Imam Hussain A.S. is the grand son of Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him)from his daughter Fatima S.A. and his cousin and son-in-law Ali Bin Abi Talib. Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) used to call him and his brother Hassan as his beloved sons. He is the one who chose their names after they born. They grow in the environment of Banu Hashim, the tribe of Mohammad and Ali. Unlike Banu Ummaiyyah, Bano Hashim rejects corruption, oppression and racial discrimination. Bano Ummaiyyah considers themselves above the others and the Arabs above the non Arabs. This discrimination reached its peak during the reign of Muawiyah Bin Abu Sufiyan and his son Yazid in Damascus in Syria. One of the major causes for Imam Hussain A.S. to reject the leadership of Muawiyah and Yazid is because of their corruption, oppression, slavery and injustice.
It is very difficult to elaborate about the history in details but I will try to write very briefly about the main points.
After the death of Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and before his burial, a new era of struggle for power started. Al Ansaars who were the inhabitants of Madinah gathered in a place called Saqeefa Bani Saiedah which is their community meeting place and selected among them Saad Bin Ubaidah to be the leader. The Mohajireen who migrated with Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) the tribe of Quraish heard this. They left the body of the Prophet and want to the same place. The two sides clashed and argued about who should be the leader. The scene was chaotic with threats from both sides. Ali and the family of Prophet haven't attended and have been ignored. Ali was adopted by Mohammad when he was a boy to help his uncle Abi Talib during economical crises. He was the son-in-law of the Prophet, his cousin, and brother by choice and the first one to embrace Islam after the prophet and his deputy at least according to many Muslims at that time. Ali was poor and he was disliked by the rich aristocrats of Quraishis.
The meeting resulted in taking allegiance to Abu Baker who was one of the Immigrants to Madinah. Some Muslims rejected and some asked to wait until Ali and the Prophet kinsmen finished from his burial but the matter moved forward by some. That was a breakthrough point in the history of division in Islam.
Soon after this many Muslims refused to pay charity to Abu Baker and that was suppressed by force led by Khalid Bin waleed who killed the leader of the region Malik Bin Nowerah and married his beautiful wife on the same day.
Hazrat Ali A.S. (the father of Imam Hussain A.S.) hasn't submitted his allegiance until the death of Hazrat Fatima S.A. 6 months later. At this time, the power established well in the hands of Abu Baker and Umar and have he not doing so he may have been killed. Abu Baker and Umar used Ali as a consultant for them. During the reign of Usman who was from Banu Ommayyiah, there were a lot of unrest in Egypt and Iraq and other parts due to the oppressive and unjust behaviors of the local leaders. Usman appointed leaders among his family and some of them were arrogant to the people. The unrest resulted in surrounding Usman's house and Ali tried to stop things but was unable so the revolted people killed Usman. This was a major point in the history of Islam. Here the division started to take a different shape.
Now Ali has been selected by the people to lead and he refused initially but the revolted people and others convinced him that they need his leadership now. He accepted but Muawiyah in Damascus who was the cousin of Usman refused that and entered into many wars with Ali. After the death of Ali (killed during prayer in Kuffa mosque), Muawiyah signed agreement with Ali's eldest Son Hassan to stop bloodshed and the power will go to Hassan after him but Muawiyah killed Hassan by putting poison in his honey. He then forced every one to give allegiance to his son Yazid after him. After his death, Yazid sent for Madinah to ask the people to recognize him as the leader. He instructed his army if any one refused to give allegiance to be killed and named Hussain as one of the most important people to start with.
Yazid was arrogant, oppressive, and unjust man. His messenger to Hussain, the governor of Madinah, asked Hussain after summoning him to submit his will to Yazid. Imam Hussain knew if he does so it means the end of the moral aspects in the religion and the acceptance of the slavery dictatorship of Yazid. He refused and asked the messenger to wait for a while. Imam Hussain then decided to leave with his family (wife, children, brothers and some others) to Iraq because he knew Yazid already planned to assassinate him. He took his family because if he leaves them, Yazid will take them as captives. The followers of his father and grand father in Iraq have written to him before to go there and provide him with protection. He then made his mind and went from Madinah to Makkah then across the desert towards Kuffa.
Imam Hussain leaving the city of his grand father to Iraq
To Kuffa
Yazid arranged a huge army of 33,000 men very well equipped and appointed Ubiad Ullah Bin Ziyad as the governor of Kuffa. Ubiad Ullah Bin Ziyad was a known person for his arrogance, un-mercifulness, oppression, and every thing inhuman. He was governor on Basrah. Since his arrival to Kuffa worked in two ways, threat and killing and buying the people with money. He captured the messenger of Imam Hussain A.S. and his cousin Muslim Bin Aqeel; beating him and threw him from the roof of the palace then crucified him with Hani Bin Urwa, his hostess.
Yazid sent his strongest army while Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad sent an army to surround Imam Hussain A.S. and his family and prevent them from changing their direction until Yazid army arrives. Imam Hussain A.S. have just over 100 with him most of them among his family.They forced Imam Hussain A.S. and his family (the family of Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to retreat to Karbala. Karbala is two phrases word; kar means anguish and bala means vexation.
Imam Hussain A.S. debated with them that they are themselves send for him to come and tried to convince them that they are in actual fact surrounding the women and children of their Prophet but they refused to let him to go. They said that he has to submit completely his will to Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad and then Yazid or he will face his fate. He showed them more than 500 letters that they sent but they denied it!
