view Press, 2000); David Fromkin, A Peace to End All
Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of
the Modern Middle East (New York: Henry Holt, 1989).
Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (also
Husain and Hussein) (626–680) grandson of
the prophet Muhammad and third imam of the Shia,
martyred at Karbala
mUhammad, the prophet of Islam, left no sons and
only two grandsons, Hasan and Husayn, who were
born of his daughter Fatima (d. 633) and his trusted
cousin ali ibn abi talib. Muhammad is remem-
bered to have been remarkably affectionate toward
his grandsons, especially the younger, Husayn, who
was six years old when his grandfather died.
Husayn was born in medina in 626. Along
with his brother, he accompanied his father, Ali,
on military campaigns. After the death of Ali
(the fourth caliph, though his followers thought
he should have been the first) in 661, Hasan
claimed the caliphate but soon renounced his
claim under pressure from Muawiya, who had
gathered military support in order to take over
the caliphate for himself. Obedient to his brother,
Husayn also acknowledged Muawiya as caliph
and continued to do so even after Hasan’s death in
- He refused, however, to recognize Muawiya’s
son Yazid (r. 680–683), who was known as an
immoral tyrant, as heir apparent.
When Muawiya died in 680, the governor of
Medina attempted to force Husayn to pay hom-
age to Yazid, but Husayn fled to mecca. There he
received word from citizens of Kufa in Iraq, who
were sought to oppose the Umayyad caliphate with
Husayn as their leader. Despite warnings of the
dangers of such a revolt, Husayn left Mecca with a
small group of family and supporters to meet with
his followers in Kufa. On the way, he was con-
fronted by Umayyad forces, and attempts at nego-
tiation failed. Husayn’s party eventually camped at
a site in the desert known as karbala. Husayn had
learned that his followers in Kufa had abandoned
him, and, being trapped in the desert and cut off
from water, he gave his supporters the opportu-
nity to flee during the night, but they remained
by his side, knowing that they were greatly out-
numbered and had little chance of surviving. On
10 Muharram (ashUra), Husayn again refused to
surrender, and fighting began. Though they fought
courageously, the men of Husayn’s party were mas-
sacred, and Husayn too was killed. His head was
cut off and sent to Yazid in Damascus along with
the Women and children of his party, including his
sister zaynab and his son Ali, who would become
the fourth imam, Zayn al-Abidin (d. 713).
The spilling of the blood of the Prophet’s last
grandson was an emotional event that touched all
Muslims, but for the Shia it was a tragedy that dra-
matically symbolized injustice and oppression. With
this event, martyrdom became a distinctive charac-
teristic of shiism and Husayn the archetypal martyr.
His death at Karbala has been recounted in count-
less books and poems and is reenacted every year
on 10 Muharram in emotional theatrical dramatiza-
tions often accompanied by mourners beating and
slashing their bodies with razors to commemorate
the shedding of the blood of Husayn.
See also ahl al-bayt; tWelve-imam shiism.
Mark SoileauFurther reading: Mahmoud Ayoub, Redemptive Suffer-
ing in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura
in Twelver Shiism (The Hague: Mouton, 1978); Peter
Chelkowski, ed., Taziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran (New
York: New York University Press, 1979); Moojan Momen,
An Introduction to Shii Islam: The History and Doctrines
of Twelver Shiism (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University
Press, 1985); Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Taba-
tabai, Shiite Islam. Translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975).Husayniyya (Arabic, based on the name
Husayn; also spelled Hosayniyya)
A Husayniyya is a ritual hall, room, or build-
ing where the Shia gather to commemorate theHusayniyya 319 J