ʿIṣmat ad-Dīn Khātūn (Arabic: عصمت الدين خاتون; died 1186), also known as Asimat, was the daughter of Mu'in ad-Din Unur, regent of Damascus. She had been the wife of two of the greatest Muslim generals of the 12th century, Nur ad-Din and Saladin.
Ismat ad-Din is a laqab (the descriptive part of an Arabic name) meaning "purity of the faith"; Khatun is an honorific meaning "lady" or "noblewoman”. Her given name (ism in Arabic) is unknown.[1] Her father became regent of Damascus in 1138, and ruled the city on behalf of a series of young emirs of the Burid dynasty. During this time, Damascus' chief rivals to the north, Aleppo and Mosul, were united under the rule of the Zengid dynasty. Damascus had maintained an unsteady alliance with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but in 1147, Mu'in ad-Din negotiated an alliance with the Zengid emir of Aleppo, Nur ad-Din, who had an engagement with Ismat ad-Din as part of the agreement.[2] The next year, forces of Second Crusade conducted the unsuccessful Siege of Damascus, and Mu'in ad-Din was forced to recognize Nur ad-Din, who had come to his rescue against the crusaders, as overlord of the city.
Ismat ad-Din Khatun's father died in 1149 and her marriage with Nur ad-Din also happened that year when Nur ad-Din gained complete control over Damascus by 1154. However, the majority of sources claimed that Nur ad-Din and Ismat ad Din's marriage was never consummated as both of them never actually met with each other and the marriage was only a part of the agreement with Mu'in ad-Din. It is also noted by Ibn Athir and Asad al Asadi that Ismat ad-Din's marriage with Saladin was proclaimed as her first marriage publicly and her marriage with Nur ad-Din was not public until he died and Saladin married Ismat ad-Din to gain control over that territory. Nur ad-Din's wife Razi Khatun, who was the mother his daughters Shams un Nisa, Aqsa un Nisa (Saladin's wife) and a son named As-Salih, also denied anything that solidifies Ismat ad-Din's complete marriage with Nur ad-Din.
When Nur ad-Din died in 1174, King Amalric I of Jerusalem took advantage of the situation and besieged the city of Banias. Ismat offered him a bribe to lift the siege, but, hoping for a larger offer, Amalric continued the siege for two weeks, until finally accepting the money along with the release of twenty Christian prisoners. William of Tyre describes Ismat as having "courage beyond that of most women" in this matter.[3] Nur ad-Din's former general Saladin had meanwhile gained control over Egypt, and claimed Damascus as his successor. He legitimized this claim by marrying Ismat at-Din in 1176. She was apparently not his only wife.[4]
In 1186, she died of the plague epidemic that broke out in Damascus.[5] Other sources states that she was suffering from Tuberculosis at the time which was proven fatal for her. However, by the time she died, Saladin was writing letters to her every day; as he was himself recovering from a lengthy illness at the time, news of her death was kept from him for three months.[6]
In Damascus, she was the benefactor of numerous religious buildings,[5] including a madrasa and a mausoleum for her father.[7] She was buried in the Jamaa' al-Jadid in Damascus. She had no children with Nur ad-Din as their marriage was never consummated, but she also didn't have any children with Saladin or nothing was recorded about it in history. Most people claim Saladin's daughter Munisa'h Khatun to be Ismat's daughter. However, sources backing this fact are unclear.
^R. Stephen Humphreys, "Women as Patrons of Religious Architecture in Ayyubid Damascus" (Muqarnas, vol. 11, 1994), pg. 43.
^Ibn al-Qalanisi says she left for Aleppo with Nur ad-Din's envoys on April 17, but he does not give, or does not know, her name. The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi, trans. H. A. R. Gibb (Luzac, 1932, repr. Dover Publications, 2002), pg. 276.
^William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond The Sea, trans E.A. Babcock and A.C. Krey (Columbia University Press, 1943), vol. 2, bk. 20, ch. 31, pg. 395. William also does not give her name.
^"...apart from references to Nur al-Din's widow Ismat al-Din Khatun...there are almost no details to be found about his wives or the slave girls who bore him children..." Lyons & Jackson 1982, p. 185.
