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You are here:   Home Courses ALI-001: Introduction to As-Saheefah As-Sajjadiyya Introduction by the martyred Imam Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al Sadr
Introduction by the martyred Imam Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al Sadr PDF Print E-mail
    (From Imam Zain al-Abidin's Al-Sahifah Al-Sajjadiyyah,
    tr. Sayyid Ahmad Muhani, Islamic Propagation Organization, Tehran, 1984)
    
    In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate.
    
    Praise be to the Lord of the
    Worlds and prayers and greetings be upon the seal of the Prophets and Messenger
    of God, Muhammad, and his pure progeny and righteous companions.
    
    This book, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyyah,
    includes certain supplications quoted from Imam Zayn al-Abidin 'Ali b. Husayn
    b. 'Ali Abi Talib. He is one of the Imams belonging to the household of the
    Prophet whom God Almighty has kept pure and free of defilement.
    
    The Imam was the fourth in the
    line of the Imams of the Prophet's household. His grandfather was Imam Amir
    al-Mu'minin, 'Ali b. Abi Talib, the vicegerent and trustee of God's
    Prophet and the first to believe in him. His position in relation to the Prophet
    was like the position of Aaron in relation to Moses, according to authoritative
    Traditions.
    
    The fourth Imam's grandmother
    was Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, the daughter of God's Prophet, most
    beloved to him and the highest among all the women of the world as the Prophet
    himself was used to describing her.
    
    His father was Imam al-Husayn,
    peace be upon him, one of the two highest in degree among those who were
    destined for Paradise, a grandson of the Prophet and a very flower of his eye of
    whom the Prophet said, Husayn is of me and I am of Husayn.
    
    Imam Husayn, peace be upon him,
    was foremost of those who were martyred at Karbala on the day of Ashura (the 10th
    of Muharram) in defense of Islam and Muslims. As stated in the Tradition
    narrated in the Sahih of Bukhari and Muslim and several others, Imam
    Husayn was one of the twelve Imams who were said to follow in the line of
    leadership (imamate) after the Prophet. The Prophet has been reported to
    have said, The caliphs after me shall be twelve and all of them will be from
    among the Quraish.
    
    Imam 'Ali b. al-Husayn, peace
    be upon him, was born in the year 38 A.H. or, perhaps as it is conjectured, a
    little before that and lived for a period of 57 years, during a few years of
    which he grew up under the wing of his erstwhile grandfather, Imam 'Ali, peace
    be upon him. Later he came under the guardianship and tutelage of his uncle,
    Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, and his father, Imam Husayn, peace be upon him,
    both grandsons of the Holy Prophet. He was nourished from the knowledge of the
    Prophet and nurtured by the sources of his pure ancestry.
    
    In the religious sciences and in
    jurisprudence, 'Ali b. al-Husayn was considered to be of high authority and a
    figure of supreme prominence as regards the orders and prohibitions of God which
    he was able to interpret and pronounce in the light of his knowledge. He was
    known for his exemplary devotion and piety towards God in all things. All
    Muslims in his age implicitly trusted and esteemed his knowledge, honesty,
    integrity and his excellence in jurisprudence, taking him for their leader in
    all matters and recognizing his authority in religious matters.
    
    Al-Zuhri said of him, "I
    have not seen a personality form the clan of Bani Hashim who excelled 'Ali b.
    Husayn or one who was more just than he." (The Bani Hashim were among the
    most distinguished of the Arab tribes). In yet another context he said of him,
    "I have not seen a personality among all the Quraish better than he."
    (The Quraish were the most distinguished among the Arab tribes and one of the
    largest).
    
    Sa'id b. Musayyib said "I
    have never seen a person the likes of 'Ali b. al-Husayn." Imam Malik
    said, "He was called by the name of Zayn al-Abidin (honored among
    worshippers) by virtue of his unceasing worship and prostration in prayer."
    
    Sufyan b. Ayinah said, "I
    have not seen a personality from the Bani Hashim clan who was better than Zain
    al-Abidin or one more just than he." Imam al-Shaf'i considered Imam
    'Ali b. al-Husayn as the most supreme jurist of all the people of
    Medina." The rulers of his time from the Bani Umayyad, despite many hostile
    acts, have had to admit this one fact about Imam 'Ali b. al-Husayn.
    
