Ziarat e Shaam (Damascus)

Feb, 2009

Going to Damascus and paying obeisance to Karbala’s Sherdil Khatoon is a lifetime experience.
There can never be enough said in praise of Janab e Zainab (as) as her courage and strength of character, her eloquence and her support of Imam Zainul Abideen helped to take the tragedy of Karbala out into the public domain and into the consciousnes of the general public who wee being misled that a rebel had been killed by the ruler.
Zainab bin bhai ke ghabrayi zaroor, lekin Zulm ke aage kabhi nahin ghabrayi.

The following ziyarat (verbal salutation) for Bibi Zaynab [a.s.] is traditionally recited to obtain divine blessing while visiting her shrine (in this case, in Damascus, Syria). It can also be recited at any other time in remembrance of the example of courage and submission that she presented to the world, particularly on the acknowledged days of her birth, death, and during the month of Muharram.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the Chief of prophets.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the Master of the sanctuary and the banner.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of him who was made to ascend to (highest) heaven and reached the station of two bows’ length (to Allah) or even closer.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the Leader of the pious.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the support of the sincere friends (of Allah).

Peace be upon you. O’ daughter of the Leader of the Deen.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the Commander of the faithful.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of him who struck with the sword of two blades.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of him who prayed towards the two qiblahs [Jerusalem, then Mecca].

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of Muhammad, the chosen.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of Ali, the content (with the decree of Allah).

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of Fatima, the radiant.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of Khadija, the elder.

Peace be upon you, O’ righteous one, pleasing (to Allah).

Peace be upon you, O’ learned, rightly guided one.

Peace be upon you, O’ generous, noble one.

Peace be upon you, O’ pious, pure one.

Peace be upon you, O’ you who were thoroughly tested by sufferance like Husayn, the oppressed.

Peace be upon you, O’ you who were kept far from your home.

Peace be upon you, O’ you who were held captive in cities.

Peace be upon you, O’ daughter of the greatest endeared friend of Allah.

Peace be upon you, O’ sister of the glorified friend of Allah.

Peace be upon you, O’ aunt of the revered friend of Allah.

Peace be upon you, O’ sister of misfortunes, Sayyida Zaynab, and may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.

According to Hujjat al-Islam Syed Zaki Baqueri–
Daughter of the Holy Prophet’s(SAW) daughter. Sister of the King of Martyrs. She is a true role model for any woman today of any religion. She showed the world the definition of womanhood. Her bravery and courage stands alone in a field of millions. She was tied up and taken as a prisoner. She had her scarf ripped off her head, she had her house burned to the ground. She was Janab-e-Zainab.
http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4773

Before leaving I suggest that ziareens should read and print from this website as it gives all the information of ziarats there and the necessary material for recitation at the rozas.

Click to access Syria%20%28Shaam%29.pdf

and check out this site for information and pictures of all the sites you will be visiting, especially bab e sagheer.
It is very easy to get confused there.

http://www.ziaraat.com/damzai01.php

for bab e sagheer
http://www.ziaraat.com/dambab02.php

for darbar e shaam
http://www.ziaraat.com/damdar02.php

For zindan e shaam
http://www.ziaraat.com/damzin01.php

I would suggest that momineens carry chadars with them to offer on the shrines of
1.Janab Zainab (a.s.)
2. Janab Sakina Binte al-Husain (a.s.)Though some take ear rings instead.
3.Janab Umme Kulsum Binte Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.)
4.Janab-e-Ruqaiyyah (a.s.)
5.Janab Umme Salma, wife of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.).
6.Janab Aateka, the paternal aunt ( fat her’s sis ter) of the Holy Prophet.
7.Janab-e-Fizza
8.Janab-e-Fatema Sughra (s.a.)

Entrance to Haram e Janab e Syeda Zainab AS

Zarih of Syeda Zainab AS
If you make a mannat at the shrine of Janabe Zainab that you will do her nazar on 14 ridas (or chadars) and give them to deserving and momin ladies, they say it never fails.

Roza of Janab e Zainab AS at night

Zarih Of Janabe Sakina AS
My heart almost broke when I saw ladies offering ear rings to my Mazloom Bibi Sukaina. I even saw one lady offering a doll at the shrine of my little shahzai ,who neve rhad the luxury to play with dolls or any other yoys for that matter.
They say that you should make a hajat there and after its fulfillment give a pair of ear rings according to your budget to a deserving and needy girl

Shrine of Baby Mohsin ibn Hussain (unborn )at Halab, ( Janabe Rabab had a miscarriage here in Halab)

Entrance to the zindaan in Halab , where the prisoners were kept for sometime on their journey to Damascus. It is an underground cellar, very craped and most of us who ventured inside came out shatered at what our blessed Imam and ladoies must have undergone.

