Immortal Legacy of the Heroine of Karbala
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
"Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of the Messenger of Allah. Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of the Commander of the Faithful. Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of Fatemat-az-Zahra (SA) – the Noblest Lady of all time. Peace upon you O’ Sister of Hasan (AS) – the Poisoned Martyr. Peace upon you O’ Sister of Husain (AS) – the Oppressed Martyr. Peace upon you O’ the Patient and the Ever-Striving (in the way of Allah).
"You are Pure and the Purifier of the land where you are buried, and you are on a very high station,
"I beseech Allah, Who blessed me in this world with your pilgrimage, to grant me the blessings of your intercession on the Last Day (Day of Judgement), and gather me in your company and under your banner, and quench my thirst at your fountain (of Kowsar).”
The Coronavirus pandemic sweeping Iran and the world may have for the moment restricted mass gatherings, as part of social distancing and hygienic measures to prevent its spread, but it has failed to dampen the fervour in the hearts of the faithful.
Whether through broadcasts on TV and Radio Channels or through the print media, as well as limited attendance at mosques and shrines, the faithful continue to observe the rituals of the sacred month of Rajab, as well as salute the members of the Blessed Household (Ahl al-Bayt) of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) on days associated with these immortal guides of humanity towards the shores of salvation.
Thus, while the fortunate present in Damascus these days have the opportunity to salute the Heroine of Karbala at her holy shrine, we in Iran and all over the world, should not be considered less fortunate than the pilgrims, when we pay our respects to Prophet’s granddaughter from afar.
Yes it was on the 15th of Rajab, a few years after the heartrending tragedy of Karbala that Hazrat Zainab (SA) achieved martyrdom while on a visit to Syria, when an enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt struck her head with a pickaxe, while she reminisced the sad spectacle of her brother Imam Husain’s (AS) severed head hanging from a tree of the garden where the Omayyad army had encamped in 61 AH, along with the noble captives of Karbala, before entering Damascus.
The Impeccable Daughter of Imam Ali (AS) and Hazrat Fatema (SA) needs no introduction. Born in Medina in 6 AH, she was 5 years old when she lost her maternal grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). Within a few months, another tragedy struck the blessed household when the little girl witnessed the martyrdom of her beloved mother, upon whom the enemies of humanity had battered down the burning door of her house.
Nonetheless, she patiently endured these sufferings while growing up under the loving care of her father, along with her brothers, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS).
If her paternal grandparents were the primordial Muslims, Hazrat Abu Taleb (AS) and Fatema bint Asad (SA) – whose traits of faith is Islam blossomed in her personality – she bore a striking resemblance to her maternal grandmother, Omm al-Momineen (Mother of all True Believers), Hazrat Khadija (SA).
When she grew up she married her first cousin, Abdullah the son of Ja’far at-Tayyar, and became the mother of several children. After 25 years of silence when the caliphate came begging at the doorstep of her father and he reluctantly took up the reins of political power, she and her family moved along with him to Kufa in Iraq the new capital of the Islamic realm.
Imam Ali (AS), during his four-and-a-half year rule of social justice revived the genuine teachings of Islam in society, before being martyred in the Mosque while in the state of prayer in the blessed month of Ramadhan in 40 AH. It was a great blow to Hazrat Zainab (SA). Some six months later, her elder brother, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) relinquished the caliphate, because of adverse political circumstances and returned to Medina with all the family members.
Ten years later in 50 AH, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) was martyred through poisoning by the rebel Mu’awiya ibn Abu Sufyan. It was another tragedy for Zainab (SA). She, however, remained steadfast beside her other brother, Imam Husain (AS). In 60 AH, when he was forced to leave Medina, she took the permission of her husband, Abdullah, to accompany Imam Husain (AS) to Mecca and then Karbala along with two of her sons, Aun and Mohammad.
In Karbala, she witnessed the heartrending tragedy of Ashura on the 10th of Moharram, when within a space of few hours 18 of her family members, including her two sons Aun and Mohammad were martyred,
"Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of the Messenger of Allah. Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of the Commander of the Faithful. Peace upon you, O’ Daughter of Fatemat-az-Zahra (SA) – the Noblest Lady of all time. Peace upon you O’ Sister of Hasan (AS) – the Poisoned Martyr. Peace upon you O’ Sister of Husain (AS) – the Oppressed Martyr. Peace upon you O’ the Patient and the Ever-Striving (in the way of Allah).
