3,488
edits
Ali b. al-Hussain: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (Text replacement - "Husayn" to "Hussain") |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''ʿAli b. al-Hussain''' b. ʿAli b. Abi Talib, Zayn al-ʿAbidin (“Ornament of the Worshippers”), is the fourth [[Imam]] of the [[Twelver Shi’a]]. His kunya is variously given as Abu ʿAbd Allah, Abu Bakr, Abu’l-Hussain, Abu’l-Hasan, etc. According to most sources, he was born in 38/658-59 in Medina. At [[Karbala]], Zayn al-ʿAbidin is said to have been too ill to join in the fighting; after the battle [[Shamir b. Dhi ‘l-Jawshan]] found him lying on a mat in the women’s tent and ordered him to be killed but was overruled by [[ʿOmar b. Saʿd]], the commander of the Syrian army. When ʿAli was brought before [[ʿObayd Allah b. Ziyad]] in Kufa, the governor ordered his execution, but relented after pleas by al-Hussain’s sister [[Zaynab]]. ʿAli and the other survivors were taken to [[Yazid]] in Damascus, and he sent them back to Medina. The mashhad ʿAli, forming part of the great mosque in Damascus, is said to have been built at the place of Zayn al-ʿAbidin’s incarceration.<ref>cf.L. Pouzet, Damas au VIIe /XIIIe siècle ,Beirut 1988, 352</ref> | |||
'''ʿAli b. al-Hussain''' b. ʿAli b. Abi Talib, Zayn al-ʿAbidin (“Ornament of the Worshippers”), is the fourth [[Imam]] of the [[Twelver Shi’a]]. His kunya is variously given as Abu ʿAbd Allah, Abu Bakr, Abu’l-Hussain, Abu’l-Hasan, etc. According to most sources, he was born in 38/658-59 in Medina. At [[Karbala]], Zayn al-ʿAbidin is said to have been too ill to join in the fighting; after the battle [[Shamir b. Dhi ‘l-Jawshan]] found him lying on a mat in the women’s tent and ordered him to be killed but was overruled by [[ʿOmar b. Saʿd]], the commander of the Syrian army. When ʿAli was brought before [[ | |||
==Birth== | ==Birth== | ||
According to many sources he was born (in Medina) in 38/658-9, though the years 33, 36 and 37 are also given. If accounts that he had not reached puberty at the time of the [[Karbala]] massacre (61/680) are to be trusted, this would put his birthdate forward to the 40s/660s; these accounts are, however, rejected by al-Waqidi and other authorities. | According to many sources he was born (in Medina) in 38/658-9, though the years 33, 36 and 37 are also given. If accounts that he had not reached puberty at the time of the [[Karbala]] massacre (61/680) are to be trusted, this would put his birthdate forward to the 40s/660s; these accounts are, however, rejected by al-Waqidi and other authorities. | ||
| Line 21: | Line 5: | ||
His mother’s name is variously given as Barra, Qazala, Solafa, Jayda, etc.; some say that she was an umm walad [q.v.] from Sind (or Sijistan), while Shiʿi tradition has it that she was a daughter of the last Sasanid emperor Yazdagird III and that her Persian name was Jihanshah, [[Shahrbanu]] or Shahzanan. Some say she threw herself into the Euphrates after the battle, but others maintain that she was among the survivors of Karbala. Shiʿis refer to ʿAli as ibn al-khiyaratayn “the son of the two elect” since, according to a tradition of the Prophet, the Quraysh are the elect of the Arabs and the Persians are the elect of the non-Arabs. | His mother’s name is variously given as Barra, Qazala, Solafa, Jayda, etc.; some say that she was an umm walad [q.v.] from Sind (or Sijistan), while Shiʿi tradition has it that she was a daughter of the last Sasanid emperor Yazdagird III and that her Persian name was Jihanshah, [[Shahrbanu]] or Shahzanan. Some say she threw herself into the Euphrates after the battle, but others maintain that she was among the survivors of Karbala. Shiʿis refer to ʿAli as ibn al-khiyaratayn “the son of the two elect” since, according to a tradition of the Prophet, the Quraysh are the elect of the Arabs and the Persians are the elect of the non-Arabs. | ||
==In Karbala== | ==In Karbala== | ||
