Extracted from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbala
The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar[2] (October 10, 680)[7][8] in Karbala, in present day Iraq. The battle was between a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and a much larger military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph,
whom Husain had refused to recognise as caliph. Husain and all his
supporters were killed, including Husain's six months old infant son,
and the women and children taken as prisoners. The dead are regarded as martyrs by Muslims, and the battle has a central place in Shi'ah history and tradition, and has frequently been recounted in Shi'ah Islamic literature.
The Battle of Karbala is commemorated during an annual 10-day period
held every Muharram by the Shi'ah as well as many Sunnis, culminating on
its tenth day, Ashura.[9]
Muawiya I died on Rajab 22, 60 AH (680 CE). In violation of Islamic tradition and his own written agreement with Hasan ibn Ali,[citation needed] Muawiya I appointed his son Yazid as his successor, converting the Caliphate into a dynasty. Few notables of the Islamic community were crucial to lending some legitimacy to this conversion of Caliphate into a dynasty,[15][16] even people like Said ibn Uthman[15] and Al Ahnaf ibn Qays[17] denounced his Caliphate.[18]
Husain ibn Ali was the most significant threat to this dynastic rule,
since he was the only living grandson of the prophet Muhammad. Yazid
instructed his Governor Walid in Medina
to force Husain ibn Ali to pledge allegiance to Yazid. Husain refused
it and uttered his famous words that "Anyone akin to me will never
accept anyone akin to Yazid as a ruler." Husain departed Medina
on Rajab 28, 60 AH (680 CE), two days after Walid's attempt to force
him to submit to Yazid I's rule. He stayed in Mecca from the beginnings
of the Sha'ban and all of Ramadan, Shawwal, as well as Dhu al-Qi'dah.
It is mainly during his stay in Mecca that he received many letters from Kufa assuring him their support and asking him to come over there and guide them. He answered their calls and sent Muslim ibn Aqeel, his cousin, to Kufa as his representative in an attempt to consider the exact situation and public opinion.
Husain's representative to Kufa, Muslim ibn Aqeel was welcomed by the
people of Kufa, and most of them swore allegiance to him. After this
initial observation, Muslim ibn Aqeel wrote to Husain Ibn Ali that the
situation in Kufa was favorable. However, after the arrival of the new
Governor of Kufa, Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad, the scenario changed. Muslim ibn Aqeel and his host, Hani ibn Urwa, were executed on Dhu al-Hijjah
9, 60AH (September 10, 680 CE) without any considerable resistance of
the people. This shifted the loyalties of the people of Kufa, in favor
of Yazid against Husain ibn Ali.[19]
Husain ibn Ali also realized a deep conspiracy that Yazid had appointed
`Amr ibn Sa`ad ibn al As as the head of an army, ordering him to take
charge of the pilgrimage caravans and to kill al Husain ibn Ali wherever
he could find him during Hajj,[20][21]
and hence decided to leave Mecca on 08th Dhu al-Hijjah 60 AH (12
September 680 AD), just a day before Hajj and was contented with Umrah, due to his concern about potential violation of the sanctity of the Kaaba.[22][23]
He delivered a famous sermon in Kaaba highlighting his reasons to leave
that he didn't want the sanctity of Kaaba to be violated, since his
opponents had crossed any norm of decency and were willing to violate
all tenets of Islam.
When Husain ibn Ali was making his mind to leave for Kufa, Abd-Allah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Zubayr
held a meeting with him and advised him not to move to Iraq, or, if he
was determined to move, not to take women and children with him in this
dangerous journey. Husain ibn Ali, however, had resolved to go ahead
with his plan. He gave a speech to people the day before his departure
and said:
"... The death is a certainty for mankind, just like the trace of necklace on the neck of young girls. And I am enamored of my ancestors like eagerness of Jacob to Joseph ... Everyone, who is going to devote his blood for our sake and is prepared to meet Allah, must depart with us..."[24]
Husain and his followers were two days away from Kufa when they were
intercepted by the vanguard of Yazid's army; about 1000 men led by Hurr
ibn Riahy. Husain asked the army, "With us or against us?" They replied:
"Of course against you, oh Aba Abd Allah!" Husain ibn Ali said: "If you
are different from what I received from your letters and from your
messengers then I will return to where I came from." Their leader, Hurr,
refused Husain's request to let him return to Medina. The caravan of the Mohammad's family arrived at Karbala on Muharram 2, 61AH (October 2, 680 CE).[28] They were forced to pitch a camp on the dry, bare land and Hurr stationed his army nearby.
Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad appointed Umar ibn Sa'ad
to command the battle against Husain ibn Ali. At first Umar ibn Sa'ad
rejected the leadership of the army but accepted after Ibn Ziyad
threatened to take away the governorship of Ray city and put Shimr ibn Zil Jawshan in his place.[29] Ibn Ziyad also urged Umar ibn Sa'ad to initiate the battle on the sixth day of Moharram.[30] Umar ibn Sa'ad moved towards the battlefield with an 80,000[2]-strong army and arrived at Karbala on Muharram 2, 61 AH (October 3, 680 CE).
Ibn Ziyad sent a brief letter to Umar ibn Sa'd that commanded,
"Prevent Husain and his followers from accessing water and do not allow
them to drink a drop [of water]. Ibn Sa'ad followed the orders, and 5000
horsemen blockaded the Euphrates.
One of Husain's followers met Umar ibn Sa'ad and tried to negotiate
some sort of access to water, but was denied. The water blockade
continued up to the end of the battle on Muharram 10th (October 10, 680
CE).[31]
Umar ibn Sa'ad received an order from Ibn Ziyad to start the battle
immediately and not to postpone it further. The army started advancing
toward Husain's camp on the afternoon of Muharram 9th. At this point
Husain sent Abbas ibn Ali to ask Ibn Sa'ad to wait until the next
morning, so that he and his men could spend the night praying. Ibn Sa'ad
agreed to the respite.[29][32][33]
On the night before the battle, Husain gathered his men and told them
that they were all free to leave the camp in the middle of the night,
under cover of darkness, rather than face certain death if they stayed
with him. None of Husain's men defected and they all remained with him.
Husain and his followers held a vigil and prayed all night.[34]
The day of the battle
On Muharram 10th, also called Ashura, Husain ibn Ali completed the morning prayers with his companions. He appointed Zuhayr ibn Qayn to command the right flank of his army, Habib ibn Muzahir to command the left flank and his half-brother Abbas ibn Ali
as the standard bearer. There is controversy regarding the date for the
day of Ashura in the Gregorian Calendar. October 10 is a calculated
date through calculators.[35][36] These calculators however, are not always correct. According to the book Maqtal al Husain, Muharram 9th is October 12, 680; if that book is correct Muharram 10th was October 13, 680 A.D.
Husain ibn Ali's companions numbered 32 horsemen and 40 infantrymen.[37] Husain rode on his horse Zuljenah.
Husain ibn Ali called the people around him to join him for the sake of Allah and to defend Muhammad's family. His speech affected Hurr ibn Yazid Al-Riyahi, the commander of the Tamim and Hamdan tribes who had stopped Husain from his journey. He abandoned Umar ibn Sa'ad and joined Husain's small band of followers.[38]
On the other side, Yazid had sent Shimir (his chief commander) to replace Umar ibn Sa'ad as the commander.[38][39][40]
The battle begins
Umar ibn Sa'ad advanced and fired an arrow at Husain ibn Ali's army,
saying: "Give evidence before the governor that I was the first
thrower." Ibn Sa'ad's army started showering Husain's army with arrows.[41][42] Hardly any men from Husain ibn Ali's army escaped from being shot by an arrow.[42][43] Both sides began fighting. Successive assaults resulted in the death of a group of Husain ibn Ali's companions.[42][44]
The first skirmish was between the right flank of Imam Husain's army
with the left of the Syrian army. A couple of dozens men under the
command of Zuhayr ibn Qain fought heroically and repulsed the initial
infantry attack and in the process destroyed the left flank of the
Syrian army which in disarray collided with the middle of the army.
Seeing this, the Syrian army quickly retreated and broke the pre-war
verbal agreement of not using arrows and lances. This agreement was made
in view of the small number of Husain ibn Ali's companions. Umar ibn
Sa'ad on advice of 'Amr ibn al Hajjaj ordered his army not to come out
for any duel and to attack Husain ibn Ali's army together.[45][46]
`Amr ibn al-Hajjaj attacked Husain ibn Ali's right wing, but the men
were able to maintain their ground, kneeling down as they planted their
lances. They were thus able to frighten the enemy's horses. When the
horsemen came back to charge at them again, Husain's men met them with
their arrows, killing some of them and wounding others.[46][47]
`Amr ibn al-Hajjaj kept saying the following to his men, "Fight those
who abandoned their creed and who deserted the jam`a!" Hearing him say
so, Husain ibn Ali said to him, "Woe unto you, O `Amr! Are you really
instigating people to fight me?! Are we really the ones who abandoned
their creed while you yourself uphold it?! As soon as our souls part
from our bodies, you will find out who is most worthy of entering the
fire![46][48]
In order to prevent random and indiscriminate showering of arrows on
Husain ibn Ali's camp which had women and children in it, Husain's
followers went out to single combats. Men like Burayr ibn Khudhayr,[49] Muslim ibn Awsaja[45][50] and Habib ibn Mazahir[51][52]
were slain in the fighting. They were attempting to save Husain's life
by shielding him. Every casualty had a considerable effect on their
military strength since they were vastly outnumbered by Yazid I's army.
