Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 2/137
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
Imam Ali ibn al-Husain Zain ul Abideen (a)
(Excerpt from the late Dr. Sayed
Haider Hussain Shamsi's Book, " And The
Message Continues--the Lives of the Twelve Imams of the Alhe
Bait (a) "
FROM BIRTH TO THE TRAGEDY
OF KARBALA
Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen was only two years of age when his
grandfather, Imam Ali (the First Imam) was killed during prayers
in the month of Ramadan in the main mosque of Najaf (near Kufa).
He was a youth of fourteen years when he saw the life and the
painful death of his uncle Imam Hasan (the Second Imam).
He was about twenty-three years of age when he accompanied his
father, Imam Husain (the Third Imam) and witnessed the events of
the tragedy of Karbala.
Before he finally left his camp, Imam Husain came to the bedside
of his sick son Ali, and bestowed the onerous duty of Imamate on
him.
Imam Ali ibn al-Husain survived the massacre only because he was
physically unable to go out to the battlefield due to his
sickness. However, on the next day after the blood bath of his
family and friends, he was hand tied and put in shackles, and
marched on foot from the battlefield, first to Kula and then to
Damascus. On this journey of painful suffering, his aunt Zaina
binte Ali ibne Abi Tallb, the sister of Imam Husain and other
surviving widows and children, accompanied him.
After Karbala, he lived for another thirty-four years under the
tyrannical rule of several Marwanid caliphs who took personal
gratification in inflicting abuse and torture to him and his
followers.
THE JOURNEY OF THE CAPTIVES OF KARBALA
The hand-tied captives were not tongue-tied. Despite the recent
inflections of the loss of loved ones in the battlefield, lack
of recuperation from the torturous thirst and starvation of
women and children, the rag tag caravan manifested tremendous
courage by defying their physical difficulties and continuing to
preach the truth to the on-lookers who had gathered to line up
the caravan route.
The apparent victors were pleased with their achievement of the
decimation of the Imam's carnp. During their passage through the
streets and bazaars of Kufa, the eloquent speeches made by the
captive sister of Imam Husain, and his son Imam All Zain al-Abideen
told their painful story to the onlookers who had come to line
up the caravan route. When they learned and realized who the
captives were, they cried out aloud and openly rebuked the
killers of the family of the Prophet of Islam. From then on, the
caravan was led to Damascus via an unfrequented route to prevent
possible reprisals.
The retelling of the story by the captives continued every inch
of the way to the palace of Yazid. This rendered an extremely
valuable service to the cause of Imam Husain and made the
victors look aggressors thirsty for the blood of the Imam and
his family. They were then thrown in prison for a period of over
one-year. Many children and the weak succumbed to fatigue and
grief throughout the caravan route as well as within the prison.
RETURN OF THE CAPTIVES TO MADINAH
When the caravan of the survivors arrived in Madinah, the family
and friends of the Imam met and told the events of the previous
year to each other. Some devotees were so overwhelmed with grief
that they took a trip to Damascus in 63 AH to protest against
Yazid and his deeds. This infuriated the tyrant caliph. He
unleashed his Syrian army on to Madinah under a most ruthless
Umayyad commander named Muslim bin Uqba. There was a bloody
battle at Harrah al-Waqim, a small town just north of Madinah.
Thousands of Madinan Muslims perished along with many learned
and respectable elders. After the battle the soldiers ravaged
the city for three full days, burning property, and looting
freely homes and businesses. They drank without any inhibition
and thronged the streets throwing obscenities on the surviving
residents. Horrible was the havoc the Syrians played on life and
limb and chaste womanhood. It is said that when they departed,
they left many families and the city in utter ruins.
After the sack of Madinah, Muslim bin Uqba proceeded to Makkah
to subdue and arrest the separatist Abd Allah bin Zubayr.
However, on the way Muslim died near the town of Jaffa, and the
command passed over to Haseen bin Numayr al-Sakooni. Approaching
Makkah, they occupied the surrounding hills, and laid siege to
the city for sixty-four days. They threw projectiles of fire and
rock on the city causing ruinous damage to the holy sanctuary.
It was at this time that the news of the death of Yazid was
received and the siege of Makkah was lifted. The tyrant Umayyad
captain withdrew to Damascus. This gave the much-needed reprieve
to the self-proclaimed caliph of Makkah, Abd Allah bin Zubayr.
He started to rebuild the holy mosque and to repair the damages
caused by the Umayyad army.
There was not even a single day in the life of the Imam after
Karbala that he was seen without tears in his eyes. He used to
pray to Allah with such intensity and devotion that he earned
the names of Syed u's-Sajad, al-Abid and Zain al-Abideen.
THE LIFE OF IMAM ZAIN
AL-ABIDEEN DURING OTHER UMAYYAD CALIPHS OF HIS TIME
The tragedy of Karbala brought a wave of turmoil in the
heartland of the Muslim world as well as to the house of Abu
Sufyan.
