Ali ibn Husayn Zayn

al-Abidin

Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (Arabic:

‫) َﻋ ِﻠ ّﻲ ٱ ْﺑﻦ ْٱﻟ ُﺤ َﺴ ْﻴﻦ َز ْﻳﻦ ْٱﻟ َﻌ ِﺎﺑ ِﺪﻳﻦ‬, also known as
al-Sajjad (Arabic: ‫ٱﻟﺴﺠﺎد‬, "The
Consistently Prostrating") or simply Zayn
al-Abidin (Arabic: ‫ َز ْﻳﻦ ْٱﻟ َﻌ ِﺎﺑ ِﺪﻳﻦ‬, "Adornment
of the Worshippers"), was the fourth Shia
Imam, after his father Husayn ibn Ali, his
uncle Hasan ibn Ali, and his grandfather
Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali ibn Husayn survived
the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, after
which he and other surviving family
members and companions of Husayn
were taken to Yazid I in Damascus.
Eventually, he was allowed to return to
Medina, where he led a secluded life with
a few intimate companions. Imam
Sajjad's life and statements were entirely
devoted to asceticism and religious
teachings, mostly in the form of
invocations and supplications. His
famous supplications are known as Al-
Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya.[18]
 Ali ibn Husayn
‫ﻋَ ِﻠ ّﻲ ٱ ْﺑﻦ ْٱﻟ ُﺤ َﺴ ْﻴﻦ‬
4th Imam of Twelver and 3rd Imam of Ismaili

Arabic name of Ali ibn Husayn and one of

his titles, "Al-Sajjad"

Born Ali ibn Hussain ibn

Ali
c. 4 January 659
(5 Sha'aban 38
 AH)[1][2] Or (15
Jumada al-awwal 36
AH)
Kufa, Iraq or
Medina,[3] Hejaz[4][5][6]
Died c. 20 October 713
(aged 54)
(25 Muharram 95
AH)
Medina, Umayyad
Caliphate

Cause of death Poisoning by Al-

Walid I

Resting place Jannat al-Baqi

cemetery, Medina,
Saudi Arabia
 24°28′1″N
Title List
39°36′50.21″E
Zayn al-
Ābidīn[7][8][9]
(The Ornament of
The Worshippers)
Sayyid al-Ābidin
[10]

(The Lord of The

Worshippers)
al-Sajjād[1][6]
(The One Who
Constantly
Prostrated (in
prayer))
 Ibn al-
Khiyaratayn[9][11]
(The Son of The
Best Two)
Dhū al-
Thafanāt[12]
(The One With
Calluses)
Al-Zaki[11]
(The Pure One)
al-Amīn[11]
(The Trusted One)
Dördüncü Ali
(The Fourth Ali)
Sayyid-ash-Sajideen
(Master of the
 prostraters)
Term 680–712 CE

Predecessor Husayn ibn Ali

Successor Muhammad al-Baqir

according to the
Twelver, and Ismaili
Shia, Zayd bin Ali
according to the
Zaidiyyah Shia.

Spouse(s) Fatimah bint Hasan

Jayda al-Sindhi

Children Muhammad al-Baqir

Zayd al-Shahid
Hussain al-Asghar
Abdullah Albahar
Ali Al Asghar
 Umar Al Ashraf
and two Daughters
Umm Kulthoom and
Khadija
Parent(s) Husayn ibn Ali
Lady Shāhzanān (aka
Shahr Banu)[6][9][13]

