Sayeeda Sakina, or Sukaina bint Husayn, was a 4-year-old daughter of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the great Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Her biography is tightly connected with the battle of Karbala, the great event which became the point of the schism of the Muslims into the Sunni and Shi’a branches. In general, Bibi Sakina entered Muslim history forever as one of the descendants of the Prophet and an eyewitness of the Karbala events.
After the battle of Karbala, Sayeeda Sakina was captured together with other descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. She was sent to Kufa with the caravan and was kept in harsh conditions. From Kufa, the captives headed to Damascus, Yazid’s capital in Syria. Throughout the trip, Bibi Sakina consoled her mother after the death of Asghar, her younger sister. She was also grieving the death of her father very expressively. She cried and continued asking her aunt where her father was and why he was killed. One day Sakina saw a dream where her father told her that she was going to meet him soon. Shortly after that, she died, although everyone thought she was just sleeping. Sakina passed away in 680 AD when she was only four years old. She was buried in Damascus, in the Mosque called Sayeedah Ruqayya.
Some centuries after the burial, Sakina’s body was removed into another shrine, as the water was pouring inside her grave and could destroy it. Her clothes seemed as soft and fresh as if they were new, which was considered a miracle. Thus, Sakina has become a holy figure and is honored as one of Muhammad’s descendants who suffered from the cruel tyranny of Yazid.