After Karbala
The morning of the 11th of Muharram dawned and Zeinab took up the mission where Hussein ibn Ali (a.s.) had left it. Hussein (a.s.) had played his part and from this juncture, Zeinab assumed her important role in the struggle for Islam, so that the mission that had reached this point, with so much sacrifice of noble lives, could be brought to its fruitful conclusion.
It was possible that even now, the smallest amount of oversight and neglect might make the whole venture fruitless and render the martyrs" sacrifices futile. With supreme courage and determination, she resolved not to be overcome by grief and be crushed by the weight of the tragedies that had befallen her family, and with the iron will she had inherited from her father and grandfather was determined to make the best use of every opportunity to propagate the mission of Imam Hussein (a.s.). It had remained for Zeinab (a.s.) to utilize every opportunity to counteract the deceptive propaganda of the regime, by which it sought the bloodshed of Hussein (a.s.) and his companions, and make the truth shine forth for people. It was her mission to dispel the doubts and misunderstandings sown into the public mind by the propaganda of the regime and to make known for the people the objectives and ideals which lay behind Hussein's martyrdom. Her role was to make people understand that the oppressive and exploitive regime had falsely introduced Hussein (a.s.) and his companions to the people as opponents of Islam and enemies of its progress. She had to make it known to the people who were ignorant of the truth that it was the Household of the Prophet (pbuh&hh), the home of Revelation, that was the true upholder and the source of the values and teachings of Islam, for the protection of which they did not refrain even from sacrificing their lives and everything else they had.
The martyrs gave away their lives and departed from the scene of oppression, but it remained for the women and children, in the leadership and guardianship of this great daughter of Ali (a.s.), to pursue the most difficult and the most tormenting part of the mission. Had it not been for Zeinab, we would not have known the objectives of the qiyam of Hussein ibn Ali (a.s.). His aim would have been lost and this event of great tragedy would have been buried under the mountain-load of distortions and the misinterpretations-a thing which many have nevertheless tried to do but have failed miserably. Thus it was a great responsibility that lay on Zeinab's shoulders-the great woman who, in addition, was also the kind and compassionate guardian and leader of this group of unhappy prisoners in their journey from Karbala to Kufa, from Kufa to Damascus, from Damascus to Karbala and from there to Madina, the home of the Prophet's family. This job required great strength and forbearance and qualities which cannot be found in an ordinary woman. But Zeinab too was no ordinary lady, she was the daughter of Ali (a.s.) and had been reared by a mother like Fatima (s.a.)-the same Ali and Fatima (a.s.) who had spent all their lives in struggle and had fought their way in the midst of political crises and conspiracies.
Zeinab (a.s.) was a true daughter of her mother, who, through her active and passive struggle, had forced the regime of her time to take a defensive stand and had shown to posterity the ways of struggle in difficult times as well as their immense value, a fact to which history bears testimony! Thus it was Zeinab (a.s.), the daughter of Ali and Fatima (a.s.), the wife of such a valuable man of renown as Abdullah ibn Ja'far, and the mother of such brave youthful martyrs as Aun and Mohammad and the beloved sister of such a man as Imam Hussein (a.s.) who pursued the mission with immense care and wisdom and who at last brought it to its sublimely fruitful conclusion. As we have indicated before, our intention here is not by any means story-telling. The only objective is to illuminate the aims and objectives of the qiyam of Imam Hussein (a.s.). Till now, we have accompanied Hussein (a.s.), on his journey which as we have said, had no other than a sacred and heavenly objective and purpose. We have seen how Hussein (a.s.) constantly struggled for the sake of upholding the sanctity of the laws of Islam and the survival of its sublime values. We have observed how he stood up to safeguard the rights of Muslims and ideals of social justice and human liberty. From this point, we shall accompany Zeinab (a.s.) in her journey from Karbala to Madina and see how Zeinab pursued the same ideals as her brother, Imam Hussein (a.s.).
