Um Albanin

Hazrat Umm al-Banin is one of the most beloved figures in Shiite history. Her name was Fatima bint Hizam. She took the title of Umm al-Banin because of her children and her religion was Shiite. Umm al-Banin has an important lineage that goes back to the Banu Kilab tribe. This noble lady passed away on 13th Jumada al-Thani 64 AH and Umm al-Banin is buried in the Baqi Cemetery in Medina.
The first child of Umm al-Banin was Hazrat Abbas (AS); it is narrated that when Imam Ali (AS) heard the news of his birth, he was very happy at first, but then he started to cry. When they asked him the reason, Mullah said that one day he would sacrifice his life bravely for his brother Hossein and the family of Banu Hashim. After Abbas, Umm al-Banin gave birth to three more sons named Abdullah, Jafar and Uthman, all of whom sacrificed their lives for Imam Hossein and his pure family on the day of Ashura, and the only surviving child of hers was her grandson Abdullah ibn Abbas (son of Hazrat Abbas (AS)).
Umm al-Bayni was not present in Karbala during the Ashura incident and was staying in Medina. When Bashir, the messenger of Imam Sajjad (a.s.), reached him, he first informed him of the martyrdom of Abbas ibn Ali. It is narrated that after hearing the news of the martyrdom of Abbas, asked him about Imam Hossein (a.s.) and Bashir said: “May God grant your patience, all four of your sons were martyred in Karbala.” Umm al-Bayni ignored him and went back to Imam Hossein (a.s.). When Bashir told him about the martyrdom of the Imam, he cried out and said: “My liver caught fire and my heart was torn apart upon hearing this news,” and then he began to wail and lament.
Since Umm al-Bayni (a.s.) was a poetess, after hearing the news of the martyrdom of her sons; Every day, he would come to the Baqi cemetery with Abdullah, the son of Hazrat Abbas (AS), and would cry bitterly while composing his poems, and people would console him. It is even narrated in some narrations that Marwan bin Hakam also went to the Baqi cemetery and cried and wailed there. Also, after Hazrat Zainab returned to Medina and saw Hazrat Umm al-Bayni, she offered her condolences on the martyrdom of her children.One of the results of affection and love is a sense of loyalty to loved ones. And in the life of Umm al-Banin, this loyalty is evident in her words after the martyrdom of the pious master Ali (peace be upon him). Umm al-Banin's loyalty to her noble husband is so great that after the martyrdom of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), although she was young, she did not marry until the end of her life out of respect for him and to protect his sanctity. Although she lived for a relatively long time (more than twenty years) after that Imam. When "Umamah", one of the wives of the Imam (peace be upon him), was proposed to by "Mughira bin Nawfal", who is one of the Arab celebrities, she consulted Umm al-Banin about marriage, and she replied: "It is not right for us to be in another house after Ali and to enter into a marriage contract with another man."

Translator: Faeghe Ebrahimpour