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138-723: Najaf is the site of Ali's tomb, and Karbala is the site of the tomb of Muhammad's grandson, third Shia imam Husayn ibn Ali . Najaf is also a center of Shia learning and seminaries. Two other holy sites for Twelver Shia in Iraq are the Al-Kadhimiya Mosque in Baghdad , which contains the tombs of the seventh and ninth Shia Imams ( Mūsā al-Kādhim and Muhammad al-Jawad ) and the Al-Askari Mosque in Sāmarrā , which contains

276-574: A Christian envoy from Najran (now in northern Yemen ) came to Muhammad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrine concerning Jesus . After likening Jesus' miraculous birth to Adam 's creation —who was born to neither a mother nor a father— and when the Christians did not accept the Islamic doctrine about Jesus, Muhammad reportedly received a revelation instructing him to call them to Mubahala, where each party should ask God to destroy

414-402: A Shi'i sect of Islam that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar . They traced Imamate from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants. The name Kaysaniyya was most likely derived from the name of Mukhtar's chief guard, Abu Amra Kaysan . The followers of Al-Mukhtar who emerged from his movement (including all subsequent sub-sects which evolved from his movement) who firstly upheld

552-649: A fatwa "declaring that service in the British administration was unlawful". The revolt materialized in June 1920 and rapidly spread from Baghdad to the South, notably the town of Al-Rumaitha , where the Zawalim sheikh Shaalan Abu al-Jun was arrested and subsequently freed by his tribesmen. More Shia ulama, including Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi , Mehdi Al-Khalissi and Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin displayed their support for

690-603: A Hashemite ruler of Iraq from 1933 to 1939, was driven, amongst other things, by anti-Shia ambitions. This ultimately led to the 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts , mostly in the towns of Al-Rumaitha and al-Diwaniyah , led by Ayatollah Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita' and various Shia tribal sheikhs. For many, the 1935–1936 revolt uncovered a lack of community interest within the Iraqi Shia society and absence of strong Shia political leadership, to present their interests in Baghdad,

828-584: A Kufan-born dā'ī who later helped convert the Kutama in Ifriqiya and opened the way to the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate . The Hamdanid dynasty of Banu Taghlib was among the first Twelver Shia dynasties formed in northern Iraq. The Hamdanids first emerged as governors of Mardin in 890 and Mosul in 905, and by 950 had expanded into most of Syria and western Iraq, informally forming

966-673: A coalition of military officers and others led by the Arab nationalist and socialist Ba'ath Party seized power in a coup . At that point, 53 percent of its membership was Shia. In the years following the Shia were shunted aside, and by 1968, only six percent of the Ba'ath party were Shia. Abdul Salam Arif , president from the 1963 coup until his death in 1966, used derogatory terms in leadership meetings to describe Iraqi Shia and opposed his predecessor Abd al-Karim Qasim 's policy of bringing all citizens into

1104-469: A desert plain 70 kilometers (43 mi) north of Kufa, and set up camp. On the following day, a 4,000-strong Kufan army arrived under the command of Umar ibn Sa'd . He had been appointed governor of Rayy to suppress a local rebellion, but then recalled to confront Husayn. Initially, he was unwilling to fight Husayn, but complied following Ibn Ziyad's threat to revoke his governorship. After negotiations with Husayn, Ibn Sa'd wrote to Ibn Ziyad that Husayn

1242-404: A desolate place without fortifications or water. One of Husayn's companions suggested that they attack Hurr and move to the fortified village of al-Aqr. Husayn refused, stating that he did not want to start the hostilities. According to Valiri, Hurr ordered his army to take Husayn and his companions to Ibn Ziyad without fighting and intended to persuade Husayn to do so. But when he saw that Husayn

1380-475: A distinct religious sect. 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." A few prominent Alid supporters in Kufa felt guilty for abandoning Husayn after having invited him to revolt. To atone for what they perceived as their sin, they began

1518-621: A ditch was dug behind the tents and filled with wood ready to be set alight in case of attack. Husayn and his followers then spent the rest of the night praying. After the morning prayer on 10 October, both parties took up battle positions. Husayn appointed Zuhayr ibn Qayn to command the right flank of his army, Habib ibn Muzahir to command the left flank, and his half-brother Abbas as the standard bearer. Husayn's companions, according to most accounts, numbered thirty-two horsemen and forty infantrymen. Ibn Sa'd's army totaled 4,000. The ditch containing wood were set alight. Husayn then delivered

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1656-446: A dream to move forward irrespective of the consequences. Further on the way, he received the news of the execution of Ibn Aqil and the indifference of the people of Kufa. He informed his followers of the situation and asked them to leave. Most of the people who had joined him on the way left, while his companions from Mecca decided to stay with him. On the way, Husayn encountered various people. In response to Husayn's question about

1794-428: A letter to Hur in which Ibn Ziad had ordered him to not to stop in a place where Husayn can have easy access to water. With this letter, Obaidullah wanted to force Husayn to fight. Zuhair ibn Qayn suggested to Husayn to attack the small army of Hur and capture the fortified village of Akr. But Husayn did not accept; Because he did not want to start a war. On 2 October 680 (2 Muharram 61 AH), Husayn arrived at Karbala ,

1932-757: A movement known as Tawwabin uprising , under Sulayman ibn Surad , a companion of Muhammad, to fight the Umayyads, and attracted large-scale support. The armies met in January 685 at Battle of Ayn al-Warda ; which resulted killing most of them including Ibn Surad. The defeat of the Tawwabin left the leadership of the Kufan pro-Alids in the hand of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi . In October 685, Mukhtar and his supporters seized Kufa. His control extended to most of Iraq and parts of northwestern Iran. Mukhtar executed Kufans involved in

2070-567: A parallel authority to the one in Baghdad . During the 930s and 940s, the Hamdanids and the Buyids were in contest with another Shia, Abu Abdallah al-Baridi , an Iraqi tax-official who used the enormous wealth gained from tax farming to vie for control of the rump Abbasid Caliphate , temporarily holding Baghdad with brother twice. The Hamdanids were succeeded in Mosul by another Shia dynasty,

2208-508: A predicament shared by their correligonists in Lebanon . Scholars such as Fanar Haddad have argued that the governments of the new Iraqi state tended to adopt the symbols of Sunni identity while suppressing Shia identity. For example, figures such as Saladin , Harun al-Rashid or Omar ibn al-Khattab who were venerated by Arab nationalists are viewed with suspicion in Shia folklore. This contributes to disaffection among Iraqi Shia, while at

2346-523: A result of their neglect by Ottomans, and their poverty, the Shiites were increasingly dependent on their ulama , the religious clerics. In 1920, Iraqis, whether Sunni or Shia, had grown more discontent with British rule. Many Iraqis began to fear that Iraq would be incorporated into the British Empire . One of the eminent Shia mujtahideen, Ayatollah Mirza Muhammad Taqi al-Shirazi , then issued

