Additional information
by Abbas Sadak (Author)
Through My Small Eyes - The Story of Bibi Sakina is a deeply moving, first-person narrative that tells the tragedy of Karbala through the innocent yet heart-wrenchingly perceptive voice of Bibi Sakina, the young daughter of Imam Hussain (AS).
The story begins in the peaceful home of the Ahlul Bayt in Madina, where Sakina's life is filled with love, faith, and the warmth of family. Through her tender recollections, readers meet the key figures in her world-her compassionate father, her gentle mother Lady Rubab, her protective uncle Hazrat Abbas, her siblings, and her aunts, especially the brave Lady Zainab. These early scenes are rich with joy and familial bonds, making the later events even more devastating.
As the family leaves Madina, the narrative shifts to the harsh reality of the journey through the desert, the tense encounters with opposing forces, and the eventual arrival in Karbala. Through Sakina's "small eyes," we see the growing danger, the tightening siege, and the unbearable thirst faced by the camp of Imam Hussain. The account of Ashura-the final day-is portrayed with both emotional restraint and piercing detail, as loved ones depart for battle and never return. The loss of Hazrat Abbas and the infant Ali Asghar are described with particular poignancy, their absence felt through a child's grief-stricken confusion and longing.
The second half of the story follows Sakina and the surviving women and children after the massacre: their homes burned, possessions looted, and themselves taken captive. The brutal journey to Kufa and Shaam exposes the cruelty of the captors and the humiliation inflicted upon the family of the Prophet. In Shaam, the scenes in Yazid's court reveal both the tyranny of the oppressors and the unshakable courage of Lady Zainab and Imam Sajjad (AS).
The narrative reaches its most heartrending point in the dark prison of Damascus, where Sakina's health declines under the weight of physical abuse, thirst, and grief. Her final moments are filled with visions of her father, grandmother, and the peace she longed for since leaving Madina. She dies quietly in captivity, buried without shroud or call to prayer, leaving behind a legacy of innocence, patience, and truth that transcends her short life.
Ultimately, the story is more than a recounting of historical events-it is a deeply personal testament to love, faith, and resilience in the face of unimaginable loss. By filtering the events of Karbala through the voice of a child, it brings the human cost of oppression into sharp focus and ensures that Bibi Sakina's memory lives on as a symbol of hope and justice.
