Husayn ibn Ali
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Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abū Ṭālib (Template:ArB) (15th Ramadan 3 AH - 28th Safar 50 AH) was the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His mother was Muhammad's daughter Fatima Zahra and his father was Muhammad's cousin, Ali ibn Abu Talib. Husayn is revered as the Third Imam by most Shi'as and the Second Imam by some Shi'a sects. He is also respected by Sunnis because he belonged to the household of Muhammad, the Ahl al-Bayt.
Husayn was the second son of Ali and Fatima. He and his brother, Hassan ibn Ali, are said to have been greatly loved by their grandfather Muhammad.
He was martyred at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The anniversary of his death is called Ashura and it is a day of mourning and religious observance for Shi'a Muslims.
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Family life
Husayn and Hassan’s mother, Fatima, died while they were still young. Husayn was raised by his stepmothers, amidst a crowd of half-siblings. He came of age in tumultuous times, when the Muslim realm expanding over the Middle East and his father Ali was deeply involved in the politics of the expanding empire.
Husayn is said to have married the eldest daughter of Yazdjard III, the last king of Sassanid Persia. Her name was Shahr Banu Binte Yazdjard and she gave birth to the fourth imam, Ali ibn Hussain, also known as Zainul Abedin or Sajjaad.
Ali's caliphate and the claims of his sons
Husayn's father, Ali, was caliph from to 661 CE. He faced continual challenges to his rule, and died, killed by an assassin, in the city of Kufa. Ali's followers proclaimed his eldest son Hassan as caliph. Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, had fought Ali for the leadership of the empire and now prepared to fight Hassan. After a few inconclusive skirmishes between the armies of Hassan and Muawiyah, Hassan decided to spare his followers, and the Islamic empire, the agonies of another civil war. He signed a treaty with Muawiyah and retired to private life in Medina.
This could have been a temporary reverse for the Alids and their supporters. When Muawiyah died, the caliphate would be open again, and Hassan and Husayn, as grandsons of Muhammad and the sons of a caliph, would have a good claim to leadership. Hassan died in 669, while Muawiyah was still alive, leaving Husayn as the head of the Alids. However, Muawiyah chose to proclaim his son Yazid his heir while he was still alive, thus attempting to turn the caliphate from an elective into an inherited position, and removing Husayn from consideration as the next caliph.
Muawiyah died in 680 CE. In Damascus, Muawiyah's capital and the heart of his power, Yazid was acclaimed as caliph. However, other parts of the Islamic empire were less willing to acknowledge Yazid. Citizens of Kufa, in what is now Iraq, invited Husayn, Ali's eldest surviving son, to come lead them in a revolt against Yazid. Husayn was then in Mecca, having fled Medina to evade the forces of Yazid. He gathered his wives and children, and the few warriors who would commit to him, and marched towards Kufa.
Battle of Karbala
Yazid had heard of the incipient rebellion in Kufa and sent a force to suppress the insurgents. Before Husayn even neared Kufa, his supporters had been crushed. A force of about 30000 surrounded Husayn and cut off his camp from their water supply. After a long and hard fought battle, Husayn and his warriors which numbered only seventy-two were brutally and visciously murdered. The surviving women and children were taken captive and delivered to Yazid in Damascus, along with the severed heads of Hussain and those of his close companions. This angered the Muslim world as a whole which did not consider it a gesture of thanks to the Prophet who educated them, empowered them, taught them, to murder his grandson for no crime commited.
Burial
Husayn's body is said to have been buried in Karbala, near the site of his death. Most accounts say that his head was later transferred from Damascus to Cairo where it now lies in a shrine. The Imam Hussain Shrine was later built over his grave; it and the shrine in Cairo are holy sites of pilgrimage for Muslims.
Shi'a views of Husayn
All Shi'a, of whatever sect, regard Husayn as an Imam and a martyr. Most accounts state that he knew that his efforts were doomed, but set out on his path towards martyrdom in order to save Islam and the Ummah from annihilation at the hands of Yazid. According to Shi'a belief he was a willing sacrifice to religious necessity. Shi'a view Hussain as a positive role-model of courage and resistance against tyranny. Ashura, a day of mourning, is held in honor of his sacrifice.