"You are Pure and the Purifier of the land where you are buried, and you are on a very high station,
"I beseech Allah, Who blessed me in this world with your pilgrimage, to grant me the blessings of your intercession on the Last Day (Day of Judgement), and gather me in your company and under your banner, and quench my thirst at your fountain (of Kowsar).”
The Coronavirus pandemic sweeping Iran and the world may have for the moment restricted mass gatherings, as part of social distancing and hygienic measures to prevent its spread, but it has failed to dampen the fervour in the hearts of the faithful.
Whether through broadcasts on TV and Radio Channels or through the print media, as well as limited attendance at mosques and shrines, the faithful continue to observe the rituals of the sacred month of Rajab, as well as salute the members of the Blessed Household (Ahl al-Bayt) of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) on days associated with these immortal guides of humanity towards the shores of salvation.
Thus, while the fortunate present in Damascus these days have the opportunity to salute the Heroine of Karbala at her holy shrine, we in Iran and all over the world, should not be considered less fortunate than the pilgrims, when we pay our respects to Prophet’s granddaughter from afar.
Yes it was on the 15th of Rajab, a few years after the heartrending tragedy of Karbala that Hazrat Zainab (SA) achieved martyrdom while on a visit to Syria, when an enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt struck her head with a pickaxe, while she reminisced the sad spectacle of her brother Imam Husain’s (AS) severed head hanging from a tree of the garden where the Omayyad army had encamped in 61 AH, along with the noble captives of Karbala, before entering Damascus.
The Impeccable Daughter of Imam Ali (AS) and Hazrat Fatema (SA) needs no introduction. Born in Medina in 6 AH, she was 5 years old when she lost her maternal grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). Within a few months, another tragedy struck the blessed household when the little girl witnessed the martyrdom of her beloved mother, upon whom the enemies of humanity had battered down the burning door of her house.
Nonetheless, she patiently endured these sufferings while growing up under the loving care of her father, along with her brothers, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS).
If her paternal grandparents were the primordial Muslims, Hazrat Abu Taleb (AS) and Fatema bint Asad (SA) – whose traits of faith is Islam blossomed in her personality – she bore a striking resemblance to her maternal grandmother, Omm al-Momineen (Mother of all True Believers), Hazrat Khadija (SA).
When she grew up she married her first cousin, Abdullah the son of Ja’far at-Tayyar, and became the mother of several children. After 25 years of silence when the caliphate came begging at the doorstep of her father and he reluctantly took up the reins of political power, she and her family moved along with him to Kufa in Iraq the new capital of the Islamic realm.
Imam Ali (AS), during his four-and-a-half year rule of social justice revived the genuine teachings of Islam in society, before being martyred in the Mosque while in the state of prayer in the blessed month of Ramadhan in 40 AH. It was a great blow to Hazrat Zainab (SA). Some six months later, her elder brother, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) relinquished the caliphate, because of adverse political circumstances and returned to Medina with all the family members.
Ten years later in 50 AH, Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) was martyred through poisoning by the rebel Mu’awiya ibn Abu Sufyan. It was another tragedy for Zainab (SA). She, however, remained steadfast beside her other brother, Imam Husain (AS). In 60 AH, when he was forced to leave Medina, she took the permission of her husband, Abdullah, to accompany Imam Husain (AS) to Mecca and then Karbala along with two of her sons, Aun and Mohammad.
In Karbala, she witnessed the heartrending tragedy of Ashura on the 10th of Moharram, when within a space of few hours 18 of her family members, including her two sons Aun and Mohammad were martyred,
along with the Chief of Martyrs, her brother Imam Husain (AS). She was the picture of patience, and endured the equally tragic aftermath of the tragedy, when she and the rest of the womenfolk and children of the Prophet’s Household were taken as captives and paraded along with the severed heads of the martyrs all the way from Karbala to Kufa, and thence to Damascus in Syria, to the court of the tyrant Yazid.
