Is it permissible to say that al-Husayn died as a martyr?
Question

                Is it permissible for us to say that al-Husayn died as a martyr?
Praise be to Allah.
		Yes, al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased 
		with him) was killed as a martyr. 

	That was when the people of Iraq (Kufah) 
	wrote to him and asked him to come out to them so that they could swear 
	allegiance to him as their ruler, which happened after the death of 
	Mu‘aawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and the accession of his son 
	Yazeed to the caliphate. 

	Then the people of Kufah turned against 
	al-Husayn after ‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyaad was appointed as governor of the city 
	by Yazeed ibn Mu‘aawiyah and killed Muslim ibn ‘Uqayl, who was al-Husayn’s 
	envoy to them. The hearts of the people of Iraq were with al-Husayn, but 
	their swords were with ‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyaad. 

	al-Husayn went out to them, not knowing of 
	the killing of Muslim ibn ‘Uqayl, or of the people’s changed attitude 
	towards him. 

	Wise men who loved him had advised him not 
	to go out to Iraq, but he insisted on going out to them. Among those who 
	gave him this advice were: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, Abu 
	Sa‘eed al-Khudri, Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah, al-Miswar ibn Makhramah, and 
	‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them all). 

	So al-Husayn travelled to Iraq, and halted 
	at Karbala’, where he came to know that the people of Iraq had turned 
	against him. So al-Husayn asked the army that came to fight him for one of 
	three things: either to let him return to Makkah, or to let him go to Yazeed 
	ibn Mu‘aawiyah, or to let him go to the frontier to fight in jihad for the 
	sake of Allah. 

	But they insisted that he should surrender 
	to them, and al-Husayn refused, so they fought him, and he was killed 
	wrongfully as a martyr (may Allah be pleased with him). 

	Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah 
	(11/473-520 

	Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah 
	have mercy on him) said: 

	Yazeed ibn Mu‘aawiyah was born during the 
	caliphate of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allah be pleased with him) and did 
	not meet the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He was not 
	one of the Sahaabah, according to scholarly consensus, and he was not one of 
	those who were well known for religious commitment and righteousness. He was 
	one of the Muslim youth, and he was not a disbeliever or a heretic. He 
	became the caliph after his father died, despite the objections of some of 
	the Muslims and with the approval of some of them. He was courageous and 
	generous, and he did not outwardly blatantly commit immoral actions, as some 
	of his opponents said that he did. 

	During his rule, a number of grievous 
	events occurred, one of which was the killing of al-Husayn (may Allah be 
	pleased with him). Yazeed did not issue orders that al-Husayn be killed, and 
	he did not express joy at his killing.  He did not poke the severed head of 
	al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) with a stick, and the head of al-Husayn 
	(may Allah be pleased with him) was not brought to him in Syria, but he did 
	issue instructions that al-Husayn be prevented from achieving his goal, even 
	if that involved fighting him. But those who received his instructions went 
	further than that. 

	Al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) 
	asked them to let him go to Yazeed or let him go to the border and keep 
	watch there, or let him go back to Makkah, but they insisted on taking him 
	prisoner and ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d issued orders to fight him, and they killed him 
	wrongfully – him and a number of his family members (may Allah be pleased 
	with them). His killing was a major calamity, because the killing of al-Husayn, 
	and of ‘Uthmaan before him, was among the main causes of turmoil in this 
	ummah, and their killers are among the most evil of people before Allah. End 
	quote. 

	Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa 
	(3/410-413) 

	He also said (25/302-305): 

	When al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be 
	pleased with him) was killed on the day of ‘Ashoora’, he was killed by the 
	transgressing, wrongdoing group. Allah honoured al-Husayn with martyrdom, as 
	He honoured other members of his family; He honoured Hamzah and Ja‘far with 
	martyrdom, as well as his father ‘Ali and others. His martyrdom was one of 
	the means by which Allah raised him in status, for he and his brother al-Hasan 
	will be the leaders of the youth among the people of Paradise, and high 
	status is only achieved by means of trials, as the Prophet (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him) said, when he was asked which of the people are 
	most sorely tested? He said: “The Prophets, then the righteous, then the 
	next best and the next best. A man will be tested to a degree commensurate 
	with his level of religious commitment. If there is firmness in his 
	religious commitment, his test will be greater, and if there is any weakness 
	in his religious commitment, the test will be reduced for him. Trials will 
	continue to befall the believer until he walks upon the earth with no sin on 
	him.”

	Narrated by at-Tirmidhi and others. 

	Al-Hasan and al-Husayn had previously been 
	granted high status by Allah, may He be glorified, and they did not go 
	through the same trials and hardships that had befallen their predecessors, 
	because they were born at a time when Islam was prevalent and they had grown 
	up with honour and dignity. The Muslims venerated them and honoured them, 
	and when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) died, they 
	had not yet reached the age of discernment. The blessing that Allah bestowed 
	upon them was that He tested them with that which caused them to join the 
	other members of their family, just as He tested others who were better than 
	them. ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib was better than them, and he was killed as a 
	martyr. The killing of al-Husayn was an event that provoked turmoil among 
	the people, just as the killing of ‘Uthmaan was one of the main causes of 
	turmoil among the people, as a result of which the ummah is still divided 
	until the present day. 

	When al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with 
	him) went out and saw that things had changed, he asked them to let him go 
	back (to Makkah) or to let him go to one of the border regions, or to let 
	him go and join his paternal cousin Yazeed. But they did not let him do any 
	of these things, unless he surrendered to them and they took him captive. 
	They fought him, so he fought back, then they killed him and a number of 
	those who were with him wrongfully and as martyrs. Allah honoured him with 
	martyrdom and caused him to join the pure and good members of his family, 
	and He humiliated thereby those who wronged him and transgressed against 
	him. End quote. 

	Ends.