Zaynab bint Ali

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Image:Zaynab Script.jpg

Zaynab bint Ali (Arabic: زينب بنت علي) was the daughter of the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and Fatima Zahra (the Islamic Prophet Mohammed’s daughter). It was five years after the Muslims had accompanied the Islamic Prophet Mohammed and his family in the migration to Medina, when the Prophet's daughter, Fatima Zahra, gave birth to a little girl.

When her father, Ali ibn Abu Talib, saw his daughter for the first time the third Shia Imam Hussain ibn Ali who was then almost three years old, was with him. The boy exclaimed in delight, "O father, Allah has given me a sister."

At those words Ali ibn Abu Talib began to weep, and when Hussain ibn Ali asked why he was crying so, his father answered that he would soon come to know.

Fatima Zahra and Ali ibn Abu Talib did not name their child until a few days after her birth, for they awaited Prophet Muhammad’s return from a journey so that he could propose the name.

When finally the baby girl was brought before him he held her in his lap and kissed her. The Angel Jibril came to him and conveyed the name that was to be hers, and then he began to weep. Prophet Muhammad asked why Jibril wept and he answered,

"O Prophet of Allah. From early on in life this girl will

remain entangled in tribulations and trials in this world.

First she will weep over your separation

(from this world); thereafter she will bemoan

the loss of her mother, then her father,

and then her brother Hassan ibn Ali, the second Shia Imam.

After all this she will be confronted with the trials

of the land of Karbala and the tribulations of that

lonely desert, as a result of which her hair will

turn grey and her back will be bent."

When the members of the family heard this prophecy they all broke down in tears. Hussain ibn Ali now understood why earlier his father had also wept.

When the news of Zaynab’s birth reached Salman al-Farsi, he went to Ali ibn Abu Talib to congratulate him. But instead of seeing him happy and rejoicing he saw Ali ibn Abu Talib shed tears, and he too was apprised of the events of Karbala and the hardships that were to befall Zaynab bint Ali.

One day, when Zaynab bint Ali was about five years old, she had a strange and terrible dream. A violent wind arose in the city and darkened the earth and the sky. The little girl was tossed hither and thither, and suddenly she found herself stuck in the branches- of a huge tree. But-the wind was so strong that it uprooted the tree. Zaynab binte Ali caught hold of a branch but that broke. In a panic she grabbed two twigs but these top gave way and she was left falling with no support. Then she woke up. When she told her grand father, Muhammad, about this dream he wept bitterly and said,

"O my daughter. that tree is me who is shortly going to

leave this world. The branches are your father

Ali and your mother Fatima Zahra, and the twigs

are your brothers Hassan ibn Ali and Hussain ibn Ali.

They will all depart this world before you do,

and you will suffer their separation and loss."

_________________________________________________

1 Growing up in Medina
2 Womanhood
3 Zaynab and Karbala
4 Zaynab's Death
5 Titles of Zaynab binte Ali
6 Images
7 See also
8 Shi'a links
9 Sunni links

[edit] Growing up in Medina

Zaynab bint Ali shared with her brothers and sister the extraordinary position of having such examples to look up to, emulate and learn from, as her grandfather (the Islamic Prophet Mohammed), her mother Fatima Zahra (daughter of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed), and her father Ali ibn Abu Talib (cousin of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed). In the pure environment that enveloped her she absorbed the teachings of Islam that her grandfather imparted and after him her father. Here too she learnt to master all household skills with great proficiency.

She had barely attained the tender age of seven when her beloved mother passed away. Her mother's death had closely followed her cherished grand father's passing away. Some time later Ali ibn Abu Talib married Fatima binte Hizam, whose devotion and piety encouraged Zaynab bint Ali in her learning.

While still a young girl she was fully able to care for and be responsible for the running of her father's household. As much as she cared for the comforts and ease of her brothers and sisters, in her own wants she was frugal and unstintingly generous to the poor, homeless and parentless. After her marriage her husband is reported as having said, "Zaynab is the best housewife."

From very early on she developed an unbreakable bond of attachment to her brother Hussain ibn Ali. At times when as a baby in her mother's arms she could not be pacified and made to stop crying, she would quiet down upon being held by her brother, and there she would sit quietly gazing at his face. Before she would pray she used to first cast a glance at the face of her beloved brother.

One day Fatima Zahra mentioned the intensity of her daughter's love for Hussain ibn Ali to the Prophet Mohammed. 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."

[edit] Womanhood

Zaynab bint Ali grew into a fine young woman. Of her physical appearance little is known. When the tragedy of Karbala befell her in her mid-fifties she was forced to go out uncovered. It was then that some people remarked that she appeared as a 'shining sun' and a 'piece of the moon'.