Husain's companions were coming, one by one, to say goodbye to him, even
in the midst of battle. Almost all of Husain's companions were killed
by the onslaught of arrows or lances.
After almost all of Husain's companions were killed, his relatives asked his permission to fight. The men of Banu Hashim, the clan of Muhammad and Ali, went out one by one. Ali al Akbar ibn Husain, the middle son of Husain ibn Ali, was the first one of Hashemite who received permission from his father.[51][53][54]
Casualties from Banu Hashim were sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib, sons of Hasan ibn Ali, a son of Husain ibn Ali, a son of Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi-Talib and Zaynab bint Ali, sons of Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, as well as a son of Muslim ibn Aqeel. There were seventy-two Hashemites dead in all (including Husain ibn Ali).[55]
Death of Abbas ibn Ali
Abbas ibn Ali advanced toward Euphrates branch along a dyke. Abbas
ibn Ali continued his advance into the heart of ibn Sa'ad's army.[56]
He was under heavy shower of arrows but was able to penetrate them and
get to the branch leaving heavy casualties from the enemy. He
immediately started filling the water skin. In a remarkable and immortal
gesture of loyalty to his brother and Muhammad's grandson he did not
drink any water despite being severely thirsty. He put the water skin on
his right shoulder and started riding back toward their tents. Umar ibn
Sa'ad ordered an outright assault on Abbas ibn Ali saying that if Abbas
ibn Ali succeeds in taking water back to his camp, we will not be able
to defeat them till the end of time. A massive enemy army blocked his
way and surrounded him. He was ambushed from behind a bush and his right
arm was cut off. Abbas ibn Ali put the water skin on his left shoulder
and continued his way but his left arm was also cut off. Abbas ibn Ali
now held the water skin with his teeth. The army of ibn Sa'ad started
shooting arrows at him, one arrow hit the water skin and water poured
out of it, now he turned his horse back towards the army and charge
towards them but one arrow hit his eyes and someone hit a gurz on his
head and he fell off the horse.In his last moments when Abbas ibn Ali
was wiping the blood in his eyes to enable him to see Husain's face,[citation needed]
Abbas ibn Ali said not to take his body back to the camps because he
had promised to bring back water but could not and so could not face
Bibi Sakinah, the daughter of Husain ibn Ali. Then he called Imam
Husain, "brother" for the first time in his life. Before the death of
Abbas, Husain ibn Ali said: "Abbas your death is like the breaking of my
back".[citation needed]
Death of Husain ibn Ali (Shia Perspective)
Husain ibn Ali told Yazid's army to offer him single battle, and they
gave his request. He killed everybody that fought him in single
battles.[57]
He frequently forced his enemy into retreat, killing a great number of
opponents. Husain and earlier his son Hazrat Ali Akbar were the two
warriors who penetrated and dispersed the core of Ibn-Saad's army
(Qalb-e-Lashkar), a sign of extreme chaos in traditional warfare.
Imam Husain advanced very deep in the back ranks of the Syrian army.
When the enemies stood between him and the tents he shouted:
"Woe betide you oh followers of Abu Sufyan's dynasty! If no religion has ever been accepted by you and you have not been fearing the resurrection day then be noble in your world, that's if you were Arabs as you claim."[58]
Then his enemies invaded back toward him.
They continuously attacked each other,[59]
Until his numerous injuries caused him to stay a moment. At this time
he was hit on his forehead with a stone. He was cleaning blood from his
face while he was hit on the heart with arrow and he said: "In the name
of Allah, and by Allah, and on the religion of the messenger of Allah."
Then he raised his head up and said: "Oh my God! You know that they are
killing a man that there is son of daughter of a prophet on the earth
except him." He then grasped and pulled the arrow out of his chest,
which caused heavy bleeding.[60]
He became very weak and stopped fighting. The soldiers approaching
him gave up confrontation, seeing his position. One soldier, however,
walked up to Imam Husain and hit him on his head with his sword.
The enemies hesitated to fight Imam Husain, but they decided to
surround him. At this time Abd-Allah ibn Hassan, an underage boy,
escaped from the tents and ran to Husain. When a soldier intended to
slay Husain, Abd-Allah ibn Hassan defended his uncle with his arm, which
was cut off. Imam Husain hugged Abd-Allah, but the boy was already hit
by an arrow.[61]
Imam Husain got on his horse and tried to leave, but Yazid's army
continued pursuit. According to Shia tradition, a voice came from skies
stating: "We are satisfied with your deeds and sacrifices." Husain then
sheathed his sword and tried to get down from the horse but was
tremendously injured and so the horse let him down. He then sat against a
tree.[62]
Umar ibn Sa'ad ordered a man to dismount and to finish the job.
