Syedna Zain al-Abideen was a noble man of the Holy Prophet's (Is family and the son of Hazrat Ali . His name is Ali, surname is Abul Hasan, his title is Zain al-Abideen (beauty of the worshipers) and Sayyid al-Sajideen (the one who prostrates much). He was born in Madina in 38 Hijri. He is among the followers of the Prophet (u). He spent two years under the training of his grandfather Hazrat Syedna Ali Murtaza ten years under the supervision of his uncle Hazrat Imam Hasan and twenty three (23) years under the training of his father Hazrat Imam Hussain (4) and attained knowledge about different thing.
i. Worship and Hardwork
Imam Zain al-Abideen had great fame in worship and piety, that is why he is called Zain al-Abideen. He was a scholar of the worship and austerity that he used to recite Nawafil frequently along with offering the Farz, that is why he became famous throughout the world. When he , would make ablution for prayer, his face would change color and his body would tremble. Upon asking, he would answer that you can't imagine whom I am going to face now. He considered it his religious obligation to help the poor and the needy. He used to fulfil the needs of the poor in the darkness of nights and used to say: "The charity that is done silently in the darkness, it cools down the wrath of Allah and reaches him before it reaches the questioner."
ii. Knowledge and Supremacy
The knowledge and grace of Sayyedna Zain al-Abideen is acknowledged by everyone. He was brought up on the pedestal of knowledge and religion. In religion, he was the Imam and the lighthouse of knowledge. In piety, acts of worship and humility, he was a great example, and it is agreed by the people of Islam that he was the greatest pious and jurist of his era. The great Muhaddith of the time of the Imam Zain al-Abideen () said, "I have not seen anyone in the family of Quresh better than him ." The famous Tabi'i Hazrat Saeed bin Musayb says that I have not seen anyone better than Sayyedna Ali bin Hussain. Imam Malik says that there is no one in the Prophet's family who has the same status as Ali bin Hussain . Imam Shafi declared him to be the most renowned jurist of Madina.
It was during the blessed period when the famous Companions of the Prophet and well-known followers were present in Madina. In Madina there were a great number of people including Imam Zain's own son, Muhammad Baqir, and besides him, Zuhri, Amr bin Dinar, Hisham bin Urwa and Yahya bin Saeed, etc. learnt the interpretation of the Quran from him, the narrated prophetic hadiths and the knowledge of lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram). Abu Salama and Imam Tao's also narrated some hadiths from Imam Zain al-Abideen.On the occasion of Hajj, when Hisham bin Abdul-Mulk (the ruler of the time) refused to recognize Hazrat Imam Zain al-Abideen , the famous Arab poet Farzadaq recited words in praise of Imam Zain al-Abideen . Some of its verses are as follows:
"He is the one who is recognized by the land of Makkah by his footsteps. The house of Allah, the land outside Makkah and Haram recognizes him. He is the son of the men who are dearest to Allah. He is pious, innocent and a torchbearer of guidance."
iii. Ethics and Values
It is narrated from Hazrat Imam Jafar Sadiq that after the incident of Karbala, Imam Zain al-Abideen always remained in this situation that he used to fast during the day and spent the night in worship of Allah. At the time of breaking the fast, when food and water would come, he would say that my father and brother were martyred while they were hungry and thirsty. Then he barely used to eat a few bites and drink a few sips of water.
iv. Role in the incident Karbala
At the time of the tragedy of Karbala in 61 Hijri, the age of Imam Zain al-Abideen was 23 years. At that time, he was sick and was one of those persons who survived in the incident of Karbala. He was brought in Yazid's court along with the other family members in Damascus. In Kufa and Syria, Hazrat Imam Zain al-Abideen gave many sermons on the subject of the righteousness of Islam and justice and injustice, which have a special academic, literary and spiritual position.The well-known biographer Ibn Saad writes in Tabaqat that despite being constantly ill, Syed Ali bin Hussain Zain al-Abideen was present in the field of Karbala. On 10th of Muharram, Hazrat Imam Hussain Ibn-e-Ali met him for the last time, gave him his ring and some suggestions. But, due to the severity of illness, he could not participate in the battle.
v. Literary Work
Among the books of Imam Zain al-Abideen, a book containing prayers called "Sahifa Sajjadiyyah" is very famous, which is the second most important book among the Shias after the well-known book of Hazrat Ali, Nehj al-Balagha. The famous Egyptian philosopher Imam Tantawi writes that "Whenever I read the dhikr and prayers in this book, I feel that these are dhikr made in a special absorption and quality above the ordinary speech of the creatures." There is another work called "Risalat al-Huqooq" in which, apart from the rights of Allah, the rights of man over himself, the rights of the ears, nose, eyes and tongue etc. have been mentioned. The rights of non-Muslims are also mentioned in this book.
vi. Sayings of Imam Zain al-Abideen
Many of the golden words of Hazrat Imam Zain al-Abideen are famous out of which some are listed below:
- He is not a stranger who is a stranger for Syria or Yemen, rather a stranger is one who is a stranger to death and coffin.
- It is the right of every traveler to be treated as a sharer in the place and residence by the residents.
Training your children is your first responsibility. You are accountable to this duty, raise them well, teach them good manners, bring them under the command of Allah and you will be rewarded or punished for this.
vii. Death
He died on 25th Muharram 95 AH at the age of 57 in Madinah Munawara and was buried in Jannah Al-Baqi (Aqe Farqad) in Madinah Munawara by the side of his uncle Hassan bin Ali. Hazrat Imam Muhammad Baqir Hazrat Issa and Hazrat Zaid are the famous personalities among his descendants.
