ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Understanding Karbala Appendix 5: The Illustrious Period of the Imamate of Imam Zainul Aabidin (a.s) (Al-Serat, Vol. 5 (1979), Nos. 3 & 4 ) No Imam began his Imamat in a more tragic atmosphere. The first day of his Imamat saw him seriously ill and a captive of the army of Yazid in Karbala’.

His father and predecessor had sacrificed all he had on the altar of truth; and Imam Zainul Aabidin found himself with a group of helpless widows and orphans being led from place to place, from the court of Ibn Ziyad to that of Yazid. Finally they were thrown into a prison, where the Imam spent the first year of his Imamat, cut off from the followers of his father and mostly unable to look after their affairs. Understandably, the tragedy of Karbala’ had created chaos in the Shia world.

Shias were in the throes of a dark pessimism, and the community was in disarray. A movement had already begun to accept Muhammad al-Hanafiyyah, son of Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (a.s) as the 4th Imam. Muhammad al-Hanafiyyah himself had no such design. But the problem was: How to stop that movement without putting the life of Imam Zainul Aabidin in danger? Yazid had not hesitated to murder Imam Husayn (a.s) in spite of the highest prestige the Imam had in the Muslims’ eyes.

It would have been far easier for him to kill Imam Zainul Aabidin a young man of 23 years of age, whose divine virtues were yet to shine before the Muslim community. And it was not in the interest of Islam that Imam Zainul Aabidin be martyred so soon after Imam Husayn (a.s). Altogether, Imam Zainul Aabidin had three difficult tasks before him: To announce his Imamat publicly without seeming to oppose outsiders.

To weld the community together, making a “ Tasbih ” (rosary) out of the scattered beads - doing it in such a way as not to give Yazid and Yazidites an excuse to retaliate. To expand true faith, providing a beacon of light to guide the seekers of truth to the safety of true faith and virtuous deeds - doing it without attracting untoward attention of his enemies. Any of these Himalayan tasks would have defeated a lesser being.

But Imam Zainul Aabidin under divine guidance did achieve all these aims in such a beautiful and unobtrusive way that even his followers, who tremendously benefited, and are benefiting, from his superb leadership did not consciously realize how they were being guided.