Hussein Ibn Ali - Muawiyah's Era

Muawiyah's Era

When Hasan ibn Ali agreed to make a peace treaty with Muawiyah I, the first Umayyad caliph, he left Kufa and went to Medina with his brother Husayn.

According to the Shia belief, he lived under the most difficult outward conditions of suppression and persecution. This was due in part to the fact that religious laws and regulations had lost much of their weight and credit, and the edicts of the Umayyad government had gained complete authority and power. Another reason was that Muawiyah and his aides made use of every possible means to put aside past disputes and remove the Household of Muhammad and the followers of Ali and his sons, and thus obliterate the name of Ali and his family.

Muawiyah I ordered for public curses of Ali and his major supporters including Hasan and Husayn.

According to the Shia, Husayn had gained the third Imam for a period of ten years after the death of his brother Hassan in 669. All of this time but the last six months coinciding with the caliphate of Muawiyah.