The defenders of the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (PBUH) or the defenders of the shrine of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) are groups that went to Syria mainly after the destruction of the tomb of Hajar Ibn Uday by Takfiri-terrorist groups and the threat of these groups to attack the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (PBUH), With the aim of confronting ISIS and other invading groups and preventing their advance. The phrase "defenders of the holy shrins" entered the social literature in Iran in early 2013.

Before the tomb of Hajar bin Adi was exhumed on August 24, 2012, the grave of Mohsen bin Al-Hussein (PBUH)  in the Al-Mashhad area in the Syrian city of Aleppo was attacked by terrorists, and after that, some groups defended the shrine of Sakina bint Imam Hussein (PBUH) to prevent this behavior from being repeated. The formation of the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade in Iraq and sending it to Syria to defend the shrine of Sayyida Zainab was an initiative that was implemented in this context in February 2013.