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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Food for Thought: - Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.) 02

2 From The Editor’s Desk 03

3 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 04

4 A Glance at the Life of Holy Prophet (S) 06

5 A Biography of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (A.S.) 29

6 Appointing Imam al-Mahdi (A.T.F.) as the Next Imam by

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A.S) 39

7 9th Rabi al-Awwal – A Day of Rejoicing and Celebration 46

8 Peace Treaty of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (A) 48

9 The Migration of the Prophet: the Source of Historical

Transformation 52

10 Imamate at Childhood 58

Kids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ Corner

11 Always Speak the Truth 61

12 Recommendation for Helping Others 62

13 Monotheism in Worship & Fear from the Resurrection Day 63

THE MESSAGE

Editor: Hujjat-ul-Islam Wal Muslimeen Sheikh Shabbir H. Lakhani (Maisami)

Editorial Board: Mr. Mazher Ali Jumani, Molana Sajjad Qaimi, Dr. Hussain Kanani,

Mr. Hasnain Nanjiani.

Annual Subscription: Pak. Rs. 500/=

For subscription and suggestions contact:

6, Jiwani Garden, JM-208/2, Amil Colony, Soldier Bazar # 3, Karachi – Pakistan

Email: [email protected] Web: www.zahraacademy.org

Disclaimer: The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed in the matter published herein. The views and opinions presented in the Journal reflect the views of the authors

and not of the Journal or its Editorial Board or the Publisher.

Published by

Zahra (S.A.) Academy Institute of Islamic Education, Development & Relief

The Message Rabi-ul-Awwal & Rabi-us-Sani 1438 AH

2

1. Verily the truth is not

known through men; know

the truth (first) and you will

know its people.

2. The servant of Allah is free

so far as he remains con-

tent. The free man is a slave

as long as he is greedy.

3. Planning before action will

preserve you from regret.

4. He who is negligent in his

work is afflicted with anxiety.

5. The fruit of the jealousy is

the misery of this world

and the Hereafter.

6. Whoever utters the name

of Allah on some food that

he eats will never be asked

(to account for) the bounty

of that food.

7. The greatest of regrets on

the Day of Resurrection will

be the regret of a man who

gained wealth through

means of disobedience Al-

lah, which was then inher-

ited by a man who spent it

in the obedience of Allah,

glory be to Him; thus be-

cause of it (i.e. the same

wealth) the latter entered

Paradise whereas the for-

mer entered the Fire.

8. The best of people in the

sight of Allah is he who

likes to act according to

what is right – even if it

brings him loss and misery

– more than what is wrong,

even if it brings him profit

and increase of wealth.

9. Worry is half of old age.

10. Wisdom is a tree that

grows in the heart and pro-

duces fruit on the tongue.

11. The foolishness of a man is

recognised by three things:

idle talk, answering some-

thing he was not asked, and

being careless in matters.

12. The worst enemy of man is

his rage and lust, and he

who suppresses them will

make his status elevate and

will reach his goal.

��

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.)

Rabi-ul-Awwal & Rabi-us-Sani 1438 AH The Message

3

In the name of Allah, the

all mercy, the ever mercy.

Brothers and Sisters,

Salam Alaikum.

Zahra (s.a.) Academy Pakistan

extends heartiest greetings

and felicitations to the House-

hold of Holy Prophet Muham-

mad (s.a.w.w.), the Holy

Imams (a.s.) especially Imam-

e-Zamana (may the Almighty

Allah hasten his return), to

the Muslim ummah and the

followers and lovers of the

Holy Ahlulbait (a.s.) on the

blessed occasion of Wiladat of

last Prophet of Allah (s.w.t.)

Hazrat Muhammad-e-Mustafa

(s.a.w.w.) and our sixth Holy

Imam, Hazrat Imam Jafar

Sadiq (a.s.).

Because of different traditions

Sunni Muslims celebrate

Wiladat of Rasool Allah

(s.a.w.w.) on 12th Rabi-ul-

Awwal while Shia Muslims

celebrate it on 17th Rabi-ul-

Awwal. As the Unity amongst

Muslims is a responsibility

given by Islam and also the

most important responsibility

of time so by decree of Imam-

e-Ummat Imam Khomeini

(r.a.) the week between 12th

Rabi-ul Awwal and 17th Rabi-

ul-Awwal each year is cele-

brated as Unity Week.

