Why karbala war happened

His goal was to foil the plan that Mu'awiya had expertly developed for his son, Yazid, which was to establish a permanent Bani Umayya rulership over the Muslim Ummah even by sacrificing the Islamic principles , but doing it in the name of Islam.

Brilliantly, Imam Husayn succeeded in foiling this plan and he exposed the disreputable nature of Bani Umayya though this was at the expense of his life. Mu'awiya was son of Abu Sufyan , a leader of Bani Umayya clan which was one of the clans of Quraish tribes.

Mu'awiya grew up in a family known to be cunning, worldly, materialistic, and power hungry. Those who became Muslim in this manner were called Tulaqaa', a term scornfully used for the disbelievers who became Muslims to save their lives.

Mu'awiya, his father Abu Sufyan, his mother Hind, and his brother Yazid son of Abu Sufyan were all Tulaqaa'; Mu'awiya never forgot this stigma for the rest of his life; he could never shake it from his mind, thus a feeling of malicious vengeance always existed in his heart. Mu'awiya's character and aspirations were entirely opposite to that of his sister, Umm Habiba, who was one of the wives of the Holy Prophet S. Unlike Mu'awiya, Umm Habiba was a sincere believer and a pious person.

Within a few years, Yazid son of Abu Sufyan died of a disease, and Omar appointed Mu'awiya in his brother's place as the Governor. Upon coming to power, Mu'awiya took advantage of the rich public treasury of Syria using it personally to buy favors and influence people. Thus he built a large base of support among some tribes, almost to the fanatic level. He used this to his advantage in later years to form a network of informants spies against Ahlul Bayt a.

At that time, Mu'awiya had been the governor of Syria, Palestine, and Jordan for 17 years. She called for taking revenge for the blood of Uthman. As a result, a party of 3, insurgents supported by Sahaaba Companions such as Talha and Zubair , along with A'isha headed toward Basrah.

The insurgents upon reaching Basrah clashed with the local authorities and finally occupied a portion of Basrah. Soon after the occupation these insurgents spread a reign of terror among the people, killing no less than local Muslims, pilfering the treasury and stealing the arms supplies of the armory. He ordered his forces to proceed to Basrah. A battle broke out though Zubair elected not to fight; Talha was wounded then bled to death.

Thousands of people lost their lives. A'isha fell down from the camel after it was disabled; but luckily she was not hurt. Upon leaving Basrah Al-Hasan a. He compensated for the dead, and decided to forgive and absolve all who fought against him, exactly as the Prophet S had done when he triumphed over Mecca 40 years earlier. The defying Mu'awiya continued to violate the Islamic principles by personally using the public treasury for espionage and buying peoples' loyalty.

The people of Syria fully believed him and the in false picture he presented. Ultimately this resulted in a confrontation called Battle of Siffin when the troops of the two sides met at Siffin. The battle saw ferocious fighting for nine days when Mu'awiya's forces were near collapse. His troops were fleeing and in disarray, and their retreat was in massive disorder, running helter skelter.

Mu'awiya was alarmed, tense and frightened, preparing to run away, when he learned of a clever trick. The trick was indecent and unbecoming, it was to make the Holy Quran as an instrument and exploit it, to use it as a tool to his advantage. They could not take it. Not willing to fight, they wanted to accept Mu'awiya's offer to halt the fighting and negotiate instead.

The termination of the battle in this manner and the consequences thereof proved to be disastrous to say the least, especially for Ahlul Bayt and Islam. Mu'awiya appointed Amr Ibnil Aas , a shrewd and cunning man, to be his representative in the negotiation. Negotiation between the two sides did not take place for about one year. When the two negotiators came face to face, it was clear that Ash'ari's capability was no match for his opponent Ibnil Aas.

Amr Ibnil Aas, a deceptive man at best, quickly agreed to Ash'ari's proposal and asked Ash'ari to first announce the agreement. You may choose or elect whomever you think is fit. But Mu'awiya, in my opinion, is the person for that office!

Upon hearing this and feeling deceived , the people screamed disapprovingly, an uproar was the result. Amr's double crossing and deception was simply beyond their imagination. They left the place bewildered and utterly disappointed. Three fanatics took the responsibility, they were to attack their victims in the morning, the same day, as the would-be victims were going to the mosque to lead the morning salat. Amr Ibnil Aas was ill that day and his replacement was killed by the Khariji.

