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Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad (علي بن الحسين السجاد, c. 658 –712 CE), also known as Zayn al-Abidin (زين العابدين), was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and an imam in Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle, Hasan ibn Ali, and his grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Ali al-Sajjad survived the Battle of Karbala in 680, in which Husayn and his small caravan were massacred en route to Kufa by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ((r. 680 – 683)). After the battle, al-Sajjad and other survivors were treated poorly and taken to the Umayyad capital Damascus. Ali al-Sajjad was eventually allowed to return to his hometown of Medina, where he led a secluded and pious life, without participating in the numerous uprisings against the Umayyads. Instead, he devoted his life to worship and learning, and was highly esteemed, even among Sunni Muslims, as a leading authority on Islamic tradition (hadith) and law (fiqh), and known for his piety and virtuous character. However, the quiescent al-Sajjad had few followers until late in his life, for many Shia Muslims were initially drawn to the anti-Umayyad movement of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi.

Ali al-Sajjad died around 712, either from natural causes or poisoned by the Umayyads. After his death, the mainstream Shia accepted the imamate of his eldest son, the quiescent Muhammad al-Baqir. Some others followed Muhammad's much younger half-brother, Zayd ibn Ali, whose rebellion was crushed by the Umayyads in 740. Some supplications attributed to al-Sajjad are collected in (lit. 'the scripture of Sajjad'), which is highly regarded by Shia Muslims. Ali al-Sajjad is seen by the Shia community as an example of patience and perseverance when numerical odds are against them.

Birth and early life
Ali al-Sajjad was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and grandson of the first Shia imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, from his marriage with Muhammad's daughter, Fatima. Father of Ali al-Sajjad was Husayn, the third Shia imam, son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima. Husayn also had two more sons named Ali, both of whom were killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680. The first one was an infant, identified in Shia literature as Ali al-Asghar (lit. 'Ali junior'). The second one was Ali al-Akbar (lit. 'Ali senior'), although some believe that Ali al-Sajjad was the eldest son of Husayn.

Mother of Ali al-Sajjad is named variously in sources as Barra, Gazala, Solafa, Salama, Shahzanan, and Shahbanuya. By some Sunni accounts, she was a (freed) slave girl (umm walad) from Sind. By contrast, Shia sources maintain that his mother was the daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian Emperor. Shia tradition thus refers to Ali al-Sajjad as Ibn al-Khiyaratayn (lit. 'son of the best two'), a title that signifies the union of Muhammad's tribe of Quraysh with Persians, representing Arabs and non-Arabs, respectively. According to some Shia sources, Shahrbanu, daughter of Yazdegerd III, was brought to Medina as a captive during the reign of the second caliph Umar ((r. 634 – 644)). She was then allowed to choose her husband, Husayn, and died shortly after giving birth to her only son, Ali al-Sajjad.

Ali al-Sajjad was born in Medina, or perhaps in Kufa, in the year 38 AH, that is, 658–659 CE. Shia Muslims annually celebrate fifth of Sha'ban for this occasion. He was too young in 661 when his grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib, was assassinated. Ali al-Sajjad was instead raised by his uncle Hasan and his father Husayn, the second and third Shia imams, respectively.

In Karbala
On 10 Muharram 61 AH, equivalent to 10 October 680, Husayn and his small caravan were massacred in the Battle of Karbala, en route to Kufa, by the forces of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, to whom Husayn had refused to pledge his allegiance. Ali al-Sajjad was also present in Karbala but was too ill to fight. After killing Husayn and his male relatives and supporters, the Umayyad troops looted his camp and found al-Sajjad lying deathly ill in one of the tents. The Umayyad officer Shimr apparently wanted to kill him too but his aunt Zaynab successfully pleaded to the Umayyad commander Umar ibn Sa'd to spare al-Sajjad.

In Kufa
After the battle, al-Sajjad and the womenfolk were taken prisoner and marched to Kufa. They were treated poorly along the way, Once there, they were paraded in shackles and unveiled around the city, alongside the heads of the fallen. The captives were then presented to the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, who boasted about killing Husayn and his relatives, calling it divine punishment. When al-Sajjad responded that Ibn Ziyad was a murderer, he ordered the execution of al-Sajjad but relented when his aunt Zaynab protected him and asked to be killed first. Ibn Ziyad imprisoned the captives for a while and then sent them to the Umayyad capital, Damascus.

Journey to Damascus
The captives were taken to Damascus, and displayed from "village to village" asking the way. A letter to Yazid, attributed to Muhammad's uncle Ibn Abbas, chastizes the caliph for poorly treating the captives, suggesting that this was worse than the massacre of Husayn and his relatives.