Ismat ad-Din Khatun (d. January 26, 1186), also known as Asimat, was the daughter of Mu'in ad-Din Unur, regent of Damascus, and wife of two of the greatest Muslim generals of the 12th century, Nur ad-Din and Saladin.
Ismat ad-Din is a laqab (the descriptive part of an Arabic name) meaning "purity of the faith" Khatun is an honorific meaning "lady" or "noblewoman". Her given name (ism in Arabic) is unknown. Her father became regent of Damascus in 1138 and ruled the city on behalf of a series of young emirs of the Burid dynasty. During this time, Damascus' chief rivals to the north, Aleppo and Mosul, were united under the rule of the Zengid dynasty. Damascus had maintained an unsteady alliance with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but in 1147, Mu'in ad-Din negotiated an alliance with the Zengid emir of Aleppo, Nur ad-Din, who married Ismat ad-Din as part of the agreement.
The next year, forces of the Second Crusade conducted the unsuccessful Siege of Damascus, and Mu'in ad-Din was forced to recognize Nur ad-Din, who had come to his rescue against the crusaders, as overlord of the city. Ismat ad-Din Khatun's father died in 1149, and her husband gained complete control over Damascus by 1154.
When Nur ad-Din died in 1174, King Amalric I of Jerusalem took advantage of the situation and besieged the city of Banias. Ismat offered him a bribe to lift the siege, but, hoping for a larger offer, Amalric continued the siege for two weeks, until finally accepting the money along with the release of twenty Christian prisoners. William of Tyre described Ismat as having "courage beyond that of most women" in this matter. Nur ad-Din's former general Saladin had meanwhile gained control over Egypt and claimed Damascus as his successor. He legitimized this claim by marrying Ismat ad-Din in 1176. She was apparently not Saladin's only wife. However, by the time she died in 1186, Saladin was writing letters to her every day. As Saladin was himself recovering from a lengthy illness at the time, news of her death was kept from him for three months.
Ismat ad-Din had no children with either Nur ad-Din or Saladin. In Damascus she was the benefactor of numerous religious buildings, including a madrasa and a mausoleum for her father. She was buried in the Jamaa' al-Jadid in Damascus.
Sakina bint al-Husayn(b. between 667 and 671 CC – d. April 8, 671), also known as Amina was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. She was the daughter of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shi'a Imam, and Rubab bint Imra al-Qais. Sakina was a young child in 680 at Karbala, where she witnessed the massacre of her father and his supporters by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid (r. 676–680). The women and children, among them Sakina, were marched to the capital Damascus, where they were paraded in the streets and then imprisoned.
Sakina or Sukayna (lit.'tranquility, peace') was the epithet given to her by her mother, while her name is variously given in the sources as Aminaor Umayma. Her father was Husayn ibn Ali (d. 680), the third Shi'a Imam and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632). Sakina was born to the first wife of Husayn, Rubab, who was the daughter of Imra' al-Qays ibn Adi, a chief of the Banu Kalb tribe. After remaining childless for some years, Sakina was the first child of the couple and possibly Husayn's eldest daughter, although some have reported that his eldest daughter was Fatima, born to Umm Ishaq bint Talha, the widow of Hasan ibn Ali (d. 670), whom Husayn married to fulfil the last wishes of his brother. Sakina was born in Medina, but her birth year is not known with certainty. Various reports give the years 47, 49, or 51 AH, that is, circa 671 CC.
Husayn denounced the accession of the Umayyad caliph Umayyad Yazid ibn Mu'awiya in 680. When pressed by Yazid's agents to pledge his allegiance, Husayn first left his hometown of Medina for Mecca and later set off for Kufa in modern-day Iraq, accompanied by his family and a small group of supporters. Among them was Sakina, a young child at the time, aged between five and twelve. Their small caravan was intercepted and massacred in Karbala, near Kufa, by the Umayyad forces who first surrounded them for some days and cut off their access to the nearby river Euphrates. As a young child, Sakina is often the narrator of Karbala in Shi'a ritual commemorations, and a common narrative in commemoration of the massacre is that Sakina threw herself in front of Husayn's horse when he was leaving for the battlefield to spend a few more seconds with her father before he was killed. When Husayn was beheaded, the Umayyad soldiers pillaged his camp and severed the heads of Husayn and his fallen companions, which they then raised on spears for display. Another common commemorative narrative is that Sakina's earrings were violently torn from her ears during the pillage. The women and children were then taken captive and marched to Kufa and later the capital Damascus. The captives were paraded in the streets of Damascus and then imprisoned for an unknown period of time. Out of modesty, Sakina may have asked Sahl ibn Sa'd, a companion of Muhammad, to convince the soldier carrying his father's head to walk at some distance to avoid the gazes of the onlooking crowds in Damascus.
