﷽
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ يَا أُمَّ المَصائبِ يَا زَيْنَبُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Peace and Allah’s Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O mother of misfortunes; Zaynab.
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ أَيَّتُهَا الفَاضِلَةُ الرَّشِيدَةُ
Peace be upon you—the virtuous, rightly guided one!
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ أَيَّتُهَا الكَامِلَةُ العَالمَةُ العَامِلةُ
Peace be upon you—the perfect, knowledgeable good-doer.
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ أَيَّتُهَا التَّقِيَّةُ النَّقِيَّةُ
Peace be upon you—the pious, infallible one.
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ يَا مَن حَفِظَتِ الإمَامَ في يَومِ عَاشُوراءَ…
Peace be upon you—who guarded the Imam on the Day of Ashura when he was killed, and sacrificed her soul for the salvation of Zayn al-Abidin at the gathering of the most wretched one (i.e. Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad), and addressed a speech just like (Imam) Ali’s in the streets of Kufa despite the presence of her enemies.
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكِ يا ممُْتَحَنَةُ…
Peace and Allah’s Mercy and Blessings be upon you, O you who were tested through patience against misfortunes, like that of al-Husayn the oppressed.1
From green to red, Karbala transforms.
(Bayn al-Haramayn, eve of 15th Rajab)
The lingering sweet freshness of a 13th Rajab in crisp January is seized by a razor-sharp gulp by the land of Masaib, as it mourns Umm al-Masaib.
As Husayn ibn Ali (a.s) and Zayn al-Abideen (a.s) weep, for the protector of Wilayah2, and the representative of Imams3.
(Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s), eve of 16th Rajab)
Usually, Karbala mourns its shuhudah:
the air,
the water,
the smoke cries;
Ya Hussain,
Ya Abbas,
Haye haye Ali Akbar,
Haye Ali Asghar,
Ya shuhadah-e-Karbala.
And they bear witness to,
an army of millions,
that came –
1400 years too late.
Sublime, patient and devoted,
to their mourning zaireen.
They host us, as Sayyida Zainab (a.s) and Sayyida Fatima (a.s) arrive to receive pursa (condolences). Usually, Karbala is teeming with the pain of the daughters of the Prophet (s.a.w) and zaireen.
But for these three nights, Hussain (a.s), Abbas (a.s), and their army are waiting to receive pursa.
Karbala is in agony.
The anguish of the sons of Ali (a.s) is palatable.
It permeates;
the air,
the skies,
the earth,
as the full moon,
and the entire cosmos,
bears witness to Hussain (a.s) –
mourning his mourner.
It is difficult to breathe.
It is difficult to bear witness,
to the breaking –
of Abbas’s (a.s.) heart.
(Shrine of Abul Fazl Abbas (a.s), eves of 15th and 16th Rajab)
How does one console the sons of Ali (a.s)?
Nay, there is no peace in these nights,
Only angst, agony, and anguish.
And with each inhale;
The restlessness of Abbas,
The dishevelment of Hussain,
The pain of Ali Akbar,
The cries of Ali Asghar,
The sorrow of Zayn al-Abideen;
Constricts the throat,
Suffocates the heart,
And terrifies the soul.
There is only torment and misery,
Unseen in the serene warriors of God.
As Hussain mourns,
The salah tul layl,
That will remember him no more.
She whom Allah chose to bear witness,
the one whom Allah willed to remain aware.
She who testifies to Allah,
about how her brother was slaughtered.
Hussain’s principal witness – the shahida of Karbala.
A woman, whose:
eyes,
ears,
cognition
and testimony
outweighed the testimonies
of thousands of able-bodied men.
Triumphing over those
who remained;
deaf,
dumb
and mute
to the calls of the hereafter,
and the transience of this world.
She who remembered:
Each friend,
Each nephew,
Each son,
Each brother.
She who,
perfected in her knowledge,
remained aware and awake,
long after Abbas (a.s) –
slept on the banks of the Euphrates.
The defiant daughter of Fatima (a.s),
to whom
Karbala owes its story.
The strength of a voice
whose echoes reverbate to this day.
If Hussain’s sword challenged Yazid to the battlefield,
it is Zainab’s speech that slit his throat in court.
She who carried a Zulfiqar like no other.
The sword of
eloquence,
knowledge,
and dignity.
A sword,
no looting could plunder,
no enemy could steal.
A sword no one but binte Ali could wield.
Allahu Akbar,
The lioness of Karbala will finally rest tonight.
What do you say of the moment Alima ghair muallima returns to Al-Alim?
What do you say when Jabal Al Sabr meets As Saboor?
I say there is nothing but beauty when al-jameela unites with Al-Jameel.
What remains is a legacy unmatched,
A Karbala
Whose truth and ideology
Is forever indebted
To your jihad.
Look now my Bibi,
The same dust that clung to
your hair,
your face
and your thirsty throat –
Is mixed with the water of Furat
that your Abbas(a.s) owns.
To bear witness to you.
(Procession at Hazart Abbas’s shrine, eve of 17th Rajab)
You gave words to the struggle of Karbala,
When swords were silenced,
You spoke of Tahwid,
When deen was distorted,
Now Karbala writes,
About you,
to you,
To the world,
To God.
(eve of 15th Rajab)
Drums are beating here,
As they did on Ashura,
But they beat for you.
(eve of 15th Rajab)
The flag of Islam,
Which you gave your chadar for,
bows in respect to you.
(eve of 17th Rajab)
Karbala will always speak of you,
as you spoke of it.
It will always mourn you,
as you mourned it.
Your brothers ensure,
that you will never,
be silenced
nor forgotten.
As you ensured,
that they would never,
be silenced
nor forgotten.
Such is the love between a sister and her brothers.
1 Selected lines from the Ziyarah Sayyida Zainab (A.S) – https://www.duas.org/zainubas.htm
2 Ziyarah Sayyida Zainab (A.S).
3 Ziyarah Sayyida Zainab (A.S).
Syeda Mehr Mustafa
About the author
Syeda Mehr Mustafa is a Fulbright Scholar with an M.A. in Islamic Studies from George Washington University.
She is currently a Dean’s Fellow at Habib University, Karachi, and a Hawza student at Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham.
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