Zaynab bint Ali (Arabic: زَيْنَب بِنْت عَلِيّ, c. 626–682), was the eldest daughter of Fatima and Ali ibn Abi Talib. The former was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the latter was his cousin. Ali is also recognized as the fourth Rashidun caliph (r. 656–661) and the first Shia imam. Zaynab is best known for her role in the aftermath of the Battle of Karbala (680 CE), in which her brother Husayn and most of her male relatives were massacred by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mua'awiya (r. 680–683). Women and children in Husayn's camp were taken captive after the battle and marched to Kufa and then the Umayyad capital Damascus, where Zaynab gave impassioned speeches, condemning Yazid and spreading the news of Karbala. She was later freed and died shortly afterward in 682, but her burial site is uncertain. The two shrines associated with Zaynab in Damascus and Cairo are destinations for Muslim pilgrimage. She is considered to be a symbol of sacrifice, strength, and piety in Islam, and a role model for Muslim women, typifying courage, leadership, and defiance against oppression.

The Arabic word zaynab literally means 'adornment of father'.^[1][2] She is also known as Zaynab al-Kubra (lit. 'the senior Zaynab') to distinguish her from her younger sister Umm Kulthum or Zaynab al-Sughra (lit. 'the junior Zaynab').^[1] Another title of Zaynab is Aqilatu Bani Hashim (lit. 'the sage of the Bani Hashim'),^[3] where the word al-aqila literally means 'the secluded one' or 'pearl'.^[1] She is also recognized as Batalatu al-Karbala (lit. 'the heroine of Karbala') for her role in that event.^[4][5] Sometimes she is referred to as al-Sayyida (lit. 'the lady'),^[6][1] and in Egypt as al-Tahira (lit. 'the pure one') and Umm al-Yatama (lit. 'mother of the orphans').^[1]

Zaynab was the third child of Fatima and Ali ibn Abi Talib,^[7] and their eldest daughter.^[8] The former was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the latter was his cousin. Ali is also recognized as the fourth Rashidun caliph (r. 656–661) and the first Shia imam. There is not much clarity about Zaynab's early life,^[8] and even the year of her birth is given variously by different sources as 4–6 AH (626–8 CE),^[7][9] or 9 (631).^[10] Shia Muslims celebrate her birthday annually on 5 Jumada al-Awwal.^[11] Her name was chosen by her grandfather Muhammad,^[10] who attributed the name to divine inspiration.^[12] When she was born,^[10] the angel Gabriel is said to have forewarned Muhammad about her difficult life.^[13][10] Muhammad was very fond of his granddaughter, reputedly saying that she resembled his late wife Khadija (d. 619).^[14] Shia sources also emphasize the intense devotion of the young Zaynab to her brother Husayn.^[13][15] Unlike her parents and her two brothers, namely, Hasan and Husayn, Zaynab is not among the Fourteen Infallibles in Twelver Shi'ism. As she was raised with and by infallibles, she is nevertheless believed to have had "minor infallibility" in Twelver Shi'ism.^[16]

As a young child, Zaynab might have foreseen her future trials: She is said to have seen in a dream that she was caught in a large tree amidst a storm. When the tree was uprooted by the strong winds, she grasped for branches and twigs, which also broke one after another, and she woke us as she began to fall. Muhammad told her that the tree, the branches, and the twigs represented her grandfather, parents, and brothers, respectively, who would all die before her.^[17][18]

Muhammad died in 632 and Zaynab thus lost her grandfather at an early age.^[18] As Muhammad's family prepared for the burial,^[19] a group of Muslims gathered at the Saqifa and appointed as his successor Abu Bakr, a senior companion.^[20] They did so in the absence of Muhammad's family and the majority of the Muhajirun (Meccan Muslims).^[21][22][19] Ali, Fatima, and some supporters did not recognize the caliphate of Abu Bakr,^[23][21] claiming that Muhammad had appointed Ali as his successor,^[24] referring to the Ghadir Khumm shortly before his death.^[25] Soon after the Saqifa affair, Umar, another companion of Muhammad, is known to have led an armed mob to Ali's residence and threatened to set the house on fire if Ali and his supporters did not pledge their allegiance to Abu Bakr.^{[26][27][28][29]} The confrontation then grew violent,^[30][26] but the mob retreated without securing Ali's pledge.^[31][32]

