The Refusal and the Sanctuary

When Mu'awiyah died in 60 AH and his son Yazid succeeded him, 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, together with al-Husayn ibn 'Ali, declined to give the pledge. They held that a ruler should come by consultation, not by inheritance. Both left for Makkah, and 'Abdullah began to be called 'a-id bi'l-bayt, the one who takes refuge in the House. Al-Husayn went on toward Iraq and was killed at Karbala in 61 AH. Sunni scholars differ on how to assess Yazid himself, but are agreed that the killing of al-Husayn was a grave wrong; Shi'a Muslims mourn it with deep grief.

In 63 AH, the people of Madinah removed Yazid's governor, and Yazid sent an army that defeated them at al-Harrah, an event in which many Companions' sons were killed and the city suffered. The commander then marched toward Makkah, where 'Abdullah was; he died on the way, and al-Husayn ibn Numayr (a different man from al-Husayn ibn 'Ali) took over and besieged Makkah for about two months.

During the siege, the Ka'bah was damaged and burned; the sources differ over whether the cause was the catapults or a fire kindled by the defenders' fighting. The siege was lifted when news came that Yazid had died in 64 AH. 'Abdullah was offered the chance to go to Syria and be recognised as caliph; he refused. His rule was then accepted in the Hijaz, Yemen, Iraq and Egypt, and for a time in parts of Syria.