Sayyida Zaynab (AS)

She was born in Medina, the daughter of Imam Ali (AS) and Sayyida Fatima al-Zahra (AS). She grew up alongside her brothers Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS), and lived through the death of her grandfather the Prophet (s) and of her mother. [WikiShia]

In 17 AH she married her cousin Abd Allah, son of Ja‘far al-Tayyar. They had four sons, Ali, Awn, al-Abbas and Muhammad, and a daughter, Umm Kulthum. [WikiShia]

Her titles include ‘Aqilat Bani Hashim, the wise woman of Banu Hashim. Because of the many sorrows she bore, she was also called Umm al-Masa’ib, the mother of calamities. [WikiShia]

She travelled with her brother Imam Hussain (AS) to Karbala, together with her sons. Two of them, Muhammad and Awn, were martyred there on Ashura. [WikiShia]

After Ashura she was taken captive with the women and children to Kufa. Her sermon there, full of the Qur’an, silenced the crowd; an eyewitness, Bashir ibn Khuzaym al-Asadi, said it was as if she spoke with the tongue of her father Imam Ali (AS). She then argued with the governor Ibn Ziyad in his own palace. [WikiShia]

In Damascus, before Yazid and his court, she rose and answered his boasting with a sermon defending the cause of Imam Hussain (AS). Together with the words of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (AS), her speeches turned public feeling, and Yazid tried to shift the blame onto Ibn Ziyad. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

The captives were allowed to mourn in Damascus and were then returned to Medina. Her steadfastness and her words are a large part of why the story of Karbala was told and remembered. [WikiShia]

She died on 15 Rajab 62 AH; some reports give 14 Rajab. [WikiShia]

Three burial places are reported. It is widely believed that she was buried in what is now the town of al-Sayyida Zaynab, south of Damascus, where her shrine stands. Some historians, including Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, favoured al-Baqi in Medina, and others name a site in Cairo. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]