Aqila Bani Hashim (epithet)
Aqīla Banī Hāshim (Arabic:عقیله بني هاشم) is an honorific title of Lady Zaynab (a), the daughter of Imam Ali (a). According to Lisan al-'Arab, the term 'Aqila—when used in relation to a tribe—means "the leading woman of the clan" or "its distinguished lady."[1] Some scholars, including Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, have also interpreted it as an intensive form, meaning "a woman of exceptional intelligence."[2]
In Dam' al-Sujum, Abu l-Hasan Sha'rani explains that "Aqila" refers to a respected woman whose dignity and generosity are acknowledged by all, and before whom others show deference. This title does not appear in the Four Books of hadith or in Bihar al-anwar; however, it is found in works from the fourteenth/twentieth century, such as Maqtal Muqarram,[3] Minhaj al-bara'a fi sharh Nahj al-balagha,[4] Tanqih al-maqal,[5] and in later sources as well.[6] In the case of Lady Zaynab, the title Aqila appears in the sources in various forms, such as: Lady Zaynab, Aqila of Banu Hashim and Zaynab al-Kubra, Aqila of Banu Hashim.[7] In public sermons as well, the expression "Aqila of Banu Hashim" is sometimes used in place of her name.[8]
Abu l-Faraj al-Isfahani, in Maqatil al-talibiyyin, identifies the mother of 'Awn b. 'Abd Allah b. Ja'far as "Zaynab, the Aqila, daughter of Ali b. Abi Talib." He also transmits the following report from Ibn 'Abbas: "Our Aqila, Zaynab, daughter of Ali b. Abi Talib, related to me …"[9]
It is said that Lady Zaynab (a)—owing to her exceptional intellect—was able to lead the caravan of the Prophet's family after their captivity, from Karbala to Kufa, from Kufa to Damascus, and from Damascus back to Medina. In Medina, alongside Imam al-Sajjad (a), she played an important role in holding memorial gatherings for Imam al-Husayn (a) and in exposing the injustices of the Umayyads.[10]
Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i (d. 1399/1979), in his book Tahqiq dar-bara-yi Awwalin Arba'in-i Sayyid al-Shuhada' ("An Investigation into the First Arba'in of Imam al-Husayn"),[11] and Dhabih Allah Mahallati (d. 1406/1986) have also mentioned the epithet "Aqilat al-'Arab" as a title used for Lady Zaynab (a).[12]
Gharawi Isfahani (d. 1361/1942), known as Kumpani composed a poem in Arabic in praise of Lady Zaynab (a), in which he refers to her by the title "Aqila." Its translation is as follows:
| "The possessor of authority and ruler of the world, the "Aqila" of women, | - |
| the counterpart of the fifth member of the People of the Cloak, | - |
| companion in the sufferings of Imam al-Husayn (a), the martyr, | - |
| guardian of Imam al-Sajjad (a) in his trials and hardships | - |
| Indeed, she is the guardian of greatness and majesty and the leader of noble, wise, and esteemed women."[13] | - |
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, under the word "Aql".
- ↑ Qazwīnī, Zaynab al‑Kubra min al‑Mahd ilā al‑Laḥd, p. 40; Zurūrat‑i bāzshināsī‑yi shakhṣīyat-i Ḥadrat Zaynab al‑Kubra (a).
- ↑ Muqarram, Maqtal al‑Ḥusayn (a), p. 272, 290.
- ↑ Khoeʿī, Minhāj al‑barāʿa fī sharḥ Nahj al‑balāgha, vol. 15, p. 39.
- ↑ Māmaqānī, Tanqīḥ al‑Maqāl fī ʿIlm al‑Rijāl, vol. 3, p. 79.
- ↑ Naqdī, Zaynab al‑Kubrā bint al‑Imām Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), p. 17; Qarashī, al‑Sayyida Zaynab, p. 40.
- ↑ Anṣārī Qomī, Kitāb‑shināsī Ḥadrat Zaynab (s), p. 169.
