ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Hidden Truth about Karbala Chapter 24: The Burial of the Martyrs The night after the battle was the most painful one for the remaining members of Imam Husayn’s family. Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s.) was lying unconscious with high fever. On the martyrdom of his father, he had succeeded as the fourth Imam. There was no male member to guide the women. Tents were burnt and the women and children were forced to go out into the open.

Lady Zainab (a.s.), in keeping with the family tradition, approached Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s.), the Imam of the time, and asked, “ O son, all our men have been killed, our tents have been set on fire, and our head-scarves have been snatched. We have no option but to remain in the tents and be burnt to ashes or to go out into the open. You are the Imam succeeding our martyred lord Husayn. What do you order us to do in the present state of affairs?

” By her conduct, Lady Zainab (a.s.) established that Zainul Aabidin Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) was the Imam succeeding his father that even at the peril of one’s life, one has to strictly abide by the order, direction, and wish of the Imam of the time. Imam Zainul Aabidin replied that death would be preferable to life after the loss of Imam Husayn, yet since it would amount to suicide if they remained to be burnt in the tents, they should go out into the open.

The Imam further said that if all were burnt to death, there would be no anyone to tell the truth about what happened in Karbala and the tyrants would spread all sorts of false rumors. It was therefore necessary to live, though as captives, in order to propagate the message of Imam Husayn (a.s.) and explain in detail the atrocities and injustice meted out to him and his companions.

From that moment, Lady Zainab (a.s.) became Husayn’s ambassador, espousing Husayn’s cause at every opportunity, even at the most adverse situation. Lady Zainab gathered all the women and children around the unconscious Imam Zainul Aabidin in a secluded open spot. She took a pole from a burning tent to ward off any mischief monger. In the middle of the night, she found that two children were missing.

She left in search of the missing children, telling her sister Umm Kulthoom to take care of others in her absence. When Lady Zainab (a.s.) entered the battlefield in search for the missing children, she found them lying, clasped to each other. Out of sheer fright and the terrific stress, the children had died.