Husain Family History

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Ḥusayn, a diminutive of Ḥasan ‘good handsome’ (see Hasan). Husain (c. 626–680) and his elder brother Hasan were sons of the caliph ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (see Ali) and, through their mother Fatima, grandsons of the prophet Muhammad.

The death of Husain in a massacre at Karbala signaled the beginning of a long period of internecine strife in the Muslim world. Shiite Muslims regard Hasan and his brother Husain as the true successors of Muhammad and observe the day of his death as a day of mourning.

The name is popular among Sunni Muslims as well as Shiites. Compare Husein, Hussein, and Hossein.