2484-478: A speech to his opponents reminding them of his status as Muhammad's grandson and reproaching them for inviting and then abandoning him. He asked to be allowed to leave. He was told that first he had to submit to Yazid's authority, which he refused to do. Husayn's speech moved Hurr to defect to his side. After Husayn's speech, Zuhayr ibn Qayn attempted to dissuade Ibn Sa'd's soldiers from killing Husayn, but in vain. Ibn Sa'd's army fired several volleys of arrows. This

2622-508: A successor was in violation of Hasan's peace treaty with Mu'awiya. Before his death in April 680, Mu'awiya cautioned Yazid that Husayn and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr might challenge his rule and instructed him to defeat them if they did. Yazid was further advised to treat Husayn with caution and not to spill his blood, since he was the grandson of Muhammad. Immediately after Mu'awiya's death on 15th of Rajab 60 AH (22 April 680 AD), Yazid charged

2760-710: A tendency to exonerate Yazid at the cost of Ibn Ziyad and lower authorities. The primary source of the Karbala narrative is the work of the Kufan historian Abu Mikhnaf titled Kitab Maqtal Al-Husayn . Abu Mikhnaf's was an adult some twenty years after the Battle of Karbala. As such he knew many eyewitnesses and collected firsthand accounts and some with very short chains of transmitters, usually one or two intermediaries. The eyewitnesses were of two kinds: those from Husayn's side; and those from Ibn Sa'd's army. Since few people from Husayn's camp survived, most eyewitnesses were from

2898-499: Is a duplication of the report regarding Ibn Ziyad. No one was compassionate towards the women and Ali al-Sajjad, One of his courtiers asked for the hand of a captive woman from Husayn's family in marriage, which resulted in heated altercation between Yazid and Zaynab. The women of Yazid's household joined the captive women in their lamentation for the dead. After a few years, the women were compensated for their belongings looted in Karbala and were sent back to Medina. The killing of

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3036-410: Is also led riderless through the streets. In Iran, the battle scenes of Karbala are performed on stage in front of an audience in a ritual called taziya (passion play), also known as shabih . In India however, taziya refers to the coffins and replicas of Husayn's tomb carried in processions. Kaysanites The Kaysanites ( Arabic : كيسانية , romanized :  Kaysāniyya ) were

3174-413: Is also narrated that Muhammad took Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn under his cloak and called them ahl al-bayt and stated that they are free from any sin and pollution. Muhammad reported the Karbala incident on several occasions; For example, he gave a small bottle of soil to Umm Salama and told her that the soil inside the bottle would turn into blood after Husayn was killed. In the year 10 AH (631–632)

3312-441: Is considered by Shi'as to be a source of salvation in the afterlife, and is undertaken as a remembrance of his suffering. 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

3450-574: Is said to have killed many of his attackers. The Umayyad forces however were still unwilling to kill him and each of them wanted to leave this to somebody else. Eventually Shemr shouted: "Shame on you! Why are you waiting for the man? Kill him, may your mothers be deprived of you!" The Umayyad soldiers then rushed Husayn and wounded him on his hand and shoulder. He fell on the ground face-down and an attacker named Sinan ibn Anas stabbed and beheaded him. Seventy or seventy-two people died on Husayn's side, of whom about twenty were descendants of Abu Talib ,

3588-405: Is to correct the corruptions that have occurred in the nation of my ancestors. I want to command the good and forbid the bad, and follow the tradition of my grandfather and the way of my father Ali ibn Abi Talib. So, whoever accepts this truth (and follows me) has accepted the way of God and whoever rejects (and does not follow me) I will walk (my way) with patience and perseverance so that God may be

3726-594: Is unlikely to have considered submitting to Yazid. A mawla of Husayn's wife later claimed that Husayn had suggested that he be allowed to leave, so that all parties could allow the fluid political situation to clarify. Ibn Sa'd sent the proposal, whatever it was, to Ibn Ziyad, who is reported to have accepted but then persuaded otherwise by Shemr ibn Ziljawshan . Shemr argued that Husayn was in his domain and letting him go would be to demonstrate weakness. Ibn Ziyad then sent Shemr with orders to ask Husayn for his allegiance once more and to attack, kill and disfigure him if he

3864-474: The History of Prophets and Kings by al-Tabari ; and Ansab al-Ashraf by Baladhuri . Tabari quotes either directly from Abu Mikhnaf or from his student Ibn al-Kalbi, who took most of his material from Abu Mikhnaf. Tabari occasionally takes material from Ammar ibn Mu'awiya, Awana and other primary sources, which, however, adds little to the narrative. Baladhuri uses same sources as Tabari. Information on

4002-527: The Ahl al-Bayt . He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa , and a participant in the event of the mubahala . Muhammad described him and his brother, Hasan, as the leaders of the youth of Paradise . During the caliphate of Ali, Husayn accompanied him in wars. After the assassination of Ali , he obeyed his brother in recognizing the Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty , despite it being suggested to do otherwise. In

4140-459: The Alid revolt of 762–763 by Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya 's brother Ibrahim, who was said to have amassed a force as large as 100,000. The 7th Twelver Imam Musa al-Kazim was repeatedly imprisoned in Baghdad and Basra at the orders of Abbasid caliphs al-Mansur , al-Hadi , al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid . During Al-Ma'mun 's reign, in a sudden departure of anti-Shia policy, Imam Ali al-Rida

4278-645: The Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. Both Hasan and Husayn were named by Muhammad, although Ali had other names such as "Harb" in mind. To celebrate Husayn's birth, Muhammad sacrificed a ram, and Fatima shaved his head and donated the same weight of his hair in silver as alms. According to Islamic traditions, Husayn is mentioned in the Torah as "Shubayr" and in the Gospels as "Tab". Aaron, Moses' brother, gave

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4416-536: The Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty . When Mu'awiya died in 680, Yazid demanded that Husayn pledge allegiance to him. Husayn refused to do so. As a consequence, he left Medina , his hometown, to take refuge in Mecca in AH 60 (679 CE). There, the people of Kufa sent letters to him, invited him to Kufa and asked him to be their Imam and pledged their allegiance to him. On Husayn's way to Kufa with a retinue of about 72 men, his caravan

4554-795: The Iranian Revolution intensified unrest and repression. In June 1979, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was arrested and placed under house arrest. Less than a year later, due to encouraging the 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq , Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda were both executed in April 1980. In 1982, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq was formed in Iran by Iraqi cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim as an umbrella group to overthrow Iraq's Sunni-dominated regime. In Iran, Hakim attempted to unite and co-ordinate

4692-559: The Kaysanite sect, who traced the line of Imamate to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya . The Kaysanites had a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution after they managed to rally Shia support in Iraq for the uprising against the Umayyads. However, after the revolution, most Kaysanites soon joined Ja'far al-Sadiq or Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, and eventually Ja'far al-Sadiq after the demise of Muhammad. Another extinct sect are

