Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) was once confronted by a motley and unreliable faction, yet she faced them with great courage, this is just one example of why she is an exemplary woman in history. Such a woman cannot be considered weak! Her faithful and feminine nature revealed itself in the most difficult of situations; she is a role model for all great men and women around the globe. Zeinab(pbuh) presented a deep analysis of the problems facing the revolution, led by the Mohammad (peace be upon him), his family and Imam Ali (pbut).
Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) is a prominent role model in Middle-Eastern history. She is a significant example of a woman's presence and involvement in one of the most important historical events. Blood gained a victory over the sword on the day of Ashura, and Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) was the source of that victory, because the forces of righteousness were apparently defeated in a military battle at Karbala, but the actions of Zeinab al-Kubra's (as) were crucial in turning this apparent defeat into a permanent and decisive victory. The triumph was due to the role she played the day after Ashura, it prompted a very significant turning point which proved that women are not on the periphery of history. Lady Zeinab’s (pbuh) endeavors confirmed that women can have a central role in important historical events (this has also been revealed in several verses within the Holy Qur’an), but Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) is a recent example and does not belong to ancient times. The story of Zeinab al-Kubra’s (as) life is a tangible event. Moreover, she played a brilliant role in making the enemies - who had apparently won the battle and slain all their opponents – feel disgraced at their own base. She branded them with permanent shame and turned their supposed victory into a defeat, that’s what Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) did. She proved that it is possible to turn feminine morality and modesty into glory and great jihad!
The greatness of Zeinab al-Kubra's (as) movement is reflected in her remaining sermons. Her unforgettable sermon in Kufa's market place was no ordinary speech; it was not just a personal opinion of an important figure. Her sermon was a great and beautifully worded analysis of the Islamic community's position at that time. Her sermon included the most profound Islamic concepts, her character was strong. For instance, Zeinab al-Kubra's (pbuh) brother - her Imam and leader - had been martyred in the desert just two days before the sermon, those dear to her like her children and many other exceptional people had been martyred. On that very day she and tens of other women and children were taken captive and paraded in different venues, some of spectators were cheerful while tears streamed down from the eyes of others. Zeinab (pbuh) began her great mission in that critical situation. She spoke in a similar tone as her father (pbuh) when he was delivering a speech to his people during his leadership. She spoke using the same kind of words Imam Ali (pbuh) would use. She was equally eloquent and precise, and her words were equally profound, "O plotters and pretenders, maybe you yourselves were starting to believe that you were following Islam and the Holy Prophet's household, but you failed miserably in the test. You proved to be blind in the sedition (fitna). Do you pledge allegiance while you are planning a conspiracy? You can do nothing but engage in shifting allegiance, hypocrisy, flattery, self-humiliation, and empty talk. Your actions were different from your words. You became arrogant and wrongly thought that you were pious. You thought you were still revolutionary. You thought you were still the followers of the Commander of the Faithful, but that was far from the truth. You were not able to deal with the sedition (fitna). You were not able to save yourselves. You ruined everything you had done before. Because of your lack of insight, your lack of knowledge of the situation, and your inability to distinguish right from wrong, you ruined everything you had built. You look faithful and you keep making revolutionary claims, but deep down you are empty and weak." Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) presented a deep analysis of her society's pathologies.
She spoke firmly and eloquently in a most difficult situation. Furthermore, it was not the case that she had a willing audience sitting in front of her and listening in silence, she was not speaking the way an orator would speak to his audience. Zeinab(pbuh) was surrounded by enemies, holding spears in their hands. However, there were also some common people there , the same people who gave up Moslem to Ibn Ziad, the same people who wrote letters to Imam Hussein and then broke their allegiance to him, the same people who hid in their homes exactly when they were supposed to stand up to Ibn Ziad. Among the people there were also some individuals who were not courageous enough to do what they should have done, and they were watching Imam Ali's daughter in tears that day. Zeinab al-Kubra (pbuh) was once confronted by a motley and unreliable faction, yet she faced them with great courage, this is why she is an exemplary woman in history. Such a woman cannot be considered weak! Her faithful and feminine nature revealed itself in the most difficult of situations; she is a role model for all great men and women around the globe. Zeinab(as) presented a deep analysis of the problems facing the revolution, led by the Mohammad (peace be upon him), his family and Imam Ali (pbut). She said, "You could not distinguish between right and wrong in the sedition (fitna). You were unable to fulfill your duty, as a result, they severed the head of the Holy Prophet's grandson (pbut) and put it on a spear." We can now understand the greatness of her character when we consider such things.
Leader's Speech to Exemplary Nurses, April 21, 2010