In her character she reflected the best attributes of those who raised her. In sobriety and serenity she was likened to Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, her grandmother; in chastity and modesty to her mother Fatima Zahra; in eloquence to her father Ali ibn Abu Talib; in forbearance and patience to her brother Hassan ibn Ali; and in bravery and tranquility of the heart to Hussain ibn Ali. Her face reflected her father's awe and her grandfather's reverence.

When the time came for marriage, she was married in a simple ceremony to her first cousin, Abdullah ibn Ja'far. Abdullah had been brought up under the direct care of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed. After his death, Ali ibn Abu Talib became his supporter and guardian until he came of age. He grew up to be a handsome youth with pleasing manners and was known for his sincere hospitality to guests and selfless generosity to the poor and needy.

Together this young couple had five children, of whom four were sons, Ali, Aun, Muhammad, and Abbas, and one daughter, Umm Khultum. Ali, also known as Ali al-Zaynabi, would have numerous descendants who would take pride in their lineage to Zaynab. Aun al-Akbar was killed at Kerbala. Some reports indicate that Muhammad was also killed at Kerbala, although others say that he lived on after that. There is no information about Abbas in regards to how or when he died.

In Medina it was Zaynab bint Ali's practice to hold regular meetings for women in which she shared her knowledge and taught them the precepts of Islam as laid out in the Quran. Her gatherings were well and regularly attended. She was able to impart the teachings with such clarity and eloquence that she became known as Fasihah (skillfully fluent) and Balighah (intensely eloquent).

In the thirty-seventh year A.H., Ali ibn Abu Talib moved to Kufa to assume the position of Caliph. He was accompanied by his daughter Zaynab and her husband. Her reputation as an inspiring teacher among the women had preceded her. There too women would throng to her daily sittings where they all benefited from her erudition, wisdom and scholarship in the exegesis of the Quran.'

The depth and certainty of her knowledge earned her the name given to her by her nephew, Shi’a fourth Imam Ali ibn Hussain, of 'Alimah Ghayr Mu'allamah, 'she who has knowledge without being taught'.

Zaynab bint Ali was also nicknamed Zahidah (abstemious) and 'Abidah (devoted) because of her abstemiousness and piety. She found little of interest in worldly adornments, always preferring the bliss and comfort of the Next World over that of this world. She used to say that for her the life of this world was as a resting place to relieve fatigue along a journey.

Humble and of high morals, her main concern was to strive to please Allah and in doing so she avoided anything which was the least bit doubtful.

[edit] Zaynab and Karbala

Image:Zaynab Karbala.jpg

At the death of the caliph Muawiyah I, Husayn set out from Medina to Kufa, where he expected support for his bid to become the new caliph. Zaynab accompanied him, as did most of his household. After Hussain ibn Ali's death at the Battle of Karbala, Zaynab was taken prisoner by the army of Yazid I, Muawiyah’s son and the strongest claimant to the title of caliph. Zaynab bint Ali and the other survivors of Hussain ibn Ali's expedition, most of them women and children, were marched to Damascus, Yazid's capital, where they were held prisoner. Tradition says that Zaynab, already in anguish due to the death of her brother Husayn and her sons Aun and Muhammad, was forced to march unveiled. This was an extreme indignity to inflict on a high-ranking Muslim woman, the granddaughter of Muhammad.

[edit] Zaynab's Death

After the Battle of Kerbala, Zaynab and her family were eventually released and escorted back to Medina. After her return to Medina, little is known of her in the year and a half before her death, except through much later, conflicting reports. According to one report, she stayed and died there. Another report states that due to persecution from the governor of Medina, she traveled to Fustat (later Cairo) in Egypt with several other women from the family of the Prophet; she lived in Fustat for over a year, narrating the Karbala tragedy and preaching the love of the family of the Prophet, and died there. A third report states that she went with her husband to his Syrian estates in a year of drought and died there.

Sources also differ as to the year of her death. According to most of them, she died on 15 Rajab AH 62 (682 CE), when she was fifty-six years old. Although it is not known exactly what year she died with so many differing reports, what is known for certain is that Zaynab did not long survive her return from Kerbala, and died circa 682 CE. Some traditions say that Zaynab was murdered by a Yazid-loyalist with a spade in a garden at Damascus. The anniversary of her death is said to be either 16th Rajabul Asab, the 11th or 21st of Jamadi uth-thani, the 24th of Safar, or the 16th of Dhu'l-Hijjah.

Image:Shrine Zaynab.jpg

Image:Saidzainab277.jpg Several cities boast shrines said to be built over Zaynab's grave. One shrine is located in Damascus, Syria [1]. There is also a shrine to Zaynab in Cairo, Egypt.

Zaynab's shrine in Damascus is a pilgrimage site for Shi'a Muslim pilgrims. Zaynab is also commemorated with a holiday: in Shi'a-majority Iran, Zaynab's birthday is celebrated as the nurse's day.