The prominent Twelver traditionist Majlesi (d. 1699) describes in his Bihar al-anwara dream he attributes to Sakina, in which she saw her grandmother Fatima (d. 632), daughter of Muhammad, mourning in the heaven while holding the blood-stained shirt of Husayn. The captives were eventually freed by Yazid. They were allowed to return to Medina.
Sakina was of marriage age at Karbala by some accounts, according to which Husayn had earlier allowed his nephew Hasan ibn Hasan (d. 715) to decide which cousin he would marry, Sakina or Fatima. The first marriage of the young Sakina was to Abd-Allah ibn Hasan, another cousin, who was killed in Karbala. This marriage was probably not consummated, and she never remarried by some Shi'a accounts. In particular, only this childless marriage to Abd-Allah is mentioned by the Twelver scholars al-Mufid (d. 1022) in his biographical Kitab al-irshad and by Tabarsi (d. 1153) in his E'lam al-wara'. Alternatively, some Shi'a and Sunni authors write that Sakina later married Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, the Zubayrid governor of Iraq, who was killed in 691 by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705). The couple had a daughter, named Fatima, who died in childhood. These authors include the Shi'a jurist Ibn Shahrashub (d. 1192) in his biographical Manaqib ale Abi Talib and the Sunni historian Ibn Khallikan (d. 1282) in his Kitab al-kawakib.
Caliph Abd al-Malik proposed to Sakina after the death of her husband Mus'ab but was turned down, and she apparently rejected marriage proposals by men of power for political reasons. She later returned to Medina from Kufa, where the couple lived. Quoted by the Sunni jurist Ibn Qutayba (d. 889) in his biographical Uyun al-akhbar, there is a tradition that some Kufans wanted her to stay but she reproached them for killing her grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib, her father Husayn, her uncle, and her husband Mus'ab. The caliphate of Ali (r. 656–661) indeed ended with his assassination in Kufa.
Sakina later married Abd-Allah ibn Uthman ibn Abd-Allah, according to Ibn Shahrashub and the Shi'a historian Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 819). The couple had three children, named Uthman, Hakim, and Rubayha. When Abd-Allah died, Sakina by some accounts married Zayd ibn Amr, the grandson of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656). She died as his widow, according to the Islamicist Rizwi Faizer. Alternatively, she may have married Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf after Zayd died. Neither of the last two marriages is said to have lasted and both are reported in Manaqib ale Abi Talib and Uyun al-akhbar.
Various other accounts state that either or both of Zayd and Uthman divorced her, and some add Asbagh ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan in Egypt as another husband. He reportedly died even before Sakina arrived there.
While it was not uncommon among her tribe of Quraysh for a woman to marry several times, the modern linguist Albert Arazi suggests that the reports of her many marriages are tendentious. Some have similarly argued that such reports are defamatory and contradictory, possibly fabricated by those opposed to the Alids, who are the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Sakina is described by early biographical sources as beautiful, generous, wise, and modest (afif). Her social standing was high, and she is listed as a trustworthy (theqa) narrator of by the Sunni traditionist Ibn Hibban in his Kitab al-Thiqat. She was visited by the Quraysh elders, and attended the meetings of their tribal council. She was also highly critical of the Umayyads. Whenever her grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib was cursed from the Umayyad pulpits, Sakina returned their curse, according to al-Isfahani and the Sunni historian Ibn Asakir (d. 1176). There are also controversial reports that she was not veiled in public, that she insisted in her marriage contracts on her autonomy and on her husband's monogamy, that she took one of her husbands to court for violating this clause, and that a hairstyle carried her name. The Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist Fatema Mernissi (d. 2015) thus considers Sakina as a symbol against forced hijab, while the Egyptian biographer Aisha al-Rahman (d. 1998) regards such reports fabricated by the anti-Alids; among them were the Umayyads.
