Saturday, January 20, 2007

Martyr Bint-ul-Huda

Well we all know of bintulhuda sister of the Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr and those who don't here's a short intro of her:

The passing of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr,one of the greatest men in history, a man who dedicated every ounce of his life to serving Islam.

It is now time to reflect on a woman who had a similar cause, whose life was shared with the Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and who also died in the line of Islam. This woman is none other than Martyr Bint al-Huda.

Also known as Bint al-Huda, Amina was the daughter of Al Sayyed Haider al-Sadr and the sister of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. She was born in Khadhimain, Iraq, in the year 1936 (1356 AH).

Her father passed away when she was but a year old, and into the guardianship of her maternal uncles she went. After this, she spent the rest of her life with her brother M.B. al-Sadr until they were both executed.

Amina shared a very strong bond with her brother M.B. al-Sadr. This may be the reason why she refused to marry, for she preferred to live with him. She was brought up loving knowledge, reading various kinds of books, which included science and religion, despite her living a poor life.

This love for knowledge continued throughout her childhood, and she preferred to isolate herself in order to spend time reading and writing. Her time was precious and she did not spend it socializing about irrelevant issues.

Instead, she would have gatherings that involved discussing various contemporary and religious issues. With the aid of her brother, Amina was educated in fiqh, usool, philosophy and logic. As a result, she became famous in knowledge and literature.

Amina was very active in Islam. She supervised private Islamic Schools for girls in Najaf and Khadhimain. Unfortunately, she was forced to abandon this duty due to pressures from the Iraqi Regime as a result of their discontinuation of such schools in 1968.

However, this did not prevent Amina from teaching Islam. She devoted her time teaching Islamic Fiqh, Ideology, and Tafsir al-Quran. Through this, she educated and recruited a large number of university students, doctors and engineers. Her continuous efforts made hijab one of the hallmarks of a committed Muslim girl and spread vastly during the late sixties and seventies.

Furthermore, in the early sixties, she wrote eye catching articles in the Adhwaa magazine (discontinued by the Iraqi government in 1968). She was the author of numerous novels, and through these novels, she portrayed the Islamic Ideologies pertaining to women, faith and social issues.


She was targeted by the government, but because her brother was their priority, she was left
aside.

When her brother was arrested on the 17th of Rajab 1979, she went to the public and in Imam Alis shrine, called and informed the people that their Marja M.B. al-Sadr was arrested by the Baath Regime.

When al-Sadr was arrested again on 19 Jamadi Al Awwal 1980, two criminals, Abu Saad, the head of security in Najaf, and his associate, Abu Shaimaa, came to her door on 20th Jamadil Al Awwal 1980, and requested from Amina to join them, telling her it was a request from Al Shaheed al-Sadr, and that she will soon be back.

At that time, Umm Jaafar, al-Sadra's wife, warned Amina and opposed her acquisition.

Umm Jaafar had said, I want to join you. However, Bint al-Huda's reply was, If you come, then who will care for the children and my old mother?

Please stay home and Allah will be our Guardian.

These were the last recorded words from Amina's life.

Bint al-Huda will be remembered for her hard work and countless dedications to Islam. She was an active woman who was alive in every way.

She wrote 11 novels and many articles as well as poems. Her edifying character makes her a role model to every Muslim man and woman.

Please look into this site for her works;

http://www.geocities.com/anilazaidi/islamicstories/miscellaneous/bintalhuda/index.html

1 comment:

Mommi said...

She is definitely one of the best role models of the contemporary times who showed through her actions how to be a true Zainabi.. May Allah elevate her soul and raise her with the Shohdas of Badr, Uhud and Karbala. May Allah increases your tofeeqat and help you keep writing about such great personalities.