The Karbala Story: From Skrimish to Cosmic Battle
Modern historians have described the killing of Husayn b. Ali at Karbala in 680 CE as a minor skirmish. Among Shiites, however, the account of the event soon developed into a story that is foundational for their identity and worldview, and the basis for the Shiite martyrdom ideology. The emerging myth about Karbala and the parallel process of the development of the image of Husayn, from an ordinary person to a semi-divine figure, were important factors in the shaping of the early Shiite community in the 7th and 8th centuries CE. The purpose of this project is to attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How and why did the story of Husayn s death in a skirmish at Karbala develop into a myth about a battle of cosmic significance with its concomitant rituals? 2)How and why was he, an ordinary person in early Islam, elevated into someone ascribed supernatural traits? 3) What was the significance of this development for the formation of the early Shiite community? Although other aspects of early Shiism have been studied, such a diachronic study has not been made before. Comparisons will be made with the similar development of the image of Christ in early Christianity. The study will be conducted through a historical-critical investigation of classical Arabic historiographical, and theological, as well as some poetry. Theories of myth and ritual will be used to analyse the content of the texts, and its significance for the emergence of a Shiite community.
Final report
The Karbala Story: From Skirmish to Cosmic Battle
Purpose and implementation
At the Battle of Karbala near Kufa in Iraq in 680, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husayn b. Ali was killed along with many of his family and a number of followers. Modern historians have described the battle as a minor battle or skirmish, not very different from the hundreds of similar battles that took place in the early history of Islam. Among Shiites, however, the story of the event soon evolved into a narrative of a cosmic battle between the good and evil forces in the universe, a myth that became an important factor in the emergence of a Shiite identity in the 8th–10th centuries. The aim of the project has been to investigate how and why the story of this particular battle in early Islam underwent such a development, and what significance the story and its associated rituals had for the emerging Shiite community.
An important theoretical starting point has been the concept of mythmaking, pioneered by Burton Mack and subsequently developed by Russel McCutcheon. To understand the emergence and development of a group’s identity, it is fruitful to study its mythmaking rather than working with the concept of myth as a static literary genre, which has previously been common in religious studies and anthropology. By “mythmaking” is meant the social process by which a story gradually develops and becomes fundamental to the group’s worldview and identity. In the present project, I have linked this concept to the theory of rituals created by Émile Durkheim and developed by Randall Collins. According to this theory, rituals create emotions and moods that are shared by all practitioners, and thus provide a sense of community and belonging in the group. A myth that is ritualized is thus “charged” with emotions for all those who participate in the rite.
In the project, the three earliest extant versions of the Karbala story are analysed. The analysis shows a clear evolution from short, simple stories (about 5–8 pages in translation) from the first decades of the 8th century to the epic work of the historian Abu Mikhnaf from the end of the 8th century, comprising about 150 pages. The long version has miraculous elements and expresses a theology according to which the pledge of alliance to Husayn is equal to the covenant with God. It is worth noting that in the two earlier texts there is almost no reference to Husayn’s father Ali, who was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and a very important figure in Shiism; in the later version he plays an important role as a role model for Husayn and his followers.
Another text that has been analysed is the story of the Penitents, a group of Shiites who had urged Husayn to come to Kufa but then failed to support him at the Battle of Karbala. The group felt deep remorse over this and regarded their negligence not only as a crime against the Prophet’s grandson, but also as a sin against God. They wanted to atone for their sin by setting out against the army of the Umayyad Caliph to avenge Husayn’s death, or die as martyrs in the attempt to do so. The analysis shows that the text consists of several layers, the earliest of which date back to at least the beginning of the 8th century, while further layers were added later in the same century. In the earliest layer, Husayn is presented as an ordinary human, albeit a descendant of the Prophet; his direct descent from Muhammad through the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, Husayn’s mother, is emphasized here. In later layers, his elevation to something beyond the ordinary can be discerned, and here the descent from his father Ali is emphasized instead.
