Yazid is a dog fancier;
a monkey-fancier and a wine- bibber! How can I invite
people to allegiance to. him?
Ziyad ibn Abihi
At the time that al-Mughayrah
was preparing the people of Kufah for allegiance to
Yazid, Mu'awiyah wrote a letter to Ziyad ibn Ab1hi,
governor of Basra, as follows:
"al-Mughayrah ibn Shu'bah has invited the people
of Kufah for allegiance to Yazid and his succession
as caliph. Without a doubt in connection with the
son of your brother, al-Mughayrah is not worthier
than you. Therefore, on receiving my letter, invite
the people of your city to the same thing that al-Mughayrah
has invited the people of Kufah, and receive allegiance
from them for Yazid."
Ziyad received the letter and, on learning of its
content, summoned one of his friends whose wit and
intelligence he trusted and said to him: "I want
to entrust you with a secret; for, one cannot be sure
that letters and written things can keep
it. Go to Mu'awiyah and say to him: O commander of
the faithful! I have received your letter. What will
the people say when I invite them for allegiance to
Yazid, while he is a dog fancier and a monkey-fancier?
He wears a garment of a different color every day,
and is always drunk with wine. He does not abstain
from music. Opposite him there are such men as al-Husayn
ibn 'Ali 'Abd Allah ibn al-'Abbas, 'Abd Allah ibn
az-Zubayr and 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar. There is only
one alternative left, namely that you order him for
a year or two to conduct himself in the manner of
his rivals and adopt their behaviour. It is then that
we might succeed in deceiving people."
The messenger went to Mu'awiyah and delivered his
message. Mu'awiyah said: "Woe upon the son of
'Ubayd! By God! I have heard that a minstrel has composed
this line for him: 'After me Ziyad will be Emir!'
By God I will send him back in his Lineage to mother
Sumayyah and his slave father, 'Ubayd!"(223)
