Holy Shrine of Hazrat Bibi Zainab | Syria | روضہ سیدہ بی بی زینبؓ

روضہ سیدہ بی بی زینبؓ

Zaynab bint Ali (Arabic: زَيْنَب بِنْت عَلِيّ, Zaynab bint ʿAlī, c. 626 – 682), was the eldest daughter of Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph (r. 656–661) and the first Shia Imam, and Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Zaynab is best known for her role in the aftermath of the Battle of Karbala (680), in which her brother Husayn and his family and companions were massacred by the forces of Yazid I (r. 680–683). The women and children were taken captive after the battle and marched to Kufa and then Damascus, where Zaynab gave impassioned speeches, condemning Yazid and spreading the news of Karbala. She was later freed and died shortly afterward in 682, though 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 figure of sacrifice, strength, and piety in Islam, and a role model for Muslim women, typifying courage, leadership, and defiance against oppression.