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the Message Continues ... 4/191
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THE INFALLIBLE IMAM ALI IBNAL HUSAYN (A.S.), IMAM ZAYN AL-ABIDIN (AS)
Imam Ali, Zayn-al-Abidin, was the son of the
King of the Martyrs, Imam Husayn
(a.s.). His mother was Shaher
Bano, daughter of the last
Persian king, Yazdjurd.
He was born in Madinah on 5th Sha’baan
38 A.H. He was entrusted with
the Divine Imamate on the Day of
Ashura 61 A.H. He led the
imprisoned women of Ahlul Bayt
and children from Karbala to
Kufa and then to Damascus. This
was the most painful and
humiliating journey.
When Yazid tried to talk in an insulting manner, he bravely spoke the
truth whereupon Yazid threatened
to kill him but Sayyida Zaynab
(s.a.) intervened. During this
journey, he delivered sermons
introducing himself and the
AhlulBayt and explained the
objectives of their sacrifices
which were to save Islam. When
the news of Tragedy of Karbala
spread far and wide and signs of
revolt were apparent, Yazid
released the AhlulBayt. Sayyida
Zaynab (s.a.) asked for a house
to mourn the martyrs of Karbala. This was the first assembly of mourning (Majlis) for the martyrs. Imam Zayn-al-Abidin and the AhlulBayt returned to Madinah
en route to Karbala.
The Imam (a.s..) led a quiet life after his return to Madinah. Yazid’s army ruthlessly suppressed the revolt in Madinah. His army turned
the Sacred Mosque of the Prophet
into a stable for horses, killed
hundreds of innocent Muslims
including many companions of the
Noble Messenger, and destroyed
the chastity of numerous females
on the clear instructions of
Yazid. These beasts destroyed Madinah for three days.
The Imam lived 35 years after the tragedy of Karbala. Because of the
unfavorable circumstances, the
Imam started writing
supplications, which
demonstrates the immense
knowledge of the progeny of Imam
Ali (a.s.) “The Gateway of
Knowledge” His
supplications were collected in
the famous book, “Saheefa-e-Sajjadia”.
In eloquence, the book is next
to his grandfather, Imam Ali
(a.s.)’ “Nahjul Balagha”.
Imam Zayn-al-Abidin (a.s.) also compiled a treatise known as “Risalat-ul-Huqooq”
or a Treatise of Rights,
which contains the rights of
human beings, including the
rights of every part of the
human body. If
one compares this book with the
United Nation’s “Charter
of Human Rights”, it appears to
have been copied from this
Treatise.
He loved and cared for the poor. The Imam would carry bags of bread on his back
at night, without showing his
identity, would go around the
streets of Madinah and
distribute among the needy. Even
when he gave alms to the needy,
he would cover his face not to
embarrass the person.
Hisham bin Abdul Malik, the heir of the caliph,
was visiting Makka for Hajj and
was sitting in a chair waiting
to kiss the Black Stone in
Ka’ba, he saw that a young man
came towards the Black Stone and
the crowd automatically
separated to give way to him.
The man gracefully came and
kissed the Black Stone and left.
He knew who the man was. It was
Imam Zayn-al-Abidin (a.s.) but
to overcome his embarrassment,
he enquired from his companions
about the identity of the young
man. The famous poet of Arabia,
Farazdaq, compiled a poetry
extempore praising the Imam.
Some of the stanzas of his poem
read as, “He is the one whom the
whole Makkah knows. Every stone
in Ka’ba knows him. He is the
grandson of Fatima and Ali and
the Noble Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.).” Hisham became
furious and imprisoned him. When
Imam Zayn-al-Abidin (a.s.) came
to know about it, he sent some
money to Farazdaq who said that
he composed that poetry for the
love of Allah and did not want
any worldly compensation, but
the imam insisted him to accept
the gift.
It is said that after Karbala, the Imam wept and cried for a long time
and when someone asked as to how
long he was going to cry as “martyrdom was the grace and inheritance of AhlulBayt”. The Imam replied that humiliation was not the inheritance of AhlulBayt!
