Description

LINEAGE

Hazrat Ruqayya bint Hussain (R.A) was born in 676 CE in Medina. She was the daughter of Hazrat Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (R.A). Her father, Imam Hussain (R.A), was the maternal grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Her paternal grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib (R.A), was the cousin of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

LIFE

Some early historians list only two daughters of Imam Hussain ibn Ali (R.A), namely, Fatima (R.A) and Sakina (R.A). Some authors list the four daughters as Fatima (R.A), Sakina (R.A), Zaynab (R.A), and Umm Kulthum (R.A), but emphasize that the last two died in childhood. An author writes that Imam Hussain (R.A) was survived by Fatima (R.A), Sakina (R.A), and Ruqayya (R.A), which suggests that Ruqayya (R.A) is the same person as Umm Kulthum (R.A).

Hazrat Hussain (R.A) and a small group of his supporters were massacred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE on the order of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. Their women and children were then taken captive and marched to the capital Damascus, where it is said that Ruqayya (R.A) died at the age of about three, possibly due to the hostility of her captors. The child of Imam Hussain (R.A) who died shortly after Karbala is identified as Sakina (R.A).