Status and Personalities of Lady Zaynab (ʻA)

Zaynab is one of the granddaughters of the noble Prophet of God through his only surviving child, Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBUH).  According to several hadiths, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) named her Zaynab.

The word “Zaynab”, literally means “a scenic tree with a beautiful fragrance”. It is also a compound of two words “zayn” (adornment) and “ab” (father), meaning the adornment of the father.

Her Lineage

Lady Zaynab enjoyed the most exalted lineage since she ramified from the tree of prophecy and Imamate and combined all the elements of honor and dignity. Her father is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib and her mother is the Leader of the women of the world, Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon them). Lady Zaynab’s grandfather, from the maternal side, was Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH). From this great personality, Lady Zaynab inherited the value of standing in defense of the right and striving to elevate the Word of Allah.

Her grandmother, from the maternal side, was Lady Khadijah who supported Islam in its darkest days. From this great-grandmother, Lady Zaynab inherited the highest moral standards and perseverance on principles. Copying her grandmother, she supported her brother, Imam Husain (PBUH), in his revolution and supplied elements of eternity to his great uprising.

Her Birth and Titles

Historians had different opinions about the year of Lady Zaynab’s birth. Some have referred to the fifth year after Hijrah, others to the sixth, and a third party to the ninth. The last opinion however is inaccurate, and the first is the most acceptable.

It was reported that when Lady Zaynab was born and was taken to her father, Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH) to choose a name for her. He refused and said thus: “I will not precede the Messenger of Allah in such a matter.” And on getting to the Messenger of God (PBUHH), he also said: “I will not precede my Lord in such a matter.” Thereafter, Archangel Gabriel ascended from the Heavens and said to the Prophet: “This newborn’s name is ‘Zaynab’. Almighty Allah has chosen this name for her.” She was also given the nicknames – ‘Ummu-Kulthum’ or ‘Ummu-al-Hasan’.

Among the titles of Lady Zaynab are: Al-Aqilah (i.e., the Wise Lady); al-Alimah (i.e., the Woman of Knowledge); Abidatu Ali-Ali (i.e., the Most Worshipping Woman of Ali’s household); al-Kamilah (i.e., the Perfect woman); ‘al-Fadhilah (i.e., the Virtuous Lady); al-Siddiqah al-Sughra (i.e., the Junior Veracious Lady); and Umm al-Masaib (i.e., Mother of misfortunes) due to the series of misfortunes she experienced in her lifetime.

Her Early life

Lady Zaynab was brought up under the guardianship of the Messenger of Allah, Hazrat Muhammad, Imam Ali, and Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon them). In other words, she was brought up in the lap of the divine prophesy, spent her early life in the house of the divine mission, suckled the milk of the most perfect woman of all ages, and was nourished at the hands of the Commander of the Faithful. Hence, Lady Zaynab enjoyed a divine upbringing and spiritual education and she was garbed in the garments of elevation, eminence, chastity, and decency.

Her Marriage

When Lady Zaynab attained maturity, famous celebrities competed with each other to ask for her hand. Her father, however, refused all of them. Abdullah son of Ja’far son of Abu Talib also asked for her hand. He was one of the noblest men of the Hashemites and one of the most generous men of the Arabs. Besides, Imam Ali (a) loved him very much. He therefore responded to him and accepted to give him Lady Zaynab in marriage.

Lady Zaynab married Abdullah ibn Ja’far (her cousin) in 17/638-9 and gave birth to four sons and a daughter: Awn, Ali al-Zaynabi, Muhammad, Abbas, and Lady Ummu-Kulthum.

Awn was virtuous and well-mannered. He accompanied his (maternal) uncle, Imam al-Husain (PBUH), to Iraq. In the battle of Karbala, Awn fought very bravely and brought pride to his father, Abdullah, and grandfather, Ja’far. After a brave round of fighting, Awn was attacked by the vicious Abdullah al-Tai and killed by him.