Khowali ibn Yazid al-Asbahiy preceded the man but feared and did not do
it. Then Shimr ibn Dhiljawshan dismounted his horse and cut Husain's
throat with his sword whilst Husain was prostrating to Allah. Just
before his throat was about to be cut, Imam Husain asked Shimr ibn
Dhiljawshan, "Have you done your prayers today?" and this shocked Shimr
because he did not expect anyone in the position of Husain to ask about
such a question. Lanti Shimr ibn Dhiljawshan was saying: "I swear by God
that I am raising your head while I know that you are grandson of the
messenger of Allah and the best of the people by father and mother" when
he raised head of Husain ibn Ali on a spear.[63] The ibn Sa'ad's men looted all the valuables from Husain's body.
Alternative ending of the battle (Shia Perspective):
While Imam Husain was taking rest against the tree, Shimr knew that
Imam Husain was unable to fight and sent one of his men to go and kill
him. The man went and seeing Imam Husain's eyes,he got extremely scared
and ran back to his camp. When Shimr asked why he had not killed Imam
Husain, the man replied that looking into his eyes he saw prophet
Muhammad. Angrily, Shimr sent another man. This one was so frightened
that he dropped his sword and ran back to his camp. This time when Shimr
asked him why he had not killed him, he said he saw into his eyes and
saw the angry look of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Shimr was angry, said that he would have to do it himself and wearing
his armor, he went to where Imam Husain was. Using his iron boots he
kicked Imam Husain in the ribs. Imam Husain fell to the floor, when
Shimr disrespected and sat on top of him. Using a blunt knife, he rugged
12 times against Imam Husain's throat. While his head was on the floor,
Shimr removed his head from his body.
The army of Ibn Sa'ad rushed to loot the tents. The daughters of
Mohammad's family were expelled from the tents, unveiled and barefooted,
while weeping and crying for their slain relatives. The army set all
the tents on fire. The women were asking: "By Allah, will you make us
pass the site of the murder of Husain?" And when they saw the martyrs
and wailed.[64] Then Sakinah bint Husain (Death, 117 AH) embraced her father's body until some people dragged her away.[65]
Umar ibn Sa'ad called volunteering horsemen to trample Imam Husain's
body. Ten horsemen trampled his body such that his chest and back were
ground.
According to Shia tradition, it is believed that Imam Husain's body
was martyred but his 'noor' (light) and Imamat were passed on to his son
Ali who became Imam Ali Zainul Abideen (Sahifa-e-Sajjadiya is a
collection of his supplications).
Aftermath
Umar ibn Sa'ad sent Husain's head to ibn Ziyad on Ashura afternoon
and ordered to sever heads of his comrades to send them to Kufa. The
heads were distributed to various tribes enabling them to gain favor of
ibn Ziyad. Ibn Sa'ad remained in Karbala until the next noon.[66]
After ibn Sa'ad's army went out of Karbala, some people from Banu Asad tribe came there and buried their dead.[67]
On Muharram 11 (October 11, 680 CE), all captives including all women
and children were then loaded onto camels with neither saddle nor shade
and were moved toward Kufa. As they approached Kufa, its people
gathered to see them. Some women of Kufa gathered veils for them upon
knowing that they are relatives of Muhammad. Among the captives were
Hazrat Ali ibn Husain, who was gravely ill, as well as Hazrat Hassan ibn Hassan al-Muthanna, who was seriously injured in the battle of Karbala.[68]
Zaynab bint Ali pointed at the people to be quiet. Then she addressed the people of Kufa:
"The praise is exclusively attributed to Allah. And greetings to my father (grand father), Muhammad, and to his pure and benevolent family. And then, Oh people of Kufa! Oh deceitful and reneger people! Do you weep? So let tears not be dried and let groans not be finished. ... Beware, such a bad preparation you have made for yourself that Allah became furious of you and you will be at punishment forever. Do you weep and cry? Yes, by Allah, do weep numerously and do laugh less! Since you brought its shame and fault on yourself and you will not be able to cleanse it forever. ..."[69]
During the journey from Karbala to Kufa, and from Kufa to Damascus,
Husain's sister Zaynab bint Ali and Umm-Kulthoom bint Ali, and son Ali
ibn Husain gave various speeches that exposed the truth about Yazid and
told the Muslim world of the various atrocities committed in Karbala.
After being brought to Yazid's court, Zaynab courageously gave a famous
speech in which she denounced Yazid's claim to the caliphate and
eulogized Husain's uprising.
The prisoners were held in Damascus for a year. During this year, some prisoners died of grief, most notably Sukayna bint Husain.
The people of Damascus began to frequent the prison, and Zaynab and Ali
ibn Husain used that as an opportunity to further propagate the message
of Husain and explain to the people the reason for Husain's uprising.
As public opinion against Yazid began to foment in Syria and parts of
Iraq, Yazid ordered their release and return to Medina, where they
continued to tell the world of Husain's cause.
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