Part Two: Hussayn’s stand

·        Muawiyya dies. On his death bed, he appoints his son Yazid as caliph in violation of his previous treaty with Hassan.

·        On his deathbed, Muawiyya warns Yazid not to press Hussayn to pledge allegiance to him, and to avoid harming Hussayn, as this would likely make a martyr of Hussayn.

·        Yazid, however, concerned that his regime would lack the perception of legitimacy without the pledge of allegiance of Hussayn, then the most respected member of the community, with a strong following in Medina, Mecca, Yemen, and Iraq.

·        Opposition to Yazid rises steadily as people grow wary of his un-Islamic behavior, which included public drunkenness.

·        Following the death of Muawiyya, Hussayn continued to receive entreaties from Kufa in Iraq to come to meet them to lead a revolution against Yazid.

·        Hussayn sends his cousin, Muslim b. Aqeel, along with Muslim’s two sons on an expedition to Kufa to investigate conditions and to assess the possibilities for a revolution.

·        Yazid sends an envoy to Hussayn in Medina, ordering him to pledge allegiance to Yazid, threatening him if he refused.  Hussayn refuses, saying, famously, “A man like me can never pledge allegiance to a man like him.”  Hussayn flees to Mecca.

·        Hussayn receives word from Muslim b. Aqeel, who tells him that the Kufans are ready to support him.

·        In the middle of the sacred Hajj ceremonies, at a time when all violence is forbidden, Yazid sends soldiers to the sanctuary of Mecca to secure Hussayn’s pledge of allegiance, at the point of a sword, if necessary.  Hussayn parts during Hajj, wishing to avoid bloodshed in the Holy City during the Hajj ceremonies.  He takes with him a small band of followers, including many members of his family.

·        Yazid’s meanwhile cracks down on Kufa, sending his new governor, Ubaydullah b. Ziyad to frighten the locals.  An order is put out that Muslim b. Aqeel and all who stand with him are to be captured and killed.  Muslim’s support evaporates and he is left alone with his sons and his host in Kufa.  They are captured and executed.  Many other known supporters of Hussayn are rounded up and imprisoned.

·        Hussayn journeys toward Iraq

·        Along the way, Hussayn is informed of events in Kufa and warned of the dangers that lie ahead.  Hussayn nevertheless continues on his way.

·        Hussayn encounters a small army led by a man named Hurr b. Yazeed.  Hurr is under orders to prevent Hussayn from reaching Kufa, and to force him to camp away from the nearby Euphrates River.  Hussayn eventually stops and encamps.

·        Hussayn’s camp is kept for three days in the desert without access to water.  Though he is repeatedly asked to pledge allegiance Yazid, he refuses.

·        The battle is set.  On the night before the battle, Hurr, racked with guilt for his part in the tragedy, defects from the army of Yazid and joins Hussayn.  Many others come with him.  Knowing that it would be their last night on earth, Hussayn’s camp spends the night in prayer, awaiting the coming of the new day.

·        In the morning, Hussayn leads the morning prayer and heads out to meet the army.  Hussayn delivers an eloquent speech exhorting the opposing army, made up in a large part of the same Kufans who had called him to Iraq in the first place, but who had now turned away to the wrong path they were following.  Hussayn reminded them of his position as grandson of the prophet Muhammad and of the fact that he had done no wrong.  The battle began nonetheless.

·        Umar b. Sa’ad, the commander of Ubaydullah b. Ziyad’s army, leads the battle against Hussayn’s camp.

·        Hussayn’s male followers go out, one by one to fight and die for Hussayn.  Hurr is the first to go out to fight.  Great scenes of nobility and bravery were witnessed.  Notable amongst those killed were Hussayn’s son, Ali Akbar, who it is said, looked like his great grandfather, Muhammad.  When Hussayn’s young nephews, Aun and Muhammad, sons of his sister Zainab, went out to fight, the Umayyad army showed that they had no reservations even to kill children.

·        Abbas, the half brother of Hussayn, and standard-bearer of Hussayn, rides out to seek water from the river for the thirsty children of the camp.  He is attacked repeatedly, losing both his arms before he is taken down within sight of the camp and killed.

·        Imam Hussayn addresses the opposing side, carrying his infant son, Ali Asghar, asking for water for his son.  Enemy soldiers fire an arrow, killing the child.  Hussayn returns to the camp, buries his son, and prepares for battle.

·        Hussayn enters battle, and after fighting valiantly, is killed.  He is taken down, restrained by several enemy soldiers, and then savagely beheaded by Shimr, one of the soldiers in the opposing army.  Yazid had requested that the heads of the men be sent to Damascus.

·        Horses trample the bodies and the tents of the women in Hussayn’s camp are burned.  The captives are led away to Kufa, and then on to Damascus.  Amongst the key survivors were Zainab, sister of Imam Hussayn, Sakina, Imam Hussayn’s 5 year old daughter, Ali Zainul Abedeen, the son of Imam Hussayn and his successor as imam, and Ali’s infant son, Muhammad, who was later to become the 5^th imam.

Part One: Preliminaries

      Section 1

      Section 2

Part Two: Hussayn's stand at Kerbala

Part Three: Aftermath of Kerbala