Yazid I

Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān, Arabic: يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان‎ ( 20 July 647 – 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate (and the first one through inheritance). Yazid was the Caliph as appointed by his father Muawiyah I and ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683 CE.

Rise to power

According to some sources Muawiyah warned his son Yazid against mistreating Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad. His final warning to Yazid was: "Be careful O my son, that you do not meet God with his blood, lest you be amongst those that will perish" Robert Payne quotes Muawiyah in History of Islam as telling his son Yazid to defeat Hussein, who was surely preparing an army against him, but to deal with him gently thereafter as Hussein was a descendent of Muhammad; but to deal with Abdullah al-Zubair swiftly, as Muawiyah feared him the most.

The appointment of Yazid was unpopular in Madina too. Narrated by Yusuf bin Mahak:

Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiyah. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid bin Muawiyah so that the people might take the oath of allegiance to him as the successor of his father (Muawiya). Then 'Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon Marwan ordered that he be arrested. But 'Abdur Rahman entered 'Aisha's house and they could not arrest him. Marwan said, "It is he ('Abdur Rahman) about whom Allah revealed this Verse: 'And the one who says to his parents: 'Fie on you! Do you hold out the promise to me..?'" On that, 'Aisha said from behind a screen, "Allah did not reveal anything from the Qur'an about us except what was connected with the declaration of my innocence (of the slander)."

Zakir Naik

Zakir Naik (born 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian Islamic preacher, who has been called an "authority on comparative religion", "perhaps the most influential Salafi ideologue in India", and "the world's leading Salafi evangelist". He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), and founder of the "comparative religion" Peace TV channel, through which he reaches a reported 100 million viewers. Unlike many Islamic preachers, his lectures are colloquial, given in English not Urdu or Arabic, and he wears a suit and tie rather than traditional garb.

Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a medical doctor. He has published booklet versions of lectures on Islam and comparative religion. Although he has publicly disclaimed sectarianism in Islam, he is regarded by some as an exponent of the Salafi ideology, and, by some, as a radical Islamic televangelist propagating Wahhabism.

Biography

Zakir Naik was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He attended Kishinchand Chellaram College and studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).