65. Hajjaj al-Thaqafi

After the death of Yazid, and the resignation (and assassination) of his son Muawiyah, Abdulmalik Ibn Marwan claimed the throne. Abdulmalik, similar to his predecessors, hated the Ahlulbayt and their followers. So he appointed the brutal Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi ruler on the strongholds of the Shia in Kufa and Hijaz (the Arabian peninsula). It is said that this designation resulted in the death of more than 130,000 people.

At first, during his campaign to end the Zubayri rule, al-Hajjaj bombarded the Ka’aba once again, resulting in its destruction. He then killed Ibn al-Zubair, and imprisoned most of companions in Mecca and Medina.

Then he was appointed ruler of Kufa. During his rule, al-Hajjaj began a series of executions of the remaining loyal companions and followers of Imam Ali, in which he killed many companions including Kumail Ibn Ziyad, Qanbar (the Imam’s servant), and Saeed Ibn Jubair.

Before his martyrdom, Ibn Jubair asked Allah to not allow him to kill anyone after him. The killing of Saeed Ibn Jubair haunted al-Hajjaj, as he constantly saw him in his sleep choking him and saying: “Why have you killed me, oh enemy of Allah.” This recurring dream drove him al-Hajjaj insanity. Less than 40 days after the killing of Ibn Jubair, al-Hajjaj died. In these last 40 days, he was not able to kill anyone.