Relatives Ali al-Akbar

Ali al-Asghar
Sakinah bint Husayn
Fatima al-Kubra bint
Husayn
Fatima al-Sughra bint
al-Husayn
Ruqayyah
Birth
Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn was born in
Medina, modern-day Saudi Arabia, in the
year 38/658–9.[a] He may have been too
young to have remembered his
grandfather Ali; he was raised in the
presence of his uncle Hasan and his
father Husayn, Prophet Muhammad's
grandchildren. It is said that Ali ibn al-
Husayn was related through his mother
Shahrbanu, the daughter of Yazdegerd, to
the last Sassanian King of Persia.[b] Ali
ibn al-Husayn was known as Ibn al-
Khiyaratayn, the "son of the best two (the
Quraysh among the Arabs and the
Persians among the non-Arabs)".[1][19] Ali
ibn Abi Talib suggested allowing her to
choose a husband from among the
Muslims and paying her mahr from the
public treasury. Umar agreed; she chose
Ali's son Husayn. She is said to have died
shortly after giving birth to her only son
Ali.[15][19][20][21] And in other stories this
happened during the caliphate of
Othman and Ali ibn Abi Taleb.[22]

Ali ibn al-Husayn is also related through

this Sassanid Persian bloodline to the
Byzantine emperors Maurice and
Tiberius II through princess Mariam
(Historically known as Shirin) the
daughter of emperor Maurice. And also
to king David through Shushandukht
mother of Bahram V.[22]

In Karbala
In 61/680, Muhammad's grandson
Husayn ibn Ali and a small group of
supporters and relatives were martyred
at the Battle of Karbala by the large
military forces of the Umayyad caliph
Yazid, to whom Husayn had refused to
give an oath of allegiance. Zayn al-Abidin
accompanied his father on a march
toward Kufa; he was present at the Battle
of Karbala but survived the battle
because he was ill. Once the Umayyad
troops had martyred Husayn and his
male followers, they looted the tents and
took the skin upon which he was laying.
It is said that Shemr was about to kill
Zayn al-Abidin but his aunt Zaynab made
Umar ibn Sa'ad, the Umayyad
commander, spare his life.[19][21] Zain al-
Abidin and the enslaved women were
taken to the caliph; eventually he was
allowed to return to Medina. During the
journey, he delivered speeches in Kufa
and Damascus, and informed the people
of his father's intentions.[17][19][23]
Several accounts record Zayn al-Abidin's
deep sorrow over the massacre. It is said
that for thirty-four years, he would weep
when food was placed before him. One
day a servant said to him, "O son of
Allah’s Messenger! Is it not time for your
sorrow to come to an end?" He replied,
"Oh person you did not do justice by
saying this! Jacob the prophet had
twelve sons, and Allah made one of them
disappear". His eyes turned white from
constant weeping, his head turned grey
out of sorrow, and his back became bent
in the gloom (Quran, 12:84 ), though his
son was alive in this world. But I watched
while my father, my brother, my uncle,
and seventeen members of my family
were slaughtered all around me. How
should my sorrow come to an
end?"[24][23][25]

The aftermath of Karbala

and his Imamah
Kufa's people invited Husayn to go to
Kufa and be their Imam, but they did not
back him and his family against Kufa's
governor, who massacred them in
Karbala. Thus they thought themselves
responsible for the tragedy of Karbala
and tried to compensate for it by
throwing themselves into the struggle to
obtain vengeance for Husayn's blood.
They chose Sulayman b. Surad al Khuza'I
as their leader and called themselves
Tawwabun (penitents). They were
seeking an opportunity for action, until
Mukhtar al-Thaqafi came to Kufa and
claimed to represent Muhammad ibn al-
Hanafiyyah.[26] He soon gained the
authority of a leader and took vengeance
on those who were involved in Husayn's
killing. Umar ibn Sa'ad and Shemr were
executed and their heads were sent to
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah.[27] Ubaid
Allah was also killed in the battle on the
Zab; his head was taken to the place in
Kufa where Ubaid Allah had received the
head of Husayn. The governor of Medina
did not consider that Zayn al-Abedin was
responsible for Mukhtar's action, since
he had already left Medina for its
outskirts to avoid being involved in
political movements. Moreover, there is
evidence that he was unmolested and
excepted from giving allegiance to Yazid,
after the Battle of Harra, where Medinans
were sacked and looted by Yazid's
army.[21][28]

