The Tyrant with Imam Zayn al-Abidin(A.S.)
The captives of the Household of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, were caused to enter the palace of the Governor of Ku`fa, b. Marja`na (i. e., 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziya`d). When the tyrant, b. Marja`na, saw Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, who was sapped by illness, he asked him: "Who are you?"
"I am 'Ali b. al-Husayn," answered the Ima`m.
"Did not Allah kill 'Ali b. al-Husayn?" Ibn Ziya`d asked the Ima`m.
The Ima`m carefully replied: "I used to have an older brother also named 'Ali whom you killed. He will request you on the Day of Judgment."
Ibn Ziya`d burst with anger and shouted at the Ima`m: "Allah killed him!"
The Ima`m answered him with bravery and steadfastness:
"Allah takes the souls away at the time of their death; none dies except with Allah's permission."
Ibn Marja`na was perplexed, not knowing what to answer this young captive who defeated him through giving proofs and quotations from the Qur'a`n, so he shouted at him, saying: "How dare you answer me like that!"
The wicked sinner, b. Marja`na, ordered one of his swordsmen, saying: "Take this lad and behead him!"
The wise lady Zaynab, granddaughter of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, put her hands around the Ima`m and bravely said to b. Marja`na: "O Ibn Ziya`d, it suffices you what you have shed of our blood! Have you really spared anyone other than this? If you want to kill him, kill me with him as well!"
The tyrant admired her and said to the swordsman with astonishment: "Leave him for her! Amazing is their tie of kinship; she wishes to be killed with him!"
Were it not for this heroic attitude of the wise lady Zaynab, Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin would have been killed and the rest of the progeny of Ima`m al-Husayn, peace be on him, who was the source of good and honor in the earth, would have been destroyed. In his book 'al-Rasa`'il', al-Ja`hiz reported that b. Marja`na said to his companions concerning 'Ali b. al-Husayn:
"Let me kill him, for he is the rest of this progeny (i. e., the progeny of al-Husayn), so through him I will sever this horn, deaden this disease, and cut off this material."
However, they advised him to refrain from killing him, for they thought that the Ima`m would be destroyed by his illness.(Hayat al-Imam al-Husayn, vol. 3, pp. 345-347).
A Kufa`n Kidnaps the Ima`m
A Kufa`n Kidnapped the Ima`m, hid him in his house, entertained and treated him kindly. When he saw the Ima`m, he burst into tears. The Ima`m thought that the Kufa`n was trustworthy. A short time later, the caller of b. Ziya`d announced:
"Whoever finds 'Ali b. al-Husayn and brings him will have three hundred dirhams." When the Kufa`n heard the caller, he put a rope around the Ima`m's neck, tied his hands with the robe, and took the dirhams.(Mir'at al-Zaman fi Tawarikh al-Ayan, p. 98. Ibn al-Jawzi, vol. 5, Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat).
This initiative, if correct, gives a picture of the Kufa`ns who spared no effort to get money.
The Captives of the Household taken to Damascus
The womenfolk and the children of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, were taken as prisoners to Damascus. They were in a condition the sight of which would cause anyone's soul to melt. All the Kufa`ns went out to see the captives of their Prophet off. The men and the women wept for them. Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, wondered at their attitude and said: "They killed us and are weeping over us!(Mir'at al-Zaman fi Tawarikh al-A'yan, p. 99).
The wicked sinner, Shimr b. Dhi al-Jawshan, ordered a rope to be put around Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin's neck.(Ansab al-Ashraf, Q1/vol. 1).
The historians said: "Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin did not say even a word to the rude people who accompanied him, nor did he ask them for a thing throughout the journey, for he knew that they were wicked and ignoble, and that they would not respond to any of his requests.
The caravan of the captives arrived at a place near Damascus and stopped there because the Umayyads wanted to decorate the city to show their rejoicing and the victory which the grandson of Abi Sufya`n gained over the grandson of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family.
When Damascus was fully decorated, the captives of the Household of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, were caused to enter it.