The stone on which the blessed head of our Mazloom Imam was kept and looked after by the priest of a nearby church. To date the stone is still red and there are miracles when during ashoor freshblod seeps out.

While you are there spend as much time as you can in majlis,matam and giving pursa to Bibi Zainab AS
You will also be taken to visit the bazaare shaam from which the ladies of the Ahle Bait had to pass, while the shopkeepers and their familes watched and passed comments and woorse laughed at them and threw stones.
DONOT under ay circumstance buy anything there!!
Also remember when you are about to enter the Abasid Mosque which used to Yazid’s darbar that our beloved ladies of the Ahle Bait had to stand there for many many hours ( about 72) so that Yazid could get the darbar suitably decorate dto impress them!!

Bazaar e Shaam
Most of the groups pass through this doing matam.
We women were enclosed in a circle by the men of our roup.Spare a thought and many many tears for the plight of the pious and blessed ladies who had one imprisoned, heavily chained, sick male protector and a bare headed, bare footed fiery lady protector who went through this bazaar unprotected and greeted only by sneers and jeers.

Pictures of Takht e Yazid

Khutba of Hadrat Zainab(A.S.) delivered in the court of Yazid

” The Victory of Truth: The Life of Zaynab bint ‘Ali ” is a good source for reading about the life of Janab e Zainab and her khutbas are available there
http://www.al-islam.org/victory/

I have copied the chapter from the book in it’s entirety here for easy reading.

The Victory of Truth – Damascus

——————————————————————————–
When they reached the outskirts of Damascus they were made to halt. Yazid was informed of their arrival and he fixed a date for their entry into the city.
On the morning of the appointed day, the members of the family of the Holy Prophet [s.a.w.] were led into Damascus. They were tied with ropes and herded together like goats. If anyone stumbled she was whipped. The city streets had been decorated and the sound of music filled the air. People came out in throngs wearing festive clothes and rejoiced when they saw the procession, preceded as always by the heads of the martyrs. Bearing themselves with dignity and self-respect, the prisoners were paraded through Damascus. Zaynab [a.s.] even cast aside the offerings of food that some of them out of compassion offered them.

The son of an enemy of the Prophet [s.a.w.] who had waged war with Imam Ali [a.s.] was among the crowds. When he saw Imam Zayn ul-Abidin [a.s.] he jeeringly asked him who was now victorious. In reply the Imam said: “If you wish to find out who has been victorious, do so when it is time for prayer and the Adhan and Iqamat are recited.”

In this manner the captives were paraded until the afternoon when they reached the palace of Yazid. There he was seated on his throne and was much pleased when he saw the forty-four bound captives arrive. The head of Husayn was then brought to him on a golden tray. He struck the Imam’s teeth with his stick and said: “O Husayn! You have paid the price of your revolt.”

When Zaynab [a.s.] and her companions saw this show of arrogance they burst into tears and there were many present who were ashamed. But Yazid carried on gloating over his victory. He said to his subjects: “My ancestors who were killed at Badr have been avenged today. Now it is clear that the Bani Hashim had just staged a play to gain power and there was never any divine revelation.”

Zaynab [a.s.] however was not afraid. She drew herself up and boldly said for all to hear: “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and blessings on my grandfather, the Chief of divine prophets.”

“O Yazid, Allah says, and his word is true, that: ‘Then evil was the end of those who did evil because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them’ [30:10].”

“O Yazid, do you believe that you have succeeded in closing the sky and the earth for us and that we have become your captives just because we have been brought before you in a row and that you have secured control over us? Do you believe that we have been afflicted with insult and dishonour by Allah and that you have been given honour and respect by Him? You have become boastful of this apparent victory that you have secured and you have started feeling jubilant and proud over this prestige and honour. You think that you have achieved worldly good, that your affairs have become stabilised and our rule has fallen into your hands. Wait for a while. Do not be so joyful. Have you forgotten Allah’s saying: ‘The unbelievers should not carry the impression that the time allowed to them by us is good for them. Surely we give them time so that they may increase their evil deeds, and eventually they will be given insulting chastisement’ [3:178].”

“O son of freed slaves, is this your justice that you keep your own daughters and slave maids veiled while the daughters of the Prophet of Allah are being paraded from place to place exposed.”

“You have dishonoured us by unveiling our faces. Your men take us from town to town where all sorts of people, whether they be residents of the hills or of riversides have been looking at us.”

“The near as well as the remote ones, the poor as well as the rich, the low as well as the high – all casting their glances at us while our position is such that there is no male relative of ours to render us help or support.”

“O Yazid, whatever you have done proves your revolt against Allah and your denial of His Prophet [s.a.w.] and of the Book and Sunnah that the Holy Prophet [s.a.w.] brought from Allah. Your deeds should not cause amazement because one whose ancestors chewed the livers of the martyrs, whose flesh grew up on virtuous people, who fought against the Chief of divine prophets, who mobilised parties for fighting against him and drew swords against him, should conspicuously excel all Arabs in unbelief, sinfulness, excesses, and enmity against Allah and His Prophet [s.a.w.].”