After a long journey through the desert, his children were thirsty as well as the women and the men. They prevent him from the Euphrates water. He got a 6 months old baby, Ali Asghar A.S. who was crying aggressively for water and he took him to the army asking for water just for this baby, instead they throw the baby with a dart which strike him on his neck and killed him instantly. Imam Hussain A.S. then took the blood of his baby in his hand and throw it to heaven asking God to witness what these people done to a baby belong to the family of their Prophet.
On the 10th of Muharram around mid-day, Yazid's army attacked Imam Hussain A.S. camp. Imam Hussain A.S. first advised them saying that we are until now one nation but if the sword happened between us then we became two nations; you are one and we are different. From that time the practical division between Shias and Sunni manifest itself very clearly and widely. Shia means the supporters or followers of, and here it means the supporters of Ali and Ahl-e-Bait which means the family of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
The night before the war, Imam Hussain A.S. gathered his family and followers and told them that the army want him himself and so he told them you are free to go while it is dark but all of them refused. One of those who fought with him was a Christian young man called John.
Last moments before battle
In few hours, they killed every one and when Imam Hussain A.S. remained alone, he asked loudly if there is any one protects the family of the messenger of God! They attacked him and then racked him with the feet of their horses when he tumbled. They then cut his head and the heads of his brothers and followers and raise them on spears.
After this, they attacked the women and put the tents in fire. The children escaped in all directions and the women tried to protect them. They beaten the children and women by the whips and ripped off their belonging. Then they took them as captives!!! Children and women!! Among them was Hazrat Zainab S.A. the sister of Imam Hussain A.S. who witnessed the massacre of her sons, brothers, nephews and other relatives in the bloodiest way of barbaric killing.
Back without Hussain!
Zainab asked; "Oh horse, where is Hussain my beloved brother?"
They cut the heads and left the bodies un-burried!
Yazid army set fire in the camp and terrified women and children.
This is the present site where Imam Hussein killed and slaughtered
Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad looked to the head of Imam Hussain A.S. and start to strike his mouth with a cane, feeling the joy and happiness filling his sadistic inhuman personality. He then turned to humiliate the women of the family of Prophet Mohammad. Zainab then delivered a strong speech describing the magnitude of their crime. Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad ordered his guards to kill Ali, the son of Hussain who was a young boy and haven't joined the battle because he was ill. Zainab throw her self over the boy and said if you want to kill him, you have to kill me first before him. Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad withdraws his devilish wish after Zainab insistence.
The Tomb of the body of Hussain.
The tomb of the martyrs who died with Hussain
The army then took the women and children on a camel caravan to Damascus. They passed many cities and villages. They told the people that those women and children are among foreigners who were out law and refused to submit to the Caliph Yazid. They haven't told the truth that they are the prophet's family to prevent revolt.
Captives with chains to Ubaid Ullah Bin Ziyad.
Before they arrive to Damascus, there was a Priest in his remote chapel, he spotted the caravan from a distance and saw a light shining from the head of Hussain up to the sky. The Priest stopped them and asked them who is that head for? They refused to tell him. After he gave them money, they told him that the head belongs to Hussain, the son of Fatima, the daughter of Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He got some money with him and asked them to take it and let the head with him for a while. They took the money and gave him the head. The Priest washed it and heard recitation of the Holly Qur'an coming from the head.
In Damascus, Yazid put them chained in a ruin before depart them to Madinah. Many of the children died from starvation, diseases and beating during this long journey. The little daughter of Imam Hussain while in the abandond ruin in Damascus start to cry and insisted to see her father. Zainab tried to please her but she never stopped crying. Then they brought the head and told her this is your father. She hugged the head and took a deep sigh and passed.
In the palace of the tyrant.
Imam Hussain remembered as a symbol of freedom and dignity against tyrant and slavery. Hussain never bowed to tyrant and oppressive regime of Yazid. Gandhi the strongman of India said (I learnt from Hussain how I be tyrannized and achieve victory!). A woman who was mourning in Muharram has been asked about it. She said to mourn for a beloved one is a personal thing which will fade with time but to mourn for Imam Hussein is to mourn for the mankind which will never fade as far as there is tyranny and oppression and slavery.
Imam Hussein said; dignified death is better than humiliating life.
Many intellectuals wrote about Imam Hussein. Gerhard Konsilman a German journalist said that Yazid used to despise the people, salving and oppressing them and irresponsible sinful person. Imam Hussein by his realistic personality and death defeated the tyrant. His revolt was the ignition for the end of Umayyad density. Konsilman added that the dead Hussein was more dangerous on Yazid than the live Hussein. The martyrdom of Hussein in Kerbala remained the symbol for freedom, dignity and rejection of the tyrants.
There are some similarities between Jesus Christ and Hussein in that both of them rejected tyrant and wrongful and gave themselves in the way of freedom, salvation, dignity and righteous aspect of life. Their path is one and their salvation is by following their path of peace and justice. Before them Moses and Aaron defied the tyranny of Pharaoh and Aaron was deemed weak by his own people when Moses left to receive the Ten Commandments.
Al Hussein will remain as a revolution against all tyrants and oppressors. He will continue as a symbol for dignity and freedom for all the mankind and not only the Shias Muslims.