A Syrian with Imam Zayn al-Abidin(A.S.)
An elderly Syrian, who was misled by the false rumors, came near Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, and said to him: "Praise belongs to Allah Who annihilated you and Who granted the governor the upper hand over you."
The Ima`m looked at the elderly Syrian. He understood that the elderly Syrian misunderstood the truth and was deceived by the false Umayyad mass media, so he asked him: "Shaykh, have you read the Qur'a`n?"
"Yes," answered the man.
"Have you read," continued the Ima`m, "the verse saying: ' Say: I do not ask you for a reward for it except that you treat my kinsfolk with kindness,' the verse saying: ' and give the (Prophet's) kinsfolk their due rights,' and the verse saying: 'and be informed that whatever you earn by way of booty, for Allah belongs the fifth thereof and for the Messenger (of Allah) and for the (Prophet's) kinsfolk'? "
The elderly Syrian admired the Ima`m and said to him with a faint voice: "Yes, I have read all of them."
The Ima`m said to him: "We, by Allah, are the kinsfolk referred to in all these verses." Then the Ima`m asked him: "Shaykh, have you read these words of Him, the exalted: 'Allah only desires to take away uncleanness from you, O Household (of the Prophet) and purify thoroughly'?"
"Yes," was the answer.
"We are the Household (of the Prophet) whom Allah singled out with the Verse of Purification."
The elderly Syrian shook all over. He wished that the earth had swallowed him up before saying his words. Then he asked the Ima`m: "I ask you in the Name of Allah, are you really them?"
"By our grandfather, Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, we are, without any doubt," replied the Ima`m.
It was then that the elderly Syrian fell on Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin's hands kissing them. His tears flowed down his cheeks, and he said: "I dissociate myself before Allah from those who killed you!"
The elderly Syrian sought repentance from the Ima`m from whatever rude remarks he had made earlier. So he, peace be on him, forgave him.(Hayat al-Imam al-Husayn. vol. 3, p. 371).
Ima`m Zayn al-Abidin(A.S.) in the Assembly of Yazid
The police men of Yazid tied with ropes the wise women of Revelation and the children of Ima`m al-Husayn, as sheep are tied. The beginning of the rope was around the neck of Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, then around the neck of his aunt Zaynab, up to all the daughters of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. Whenever they relaxed in their walking, they (the police men of Yazid) whipped them.
They brought them in this condition whose terror cracked the mountains and made them stop before Yazid. So Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin turned to him and asked him: "What do you think the reaction of our grandfather, Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, might have been had he seen us looking like this?" The tyrant, Yazid, collapsed. All those who were in his assembly wept. Yazid felt pain of that tragic sight, so he said:
"May Allah detest b. Marja`na the ugly. If there had been (any bond of) kinship between him and you, he would not have done this to you; he would not have sent you in this state." Then the tyrannical one, Yazid, ordered the ropes to be cut off, turned to Zayn al-'Abidin and said him: "How did you, 'Ali, see what Allah did to your father al-Husayn?"
Al-Husayn's brave son (Zayn al-'Abidin) answered with calmness and tranquillity: "Whatever misfortune befalls the earth or your own selves is already in a Book even before we cause it to happen; this is easy for Allah, so that you may not grieve about what you missed nor feel elated on account of what you receive. And Allah does not love those who are haughty and proud."
The tyrant, Yazid, burst in anger, his elation went away, and recited these words of Him, the Exalted: "Whatever misfortune befalls you is due to what your hands commit." The Ima`m answered him, saying:
"This (verse) concerns those who do wrong, not those who are wronged."
Then he turned his face away from him to disdain him and his position.(Hayat al-Imam al-Husayn. vol. 3, p. 376).
Imam Zayn al-Abidin(A.S.) delivers a Sermon
Yazid permitted all the people to come to his palace, so the hall of his palace became full of people who came and congratulated him on the false victory. He was pleased and happy, because the world yielded to him, and the kingdom belonged to him only. So he ordered the orator to ascend the pulpit and to defame al-Husayn and his father, Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him.
