Imam Husayn ibn Ali
Grandson of the Prophet, son of Ali and Fatima, and the martyr of Karbala; he is known by the epithet "al-Shahid" (the martyr). He was born in Medina on 5 Sha'ban 4 (10 January 626). It is related that from the chest down he closely resembled his grandfather. At his birth the Prophet himself gave him — as he had his elder brother Hasan — a name until then little known among the Arabs, reciting the call to prayer into his ear; on the seventh day he had the aqiqa sacrifice offered and asked Fatima to distribute to the poor silver equal to the weight of the child's hair. Together with his brother Hasan he learned Qur'anic recitation from the Successor Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami; he transmitted eight hadiths from his grandfather, from his mother and father, from Umar and from certain other Companions. He took no active part in the major events of the first two caliphates. Under Uthman he joined, with his brother, Sa'id b. al-As's expedition from Kufa to Khurasan (30/651); later his father charged the two of them with protecting the caliph and carrying water to his house when it was besieged by rebels. During his father's caliphate he went to Kufa and took part in all his campaigns; after his father's death he obeyed his brother in accordance with his testament. When Hasan decided to come to terms with Mu'awiya he wished to object, but his objection was refused and he desisted, going with him to Medina. After Hasan's death (49/669) and until Yazid I came to the caliphate (60/680) he devoted himself to worship, living a life of asceticism and piety. Mu'awiya's demand in 56 (676) that allegiance be given to his son Yazid disturbed Husayn as it did many Muslims. When the governor of Medina, Marwan, read out this demand in the Prophet's Mosque the people were outraged: Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr objected that a system passing sovereignty from father to son was being imposed upon the Muslims, and Abdullah b. Umar and Abdullah b. al-Zubayr also refused; Husayn was of their mind. On Mu'awiya's death (60/680) Yazid instructed the governor of Medina to obtain allegiance by whatever means. Meeting the governor Walid, Husayn declared that "a man like me cannot give allegiance in secret" and that he would do so publicly the next day. Marwan advised Walid to force him or behead him; Walid refused. On the night of 28 Rajab 60 (4 May 680) Husayn set out for Mecca with all his household, save his brother Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, who opposed such a move. Leading men of Kufa wrote letters inviting him to the caliphate. He sent his cousin Muslim b. Aqil to Kufa to assess the situation; Muslim reached the city on 5 Shawwal 60 (9 July 680) and began taking allegiance in Husayn's name. Yazid appointed Ubaydullah b. Ziyad governor of Kufa with orders to remove him. At Karbala the fighting, begun when Umar b. Sa'd advanced with his standard and loosed the first arrow, unfolded as a sheer tragedy between unequal forces; Husayn's troop of twenty-three horsemen and forty foot soldiers was soon reduced. Fighting on foot with courage at the head of these few, exhausted by heat and thirst, Husayn was assailed from every side at the command of Shimr b. Dhi'l-Jawshan, and was killed by Sinan b. Anas al-Nakha'i. Umar b. Sa'd prevented the killing of his son Ali Zayn al-Abidin, who lay ill ( 10 Muharram 61 / 10 October 680 ). The bodies of the martyrs were buried the following day by the villagers of Ghadiriyya, of the Banu Asad. This atlas entry is attached to the tomb at Karbala. His Circle of Influence — The sources relate how dearly the Prophet loved his two grandsons: he met their wishes without hesitation, played with them, carried them on his back. One day, seeing Hasan and Husayn stumbling into the mosque while he was on the pulpit, he broke off his address, came down and embraced them, recalling the verse "Your wealth and your children are but a trial" (al-Taghabun 64/15) and saying, "seeing them, I could not bear it" .