Blood on the blessed shirt of Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhi salam, Topkapi Palace, Turkey.
“On the death of Muawiya, when Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) refused to pledge his allegiance to Yazid, he went to the tomb of his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He worshiped there for the most of the night, and also slept there for a while, in his dream he saw the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and his cleansed progeny, surrounded by angels. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced him and said: My beloved Husayn, I foresee you when you will be, in the very near future, covered with your blood, slain at the land of Karbala, while thirsty, being deprived of water. This will be done to you by people who claim that they are from my followers.
Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) in his dream looked at his grandfather and said: My grandfather, I ask you to admit me into your grave. I do not desire to go back to the earthly world.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) answered him: My beloved Husayn, there are degrees which you will not acquire except through martyrdom.
Before he departed to Iraq, he uttered the following words: I am as eager to join my ancestors as Jacob was eager to join Joesph. I visualize my body being dismembered by the wolves of the desert which shall fill from my flesh their empty abdomens and hungry stomachs. The pleasure of Allah is our pleasure. We are patient at His trial and he gives us the reward of the patient. (Men from) the flesh of the Messenger of God will never part with him. They will join him on the Day of Judgement, and he will be very pleased by the re-union.
To Allah we belong and to Him is our return!
Online: Tragedy of Karbala as Reported by Al Tabari