Name : al-Hussain(a.s.) - the 3rd Holy Imam
Title : Syed ush-shuhada (Master of the Martyrs)
Agnomen : Abu Abdellah.
Father : Imam Ali Amir al-Muminin(a.s.) - the 1st Holy Imam
Mother : Bibi Fatimah(a.s.) (daughter of the Holy prophet).
Birth : In Medina on Thursday, 3rd shaban 4 AH. (625 AD)
Death : Martyred in Karbala (Iraq) at the age of 57, on friday, 10th Muharram 61 AH (680 AD) and buried there
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>>Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( حسين بن علي بن ابی طالب )‎ (626-680) was the grandson of Muhammad. His mother was Muhammad's daughter Fatima Zahraand his father was Muhammad's cousin, Ali ibn Abu Talib. Hussain ibn Ali is revered as the Third Imam by Shi’ahs.

He was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The anniversary of his death is called Ashura and it is a day of mourning and religious observance for Shi'ah Muslims.


Ali's caliphate and the claims of his sons
Husayn's father, Ali, was caliph from 656 to 661 CE. He faced continual challenges to his rule, and died, assassinated by Ibn Muljim, in the city of Kufa. Ali's followers proclaimed his eldest son Hassan as caliph. Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, had fought Ali for the leadership of the empire and now prepared to fight Hassan. After a few inconclusive skirmishes between the armies of Hassan and Muawiyah, Hassan decided to spare his followers, and the Islamic empire, the agonies of another civil war. He signed a treaty with Muawiyah and retired to private life in Medina.
This could have been a temporary reverse for the Alids and their supporters. When Muawiyah died, the caliphate would be open again, and Hassan and Husayn, as grandsons of Muhammad and the sons of a caliph, would have a good claim to leadership. Hassan died in 669, while Muawiyah was still alive, leaving Husayn as the head of the Alids. However, Muawiyah chose to proclaim his son Yazid his heir while he was still alive, thus attempting to turn the caliphate from an elective into an inherited position, and removing Husayn from consideration as the next caliph.
Muawiyah died in 680 CE. In Damascus, Muawiyah's capital and the heart of his power, Yazid was acclaimed as caliph. However, other parts of the Islamic empire were less willing to acknowledge Yazid. Citizens of Kufa, in what is now Iraq, invited Husayn, Ali's eldest surviving son, to come lead them in a revolt against Yazid. Husayn was then in Mecca, having fled Medina to evade the forces of Yazid. He gathered his wives and children, and the few warriors who would commit to him, and marched towards Kufa.


Battle of Karbala
According to historians, Yazid had heard of the incipient rebellion in Kufa and sent a force to suppress the insurgents. Before Husayn even neared Kufa, his supporters had been crushed. A force of about 4,000 surrounded Husayn and his family (friends, women and children), cut off his camp from their water supply. After a long and hard-fought battle, Husayn and his warriors (said to number only seventy-two) were killed


Burial
Husayn's body is said to have been buried in Karbala, near the site of his death. Most accounts say that his head was later retrieved and interred with his body. However there are also sources that claim the Imam's head is in Syria. The Imam Husayn Shrine was later built over his grave; it is now a holy site of pilgrimage for Shi'a Muslims.


Shi'a views of Husayn
All Shi'as regard Husayn as an Imam and a martyr. Most accounts state that he knew that his efforts were doomed, but set out on his path towards martyrdom in order to save Islam and the Ummah from annihilation at the hands of Yazid. According to Shi'a belief he was a willing sacrifice to religious necessity, and Shi'ites view Husayn as an exemplar of courage and resistance against tyranny. Ashura, a day of mourning, is held in honor of his sacrifice. The Shi'a saying, "Every day is Ashura, every land is Karbala," is a reminder to live one's life as Husayn did on Ashura, with total sacrifice to Allah and for others.


Hadith of Muhammad(S.A.W) about Hussain ibn Ali

Ibn Saad narrates from ash-shabi:
Ali ibn Abu Talib while on his way to the battle of Siffin, passed through the desert of Karbala, there he stopped and wept very bitterly. When interrogated regarding the cause of his weeping, he commented that one day he visited the Islamic Prophet Mohammad and found him weeping. When he asked the Islamic Prophet Mohammad as to what was the reason which made him weep, he replied, "O Ali Gabriel has just been with me and informed me that my son Hussain would be martyred in Karbala, a place near the bank of the River Euphrates. This moved me so much that I could not help weeping."

