The Refusal (61 AH / 680 CE)
When Muawiya died and Yazid acceded to power, the governor of Medina demanded allegiance from leading figures including Husayn. Husayn refused publicly, stating that a man like Yazid — known for wine, music, and dissolute behavior — could not be the leader of the Muslim community. He left Medina with his family and companions, initially to Mecca.
The Kufans flooded him with letters: “We have no Imam; come to us and Allah will unite us through you.” He sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel to assess the situation. Muslim confirmed mass support. Husayn departed for Kufa.
The Abandonment and the Stand
Ibn Ziyad, Yazid’s governor, arrested Muslim ibn Aqeel and executed him. The Kufan supporters dispersed under threat. By the time Husayn reached Karbala, his companions numbered only 72 — fighters, family, women, and children — against an Umayyad army variously estimated at thousands.
On the morning of Ashura (10 Muharram), Husayn addressed the army arrayed against him, presenting his case and offering to return to Mecca or go to a frontier. The army had orders to compel his pledge to Yazid or kill him. He refused. The battle began.
Husayn was the last to fall — according to traditional accounts, after most of his companions and his son Ali al-Akbar were killed. He fell while praying. His head was taken to Damascus.
The Bohra Tradition of Ashara Mubaraka
The ten days of Muharram (Ashara Mubaraka) are the central liturgical event of the Dawoodi Bohra calendar. The Da’i al-Mutlaq (or the Imam in periods of presence) leads majalis (gatherings) at which the events of Karbala are recounted, the matam (mourning) is performed, and the spiritual lessons of Husayn’s stand are drawn out. The Bohra tradition understands Karbala as tajdid al-bai’a — a renewal of the pledge of allegiance to the Imam.
See also: Bohra Ashara, Ahl Al Bayt, Fitna Islamiyya, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Seerah Muawiya, Fatima Al Zahra, Seerah Fatima