جب عابد ِ بیکس کو پیام ِ اجل آیا دنیاۓ دغا باز کی نیّت میں بل آیا وہ زہر دیا جس سے سکوں میں خلل آیا مانند ِ حسن۴ کٹ کے کلیجہ نکل آیا ظالم نے مریض ِ شہ ِ دلگیر کو مارا شبّر کی طرح دلبر ِ شبّیر کو مارا ( نسیم امروہوی ) We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Imam of the time (a.s.) on the occasion of the Martyrdom of Imam Zainul Aabedeen (a.s.) Childhood wish of Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) In his childhood, our 4th Imam, Imam Zainul Abideen (as) once fell very ill. Like any father, his father Imam Hussain (as) too showed affection towards him and asked, How are you feeling my son? Is there anything you wish to have so that I can provide you with it? As a small child, he (as) responded, O father! My wish is only one that Allah (SWT) should place me amongst those who are ever pleased and satisfied with whatever HE destines for them. Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) and Satan: The reason for Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) being given the title of Zainul Abideen (the adornment or the pride of worshippers) was that one night, as he stood for prayers in his place of worship, Satan manifested himself in the form of a huge serpent with the intention of distracting Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) from his prayers. But when Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) took no notice of him, the Satan approached him and bit his big toe causing pain to run through him, but despite this act of his, Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) continued to remain oblivious of him and carried on with his prayers. When, after the completion of his prayers, Imam Ali bin Hussain (as) realized that it was Satan, he cursed him saying: O Accursed! Go away, and once again engaged himself in worship. It was at this moment that he heard an angel call out three times: You are the adornment or embellishment of the worshippers. The Imamate of Imam Zain al-Abideen (A) No Imam began his Imamat in a more tragic atmosphere. The first day of his Imamat saw him seriously ill and a captive of the army of Yazid in Karbala. His father and predecessor had sacrificed all he had on the altar of truth; and Imam Zayn al-Abideen found himself with a group of helpless widows and orphans being led from place to place, from the durbar of Ibn Ziyad to the court of Yazid. Finally they were thrown into a prison, where the Imam spent the first year of his Imamat, cut off from the followers of his father and unable to look after their affairs. Understandably, the tragedy of Karbala had created a chaos in the Shia world. Shias were in the throes of a dark pessimism, and the community was in disarray. A movement had already begun to accept Muhammad al Hanafiyah, son of Amir-ul-Muminin Ali as the 4th Imam. Muhammad al Hanafiyah himself had no such design. But the problem was: how to stop that movement without putting the life of Imam Zayn al-Abideen in danger? Yazid had not hesitated to murder Imam Hussain in spite of the highest prestige the Imam had in the Muslims eyes. It would have been far more easier for him to kill Imam Zayn al-Abideen a young man of 23 years of age, whose divine virtues were yet to shine before the Muslim community. And it was not in the interest of Islam that Imam Zayn al-Abideen be martyred so soon after Imam Hussain. Altogether, Imam Zain al-Abideen had three difficult tasks before him: To announce his Imamat publicly without seeming to oppose outsiders. To weld the community together, making a tasbih (rosary) out of the scattered beads - doing it in such a way as not to give Yazid and Yazidites an excuse to retaliate. To expand true faith, providing a beacon of light to guide the seekers of truth to the safety of true faith and virtuous deeds - doing it without attracting untoward attention of his enemies. Any of these Himalayan tasks would have defeated a lesser being. But Imam Zain al-Abideen under divine guidance did achieve all these aims in such a beautiful and unobtrusive way that even his followers, who tremendously benefited, and are benefiting, from his superb leadership did not consciously realise how they were being guided. UNITING THE SHIA COMMUNITY This is an even more fascinating aspect of his Imamat. How was he to unite all the Shias in an, ever-lasting bond? What was the factor which could join them permanently? Philosophical exhortations? But they have effect on only small group of intellectuals; man-in-the-street is not influenced by them. Moreover, it cannot influence the feelings; and unity is a feeling of oneness. Some joyous aspects of religion? Joy and happiness is a feeling, no doubt. But it does not necessarily unite the people. Many is the time when a man celebrates a joyous function and his brother refuses to join him, because of some minor misunderstandings. But let there be a tragedy in that house, and the same brother would rush therein to share that sorrow. This tendency of human nature brings us to the third alternative Sorrow. Sorrow and grief succeeds in binding the mourners together, while intellectual arguments and joyous functions fail to achieve that object. Have not you seen how at the time of a national tragedy all political differences are genuinely forgotten and how the whole nation unites together to share the sorrow and shoulder the resulting responsibilities? Imam Zain al-Abideen under divine command selected this method to unite the community. And again it was