    For example, Abd al-Malik b.
    Marwan said to him, "In the area of religious sciences, in devotion and
    piety, you have been granted that which no one before you has had other than
    your ancestors." Further, Umar b. 'Abd al-Aziz said, The light of this
    life, the beauty of Islam is Zayn al-Abidin.
    
    Muslims in general had an
    abiding deep attachment for this Imam and he commanded the most profound
    spiritual loyalty and allegiance among them. His following among the Muslim
    public extended far and wide and the honor and adulation in which he was held by
    the Muslim people is recorded in a noteworthy poem of al-Farazdaq. In this he
    describes how during the annual hajj pilgrimage in the Holy City of Mecca, to
    which Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik went, the rush to get to the Sacred Black Stone
    (al-hajar al-aswad) was so great that this dignitary could hardly move
    towards it.
    
    The people who knew him made a
    special place for him so that he could wait till the rush eased for him to make
    his way towards the Sacred Black Stone. Zayn al-Abidin then happened to come
    along to perform the pilgrim rites. When the multitude present became aware of
    him, they all stood back, making way for him, bowing in adoration and respect as
    he passed by towards the Sacred Black Stone. Here then, says the poet, was a
    demonstration of the veneration, admiration and respect which Muslims of all
    countries, states and tribes held for Imam Zayn al-Abidin.
    
    The trust and veneration of the
    ummah in Zayn al-Abidin was not confined to the mere fact of his versatility in
    jurisprudence or his high stature in spiritual affairs. He was in fact
    considered to be a virtual spiritual leader and supreme spiritual authority by
    those belonging to various schools of thought and all matters both civic and
    spiritual which was because he was in the line of celebrated and pure ancestors.
    
    It was related that the Muslims
    at the time turned to Zayn al-Abidin when they desired release from the
    oppression of the Roman emperor of his time. The Roman emperor desired to seek
    dominance in the region and to humiliate the Muslims during the reign of Abdul
    Malik by imposing a Roman coinage and currency system in the Muslim lands. Abdul
    Malik was perplexed not knowing how to meet this confrontation. He was so
    dejected and depressed that he was quoted to have said, I look on myself as
    one of the most pessimistic persons of those born in Islam. At this, the
    people around him are said to have told him that there was one who could provide
    him with a safe way out of his predicament. Asked who, they said, "One who
    remains from the household of the Prophet." On hearing the name of Zayn al-Abidin,
    he said, You have indeed spoken rightly and truly.
    
    Imam Zayn al-Abidin, whose help
    was sought, dispatched his son, Muhammad b. al-Baqir to Damascus in Syria with
    secret instructions and from this there emerged a new plan to use an Islamic
    currency.
    
    Imam Zayn al-Abidin took over
    the mantle of spiritual responsibility after the martyrdom of his father. He
    took up this task during the second half of the first century during one of the
    most crucial phases in the history of the ummah, a period which was followed by
    a wave of early Islamic victories of liberation, a wave which extended over wide
    expanses of territory in the region and was spread by reason of the spiritual
    vigour and military and ideological enthusiasm of the Muslim armies. It shook
    the throne of Caesar and other vile tyrants of the time and spread the Divine
    message far and wide over the earth. The Muslims then became the spiritual and
    de facto conquerors and guardians of the greater part of the civilized world for
    over half a century of unchallenged supremacy.
    
    Yet, despite the strength and
    power of Islam at the time, the ummah was exposed to two great dangers outside
    the military and political spheres. It was, therefore, necessary at this time to
    take a critical look and counter these dangers.
    
    The first danger came from the
    fact that the Muslims now spread far and wide had their mental horizons opened
    to various cultures, customs and traditions, different social currents arising
    form the interaction with the nations which joined the folds of the religion of
    God in vast numbers. It was now necessary to make special efforts in the
    scientific, religious and ideological fields emphasizing and affirming the
    ideological originality and freedom and the distinctive legislative advantages
    of Muslims which is derived from the Holy Book and the Traditions.
    
