Peace be upon you, our Sayed. Would that you kindly clear up for us the controversy surrounding the personality of Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn: was he truly ʿUthmani in inclination, or was he outwardly showing that out of taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation)?
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
And blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his pure Household
Some researchers have mentioned that the description of Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn, the martyr of Karbala, by the attribute (the ʿUthmani) originated in the narration of al-Tabari, which he reported concerning Zuhayr's exchange with the enemy army, in which his interlocutor described him as having been an ʿUthmani; then al-Baladhuri took it from him in his book Ansab al-Ashraf, where he said: (Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn al-Bajali was in Mecca, and he was an ʿUthmani). 3/314
Although we see no harm in a person being with one side and then joining Imam al-Husayn (a) out of faith in his Imamate — for he is an example of one who goes out of darkness into light, and there is no doubt that guidance is a grace from Allah for the sincerity and purity of intention He sees in the servant — how much more so when the move is to the pure Husayni caravan, such that his name is immortalized in the register of the martyrs of al-Taff, so that the believers greet him with peace in their ziyarah, bear witness to his merit and his great station with Allah, the Exalted, and wish to be resurrected with him on the Day of Resurrection. This joining is indeed a great, luminous joining that none attains except one possessed of great good fortune, of whom Allah knows the goodness of his inner self.
Despite that, some researchers did not accept the description of Zuhayr as having been an ʿUthmani, attributing this to the fact that the transmitted report does not contain the foundations of transmitted reports for classifying persons, in view of the transmitter. Some considered it an outward pretense to preserve himself for supporting Imam al-Husayn (a), given his swift agreement to give support after Imam al-Husayn (a) approached him; and some considered the description to be real, except that he did not take part in a war against the Commander of the Faithful (a), so Allah, the Exalted, guided him to a good end.
Whatever the result, we emphasize that the final evaluation of men depends only on the goodness or badness of their end. As for one's conduct before guidance, it is subject to evaluation; and the men of Islam are not evaluated as the Infallible Imam is evaluated — that is, the scale of evaluation is not such that a personality falls by the slightest mistake, confusion or error on his part; for that is something not accepted in the Infallible, who is pure and purified of every abomination and impurity. As for others, an evil deed or a blameworthy act may befall them, and they are of degrees in this: among them is one who safeguarded himself, among them is one who mixed a righteous deed with an evil one, and among them is one to whom the matter became confused, and the like.
As for what we see regarding Zuhayr, according to an analytical reading of the documents we have, we say:
The description of him as having been ʿUthmani in inclination is taken from the story of his exchange in Karbala, on the basis of which it circulated on the tongues of historians. Therefore we must first pause at this incident, which — as reported by al-Tabari himself, who was the first to mention this description, narrating from Abu Mikhnaf — is as follows:
After al-ʿAbbas spoke to the people, accompanied by a group of the supporters, among them Habib ibn Mazahir and Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn, he went back to the camp to convey to Imam al-Husayn (a) what had happened.. While he was returning, the text mentions:
“Habib ibn Mazahir said to Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn: Speak to the people if you wish, and if you wish I will speak to them. Zuhayr said to him: You started this, so you be the one to speak to them.
So Habib ibn Mazahir said to him: By Allah, how evil a people in Allah's sight tomorrow will be a people who come before Him having killed the offspring of His Prophet (a), his kindred and his Household (s), and the devout worshippers of the people of this city, who strive in worship in the pre-dawn hours and remember Allah much.
ʿAzra ibn al-Qays said to him: You indeed praise yourself as much as you can!
Zuhayr said to him: O ʿAzra, Allah has purified it and guided it; so fear Allah — O ʿAzra — for I am indeed a sincere adviser to you. I adjure you by Allah, O ʿAzra, not to be among those who aid the misguided in killing the pure souls!
He [ʿAzra ibn Qays] said: O Zuhayr! You were not — in our view — among the Shiʿa of the people of this house; you were only an ʿUthmani!
He said: Do you not infer from this stand of mine that I am one of them! By Allah, I never wrote him a letter, never sent him a messenger, and never promised him my support; but the road brought me and him together, and when I saw him, I was reminded by him of the Messenger of Allah (s) and his place with him,
and I knew what he was advancing toward from his enemy and your party, so I resolved to support him, to be in his party, and to place my life before his life, in safeguarding what you have squandered of the right of Allah and the right of His Messenger (a). (Tarikh al-Tabari, vol. 3, p. 314, and Waqʿat al-Taff, p. 195).
We note several matters in this text:
1 – The claim that he was an ʿUthmani came from the enemy, and Zuhayr did not concede it to them.
2 - Zuhayr made use of this claim in the exchange to serve his aim in it — that they should leave the front of falsehood and join the front of truth, which is something possible. Hence his reply was: with this inference of yours, and despite the fact that I neither sent to him nor promised him as you promised him and then abandoned him, when I saw him I recognized the truth and joined it; that is, you are more in need of returning to him than I am, since you asked him to come to you.
