পৃষ্ঠা 41: প্রথম অধ্যায়: দূরবর্তী আলামতসমূহ যা ইতিমধ্যে প্রকাশ পেয়ে অতিক্রান্ত হয়েছে

Mention of the phenomena that appeared on the day al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed.

Mention of what al-Tirmidhi narrated regarding a huge serpent entering the head of Ibn Ziyad when he was killed.

Thereupon, Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) wept and said: "He was the one among them who bore the closest resemblance to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."

And Zayd ibn Arqam said: "Raise your cane, for by Allah, how often have I seen the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) kiss what lies between those two lips!" And he wept. So the accursed Ibn Ziyad spoke harshly to him and threatened him with death, whereupon Zayd said: "I will surely narrate to you something that will enrage you even more than this: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seat al-Hasan upon his right thigh and this Husayn upon his left thigh, then place his noble hand upon the crowns of their heads, and say: 'O Allah, I entrust them and the righteous among the believers unto You.'"

"How then have you guarded the trust of the Prophet (ﷺ), O Ibn Ziyad?!"

And Allah took vengeance upon him; for al-Tirmidhi narrated with an authentic chain of transmission that when Ibn Ziyad was killed, his head was placed in the very spot where the head of al-Husayn had been placed. Suddenly, a huge serpent appeared, causing the people to scatter away from it. It crept through the heads until it reached the head of Ibn Ziyad; it then began entering through his mouth and exiting through his nostrils, and entering through his nostrils and exiting through his mouth, doing so twice or thrice.

And when he entered the governor's palace in Kufa, he ordered the head to be brought, and it was placed upon a shield to his right while the people stood in two ranks. Then it was brought down, and he dispatched it along with the heads of his companions, and the captives from the family of al-Husayn bound with ropes upon bare camel saddles, with the women's faces and heads uncovered, sending them to Yazid, may Allah curse him.

And when those whom Ibn Ziyad sent with the head halted at their first encampment, they began drinking wine over the head. Suddenly, a hand emerged from the wall and wrote a line in blood:

"Does an Ummah that killed Husayn hope / For the intercession of his grandfather on the Day of Reckoning?"

Thereupon, they fled and abandoned the head, but later returned and took it.

And when they brought it before Yazid, he made the womenfolk stand upon the steps of the grand mosque, where prisoners of war and captives were typically made to stand.

And among the phenomena that manifested on the day of his slaying were: that the sky rained blood, that their vessels were filled with blood, the sun was eclipsed, stars were seen in the daytime, and the darkness deepened so intensely that people thought the Resurrection had arrived; the celestial bodies collided with one another, no stone was lifted except that fresh blood was seen beneath it, the wars (a yellow dye plant) turned into blood, and the world remained dark for three days.