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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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