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Contents: Chapter 1: An Ode’s to Man’s Inspiration Chapter 2: Sleeping with Ignorance Chapter 3: A Perfect Reflection of Perfection Chapter 4: The Hardest Times Chapter 5: Power of Pain in Action Chapter 6: The Zenith of Humanity Chapter 7: A Salute for the Essential She The author has written this book
after being overwhelmed by the lives of the two most remarkable women the world
will ever know, Lady Fatima and Lady Zaynab. She publishes The Essential Woman
independently, without recourse to any kind of financial assistance whatsoever.
It is her Hadiya to Lady Fatima and Lady Zaynab, that for as long as she lives,
God Willing, she will publish it herself and distribute it for free. The
Essential Woman does not belong to her. Lady Zaynab has the sole ownership and
it is her Grace and Power that runs this title. Anita Rai is just an instrument
of Her Holiness, and she intends to publish and distribute at least 72,000
copies of this book in her lifetime. After her death, her progeny will continue
to pay this homage. The
Essential Woman is not and will never be for sale. All
rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior written permission of Anita Rai. Published
by: ANITA RAI The Essential Woman by Anita Rai The Author’s Note My
dear ones, I have been asked to introduce The Essential Woman with some
information about how I came to write this book. The story really has its
beginnings in a serial of dreams. As I am writing this note, the days have
begun to grow longer and warmer here in London. It means that now we have more
light than in the cold, dark, foggy, and indifferent months of an English
winter. And light is the driving force in my book. I know what you are
thinking. No, it is not a coincidence. There is no such thing as coincidence
and nothing happens by accident. All is as it must be. Every author is at some point asked,
“Where did you get your ideas for this book?” Well, I got mine the very moment
I knew I will never recover from the sheer impact of one look at the face of
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. He looked at me and I could not help but
respond to the immense grace with as much grace as I could muster up. He came
to me on more than a few occasions, and even spoke to me. And in every single
of these visitations and many others, in which his household members too have visited
me, my soul has experienced a deluge of Light.
These singularly powerful images of embodied peace and commitment are the
sources of ‘my ideas’. I started working on two books
simultaneously. While the other was equally busy spinning enlightening ideas
through my mind, I settled for this one to be completed first. Now, to know the
why of it, you have to read the other one as well. However, I am not inclined
to leave your curiosity completely unappeased. I want you to know that while my
whole being was whole-heartedly engrossed in the making of the other book, I
was simply overtaken by the two most remarkable women the world will ever know.
My heart knew that Muhammad would be nothing, but pleased with my decision to
write the book meant as a dedication to these two women, only to be followed by
‘An Affair of the Heart’, in
dedication to his gracious self. The
Essential Woman and An Affair of the
Heart are not fictions. They are literature, shaking hands with history.
Without the wish to sound pedantic, this powerful combination, quite often than
not results in creating very interesting prose. Such works are incomplete
without their heroes or heroines. I found my heroines. And I have written this
book as a humble tribute to their spirit. I can only hope that you will enjoy
it as much as I enjoyed writing it. One
last word. Look out for my third book called, ‘Kurukshetra, Calvary. And Karbala. Dates with Destiny’ and
my fourth book called, ‘Ghadeer. Government of the people, for the people, by
God’. Please visit my official website www.anitarai.com. And needless to say, I
need your prayers. God
bless. ANITA RAI “They
talk about a woman’s sphere, as though it had a limit. There’s not a place in earth or heaven, there’s not a
task to mankind given… without a woman in it.” Kate
Field INTRODUCTION An Ode to Man’s
Inspiration Kathleen Krull’s ‘Lives of
Extraordinary Women’ (2000) makes an effort to turn the spotlight on twenty
most influential women in history, from queens to warriors. The book covers
Cleopatra to Isabella I and Tz’u-hsi to Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc to
Cherokee leader Wilma Mankiller, Elizabeth I, Victoria, Eleanor Roosevelt,
Golda Meir, Nzingha, Eva Peron and more. However, though she talks about female
rulers and female rebels, the well behaved and the not so well behaved, the
beloved and the notorious, the book’s greatest weakness is the lack of
presenting any appropriate role-model material. There is no single example in
this book, which shows that women’s potential is unlimited. My limited
knowledge tells me that there are so many women to honour - women whose
contributions have touched every aspect of life, making it meaningful,
rewarding, safer, freer, beautiful and worth living. As a child I was terribly impressed
by Mary - the mother of Christ, Florence Nightingale, Lakshmibai - the Queen of
Jhansi, Khhana - the brilliant astronomer of the Later Vedic age of India,
Gargei-the exceptional scholar belonging to the Vedic Age, who put to shame
those of the other sex on numerous occasions by her incredible learning, (those
were the times when knowledge flourished in India and was patronised, and
polytheism was less rampant) Sister Nivedita - the American Hindu missionary,
Queen Razia Sultana, Elizabeth I of England, Jahanara - the beloved and brave
daughter of Shah Jahan, Mother Teresa, Mrs Annie Besant, Joan of Arc and those
many women unknown to history but known to me intuitively - women who have
always contributed in a very big way to the achievements of human-kind.
Probably they are the ones Virginia Woolf was implying when she said, “I would
venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without singing them, was
often a woman”. Anon is short for ‘anonymous’.