After the death of Yazid bin Muawiyah in 64 AH, the succession
to the throne came to his son Muawiyah bin Yazid. However, he
declined it. He considered the Caliphate to have been usurped by
his family, and refused to have any thing to do with it. For
forty days, he did not leave his quarters in the palace. It is
said that he died there with the cause of death unknown.
Marwan bin Hakam, who had been managing the govenunent during
this period of lull, declared himself the next caliph. However,
the caliphate of Marwan was only short lived. He died in the
year 65 AH and his son Abd al-Malik became the Caliph.
After Karbala, there was a faction of the believers who felt
penitent over their betrayal of Imam Husain, and having the
Umayyads butcher the innocent members of his family. This is
known as the Tawwabun movement. They mustered a force of 16,000
strong under Sulayman bin Surad and marched towards Syria. The
Umayyad force met them at Ain ul-Wada on the Euphrates. The
Tawwabun charged with desperate passion, but perished at the
hands of the superior Syrian army. Only a few returned to tell
the story of the disaster.
There were others who were confused over why Imam Ali Zain al Abideen
was not taking up arms against the tyranny of the Umayyads. They
converged towards Muhammade Hanafia, the pious uncle of the Imam
and wanted him to lead them against the tyrants. However, the
question over the rightful successor to Imamate was settled in
favor of Imam Ali Zain al Abideen the two met for
Haj in Makkah. The separatists were not satisfied as the Imam
refused to take up arms against the ruler or to participate in
any political ambition.
The death of Yazid did bring a new wave of revolution in the
province of Hijaz. Abd Allah bin Zubayr became more active in
Makkah in pursuit of his campaign for a separatist movement
which he had started in 64 AH. He was able to gather support for
his claim from Hijaz, as well as the provinces of
Iraq and Yemen. After establishing his rule in these provinces,
he started his own campaign of revenge against the friends and
the family of Imam Ali on account of the disposition of his
father who had joined the army of Ayesha in the battle of The
Carnel. The veterans like the pious Muhammad Hanafia and Ibne
Abbas, among others, were arrested for execution. However, they
were salvaged
by the short rule of Muk-htar that had just been established in
Kufa in 64 AH.
After the disaster of Ain ul-Wada, the Kufans rose again under
Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid al-Thaqafi. They sacked the governor of
Abd Allah bin Zubayr and installed Muk-htar as their caliph.
Mukhtar approached Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen to endorse his
political venture against the Umayyad tyrants, and to lead his
followers. The Imam declined his invitation. However, Mukhtar
then turned to Muhammade Hanafia and was able to enlist him to
be his patron.
Thereafter, in the year 66 AH, in a series of successful
battles, his forces rounded up the captains of the Umayyad army
who were responsible for the massacre of Karbala and the sack of
the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah, and had them beheaded for
their despicable crimes.
In 67 AH, Abd Allah bin Zubayr regained control of the province
of Iraq and sent his own brother Mus'ab bin Zubayr against
Mukhtar. The city of Kufa was besieged and taken. Muk-htar was
defeated and killed in battle.
When Abd al-Malik became the caliph, Abd Allah bin Zubayr was
fairly established in Hijaz and Iraq. He decided to reclaim
Hijaz and Iraq under the Umayyad rule. He chose Hujaj bin Yusuf
as his right hand commander and dispatched him to Iraq to subdue
the rebel provinces. To this end, the caliph and his governor
together earned for themselves the title of the most cruel and
tyrannical rulers in the history of Islam. Hujaj achieved his
goals by a whole sale massacre of all those who claimed any
connection with Imam Ali or his progeny. The holy city of Makkah
was ransacked once again, and slaughtered the separatist Abd
Allah bin Zubayr in Makkah in 73 AH. His head was hung over the
main road leading in andout of the city. Most Aliyyids and their
followers ran for their lives and escaped to the relative safety
of lands on the outer periphery of the kingdom. With the
elimination of Mukhtar in Iraq, and Abd Allah in Hijaz, the
entire Muslim world once again came under the rule of a single
Umayyad Caliph. New conquests started at the Far West and Far
East of the Caliphate, and the Caliph was able to attend to the
consolidation of the internal affairs as well.
However, in the same vein as his predecessors regarding the
Hashimite clan, the Caliph Abd al-Malik also kept a watched eye
on the Imam and his family. He used to call the Imam
periodically to his court in Damascus. When Abd'al-Malik died in
86 AH, his son Walid succeeded him to the throne.
Walid was also a tyrant 'in his own ways. For the next ten years
of his rule, he maintained the tradition of his predecessors and
did not spare the Imam from his abuse. When he decreed that the
Prophets mosque at Madinah be enlarged the contiguous grounds
were obtained by evicting the Hashimites from their homes
without compensation.
