Martyrdom of 3-Year old Hazrat Ruqaiyya

Condolences to you all on a very poignant day, the anniversary of the martyrdom of a girl of only three years old.

As you know, we have passed through the mourning month of Moharram, the month on the 10^th of which Imam Husain (AS) achieved immortal martyrdom. These are the days during which in the aftermath of history’s most heartrending tragedy, the caravan of captives of the noble household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was being dragged in ropes and fetters through Iraq towards Syria.

It was made up mostly of children and ladies, with the lone grown-up male person being Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), who was waging a unique jihad to awaken frozen human consciences. The women indeed played an important role in conveying the message of Imam Husain (AS) to the people of their times, and subsequently to posterity.

Their names are alive till this day. The chief among them are, of course, the Prophet’s granddaughters, Hazrat Zainab and Hazrat Omm Kolsoum (peace upon them). The other prominent female members of this caravan of captives were the daughters of the martyred Imam, Fatema, Sakina, and little Ruqaiyya, as well as Fatema the daughter of Imam Hasan Mojtaba and wife of Imam Zain al-Abedin (peace upon them all). Their sufferings and mourning led to purposeful action.

Little, less than four-years-old, Ruqaiyya, who continuously lamented the loss of her father and was constantly scolded by the captors, finally succumbed to her sufferings in Damascus and was laid to rest in the dungeon, which has now grown into a grand mausoleum and sight of pilgrimage in the Syrian capital.

These ladies were entrusted with a precious mission, and without them, the lives of the men would have been lost in vain if the Muslim community at large did not wake up. Not only did the women mourn, the Fourth Imam mourned also. They all had sadness and they all had anger, but they channeled those emotions into their words and actions for a purpose. When the public saw the Fourth Imam, ladies, and children as prisoners, learned of their identity, and heard their words, those who had been ignorant of the truth realized that Yazid had falsely portrayed Imam Husain (AS) to them as an enemy of Islam.

Seeing the grief and hearing the words of the families, the people came to know the truth. Such was the self-control of the noble ladies that despite having gone through such ordeals, they remained focused on their mission of propagating the truth. The women were in sorrow because of the events that had transpired, but let it not be assumed that their grieving was a hindrance to their mission. Seeing the children, wives, and mothers were being mistreated like this, being made to go through the streets in horrible conditions, the public was left with no doubt that Yazid was making a deliberate personal attack on the grandson and family of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

The harsh way the prisoners were being treated served to underscore the ladies' and children's claim of being on the side of Truth. If the ladies had not been there, Yazid's men would have narrated their own version of events. Politicians would have twisted the story as they wished to make Yazid out as a hero, but with the women present and speaking the truth, there was living proof of the message and martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS). These women were the shield of Islam, who informed the listeners that the martyrs were from the Household of the Prophet and that the current regime was oppressive and full of lies.

In Medina also, when the news of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) reached the Prophet’s city, ladies of the Bani Hashem clan lamented, wailed and composed moving elegies on the Martyrs of Karbala. Among these mention could be made of the four daughters of Aqil Ibn Abi Taleb, the elder brother of Imam Ali (AS). These were Omm Luqman, Omm Hani, Ramla and Zainab. They had lost their brothers and nephews in Kufa and Karbala, including the Imam’s emissary Muslim Ibn Aqil. But the person on whom they shed the most tears was their cousin, Imam Husain (AS), the grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

Omm Luqman composed a moving elegy that reads:

“What would you say if the Prophet asked you: What have you, the last of the ummah, done with my offspring and my family after my departure from them? They are prisoners and slain and have been stained with their own blood. What sort of reward is this for my advice to you, that you should oppose me by doing evil to my blood relations?”

AS/SS