Hundreds of proverbs that have come down to us today, pearls of wisdom,
wit, and dazzling insight, are mostly attributed to someone anonymous, that ‘anonymous’ is often a woman. I was eleven when I saw the play
called Anne Frank’s Diary. I was so moved by it that I started to read the book
almost immediately. She said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a
single moment before starting to improve the world.” What an absolutely delightful
thought! Almost fifteen years after watching the play, I intend to write this
book in order to make a modest attempt at improving the world. I want to talk
to mothers and I want to talk to sisters, who are my contemporaries, friends,
and companions of fate. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “When I think of talking,
it is of course with a woman. For talking at its best being an inspiration, it
wants a corresponding divine quality of receptiveness, and where will you find
this but in a woman?” Thank you Mr. Holmes for such a thoughtful compliment. Our quality of receptiveness is
indeed a divine gift. That is why we are mothers. We receive and we give so
much more. A new bride simmers with hopes and dreams, and her thoughtless
husband marauds everything under the zeal of lust; she receives pain and
humiliation, but ends up giving pleasure to her uncouth possessor. We receive
the pains of labour, new life is born. We receive with complete understanding
and compassion what our children have to say. We always listen, our children
talk to us. Most of the time we receive no approval - not even mere
acknowledgement - from our fathers, our husbands, our brothers, even our
children, but still we keep the hearth and the home safe and warm. But once in
a long while a man comes along who gives compliment to the women. Compliments
are accidental, as we hardly get any. Holmes is such a man. So, as one of this
wonderfully complimented sex, how can I not hold the same opinion as he, and
maybe even a notch higher. I want to talk to the women. But I also want to talk
to my brothers because it was one of them who said, “There’s a woman at the
beginning of all great things” (Alphonse de Lamartine). Eve. Remember? However,
this book is not meant in the least to be, a lecture, a discourse, cold
theorising, vain preaching, or in today’s consumerist culture, selling. I just
wish to share my feelings, perceptions, ideas, and thoughts with you. This is
just… you know, a heart to heart. When you teach a man, you teach an
individual, but when you teach a woman, you teach a family, you teach a nation,
you teach the world. In his essay called ‘On the Education of Women’, Daniel
Defoe writes, “The whole sex is generally quick and sharp. I believe, I may be
allowed to say, generally so: for you rarely see them lumpish and heavy, when
they are children; as boys will often be. If a woman be well bred, and taught
the proper management of her natural wit, she proves generally very sensible
and retentive. And, without partiality, a woman of
sense and manners is the finest and most delicate part of God’s creation, the
glory of her Maker, and the great instance of His singular regard to man. His
daring creature: to whom He gave the best gift either God could bestow or man
receive. And 'tis the sordidest piece of folly and ingratitude in the world, to
withhold from the sex the due lustre which the advantages of education gives to
the natural beauty of their minds. A woman well bred and well taught,
furnished with the additional accomplishment of knowledge and behaviour, is a
creature without comparison. Her society is the emblem of sublimer enjoyments,
her person is angelic, and her conversation heavenly. She is all softness and
sweetness, peace, love, wit, and delight. She is every way suitable to the
sublimest wish, and the man that has such a one to his portion, has nothing to
do but to rejoice in her, and be thankful.” (This paragraph is significant as
it describes beautifully the person this book is all about. She is much more
than this. But for the start the reader is invited to etch a woman with the
above characteristics in their minds in order to enable themselves to begin
thinking of her.) Defoe
continues, “On the other hand, suppose her to be the very same woman, and rob
her of the benefit of education, and it follows: If her temper be good, want of
education makes her soft and easy. Her wit, for want of teaching, makes
her impertinent and talkative. Her knowledge, for want of judgment
and experience, makes her fanciful and whimsical. If her temper be bad, want of
breeding makes her worse; and she grows haughty, insolent, and loud. If she be passionate, want of
manners makes her a termagant and a scold, which is much at one with Lunatic. If she be proud, want of discretion
(which still is breeding) makes her conceited, fantastic, and ridiculous. And from these she degenerates to be
turbulent, clamorous, noisy, nasty, the devil!” Sounds familiar? We all have seen
both the types. While we have a love-hate relationship with the former, we have done hardly anything proactive
regarding the reformation of the latter. Till now both the male and the
female reader is confused as to the orientation of my temperament in this book.
They are not sure what to call me - a feminist, a liberal, a radical, a traditionalist, an oppressor, or an
oppressed? Well what can I say? I’m just a woman. And I am happy that way. Why
won’t the world let us be just ourselves? I have had my fill of all the
extinct, dormant and active theories, idiosyncrasies, and junks on the status
of women and the hype surrounding the women’s rights and liberation and
emancipation and finally empowerment. The other day, one of my friends told me,
“You know, my fiancé is such a strong feminist.” I just stared at her while she
kept mouthing her misgivings about the consequences, if her feminist fiancé
happened to dislike her new hairstyle. She robbed me of my power of speech.
Lord. Women! That brings me back to my subject. Marx said, “Anyone who knows
anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without
feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social
position of the fair sex.” And Lady Jane Wilde said, “We have now traced the
history of women from Paradise to the nineteenth century and have heard nothing
through the long roll of the ages but the clank of their fetters.” These two
quotations as a matter of fact will help initiate the personality I wish to
talk about mostly during the course of this book. The reader’s mind has already
started to sketch an outline of this woman from the paragraph of Defoe’s essay,
quoted earlier. Now, the woman I will specifically talk about makes both the
above said quotations true. And while talking about her we indeed do hear the
loud ‘clank of her fetters’. But there is a big difference between Lady Wilde’s
fettered women and this woman. Lady Wilde’s women are the scores of those who
have never been independent, who have always been oppressed, who have never
tasted freedom, who are eternally persecuted and doomed. Through the long roll
of the ages and till date women are the only exploited group to have been
idealized into powerlessness. Most of them have never woken up into the
uninhibited dawn from under the painful burden of their shackles. The continual
nerve-gritting sound of their chains dragging along with their tired feet is
the utmost evidence of how shallow and crippled our civilization really is. We
should be mortally ashamed. The woman of my book was born
gloriously free, her birth welcomed, celebrated and cherished by her joyous
parents, grandfather, brothers, the whole family, and the whole community
actually. She enjoyed an equal upbringing in terms of education, attention,
love, affection, respect and status with her brothers. Her father took her
consent before she got married. She led an independent and powerful life, free
in her speech, expression, thoughts, choices, opinions, and decisions.
Throughout her life she had the enormously enviable privilege of having,
keeping and using her maiden name, i.e., her real name all through her life - a
phenomenon very rare even today, and if found anywhere is a matter of endless
discussions. All this, a millennium and a half ago. No, don’t pinch yourself.
It is as true as the fact that the day follows the night. The March 1972 Equal Rights
Amendment reads thus: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” This Amendment
was passed in Congress but has since failed to be ratified by the June 30, 1982
deadline. It had only been ratified by 35 of the 38 necessary states required
by law. Consequently it has yet to become an Amendment to the American
Constitution. So, while women in the western world (i.e. in the USA and Canada
and Great Britain) had still not achieved the right to vote or obtain the
ownership of property even up to World War I, this woman grew up enjoying all
the rights mentioned above and more, which is not surprising given the fact
that her maternal grandmother was the most prominent business magnate of her
time in Arabia. I feel deep sorrow for those of my
sex who have been bound and are still being bound by fetters. I sympathise with
them completely. I try to do everything in my power to alleviate their misery
and sadness. And this makes me even
more thankful to the Lord Almighty that although I did not escape my share of
discouragement, deprecation, discrimination, betrayal and other related
depressant situations inevitable in any society and the Hindu brahmanical
society is no different, today I am what I have always wanted to be. A female.
