Islam Guidance

Lady Ummul Baneen (S.A) was among the first individuals to hold mourning sessions (Majalis) for Imam Hussain. Imam Sadiq (A.S) has narrated, “Ummul Baneen (S.A), the mother of the four martyred brothers would go to (the cemetery of) al-Baqi and would lament with heart-rending and grief-stricken words upon her sons. People would gather and listen to her (sorrowful words). One day Marwan bin Hakam came and heard her lamenting and started weeping (in spite of being ruthless himself).” Along with the other ladies of Bani Hashim, she virtually transformed Jannat al-Baqi into a Hussainiya, a center of mourning for Imam Hussain and the tragedy that befell his family. She is considered the first person to recite poetry lamenting the plight and suffering of Imam Hussain and the orphans in Karbala, as well as the tragic martyrdom of her own sons. The lamentations and poems she wrote are highly regarded as important masterpieces of Arabic literature. One famous elegy she wrote is as follows:

Whoever has seen the courageous advances of Abbas?
And along with him were the brave sons of Haidar
I heard that he lost his arms, and his head was wounded
O Lord, how did my son fall on the ground with no arms to break his fall?
Were it that he had a sword, no one would have dared approach him

Don’t call me the Mother of Her Sons anymore
This title reminds me of those Haidari lions
As long as my sons were alive, I was Ummul Baneen
Now that I have lost them, this title doesn’t suit me

Those four sons of mine were like four lions
The ones who sleep in the desert after giving their heads
Whoever faced them in the midst of the battlefield?
Surely would have fallen to the ground like rain
How I wish someone had come and informed me
That the arms of my Abbas were brutally severed

A few years after the tragedy of Karbala, Lady Ummul Baneen (S.A) passed away on 13th Jamadi al-Thani, 64 AH. But the mourning sessions and traditions she established have kept the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (A.S) and the Prophet’s Family alive, and it is incumbent upon us to maintain this legacy and keep the incident of Karbala alive in our hearts.

Ref: Islamic insight

After the martyrdom of Hazrat Fatima Zahra (S.A), Imam Ali (A.S) called his brother Aqeel who was known for his knowledge about the tribal genealogies and told him to find out a respectable lady of a noble family, known for its bravery, for him to wed for he wanted to have a brave son from her to be his own representative there at Karbala to serve Hussain (A.S) the son of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and help him in the calamitous situation against his enemies and lay his life defending Hussain (A.S) on his own behalf, for Hassan (A.S) and Hussain (A.S) were hailed as the sons of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and each one was addressed as Ibn-Rasoolullah' (son of the Holy Prophet).
Aqeel said: "Marry thou, Umm ul-Banin Kalabi, the daughter of Hazm bin Khalid-e-Kalabi, for braver than her father, there was none in the tribes.
Hadrat Umm ul-Banin bore Hazrat Ali's four sons, Abbas, Abdulla, Ja'far and Usman. The meaning of 'Umm ul-Banin' is 'Mother of Sons'. All of her sons were martyred along with Imam Hussein. After their martyrdom, she requested people not to call her 'Umm ul-Banin' ever again.
The day she entered the household of Imam Ali (A.S), she made it very plain to Imam Hassan (A.S) and Imam Hussain (A.S) that she considered herself their slave, and she hoped and prayed that they would accept her as one. Her respect and affection for them was reciprocated by the two brothers, who occupied a foremost place in her heart.
When Imam Hussain (A.S) was leaving Madinah for Iraq Hazrat Umm ul-Banin asked her four sons, Hazrat Abbas (A.S), Abdulla, Ja'far and Usman to sacrifice their lives in the sacred cause of Imam Hussain (A.S).
Umm ul-Banin had such sincerity toward the Holy Prophet's progeny that she loved Imam Hussain (A.S) more than her own children.
She was the first who received Bashar bin Hazam, the man who proclaimed to the people of Medina “Qotelal Hussain…” (Hussein has been killed...). It was to the extent that when she received the news stating the martyrdom of her four sons, she said: "Tell me about Hussain (A.S)” and when she received the news of Imam Hussain (A.S)'s martyrdom she said: "All of the arteries of my heart are torn. May all of my children and whatever that exist under this azure heaven be sacrificed for the sake of Imam Hussain (A.S).”
After the arrival of Imam Sajjad (A.S) and Hazrat Zainab (S.A) in Medina Hazrat Umm ul-Banin used to gather women in her house and used to narrate them how Imam Hussain (A.S) and his companions were martyred by Yazidi forces.
Hazrat Umm ul-Baneen is considered as the first Noheh Reciter (dirge reciter) for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (A.S). She used to visit regularly the famous Jannat al-Baqi cemetery in Medina and recite her Noheh in a very sad and pathetic voice that everybody present there used to weep bitterly.
She transformed the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery as "the Centre of mourning of Imam Hussain (A.S)". The Noheh recited by Hazrat Umm ul-Banin for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (A.S) are recorded in history and are considered as masterpiece in Arabic literature.

Derived from: Alhassanain.com