Imam Hasan a. He observed that fear, anxiety and much distress were ever present in Kufa, Basrah, Medina and other towns. The anxiety, uncertainty and insecurity were caused by Mu'awiya's ill dealing of sincere Muslims.

Mu'awiya had spread secret agents all over to defame Ahlul Bayt. A mass scale family devastation was visible everywhere. Considering all circumstances, Imam Hasan a.

He revealed to them that in order to end the bloodshed and to provide a reasonable safety and security to the Ummah, he would make a peace agreement with Mu'awiya and abdicate until after Mu'awiya's death.

After a few days of careful consideration, Imam Hasan a. Four noteworthy terms of this agreement were:. Once the treaty was signed, Imam Hasan a. Over there both Imams lost no time in holding nightly meetings for Islamic discussions. The nightly meetings proved very successful and gained tremendous popularity. More people started to attend, to hear the Imams give of their fountain of knowledge on Islam and humanity. The reputation of these meetings began to fly to faraway places.

People from as far away as Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and other distant areas travelled to Medina to learn about the Islamic values. As years passed, the knowledge thus given started to bear fruits. The number of Islamic scholars multiplied and increased considerably. In the meantime Mu'awiya, unabashedly elected to disregard the terms of his treaty with Imam Al-Hasan.

It was Mu'awiya's ardent desire to impose his son Yazid who had been named after his uncle upon the Muslims by making him the succeeding Khalifa, despite the fact that Yazid was the playboy of the time, with many evil habits including gambling, heavy drinking, and indulgence in the pleasures of the flesh. But the peace agreement would not permit Mu'awiya to appoint Yazid as his successor, According to the agreement Imam Hasan would immediately become Khalifa upon Mu'awiya's death.

Therefore, it was obvious to Mu'awiya that, if Al-Hasan did not outlive him, Mu'awiya could do as he pleased. Thus Mu'awiya planned to kill Imam Al-Hasan in order to pave the way for his son Yazid to be his successor.

Joda was asked a small favor, i. She found the offer too attractive to ignore, and foolishly agreed to accept it. A few days later, she mixed poison in honey and gave it to the Imam. As soon as the Imam took the poisoned honey he became seriously ill. Sensing that his death was imminent, the Imam designated his brother Al-Husayn a.

Although Imam Al-Hasan knew he was poisoned, he did not reveal that to anyone but to his brother Al-Husayn. One thing Al-Hasan had wished was to have his burial by the side of his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad S. Imam Husayn made all the arrangements to fulfill that wish but Mu'awiya's governor over Medina did not let that happen and used military force to stop it. Imam Al-Hasan was 47 year old when he died of poisoning. Medina was never the same without Imam Hasan a.

Everyone missed him dearly. People at first did not believe Mu'awiya poisoned Imam Al-Hasan, but soon found out the truth. When Husayn a. He stood down from the pulpit from where he was delivering the sermon, lifted Hussein and placed him against his chest. He would especially pray for his grandchildren:. Al-Hussein was blessed with closeness and initial teaching of his grandfather, the Prophet of Islam.

In the time of the third Khalifah, Hussein waged war in Tabaristan or Tapuria. Ibn Kathir, vol. Tarikh Al-Khulafa, Jalaludin Suyuti. Ali was chosen by people as the 4th. Later, Ali was martyred at the hands of so called Muslims, which were later labeled by Muslim majority as Khawarij or outsiders. His son, Al-Hassan became the Caliph after him. Muawiyah rose against him as well. Al-Hassan was poisoned and Muawiyah chose his son Yazid as the next ruler before his death and asked people not to oppose him.

Muawiyah who claimed he was a Caliph after Ali, appointed his son Yazid as his successor. The battle was one-sided and ended with a decisive Umayyad victory, while Hussain and his soldiers were brutally killed.

This battle also became one of the core reasons for opposition against the Umayyads and it still remains an important part of Islamic heritage and is commemorated annually by observing the Ashura festival. As the history goes, Imam Hussain with his 72 companions departed Mecca on a day before the annual hajj pilgrimage out of which 32 were on horses and 40 were on foot.

The governor of Syria, Muawiya, kinsman to the murdered Caliph Uthman, refused allegiance to Ali and revolted against him, using his cousin's unpunished murder as a pretext. Practically, the Muslim world became divided. At the death of Ali ibn Abu Talib, his elder son Hasan ibn Ali succeeded him but soon signed a treaty with Muawiya to avoid further bloodshed.

Prior to his death, Muawiya was actively plotting a major deviation from Islamic norms.