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Historical figurePhase 4a · Muhajirun, Ansar, Tabi‘eenMajor figure

Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah

يزيد بن معاوية

b. c. 25-26 AH; ruled 60-64 AH / 680-683 CE date disputed

Son of Mu'awiyah, nominated by his father as heir and ruler from 60 to 64 AH. His reign saw the martyrdom of al-Husayn at Karbala (61 AH), the sack of Madinah at al-Harrah (63 AH) and the siege of Makkah (64 AH).

Biography

Yazid was designated heir by his father Mu'awiyah, the first hereditary succession in Muslim rule. Sahih Bukhari (Kitab al-Tafsir, Surah al-Ahqaf) records Marwan ibn al-Hakam promoting this succession in Madinah and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr objecting. Al-Husayn ibn Ali and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr refused allegiance.

Under Yazid, his governor of Kufa Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad sent the army that killed al-Husayn and his companions at Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH; al-Husayn's head was brought before Ibn Ziyad (Sahih Bukhari, narration of Anas ibn Malik). In 63 AH Yazid's army suppressed Madinah's revolt at al-Harrah, and in 64 AH besieged Ibn al-Zubayr in Makkah; Yazid died during the siege in 64 AH (historical sources such as Tarikh al-Tabari).

The Sahih Bukhari hadith of Umm Haram ('the first army of my ummah to raid the city of Caesar is forgiven') is cited by some in Yazid's favour because he took part in an expedition to Constantinople; many scholars dispute applying it to him.

Sources & explanation

۞ Qur'an

No specific verses cited for this node.

📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 2924 Sahih

    Umm Haram heard the Prophet ﷺ say Paradise is granted to the first of his Ummah to undertake a naval expedition, and 'the first army of my Ummah to invade Caesar's city will be forgiven'. (Scholars differ on who was in that first army and what it implies.)

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 7111 Sahih

    When the people of Madinah renounced their allegiance to Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah, Ibn 'Umar gathered his family and warned them against breaking the pledge.

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 4827 Sahih

    Marwan, governor of Hijaz for Mu'awiyah, urged allegiance to Yazid; 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr objected, and Aisha rejected Marwan's claim that 46:17 was revealed about him.

💬 Explanation Mirza view verified

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective

Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: In verified videos (see emam_perspective_verification_note) Mirza refutes what he calls ten false defences of Yazid, says allegiance to Yazid was obtained under coercion, rejects applying the 'city of Caesar' and 'twelve caliphs' hadith to Yazid, and holds Yazid's government and its governor Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad responsible for Karbala.

Verified from the auto-transcripts of IdbHksM5Ixs (Public Session 155, 14 July 2024: ten false defences of Yazid; coerced allegiance; 'city of Caesar' hadith) and IGzUWj1OwDk (Yazid and the 'twelve caliphs' hadith). Transcripts are machine-generated; wording paraphrased.

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Further references

  • Sahih Bukhari (Kitab al-Tafsir, Surah al-Ahqaf: Marwan and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr)
  • Sahih Bukhari (Anas: al-Husayn's head before Ibn Ziyad)
  • Sahih Bukhari (Umm Haram: the army that raids the city of Caesar)
  • Tarikh al-Tabari (historical)

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