and had become well known for his versatility, military skills and bravery. As an accomplished soldier, he participated in a number of battles against the adversaries of Islam, including the one that led to the conquest of Tabaristan. Hussain thus acquired a reputation in Madinah for his sacrifices for the sake of Islam. However, during the latter part of Caliph Uthman’s reign, internal frictions and schisms began to disrupt the unity of the Islamic State. Bent on wreaking havoc within the Islamic State, insurgents tried to blame the Caliph for the deteriorating situation in Madinah, but the aging Caliph refuted all their charges. Their failure to discredit the Caliph persuaded the insurgents to assassinate him. It was Hussain and his brother who stood at the front gate of the Caliph’s house to protect him from his opponents.
Unfortunately, the insurgents managed to enter Caliph Uthman’s house through the back door and brutally murdered him. Ali was then elected the fourth Caliph, in 656. During Ali’s Caliphate, Hussain stood by his father like a rock and supported him as much as he could. Four and a half years into his Caliphate, Ali died of a stab wound inflicted by a member of the khawarij sect. Before his death, he called his sons Hasan and Hussain and told them: ‘I want you to fear God always. Don’t feel sorry for what you cannot get. Be good to the people. Help the weak against the oppressor.’ Both Hasan and Hussain lived up to their father’s advice. Hasan was naturally a gentle and peace-loving man who disliked conflict and bloodshed. Though immediately after his father’s death he was elected Caliph, he abdicated in favour of his rival Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan to avoid yet another leadership contest. However, Hussain disagreed with his brother’s decision and considered Muawiyah to be an opportunist and usurper. Known for his integrity and uncompromising principles, Hussain’s stance on the issue of political leadership put him on a collision course with Yazid, the son of Muawiyah, who succeeded his father as the ruler of the Islamic State in 680.
Like his father, Yazid had a privileged upbringing but, unlike his father, he knew very little about Islam and was even less experienced in public affairs. Living in his father’s imposing Caliphal Palace in Damascus, he became well known for his unscrupulousness and lack of diplomatic skills. Even those who knew him well considered him unsuitable for the highest office in the land, but Muawiyah ignored all friendly advice and insisted on nominating Yazid as his successor. To be fair to Muawiyah, before his death he advised Yazid to be kind and generous to his subjects, especially to those who lived in the sacred cities of Makkah and Madinah, but as soon as Yazid ascended the throne, he wasted no time in using force against those who refused to recognise him as the legitimate Caliph. Devoid of tact and intelligence, Yazid created chaos and disorder across the Islamic State. His choice of governors, civil servants and military commanders were equally appalling. He removed some of the most gifted and able governors and diplomats from their posts, and replaced them with some of the most corrupt and ruthless people. This helped to intensify the conflict between the ruling elites and the masses, who, as expected, opposed Yazid’s choice of governors and administrators.
Against this backdrop, Hussain and Abdullah ibn Zubair emerged to challenge Yazid’s right to rule the Islamic State. When Hussain refused to recognise Yazid as Caliph, the latter ordered his governor in Madinah to force both men to pledge loyalty to him. However, both Hussain and Abdullah slipped out of Madinah under the cover of darkness, and settled in Makkah. During his stay in Makkah, Hussain received countless letters from the people of Kufah, urging him to move to their city and spearhead the opposition against Yazid from there. Although a number of prominent companions of the Prophet advised Hussain against such a move, he did not listen to them and instead set out for Kufah. The governor of Kufah at the time was Numan ibn Bishr who was too lenient for the liking of Yazid and, therefore, he replaced him with a ruthless young man called Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad, who played a pivotal role in suppressing the khawarij sect. As soon as Ibn Ziyad was informed that Hussain was on his way to Kufah, he stationed guards on the outskirts of the city to capture him on his arrival. Oblivious of the tumultuous situation prevailing in Kufah at the time, Hussain walked straight into Ibn Ziyad’s death-trap.
