Zainab bint Kamal and the history of her shrine زینب بنت کمال کی سیرت اور ان کے مزار کی تاریخ

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Biography of Zaynab bint al-Kamal and the history of his shrine

Dekhti Aankhooon aur sountay kaanoon ko Asslamoalaikum, sisters, brothers friends and elders, in informative series videos of Islamic ascolars, sufisaints, cultural heritages, islamic philosophys, islamic mysticisms and historical figures. today we are describing biography of Zaynab bint al-Kamal and the history of his shrine.

Zaynab bint al-Kamal (646–740 AH / 1248–1339 CE) was one of the most distinguished female scholars of hadith in Islamic history, renowned for her erudition, intellectual discipline, and the wide influence she had through her transmission of hadith. Her full name was Umm Abdullah Zaynab bint Ahmad ibn ?Abd al-Ra?im al-Maqdisiyya al-Dimashqiyya, reflecting her familial origins from Jerusalem (al-Quds) and her lifelong connection to the city of Damascus, where she was born, lived, taught, and eventually died. As one of the most important muhadditht (female hadith transmitters) of the Mamluk period, she occupies a unique place in the scholarly landscape of the 13th and 14th centuries, a time when Damascus was a thriving center of Islamic learning.

Zaynab bint al-Kam?l was born in 646 AH (1248 CE) in Damascus, during a period of great cultural and intellectual development in the city. Damascus, under the Ayyubid and then Mamluk rule, was home to a vibrant scholarly community and boasted numerous madrasas, mosques, and libraries. From an early age, Zaynab was immersed in this scholarly environment. She was a descendant of a scholarly family, which helped facilitate her access to some of the most respected teachers of her time. Her education began at a young age and continued into adulthood. She studied under a large number of scholars, both men and women, and obtained numerous *ij?z?t* (licenses to teach) for a vast array of hadith collections, including the *?a???* works of al-Bukh?r? and Muslim, the *Sunan* of Ab? D?w?d and al-Tirmidh?, and other canonical texts of Sunni Islam.

One of Zaynab’s most remarkable accomplishments was her early start in the field of hadith transmission. It is recorded that she began receiving *ij?z?t* for hadith as early as the age of one or two, a common practice in that period whereby infants would be present during public recitations of hadith so they could be given the honor of early transmission. This gave her the distinction of having one of the longest *isn?ds* (chains of transmission) in her time, something highly valued in the field of hadith sciences. Over the decades, she would go on to teach hundreds of students—both men and women—including well-known scholars who sought her *ij?zah* due to the strength and length of her chain of narration. Her public teaching sessions were highly regarded, and she taught in some of the most respected educational settings of Damascus, including the Umayyad Mosque and several madrasas.

Zaynab was known not only for the breadth of her transmission but also for her piety, sharp memory, and strict adherence to scholarly precision. Her status among male scholars was exceptionally high; she was regarded with immense respect and often mentioned in biographical dictionaries with honorifics typically reserved for great male scholars. Historians such as al-Dhahab? and Ibn ?ajar al-?Asqal?n? mentioned her with admiration, noting the depth of her knowledge and the number of students who studied under her. Unlike many female scholars whose names have faded into obscurity due to historical neglect, Zaynab bint al-Kam?l’s legacy was preserved precisely because her scholarship left such a deep impact on the academic community of her time.

She passed away in the year 740 AH (1339 CE) in her birthplace, Damascus, where she had lived her entire life. Her death was widely mourned by the scholarly circles of the city and beyond. Zaynab bint al-Kam?l was buried in Damascus, and a shrine was established at her burial site to honor her memory. The shrine became a symbol of her legacy and a place of reverence for those who appreciated the role of women in preserving and transmitting the Islamic tradition. While the exact name of the individual who built her shrine is not definitively known, it is widely believed that it was commissioned by her students and followers, possibly with support from the Mamluk religious authorities or the scholarly elite of Damascus, who held her in high regard.

The shrine of Zaynab bint al-Kam?l remains an important reminder of the often-overlooked contributions of women in Islamic intellectual history. It reflects the deep respect and admiration she commanded in life and the enduring legacy she left behind. In a time when female scholarship was uncommon but not unheard of, Zaynab rose to a level of prominence that few of her contemporaries—male or female—could match. Her life and work serve as a powerful example of the central role women played in the transmission of religious knowledge in classical Islam, and her shrine in Damascus stands as a lasting tribute to her scholarly achievements.

With this, we ask for your permission until tomorrow, and tomorrow we will be described biography of Sitt al-Wuzara al-Tanukhiyyah and history of her shrine, at the end we pray to Allah Almighty to grant us the abilitty to act on the Quran and Hadith, Amen

Allah Hafiz
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