Role of Women in Economic Jihad: Karbala’s Heroines Pt. 5

This is part of a series anonymously submitted by a Lebanese academic. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

In times of war, Maria al-A’abdiyyah taught us the necessity of performing the Jihad of financing the resistance

Islam Honors Women

History does not know of a religion or a law that has honored women and elevated their status like Islam, which has deemed respect to them one of the foundations of true Iman (faith) due to the hardships of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and upbringing that they endure. The Holy Qur’an has highlighted various examples of righteous women who had an impact and a place in history.

The pre-Islamic era used to have superstitious bad omens about the birth of girls. The inherited, ignorant traditions allowed the father to bury his daughter alive for fear of poverty or shame. The Qur’an denounces that by saying: “And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked ‘For what sin was she killed?’” [At-Takwir: 8-9].  Besides, some ancient laws gave the father the right to sell his daughter if he wished, and others – such as the Code of Hammurabi – allowed him to hand her over to another man to kill her.

Islam came and considered the daughter a gift, a mercy, and a blessing from Allah: “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He gives to whom He wills females, and He gives to whom He wills males. Or He makes them both males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.” [Ash-Shura: 49-50].

Who is Maria al-A’abdiyyah?

Maria Al-A’abdiyah was one of the noble and virtuous women of Basra. Her father was a Christian before he converted to Islam, so she was born a Muslim. 

Maria Al-A’abdiyah played a great role in urging her people to support their Imam. Allah chosen her to practice the Jihad of clarification and the Jihad of spending money in the path of the glory of Islam. A group of martyrs who joined the camp of Imam Hussain were guided by her Basira, thanks to her urging them, her mobilization, and her provision of the travel expenses they needed.

No revolution has highlighted unique female figures – in which all the values ​​of greatness are integrated – as the Ashura Revolution did.  Through these women, the lofty goals for which Imam Hussain (as) and Islam as a whole rose were crystallized.

These pure and chaste women, along their men, embodied a model for challenging the darkness of injustice and achieving freedom, dignity, sacrifice, and redemption in their most complete forms, at a time when others fell humiliated and corrupted by money, prestige, power, and worldly interests.

Maria Al-A’abdiyah, known as Maria Al-Qibtiyya, played her great and important role in supporting Ashura uprising led by Imam Hussain (as). She embodied the pinnacle of loyalty, patience, certainty, and faith. The most prominent feature of Maria Al-A’abdiyah is that she made it clear to the Islamic nation that Imam Hussain is the only guardian of Islam and the Qur’an.

Maria Al-A’abdiyah in history books

First, it is not confirmed that Maria Al-A’abdiyah was the sister of Murrah ibn Munqidh al-Abdi, the killer of Martyr Ali al-Akbar, the son of Imam Hussain (as), although he was from the same tribe to which she belonged, which is the tribe of Abdul Qais, according to what was mentioned by al-Tabari.

Imam Hussain sent a letter to the nobles of Basra, and the letter stated:

“As for what follows, Allah chose Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) over His creation, honored him with his prophethood, and chose him to convey His message. Then Allah took him to Himself after he guided His servants and conveyed what he was sent with.  We are his family, his guardians, his trustees, his heirs, and the most deserving people to fill his position among the people. However, some people took that away from us. So, we show no interest in Caliphate because we hate division and prioritize the interest of the nation, despite our knowledge that we are more deserving of preserving Islam and the Qur’an. I call upon you to preserve the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, which have been dismissed while heresy has been revived. By listening to my words and obeying my commands, you will be guided to the path of righteousness.”

As mentioned earlier, Maria Al-A’abdiyah was one of the prominent Shi’i women in Basra. Her house was a refuge for the Shi’as. Gathering the people in her house indicates that she was a person of prestigious status, prestige, and honor in her society at that time, even the nobles of Basra, especially from her tribe, used to gather in the house.

Their choice of her house further indicates the state of caution and secrecy that the Shi’as of Basra were living in, so they chose that house to camouflage the Umayyad authority that deployed spies to oppress them.

When the news about Imam Hussain’s (as) letter reached her, Maria Al-A’abdiyah knew that only a few responded to him.

Thus she invited the nobles of Basra to her house. When they asked her why she was crying, she said to them: “Woe to you, I heard that Imam Hussain, the son of your Prophet’s daughter, sought your support and you did not support him! I am a woman, so what should I do?”

