al-Ḥusayn grew up in an atmosphere of intense secrecy...

al-Ḥusayn grew up in an atmosphere of intense secrecy regarding the death of his natural birth-mother, and no one told him about her death until he had become grown up lest he would become saddened.42 There are two other narratives regarding his mother one of which is that that she threw herself in the river Euphrates after the incident at Karbalā while the others says that she was among those who survived Karbalā.43 Qarashī describes him as quite thin and weak as he became old due to his constant worship, and also due to the effects and sorrow from the massacre at Karbalā.44 However, despite this, al-Shaykhani al-Qādirī narrates about him that “beholders were fixed in a gaze at the handsomeness of his face.”45 It is also interesting to note that the most well known of the titles or agnomen that ʿAlī b.

al-Ḥusayn became known by, Sayyid al-ʿĀbidīn (the master of worshippers) is reported to have had its roots from the Prophet Muḥammad himself. One such report is from Al-Hāfiz b. ʿAsākir who reported on the authority of Sufyān b. ʿAyyina on the authority of b. al-Zubayr, who said: “While we were (sitting) with Jābir, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn came. Jabir said to him: ‘When I was (sitting) with Allāh’s apostle, may Allāh bless him and his family, al-Ḥusayn came to him.

He (the Prophet) embraced him (al-Ḥusayn), kissed him, sat him beside him and said; ‘A son will be born from this son who will be called ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, and a caller will call out on the day of Judgment’; ‘let Sayyid al-ʿĀbidīn stand up’, ‘and he [i.e. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn] will stand up.’ ”46 The first years of ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn were spent under the wings of his father Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, paternal uncle Ḥasan b. ʿAlī and grandfather ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.

The period with his grandfather lasted about two years after which ʿAlī b. Abi Talib died as a result from sustaining injuries after an assassination attempt at the Mosque of Kūfā during prayers by the infamous ʿAbd al-Rahmān b. al-Muljim, known as Ibn Muljim. The climate that followed may be described as quite turbulent, with much unrest, particularly for those who subscribed to the leadership of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and the Imamate. Those who considered ʿAlī b.

Abī Ṭālib and the Imams after him as the temporal and spiritual leaders came to be known as the Shīʿa (lit. followers, and in this context the Shīʿat ʿAlī, i.e. the followers of ʿAlī).47 It is evident that ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn grew up in the midst and surrounding of prominent personalities of Islam.