The character of Yazid

Due to the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (May Allah be well pleased with him), the people of Madina became strongly opposed to Yazid and pledged their allegiance to Hadhrat Abdullah bin Hanzlah (May Allah be well pleased with him).  Yazid sent an army to attack Madina, which attacked the people of Madina and persecuted its citizens.  On that occasion, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Hanzlah (May Allah be well pleased with him) spoke to the people of Makkah and described the unislamic activities of Yazid.  Hadhrat Muhammad bin Sa'ad (May Allah be well pleased with him) who is a Muhaddith as well as a historian, has written in Tabaqaat e Kubra, Vol 5 Pg No. 66.

 

The people of Madina agreed to pledge their allegiance to Hadhrat Abdullah bin Hanzlah (May Allah be well pleased with him) and gave him authority over their affairs.  He took the pledge from them to fight till their last breath.  Then he said: O my community! Fear Allah, who has got not equal.  By Allah! We stood up against Yazid, when we feared that stones would be rained on us from the sky.  He is such a person, who declares marriage with mothers, daughters and sisters as permissible (Jayaz), who drinks wine and abandons Salaat.  By Allah! If no one from the people supported me, even then I will use my courage and bravery in this matter for the sake of Allah.

 

We Come From Such A Person Who Has Got No Deen

 

Imam Abu Ja'afar Muhammad bin Jarir Al Tabari (May Allah shower His Mercy on him), writes in Tarikh Tabari, Vol 1, Pg No. 403:

 

They (the delegation from the people of Madina, after returning from Yazid) said: "We come from such a person, who has got no Deen.  He drinks wine, plays tambourines, songstresses dance before him, he plays with dogs and listens to stories with thieves and rascals.  O people! We make you a witness that we break our pledge given to him.  Then all the people of Madina broke their pledge.  People came to Hadhrat Abdullah bin Hanzlah (May Allah be well pleased with him) and pledged their allegiance to him.

 

Imam Ibn Atheer (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) writes in Tarikh Kamil Vol 3, Pg no. 337,

The great Tabi'e Hadhrat Hasan Basri (May Allah be well pleased with him) says about Yazid: He was a drunkard of the last degree, he wore silk and played with tambourines."

 

He was so addicted to wine that he did not stop it even when he reached Madina Munawwarah in Hajj and started drinking there as well.

 

It is written in Tarikh Kamil, Vol 3 Pg No. 465

 

Translation: Yazid performed Hajj in the life of his father.  When he reached Madina Munawwarah, he started drinking wine.

 

Imam Ibn Katheer (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) writes in Bidayah wan Nihayah, Vol 6, Pg No. 262:

 

Translation: The reason for the incident of Hira is that a delegation from Madina went to Damascus to meet Yazid.  When they returned, they related Yazid's habit of drinking and his other bad habit to their families.  The worst among his habit was that he missed Salaat because of wine.  For this reason, the people of Madina agreed to break their pledge of allegiance.  They declared this near the Prophet's Pulpit in Masjid Nabawi.  When Yazid came to know this, he sent an army to Madina Munawwarah.  The leader of the army was a person named Muslim bin 'Uqba.  The Pious Elders (Salaf Saliheen) have also addressed this person as Musrif bin 'Uqba.  When he entered Madina, he declared the lives of the Madinians and their property as "Mubah" for 3 days, which meant that for 3 days, the army could do whatever they liked with the lives and the property of the people of Madina.  Thus, in those 3 days, he martyred hundreds of people.

 

There is Tradition in Imam Baihaqi's Dalaail Un Nabuwwa

 

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Mugheera (May Allah be well pleased with him) that Musrif bin 'Uqba looted Madina for 3 days and raped 1000, unwed, chaste daughters of Islam.

 

It is written in Tabaqat Al kubra, Vol 5, Pg No.66: Muslim bin 'Uqba attacked Madina with his army.  Yazid's army martyred 700 Hafidh of the Holy Quran, raped 1000 unwed, chaste Muslim women and for 3 days, there could not be any Adhaan and Salaat in Masjid Nabawi.