Fatima died in the same year, within six months of Muhammad's death,^[27][33] and at the age of about eighteen or twenty-seven.^[34] Shia Islam asserts that she miscarried her child and died from the injuries she suffered in an attack on her house,^[27][35][36] intended to subdue Ali,^[37] instigated by Abu Bakr and led by his aide Umar.^[38][27][24] These claims are rejected by Sunni Muslims,^[36][24] who believe that Fatima died from grief after the death of Muhammad and that her child died in infancy of natural causes.^[39][24][36] Zaynab thus lost her mother at the age of about five.^[12] According to the Sunni author A. Abd al-Rahman (d. 1998), Fatima on her deathbed entrusted Zaynab with a white garment for Husayn to wear as his shroud (kafan) when leaving for the battlefield in Karbala.^[3]

Zaynab married her paternal cousin Abd Allah,^[12][40] whose father Ja'far al-Tayyar ibn Abi Talib was Muhammad's cousin and a prominent early Muslim, who was killed in the Battle of Mu'ta (629) against the Byzantines.^[41] Abd Allah was a narrator of prophetic hadiths, thirteen of which appear in the canonical Sunni collection Musnad Ibn Hanbal. Abd Allah also narrated hadiths from the Shia imams and might have lived long enough to be a companion to the Shia imam Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 732), although this last claim is not reported by the prominent Shia scholar Shaykh Tusi (d. 1067).^[42] Abd Allah was wealthy and known for his generosity,^[43][44] even though he is said to have lived modestly.^[44] Accordingly, the marriage ceremony of Zaynab and Abd Allah is described as a simple affair.^[43] The Shia author M. Eshtehardi writes that Zaynab married Abd Allah on the condition that she would be allowed to daily visit her brother Husayn and travel with him.^[45][46]

The couple had four sons, named Ali, Awn, Abbas, and Muhammad. They also had a daughter named Umm Kulthum.^[8] The Islamicist J. Esposito differs here, as he suggests that the couple had three sons and two daughters, without naming them.^[47] Awn and Muhammad were killed in the Battle of Karbala,^[12] and there is no information about Abbas, but Zaynab's lineage continued through Ali, also known as Ali al-Zaynabi.^[12][48]

For her knowledge of prophetic hadiths, Muhammad's prominent cousin Ibn Abbas (d. c. 687) referred to Zaynab as Aqilatu Bani Hashim (lit. 'the sage of the Bani Hashim').^[3] Her reputation among hadith scholars was apparently such that they cited Ali as the 'father of Zaynab' during the Umayyad's ban on publicly speaking about Ali.^[49] She also taught Quranic exegesis to women in her hometown of Medina,^[50] and later in Kufa,^[12][49] and was likely trained in this subject by her father Ali, whom the Islamicist T. Qutbuddin praises as "the most learned of [Islamic] sages."^[12]

Zaynab is described as eloquent,^[51] reputedly reminding her listeners of her father Ali.^[2][52] A sermon attributed to Zaynab after the Battle of Karbala is recorded by the Muslim historian Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur (d. 893) in his Balaghat al-nisa', which is an anthology of eloquent speeches by women.^[53][8] The book also contains another sermon, which the author attributes to Zaynab's sister Umm Kulthum. Nevertheless, this second speech has also been attributed to Zaynab by most later authors, including the Shia scholar Ibn A'tham. Qutbuddin considers this latter attribution a strong possibility.^[53]

Ali was elected caliph in 656,^[54] after which he established himself in Kufa as his de facto capital in 656–657.^[55][56] Zaynab and Abd Allah accompanied Ali to Kufa.^[12] There he was assassinated during the morning prayer at the Mosque of Kufa in January 661, which coincided with Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam.^[57][58][59] The biographical al-Irshad, authored by the prominent Shia scholar al-Mufid (d. 1022), details that Ali spent his last night as Zaynab's guest for Iftar and Suhur, and that the wounded Ali was brought back to her house after the attack.^[60] Soon after Ali's death, his eldest son Hasan was elected caliph in Kufa,^[61][62] but later abdicated in favor of Mu'awiya (r. 661–680) in August 661,^[12][63] possibly due to the latter's overwhelming military superiority and the weak support of the Iraqis for war.^[64][65] The peace treaty between Hasan and Mu'awiya stipulated that the latter should not appoint a successor.^[63]

