yā Zayn al-‘Ābidīn

I believe you are alive in the barzakh

and perhaps Allah will permit you to know these words

I am approaching you through two books

one conveys words of prayer attributed to you

the other conveys a wealth of information about you

I am not learned enough to judge the authenticity of anything attributed to you

I am dependent on Dr. Chittick and Shaykh al-Qarashī (Allah grant them entrance into Jannah!)

but it is the best I have access to right now

it is the means that Allah has given me to know something about you

and through them I feel myself falling in love with you

What would I pay to be able to see you inside the tent at Karbalā’ with my own eyes?!

What would I give to hear you speak in the court of Yazīd with my own ears?!

What would I do in order to be present at your return to Madīna with my own body?!

But I cannot

Even if I had all the wealth of the Earth

I am trapped in this time – 1436

I am trapped in this place – New York City

and all I have is my God-given imagination to form an image of you

and the blessing of my mind to perceive the beauty of the words attributed to you

and the secret of my heart to tremble at the thought of sitting next to you

learning from you

asking for your du‘ā

serving you for the love of your father

your grandfather

and your great grandfather (O Allah, bless him and his family!)

so that through you

I might know my Lord better

just as your collected prayers have taught me so much already

you are the light in the darkness for all those who have suffered

those who have witnessed tragedies

the Imam of the degraded

the one who lets us know through station, deed and word

that nothing in this world can strip us of the dignity that Allah placed within us

and get between us and the Most Merciful

the One who rules beyond time

and through time

and in time

and after time

and before time

and has prepared that which no eye has ever seen

no ear has ever heard

and nothing that we have ever conceived

to wipe away every tear

console every heart

uplift every soul

with manifestations of Mercy untold

so let me be one of your students and servants

let me be somehow

someway

connected to you in the most real of ways

by the permission of the Lord for whom I feel what I feel

the Lord who permitted me a glimpse of who you are

the Lord who decrees all things

such as this moment of longing and patience

at the barrier between my self and your majlis

yā Fattāḥ I can do nothing but what You decree

and am seeking You with the means that You have given me

so please bless Muhammad and his family

and forgive this simple boy with his books

for the lack of adab in his dreams

āmīn

I humbly request the reader to make a du’a for me

that Allah bless me with a true connection for His sake

to al-Sajjād ‘Alī b. al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-‘Ābidīn