Shahadat or Martyrdom of Imam Zeynel Abidin (as)

Allah (SWT) says in His Noble Qur'an: "Allah's wish is but to remove
uncleanness far from you, O folk of the Household, and cleanse you
with a though cleansing" (33:33). One ofthose Members of the House is
Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein (as) known as Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) whose
martyrdom anniversary is on the 25th of Muharram .
Imam Al-Sajjad (as) or Imam Sayyid al-Sajideen (as), another nickname
ofhis meaning the one whoprostrates, dedicated all his life to Allah,
Islam andall human beings. He lived as a youth with his father, Imam
Al-Hussein (as), and his uncle Imam Al-Hassan (as), and witnessed all
the events that preceded Karbala, and became aware of theproblems of
the Muslim Ummah (community) andits suffering from injustice and
tyranny.
Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) then lived the tragedy of Karbala, but he was
so sick that he could not take part in the actual fighting perhaps due
to Allah's (SWT) wisdom. On the day of Ashura (10th Muharram 61 AH) he
lost his father, his relatives and companions in one of the most
dramatic tragedies that one can ever encounter.
After the martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein (as), the survival of Islam
depended on Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) and that also at a tender age of
around 22 years. He had a very hard job of letting the world know the
mission of Imam Al-Hussein (as) and exposing the evil intentions of
Yazid and the Bani Umayyah. He had to keep the message of Islam alive
and save it from being confused by the evil Bani Umayyah.
Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) was extraordinary patient, for he accepted
Allah's (SWT) will, being the faithful believer he was. Then he lived
the second tragedy immediately following the tragedy of Karbala when
he was taken with his sisters and aunts and the rest of the
companions' wives and daughters as prisoners, in an unprecedented act
in the history of internal Muslim fights. We know, for example, that
when Imam Ali (as) won the battle of the Camel (Jung-e-Jamal) , he
sent all the women who were with the Prophet's wife, Aisha,back to
Medina with all due respect. But that wasthe first time in Islam to
take Muslim prisoners, and not any Muslims, but women and men of the
noblest origin not only indescent but in their piety and values, as
those embodied by Syeda Zainab (sa) and Imam Ali bin Al-Hussien (as).
Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) was taken to Al-Sham, where he delivered an
important speech in which he exposed Yazid ibn Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan
and silenced him. He was able to emphasizethe values and reasons for
Imam Al-Hussein's (as)revolution through several methods, for he, like
all the Imams who followed him, wanted to let this revolution inspire
people in all times and places to revolt against oppression and
deviation.
To quote one incidence, Yazid ibn Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan asked one of
his employed preachers to go on the pulpit (Mimber) of the Mosque and
abused Imam Ali (as) and his family. When the preacher finished his
lecture, Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) turned to him and said, "Be ashamed
ofyourself, you evil speaker. With your wordsyou have displeased
Allah(SWT) so as to please people". Then Imam (as) asked Yazid to let
him talk to the people. Yazid refused to do so. The people of Syria,
however,forced Yazid to allow the Imam to go on the Mimber.
Once on the Mimber, Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) first praised Allah (SWT)
and His Holy Prophet (saw). After that the Imam gave along and very
powerful speech letting the Syrians know the great position of Imam
Al-Hussein (as) to Allah (SWT), and how evil Yazid and his family
were. Part of the speech is summarized below:
"O listeners Allah has given us ( Ahlul Bayt ) six things which no one
else has. He has given us special Wisdom, Patience,Dignity, Power of
speech,Courage and Respect. He gave us special benefit ofbelonging to
the family of his Prophet. To us belong Hamza and Jafar. To us belong
Asadullah (The lion of Allah, Imam Ali (as)). To us belongs the leader
of the youths of paradise (Imam Al-Hassan (as) and Imam Al-Hussein
(as)).
"Those who know me. Those who do not, then know that I am the son
ofMakkah and Mina. I am the son of Zamzam and Safa. I am the son of he
who gave Zakat to the poor. I am the son of the best of those who have
ever put on Ihram and performed ceremonies of Hajj . I am the son of
