The other sermon that the Imam gave was very short but very effective.

The other sermon that the Imam gave was very short but very effective. We saw that in Chapter 2. This was given to the people of Medina on the day the Imam returned from the prison of Yezid. The people of Medina were not in darkness regarding the goodness of the family of the Prophet, the way the people of Syria were. It was not at this time necessary for the Imam to remind the people of Medina about the evils of Bani Umayyah; what the people of Medina needed to be told were two things.

First, they had to be made to know what Bani Umayyah did to Imam Husain (A.S). Secondly, they needed to be told of what was expected of them now that Imam Husain (A.S) had given his life. And the Imam did just that in this short address to them which you have already seen in Chapter 2. SUPPLICATION (DUAS) Supplications ("Duas") are a kind of prayers to Allah. A person who reads a "Dua" is actually addressing Allah.

In the Qur'an itself Allah tells us of the "Duas" of several Prophets such as Nabi Nuh, Nabi Ibrahim and Nabi Musa. The Prophet taught his companion S several Duas. Imam Alitaught Kumayl Bin Ziyadthe DuaofNabi Khizrwhich came to be known as "Dua-e-Kumayl" and which is read every Thursday evening. Imam Husain's (A.S) Dua of the day of Arafat was introduced to you when .we were learning about the biography of Imam Husain (A.S). Imam Zaiunl Abidin (A.S) therefore was not the first person.

to start this art of addressing Allah through a supplication. What makes Imam Zainul Abidin (A.S) so special is that: he made "Duas" on almost every important occasion in a Muslim's life and filled these Duas with knowledge of very branch of Islam. No Imam before him or after him has taught us as Imam Zainul Abidin (A.S) did through Duas.

Most of the supplications of Imam Zainul Abidin (A.S) today exist in a book called "Sahifa Sajjadiya" (The book of Sajjad) or "Sahifa Kamila" (A complete book) or ""Zabur-e-Ale Muhammad" (The psalms of the house of Muhammad). The Imam used to teach these Duas to his sons Imam Muhammad Baqir (A.S) and Zayd, the martyr These books remained in the family of Imam Zaiunul Abidin from generation to generation and has survived till today.

Sahifa-E-Kamila The "Sahifa" as we know it today is a collection of 54 Supplications, I 4 other supplications and 15 Munajat. These "Duas" can be put into two groups: The Duas that can be read on any occasion (E.g.