Sayyiduna Husayn رضي الله عنه’s bravery, sacrifice and courage at Karbala has left a mark on humanity until the Day of Judgement. What follows is a brief, chronological account of the tragic events that befell Husayn and his followers.

Who was Sayyiduna Husayn?

Born on Friday 5^th of Sha’ban, in the third year after Hijrah¹ (626 CE), he was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. His father was Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet ﷺ as well as the 4^th Khalifah² of Islam. His mother was Sayyida Fatima رضي الله عنهما, the esteemed daughter of the Messenger ﷺ and known as ‘the Leader of the female inhabitants of Paradise.’³ Sayyiduna Husayn’ older brother Sayyiduna Hasan رضي الله عنه also was Khalifah for some six months after the death of Ali.

The Prophet ﷺ would frequently declare his love for his family. Below I have collected just a few hadiths that describe the immense love the Prophet had for his family as well as the virtues of Sayyiduna Husayn.

“The Prophet ﷺ took Hasan and Husayn by the hand and said: ‘Whoever loves me and loves these two, and their father and mother, he shall be with me in my level on the Day of Judgement.”⁴

“Hasan and Husayn are the chiefs of the youth of Paradise.”⁵

“Which of the people of your house are most beloved to you?” He said: “Al-Hasan and Al-Husain.” And he used to say to Fatimah: “Call my two sons for me.” And he would smell them and hug them.⁶

“Husayn is from me, and I am from Husayn. Allah loves whoever loves Husayn…”⁷

“None of them used to resemble the Messenger of Allah ﷺ more than Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali.”⁸

The Prophet ﷺ saw Hasan and Husayn, so he said: “O Allah, I love them, so love them.”⁹

Yazid’s Succession

Following the death of Mu’awiya on 14 Rajab 60 AH, his son Yazid succeeded him as Leader of the Muslims. Unlike his father, Yazid was not seen as a God-conscious, religious Muslim but rather viewed as a non-practising and rude Muslim. In his book ‘Tarikh al-Khulafa’ (History of the Caliphs), Imam al-Suyuti described Yazid in the following way:

“Yazid indulged in sinful behaviour. He married women along with their mothers, daughters and sisters. He drank alcohol and did not perform Salah.”

Yazid sent orders to the Governor of Medina, Walid ibn Uqba, to force Husayn to swear an oath of allegiance to him. Yazid wrote to him:

“Seize Husayn, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdullah ibn Zubair to give the oath of allegiance. Act so fiercely that they have no chance to do anything before giving the oath of allegiance. Peace be with you.”¹⁰

Yazid’s respect, or lack thereof, was the complete opposite to that of his father. Mu’awiya had the utmost respect for Sayyiduna Husayn. In his book ‘Tarikh al-Islam’ (History of Islam), Imam al-Dhahabi reports:

“When Mu’awiya was on his deathbed, he sent a message to Yazid and advised him, ‘Keep your sights on Husayn ibn Fatima, for he is the most beloved of the people in the eyes of the people. So be kind to his relatives and be lenient to him.”

Yazid’s reputation as an alcoholic, someone who didn’t pray Salah and who spent time with songstresses in comparison to Sayyiduna Husayn who spent his nights in worship and fasted frequently undoubtedly made him unpopular amongst the population. It was clear that Yazid would never be viewed as the legitimate Leader of the Muslims without the support of Husayn, but Husayn had no intention to accept him as a leader because he did not regard Yazid as a true representative of Islam. Despite his unpopularity, Yazid made several attempts to win the support of Husayn, but to no avail.

Events Prior to the Battle

Husayn recognised the possibility that such a crisis could lead to violence and bloodshed so he decided to leave Medina in order to protect the sanctity of the Prophet’s city. This occurred on 4^th Sha’ban 60 AH. As he set out for Makkah, he recited the verse, ‘My Lord save me from the unjust people.’ (Qur’an 28:21). And as he entered Makkah, he recited ‘And when he set out to Midian, he said, ‘Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right path.’ (Qur’an 28:22).¹¹ And he was given a cordial welcome from the people of Makkah.

Meanwhile, the Muslims of Iraq, particularly Kufa, were considered to be supporters of the Prophet’s family. They met in secret meetings and sent several letters to Husayn, requesting him to come to Kufa. They said:

“We have kept ourselves exclusively for you. We do not attend the Friday prayer with the governor, so come to us.”¹²

In another letter, the people of Muslims promised to aid Husayn in every way possible. They wrote,

“There is no Imam over us. Therefore come, so God may unite us in the truth through you. Nu’man ibn al-Bashir is in the governor’s place; we do not gather with him for the Friday prayer. Nor do we accompany him out of the mosque for the Eid prayers. If we hear that you will agree to come to us, we will drive him away until we pursue him to Syria, if God wills. The peace and mercy of God be with you.”¹³

Sayyiduna Husayn consulted with his associates and decided to send his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqil, to Kufa to assess the situation,