Sayings attributed to Husayn
1. O Allah what did he finds who lost you, and what did he loose who found you.
2. On his way to Karbala, Imam Hussain said: This world has changed, snubbed, and its good has turned tail. Nothing has remained from it except a thing that is as scanty as the leftover of a cup and a mean life that is like a noxious grazing. Have you not noticed that the right is ignored and the evil is not forbidden? This is sufficient for making the believer's desire for meeting Allah rightfully. I consider death as happiness and life with the wrongdoers as boredom. People are certainly the slaves of this world. The religion is only a slaver on their tongues. They turn it wherever their livelihood demands. If they are examined by misfortunes, the religious will be very little.
3. Imam Hussain said to a man who backbit another before him. O you, stop backbiting, for it is the daily meal of the dogs of Hell. Before Imam Hussain, a man said that favors are worthless if they are done to other than its people. The Imam Hussain commented: No, this is in accurate. Favors should be like the heavy rain that covers the pious and the sinful.
4. Whenever Allah seizes the power of somebody, He will surely free him from acts of obedience to Him, and whenever He seizes the ability of somebody, He will surely save his from the burdens.
5. Some people worshipped Allah for the purpose of gaining His gifts. This is the worship of the merchants. Some worshipped Him for the purpose of avoiding His punishment. This is the worship of the slaves. Some worshipped Him as showing gratitude to Him. This is the worship of the genuine ones. It is the best worship.
6. A man received Imam Hussain saying, "How are you? Allah may grant you good health." The Imam Hussain instructed him: Salaam-greeting-should precede wording. Allah may grant you good health. Do not permit anybody before he says salaam.
7. There are seventy advantages for the greeting. Sixty-nine are given to the one who greets first and one is given to the one who responds to the greeting.
8. When Allah wills to lead a servant to destruction gradually, He bestows upon him with graces and does not favor him with showing gratitude for these graces.
9. Imam Hussain said to a man who begged him: Asking for financial help is acceptable only in big loss, extreme poverty, or horrible guarantee. The man said: Because of one of these I came. Hence, the Imam Hussain ordered to be given one hundred dinars.
10. Imam Hussain said to his son Ali: O son, beware of wronging him who does not have a supporter except Allah the Majestic.
11. A man from Ansar wanted to ask Imam Hussain for financial help, but the Imam Hussain said: O brother of Ansar, protect your face from the humility of seeking others help. You may write your need in a paper and I will respond to it pleasantly, God willing. The man wrote to the Imam that he owed a certain individual five hundred dinars and that man insisted on receiving his money soon. He also asked the Imam Hussain to speak to persuade that man to grant him a respite until he becomes able to defray the sum. As Imam Hussain read the paper, he entered his house to take out a bale containing one thousand dinars. He handed them to the man and said: You may defray the debt and use the other five hundred dinars for settling your financial problems. "Do not say your need to anybody except three, a religious, a chivalrous, or a highborn individual. The religious will try to keep his religion pure, the chivalrous will be embarrassed by his chivalry, and the highborn will feel that you have not kept your face from asking for your need; therefore, he will protect your face against disappointing you."
12. Sitting with the intelligent is a sign of successfulness. Disputation with other than the disbelievers is a sign of ignorance. A sign of a scholar is his self-criticism of his sayings and his acquaintance with the various hypotheses.
13. Beware of things for which you apologize. The true believer should not make mistakes and should not apologize. The hypocrite makes mistakes and apologizes everyday. The true stingy is that who refrains from greeting.
14. He who tries to achieve something through acting disobediently to Allah will miss what he expects and fall in what he fears.
Succession
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See also
External links
Shi'a links
- Imam Husayn in the eyes of non-Muslims
- The Third Imam
- Mourning ceremonies for Imam Husayn
- The concept of martyrdom and mourning in Islam
Sunni links
ur:حسين بن علیar:الحسين بن علي de:Al-Husain ibn 'Alī es:Husayn ibn Ali fa:حسین پسر علی fr:Husayn ben Ali nl:Imam Hoessein pl:Husajn ibn Ali sv:Husayn th:ฮุเซน tr:Hz.Hüseyin