Perhaps the most eloquent testimony to his exalted position...

Perhaps the most eloquent testimony to his exalted position is the famous ode composed in his praise by Farazdaq, an eminent poet of his time. In it, Farazdaq refers to the occasion when the Caliph Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik was overshadowed by the respect which the people showed towards the great-grandson of the Prophet. It was at the time of the hajj when both of them were trying to reach through the crowds around the Ka'ba to get to the Black Stone.

The people gave way to Zayn al-'Abidin while the Caliph struggled desperately. This deeply offended the Caliph, and, in a sarcastic tone, he enquired who the person had been to whom the people had shown such preference. Farazdaq, who was present at the scene, thereupon composed an ode and recited it, addressing himself to Hisham. It is worth quoting a few lines from this ode, a masterpiece not only of Farazdaq's output but of Arabic literature in general.

It is someone whose footsteps are known by every place, And it is he who is known to the bayt in Mecca, the most frequented sanctuary; It is he who is the son of the best of all men of God (i.e. the Prophet (s)), and it is he who is the most pious and devout, the purest and most unstained, the chastest and most righteous, a symbol [for Islam] This is 'Ali [b.

al-Husayn] whose parent is the Prophet, This is the son of Fatima, if you do not know who he is; Whosoever recognizes his God knows also the primacy and superiority of this man, Because the religion has reached the nations through his House. It was this `Ali b. al-Husayn, the Zayn al-'Abidin of Islam, who, as well as through other means, taught the Muslims the essence of Islamic spirituality through his supplications.

They are not, however, merely supplications; they embody comforting answers to many questions with which the man of his time and the man of our time are confronted. They deal with the crises through which any Muslim or the follower of any religious persuasion has to pass, which result from a variety of stresses and strains, and which arise from sources both inward and outward.

I do not wish to discuss here the authenticity, validity, textual history, or even the literary beauty of these supplications, as these points have all been dealt with by the translator in his comprehensive introduction. Indeed, there is no space in a foreword such as this in which to conduct such a discussion.