Lady Zeinab In Captivity

Bound with ropes and forced to ride on saddleless, lean camels, the ladies and orphans of the Prophet's family were taken as captives to Kufa. Their caravan was very horrible; clarion were blown and flags were fluttering. Let us listen to the story from an eyewitness:

Muslim, the plasterer, reports:

While I was plastering doors of the Governorate Mansion of Kufa, sounds of clarions attacked my hearing from every side. "Why is Kufa clamoring?" I asked one of the servants in that mansion. "The head of a mutinous who rebelled against Yazid is now entering the city," answered the servant. "Who is that mutinous?" asked I. "It is al-Hussein ibn 'Ali," answered the servant.

This answer acted upon me like a thunderbolt. I slapped my face so strongly that I feared on my eyes. As hurriedly as possible, I sashed my hands from the plaster and left the amnsion. While I stood among people who were waiting for the caravan of the captives and the cut off heads, forty camels carrying woman and children appeared. I saw Ali ibn al-Hussein on a saddleless camel, As both sides of his neck were bleeding because of chains and he was handcuffed, he was weeping an saying, "O evil nation! Curse you! You have not regarded us in favor of our grandfather. What will you say on the Day of Resurrection when Allah will gather us with the Prophet? As if we have not guided you to the religion, you are, now, taking us on naked camels, by force."¹

In view of this horrible situation, women of Kufa began to mourn and cry, One of them approached one of the captured ladies and asked, "To whom do you belong?"

The lady answered, "We belong to the Ahl al-Bayt."

As she heard this astounding answer, the Kufian lady, with the others who were next to to her, screamed aloud and hurried to their house to bring any covers she had and throw on the captive ladies so that people would not lood at them. Another lady brought some food and dates and threw at the captive children who were harshly hungry, but Lady Ummu-Kulthum shouted at them, "It is Haram -unallowable- for us, the Ahl al-Bayt, to have from alms." Hearing this statement, the hungry children threw the food from their hands and even mouths.

^{1- See Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.45, p.114.}