The Captivity Journey

The Speech of Sayyeda Zeinab (O)19

It is the documented script of Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain, which took its place along the speech of the beloved Mustafa on the Ghadir Day, the speech of her mother the Great Siddiqa, the Martyr, in the Prophet’s mosque, and the speech of her father that is known by the name "Al-Shaqshaqiyya" in a way for all these speeches to form the most prominent proofs for whoever had a heart and paid attention while witnessing this.

Thus she (O) delivered this speech after Yazeed had recited the verses of Al-Zubary poem:

"O Yazeed, God and his Messenger had said the truth (Then it was the worst ramification for those who have done evil; for that they rejected the signs of Allah, and used to ridicule it)20 . O Yazeed, did you think, since we are overpowered on that side of earth and under the fringes of the sky till we were treated the way the captives are treated, that God does not care for us while He cares for you?!! And that is due to your superiority, so you lifted your nose and looked upon your shoulder (sign of acting arrogance), cheerful and happy when you viewed this life as it belongs to you, and things are going your way, indeed your punishment just being delayed and put off and that is clear from the words of Allah the Exalted, the Almighty: (Let not the Unbelievers think that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: but they will have a shameful punishment)21 . Is it fair, O son of the freedmen, that you dignify your ladies and slaves while the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (P) were brought to you, after you had exposed them, caused their voices to be husky due to their grief, you made them ride on weak camels, their enemies were yelling at them while taking them from one country to another, they were not cared for or sheltered. Everyone, near or far, was staring at them, they did not have any of their men to protect them. And how is it possible for someone to ask us not to hate him while he is looking at us with hatred, antagonism, implacability, and resentment, do you say: "I wish that my grandparents from Bader had witnessed…" without feeling guilty or sorry while batting the lips of Abu Abdu Allah in your parlor? Why wouldn’t you behave like this, when you have already poked the ulcers and cauterized the tumor by shedding the blood of the pedigree of the Messenger of Allah (P) and the earth’s stars from the family of Abdu Al-Muttaleb, you will soon go back to Allah as they did, and then you would wish if you had been blinded or muted before you said: "They would have cheered and shouted happily". O God, do punish them for our rights, and take our revenge from those who have wronged us. I swear to God, you only abraded your skin, and did not cut but your own flesh, you will surely, despite your will, be brought in front of the Messenger of Allah (P), his family, and his supporters in Heaven, on the Day when Allah will reunite them after having been scattered, and that is the saying of Allah the Exalted, the Almighty: "Think not of those who are killed in the Way of Allah as dead, but indeed they are alive, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord. "22 Thus, the one who enabled you to rule the believers shall know, especially if the Judge is Allah, your opponent is Muhammad (P), and your limbs are the

witnesses against you, this is the worst ending for the wrong doers, he shall know who of both of you is in a weaker position with less supporters. Even though, I swear to God O enemy of Allah and the son of His enemy, I do not

have any respect for you even to reprimand you, but the fact is that the eyes are tearful, and the hearts are sorrow and all this does not make up for our loss, as Al-Hussain (Q) was killed, and the party of Satan is handing us over to the party of fools to be rewarded from the Money of Allah for rending the sanctities of Allah! As these hands are soaked with our blood, these mouths are fed from our flesh, and those blessed corpses are being eaten by the wild animals. So, if you consider this a victory for you, you would indeed be gaining a chastisement at the time when you do not find but what your hands had already committed, you would cry for help from the son of Murjana and he would cry for your help as well, you and your followers will howl for each other at the weighing scale, where you would find that the best provision Muawiya had provided you is your killing of Muhammad’s (Q) Pedigree. Indeed, I have only feared Allah, and to him only is my compliant. So, plot your machination, strive all you want, and do your best, but, By Allah, you would never be able to eradicate the disgrace you earned for what you did to us. And Thank God for sealing the ending of the Masters of heavens with happiness and forgiveness so that He enjoined them to go to Heaven. I do ask Allah to elevate their ranks, and to enjoin them with many of His Merit, as He is the Powerful Protector".

This speech hit Yazeed like a thunder on his head, so he said:

O what a beautiful outcry better than others,

How easy it is to cry over tribulations.

Bafflement had overwhelmed Yazeed, and he did not know what to say, so all he did was to recite a poet’s verse, while there is no link between what this tyrant had heard, of the many thunders that had hit him and the Umayyad people, reminding

him with each and every word of the hits of Thu Al-Fiqar (Imam Ali’s sword) between the hands of the Messenger of Allah (Q), and between the poetry he recited by announcing that the outcry is a good one among others! And that it is easy to weep over catastrophes! Indeed it is a failed attempt of a muted person to hide behind gloating.

A Quick Glance of the Contents of the Great Speech

1- Starting from a central theme in the Islamic knowledge which is the reprieving time Allah the Al-Mighty gives to the oppressing tyrants and the dissolute disbelievers, and clarifying that this was only to complete the proofs against them and to increase their iniquity.

2- To expose the unfair ruling of Yazeed, even though he claimed to be the Caliph.

3- Stressing the point of preserving the woman’s status and the importance of the ardor for her protection.

4- Stressing the fact that what Yazeed had done was a result of his infidelity, and that what he had committed was to revenge the killing of his disbelieving relatives by the Messenger (P) during the Badr Battle, by raising the swords against the Messenger of Allah fifty years after the death of the Prophet (P).

5- Confirming that the Reign and ruling is for the Progeny of Muhammad and no one else, and that shows in her saying: "…and when took control of our reign and kingdom…"

6- Pointing to the responsibility of the person who had enabled the tyrant to control the Muslims, this was the reply to those who wanted to refer this to God’s fate and destiny.

7- Declaring that neither Yazeed nor his followers were able to erase the history of the Prophet’s progeny, as this is something no one is able to do.

8- Illustrating the great rank of the martyr and the exalted value of martyrdom in the Islamic culture.

9- Blaming the major responsibility for killing Imam Hussain (Q) directly on Yazeed.