In Damascus
The captives were paraded in the streets of Damascus, and then imprisoned for a while. When they were brought to the caliph, the Islamicist L. Veccia Vaglieri writes that Yazid treated them kindly after an initial harsh interview and that he regretted the conduct of his governor, even saying that he would have pardoned Husayn if he was alive. Similar accounts are offered by the historians W. Madelung and H. Halm. By contrast, M. Momen, another expert, suggests that Yazid released the captives only as the public opinion began to sway in their favor, fearing unrest in his territory. Views of this kind are expressed by some authors, including J. Esposito, R. Osman, K. Aghaie, D. Pinault, H. Munson, and the Shia scholar M.H. Tabatabai. In particular, the Sunni historian Ibn Kathir writes that Yazid did not reprimand his governor in the wake of the massacre, which does not suggest remorse on his part to the Islamicist H.M. Jafri. Such claims of remorse also contradict Yazid's earlier orders for his governor to either exact homage from Husayn or kill him.

An alternative account is presented by the Shia scholar Tabarsi and by the early historian Abu Mikhnaf. They write that the captives were brought in a ceremony to the caliph, who gloated about avenging his pagan relatives killed in the Battle of Badr in 624. By some accounts, Yazid also dishonored the severed head of Husayn with blows from a cane, although this last episode is sometimes attributed to Ibn Ziyad instead, in line with the Sunni tendency to exonerate the caliph in killing Husayn at the cost of Ibn Ziyad. Part of the great mosque in Damascus, known as Mashhad Ali, marks where Ali al-Sajjad was incarcerated.

Freedom
The captives were eventually freed, and escorted back to Medina. Their caravan may have returned via Karbala, where they halted to mourn their dead. Sunni sources report Yazid's remorse for the massacre and that he compensated the captives for the properties plundered by his soldiers. By contrast, Shia authorities contend that it was the captives' activism that compelled the caliph to eventually distance himself from the massacre. Similar views have been expressed by some contemporary authors.

Aftermath of Karbala
Ali al-Sajjad led a quiet and scholarly life after returning to Medina, confining himself to a small circle of followers and disciples. He took aloof from politics and dedicated his time to prayer, which earned him his honorifics during his lifetime.

For many years, al-Sajjad commemorated the Karbala massacre in private gatherings, fearing the Umayyads' wrath. Such gatherings were a form of protest against the Umayyad regime, and the precursor of Shia Muharram rituals. Personally, al-Sajjad was deeply affected by the Karbala massacre, to the point that he frequently wept in its memory for many years. He justified his prolonged grief with a reference to the Quranic verse 12:84, which describes the immense grief of Jacob during the absence of his son, Joseph.

Ibn Zubayr's revolt
After the Karbala massacre, Abd Allah, son of Zubayr, who was a prominent companion of Muhammad, declared himself caliph in the Hejaz. He gradually gained popular support, to the point that Kufans forcibly replaced their Umayyad governor with a representative of Ibn Zubayr in 683. Ali al-Sajjad remained neutral towards Ibn Zubayr, and even left the town during the unrest in Medina. He also never pledged allegiance to Ibn Zubayr, but was left unmolested by him. Ali al-Sajjad was also not harmed by Yazid's forces, who later pillaged Medina after their victory in the Battle of al-Harra in 683. On this occasion, al-Sajjad, unlike others, was exempted from a renewed oath of allegiance to Yazid, perhaps because he had earlier sheltered the Umayyad Marwan ibn al-Hakam and his family. Some non-Shia sources describe a friendly relationship between al-Sajjad and Marwan, who in 684 succeeded Yazid's sickly son to the caliphate. Such sources even allege that al-Sajjad borrowed from Marwan to buy a concubine or that he was consulted by him on a message from the Byzantine emperor. By contrast, Shia sources contend that al-Sajjad interacted with authorities under the principle of religious dissimulation (taqiyya) to avoid persecution.

Tawwabin's revolt
In the wake of the Karbala massacre, Tawwabin (lit. 'penitents') in Kufa were the first who sought revenge. They revolted to atone for deserting Husayn and deliver the caliphate to his son, al-Sajjad, but were crushed in 684 by a much larger Umayyad army. There is no evidence that al-Sajjad was involved in this uprising.