Her noble Personality

Lady Zaynab possessed all elements of nobility and virtue that Almighty Allah bestowed upon her grandfather, parents and her two brothers. She inherited their peculiarities and copied their high moral standards. Thus, by her ethical inheritance and unmatched characteristics, Lady Zaynab is indeed the greatest lady in Islam as she symbolizes its true values and principles. Some of the peculiarities of Lady Zaynab include:

i) Faith

Lady Zaynab was fed with the core of true faith and the reality of Islam. Hence, love for Almighty Allah was in her nature and, later on, became a distinctive feature of her personality that led her to stand up to all the misfortunes and adversities she had to encounter in her early life. Firm faith and exclusive devotion to Almighty Allah were the features that Prophet Muhammad’s family enjoyed in a special way. Each member of this exalted family expressed his/her firm faith distinctively.

ii) Steadfastness

Since early life, Lady Zaynab had equipped herself with steadfastness against misfortunes. She had endured several hardships during her life, including the demise of the Prophet (PBUHH), the sufferings of her mother and her martyrdom, the martyrdom of her father, Imam ‘Ali (PBUHH), her brother, Imam al-Hasan (PBUHH), the event of Karbala, the martyrdom of her brother, Imam al-Husain (PBUHH) and her two sons and her other relatives, going to Kufa and Damascus as a captive.

iii) Dignity

Dignity was a prominent feature in the personality of Lady Zaynab. After the martyrdom of Imam al-Husain (PBUH), she as well as the other granddaughters of the Prophet (PBUHH) were taken as captives from Karbala to Kufa and all their personal properties were usurped. While the children were harshly afflicted with hunger, she desisted from asking the soldiers of the Umayyad army for some food. Thus, Lady Zaynab did not succumb to any other than Almighty Allah. She showed dignity, honor, and disdain inherited from her grandfather and father in spite of her hardships.

iv) Courage

No one can ever doubt the courage of the Prophet’s family. The members of this family gave the best examples of bravery and courage. Following her family members’ pattern, Lady Zaynab behaved so courageously before the criminals who killed her brother. When she had to stop before Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, while she was considered a captive, she expressed despise and disrespect for him. He therefore showed his gloating over her misfortunes by saying, “Thanks to Allah Who unmasked, killed, and belied your revolution.”

In reply, she said courageously: Thanks to Allah Who honored us with His Prophet and purified us from uncleanness thoroughly. It is only the lewd that has been unmasked, and it is only the dissolute that has been belied. We are not any of these two. Indeed, we are not any of these two, O son of Marjanah. (Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari Tarikh al-Umam wa al-Muluk; 6:263)

When Ubaydullah, son of Marjanah heard these shocking words, he had nothing to say. He therefore spoke to inflict pain in his attempt to cover failure and inability to answer. He addressed her and asked, “How do you see that which Allah has done to your brother?”

Bravely and steadfastly, Lady Zaynab answered with words of triumph: I see nothing but His Grace. These were those who were destined to be martyred. They therefore came to the place where they would be slain. Allah will gather you with them for judgment and sentence. You will see then, who will be the triumphant on that day. Woe unto you, son of Marjanah, then.

v) Abstention from worldly pleasures

Following her father who had shunned worldly pleasures relentlessly and her mother who possessed nothing other than a rug made of leaves of date palm trees and a skin of a ewe, Lady Zaynab abandoned all worldly pleasures and stuck to Almighty Allah and deeds of charity. She had never saved anything for tomorrow.

She left everything when accompanying her brother, Imam al-Husain (PBUH), even though she was the wife of the wealthiest man of Medina; all this was to support her religion and defend its principles and values.

vi) Firmness

Lady Zaynab confronted the tyrants so firmly that she represented the strength of right and justice perfectly. In all situations, she replied to the tyrants courageously and faced their falsity with words of light that have perpetuated and acted as models of stopping any tyrant for the sake of right and justice.

While the soldiers and the courtiers whom Yazid had invited to witness his false victory surrounded her, Lady Zaynab fearlessly countered each and every single word that Yazid said until she completely unmasked him and proved the genuineness of his brother’s issue.

The same thing she did before the other tyrant, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad who tried to gloat at her about misfortunes, but all his attempts were rebuffed by sharp words and a style that obliged him to become silent. She ignored him completely and that was enough shame for him.