“Go to Kufa and investigate what they have written to me. If it is true, we will go to them.”¹⁴

Husayn also sent a letter with him, in which he addressed the people of Kufa,

“I am sending you my brother Muslim ibn Aqil, who is my cousin and the trustworthy representative from my family. I have instructed him to write to me about your circumstances, situation and views. If he writes to me that the opinion of your leaders, and of the men of wisdom and merit among you is united in the same way as the messengers who have come to me have described, and as I have read in your letters, I will come to you speedily, God willing, for, by my life, what is the Imam except one who acts according to the Book, one who upholds justice, one who professes the truth and one who dictates himself to the essence of God? Peace be upon you.”¹⁵

When Ibn Aqil reached Kufa, he was reassured by the locals of their allegiance to Husayn. Immediately, 12,000 of them gave the oath of allegiance to him.¹⁶ Ibn Aqil soon wrote to Husayn and requested him to come to Kufa as soon as possible.

Many of Husayn’s advisors were worried that the Kufans were unfaithful and did not want him to travel there. Abdullah ibn Ja’far wrote a letter to Imam Husayn, warning him about the nature of the Kufans and urging him not to go there. In reply, Husayn wrote:

“Verily, I had a dream, in which I saw the Prophet ﷺ. He ordered me to do something, which I will implement. And I will not tell anyone of it until I complete this ordered task.”¹⁷

Yazid became aware of the situation and was disappointed with the governor, Nu’man’s failure to address the possible revolt. Upon the advice of his associates, he appointed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad to govern Kufa. He instructed Ibn Ziyad in his appointment letter:

“My followers among the people of Kufa have written to me to inform me that Muslim ibn Aqil is in Kuda gathering units in order to spread rebellion among the Muslims. Therefore, when you read this letter of mine, go to Kufa and search for Muslim ibn Aqil, as if you were looking for a bead, until you find him. then bind him in chains, kill him, or expel him. Peace be with you.”¹⁸

Sayyiduna Husayn left for Kufa on the 8^th of Dhul Hijjah, 60 AH. Meanwhile, in Kufa, under the bribery and force of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the Kufans deserted Muslim ibn Aqil and switched their allegiance to Yazid.¹⁹ Consequently, Ibn Aqil and his supporters began to demonstrate against Ibn Ziyad, however, this backfired as the former began to lose his supporters. Ibn Aqil was all alone and so he decided to take shelter in a house, however, the unfaithful Kufans leaked his location to Ibn Ziyad. Ibn Aqil was captured, executed and his body was then thrown down to the people.²⁰

After Muslim ibn Aqil’s horrific death, Ibn Ziyad had his head sent to Yazid. Yazid wrote the following letter back to Ibn Ziyad:

“You have not gone beyond how I wanted you to be. You have acted with decision…you have satisfied me, been sufficient for the task.”²¹

Husayn left Makkah on the same day that his cousin, Muslim, was killed in Kufa. Ibn Ziyad knew that Husayn and 82 others were travelling to Kufa so he despatched an army to block the path leading to the city. They were ordered to refuse Husayn from entering Kufa or allowing him to return to Makkah or Medina.

At Karbala

As Husayn arrived in Iraq, Ibn Ziyad’s troops blocked the path and surrounded the caravan. Al-Hurr ibn Yazid was sent by Ibn Ziyad with 1,000 troops to meet Husayn. Husayn addressed the enemy troops:

“I have come because you wrote letters inviting me to come and unite you for the cause of truth and justice. But now if you have changed your mind and you dislike my presence here, I am ready to go back.”

However, the treacherous Kufans, were not prepared to let him go back, either to Makkah or Medina. Husayn continued his march until he reached the plain of Karbala. Here, he camped on the 2^nd of Muharram 61 AH. He had 45 horsemen and a hundred foot soldiers.

From the 2^nd to the 7^th of Muharram, Ibn Ziyad ordered more troops to surround Husayn’s camp. By the 7th, 22,000 troops had reached Karbala and demanded him to take the oath of allegiance to Yazid. On the same day, water supplies were cut off to Husayn and his camp. Ibn Ziyad sent a letter to his associate Umar ibn Sa’d, commanding him to ‘prevent al-Husayn and his followers from getting water’, and so Umar dispatched 500 hundred troops to guard the river banks of the Euphrates.²²

One of Ibn Ziyad’s men, Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Azdi called out Husayn, ‘Husayn, don’t you see that the water is as hard to get as the middle of heaven! By God! You will not taste a drop of it until you die of thirst.’ Husayn responded to such and called out: ‘O Allah! Make him die of thirst and never forgive him.’

Husayn’s dua was answered as Humaid ibn Muslim reports:

“By God! Later I visited him when he was ill. By God, other than Whom there is no God! I saw him drinking water without being able to quench his thirst, and then he vomited. Again he drank water without being able to quench his thirst. This went on until his breath, that is his life, came to an end.”²³

From the 7^th to the 10^th of Muharram, the members of the Prophet ﷺ’s family suffered severe trials and tribulations. They were without food and water while facing the scorching heat. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Husayn remained firm in his belief and refused to accept defeat at the hands of such a tyrannical army.