4830-654: The Qarmatians , a sect of Isma'ili Shias founded by the Iraqi-born Hamdan Qarmat . Hamdan assumed the leadership of Isma'ili missionary activity in the rural environs ( sawād ) of Kufa and southern Iraq, and Qarmatian creed soon flourished in southern Iraq. Among the Iraqi dā'ī s trained and sent to missions by Hamdan and Abu Muhammad were Ibn Hawshab (to the Yemen ), and Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i ,

4968-651: The Uqaylids who ruled roughly the same territory as the Hamdanids from 990 to 1096. In northern Syria, they incorporated the Shia Mirdasids into their service, who later rebelled against the Fatimids under Salih ibn Mirdas and established themselves as the emirs of most of present-day Syria, western Iraq and Lebanon , ruling from Aleppo . In central Iraq, the Mazyadids ruled an autonomous emirate in

5106-399: The verse of purification , the ahl al-bayt has been praised. According to Madelung, there are numerous narrations showing Muhammad's love for Hasan and Husayn, such as carrying them on his shoulders, or putting them on his chest and kissing them on the belly. Madelung believes that some of these reports may imply a little preference of Muhammad for Hasan over Husayn, or pointing out that Hasan

5244-526: The 12th–15th centuries. When the Safavid dynasty declared Shia Islam the official religion of Iran in 1501, Shia scholars from southern Iraq contributed to the conversion movement. The Safavids also invited many Shi'i Arab tribes to Khuzestan to act as a bulwark against the Ottoman Empire, earning Khuzestan the name of Arabestan. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, many of the tribes living on

5382-829: The 20th century, as the British noted in 1917. Many Iraqi Shia are relatively-recent converts. The following tribes were converted during this period: some of the Zubaid, Banu Lam , Albu-Muhammad, many of the Rabiah (including al-Dafaf'a, Bani Amir and al-Jaghayfa), Banu Tamim (including the Bani Sa’d, their largest group in Iraq), the Shammar Toga , some of the Dulaim , the Zafir, the Dawwar,

5520-767: The Abbasid revolution. The remaining Kaysanites who had not joined the Abbasid party sought to align themselves with alternative Shi'a communities. Therefore, in Khurasan and other eastern lands many joined the Khurramites . In Iraq they joined Ja'far al-Sadiq or Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya , who were then the main Alid claimants to the Imamate. However, with the demise of the activist movement of al-Nafs az-Zakiyya, Ja'far al-Sadiq emerged as their main rallying point. Hence, by

5658-567: The Caliphate of Ali, Husayn, along with his brothers Hasan and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , and his cousin, Abdullah ibn Ja'far were among closest allies of Ali. He remained alongside him, accompanying him in the battlefields. According to a report by Tabari , Husayn was among Ali's major supporters who were cursed in public by the order of Mu'awiya . After the assassination of Ali people gave allegiance to Hasan. Mu'awiya who did not want go give allegiance to him, prepared to fight. To avoid

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5796-403: The Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants or any other designated successors were initially named the "Mukhtariyya" (after Al-Mukhtar), but were soon more commonly referred to as the "Kaysānīyya" (i.e. Kaysanites). The name "Kaysānīyya" must have been based on the "kunya" (surname) Kaysān, allegedly given to al-Mukhtar by Ali , or the name of a freed mawlā of ʿAli who

5934-485: The Kufis had left both his father Ali and his brother Hasan alone, and suggested that Husayn go to Yemen instead of Kufa, or at least not take women and children with him if he were to go to Iraq. Husayn insisted on his decision and wrote about his motives and goals in a famous letter or will that he gave to Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyyah "I did not go out for fun and selfishness and for corruption and oppression; Rather, my goal

6072-681: The Mawalis and Arab settlers. By the end of the Umayyad period the majority of the Hashimiyya, transferred their allegiance to the Abbasid family and they played an important role in the propaganda campaign that eventually led to the successful Abbasid revolution. However, the Kaysanites did not survive as a sect, even though they occupied a majority position among the Shi'a until shortly after

6210-916: The Sawakin, the al-Muntafiq confederation, the Bani Hasan (of the Bani Malik ), the Bani Hukayyim, the Shibil of the Khazal, the al Fatla, the tribes along the Al-Hindiya canal, and the five tribes of Al Diwaniyah (Aqra’, Budayyir, Afak, Jubur and Jilaiha) which relied on the Daghara canal for water. During the start of the 20th century, the Shia opposed Mandatory Iraq and the Sunni monarchy. As

6348-691: The Shia Muslims population was estimated to make up around 55% of Iraq's population. The data on the religious affiliation of Iraq's population are uncertain. 95–99% of the population are Muslims. The CIA World Factbook reports a 2015 estimate according to which 29–34% are Sunni Muslims and 61–64% Shia Muslims. According to a 2011 survey by Pew Research , 51% of the Muslims identify as Shia and 42% as Sunni. Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali ( Arabic : الحسين بن علي , romanized :  al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680)

6486-581: The Sunni narrations quoted by al-Tabari do not name the participants. Other Sunni historians mention Muhammad, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn as having participated in the Mubahala, and some agree with the Shia tradition that Ali was among them. The verse "God wishes only to remove taint from you, people of the Household, and to make you utterly pure" is also attributed to this event, during which Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn stood under Muhammad's cloak. Thus

6624-547: The Sunnis steadily escalated. By 2007, the United States' National Intelligence Estimate described the violence as a "civil war". During the 2006–2008 sectarian violence , tens to hundreds of thousands of people were killed (mainly Shia civilians) and at least 2.7 million were internally displaced. In ISIL-occupied Iraq (2014–2017) Shias faced some of the worst treatment, and thousands were killed for their faith. In 2003

6762-563: The Twelve Imams, including: Hisham ibn al-Hakam , Zurarah ibn A'yun , Burayd ibn Mu'awiya , Mu'min al-Taq , Aban ibn Taghlib , Abu Basir al-Asadi and Muhammad bin Muslim , all disciples of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765 CE). It was in Kufa where Zayd ibn Ali , the principal figure of Zaydism , led an uprising against the Umayyad rule of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik which ended with Zayd's execution and burning, while Basra witnessed

6900-530: The Umayyad rule, which they considered to be oppressive, and that they had no rightful leader. They asked him to lead them in revolt against Yazid, promising to remove the Umayyad governor if Husayn would consent to aid them. Husayn wrote back affirmatively that a rightful leader is the one who acts according to the Qur'an and promised to lead them with the right guidance. Then he sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil to assess

7038-534: The Umayyads out of Kufa and defeated them in several battles, including the Battle of Khazir in 686, but were defeated shortly afterwards in 687, when Kufa was besieged by the governor of Basra Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr . In the early Islamic period, Kufa effectively became the "second capital" of Shiism after Medina , the residence of the Twelve Imams , and acted as a source of many Shiite scholars and disciples of

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7176-530: The Umayyads, aiming to transfer leadership of the Muslims to Alids and accounted for the allegiance of the bulk of the Shi'a populace (even overshadowing the Imamis ) until shortly after the Abbasid revolution. Initially they broke away from the religiously moderate attitudes of the early Kufan Shi'a. Most of the Kaysanites support came from superficially Islamicized Mawalis in southern Iraq, Persia and elsewhere, as well as other supporters in Iraq, particularly in Kufa and Al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon). Following

