Muslim ibn Aqeel, or Muslim ibn Aqil, was the cousin of Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali

Husayn ibn Ali

Hussein ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ‎ was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā...

, and the son of Aqeel ibn Abu Talib. Muslim ibn Aqeel was sent ahead as an envoy to Kufa

Kufa

Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....

 to see if the people could be trusted to be loyal to the Imam Husayn. He sent word back saying that the people of Kufa were loyal. Muslim ibn Aqeel, with his two children Muhammad ibn Muslim and Ibraheem ibn Muslim

Muhammad ibn Muslim and Ibraheem ibn Muslim

Muhammad and Ibraheem were the sons of Muslim ibn Aqeel. After Muslim ibn Aqeel was martyred, Muhammad and Ibraheem were also arrested and put into a dungeon. It is said that Muhammad was just eight years old and Ibraheem was ten years old....

, was murdered in the city of Kufa by the new governor, Ibn Ziyad, who was loyal to Yazid ibn Muawiyah.
Husayn ibn Ali received thousands of letters from people of Kufa stating that they were rejecting their governor and asking him to come and serve as their Imam.