She drew herself up and boldly said for all to hear...

She drew herself up and boldly said for all to hear: "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 dishonour by Allah and that you have been given honour 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 honour. You think that you have achieved worldly good, that your affairs have become stabilised 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 dishonoured 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." "The near as well as the remote ones, the poor as well as the rich, the low as well as the high - all casting their glances at us while our position is such that there is no male relative of ours to render us help or support." "O Yazid, whatever you have done proves your revolt against Allah and your denial of His Prophet [s.a.w.] and of the Book and Sunnah that the Holy Prophet [s.a.w.] brought from Allah.