and they cried out. Zaynab lamented her brother al-Ḥusayn and the rest of her family, saying through her tears:

“O Muhammad! O Muhammad! May Allah and the Angel of Heaven bless you. Here is Ḥusayn, lying exposed in the open, wrapped in blood, his limbs severed. O Muhammad! Your daughters are captives, your descendants slaughtered, the desert breeze scattering dust over them!”

He said: By Allah, she moved every enemy and friend alike to tears (1).

Qurra ibn Qays said: When the women passed the slain, they shrieked and struck their cheeks. He added: “I have never witnessed a sight of women more amazing than what I saw of them that day; by Allah, they were more beautiful than the graceful oryx of Yabrīn.” He then continued the account as previously mentioned.

He went on: They marched them from Karbalā until they entered Kūfah, where Ibn Ziyād treated them generously, providing expenses, clothing, and the like.

[He said: Zaynab, the daughter of Fāṭimah, entered wearing her shabbiest clothes, having disguised herself, and her maidservants clustered around her. When she was ushered before ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyād he asked, “Who is this?” She gave no reply, so one of her maids said, “This is Zaynab, daughter of Fāṭimah.” He exclaimed, “Praise be to Allah who has disgraced you, slain you, and exposed the falsity of your claim.” She retorted, “Rather, praise be to Allah who has honoured us through Muhammad and purified us with a perfect purification—not as you say. It is only the profligate who is disgraced and the wicked who is shown to be a liar.” He asked, “How did you find Allah’s dealing with your household?” She answered, “It was decreed for them to be killed, so they advanced to their resting-places; yet Allah will gather you and them together, and they will plead their case against you before Him.” Ibn Ziyād became furious, whereupon ʿAmr ibn Ḥurayth said, “May Allah set the governor right! She is only a woman—does anyone hold a woman accountable for her words? She is not taken to task for what she says, nor blamed for a slip of the tongue.”]

Abū Mikhnaf related—through al-Majālid ibn Saʿīd—that when Ibn Ziyād looked at ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn) he said to a guard, “See whether this boy has reached puberty; if he has, take him away and strike his neck.” The guard lifted his robe, then said, “Yes.” Ibn Ziyād ordered, “Take him away and behead him.” ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn said, “If there is any kinship between you and these women, then send with them a God-fearing man who will safeguard them.” Ibn Ziyād replied, “You go yourself,” and so he sent him with them.

Abū Mikhnaf also said: As for Sulaymān ibn Abī Rāshid, he told me—on the authority of Ḥumayd ibn Muslim—that I was standing beside Ibn Ziyād when ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn was brought before him. He asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “I am ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn.” Ibn Ziyād said, “Did not Allah kill ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn?” He remained silent. Ibn Ziyād asked, “Why do you not speak?” He replied, “I had a brother who was also called ʿAlī; the people killed him.” Ibn Ziyād said, “Allah killed him,” and again he stayed silent. He demanded, “Why do you not speak?” So ʿAlī recited: “Allah takes the souls at the time of their death” (39:42) and “No soul may die except by Allah’s leave” (3:145). Ibn Ziyād exclaimed, “By Allah, you are one of them! Woe to you—see whether he has reached puberty; by Allah, I think he is a man.” Murī ibn Muʿādh al-Aḥmarī uncovered him and said, “Yes, he has.” He ordered, “Kill him.” ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn said, “Who will be put in charge of these women?” and Zaynab clung to him