Sayyeda Zaynab Al-Hawraa, daughter of Amir ul Mo’mineen Al-Imam Ali bin Abi Talib and Mistress of Women of World Sayyeda Fatema Az-Zahra, peace be on them, was martyred on 15th of Rajab.

According to traditions one night when Sayyeda Zaynab, peace be on her, 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. She 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, peace be on her, caught hold of a branch but that broke. In a panic she grabbed two twigs but these top gave way and she was left falling with no support. Then she woke up.

When she told her grandfather, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him and his pure progeny, 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 Fatema 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.”

Once when Sayyeda Fatema, peace be on her, mentioned the intensity of her daughter's love for Imam Husayn, peace be on him, to the Prophet, peace be on him and his pure progeny, he breathed a deep sigh saying with moistened eyes, “My dear child! This child of mine Zaynab would be confronted with a thousand and one calamities and face serious hardships in Karbala.”

After the gruesome tragedy of Karbala, it was Sayyeda Zaynab, peace be on her, who proclaimed to the world the sacrifices made by Imam Husayn and the other members of the family of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him and his pure progeny, for the cause of Islam.

She exposed the evil deeds of Ibn Ziyad and Yazid in their courts and in the bazaars of Kufa and Syria with courage and fearlessness. Had it not been for her the sacrifice of Karbala might have faded into oblivion. She endured physical pain and mental torture with fortitude and was a source of strength to all around her. The sorrow and grief she expressed was an outpouring of her intense humanity.

From her actions and speeches, it is clear that in her was reflected the divine prophetic light that was her heritage.

The following is a selection from her speech in the court of Yazid:

“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and blessings on my grandfather, the Chief of divine prophets.”

“O Yazid, Allah says, and His word is true, that: 'Then evil was the end of those who did evil because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them' [30:10].”

“O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us? Do you believe that we have been afflicted with insult and dishonor by Allah and that you have been given honor and respect by Him? You have become boastful of this apparent victory that you have secured and you have started feeling jubilant and proud over this prestige and honor. You think that you have achieved worldly good, that your affairs have become stabilized and our rule has fallen into your hands. Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah's saying: 'The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement' [3:178].”

“O son of freed slaves, is this your justice that you keep your own daughters and slave maids veiled while the daughters of the Prophet of Allah are being paraded from place to place exposed.”

“You have dishonored us by unveiling our faces. Your men take us from town to town where all sorts of people, whether they be residents of the hills or of riversides have been looking at us.”

“O Yazid, whatever you have done proves your revolt against Allah and your denial of His Prophet, peace be on him and his pure progeny, and of the Book and Sunnah that the Holy Prophet, peace be on him and his pure progeny, brought from Allah. Your deeds should not cause amazement because one whose ancestors chewed the livers of the martyrs, whose flesh grew up on virtuous people, who fought against the Chief of divine prophets, who mobilized parties for fighting against him and drew swords against him, should conspicuously excel all Arabs in unbelief, sinfulness, excesses, and enmity against Allah and His Prophet.”

“Remember that the evil deeds and sinful actions that you have committed are the result of unbelief and old rancor you bear because of your ancestors who were killed in Badr.”

“One who cast his glance of enmity, malice and rancor upon us does not lag behind in practicing enmity against us. He proves his unbelief, declares it with his tongue and jubilantly proclaims: 'I have killed the sons of the Prophet of Allah and made his progeny captive,' and wishes that his ancestors had lived to see his achievement and to have exclaimed, 'O Yazid, may your hands not lose their strength, you have wreaked good vengeance on our behalf.'”

“O Yazid, you are striking the lips of Imam Husayn with your stick in front of this crowd while these very lips used to be kissed by the Prophet of Allah, and yet your face reflects pleasure and happiness.”

“By my life, by killing the chief of youths of Paradise, the son of the chief of Arabs (Ali, peace be on him) and the shining sun of the progeny of Abd ul-Muttalib, you have deepened our wound and uprooted us completely.”

“By killing Husayn ibn Ali (A.S.) you have gained nearness to the state of your unbelieving ancestors. You proclaim your deed with pride and if they were to see you they would approve of your action and pray that Allah may not paralyze your arms.”

“O Yazid! If you had heart enough to take account of your nefarious deeds, you yourself would surely wish your arms to be paralyzed and severed from your elbow and you would wish that your parents had not given birth to you because you would know that Allah has become displeased with you. Allah, Grant us our rights. Avenge those who have oppressed us.”

“O Yazid! You did what you wished, but remember that you have cut your own skin and your own flesh to pieces. Soon you will be brought before the Holy Prophet. You will be overburdened with the weight of your sins committed by shedding the blood of his progeny and by dishonoring his family. The place to which you will be taken will be before all the members of his family. The oppressed will be avenged and the enemies will be punished.”

“O Yazid ! It is not seeming for you to swell with joy after slaying the Prophet's progeny. 'Reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive and are provided sustenance from their Lord; rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace' [3:169-170].”

“Allah is sufficient to deal with you. The Messenger of Allah is your antagonist and Hadrat Jibra'il is our support and help against you… The end of all tyrants is agony.”

“How amazing it is that the virtuous people, sons of the divine prophets and vicegerents are killed at the hands of liberated slaves, evil-doers and sinners. Our blood is shed by their hands and our flesh serves as food for them. We feel grieved for those whose bodies are lying unshrouded and unburied in the battlefield, wounded with arrows.”

“O Yazid, if you consider our defeat as your achievement then you will have to pay its price.”

“Allah commits not injustice to His servants. Our reliance is on Allah. He alone is our Relief and place of Protection, and in Him alone do we repose our hope.”

“You may contrive and try however much you can. By Him who honored us with revelation, the Book and Prophethood, you cannot achieve our status, nor reach our position, nor can you effect our mention, nor remove from yourself that shame and dishonor that is now your lot because of perpetrating excess and oppression on us. Your word now is weak and your days are counted. Beware of the day when the announcer would announce the curse of Allah on the oppressors and the unjust."