ʿAli was present at the massacre of his family at [[Karbala]] in 61/680 but did not participate in the fighting, since he was ill, and thus survived the battle. Zayn al-ʿAbidin was not the only son of [[ | ʿAli was present at the massacre of his family at [[Karbala]] in 61/680 but did not participate in the fighting, since he was ill, and thus survived the battle. Zayn al-ʿAbidin was not the only son of [[al-Hussain]] called ʿAli; another was killed at Karbala and is known as ʿAli al-Shahid. Some historians, including Ibn Saʿd, Ibn Qutayba, al-Baladhuri and al- Tabari, refer to him as ʿAli al-Akbar and to Zayn al-ʿAbidin as ʿAli al-Asqar. Others (e.g. al-Qazi al-Nuʿman) maintain that Zayn al-ʿAbidin was the older of the two, and accordingly refer to him as ʿAli al-Akbar and to his martyred brother as ʿAli al-Asqar. For many Twelver authors, the title [[ʿAli al-Asqar]] refers to an infant brother who was also killed at Karbala; some of these authors maintain that Zayn al-ʿAbidin was the middle brother (hence ʿAli al-Awsat), while the eldest was ʿAli al-Shahid; others reverse the position of the two older brothers. | ||
According to the battle accounts, [[Shamer b. Dhi’l-Jawshan]] wanted to kill him despite his illness but was prevented by others, including [[ʿOmar b. Saʿd]]. When he was led as a prisoner before [[ | According to the battle accounts, [[Shamer b. Dhi’l-Jawshan]] wanted to kill him despite his illness but was prevented by others, including [[ʿOmar b. Saʿd]]. When he was led as a prisoner before [[ʿObayd-Allah b. Ziad]] in [[Kufa]], the latter ordered his execution but left him alive at the entreaty of his aunt, [[Zaynab]]. He was taken with the women to [[Yazid]] in Damascus, and he sent them back to Medina. | ||
==The Aftermath of Karbala== | ==The Aftermath of Karbala== | ||
| Line 40: | Line 24: | ||
A number of short texts are ascribed to Zayn al-ʿAbidin, including a certain al-Sahifa fi ’l-zuhd.<ref>Kulini, Kafi , viii, 14-7</ref> He is also credited with a Risalat al-Ḥuquq , preserved (in two versions) in two 4th/10th century works: Ibn Babawayh’s al-Khisal <ref>Najaf 1391/1971, 529-36</ref> and Ibn Shuʿba’s Tuhaf al-ʿuqul.<ref>Beirut 1394/1974, 184-95</ref> ʿAli’s collection of prayers known as al-Sahifa al-kamila or al-Sahifa [ al-kamila ] al-sajjadiyya gained wide popularity; there are numerous redactions and over twenty commentaries, and it was translated into Persian in the Safavid period. Fifteen “whispered prayers” (munajat) ascribed to Zayn al-ʿAbidin have been added to several modern editions of the Sahifa: an English translation of the entire work is now available.<ref>Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin ʿAli b. al-Hussain, The Psalms of Islam: al-Sahifat al-kamilat al-sajjadiyya , tr. with an introd. and annotation by W.C. Chittick, London 1988</ref> | A number of short texts are ascribed to Zayn al-ʿAbidin, including a certain al-Sahifa fi ’l-zuhd.<ref>Kulini, Kafi , viii, 14-7</ref> He is also credited with a Risalat al-Ḥuquq , preserved (in two versions) in two 4th/10th century works: Ibn Babawayh’s al-Khisal <ref>Najaf 1391/1971, 529-36</ref> and Ibn Shuʿba’s Tuhaf al-ʿuqul.<ref>Beirut 1394/1974, 184-95</ref> ʿAli’s collection of prayers known as al-Sahifa al-kamila or al-Sahifa [ al-kamila ] al-sajjadiyya gained wide popularity; there are numerous redactions and over twenty commentaries, and it was translated into Persian in the Safavid period. Fifteen “whispered prayers” (munajat) ascribed to Zayn al-ʿAbidin have been added to several modern editions of the Sahifa: an English translation of the entire work is now available.<ref>Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin ʿAli b. al-Hussain, The Psalms of Islam: al-Sahifat al-kamilat al-sajjadiyya , tr. with an introd. and annotation by W.C. Chittick, London 1988</ref> | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
*[https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/zayn-al-abidin-SIM_8144 Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition] | *[https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/zayn-al-abidin-SIM_8144 Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition] | ||
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-b-hosayn-b-ali Encyclopædia Iranica] | *[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-b-hosayn-b-ali Encyclopædia Iranica] | ||
==References== | |||
[[Category:Individuals]] | [[Category:Individuals]] | ||