Shahadat Imam Zaynul Abdieen (Fourth Imam)

Friday 31 December, corresponding to 25 Muharram

Name: Ali ibn Husayn

Titles: Zaynul Abideen (The Jewel of the Worshippers), Sayed as Sajideen (Leader of Those who
do Sujood (prostrate) and Imam as Sajjad (The Prostrating Imam)
Father: Husayn ibn Ali
Mother: Shahrbanu
Birthplace: Medina, Saudia Arabia (a few historians narrate that Imam was born in Kufa, Iraq)
Birthdate: 5 Shaaban 38 AH
Martyrdom: 25 Muharram 95 AH
Burial: Medina, Saudia Arabia
Period of Immamate: 32 years

He would cover his face even when the night was at its darkest so as to not be recognized as he
crept outside onto the streets of Medina, with a sack of food on his back, to feed the hungry and
homeless.

At 22 years of age, Imam Sajjad was the oldest male member of the Ahlul Bayt who was present
on the day of Ashura in Karbala. He was in an extremely ill state and thus did not participate in
the battle. He carried on the responsibility of Immate after the martyrdom of Imam Husyan.

Sayyeda Zainab summarized the role that Imam Sajjad was to carry out in the crucial junction
that the religion of Islam was in after the death of Imam Husayn.

"You are the only memorial remnant of this family and the Imam after Imam Husayn and
you are the guardian of all of us. Your divine mission is to convey the message of the
martyrs to the people.”

After witnessing his father Imam Husayn and his 72 companions being massacred in front of him
by the evil forces of Yazid, Imam Sajjad along with the womenfolk were mercilessly paraded from
Karbala to Kufa, and then to the palace of Yazid in Damascus, Syria. They made this journey on
the backs of camels without saddles, and were repeatedly beaten and whipped. Their hands and
feet were bound in chains, and the heads of the martyrs were placed on spears in front of them.

Upon arrival in Kufa, the Ahlul Bayt noticed that the people on the streets of Kufa had been
brainwashed by the propaganda of Ibn-e-Ziad. The Kufans, who had earlier betrayed Imam
Husayn with letters of welcome, did not even recognize the prisoners and were in a festive mood.
It was here that Imam Sajjad gave the first of four stirring sermons to the people.

“You wrote invitation letters to my father. When he came towards you, you killed him.
What will you reply to God and his Prophet on the justice day?”

His words had an impact on the people who saw the the status of the prisoners and began feeling
remorse.

Imam’s next sermon was delivered in the court of Ibn-e-Ziad in Kufa. Imam addressed him by
saying,

“Oh the son of Ziad! Today you are sitting on the seat and throne of Power and the sons of
the Prophet are standing before you. Do not think you have any value in our eyes?”

Ibn Ziad was flustered and ordered the prisoners to be taken to the court of Yazid ibn Muawwihah
in Damascus, Syria. Once in the court, the sacred head of Imam Husayn was given on a silver
platter to Yazid. In the prsence of the womenfolk headed by Sayeda Zainab and Imam Sajjad,
Yazid played with the lips of Imam Husayn with a knife.
Imam Sajjad delivered a strong worded sermon in the court of Yazid in which he said (to Yazid):

“You, who claim to be Muslim, say, what would the Prophet do with you and say to you if
he sees us in this condition that you have taken us prisoners."

Sayeda Zainab also gave a sermon that was so powerful in nature that it shook the very
foundations of Yazid.

In Damascus, Imam Sajjad and the women and children were kept as prisoners in inhumane
conditions. Some historians narrate that in the dungeons of Damascus, there was not even
enough room for the Ahlul Bayt to stand up.

It is no wonder that when a companion asked Imam Sajjad what the toughest part of his ordeal
was, he said “Ash Shaam, Ash Shaam, Ash Shaam” (Damascus, Damascus, Damascus)

It is narrated that after Imam Sajjad returned to back home to Medina, whenever he looked at
cold water his eyes would well up with tears as he remembered how his father was martyred
thirsty on the plains of Karbala.

His final notable sermon was given in Syria's grand mosque at an event organized by Yazid. It
was here that the Imam uttered those famous words which caused those in attendance to weep
and cry.

"I am the son of Mecca and Mina, I am the son of Zam Zam and Safa. I am the son of the
one who ascended to the skies (Meraj), I am the son of the Prophet of God. I am the son of
Ali Murtaza, I am the son of Fatimab. I am the son of Hussain, who they killed in Karbala
without any fault and sin.”