I would not be otherwise even if I had a choice. I am an individual in my own
right. It has been a long and hard up-hill climb. I am not saying I have
reached my destination, but I have found my way and I am pursuing it with
everything I have. I hope it is worth the tears, the heartache, the
difficulties and the struggle. But when I think of this woman, who was chained
and fettered by a so very cruel nation and in a so very unfortunate age, I feel
devastated. Sleeping with Ignorance Our greatest fear is not that we are
inadequate, but that we are powerful
beyond measure. It
is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We
ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually,
who are you not to be? You
are a child of God. Your
playing small does not serve the world. There
is nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the
glory of God within us. It
is not just in some; it is in everyone. And,
as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to
do the same. As
we are liberated from our fear, our
presence automatically liberates others. [Our
Greatest Fear from Marianne Williams’
‘A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” ’,
1992.]. Before revisiting a few well-known
wounds from the worn out pages of history, which is necessary for the logical
progression of the book, I wanted to share the predominant message of this poem
with my friends, which is that we are sadly unaware of how powerful we really
are. I hope, as we move ahead we will gain this crucial awareness and by the
time we turn the final page we will know exactly how powerful we can be, and
how much might the Almighty has meant for us. Encyclopaedia Britannica - ‘The very
word “woman” etymologically meaning a wife (or the wife division of the human
race, the female of the species Homo), sums up a long history of dependence and
subordination, from which the women of to-day have only gradually emancipated
themselves in such parts of the world as come under “Western civilization.” Though
married life and its duties necessarily form a predominant element in the
woman’s sphere, they are not necessarily the whole of it; and the “woman’s
movement” is essentially a struggle for the recognition of equality of
opportunity with men, and for equal rights of sex, even if special relations
and conditions are willingly incurred under the form of partnership involved in
marriage. The difficulties of obtaining this recognition are obviously due to
historical causes combined with the habits and customs which history has
produced.’ So, the story of women is essentially one of discrimination,
oppression, and injustice. The Britannica also says, ‘In the
Mosaic law divorce was a privilege of the husband only, the vow of a woman
might be disallowed by her father or husband, and daughters could inherit only
in the absence of sons, and then must marry in their tribe. The guilt or
innocence of a wife accused of adultery might be tried by the ordeal of the
bitter water. Besides these instances, which illustrate the subordination of
women, there was much legislation dealing with, inter alia, offences against
chastity, and marriage of a man with a captive heathen woman or with a
purchased slave. So far from second marriages being restrained, as they were by
Christian legislation, it was the duty of a childless widow to marry her
deceased husband’s brother. In India subjection was a cardinal principle. “Day
and night must women be held by their protectors in a state of dependence,”
says Manu. The rule of inheritance was agnatic, that is, descent traced through
males to the exclusion of females.
The gradual growth of strtd/iana (STREEDHANA), female wealth or property
of a woman given by the husband before or after marriage, or by the wife’s
family, may have led to the suttee, for both the family of the widow and the
Brahmans had an interest in getting the life estate of a woman out of the way.
Women in Hindu law had only limited rights of inheritance, and were
disqualified as witnesses.’ I am sure Moses being a prophet of
God, could never have made such mean and unfair laws. This is not an uncommon
case of innovations in the original religion.
And of Manu, if ever any lawmaker of this name at all existed, he
disgusts me, because he is responsible to a large extent for the torture and
persecution the Hindu women go through and have had to suffer for millennia. If
he were alive now, he would have been tried in the International Court of Law
for crimes and conspiracies against human rights. The following reference is a
crucially decisive element in the chosen orientation of this book. Catherine Beecher said “…Woman has been
but little aware of the high incitements which should stimulate to the
cultivation of her noblest powers. The world is no longer to be governed by
physical force, but by the influence which mind exerts over mind…Woman has
never wakened to her highest destinies and holiest hopes. The time is coming
when educated females will not be satisfied with the present objects of their
low ambition. When a woman now leaves the immediate business of her own
education, how often, how generally do we find her, sinking down into almost
useless inactivity. To enjoy the social circle, to accomplish a little sewing,
a little reading, a little domestic duty, to while away her hours in
self-indulgence, or to enjoy the pleasures of domestic life - these are the
highest objects at which many a woman of elevated mind, and accomplished
education aims. And what does she find of sufficient interest to call forth her
cultivated energies, and warm affections? But when the cultivation and
development of the immortal mind shall be presented to woman, as her especial
and delightful duty, and that too whatever be her relations in life; when by
example and experience she shall have learned her power over the intellect and
the affections, …then we shall not find woman, returning from the precincts of
learning and wisdom, to pass lightly away the bright hours of her maturing
youth. We shall not so often see her, seeking the light device to embroider on
muslin and lace… but we shall see her, with the delighted glow of benevolence,
seeking for immortal minds, whereon she may fasten durable and holy
impressions, that shall never be effaced or wear away.” (Lucretia Mott,
Discourse on Women, 17 December, 1849.). For the moment I would concentrate
on a particular extract from the above quotation “Woman has been but little
aware of the high incitements which should stimulate to the cultivation of her
noblest powers. The world is no longer to be governed by physical force, but by
the influence which mind exerts over mind…Woman has never wakened to her
highest destinies and holiest hopes.” Throughout the history recorded by
human prejudice and humane flaws, we have had to look hard to find female role
models who made an impressive dent in the contours of the world. It is not so
much that history has been unable to produce exemplary women, as wisely said by
Robert Graves, “If I were a girl, I’d despair. The supply of good women far
exceeds that of the men who deserve them”, but they have been so slimly
recognised or remembered. This is somehow an echo of Virginia Woolf’s comment,
quoted earlier. The woman of my
book was not only aware of, but lived the high incitements, which should stimulate
to the cultivation of her noblest powers. She particularly emphasised and
ensured that the world is no longer to be governed by physical force, but by
the influence which mind exerts over mind. As soon her slowly unfolding story
will show, how much she has contributed to this factor of the influence which
mind exerts over mind, and how dearly she paid for bequeathing this gift of
refinement and elevation of the human mind to us. Here is a woman who was
wide-awake to her highest destinies and holiest hopes. Beecher’s quote shows
that she was unfortunately unaware of the existence of this woman. Otherwise,
the knowledge that one such preceded her long before the dark middle ages would
not only have delighted her enormously, but would also have made her immensely