Mukhtar's revolt
Shortly after Yazid's death in 683, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi appeared in Kufa, where he campaigned to avenge Husayn, while claiming to represent Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, who was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, but not from his marriage with Fatima. By some accounts, Mukhtar initially sought the support of al-Sajjad, who turned him down. Mukhtar's campaign in Kufa was nevertheless successful and he eventually seized control of the city in 686, whereupon he killed some of those thought to be responsible for the Karbala massacre, including Shimr, Ibn Sa'd, and Ibn Ziyad. Mukhtar may have even gifted Ibn Sa'd's head to al-Sajjad. When Mukhtar was himself killed by Ibn Zubayr's forces in 687, they did not harm al-Sajjad, which suggests only weak ties between the two men. Sources are contradictory as to what al-Sajjad thought about Mukhtar, although Shia sources are largely unsympathetic towards Mukhtar, in part because he championed Ibn al-Hanafiyya rather than al-Sajjad. Similarly, al-Sajjad was not harmed by the Umayyad commander al-Hajjaj, who defeated and killed Ibn Zubayr in 692.

Death


Ali al-Sajjad died in 94 or 95 AH (712–714 CE) and was buried next to his uncle Hasan in the Baqi' Cemetery in Medina. Shia Muslims annually commemorate eleventh of Safar for this occasion. A shrine stood over his grave until its demolition in 1806 and then, after reconstruction, again in 1925 or 1926, both times carried out by Wahhabis.

Ali al-Sajjad either died from natural causes, or was poisoned at the instigation of the reigning Umayyad caliph al-Walid or perhaps his brother Hisham, as reported by Shia authorities. Shi'i sources add that the destitute in Medina discovered after his death that al-Sajjad was the benefactor who regularly brought them foodstuff at nights, covering his face for anonymity.

Succession to Husayn
The majority Shia view is that the imamate passed on from Husayn to his son al-Sajjad, whose imamate coincided with the caliphates of Yazid ((r. 680 – 683)), Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ((r. 683 – 684)), Marwan ibn al-Hakam ((r. 684 – 685)), Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ((r. 685 – 705)), and al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ((r. 705 – 715)).

As the only surviving son of Husayn, al-Sajjad was the natural candidate for the imamate. There are also some Shia traditions to the effect that Husayn had designated al-Sajjad as his heir and successor. At the time, however, many Shias felt that, like Husayn, their imam should rise against the tyranny of the Umayyads. Given the quiescent attitude of al-Sajjad, these Shias rallied behind Mukhtar, who revolted under the auspices of Ibn al-Hanafiyyah. The latter thus initially diverted much support away from al-Sajjad, who led a secluded pious life after Karbala. Indeed, even though al-Sajjad was widely respected, he had few supporters until the collapse of the Zubayrid Caliphate in 692. Such was his quiescent attitude that some Western historians are uncertain whether he put forward any claims to imamate. Yet some Shia figures, including Abu Khalid al-Kabuli and Qasim ibn Awf, are known to have switched their allegiance to al-Sajjad from Ibn al-Hanafiyyah.

For his part, Ibn al-Hanafiyya remained in his hometown of Medina and declined active leadership of Mukhtar's uprising. Ibn al-Hanafiyya neither repudiated Mukhtar's propaganda in his favor nor made any public claims about succession to Husayn. But perhaps Ibn al-Hanafiyya had secret designs for the caliphate, because he never pledged allegiance to Ibn Zubayr, who even imprisoned him until he was rescued by Mukhtar.

Kasaniyya was a Shia sect that traced the imamate through Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya and his descendants. Some Kaysanites apparently joined al-Sajjad when Ibn al-Hanafiyya died. Among other Shia sects, Isma'ilis believe that Husayn had designated Ibn al-Hanafiyya as a temporary imam to protect the identity of the true imam, that is, al-Sajjad Most Zaydis, by contrast, do not count the quiescent al-Sajjad among their imams.

Successor
When al-Sajjad died, the mainstream Shia accepted the imamate of his eldest son Muhammad, who is often known by the honorific al-Baqir (lit. 'the one who brings knowledge to light'). Indeed, popular Shia sources report that, before his death, al-Sajjad designated al-Baqir as his successor.

Zayd, a much younger half-brother of Muhammad al-Baqir, also asserted a claim to leadership. Unlike the quiescent al-Baqir, however, Zayd was politically active. He revolted against the Umayyads in 740 but was soon killed. Perhaps to widen his support, Zayd accommodated some of the majority views. For instance, he did not condemn the first two caliphs, namely, Abu Bakr and Umar. Such views, however, cost Zayd part of his Shia support, who mostly view Abu Bakr and Umar as usurpers of Ali ibn Abi Talib's right to the caliphate. Zayd's rebellion marks the beginning of the Zaydi (Shia) movement. Especially for early Zaydis, any (religiously) learned descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima qualified for leadership as long as he rose against the unjust government.

