Hussain was forced to migrate under threat of violence.

Having refused to support Yazid, Hussain knew his life was in danger. Yazid did not allow anyone to oppose him, and adopted a policy of killing those who disagreed with him. Cautious of this, Hussain decided to leave his hometown of Medina, and take his family Mecca.

Mecca, the capital city of Islam and home to the Ka’ba, Hussain hoped Yazid would respect the holy city and not follow Hussain and his family. However, Yazid did not. Forced to leave Mecca, Hussain set course for Kufa. A city in Iraq where he had received letters of support from. Yazid predicted this and sent a huge army to block Hussain from reaching Kufa, and force them to the desert town of Karbala.

Once they reached Karbala, Hussain with his family 72 companions were surrounded by Yazid’s forces of up to 30,000 men. Despite being hugely outnumbered and with limited access to water, Hussain refused to give up. Yazid gave Hussain a final choice. To either support the government, or be killed.

hussain was victorious through his timeless legacy.

After his death, Hussain’s family were taken captive. His sister, Zainab, took up the role of leadership and gave an inspiring speech in Yazid’s palace, condemning his actions and his style of leadership.

Zainab was one of the first to be inspired by Hussain’s stand and his principles. Despite the sexism that existed in society at the time, she refused to be silent and held Yazid and his ministers to account for their role in the moral decay of society.

Hussain’s example is that one man can stand against an army, and in giving his life inspire those after him to overthrow the abusive Umayyad dynasty. Just as those who lived in the 7th century were inspired by Hussain’s stand, so are the millions today who pay homage to Hussain for his stand and mourn his death. People from all around the world visit the grave of Hussain in Karbala to pay their respects.