The martyrdom of al-Husayn ibn ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with them both) at Karbala

On the day of ʿAshura in 61 AH, the grandson and beloved of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, al-Husayn ibn ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with them both), was martyred along with a number of his household and companions in the land of Karbala in Iraq — one of the greatest tragedies of Islamic history.

al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) left Makkah heading for Kufa after its people had written to him repeatedly inviting him. When he neared it, the people betrayed and abandoned him; he was surrounded at Karbala and, together with his family, cut off from water.

On Friday the tenth of Muharram the unequal battle took place. al-Husayn fought like a hero until he was martyred (may Allah be pleased with him), together with around seventy of his household and companions, among them his brothers and his sons.

His killing shook the whole Ummah, and the scholars counted it among the greatest of calamities. Ibn Kathir said: "None was killed like him among the number and virtue of the household who were killed with him." Its memory endures as a lesson in the duty to guard the sanctity of the Prophet's ﷺ household.