Abbas ibn Ali

Al-Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: الْعَبَّاس اِبِنْ عَلي اِبِنْ أَبي طَالِبْ, c. 15 May 647 – 10 October 680 CE), also known by the kunya Abu al-Fadl (Arabic: أَبو الْفَضْل, lit. 'father of virtue'), was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the fourth caliph in Sunni Islam (r. 656–661) and the first imam in Shia Islam. His mother was Fatima bint Hizam, commonly known as Umm al-Banin (Arabic: أُمّ ٱلْبَنِين, lit. 'mother of the sons'). Abbas fought as the standard-bearer of his half-brother Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680) against the army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (r. 680–683). He was killed in a desperate attempt to bring water from the Euphrates river to quench the unbearable thirst of the besieged family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Abbas is said to have inherited Ali's boldness and bravery, and was praised by Shia imams for his faith and fortitude in defending Husayn. Abbas is regarded by Shia Muslims as an ultimate paragon of courage and self-sacrifice. The shrine of Abbas and the nearby mausoleum of Husayn in Karbala are destinations for pilgrimage.

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