he who was taken on the night journey from houseof Allah to the Mosque
of Aqsa and then to Meraj . I am the son of he who was taken around by
Gabriel, Jibril to the Lote-tree of the boundary (Sidratul Muntaha).
I am the son of Muhammad Mustafa (saw). I am the son of Ali Al-Murtaza
(as) who fought the polytheists in the battle till they submitted to
Islam and fought in the presence ofthe Prophet until his sword was
broken and towhom Zulfikar was given. I am the son of he who had the
honour to migrate twice in Islam. I am the son of Fatima the best
women of the world..."
The effect of the speech was so powerful that everybody in the Mosque
began to weep and to blame Yazid. Yazid was afraid that if Imam Zeynel
Abidin (as) continued his speech, there would be a revolution and
revolt. At the same time Yazid could not stop the Imam and get him
down from the Mimber. He therefore ordered a "Muazzin" to give Azaan,
knowing thatthis would automatically cut the Imam's speech. But he
underestimated the Imam's bravery and intelligence. Imam ZeynelAbidin
(as) stopped his speech but did not get down from the Mimber. When the
Muazzin said"Allahu Akbar" the Imam testified Allah's greatness. When
the Muazzin said, "Ash hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah ", the Imam
stopped the Muazzin from going any further. He then turned to Yazid
and asked him. "Tell me OYazid, was Muhammad (saw) is your
grandfatheror mine? If you say he was your grandfather it will be an
open lie and if you say he was my grandfather then why have you killed
his son and imprisoned his family? Why have you killed my father and
brought his women and children to this city as prisoners?"
Yazid ibn Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan (la) had no reply to give.
The effect of this was to turn Syrians against Yazid. Everyone of them
now found out about Yazid's crimes that he had committed against the
Holy Prophet (saw) and his family. They began to blame him and ask for
the release of Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) and the womenfolk of the house
of the Holy Prophet (saw).
Yazid had to free Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) out of fear of his own
rulership,therefore, Imam (as) was still not completely safe from his
evil designs even upon reaching backto Madina. Once in Madina, Imam
Zeynel Abidin (as) gathered the people and told them thehorrifying
stories of Karbala and informed them that his father Imam Al-Hassan
(as) and his companions were martyred and his family members were made
prisoners and were takenfrom one city to another (Karbala, Kufa,
Al-Sham) and branded as traitors.
Day in and day out, people used to go to Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) and
present condolence and hear the events of Karbala. Once a visitor
named Noman came to Imam (as) and asked him which was the most
difficult time he had to face and Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) cried for a
long time and said three times, "As-Shaam, As-Shaam, As-Shaam".
Another visitor asked himas to how long would he continue mourning and
crying? For that he replied that Prophet Yaqoob (as) had 12 sons and
only one of them (Prophet Yusuf (as)) got lost and he know that he was
still alive but he continued crying until the pupils of his eyes
became white and his back got bent - I had seen 18 members of my
family being slaughtered around me in a single day and you ask me as
to how long I would continue mourning.
Imam Zeynel Abidin (as) did not sink in the memory of the tragedy
tothe extent that he forgot about his responsibilities towards the
Islamic world. What is being toldby some narrators of Ashura is
untrue: Imam did not spent all his life crying for the death of his
father. He only cried when he saw that crying would provide a windowof
opportunity to make people become more adherent to the cause.
On the contrary, he was patient as any one could be, for the Members
of the House are the role models in patience and in overcoming grief.
Historians tell us that most scientists and thinkers of that time were
among his students.Thus it could be said that he was the teacher of
Islamic culture. He also left us his supplications that represent a
moving spiritual social and moral Islamic course. If we readhis
supplication whether the Sahifa-e-Sajjadia or the others, we find out
that those who read them will come out by a general cultural Islamic
course that covers all basis Islamic principles and concepts.

--

- - - - -

And Allah Knows the Best!

- - - - -

Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