Sakina was also noted for her eloquence and poetry. She is said to have hosted at her house poets whom she listened to and offered her feedback and monetary reward (sela) from behind a curtain or through a maid. The guests may have included the contemporary poets al-Farazdaq (d. c. 728), Jarir ibn Atiya (d. 728), and Kuthayyir (d. 723). She also reportedly arbitrated disagreements among poets or their supporters. Such reports are scattered in the early sources, including the biographical Tazkirat ul-khawas by the Sunni scholar Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256-7) and Kitab al-Aghani, a collection of poems by the early historian and musicologist Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967). At the same time, the credibility of these reports has been questioned by some Shi'a authors, including the prominent Twelver theologian al-Hilli (d. 1325). Yet some others have suggested that such reports may refer not to Sakina bint Husayn but to Sakina bint Khalid ibn Mus'ab Zubayri. In particular, an elegy is ascribed to her in memory of her father Husayn, which ends as follows.
O my eyes, occupy yourself in weeping all your life; weep with tears of blood, not for a child, family or friends, rather for the son of the Apostle of God. Pour out your tears and blood.
Sakina died in Medina on 5 Rabi' al-Awwal 117 AH (April 8, 735) at the age of sixty-eight and during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743), according to Ibn Asakir and the Sunni historian al-Baladhuri (d. 892). This is also reported by the Sunni biographer Ibn Sa'd (d. 845) and by the Sunni traditionist al-Nawawi (d. 1277). Other given dates in the early sources are 92 AH (710-1) and 94 AH (712-3). Another report states that she died in Kufa at the age of seventy-seven, though Mernissi finds this unlikely. Yet there are also reports that she died in Mecca, Damascus, or Egypt. Sakina was buried in al-Baqi cemetery, but there is also a shrine attributed to her in Cairo, Egypt. There is yet another tomb in the Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus and another one existed in Tiberias, Palestine. Both are falsely attributed to Sakina, according to the historian Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229), who considers Medina to be her resting place.
Sakīna bint al-Ḥusayn (Arabic: سكينة بنت الحسين) (between 667 and 671 CE – 8 April 671), also known as Āmina (Arabic: آمنة), was a descendant of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. She was the daughter of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shia Imam, and Rubab bint Imra al-Qais. Sakina was a young child in 680 at Karbala, where she witnessed the massacre of her father and his supporters by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid (r. 676–680). The women and children, among them Sakina, were marched to the capital Damascus, where they were paraded in the streets and then imprisoned.
Sakina or Sukayna (Arabic: سكينة, lit. 'tranquility, peace') was the epithet given to her by her mother,[1][2] while her name is variously given in the sources as Āmina (Arabic: آمنة) or Amīna (Arabic: اَمینة) or Umayma (Arabic: اُمیمة). The last one is less likely, however.[2] Her father was Husayn ibn Ali (d. 680), the third Shia Imam and the grandson of the Islamic prophetMuhammad (d. 632). Sakina was born to the first wife of Husayn, Rubab, who was the daughter of Imra' al-Qays ibn Adi, a chief of the Banu Kalb tribe.[3] After remaining childless for some years,[3] Sakina was the first child of the couple and possibly Husayn's eldest daughter,[3] although some have reported that his eldest daughter was Fatima,[4][5][6][2] born to Umm Ishaq bint Talha, the widow of Hasan ibn Ali (d. 670), whom Husayn married to fulfil the last wishes of his brother.[7][3] Sakina was born in Medina,[5] but her birthdate is not known with certainty.[8][2] Various reports give the years 47,[5] 49,[9] or 51 AH,[5] that is, circa 671 CE.[9] The Islamicist Wilferd Madelung places her birth sometime after the 661 assassination of her grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam.[3]
