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Published on 5th
July, 2002
Lady
Zaynab bint Ali ('a)
By Zaynab
El-Fatah and S. Abidin
Poetry- unknown author
Lady of Faith
"Lady of Faith, Lady
of Strength,
They killed your sons, your brother, and your friends
then they came and burned your tents.
Lady of Faith, Lady of
Strength,
Oh my courage you did show
Even as those fires did glow.
Lady of Faith, Lady of
Strength,
To Yazid's palace were you dragged
With our sick Imam (Imam Sajad) who was bound and gagged.
Lady of Faith, Lady of
Strength,
Face to face with Yazid you said
How dare you treat the Ahlul Bait so bad?
Lady of Faith, Lady of
Strength,
Your role was clear, there was no choice
To save Islam you used your voice.
That it was you who gave
the start to all this
So we can never forget, you went to great lengths
Our Lady of Faith, Our Lady of Strength."
The
Auspicious Birth Anniversary of Zaynab ('a)
The name of "Zaynab"
is like a "sun"
shining in the Islamic history. What we know about her life and her character is not
enough and there is still more to know.
Her auspicious birth was on 5th of Jamadi-Ul-Awal, in 5 or 6 A.H. She
('a) was the daughter of Imam Ali
('a) and the Islamic honourable
Lady Fatima Zahra ('a), the daughter of the Holy Prophet ('s).
The Prophet ('s) named her
"Zaynab" explaining that
this name was the combination of two words "Zayn" and
"ab" which meant father’s adornment, in other words she was like an image of Imam Ali's ('a) character.
 The
Holy Prophet of Allah ('s) narrates:
One day Fatimah
('a) mentioned the intensity of her daughter's love for Imam Husayn
('a) to the Prophet (s). He breathed a deep sigh and said with
moistened eyes,
"My dear
child. This child of mine, Zaynab, would be confronted with a
thousand and one calamities and face serious hardships in Karbala."
In her fruitful life, she encountered
many grievous events such as the death of the Holy Prophet
('s), the martyrdom of her Holy
Mother ('a), the martyrdom of her Holy Father ('a) and then the martyrdom
of her Holy Brother, the 3rd Holy Imam and 2nd Muslims’ leader,
Imam Hassan ibn Ali ('a).
These grievous events prepared the ground to
be enraged at Yazidians’ oppression.
Her eloquent speeches and admirable behaviour
at Karbala event showed that this honourable Lady ('a) had a high
rank of being submitted to Allah’s (swt) will, which was one of
the most important statues among the favourites of Allah (swt) and
the Prophets (peace be upon them all).
Lady
Zaynab's ('a) Speech at Kufa - Quote 1
"Have you forgotten that Allah has said:
“Do not regard those who disbelieved that we grant them
good for themselves? We only give them a respite so that
they may increase their sins, and for them there is a
humiliating torment.” (3:178)
"Know (people of
Kufa) that you have been
guilty of the most heinous crime in the world and have
prepared the worst provision for the Day of Judgement.
Curses be upon you and may destruction overtake you. Your
efforts have gone wasted and you have been ruined. You have
transacted a losing trade. You have become the victim of
Allah's wrath and have fallen into ignominy and
degradation...................”
The
Anglo Saxon Chronicles And Lady Zaynab ('a)
In the article The
Anglo Saxon Chronicles and Lady Zaynab ('a) it points
out that in British History, recorded in the Anglo Saxon
Chronicles, that:
In the year 685 AD [Christian Calendar]:
"685. In this year in Britain it rained blood, and
milk and butter were turned into blood."
In Lady Zaynab's
('a) speech in Kufa in the same year, her
speech below quotes:
"In
view of all these acts, would you wonder if blood should rain
down from the sky?"
Lady
Zaynab's ('a) Speech at Kufa - Quote 2
"O
people
of Kufa, woe upon you. Do you realize which piece of the Prophet
Muhammad's heart you have severed, which pledge you have broken,
whose blood you have shed and whose honour you have desecrated?
