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معركة كربلاء واستشهاد الحسين بن علي
The Battle of Karbala, which took place on the 10th of Muharram 61 AH (October 10, 680 CE), stands as one of the most sorrowful events in Islamic history. In it, Husayn ibn Ali, the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, was killed along with most of his family members and companions by forces loyal to the Umayyad government. Every Muslim of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah regards this killing as a grave injustice and recognizes Husayn as a martyr.
Following the death of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan in Rajab 60 AH, his son Yazid assumed the caliphate. While Muawiyah had secured pledges of allegiance for Yazid during his lifetime, several prominent figures withheld their support. Among them was Husayn ibn Ali, the son of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ.
Husayn's refusal was not born of ambition for power but of principle. He did not consider it right to pledge allegiance to a ruler whose personal conduct raised serious concerns among the scholars and righteous people of the time. As Ibn Kathir records in al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Husayn left Madinah for Makkah, where he received a flood of letters from the people of Kufa. By some accounts, over 12,000 letters arrived, pledging their support and urging him to come lead them.
Husayn sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil ahead to assess the situation in Kufa. Muslim initially received overwhelming support, with thousands pledging allegiance. However, when the Umayyad governor Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad arrived in Kufa with a firm hand, the Kufan support collapsed almost overnight. Muslim ibn Aqil was captured and executed.
News of Muslim's fate did not reach Husayn in time. He had already departed Makkah with a small caravan of roughly 72 fighters, accompanied by women and children from his household. Several companions, including Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Umar, had advised him against the journey, warning that the people of Kufa could not be trusted. Ibn Abbas reportedly said, as narrated by al-Tabari, that he feared the Kufans would betray him as they had betrayed his father and brother before him.
Husayn's caravan was intercepted at the plains of Karbala, near the Euphrates River, by an advance force of around 1,000 cavalry under al-Hurr ibn Yazid al-Tamimi. A much larger army, estimated at 4,000 soldiers under the command of Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, soon arrived with orders from Ibn Ziyad: Husayn must either submit to Yazid's authority or be prevented from leaving.
In a cruel measure, Husayn's camp was cut off from the waters of the Euphrates. For days, the small group endured thirst in the Iraqi heat, including women and young children. Husayn attempted negotiations, reportedly offering to return to Madinah, go to a frontier outpost, or even meet Yazid directly. These proposals were rejected by Ibn Ziyad, who demanded unconditional surrender.
On the morning of the 10th of Muharram, Husayn prepared for what he knew would be the end. He addressed the opposing army, reminding them of his lineage and the rights of kinship with the Prophet ﷺ. Al-Tabari and Ibn al-Athir in al-Kamil fit-Tarikh record his words in detail.
The fighting was brief and devastatingly one-sided. Husayn's companions and family members fought and fell one by one. Among the slain were his brother Abbas ibn Ali, his sons Ali al-Akbar and the infant Ali al-Asghar, and his nephews. Husayn himself was the last to fall. He was struck by multiple wounds before being killed by Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan.
His head was severed and sent to Ibn Ziyad in Kufa, and eventually to Yazid in Damascus. The surviving women and children, including Husayn's son Ali ibn Husayn (later known as Zayn al-Abidin), who had been too ill to fight, were taken as captives.
Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah hold a clear and unified position on Karbala. Husayn was in the right, and his killing was a great sin upon those who committed it. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Kathir all affirmed that Husayn was a shahid (martyr) and that Yazid bears moral responsibility for what his governors carried out.
Ibn Taymiyyah wrote in Minhaj al-Sunnah that Husayn was killed unjustly, that he is among the leaders of the Muslims and the people of Paradise, and that those who killed him were wrongdoers.
At the same time, the Sunni tradition does not sanction the ritualized mourning practices that developed centuries later, such as self-flagellation, chest-beating processions, or passion plays. The Prophet ﷺ himself prohibited wailing over the dead, striking oneself, and tearing garments in grief. The Sunnah on the Day of Ashura is fasting, as the Prophet ﷺ prescribed, commemorating Allah's salvation of Musa from Pharaoh.
The tragedy of Karbala left a permanent mark on the Muslim conscience. It became a dividing line in the political and theological fractures of the early ummah. For Sunni Muslims, it is a reminder that truth must be spoken even at the highest cost, and that lineage to the Prophet ﷺ carries honor that no political authority can erase. Husayn's stand remains one of the most noble acts of courage in the entire history of Islam.
For the Prophetic era, see the Seerah timeline.