It is our prayer that his birth

anniversary may serve to

unite the Muslim nation, to

keep them safe, and to allow

their continual development.

Please remember us and all

Momineen, especially the

oppressed ones, in your

prayers as we remember you

in ours. We thank all those

who showed their confidence

in our system and gave us a

chance to serve the Muslim

Ummah. May the guidance &

blessings of Allah (SWT) be

with you and your family!

Long live Islam,

Long live Pakistan.

Editor,

Shabbir H. Maisami (Lakhani)

��

From The Editor’s Desk


4

Q.1: In the event of sepa-

ration, who is entitled to

the custody of children,

the father or the mother?

Ans.: The right of the custody

of the children is for the

mother for the first two years

of the child’s age, whether the

child is a male or a female.

After that, it is obligatory on

her to give the custody to the

father if he asks for it. At the

same time, the father should

not prevent the mother from

corresponding with her child

as this is a right for both the

child and the mother.

Q.2: Is it necessary for a

woman to cover her feet

in front of a stranger?

Ans.: Yes, it is necessary.

Q.3: What type of sea food

is allowed? Are crabs,

lobsters, shrimps allowed

to eat?

Ans.: It is not permissible to

eat from marine animals

anything except fish that has

scale; shrimp is considered

from that category [of permis-

sible sea animals]. But other

than fish, like lobster, and

similarly the fish that does not

have scale is forbidden.

Q.4: I would like to know

the depth and extent of a

husband's obligations for

maintenance and expens-

es of the wife. Is it true

that the husband should

provide the same level of

life as the wife had before

marriage?

Ans.: The husband is obliged

to provide his wife with food,

clothing and housing in con-

formity with her social status

and dignity; dignity meaning

the same level of life that she

had before marriage.

Q.5: Is it permissible to

perform prayers near a

grave or in a graveyard?

Ans.: It is makrooh (abomina-

ble) to perform prayers in a

graveyard, between two

graves, on a grave, or oppo-

site to the grave.

Q.6: Is it permissible for a

man to wear a watch that

Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


5

contains parts made from

gold or a watch whose

strap is made of gold? Is it

permissible to say salat

with it?

Ans.: It is not permissible for

men to wear gold objects

such as a gold chain, a gold

ring and a gold watch, even

though the gold may be white

in color. Wearing gold plated

objects is also not allowed

and prayer in them would be

invalid.

Q.7: If someone says: "I

swear to God I won't do

this deed" and then does it

again. What is the Kaf-

farah for it?

Ans.: If a person takes an

oath that he will perform an

act (e.g. that he will fast) or

will refrain from doing an act

(e.g. that he will not smoke),

but does not intentionally act

according to his oath, he

should give Kaffarah for it,

which means he should set a

slave free, or should fully feed

10 indigent persons, or should

provide them with clothes.

And if he is not able to

perform these acts, he should

fast for 3 consecutive days.

Q.8: Is it permissible to

listen to revolutionary

songs accompanied by

sounds of piano, lute,

drum, wind-pipe, and

electronic piano?

Ans.: If the music accompa-

nying it is that which is

suitable for entertainment and

amusement gatherings, it is

not permissible to listen to it.

Q.9: In Qur'ani sajda is it

obligatory to place all 7

organs on the ground?

Ans.: The obligatory precau-

tion is that in the obligatory

Sajda caused by the Qur'anic

verse, a person should place

his forehead on a mohr, or any

other thing on which sajda is

allowed, and also one should

keep other parts of one's body

on the ground, as required in a

sajda of prayers.

Q.10: Is it permissible for a

lady to spend her iddatul-

wafat at her son’s house

living in another city?

Ans.: Yes, it is.

