In the Name of God, the All-Merciful the All-Compassionate --
Salaam, and condolences to you all on the doleful day of the martyrdom, as per an account, of Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH), the 4th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). We have prepared a special feature on the son and successor of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS).
"The right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, refrain from any meddling in which there is nothing to be gained, express kindness to the people, and speak well concerning them."
These thought-provoking words which we read to you, provide an excellent description of the rights of the tongue, and how we should not misuse it. These were not uttered by any hermit far removed from the practicalities of social life. Neither are these wise words the product of the impractical mind of a starry-eyed philosopher saying something but conveniently breaking the rules on the pretext of social exigencies. This remarkable definition of a seemingly small organ of our body through which we express the power of speech that God Almighty gifted only to the human race along with the intellect to differentiate between good and evil, was given by a person whose spirit was neither broken by the massacre of the male members of his immediate family before his eyes nor by his own brutalized imprisonment. Even the power and pomp of a bloodthirsty tyrant's court couldn't change the course of his tongue from the principles he firmly believed in and never hesitated to speak out his mind for the good of the Muslim ummah.
He was none other than Prophet of Islam's 4th Infallible Successor, who, according to a version left the mortal world on the 12th of Moharram in 95 AH, thirty-four years after history's most bloodcurdling tragedy. He was known as Ibn al-Khiyaratayn or "The Son of the Two Virtuous Persons", in view of the fact that if his father was the Prophet's grandson, Imam Husain (AS), he had for his mother, the chaste Princess of Persia, Shahrbano (peace upon her). Named Ali, after his illustrious grandfather, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), he was born in Medina on Sha'ban 5, in 38 AH – corresponding to 657 AD. He was picture of piety, and for this reason, he acquired the epithet of Zain al-Abedin, which means the Ornament of the Pious Worshippers of God. Another of his famous epithets is Seyyed os-Sajedin, which means the Chief of those who prostrate to God Almighty.
He no introduction even to non Muslims, thanks to the two universally acknowledged works bequeathed by him to mankind.The first is the Sahifat as-Sajjadiyah, which is a collection of his supplications to God that range from the bounties of the Lord Most High to the matters of mundane life including such wonders of the world of science as the weight of light, something that was beyond the ken of mankind in his days. The second is the Risalat al-Hoqouq or Treatise of Rights, from which the rights of the tongue have been quoted at the beginning of this column. It is a book that he dictated to one of his disciples to expound every minute right of a human being in society including a person's own physical organs that are nothing but Divine Trust to see how one uses or misuses them.
No wonder this treatise has been hailed as more comprehensive and perfect than the so-called Human Rights Declaration of the UN.
It would be repetitive to recount the tragedy of Karbala; how patiently Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) endured it; how he was subjected to imprisonment; how he was dragged to the courts of the tyrants in Kufa and in Damascus; and how he shook the foundations of Yazid's illegal rule by using his tongue to proclaim the victory of his martyred father's mission and to expose as a heathen the self-styled caliph. It is also not possible to recount the glorious events of his 34-year Imamate during which he ably guided the ummah in the turbulent era of six Omayyud rulers, all of whom, like their courtiers, misused the tongue to indulge in lies, deceit, sedition, blasphemy, bloodshed and every abominable utterance except for expressing truth. Thus, in view of these undeniable facts in today's morally-bankrupt world, we who claim to be followers of the Prophet and his Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt, ought not to emulate the enemies of humanity and cause dissension in society.
It is incumbent upon us to heed the call of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) on human beings to have proper control of their tongue and observe its rights, for if not properly used, the tongue will complain to God Almighty on the Day of Judgement about the violation of its rights by the owner. Both good and evil are spread by tongue. It means the tongue is the real barometer for measuring the personality of a person, and not confined to casual talk and mere taste of foods and drinks to satisfy one's gluttonous appetite. True, with the help of this sensitive organ, one can understand the sweetness, bitterness, sourness and saltiness of foods, but the 4th Imam stresses on how to use it properly, for the tongue is vital for conveying our concepts and ideas, as well as promoting peace, understanding, prosperity and perfection, in the family, in the society, and among mankind.
In other words, the brain or the intellect, which is indeed a treasure trove and distinguishes human beings from other species of life, depends on the tongue for its proper unraveling, and if we were to use our tongue to spread doubts, uncertainty, sedition, immorality, etc, in society to undermine truth and to distort realities, then we certainly do not deserve to be called the true followers of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS).
The 4th Imam was chosen by God to wage a unique jihad through prayers, supplications to God, and service to humanity. For instance, despite being a prisoner, he proclaimed in the court of the murderous Yazid that the victor was his martyred father, Imam Husain (AS), and certainly not those who had decapitated their innocent victims, hoisted the heads on spear points, left the bodies without any shroud and burial, chained the women and children of the Prophet’s Household and brought them to Damascus as captives in violation of the tenets of Islam. The tyrant was shocked and incensed. But there was little Yazid could do except to storm out of court. It was evident to all present, including foreign dignitaries, such as the Byzantine ambassador, that the debauchee who liked to call himself ‘caliph of Muslims’ in order to distort every single law of Islam, had failed, despite the magnitude of his crimes against humanity.
The plot had backfired. The tyrant had counted on Umayyad officialdom to mislead public opinion by depicting his victim as a deviationist and rebel against the caliph, but, here in the whole court, the frail and sick 23-year old son of Imam Husain (AS) exposed him in his true heathen colours.
The 4th Imam when asked to ascend the pulpit in the hope of affirming the awe that Yazid thought he had instilled through the gruesome massacre at Karbala, dismissed the pulpit as a mere block of ‘wood’, rather than calling it the ‘mimbar’ of Islam and the sanctity associated with it. Then he calmly outlined the mission and position of his father as well as the violation of Islamic laws by the Omayyads. When Yazid, fearing public dissent, ordered recitation of the Azaan, while it was not yet time for the prayer, the youth was silent for a while, out of respect for the testimony of God’s indivisible unity and the Prophet’s mission, before asking him: O Yazid, this Mohammad (SAWA) whose name is mentioned in the Azaan was your ancestor or mine? And if mine, how could you kill his grandson and still claim to be a Muslim?
Upon release from captivity and return to Medina, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) continued his enlightening task in spite of the fact that his tears never ran dry at the memory of the horrifying events that he had been through, including the martyrdom in the dungeon of Damascus of his 4-year old sister, Hazrat Ruqayya (SA) and the ghastly spectacle of the heads of 18 members of the Prophet’s Hashemite Clan paraded by Yazid’s hordes before the noble captives. He gently picked up from shreds the tattered fabric of the Muslim society and in the next 34 years inculcated spiritual values into the ummah by expounding the genuine laws of the shari’ah as promulgated by his ancestor, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Afraid to do physical harm to the Prophet’s rightful successor, in 95 AH corresponding to 714 AD, Walid ibn Abdul-Malik, who ruled for ten ignominious years as caliph, had Imam Zain al-Abedin (PBUH) fatally poisoned. Thus in the year 95 AH at the age of 57 years, the Prophet’s 4th infallible successor left the world a martyr. He was laid to rest in the Baqie Cemetery, which alas was sinfully desecrated in 1926 by a new schismatic brood that is trying to bludgeon out of context every law of Islam in the name of Islam.
