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Basic information about Sayyida Sakinna bint al Husayn

Sayeda Sakina was the most beloved daughter of Hussain ibn Ali and used to sleep on his chest every night. Being the daughter of the third Imam, she was different from other children of her age in many ways. She was very religious and enjoyed reading the Holy Quran and never missed her prayers.

Scholarly rank of Sayyida Sakinna bint al Husayn

Sayyida (our mistress) Sukayna was a blessed daughter of our master Imām Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī-Ṭālib and Lady Rabāb, may Allāh be pleased with them all, and a princess of the family of the Prophet ṣall-Allāhu ʿalaihi wa-sallam.

She was granddaughter of our master Imām ʿAlī and our mistress Lady Fāṭima Zuhrā, and a great-granddaughter of the Lord of the Prophets ṣall-Allāhu ʿalaihi wa-sallam.

Her birth name was Amīna, but her mother gave her the title Sukayna and that became her name afterwards. Later, the pronunciation of the name changed to Sakīna which is more popular today than the original Sukayna.

She was the best of the noble ladies of her time, the most beautiful among them, the most elegant, and the nicest in mannerism.

Her beauty was unparalleled in the women of Arabia, to the extent that people would often exemplify a beautiful woman by saying that she had “the forehead of Sukayna.”

Marriage of Sayyida Sakinna bint al Husayn

When she grew up, she was married with Muṣʿab ibn Zubayr, son of the well known companion Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwam raḍiyAllāhu ʻanhu. From him, she had a daughter named Fāṭima. In 72 AH, her husband Muṣʿab was killed by the tyrant Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf, who sent his head to his brother ʿAbdu’llāh ibn Zubayr who had assumed the position of caliph.

When her husband was martyred, she said the following verses:

فَإِنْ تَقْتُلُوهُ تَقْتُلُوا الْمَاجِدَ الَّذِي … يَرَى الْمَوْتَ إِلا بِالسِّيُوفِ حَرَامَا
وَقَبْلَكَ مَا خَاضَ الْحُسَيْنُ مَنِيَّةً … إِلَى السَّيْفِ حَتَّى أَوْرَدُوهُ حِمَامَا

An imperfect translation:

“If they killed him, they have (previously) killed the glorified who considered death unlawful except by swords.

Before you, Ḥusayn embarked to the sword for (his) death, and they took him to death.”

By some historical accounts, she married a number of men after the martyrdom of her first husband. These include Ibrāhīm son of the great companion ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf.

Characteristics of Sayyida Sakinna bint al Husayn

She had inherited all the virtues and qualities of her ancestors. She faced extreme hardships throughout her life but faced them with patience and forbearance. Her generosity was a manifestation of her noble grandparents. One day, many poets had gathered at the door of her house, including the well known Jarīr and Farazdaq. She ordered her maid to give away one million dirhams to them.

Importance of Women leadership in Islam

No woman held religious titles in Islam, but many women held political power, some jointly with their husbands, others independently. The best-known women rulers in the premodern era include Khayzuran , who governed the Muslim Empire under three Abbasid caliphs in the eighth century; Malika Asma bint Shihab al-Sulayhiyya and Malika Arwa bint Ahmad al-Sulayhiyya , who both held power in Yemen in the eleventh century; Sitt al-Mulk , a Fatimid queen of Egypt in the eleventh century; the Berber queen Zaynab al-Nafzawiyah (r. 1061 – 1107 ); two thirteenth-century Mamluk queens, Shajar al-Durr in Cairo and Radiyyah in Delhi; six Mongol queens, including Kutlugh Khatun (thirteenth century) and her daughter Padishah Khatun of the Kutlugh-Khanid dynasty; the fifteenth-century Andalusian queen Aishah al-Hurra , known by the Spaniards as Sultana Madre de Boabdil ; Sayyida al-Hurra , governor of Tetouán in Morocco (r. 1510 – 1542 ); and four seventeenth-century Indonesian queens.

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