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Self Sacrificing Ladies
Submitted by Mehwish
 One should not, however, be oblivious of the fact that during the course of this everlasting and important event which took place in 61 A.H. some great and magnanimous women also participated and made sacrifices. So much so that some of them were even martyred in this path and their honorable names have been mentioned in the glorious history of the rising of Imam Husayn with honor and respect.
We now mention here the names of each of these great women in the historical order and the role played by them.
Lady Dulham: The first whose name deserves to be remembered with honor and respect was the wife of Zuhayr bin Qayn Bajali. She was the woman who acquired the most honorable position in the history of Islam for all times to come.
Zuhair was returning from makkah with a man. there suddenly came a messenger of the Imam. He saluted them and said: "O Zuhayr bin Qayn! Husayn bin Ali has called you".
We disliked this message however, Dulham, the daughter of Amr who was the wife of Zuhayr said to him: "The son of the Holy Prophet of Allah has sent someone to you and called you; are you not prepared to go to him? Allah be praised! What is the harm if you go and see him, hear what he has to say and then return!" The words of this woman had, the desired effect and she placed her husband in the category of the greatest martyrs of Islam. Zuhayr was impressed by the words of his wife and presented himself before the Imam. After some time he returned with a face beaming with happiness and ordered his tent to be pitched adjacent to the camp of the Holy Imam.
Indeed, Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He takes them out of darkness into light. (Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 257)
Lady Umme Wahab: The second lady who deserves to be It praised for her lofty character and sacrifice was the wife of Abdullah bin Umayr Kalbi. Abdullah bin Umayr was a resident of Kufa and belonged to the tribe of Bani Ulaym. One day he saw that a large army had gathered in the date-palm garden of 'Kufa. He enquired about the army. He was informed that those people were going to fight against Husayn, son of Fatima, the daughter of the Holy Prophet. Abdullah said: " Allah knows that I have been keen to fight against the polytheists for His sake. However, I now hope that the spiritual reward for fighting against these people who are going to kill the grandson of the Holy Prophet will be not less than that for fighting against the polytheists. Abdullah decided to leave and informed his wife Umme Wahab, daughter of Abdullah about his intention. His wife said: "It is an excellent idea. May Allah guide you in all circumstances. Please take me also with you". Both of them left Kufa at night and perhaps reached Karbala during the night of the 8th of Muharram. When fighting was started by the enemy in the morning of Āshura two slaves of Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad came forward for a single combat. Habib bin Mazahir Asadi and Burayr bin Khuzayr Hamdani got ready to fight with them, but the Imam asked them to wait. At this moment Abdullah bin Umayr sought the Imam's permission to fight. He faced both the enemies alone and killed them.
When the woman observed her husband fighting with them she also picked up the stick of a tent and entered the battlefield. She said to her husband: "May my parents be your ransom Sacrifice your life for the sake of the children of the Holy Prophet". The Imam said to her: "May Allah give you a good reward! May Allah bless you! Return towards the women and stay with them in the tent, because women are not required to perform jihad". Abdullah was the second person to be martyred on the day of Āshura, the first being Muslim bin Awsaja.
Lady Rubāb: The third lady whose illustrious name has been recorded in the history of Āshura was Rubāb, daughter of Imraul Qays, a wife of the Holy Imam. She was the only wife of the Imam who accompanied him during his journey to Karbala.She had one daughter and one son who were named Sukayna and Abdullah respectively. The son who was a suckling was killed on the day of Āshura and she herself as well as her daughter Sukayna were made prisoners.
The fourth lady whose name may be mentioned in connection with the events of the afternoon of the day of Āshura belonged to the tribe of Bakr bin Wa'il. She enjoys an eminent position in depicting the tragedy of Karbala. She has recorded on the pages of history a precise picture of the meanness of the enemy in a few words.
She was with her husband in the army of Ibn sad. However, when she saw that the soldiers of Kufa had made a rush on the tents of the children of Imam Husayn and were looting even the dresses of the ladies she picked up a sword, proceeded towards the tents of Imam Husayn and shouted: "O children of Bakr bin Wa'il! You are alive and in spite of this these people are plundering the tents of the daughters of the Holy Prophet. Allah is the only Arbitrator. Come on, and avenge the bloodshed". By means of these brief words she showed to what extent the enemy had become mean. It seems as if the cry of this lady is still resounding at the doors of the tents of Imam Husayn.