A third story that has been analysed is that of the Shiite rebel Mukhtar, who managed to seize power in Kufa in 685, and hold it for a few years. Mukhtar and his movement were able to exact the revenge for Husayn’s death that the Messengers had failed to do. In this story, which is also very early, the veneration of Ali is of great importance, while Husayn’s descent from the Prophet through Fatima is not very significant.
Results
That various sub-groups within early Shiism placed different emphasis on descent directly from the Prophet or from Ali is already known. One of the important findings of the project is the hypothesis that these differences are reflected in the texts analysed. However, further studies of early Shia Islam are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
A second finding of the project is that two factors have proven to be significant for the elevation of the Karbala story into a myth that has become fundamental to Shiite worldview and identity: first, its incorporation into early Shiite eschatology; second, its ritualisation.
Previous research has shown that parts of Shia Islam in the 8th–10th centuries had a dualist worldview, and envisaged a cosmic struggle between the evil and good forces of the universe that, according to early Shia cosmology, has been going on since the creation of the world, and will end in the victory of the good forces. Probably as early as the 8th century, the Battle of Karbala was seen as a historical manifestation of this cosmic struggle. Although the earliest versions of the story end in mourning for the death of Husayn, later apocalyptic traditions from the Shiite imams show that this defeat was viewed as temporary. According to some of these apocalyptic traditions, the resurrected Husayn himself, together with the Shiite messianic figure al-Mahdi, will lead the faithful forces to victory against the forces of evil. Hence, in the wider perspective, the forces of good will prevail and the faithful followers who are now suffering under the oppression of evil will then be rewarded.
Love and loyalty to the Prophet’s family, and especially to Husayn, are manifested through rituals that evoke emotions and moods in the believers who perform them. From very early on, weeping and lamenting over the death of Husayn was an important ingredient in all rituals. These feelings of grief were aroused through various forms of retelling the Karbala story and reciting elegiac poetry. Another very early ritual was pilgrimages to Husayn’s tomb in Karbala.
A third result of the project is the importance of oral tradition for the development of the story. Anthropological research on oral tradition in contemporary cultures as well as form-critical research on the development of ancient narratives – not least in the case of the New Testament gospels in early Christianity – have revealed patterns and structures of oral transmission that are also found in Abu Mikhnaf’s long version of the Karbala story. At the same time, very few of the main features of the older versions are missing from the long version. This suggests that very early on there must have been written versions on which the oral accounts were based. Much more research would be needed to map in detail the relationship between written and oral tradition in the development of the Karbala narrative, and this is an area of research that could probably provide important insights in other areas of early Muslim historiography as well.
Dissemination of results
A large part of the project was carried out during the 2020-2022 coronavirus pandemic, which is why several planned conferences and trips abroad had to be cancelled. The results of the project have so far only been published to a small extent. The main publications will be released in 2024-25.
Purpose and implementation
At the Battle of Karbala near Kufa in Iraq in 680, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husayn b. Ali was killed along with many of his family and a number of followers. Modern historians have described the battle as a minor battle or skirmish, not very different from the hundreds of similar battles that took place in the early history of Islam. Among Shiites, however, the story of the event soon evolved into a narrative of a cosmic battle between the good and evil forces in the universe, a myth that became an important factor in the emergence of a Shiite identity in the 8th–10th centuries. The aim of the project has been to investigate how and why the story of this particular battle in early Islam underwent such a development, and what significance the story and its associated rituals had for the emerging Shiite community.
An important theoretical starting point has been the concept of mythmaking, pioneered by Burton Mack and subsequently developed by Russel McCutcheon. To understand the emergence and development of a group’s identity, it is fruitful to study its mythmaking rather than working with the concept of myth as a static literary genre, which has previously been common in religious studies and anthropology. By “mythmaking” is meant the social process by which a story gradually develops and becomes fundamental to the group’s worldview and identity. In the present project, I have linked this concept to the theory of rituals created by Émile Durkheim and developed by Randall Collins. According to this theory, rituals create emotions and moods that are shared by all practitioners, and thus provide a sense of community and belonging in the group. A myth that is ritualized is thus “charged” with emotions for all those who participate in the rite.
