About eighty kilometres north of Najaf stands Karbala, a city whose name carries deep emotion for Muslims everywhere. It is here that one of the most consequential events in early Islamic history unfolded, and here that the shrine of Imam Husayn, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, draws vast crowds of pilgrims each year.
The Tragedy of Karbala
The story of Karbala dates to the year 680, in the early decades after the Prophet’s death, when the young Muslim community was divided over who should lead it. The Umayyad caliph Yazid demanded an oath of allegiance from Husayn, the son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet. Husayn refused to recognise his rule. Invited by supporters in the garrison town of Kufa to stand against the Umayyads, he set out across the desert with a small band of family members and companions.
On the plain of Karbala, Husayn’s tiny party was intercepted and surrounded by a far larger army. Cut off from the waters of the nearby Euphrates and left without supplies, they endured days of thirst before the final confrontation. On the tenth day of the month of Muharram, in a battle remembered as profoundly unequal, Husayn and most of the men with him were killed, and the survivors taken captive.
A Lasting Memory
The events at Karbala left a profound mark on Islamic history and conscience. For Shia Muslims in particular, Husayn became the supreme symbol of standing against injustice at any cost, and his martyrdom is mourned and commemorated to this day. The episode is so significant that it was recorded not only in Muslim sources but also by some early Christian chroniclers of the period.
Ashura and Mourning
Each year, on the day of Ashura, the tenth of Muharram, millions gather to commemorate the sacrifice of Husayn and his companions. Processions, recitations and acts of mourning fill the streets of Karbala, and the forty-day period that follows culminates in Arbaeen, one of the largest peaceful gatherings of people anywhere on earth. The shrine of Imam Husayn, with its gleaming dome, stands at the centre of this devotion.
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