Karbala: The Sole Survivor
On the day of Ashura (10 Muharram 61 AH), Imam Husayn and all his adult male companions were killed. ‘Ali ibn Husayn survived because he was gravely ill and could not fight — he was barely conscious on a mat when his father was martyred.
After the battle, the enemy forces looted the camp, burned the tents, and took the women and children captive. ‘Ali ibn Husayn — though severely ill — was shackled in chains and forced to march with the prisoners to Kufa, then to Damascus.
The scene in Yazid’s court: When the prisoners were brought before Yazid in Damascus, Sayyidatna Zaynab (Husayn’s sister) delivered her famous oration challenging Yazid’s moral authority. When Yazid made a cruel remark about the captive ‘Ali ibn Husayn, ‘Ali — despite his condition — challenged Yazid to a duel, demanding justice for his father. Yazid, recognizing the gravity of the moment, eventually released the prisoners.
See also: Karbala, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Ahl Al Bayt
The Imam of Weeping
Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin wept for his father and the martyrs of Karbala for the rest of his life — a weeping that became, in the Ismaili tradition, the outer expression of the depths of his ‘ibada.
He would weep when he performed wudu — saying: “Would that I knew whether my prayers will be accepted or rejected.” When he ate, he would weep. When he drank water, he would weep — remembering that Imam Husayn and his companions died of thirst at Karbala.
When asked why he wept so much, he said: “The Prophet Ya’qub wept for one lost son until his eyes turned white. My father’s entire family was killed before his eyes — should I not weep?”
This weeping was not mere grief; in the Ismaili ta’wil it is understood as the highest form of tawba and muhasaba — the Imam’s life was one continuous expression of the awareness of the divine’s majesty and the distance between humanity and the divine ideal.
See also: Muhasaba, Tawba Repentance, Imamah
Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya
Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin composed (or compiled and transmitted) a collection of du’as known as Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya — often called Zabur Aal Muhammad (The Psalms of Muhammad’s Family). It is the third most important text in Ismaili/Shi’i tradition after the Quran and Nahj al-Balagha.
The contents: 54 long du’as plus appendices — covering virtually every state of the human heart:
- Du’a’ on Monday morning
- Du’a’ when seeking repentance (tawba)
- Du’a’ when in grief (huzn)
- Du’a’ for parents
- Du’a’ for neighbors and friends
- Du’a’ on completing the recitation of the Quran
- Du’a’ on the day of Arafat
- Du’a’ on completing Hajj
- Du’a’ on the night of Ramadan
- Du’a’ for good character (makarim al-akhlaq)
The literary quality: The Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is among the greatest works of Arabic prose. Its du’as combine Quranic language with an intimacy of address to the divine that is unmatched in Islamic literature. Ibn Khaldun (the great historian) described it as “the most excellent of books after the Quran and Nahj al-Balagha.”
Sample du’a’ for good character (Du’a 20): “O Allah, bless Muhammad and his family and let my faith reach its most complete perfection, make my certainty the most excellent certainty, and let my intention be the best of intentions and my works the best of works.”
See also: Dhikr, Morning Evening Adhkar, Understanding Walayah, Akhlaq
His Legacy
The hidden da’wa: After Karbala, the Imam could not conduct an open da’wa — the Umayyad authorities kept close watch on ‘Ali ibn Husayn. His teaching was largely through the intimate circle of his students and his du’as. The Sahifa itself is described as a sitr text — its depth of teaching is batin, not zahir. The external reader sees beautiful prayers; the initiated student sees within them a complete theology of walayah.
Al-Risala al-Huquq (The Treatise on Rights): The other major work attributed to Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin. It catalogues the rights of the divine, of the soul, of the body, of prayer, of parents, of children, of teachers, of students, of the ruler, of the subject — a comprehensive ethical framework derived from the Imam’s spiritual vision.
His students: The Imam’s circle included major transmitters of Islamic knowledge — including Muhammad al-Baqir (his son and successor, the fifth Imam) and Zayd ibn ‘Ali (his son, whose followers became the Zaydis).
See also: Sitr And Zuhur, Imamah, Wali Al Asr
See also: Karbala, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Ahl Al Bayt, Imamah, Wali Al Asr, Dhikr, Morning Evening Adhkar, Muhasaba, Tawba Repentance, Understanding Walayah, Akhlaq, Sitr And Zuhur