The Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (RA) — Karbala
680 CE · The Umayyad Caliphate
Husayn ibn Ali (RA), the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, refuses to give bay'ah (allegiance) to Yazid ibn Muawiyah. He sets out for Kufa with 72 companions and family members. At Karbala (modern Iraq) on 10 Muharram (Ashura), they are surrounded by thousands of Umayyad soldiers and massacred. Husayn is decapitated. This event causes permanent division in the Muslim community between Sunni and Shia.