|
|
||||||||
|
Syeda Zainab (sa) Daughter of Imam
Ali (as)
& Syeda
Fatima (sa) |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Zaynab is thought to mean 'she who weeps excessively', and other linguistic sources state that it once meant a good looking or smelling tree. The name might also possibly be a compound of the two Arabic words, zayn (beauty) and ab (father). Birth on 5th Jamadi Awal 5 AH (1st shaban also recorded ) Death -15th Rajab (Other dates also recorded in Jamadi uth-thani, the 24th of Safar, or the 16th of Dhu'l-Hijjah)
Sayyeda Zainab (s.a.), the daughter of Imam Ali (a.s.) and Sayyeda
Fatima (s.a.), was an exemplary woman of great ability,
intelligence, knowledge, insight, courage and perseverance; she
performed her divine duties to the best of her ability. She was born
to a family formed by the Prophet (SAW), the most outstanding figure
in history. The Prophet's wife Sayyeda Khadija (s.a.) a devoted
woman, was her maternal grandmother, and her paternal grandmother
was Fatima daughter of Assad, who mothered and nursed the Prophet
(SAW). The members of the family, in trio hierarchical order, were
all great. Extract From 'Victory of Truth' Book.... It was five years after the Muslims had accompanied the Prophet [s.a.w.] and his family in the migration (hijrah) to Medina, when the Holy Prophet's daughter, Hadrat Fatima [a.s.], gave birth to a little girl. When her father, Imam Ali [a.s.], saw his daughter for the first time Imam Husayn [a.s.], 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 Imam Ali [a.s.] began to weep, and when Husayn [a.s.] asked why he was crying so, his father answered that he would soon come to know. Fatima [a.s.] and Ali [a.s.] did not name their child until a few days after her birth, for they awaited the Prophet'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 Jibra'il came to him and conveyed the name that was to be hers, and then he began to weep. The Prophet [s.a.w.] asked why Jibra'il 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 Hasan. 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. Imam Husayn [a.s.] now understood why earlier his father had also wept. Then the Prophet [s.a.w.] named her Zaynab [a.s.]. When the news of Zaynab's birth reached Salman al-Farsi, he went to Ali [a.s.] to congratulate him. But instead of seeing him happy and rejoicing he saw Ali [a.s.] shed tears, and he too was apprised of the events of Karbala and the hardships that were to befall Zaynab [a.s.]. One day, when Zaynab [a.s.] 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 [a.s.] caught hold of a branch but that broke. In a panic she grabbed two twigs but these too gave way and she was left falling with no support. Then she woke up. When she told her grandfather, the Prophet [s.a.w.], 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 Hasan and Husayn. They will all depart this world before you do, and you will suffer their separation and loss." The exact date of her birth is uncertain; however the most widely accepted dates are the first of Sha'ban or the fifth of Jamadi ul-Awwal of the fifth or sixth year A.H., or the ninth of Ramadan in the ninth year A.H. p.45-6 ibid. p.68 ibid. The date of her death is uncertain : she is variously thought to be buried (most popularly) in Damascus, There are two explanations given as to how she came to be buried in Damascus: one being that some time after their return Yazid once again sent his forces to attack them, this time at Medina, and she and other members of her family were taken as prisoners of war to Damascus where she died; another being that because of a famine that swept through Medina, her husband temporarily moved his family to a village near Damascus, and it was there while praying in a garden that Zaynab [a.s.] was accidentally but fatally struck by a gardener's spade, or fell victim to a serious illness from which she never recovered. The anniversary of her death is observed on the following dates: 15th rajab ,11th or 21st of Jamadi uth-thani, the 24th of Safar, or the 16th of Dhu'l-Hijjah. Death Anniversary on 15th Rajab The death of the vanguard of protection for the members of the family of the Prophet and the lady who carried forth the message of Kerbala for the future generations, Lady Zainab the daughter of Ali (AS) holds a special place in the hearts of all Muslims. Born into a family of spiritual purity with a grand-father, mother, father, and brothers belonging to the tree of infallibility and the house in which the Qur�an descended, her environment was one which permitted her to reach to great levels. Although she lost her mother when she was still a child of around 7 years, another Fatimah (later on she became known as Ummul Baneen), entered into her father�s life and took on the arduous task of raising future leaders of the Ummah. However, the loss of her mother at such a young age did not prevent her from picking up her exemplary qualities. Just as her mother stood up to speak in the Masjid of the Prophet when her rights were stolen from her (in regards to Fadak), so too when the caravan of the Ahlul Bayt were taken to the palaces of Ibne Ziyad and Yazid, this daughter of Fatimah, as the mirror image of her mother, stood up to defend the Ahlul Bait and their rights. A model woman for all generations, one of her claims to fame was her profound knowledge of Islam. Although she never frequented a school to learn the faith of Islam, memorization of the Qur�an and the commentary of the Book of Allah (swt) and all other aspects of the faith, she none the less was recognized as an authority. In fact, due to her not going to any formal school, her nephew, the 4th Imam commonly referred to her as the �The Scholar who had no formal teacher.� A point which the sisters of today can learn from this towering personality, while in Kufah during the reign of her father, the Commander of the Faithful, she held special sessions for the Muslim women who would come to learn about Islam and a detailed expose' of the Qur�an. Thus, rather than the men teaching the women, she took it upon her self to teach those of her gender not about theology but also Islamic morals and ethics! Her lofty rank and status would however, not grant her immunity from the clutches of tyranny. Although the events surrounding her death are obscure, and there are definitely discrepancies as to what occurred after the massacre in Kerbala in 61 AH to this noble woman, however most historians write that she lived only one year after the massacre and at the age of 57, left this mortal world. Even the reports of where she was buried conflict with one another with three prominent opinions being put forward by the researchers. Some say that she died and was buried in Madinah; others claim Egypt where there is a large shrine for Sayyida Zainab while the third and most compelling belief is that she died in Damascus. �Peace be upon her the day she was born, the day she died and the day she will be brought back to life�� Source http://www.world-federation.org/Secretariat/Articles/Archive/Wafat_SayyidaZainab.htm |
||||||||