��


6

Among all the Prophets, the

Holy Prophet is the only

Prophet about whose life even

ordinary matters have been

recorded in history and this is

a great accomplishment of the

Muslim nation because the

biographical sketches of other

Prophets have been written

after a lapse of considerable

time with alterations and

incorrect accounts by some of

their followers. However on

the life and attributes of the

Holy Prophets many books

were written in Arabic lan-

guage some details of which

have been mentioned in our

discussions on the signs of the

Prophets. Thus it seems

pertinent to give a brief

account of the conduct and

character of our Holy Prophet.

It would be profitable for all

the Muslims to know the

details of the Prophet's

character, morals, and private

life. Whatever is written in the

following pages has been

derived from Biharul Anwar,

vol. 16; Sirah-i Ibn Hisham,

Kuhlul Basar, Tafsir al-Mizan,

vol. 6 and other authentic

books.

His Compassion and

Sympathy:

Before the advent of Islam, it

so happened that people were

worried about the appalling

conditions of famine. Abu

Talib, the uncle of the Holy

Prophet was also equally

perturbed because he had a

large family to support and his

resources were limited. The

Holy Prophet decided with his

uncle Abbas to go to Abu

Talib and in order to lessen

the burden of his daily ex-

penses, each one of them

should take one son of Abu

Talib. Thus Abbas took Ja'far

and the Holy Prophet brought

Imam Ali to his house and

became his guardian from his

very childhood. This was one

example of the compassionate

A Glance at the Life of Holy Prophet (S)

By: Hojjat al-Islam Shaykh Muhsin Qara'ati


7

nature of the Prophet of

Islam.

His Morals:

The Holy Prophet used to

sleep on the floor on a simple

mat. He cobbled his shoes

and patched his clothes

himself. He smiled away any

disgraceful remark. He would

go to buy things for himself.

Anas bin Malik says, "For

years I was in the service of

the Holy Prophet but never

even for once did he repri-

mand me on my fault. The

Holy Prophet milked the she-

goat himself, greeted the

children first and accepted the

invitation of his slaves. He

would never make a disparag-

ing remark about the food

which was not of his liking. He

was particular about cleansing

his teeth with Miswak, apply-

ing perfume and taking bath

on Fridays. While going out of

the house he put on white

dress. While taking his food,

he would never lean upon

anything so that there might

not be any sign of pride when

he was sitting before Allah's

bounties.

His Family Life:

Despite the fact that most of

the wives of the Holy Prophet

were of advanced age,

mothers of orphaned children,

and were of varying nature

and disposition, he treated

them nicely as is mentioned in

the Holy Qur'an: Treat them

kindly ...[1] Though some of

his wives treated him so badly

that his companions used to

advise him to leave them for

the good. But he used to say

that the shortcomings of a

woman should be weighed

with some of her good

qualities also. One should not

divorce one's wife on her

minor fault or slight unpleas-

ant behavior because women

possess some good qualities

and noble attributes also.

The Holy Prophet said:

"Anyone who is affluent with

regard to wealth and property

but still remains stingy with

his wife and children is not

amongst us". [2]


8

After the passing away of his

beloved wife, Lady Khadija

the Holy Prophet treated all

those ladies who were her

intimate friends with high

esteem and favour.

The Holy Prophet used to say:

"I treat my family members

better than anyone else". [3]

The Holy Prophet observed

justice with his wives so

strictly that even during his

serious illness his bed was

made each night by regular

turns in every wife's chamber.

His Feelings for the New-

born:

A newborn baby was brought

to the Holy Prophet for

blessings or for giving him a

name. The new-born passed

urine in the lap of the Holy

Prophet and the parents as

well as the people standing

around became very much

embarrassed. At this the Holy

Prophet said: "Don't mind.

The little one is getting

frightened of your making a

noise. I shall have my clothes

washed". [4]

His Initiative in Greeting

the Children:

The Holy Prophet used to call

the name of the boys and

girls with respect. He gave

special instructions about

respecting the girls. In his

code of conduct the injunction

for giving respect to the

females is present. This is the

view of the Holy Prophet. But

once when on the birth of a

female child the father of the

child became so furious that

his face turned black. The

Holy Qur'an says:

When the glad news of the

birth of their daughter is

announced to them, their

faces turn gloomy and black

with anger. [5]

Under such ghastly condition

of the society, respect for the

sons and daughters particular-

ly of the daughter was a

conspicuous thing. The Holy

Prophet said: "The best of

your offsprings are the daugh-

ters, and the sign of a wom-

an's auspiciousness is that her

first-born is a daughter". [6]


9

A companion of the Holy

Prophet was sitting with him.