adopted apparently just as a personal way of life, without its being aimed against anyone. Majlisi (in Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. XI) has written a chapter, His mourning and Weeping on the Martyrdom of his Father, May Grace of Allah be on Both, in which he, inter alia, writes: And it is said that he (i.e. Imam Zain al-Abideen) continued to weep till his eyes were endangered. And whenever he took water to drink, he wept till the tears filled the pot. Someone talked to him about it and he replied: Why should not I cry, when my father was denied the water which was free to the beasts and animals? And never was food brought to him but that he wept, so much so that a servant told him: May I be your ransom, O Son of the Messenger of Allah! I am afraid that you would die (of this weeping). The Imam said: I only complain of my distraction and anguish to Allah and I do not know. Never do I remember the massacre of the children of Fatimah but that tears strangle me. Naturally, this example set by their Imam was followed by the Shias every where; and they joined hands to establish mourning of Imam Hussain whenever possible. This created a feeling of oneness and unity in all persons attending those mourning-sessions. And how could Yazid or Yazidites tell Imam Zain al-Abideen not to remember his father? This institution of mourning became the focal-point of all religious activities of the Shia community and the life-line of their faith. In later periods, the enemies of the faith realised the vital role which the mourning plays in religious education and character-building of the Shias, and they tried to stop it by the force of their Fatwa. Now they have changed their tactics. Now they ask: Why should one mourn for an event which occurred more than 1300 years ago? They ask it while they are fully aware that these mourning sessions (Majalis) are the best-organised, well-attended religious schools, where the participants willingly learn the basic tenets of faith, are exhorted to emulate the way of life of Ahl i-Bayt; and thus their Islamic outlook on the life and the world is fortified. This seat of learning was given to the Shia community by Imam Zain al-Abideen so unobtrusively that even the community did not realise its importance and significance in the beginning. TEACHING TRUE ISLAM The previous two tasks were stepping-stones to reach this most important of his responsibilities. We have seen how the Imam announced his Imamat by means of a family feud, and how he gave his followers a platform of unity in the form of his mourning for his father. In neither instance he addressed any outsider; still the message got through. Likewise, in meeting this third and most important of his tasks, he did not address any human being. He selected the form of Dua (invocation) for this purpose. He recorded his Duas in a book form and asked his two sons to make copies of the book. This recording itself is an, indication that these invocations were not just a prayer, but also a means of guidance for the Muslims. How could anyone tell him not to ask his wants from Allah? How could anyone come between Allah and His servant, when raising his hands he called his Lord in a heart-rending voice to come to his aid and to help him out of his difficulties. But those recorded duas are a treasure of Islamic knowledge. One finds in them almost all theological and ethical questions answered eloquently and eruditely. Reading them, the heart is filled with true belief and sincere love of Allah; and the light of virtue and nobleness illuminates the character. It is not possible to give here even a short review of this sacred book, generally known as As-Sahifatus-Sajjadiyah and As-Sahifatul-Kamilah; and also called Psalm of Ale Muhammad and Injil of Ahlul Bait. When this book was shown to Egyptian scholars, they were thunderstruck and awed by its beauty. They were amazed and stunned by the purity of thought and perfection of character to which this book irresistibly leads its reader. The renowned scholar, late Al-Tantawi wrote: I have studied this book with utmost care. I have gone through the Duas (invocations) and Munajats (supplications) with a searching eye. I was stunned by the lofty meanings and deep sense contained therein. I was deeply impressed by the value and magnificence of these invocations. I wonder how the Muslims all along been ignorant of such valuable treasure. They have been in deep slumber all these centuries. They could not even feel that Allah had supplied them with such a precious store of knowledge. The invocations in this book have two distinct approaches: the one seeks for the knowledge and guidance to keep away from sins and evil things, while the other persuades and exhorts one to enable ones self by performance of virtuous deeds. We may say that these Invocations, full of knowledge and guidance, are a wonderful treasure of secrets, and contain hints regarding self-reproachment, admission of shortcomings, with tears and self-purification, warding off vicissitudes and difficulties, safe-guarding oneself from the tyrannies of the enemy, recovery from various diseases and so on. All such Duas are found mostly in the first part of the book, while the later part consists of the loftiness and grandeur of Allah, His creation and other wonders of His power and might. Is it not wonderful? Does not it show that these holy personages are unveiling many secrets of learning and unravellirig many mysteries of