Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that Yazid bin Mu'awiyah wrote to Abdullah bin al-Zubayr: I have sent you a chain of silver, a shackle of gold and a neck-collar of silver, and I have sworn that you will come to me in that state. The narrator says: Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) threw the letter away and (recited the verse): "I will not soften for anything other than the truth even by a fingertip, until the stone softens for the molar of the one who chews it."

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that when Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) died, Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) held back from obeying Yazid bin Mu'awiyah and openly condemned him. When this news reached Yazid, he swore that he would be brought (to his court) only in shackles. Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) was told: Shall we not make for you shackles of silver which you can wear beneath your clothes, so that his oath is fulfilled and peace is made? He said: "May Allah not fulfil his oath." Then he recited the same verse: "I will not soften for anyone other than the truth even a little, until the stone softens for the teeth." He further said: "By Allah, receiving a blow of the sword with honour is far dearer to me than receiving the lash with humiliation." Then he called people to his own caliphate and announced his opposition to Yazid. So Yazid sent against him Muslim bin Uqbah al-Murri with the army of the people of Syria, and ordered him to fight the people of Madinah first and, once he had finished with that, to head for Makkah. The narrator says: Muslim bin Uqbah entered Madinah, and on that day the remaining Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left it (to save their lives). He caused great havoc there and went to excess in killing. Then he left it, and died on the way to Makkah. He appointed al-Husayn bin Numayr al-Kindi as his successor and said to him (in a contemptuous tone): "O saddle-cloth of a donkey! Beware of the deceptions of Quraysh, and deal with them only with the cutting edge of the sword and severity." So al-Husayn reached Makkah and fought Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) there for several days.