Around that time, the question of the

right of succession between Ali ibn al-
Husayn and Muhammad ibn al-
Hanafiyyah gained the most attention.
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was a
pious, brave man whom many
considered him as their Imam. Other Shia
sects said Zayn al-Abedin had the right to
inherit the Imamah, for his father Husayn
had designated him the next Imam.
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah said he
was more worthy (He did not actually
mean it he just wanted to prove to other
people that Zayn al-Abidin was their real
imam).After the death of Ibn Zubayr, the
governor of Medina, Zayn al-Abedin and
Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah agreed to go
to Mecca and appeal to the Black Stone
of the Kaaba to try to determine which
one of them was the true successor.
They went to the Kaaba, where the Black
Stone was placed. Muhammad prayed
for a sign but no answer came.
Afterwards, Zayn al-Abedin prayed and
the Black Stone became agitated and
nearly fell off the wall; thus came the
answer that Zayn-al-Abidin was the true
Imam after Husayn, an answer which
Muhammad had already known and
accepted and he showed to other
people.[21][c] After this, Zayn al-Abedin
returned to Medina and led a quiet life
with a few companions who referred to
him for answers to religious
questions.[d][21][29]

Social status
Ali ibn al-Husayn was respected by his
followers, who considered him as the
fourth imam, and by the circle of
Medinan scholars who considered him
as an eminent traditionist. The lawyer
Said ibn al-Musayyib and the jurist and
traditionist Al-Zuhri—though attached to
the court of the Umayyad—were among
his admirers. Al-Zuhri gave him the
honorific Zayn al-Abedin—the ornament
of worshipers—and narrated many
Hadiths from him. Evidence for his high
position among people comes from an
ode told by the well-known Arab poet
Farazdaq. This ode mentions an
occasion when the Caliph Hisham ibn
Abd al-Malik was overshadowed by the
respect people showed to the imam. It
was the time of Hajj when both of them
were trying to reach the Black Stone
through the crowd turning around the
Kaaba. The people gave way to Zayn al-
Abedin while Hisham struggled
desperately. This deeply offended the
Caliph, who sarcastically asked to whom
the people had shown such respect.
Farazdaq, who was present there,
composed an ode addressing Hisham's
question; it is considered a masterpiece
of Arabic literature and the most reliable
contemporaneous document describing
Zayn al-Abidin.[e][19][30][31]

Asceticism
It is narrated from the Imam that when
he saw a beggar weeping, he said: If the
world was in his hands and suddenly it
dropped from him, it would not be worth
weeping for.[32] The Imam renounced
worldly pleasures but did not give way to
poverty and feebleness, rather he was
"pious with what God prohibited".[33] The
Imam was self-denying and turned away
from the world,[f] and Sufis consider him
as Sufi and wrote biographies about
him.[34][35]

It is known from the Imam that while

circumambulating the Kaaba, he heard a
man asking God for patience, so he
turned to him and said: "You are asking
(God) for tribulation. Say: O God, I ask
You for well-being and gratitude for it."[36]
It is also related when asked about
asceticism, Zayn al-Abidin replied,
"Asceticism is of ten degrees: The
highest degree of asceticism is the
lowest degree of piety. The highest
degree of piety is the lowest degree of
certainty. The highest degree of certainty
is the lowest degree of satisfaction.
Asceticism is in one verse of Allah’s
Book: 'Hence that you may not grieve for
what has escaped you, nor be exultant at
what He has given you.' "[g]

