The Battle of Karbala according to the history; was fought on 10th October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph; Yazid and a small army led by Hussain ibn Ali(AS) ; the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad(PBUH); in a desert which at the time was called Neynava and now is known as Karbala.
Now going through the history of the world; anyone can realize that women have always played significant roles within the societies. When men and women accompany each other, and each party plays its own role to the fullest, miracles start to appear. And as we are going to discuss the role of women in this unequal battle, it is good to mention that the patience of a woman in nurturing a child is no different from her patience and tolerance in nurturing and training her husband, her whole family or being able to survive and stay strong in the right path in such a crisis.
Furthermore, the fact that faithful women’s names who were present while, before and after the event of Karbala have remained in history is due to their characters. They were strong to some point before the day of Ashura and represented their strength and beauty within the hard situations of the day of Ashura and after that.
In order to be able to represent such an astonishing character while having a high status of knowledge and wisdom at the same time , a woman needs to have developed her character in the dimensions of: individual, spiritual, social, political and cultural.
The events that occurred on the day of Ashura were manifestations of love, self-sacrifice, and God’s servitude. Women encouraged their men to support Husayn ibn Ali (AS), and they, themselves accompanied and assisted Lady Zaynab, the sister of Husayn and great daughter of Ali (AS). Not forget to mention that before Ashura, there also were women who defended him and his family when some men feared to do so.
For example, the lovers of the Ahlul-Bayt (Prophet Muhammad’s family is also known as “ Ahlul-Bayt” which means “members of a family household”) gathered and discussed in the house of Mariyah bint Sa’d from the “Abd al-Qays” tribe in the mids of Kufa city. She sent Yazid ibn Nabit, her son, plus her two servants Sayf ibn Malik and Adham ibn Umayyad to Karbala.
In Kufa, when people of Kufa ignored Moslem ibn Aqil (Hussain ibn Ali’s cousin and ambassador) and turned against him, Taw’ah, the wife of Usayd al-Hadrami gave him shelter and treated him with generosity.
When Dulham bint ‘Amr, Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn’s wife, found out that her husband rejected meeting with Hussain ibn Ali(AS), she encouraged him by saying, “The son of the Prophet is asking for you and how could you not accept? Go to him and just see what he wants then come back!”
After Zuhayr spoke with Husayn, he happily came back to Dulham, packed his stuff and divorced Dulham so that Ibn Ziyad’s army would not hurt her after the battle of Karbala. She was escorted by his servant to her family, and Zuhayr returned to his leader Husayn ibn Ali (AS).
In Nakhaylah, (the camp of the Kufa army), the wife of “Abdullah Umayr Kalby” saw the army of Ibn Ziyad moving out of Kufa. She asked her husband, “Where does this army go?” Abdullah answered, “To fight Husayn ibn Ali.” When she saw this, she wished her husband’s martyrdom in support of Husayn.
Abdullah himself also wished martyrdom in defending Husayn, he shared this with his wife about it. She was overjoyed, and said to him, “What a good wish you have! May God help you. Please, take me with you.”
When in the Mosque of Kufa, Ibn Ziyad spoke against the family of the Prophet(PBUH) to strengthen Yazid’s position. Abdullah ibn ‘Afif, who had lost his right eye in the battle of Siffiyn, and his left eye in the battle of Jamal in the army of Imam Ali, stood up and defended Hussain called Yazid a liar who is the son of a liar.
The troops of Ibn Ziyad went to arrest him, but his tribe did not allow them to do so, so they attacked his house at night. His daughter shouted and called her father, when he took the sword from her and fought them using her guidance until sadly, they caught and killed him. His daughter screamed, “I wish I was a man so I could fight with these brutal killers of the Prophet’s family side-by-side with you.”
On the night before Ashura, after Hussain gave permission to his companions to leave the battlefield, he added, “Anyone who has brought his wife with himself should take her to a safe shelter. Tomorrow, the men of our camp will be killed and the women will be taken into captivity.” Hussain did not want other women endure the same suffering as his family did. It is been reported in a study that “When Ali ibn Muzahhar entered his tent, his wife said, ‘O Son of Muzahhar! You are not treating me fairly. You want to enter paradise alone.”
Ali ibn Muzahhar rushed to Hussain and said, “My wife [who is] from Asad tribe will not let me to take her to a safe shelter.” Before Hussain could say anything, Ali ibn Muzahhar’s wife, by showing her disappointment addressed Hussain from inside her tent, saying, ‘O Son of Zahra! Are we not worthy of serving your daughters and sisters?’
The camp of Hussain ibn Ali in Karbala was a camp of love for God, and anyone who wanted to be a member of it needed certain qualities. The women of this camp highly encouraged their husbands, brothers, and sons to defend the family of the Prophet while simultaneously they were busy taking care of Lady Zaynab. They had predicted that they would end up in chains, however they deeply wished for martyrdom and visiting Lady Fatima.
Women created great legends in the desert of Karbala. Seven of the mothers of martyrs dressed the armor upon their sons, and watched their martyrdom as they were killed and then beheaded. Their sons’ heads were then thrown at them. However, they all returned their sons’ heads towards the enemy and cried out, “We do not take back what we have gifted in the way of God.”
When the slaughtered bodies of martyrs were brought back to the camp from the battlefield, the women would not sob uncontrollably so as not to not distress their leader. Even when Hussain’s baby, Ali Asghar, was martyred by a three-pointed arrow, Rubab, the mother of Ali Asghar, did not come to the leader.
