Sayeda
Zainab (AS) Death Anniversary
We speak of Hazrat Zainab
(AS). She well conveyed the message of Karbala’s uprising and tragedy to
the world and today it is a great honor for Muslims to follow this great
lady as an example in their lives.
Truly when an individual
spends his or her life in support of truth and establishment of divine
values, his or her name will remain eternal in history and his or her
lifestyle will inspire the future generations. That is why the name of
Zainab and her lifestyle has influenced many people even non Muslims.
Ms. Carin from Germany, after
embracing Islam, chose Zainab as her first name.
Regarding her incentive in
choosing this name, she says: “ I was always interested in the life
story of the holy Prophet of Islam (MBABUHP) and his household. I was
specially affected by the story of uprising of Imam Hussein (PBUH) in
Karbala, and the personality of Hazrat Zainab in the events of Karbala.
The self-sacrifices of that
great lady, while bearing the heavy grief of martyrdom of her brother
and other companions are praiseworthy. Hazrat Zainab was a lady of
knowledge, virtue, bravery and patience. These characteristics helped
her carry out her mission in Karbala uprising in the company of Imam
Hussein (PBUH). Hazrat Zainab’s lifestyle contains instructive points
for me and whenever I come across a problem, I immediately remember Her.
For, her name brings me tranquility. That’s why I adopted the name of
Zainab after embracing Islam. “
Hazrat Zainab (PBUH) was
brought up under instructions of a father like Imam Ali (PBUH) and a
mother like Fatema (SA) and she benefited greatly from these two
personalities. Historians say Hazrat Zainab inherited bravery, honesty,
and fluency in speech from her father Imam Ali (PBUH) and kindness and
loyalty from her mother Hazrat Fatema (SA). During her childhood, Hazrat
Zainab was so keen in acquiring knowledge that one day she assisted her
brothers Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein (Peace be upon them) in answering
a jurisprudential problem.
She made great efforts in
giving religious training to the women of her time and thus many women
at that time benefited from Hazrat Zainab’s knowledge and teachings.
Hazrat Zainab spent her
fruitful life in promoting monotheism and assuming divine
responsibilities and her heroic participation in the greatest epic of
history, namely the uprising of Imam Hussein (PBUH) in Karbala brought
her a lasting name.
You won’t find a single
person who is familiar with Karbala tragedy and has not heard of Hazrat
Zainab. Zainab (SA) conveyed the message of Imam Hussein’s uprising to
territories beyond Karbala desert. In that tragedy she was both a
patient teacher and a nurse. She encouraged the warriors and sympathized
with the injured. She was so bound to the fulfillment of her religious
obligations that even at those critical conditions, she did not forget
to say her prayers at night. Imam Sajjad (PBUH) says: “I saw my aunt
Hazrat Zainab (Peace be upon her) saying her prayers while sitting.”
A major part of Hazrat
Zainab’s mission started when Karbala tragedy apparently ended with the
martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH).
This chapter of Hazrat Zainab’s life began with conveying the message of
Ashura in which she heroically defended the household’s rights and did
not permit the enemies to take advantage of Karbala tragedy. In this
tragedy, the Omayyud ruler Yazid and his followers thought that they had
succeeded in creating a negative image of the holy Prophet’s household,
but when the caravan of the household members now in captivity arrived
in Kufa, Hazrat Zainab behaved in such a way that she managed to turn
the so-called victory of the Omayyud into a defeat. In her famous
address, She changed the mentality of the people of Kufa and Damascus.
She symbolized a shining sun
who reflected light into everything. Although Hazrat Zainab did not live
long after Karbala tragedy, she sowed the seeds of awareness in the
entire Islamic society. This great lady passed away in 62 AH after she
made lots of efforts in the path of truth.
Once again we offer our
condolences and bring you an excerpt from her historic statement
addressed to Yazid. She says:
“O Yazid, practice any
trick you can and do anything that you think would vanish Islam, but
you should know that you can not eradicate our message, path and memory.
You should know that our memory will never die.”
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