While studying the history of Āshura we come across the names of many magnanimous women who rose to support truth and the godly persons with perfect sincerity and they are not the only four women mentioned above,infact none of these great women who displayed an eminent performance at the time of the martyrdom of the martyrs or during captivity, could acquire a position equal to that of lady Zaynab, the eldest daughter of Imam Ali. It was she who could truly take the place of her brother during captivity and followed the same movement from the afternoon of the day of Āshura till her arrival in Madina. She truly followed what her brother said: " Abjectness and humiliation are far removed from us, the Ahlul Bayt". She thus discharged the responsibility devolved upon her. We may say that it was due to the education given to her by her mother, lady Fatima Zahra. She ought to have been as patient in the path of faith as her mother Fatima and her grandmother Khadija had been.
Lady Zaynab, addressed the people in the bazaar of Kufa and spoke eloquently like her father ali ibn abitalib. It might be said that she was speaking with the tongue of Imam Ali. By making a sign to the people she made them quiet as if they had ceased to breathe, and suppressed the tumult.
Umme Kulsum, the sister of Zaynab also addressed the people in the bazaar of Kufa. Both the sisters severely reproached the Kufians who were touched so much that they began to weep and lament.
The task of Ahlul Bayt in the bazaar of Kufa came to an end, and then they got an opportunity to speak in the court of Ibn Ziyad. The daughter of Imam Ali came in the court in a very simple dress. She was encircled by her slave-girls. She went and sat down in a corner of the palace. Ibn Ziyad asked: "Who is the woman who has gone and sat down in a corner along with her slave-girls?" None gave him a reply. He then repeated his question. Thereupon one of the slave-girls of lady Zaynab said: "It is Zaynab and she is the daughter of the same Fatima who was the daughter of the Prophet of Allah".
Ibn Ziyad said: "I thank Allah that He has disgraced you and killed you and made the people aware of your fresh lies". Ibn Ziyad uttered three blasphemous words on account of his being arrogant of his victory. Otherwise what fresh lie had Bani Hashim told? Was it a fresh lie on their part that they said, "Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah", or did they tell any other lie? In any case lady Zaynab said immediately in reply to Ibn Ziyad: "Allah be thanked that He has honored us by means of His Prophet Muhammad and purified us of every impurity. You have said that we have been disgraced but it is a libertine who is disgraced and you have said that we have lied but lies are told by the wicked. And I thank Allah once again that others and , not we are the libertines and the wicked".
In reply to Ibn Ziyad's question: "Have you seen what Allah has done with your family?" Zaynab replied: "Nothing new has happened. These martyrs of our family were persons for whom Allah had destined martyrdom, and they achieved this blessing, and embraced martyrdom. However, a day will come soon when Allah will summon you and them for the settlement of accounts and there you will grapple and dispute with each other". On hearing this Ibn Ziyad was so much disturbed and annoyed that if Amr bin Harith had not reproached him, it was possible that he might have ordered the sister of the Imam to be killed. However, of what use could it be to him? Zaynab had already said what she had to say. She had also identified the libertines and the wicked and introduced the pure and sacred family of the Holy Prophet.
After a month or a few days more had passed, the daughter of Imam Ali arrived in a more important and more delicate assembly. Here also it was her duty to speak more clearly. As compared with the Kufians the Syrians were more mistaken and more unacquainted with the Ahlul Bayt. It was, therefore, necessary that she should mention the reality and introduce the Ahlul Bayt more emphatically. This assembly was organized in Damascus, the Islamic capital. Here, too, lady Zaynab addressed the people and spoke to them. This speech has also been mentioned by Ahmad bin Tahir Baghdadi in Balāghatun Nisa. He says: "When Yazid saw the prisoners belonging to Ahlul Bayt and found them standing before him he ordered the head of Imam Husayn to be brought in a tray. He hit the teeth of Imam Husayn with a stick which he had in his hand and recited some poetic verses which are summarized thus: "I wish that my ancestors, who were killed in Badr, had been alive today so that they might see the present condition of the descendants of Muhammad and had rejoiced and said: 'O Yazid! May your hands never ache". He added: "May I not be a descendant of my ancestors if I don't take revenge upon the children of Muhammad".
When the matters took such a turn, and Yazid, who killed Imam Husayn, now rose to oppose and take revenge upon the Holy Prophet. Was then lady Zaynab justified in ignoring his words and deeds and in keeping quiet before one who claimed to be the successor of the Holy Prophet and ruled in that capacity, and killed the most pious persons of Islam avenging the murder of the polytheists of Makkah, who were killed by the Prophet in the Battle of Badr? Could she remain silent when she saw that the Syrians had accepted the words of Yazid as true and believed them? Evidently Lady Zaynab could not keep quiet at this stage. Whatever she said was her duty that she performed. Allah also preserved her speech and it was not eliminated like many other religious documents. We should be thankful to the Almighty Allah for this blessing.
References: http://www.al-islam.org |