Husayn denounced the accession of the Umayyad caliphYazid ibn Mu'awiya in 680. When pressed by Yazid's agents to pledge his allegiance, Husayn first left his hometown of Medina for Mecca and later set off for Kufa in modern-day Iraq, accompanied by his family and a small group of supporters. Among them was Sakina, a young child at the time, aged between five and twelve.[8] Their small caravan was intercepted and massacred in Karbala, near Kufa, by the Umayyad forces who first surrounded them for some days and cut off their access to the nearby river Euphrates.[3] As a young child, Sakina is often the narrator of Karbala in Shia ritual commemorations,[10][11] and a common narrative in commemoration of the massacre is that Sakina threw herself in front of Husayn's horse when he was leaving for the battlefield to spend a few more seconds with her father before he was killed.[12] When Husayn was beheaded, the Umayyad soldiers pillaged his camp,[13][14] and severed the heads of Husayn and his fallen companions, which they then raised on spears for display.[14] Another common commemorative narrative is that Sakina's earrings were violently torn from her ears during the pillage.[15] The women and children were then taken captive and marched to Kufa and later the capital Damascus.[13] The captives were paraded in the streets of Damascus,[16] and then imprisoned for an unknown period of time.[17] Out of modesty, Sakina may have asked Sahl ibn Sa'd, a companion of Muhammad, to convince the soldier carrying his father's head to walk at some distance to avoid the gazes of the onlooking crowds in Damascus.[2] The prominent Twelver traditionist Majlesi (d. 1699) describes in his Bihar al-anwar a dream he attributes to Sakina, in which she saw her grandmother Fatima (d. 632), daughter of Muhammad, mourning in the heaven while holding the blood-stained shirt of Husayn.[18] The captives were eventually freed by Yazid.[17] They were allowed to return to Medina,[19] or were escorted there.[17]
Sakina was of marriage age at Karbala by some accounts, according to which Husayn had earlier allowed his nephew Hasan ibn Hasan (d. 715) to decide which cousin he would marry, Sakina or Fatima.[2][5] The first marriage of the young Sakina was to Abd-Allah ibn Hasan,[2][5] another cousin, who was killed in Karbala. This marriage was probably not consummated,[2][5] and she never remarried by some Shia accounts.[2] In particular, only this childless marriage to Abd-Allah is mentioned by the Twelver scholars al-Mufid (d. 1022) in his biographical Kitab al-irshad and by Tabarsi (d. 1153) in his E'lam al-wara'.[2] Alternatively, some Shia and Sunni authors write that Sakina later married Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, the Zubayrid governor of Iraq, who was killed in 691 by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705).[2][20] The couple had a daughter, named Fatima, who died in childhood.[2] These authors include the Shia jurist Ibn Shahrashub (d. 1192) in his biographical Manaqib ale Abi Talib and the Sunni historian Ibn Khallikan (d. 1282) in his Kitab al-kawakib.[2] Caliph Abd al-Malik proposed to Sakina after the death of her husband Mus'ab but was turned down,[2] and she apparently rejected marriage proposals by men of power for political reasons.[9] She later returned to Medina from Kufa, where the couple lived. Quoted by the Sunni jurist Ibn Qutayba (d. 889) in his biographical Uyun al-akhbar, there is a tradition that some Kufans wanted her to stay but she reproached them for killing her grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib, her father Husayn, her uncle, and now her husband Mus'ab.[9][2] The caliphate of Ali (r. 656–661) indeed ended with his assassination in Kufa.[21]
Sakina later married Abd-Allah ibn Uthman ibn Abd-Allah, according to Ibn Shahrashub and the Shia historian Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 819). The couple had three children, named Uthman, Hakim, and Rubayha.[2] When Abd-Allah died, Sakina by some accounts married Zayd ibn Amr,[2] the grandson of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656).[22] She died as his widow, according to the Islamicist Rizwi Faizer.[22] Alternatively, she may have married Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf after Zayd died. Neither of the last two marriages is said to have lasted and both are reported in Manaqib ale Abi Talib and Uyun al-akhbar.[2] Various other accounts state that either or both of Zayd and Uthman divorced her,[2] and some add Asbagh ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan in Egypt as another husband. He reportedly died even before Sakina arrived there.[2][1] While it was not uncommon among her tribe of Quraysh for a woman to marry several times, the modern linguist Albert Arazi suggests that the reports of her many marriages are tendentious.[23] Some have similarly argued that such reports are defamatory and contradictory, possibly fabricated by those opposed to the Alids, who are the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib.[2]
