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Sayyidah Zaynab

Sayyidah Zaynab
السيدة زينب
Sayyidah Zaynab Shrine
Nickname(s): Set Zaynab
Sayyidah Zaynab is located in Syria
Sayyidah Zaynab
Sayyidah Zaynab
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 33°26′50″N 36°20′10″E / 33.44722°N 36.33611°E / 33.44722; 36.33611Coordinates: 33°26′50″N 36°20′10″E / 33.44722°N 36.33611°E / 33.44722; 36.33611
Country  Syria
Governorate Rif Dimashq
District Markaz Rif Dimashq
Subdistrict Babbila
Population (2004 census)
 • Total 136,427
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Sayyidah Zaynab (Arabic: السيدة زينب‎‎; meaning "Lady Zaynab"), commonly known as Set Zaynab, is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate of Syria, 10 km (6 mi) south of Damascus, the national capital. With a population of 136,427 (2004 census), it is the 10th most populous city in Syria and the most populous satellite city of Damascus. Administratively, the town is located in Markaz Rif Dimashq district and belongs to the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Babbila. The municipality of Sayyidah Zaynab is still considered as a rural community by the governorate of Rif Dimashq.

The name of the town is derived from the shrine that contains the grave of Zaynab, daughter of ‘Alī and Fātimah and granddaughter of Muhammad. It is believed by Shī‘a Muslims that the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque is the authentic burial place of Lady Zaynab, whereas the mosque in Cairo by the same name belongs to Zaynab bint Yahya bint Zayd bint ‘Alī Zayn al-‘Ābidīn (i.e. the great granddaughter of the Imam).

Sayyidah Zaynab is one of the most important destinations for Shī‘a Muslim pilgrims. It has also become an important center of learning in the Shī‘i world. In the 1980s, during the Iran–Iraq War, as well as during the 1990s, the flow of the visitors increased significantly because the Shī‘a shrines in Iraq were inaccessible. Until 2011, around 1 million tourists visited the town of Sayyidah Zaynab every year.

Shī‘a Muslim pilgrims especially came to the shrine town of Sayyidah Zaynab in order to ask for healing.

Currently, 33 public schools and a number of religious institutions are operating in the town.

On September 27, 2008, there was a car bomb attack on the intersection leading up to the mosque, killing 17 people with 17 others wounded.


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