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Newsletter for December 2011
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The Role of Zainab binte Ali (a)
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In Karbala, the ruin and confusion brought about by the atrocious army of Yazid bin Muawia was so great that Zainab, the daughter of Ali (a.s.), had great difficulty in gathering the orphaned children, whom she had to appease and and console till late midnight. Ali ibnul Husain (a) says, ''My aunt Zainab always performed her prayers standing. But on that night, intense grief and the extra-ordinary effort of gathering, guarding and consoling the children and women had made her so tired that she performed her night prayers sitting, for she could stand only with great effort. Late after midnight, she sat facing the Qiblah and raised her trembling hands with a voice that spoke of her grief and fatigue, and yet determination. Allaho Akbar! One can only guess the feelings of this great daughter of Ali (a.) when she spoke to God during those prayers. Was she complaining of the destruction and death the oppressive regime had brought upon the household of the Messenger of God? Was she pleading with her God to accept all those sacrifices made by Husain (a) and his companions for the sake of Islam?
Was she asking God to bestow a
greater determination and
strength to this daughter of Ali
(a.s.) and sister of Husain
(a.s.) to enable her to fulfill
this mission which had been
brought up to this point by the
martyrs and the most difficult
part of which remained for her
to complete? Was she beseeching
the Almighty to give patience
and forbearance to the hearts of
the women and children whose
sole guardian she had become?
Was she praying that God may
take His revenge from the
oppressors and tyrants who had
not heeded the exalted station
of the House of the Prophet and
had shed the blood of their heir
of the Prophet? When we observe the dishonorable deeds of the evil regime of Yazid against the Household of the Prophet, there is no need to be surprised, for the foundations of disrespect and injustice towards them had been laid a long time before.
The regime of Yazid and Ibn
Ziyad was only the successor of
its predecessors. We need not be
surprised at the hideous acts of
the agents of Yazid for the sake
of his political power and
position. Don't we know about
the conspiracies which had
started even before the death of
the Messenger (s) ? Don't we
know about the insulting fashion
in which the Prophet (sa.w.a.s.)
himself, on his death bed, was
treated by his so-called
'companions? Had not the
dictates of political conspiracy
demanded that Ali's (a.s.) house
be broken into? That his wife
and children be threatened with
death? And that Ali (a.s.) be
pulled out of his house with a
rope around his neck? Who was it
who cried from outside his door,
By God, I will set fire to his
house.''? If, after Ashura,
almost 50 years after the
Prophet's (s) death, the women
and children of his house hold
were taken prisoner and paraded
through the streets and bazaars
of Kufa and Damascus, was not
Fatima(a.s.), the Prophet's
beloved daughter, mistreated and
beaten only days after her
father's death? Shall we be
surprised when, in the year 61
A.H., the so - called Muslims of
Kufa, fighting under the command
of Omar ibn Sa'd did not abstain
from burning down the tents
which housed the women and
children of the Prophet's House
hold, when the companions of the
Prophet, soon after his death,
threatened to burn down the
house of Ali and Fatima ? Why
must we be surprised at the
looting and pillaging of the
tents after the martyrdom of
Husain (a), when we know that
the Prophet's daughter was
deprived of her rights of
inheritance and her property
confiscated by the companions of
the Prophet himself? There is no
reason to be surprisedat the
daughter of Ali (a) the grandson
of Ali (a) and the women and
children of his household being
taken as prisoners from Karbala
to Kufa and from Kufa to
Damascus into the presence of
the caliph of Muslims! Was not
Ali (a) himself taken into the
presence of an earlier caliph
with a rope clasping his
neck...when the swords came out
of their scabbards threatening
his life and that of his
household: either allegiance
or...? The same condition and
the same demand and a similar
threat! ?
With supreme courage and
determination, Zainab resolved
not to be overcome by grief and
be crushed by the weight of the
tragedies that had befallen her
family, and with the iron will
she had inherited from her
father and grandfather was
determined to make the best use
of every opportunity to
propagate the mission of Imam
Husain (a). It had remained for
Zainab (a) to utilize every
opportunity to counteract the
deceptive propaganda of the
regime, by which it sought the
bloodshed of Husain (a) and his
companions, and make the truth
shine forth for people. It was
her mission to dispel the doubts
and misunderstandings sown into
the publicmind by the propaganda
of the regime and to make known
for the people the objectives
and ideals which lay behind
Husain's martyrdom. Her role was
to make people understand that
the oppressive and exploitive
regime had falsely introduced
Husain (a) and his companions to
the people as opponents of Islam
and enemies of its progress.
Zainab had to make it known to
the people who were ignorant of
the truth that it was the
Household of the Prophet (s),
the home of Revelation, that was
the true upholder and the source
of the values and teachings of
Islam, for the protection of
which they did not refrain even
from sacrificing their lives and
every thing else they had. The
martyrs gave away their lives
and departed from the scene of
oppression, but it remained for
the women and children, in the
leadership and guardianship of
this great daughter of Ali
(a.s.), to pursue the most
difficult and the most
tormenting part of the mission.
Had it not been for Zainab, we would not have known the objectives of the qityam of Husain ibn Ali (a.s.). His aim would have been lost and this event of great tragedy would have been buried under the mountain-load of distortions and misinterpretations-a thing which many have nevertheless tried to do but have failed miserably. Thus it was a great responsibility that lay on Zainab's shoulders-the great woman who, in addition, was also the kind and compassionate guardian and leader of this group of unhappy prisoners in their journey from Karbala to Kufa, from Kufa to Damascus, from Damascus to Karbala and from there to Madina, the home of the Prophet's family. This job required great strength and forbearance and qualities which cannot be found in an ordinary woman.
But Zainab too was no ordinary
lady; she was the daughter of
Ali (a) and had been reared by a
mother like Fatima (s)-the same
Ali and Fatima (a) who had spent
all their lives in struggle and
had fought their way in the
midst of political crises and
conspiracies. Zainab (a) was a
true daughter of her great
mother, who, through her active
and passive struggle, had forced
the regime of her time to take a
defensive stand and had shown to
posterity how to pursue their
struggle in difficult times as
well as their immense value, a
fact to which history bears an
eloquent testimony! Thus it was
Zainab (a), the daughter of Ali
and Fabima (a), the wife of such
a valuable man of renown as
Abdullah ibn Ja'far, and the
mother of such brave youthful
martyrs as 'Aun and Muhammad and
the beloved sister of the
valiant Imam, the Syedush Shohda
Hussain ibn Ali(a), who pursued
and continued his mission with
immense care and wisdom and who
did at last bring it to its
sublime and fruitful conclusion.
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