proud of her sex and its potential power. This again goes to prove the nepotism
of history, which in this case is not only sexual and political, but also
ideological. A
Perfect Reflection of Perfection Approximately seven kilometres to
the southeast of the capital of Syria, Damascus, there is a shrine. And its
minarets, which are visible from a long distance, tell us that this is where
rests Zaynab, daughter of Fatima and Ali, and the eldest of the two
granddaughters of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. We must bear in mind an unalterable
fact: that is, despite the efforts of numerous biographers, very little actual
recorded historical fact is available about Zaynab. Even the exact dates of her
birth, death, marriage, or number of children, cannot be ascertained with
complete certainty. The reader most certainly is recollecting what I’ve said
earlier about the recorded history of man. After Fadaq (the land gifted to her
by her father, the Prophet) was seized from her by the people in power at that
time, Fatima, accompanied by a group of women, went to the Mosque and delivered
a speech there. I would like to start the remembrance of Zaynab’s life with the
following extracts from her mother’s speech, the only daughter of Prophet
Muhammad, and the wife of Ali, the vicegerent and successor of the Prophet of
Islam. Extracts of this speech has been obtained from Odeh A. Muhawesh’s ‘Fatima the Gracious.’ “Praise be to Allah for that which
He bestowed (upon us); and thanks be to Him for all that which He provided;
from prevalent favors which He created, and abundant benefactions which He
offered and perfect grants which He presented; (such benefactions) that their
number is too much too plentiful to compute; bounties too vast to measure…I too
bear witness that my Father, Muhammad, is His slave and Messenger, whom He
chose prior to sending him, named him before selecting him, and selected him
before sending him; when creatures were still concealed in that which was
transcendental, guarded from that which was appalling, and associated with the
termination and non-existence. For Allah the Exalted knew that which was to
follow, comprehended that which will come pass, and realized the place of every
Event. Allah has sent him (Muhammad)
(P.B.U.H) as perfection for His commands, a resolution to accomplish His rule,
and an implementation of the decrees of His Mercy. So he found the nations to
vary in their faiths, obsessed by their fires, worshipping their idols, and
denying Allah despite their knowledge of Him. Therefore, Allah illuminated
their darkness with my father, Muhammad (P.B.U.H), uncovered obscurity from
their hearts, and cleared the clouds from their insights. He revealed guidance among the
people; so he delivered them from being led astray, led them away from
misguidance, guided them to the proper religion, and called them to the
straight path. Allah then chose to recall him back
in mercy, love and preference. So
Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is in comfort from the burden of this world, he is
surrounded with devoted angels, the satisfaction of the Merciful Lord, and the
nearness of the Powerful King. So may the praise of Allah be upon my father,
His prophet, trusted one, the chosen one from among His creatures, and His
sincere friend, and may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. After saying so, Fatima turned
towards the crowd and said: Surely you are Allah’s slaves at His
command and prohibition; you are the bearers of His religion and revelation;
you are Allah’s trusted ones with yourselves; and His messengers to the
nations. Amongst you does He have righteous authority; a covenant He brought
unto you, and an heir He left to guard you; That is the eloquent book of Allah;
The truthful Quran; The brilliant light; The shinning beam; Its insights are
indisputable, its secrets are revealed; Its indications are manifest; and its
followers are blessed by it. (The Quran) leads its adherents to goodwill; and
hearing it leads to salvation; with it are the bright divine authorities
achieved, His manifest determination acquired, His prohibited decrees avoided;
His manifest evidence recognized; His satisfying proofs made apparent, His
permissions granted, and His laws written. So Allah made belief to be purification
for you from polytheism. He made: Prayer an exaltation for
you from conceit. Alms a purification for the soul and a (cause of) growth in
subsistence. Fasting an implantation of devotion. Pilgrimage a construction of
religion. Justice a harmony of the hearts. Obeying us (Ahlul Bayt) management
of the nation. Our leadership (Ahlul Bayt) safeguard from disunity. Jihad
(struggle) A strengthening of Islam… O People! Be informed that I am
Fatima, and my father is Muhammad (P.B.U.H). I say that repeatedly and
initiated it continually; I say not what I say mistakenly, nor do I do what I do aimlessly. Now hath
come unto you an Apostle from amongst yourselves; it grieves him that you
should perish; ardently anxious is he over you; to the believers he is most
kind and merciful. Thus, if you identify and recognize him, you shall realize
that he is my father and not the father of any of your women, the brother of my
cousin* [Ali (P.B.U.H)]. Thus, he propagated the Message, by
coming out openly with the warning, and while inclined away from the path of
the polytheists, struck their strengths and seized their throats, while he
invited (all) to the way of his Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; He
destroyed idols, and defeated heroes, until their group fled and turned their
backs. So night revealed its dawn; righteousness uncovered its genuineness; the
voice of the religious authority spoke out loud; the evil discords were
silenced; The crown of the hypocrisy was diminished; the tightening of infidelity
and desertion were united, so you spoke the statement of devotion amongst a
band of starved ones; and you were on the edge of a hole of fire; (you were)
the drink of the thirsty one; the opportunity of the desiring one; the fire
brand of him who passes in haste; the step for feet; you used to drink from the
water gathered on roads; eat jerked meat. You were despised outcasts always in
fear of abduction from those around you. Yet, Allah rescued you through my
father, Muhammad (P.B.U.H); after much ado, and after he was confronted by
mighty men the Arab beasts, and the demons of the people of the Book, who,
whenever they ignited the fire of war, Allah extinguished it; and whenever the
thorn of the devil appeared, or the mouth of the polytheists opened wide in
defiance, he (P.B.U.H) would strike its discords with his brother (Ali,
P.B.U.H) who comes not back until he treads its wing with the sole of his feet,
and extinguishes its flames with his sword. Ali is diligent in Allah’s affairs,
near to the Messenger of Allah. A master among Allah’s worshipers, setting to
work briskly, sincere in his advice, earnest and exerting himself (in service
of Islam); while you are calm, gay, and feeling safe in your comfortable lives,
waiting for us to meet disasters, awaiting the spread of news, you fell back
during every battle, and took to your heels at times of fighting. Yet, when
Allah chose His prophet from the dwell of His prophets, and the abode of His
sincere (servants); The thorns of hypocrisy appeared on you, the garments of
faith became worn out, the misguided ignorant(s) spoke out, the sluggish
ignorant came to the front and brayed. The he camel of the vain wiggled his
tail in your courtyards and the Devil stuck his head from its place of hiding
and called upon you, he found you responsive to his invitation, and observing
his deceits. He then aroused you and found you quick (to answer him), and
invited you to wrath, therefore; you branded other than your camels and
proceeded to other than your drinking places. Then while the era of the prophet
was still near, the gash was still wide, the scar had not yet healed, and the
messenger was not yet buried. A quick undertaking as you claimed,
aimed at preventing discord (trial); surely they have fallen into trial already!
