The Tragedy of Karbala

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However, I would like to add that the idea of separation between religion and politics is quite new and really only emerged with the notion of separation of church and the modern nation-state. Kathir Ibn Shihab went out (and began) making the people desert Muslim. Muhammad Ibn al-Ashath went out until he reached the houses of the Bana Umara. Ibn 'Aqil sent 'Abd al- Rahman Ibn Shurayh al-Shibami to Muhammad Ibn al-Ashath from the mosque. When Muhammad Ibn al-Ashath saw the great number of those who had come to him (Muslim), he lingered where he was (i.e. he did not carry out Ibn Ziyad's instructions). Then he- Muhammad Ibn al-Ashath- Kathir Ibn Shihab, al-Qaqa Ibn Shawr al- Dhuhli, and Shabath Ibn Ribi began to make the people withdraw from their close adherence to Muslim for they made them afraid of the authorities so that a great number of their tribesmen and others gathered to them and they went to Ibn Ziyad through the house of the Romans. The tribesmen went in with them.

His son, Al-Hassan became the Caliph after him. Muawiyah rose against him as well. Al-Hassan abdicated after signing a treaty with Muawiyah which would revert the khilafah (caliphate) to Al-Hassan after Muawiyah’s death. After the third caliph Uthman's assassination by rebels in 656, the rebels and the townspeople of Medina declared Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, caliph. Some of Muhammad's companions including Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (then governor of Syria), and Muhammad's widow A'isha, refused to recognize Ali. They called for revenge against Uthman's killers and the election of a new caliph through shura (consultation). These events precipitated the First Fitna (First Muslim Civil War). [9] When Ali was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Kharijite, in 661, his eldest son Hasan succeeded him but soon signed a peace treaty with Mu'awiya to avoid further bloodshed. [3] In the treaty, Hasan was to hand over power to Mu'awiya on the condition that Mu'awiya be a just ruler and that he would not establish a dynasty. [10] [11] [12] [c] After the death of Hasan in 670, his younger brother Husayn became the head of the Banu Hashim clan to which the Islamic prophet Muhammad also belonged. [15] Though his father's supporters in Kufa gave him their allegiance, he would abide to the peace treaty between Hasan and Mu'awiya as long as the latter was alive. [3] It had been reported to them that their colleague had been killed, and they regarded that as a great crime. Ubayd Allah was told that Madhhij were at the gate. He told the qadi Shurayh, “Go in to their colleague, look at him and then go out and inform them that he is still alive and has not been killed.” Hazrat Imam Husain (ra), whom the Promised Messiah (as) declared to be among the chiefs of those dwelling in paradise, has, through his example of patience and steadfastness, demonstrated to us the pathway that leads to paradise.’ Hawting, Gerald R. (2002). "Yazid (I) b. Mu'awiya". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.& Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume XI: W–Z (2nded.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.South Asian philosopher and poet Muhammad Iqbal sees Husayn's sacrifice as being similar to that of Ishmael and compares Yazid's opposition to Husayn with the opposition of Pharaoh to Moses. [149] Urdu poet Ghalib compares Husayn's suffering with that of Mansur al-Hallaj, a tenth century Sufi, who was executed on a charge of claiming divinity. [150] Maqtal literature and legendary accounts Husayn's plan was to rendezvous with local resistance leaders from Kufa, gather the forces, & raise the standards of rebellion. The 10th. of Muharram was the last night of the esteemed delegation of Imam Al-Hussein. Al-Hussein and his people prepared to fight until death. They prepared their weapons and spent the night in deep worship. Howard-Johnston, James (2010). Witnesses to a World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920859-3.