“Remember that the evil deeds and sinful actions that you have committed are the result of unbelief and old rancour you bear because of your ancestors who were killed in Badr.”

“One who cast his glance of enmity, malice and rancour upon us does not lag behind in practising enmity against us. He proves his unbelief, declares it with his tongue and jubilantly proclaims: ‘I have killed the sons of the Prophet [s.a.w.] of Allah and made his progeny captive,’ and wishes that his ancestors had lived to see his achievement and to have exclaimed, ‘O Yazid, may your hands not lose their strength, you have wreaked good vengeance on our behalf.'”

“O Yazid, you are striking the lips of Imam Husayn with your stick in front of this crowd while these very lips used to be kissed by the Prophet [s.a.w.] of Allah, and yet your face reflects pleasure and happiness.”

“By my life, by killing the chief of youths of Paradise, the son of the chief of Arabs (Ali [a.s.]) and the shining sun of the progeny of Abd ul-Muttalib, you have deepened our wound and uprooted us completely.”

“By killing Husayn ibn Ali [a.s.] you have gained nearness to the state of your unbelieving ancestors. You proclaim your deed with pride and if they were to see you they would approve of your action and pray that Allah may not paralyse your arms.”

“O Yazid! If you had heart enough to take account of your nefarious deeds, you yourself would surely wish your arms to be paralysed and severed from your elbow and you would wish that your parents had not given birth to you because you would know that Allah has become displeased with you. Allah, Grant us our rights. Avenge those who have oppressed us.”

“O Yazid! you did what you wished, but remember that you have cut your own skin and your own flesh to pieces. Soon you will be brought before the Holy Prophet. You will be overburdened with the weight of your sins committed by shedding the blood of his progeny and by dishonouring his family. The place to which you will be taken will be before all the members of his family. The oppressed will be avenged and the enemies will be punished.”

“O Yazid ! It is not seeming for you to swell with joy after slaying the Prophet’s progeny. ‘Reckon not those who are killed in Allah’s way as dead; nay, they are alive and are provided sustenance from their Lord; rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace’ [3:169-170].”

“Allah is sufficient to deal with you. The Messenger of Allah is your antagonist and Hadrat Jibra’il is our support and help against you.”

“Those who have made you the head of state and burdened the Muslims with your leadership will soon find out what awaits them. The end of all tyrants is agony.”

“O Yazid. I speak not to you thus to warn you of the severe chastisement in store for you so that you should be regretful for you are one of those whose hearts are hardened, souls are rebellious and whose bodies are busy in Allah’s disobedience while they are under the curse of the Prophet of Allah. You are from among those in whose heart Shaytan has made his abode and has been breeding young ones.”

“How amazing it is that the virtuous people, sons of the divine prophets and vicegerents are killed at the hands of liberated slaves, evil-doers and sinners. Our blood is shed by their hands and our flesh serves as food for them. We feel grieved for those whose bodies are lying unshrouded and unburied in the battlefield, wounded with arrows.”

“O Yazid, if you consider our defeat as your achievement then you will have to pay its price.”

“Allah commits not injustice to His servants. Our reliance is on Allah. He alone is our Relief and place of Protection, and in Him alone do we repose our hope.”

“You may contrive and try however much you can. By Him who honoured us with revelation, the Book and Prophethood, you cannot achieve our status, nor reach our position, nor can you effect our mention, nor remove from yourself that shame and dishonour that is now your lot because of perpetrating excess and oppression on us. Your word now is weak and your days are counted. Beware of the day when the announcer would announce the curse of Allah on the oppressors and the unjust.”

“Praise be to Allah who gave good end to His friends and granted them success in their aims, and thereafter called them back to His Mercy, Pleasure and Bliss, while you hurled yourself into evil and mischief by committing injustice against them. We pray to Allah to favour us with full recompense through them and grant us the good of Khilafat and Imamat. Surely Allah is Kind and the Most Merciful over His creatures.”

Among the gathering was a red haired Syrian who saw Fatima Kubra, daughter of Imam Husayn and asked Yazid to give her to him. When the girl heard this she clung to Zaynab [a.s.] and started to weep. She feared that now after the loss of her father she was to be made a slave girl.

Zaynab [a.s.] was not afraid. She turned to Yazid and told him that he had neither right nor authority to give the young girl away like that, at which he bristled, retorting that he could do so.

Zaynab [a.s.] riposted, “You are abusing me because of your authority and power.” At this Yazid was shamed into silence. To the Syrian she said: “My the curse of Allah be upon you. May hell be your eternal abode. May your eyes be blinded and your limbs paralysed.” Immediately paralysis gripped the man and he fell to the ground dead.

