Imam Zainul-Abideen(A.S): The Eldest Son of the Saviour of Islam
He was the eldest son of the Saviour of Islam. He witnessed the brutal deaths of his father, his brothers and his uncles. He was shackled and tortured himself. He was the fourth Imam – Imam Zainul-Abideen(A.S.)
During his infancy the Imam spent his time with his grandfather – Imam Ali(A.S.). He, then spent most of his time, with his uncle Imam Hasan(A.S.). He was present in Kerbala along side his father, but because of his illness he was unable to do battle. After the death of his father he was given the Imamat.
On the day of Ashura(10th Muharram) after all the men of the camp had gone to battle and did not come back, the ill-strucken Imam was the only man left in a camp full of ladies and innocent children. After killing the Imam, Yazid’s army would not let up. They, then, made their way to the tents, where Bibi Zainab and the other ladies were. They started ripping off the scarfs(chadars) off each woman’s head, the ultimate insult for any Muslim woman. They then burned down all the tents, forcing the women and the children out of their homes. They made their way to where Imam Zainul-Abideen(A.S.) was and pulled him out of his bed. He was put in heavy chains with iron rings around his neck and his ankles, and was made to walk barefooted on the thorny plains from Kerbala to Kufa.
The women and children were tied up like prisoners and put on camels. This journey would take them to Kufa and then eventually to Yazid’s Court in Shaam, where they were locked up in dungeons. It was in these dark, narrow dungeons where the Imam, the women and the children spent most of their days. The members of the Holy Family suffered the hardships and tortures of imprisonment for a long time.
After a long imprisonment, the sick Imam, with the other captives, were released. They returned to Kerbala, and after burying the body of Imam Hussein(A.S.) and the other martyrs which were lying unburied till then, they returned to Medina.
The Imam lived 40 years after the death of his father where he spent most of his time in prayers and mourning, which gave him the name Sajjad. Sources say that whenever the Imam drank a glass of water, he would cry in memory of his father. On the 25th of Muharram, the Imam was poisoned by the ruler of Medina. His son Imam Muhammad Baqir(A.S.) buried him.
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