Mourning for Husayn is considered by Shi'as to be a source of salvation in the afterlife, [107] and is undertaken as a remembrance of his suffering. [108] After the death of Husayn, when his family was being taken to Ibn Ziyad, Husayn's sister Zaynab is reported to have cried out after seeing his headless body: "O Muhammad!... Here is Husayn in the open, stained with blood and with limbs torn off. O Muhammad! Your daughters are prisoners, your progeny are killed, and the east wind blows dust over them." [109] Shi'a Muslims consider this to be the first instance of wailing and mourning over the death of Husayn. [106] Husayn's son Zayn al-Abideen is reported to have spent the rest of his life weeping for his father. Similarly, Husayn's mother Fatima is believed to be weeping for him in paradise and the weeping of believers is considered to be a way of sharing her sorrows. [108] Special gatherings ( majalis; sing. majlis) are arranged in places reserved for this purpose, called husayniyya. [106] In these gatherings the story of Karbala is narrated and various elegies ( rawda) are recited by professional reciters ( rawda khwan). [110] A zuljanah in a Muaharram procession Habib bin Mazahir Asadi said to Muslim bin Awsaja when the latter was about to die: "Muslim! I congratulate you for you are going to Paradise earlier than us". Battle of Karbala, (October 10, 680 [10th of Muḥarram, ah 61]), brief military engagement in which a small party led by al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and son of ʿAlī, the fourth caliph, was defeated and massacred by an army sent by the Umayyad caliph Yazīd I. The battle helped secure the position of the Umayyad dynasty, but among Shiʿi Muslims (followers of Ḥusayn) the 10th of Muḥarram (or ʿĀshūrāʾ) became an annual holy day of public mourning. Prior to the Battle of Karbala, the Muslim community was divided into two political factions. Nonetheless, a religious sect with distinct theological doctrines and specific set of rituals had not developed. [7] [8] [98] Karbala gave this early political party of pro-Alids a distinct religious identity and helped transform it into a distinct religious sect. [99] [88] Heinz Halm writes: "There was no religious aspect to Shi'ism prior to 680. The death of the third imam and his followers marked the 'big bang' that created the rapidly expanding cosmos of Shi'ism and brought it into motion." [88] Ritual of chest beatingOnce again he demanded safe passage to a peaceful place from the enemy, however they insisted he pledge allegiance to Yazid first. Despite the grave danger that lay ahead, Hazrat Imam Husain (ra) offered the Zuhr prayer and it was right after this that an intense battle ensued in the plains of Karbala. When Yazid found out that the people of Kufah had taken the pledge of allegiance of Imam Al-Hussein through Muslim ibn Aqeel he sent the governor of Basra, Ibn Ziyaad, to Kufah who ultimately killed Muslim ibn Aqeel. Standing for Justice Tears started flowing from Hazrat Imam Husain’s (ra) eyes. Zainab (ra) also started crying. Hazrat Imam Husain (ra) told her to be patient and said, ‘One day we all have to return to our Lord. Promise by God that after my death you will not act contrary to the example of the Holy Prophet (sa). Do not defame anyone or say anything untowardly.’ According to other accounts, the person was Husayn's foster brother Abd Allah ibn Yaqtur whom he had sent after learning of Ibn Aqil's execution. [35]

Vaglieri, L. Veccia (1971). "(Al)-Ḥusayn b. 'Alï b. Abï Ṭālib". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch.& Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume III: H–Iram (2nded.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp.607–615. OCLC 495469525. It was only the organization of the caliphate which published this event in various regions of the Islamic territories although in a brief and ambiguous manner. This was done with two objects in view; firstly that the people should come to know about the leaders of the movement opposed to the government having been killed, and should take a lesson from it, and similar risings should not take place in future; secondly that the caliphate should show itself guiltless and innocent in the matter and the leaders of the movement should be depicted as adventurous and mischievous. Husayn bin Ali who was at the head of the rising was to be introduced as opposed to truth and a liar. Ayatollah Al-Hakim aptly wrote: "The revolution of Imam al-Husayn [a.s] is not a revolution for a handful of days…..It is a revolution that continues and remains ….. for everyday is Ashura and every land is Karbala." He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religions, although the disbelievers dislike it. Yes,” was the answer. “Then go to your people,” she said. But he was silent. She repeated it but he was still silent. A third time she said, “Glory be to God, servant of God, get up - may God give you health - (and go) to your people. For it is not right for you to sit at my door and I will not permit you to do it.”On the 7th of Muharram they turned off the water source to Hussein and his family. His family started becoming extremely distressed due to this. In fact, one person from Yazid’s camp could not tolerate this act of cruelty and defected to Imam Hussein’s group.

Al-Hussein found out about Muslim ibn Aqeel’s murder. Aqeel’s brother went to Kufah to exact revenge. Al-Hussein who was already on the way to Kufah, gave everyone in his group the choice to return. The general public dispersed and only the Ahlu-l-Bait (family of the Prophet) and a few Companions remained – there were in total approximately 72 people in Al-Hussain’s camp. In the meantime, Yazid brought an army of 1,000 soldiers, and wanted to detain Hussein’s group and take them to Kufah. When Yazid learnt of Muslim bin Aqil’s (ra) arrival in Kufa, he sent instructions to the governor of Basra, Ibn Ziyad, to go to Kufa and deal with the situation. Events in Kufa escalated rapidly, resulting in the martyrdom of Muslim bin Aqil (ra). Those inKufa who had pledged allegiance to Imam Husain (ra) were killed and the remaining people threatened against doing so. Dakake, Maria M. (2007). The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7033-6. The barbaric treatment of the army of Yazid continued to intensify against the beloved grandson of the Holy Prophet (sa) and his family members to the extent that on the seventh of Muharram, Yazid’s forces cut off Hazrat Imam Husain’s (ra) access to water. In the scorching desert heat and without any water or provisions, Hazrat Imam Husain’s (ra) family, which included young infants, were forced to undergo intense hardship and cruelty.

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The (other) nobles spoke in a similar vein. After the people had heard what they had to say, they began to disperse. Women began to come to their sons and brothers (saying), “Go, the people will be enough (without) you.” Men were going to their sons and brothers and saying, “Tomorrow, the Syrians will come against you. What are you doing, causing war and evil? Come away.” Thus (a man) would be taken away or would leave.