Sermon of Imam Zainul Abidin (A.

S)

In the court of Yazid a Syrian old man said: "I thank Allah that He has killed and destroyed you and annihilated seditious people like
you". Then he began abusing the Ahlul Bayt. The Imam kept quiet and let him speak on till he become silent.
Imam replied, "Have you read the Qur'an?" He replied "Yes, why not?" There upon the Imam said: "Have you not read the verse:
O Muhammad! I do not want from you any recompense for my preaching to you except that you should love my kin (42:23)
The man replied: "Yes, I have". The Imam said: "I swear by Allah that we are the kinsmen of the Holy Prophet".
It may be said with certainty that this very question must have created a tumult in the mind of the man. Then he asked the man:
"Have you not read this verse:
OPeople of the house, Allah wants to remove all kinds of uncleanliness from you and to purify you thoroughly." (33: 33)
He replied: "Yes. I have". The Imam said: "We are the people of the Household whose infallibility has been testified by Allah".
The Syrian there upon raised his hands in prayer and said thrice: "O Allah! I repent and am regretful for what I have done. O
Lord! I am disgusted with those who are the enemies of the progeny of the Holy Prophet and who have killed them. I do not know
how it so happened; I have read the Qur'an but did not pay attention to these verses".

When Ibn Ziyad ordered that Ali ibn Husayn should be killed, Lady Zainab said: "O son of Ziyad! If you want to kill him kill me
along with him". The Imam, however, said: "Dear aunt! Be calm, I shall give him a reply myself". Then he said: "O son of Ziyad! Do
you threaten to kill me? Don't you know that being killed is our legacy and martyrdom is an honor for us.

Oh people! God has granted us virtue in six and given us excellence in seven. He has granted us virtue in knowledge, eloquence,
courage, generosity, forbearance and the believers love for us. And He has given us excellence in seven in that he has given us
the chosen Prophet(PBUH),the truthful Ali(AS), Jafar-Tayyar (who flies with wings), Hamza (the lion of God and the lion of his
Prophet(PBUH)) and that he has given us the mistress of the women of the world, from us are the Masters of the Youth of
paradise(AS) and from our lineage is Mehdi- the savior of the oppressed and deprived people of the world of and the Imam of the
last age.Those of you who know me, know me and those of you who dont, let me tell you who I am? I am the son of Makkah and
Mina, I am the son of Zamzam and Safa. I am the son of the man who held the black stone in his robe. I am the son of the best of
men who circumambulated the Kaaba and the best of them in prayer. I am the son of the man who rode Buraq through the air. I
am the son of the man who led the Angels in prayer. I am the son of the man who was taken from Masjid Al-Haram to Masjid Al-
Afsa. I am the son of the man who was taken to Sidratul Muntaha. I am the son Mohammad Al-Mustafa(SAW).
I am the son of Ali Al-Murtaza. The one who fought the disbelievers until they said La Illaha Illalah. I am the son of the man
who fought with two swords, with two spears, went on two migrations, and pledged two allegiances. I am the son ofthe man who
fought at Badr, Uhad, Hunain and did not disbelieve for even the twinkling of an eye. I am the son of the believers pious one, the
descendant of the Prophets(SAW), the annihilator of the polytheists, the Commander of the faithful, the glory of the worshippers,
the honorable of the criers, the luminary of the fighters. I am the son of the man who was the most patient and the best of them in
Prayer. I am the son of the man who was assisted by Gabriel and Mikael. I am the son of the man who was the first to come
towards the call of Allah and his Prophet(SAW) and none came in precedent to him in belief. I am the son of a man who
annihilated the ignoble, the up risers and the deviators. I am the son of the man who attacked the aggressors and the blasphemous.
I am the son of the man who was seen as the arrow of God, targeting the hypocrites, the man who was seen as the bearer of
knowledge, the helper of his religion, and the garden of his wisdom. I am the son of a man who was chivalrous and bold, brave
and full of valor, and handsome and patient, pure from all impurities, and the best of them in Prayer. He exterminated the progeny
of his enemies and disturbed the disbeliever parties. He owned a constant heart, a firm will, and a steadfast resolution. Like a lion
he crushed the mingled spears and scattered them as the wind does. I am the son of the Lion of Hijaz, the Master of Iraq, a Mecci,
and a Madani, and a Badri, and an Uhadi, a Shajari, a Muhajiri, a Khaifi, and a Aqabi. I am the son of the inheritor of the
Masharain. I am the son of the father of Hasan(AS) and Husain(AS). That is my grandfather Ali Ibn Abi Talib.I am the son of the
most pious of woman. I am the son of the most devout of woman. I am the son of Fatima Zahra(S.A). I am the son of Khadija Al-
Kubra. I am the son of the man whose body lies alone on the ground in Karbala, surrounded by angels and the jinns for whom all
the wildebeest cry.

Yazid and his supporters were obliged to disrupt his speech. They asked the mu'azzin to pronounce Azan. Naturally the Imam, too,
had to become silent but at the same time he availed of another opportunity. When the mu'azzin said: "I testify that Muhammad is the
Prophet of Allah" he took off his turban and said: "O mu'azzin! I beseech you in the name of this very Muhammad to keep quiet".
Then he turned to Yazid and said: "Is this great and magnanimous Prophet your grand- father or our grandfather? If you say that he is
your grandfather all of them know that you will be telling a lie. And if you say that he is my grandfather then why did you kill my
father and plundered his property and made his women captives?" Then he stretched his hand and tore his collar and continued to
speak till the people were deeply moved and dispersed in a state of distress.


References:
www.al-islam.org
www.sayedammar.com