After the tragedy of Karbala...

After the tragedy of Karbala, the great Imam, Zayn al-‘Abidin, peace be on him, devoted himself to teaching. This is because he thought that spreading knowledge would be the best way to carry out his reformatory message. Besides he thought that it would be the best way to relieve his soul which the tragedies of Karbala melted. Accordingly, the children of the (of the Prophet), the religious scholars, and the jurists hurried to benefit from his sea of knowledge.

The Imam began teaching them, and they became teachers in the Islamic world. In this book will illustrate their biographies. The Imam enlightened the Arab and the Islamic thought with various kinds of knowledge. He summoned and urged the Muslim youths to give importance to knowledge. His students lauded and praised his summons to knowledge. His grandfather, the great Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, planted a tree of knowledge, which grew through his (the Imam’s) blessings.

So the people were eager to seek knowledge. Hence, the Imam was the brilliant founder of an intellectual culture in the Islamic world. As for the scientific and cultural wealth of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin, peace be on him, it represented creation, liberty, and development. This wealth was not confined to a particular science. Rather it included many sciences such as jurisprudence, explanation of the Qur’an, theology, philosophy, education, sociology, and the like.

The Imam devoted much attention to ethics because he thought that Islamic ethics was liable to collapse. He thought that the people turned away from their religion. This is because the Umayyad regime intended to destroy all moral values. So the Imam, peace be on him, spared no effort to reform and educate the community.

Concerning the Imam, the Shi‘ites said: “When the people yielded to their desires and followed their kings, the Imam cured them with the moral teachings and the holy verses.”[^1] The Imam, peace be on him, treated moral and educational matters objectively and inclusively. His studies in this respect are among the most valuable Islamic studies and the most accurate.

Perhaps the most beautiful and the most productive tool used in developing the Islamic thought is his great supplications called al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiya’. The scholars sometimes call it ‘Zabu’r Al Muhammad’, and they sometimes call it ‘Injil Al Muhammad’, may Allah bless him and his family. They regard it as the third important reference after the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balagha.