page_title: Zaynab bint Ali
section_title: Battle of Karbala
hierarchical_section_title: Zaynab bint Ali / Battle of Karbala
caption_attribution_description: العربية: ضريح السيدة زينب جنوب دمشق
context_page_description: Zaynab bint Ali, also spelled Zainab, was the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was her maternal grandfather, and thus she is a member of his Ahl al-Bayt. She is often revered not only for her characteristics and actions, but also for her membership in, and continuation of, the biological line of Muhammad. Like other members of her family, she is considered to be a figure of sacrifice, strength, and piety in both the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam.
  Zaynab married ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far and had four sons and one daughter with him. When her brother, Husayn, fought against Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah in 680 CE, Zaynab accompanied him. She played an important role in protecting her nephew, ‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn, and because of this, she became known as the "Heroine of Karbala". Zaynab died in 681 CE, and her mosque is located in Damascus, Syria.
context_section_description: Sometime after the death of the Muawiyah I, Husayn went to Kufa by the invitation of the people of Kufa for him to claim the leadership of the Muslim community. Zaynab accompanied him, as did most of his household. By the time Husayn's army arrived, the people of Kufa had changed their minds and betrayed and did not join Husayn's army at the Battle of Karbala.
  In many ways, Zaynab functioned as a model of defiance against oppression and other forms of injustice. When her nephew, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, was sentenced to death by the governor of Kufah (Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad), she threw herself over him in a protective embrace yelling "By God, I will not let go of him. If you are going to kill him, you will have to kill me along with him." Moved by Zaynab's action, the captors spared Zayn al-Abidin's life. Because Zayn al-Abidin was the only one of Husayn's sons to survive the Battle of Karbala, this courageous action was pivotal in preserving the survival of an important part of Ali genetic line and thus the future Imams in Shia Islam.
  Zaynab and the other survivors of Husayn's army, most of them women and children, were marched to Damascus, Yazid's capital, where they were held captive. 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.
  While captive in Damascus, Zaynab held the first majlis, or lamentation assembly in the palace of Yazid to mourn the loss of her beloved brother Husayn.
  Another illustration of Zaynab's pious defiance was when a Syrian in Yazid's court demanded that he be given one of the younger captive girls, Fatimah bint Husayn.* Zaynab countered by suggesting that Syrian man was not worthy and did not have that type of authority. When Yazid claimed he had the authority to decide either way, Zaynab issued a scathing retort, answering “You, a commander who has authority, are vilifying unjustly and oppress with your authority."
  This comment is representative of a larger sermon attributed to Zaynab in which she condemns Yazid and many of his actions, specifically focusing on his treatment of the household of Muhammad. The sermon is very eloquent and is reminiscent of the work in the Quran's exegesis, Zaynab did with other women in Medina and Kufa. The full text of this sermon is linked in the external links section below.
  Eventually, Yazid released his captives and allowed them to return to Medina. On the way back, the party stopped once again at Karbala to mourn the loss of Husayn and the others that died there.
caption: Sayyidah Zaynab-ul-Kubra Mosque, Damascus, Syria
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