The orator ascended the pulpit and went too far in slandering the pure family (of the Prophet), and then he lauded in a false way Yazid and his father Mu'a`wiya. Thus, Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, interrupted him, saying: "Woe unto you, orator! You have traded the pleasure of the creature for the wrath of the Creator, so take your place in the fire (of Hell)."
Then the Ima`m turned to Yazid and asked him, saying: "Do you permit me to ascend this pulpit to deliver a speech that will please Allah, the Almighty, and that will bring good rewards for these folks?"
The attendants were astonished at this sick lad, who interrupted the orator and the governor while he was a captive. Yazid refused, but the people begged him. He said to them: "If he ascends the pulpit, he will not descends (from it) till he expose me and the family of Abi Sufya`n."
The people asked him: "What will this sick lad do?"
The people did not know the Ima`m. They thought that he was like the other people, but the tyrant, Yazid, knew him, so he said to them: "These are people who have been spoon-fed with knowledge."
They kept pressuring him till he agreed. So the Ima`m ascended the pulpit and delivered the most wonderful speech in history in eloquence. He made the people weep. The folks were confused because the Ima`m's speech controlled their hearts and feelings. The following is some of what he said:
"O people, we were granted six things and favored with seven: We were granted knowledge, clemency, leniency, fluency, courage, and love for us in the hearts of the believers. We were favored by the fact that from among us came the chosen Prophet, Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, al-siddiq (the very truthful one), al-Tayya`r (the one who flies in the heaven), the Lion of Allah and of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, the mistress of the women of the world Fa`tima the chaste, and both lords of the youths of Heaven from among this nation"
Having introduced his family, the Ima`m continued his speech explaining their outstanding merits, saying:
"Whoever recognizes me knows me, and whoever does not recognize, let me tell him who I am and to what family I belong:
I am the son of Mecca and Mina; I am the son of Zamzam and al-Safa`; I am the son of the one who carried Zaka`t in the ends of the mantle; I am the son of the best man who ever put on a loincloth and clothes;
I am the son of the best man who ever put on sandals and walked barefooted; I am the son of the best man who ever made tawa`f (the procession round the Kaaba) and Sa'i (ceremony of running seven times between Safa` and Marwa`); I am the son of the best man who ever offered the hajj and pronounced talbiya (Here I am at your service);
I am the son of the one who was transported on the bura`q in the air; I am the son of the one who was made to travel from the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Mosque, so glory belongs to Him Who made (His Servant) travel; I am the son of the one who was taken by Gabriel to sidrat al-muntaha` ;
I am the son of the one who drew near (his Lord) and suspended, so he was the measure of two bows or closer still; I am the son of the one who led the angels of the heavens in prayer; I am the son of the one to whom the Almighty revealed what He revealed; I am the son of Mohammed al-Mustafa` ;
I am the son of 'Ali al-Murtada` ; I am the son of the one who fought against the creatures till they said: There is no god but Allah. I am the son of the one who struck (the enemies) with two swords before Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, and stabbed (them) with two spears, emigrated twice, pledged allegiance twice (to the Prophet), prayed in the two qiblas, and fought (against the unbelievers) at Badr and Hunayn and never disbelieved in Allah not even as much as the twinkling of an eye.
I am the son of the best of the believers, the heir of the prophets, the destroyer of the unbelievers, the Commander of the Muslims, the light of the muja`hidin, the ornament of the worshippers, the crown of the weepers, the most patient of the patient, and the best of the steadfast from among the family of Ya`sin, and the Messenger of the Lord of the world's inhabitants.
