The month of Muharram is a time of collectively mourning the heroic sacrifices of the Prophet’s family at the battle of Karbala. Among the many heroic figures there was Bibi Zainab (RA), the sister of Hassan and Hussain (RA) and daughter of Hazrat Ali.
Had it not been for Zainab, that the tragedy of Karbala would have remained unknown because of the propaganda campaign Yazid and his followers launched to justify their crimes.
Her efforts to preserve the incident in history ensured that generations ahead would remember the sacrifices of Hussain (RA).
The third child of Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Fatima, Zainab stood beside her brother when he refused to swear allegiance to Yazid’s caliphate. It was these actions that drove Hussain and his followers out of Madinah to travel to Kufa.
After the martyrdom of Hussain (RA), the camps were looted as tents comprising of women and children were set on fire and they were bound in chains, paraded barefoot back to Kufa and then Damascus, Syria, where they were thrown in to prisons. It was at this time that Zainab (RA) took control and became a voice for the people. She lost two sons, her brothers and nephews to the tragedy of Karbala, but rose to the occasion to ensure that the events are never forgotten.
At Yazid’s palace in Damascus, Zainab (RA) gave a rousing speech, that has regarded her to this day as ‘The Hero Of Karbala’
“In the name of Allah, The most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May praise and salutations be upon my grandfather, the leader of Allah’s messengers and upon his progeny. O Yazid! Do you think that we have become humble and despicable owing to the martyrdom of our people and our own captivity? Do you think that by killing the godly persons you have become great and respectable and the Almighty looks at you with special grace and kindness? You have, however, forgotten what Allah says: The disbelievers must not think that our respite is for their good We only give them time to let them increase their sins. For them there will be a humiliating torment. (Quran 3:178)
O son of the freed ones! Is it justice that you keep your women and slave-girls in seclusion but have made the helpless daughters of the Holy Prophet ride on swift camels and given them in the hands of their enemies so that they may take them from one city to another. It will be the day when Allah will deliver the descendants of the Holy Prophet from the state of being scattered and will bring all of them together in Paradise. This is the promise which Allah has made in the Holy Quran. Do not think of those who are slain for the cause of Allah as dead. They are alive with their Lord and receive sustenance from Him.(Quran 3:169)
Our blood is dripping from their hands and our flesh is falling down from their mouths.
You (Yazid) may employ your deceit and cunning efforts, but I swear by Allah that the shame and disgrace which you have earned by the treatment meted out to us cannot be eradicated.”
The speech completely moved members of Yazid’s court, listening to a battered and chained woman recount how Hussain (RA) was not an enemy, but a hero who had died protecting the nature of Islam and for righteousness to succeed over evil. Many stood up and protested against Yazid’s tyranny, as a result of which they were removed from court.
Zainab bore the heavy task of ensuring that the events of Karbala are not lost to propaganda of Yazid, reminding everyone how the fearlessness of her father and her grandfather, Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was also present within her. She set up the first majlis in Syria after she was freed, and recounted to throngs of people the events of Karbala and how all the martyrs ensured that the legacy of Hussain (RA) as someone who fought for justice, lives on.