7314-484: The activities of al-Dawa party and other major Shia groups: Peykar (a guerilla organization similar to the Iranian Mujahideen ) and Jama'at al-'Ulama (groups of pro- Khomeini ulama). The Ba'ath Party's leadership made a determined effort to gain the support of Iraqi Shia during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War , as 80% of the Iraqi army personnel had been Iraqi Shia, diverting resources to the Shia south and emphasizing Iraqi Arabness (in contrast to Iranian Persianness) and

7452-466: The agonies of the civil war, Hasan signed a treaty with Mu'awiya , according to which Mu'awiya would not name a successor during his reign, and let the Islamic community ( ummah ) choose his successor. Madelung believes that Husayn did not recognize this treaty at first, but pressed by Hasan, accepted it. Later on when several Shia leaders suggested him to conduct a surprise attack on Mu'awiya's camp near Kufa, he refused, saying that as long as Mu'awiya

7590-511: The area around Kūfa and Hīt between 961 and 1160 from their capital city of Hillah . They were originally in the service of the Buyid dynasty , another Twelver Shia dynasty which expanded into most of western Iran and Iraq, seizing Baghdad and making it as their capital. Later on, Hillah later became one of the central cities of Shia learning, where prominent Shia scholars and poets such as al-Allama al-Hilli , Muhaqqiq al-Hilli , Shahid Awwal and Safi al-Din al-Hilli lived and taught during

7728-406: The banks of the Euphrates and Tigris , which were originally Sunni, converted to Shia Islam. During the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of settling the semi-nomadic Sunni Arab tribes to create greater centralization in Iraq. The tribes adopted a sedentary agricultural life in the hinterlands of Najaf and Karbala , and frequently traded and interacted with the residents of

7866-440: The battle found in the works of Dinawari and Ya'qubi is also based on Abu Mikhnaf's Maqtal , although they occasionally provide some extra notes and verses. Other secondary sources include al-Mas'udi 's Muruj al-Dhahab , Ibn Ath'am 's Kitab al-Futuh , Shaykh al-Mufid's Kitab al-Irshad , and Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani 's Maqatil al-Talibiyyin . Most of these sources took material from Abu Mikhnaf, in addition to some from

8004-503: The battle of Karbala very briefly, stating that it lasted for no longer than a siesta , Lammens concludes that there was no battle at all but a quick massacre that was over in an hour; he suggests that the detailed accounts found in the primary sources are Iraqi fabrications, since their writers were dissatisfied with their hero being killed without putting up a fight. This is countered by the historian Laura Veccia Vaglieri , who argues that despite there being some fabricated accounts, all of

8142-411: The bitterness of breaking the allegiance of the people of Kufa with his father and brother, saying, "These people have submitted to the obedience of Satan and have left the obedience of God the Merciful." On the way, he refused to accept the offer to go to the tribe of Tayy by pointing to his pact with Hurr about not returning. Later, a messenger from Ibn Ziad came to Hur and, without greeting Husayn, gave

8280-409: The burial place of Imam Husayn's head; For example, with his father Ali in Najaf, outside Kufa but not with Ali, in Karbala with his whole body, in Baqiya, in an unknown place in Damascus , in Raqqa , Syria, and in a mosque Mohsen Al-Amin in Cairo . Shi'a Muslims consider pilgrimages to Husayn's tomb to be a source of divine blessings and rewards. According to Shi'a tradition the first such visit

8418-517: The city, secretly left the city with his companions and family. Fifty men from Husayn's relatives and friends – who could fight if needed – accompanied Husayn, including women and children. He took the northerly route through the Arabian Desert . On persuasion of Husayn's cousin Abd Allah ibn Ja'far , the governor of Mecca Amr ibn Sa'id sent his brother and Ibn Ja'far after Husayn in order to assure him safety in Mecca and bring him back. Husayn refused to return, relating that Muhammad had ordered him in

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8556-403: The contemporary accounts together form "a coherent and credible narrative". She criticizes Lammens' hypothesis as being based on a single isolated report and being devoid of critical analysis. Similarly, Madelung and Wellhausen assert that the battle lasted from sunrise to sunset and that the overall account of the battle is reliable. Vaglieri and Madelung explain the length of the battle despite

8694-489: The death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the bulk of the Kaysanites acknowledged the Imamate of Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (a.k.a. Abu Hashim, the eldest son of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, d. 716). This sub-sect (a.k.a. Hashimiyya , named after Abu Hashim ), which comprised the majority of the Kaysanites was the earliest Shi'ite group whose teachings and revolutionary stance were disseminated in Persia, especially in Greater Khorasan , where it found adherents among

8832-542: The east wind blows dust over them." Shi'a Muslims consider this to be the first instance of wailing and mourning over the death of Husayn. Husayn's son Ali al-Sajjad 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. Special gatherings ( majalis ; sing. majlis ) are arranged in places reserved for this purpose, called husayniyya . In these gatherings

8970-413: The end of the 8th century the majority of the Kaysanites had turned to other Imams. The Kaysanite Shi'a sect split into numerous sub-sects throughout its history. These splits would occur after a Kaysanite leader died and his followers would divide by pledging their allegiance to different leaders, with each sub-sect claiming the authenticity of its own leader. When Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah died in 700

9108-504: The false party and their families: If anyone dispute with you in this matter [concerning Jesus] after the knowledge which has come to you, say: Come let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us swear an oath and place the curse of God on those who lie.(Qur'an 3:61) In Shia perspective, in the verse of Mubahala , the phrase "our sons" would refer to Hasan and Husayn, "our women" refers to Fatima, and "ourselves" refers to Ali. Most of

9246-448: The father of Ali . This included two of Husayn's sons, six of his paternal brothers, three sons of Hasan ibn Ali, three sons of Jafar ibn Abi Talib and three sons and three grandsons of Aqil ibn Abi Talib. Following the battle, Husayn's clothes were stripped, and his sword, shoes and baggage were taken. The women's jewelry and cloaks were also seized. Shemr wanted to kill Husayn's only surviving son Ali al-Sajjad , who had not taken part in

9384-437: The fighting because of illness, but was prevented by Ibn Sa'd. There are reports of more than sixty wounds on Husayn's body, which was then trampled with horses as previously instructed by Ibn Ziyad. The bodies of Husayn's companions were decapitated. There were eighty-eight dead in Ibn Sa'd's army, who were buried before he left. After his departure, members of the Banu Asad tribe, from the nearby village of Ghadiriya, buried

9522-423: The fighting so far, joined the battle. Husayn's son Ali Akbar was killed; then Husayn's half-brothers, including Abbas, and the sons of Aqil ibn Abi Talib , Jafar ibn Abi Talib and Hasan ibn Ali were slain. The account of Abbas' death is not given in the primary sources, al-Tabari and Baladhuri , but a prominent Shi'a theologian Shaykh Al-Mufid states in his account in Kitab al-Irshad that Abbas went to

