Husayn and his group are trapped at Karbala. He tries to negotiate with Banu Umayyah, but it goes nowhere.

This episode explores one of the most tragic and pivotal events in Islamic history. With this episode, the political faction known as Shi'atu Ali become the Shia religious sect.

Husayn is unaware of the fate of his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqeel, in Kufah. The last thing Husayn knew, the Shia in Kufah were waiting for him. With this knowledge, Husayn leaves Mecca with several members of his family, including women and children.

But things are not good in Kufah. Ubaydullah, the governor of Kufah, is ready for Husayn and has sent Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas with an army of 4000 men to greet him.

Husayn sends his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqil, to see if he really does have support in Kufah. However, Yazid ibn Muawiyyah also sent his ruthless governor, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. The two men struggle for the heart and soul of this troubled city.

Muawiyyah dies and as planned, his son Yazid succeeds him as Caliph. But there are many people in the Muslim Empire who do not agree with this.

Two of them are Husayn ibn Ali and Abdullah ibn Zubayr. They refuse to give Yazid the pledge and flee to Mecca. Ibn Zubayr begins to build alliances there while Husayn is being courted by the people of Kufah.

Muawiyyah and his administration have subdued the Muslim Empire. Most of Iraq has settled down and his detractors have fell silent. But Muawiyyah is concerned about the future. What's going to happen when he's gone?

The Caliph conspires with his governors to turn the Caliphate to a monarchy. Muawiyyah does not believe the old ways of choosing the next Caliph works. He believes it needs to become a family affair.

The Umayyads had the practice of cursing Ali during their sermons. Many of the party of Ali did not like that.

One of these men was Hujr ibn Adi, a companion and commander in Ali's army. When he heard the Umayyads cursing Ali, he would shout at them and to make them stop.

But Ziyad ibn Abihi, the governor of Kufah and Basra, would not tolerate such defiance. He decided to find Hujr and make an example of him for others

This episode chronicles the story of Hujr ibn Adi and one of the early incidents that led to the split between Sunnis and Shiites.

Basra is starting to slip out of control with rampant crime and too much rebellion. Muawiyyah is ready to bring in someone new; however, this new guy has a scandalous past.

In this episode, we're introduced to Ziyad ibn Abihi, Muawiyyah's brutal governor of Basra. We'll see how Ziyad rises from obscurity to become the second most powerful man in the Empire.

Join the Islamic History Podcast Telegram group and search "3-2" to download this episode's transcript.

Welcome back to another season of the Islamic History Podcast!

In this season, we're going to mostly cover the Umayyad Dynasty. The first several episodes will be focused on the founder of this dynasty, Muawiyyah ibn Abi Sufyan.

Today's episode is an introduction to Syria and Kufah during this period. We'll take a look at the challenges the new Muslim Caliph had to face in the never ending Khawarij threat.

We'll discover how the early Muslim administrations were governed and some amazing details you probably never knew.

This is guaranteed to be an episode that will both educate and entertain you.

After the show is over, be sure to visit the Show Notes page.

The Show Notes are available at: IslamicLearningMaterials.com/Kufah

Here's some of what you'll find:

• The transcript for this episode

You can support the Islamic History Podcast by doing one (or more) of the following:

1. Give a monthly pledge on Patreon

You can do it all and more at the Show Notes page: IslamicLearningMaterials.com/Kufah

As Ali struggled against the Khawarij, his grip on the Caliphate began to slip.

Support the podcast by making a pledge at Patreon.com/IslamicHistory

After defeating Aisha at the Battle of the Camel, Ali held most of the Islamic Empire. The only holdout, was Muawiyyah, the powerful governor of Syria.

But things soon started to unravel for Ali.

He was having trouble maintaining control of Egypt, and Muawiyyah was making some strong allies. Nonetheless, the two parties engaged in rigorous negotiations in the hopes of avoiding warfare.

Despite these attempts, fighting looked inevitable. As the year 36 AH drew to a close, Ali began moving his forces toward the Syrian border. This would lead to a showdown with Muawiyyah known as the Battle of Siffeen.

After the show is over, be sure to visit the Show Notes page.

The Show Notes are available at: IslamicLearningMaterials.com/Ali3

Here's some of what you'll find:

• The transcript for this episode

You can support the Islamic History Podcast by doing one (or more) of the following:

1. Give a monthly pledge on Patreon

You can do it all and more at the Show Notes page: IslamicLearningMaterials.com/Ali3