الرحلةThe Journey

علي زين العابدين

Zayn al-'Abidin (RH)

'Ali Zayn al-'Abidin ibn al-Husayn

Also known as: Zainal Abidin, al-Sajjad, Ali ibn al-Husayn

c. 38–c. 94 AH · c. 658–c. 713 CE

Hadith Sufism

'Ornament of the worshippers', the son of al-Husayn who survived Karbala.

'Ali ibn al-Husayn was the only son of al-Husayn to survive Karbala, where illness kept him from the fighting. He returned to Madinah and lived a life of devotion so intense that he was called Zayn al-'Abidin, 'the ornament of the worshippers', and al-Sajjad, 'the one who prostrates much'.

He was a respected narrator of hadith and one of the scholars of Madinah. Al-Zuhri said he had never seen anyone from Quraysh more excellent than him. He was known for carrying sacks of food at night to poor families who only discovered who their benefactor was after his death. A collection of supplications, al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah, is attributed to him.

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Life journey

  1. c. 658 CE Madinah المدينة
  2. 680 CE Karbala كربلاء
    Present at Karbala but too ill to fight; he survived the massacre.
  3. 680 CE Damascus دمشق
    Taken with the surviving women and children to Damascus.
  4. 681 CE Madinah المدينة
    Died c. 713 CE · c. 94 AH
    Returned to Madinah and lived there until his death. Buried in al-Baqi'.

Students

  • al-Zuhri (RH) c. 670–742 CE
    Al-Zuhri learned from 'Ali ibn al-Husayn in Madinah and praised his knowledge and character highly.
  • Muhammad al-Baqir (RH) c. 677–c. 733 CE
    His father, with whom he studied in Madinah.

Places in their life

al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
  • Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra
  • Abu Nu'aym, Hilyat al-Awliya'
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth reported between 33 and 38 AH; death 92–95 AH. Al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah is transmitted mainly in Shi'i sources; mentioned only as 'attributed'.