And indeed Hell surrounds the unbelievers. How preposterous! What an idea! What
a falsehood! For Allah’s Book is still amongst you, its affairs are still
apparent; its rules are manifest; its signs are dazzling; its restrictions are
visible, and its commands are evident. Yet, indeed you have cast it behind your
backs! What! Do you detest it? Or according
to something else you wish to rule? Evil would be the exchange for the
wrongdoers! And if anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to
Allah) it never will be accepted from him; and in the hereafter he will be in
ranks of those who have lost. Surely you have not waited until its stampede
seized, and it became obedient. You then started arousing its flames,
instigating its coal, complying with the call of the misled devil, quenching
the light of the manifest religion, and extinguished the light of the sincere
prophet. You concealed sips on forth and proceeded towards his (the prophet’s)
kin and children in swamps and forests (you plot against them in deceitful
ways), but we are patient with you as is we are notched with knives and stung
by spearheads in our abdomens. Yet - now you claim - that there is not
inheritance for us! What! Do they then seek after a
judgment of the days of ignorance? But how, for a people whose faith is
assured, can give better judgment than Allah? Don’t you know? Yes, indeed it is
obvious to you that I am his daughter. O Muslims! Will my inheritance be
usurped? O son of Abu Quhafeh! Where is it in the Book of Allah that you
inherit your father and I do not inherit mine? Surely you have come up with an
unprecedented thing. Do you intentionally abandon the Book of Allah and cast it
behind your back? Do you not read where it says: “And Sulaiman inherited
Dawood”? And when it narrates the story of Zakaria and says: “So give me an
heir as from thyself; (One that) will inherit me, and inherit the posterity of
Yaqoob” And: “But kindred by blood have prior rights against each other in the
Book of Allah” And: “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children’s
(inheritance) to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” And: “…If he
leaves any goods, that he make a bequest to parents and next of kin, according
to reasonable usage; this is due from the pious ones.” You claim that I have no
share! And that I do not inherit my father! What! Did Allah reveal a (Quranic)
verse regarding you, from which He excluded my father? Or do you say? These
(Fatima and her father) are the people of two faiths; they do not inherit each
other? Are we not, me and my father, a people adhering to one faith? Or is it
that you have more knowledge about the specifications and generalizations of
the Quran than my father and my cousin* (Imam Ali)? So, here you are! Take it!
(ready with) its nose roped and saddled! But it shall encounter you on the Day
of Gathering; (thus) What a wonderful judge is Allah, a claimant is Muhammad,
and a day is the day of Rising. At the time of the Hour shall the
wrongdoers lose; and it shall not benefit you to regret (your actions) then!
For every message there is a time limit, and soon shall ye know who will be
inflicted with torture that will humiliate him, and who will be confronted by
an everlasting punishment. Fatima then turned towards the
Ansars and said: O you people of
intellect! The strong supporters of the nation! And those who embraced Islam;
What is this shortcoming in defending my right? And what is this slumber (while
you see) injustice (being done towards me)? Did not the messenger of Allah
(P.B.U.H), my father, used to say: “A man is upheld (remembered) by his
children”? O how quick have you violated (his orders)! How soon have you
plotted against us? But you still are capable (of helping me in my attempt),
and powerful (to help me in that which I request and in my pursuit of it). Or
do you say: Muhammad (P.B.U.H) has perished; surely this is a great calamity;
Its damage is excessive, its injury is great, Its wound is much too deep to
heal, The earth became darkened with his departure; the stars eclipsed for his
calamity; hopes were seized; mountains submitted; sanctity was violated, and
holiness was encroached upon after his death. Therefore, this, by Allah, is the
great affliction which is the like of
it; nor will there be sudden misfortune (as surprising as this). The Book of
Allah, excellent in praising him -
announced in the courtyards (of your houses) in the place where you spend your
evenings and mornings; A call, A cry, A recitation, and (verses) in order: It
had previously come upon His (Allah’s) Prophets and Messengers; (for it is) a
decree final, and a predestination fulfilled; “Muhammad is not but an Apostle:
Many were the apostles that passed away before him. If he died or was slain
will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not
the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly
reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.” O you people of reflection; will I
be usurped the inheritance of my father while you hear and see me? (and while) You are sitting and gathered around me? You hear my call, and are included in the
(news of the) affair? You are numerous and well equipped! (You have) the means
and the power, and the weapons and the shields. Yet, the call reaches you but you
do not answer; the cry comes to you but you do not come to help? (This) While
you are characterized by struggle, known for goodness and welfare, the selected
group (which was chosen), and the best ones chosen by the Messenger (P.B.U.H)
for us, Ahlul-Bayt. You fought the Arabs,
bore with pain and exhaustion, struggled against the nations, and
resisted their heroes. We were still, so were you, in ordering you, and you in
obeying us. So that Islam became triumphant, the accomplishment of the days came
near, the fort of polytheism was subjected, the outburst of fabrication
subsided, the flames of infidelity calmed down, and the system of religion was
well ordered. Thus, (why have you) become confused after clearness? Conceal
matters after announcing them? Turned on your heels after daring? Associated
(others with Allah) after believing? Will you not fight people who violated
their oaths? Plotted to expel the Apostle and became aggressive by being the
first to assault you? Do ye fear them? Nay, it is Allah Whom ye should more
justly fear, if you believe? Nevertheless, I see that you are
inclined to easy living; dismissed he who is more worthy of guardianship (Ali,
P.B.U.H.); you secluded yourselves with meekness and dismissed that which you
accepted. Yet, if you show ingratitude, ye and all on earth together - yet,
Allah free of all wants, worthy of all praise. Surely, I have said all that I
have said with full knowledge that you intend to forsake me, and knowing the
betrayal, which your hearts sensed. But, it is the state of the soul, the
