- One aspect of Imam Hussain's uprising is the accompaniment of women and children, which is also considered one of the reasons for the immortality of the Ashura uprising.
Women and Children in Karbala
Accompanying women and children in Karbala:
When examining the uprising of Ashura, perhaps this question comes to our mind, why did Imam Hussain, peace be upon him, take women and children with him?! Therefore, in this article, we are trying to answer this question.
Lady Zainab (peace be upon her) and other women of Bani Hashem were narrators of Ashura and scandalizers of Bani Umayyah. As we say in the famous sentence: “If it wasn't for Zainab, Karbala would have been forgotten” and perhaps the main purpose of this companionship is the same, and it can be boldly said that this companionship and captivity, was a divine duty for them.
When Muhammad Hanafia, the brother of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), asked the Imam not to take women and children with him, the Imam replied: “I saw the Messenger of God in a dream, and he said about the women: “God wants to see them captive”.[1] The martyrdom of Imam Hussain and the captivity of women and children caused the cruel and faithless face of the Umayyads to be visible to the people and the righteousness of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) became brighter. In other words, legislative will; God's pleasure and satisfaction is that women will disgrace and defeat Bani Umayyah by accompanying Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and jihad of explanation.
Of course, there are other possibilities in accompanying women with the Imam, including that Medina or Mecca was not a safe city for the women and daughters of the Imam. At any moment, Yazid could threaten the Imam by arresting them, and the Imam would not be able to carry out his uprising. In this regard, Sayyid Ibn Tawoos writes: “One of the reasons that may be considered as the reason for the women of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, is that if Imam Hussain, peace be upon him, had left his women and children in Madinah or somewhere else, it would have been possible that Yazid bin Mu'awiyah would have arrested Imam’s women and children as hostages. In this case, bad consequences and bad behavior could have happened to them, which prevented Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) from jihad and martyrdom”.[2]
As a result, accompanying women and children with Imam Hussain (a.s) was the best tactic that he used in his uprising and defeated the Umayyads.[3]