The Imam through his supplications had spread
the teachings of Islam. Abu
Hamza al Thamali was one of his
companions. The Imam had taught
him a supplication known as “Duae
Abu Hamza Thamali”. Abu Makhnuf
was another companion who was
instructed by Imam Mohammad
Baqir (a.s.) to write the story
of Karbala in a narrative form
which he did. It became a part
of the authentic account of the
tragedy of Karbala and became a
source of majalis all over the
world.
Walid bin Abdul Malik, the Umayyad monarch realized that Imam’s teachings
were spreading all over the
Arabia and influencing the
Muslims, hence he poisoned the
Imam and he was martyred on 25th of
Muharrum 95 A.H.
Once a person asked Imam Zain-ul-Abidin (A.S.),
“What is the criterion for the
acceptance of the prayers? The
Imam replied, “Acknowledging our
Wilayah and dissociating from
our enemies.”
The reason why the Imam was given the title of
“Zayn-al-Abidin” was that one
night the Imam was praying and
Shaitaan manifested himself as a
huge serpent and tried to
distract him. When the Imam did
not take notice of him, he bites
the toe of the Imam (a.s.)
causing great pain, but the Imam
remained oblivious of him, and
carried on with his prayers.
After completing his prayers,
the Imam realized that it was
Shaitaan, he cursed him saying,
“O’ Accursed! Go away” and once
again engaged himself in
worship. It was at that moment
that an angel called three
times: “You are the
embellishment of the
worshippers.” Or
“Zayn-al-Abidin”
Among the sayings of Imam Zayn-al-Abidin (a.s.)
are, “The attributes of a
believer are: piety in private,
donating charity at the time of
need, patience when misfortune
comes, tolerance at the time of
anger, and truthfulness when
there is fear.”
Once, the young Imam fell sick. His father, Imam Husayn (a.s.) inquired
about his health and asked
further if he had any wish. The Imam replied, “My only wish is that may Allah count me among those who
do not have any wish against His
“Divine Decree and Divine Fate”
or “Qaza-o-Qadr” He
was very pleased by the answer.
The Imam’s face would turn yellow while preparing for wudu and he would
tremble performing prayers due
to fear of Allah. Once, Imam was praying and young Imam Mohammad Baqir (a.s.) fell in a well
in the house and his mother was
upset and called the Imam to
rescue the boy. The Imam
peacefully completed his prayer
and after finishing it, he went
near the well and put his hand
in the well and pulled out Imam
Baqir completely unharmed and
without his clothes being wet.
After his return from Karbala, his uncle
Mohammad-e- Hanafiyya, asked the
Imam to give him the sacred
assets of Imamate as he was the
elder in the family. The Imam
first advised him that the
imamate is a Divine
responsibility and when he
disagreed requested his uncle to
accompany him to Holy Ka’ba and
let the Black Stone decide about
the Imamate. Both offered salaam
to the Black Stone but his
salaam was replied by the Black
Stone and further said, “Imamate
is the right of Zayn-al-Abiding”
At the time of the destruction of Madinah,
Marwan, who was an arch enemy of
AhlulBayt, came to the Imam for
shelter of his family. The Imam
gladly provided the requested
shelter!
Similarly, Haseen Ibne Numair, one of the
murderers in Karbala, requested
to buy food grains from the
Imam. The Imam recognized him
and said that he did not want to
sell it but can give him free!
One of his Shias from Balakh used to come for
Hajj and visit the Imam in
Madinah. Once his wife told him,
“You always take gifts for your
Imam but has your Imam ever
given you anything?” Next year
when he visited the Imam the
Imam asked him to join him for
food. After finishing the food,
the Imam wanted to pour water on
his hands to wash. When the pot
was full of dirty water, the
Imam asked him, “What is it?” He
said “water”. The Imam said,
“Look carefully” When he looked
carefully he saw red gems
instead of water. The Imam told
him to give it to his wife.
Omer Ibne Abdul Aziz was the only exception in
the corrupt Umayyad Dynasty.
When he was the Governor of
Hejaz, one of the walls of
Prophet’s mausoleum fell. After
the repair, he invited Imam
Zayn-al-Abidin (a.s.) to perform
the opening ceremony of the
mosque. He was the one who
returned the Garden of Fadak to
Bani Hashim and ordered to stop
the sinful tradition of cursing
Imam Ali from the mosques as
started by Moa’via bin Abu
Sufiyan. |
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