The Sermon of Ali ibn Husayn in Damascus ( ar, خُطْبَة عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن فِي ٱلشَّام) are the statements of

Ali ibn Husayn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ( ar, علي بن الحسين زين العابدين), also known as al-Sajjād (, ) or simply as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (), , was an Imam in Shiʻi Islam after his father Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle Hasan ...

in the presence of

Umayyad caliph The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...

. After the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...

, the captured family of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

, the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, and the heads of those killed were moved to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

by the forces of Yazid. By order of Yazid, a pulpit was prepared, and a public speaker gave a lecture that placed blame on

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

and

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

.In reply to the Yazid's speaker, Ali Ibn Husayn;introduced himself and his descendants. Also, he recounted the events leading to the death of Husayn ibn Ali.

Ali ibn Husayn

Ali ibn Husayn ( ar, عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن), also known as Zayn al-Abidin ( ar, زَيْن ٱلْعَابِدِين, "Adornment of the Worshippers"), was the fourth

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

, after his father

Husayn Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

. Ali ibn Husayn survived the

and was taken, along with enslaved women, to the caliph in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. Eventually, he was allowed to return to

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, where he led a secluded life with a few intimate companions. Zayn al-Abidin's life and statements were entirely devoted to asceticism and religious teachings, mostly in the form of invocations and supplications. His famous supplications are known as

Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya ''Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya'' ( ar, ٱلصَّحِيفَة ٱلسَّجَّادِيَّة, translit=Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādīyya, lit=the scripture of al-Sajjad, ) is a book of supplications attributed to Ali ibn Husayn, the great-grandson of the Isl ...

Background

After the Battle of Karbala, the captured family of the prophet

and the heads of those killed were moved to the Levant by the forces of Yazid. According to Turabi, on the first day of

Safar Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppr ...

they arrived in the Levant (Damascus) and were taken into Yazid's presence. According to

Bihar al-Anwar ''Bihar al-Anwar'' ( ar, بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار, lit. ''Seas of Lights'') is a comprehensive collection of traditions (''ahadith'') compiled by Shia scholar Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1110/1698), known as ''Allama Majlisi''. It is a h ...

, Yazid ordered a pulpit to be constructed in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. He designated a public speaker to blame

and

. The public speaker sat at the pulpit and began his lecture by praising Allah and insulting Ali and his son, Husayn. Also, he devoted a long time to praising Yazid and his father

Muawiyah Mu‘āwīyya or Muawiyah or Muaawiya () is a male Arabic given name of disputed meaning. It was the name of the first Umayyad caliph. Notable bearers of this name include: * Mu'awiya I (602–680), first Umayyad Caliph (r. 661–680) * Muawiya ...

. In the middle of the lecture, Ali ibn Husayn called out to him and said: "O you who preach! Woe be to you! You have bought the wrath of the Creator in lieu of the pleasure of the creatures, while your place is hell." Then he turned towards Yazid and said: "Do you permit me to speak that which would be agreeable to Allah and would be a means of reward for those present?" Yazid refused, but the people said, "Permit him to ascend the pulpit. Perhaps we may hear something (worthwhile) from him." Yazid replied, "If I permit him to mount the pulpit, he shall not descend it until he humiliates me and the progeny of Abu Sufyan." They said, "How could this ailing youth do such a thing?' Yazid replied, "He comes from a family that has from infancy consumed wisdom along with their milk." Yazid finally relented, and Ali ibn Husayn ascended the pulpit and gave his sermon.(According to Kamile Bahai, Ali ibn Husayn asked Yazid to let him give the sermon on Friday.)

Context

Ali ibn Husayn began his sermon by praising

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

. Then he said about the knowledge, forbearance, munificence, eloquence, valor, and friendship of

Ahl al-Bayt Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...

and also the name of

Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ( ar, حمزة بن عبد المطلب; 568 – 625)Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. was a ...

and

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, جعفر بن أبي طالب September 629), also known as Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār ( ar, جعفر الطيّار, lit=Ja'far the Flyer) was a companion and cousin of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and an older brot ...

. He drew attention to criteria that indicated the eligibility of Ahl al-Bayt for the succession of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. It was in this way that he introduced himself, saying that there was no need to introduce himself to people who knew him, but that he was introducing himself for those who did not know him.

The son of Mecca and Mina

Ali ibn Husayn introduced himself as son of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

and Mina. With these sentences, he stated that his ancestors reached back to

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, who had constructed the

Kaaba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...

. He added that it was important to remember that people who honor the Kaaba must revere Ali ibn Husayn as the son of Mecca. In other words, anyone who did not respect Ali ibn Husayn was, in fact, blaspheming all that was sacred.

The son of Muhammad

The son of Ali

The son of Fatimah bint Muhammad

The son of who was killed at battle of Karbala

Call to pray

When Ali ibn Husayn said these statements, Yazid ordered the moazzin to call people for prayers. While the mu'azzin said: "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", Ali ibn Husayn stated: Yazid knew that it was in his best interest not to answer, so he ordered the mu'azzin to continue.

Effect

After delivering the sermon, those in the audience began to cry. They gathered around Ali ibn Husayn to apologize.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Husayn ibn Ali Battle of Karbala Shia Islam Islamic sermons