9660-414: The front only, Ibn Sa'd ordered the tents to be burned. All except the one which Husayn and his family were using were set on fire. Shemr wanted to burn that one too, but was prevented by his companions. The plan backfired and flames hindered the Umayyad advance for a while. After noon prayers, Husayn's companions were encircled, and almost all of them were killed. Husayn's relatives, who had not taken part in

9798-440: The governor of Medina, Walid ibn Utba ibn Abu Sufyan , to secure allegiance from Husayn with force if necessary. Yazid's goal was to take control of the situation in the city before the people became aware of Mu'awiya's death. Yazid's concern was especially about his two rivals in the caliphate; Husayn and Abdullah ibn Zubayr who had previously renounced allegiance. Husayn answered the summons but declined to pledge allegiance in

9936-455: The grandson of Muhammad shocked the Muslim community. The image of Yazid suffered and gave rise to sentiment that he was impious. 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. Karbala gave this early political party of pro-Alids a distinct religious identity and helped transform it into

10074-403: The headless bodies of Husayn's companions. Husayn's family, along with the heads of the dead, were sent to Ibn Ziyad. He poked Husayn's mouth with a stick and intended to kill Ali al-Sajjad, but spared him after the pleas of Husayn's sister Zaynab. The heads and the family were then sent to Yazid, who also poked Husayn's mouth with a stick. The historian Henri Lammens has suggested that this

10212-634: The historic struggle between the Muslim Arabs and the Zoroastrian Persians in propaganda. Iraqi propaganda used symbolic keywords such as Qādisiyya (the battle in which Muslim Arab armies defeated the Persian Empire ), and Iranian propaganda used Shia keywords such as Karbala . The Baath government executed about 95 Shia ulama, many of them members of the al-Hakim family, in June 1984, and had executed 142–146 Shia rebels in

10350-469: The incident as a historical tragedy; Husayn and his companions are widely regarded as martyrs by both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. According to majority of narrations, Husayn was born on the 3rd of Sha'ban 4 AH (11 January 626 CE) in Medina and was still a child when his grandfather, Muhammad , died. He was the younger son of Ali , the cousin of Muhammad, and Fatima , the daughter of Muhammad, both from

10488-459: The judge between me and this nation and he is the best judge." Then, Husayn, who had not yet received the letters of the new events of Kufa, prepared to leave for Kufa on the 8th or 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah 60 AH / 10 or 12 September 680 AD. Instead of performing Hajj, he performed Umrah, and in the absence of the Governor of Mecca, Amr ibn Sa'id ibn As , who was performing Hajj on the outskirts of

10626-506: The killing of Husayn, including Ibn Sa'd and Shemr, while thousands of people fled to Basra. He then sent his general Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar to fight an approaching Umayyad army, led by Ibn Ziyad, which had been sent to reconquer the province. The Umayyad army was routed at the Battle of Khazir in August 686 and Ibn Ziyad was slain. Later on, in April 687, Mukhtar was killed. Based on an official report sent to caliph Yazid, which describes

10764-493: The majority were in the South, including one believed to hold as many as 10,000 victims. A short period of rest once again occurred during the 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq after the killing of Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr in the Shia neighborhoods of Baghdad , as well as southern majority Shiite cities of Karbala , Nasiriyah , Kufa , Najaf , and Basra . After the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq , sectarian violence between Shia and

10902-437: The members of the Shi'a faith with a catalog of heroic norms. The battle is commemorated during an annual ten-day period during the Islamic month of Muharram by many Muslims especially Shi'a, culminating on tenth day of the month, known as the day of Ashura . On this day, Shi'a Muslims mourn, hold public processions, organize religious gathering, beat their chests and in some cases self-flagellate . Sunni Muslims likewise regard

11040-458: The murder of Muslim ibn Aqeel and Hani ibn Arwa was reported by some travellers, for the first time in Thalabiyah. When Husayn reached the area of Zabalah, he found out that his messenger, Qais ibn Mushar Sa'idawi – or his brother-in-law, Abdullah ibn Yaqtar – who had been sent from Hejaz to Kufa to inform the people of Husayn's imminent arrival, was exposed and killed by falling from

11178-443: The nine-year period between Hasan's abdication in AH 41 (660 AD) and his death in AH 49 (669 AD), Hasan and Husayn retreated to Medina, trying to keep aloof from political involvement for or against Mu'awiya. Sentiments in favor of the rule of Ahl al-Bayt occasionally emerged in the form of small groups, mostly from Kufa, visiting Hasan and Husayn asking them to be their leaders – a request to which they declined to respond. When Hasan

11316-491: The nine-year period between Hasan's abdication in AH 41 (660 CE) and his death in AH 49 or 50 (669 or 670 CE), Hasan and Husayn retreated to Medina, trying to keep aloof from political involvement for or against Mu'awiya . After the death of Hasan, when Iraqis turned to Husayn, concerning an uprising, Husayn instructed them to wait as long as Mu'awiya was alive due to Hasan's peace treaty with him. Prior to his death, Mu'awiya appointed his son Yazid as his successor, contrary to

11454-423: The numerical disparity between the opposing camps as Ibn Sa'd's attempt to prolong the fight and pressure Husayn into submission instead of attempting to quickly overwhelm and kill him. According to Wellhausen, the compassion that Yazid showed to the family of Husayn, and his cursing of Ibn Ziyad was only for show. He argues that if killing Husayn was a crime its responsibility lay with Yazid and not Ibn Ziyad, who

11592-736: The place from which I came to you. He then showed them the letters he had received from the Kufans, including some in Hurr's force. Hurr denied any knowledge of the letters and stated that Husayn must go with him to Ibn Ziyad, which Husayn refused to do. Hurr responded that he would not allow Husayn to either enter Kufa or go back to Medina, but that he was free to travel anywhere else he wished. Nevertheless, he did not prevent four Kufans from joining Husayn. Husayn's caravan started to move towards Qadisiyya, and Hurr followed them. At Naynawa, Hurr received orders from Ibn Ziyad to force Husayn's caravan to halt in

11730-498: The primary works of Awana, al-Mada'ini and Nasr ibn Muzahim. Although Tabari and other early sources contain some miraculous stories, these sources are mainly historical and rational in nature, in contrast to the literature of later periods, which is mainly hagiographical in nature. The Battle of Karbala was also reported by an early Christian source. A history by the Syriac Christian scholar Theophilus of Edessa , who

11868-480: The pro- Alid party ( Shi'at Ali ) into a unique religious sect with its own rituals and collective memory. It has a central place in the Shi'a history, tradition, and theology, and has frequently been recounted in Shi'a literature . For the Shi'a, Husayn's suffering and martyrdom became a symbol of sacrifice in the struggle for right against wrong, and for justice and truth against injustice and falsehood. It also provides