I am the son of the one who was backed by Gabriel, supported by Mika`el. I am the son of the one who defended the Muslims, killed the oath breakers of allegiance and the unjust and the renegades, struggled against his tiring enemies, the most excellent one of those who walked (to war) from among Quraysh, the first to respond to Allah from among the believers, the prior to all the previous ones, the breaker of the aggressors, the destroyer of the atheists, an arrow from among the shooting-places of Allah against the hypocrites, the tongue of the wisdom of worshippers,
the supporter of the religion of Allah, the protector of the affair of Allah, the garden of the wisdom of Allah, the container of the knowledge of Allah, tolerant, generous, benevolent, pure, Abtahi, satisfied, easily satisfied, intrepid, gallant, patient, fasting, refined, steadfast, courageous, honored, the severer of the backbones, the scatterer of the allies, the calmest of them, the best of them in giving free rein (to his horse), the boldest of them in tongue, the firmest of them in determination, the most powerful of them, a lion, brave, pouring rain, the one who destroyed them at the battles and dispersed them in the wind, the lion of al-Hija`z,
the possessor of the miracle, the ram of Iraq, the Ima`m through the text and worthiness, Makki, Madani, Abtahi, Tuha`mi, Khay'ani, 'Uqbi, Badri, Uhdi, Shajari, Muha`jiri, the Lord of the Arabs, the Lion of war, the inheritor of al-Mash'arayn, the father of the two grandsons (of the Prophet) al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the one who manifested miracles, the one who scattered the phalanxes, the piercing meteor, the following light, the victorious Lion of Allah, the request of every seeker, the victorious over every victorious, such is my grandfather, 'Ali b. Abi Ta`lib. I am the son of Fa`tima, the chaste. I am the son of the mistress of women. I am the son of the purified, virgin (lady). I am the son of the part of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family.
(Hayat al-Imam al-Husayn. vol. 3, p. 387).
I am the son of the one who was covered with blood. I am the son of the one who was slaughtered at Karbala`'. I am the son of the one for whom the Jinns wept in the dark and for whom the birds in the air cried.(Nafs al-Mahmum, p. 242).
The Ima`m continued saying 'I am....' until the people wailed.
Yazid thought that a discord would occur, for the Ima`m made a cultural revolt through his speech when he introduced himself to the Syrians and made them know what they did not know, so Yazid ordered the muadhdhin to say the adha`n and he said: "Alla`hu Akbar!"
The Ima`m turned to him and said:
"You have made great the Great One who cannot be measured and cannot be perceived by senses, there is nothing greater than Allah."
The muadhdhin said: "Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Alla`h!"
'Ali b. al-Husayn said: "My hair, my skin, my flesh, my blood, my brain, and my bones bear witness that there is no god but Allah."
The muadhdhin said: "Ashhadu anna Mohammedan rasool Allah!"
The Ima`m turned to Yazid and asked him: "Yazid, is Mohammed your grandfather or mine? If you say that he is yours, then you are a liar, and if you say that he is mine, then why did you kill his family?"
Yazid became silent and was unable to answer, for the great Prophet was Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin's grandfather. As for Yazid's grandfather, he was Abu` Sufya`n, who was the mortal enemy of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family.
The Syrians understood that they were drowning in sin, and that the Umayyad government spared no effort to delude and mislead them.(Al-Khawarizmi, Maqqtal al-Husayn, vol. 2, p. 242).
The Ima`m confined his speech to introducing the Prophet's Household to the Syrians. He indicated to them that the Prophet's Household had a great position with Allah, that they waged jihad against the enemies of Islam, and that they suffered persecutions.
The Ima`m mentioned nothing other than these matters. I (the author) think that this confinement to these matters is among the most wonderful considerations and among the most exact type of eloquence. This is because the Syrians knew nothing about the Prophet's Household except what the pseudo clergy men fabricated against them; the authority and its mercenaries fed the Syrians on enmity toward the Prophet's Household and on obedience to the Umayyads.
Anyhow, the Ima`m's speech had a great effect on the Syrians, who secretly told each other about the Umayyad false mass media, and about the disappointment and loss at which they reached, so their attitudes toward Yazid changedand they looked at him with disdain. (Jawharat al-Kamal fi Maddh al-Sada al-'Alam, p. 128).