3 – Zuhayr had clarity of belief regarding Imam al-Husayn (a), which he expressed [by saying] that when he saw him (I was reminded by him of the Messenger of Allah (s) and his place with him). This is an expression of his faith that Imam al-Husayn (a) reminds one of the Messenger of Allah (s), and that the Imam (a) has a standing with the Prophet (s); this standing is not an ordinary standing, but rather a standing that required him to offer his life as a ransom for him, in his saying (to place my life before his life). It is a standing for which lives become cheap, without the Imam being in the seat of power — so that it could not be said to be obedience to a ruler or a response to an army commander; that is a standing that stems from firmly rooted belief.
4 – He added to that the faith that the sacrifice he was making was only (in safeguarding what you have squandered of the right of Allah and the right of His Messenger), which is an affirmation that this matter is connected to Allah, the Exalted: it is the right of Allah and the right of His Messenger, which must be complied with.
So the faith upon which Zuhayr founded his stand was indeed a prior faith, as he himself claimed, and that is why he founded his stand upon it; his faith in Imam al-Husayn (a) was not a newly arisen faith, but rather prior and firmly rooted.
What supports this are several matters that can be read in his stances, among them:
a – When addressing his people after he had decided to join Imam al-Husayn (a), he mentioned to them the counsel of Salman al-Farisi after victory in one of the wars: that you will live to see the youth of the family of Muhammad, so support him, and you will be more joyful than your joy at the spoils. Al-Khwarizmi reported this in his Maqtal, and this is its text:
Al-Imam Ahmad ibn Aʿtham said: Then “al-Husayn” went on, and “Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn” met him. Al-Husayn called him to support him, and he responded to that; he had his tent carried to him, divorced his wife and sent her back to her family, and said to his companions: I had campaigned at “Balanjar” with “Salman al-Farisi,” and when victory was granted to us, our joy at the conquest became intense. Salman said to us: You have rejoiced at what Allah has bestowed upon you as spoils. We said: Yes. He said: Then when you live to see the youth of the family of Muhammad (s), be more joyful at your fighting alongside him than at what you have gained today. As for me, I entrust you to Allah, the Exalted. Then he remained with al-Husayn until he was killed. Vol. 1, p. 323.
b – Al-Fadil al-Darbandi narrates in Asrar al-Shahada Zuhayr's narrating to al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAli (a) the story of the choosing of his mother, Umm al-Banin, so that she would bear a knight who would support Imam al-Husayn (a), and ʿAbd al-Razzaq al-Muqarram reported it in his Maqtal; it supports his detailed knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
c – The addresses of Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn in Karbala show a deep knowledge of the right of all the Ahl al-Bayt (a), as he would mention Imam ʿAli (a) and al-Hasan ibn ʿAli (a) in addition to Imam al-Husayn (a). Among them is his reciting in rajaz the verse of poetry (I repel you with the sword from Husayn; indeed Husayn is one of the two grandsons.. the son of ʿAli, pure on both grandfathers' sides, of the kindred of the righteous, the God-fearing, the comely). And there are other stances that show composure and the exertion of effort in counseling the enemies and in supporting the Imam (a).
As for what is reported — that Zuhayr was avoiding meeting Imam al-Husayn (a), or that he at first refused to meet him — these are merely descriptions by some narrators, and some narrators did not mention them. Perhaps they were moments of the soul weighing its choice before the final decision, or awe at what he knew he would face upon meeting the Imam (a), from what he knew through Salman al-Farisi; or that may have been a pretense before his people to secure an easy meeting with the Imam. We find that the narrations mention that after the Imam addressed him, (it was not long before he came back rejoicing, his face radiant).
As for his being described as (an ʿUthmani) by the enemy, it has become clear that he did not concede it; but there may be an explanation for that. How many accusations and misattributions in history were not accurate! We see, for example, some of the historians, such as al-Waqidi, whom some describe as (inclining to Shiʿism) and others describe as (ʿUthmani in inclination); so the matter is not free of personal judgment that may not be accurate. It has been said that an ʿUthmani is one who used to prefer ʿUthman over the Commander of the Faithful ʿAli (a), or took part in a war against the Imam, or hated him; and all these degrees are categorically negated of Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn.
Yes, the description, if it is correct, may have been due to a misunderstanding: because he was brave and took part in some of the conquests, some counted him as belonging to the ruling side at that time. We know that many knights who had no allegiance took part in those wars; rather, their motives for participating were varied. So it is not correct to conclude allegiance definitively merely from participation in a war or two.
Indeed, we have not found among the supporters of Imam al-Husayn (a) anyone who was loyal to the enemies of Allah and hateful of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). At most, one was working with them, being mistaken, yet loved the Ahl al-Bayt (a), like al-Hurr al-Riyahi; or one was of another religion, but his soul was not polluted by hatred of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). So a good end and a turning to great merit, such that one becomes among the supporters of Imam al-Husayn (a), indicate a good innate nature and a sound inner self.
As for the extreme to which some went — those who hinted that Zuhayr was following his whims and was given to frivolity — this is something that does not merit pausing over. It is an error due to relying on the word (hawa, “inclination”), assuming that it refers to frivolity, whereas it usually refers to political orientation; and we have ruled it out. It has been reported of him that he was a nobleman among his people, brave, and aware of the merit of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
Muharram al-Haram 1444 AH