{"id":30442,"date":"2026-06-22T13:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=30442"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:11:29","slug":"stations-of-muharram-al-haram-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/stations-of-muharram-al-haram-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Stations of Muharram al-Haram"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zainab (peace be upon her): Sacrifices and Stances<\/strong><\/p>\n

No sooner had the woman heard her reply than she rushed out, wailing and lamenting, nearly falling from her rooftop in the sheer horror of the shock. She turned to the women on the neighboring rooftops and cried out, “They are the women of the Prophet’s Household!” At that moment, a chorus of cries erupted from every side until the very foundations of Kufa shook with the grief of its people. Successive screams enveloped the city like a gathering storm. Women swarmed around the procession, throwing veils and headscarves down so that the daughters of Ali and Fatima might cover themselves from the eyes of the crowd. The streets were choked with men and women weeping and mourning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The daughter of Ali and Fatima turned her piercing gaze toward them and declared: “O people of Kufa! O people of treachery, deceit, and hypocrisy! Do you weep? May your tears never cease, and may your lamentations never be silenced! You are like the woman who unravels her own spinning after it has been woven strong. Is there anything in you but boastfulness, the flattery of maidservants, and the spite of enemies? Woe to you for what your souls have sent ahead, for God\u2019s wrath is upon you, and you shall abide in torment forever. Weep much and laugh little; you have burdened yourselves with the shame and disgrace of it, having slain the descendant of the Seal of Prophecy, the source of the Message, and the Master of the Youth of Paradise.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The procession moved on, cutting through the crowds of men and women toward the Governor\u2019s Palace, to enter the court of Ibn Marjana (Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad). She sat, disguised and head bowed, surrounded by the women of the household in that wretched assembly. He looked upon her with a gloating, triumphant smirk and asked, “Who is this masked woman?” She did not reply, out of contempt and disdain for his status. He repeated the question a second and third time. Some of her attendants answered him, “This is Zainab, daughter of Ali.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

He then burst forth with words revealing his baseness, malice, and vileness: “Praise be to God who has disgraced you and proven your lies false.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

She retorted, unfazed by his authority or his tyranny: “Praise be to God who has honored us through His Prophet and purified us of all defilement. It is only the transgressor who is disgraced, and it is only the wicked who lies\u2014and that is not us. May your mother mourn you, O son of Marjana!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consumed by hatred and rage, he said, “How did you find what God has done to your brother and your household?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

She replied, “I saw nothing but beauty. These are people for whom God decreed martyrdom, so they went forth to their resting places. Soon, God will bring you and them together, and you will argue before Him. Then you shall know to whom the victory truly belongs. May your mother mourn you, O son of Marjana!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

His malice and arrogance urged him to grab a cane lying beside him to strike her, but Amr ibn Hurayth, one of his henchmen, saw how the faces in the court had hardened against Ibn Marjana. He realized that an act of this nature would inflame the emotions\u2014especially since the people were already seething with hatred and resentment, ready to explode at any moment due to what had befallen Husayn, his sons, and his companions. He intervened between Ibn Marjana and his intent; the cane was dropped from his hand. He returned to addressing her with the language of a gloating, vengeful man, saying, “God has healed my heart regarding your tyrant Husayn and the rebellious insurgents of your household.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

At this, she wept and said, “By my life, you have slain my elder, severed my branches, and uprooted my foundation. If this is your healing, then you have indeed been healed.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

*(From: “Inspiration from the Husayn Revolution” \/ Hashem Ma’rouf al-Hasani, pp. 65-68)*<\/strong><\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

People have long spoken of heroism and heroes\u2014men and women alike\u2014renowned for their boldness, courage, and ability to face knights in battle, where the woman stood beside the man, performing her role with the same spirit and determination that defined the heroes who fought. Without a doubt, the people of the Prophet’s Household (peace be upon them) stand at the forefront of history’s heroes. Zainab, the daughter of Ali and Fatima, stands at the pinnacle, following in the footsteps of her father and brothers, as testified by a life brimming with purity, virtue, courage, and patience in the face of adversity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is no wonder that this monumental soul\u2014in whom the three lights of Muhammad, Ali, and Fatima converged, and from whose light her personality was formed\u2014should embody in her actions the very characteristics of Prophethood, Imamate, and her mother az-Zahra, who excelled over all the women of the worlds in her merit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Words fail, and language\u2014despite the breadth of its vocabulary\u2014falls short of describing or expressing the deep-seated feelings one holds for this great woman and supreme role model: the daughter of Ali and Zahra, who had no equal among Arab and Muslim women, save for her mother, the Batul (the Virgin), the Mistress of all women, who smiled at death when the Trustworthy Prophet brought her glad tidings of it in the final hours of his life, saying to her, “You are the first of my household to join me.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