Meanwhile, Ibn Ziyad wrote to Umar ibn Sa’d and ordered him to act even more harshly:

“…I did not send you to Husayn to hold off from fighting him, to give him time, to promise him peace and preservation, or to be an intercessor on his behalf with me. Therefore, see that, if Husayn and his followers submit to my authority and surrender, you can send them to me in peace. If they refuse, then march against them to kill and disfigure them, for they deserve that. If Husayn is killed, make the horses trample on his chest and back, for he is a disobedient rebel, an evil man who splits the community. Not that I think he would feel any harm once he is dead, but I vowed to do this if I killed him. If you carry out your order concerning him, we will give you the reward due to he who heeds and obeys. If you refuse, then withdraw from our command and our army. Leave the army to Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan. We have given him our authority. Peace be with you.”

Husayn’s followers remained firm and refused to desert him. One follower, in particular, Muslim ibn Awsajah al-Asadi, famously remarked:

“Could we leave you alone? How should we excuse ourselves before Allah concerning doing our duty to you? By God! Not before I thrust my spear until I break it in their chests…I will not leave you. If I have no weapon to fight them with, I will throw stones at them to defend you until I die with you.”²⁴

On the Battlefield

At last, the 10^th of Muharram arrived. Yazid’s army commander, Ibn Sa’d, insisted Husayn to enter the battlefield and fight. After a final discussion, the battle began when Ibn Sa’d shot the first arrow. Husayn tried to remind the enemy of the egregious crime they were about to commit:

“…Trace back my lineage and consider who I am. Then, look back at yourselves and remonstrate with yourselves. Consider whether it is right for you to kill me and desecrate my inviolability. Am I not the son of the daughter of your Prophet, the son of the executor of his will and his cousin, the first of the believers in God and the man who [first] believed in what His Messenger brought from his Lord? Was not Hamzah, the lord of the Martyrs, my uncle? Was not Ja’far who flies with two wings in heaven, my uncle? Have you not heard the words that circulate among you that the Prophet of Allah said concerning myself and my brother: ‘These are the two leaders of the youths of the inhabitants of heaven’?”²⁵

The enemies were left speechless. As the tensions heightened, an enemy called Abdullah ibn Hawzah confronted Husayn and said, ‘Husayn, Husayn.’ He asked, ‘What do you want?’ Ibn Hawzah asked ‘Do you expect Hellfire?’ Husayn replied, ‘No I am advancing to a Merciful Lord and an intercessor who is listened to.’ Husayn then made dua, ‘O My Lord! Drive him into the fire.’ As soon as he uttered these words, Ibn Hawzah’s horse bolted and dragged him along, making his head hit every stone and tree trunk until he died.²⁶

Despite fewer numbers, Husayn’s followers put up a courageous fight and by midday, most had been martyred. Soon Husayn’s close relatives were brutally and killed. Yazid’s army showed no mercy to even the youngest amongst them. Abis ibn Abi Shabib al-Shakri and Hanzalah ibn As’ad al-Shibami showed immense bravery and fought relentlessly until they too died in the path of Allah.

The Aftermath

Sayyiduna Husayn was inflicted with 33 stab wounds and 34 blows.²⁷ He was only 56 years old at the time of his death, on Friday the 10^th of Muharram 61 AH (680 CE). In total, 16 of his family members were also martyred²⁸ and 72 from his followers.²⁹

Centuries after the tragedy of Karbala, the sacrifices made by Sayyiduna Husayn رضي الله عنه and his followers are still remembered by Muslims today. By refusing to submit to the tyrannical Yazid, we are reminded that Islam does not tolerate any form of evil, oppression and injustice.

Footnotes

¹The Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Medina in 622 CE.

²Rightly-Guided Caliph.

³Sahih al-Bukhari 3353.

⁴al-Tirmidhi 3733.

⁵al-Tirmidhi 3768.

⁶al-Tirmidhi 3772.

⁷al-Tirmidhi 3775.

⁸al-Tirmidhi 3776.

⁹al-Tirmidhi 3782.

¹⁰Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. Volume VIII.

¹¹The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.

¹²The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.

¹³p.24-25. Ibid.

¹⁴p.17. Ibid.

¹⁵p.26. Ibid.

¹⁶p.17. Ibid.

¹⁷Tarikh al-Islam.

¹⁸The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.

¹⁹p.98. Ibid.

²⁰The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.

²¹Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. Volume VIII.

²²The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.

²³p.107. Ibid.

²⁴p.116. Ibid.

²⁵Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. Volume VIII.

²⁶p.181. Ibid.

²⁷p.188. Ibid.

²⁸Tarikh al-Khulafa.

²⁹The History of al-Tabari; The Caliphate of Yazid. b. Mu’awiyah.