In the project, the three earliest extant versions of the Karbala story are analysed. The analysis shows a clear evolution from short, simple stories (about 5–8 pages in translation) from the first decades of the 8th century to the epic work of the historian Abu Mikhnaf from the end of the 8th century, comprising about 150 pages. The long version has miraculous elements and expresses a theology according to which the pledge of alliance to Husayn is equal to the covenant with God. It is worth noting that in the two earlier texts there is almost no reference to Husayn’s father Ali, who was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and a very important figure in Shiism; in the later version he plays an important role as a role model for Husayn and his followers.
Another text that has been analysed is the story of the Penitents, a group of Shiites who had urged Husayn to come to Kufa but then failed to support him at the Battle of Karbala. The group felt deep remorse over this and regarded their negligence not only as a crime against the Prophet’s grandson, but also as a sin against God. They wanted to atone for their sin by setting out against the army of the Umayyad Caliph to avenge Husayn’s death, or die as martyrs in the attempt to do so. The analysis shows that the text consists of several layers, the earliest of which date back to at least the beginning of the 8th century, while further layers were added later in the same century. In the earliest layer, Husayn is presented as an ordinary human, albeit a descendant of the Prophet; his direct descent from Muhammad through the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, Husayn’s mother, is emphasized here. In later layers, his elevation to something beyond the ordinary can be discerned, and here the descent from his father Ali is emphasized instead.
A third story that has been analysed is that of the Shiite rebel Mukhtar, who managed to seize power in Kufa in 685, and hold it for a few years. Mukhtar and his movement were able to exact the revenge for Husayn’s death that the Messengers had failed to do. In this story, which is also very early, the veneration of Ali is of great importance, while Husayn’s descent from the Prophet through Fatima is not very significant.
Results
That various sub-groups within early Shiism placed different emphasis on descent directly from the Prophet or from Ali is already known. One of the important findings of the project is the hypothesis that these differences are reflected in the texts analysed. However, further studies of early Shia Islam are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
A second finding of the project is that two factors have proven to be significant for the elevation of the Karbala story into a myth that has become fundamental to Shiite worldview and identity: first, its incorporation into early Shiite eschatology; second, its ritualisation.
Previous research has shown that parts of Shia Islam in the 8th–10th centuries had a dualist worldview, and envisaged a cosmic struggle between the evil and good forces of the universe that, according to early Shia cosmology, has been going on since the creation of the world, and will end in the victory of the good forces. Probably as early as the 8th century, the Battle of Karbala was seen as a historical manifestation of this cosmic struggle. Although the earliest versions of the story end in mourning for the death of Husayn, later apocalyptic traditions from the Shiite imams show that this defeat was viewed as temporary. According to some of these apocalyptic traditions, the resurrected Husayn himself, together with the Shiite messianic figure al-Mahdi, will lead the faithful forces to victory against the forces of evil. Hence, in the wider perspective, the forces of good will prevail and the faithful followers who are now suffering under the oppression of evil will then be rewarded.
Love and loyalty to the Prophet’s family, and especially to Husayn, are manifested through rituals that evoke emotions and moods in the believers who perform them. From very early on, weeping and lamenting over the death of Husayn was an important ingredient in all rituals. These feelings of grief were aroused through various forms of retelling the Karbala story and reciting elegiac poetry. Another very early ritual was pilgrimages to Husayn’s tomb in Karbala.
A third result of the project is the importance of oral tradition for the development of the story. Anthropological research on oral tradition in contemporary cultures as well as form-critical research on the development of ancient narratives – not least in the case of the New Testament gospels in early Christianity – have revealed patterns and structures of oral transmission that are also found in Abu Mikhnaf’s long version of the Karbala story. At the same time, very few of the main features of the older versions are missing from the long version. This suggests that very early on there must have been written versions on which the oral accounts were based. Much more research would be needed to map in detail the relationship between written and oral tradition in the development of the Karbala narrative, and this is an area of research that could probably provide important insights in other areas of early Muslim historiography as well.
Dissemination of results
A large part of the project was carried out during the 2020-2022 coronavirus pandemic, which is why several planned conferences and trips abroad had to be cancelled. The results of the project have so far only been published to a small extent. The main publications will be released in 2024-25.