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THE INFALLIBLE IMAM ZAIN 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,
Yazd’jurd. 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. After the
martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.s.)
in Karbala, 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 on
route to Karbala.
The Imam (a.s.) led a quiet life after his return to Madinah. Because of
the martyrdom of Imam Husayn
(a.s.), the Muslim Ummah
realized the gravity of the sin
and crime of Yazid and the
people rose against his
tyrannical rule. Yazid’s
army ruthlessly suppressed the
revolt in Madinah. They 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 the
Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.). 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 thoroughly influenced
by this Treatise.
He loved and cared for the poor. The Imam would carry bags of bread on
his back at night, without
disclosing his identity, would
go around the streets of Madinah
and distribute it among the
needy. Even when he gave alms to
the needy, he would cover his
face not to embarrass the
recipient!
Hisham bin Abdul Malik, the heir of the caliph,
was visiting Makkah 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
son of Fatima and Ali and the
Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.).”
Hisham became furious, stopped
the financial aid and imprisoned
him. When Imam Zayn-al-Abidin
(a.s.) heard 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 and
said, “Martyrdom
was the grace and inheritance of
Ahlul Bayt”. The
Imam replied that humiliation
was not the inheritance of Ahlul
Bayt!
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 complied. It became a
part of the authentic account of
the tragedy of Karbala and
became a source of majalis all
over the Muslim 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-al-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 bite
the toe of the Imam (ads.)
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 the
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 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” The Imam
(a.s.) was very pleased with 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 then
the elder in the family. The
Imam first advised him that the
imamate is a Divine
responsibility and when he
disagreed, he requested his
uncle to accompany him to the
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-Abidin”
At the time of the destruction of Madinah,
Marwan, who was an arch enemy of
Ahlul Bayt, 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 told him that he
had 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 (a.s.)
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 polluted water, the
Imam asked him, “What is it?” He
said “water”. The Imam said,
“Look again carefully” When he
looked carefully he saw the red
gems instead of water. The Imam
told him to take it and 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 Gardens of Fadak to
Sayyida Fatima Zahra (s.a.)’s
progeny and ordered to stop the
sinful tradition of cursing Imam
Ali from the mosques as started
by Moa’via bin Abu Sufiyan.
Source: Behar-ul-Anwar by Allama Baqir Majlisi |
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