Imam Ali Zayn al Abideen

Imam Ali Zayn al Abideen

658 - 712, Medina

Beginnings

Imam Ali Zayn al Abideen is the son of Imam Hussain and the great-grandson of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He survived the terrible killing of most of his family at Karbala and went on to live an incredible life, full of prayer, worshipping Allah and helping others.

Imam Ali Zayn al Abideen is often called 'Zayn al Abideen', which means 'the ornament of the worshippers'. That's because he would spend incredible amounts of time in prayer and would be so immersed in praying and so focused that he wouldn't hear what was going on around him. Just imagine that - focusing so much on your prayer and on speaking to Allah that you can't hear anything else around you.

The Purse

There are lots of stories about Zayn al Abideen's generosity, kindness and forgiveness.

On one occasion, a man accused him of stealing his purse while he'd been in the mosque. Of course, Zayn al Abideen was innocent. But he didn't argue back and he didn't object. Instead, he asked the man how much money was in the purse and then gave him that amount. The man took it and went home.

When he arrived home, he found his purse and instantly realised that Zayn al Abideen was completely innocent. He felt terrible. So he rushed back to the mosque and asked for forgiveness.

Zayn al Abideen told him, 'I'd already forgiven you before you'd even left the mosque'. Zayn al Abideen had completely forgiven the man, wasn't upset and was content with Allah. Even though the man had accused him and even though he'd given the man money which he didn't have to, he held no anger or upset in his heart against the man.

The Insulter

One another occasion, a man was paid to come and insult Zayn al Abideen (isn't that a crazy thing!) So he stood there, shouting insults at him in public. Zayn al Abideen just stood, listening to everything the man was saying.

The people that were around him knew Zayn al Abideen and they loved him deeply. They all got very upset and rushed to defend him. When they all started gathering around the man to stop him, Zayn al Abideen himself protected the man who was insulting him and told the crowd to leave the insulter alone. SubhanAllah.

The insulter then broke down into tears, feeling terrible and confessing that he'd been paid to deliver these rude words. He then attested that Zayn al Abideen was an incredible person who had the character of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Zayn al Abideen forgave the man and told him, 'If it was money that you needed, you should have just come straight to me. I would have helped you'.

Although the man had insulted him, Zayn al Abideen protected him from any harm. He offered to help the man who had just sworn at him. This was the same behaviour as his great-grandfather, the Prophet (peace be upon him).

These and numerous other stories have been recorded about Zayn al Abideen. He had an incredible character, was a student of the Sahaba and an incredible teacher, a devout worshipper and a generous, gentle and dedicated man.

May Allah surround him with mercy, blessings and peace.