BATTLE OF KARBALA 61AH, 680AD

Hazrat Hussain was a loyal supporter of his father Hazrat Ali and was greatly
admired for his piety and bravery. After the assassination of Hazrat Ali he was
deeply unhappy when his brother Imam Hassan renounced the caliphate for the
sake of peace in the Islamic world.
He refused to acknowledge the Ummayad rule by Ameer Muawiyah as
legitimate and rejected Ameer Muawiyah’s request to accept his son Yazeed as
his successor. He believed that the succession of Yazeed was an attempt to
establish and illegitimate hereditary dynasty. Yazeed was also known for his
corrupt ideals and the lack of piety.
When Yazeed took over the caliphate after his father’s death Hazrat Hussain
supporters from Kufa invited him there and wowed to pledge to him and to rise
against the Ummayad under his leadership.
Hazrat Husain sent his cousin Muslim Ibn- e- Aqeel to Kufa to assess the
situation. Muslim Ibn-e- Aqeel seeing the support for the Imam in Kufa
encouraged him to come there, but soon after He dispatched this letter, he was
captured and martyred by the governor of Kufa. Strict measures were taken
against the supporters of Hazrat Hussain to instill fear into them for supporting
him.
Hazrat Hussain friend’s advised him to make Makkah as his base to fight against
Yazeed. Hussain had a lot of support in Mecca and Madina and they advised him
not to go to Kufa in Iraq. The Kuffans were famous for treasury.
The people of Kufa also believed that the leadership of Muslim community
belongs to the descendants of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). So they urged
Hussain to join them and come to Kufa to establish his caliphate. As Hazrat
Hussain prepared for the journey he was told by Abdullah Ibn-e-Umar and
Abdullah Ibn-e- Abbas to leave his family back if he was heading towards Kufa.
They had told Hussain:
“Under the slightest pressure the Kuffi's would change the loyalty”.
But Hussain had already taken a firm decision. He acted in the true spirit of Allah
and his prophet's command:

“So when you have decided on a course of action repose your confidence in
Allah”.

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 Hazrat Hussain took his family members and friends with him and headed to
Kufa on 8 Zilhajj. On his way he received the news about his cousin Muslim Bin
Aqeel’s death and the loss of Kuffan's supporters.
On arrival in Iraq he was intercepted by Yazeed’s army and directed towards the
plains of Karbala on the banks of river Euphrates. Hazrat Hussain pitched his
camp at Karbala.
The next day the army of Yazeed surrounded the camp and prevented the party
of Hussain from fetching water from the nearby river. Imam Hussain and his onto
Entourage had to endure the pangs of hunger and thirst. Negotiations between
the two sides were conducted. The governor of Kufa Ibn-e-Ziyaad was against
any peaceful settlement and was bent upon conducting the battle.
Finally on 10th Muharram the battle began between the small but loyal band of
72 supporters of Imam Hussain and thousands strong Umayyaad army. At first
there were minors commissures but as the days go on many faithful followers of
Imam Hussain fought one by one and were killed, and their camp was set on fire.
A day before the battle Hazrat Hussain had asked Yazeed's army to wait until
the next morning so that he and his men could spend the night praying. On the
night before the battle Hussain gathered his men and told them that they were
all free to leave the camp in the middle of the night under cover of darkness
rather than face certain death if they stayed with him. None of his supporters
left him. In fact they all prayed all night.
10th of Muharram is also called Ashura which was the day of the battle. Hussain
appointed Zuhair Ibn-e-Qayn to command the right flank of his army. Hazrat
Abbas Ibn-e- Ali was the standard bearer.
Hazrat Hussain rode on his horse called Zuljana. He called the people around him
to join him for the sake of God and to defend Muhammad (SAW) family. The
Syrian army of Yazeed used arrows and lances which was against the verbal
agreement made before the battle. This agreement was made in view of the
small number of Hussain’s companions.
In order to prevent showering of arrows on Hussain Ibn-e-Ali’s camp which had
women and children, his followers went out to single combat. All of his followers
were killed by the onslaught of arrows and lances.
The men comprised of people from Banu Hashim the clan of Hazrat Muhammad
(SAW) and Hazrat Ali. The sons of Ali Ibn-e- Abi Talib and Hassan Ibn-e- Ali, son
of Abdullah ibne Jaffer Ibn-e-Abi Talib and Zainab Bint-e-Ali , sons of Aqeel Ibn-
Abi Talib were all among the casualties. 72 hashmites were all dead.

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 The Martyrdom of Hazrat Hussain at the battle of Karbala:

The women, children and Hazrat Hussain elder’s son Ali were now left alive.
Imam Hussain finally fought alone and was surrounded by the army of Yazeed.
He put up a brave resistance but was finally struck down. His head was severed
from his body by Shimr Ibn-e-Dhil Jashwan who dismounted his horse and cut
Hazrat Hussain's throat with his sword. His head was brought to Yazeed’s court
in Damascus.
The surviving son Ali and the women and children were taken captives. The
beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was brutally martyred for
standing up against the rule of injustice.
Muslims all over the world held Imam Hussain in high regard. Shia Muslims hold
him in special reverend because of his decision to lay down his life fighting for
what he believed to be just and for resisting the ungodly rule of Yazeed.

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