Miracles
Some miracles are attributed to al-Sajjad in Shia sources: He spoke to a gazelle in the desert, restored youth to an old woman, and the sacred Black Stone in Mecca attested to his imamate in the presence of Ibn al-Hanafiyyah.

Titles and epithets
Ali's kunya is reported variously as Abu al-Ḥasan, Abu al-Ḥusayn, Abu Muḥammad, Abu Bakr, and Abu Abd Allah. A reference to his devotion to worship, Ali's honorific title is Zayn al-Abidin (lit. 'ornament of worshipers'), by which he was already known during his lifetime. His other titles are al-Sajjad (lit. 'the one who is constantly prostrating in worship') and al-Zaki (lit. 'the pure one'). He was also known as Dhu al-Thafenat in reference to the calluses formed on his forehead from frequent prostration in worship.

Character
Ali al-Sajjad was thin and resembled his grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib, in appearance and demeanor. He spent much of his time in worship and learning, was a leading authority on Islamic tradition (hadith) and law (fiqh), and well known for his virtuous character and piety. For these reasons, Muhammad's great-grandson was highly esteemed, even among Sunni Muslims. This was particularly the case in the learned circles of Medina, such that among his associates and admirers were some top Sunni scholars of the time, including al-Zuhri and Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib. These and some other hadith scholars have transmitted from al-Sajjad in Sunni sources. A poem in his praise, attributed to al-Farazdaq, a renowned poet of the time, describes the ire of Hisham, before his caliphate, when the crowds showed more respect to al-Sajjad than him during the Hajj pilgrimage.

There are also numerous stories about the generosity of al-Sajjad. He bought and freed dozens of slaves in his life, and secretly provided for destitute Medinans. Among the stories about his forbearance and magnanimity, he sheltered Marwan's family during the anti-Umayyad revolt in Medina. Ali al-Sajjad also prevented ill-treatment of Hisham ibn Isma'il when he was dismissed as the governor of Medina, even though he had regularly insulted al-Sajjad. He is seen by the Shia community as an example of patience and perseverance when numerical odds are against them.

Al-Sahifa al-sajjadiyya
Al-Sahifa al-sajjadiyya (lit. 'the scripture of Sajjad') is the oldest collection of Islamic prayers. Shia tradition regards this book with great respect, ranking it behind the Quran and Nahj al-balagha, which is attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib. Fifty-four supplications form the core of the book, which also includes an addenda of fourteen supplications and another Fifteen Whispered Prayers. The book, attributed to al-Sajjad, is often regarded as authentic, although its whispered prayers (munajat) may have been edited by others.

Regarded as a seminal work in Islamic spirituality, al-Sahifa is also a rich source of Islamic teachings. Its prayer "Blessing Upon the Bearers of the Throne," for instance, summarizes the Islamic views about angels. The book was translated into Persian during the Safavid era and its English translation, entitled The Psalms of Islam, is available with an introduction and annotations by the Islamicist W. Chittick. Numerous commentaries have been written about al-Sahifa.

Supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali
This supplication (du'a') is attributed to al-Sajjad, transmitted by his companion, Abu Hamza al-Thumali.

Risalat al-Hoquq
Available in two recensions, Risalat al-Hoquq (lit. 'treatise on rights') is attributed to al-Sajjad, written at the request of a disciple. The book is concerned with social and religious responsibilities. It exhaustively describes the rights God has upon humans and the rights humans have upon themselves and on each other, as perceived in Islam. The book describes the social duties each human must observe, and that those predicate on more fundamental duties, stuck as faith in God and obedience to Him.

Companions and narrators
Even though he was widely respected, al-Sajjad had few supporters until the collapse of the Zubayrid Caliphate in 692. Shia authors have listed 168 to 237 companions and narrators for al-Sajjad, some of whom believed in his infallibility (ismah). Some senior associates of al-Sajjad were among the companions of Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib, such as Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Amir ibn Wathila al-Kinani, and Salama ibn Kahil. Among notable companions of al-Sajjad were Abu Hamza al-Thumali, Aban ibn Taghlib, Abu Khalid al-Kabuli, Yahya ibn Umm Tawil, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Muhammad and Hakim ibn Jubair ibn Mut'am, and Humran ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Tayyar. Transmitters of hadith from al-Sajjad included Aban ibn Taghlib, Abu Hamza al-Thumali, Thabit ibn Hormuz Haddad, Amru ibn Thabit, and Salim ibn Abi Hafsa.

Family
Ali al-Sajjad had between eight and fifteen children, perhaps eleven boys and four girls. Four of his sons were born to Fatima bint Hasan and the rest were from concubines.