12006-572: The pulpit. During the time of Uthman, he defended Abu Dharr al-Ghifari , who had preached against some of the actions of the tyrants and was to be exiled from Medina. According to several narrations, Ali asked Hasan and Husayn to defend the third Caliph during the Siege of Uthman and carry water to him. According to Vaglieri, when Hasan entered Uthman's house, Uthman was already assassinated. Another report says that Uthman asked Ali's help. The latter send Husayn in response. Then Uthman asked Husayn if he

12144-579: The regime banned annual Marad al-ras processions during the Mourning of Muharram in the shrine cities, where mass discontent had been evident in 1974 and 1975. In 1977, tens of thousands of Dawa activists held the processions in defiance of the ban, leading to large-scale clashes known as the Safar Intifada that the regime quelled with the use of helicopter gunships. At least 16 were killed, eight executed and two died under torture. The success of

12282-505: The regime regardless of ethnicity or religion. Due to discrimination by the Sunni government, the Shia became increasingly disaffected during the last 1960s and 1970s. By 1968, Dawa could claim a mass following, and the Baath began to consider it a threat. In 1974, amid rising discontent due to casualties in the Kurdish insurgency , the regime executed five leading Dawa members. Subsequently,

12420-580: The revolt, and encouraged the local population to take arms. At the peak of the revolt, around 131,000 Iraqis were active against the British. Under the Kingdom of Iraq , the Shia tribes of the mid- Euphrates region saw themselves increasingly under-represented in the Sunni-dominated Iraqi government, which further deteriorated with the exclusion of key Shia sheikhs from the Iraqi parliament in 1934 elections. In addition, King Ghazi of Iraq ,

12558-495: The revolution as well. Many exiled Iraqi dissidents, including thousands of Iran-based Badr Brigades militants of SCIRI, crossed the borders and joined the rebellion. By April 1991, most of the rebellion was crushed by the then-incumbent Baathist government. Many of the people killed were buried in mass graves . Of the 200 mass graves the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry had registered between 2003 and 2006,

12696-424: The river together with Husayn but became separated, was surrounded, and killed. At some point, a young child of Husayn's, who was sitting on his lap, was hit by an arrow and died. During the Battle of Karbala the Umayyad soldiers hesitated to initiate a direct attack on Husayn; however, he was struck in the mouth by an arrow as he went to the river to drink. He collected his blood in a cupped hand and cast towards

12834-399: The river. They could only fill twenty water-skins. Husayn and Ibn Sa'd met during the night to negotiate a settlement; it was rumored that Husayn made three proposals: either he be allowed to return to Medina, submit to Yazid directly, or be sent to a border post where he would fight alongside the Muslim armies. According to Madelung, these reports are probably untrue as Husayn at this stage

12972-459: The roof of Kufa Palace. Upon hearing this, Husayn allowed his supporters to leave the caravan due to the depressing issues such as the betrayal of the Kufis. A number of those who had joined him on the way, parted away. But those who had come with Husayn from Hejaz did not leave him. The news from Kufa showed that the situation there had completely changed from what Muslim had reported. The political assessments made it clear to Husayn that going to Kufa

13110-520: The routes into Kufa. Husayn and his followers were intercepted by the vanguard of Yazid's army, about 1,000 men led by Hurr ibn Yazid al-Tamimi , south of Kufa near Qadisiyya . Husayn said to them: I did not come to you until your letters were brought to me, and your messengers came to me saying, 'Come to us, for we have no imam.' ... Therefore, if you give me what you guaranteed in your covenants and sworn testimonies, I will come to your town. If you will not and are averse to my coming, I will leave you for

13248-451: The same names to his sons after learning the names God had chosen for Ali's children. Husayn was brought up in the household of Muhammad at first. The family formed from the marriage of Ali and Fatima was praised many times by Muhammad. In events such as Mubahala and the hadith of the Ahl al-Kisa , Muhammad referred to this family as the ahl al-bayt . In the Qur'an, in many cases, such as

13386-417: The same time Sunni Iraqi politicians have tended to cast Shia political mobilization as alien, in particular Iranian. For many years, Arab nationalism and party politics superseded Shia unity in Iraqi politics, and Shia ayatollahs were politically quiescent. The Shia were generally less well-off economically and socially, and as a result, they supported leftist parties , such as Iraqi Communist Party which

13524-456: The second category. According to Julius Wellhausen , most of them regretted their actions in the battle and embellished the accounts of the battle in favor of Husayn in order to dilute their guilt. Although as an Iraqi, Abu Mikhnaf had pro-Alid tendencies, his reports generally do not contain much bias on his part. Abu Mikhnaf's original text seems to have been lost and the version extant today has been transmitted through secondary sources such as

13662-459: The secretive environment of the meeting, suggesting it should be done in public. Marwan ibn Hakam told Walid to imprison or behead him, but due to Husayn's kinship with Muhammad, Walid was unwilling to take any action against him. A few days later, Husayn left for Mecca without acknowledging Yazid. He arrived in Mecca at the beginning of May 680, and stayed there until the beginning of September. He

13800-452: The situation in Iraq, the poet Farzadaq explicitly told him that the hearts of the Iraqi people are with you, but their swords are in the service of the Umayyads. But Husayn's decision was unwavering, and in response to those who tried to dissuade him, he said that things were in God's hands and that God wanted the best for His servants and would not be hostile to anyone who was right. The news of

13938-411: The situation in Kufa. Ibn Aqil attracted widespread support and informed Husayn of the situation, suggesting that he join them there. Yazid removed Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari as governor of Kufa due to his inaction, and installed Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad , then governor of Basra , in his place. As a result of Ibn Ziyad's suppression and political maneuvering, Ibn Aqil's following began to dissipate and he

14076-498: The sixth Shi'a imam Jafar Sadiq and his followers. Buyids and Safavids also encouraged this practice. Special visits are paid on 10 Muharram ( Ashura Pilgrimage) and 40 days after the anniversary of Husayn's ( Arba'in pilgrimage ). In Shi'a tradition, Husayn's martyrdom is also connected to the hagiography of John the Baptist . The soil of Karbala , is considered to have miraculous healing effects. Mourning for Husayn

14214-405: The sky, complaining to God of his suffering. Later, he was surrounded and struck on the head by Malik ibn Nusayr. The blow cut through his hooded cloak, which Husayn removed while cursing his attacker. He put a cap on his head and wrapped a turban around it to staunch the bleeding. Ibn Nusayr seized the bloodied cloak and retreated. Shemr advanced with a group of foot soldiers towards Husayn, who

14352-427: The story of Karbala is narrated and various elegies ( rawda ) are recited by professional reciters ( rawda khwan ). During the month of Muharram, elaborate public processions are performed in commemoration of the Battle of Karbala. In contrast to pilgrimage to Husayn's tomb and simple lamenting, these processions do not date back to the time of the battle, but arose during tenth century. Their earliest recorded instance

