Abu` al-Hasan 'Ali bin 'Isa` b. Abi al-Fath al-Arbali said: "The outstanding qualities of 'Ali b. al-Husayn are more than the stars. The one who describes them goes to a boundless place. They appear in the sky of outstanding qualities as the stars appear for those who seek guidance through them. How is that not? He (Zayn al-'Abidin) surpasses all the world's inhabitants with the exception of 'Ali, Fa`tima, al-Hasan, al-Husayn. (Of course, this rhymed prose has been advanced, so do not be hesitant.) When you give the intellect its right, you will find whatever you want of glory and rightness, for he is a divine Ima`m, luminous temple, the substitute of the substitutes, the ascetic of the ascetics, the pole of the poles, the worshipper of the worshippers, the light of the lamp of the Message, the center of the circle of the Ima`mate, Ibn al-Khiyaratayn (the son of the best two), the one with two generous sides (father and mother), the peace of the heart, and the delight of the eye. 'Ali b. al-Husayn, and what will make you comprehend what 'Ali b. al-Husayn is? (He was) repentant, the one who wept very much, the one who put into effect the Sunna
and the Book, said right words, devoted himself to the mihrab, preferred (people) to himself, and became high through the degrees of knowledge. His day surpassed his yesterday. He was unique in knowledge. He was the best of all creatures in inherited and newly acquired (qualities). He resorted to honor, so he ascended to its top and became important in all its affairs. He defeated (all the people) through what he had such as good birthplace, noble origin, and pure descent. The tongues of those who describe him are unable to depict him. He was unique in his privacy during his whispered prayers. So the angels admired his attitudes. His fear of his Lord made his tears flow. So he exceeded the heavy, pouring rain. So, may Allah support you, carefully consider his traditions, take into consideration his signs, think about his asceticism, his worship, his humility, his night prayers, his punctual prayers, his preferring (people to himself), his alms, his gifts, his pleading (to Allah), his purity, and his eloquence which indicate his humility to his Lord, his standing as the standing of the disobedient in spite of his firm obedience, his confessing the sins in spite of his innocence, his weeping, his wailing, the beating of his heart out of the fear of Allah, his shaking all over, and his standing (for prayer). When it got dark, he whispered to his Lord, may His names be holy, addressed Him, the Exalted, cleaved to the Door of Him, the Great and Almighty, imagined that he was before Him, turned away from everything (other than Him), devoted himself to Him, he separated (himself) from this mean world, and was free from the human corpse. So his body prostrated on the earth while his soul was clinging to the world of angels. He fidgeted when he passed by a threatening verse as if the verse concerned him, while he was far from it. Thus, you find wonderful affairs, strange conditions, and a soul close to Allah, the Glorified, and you know with the knowledge of the one for whom the curtain was disclosed and the doors were open that this fruit is from that tree, as one is part of ten, this fresh drop from that noble fountain, this new one from that old one, this pearl from that abundant sea, this star from that bright moon, this growing branch from that firm origin, and this result from that premise. So this one (Zayn al-'Abidin) whose origin was pure was the successor of
Mohammed, 'Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, and Fa`tima, the honored, the glorified.1"
Al-Arbali, a scholar and researcher, has mentioned the most prominent qualities of Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, which are among the places of pride for every Muslim, for his qualities are a natural extension to the qualities and inclinations of his fathers, who changed the course of human history and enlightened man's way and guided him to signposts of the truth when he had been straying in the remote mysterious fields of this world.
Description cannot encompass the outstanding merits and laudable deeds of Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin, peace be on him, nor can explanation meet them, for he was a branch of the tree of prophethood and of the large tree of the Ima`mate in which Allah has put absolute perfection in order to be a signpost for the truth in the earth.
alsera.
