Alimatun ghayru mu'allama
ʿĀlimatun ghayru muʿallama (Arabic: عالِمَةٌ غیرُ مُعَلَّمَة, lit: a learned woman without having been taught) is one of the epithets of Lady Zaynab (a), which was bestowed upon her by Imam al‑Sajjad (a).[1]
When the captives of Karbala entered Kufa, Lady Zaynab (a) delivered a sermon to the people. At its conclusion, Imam al‑Sajjad (a) said to her:[2] "You are, by the grace of God, a learned woman without having been taught."[3] Based on this description, Lady Zaynab (a) came to be known by the epithet "ʿAlima ghayr mu'allama."[4]
Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, a Shi'a philosopher and jurist, has regarded Imam al‑Sajjad's (a) description as a testimony to the infallibility and wilaya of Lady Zaynab (a).[5] It has also been said that Imam al‑Sajjad's expression about his aunt is evidence of Zaynab's (a) awareness of divinely bestowed knowledge.[6][7]
Sayyid Ali Khamenei, a researcher of Islamic history, has regarded Imam al‑Sajjad's description of Lady Zaynab al‑Kubra (a) as being equivalent to a statement that an infallible Imam would make about a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[8] Regarding Imam al‑Sajjad's (a) intent in this description of Lady Zaynab (a), several interpretations have been suggested:
- Zaynab (a), through her pure nature, intellect, and reflection, without the need for a teacher, attained knowledge of God and His apparent signs, which enabled her to endure patiently and be content with divine decree.[9]
- Zaynab (a), as a result of self‑purification, reached a station in which she became knowledgeable through divine inspirations.[10]
- Her true teachers were the Five of the Ahl al‑Kisa' (a), not others.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 31.
- ↑ ʾAnti bi‑ḥamdillāhʿālimatun ghayru muʿallama;أنتِ بِحَمدِ اللّٰهِ عالِمَةٌ غَیرُ مُعَلَّمَة
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 29-31.
- ↑ See: Baḥrānī, ʿAwālim al-ʿulūm, vol. 11, p. 948; Muẓaffarī & Jamshīdī, Asīrān wa jānbāzān-i Karbalā, p. 89.
- ↑ The necessity of rediscovering the character of Lady Zaynab al-Kubra (a) (Persian)
- ↑ ʿulūm ladunnī.
- ↑ Shafīʿī Māzandarānī, ʿĀshūrā ḥamāsi-yi jāwīdān, p. 215.
- ↑ The envoys of Husayn (a) (Persian)
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Imām ʿAlī (a), vol. 1, p. 315.
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Imām ʿAlī (a), vol. 1, p. 316.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Li-l-insān wa al-ḥayāt, p. 272.
References
- ʿĀmilī, Sayyid Jaʿfar al-Murtaḍā al-. Al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Imām ʿAlī (a). 1st edition. [n.p]: Walāʾ al-Muntaẓar (a), 1430 AH.
- Baḥrānī, ʿAbd Allāh. ʿAwālim al-ʿulūm wa al-maʿārif wa al-aḥwāl min al-āyāt wa al-akhbār wa al-aqwāl (Mustadrak Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ ilā al-Imām al-Jawād). Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Muwaḥḥid Abṭahī Iṣfahānī. 1st edition. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 1413 AH.
- Faḍl Allāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Li-l-insān wa al-ḥayāt. 3rd edition. Beirut: Dār al-Malāk, 1421 AH.
- Muẓaffarī, Muḥammad & Jamshīdī, Saʿīd. Asīrān wa jānbāzān-i Karbalā. 1st edition. Qum: Farāz-i Andīsh, 1383 Sh.
- Shafīʿī Māzandarānī, Muḥammad. ʿĀshūrā ḥamāsi-yi jāwīdān. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1381 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lijāj. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Khirsān. Najaf, Dār al-Nuʿmān, 1386 AH.
- The necessity of rediscovering the character of Lady Zaynab al-Kubra (a) (Persian). Accessed: 2025/12/24.
- The envoys of Husayn (a) (Persian). Accessed: 2025/12/24.