Morality of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (A.S.)

Nobility in Childhood
Abdullah ibn Mubarak reports: When I was on Hajj to Mecca, I caught sight of a seven or eight year old child walking alongside a caravan of pilgrims with no provision with him. I went forward, saluted him and asked,“With whom did you cover the desert?” He said, “With the Beneficent Allah.” He looked great to me. I asked, “Where is your provision, my son?” He said, “My piety is my provision and my Lord is my goal.” He looked magnanimous. I asked,“Which lineage do you come from?” He said, “Abd al-Muttalib.”
“Which family?” I asked.
“Hashim”,he said.
“Which branch”, I asked.
“Ali– Fatimah”, he said.
“O my master! Have you composed a poem?” I asked.
“Yes, I have”, he said.
“Recite part of your poem,” I asked.
The Imam recited a poem with the following words:
We are those sent to the pond of Kawthar. We give water to some and repel others. None can attain salvation but through our mediation. One who loves us will not suffer losses and one who makes us happy will receive happiness from us and whoever harms us will be of low birth. One who usurps our right will be punished on the Judgment Day!
Then I lost sight of him until I came to Mecca. After I had completed my Hajj rituals and returned to al-Abtah, I saw a circle of people round someone. It was the same child with whom I spoke. I asked who he was. They said that he was Zayn al-Abidin.94
Asking For Forgiveness
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) has reported: My father sent his slave on mission but he delayed in fulfilling it. He lashed him with one stroke. The slave said, “O Ali ibn al-Husayn. You send me on a mission and hit me!” My father cried, saying, “My son! Go to the grave of the Holy Prophet, perform a two-unit prayer and say: O Lord: Forgive Ali ibn al-Husayn on the Judgment Day.” Then he said to the slave, “You are free in the way of Allah.”
Abu-Basir says: I said to the Imam, “May I be your ransom. It seems that setting a slave free is the atonement of hitting him!” But the Imam kept silent.95
Retaliation
Imam al-Ridha reports: Ali ibn al-Husayn hit his slave on one occasion. Being sorry, he entered home, took off his shirt and while giving a lash to his slave said, “Hit Ali ibn al-Husayn!” The slave refused to do and the Imam gave him fifty dinars.96
Mother’s Right
Imam Zayn al-Abidin has said, “You are the most benevolent man but you don’t eat from the same plate with your mother while she likes to.” The Imam said, “I don’t like to stretch my hand to reach a morsel which my mother has an eye on it hence being disowned by her.”
From that time on, he would put a cover on the plate of food when eating with his mother so he would put his hand under it and ate the food.97
Security against Loan
Isa ibn Abdullah reports: Abdullah was on the verge of death. The creditors had gathered in his house claiming their dues. He said, “I don’t have anything to pay you. Refer to either of my cousins, Ali ibn al-Husayn or Abdullah ibn Jafar to pay my debt to you.” The creditors said,
“Abdullah ibn Jafar is a man of long-term promise. He is negligent too. Ali ibn al-Husayn, though not wealthy, is truthful. Hence, he is a better option for us.” The news reached Imam Zayn al-Abidin. He said that he would undertake to pay the debt at harvest time, while he had no grain at all. When it was harvest time, Allah destined for him a certain amount of money with which he paid all the creditors’ claim.98
An Extraordinary Example of Forbearance
A man insulted Imam Zayn al-Abidin (a.s.). His slaves made an attempt to attack him. The Imam said, “Let him go. What is hidden of us is more than what he is saying about me.” Addressing the same man, the Imam said, “Do you need anything?” The man was ashamed. The Imam gave his garment to him together with a thousand dirhams. The man said loudly, “I bear witness that you are the son of Allah’s Messenger.”99
Reaction to Backbiting
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (a.s.) reached a group of people who were talking behind his back. He stood near them saying, “If you are true about what you say, may Allah forgive me; and if you are lying, may Allah forgive you.”100
Forgiving the Child’s Killer
Imam Zayn al-Abidin had a few guests; he asked his servant to be quick in preparing the food. The servant hastily brought the iron grid on which the meat had been grilled but it fell off his hand on the head of the Imam’s child who was on the ground and killed him. Addressing the servant who was shocked and trembling from fear, the Imam said, “You did not do it intentionally. Therefore, you are free in the way of Allah.” He then took part in the funeral service of his child.101
Devotion
Imam Zayn al-Abidin had a needy cousin and the Imam would go to the door of his house as an unknown man giving him a few dinars. But the cousin would say, “Ali ibn al-Husayn does not observe ties of relationship towards me. May Allah not give him a good reward!”
The Imam heard what he was saying but forbore it and did not wish to reveal his identity.
When Imam Zayn al-Abidin passed away, his cousin, whose nightly assistance had been cut off, realized that it was Imam Zayn al-Abidin who fulfilled his needs. For this reason, he rushed to the Imam’s grave and wept bitterly.102
Notes:
84. Kitab al-Irshad by Shaykh al-Mufid 145/2
85. Al-Kafi, 132/2, H. 8
86. Kitab al-Irshad by Shaykh al-Mufid: 147/2
87. Ilal al-Shara’i: 231/1, H. 8
88. Al-Amali by Shaykh al-Saduq: 201, H. 12
89. Al-Amali by Shaykh al-Saduq: 220, H. 6
90. Thawab al-Amal wa-Iqab al-Amal: 50
91. Al-Kafi: 68/4; H. 3
92. Al-Manaqib: 163/4
93. Al-Manaqib: 154/4
94. Al-Manaqib: 155/4
95. Bihar al-Anwar: 92/46, Chapter: 5, H. 79
96. Kitab Al-Zuhd: 45, Chapter: 7, H. 119
97. Al-Manaqib: 162/4
98. Al-Kafi: 97/5, T 7
99. Al-Manaqib: 157/2
100. al-Khisal: 517/2, H. 4
101. Kashf al-Ghummah: 80/2
102. Kashf al-Ghummah: 106/2