Three of those martyrs were among the companions of Amr ibn Junadah – also known as the son of Muslim ibn Awsajah – was a young man whose father was recently martyred. His mother told him, “O my dear son, go and fight beside the son of the Prophet.” Later Hussain ibn Ali said, “The father of this young man has recently been martyred and maybe his mother does not consent him going to the battlefield.”
The young man answered, “My mother ordered me to go.” Then he went to the battlefield in support of his leader Hussain plus his family and then after was eventually martyred. The enemy threw his head towards his mother. His mother embraced the head and said, “My dear son, well done! O the delight of my heart!” Then, she threw it back towards a soldier of the enemy and killed him. She took the tent column and attacked the enemy, killing two soldiers. After this Hussain ordered her to return to the tents.
Abdullah ibn Umayr attacked the enemy, killing some of them and returned to his mother and wife saying, ” Mother, did I make you happy?” His mother answered, “I would not become completely happy unless you are martyred for Hussain.”
He then fought and was martyred. His head was thrown towards his mother afterwards; she picked the head, kissed it, and threw it back to the enemy which this caused one of them to get killed. Then, she took the column of the tent, attacked the enemy and killed two soldiers of the enemy! Hussain told her “Come back! You and your son are very close to the Prophet! Women are not required to fight in the battlefield!”
She returned saying “O God! Do not let me lose my hope!” Hussain said to her “God will never let you become hopeless!” Thus, all women gladly seized the opportunity to be included among Hussain’s family who were captive and destined in the will of God to be glorified.
A strong woman named Umm Wahab took a spear, gave it to her husband, and said, “Fight for these who are the righteous, the children of the Prophet.” She then followed her husband. Her husband told her, “Go back!” to which she replied, “I will not return until I am killed with you.” She grasped her husband’s armor and said again, “I will not leave you until I am killed with you!” Hussain called for her and said, “May God bless you, the family of Wahab. Go back to the rest of women. May God bless you! stay with them for war is not for women.”
The wife of Abdullah ibn ‘Umayr Kalbi came out of her tent and rushed to her martyred husband, sat beside his head, wiped the dust from his face, and said, “May Paradise be sweet for you.” Then with the orders of Shimr, Rostam the slave of Shimr, killed her by hitting her head with a club.”
Hussain ibn Ali chose his sister Lady Zaynab to present the truth about the martyrs throughout history until today. Commemorating Ashura is a reminder for all women to review their value and strengthen their relationship with Lady Zaynab. The women of the companions were legendary defending their leader and his family; the women of the family made miracles in disclosing the events of Karbala to all people, which above all it was Lady Zaynab who technically created all the legends. She sent her sons to the battlefield, received her slaughtered brothers, and witnessed seventeen of her closest loved ones get martyred.
She gathered the ones who were left from the camp and did not fear a little about the physical tortures of the enemy; she then spoke aloud when in captive, similar to her father Ali, who was the master of speech; she also did not once neglect her midnight prayers throughout the the whole occurrence of Ashura.
She did so by following the political trend of Lady Fatimah in defending the leadership of the ones who were righteous. This rendered her the ultimate example of patience to teach all women how to spiritually elevate themselves to gain proximity to God.
At Yazid’s palace, when Zaynab saw the head of his brother, she grievingly cried, “O Hussain! O the Friend of Allah! O the son of Mecca and Mena! O Son of Fatimah Zahra, the best of all women of the universe! O Son of Mustafa!” Everyone cried at this time while Yazid was in absolute silence.
There was also a Hashemite woman at the court who cried out, “O Hussain! O Master of the Prophet’s Family! O Muhammad!
After the speech of Lady Zaynab, when they hung the head of Hussain at the doorstep of Yazid’s palace and brought the captives towards it, Abu Sufiyan’s wives went forth and kissed the hands and feet of the daughters of Hussain and after went to mourn for three days. Upon seeing the head of Hussain, Yazid’s wife, Hind, tore her clothes, rushed out from behind the curtains and ran towards Yazid with bare feet, crying out, “O Yazid! Did you order to hang the head of Hussain at the doorstep of my house? Yazid jumped up, covered her, and said, “O Hind! Are you crying for the son of the Prophet’s daughter?”
The first helmet of Hussain was made of fur. A man from Kendeh tribe took it after his martyrdom, went to his wife Umm Abdullah and washed it from blood. His wife asked him, “Have you snatched the helmet of the Prophet’s son and brought it to my house? Go away! Now I know why your friends used to say that you are wretched and miserable!”
When Khuli ibn Yazid stole Hussain’s head and went off back to Kufa, the doors of ibn Ziyad’s palace were closed, so he took the head to his house and put it under a large basin. Then, he went to his second wife, the daughter of Malik ibn ‘Aqrab from the Bani Asad Hadhrami tribe. She asked him about news from the battle he came from. He answered, “I brought a valuable gift to make you happy forever! The head of Hussain is now in your house!” His wife angrily replied, “Damn you! Other men take gold and silver to their wives and you have brought the head of the Prophet’s son? I swear to God, I will not tolerate you in this house for more than a second!
When Ka’b ibn Jabir, one of Ibn Sa’d’s soldiers, returned home, his wife and sister told him, “You helped the enemies of the son of Fatimah Zahra?! I swear to God, we will not speak to you anymore!”
All of what was said above, is a part of a long history of women’s existence in different crises. As a result, if it wasn’t for the great women at the time; starting with Lady Zaynab (AS), today there wouldn’t have even been a name of Hussain ibn Ali and his great loyal companions.
Source: Al-Islam.org