Hasan returned to Medina after his abdication, accompanied by his family,^[12] where he kept aloof from politics in compliance with the peace treaty with Mu'awiya.^[66][67][68] Early sources are nearly unanimous that Hasan was later poisoned at the instigation of Mu'awiya in 669,^[63][12][69] possibly to pave the way for the succession of his son Yazid (r. 680–683).^[70][71] Zaynab is said to have attended her brother Hasan in his final days.^[12][72] Hasan was thus succeeded as the head of Muhammad's family by his brother Husayn,^[12] who nevertheless upheld the treaty with Mu'awiya.^[73][74]

Mu'awiya designated his son Yazid as his successor in 676,^[75] violating his earlier agreement with Hasan.^[76] Yazid is often remembered by Muslim historians as a debaucher who openly violated the Islamic norms,^[70][77][78] and his nomination was met with resistance from the sons of Muhammad's prominent companions, including Husayn ibn Ali.^[79][80] On Mu'awiya's death and Yazid's succession in 680, the latter instructed the governor of Medina to secure Husayn's pledge of allegiance by force. Husayn thus left Medina for Mecca at night to avoid recognizing Yazid as the caliph.^[73] He was accompanied by some relatives,^[81] including Zaynab and two of her sons, namely, Awn and Muhammad.^[82][12]

Zaynab's husband Abd Allah did not accompany Husayn even though he was sympathetic to Husayn's cause,^[83] according to the Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923).^[84] Eshtehardi suggests that Abd Allah's absence must have been due to his poor health or old age and that sending his sons with Husayn was an indication of his support.^[46][82] In contrast, Abd al-Rahman writes that Zaynab must have divorced Abd Allah before leaving Medina and that he later married Zaynab's sister Umm Kulthum, although her views have been criticized by some.^[85] As the husband's permission is necessary in such cases under Islamic laws, some have instead suggested that a condition of her marriage to Abd Allah was that Zaynab could accompany Husayn in all his travels,^[46] or specifically to Karbala.^[84]

The captives were eventually freed.^[1] They were allowed to return to Medina,^[118] or escorted back there.^[1] By some accounts, their caravan returned via Karbala, where they halted to mourn their dead.^[130][154] According to a common Karbala narrative, the family of Muhammad was assisted in this journey by a man named Bashir, who was generously compensated by Zaynab and others from the little that was left after the looting on Ashura.^[155] Sunni sources report Yazid's remorse for the massacre and his compensation for the property plundered by his soldiers,^[156] while Shia authorities contend that it was Zaynab's activism that swayed some in Yazid's court, especially his women, and thus compelled the caliph to disassociate himself from the massacre and blame his governor.^[135] Similar views are expressed by some contemporary authors.^{[128][18][137]}

Zaynab died in 682 at the age of about fifty-six,^[1] not long after returning to Medina from Damascus.^{[157][158][18][118]} Alternatively, the historian L. Adamec (d. 2019) places her death in the year 681.^[159] Shias annually commemorate her death on the most frequently cited date,^[1] that is, 15 Rajab.^[11] Other reported dates are 11 and 21 of Jumadi al-Thani, 24 Safar, and 16 Dhu al-Hijja.^[44]

Little is known about Zaynab's life after returning to Medina,^[1][51] though the silence of al-Tabari about it suggests that she was probably not involved with the nearby uprising of Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr.^[160] Some reports state that she died in Medina,^[1][18] others say that she travelled with her husband to his Syrian estates, where she died,^[1] and yet other sources write that she was exiled, possibly to Egypt,^[1][161] for publicizing Karbala.^[51] Her burial place is therefore uncertain, with claims made both for Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in the suburbs of Damascus and another mosque at the heart of Cairo with the same name.^{[162][163][157]} While al-Tabari places her grave in Cairo and the Shia scholar Muhsin al-Amin (d. 1952) considers Damascus unlikely,^[162] the only key evidence offered in favor of Cairo is the existence of the shrine itself,^[161] which officially dates back to the third century AH,^[164] supplemented by the testimonies of travellers and notables who lived at least two centuries after Zaynab.^[165] The shrines in Damascus and Cairo are both destinations for Muslim pilgrimage,^[1][162] the former often visited by Shias and the latter by Sunnis.^[1]