Sakina is described by early biographical sources as beautiful,[9][23] generous,[23][24][2] wise,[25] and modest (afif).[24][23][2] Her social standing was high,[23] and she is listed as a trustworthy (theqa) narrator of hadith by the Sunni traditionist Ibn Hibban in his Kitab al-Thiqat.[2] She was visited by the Quraysh elders,[26] and attended the meetings of their tribal council.[27] She was also highly critical of the Umayyads.[9][2][22] Whenever her grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib was cursed from the Umayyad pulpits, Sakina returned their curse,[23] according to al-Isfahani and the Sunni historian Ibn Asakir (d. 1176).[2] There are also controversial reports that she was not veiled in public,[23][22] that she insisted in her marriage contracts on her autonomy and on her husband's monogamy,[22][27] that she took one of her husbands to court for violating this clause,[28] and that a hairstyle carried her name.[23][22] The Moroccanfeminist writer and sociologist Fatema Mernissi (d. 2015) thus considers Sakina as a symbol against forced hijab,[29] while the Egyptian biographer Aisha Abd al-Rahman (d. 1998) regards such reports fabricated by the anti-Alids; among them were the Umayyads.[2]
Sakina was also noted for her eloquence and poetry.[30][2][23] She is said to have hosted at her house poets whom she listened to and offered her feedback and monetary reward (sela) from behind a curtain or through a maid.[2][23] The guests may have included the contemporary poets al-Farazdaq (d. c. 728), Jarir ibn Atiya (d. 728), and Kuthayyir (d. 723).[2][26] She also reportedly arbitrated disagreements among poets or their supporters.[30][2] Such reports are scattered in the early sources, including the biographical Tazkirat ul-khawas by the Sunni scholar Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256-7) and Kitab al-Aghani, a collection of poems by the early historian and musicologist Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967). At the same time, the credibility of these reports has been questioned by some Shia authors, including the prominent Twelver theologian al-Hilli (d. 1325). Yet some others have suggested that such reports may refer not to Sakina bint Husayn but to Sakina bint Khalid ibn Mus'ab Zubayri.[2] In particular, an elegy is ascribed to her in memory of her father Husayn, which ends as follows.
O my eyes, occupy yourself in weeping all your life; weep with tears of blood, not for a child, family or friends, rather for the son of the Apostle of God. Pour out your tears and blood.[31]
Gate to the shrine attributed to Sakina in the Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus
Sakina died in Medina on 5 Rabi' al-Awwal 117 AH (8 April 735) at the age of sixty-eight and during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743),[20] according to Ibn Asakir and the Sunni historian al-Baladhuri (d. 892).[2] This is also reported by the Sunni biographer Ibn Sa'd (d. 845) and by the Sunni traditionist al-Nawawi (d. 1277).[2] Other given dates in the early sources are 92 AH (710-1) and 94 AH (712-3). Another report states that she died in Kufa at the age of seventy-seven, though Mernissi finds this unlikely.[20] Yet there are also reports that she died in Mecca, Damascus, or Egypt.[2][5] Sakina was buried in al-Baqi cemetery, but there is also a shrine attributed to her in Cairo, Egypt.[2] There is yet another tomb in the Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus and another one existed in Tiberias, Palestine. Both are falsely attributed to Sakina, according to the historian Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229), who considers Medina to be her resting place.[2]
Ayoub, Mahmoud M. (1978). Redemptive Suffering in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura in Twelver Shi'ism. De Gruyter. ISBN9789027979438.
Esposito, John L., ed. (2022). "Zaynab". The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-516520-3.
Faizer, Rizwi (2004). "SUKAYNA (671-737)". In Martin, Richard C. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world. Vol. 2. MacMillan Reference USA. p. 657. ISBN0028656059.
Haider, Najam (2014). Shi'i Islam: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9781316061015.
Qutbuddin, Tahera (2019). "Orations of Zaynab and Umm Kulthūm in the Aftermath of Ḥusayn's Martyrdom at Karbala: Speaking Truth to Power". In Korangy, Alireza; Rouhi, Leyla (eds.). The 'Other' Martyrs: Women and the Poetics of Sexuality, Sacrifice, and Death in World Literatures. Eisenbrauns. ISBN9783447112147.