Anas ibn Harith narrates:
One day the Islamic Prophet Mohammad ascended the pulpit to deliver a sermon to his associates while Hussain ibn Ali and Hassan ibn Ali were sitting before him. When address was over, he put his left hand on Hussain ibn Ali and raising his head towards Heaven and said: "O my lord! I am Muhammad Your slave and your prophet, and these two are the distinguished and pious members of my family who would fortify my cause after me. O my Lord! Gabriel has informed me that son Hussain would be killed. O my Lord! Bless my cause in recompense for Hussain's martyrdom, make him the leader of the martyrs, be You be his helper and guardian and do not bless his murderers".

Khwaja Mu inu d-Din Chishti says:
He gave his head but did not put his hand into the hands of Yazid. Verily, Hussain is the foundation of "La ilaha il Allah Mohammadur Rasool Allah". Hussain is lord and the lord of lords. Hussain himself is Islam and the shield of Islam. Though he gave his head (for Islam) but never pledged Yazid. Truly Hussain is the founder of "There is no Deity except Allah".


Sayings of Islamic Prophet Muhammad about Hussain ibn Ali in Sunni books

Muhammad said, "Al-Hasan and al-Husain are the chiefs of the youth of Paradise and Fatimah is the chief of their women."

{ 1.Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p660, on the authority of Abu Sa'id and Hudhayfa
2.Sunan Ibn Majah, Introduction 8
3.al-Tabarani, on the authorities of: Umar, Ali, Jabir, Abu Hurayrah, Usamah Ibn Zaid, al-Baraa, Ibn 'Adi, and Ibn Masud.
4.al-Kubra, by al-Nisa'i
5.Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, pp 62,82, v3, pp 3,64, v5, p391
6.Fada'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p771, Tradition #1360
7.al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, pp 166,167
8.Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v5, p71
9.Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p187
10.Tuhfatul Ashraf, by Lumzi, v3, p31
11.Ibn Habban, as mentioned in al-Mawarid, pp 551,553
12.al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 3, p290
13.Mishkat al-Masabih, by Khatib al-Tabrizi, English Version, Tdadition #6154
}

Muhammad said, "Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain."

{ 1.Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v4, p172
2.Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p772, Tradition #1361
3.al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p 177
4.Amali, by Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, p 64
5.al-Kuna wal Asmaa, by al-Dulabi, v1, p88
6.al-Tabarani, v3, p21
7.Adab by al-Bukhari, also al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, as quoted in:
8.al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 3, p291
9.Mishkat al-Masabih, by Khatib al-Tabrizi, English Version, Tdadition #6160
}

Muhammad looked toward Ali, Hassan, Hussain, and Fatimah, and then said, "I am in war with those who will fight you, and in peace with those who are peaceful to you."

{ 1.Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p699
2.Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, p52
3.Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p767, Tradition #1350
4.al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p149
5.Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p169
6.al-Kabir, by al-Tabarani, v3, p30, also in al-Awsat
7.Jami' al-Saghir, by al-Ibani, v2, p17
8.Tarikh, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v7, p137
9.Sawaiq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, p144
10.Talkhis, by al-Dhahabi, v3, p149
11.Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by al-Muhib al-Tabari, p25
12.Mishkat al-Masabih, by Khatib al-Tabrizi, English Version, Tdadition #6145
}

Muhammad said, "He who loves al-Hassan and al-Hussain, has loved me, and he who makes them angry has made me angry."

{ 1.Sunan Ibn Majah,
2.al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, from Abu Hurairah
3.Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, as quited in:
4.al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 3, p292
}


Maxims attributed to Hussain ibn Ali

(1- O Allah, what did he find who lost you, and what did he lose who found you?

(2- Some people worship Allah for the purpose of gaining His gifts. This is the worship of the merchants. Some worship Him for the purpose of avoiding His punishment. This is the worship of the slaves. Some worship Him as showing gratitude to Him. This is the worship of the genuine ones. It is the best worship