The few devout believers that survived the relentless
persecution of the rules of the time were grieved at the amount
of abuse thrown at the Imam. Once some one taunted the Imam
while he was heading to Makkah for Haj, and said, "You have
chosen the relative ease of the Haj in favor of the difficulty
of Jihad." The Imam replied, "Only if I had true believers
behind me, I would change my Haj to Jihad."
Despite the difficult times faced by the Imam he continued his
service to Islam and to all those who sought from him the
interpretation of al-Qtwan or the Sunnah of the Prophet. He
managed to convey the lessons of the belief and the practice of
Islam by a unique medium. He did this through prayers
and supplications. These have been collected in the form of a
book popularly known as SAHIFAHAS-SAJJADIYYA. An elegant English
translation of this book is now available.
THE MARTYRDOM OF IMAM ALI IBN Al-HUSAIN
Even the very existence of the pious Imam was considered a
threat by the rulers of his time. Hisham, a brother of Abd al-Malik,
poisoned the Imam who died in Madinah in the year 95 AH, at the
age of 57 years. He was buried in the graveyard of Jannat ul-Baqic.
Before his death, the Imam called his son Muhammad and entrusted
the responsibility of the Imamate to him.
Although his son Muhammad al-Baqir fulfilled the needs of the
believers by carrying out the functions of his assignment with
spectacular brilliance, the painful death of his father left a
void in the lives of his companions. People remembered the Imam
for his, forbearance, piety, patience, and knowledge, and for
the sufferings he had to endure throughout his life.
His aunt Zainab, the sister of Imam Husain, shared the life and
suffering of the Imam. Together they had turned the tide of
aggression into a lasting lesson for humanity. Whereas Imam
Husain had laid down his own life along with that of his beloved
family and friends in the desert of Karbala, Imam
Ali ibn al-Husain and his aunt Zainab binte Ali ibne Abi Talib
completed the vital mission of disseminating the Truth to the
ignorant and confused nation of the Muslims and their rulers.
AS-SAHIFAHAS-SAJJAIYYA
The Book of as-Saijad
Imam Zain ul-Abideen is also known as-Sajad. Both names denote
to his constant prostration in prayers. This book has another
popular name as-Sahifah al-Kamila as-Sajjadia (Me Complete or
Perfect Book of as-Sajad). The book contains fifty-four
supplications (and fourteen addenda), and fifteen munajat
(whispered prayers). Many supplications were handed down from
the Imam and
carried by oral tradition from generation to generation. These
were collected in later times by researchers and added to the
written works. They are called the Second Sahifa, through to the
Fifth Sahifa. Only the authoritative chain of traditions was
used for the addenda in' the subsequent Sahifas. The first
addenda were appended to the Sahifa by ash-Shaheed alAwwal (the
first martyr) Shams ud-Din Muhammad ibne Makki (d. 786 AH). The
fifteen munajat were appended by Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi
(d.II10 AH). The Sahifa was updated with addenda by various
authorities in the same era as Allama Majlisi.
In Islam, supplications have a pivotal role in all forms of
prayers.
The supplicant first offers his prayer to Allah, and then
spreads his hands to seek His bounty and benevolence. The
supplications have the several names of Allah describing His
various qualities. The supplicant glorifies Allah and begs for
His forgiveness and mercy. It elevates the humble human from his
prayer mat to the ethereal heights of spirituality.
Imam Ali ibn al-Husain used this method to reach out to his
followers and preach them on the Oneness of Allah and His role
as the Creator of all things. He focused on the role of man in
the universe and his duties to Allah and his fellow human
beings. He gives lessons on obedience to Allah and to fine human
behavior in society.
Many devotees of Ahle Bait used to attend majalis (religious
gatherings) held by the Imam. Much of the collection of his
lectures quotations and teachings are owed to these devotees who
leamt them by heart, or wrote them down for safe keeping and for
future reference.
RISALE-E HUQOOQ
The Testament of Rights
One extremely valuable treatise has been passed down to the
devotees of Ahle Bait directly from Imam Zain al-Abideen. This
epistle describes the rights of man in society. It accounts for
over fifty circumstance by which the believer is obligated to
observe the rights of others. To mention just a few, it starts
with:
-the rights of man toward Allah,
-the rights of prayers,
-the rights of self and the rights of the parts of one's own
body.
It goes on to enlist:
-The rights of women towards men,
-the rights of men toward women.
It reminds one towards:
-The rights of children to their parents and elders,
-the rights of parents and elders to their children.
Further:
-The rights of students towards their teachers,
-the rights of the teachers towards their students.
Further:
-The rights of neighbors,
-the rights of friends
-the rights of adversaries and foes!
It is evident that this epistle contains such wealth of ethical
conduct that if followed, it would make any ordinary human being
into a saint. Even if one does not aspire to become a saint, it
would certainly foster tolerance and harinony with the self and
the society.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - CONTACT - FEEDBACK - UP
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.