One of Imam Sajjad’s titles is “Zaynul Abdideen” , the Jewel (or Adornment) of the Worshippers.
What a beautiful title. Imam Sajjad’s worship was at the highest level possible.

He found a pleasure and sweetness in worship that is at a level incomprehensible to us.

To see a glimpse of the kind of relationship Imam Sajjad had with Allah, one must look no further
than the supreme compilation of duas (supplications) written by Imam Sajjad called Sahifa as
Sajjadiya. The most intimate and eloquent modes of conversation between us and our Creator
can be found in this most special book.

Supplications like Dua Abu Hamza Thumali, Dua Tawba, and Dua Makarimul Akhlaq all come
from Imam Sajjad’s Sahifa as Sajjadiya. It is regarded as one of the jewels of literature behind the
Holy Quran and Imam Ali’s Nahjul Balagha.

A highlight of Sahifa as Sajjadiya are the 15 Whispered Prayers (Munajat). These are short
duas which encompose the different states of a believer. For example, two of the Munajats are
the Whispered Prayer of the Khaifeen (fearful one) and Whispered Prayer of the Shakireen
(thankful one).

Another stunning bit of literature written by Imam Sajjad is Risalatul Huqooq (The Treatise of
Rights). This treatise covers what the rights of the several body parts are (e.g. eyes, stomach),
the rights of different people (e.g neighbours, leaders, family, muazzin), the rights of different
states (e.g fasting), and the rights of God against oneself.

It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Imam Sajjad was poisoned by the tyrant Umayyad leader Hasham bin Abdul Malik on Muharram
25 AH in his hometown of Medina. He was buried in the graveyard of Janatul Baqi next to the
grave of Imam Hassan, and with time the graves of Muhammad al Baqir and Imam Jaffer as
Sadiq.

The enemies of the Ahlul Bayt have since then floored the sacred shrines of Jannatul Baqee
when King Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudia Arabia ordered the demolition of the mausoleum on 21
April 1925.

We send out sincere condolences to the Imam of Our Time (atfs) on this sad and grievous day.
Sayings of of Imam Sajjad:

“The company of the righteous invites you to goodness”

“Beware of keeping company with a liar for he is like a mirage (deceptive). He shows you the
near one as distant and the distant thing as nearby.”

“The right of your mother is that you know she has carried you (in her womb) in a manner that
nobody has carried the other. And fed you from the fruit of her heart in a way that nobody has fed
the other. She protected you happily with her ears, eyes, hands, feet, hair, skin and all of her
body parts while bearing all the pains, agonies, discomforts and burdens till the time Allah's hand
detached you from her to the earth. Then she was contented that she remained hungry and fed
you and dressed you up remaining nude herself and quenched your thirst while she was thirsty,
she put you in the shade while she herself remained under the sun and brought you up with the
extreme comforts while herself (remaining) in hardship. She makes you enjoy the sweet sleep
while she is awake. Her womb was a soothing and comforting place for you. Her breasts were a
means of quenching your thirst. And her existence was a shield for protecting you. She endured
the hot and cold of the world for your sake. There fore, you must also thank her in the same
manner and you do not have the capability and power of doing it but with the assistance of Allah
and His grace” (From Imam Sajjad’s “Risaltul Huqooq” – The Right of your Mother)

“Yaqub (Jacob) the prophet had twelve sons, and God made one of them disappear. His eyes
turned white from constant weeping, his head turned grey out of sorrow, and his back became
bent in gloom, though his son was alive in this world. But I watched while my father, my brother,
my uncle, and seventeen members of my family were slaughtered all around me. How should my
sorrow come to an end?"

The Salawat of Imam Sajjad:

“O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Husayn, the lord among (Thy) adorers,
whom Thou selected for Thy pure friendship, and, in his lineage, appointed his offsprings as the
true guides (Imams) who truthfully guided the mankind, and for that purpose repeated them, one
after another,
as Thy own preferred choice. Thou kept off uncleanness far from him, elected him in preference
over others, and appointed him as the rightly guided guide.
O Allah send blessings on him, much and more blessings than Thou had bestowed upon any of
the descendants of the Prophets,
till Thy blessings enthral him with joy and delight, in this world and in the hereafter. Verily Thou
art Almighty, All-Wise.”

Sources used:
http://ziaraat.org
http://www.al-islam.org
http://www.ezsoftech.com