After entering Iraq, Hussain set up camp adjacent to a hill inside the border. Here, he reminded Ibn Ziyad’s forces that he came to Iraq on the invitation of the people of Kufah but, as expected, the commander of the army denied having sent him an invitation and a quarrel broke out between the two parties. Ibn Ziyad then wrote to his commander to force Hussain to camp in a barren place where there was no water. That fateful place was Karbala. Here Hussain, his family and small band of followers camped, and it was here that one of Islamic history’s most heinous crimes was to be perpetrated by Yazid’s men – as prophesied by the Prophet decades earlier. After Hussain settled at Karbala, Ibn Ziyad sent Umar ibn Sa’d with a large contingent to confront Hussain and his men. However, Hussain and Umar tried to resolve the dispute through negotiation in order to avoid fighting and bloodshed. After much discussion, both parties agreed a peace plan. Umar then wrote to Ibn Ziyad with the proposed truce, but the ruthless governor rejected the truce; he was persuaded by his aide Shimar ibn Dhul Jawshan not to accept it. Instead, the governor urged Umar to fight Hussain and force him to pledge loyalty to Yazid.
Disaster was now looming on the horizon. Ibn Ziyad sent Shimar with the instruction to force Hussain to surrender. When Umar ibn Sa’d received Ibn Ziyad’s letter, the former rebuked Shimar for wrecking his peace plan. Though Umar ibn Sa’d (who was the son of the distinguished companion Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas) was keen to resolve the conflict without a fight, the bloodthirsty Shimar was keen to fight and shed innocent blood. When Hussain refused to surrender voluntarily, the hope of reaching a peaceful resolution vanished. That evening Hussain spoke to his family and friends and asked them to prepare for battle. This conflict was destined to become one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in the annals of Islam. The impact of this tragedy continues to upset Muslim feelings and consciousness to this day. On the tenth of Muharram, sixty one years after the hijrah, Hussain, his family and friends took a stand against political tyranny and oppression. Attacked by Ibn Ziyad’s forces, Hussain and his followers fought like lions – and one by one they fell on the battlefield – except the indomitable Hussain who continued to fight. No one dared to touch the man who was the apple of the Prophet’s eye. In desperation, as arrows pierced his body and neck, Hussain searched for water to drink but his heartless pursuers refused him relief. The cursed Malik then landed a blow on his head.
Lifting his eyes up to the heavens, Hussain cried, ‘Lord, deprive these people of rain and the bounties of the earth…they invited us with the promise to support our cause. When we came, they turned against us and started butchering us.’ Saying this, Hussain picked up his sword and marched towards the enemy and they fell upon him from all directions. His body was mutilated and the wretched Shimar cut off his head, and it was carried to the governor of Kufah who, in turn, sent it to Yazid in Damascus. According to the historians, Hussain’s body was buried in Karbala but there is much disagreement concerning the burial site of his head. Some historians say it was taken to Madinah and buried in Jannat al-Baqi next to his mother’s grave, while others say it was buried in Damascus. Either way, Hussain was brutally martyred at the age of fifty-five. He was a man of sound principles who lived by his principles and died fighting for justice and truth. Hussain’s uncompromising stance against Yazid earned him the title of ‘prince of martyrs’, while Yazid became known to posterity as the ‘king of hatred’, the most despised man in Islamic history. More than half a century after Hussain’s martyrdom, justice caught up with the wretched men who were responsible for the grisly murder of Hussain at Karbala. The House of Umayyah (the Umayyad dynasty) soon crumbled and the butchers of Karbala were caught and punished in an exemplary fashion by the Abbasids. Hussain did not die in vain; it was a battle of good against evil, right against wrong, and truth against falsehood. That is why today the name of Hussain has become totally synonymous with the fight against injustice, brutality and oppression throughout the Muslim world.
ACCORDING TO THE Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad was uswatun hasana (or the ‘best role model’) for all people for all times to come. The Qur’an provides the outlines of Islamic principles and teachings, while the normative practice (sunnah) of the Prophet is regarded as the most authoritative commentary on the Qur’anic revelation. For this