Quick Answer:
When Zaynab (‘a) saw the bloodied head of Imam Husayn (‘a) in the gathering that Yazīd had organized, she cried out in a grief stricken voice and said: Oh Husayn, oh beloved of the Prophet of God (ṣ), oh child of Mecca and Minā, oh son of Fatimah Zahra’, the master of all the men of the world, oh son of the daughter of Muhammad Muṣṭafā.
Detailed Answer:
When Zaynab (‘a) saw the bloodied head of Imam Husayn (‘a) in the gathering that Yazīd had organized, she cried out in a grief stricken voice and said: Oh Husayn, oh beloved of the Prophet of God (ṣ), oh child of Mecca and Minā, oh son of Fatimah Zahra’, the master of all the men of the world, oh son of the daughter of Muhammad Muṣṭafā.
The narrator has reported the following: I swear by God that with this call of Zaynab, the entire gathering erupted and everyone began to cry; and this was while Yazīd remained silent… Then Yazīd ordered that a bamboo stick be brought and he used to strike against the lips and the teeth of Imam Husayn’s (‘a) head. Abū Barzah Aslamī (who was one of the companions of the Prophet (ṣ)) was present in the gathering and he addressed Yazīd, saying: Oh Yazīd, do you strike the teeth of Husayn, the son of Fāṭimah? I have seen with my own eyes how the Prophet (ṣ) would kiss Husayn and his brother Ḥasan and he would say: You two are the masters of the youth of paradise; may God kill those who kill you and may he subject them to his curse, and place them in the hellfire; and hellfire is (indeed) an evil place. Yazīd became angry at these words and he ordered that Abū Barzah Aslamī be removed from the gathering.
At this point, Yazīd was in toxicated with his assumed victory in Karbala and he began to recite some lines of poetry. Ironically, these lines showed everyone his lack of faith in Islam, as well as the lack of faith present amongst the Ummayads. He said[1]: ‘How I wish my elders, who were present in (the battle of) Badr and felt the bite of the arrows of Khazraj, were here today and would feel joyous, saying: Oh Yazīd, well done! You have gotten our revenge for the day of Badr from the family of ‘Ali (‘a)… I am not from the children of Khandaf[2] if I do not take revenge from the children of Aḥmad’.
It was at this point that the Lady Zaynab (‘a) stood up and delivered a rousing speech in the midst of all the people. She said: ‘‘God and his Messenger (ṣ) have spoken the truth when they said: The end of those who do evil is that they hold the signs of God to be as lies and they mock and ridicule them.[3]
Yazīd! Do you think because you have constricted the earth and skies around us and you have ordered that we be made prisoners and taken from one city to another, that we have become abject and you have become great? Judging from your arrogance and conceit, do you think you have become higher in stature due to what you have done? When you see your power and kingship before you, you become so happy that your body can barely contain you, but don’t you know that this opportunity which is given to you is so that your nature is made manifest to all? Have you really forgotten the words of God when he says: ‘The disbelievers think that the time they are given (on earth) is of benefit to them; We give them opportunity so that their load of sins increase; Then they will reach a torment that is a cause for abjectness and disgrace.’[4]
Oh son of the freed ones![5] Is this justice that your wives, daughters, and servants are sitting in the seats of honor, while you have enslaved the daughters of the Prophet (ṣ), disrespected them, stifled their cries, and allowed strangers (unrelated men) to take them from one city to another on the backs of camels? All this, while no one has given them sanctuary, nor cared to see what state they are in, nor with any of their guardians from their men present to accompany them? People gather from all around to look and stare at them.
Yet what can be expected from one, whose heart is filed with animosity against us? You are saying that you wish that your forefathers, who were killed in the ‘Battle of Badr’, were here right now, and then you proceed to hit the teeth of the son of the Prophet (ṣ) with a stick? Does it not occur to you that you have incurred a great sin and acted with disgrace? Why should you not? You, by shedding the blood of the children of the Prophet (ṣ) and the family of ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib, who were shining stars from amongst the people of the earth, have renewed the enmity of the two families. Do not be joyous, for you will soon be positioned in front of God’s presence, and this is when you will wish that you were both blind and dumb and you had not seen this day, and that you had not said: If my forefathers were present in this gathering, they would not be able to contain their joy! Oh Lord, you yourself give us our rights and take our revenge from the one who has oppressed us!
