Karbala or Kerbala is a city in central Iraq, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 1,218,732 people (2018).
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima, as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. He is the third Imam of Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. Being a grandson of the prophet, he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt. He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the event of Mubahala. Muhammad described him and his brother, Hasan, as "the leaders of the youth of Paradise."
Muḥarram is the first month of the Islamic calendar, and one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in Islam. For Sunni Muslims, the day marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites, celebrated through supererogatory fasting and other acceptable expressions of joy. By contrast, Ashura is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims, who annually commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The Shia rituals span the first ten days of Muharram, culminating on Ashura with mourning processions in Shia cities. Also in Muharram, the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was initially set as the direction of prayer for early Muslims.
Ashura is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites. Also on this day, Noah disembarked from the Ark, God forgave Adam, and Joseph was released from prison, among various other auspicious events on Ashura in Sunni tradition. Ashura is celebrated in Sunni Islam through supererogatory fasting and other acceptable expressions of joy. In some Sunni communities, the annual Ashura festivities include carnivals, bonfires, and special dishes, even though some Sunni scholars have criticized such practices.
In Shia Islam, Arba'in marks forty days after Ashura, which is the death anniversary of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn was killed, alongside most of his relatives and his small retinue, in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission.
Al-Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, also known as Abu al-Fadl, was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph in Sunni Islam and the first imam in Shia Islam. His mother was Fatima bint Hizam, commonly known as Umm al-Banin. Abbas fought as the standard-bearer of his half-brother Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. He was killed in a desperate attempt to bring water from the Euphrates river to quench the unbearable thirst of the besieged family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Abbas is said to have inherited Ali's boldness and bravery, and was praised by Shia imams for his faith and fortitude in defending Husayn. Abbas is regarded by Shia Muslims as an ultimate paragon of courage and self-sacrifice. The shrine of Abbas and the nearby mausoleum of Husayn in Karbala are destinations for pilgrimage.
Zaynab bint Ali, was the eldest daughter of Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph and the first Shia Imam, and Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Zaynab is best known for her role in the aftermath of the Battle of Karbala (680), in which her brother Husayn and his family and companions were massacred by the forces of Yazid I. The women and children were taken captive after the battle and marched to Kufa and then Damascus, where Zaynab gave impassioned speeches, condemning Yazid and spreading the news of Karbala. She was later freed and died shortly afterward in 682, though her burial site is uncertain.
Al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥasan was the son of Hasan ibn Ali. He supported his uncle Husayn ibn Ali in fighting off the Umayyad forces during the Battle of Karbala where he was killed at the age of 13.
Ali al-Akbar ibn al-Husayn, commonly known as simply Ali al-Akbar, was the eldest son of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia imam, and Layla bint Abi Murra. Aged between eighteen to twenty-five, Ali was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, alongside his father and some seventy-two relatives and supporters, who fought against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. In Shia Islam, Ali al-Akbar is commemorated as a brave youth martyred before he could marry, and celebrated for his striking resemblance, in appearance and manners, to his great-grandfather, the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Abd-Allah ibn al-Husayn, also known as Ali al-Asghar, was the youngest son of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and the third Shia Imam. A young child, likely an infant, he was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, alongside his father, family members, and a small number of supporters, all of whom were massacred by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid, who first surrounded them for some days and cut off their access to the nearby river Euphrates. Abd-Allah is commemorated in Shia Islam as the quintessence symbol of the innocent victim.
Ḥabīb ibn Muẓāhir al-Asadī was of the Banu Asad clan, and one of the companions of Ali, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. He was one of the people of Kufa who sent letters to Husayn ibn Ali and invited him to Kufa. Though, when he realized that people of Kufa have broken their allegiance to Husayn, he left Kufa, joined Husayn, and was martyred at the age of 75 while fighting in Husayn's army, in Karbala.
The Mourning of Muharram is a set of religious rituals observed predominantly by Shia Muslims, largely during the month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. These annual rituals commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn and his small retinue were slaughtered in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. The battle followed Husayn's refusal to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, who is often portrayed by Muslim historians as impious and immoral. In Shia Islam, Karbala symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, the pinnacle of self-sacrifice, and the ultimate sabotage of Muhammad's prophetic mission. Historically, the event served to crystallize the Shia community into a distinct sect and remains an integral part of their religious identity to date.
Maqtal al-Husayn is the title of various books written by different authors throughout the centuries which narrate the story of the battle of Karbala and the death of Husayn ibn Ali. They were first written in the eighth century.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmayr al-Kalbī, also known as Abū Wahb, was one of the companions of Husayn ibn Ali, who was killed along with him in the Battle of Karbala (680). He belonged to the Kalb tribe, the majority of whom were adherents of Christianity at that time. His wife Umm Wahab was amongst the female casualties in Husayn's army at the Battle of Karbala.
Tasu'a is the ninth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Tasu'a is followed by Ashura, tenth of Muharram, which marks the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia imam. Husayn refused on moral grounds to pledge his allegiance to the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya and was subsequently killed, alongside most of his male relatives and his small retinue, by the Umayyad army in the Battle of Karbala on Ashura 61 AH. Among the Shia minority, mourning for Husayn is viewed as an act of protest against oppression, a struggle for God, and a means of securing the intercession of Husayn in the afterlife. Ashura is observed through mourning gatherings, processions, and dramatic reenactments. In such ceremonies, Shia mourners strike their chests to share in the pain of Husayn. Extreme self-flagellation, often involving self-inflicted bloodshed, remains controversial among the Shia, condemned by many Shia clerics, and outlawed in some Shia communities.
The Islamic month of Muharram is a period of mourning in Shia Islam and commemorates the death of Imam Hussain, the third Imam, and his companions at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Processions called Azadari are held to commemorate and remember the events that took place, these are often organised by congregation halls known as Hussainia. Mourning climaxes on the tenth day of Muharram, Ashura. The mourning is sometimes referred to as the Remembrance of Muharram.
Sayyed Radhi ud-Deen Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus al Hasani wal Husaini commonly called Sayyed Ibn Tawus was a Shiite jurist, theologian, historian and astrologer. He was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali through his father and a descendant of Husain ibn Ali through his mother. It is said that he met the twelfth Shiite imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who according to Shiites is living in occultation. He is known for his library and his numerous works which are still available in their original form and help us learn about the interests of Muslim scholars at the end of the Abbasid era.
The supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali is a dua attributed to Ali ibn al-Husayn, the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and the fourth Shia Imam, also known by the honorific title Zayn al-Abidin. Abu Hamzah Al-Thumali, who was a companion of Zayn al-Abidin, is the principal narrator of this supplication, which appears in Eqbal al-a’mal by Sayyed ibn Tawus. It is said that Zayn al-Abidin recited the supplication every evening or dawn during the month of Ramadan.
Sermon of Zaynab bint Ali in the court of Yazid are the statements made by Zaynab bint Ali in the presence of Yazid I in the aftermath of the Battle of Karbala when the captive family members of Muhammad, prophet of Islam, and the heads of those murdered were moved to the Levant by the forces of Yazid I. Zaynab delivered a defiant sermon in the court of Yazid in which she humiliated Yazid and exposed his army's atrocities while honoring the Ahl al-Bayt and those killed in Karbala and expounding upon the eternal consequences of the battle.
Ziyarat Ashura is an Islamic salutatory prayer to God. The prayer is part of the liturgy used in pilgrimages to the shrine of Husayn in Karbala. Muhammad al-Baqir, Prophet's descendant and the fifth Shia Imam, recommended reciting Ziyarat Ashura on Ashura while facing Karbala, as a symbolic visit to the shrine.
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