Works

Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya …

According to William Chittick, the Al-

Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is the "oldest prayer
manual in Islamic sources and one of the
most seminal works of Islamic
spirituality of the early period".[23] Shia
tradition considers this book with great
respect, ranking it behind the Quran and
Ali's Nahj al-Balagha. This prayer book
deals with Islamic spirituality and
provides teachings on levels from the
theological to the social. The traditional
category of "faith", for example, which
forms the basic subject matter of most
of Islamic thought as developed in
kalaam philosophy and Sufism, has been
discussed in this book. Zayn al-Abidin
refers frequently to Islamic practices,
emphasizing the necessity of following
the Quran and the hadith's guidelines,
and the necessity of establishing justice
in society.[37]

The Fifteen Whispered Prayers …

The Fifteen Whispered Prayers also

known as The Fifteen Munajat, is a
collection of fifteen prayers attributed to
Zayn al-Abidin, which some researchers
regard as a supplementary part of the
latter collection.[38] These prayers enable
a person to recite the prayer that is most
in accordance with his present
mood.[39][40] The prayers start with
repentance, which is the first step
towards a genuine communion with
God.[40]

Supplication of Abu Hamza al-

Thumali
…

According to Abu Hamza al-Thumali,

during the month of Ramadhan, Imam
Zayn al-Abidin would spend most of the
night in prayer. At the beginning of the
fast, he recited a supplication later
known as Du'a Abi Hamzah al-Thumali
(The supplication of Abi Hamzah al-
Thumali). This supplication is recorded in
the book Misbah al-Mutahijjid of Shaykh
Tusi.[41]

Treatise on Rights …

The right
Zain al-Abidin's Treatise on
of charity Rights is the only work other
(sadaqa) than supplications, short
is that you sayings and letters,
know it is attributed to him. According
a storing
to Chittick, this treatise is
away with
especially important
your Lord
because it deals with many
and a
deposit of the same themes as the
for which Sahifa in a different style
you will and language. In this book,
have no
Zayn al-Abidin clarifies that
need for
a hierarchy of priorities
witnesses
must always be observed:
. If you
deposit it The individual comes
in secret, before the social, the
you will spiritual before the
be more practical, and knowledge
confident
before action. Each human
of it than
being has a long series of
if you
social duties, but these
deposit it
in depend upon his more
public...[h] essential duties; faith in
Allah, and placing one's own
 Ali ibn person into the proper
Husayn relationship with the Divine
Zayn al-
Reality.[37]
Abidin[42]

Death

Imam Zain al-Abidin desecrated grave at Al-Baqi' in

Saudi Arabia

Zayn al-Abidin was poisoned by Umayyad

ruler Al-Walid through the instigation of
the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-
Malik in Medina.[6][21] The date of his
death is 95/713-14; he was buried next to
his uncle, Hasan, in the cemetery of Al-
Baqi' cemetery in Medina.[6][43][44] After
his death many people discovered their
livelihoods had come from him. He
would go out with a sack of food on his
back, knocking at the doors of more than
100 families, and gave freely to whoever
answered while covering his face to
avoid being recognized.[19][21]

See also
Family tree of Ali
 Ahl Al-Bayt
Family tree of Muhammad#Family tree
linking prophets to Imams
Supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali

Notes
a. Other dates mentioned are 33/653–
4, 36/656–7, 37/657–8, 50/670[15]
b. Her name has also been given as
Shah-Zanan, Sulaafa, Ghazaala, and
Shahr-Banuya, among others.[15]
c. Abū Khālid al-Kābuli was among
those who confessed the Imamah of
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, but
turned to Zayn al-Abedin afterwards,
 saying "I served Mohammed b. al-
Hanafiya for a time of my life. I had
no doubt that he was the Imām till I
asked him by the Sacredness of
Allah, the Sacredness of the
Messenger, and the Sacredness of
the Commander of the faithful, so he
guided me to you and said: 'Ali b. al-
Husayn is the Imām over me, you,
and all the creatures.'"[29]
d. Canon Sell, op. cit., p. II, quoting
Sahifat Al-Abidin, p. 184.
e. It goes as follows: "It is someone
whose footsteps are known by every
place / And it is he who is known to
the bayt in Mecca,(i.e. the Kaaba)
The most frequented sanctuary; / It
is he who is the son of the best of all
men of Allah;(i.e. the Prophet
Muhammad) / and it is he who is the
most pious and devout, the purest
and most unstained, the chastest
and most righteous, a symbol [for
Islam]; / This is Ali [b. al-Husain]
whose parent is the Prophet; / This is
the son of Fatimah, if you do not
know who he is; / Whosoever
recognizes his Allah knows also the
primacy and superiority of this man; /
 Because the religion has reached the
nations through his House..."[21][30]
f. It is said that al-Zuhri when he was
asked about the most ascetic one, he
answered: "The most ascetic of all
the people is Ali b. al-Husayn.
g. Quran, 57:23
h. Quoted from the Treatise on Rights,
Right of Charitty