- ↑ Manaqib‑i Aqīla-yi Banu Hāshim dar Kalām‑i Ahl al‑Bayt (a)
- ↑ Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al‑Ṭālibiyyīn, p. 60.
- ↑ Qazwīnī, Zaynab al‑Kubra min al‑Mahd ilā al‑Laḥd, p. 40.
- ↑ Qāḍī Ṭabāṭabāʿī, Taḥqīq darbāri‑yi Awwal Arbaʿīn Ḥadrat Sayyid al‑Shuhadā (a), p. 51.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Rayāḥīn al‑sharīʿa dar tarjuma‑yi dānishmandān‑i Bānawān‑i Shīʿa, vol. 3, p. 88.
- ↑ Gharawī Isfahānī, al‑Anwār al‑Qudsiyya, p. 134.
References
- Anṣārī Qomī, Nāṣir al‑Dīn. Kitāb‑shināsī Ḥadrat Zaynab (s). Majalli‑yi Mīrāth‑i Shahāb, No. 72–73, 1392 SH.
- Bunyād‑i Bayn al‑Milalī‑yi ʿUlūm‑i Waḥyānī-yi Isrā. Zurūrat‑i bāzshināsī‑yi shakhṣīyat-i Ḥadrat Zaynab al‑Kubra (a). Accessed: 2025/12/08.
- Gharawī Isfahānī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al‑Anwār al‑Qudsiyya. [n.p]. Muʾassasat al‑Maʿārif al‑Islāmiyya, [n.d].
- Iṣfahānī, Abū l‑Faraj al-. Maqātil al‑Ṭālibiyyīn. Edited by Kāẓim Muẓaffar. Najaf: al‑Maktabat al‑Ḥaydariyya, 2nd edition, 1385 AH.
- Khoeʿī, Ḥabīb Allāh. Minhāj al‑barāʿa fī sharḥ Nahj al‑balāgha. Edited by Sayyid Ibrāhīm Miyānajī. 4th edition. [n.p]: Bunyād‑i Farhangī‑yi Imām Mahdī (a), [n.d]
- Māmaqānī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tanqīḥ al‑Maqāl fī ʿIlm al‑Rijāl. 1st edition. [n.p]. [n.d].
- Maḥallātī, Ḍhabīḥ Allāh. Rayāḥīn al‑sharīʿa dar tarjuma‑yi dānishmandān‑i Bānawān‑i Shīʿa. 1st edition. Tehran: Dār al‑Kutub al‑Islāmiyya, [n.d].
- Muḥammadī, Sālār & others. Aqīlat Banu Hāshim: Ḥadrat Zaynab (s). Qānūn‑yār, 1394 SH.
- Muqarram, ʿAbd al‑Razzāq. Maqtal al‑Ḥusayn (a). Beirut: Muʾassasa al‑Khirsān, 1426 AH.
- Naqdī, Jaʿfar. Zaynab al‑Kubrā bint al‑Imām Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a). Qom: Dār Sharīf Raḍī, 1362 SH.
- Qāḍī Ṭabāṭabāʿī, Sayyid Muḥammad ʿAlī. Taḥqīq darbāri‑yi Awwal Arbaʿīn Ḥadrat Sayyid al‑Shuhadā (a). Tehran: Wizārat‑i Irshād, 1383 SH.
- Qarashī, Bāqir Sharīf al-. Al‑Sayyida Zaynab. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār Maḥajjat al‑Bayḍāʾ wa Dār al‑Rasūl al‑Akram (s), 1422 AH.
- Qazwīnī, Sayyid Muḥammad Kāẓim. Zaynab al‑Kubra min al‑Mahd ilā al‑Laḥd. Edited by Sayyid Muṣṭafā Qazwīnī. 2nd edition. Qom: Dār al‑Ghadīr, 1424 AH.
- Tasnim News Agency. Manaqib‑i Aqīla-yi Banu Hāshim dar Kalām‑i Ahl al‑Bayt (a). Accessed: 2025/12/08.