Sayyida Zaynab [a], the Heroine of Karbalaa’

Father: Imaam Ali [a] Mother: Sayyida Fatimah [a] Name: 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: 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.

She was the sister of Imaam Hasan [a], Imaam Husayn [a], and Sayyida Um Kulthoom [a]. She was the backbone of the family of Imaam Husayn [a] and was considered the caretaker of all the orphans whose fathers were martyred in the battle of Karbala. She protected the sick Imaam Ali Zaynul Aabideen [a], the son of Imaam Husayn [a], her nephew. She was so brave and knowledgeable, that she even challenged Yazid in his own palace.

Sayyida Zaineb [a], the mother of tragedies. She is an example for not only sisters, but brothers as well. She stood for truth and justice under the most difficult of circumstances. She endured what no other lady has ever endured: She witnessed the death of the Prophet [saw]. She witnessed the theft of her father’s ‘successorship’. She witnessed the death of her mother, Sayyida Fatima [a]. She witnessed the death of her father, Imaam Ali [a]. She witnessed the death of her brother, Imaam Hasan [a]. She witnessed the death of her brother, Imaam Husayn [a]. She witnessed the death of her nieces, Ruqayyah [a] and Sukaynah [a]. She witnessed the death of her nephews, Qaasim [a], Ali Al-Akbar [a], Ali Al-Asghar, Aun [a], Muhammed [a], and more…

Death: Not only is the date of her death uncertain but so is the place: she is variously thought to be buried (most popularly) in Damascus, but also in Medina and Cairo. 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] 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: 11th or 21st of Jamadi uth-thani, the 24th of Safar, the 16th of Dhu'l-Hijjah, or the 15 th of Rajab