Sayyeda Zainab's (as) Speech to the tyrant and oppressor Yazid (la)
O
Yazid, practice any trick you can and do anything that you think would
vanish Islam, but you should know that you can not eradicate our
message, path and memory. You should know that our memory will never
die.
Yazid recited the blasphemous poetic verses of Abdullah bin
Zab'ari Sahmi which he had composed while he was an unbeliever and also
added some poetic verses of his own and said openly that he wanted to
take revenge upon the descendants of Muhammad because Muhammad and his
companions had killed his polytheist ancestors.
Zainab, the
daughter of Ali rose and began speaking. She added a new chapter to the
history of the Caliphate of Yazid which covered a period of three years
and a few months, and said: "O Yazid! Allah and His Prophet have said
that committing sins and considering the signs of Allah to be false is
ridiculing them", i.e. deny the sign of Allah today and hold them in
derision and have become happy, and recite poetic verses on account of
the martyrdom of the children of the Holy Prophet just as the
polytheists of Makkah became happy and sang songs because of the
martyrdom of some Muslims in the Battle of Uhud, and talk about taking
revenge upon the Holy Prophet. This is how you become like them and how
you have reached this stage? You have reached this stage because you
have committed too many sins. Whoever treads the path of sin and
persists in committing sins will, according to the verdict of the
Qur'an, deny the signs of Allah one day and eventually will ridicule
them and then deserve Divine punishment.
She added: "O Yazid! Do
you think that we have become humble and despicable owing to the
martyrdom of our people and our own captivity? As you have blocked all
the paths for us, and we have been made captives and are being taken
from one place to another, do you think that Allah has taken away his
blessings from us? Do you think that by killing the godly persons you
have become great and respectable and the Almighty looks at you with
special grace and kindness? For this reason and on account of this
wrong thinking you have become elated and arrogant. You have become
boastful because you have seen that the matters have taken a turn in
your favour. You have, however, forgotten what Allah says: The
disbelievers must not think that Our respite is for their good We only
give them time to let them increase their sins. For them there will be
a humiliating torment." (Surah Ale Imran, 3: 178)
Then Zainab
reminds Yazid that his grandmother and other relatives came into the
fold of Islam only after the fall of Mecca at the hands of the Muslims.
Since Mecca was taken without any war or bloodshed, legally the entire
inhabitant could have been made the slaves of the Prophet. But the
Prophet, out of his mercy, declared to the people of Mecca that 'I
release you from the bonds of slavery, you are free.' In other words,
Zainab wanted Yazid to remember that his ancestors were the 'freed
slaves' of her grandfather. Look at the courage of Zainab! Standing as
a prisoner in the court of Yazid, she does not hesitate to remind him
of his reality.
She Said "O son of the freed ones! Is it justice
that you keep your women and slave-girls in seclusion but have made the
helpless daughters of the Holy Prophet ride on swift camels and given
them in the hands of their enemies so that they may take them from one
city to another".
Then she said: "Why shouldn't Yazid be
spiteful against us, it is he, who looks at us with hostility. You say
with perfect intrepidity and without imagining that you are committing
a sin: 'I wish that my ancestors who were killed in Badr had been
present here today'. Then you strike Imam Husayn in his teeth with a
stick in your hand! Why shouldn't you be like this, although you have
done what you wanted to do and have pulled out the roots of piety and
virtue! You have shed the blood of the sons of the Holy Prophet and
have hidden the brilliant stars on the earth from amongst the
descendants of Abdul Muttalib under the clouds of oppression and
injustice. However, you shall go before Allah soon.
You shall
meet your ancestors and shall also be taken to their place. At that
time you will wish that you had been blind and dumb and had not said
that it was a day of rejoicing for your ancestors".
At this
stage the daughter of Imam Ali prayed to Allah and said: "O Lord!
Procure our right and take revenge upon those who have oppressed us".
Then
she turned to Yazid and said: "By Allah you have pulled off your skin
and cut off your flesh. You will soon go before the Prophet of Allah
and will see with your own eyes that his children are in Paradise. It
will be the day when Allah will deliver the descendants of the Holy
Prophet from the state of being scattered and will bring all of them
together in Paradise. This is the promise which Allah has made in the
Holy Qur'an. He says: Do not think of those who are slain for the cause
of Allah as dead. They are alive with their Lord and receive sustenance
from Him. (Surah Ale Imran, 3: 169)
O Yazid! On the day when
Allah will be the Judge and Muhammad will be the petitioner, and your
limbs will give evidence against you, your father, who made you the
ruler of the Muslims, will receive His punishment. On that day it will
become known what reward the oppressors earn, whose position is worse
and whose party is more humble. O enemy of Allah and O son of the enemy
of Allah! I swear by Allah that I consider you to be humble and not fit
even to be reprimanded and reproached. But what am I to do? Our eyes
are shedding tears, our hearts are burning, and our martyrs cannot come
to life by our reprimanding and reproaching you. My Hussain has been
killed and the partisans of Satan are taking us to the fools so that
they may get their reward for insulting Allah. Our blood is dripping
from their hands and our flesh is falling down from their mouths. The
sacred bodies of the martyrs have been placed at the disposal of the
wolves and other carnivorous animals of the jungle. If you have gained
something today by shedding blood, you will certainly be a loser on the
Day of Judgment. On that day nothing but your deeds will count. On that
day you will curse Ibn MarjÄna and he will curse you. On that day you
and your followers will quarrel with one another by the side of the
Divine scale of Justice. On that day you will see that the best
provision which your father made for you was that he enabled you to
kill the children of the Prophet of Allah. I swear by Allah that I do
not fear anyone except Him and do not complain to anyone else. You may
employ your deceit and cunning efforts, but I swear by Allah that the
shame and disgrace which you have earned by the treatment meted out to
us cannot be eradicated".
The daughter of Fatima Zahra ended her
speech with offering thanks to Allah. She said: "I thank Allah Who has
concluded the task of the chiefs of the youths of Paradise with
prosperity and forgiveness and accommodated them in Paradise. I pray to
Allah that He may elevate their ranks and favor them more with His
kindness, for Allah is Omnipotent".
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