This behaviour of yours does not come as a surprise, for your ancestors chewed the liver of the Prophet’s uncle Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib. Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, mutilated his body, had his liver taken out, sucked it and quenched her thirst for vengeance at the Battle of Ohad. You belong to this clan, which always opposed the Prophet and collected armies from various clans to oppose him. The offspring of such monsters are the enemies of God and His Prophet, and are expected to be merciless and deadly since violence is part of their nature."
“O Yazid, you have done what you wished to do, but remember, you are doomed to perish and ou will be cut to pieces. Then (on the Day of Judgement) you will be taken in to the presence of the Prophet and you will be burned with the sins you have committed by shedding the blood of his progeny and disrespecting the sanctity of his family. You will be taken in the presence of the Prophet to a place where his family members will be gathered and you will undergo horrible punishment and then there will be no escape for you and your companions."