effusion of fury, the dissemination of (what is) the chest and the presentation
of the proof. Hence, here it is! Bag it (leadership and) put it on the back of
an ill she camel, which has a thin hump, with everlasting grace, marked with
the wrath of Allah, and the blame of ever (which leads to) the Fire of (the
wrath of) Allah kindled (to a blaze), that which doth mount (right) to the
hearts. For, Allah witnesses what you do, and soon will the unjust assailants
know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!! And I am the daughter of a
Warner (the Prophet, P.B.U.H) to you against a severe punishment. So, act and
so will we, and wait, and we shall wait.” Does this speech in any way seem,
relative, incomprehensible, distant, irrelevant or foreign, given a gap of
almost fifteen hundred years? Does the fact that it was delivered by a woman in
any way diminish the intensity, the charisma, the passion, the pain, the power,
the inspiration, the honesty, the integrity, the eloquence, the dignity and the
substance of a person who has been wronged beyond measure? Undoubtedly, the
most tragic event of Fatima’s life was the demise of her father. She was very
concerned about the future of the society, and the direction the Islamic affairs
were taking after this incident. Fatima began a campaign of political activism
and advocacy, because on one hand the question of leadership and the future of
Islam and on the other, the unity of the Islamic society were at stake. This
speech is, in spirit and content, a political lecture. Fatima determinedly
adopted a strategy of promoting awareness in order to inform the people of her
concerns, as the daughter of the Prophet. This speech shows that Fatima
displayed her political insight and concern. It is evident that she fulfilled
her role in the highest level of decision making in the society of her time.
She was an independent individual in her own right, not just the wife of Ali,
who himself is an unquestionable authority on Islam. Both were extremely
worried given the immediate political trends in Islam, and opposed this trend,
which began after the demise of Muhammad. Fatima believed in decisive advocacy
and open opposition. Fatima used to allocate the income
of Fadaq to poor and downtrodden families. The way Fatima managed Fadaq, it
became a major economic resource. Fatima and Ali spent the income from Fadaq
for the welfare of the society. So, in effect, they introduced the system of
welfare in the economy. Fatima was summoned to the court within the mosque to
justify her claims to Fadaq. For Fatima, Fadaq symbolised her economic rights
and the economic rights of women in Islam. Her lecture comprises of the
remembrance and the unity of God; the role of the Prophet; principles of
Islamic edicts; an intensive analysis of the current trends and developments in
the Islamic society; her right of inheritance to her father’s property,
including Fadaq; the responsibilities and commitments of a true Muslim. Fatima
obviously sought to revive the ideals and fundamentals of Islam, which she
found to be distorted and manhandled. Therefore, this speech is much more than
a philosophical discourse in defending her rights to inheritance. The speech is
emblematic of women’s rights of political freedom, their rights of freedom of
expression for personal and social well being, and most importantly their
economic rights. This speech not only gives us a taste of the depth and
vastness of her knowledge, but also is a witness of her analytical capabilities
in exposing the then political undercurrents and in proving and confirming the
correctness of her position. Fatima’s speech transcends the constrictions of
time, place, and context, and appears as vibrant and as moving as when actually
delivered. In Fatima is Fatima, Dr. Ali
Shariati writes, “There is only one person buried in the Ka’ba, the ‘House of
God’ and that is a woman, a slave Hajra, the second wife of Abraham and the
mother of Ismail. Fatima spent her life in struggle, resisting poverty and
difficulties. Her father was forced to spend three years in a valley with his
family when his tribe imposed economic and social sanctions against his message
of Islam. After the migration to Medina, her new life as a married woman begins
but she continues to face the same hardships and difficulties that she
encountered since childhood. We learn of Fatima as a Muslim female child who
defends her father against the elders of her tribe. Fatima is the one who,
holding her fathers’ hand, accompanies him into the bazaar, listens to his
debates and walks with him to her home; Fatima, the Muslim woman, who stands at
the door and defends her husband and her home when usurpers try to burn it
down. Fatima tells the newly elected Caliph that he has displeased God and
God’s Prophet by not listening to the Prophet’s advice and taking his own
interests to heart. Fatima, who when she finds injustice and oppression speaks
out with the totality of her being, not fearing the outcome of her words for
she knows she speaks with the tongue of Truth.” The woman of my book, Zaynab, is the
daughter of this Fatima. It is not difficult to comprehend the kind of cradle
Zaynab grew up in, which was rocked by the hands of Fatima; what Zaynab must
have absorbed into her being and her veins, when the milk of Fatima nursed her;
what Zaynab’s soul was imprinted with, when Fatima looked lovingly into her
eyes; what Zaynab’s mind was affected with, when the voice of Fatima spoke to
her, caressed her, taught her, lulled her to sleep, prayed for her. Zaynab -
the daughter of such a mother, such a woman, such a wife, such a daughter, such
an educator, and such an activist! Someone of our generation would think that
it is incredibly hard and threatening to grow up in the shadow of such a
mother. Well, for Zaynab it was different. She thought herself to be extremely
fortunate that she grew up looking up to such high standards set for her by
Fatima and that she successfully measured up to them, matched them in her own
distinctive way and excelled herself in meeting the expectations her family,
and especially her mother, had of her. What she has done has surpassed every
other woman known to man, from before the dawn of civilization to this very
day, and till the moment of time when nothing will be. Zaynab - the reflection
of Fatima. Zaynab - the mirror image of Fatima. Zaynab - the woman with the
soul of Fatima. The beauty of Fatima blooms in Zaynab. Or one can say, the
essence of Fatima breathes in Zaynab. The
Hardest Times I wanted to quote Fatima before I
would actually start to narrate the information on Zaynab’s life that I have so
far come across, because there are another two speeches at the heart of this
book, which were delivered by Zaynab. What Zaynab has managed to accomplish is
incredible and wonderful. Now, that you know what and how could Fatima speak,
