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THE LION-HEARTED LADY OF KARBALA-SAYYIDA ZAYNAB BINT ALI (S.A.)
Lady Zaynab (s.a.) was the third child of Lady of Paradise, Sayyida Fatima
Zahra (s.a.) and the Commander
of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.).
She was born on 5 Jamadi
al-Awwal 5 A.H. At that time the
Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) was
not in Madinah. On his return,
he was informed about her birth
and on receiving the Divine
Decree, he named the baby as
Zaynab. He cried when Arch-angel
Jibra'ee informed about the
calamities to befallen this
little girl.
When she was
5 years old, she had a dream
which the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.) interpreted as the
demise of the Panjetan, except
the Infallible Imam Husayn
(a.s.).
She was raised in a unique pious, pure and prophetic environment. Hence,
in her character, she reflected
the best attributes of those who
raised her. In sobriety and
serenity, she was likened to
Ummul Mumineen Sayyida Khadija
(s.a.); in chastity and modesty
to her mother Fatima Zahra
(s.a.); in eloquence to her
father Imam Ali (a.s.); in
forbearance and patience to her
brother Imam Hasan (a.s.); and
in bravery and tranquility to
the heart Imam Husayn (a.s.).
Her face reflected her father's
awe and her grandfather's
reverence.
When the time
came for marriage, she was
married to her first cousin,
Abdullah ibn Ja'far Tayyar.
Together this young couple had
five children; four sons, Ali,
Aoun, Muhammad, and Abbas and
one daughter, Umme Kulsoom.
In Madinah,
she shared her knowledge with
the women and taught them about
Islam and was known as Fasiha
and Baligha for her clarity and
eloquence. For her depth and certainty of her knowledge, Imam Zayn-al-Abedin (a.s.)
called her “A'limah Ghair
Mu'allama” meaning one who has
knowledge without being taught. Also
because ofher piety and lack of
interest in worldly adornments,
she was called “Abidah” and
“Zahidah”. She always preferred
Bliss and comfort of the life
hereafter.
When the
Commander of the Faithful, Imam
Ali (a.s.) was requested by the
Muslims to accept the
responsibilities of Khilafah,
she moved to Kufa with her
family. Unfortunately, his
khilafah lasted for about 5
years and was filled with wars
and the world was deprived of a
chance to witness a complete and
through implementation of a
Divine System of Social Justice.
He was martyred in the Mosque
while prostrating. It was a
calamity for her and she moved
back to Madinah.
In a blatant contravention of the Peace Agreement with the Infallible Imam
Hasan (a.s.), Muawiya appointed
Yazid as his successor. As soon
as Yazid became caliph, he
demanded allegiance from the
Infallible Imam Husayn (a.s.).
The Imam naturally refused and
decided to move out of Madinah.
Sayyidah Zaynab (s.a.)
accompanied her beloved brother.
After the
tragedy of Karbala, she became
the defacto leader of the
remaining family and exhibited
exceptional patience, fortitude
and bravery. After the martyrdom
of Imam Husayn (a.s.), members
of Bani Hashim and the
companions, the Muslims looted
the sacred belongings, set on
fire the camps, imprisoned the
daughters of the Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.) and others and were
made captives and led towards
Kufa on camels without seats!
Only recently, she was in Kufa
as the daughter of the Caliph
and now she was brought in as a
captive. But she addressed the
people who had betrayed her
brother after inviting him to
Kufa and were now celebrating.
She said in a piercing eloquent
insight: All Praise be to Allah and blessings be on my grandfather Muhammad
(s.a.w.a.s.) and his purified
and chosen Progeny. O people who
deceive, forsake and contrive,
it is you who will weep. May
Allah not stop your tears and
may your chests burn incessantly
with the fire of grief and
sorrow. You have earned the
shame of killing the Imam of
age. The stains of his blood are
on your clothes and you cannot
remove it, nor can you secure
acquittal from the charge of
slaying the son of the last
Prophet of Allah, the Chief of
the Youths in Paradise.
Similarly,
when in Yazid's court when he
was boasting and said: “My
ancestors who were killed at
Badr have been avenged today. It
is clear that Bani Hashim had
played a game to gain power and
there was no divine revelation!”
Sayyida Zaynab stood up boldly while her hands were tied in a rope and
said: “Praise be to Allah and
blessings on my grandfather, the
chief of Divine Prophets. O
Yazid! Allah says: “Then evil
was the end of those who did
evil because they rejected the
communications of Allah and used
to mock them.” (30:10) “O Son of
freed slaves, is this your
justice that you keep your
daughters and slave maids veiled
while the daughters of the
Prophet of Allah are being
paraded from place to place
exposed.” “Remember that the
evil deeds and sinful acts you
have committed are the result of
unbelief and old rancor you bear
because of your ancestors who
were killed in Badr.”
Imagine the courage and fortitude of a lady whose brothers, sons, nephews
and other members of Bani Hashim
and the companions of her
brother, seventy two in all,
were ruthlessly martyred after
being deprived of food and water
for three days. She was
physically, mentally, and
emotionally tortured but still
retained her family bravery and
eloquence and unnerved by the
events. |
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