oday on the 5th of Sha’ban we are celebrating the blessed birth anniversary of the Survivor of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala. He is none other than Imam the son and successor of Imam Husain (A.S). Named Ali at birth in honour of his grandfather, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (A.S), this virtuous grandson of the Immaculate Lady, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (S.A), became famous as Zain al-Abedin or Ornament of the Worshippers of God. Born in Medina in the year 38 AH, his mother was the pious Iranian princess, Shahrbano, and he was destined to be the 4th Infallible Heir of his great-grandfather Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.A).
In 61 AH, at the age of 23, Imam Zain al-Abedin (A.S) was entrusted with the divine trust of imamate on the afternoon of the tragic Day of Ashura in Karbala, and immediately found himself the captive of the Godless forces of the tyrant Yazid. He was taken in chains to Kufa and thence to Damascus, along with the womenfolk and children of the Prophet’s noble household. In such a grave situation, he never allowed the dignified image of the imamate to be tarnished. Despite seeing his aunts and sisters in fetters, along with the heads of his father, brothers, uncles, and cousins, mounted on lances, he exercised the utmost patience in carrying the message of Imam Husain (A.S) to the enemy’s camp. In the court of the tyrant Yazid, he unmasked hypocrisy and exposed the oppressive Omayyad regime as usurpers of the caliphate.
His famous sermon, in which he called the pulpit no more than planks of wood for having lost its Islamic use, had an electrifying impact on Yazid’s court. And when Azaan or the call of the prayer was recited, he asked Yazid, as to whose grandfather was Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.A) and how Yazid could call himself a Muslim after brutally killing the Prophet’s grandson. On release from captivity, he returned to Medina along with his noble aunt, Hazrat Zainab (S.A), who had also shaken the Omayyad court to its very foundations by her eloquent sermons, and then her holding of the life-inspiring mourning ceremonies for the Martyrs of Karbala.
For the next ten years, Imam Zain al-Abedin (A.S) lived a quiet life in Medina under circumstances when Abdullah ibn Zubayr had seized power in the Hijaz as the caliph and was terrorizing the Prophet’s family members. The 4th Imam, nonetheless, continued his enlightening task through his impeccable manners and the power of prayers to enlighten minds and souls. His supplications during this period and the subsequent period of another twenty years when the Omayyad regime reasserted its questionable authority over Arabia and other lands, and this time under Abdul-Malik Marwan and his accursed sons, were the means of guidance for the seekers of truth. In this way he rebuilt the fabric of Islamic society and conveyed to the Muslims the genuine teachings of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.A).
For instance, he stressed that without firm faith in the fundamentals of Islam, including the principle of Wilaya or Imamate, which means divinely-designated leadership, a Muslim would be in perpetual loss. He clarified that the first questions to be posed in the grave to a freshly buried person by the two angels known as Munkir are monotheism, creed, Prophethood, and imamate. The one who rightly answers these questions attains salvation, and the one who doesn’t, is doomed.
This was part of the unique method of Imam Zain al-Abedin (A.S) to emphasize on the five fundamental principles of religion, that is, monotheism, divine justice, prophethood, imamate and resurrection. In other words, without the concept of imamate, the faith of a Muslim is incomplete and open to serious doubt.
In this way, he conveyed to the Ummah in a subtle manner that the rule of the Omayyads and others was illegal, because God had entrusted the leadership after the Prophet, to the Ahl al-Bayt, as is evident by the famous Hadith Saqalayn of the Prophet as well as the Prophet’s proclamation of Imam Ali (A.S) as his vicegerent on the Day of Ghadeer.
A close scrutiny of the supplications and statements of Imam Zain al-Abedin reveals how he taught the correct faith by negating the rule of tyrants, especially the Omayyads, who were in power during his days. Here are passages from the famous Salawaat of Sha’ban as taught by the 4th Imam and where the prime position of the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt as the chosen of God is evident:
“O Allah blesses Mohammad and the progeny of Mohammad with a plenteous blessing that would make them pleased; and do justice to the right of Mohammad and the progeny of Mohammad, with your power and might, O Lord of all the worlds!
“O Allah, bless Mohammad and the progeny of Mohammad, the good and the pious, the chosen ones, whose right You have made mandatory to observe, enjoining obedience to them and acknowledgement of their guardianship!
“O Allah, bless Mohammad and the progeny of Mohammad and make my heart thrive with obedience to you. Do not put me to humiliation by being guilty of disobedience to you. Enable me to do kindness to those whose provision You have tightened through the plenty You have provided me with Your grace, and what You have apprised me of Your justice, and made me flourish in Your shade!
“This is the month of Your Prophet, the Chief of Your Messengers—Sha’ban, which You have enveloped in Your mercy and Your approval, the month wherein it was the practice of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his progeny, to observe, until his death, its fast and to perform devotions during its nights and days, in order to do it honor and reverence out of humility before You! O Allah, so help us in following his example with regard to it and to win his intercession!”
As is clear from the wordings, the devotion to the Prophet’s progeny is compulsory for every Muslim, the lack of which is blatant disobedience of the commandments of the All-Merciful Lord. Most of these eloquently moving supplications have been collected in book form as “Sahifat as-Sajjadiyya”, and today are recited fervently by the faithful all over the globe, while there is no trace of the tombs of the Omayyads and the Zubayrids.
This is yet another proof of the peerless position in Islam of the Prophet’ progeny, whose obedience is incumbent upon all Muslims.
Taken from: Iran English Radio
source : sibtayn
