 factions. Although Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu was alone in Karbala’ and the events that transpired took place suddenly, the truth is that the hearts of the entire ummah were with him. This is also an established fact that perhaps there is no book of hadith of the Ahlus Sunnah wa l-Jama’ah which does not contain a chapter on the virtues and merits of the Ahlul Bayt, Sayyidina Hassan, and Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.
After the son of Sayyidina Hussain, Zayn al ‘Abidin ‘Ali ibn al Hussain, took up residence in Madinah Munawwarah―after the tragic events of Karbala’―the ‘ulama’ and muhaddithin of the ummah would attend his lessons and benefit from his vast knowledge and spirituality. This is a well-known fact amongst the ‘ulama’.
If a person’s iman cannot be complete without loving Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then a person’s iman cannot be complete without loving those whom Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam loved. Since Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam loved Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu, he also wished that others should love him. In fact, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam supplicated to this effect:
اللهم إني أحبه فأحبه
O Allah, I love him, so You also love him.
These are noble personalities, the love of whom we have inherited from Allah and His Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and we hope that every person who believes in Allah and His Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam will also love them.
What transpired at Karbala’ was a rash reckless reaction to Sayyidina Hussain’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu journeying to Kufah, and a result of the treachery of the people of Iraq. The entire ummah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam grieved at the occurrences of Karbala’.
Wherever, in the Muslim world, mention is made of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, the hearts of the Muslims radiate with love for him, and are moved upon hearing of the cruelties committed against him. The people of Sham (the Levant) themselves cursed Ibn Marjana (‘Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad). Until this point in time there was no split in the ummah with regards to beliefs.
We can clearly understand from this that the stance taken by Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not result in him becoming estranged from the the Ummah or despised by them. He regarded his presence at the borders of the Muslim state as a great service to Islam, for which he had volunteered and presented himself. He did not desire any type of fragmentation or disorder to arise in the Muslim world.
When Zayn al ‘Abidin, who was the son of Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhum, arrived in Madinah Munawwarah, he studied under Sayyidina Jabir (d. 74 A.H), Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (d. 68 A.H), and Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (d. 74 A.H) radiya Llahu ‘anhum. He also had a close relationship with Sayyidina Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, who in turn loved him deeply. Imam al Zuhri said, “I never saw a greater faqih (jurist) than Zayn al ‘Abidin.”
His lessons held in Masjid al Nabawi were attended by all and sundry, just like the gatherings and lessons of other great ‘ulama’ of the time. No difference of opinion with regards to beliefs existed between Zayn al ‘Abidin and the other ‘ulama’ of the time. Thereafter, Imam Muhammad al Baqir and Imam Jafar al Sadiq became leading personalities in Hijaz, following in the footsteps of their forefathers.
However, there were those elements who were attempting to create a rift within the belief structure of the ummah, soon after the martyrdom of Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had a number of such deviants burnt alive. Towards the end of the third century, their sinister plots began yielding its fruits and now a picture of the Ahlul Bayt being totally estranged from the rest of the Ummah had been painted in the minds of many. Some historians and narrators tried to take this picture and establish its occurrence earlier on. It then became the duty of the scholars of the truth to educate the ummah regarding the Ahlul Bayt in that era, so that they 