Maria al-A’abdiyah did not want her people to be the embodiment of verse 38 of Surat At-Tawbah: “What is the matter with you that when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah you adhere heavily to the earth? Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a little?”

Maria al-A’abdiyah did not want them to experience humiliation at the Day of Judgment, so she gathered all the money she had and emptied it in front of them and said: “Let each of you take what he needs and set out to support my master Imam al-Hussain.”

Only Martyr Yazid al-Abdi resolved to join the caravan of Imam Hussain (as) with two of his sons. He joined him in a place near Mecca, and accompanied him to Iraq where he was martyred after the martyrdom of his two sons.

Urging honest men who end up martyrs in Karbala

Al-Tabari says: Yazid bin Nubayt – who was from Abd al-Qays – decided to join Imam Hussain (pas). He had ten sons. He asked them: “Which of you will go out with me?” Two sons responded to him, they were Abdullah and Ubaydullah.

In the house of Maria al-Abdiyya, he addressed his companions: “I have decided to travel to Karbala.” They answered him: “We fear for you from the soldiers of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad.” He replied: “By Allah, despite the danger and hardship, the call of Imam Hussain when he summoned us, removed the fear from my heart.”

Then he mounted his horse until he reached the caravan of Imam Hussain (as). When Imam Hussain met him, he prayed for his well-being and recited to him verse 58 of Surah Yunus: “In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice.”  Then he fought with him until he and his two sons were martyred.

The Battle of the Camel in brief

Maria al-A’abdiyah’s father was a Coptic Christian who declared his Islam and pledged allegiance to Imam Ali (as) on the Day of Ghadir. Her husband and children were martyred during the Battle of the Camel that took place after the killing of the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, which was falsely blamed on Imam Ali

The battle was called the Battle of the Camel because the enemies of the Imam rode camels. The Muslims’ pledge of allegiance to Imam Ali (as) did not please those who plundered the Muslims’ money, as the Imam’s justice and adherence to Islam posed a threat to their interests, financial and otherwise. Hence, Talha, Al-Zubayr, and others decided to stir up strife among the Muslims in order to depose him. Imam Ali (as) made great efforts to avoid this strife, and he spared no effort in advising them and warning them of the consequences of that, but they were not deterred.

Imam Ali’s army consisted of 700 companions. When it reached Basra, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) renewed his warning, but they were stubborn and insisted on war.  He sent one of his companions to advise them, but they shot him with arrows until he was martyred.

The martyr’s mother said: “O Lord, a Muslim came to them reciting the verses of the Qur’an, so they dyed their beards with his blood while his mother was watching them.” Then they killed his brother as well. Imam Ali (as) said: “O Allah, bear witness to the treachery of those people.” When the war ended with a crushing victory for Imam Ali, he declared a general amnesty for those who stirred up sedition.

Maria al-A’abdiyah’s Jihadul Tabyeen (Struggle to Clarify [the Truth])

Maria al-A’abdiyah faced misleading propaganda aiming to delude Muslims into thinking that Imam Hussain’s uprising was a rebellion against the Caliph. She explained to those who were in religious and ideological crisis the sincerity of the Imam’s intentions, that he seeks reform in the nation of his grandfather (S).

When the news of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) and the captivity of his family reached Maria al-A’abdiyah, she sat at the door of her house yelling with anguish: “I am not crying for my own sake, but my crying is for Imam Hussain. I cried out to you and sought your help, but you did not answer him. Isn’t he the son of your Prophet’s daughter? Isn’t he the son of Sayyeda Zahra and Imam Ali al-Murtada (peace be upon them)? Isn’t he the beloved of the Messenger of Allah (S)!”

Maria al-A’abdiyah insisted on holding mourning rituals in grief for the Ahlul Bayt and exposing the injustices against them until her death.

Islam insistence on women’s jihad

During the time of the Umayyad tyrants, the heirs of the ignorance of the Quraysh, Maria al-A’abdiyah – the wife of a martyr and the mother of martyrs – fought for the sake of Islam with her money, her tongue, and her prayers. Through her struggle, she embodied the complementarity of the roles of women and men. 