    There has to be an ideological
    movement to awaken Muslims and to have their eyes opened to the pure vision of
    Islam so that it would be capable as being a torch-bearer and a light of both
    the Holy Book and the Traditions, bringing a message of enlightenment and
    perseverance of spirit among peoples with whom they came in contact. The trained
    intellectuals who were capable of benefiting form such teachings would have to
    embody and cultivate an Islamic personality to the full so that they could
    disseminate this among those with whom they came in contact.
    
    Zayn al-Abidin, realizing the
    need for such a movement, conducted research and scientific studies at the
    Prophet's mosque, teaching various branches of Islamic knowledge and
    explaining and illustrating both the Holy Quran and Traditions, as well as
    teaching jurisprudence and the knowledge derived from his pure ancestors. A new
    consciousness was being developed among the intellectuals at the time with
    training in jurisprudence, reasoning and deduction. A large number of skilled
    Muslim jurists and scholars were trained in these religious centers and a number
    of schools of jurisprudence sprung up giving a new vigor to religion which was
    to be developed further later on.
    
    Imam Zayn al-Abidin, in these
    efforts, attracted a large number of scholars and exegetists of the Holy Quran
    and the Traditions. Such was his renown that Sa'id b. al-Musayyib said, The
    scholars did not leave Mecca until 'Ali d. al-Husayn, peace be upon him, left.
    When he left, we left with him and we were thousands who rode along with him.
    
    The second danger to Islam at
    the time arose from the very fact of the wealth and general prosperity that was
    everywhere prevalent in Islamic society following the wide extension of its
    political power.
    
    There was the risk that this new
    wave of prosperity would expose those who came in contact with wealth, power and
    worldly pleasures to contamination and eventually to undermining the very
    spiritual bases of Islam and destroy the vigor of the moral and spiritual
    renaissance which derived from belief in God Almighty and the life hereafter.
    
    Imam 'Ali b. Husayn realized
    this danger and began to take steps to remedy this situation. The foremost of
    his methods was to take the path of supplication. This book, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyyah,
    was one of the works that emanated as part of this great effort.
    
    This great Imam was able to
    produce a work of tremendous significance with the endowments with which he was
    graced from his lineage and his wonderful rhetoric and elegant styles in the
    Arabic language. Using his divinely gifted abilities, the Imam was able to weave
    out the most splendid and subtle meanings in his description of the links
    between the human being and the Divine, the links between the people and their
    Lord and Creator and to emphasize the qualities of faith, moral values and the
    duties that were necessary to a virile and spiritual society.
    
    It is my opinion that the Imam,
    with his multifarious gifts and his fervor in supplicating God, was able to
    include a truly spiritual atmosphere and create a moral tone in society which
    strengthened Islam at the time and served to act as a barrier against the
    invasion by the satanic values of the world to which Muslims were exposed in his
    time. His efforts were a steadying influence on the ummah who were urged to keep
    their steadfastness in the face of worldly attractions at a time when the pull
    towards a life of pleasure stood forth as a great temptation and to affirm and
    remind the Muslims of their spiritual roots and of their duty to remain trustees
    of the spiritual was amidst a life of riches and prosperity as they had been
    trustees at a time of misery and poverty.
    
    It has been stated in the
    biography of the Imam that he constantly adjured the people at Friday prayers in
    sermons to take warning against being engulfed wholly by the life of this world
    and to remind themselves constantly of the hereafter. His supplications, in
    their wonderfully moving way, were able to induce in his hearers a feeling of
    devotion, of thanks, praise and gratitude to the Almighty and to strengthen them
    in their sincerity, obedience and submission to God who has no partner.
    
    Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyyah
    then represents and stands out as a profound social work of the time and a
    reflection of a supreme endeavor to meet the exigencies of spiritual ordeals
    facing the society at the time of the Imam. But beyond this it is a profound
    collection of supplications in the Divine tradition, a unique compilation which
    will remain throughout the ages as a gift to mankind, a work of moral
    inspiration for worldly conduct and a torch of guidance. Human beings will
    constantly remain in need of this Muhammadian Alawi tradition and the need
    increases whenever Satan comes to increase the allurements of the world for
    people and by its fascination to keep them in thraldom.
    
    Peace and blessings be upon our
    Imam 'Ali b. al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, from the time he was born, when he
    delivered his message, when he departed and to the time of his resurrection to
    life in the hereafter.
    
    al-Najaf al-Ashraf
 

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