Bibi Zainab as a Role Model - From the Perspective of a Teenage Shia Girl
September 2024 - Sabira Kassamali
Bibi Zainab as a Role Model
From the Perspective of a Teenage Shia Girl
What makes a good role model for people to look up to? What traits do they have and how can we implement them into our lives? One example of a role model in the Shia faith is Bibi Zainab (AS). She was the sister of our third Imam, Imam Hussain (AS). As we know, the tragedy of Karbala is an event mourned by people around the world today, 1,400 years after the event occurred. So, how can we take inspiration from Bibi Zainab’s traits and actions and use them in our lives today? Well, the first step is to know who she was and what made her such an exemplary role model.
Bibi Zainab (AS) was a courageous and patient woman undeterred in her beliefs. Despite all her tragedies, she remained strong and determined in the face of hardship. She embarked on a journey from Medina to Mecca, and then to Karbala. In the holy land of Karbala, she saw how little support they had in comparison to Yazid’s army. She saw how each of their friends and family members left this world, one by one. Bibi Zainab (AS) even sacrificed her two sons, Aun and Muhammad, for the cause of Islam. Then, when only her brother was left, Imam Hussain (AS) reminded her how she would have to stay strong, for more trials and tribulations awaited her after Ashura. After her brother was martyred, the responsibility fell on her to gather everyone on Sham e Ghareeba (the night after Ashura day) while the tents were burning, as Imam Sajjad (AS) was very ill. Bibi Zainab (AS) then faced more difficulties while being paraded on the streets of Kufa.
Through all of this, did she give up? No, she didn’t. Despite everything she went through she still persevered because she had to make sure that this tragedy was remembered and the cause of Islam was not lost. Along with this, she also had to protect Imam Sajjad (AS) while he was sick. While paraded in the streets of Kufa, she reminded the people of their betrayal of the Imam and his family. When they were taken to Sham, she stood in the court of Yazid, unwavering in her principles. This moment in particular really stood out to me.
Firstly, when Yazid said that Imam Sajjad was to be killed, she immediately protected him and made sure this didn't happen. Secondly, despite her circumstances, she delivered a moving khutbah that left Yazid speechless. This khutbah was directed toward the oppressors, tyrants, and Kufis and reminded them of their punishment. Her khutbah was so strong that a blind man in the crowd stated he would've thought it was Imam Ali (AS) speaking if he didn’t know better.
So, what traits did Bibi Zainab (AS) have that we can apply today? One major trait was patience. Throughout all of her tribulations, Bibi Zainab (AS) remained patient. She knew that the oppressors would face the wrath of Allah in the hereafter and she knew that part of her job was to make sure their injustices did not go unnoticed. Of course, this did not make the hardship any easier, but Bibi Zainab (AS) did not waver in her faith. Another trait is perseverance. As mentioned before, she did not give up no matter how hard it got. She kept going, and this is something we can implement. When going through anything, whether big or small, sometimes we all feel like giving up at a certain point. But Bibi Zainab (AS) shows us that there is always an option to keep moving forward.
Bibi Zainab (AS) has many traits we can look for like patience, perseverance, humility, and honesty. Even when not experiencing hard times, we can look to her to implement other traits like compassion and helping others. Bibi Zainab (AS) also helped us realize that we can look at our hardships from different perspectives. For example, when Ibn Ziyad asked Bibi Zainab about her state since he said God had killed her family and companions, what did she respond with?
“I saw nothing but beauty.”