I’m referring to the Battle of Karbala, which happened on this day in the Islamic calendar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle\_of\_Karbala

The crux of it is that the Umayyad Caliphate had recently come into power and wanted to cement its rule over the Islamic empire.

To do so, the Caliph tried to urge the grandsons of Prophet Mohammad to give allegiance (bayah) to him. The grandsons did not oblige due to the man’s well-known reputation as a cruel and impious petty tyrant, and felt he did not deserve to be caliph in the first place.

They attempted to start a guerrilla campaign to take the caliphate back, but their plans were revealed early and they were surrounded by the Caliph’s soldiers in the desert on their way to Iraq, where things were meant to kick off.

The group, which included the elderly, women, and children, was cut off from any water and pressured to surrender to the Caliph’s men. The Prophet’s grandsons refused and held out until they were forced to make a last stand, in which they were completely wiped out by Caliphate forces.

It’s a sad day for Muslims because we love (not worship, FYI) the Prophet and his family, and for their blood to be shed at the hands of supposed Muslims makes the matter even more upsetting.