Those Who Had Excuses for Not Going to Karbala
In that confrontation, the characters of those individuals were revealed based on the choices they made.
There were also people who did not attend the battle and failed to fight alongside Imam Hussein (AS). Some of them had excuses for that. They are called Ma’dhureen (those who had excuses).
One of them was Mukhtar who hosted Molsem in Kufa. He could not fight in the Battle of Karbala because he had been imprisoned by Ibn Ziyad.
Some of the devotees of Imam Hussein (AS) could not make it to Karbala because the path had been closed. Some did not receive the news on time.
There were some members of Bani Hashim (the clan of the Quraysh tribe to which the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) belonged) that one would expect to be in Karbala but weren’t, for Example Abdullah ibn Abbas, who was among the companions of Imam Ali (AS), and Abdullah ibn Ja’far, Hazrat Zeynab’s (SA) husband.
Regarding Abdullah ibn Abbas, it has been said that he had gone blind and could not take part in the battle. But overall, it seems that he and Abdullah ibn Ja’far lacked the required insight.
As for Muhammad ibn Hanifa, it seems that he considered himself to be more meritorious than Imam (AS) for leadership and would not approve of Imam’s (AS) thoughts and movement. This is clear from his advice to Imam Hussein (AS). Of course some say he was sick and that is why he didn’t accompany the Imam (AS) but that does not seem to be the case because he did not even send his son to support Imam Hussein (AS).
Kumay ibn Ziyad Al-Assadi and Ghanbar are among other people who did not go to Karbala. They were devotees of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) and were martyred by the Umayyad rulers after the Battle of Karbala but history remains silent on why they were absent in Karbala.
There was a woman named Mariya bint Saad who did not reach Karbala but had an important role. Her house in Basra was a place where devotees of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) gathered. When Imam’s (AS) messenger arrived in Basra and gave them Imam’s (AS) message, Mariya gathered a number of people to go to Karbala and join Imam Hussein (AS). They were on their way to Karbala when they heard the news of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions.
