Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin was born in Medina in 38AH/659CE. He was the son of Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hussayn and great-grandson of the Prophet (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Sayyidi Ali Zayn was self-denying and renounced worldly pleasures, though he did not give way to poverty and feebleness. He is considered to be pious with what Allah prohibited and his asceticism was internal and psychological. All accounts of his life highlight Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin as having gracious courtesy, penetrating knowledge, and sincerity in his devotion. A fire once broke out in the house while he was in prostration. He did not raise his head from prostration until after the fire went out. When asked about this, Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin said "the other fire kept my mind busy." Once, when circumambulating the Ka'aba, he heard a man asking Allah for patience. Sayyidi Ali Zayn turned to the man and said "You are asking for tribulation. Say 'O Allah, I ask You for wellbeing and gratitude for it.'" He died in Medina in 95AH/713CE and is buried in al-Baqi' cemetery next to his uncle Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hassan. After his death many people discovered that the individual who provided sacks of food for more than one hundred families, always with his face covered to avoid being recognised, was Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin.