 In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you. Welcome to the introductory episode of the Treaties of Right series of Imam al-Sajjad, Zain al-Abideen. Imam Zain al-Abideen, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, known for his knowledge, piety and worship, the Imam, like his father and grandfather, stood out in society, as he was the true embodiment of Islam and its heavenly teachings. The life of Imam al-Sajjad, peace and blessings be upon him, embodied so much of what the prophets and the messengers stood for. He was similar to them in all their qualities and trends, hence he was like Jesus Christ in his asceticism and his turning to Allah in repentance. He was like Prophet John in his tribulation and patience. He was similar to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, in his true resolution and his good manners. His good tendencies and his spiritual abilities are limitless. In the history of this world, there is enough for him that only he has been called Zain al-Abideen. This nickname has not been given to anyone except him. Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, is the fourth Imam. He is the son of Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali, peace be upon them, and a noble Persian woman known as Shahrabanu. Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad was born on the 5th of Sha'ban in the year 38 after the Hijrah. The Imam is referred to in several narrations for his devotion to God and commitment to prayer. Two of his titles are Zain al-Abideen, which is the adornment of the worshippers, and al-Sajjad, the often in prostration. The Imam had a long period as an Imam, 34 years, from 61 until 95 after the Hijrah. He was known for his discipline and commitment to Allah. During his tenure, the Imam wrote many works which served to revive some of the religious knowledge of the Prophet, peace be upon him, his pure progeny, to the followers of the edit bait in particular and Muslims in general. The Imam left behind a legacy of works. One particular work is entitled al-Sajjad, a compilation of numerous supplications dealing with specific themes. This work is treasured as an authentic piece of work belonging to an Imam and remains amongst Muslims today as major work of Muslim devotion. The work has several other names such as the Psalms of Islam and is considered to be amongst the most beautiful of any work. The second text, the Imam left behind, is entitled al-Rasalat al-Huqooq and was unique for its time. The book's titles often translated as the Treaties of Rights and is a compilation of the rights of numerous groups of people over each other, as well as the rights of more abstract objects such as the rights of the ear and the rights of the self. Various commentaries have been written about the text in an attempt to formulate a systematic bill of rights conforming to Islamic thought, both until this day remain to be crucial documents and are still celebrated and studied as primary sources of the Shi'a today. During this program we will focus our attention on the Treaties of Rights, but today we want to get a glimpse of his holy life, Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him. The Imam was a survivor of the massacre at Karbala in which he witnessed the murder of his father and family. Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him thereafter, played a crucial role in narrating the tragedies in confronting Yazid's government in Syria. After the tragedy of Karbala Imam Zayn al-Abdin, peace be upon him played a major and crucial role in the demise and destruction of the Umayyad regime. During the days of the Black Umayyad regime, the community suffered social deception which paralyzed the revolutionary Islamic movement. This regime turned the Muslims into scattering groups without life and feelings. The Imam, peace be upon him, fought this regime through provoking as well as enlightening the minds of the people of Kufa. This Imam faced the Umayyad policy with his ideas where he destroyed their claimed victory and the marks of their haughtiness and might. The Imam, peace be upon him, achieved these glorious victories through the wonderful enthusiastic sermons which he delivered before the great masses in Kufa, Damascus and Medina. These sermons played an important role in enlightening the community and liberating it from the factors of fear and terrorism. One of the most memorable moments in the life of Imam Zayn al-Abdin, peace be upon him, is when he was brought to Ibn Ziyad's court and was made to stand before the tyrant. Who are you? He asked the Imam. The Imam replied, I am Ali ibn al-Husayn. He said, did Allah not kill Ali ibn al-Husayn? The Imam replied, I had a brother whose name was also Ali and the people killed him. The Imam meant to tell Ibn Ziyad not to attribute sin to Allah and not to say something irrelevant because it was the people and not Allah who killed Ali ibn al-Husayn and Karbala. Ibn Ziyad said, it is not so. Allah killed him. In reply to this, the Imam recited a verse of the Holy Quran. Allah takes the souls when the time of their death comes. Surat al-Zumar, chapter 39, verse 42. But he is not their killer. Here the Imam, peace be upon him, represented the epitome of eloquence. The Imam stood bravely in the court and wasn't shaken up and scared. On the contrary, he stood up for what he believed in because what he represented was something beyond worldly matters. The lives of the Al-Bait, peace be upon them, are quite magnificent and extraordinary. This aspect can be perfectly understood through the life of Muhammad Zayn al-Abideen, peace and blessings be upon him. They live their lives not for themselves, rather they live it for others. They are sent from Allah SWT to teach and spread the teachings of Allah throughout their surroundings. Let's go for a quick short break. Stay tuned. After the tragedy of Karbala, the great Imam Zayn al-Abideen, peace be upon him, devoted himself to teaching. This is because he thought that spreading knowledge would be the best way to carry out his reformatory message. Besides, he thought that it would be the