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Husain Ibn Ali (626-680) was the grandson of Muhammad and the second son of Fatima and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Encouraged to raise the claims of his family against the Umayyads and motivated by a personal vision of an ideal Islam, Husain went into battle and met a tragic end at Karbala in Iraq. The date, 10 Muharram 61 AH, is commemorated as Ashura throughout the Shi'ite world by annual ritual lamentation and pilgrimage to the Shi'ite shrines, especially Karbala. The figure of Husain gave rise to many legends, while the events surrounding his death are the subject of popular drama in Iran and elsewhere.

Jeanette A. Wakin

The Encyclopedia of Asian History. Asia Society and Charles Scribner's Sons.

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