Name: Rukaiyya (also known as Sakina) Sukaina(Arabic:سكينة "Calmness, Peace of Mind"[1]) (n�eRuqayyah bint Hussain) Father: Imam Husayn-bin-Ali-bin-Abu Talib (as) Mother: Bibi Umm-e-Rubab(the daughter of the chief of the Kinda Imra al-Qays tribe) Birth: 20th Rajab, 56 AH � 5Rabi' al-thani, 117 AH;[2]676�736) Death: 10th/13 th Safar, Damascus, Syria
Bibi Sakina was the youngest daughter of Imam Husayn. She was a vivacious child, full of love and happiness. Everyone loved Sakina. She was also a very religious girl. She enjoyed reading the Holy Quraan and never missed her prayers. From the age of two she took great care to make sure that her head and face were properly covered when in public.
Sakina was Imam Husayn's most beloved child. Our Imam was often heard to say, �A house without Sakina would not be worth living in!� She always had a sweet and cheerful smile and a very friendly nature. Other children sought her company as much as the grown ups did. She was very generous and always shared whatever she had with others.
There was a special bond between Hazrat Abbas and Sakina. He loved her more than he did his own children. If Sakina requested for anything, Abbas would not rest until he satisfied her request. There was nothing that Abbas would not do to make Sakina happy.
During the journey from Madina to Mecca and then Mecca to Karbala�, Abbas was often seen riding up to the mehmil in which Sakina sat to make sure that she had everything she wanted. Sakina loved her uncle just as much. While in Madina she would, several times a day, visit the house in which Hazrat Abbas lived with his family and his mother, Ummul Baneen.
Like any other four-five year old when Sakina went to bed at night she wanted to spend some time with her father. Imam Husayn would tell her stories of the prophets and of the battles fought by her grand-father Ali. She would rest her head on her father's chest and Husayn would not move from her until she fell asleep. When from the second of Muharram the armies of Yazid began to gather at Karbala�, Husayn said to his sister Zainab, �The time has come for you to get Sakina used to going to sleep without my being there!� Sakina would follow her father at night and Husayn had to gently take her to Zainab or Rubaab.
At Karbala� when from the seventh Muharram water became scarce Sakina shared whatever little water she had with other children. When soon there was no water at all, the thirsty children would look at Sakina hopefully, and because she could not help them she would have tears in her eyes. Sakina's lips were parched with thirst.
On the Ashura day, she gave her Mashk to Hazrat Abbas. He went to get water for her. The children gathered round Sakina with their little cups, knowing that as soon as Hazrat Abbas brought any water, Sakina would first make sure that they had some before taking any herself. When Sakina saw Imam Husayn bringing the blood drenched 'alam she knew that her uncle Abbas had been killed. From that day on Sakina never complained of thirst.
Then came the time when the earth shook and Sakina became an orphan! But even then she always thought of the others first. She would console her mother on the death of Ali Asghar and when she saw any other lady or child weeping Sakina would put her little arms around her.
Yes Sakina never again asked anyone for water. Bibi Zainab would persuade her to take a few sips, but she herself would never ask for water or complain of thirst!!!!
From the time when Imam Husayn fell in the battle field, Sakina forgot to smile! Kufa saw her as a sombre little girl lost in thought. Quite often she would sit up at night. When asked if she wanted anything, she would say, �I just heard a baby cry? Is it Asghar? He must be calling out for me!�
Knowing that her weeping upset her mother, Sakina would cry silently and quickly wipe away her tears! In the prison in Shaam she would stare at the flock of birds flying to their nests at sunset and innocently ask Bibi Zainab, �Will Sakina be going home like those birds flying to their homes?�
Then one dreadful night Sakina went to bed on the cold floor of the prison. For a long time she stared into the darkness! The time for the morning prayers came. Sakina was still lying with her eyes wide open. Her mother called out: �Wake up, Sakina! Wake up, it is time for prayers, my child!� There was only the painful silence! Our fourth Imam walked up to where Sakina lay. He put his hand on her forehead. It was cold! He put his hand near the mouth and the nose. Sakina had stopped breathing. In between sobs Imam Zain ul 'Abideen said: �inna lil-Lahi wa inna ilay-hi raja�uun.�
How was Sakina buried? Zainab held the still child as Imam Zain ul 'Abideen dug a grave in the cell. As the grave was being filled up after the burial the mother let out a scream! How could anyone console Bibi Rubaab? What could they say? They huddled around her, and the prison walls began to shake with the cry:�ya Sakina, ya madhloomah!!�Bibi Rubaab put her cheek on Sakina's grave and cried out: �Speak to me, Sakina! Only a word, my child! Speak to me!!�
