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The Role of
Women in Karbala'
Sheikh Mansour Leghaei
In the Name of God; the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
“Whoever works evil will not be requited but by the like
thereof, and whoever works a righteous deed whether man or woman
and is a believer such will enter Paradise , therein will they
have abundance without measure.” 40:40
Why Did Imam Hussain Take His Family?
One of the questions regarding the story of Karbala is why did
Imam Hussain take his family to Karbala, knowing he along with
his companions would all be martyred; knowing his wife, sister,
daughters and other girls and ladies would be taken as captives?
In general, when we go for a trip we usually don't take our
family with us, especially young children and babies, if we are
expecting some difficulties.
The question then arises as to why did the Imam take his family
with him?
To answer this question, I'm going to demonstrate as long as the
time permits, some of the roles ladies played in the story of
Karbala.
Karbala a Unique Story
There are some characteristics in the story of Karbala , which
has made it quite unique. As a matter of fact, it is such a
story that the more we study about it the more we discover its
magnificence.
Of the unique characteristics of the story of Karbala is that
people from different walks of life had a role and they all
played (fulfilled) their roles perfectly.
The battle of Karbala is such a unique battle in which men and
women, old and young, black and white, Arab and non-Arab had a
role. In the list of the martyrs of Karbala , we see the names
of 9 or 10 boys under the age of puberty. It is also interesting
to know, that among the martyrs of Karbala the names of 15
non-Arabs are glittering. The role of women also, was not just
in delivering the massage of the martyrs. They offered a
sacrifice in Karbala whose name is also glittering as an only
lady martyred in the path of Allah in Karbala .
The Role of Women in History
To find the role of women in Karbala , we need to first of all
to have a glance at the role of women in history and study the
different approaches in that regard.
Do women have any role in history at all or should they have
any? How does Islam view the matter?
No doubt, women have always had an indirect role in human
history; i.e. women were making men and men were making history.
In other words, women have always been behind the curtain of the
historical events good and/or bad. Women had more roles in
making the personality of men than men for women. (this argument
is sometimes suggested in the egg and chicken way)
My argument today is not about the indirect role of women and
the critics around it. What I'd like to bring to your
consideration today, is about the direct role of women, as to
whether they have had or could have any direct role in making
history?
Three Approaches
1. Male Oriented History:
The first answer to the question is negative. They hold that
women do not have, can not have and should not have any direct
role in society.
They corrupt the society, otherwise. Their mere duty is to bear
children, be a good mother for their children and a loyal wife
for her husband inside the house. Issues such as women and
education, women and politics, women and social affairs, women
and social careers, etc. are meaningless in this approach.
2. Male-Female History (corrupted): Feminism
In late Nineteen and early 20th Century, a new approach began to
rise under the name of liberation of women. They held that women
must have a direct role in society, as they are part of it.
You cannot segregate them from society and jail them at home.
Otherwise, in the long run it ruins their indirect role. In
order for a mother to perfectly carry on her motherly duty she
must be educated. Human education is the carrier of mothers
performing that, which requires education. An uneducated mother
fails to raise good children.
Women in the West became educated. Illiteracy among women is
nearly eradicated. The number of professional women in different
fields is increasing. So far so good. Nevertheless, the West
made a big mistake of ignoring a very vital fact in female
nature and hence imprisoned women in a different way. Woman in
the West came out of her house carrying the culture of
nakedness.
Woman by nature enjoys being precious for man. She does not like
to sell herself cheap. Men exploited women in a modern way under
the mask of educating women.
3. Male-Female History (Islamic):
In this approach both men and women have a direct role in
society but in their own orbit. The history of religion as
described in the Quran as a male-female history but not the way
practiced, nowadays, in the West. From the Islamic point of
view, both man and woman have their own direct role in history.
However, their role is not mixed with each other.
The story of Adam and Eve as the first humans is the starting
example. Despite the Biblical narration, the Holy Quran is
always addressing and blaming both Adam and Eve for what they
did.2
Despite the wrong teachings of the church, which for centuries
introduced woman a devil, and the origin of human sin, Islam
opens a new approach to the story.
Sarah, the wife of Ibrahim is praised so much in the Quran that
she is addressed directly by the Angels:
اتعجبین من امرالله؟ (11:73)
as
well as Hajar.
In the history of Moses, the role of his mother is also
highlighted along Moses:
واوحینا الی ام موسی (3:42)
This role becomes so vivid and outstanding that Maryam, the
mother of Jesus, is introduced in the Quran as the one who
directly communicates with the Angels:
اذ قالت الملائکه یا مریم (28:7)
It is true that women never carried the mission of Prophet-hood
because such a heavy duty does not befit their nature, yet this
will never degrade their spiritual position. We do believe that
Maryam, although she is not a prophet her status is higher than
some prophets. For instance, the non-prophet Maryam enjoys a
higher status than Prophet Zakariah.
The Role of Women in Islamic History
The Holy Quran demonstrates the highest status for women when it
comes to Islamic history. The smallest, yet the most profound
Surah in the Quran is revealed in regards to the only remaining
daughter of the Prophet. The Holy Quran has granted Lady Fatima
a unique title never found anywhere else in the Quran, i.e.: Al-Kouthar
meaning ‘Abundant Blessing'.
In the world that woman was considered to be devilish and the
origin of all human sins to the extent that having a baby girl
was a shame, the Holy Quran entitles the only daughter of the
last Messenger of God ‘The Abundant Blessing'. The first two
Muslims are Ali and Khadija, one a male and the other a female.
The first martyr in Islam is a female, Somayyah.
Our Imams had so many female students who were participating in
their lectures. The difference between them and today's female
students was they did not have to go to school with short
skirts! They segregated between the culture of nakedness and
education.
The woman of Islam is social, professional as well as chaste and
honorable. She never sells her body with the excuse of
education, profession and social careers.
Lady Fatima (A.S) was only 18 years old when she delivered her
very impressive lecture after the passing away of her father in
Madina Mosque. She had been addressing more than one thousand
Muslims, male and female, for an hour yet she never showed
herself to any male. You want my knowledge, fair enough, what
have you got to do with my body?
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