Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib

Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib

 Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (8 January 626 CE – 10 October 680 CE) (3rd Sha'aban 4 AH – 10th Muharram 61 AH) was the son of Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib (final Rashidun Caliph and first Shia Imam) and Fatimah Zahra (daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) and the younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. Hussein is an important figure in Islam as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and Ahl al-Kisa, as well as being an Imam.

Hussein is highly regarded by Shia as a martyr because he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph. He refused to pledge allegiance to what he considered the unjust rule of the Umayyads. As a consequence fearing bloodshed, he left his home town and heading for Kufa, On the way his caravan was intercepted and he was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala in 680 (61 AH) by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan.The annual memorial for him, his family, his children and his As'haab (companions) is called Ashura (tenth day of Muharram) and is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims.

Anger at Hussein's death was turned into a rallying cry that helped undermine and ultimately overthrow the Umayyad Caliphate.

Husayn and caliphate                                       

According to the Shia, Hasan was supposed to be the successor to Ali after Muhammad. Muawiah had fought with Ali during his time and after his death, as Hasan was supposed to take Ali's place in successorship, he was another threat to Muawiyah in which he prepared to fight with him again.

Muawiyah began fighting Hasan and it led to inconclusive skirmishes between the armies of Hasan and Muawiyah. Thus, to avoid the agonies of another civil war, he signed a treaty with Muawiyah and relinquished the control of what had turned into an Arabian kingdom Hasan's only condition in the treaty was that Muawiyah wouldn't name a successor during his reign and let the Islamic world choose their successor after the latter. After establishing his power, Muawiyah poisoned Hasan in 50 AH. And after Hasan's death, he then named his son Yazid as his successor.

Husayn and Rashidun

During Ali's caliphate Hasan, Husayn, Muhammad Ibn Al Hanafiyyah and Abdullah Ibn Jafar appear as his closest assistants within his household.

Muawiyah's era

When Hasan ibn Ali agreed to make a peace treaty with Muawiyah I, the first Umayyad caliph, he left Kufa and went to Medina with his brother Husayn.

According to the Shia belief, he lived under the most difficult outward conditions of suppression and persecution. This was due in part to the fact that religious laws and regulations had lost much of their weight and credit, and the edicts of the Umayyad government had gained complete authority and power. Another reason was that Muawiyah and his aides made use of every possible means to put aside past disputes and remove the Household of Muhammad and the followers of Ali and his sons, and thus obliterate the name of Ali and his family.

Muawiyah I ordered for public curses of Ali and his major supporters including Hasan and Husayn.

According to the Shia, Husayn had gained the third Imam for a period of ten years after the death of his brother Hassan in 669. All of this time but the last six months coinciding with the caliphate of Muawiyah.

Yazid's rule

One of the important points of the treaty made between Hasan and Muawiyah was that Muawiyah will not designate anyone as his successor after his death and the decision will be left to the Ummah(the Nation). But after the death of Hasan, he, thinking that no one will be courageous enough to object his decision as the Caliph, designated his son, Yazid I, as his successor in 680 CE, literally breaking the treaty.

Uprising

Husayn left Medina with his sisters, daughters, sons, brothers, and the sons of Hasan. He took a side road to Mecca to avoid being pursued, and once in Mecca Husayn stayed in the house of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and remained there for four months.

Husayn opposed Yazid I and declared that Umayyad rule was not only oppressive, but also religiously misguided. In his view the integrity and survival of the Islamic community depended on the re-establishment of the correct guidance. Husayn also believed that the succession of Yazid I was an attempt to establish an illegitimate hereditary dynasty.

The religious attitudes of the Umayyad also inspired people who believed that leadership of the Muslim community rightly belonged to the descendants of Muhammed, so they urged Husayn to join them and come to Kufa to establish his caliphate since they had no imam. They told him that they did not attend the Friday prayer with the governor of Kufa, No'man ibn Bashir, and would drive him out of the town as soon as Husayn agreed to come to them.

To convince Husayn to come they sent him seven messengers with bags of letters of support by Kufan warriors and tribal leaders. Husayn wrote the Kufans and told them that he understood from their letters that they had no imam and they wished him to come to unite them by the correct guidance. He informed them that he was sending his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel to report to him on the situation. If he found them united as their letters indicated he would quickly join them, for it was the duty of the imam to act in accordance with the Qur'an and to uphold justice, proclaim the truth, and to dedicate himself to the cause of God. The mission of ibn Aqeel was initially successful. The Kufans visited him freely, and 18,000 men are said to have enlisted with him in support of Husayn as their saviour and Caliph. He wrote to Husayn, encouraging him to come quickly to Kufa.

According to Shia scholars, Husayn was also visited by a supporter with two of his sons from Basra, where Shia sentiment was limited. He then sent identical letters to the chiefs of the five divisions into which the Basran tribes were divided. He wrote them that Muhammad's family were his family and were the rightful heirs of his position, and that others had illegitimately claimed the right which belonged exclusively to Muhammad's family. The family had initially consented to the actions of the first caliphs for the sake of the unity of the Ummah. He said that the caliphs who had seized the right of Muhammad's family had done many good things, and had sought the truth. The letter closely reflected the guidelines set by Ali, who had strongly upheld the sole right of the family of Muhammad, who were the descendants of Fatima (Prophet Muhammed's daughter), to leadership of the Muslim community. While most of the recipients of the letter kept it secret, one of them suspected that it was a ploy of the governor Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad to test their loyalty and turned it over to him. Ubayd-Allah seized and beheaded Husayn's messenger and addressed a stern warning to the people of Basra.

In Kufa the situation changed radically when Yazid replaced Noman ibn Bashir with Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, ordering the latter to disperse the crowd supporting Muslim ibn Agail but without killing either Muslim ibn Agail or Al-Husayn. Ubayd-Allah succeeded in intimidating the tribal chiefs, and a revolt collapsed when the rebels failed to capture the governor's palace. ibn Aqeel was found and delivered to Ubayd-Allah, and after agreeing with Muslim bin Agail to send a message to Al-Husayn with the following: "return with your family, and don't be deceived by the people of Kufa. They have misled you and me", Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad killed Muslim bin Agail. However, the message was not received by Al-Husayn when he decided to leave Mecca against the advice of a few of Muhammad's companions, including Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr.

On his way to Kufa, Al-Hussain encountered a small army led by Umar Ibn Saad, Shamar bin Thi Al-Joshan, and Hussain bin Tamim. Al-Hussain asked them to grant them one of three: Afterwards, Al-Hurr rode his hourse towards Al-Hussain and his group who thought he came to fight them. But Al-Hurr changed his direction and went towards the army where he fought them and killed two men before getting killed.

The battle was unfair one where all of Al-Hussain followers were killed around him until was left alone fighting fiercely. On the other side, every soldier was hesitant to kill Al-Hussain and wishes that someone else would do it due to how Al-Hussain is valued in their hearts. Until a malicious man named Shamar bin Thi Al-Joshan throw Al-Hussain with his spear and took him down. It is said that Shamar bin Thi Al-Joshan was the one who beheaded Al-Hussain.