knowledge for Muslims, who happen to be completely ignorant of it. It is a fact that the affairs of human beings are divided into two parts: The one is to keep away from evil, the other to acquire good traits together with the knowledge of Divine existence, which is essential for self-purification and spiritual perfection. Then he goes on expounding these points with help of many invocations. In another article, he compares an invocation of Imam Zain al-Abideen with the prayer of the Prophet Nuh (Noah). Just to give an example of the high religious and ethical standard taught by our Holy Imam, I am quoting here extracts from a Dua, known as Makerim-ul-Akhlaq (Noble Character). This Dua is enough to lead the reciter on the right path, making him a perfect Muslim and a virtuous believer. O Lord, Thou art my shelter if I grow sad, and Thou art my resource if I am in need and unto Thee I cry for help, when deeply afflicted, and with Thee is recompense for what is lost, and reformation for what is corrupted, and alteration for what Thou disapprovest: Therefore, favour me with security before calamity, and bounty before begging (for it) and right direction before error and spare me from bearing me peace on the day of resurrection and favour me with hand some guidance. O Lord, bless Muhammad and his Aal (family) and ward off (evil) from me with Thy grace, and nourish me with Thy blessing, and reform me with Thy graciousness and cure me with Thy goodness and hide me in the shelter of Thy mercy and clothe me with Thy approbation, and help me, when matters grow difficult about me, (to choose) the most righteous of them, and when actions become dubious, (to select) the purest of them, and when the creeds conflict, (to adopt) the most praiseworthy of them. O Lord, bless Muhammad and his Al (family) and crown me with sufficiency and adorn me with the grace of Thy love and grant me true guidance and do not try me with prosperity and confer on me the beauty of comfort and do not make my life a succession of trials, and do not reject my prayer with repulsion; for, I do not recognise any as Thy rival, and I do not call upon any as Thy equal. O Lord, bless Muhammad and his Al (family) and restrain me from extravagance and preserve my subsistence from waste and increase my possessions by giving blessing therein and let me walk along the path of benevolence; in whatever I spend my (wealth). In this way Imam Zayn al-Abideen spent his life providing guidance not only for the Muslims of his time, but also for the generations to come. When he left this world, he had more than accomplished all that he was entrusted with by Allah. Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) and Shia: A group of people came to our 4th Imam, Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) saying that they were his Shia (followers). What do you do when you get something? Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) asked them. We say Alhamdulillah [Praise belongs to Allah (SWT)], they replied. What do you do when something is taken away from you? Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) asked them. We lament a little and come to terms with it, they replied. What do you do when you do not receive anything? Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) asked them further. Nothing, they replied. Even the dogs of Madinah do that. Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (as) said. When they are given something (food), they wag their tails in thankfulness (Shukr). When something is taken away from them, they bark a little and walk away. When they do not get anything, they walk around the streets. Our Shia are those who say Alhamdulillah [Praise belongs to Allah (SWT)] when they receive something, when something is taken away and when they receive nothing. (Ahsanul Qasa) His martyrdom Imam(a.s.) kept his life very personal and preferred to stay in a town close to Madina from where he would preach the true religion of Allah(swt) quietly and with character. His character and preaching inspired a large number of people specially in the vicinity of Madina and Makkah. Slowly the tyrrant rulers of his time began to realize the dangers that they faced from the Imam(a.s.)s preaching and character. His period of Imamte was full of tyrant rulers such as Yazid untill 64 A.H., Moawiya bin Yazid and Marwan bin-al-Hakam until 65 A.H, then from 68 A.H. until 86 A.H. was the rulership of Abdul Malik bin Marwan and finally from 86 A.H. until 96 A.H. was the period of Walid bin Abdul Malik. Amid this growing threat, Walid decided to poison and kill the Imam and finally he succeeded in his ulterior motives and Imam Sajjad(a.s.) was poisoned by the governor of Madina and martyred on 25th Moharram 95 A.H. (713 A.D.) اَللَّهُمَّ الَعَنْ قَتَلَۃَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ زین الْعَابِدِينَ عَلَیْہ السَلام 6931F4DB-25CB-4D5F-8F01-CB86209A180A 86F7D6DE-F348-4E89-B8A0-55934694FE43 7CBCB400-F65D-4AD6-ABA4-E3CE43D841D0 4BF449A9-BBAA-4BE2-B7E0-963BB080DCCF 333C0A66-BD94-4848-A5A1-8009DE687210 181D56CD-43DA-4511-9048-1601479BA08A 89E153FC-E173-4CC0-B6B2-1F0CF831A367 5D988D21-29F1-41F7-881D-9AF37F4D8F0C CA96911C-253A-4F7F-99B3-62AC625AAA82 557DC2BF-9BD5-402B-ACB6-69318351DE28 1B0537B4-41A7-4AE3-8773-53222922C2F5 DAE9F2B2-2530-4D51-BFC1-D8FB61073460 7F26FA14-3D95-48BB-A02B-B5BF2373B348
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 08:21:32 +0000
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