You
have certainly committed such a crime because of which, the sky
may fall down on the earth, the earth may crack and the
mountains crumble to pieces. By killing your Imam, you have
committed a singularly evil act of rebellious behaviour and
heedlessness towards dignity.
In
view of all these acts, would you wonder if blood should rain
down from the sky?
In
any case you should mind that the chastisement of the Next World
will be severe. At that juncture there will be no one to help
you. Do not regard the time and opportunity given you by Allah
as small and unimportant, and do not be satisfied with it
because if Allah is not quick in acting it does not imply that
He is unable. For him there is no fear that the time of
vengeance is passing away. Allah
is certainly keeping watch over you".
Hearing this speech of Lady Zaynab ('a), people wept, some
putting their fingers in their mouths and biting them. Without
appealing to sentiments of pity, she exposed to them, the
reality of their selves and their evil deeds. The eyes that had
been raised in expectation of celebration, were now downcast
with shame by the truthful force of her speech (Zaynab
and Hala, 2002).
At Karbala At
Karbala, many tragic events occurred
around and to her (ref: Tale
of Hussain's Martyrdom) including the martyrdom of her sons, also the martyrdom
of her brother’s children and more importantly of all, the
martyrdom of her brother Imam Hussain ('a) along with his
faithful companions which brought this great Lady ('a) into
terrible shock.
Although having submitted to Allah’s will,
she never conceded to oppression and injustice.
The
Rising of Imam Hussain ('a) and Lady Zaynab ('a)
In fact, the history of Karbala is based on
two strong factors, the Imam Hussain’s ('a) and Lady Zaynab’s
('a) rising.
Zaynab
('a) the Social Worker and Educator
In social dimensions, besides communicating
deeply with people, she was active in educating the people, solving
their problems and also aiding the needy.
As a case in point, while living in
Kufa, she
taught women the Quran interpretation. Everyone knew that she ('a) was a brave and
high-spirited lady and this was clear in her brief, effective and
blazing speeches in Ibn Ziad and Yazid’s court against them.
The
Many Names of Lady Zaynab ('a)
There have been many names for Lady Zaynab ('a).
Some of them are more important in the historical documents rather
than the other ones. “Umm Kulthum” is one of her most famous
names. The reason why she was called Zaynab Kubra (Zaynab the
major) was the fact that her sister having the same name and
nickname. Therefore this name of Zaynab distinguished her from her
sister. However; in some books like “Ibn Shahr Ashoob”
and “An explanation on Nahjolbilaqih”, one can find out
that it was her sister that was called “Umm Kulthum the
major.” “Umm Abdullah” and "Umm-ul-Hasan” are among
her many other names.
It is worthy to say that according to the
Arabian tradition at that time, the many names were determined for
an individual in his or her early childhood.
Multidimensional
Character
Her multidimensional character had led to the
existence of many names for her, some of them are explained in the
following:
Lady Zaynab ('a) was called
"Banihashem’s Aqileh" and "Aqileh Talebin" in
which Aqileh means the virtuous lady who is treated dearly among
the members of the family and in her progeny. Her other names are:
"Sadiqeh", "Esmat-e Soqra (Esmat, the
minor)", "Mahbubat-ul- Mostafa", "Sharikat ul Hosein",
"Zahedeh"(the virtuous lady), "Aqeleh" (the
wise lady) and so on.
"The Patient Princess"
"Oh, I know about
Damascus
Where Zaynab's star shines
"Zaynab" glorious daughter of "Ali"
Who has nursed humanity
From Karbala throughout
times
To keep Islam alive
Humanity sings peace and joy at once
To everyone who seems still in love
To see the trees of truth
bloom
And the world be rid of gloom
If there is one thing the entire universe shares
It is the life of Zaynab to read and care
Dreams and hopes will come
true
When Zaynab and her goals are understood
Inside us is the warmth of Allah's love
When we think of Zaynab "The patient princess"
That is why the Ahlul-Bait
of Rasulallah
Are the light of saviours here and after this life.
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