Husayn ibn Ali

Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib (Arabic: الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب‎‎; 10 October 625 – 10 October 680) (3 Sha'aban AH 4 (in the ancient (intercalated) Arabic calendar) – 10 Muharram AH 61), also spelled as Husain, Hussain or Hussein, was the son of Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib (fourth Rashidun caliph of Sunni Islam, and first Imam of Shia Islam) and Fatimah Zahra (daughter of Muhammad) and the younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. Husayn is an important figure in Islam, as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and Ahl al-Kisa, as well as being the third Shia Imam.

Hussain became the head of Shia Islam and the head of Banu Hashim after the death of his older brother, Hasan ibn Ali, in 670 (AH 50). His father's supporters (Shi'a Ali) in Kufa gave their allegiance to him. However, he told them he was still bound to the peace treaty between Hasan and Muawiyah I and they should wait until Muawiyah was dead. Later, Hussain did not accept the request of Muawiyah for the succession of his son, Yazid I, and considered this action a breach of the Hasan–Muawiya treaty. When Muawiyah I died in 680, Husayn refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid I, who had just been appointed as Umayyad caliph by Muawiyah, because he considered the Umayyads an oppressive and religiously misguided regime. He insisted on his legitimacy based on his own special position as a direct descendant of Muhammad and his legitimate legatees. As a consequence, he left Medina, his home town, to take refuge in Mecca in AH 60. There, the people of Kufa sent letters to him, asking his help and pledging their allegiance to him. So he travelled towards Kufa. At a place near Kufa, known as Karbala, his caravan was intercepted by Yazid I's army. He was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 (10 Muḥarram 61) by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan, along with most of his family and companions.