Poems 3

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Poems on Lady Zaynab by:

Sayed Ali Al-Mousawi Al-Khalkhali
Sahar Hussain

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Did you see them slaughter the son of Batool

[Written by Sayed Ali Al-Mousawi Al-Khalkhali]

Zaynab says, Zaynab says, Ya rasoolallah, Ya rasoolallah,
Did you see how they treated your grandson,
Did you see what happened when you had gone,
Did you see what they done oh Rasool,
Did you see them slaughter the son of Batool. On Ashura, they trampled upon Hussein’s chest,
From Ashura till now I Zaynab can’t rest,
On Ashura, the skies shed tears for Hussein,
From Ashura I’ve gone through ever so much pain.
Zaynab says, Zaynab says, Oh father, Oh father,
I have so much to tell you ya hayder,
Let me explain to you of the great murder,
We sacrificed Hussein, Abbas and Akber,
Furthermore, Furthermore, In the way of Allah we gave away Asgher,
Ya hayder, Ya hayder, They showed no respect for the holy family,
My beloved Hussein’s head on the spear we would see,
This is Hussein, who the prophet kissed always,
But now his head on the spear has been raised.
Zaynab says, Zaynab says, Oh mother, Oh mother,
Allow me to come towards your holy grave,
Let me inform you and just let me explain,
Let me tell you what just happened and complain,
Let me tell you how they slaughtered our Hussein.
On that tremendously hot and sunny day,
Upon the sands the body of Hussein lay,
Whilst his head would be carried up on the spear,
This event made all of us shed so much tears.
Zaynab says, Zaynab says, Ya Abbas, Ya Abbas,
Did you hear when the kids shouted Al-Atash,
They screamed when on the floor the water had splashed,
They shouted even louder when the men burnt down the Khiyam,
And then they snatched the hijab from the women.
From that day till now my hair has become white,
I start to cry for how much we sacrificed,
I shed so much tears every day every night,
I remember you and Hussein, when there is water in sight.
Zaynab says, Zaynab says, Ya Hussein, Ya Hussein,
Oh brother, did you see what happened when you’d gone,
Oh brother, did you see what they done to your son,
They chained your son Ali Zaynul Abideen,
And then they made him walk all the way bare feet.
They made him walk all the way from Karbala to Shaam,
This is how all of them treated our beloved Imam,
Patience and Sabr we must learn from As-Sajjad,
For he taught us how to cope when times are hard.

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Zainab's Promise

[Written by Sahar Hussain]

The dawn unveils a hidden eminence,
its radiance encompassing the lone commander,
as he steadily marches ahead.
With his every step he gains proximity with God
for he has dedicated his complete entity for His cause.
This is Hussain ibn Ali leading his caravan,
with his darling Abbas escorting him.
The sun meekly gazed down,
wishing to greet the little devotee,
whose rosy lips on eve of tenth night
shall plead for a single drop of water.
Ali Asghar smiled back,
reflecting his innocence
proving that he was only armed with childish gestures.
Hussain marched ahead,
complying to his Lord's command
for he knew that even death is sweet, if in Allah's way.
It is Zainab who kissed Al-Hussain's neck twice,
the first being the moment she fulfilled the promise,
that she made to her mother as a four year old.
The next, when she searched for little Sakina,
and found her with her arms wrapped around a severely bruised body.
Zainab kissed the torn veins of her beloved,
knowing that fate would distance them.
And yet when Ibn Ziyad asked about Kerbala,
my mistress replies "By God, I saw nothing but beauty".


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