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1. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 14
2. "Imam Ali Ibn al Husayn (as)" . Al-
Islam.org. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
3. Shabbar, S.M.R. (1997). Story of the
Holy Ka’aba . Muhammadi Trust of
Great Britain. Archived from the
original on 30 October 2013.
Retrieved 30 October 2013.
4. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 15
5. Shaykh al-Mufid. "The Infallibles –
Taken from Kitab al he was born in
Syria" . Retrieved 12 May 2009.
. WOFIS (2001). A Brief History of the
Fourteen Infallibles (3rd ed.). Tehran:
World Organization for Islamic
Services.
 7. A Brief History of The Fourteen
Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan
Publications. 2004. p. 111.
. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 16
9. ibn Khallikan. Ibn Khallikan's
biographical dictionary. 2. p. 209.
10. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 58
11. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 21
12. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 20
13. Tabataba'i, Muhammad Husayn
(1979). Shi'ite Islam. State University
of New York Press. p. 201.
14. Imam Ali ibn al-Hussein (2001). The
Complite Edition of the Treatise on
Rights. Qum: Ansariyan Publications.
p. 16.
15. Imam Ali ubnal Husain 2009, pp. 7–
10
1 . Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 450
17. Dungersi PhD, M. M. (1 December
2013). A Brief Biography of Ali Bin
Hussein (as). CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform.
ISBN 1494328690.
1 . [14][15][16][17]
19. Madelung, Wilferd. "ʿALĪ B. ḤOSAYN
B. ʿALĪ B. ABĪ ṬĀLEB" .
ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA. Retrieved
1 August 2011.
20. Muh’sin al-Ameen al-A’mili, A’yan as-
Sheea’h, Damascus, 1935, IV, 189.
21. Donaldson, Dwight M. (1933). The
Shi'ite Religion: A History of Islam in
Persia and Irak. BURLEIGH PRESS.
pp. 101–111.
22. khalil, ahmed. "‫اﻹﻣﺎم ﻋﻠﻲ زﻳﻦ اﻟﻌﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ‬
‫ ﺑﺤﺚ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﻠﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﺘﺮﻛﺔ ﺑﻴﻦ‬:‫ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻪ وﻧﺴﺒﻪ‬
‫اﻷﺷﺮاف واﻟﺴﺎﺳﺎﻧﻴﻴﻦ واﻟﺒﻴﺰﻧﻄﻴﻴﻦ وﺳﺒﻂ‬
‫ "ﻳﻬﻮذا‬.
23. Imam Ali ibn al Husain 2009, p. 10
24. From Shaykh as-Sadooq, al-Khisal;
quoted in al-Ameen, A’yan, IV, 195.
The same is quoted from Bin
Shahraashoob's Manaqib in Bihar al-
Anwar, XLVI, 108; Cf. similar
accounts, Ibid, pp. 108–10
25. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 163
2 . Heli, Ja'far ibn Mohammad ibn Nama
(2001). Mosirol ahzan [‫در ﺳﻮگ اﻣﯿﺮ‬
‫]آزادی‬. Iran-Qom: Hazeq. p. 399.
27. Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidāya wa-n-nihāya "the
beginning and the end". 8. p. 274.
2 . Lalani, Arzina R. (9 March 2001).
Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir. I. B.
Tauris. p. 31,78. ISBN 978-
1860644344.
29. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, pp. 94–96
30. Imam Ali ubnal Husain 2009, pp. 7–8
31. jafri 1979, pp. 243–46
32. Shaykh Hurr al-'Amuli. Al- Fuṣūl al-
muhimma fī taʼlīf al-umma. Najaf: An-
Naǧaf : Dār an-Nuʻmān li'ṭ-Ṭibāʻa
wa'n-Našr. p. 192.
33. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, pp. 67–68
34. Munūfī, al-Sayyid Maḥmūd Abū al-
Fayḍ (1967). Jamharat al-Awliyā', vol.
2. Al-Qāhirah Mu'assasat al-Ḥalabī.
p. 71.
35. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, pp. 68–69
3 . Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 229
37. Imam Ali ubnal Husain 2009, p. 28
3 . Chirri, Mohamad Jawad (1986). "Al-
Sahifat Al-Sajjadiyya" (Revised ed.).
The Muhammadi Trust of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.
39. "A glance at three translations and
seyyed mehdi shojaee's viewpoint
about the Ramadan's prayers" (in
Persian). IBNA. Retrieved 1 October
2014.
40. Mesbah-Yazdi, Mohammad-Taqi
(1390). Sajjadeha-e Soluk (in
Persian). The Imam Khomeini
Education & Research Institute.
41. Māmqānī, 'Abd Allāh (2002). Tanqīḥ
al-maqāl fī 'ilm al-rijāl (in Arabic).
Qum: Mu’assasat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyā' al-
Turāth.
42. Sharif al-Qarashi 2000, p. 500
43. Moosa, Matti (1987). Extremist
Shiites: The Ghulat Sects . Syracuse
University Press. p. 92.
ISBN 9780815624110. Retrieved
21 July 2014.
44. Shaykh al-Mufid. Imam Ali Ibn al
Husayn (as) . Retrieved 21 July 2014.

