Battle of Karbala
Battle of Karbala (part 1)
The Battle of Karbala or Battle of ‘Ashura in which Imam al-Husayn’s (a) fought against an army from Kufa on Muharram 10, 61/October 10, 680 who were mercenary soldiers of Yazid b. Mu’awiya, the second Umayyad caliph. The Battle of Karbala is the most sorrowful incident in the history of Islam, especially for the Shiites. hence they hold huge mourning ceremonies every year during the first (10) days of Muharram.
The movement of Imam al-Husayn (a) began from Medina towards Mecca after the death of Mu’awiya on the first days of Rajab 60/680; and it was the first action of Imam al-Husayn (a) to refrain from giving allegiance to Yazid b. Mu’awiya. On this journey, the family of Imam (a), some of Banu Hashim and some Shi’a accompanied him.
Imam al-Husayn (a) stayed in Mecca for about four months until Dhu l-Hijja 8/September 9. During his staying in Mecca, he (a) received invitation letters sent by the people of Kufa. Because of the possibility of being killed in Mecca by the agents of Yazid and invitations by the people of Kufa, Imam (a) moved towards this city; however, before arriving to Kufa, he (a) was informed that the people of Kufa had broken their promise to support him and that Muslim b. ‘Aqil, who was sent by Imam al-Husayn (a) to Kufa to investigate the situation- had been martyred . After Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi blocked the way of Imam (a), he (a) went toward Karbala and there he (a) encountered the army of ‘Umar b. Sa’d who was appointed by ‘Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad as the commander of the army.
Two armies engaged in battle on 10th of Muharram best known as the Day of ‘Ashura’. In this battle, Imam al-Husayn (a), his brother, ‘Abbas b. ‘Ali (a), the two sons, ‘Ali al-Akbar and ‘Ali al-Asghar, 17 members of Banu Hashim, along with more than fifty companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) were martyred. Some maqtal writers have mentioned Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan as the murderer of Imam al-Husayn (a). A group of soldiers from the army of ‘Umar b. Sa’d ran over the bodies of martyrs with their horses. In the evening, this army attacked the tents of the families of the martyrs and set them ablaze. This night is called “Sham-i Ghariban” in Persian. Imam al-Sajjad (a) was not involved in the fight due to his illness so survived. He was captured by the army of Yazid along with Lady Zaynab (a) and other women and children. The army lifted the heads of the martyrs onto spears and took them alongside the captives to ‘Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad in Kufa and from there to Yazid in Damascus.
Refraining from Giving Allegiance to Yazid
Year 60/680Rajab 15
(April 21)Death of Mu’awiya b. Abi SufyanRajab 28
(May 4)Departure of Imam al-Husayn b. ‘Ali (a) from Medina.Sha’ban 3
(May 9)Arrival of Imam al-Husayn (a) to Mecca.Ramadan 10
(June 14)Arrival of Kufiyans’ first letter to Imam (a)Ramadan 12
(June 16)Arrival of 150 letters from KufaRamadan 14
(June 18)Arrival of the letter from leaders of KufaRamadan 15
(June 19)Departure of Muslim b. ‘Aqil from Mecca toward Kufa.Shawwal 5
(July 9)Arrival of Muslim b. ‘Aqil to Kufa.Dhu l-Hijja 8
(September 9)Departure of Imam al-Husayn (a) form Mecca and uprising of Muslim b. ‘Aqil in KufaDhu l-Hijja 9
(September 10)Martyrdom of Muslim b. ‘AqilYear 61/680Muharram 1
(October 1)Asking for help of ‘Ubayd Allah b. al-Hurr al-Ju’fi and ‘Amr b. Qays in Qasr Bani MuqatilMuharram 2
(October 2)Arrival of Imam (a) to KarbalaMuharram 3
(October 3)Arrival of ‘Umar b. Sa’d with 4,000 people to KarbalaMuharram 6
(October 6)Habib b. Muzahir‘s asking for help of Banu AsadMuharram 7
(October 7)Banding of water by ‘Umar b. Sa’d and joining Muslim b. ‘Awsaja al-Asadi to Imam (a)Muharram 9
(October 9)Arrival of Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan to KarbalaMuharram 9
(October 9)Shimr’s Safe conduct for Umm al-Banin‘s childrenMuharram 9
(October 9)Announcing of the Battle by ‘Umar b. Sa’d and Imam’s (a) asking for a delayMuharram 10
(October 10)Events of Ashura and the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn (a), his Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) and his companionsMuharram 11
(October 11)Moving the captives towards Kufa and the burial of martyrs by Banu AsadMuharram 12
(October 12)Arrival of captives to Kufa and the burial of the martyrs according to the narrationMuharram 19
(October 19)Moving the captives from Kufa towards SyriaSafar 1
(October 31)Arrival of the captives and the head of Imam al-Husayn (a) to SyriaSafar 20
(November 19)Arba’in and the return of Ahl al-Bayt (a) to Karbala and Medina (in some accounts)vte
After Mu’awiya died on Rajab 15, 60/April 21, 680, people gave allegiance to Yazid.[1] He decided to take the allegiance of some of the nobles among Muslims who had previously rejected his father’s invitation for giving allegiance to Yazid.[2] Therefore, he wrote a letter to Walid b. ‘Utba, the governor of Medina at that time and informed him of the death of Mu’awiya and in a short letter, he wrote to him, “Take allegiance of al-Husayn b. Ali, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr and ‘Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr by force and behead anyone of them who does not accept.”[3]
Then, Walid received another letter from Yazid, in which he had insisted, “write the names of those who approved me and objected to me and also send to me the head of al-Husayn b. Ali (a) with the letter.”[4] Walid consulted with Marwan b. Hakam [5]and then sent ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr to Imam al-Husayn (a), ‘Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, and ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr.[6]
Imam (a) and 30 people[7] of his close companions went to Dar al-‘Imara (residence of emir) of Medina[8]. Walid informed Imam (a) about the death of Mu’awiya and then read the letter of Yazid to him, in which Walid was asked to take allegiance of Imam (a) to Yazid. Imam (a) told Walid, “Will you be happy if I give allegiance to Yazid secretly? I assume you want that I give allegiance in public.” Walid said, “I have that idea.”[9] Imam (a) said, “so, give me time until tomorrow and I will inform you of my opinion.”[10]
The evening of the next day, the governor of Medina sent his agents to the house of Imam (a) to receive the answer of Imam (a).[11] Imam (a) asked for the time of night as well and Walid accepted.[12] Imam (a) decided to leave Medina.[13]
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