Lady Zaynab (SA): The Real Empowered Woman
On Her Blessed Birth, A Tribute to the Voice That Shook Tyranny
In an age when the image of womanhood is too often filtered through the narrow lens of modernity—strength mistaken for rebellion, freedom confused with exposure—a different image rises from the ashes of history, veiled in light, clothed in dignity, and crowned in eloquence. That image is Lady Zaynab (peace be upon her), the daughter of Ali and Fatima, the sister of Husayn, and the granddaughter of the Messenger of God.
Tomorrow marks her blessed birth—a day when heaven kissed the earth with the arrival of the woman who would one day stand against the greatest tyrant of her time, not with a sword, but with a sermon.
The Woman Who Didn’t Break
Today, as we witness the brutal suffering of Gaza’s women—mothers cradling their children’s shrouds, widows raising orphans with trembling yet unshakable hands—we remember that this legacy of endurance is not new. Muslim women have walked through fire before. And leading them, at the front of this sacred procession of courage, is Lady Zaynab.
When the blood of her brother, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), soaked the sands of Karbala, it was Zaynab who rose—not just from grief but into divine purpose. Seventeen of her family members lay slaughtered. She was bruised, chained, and forced to walk through jeering crowds. Yet, when Yazid sat on his throne and mocked the Prophet’s family, Lady Zaynab rose with the dignity of the Heavens and declared:
“O Yazid! Do you think you have closed all the ways for us and taken us as spoils of war, that we are disgraced in the sight of Allah? Woe be to you! Do you forget that Allah watches all that you do?”
Her voice pierced history.
Her sermon destroyed Yazid’s narrative.
Her words turned captives into victors.
It is said that those who heard her fell silent, some weeping, others trembling. In those moments, Zaynab (pbuh) was not the prisoner—Yazid was.
Wisdom Woven in Veils
Before Karbala, Zaynab was already known as the Aqilah of Bani Hashim—the most wise, the most eloquent, the most learned. She taught tafsir, jurisprudence, and hadith with unmatched brilliance. Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) once said of her:
“You are, by the grace of God, a scholar without having been taught by anyone, and an understanding one without having been educated.”
She was not defined by rebellion or desire for spotlight—but by duty. Her every act, whether in the shadows or on the pulpit, was in service of God.
She reminds us that greatness in Islam is not about mimicking men—but about magnifying the divine gifts of womanhood: compassion, intellect, patience, nurturing strength, and spiritual clarity. It is this balanced perfection that gave her the strength to carry the torch of Islam after Karbala. Without her, the blood of Husayn might have soaked into the ground unnoticed. But through her, it became a roaring river that flows even today—revived every Arbaeen, with millions walking in her footsteps.
The Pilgrimage She Began
It was Zaynab and Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) who, forty days after the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, returned to Karbala to grieve, to remember, and to renew the covenant. That first Arbaeen became a tradition—a walk of loyalty, sorrow, and love—that now draws the hearts of believers from every land. The world’s largest peaceful gathering owes its soul to the footsteps of this veiled, broken-yet-unbroken woman.
Feminine Power, Divinely Defined
Imam Khamenei once described Lady Zaynab’s unmatched synthesis of compassion and endurance, saying:
“This is the magnificence of a woman who is a fusion of humane affection… and the sedateness of personality, endurance of the soul, that can overcome all the troubling hardships.”
She was not powerful despite being a woman. She was powerful because she fully embodied the divine gift of her womanhood. She didn’t need to shout to be heard. Her silence was thunder. Her modesty was her crown. Her tears were fuel for revolutions.
And like the women of Gaza today, she showed that a believing woman—grounded in faith and guided by divine values—can shake empires, revive nations, and walk through flames without being burned.
A Whispered Ziyarat on Her Wiladat
On this blessed day of her birth, let us renew our love and loyalty to the light of Zaynab (pbuh) with a simple, whispered Ziyarat:
السلام عليكِ يا بنت ولي الله
Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Friend of God.
السلام عليكِ يا أخت ولي الله
Peace be upon you, O sister of the Friend of God.
السلام عليكِ يا عزيزة الحسين
Peace be upon you, O cherished soul of Husayn.
السلام عليكِ أيتها العالمة غير المعلمة، والفهمة غير المفهمة
Peace be upon you, O learned one without teacher, O understanding one without instruction.
لعن الله أمة قتلتكم، ولعن الله أمة ظلمتكم، ولعن الله أمة سمعت بذلك فرضيت به
May Allah curse the nation that killed you, the nation that oppressed you, and the nation that heard and approved of it.
يا وجيهةً عند الله، اشفعي لنا عند الله
O noble lady in the sight of Allah, intercede for us with Allah.
In Her Footsteps
Lady Zaynab is not a figure of the past. She is the standard. She is the secret behind every mother who buries her child and says “Alhamdulillah.” She is the strength behind every believing woman who stands up to injustice. She is the voice in every Majlis, the beat in every Arbaeen walk, and the burning light in every prayer whispered in the dark.
This is not just her birthday.
It is the birth of an idea, a movement, and a model that continues to guide us.
May we rise with her.
May we speak like her.
May we live and die… as Zaynab did—faithful, fearless, and free.