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Sharif al-Qarashi, Bāqir (2000). The Life
of Imām Zayn al-Abidin (as). Translated
by Jāsim al-Rasheed. Iraq: Ansariyan
Publications, n.d. Print.
Imam Ali ubnal Husain (2009). Al-
Saheefah Al-Sajjadiyyah Al-Kaamelah.
 Translated with an Introduction and
annotation by Willian C. Chittick With a
foreword by S. H. M. Jafri. Qum, The
Islamic Republic of Iran: Ansariyan
Publications.
Jafri, Syed Husain Mohammad (1979).
The Origins and Early Development of
Sheea’h Islam. Beirut: Oxford University
Press.

External links

Ali ibn Husayn

at Wikipedia's sister projects
 Quotations
from
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Texts from
Wikisource
Data from
Wikidata

As-Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya
Treatise On Rights (Risalat al-Huquq)
Dua'a Abu Hamza Thumali
Fifteen Whispered Prayers text in
Arabic, English, and Urdu
Fifteen Whispered Prayers-English
Audios
The life of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) by
Bāqir Sharif al-Qarashi
Life of Imam az-Zayn al-Abideen as-
Sajjad by Dr. Muhammad bin Yahya al-
Ninowy .
Ali ibn Husayn by Wilferd Madelung,
an article in Encyclopædia Iranica
 Ali ibn Husayn Za
of the Ahl a
Banu Has
Clan of the Ban
Born: 5th Sha‘bān 38 AH ≈ 657 CE  

Shia Islam

4th Imam of Twe

Preceded by
Imam of Isma
Husayn ibn Ali
680 – 7
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Ali_ibn_Husayn_Zayn_al-
Abidin&oldid=948209215"

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