14490-409: The terms of the treaty even after Hassan's death. Husayn then left Kufa for Medina along with Hasan and Abdullah ibn Ja'far. He adhered to the terms of the treaty even after Hasan's death. According to the Shi'a, Husayn was the third Imam for a period of ten years after the death of his brother Hasan in 670 AD. All of this time except the last six months coincided with the caliphate of Mu'awiya. In

14628-592: The title, the Family of the Cloak, is related sometimes to the Event of Mubahala. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar, Husayn was present at some events such as testifying about the story of Fadak . According to a narration, Husayn, while the second caliph was sitting on the pulpit of Muhammad and giving a speech, objected to him for sitting on the pulpit of Muhammad, and Umar also stopped his sermon and came down from

14766-609: The tombs of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams ( Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-‘Askarī ). After the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, widespread sectarian violence erupted between Shias and Sunnis in Iraq, which led to the Iraqi civil war and the 2013–2017 war , which involved the Islamic State terror group. After being named caliph in 657, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib established his capital at Kufa in present-day Iraq. The Battle of Karbala took place in 680, where Husayn ibn Ali

14904-512: The town of Dujail earlier in 1982. Unrest renewed with the 1991 Iraqi uprisings throughout Iraq, which took place in the Shiite and Kurdish areas of the country. In the south, the rebels seized the shrine as Ba'ath Party officials fled the city or were killed. The uprising spread within days to all of the largest Shia cities in southern Iraq: Amarah , Diwaniya , Hilla , Karbala , Kut , Nasiriyah and Samawah . Smaller cities were swept up in

15042-660: The town of Hoveyzeh in Khuzestan from 1435 to 1924. Another tribe, Banu Khaz'al, as well as the Banu Kaab converted during the mid-18th century. After the fall of the Emirate of Muhammara , an autonomous emirate of the Shia Banu Kaab between 1812 and 1925 in modern-day Khuzestan province , many Iranian Arabs fled to southern Iraq, further inflating the Shia population in the south. The conversions continued into

15180-647: The two cities. Some Sunni Arab tribes converted to protest their treatment by the Sunni Ottomans. Shia missionaries from Najaf and Karbala operated with relative freedom from the Ottoman Empire, and could proselytize with little official hindrance. The Bani Sallama, Tayy and al-Soudan in the Mesopotamian Marshes were converted by the Musha'sha'iyyah dynasty, a heretical Isma'ili Shia tribal confederation founded by Muhammad ibn Falah which ruled

15318-511: Was "a proud soul in him". The army advanced toward Husayn's camp on the evening of 9 October. Husayn sent Abbas to ask Ibn Sa'd to wait until the next morning, so that they could consider the matter. Ibn Sa'd agreed to this respite. Husayn told his men that they were all free to leave, with his family, under the cover of night, since their opponents only wanted him. Very few availed themselves of this opportunity. Defense arrangements were made: tents were brought together and tied to one another and

15456-461: Was a social, political and religious leader. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima , as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali , Husayn is regarded as the third Imam (leader) in Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali al-Sajjad . Being the grandson of the prophet, he is also a prominent member of

15594-541: Was able to defend himself against rebels. Husayn demurred, so Uthman sent him back. It is also narrated that Uthman's cousin, Marwan ibn Hakam , have said Husayn: "Leave us, your father incites the people against us, and you are here with us!" Haeri writes in the Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: According to some narrations, Husayn or Hasan were wounded in the case of defending Uthman. During

15732-671: Was accompanied by his wives, children and brothers, as well as Hasan's sons. Husayn had considerable support in Kufa, which had been the caliphal capital during the reigns of his father and brother. The Kufans had fought the Umayyads and their Syrian allies during the First Fitna, the five-year civil war which had established the Umayyad Caliphate. They were dissatisfied with Hasan's abdication and strongly resented Umayyad rule. While in Mecca, Husayn received letters from pro- Alids in Kufa informing him that they were tired of

15870-462: Was alive due to Hasan's peace treaty with him. Meanwhile, Marwan reported to Mu'awiya the frequent visits of Shias to Husayn. Mu'awiya instructed Marwan not to clash with Husayn, in the same time he wrote a letter to Husayn in which he "mingled generous promises with the advice not to provoke him." Later on, when Mu'awiya was taking allegiance for his son, Yazid , Husayn was among the five prominent persons who did not give his allegiance, as appointing

16008-410: Was alive, he would abide by the terms of the peace treaty, however, after Mu'awiya's death, he will reconsider it. After signing the peace treaty, Mu'awiyah delivered a sermon in Kufa in which he declared that he had violated all the provisions of the treaty and also insulted Ali ibn Abi Talib. Husayn wanted to respond, but Hasan refused to do so, and Hasan delivered a sermon in response. Husayn adhered to

16146-571: Was chief astrologer in the Abbasid court between 775 and 785, is partially preserved in a number of extant Christian chronicles, including those by Michael the Syrian and the Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor . Husayn ibn Ali's tomb is located in the city of Karbala , about 90 km southwest of Baghdad . This tomb was probably formed two centuries after the event of Karbala and

16284-448: Was designated heir apparent of al-Ma'mun, but was later poisoned by al-Ma'mun himself. Some Shia officials managed to gain influence in the Abbasid court, such as Ali ibn Yaqteen , a Kufan who became a minister of the Abbasid caliph with the approval of Imam Musa al-Kadhim to assist the Shia. Aside from mainstream Shia Islam, Iraq was also the home of many Shia sects which no longer exist. Kufan followers of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi later formed

16422-507: Was determined, not to take women and children with him. Nevertheless, he offered Husayn support if he would stay in Mecca and lead the opposition to Yazid from there. Husayn refused this, citing his abhorrence of bloodshed in the sanctuary, and decided to go ahead with his plan. Despite the advice of Muhammad ibn Hanafiyya , Abdullah ibn Umar , and the constant insistence of Abd Allah ibn Abbas in Mecca, Husayn did not back down from his decision to go to Kufa. Ibn 'Abbas pointed out that

16560-427: Was doing this for Husayn and that if there would be a war, Husayn would be killed. Husayn, however, was not afraid of death and stopped in an area called Karbala, on the outskirts of Kufa. In one place, Husayn recited a sermon and said: "I do not see death except as martyrdom and living with the oppressors except as hardship." In another place, he explained the reason for his opposition to the government while recalling

16698-666: Was followed by duels in which several of Husayn's companions were slain. The right wing of the Kufans, led by Amr ibn al-Hajjaj, attacked Husayn's force, but was repulsed. Hand-to-hand fighting paused and further volleys of arrows were exchanged. Shemr, who commanded the left wing of the Umayyad army, launched an attack, but after losses on both sides he was repulsed. This was followed by cavalry attacks. Husayn's cavalry resisted fiercely and Ibn Sa'd brought in armoured cavalry and five hundred archers. After their horses were wounded by arrows, Husayn's cavalrymen dismounted and fought on foot. Since Umayyad forces could approach Husayn's army from

