Hazrat Imam Hussain

Grandson our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib

(Arabic: ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱبْن أَبِي طَالِب‎, romanized: Al-Hussain ibn ʿAli ibn ʾAbi Talib‎; 10 January AD 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the fourth caliph of Sunni Muslims and the first imam of Shia Muslims) and Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. He is an important figure in Islam as he was a member of the Household of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt) and the People of the Cloak (Ahl al-Kisa), as well as the third Shia Imam.

Prior to his death, the Umayyad ruler Muawiyah appointed his son Yazid as his successor, contrary to the Hasan-Muawiyah treaty. When Muawiyah died in 680, Yazid demanded that Hussain pledge allegiance to him. Hussain refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid, even though it meant sacrificing his life. As a consequence, he left Medina, his hometown, 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, after getting some favourable indications along with a small caravan of his relatives and followers[12] but near Karbala his caravan was intercepted by Yazid's army. He was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram 61 AH) by Yazid, along with most of his family and companions, including Hussain's six-month old son, Ali al-Asghar, with the women and children taken as prisoners. Anger at Hussain's death was turned into a rallying cry that helped undermine the Umayyad caliphate's legitimacy, and ultimately its overthrow by the Abbasid Revolution.

The annual commemoration of Hussain and his children, family and companions occurs during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and the day he was martyred is known as Ashura (the tenth day of Muharram, a day of mourning for Shi'i Muslims). Hussain's actions at Karbala fueled later Shi'a movements, and his death was decisive in shaping Islamic and Shi'a history. The timing of Hussain's life and death were crucial as they were in one of the most challenging periods of the seventh century. During this time, Umayyad oppression was rampant, and the stand that Hussain and his followers took became a symbol of resistance inspiring future uprisings against oppressors and injustice. Throughout history, many notable personalities, such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, have cited Hussain's stand against oppression as an example for their own fights against injustice.