History of Islam Vol 2 of 3 by Akbar Shah Najeebabadi

Caliphate of Banu Umayyah (First Phase) 63
at his hands.
If the whole of Kufa has entered into his ba'it, I shall
* are none. At this moment, I make a concession to you that except for
Husain bin All's emissary, I will not say anything to anybody. But if
anyone speaks anything after I have left, it will not be good for him.
Saying this
he brought Imam Husain's messenger and killed him in
front of them all. No one made a sign indicative of disapproval.
Satisfied with this act, he went to Kufa. Imam Husain ** sitting
Makkah thought that the people were taking ba'it for him in Basra
in
but instead his messenger was actually being killed. Obaidullah bin
Zeyad reached Qadisya and left his cavalry there, and along with his
father's liberated slave rode a camel and rushed to Kufa and entered it
in between Maghrib and Isha time. He purposely put on a turban like
the people of the Hijaz. In the mean time, the people wer^ waiting for
the arrival of Imam Husain The dominance of the followers
of Ali and Husain were too great and Noman bin Bashir locked the
doors of his court on that same evening, he sat with a selected few of
those close to him and posted slaves at the door with instructions to
first ask any visitor's name and address and if they deserved entry,
they
should be let in, if not, they should be refused. When Obaidullah
bin Zeyad entered Kufa, the
people thought that the man for whom
they were waiting for. Imam Husain -— had arrived in Kufa.
Wherever ObaiduIIahs camel passed by, the people they said: "Peace
be upon you, O son of the Prophet ,J-j *1* & Obaidullah reached
the court on his camel. He found the door closed. He knocked at the
door and said nothing. Noman bin Bashir
^ was sitting on the
roof with his friends. He rose and coming to the edge of the roof,
looked down. As the entire city was awaiting Imam Husain
he also mistook Obaidullah to be Imam Husain *-* He said, "O
son of the Prophet fX*, a*
Please go back arid don't create an evil
disorder. Yazid will never hand over Kufa to you." Noman's friends
who were sitting on the roof said to him, "Please don't be impolite to
Imam Husain