best way to relieve his soul which the tragedies of Karbala melted. Accordingly, the children of the companions of the Prophet, the religious scholars and the jurists hurried to benefit from his sea of knowledge. The Imam began teaching them and they became teachers in the Islamic world. The Imam, peace be upon him, treated moral and educational matters objectively and inclusively. His studies in this respect are among the most valuable Islamic studies and the most accurate. The people of his time did not see anyone who worshipped Allah more than he did, nor did they see a person who was more pious than he was. Because of this abundant worshipping, he was called the Lord of the worshipers and the Imam of the pious. Another phenomenon of the high ideals by which the Imam, peace be upon him, was distinguished was that he treated the slaves kindly. He pitied for them very much. Among what he intended to do during his lifetime was that he wanted to free them from slavery. Indeed, he freed a large group of them. If he had lived for a longer time, he would have freed all the slaves. This is because he wanted to abolish slavery and to make Muslims know that their religion came to liberate man from abasement and slavery. It is an act of truthfulness to say that this great inspired Imam, peace be upon him, was not confined to a certain group of people, nor was he confined to a certain set of Muslims. Rather, he was for all people in spite of their different ideas throughout history. This is because the Imam represented human morals and dignity. Besides, he represented what man usually prides himself on, such as perfection, the rules of conduct and excellent morals. Because of the Imam's high character and his great importance to the Muslims, many Muslim sects claimed that he belonged to them. For example, the Mu'tazilites, who were the most knowledgeable of all Muslims in theology, regarded him with pride and honored him as one of them. The Sufis claimed that he was among their great figures. As a result, they have written many encyclopedias about his life. The Muslims thought that the life of Imam Zayn al-Abdin, peace be upon him, was the true embodiment of the Islamic values and high noble traits of his grandfather, the great Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, his pure family. He followed his method, his life and his practices. Hence, the Imam possessed the heart and the feelings through his excellent morals. So the people thought that no one except the Imam was worthy of their temporal and spiritual leadership. For this reason, they disdained their Umayyad kings who were void of virtues. The event which took place in the Ka'bah during the time of the pilgrimage indicates this. The Ka'bah was full of people from everywhere. The Imam came to circumambulate the Ka'bah and it was as if that the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, came to them. So they said loudly, there is no Allah but Allah. Allah is great. They crowded around him as they crowded around the Black Stone. Happy was he who touched his clothes or kissed his hand or took some dust from underneath his feet to see a good omen in it. It is necessary for us to study the period during which the Imam, peace be upon him, lived. This is because studying a certain period has become among methodical affairs which are necessary for the researcher. Such a study represents political tranquility and disorder. Moreover, it gives a clear picture about social aspects such as creation, progress, stagnancy, decline and the like. It is natural for us to study this phenomenon to discover the qualities of the Imam, peace be upon him. The time that the Imam lived was quite extraordinary. It is the time, this time period that many events had occurred. These events which include the great tragedy of Karbala all caused the vision and blurriness between the Muslims. The holiness of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him was violated during that tragedy. That was when the people attacked his woman folk and killed his grandsons. They did not pay attention to his holiness. The Imam, peace be upon him, witnessed with great sorrow all the tragedies which are immortal in the world of grief. Hence, he remembered them at every hour of his life until he joined the most high associate, Allah. There was another difficulty during the time of Imam Zayn al-Abideen, peace be upon him. That difficulty was that the political parties fought against each other to take the reins of government. As a result, they filled the country with tribulations and disasters. Surely the political parties at that time did not intend to achieve any of the community's objectives nor did they strive to solve any of the fateful affairs. Rather, they strove to achieve their ambitions and their material interests. Among the important events during the time of the Imam, peace be upon him, was that the Umayyad government forced the people to curse the commander of the faithful Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and the pure family of the Prophet. So the people cursed them on the pulpits in the minarets of the mosques and after Friday sermons. Hence, showing enmity towards them was part of a religious life of the Muslims. The Umayyad regime followed the Shi'a followers of the members of the house, the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, punished and killed them. The Shi'a during the Umayyad regime were liable to very intense tribulations. Imam Zain al-Abdin, peace be upon him, witnessed this. However, he was unable to protect his Shi'a from the Umayyad regime. As a result, his heart was full of pain and sorrow. As one can conclude, the life of Imam Zain al-Abdin was full of sorrow and hardship. Regardless, the Imam fulfilled his role as an infallible Imam and delivered the message of Allah to the Islamic world. With this, we conclude the first episode. Stay tuned for the second episode in which we will start with the rights included in the treaties of rights. Thank you all for watching and may Allah hasten the reappearance of Ahmadiyya. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.