16836-441: Was forced to declare the revolt prematurely. It was defeated and Ibn Aqil was killed. Husayn had also sent a messenger to Basra, another garrison town in Iraq, but the messenger could not attract any following and was quickly apprehended and executed. Husayn was unaware of the change of political circumstances in Kufa and decided to depart. Abd Allah ibn Abbas and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr advised him not to move to Iraq, or, if he

16974-581: Was founded by Husain al-Rahhal in 1934, and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Iraq , which was also founded by a Shia, Fuad al-Rikabi . To counter the intellectual hold of the left, a group of clerics in Najaf created a movement that eventually evolved into the Dawa party . Its manifesto, written by Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr , probably in 1960, defined its ultimate goal as an Islamic polity. In 1963,

17112-456: Was in Baghdad in 963 during the reign of the first Buyid ruler Mu'izz al-Dawla . The processions start from a husayniyya and the participants parade barefoot through the streets, wailing and beating their chests and heads before returning to the husayniyya for a majlis . Sometimes, chains and knives are used to inflict wounds and physical pain. In South Asia , an ornately tacked horse called Zuljenah , representing Husayn's battle horse,

17250-451: Was intercepted by a 1,000-strong army of the caliph at some distance from Kufa. He was forced to head north and encamp in the plain of Karbala on 2 October, where a larger Umayyad army of some 4,000 or 30,000 arrived soon afterwards. Negotiations failed after the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad refused Husayn safe passage without submitting to his authority, a condition declined by Husayn. Battle ensued on 10 October during which Husayn

17388-566: Was killed at the Battle of Siffin called Kaysān, from whom it is claimed Al-Mukhtar acquired his ideas. Similarly, it may be named after Abu Amra Kaysan , a prominent mawālī and chief of al-Mukhtar’s personal bodyguard. Others claim that either ʿAli or Ibn al-Ḥanafiya named al-Mukhtar ‘Kaysān,’ because of his ingeniousness. The Kaysanites as a collective sect held the following common beliefs: Furthermore, some Kaysanite sub-sects established their own unique beliefs, such as: The Kaysanites pursued an activist anti-establishment policy against

17526-574: Was martyred along with most of his relatives and companions, while his surviving family members were taken prisoner. The battle was followed by the Second Fitna , during which the Iraqis organized two separate campaigns to avenge the martyrdom of Husayn; the first one by the Tawwabin and the other one by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and his supporters. The Battle of Karbala galvanized the development of

17664-566: Was martyred by Umayyad forces of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad and Umar ibn Sa'd at the orders of Yazid ibn Mu'awiya . Many called for vengeance. Sulayman ibn Surad led the Tawwabin uprising in January 685, but was defeated and killed in Battle of Ayn al-Warda . After the failed uprising, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi once again called for the establishment of an Alid caliphate and for retaliation for Husayn's killing, and took over Kufa in October 685. Aided by Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar , they successfully drove

17802-415: Was more similar to his grandfather. Other Hadiths of this kind are: "whoever loves them loves me and whoever hates them hates me", and "al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the sayyids [masters] of the youth of Paradise". The recent one is used by Shia to prove the right of Imamate for the descendants of Muhammad. Sayyid shabab al-djanna is an epithet used by Shias to refer to each of Muhammad's grandsons. It

17940-566: Was moving his caravan, he did not dare to follow it. However, Madlung and Bahramian write that when Husayn was ready to leave, Hurr blocked his way and said that if Husayn did not accept the order given by Ibn Ziyad, Hurr would not allow him to go to Medina or Kufa. He suggested to Husayn to neither go to Kufa nor to Medina, rather write a letter to Yazid or Ibn Ziyad and wait for their orders, hoping to avoid this difficult situation by receiving an answer. But Husayn did not heed to his advice and continued to Azad or Qadisiyah. Hurr informed Husayn that he

18078-581: Was no longer apt. In the area of Sharaf or Zuhsam, armies emerged from Kufa under the leadership of Hurr ibn Yazid. With the weather being hot there, Husayn ordered water to be given to them and then announced his motives to the army and said: "You did not have an Imam and I became the means of uniting the ummah. Our family is more deserving of government than anyone else, and those in power do not deserve it and rule unjustly. If you support me, I will go to Kufa. But if you do not want me anymore, I will return to my first place." Ibn Ziyad had stationed troops on

18216-414: Was now prepared to fight as few people were left on his side. A young boy from Husayn's camp escaped from the tents, ran to him, tried to defend him from a sword stroke and had his arm cut off. Ibn Sa'd approached the tents and Husayn's sister Zaynab complained to him: "'Umar b. Sa'd, will Abu 'Abd Allah (the kunya of Husayn) be killed while you stand and watch?" Ibn Sa'd wept but did nothing. Husayn

18354-425: Was only performing his duty. Madelung holds a similar view; according to him, early accounts place the responsibility for Husayn's death on Ibn Ziyad instead of Yazid. Yazid, Madelung argues, wanted to end Husayn's opposition, but as a caliph of Islam could not afford to be seen as publicly responsible and so diverted blame onto Ibn Ziyad by hypocritically cursing him. According to Howard, some traditional sources have

18492-517: Was performed by Husayn's son Ali al-Sajjad and the surviving family members during their return from Syria to Medina. The first historically recorded visit is Sulayman ibn Surad and the Penitents going to Husayn's grave before their departure to Syria. They are reported to have lamented and beaten their chests and to have spent a night by the tomb. Thereafter this tradition was limited to the Shi'a imams for several decades, before gaining momentum under

18630-519: Was poisoned, he refused to tell Husayn the name of his suspect, probably Mu'awiya, in fear of provoking bloodshed. The burial of Hasan's body near that of Muhammad, was another problem which could have led to bloodshed, as Marwan ibn Hakam swore that he would not permit Hasan to be buried near Muhammad with Abu Bakr and Umar , while Uthman was buried in the cemetery of al-Baqi . After the death of Hasan, when Iraqis turned to Husayn, concerning an uprising, Husayn instructed them to wait as long as Mu'awiya

18768-431: Was rebuilt and expanded until the thirteenth century AH. This place did not have a building at first and was marked with a simple sign. After that, in the third century AH, a monument was built on it, which was considered during the time of some Abbasid caliphs and Dailami princes and patriarchal and Ottoman rulers, and over time, the city of Karbala was built and expanded around it. There are several narrations about

18906-407: Was to refuse, as "a rebel, a seditious person, a brigand, an oppressor and he was to do no further harm after his death". If Ibn Sa'd was unwilling to carry out the attack, he was instructed to hand over command to Shemr. Ibn Sa'd cursed Shemr and accused him of foiling his attempts to reach a peaceful settlement but agreed to carry out the orders. He remarked that Husayn would not submit because there

19044-465: Was willing to return. Ibn Ziyad replied that Husayn must surrender or he should be subdued by force, and that to compel him, he and his companions should be denied access to the Euphrates river. Ibn Sa'd stationed 500 horsemen on the route leading to the river. Husayn and his companions remained without water for three days before a group of fifty men led by his half-brother Abbas was able to access

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