In the year 683, the Umayyad Caliph Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya attacked the city of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah. Historical reports said that his troops raped and pillaged with reckless abandon for 3 days, and 9 months later many children were born in Madinah without fathers. It is said in some reports that no adhān or iqāma was said in Masjid Nabawī for those entire 3 days.

At the time of the attack, Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn عليه السلام, who had already lived through the slaughter of his own family by the same armies in 680, took in as many as possible who sought shelter with him.

There was nothing to do but trust in Allah and try to survive, and hope that when the violence finally ended, the people could return safely to their homes under the protection of the Imām. But even then, the Umayyad forces remained in power for many more decades, and so the memory of the slaughter, rape and unjust expropriation of property in Madinah was ever present.

I do not think there is a better story from the time of the Salaf for the American Muslim to reflect upon. Perhaps others from other countries will find meaning in this story too, but that is their choice. We Americans are living in the belly of the beast with no short-term hope for victory.

How will we survive, no matter what happens, with our faith and ethics intact?

Where will we seek refuge when chaos and injustice swirl around us?

How will we endure and persist on the path of Islam, even for many decades ahead, until our end finally comes at the time determined by Allah?

May Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn عليه السلام lead us through this darkness, by the mercy of the Most Merciful, āmīn.

I am not allowed to approach the grave of Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn in the cemetery of Jannat al-Baqīʿ, but in the picture below it stands between me and where Nabī Muḥammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is buried under the green dome. To me, that is fitting symbolism, because Imām Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn helped me to understand the enduring Muḥammadan presence in later times when unspeakable horrors happen with the full consent of those who falsely claim prophetic authority