Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 2/178
Newsletter for September 2016
Article ... 1 - Article ... 2 - Article ... 3 - Article ... 4 - Article ... 5 - Article ... 6 - Article ... 7 - Article ... 8 - Article ... 9 - Article ... 10 - Article ... 11 - Article ... 12
The Fourth
Imam: Ali ibne al-Husain (AS)
Name: Ali
Title: Zain al-Abideen
Epithet: Abu Muhammad
Father: Husain bin Ali
Mother: Shabar Bano binte Yazdigard III
Date of Birth: Jamadiul Awwal, 37 AH (January
6,659 AD)
Place of Birth: Madinah
Progeny: from Umm Abd Allah binte al-Hasan
One: Muhammad (al-Baqir)
He had many other children from other wives
Date of Death: Muharram 25, 95 AH (October 20,
713 AD)
He lived to an age of 54 years
Place of Death: Madinah
Place of Burial: Jannatul-Baqi’
THE LIFE OF ALI IBN Al-HUSAIN
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 Ramadhan
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 joumey 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 fiiends 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
connnander 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. Muk-htar
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
despatched 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 harm 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 Prophefs
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 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 leant
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.
|
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.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - FEEDBACK