you would find it very natural and believable when you find Zaynab speak. It
runs in their genes. But you would not believe when you see what preceded the
speech of Zaynab. Before I go further, I wish to the Almighty that no one
should go through what Zaynab went through, and that no one should be put
through what she was put through, especially a woman, the most sublime of His
creation. In 5 A.H (after hijrat - after the
year of migration from Mecca to Medina) Zaynab was born. Hussain, her brother
who was three years old then, was delighted and said to Ali, “O father, God has
given me a sister.” His father started crying, and when asked by Hussain for its
reason, was told that he would soon come to know of it. Zaynab’s parents did
not name her immediately as they wanted Muhammad to name her and he was away
from the city. At his return, the Prophet held his
eldest granddaughter in his lap and kissed her. Gabriel, the angel, came to him
and conveyed the name that was to be Zaynab and began weeping. Muhammad asked
him of the reason of his crying, and was told, “O Prophet of God, from early on
in life this girl will remain entangled in tribulations and trials in this
world. First she will weep over your separation (from this world); thereafter
she will bemoan the loss of her mother, then her father, and then her brother
Hassan. After all this she will be confronted with the trials of the land of
Karbala and the tribulations of that lonely desert, as a result of which her
hair will turn grey and her back will be bent.” When Muhammad’s family heard of this
prophecy, they burst into tears. Now Hussain understood the reason why his
father wept earlier. Muhammad named his granddaughter Zaynab. One day, when she
was about five years old, Zaynab saw a strange dream. She saw that a turbulent
storm rose in the city and it cast the earth and the sky into darkness. And the
little Zaynab was tossed from place to place, and suddenly she found herself
stuck in the branches of a huge tree. But the storm uprooted the tree. Zaynab
caught hold of a branch. It broke. She caught hold of another. It broke. In
panic she grabbed two twigs. These two broke. Zaynab started falling. There was
no support. She woke up. When Muhammad heard
this from her, he wept bitterly. He 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 Fatima, and the twigs are your brothers Hassan and Hussain. They will
all depart this world before you do, and you will suffer their separation and
loss.” Zaynab was barely seven years old
when Fatima passed away, soon after the Prophet himself. While still a young
girl, Zaynab was fully capable of running her father’s household. She cared
more for the comforts of her brothers and sisters than herself. She was
extremely generous to the poor, the orphans and the needy. After her marriage,
her husband is reported to have said, “Zaynab is the best housewife.” From very early in her life, Zaynab
had an unusually strong bond with her brother, Hussain. Sometimes while as a
baby her mother would not be able to pacify Zaynab, she would be so immediately
if Hussain would hold her. Zaynab would look at Hussain’s face before she
prayed. Fatima spoke to Muhammad about Zaynab’s intense love for Hussain. The
Prophet sighed deeply and with moist eyes said, “My dear child, this child of
mine, Zaynab, would be confronted with a thousand and one calamities and face
serious hardships in Karbala.” Zaynab married her first cousin,
Abdullah, the son of Ali’s brother, Jafar. After the death of Jafar, as long as
Muhammad was alive, Abdullah grew up under his personal supervision, and
afterwards Ali became his guardian and supporter. Zaynab’s husband was a
handsome young man of knowledge, courage, generosity, and pleasant manners.
Zaynab and Abdullah had five children; four sons - Ali, Aun, Muhammad, and
Abbas; one daughter, Umm Kulthum. Zaynab held regular classes, where
she shared her knowledge with other women, and taught them her grandfather’s
religion, Islam. Her meetings were well attended by the women. Zaynab soon came
to be known as Fasihah (skilfully fluent) and Balighah (intensely eloquent) for
her quality to impart knowledge with exceptional clarity and eloquence. In 37
A.H. Ali moved the government seat from Medina to Kufa, when he finally became
the fourth Caliph. Zaynab and Abdullah also accompanied him. Her reputation, as
an inspiring teacher had preceded her. And women of Kufa started benefiting
from Zaynab’s erudition, wisdom, and scholarship in the exegesis of the Quran.
It was this depth and accuracy of knowledge, which earned her the name Alimah
Ghayr Mu’allamah (she who has knowledge without being taught), given to her by
her nephew, Ali Zayn-ul-Abidin, the eldest son and successor of Hussain. On 19 Ramadan in 40 A.H. Ali went to
the central mosque of Kufa for prayers. Soon after the call to prayers, Zaynab
heard a heart-rending cry. The noise and cries were coming nearer to her home
and she knew that they were bringing her the news of her father’s
assassination. The assassin was Ibn Muljim who struck Ali a fatal blow deep in
his head while he was in the state of devotional prostration. His followers
carried him home on their shoulders wrapped in a blanket. On 21 Ramadan, just
after two days of the attack, Ali breathed his last. Hassan, his eldest child
said, “Tonight such a great man has died with whose good conduct no one in the
past or in the future can compare. He fought holy wars side by side with the
Holy Prophet, and made his life a shield for him. The Prophet used to make him
a standard bearer of the army while the angels Jibra’il walked on his right and
Mika’il on his left. He never came back from any war without victory. At the
time of his death he left nothing save seven hundred dirhams with which he had
intended to provide the people of his house a servant.” Even after being the brother and the
vicegerent of the Prophet, the only son-in-law of the Prophet, and the Caliph
of the Islamic world for almost five years, Ali’s household remained incapable
of securing the service of a domestic servant, which even a common citizen can
afford. There is a lot in this house that would seem otherwise strange, if not
properly studied and understood. A bereaved Zaynab returned with her husband to
Medina. Approximately ten years later, she lost Hassan, who was another victim
of the greedy and power-lusty Umayyads. Muawiya was determined to convert the
Caliphate into hereditary kingship, which would facilitate in retaining the
seat of power within the Umayyads. He could only achieve this by securing
allegiance of the Muslims for Yazid, his son. Hence, he eliminated Hassan by
feeding him poison from the hands of one of Hassan’s wives. The responsibility and the right of
leadership of the nation passed on to Hussain, the younger brother of Hassan.