To fully grasp the life of the heroine of Karbala\u2014in her childhood, youth, and motherhood, and how she was raised under the care of her mother az-Zahra and her father the Successor (Wasi), in the home of a noble husband from the descendants of Abu Talib, and later as a mother who nurtured her family with the teachings of Islam and the character of her parents\u2014would require a length that would likely burden the reader with monotony. At the same time, speaking of her heroism, which continues to be the talk of generations\u2014manifested in her journey with her brother, leaving her home to follow in his footsteps toward martyrdom, to teach men and women how to die in the kingdom of tyrants\u2014places before the reader a noble image of that blessed sapling and its stages of growth, until it reached this level of maturity and the capacity for steadfastness and resilience in the face of events that no human could endure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In any case, perhaps after this chapter, we shall pause to offer a sufficient idea of that blessed growth\u2014how it blossomed and matured until it reached its prime, shouldered the burdens of great responsibility, and performed its full role when that great tragedy befell the Alawids and Talibids, both men and women, on the soil of Karbala. We shall see how she was able to bear that shock and fulfill her duty with wisdom and beautiful patience\u2014a role representing the highest degree of heroism, enriched with the highest values and ideals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She stood in that situation like an unshakeable mountain, leaving on the sands of Karbala the marks of her path and her stances among those victims\u2014stances that remain the discourse of generations and a noble example for every rebel against injustice and tyranny, and for every woman who faces hardships and calamities throughout her journey in this life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wailing of women, the screaming of children, and the clamor of the entire region with weeping and mourning would have been enough to shatter the strongest of nerves, silence the most eloquent of tongues, and paralyze the greatest of men, even those without kinship to the victims. How then for one who witnessed what befell her own kin, her sons, her brothers, her nephews, and her cousins, and felt the weight and gravity of the responsibility? Yet, the daughter of Ali\u2014that towering peak, steadier than the deepest mountains in times of adversity\u2014embodied the resolve of her father in every situation that would have caused the feet of even the greatest heroes to tremble.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She remained awake on the night of the tenth of Muharram, circling between the tents of her brothers and their companions, moving from tent to tent as they prepared to face thirty thousand fighters gathered to battle her brother, his sons, and his supporters. She saw her brother Abbas sitting among his brothers and the descendants of Abu Talib, saying to them: “When morning comes, we must advance to the battle before the supporters (Ansar) do, for the heavy burden is not to be lifted save by its own kin.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

On her way to the tents of the Ansar, she heard Habib ibn Muzahir instructing them to advance into the battle first, so they would not see a Hashemite drenched in his own blood. She heard the Ansar respond: “You shall find us as you wish and expect, O Ibn Muzahir.” She then went toward the tent of her brother Husayn (peace be upon him), smiling, overwhelmed with joy that radiated from her face, reflecting a glimpse of his own splendor and purity. She went to tell her brother Husayn what she had seen and heard from his brothers and the Ansar. She had taken only a few steps when she saw him approaching. She smiled at him, and he welcomed her warmly, saying: “Since we left Medina, I have not seen you smiling or laughing; what have you seen?” She told him what she had heard from the Hashemites and their supporters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lady (al-Aqila) remained awake that night, moving from tent to tent among the women, children, and her sisters. When the forenoon arrived and most of her brother’s supporters, along with his sons, brothers, and cousins, had fallen upon the soil of at-Taff, and Husayn returned for a final farewell with Zainab by his side, dazed, he said to her: “Gently, my sister. Do not tear your clothes, do not scratch your face, and do not let our enemies rejoice at our expense.” He entrusted the women and children to her. She replied: “Be at peace and rest your eyes, for you shall find me as you wish, God willing.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

When he fell from his horse, struck down, she rushed to his side and cried out, appealing to her grandfather and father. A scream was about to burst from her burning chest when she saw his head severed from his body, and swords and arrows having ravaged his body and heart. She saw her brothers, her sons, and her cousins around him like sacrificial offerings, with a caravan of women and children with her, and in front of her stood the ranks of the enemy filling the desert of Karbala. At those decisive moments, she raised her hands toward the heavens, and from her mouth escaped a scent of Prophetic grace and eternity, as she communed with her Lord, pleading: “O God, accept this sacrifice from us.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus, the Lady (al-Aqila) had to fulfill her brother’s will, stand firm in the face of those horrors, carry a heart like the heart of her father during his battles, and stand like an unshakeable mountain before those who stood with Yazid bin Maysun and his henchmen\u2014those who indulged in violating sacred sanctities and who had sold their consciences to those criminal tyrants for the vilest of prices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The camel driver (the guide) led the way from Karbala to Kufa with the captives on the backs of camels, led by the heads of seventy of the supporters and twenty of the descendants of Abu Talib, among them the head of Husayn, the Master of the Youth of Paradise. No sooner had the procession of captives and heads appeared, and its vanguard neared the entrances to Kufa, than the people crowded the streets and the ramparts, and women stood on the rooftops. The news of Husayn’s martyrdom had not yet spread among all the Kufans. A woman looked down from her rooftop and saw women looking as if they were nearly naked, were it not for the tattered rags they used to cover themselves. The woman thought they were captives from the Romans or the Daylam. She wanted to verify her suspicion, for she had often seen processions of Roman and Turkish captives passing through Kufa, but she had never seen on such a procession the depth of sadness and agony she saw here. Nor had she ever before seen in those processions children tied with ropes to the camel saddles as she saw in this one. The woman brought her head closer to one of the captives and said: “From which captives are you?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

She replied, while pain tore at her insides: “We are the captives of the Household of Muhammad, the Messenger of God.”<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zainab (peace be upon her): Sacrifices and Stances No sooner had the woman heard her reply than she rushed out, wailing and lamenting, nearly falling from her rooftop in the sheer horror of the shock. She turned to the women on the neighboring rooftops and cried out, “They are the women of the Prophet’s Household!” …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-culture-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30443,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442\/revisions\/30443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}