Zainab (SA) was now the leader of the caravan, and she bravely rose to the occasion to unmask hypocrisy and tyranny in its true colours. In such a state she took the battle to the enemy’s camp and triumphed. Her words in the court of the tyrant Yazid resonantly ring out till this day, as she said: "Is it justice O’ sons of freed slaves.” This phrase is part of an eloquently moving sermon in the presence of the ruler of a realm that was the superpower of the age. It was spoken by her when she was in fetters, while the heads of her brother, nephews, sons, and kinsmen lay in a tray, in a gory spectacle, in front of the elated tyrant.
The granddaughter of the Prophet exposed Yazid and his Omayyad clan as nothing more than a bunch of ingrates, sired by Mu’awiyya, Abu Sufyan, and the liver-eater Hend, who were actually slaves freed by the Prophet, following the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muslims in 8 AH. She meant to say that Islam had spared their rotten life, but in turn these Godless Omayyads had martyred the Prophet’s grandson, Imam Husain (AS).
The eloquence of Hazrat Zainab (SA) was comparable to that of her parents. Her clarity of language and choice of words to expound the mission of her brother in the court of the tyrant Yazid is rather unique. History is incapable of doing full justice to her sermons that ensured eternity for the mission of Imam Husain (AS). Scholars, pointing to her memorable sermon in the court of Damascus, say that besides being an indicator of her firm faith, trust in God, sincerity of purpose and dauntlessness under the most adverse circumstances, it shattered to pieces the power and pride of Yazid. Her bold address to the arrogant caliph shook the very foundations of Omayyud rule and exposed its illegitimacy not only for the courtiers but for all generations to come.
Her memorable sermons finally forced Yazid to release the noble household and allow them to return to Medina. Upon release, the noble lady laid foundations of the mourning ceremonies for the Martyrs of Karbala – ceremonies that continue to inspire the faithful in the months of Muharram and Safar.
It was thus the sister’s patience that made the message of the brother resound with glory in the courts of the perpetrators of history’s most heart-wrenching tragedy and ensured that as long as the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) is commemorated the name of Zainab (SA) will also shine with radiance.
Zainab (SA) was now the leader of the caravan, and she bravely rose to the occasion to unmask hypocrisy and tyranny in its true colours. In such a state she took the battle to the enemy’s camp and triumphed. Her words in the court of the tyrant Yazid resonantly ring out till this day, as she said: "Is it justice O’ sons of freed slaves.” This phrase is part of an eloquently moving sermon in the presence of the ruler of a realm that was the superpower of the age. It was spoken by her when she was in fetters, while the heads of her brother, nephews, sons, and kinsmen lay in a tray, in a gory spectacle, in front of the elated tyrant.
The granddaughter of the Prophet exposed Yazid and his Omayyad clan as nothing more than a bunch of ingrates, sired by Mu’awiyya, Abu Sufyan, and the liver-eater Hend, who were actually slaves freed by the Prophet, following the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muslims in 8 AH. She meant to say that Islam had spared their rotten life, but in turn these Godless Omayyads had martyred the Prophet’s grandson, Imam Husain (AS).
The eloquence of Hazrat Zainab (SA) was comparable to that of her parents. Her clarity of language and choice of words to expound the mission of her brother in the court of the tyrant Yazid is rather unique. History is incapable of doing full justice to her sermons that ensured eternity for the mission of Imam Husain (AS). Scholars, pointing to her memorable sermon in the court of Damascus, say that besides being an indicator of her firm faith, trust in God, sincerity of purpose and dauntlessness under the most adverse circumstances, it shattered to pieces the power and pride of Yazid. Her bold address to the arrogant caliph shook the very foundations of Omayyud rule and exposed its illegitimacy not only for the courtiers but for all generations to come.
Her memorable sermons finally forced Yazid to release the noble household and allow them to return to Medina. Upon release, the noble lady laid foundations of the mourning ceremonies for the Martyrs of Karbala – ceremonies that continue to inspire the faithful in the months of Muharram and Safar.
It was thus the sister’s patience that made the message of the brother resound with glory in the courts of the perpetrators of history’s most heart-wrenching tragedy and ensured that as long as the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) is commemorated the name of Zainab (SA) will also shine with radiance.