Islamic History Podcast

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...

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...

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 exa...

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 Telegra...

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 Khawari...

The Fragmentation and End of the Rashidun Caliphate marked a permanent shift in Islamic history as the era of the four righteous caliphs gave way to dynastic rule. This episode explores the Rise of the Khawarij, a radical faction that declared both Ali and Mu'awiyah disbelievers, leading to internal strife that Ali attempted to solve through the Diplomacy of Ibn Abbas. We examine the controversial...

The Battle of Siffin and the Arbitration Agreement marked one of the most pivotal and heartbreaking moments in early Islamic history, as the Muslim Ummah faced a deep internal divide. This episode explores the administrative reorganization led by Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, including his decision to move the capital of the Caliphate to the garrison city of Kufa to better manage the growing crisis. A...

The Battle of the Camel serves as the tragic centerpiece of this episode, marking the first major military conflict between Muslims in the early Caliphate. After the murder of Caliph Uthman, the struggle for Caliphal authority intensified as Ali ibn Abi Talib sought to maintain unity while facing mounting pressure to find the killers. This story highlights the complex diplomacy of Companions, foll...

The Political Friction and Divergent Perspectives between Ali and Aisha form the heart of this deep dive into one of Islamic history's most sensitive eras. Following the tragic assassination of Uthman ibn Affan, the Muslim Ummah faced an unprecedented crisis of leadership and justice. This episode explores the early life and character of Ali ibn Abi Talib, highlighting how his unique role as both...

For several years, there had been a low level of discontent in the Muslim empire. While most of the inhabitants were happy, there were a significant number who were not. Caliph Uthman had already spoken to his governors to try to get a handle on what was happening. Though they had many ideas, no one came up with a decision to fix the problem. So Uthman decided to hold another meeting, but this eve...

Many people mark the beginning of Uthman's troubles with the loss of the Prophet's rings. But things really got bad for Uthman when he lost the support of the esteemed companion, Ammar ibn Yasir. The antagonism against Uthman was growing in three main locations: Egypt, Kufah, and Basrah. The rest of the empire was calm and had no problems with his administration. No matter how what Uthman did, he...

One of the most troublesome spots in the Muslim world was the Iraqi city of Kufah. The people were fickle, restless, and never satisfied with their governor. Uthman had to change their governor no less than three times. Uthman's popularity took another hit during the Hajj of 649. Seemingly inconsequential actions had major repercussions. But the most important event during this period was the one...

Uthman has been accused of often appointing his family members to high positions. And in many instances that was true. But some of his appointments were still very good, even if they were related to him. An example of that is Muawiyyah ibn Abu Sufyan. In addition to finding favor with the Prophet of Islam, Muawiyyah was a competent governor of Syria. One of his earliest successes was the building...

Uthman Ibn Affan has always been compared to others. Both during his lifetime and after, he has been compared to the Caliph that came before him and the one that would come after him. There are many factors that contributed to his popularity among a small segment of the Muslim society. Some of them were based on decisions that Uthman made. But some things were out of his control, such as: Not as m...

We're back! After a long hiatus, we discuss the assassination of Umar ibn Al-Khattab and the choice of Uthman as the 3rd Caliph of the Muslim world. Show notes available at islamiclearningmaterials.com/election

By 641, the Muslims had captured most of the Southwestern part of the Persian Empire. This area contained the best and most fertile lands and would be modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of northwestern Iran. As mentioned previously, Umar had grown weary of all the fighting and was grateful for their current holdings. However, the Persian pride was wounded and they couldn't accept a peace treaty wi...

The Muslims arrived at Alexandria in July 641 It was perhaps the most magnificent and biggest city they've encountered so far Alexandria was founded by the Greek general Alexander the Great and is named after him In Arabic it is called Al-Iskandariyah Alexander meant for it to be a great center of Hellenistic culture However Alexander left the city under the command of one of his generals soon aft...

The Romans, either from fear or incompetence, had done little to stop Amr during this time Finally, they had to march out from Babylon to meet Amr near Heliopolis and try to drive him from Egypt for good Amr's spies told him of their movements and he planned to go out to meet them in battle. But during the night he sent out two smaller forces; one in the hills overlooking the plains...Continue Rea...

In 451, 115 years before Prophet Muhammad, several men representing various facets of Christianity met in Chalcedon in modern Turkey. They were discussing how to define the true nature of Christ. They believed he was divine, yet he lived and died like a man. 3 weeks later, they decided Jesus Christ had two natures in one: he was both God and man. Any Christians who deviated from this belief were d...

In 639, a plague broke out, originating in Nicopolis, or Imwas, in the modern state of Israel. The city no longer exists as it was destroyed by Israeli army during Six Day war. It is estimated around 20000 people died from this plague. Among them were many prominent Sahabas. The most well-knonw of all was Abu Ubaidah, the general that succeeded KIW in Syria Another companion was Muadh ibn Jabal -...

Battle of Qadisiyyah was more devastating for the Persians than the Battle of Yarmouk was for the Romans Their defeat at Qadisiyyah left the Persian capital exposed to Muslim forces However, the Roman capital was hundreds of miles away in Constantinople and very safe from Muslim forces The Romans still had the ability to wage war against the Muslims However, the Persians were now just trying to su...

- Where we are so far -- In 632 CE Prophet Muhammad died and Abu Bakr was chosen by the residents of Medina as the Caliph -- Soon after, several of the Arab tribes that were allied with the Prophet rebelled against Abu Bakr -- Abu Bakr and his general KIW led a successful campaign to bring these tribes back in line -- These were known as the Ridda, or Apostasy Wars -- Abu Bakr commanded KIW to beg...