The text to which this detached page belonged, entitled The Murder of the House of the Prophet, tells the story of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn ^cAli, one of Muhammad's grandsons and ^cAli's son. His killing at the battle of Karbala, in Iraq, represented a turning point for the Muslim community and originated the main division between Sunnis and Shi^ci. In this illustration, the Prophet is seen preaching seated on his minbar, or pulpit, and ^cAli and his sons Hasan and Husayn are at Muhammed's left side. The holy characters are identified by their flaming haloes and are surrounded by the attentive audience. The scene takes place in the interior of the mosque in Medina.

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