But everything was done to hamper the situation. Within six years of Hassan’s
death, Muawiya started to persuade, cajole, tempt, bribe, threatens, and even
eliminate people to compel them to swear allegiance to Yazid. The people did so
willingly or unwillingly. Only five men refused to give allegiance to Yazid.
Hussain was one of them. Muawiya failed to pressurise Hussain, who opposed the
oppressive and unethical regime of the Umayyads. If the rule of Mu’awiya, the
son of Abu Sufian, the Prophet Muhammad’s most bitterly adamant enemy in Mecca,
had been offensive to some good Mulims, the accession of Yazid, a drunkard and
a lecher who openly ridiculed and flouted the fundamentals of Islam, was an
outrage. In Kufa the people began to stir once more and soon letters and
messengers were arriving in Medina, urging Hussain to come to Kufa and assume
leadership there. In 60 A.H. the Bani Hashim (the clan of Abu Talib, Muhammad,
Ali, Hassan and Hussain, descendants of Hashim) were confronted with the issue
of Yazid’s Caliphate. Yazid refused to be as patient as Muawiya. The day after
his father died, Yazid wrote to Walid ibn Utha ibn Abu Sufian, the governor of
Medina, instructing him to pursue Hussain, Abdullah ibn Umar, and Abdullah ibn
Zubair, and force them to swear allegiance to him. Hussain refused. At the
behest of the oppressed people of Kufa, who led him to believe that there were
many of them who wanted to oppose the tyranny of the transgressing Umayyads, he
decided to go to Kufa. Because of the pressure from Walid,
Hussain moved from Medina to Mecca. He sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil as his
emissary to Kufa to assess the situation. Despite some encouraging reports from
Muslim, Hussain was warned by some of his followers against going to Kufa as
the Kufians had earlier proved to be weak and fickle in their support for Ali
and Hassan. But Hussain decided to leave for
Kufa with his family. Zaynab learnt of Hussain’s decision and requested her
husband to allow her to accompany him in his proposed journey. Abdullah
apprised Zaynab of the danger and hardships associated with this journey.
Zaynab told him, “My mother did not leave me behind to watch from afar as
recreation the day when my brother is all alone, surrounded by enemies with no
friend or supporter. You know that for fifty-five years my brother and I have
never been separated. Now it is the time of our old age and the closing period
of our lives. If I leave him now, how shall I be able to face my mother, who at
the time of her death had willed, ‘Zaynab, after me you are both mother and
sister for Hussain’? It is obligatory for me to stay with you, but if I do not
go with him at this time, I shall not be able to bear the pain of separation.”
Abdullah who, because of his illness, was unable to accompany Hussain, gave
Zaynab his permission to do so. He sent two of his sons, Aun and Muhammad, with
her. Zaynab left with Hussain and his family for Kufa. After the first day of
their journey, they camped at Khuzaymiyyah to spend the night. As Zaynab was
taking care of Hussain’s comforts, he said to her, “What will come to pass has
long since been decreed.” After they resumed their journey, they found their
way obstructed by Hur ibn Yazid Riahi at Ruhayma. Sakina, the youngest daughter
of Hussain saw this and informed Zaynab of the situation. Zaynab wept and said,
“Would that the enemy killed all of us rather than slay my brother.” Hussain
came to know of Zaynab’s distress and went to see her in her tent. She told
him, “O my brother, talk to them. Tell them about your closeness to the Holy
Prophet and of your kinship with him.” Hussain replied, “O sister, I spoke to
them at length. I tried to convince
them but they are so immersed in misguidance and obsessed with greed that they
cannot set aside their evil intentions. They will not rest till they have
killed me and seen me rolling around in my blood. O sister, I advise you to
patiently endure the forthcoming troubles. My grandfather, the Holy Prophet had
told me of my martyrdom, and his foretelling cannot be untrue.” On the 2nd of Muharram, Hussain’s
party reached Karbala. But the people who had originally invited and begged him
to come to Kufa were no longer standing by him. Yazid appointed Ibn Ziyad, the
governor of Kufa for the task of subverting the plans of the Kufians and to
cunningly eliminate any one showing support for Hussain. When the task was
successfully done, troops were sent to meet Hussain at Karbala. Hussain’s side had their tents
pitched. At night, while cleaning his sword, Hussain was reciting couplets
foretelling his martyrdom. His son Zayn-ul-Abidin listened to him in sorrowful
silence. Zaynab heard Hussain’s recitation. She went to his tent and prayed
that death would overtake her. Zaynab asked Hussain, whether she might be
killed in his place. When she heard him say ‘no’, she lost consciousness. When
she regained it, Hussain said, “Everything is mortal. The final word lies with
God and to Him is the return. My father and grandfather were better men than I
but where are they now? Their example is the standard for me and for all
Muslims.” After saying this Hussain tried to console her and took her to the
tent of Zayn-ul-Abidin. Zaynab was however, unable to find any solace. Hence,
she came to be known as Baakiyah (the one who weeps). On the eve of 10th of Muharram,
Hussain addressed his followers, who comprised of both friends and family - the
Ansar and the Bani Hashim. He knew that this was going to be a battle unto
death. Therefore, he relieved them of all obligations to remain by his side. He
told them that, were they to avoid getting involved in this battle and return
to safety, their decision would not be grudged. There was not any doubt in anyone’s mind of the impending
slaughter. How hard it is to remain calm and engage one’s thoughts only in
prayers, all the while knowing that one is to loose inevitably everyone and
everything in the monstrous hands of one’s own people? Zaynab has shown the
world that this crisis too can be surmounted by sheer faith in the Power of
God, and in total submission to His Will for the establishment of truth. Umar ibn Sa’d, on the insistence of
Shimr, prepared to attack the handful of Hussain’s men. As soon as Zaynab heard
the battle cries of the approaching enemy troops, she ran to Hussain’s tent.
There, she found that he had fallen asleep while cleaning his sword. She stood
there watching him. Hussain woke up. He saw that Zaynab was watching him
silently. He told her that he just had a dream and he saw his grandfather, his
father, his mother, and his elder brother telling him that he would soon join
them. When he saw that this has distressed Zaynab very much, he said to her,
“The blessings of God are upon you. Do not worry about the troubles these
wretched people will cause.” The sun of the 10th of Muharram came up to attest the truth in Margaret Mead’s saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Hussain went int |