Indeed, one of the most important things that the Holy Qur’an came with is that women and men are equal in origin, human characteristics, duties, and reward. Prophet Muhammad says, “Women are the twin halves of men.”

The Holy Quran says: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.” [An-Nisa: 1]. 

The Almighty created them from one soul and made from this soul a mate to cooperate with and be completed by, as He says in another verse “And He created from it its mate that he might find tranquility in her.” [Al-A’raf: 2].

Some religions unfortunately consider women to be an abomination of the devil, who must be fled from and resorted to a life of celibacy and monasticism. Others consider the wife to be a mere tool for the man, or a servant in his home, or nowadays following the advent of feminism, a servant of a corporation.

Islam came to declare the invalidity of monasticism, forbid celibacy, encourage marriage, and consider the wife to be a sign of Allah’s mercy in the universe. The Almighty says: “And among His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.” [Ar-Rum: 21].

Islam made Paradise the reward of every father who is good and patient in raising his daughters, disciplining them, and caring for them, and made his place next to the Prophet Muhammad (S) in Paradise.

With Islam, the birth of a girl is no longer a bad omen to be feared, but rather a blessing to be thanked for, a mercy to be hoped for, and a divine reward to be sought for the abundant divine reward that comes after her care. The Holy Qur’an has shown that some girls may have a greater impact than many sons, as in the story of Sayyeda Maryam (sa), whom Allah chose, purified, and selected over the women of the worlds, and blessed her with the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (as).

The Almighty says: “When the wife of Imran said, ‘My Lord, indeed I have vowed to You what is in my womb to be dedicated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.’ But when she delivered her, she said, ‘My Lord, indeed I have delivered a female.’ And Allah is most knowing of what she delivered, and the male is not like the female. And indeed, I have named her Mary, and indeed, I seek refuge for her and her offspring in You from Satan, the accursed.’ So her Lord accepted her with acceptance.  And He caused her to grow in a good manner” [Al Imran: 35-37].

Maria al-A’abdiyah: a role model in our time

The example of Maria al-A’abdiyah shows the state of distinction and distribution of roles between men and women and how her role is complementary to it. Her husband was a mujahid with Imam Ali (as) against the hypocrites in the Battle of the Camel until he was martyred with his children.

Her husband’s loyalty was perpetuated by her honorable sacrifice in support of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) to show humanity the status of the mujahid woman in fateful moments, especially today in light of the plots being plotted against the nation.

Today, the women of Palestine and Lebanon are showing how women resist with their patience and bearing of responsibility, and the same is the case with the women of Iran responding to the jihad of spending money and gold jewellery for the sake of the glory of the resistance, the glory of Islam.

This is the path of Lady Khadija, who spent her vast wealth to support the cause of Islam and was one of the first to affirm the truthfulness of the prophethood of her husband, Muhammad (S). This inspiration is not only limited to women. Edoardo Agnelli, the sole heir to the multi-billion dollar inheritance of the Agnelli dynasty of Italy, converted to Shi’a Islam, to prevent him from becoming another Khadija or Maria al-A’abdiyah who engaged in financial jihad by using wealth in a way that helps humanity and is pleasing to God, rather than the opposite which the majority of wealthy people on this earth do with what they have gained.

After being disinherited, Edoardo was subjected to various forms of psychological and even physical torture. He did not give up his beliefs. Once his cousin Umberto died and the inheritance was up for grabs, they voted to give it to his nephew John Elkann, who was only in his 20s. Aside from his general incompetence due to age, Elkann was the son of a powerful Jewish father who married Edoardo’s sister, who was Jewish by Talmudic law due to her mother being Jewish, even if her father was non-Jewish. Being an opponent of Zionism, Edoardo feared the Agnelli wealth would be used for the opposite of his Khadija-like dreams and aspirations. Once they saw that Edoardo was making efforts to undermine Elkann’s ascendancy, he was murdered in the year 2000 and it was made to look like a “suicide.”

All of what human beings have in the way of material possessions are truly the possession of Allah, not us. Therefore, whatever we have, big or small, should be used for His sake. We should always think about what we buy or spend on, even that which we spend on ourselves, and we should always have money set aside to support the Islamic cause. Men and women alike must learn from these figures so that their money and wealth is not a kindling for the flames of the hellfire, but rather a source of elevation in heaven.