Heartiest congratulations to you on a very auspicious occasion. Today is the 5th of the month of Jamadi al-Awwal, a day celebrated in the Islamic Republic of Iran as the Nurse's Day in memory of the lady who nursed Islam back to life after history's most bloodcurdling tragedy. Yes, friends, today happens to be the birth anniversary of this noble lady, who is none other than the Heroine of Karbala, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her). Now we have a special feature on the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as follows:

"Zainab" in Arabic means Ornament of the Father, a name that the Prophet had chosen for his granddaughter on God's commandment, because of the resemblance of so many of her characteristics with that of her Immaculate Father, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Here the question might arise, as to what qualities did this blessed girl inherit from her Impeccable Mother, the noblest lady of all times, the Prophet's daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her)? In answer, we quote the famous Hadith Qodsi in which God tells mankind through the Prophet: "You model yourself on Me so that I become yours.” It is crystal clear that the Almighty Creator has no form, shape, or place, and anything that comes to imagination cannot certainly be the All-Glorious God. That is the reason God introduces to us His Last and Greatest of all Messengers, that is, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), as the "Excellent Exemplar" to mould our life upon, as mentioned in ayah 21 of Surah Ahzaab of the holy Qur'an. Accordingly, the faithful have always tried to tread the path of the Prophet on their way towards obtaining the Divine Promise of salvation, but, in the light of the Hadith Qodsi, since the Prophet is a male, who can be the model of emulation for virtuous women?

Surah Ahzaab again comes to our rescue, by drawing our attention to ayah 33 where God vouches the pristine purity of the _____select group called the Ahl al-Bayt that includes the Prophet, his son-in-law Imam Ali and two grandsons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), and which revolves around the peerless personality of the paragon-par-excellence for all virtuous women, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her). Ever since the revelation of this ayah, virtuous women in every age and geographical area have endeavoured to emulate the Lady who is without doubt the Pride of the Virgin Mary, but none of them have risen to the position where Hazrat Fatema (peace upon her) would say: I have become completely yours, or, you are my deputy – except in the case of her own perfectly impeccable elder daughter, Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her). Right since childhood, she was the embodiment of faith and virtue. This total devotion to God Almighty that she displayed during her entire life, even in the most adverse conditions, was present in her since birth, and flowered on various occasions through different traits, including generosity.

For instance, she was hardly four or five years old when her father brought a guest to the house in those days of severe economic hardships in Medina, and asked her mother whether there was some food to spare. Hazrat Fatema (peace upon her) replied there was just one piece of bread for little Zainab to eat after she gets up from sleep. The little girl who it seems had already woken up, immediately asked her mother to give her share of the food to the guest. This selfless trait of going without food was displayed later in life during imprisonment in the aftermath of the tragedy of Karbala when Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her), as the caretaker of the widows and orphans, would often give her share of the meagre food to the youngsters. Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her) was also the embodiment of knowledge ever since childhood. Once when she asked her father, Imam Ali (AS), whether he loved all his children, he replied in the positive, saying: “our children are lobes of our livers.” She then raised up the question that how could two types of love gather in a single heart, i.e. the love of God and the love of children. As a smiling father looked affectionately in anticipation of her reply, and later kissed her on the forehead, the little girl said: “I understand, love is exclusively for God while affection is for us (the children).”

Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her) was patience personified, to the extent that she was virtually as perfect as her incomparable mother. It was not for no reason that she is unanimously acknowledged as Sani-e Zahra or Deputy of Hazrat Fatema peace upon her). The Arabic word na'eb for deputy, means a representative with full authority in the complete sense of the term. In other words, the deputy should be as exalted as the one who is being represented, and should be fully qualified to deputise in that particular field. In order to understand the meaning of her epithet we have to cast a glance at the life of Prophets and Saints from Adam till Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and their Deputies and Legatees, who are immune from any major or minor sin, whether deliberate or inadvertent, and are also free of any mean characteristic or deficiency of character. Thus, it becomes clear that Hazrat Fatema (peace upon her) needed an immaculate deputy to demonstrate to the women of all times the greatness of Islam and the practical meaning of piety, virtue and feminine rights. Now it becomes clear to us, how the Heroine of Karbala set a lasting example of flawlessness, both during the tragedy, and during its equally tragic aftermath, in Kufa and Damascus, where her wisdom, courage, and eloquence shook the courts of the tyrants, and made people realize that she indeed embodied the unrivalled qualities of both her father and mother. We felicitate you once again on the auspicious birth anniversary of Hazrat Zainab (peace upon her), who nursed Islam back to life through her moving sermons and by establishing the life-inspiring mourning ceremonies for history's greatest martyrs that we continue to commemorate every year in the months of Moharram and Safar.