Yazid was so enraged with Zaynab bold defiance of his authority that he might have ordered her killed had not Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Aas intervened and begged that no notice be taken of her harsh words since she had suffered much grief and hardship and was broken-hearted.

Imam Zayn ul-Abidin [a.s.] would also have suffered death at the hands of Yazid on account of his fearless speech, had not Zaynab [a.s.] saved his life by begging Yazid to slay her also along with the boy. Yazid was moved by her love for the boy and spared his life. But death nevertheless took its toll. Sakina, daughter of Imam Husayn, died in captivity in Damascus at the age of four and was buried there.

Through Zaynab’s bold and fearless speeches and from the word that spread as a result of their journey, people came to know of the events of Karbala and their hearts were stirred. The continued captivity and humiliation of the family of the Prophet of Allah was bringing their cause to the attention of an ever increasing number of people. Word came to Yazid that there was turmoil and unrest in the realm and he decided to release the captives.

When it seemed to him that the Ahl ul-Bayt had been adequately humiliated, and upon the urgings of certain people who were alert to the public’s growing dissension upon learning the truth, Yazid sent for Imam Zayn ul-Abidin [a.s.]. He informed him of his impending release and asked if he wished for anything. The youth said he would have to consult his aunt Zaynab [a.s.].

Arrangements were made and she arrived, properly veiled. She asked, “O Yazid, since the day our leader and our chief Husayn was butchered we have not had any opportunity to mourn for him.”

A large house was therefore provided for them in the residential sector of Damascus and here Zaynab [a.s.] held her first gathering for the mourning and remembrance (majlis-e-aza) of Imam Husayn. The women of the Quraysh and Bani Hashim arrived clad in black, with their heads uncovered, weeping wretchedly.

Imam Zayn ul-Abidin [a.s.] sat on the carpet of Imam Husayn and then Zaynab [a.s.] told the women of Syria what had befallen them. They shed tears and mourned. They had not known about the events of Karbala and Kufa, but when they went home they told their menfolk.

Gradually illusions of Yazid’s good intentions were dispelled. It was fear of revolt that caused Yazid to release the members of the family of the Holy Prophet [s.a.w.].

The Roza of Bibi Fizza is in the Bab e sagheer

Speech of Imam Zainul Abideen AS at the darbar of Yazid
The Imam said:
All Praise is due to Allah for Whom there is no beginning, the ever-Lasting for Whom there is no end, the First for Whom there is no starting point, the Last for Whom there is no ending point,the One Who remains after all beings no longer exist. He measured the nights and the days.
He divided them into parts; so, Blessed is Allah, the King, the all-Knowing… O people! We were granted six things and favoured with seven: We were granted knowledge, clemency, leniency,fluency, courage, and love for us in the hearts of the believers. And we were favoured by the fact that from among us came a Prophet, a Sidd§q, a Tayyar, a Lion of Allah and of His Prophet (saw),
and both Masters of the Youths of Paradise from among this nation. O people! Whoever
recognizes me knows me, and whoever does not recognize me, let me tell him who I am and to what family I belong: O people! I am the son of Mecca and Mina; I am the son of Zamzam and al-Safa; I am the son of the one who carried the rukn on his mantle; I am the son of the best man who ever put on clothes and who ever made tawaf and sa`i, of whoever offered the hajj and pronounced the talbiya. I am the son of the one who was transported on the buraq and who was taken by Gabriel to sidrat al-muntaha, so he was near his Lord like the throw of a bow or closer
still. I am the son of the one who led the angels of the heavens in the prayers. I am the son to whom the Mighty One revealed what He revealed. I am the son of the one who defended the
Messenger of Allah at Badr and Hunayn and never disbelieved in Allah not even as much as the twinkling of an eye. I am the son of the best of the believers and of the heir of the prophets, of the leader of the Muslims and the noor of those who offer jihad and the killer of the renegades and those who deviated from the straight path and who scattered the ahzab and the most courageous one, the one with the firmest determination: such is the father of the grandsons
of the Prophet (saw) al Hasan and al-Husain (as), such is Ali ibn Abu Talib (as). I am the son of Fatima al-Zahra’ , the Head of all Women, the son of Khadija al-Kubra. I am the son of the one with whose blood the sand mixed. I am the son of the one who was slaughtered at Kerbala’.
I am the son of the one for whom the jinns wept in the dark and for whom the birds in the air cried.
source : http://www.shiabooks.org/urdu/Maqtal_al-Husain.pdf
Yazid was apprehensive when he heard people’s cries filling the place, and he feared dissension, so he ordered the mu’aththin to call the athan for the prayers.

Article on Yazid:
http://www.ahlus-sunna.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=130

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