By God, you hurt and damaged yourself (with these actions). On the day when the Messenger (‘a) and his family sit in the shade of the mercy of God, you will stand by him in great wretchedness and abjectness. That day is a day, in which God will fulfil his promise, and these oppressed individuals, who are lying in their blood, will be gathered all together. God says: ‘Do not suppose that those who are killed in the way of God are dead; No they are alive and receiving sustenance from their Lord…’[6] It is enough that you will soon be presented before the judgement of God, where his Prophet (ṣ) will challenge you and the Angel Gabriel will support him and testify for him. Very soon, the one who allowed you to rule over the Muslims will come to know what a harsh punishment is apportioned for the oppressors and he will understand whose position and army are weaker.
Then the Lady Zaynab concluded her speech with the following words: If the great calamities of this era have forced us to speak here with you, you should know with certainty that you are not worthy of rebuke, and you are lesser than to ridicule. Yet, what can I do, for the eyes are filled with tears, and the hearts are filled with pain.
After Husayn (‘a) was killed, the ‘Party of Satan’ took us from Kūfah to the ‘Royal Court of the Foolish’, in order that, through breaking the reverence of the family of Muhammad (ṣ), they may reap their reward from the treasury of the Muslims. After the hands of these executioners has been colored with our blood, and their mouths are filled with pieces of our meat, and after the wild wolves have run around those pure bodies, what pain will your reprimand and criticism cure?
If you think that by killing and taking us as prisoners, you have gained and benefited, then you shall soon see that what you thought to be to your gain was really to your loss. On that day (the Day of Judgment), you will only see the results of what you have done. On that day, you will ask help from the son of Zīyād and he will ask for help from you! You and your followers will be gathered next to the measure of divine justice; on that day, you will know that the best provisions which Mū’āwīya prepared for you was that you killed the children of the Prophet (‘a). I swear by God that I only fear him and I will only complain to him. Do whatever you wish! Enact whichever trick you are capable of! Bring forth every enemy that you can muster! By God, this disgrace that you have brought upon yourself can never be erased. I thank God that he made the life of the ‘Masters of the Youth of Paradise’ to end well and that he made paradise obligatory upon them. I ask God that he bestows upon them a high rank and that he spreads his mercy even more upon them, for he is a guardian and helper most able and most powerful.’[7]
This rousing speech is one of the most eloquent and destructive speeches in the history of Islam; it is as if the spirit of ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib (‘a) and his matchless bravery and courage had taken shape through the person of Zaynab, for she spoke with his eloquence and displayed his bravery. This speech of Zaynab included seven different points which she so eloquently conveyed:
1- The first point is that the Lady Zaynab destroyed the arrogance that Yazīd had put on display. Through mentioning some verses of the Quran, she shows him his position in the eyes of God and says that he should never consider his caliphate, his palace, and his wealth to be any sort of distinction in front of God. She then showed how Yazīd was from amongst those people who God leaves in their own state so that their load of sins can increase and they can therefore be punished for them.
2- In the second section of her speech, Zaynab juxtaposed the position of the Prophet (ṣ) who forgave and set free Abū Sufyān (Yazīd’s grandfather) after the taking of Mecca with the action of Yazīd, who killed the Prophet’s (ṣ) grandson and then paraded the survivors in front of spectators in the various cities of the Muslim nation.
3- The Lady Zaynab then highlighted the statements of Yazīd which showed clearly that he had no faith in God or in Islam, and how he would soon j o i n his ancestors in the hellfire.
4- She then spoke in regards to the high rank of the martyrs, in particular the martyrs from the family of the Prophet (ṣ) in Karbala and how much of an honor this was.
5- She then narrated the position of Yazīd and how he would be judged by God on the Day of Judgment and the role that the Prophet (ṣ) and the angels would play in testifying against him.
6- She then scorned Yazīd and explained that he was extremely lowly in her sight and without any value whatsoever.
7- In the last section of her speech, she thanks God for all of his countless blessings that he has bestowed upon the children of the Prophet (ṣ) and she reiterates that their path began with the blessings of God and ended with martyrdom for the sake of God.[8]
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