When he heard the news of

the birth of his daughter he

became displeased. The Holy

Prophet then said to him:

"When earth is her abode, the

sky is her shelter and her

livelihood is secure with Allah,

why have you become so

unhappy? She is like a flower

spreading its fragrance and

she will stand you in good

stead". [7]

A man told the Holy Prophet

that he had never kissed his

child. The Holy Prophet said:

"This is the sign of your cold

bloodedness".

In the matter of giving equal

treatment to all the children,

the Holy Prophet said: "If you

kiss a child before another,

you should kiss the other one

also".

He was not an Opportun-

ist:

One of the sons of the Holy

Prophet was Ibrahim who

expired early in his infancy.

When after his death there

happened to be a solar

eclipse, people thought it was

as a consequence of the

demise of the son of the Holy

Prophet. At this the Holy

Prophet assembled the people

and said: "The occultation of

the sun was not due to the

sad demise of my son,

Ibrahim". Thus the Holy

Prophet got the people saved

from falling into ignorance,

superstition and undue love.

His Hospitality:

Salman Farsi, the loyal

companion of the Holy

Prophet said: "I happened to

visit the Holy Prophet at his

house. He offered me the

same pillow which was the

only one in his own use".

Such a treatment of his

visitors was not particularly

shown to Salman Farsi but it

was for every Muslim.

One day each of the foster

brothers and sisters of the

Holy Prophet separately came

to the Holy Prophet. He

treated the sister with greater

respect than the brothers.


10

When the people inquired

about this distinction, the Holy

Prophet replied:

"As this sister used to respect

her parents, I have greater

regard and love for her". [8]

Sometimes the guests of the

Holy Prophet overstayed their

welcome even after finishing

with their meals and got

themselves busy in conversa-

tion but still he tolerated it. At

last a Qur'anic verse was

revealed saying:

If you are invited, you may

enter, but be punctual (so

that you will not be waiting

while the meal is being

prepared). When you have

finished eating, leave his

home, and do not sit around

chatting among yourselves.

This will annoy the Prophet

and he will feel embarrassed

to tell you. [9]

His Extreme Dedication:

The Holy Prophet used to

wake up from his sleep after

midnight. After prostrating

himself before Allah, brushing

his teeth with Miswak, and

reciting a few verses of the

Holy Qur'an, he got himself

busy with the worship of

Allah. Some of his wives used

to say to him: "You are

innocent and infallible and yet

you do a lot of imploration!"

The Holy Prophet would

answer them by saying:

"Should I not try to be a

grateful servant of Allah".

During the month of Rama-

dan, the Holy Prophet used to

free his slaves. While offering

prayers he trembled with fear.

When he offered his prayers

alone he prolonged his

bowing and prostration but in

congregation he shortened

them. One of his companions

who was appointed to lead

the congregational prayers

was instructed by him to

recite a short Surah after

Surah al-Hamd so as not to

prolong the duration of the

prayers in congregation.

His Insight and Sagacity:

While solving any problem,

the Holy Prophet used to


11

apply his foresight, and sense

of justice.

When the different tribes of

Arabia rebuilt the Holy Ka'ba,

the dispute arose as to which

tribe should install the sacred

Black Stone (Hajar ul aswad)

at its original place. This

dispute was going to create

an ugly situation. A man

suggested that whoever came

to the Masjidul Haram first of

all in the early morning should

be made to arbitrate between

them. The following morning

the Holy Prophet was the first

to come to the Holy Ka'ba and

hence he was accepted as an

arbiter in this dispute. The

Holy Prophet then ordered

them to bring a sheet of cloth.

When the cloth was brought

he placed the sacred Black

Stone in the middle of the

sheet of cloth and asked

every chief of the tribes to lift

it from each corner and carry

it near the Holy Ka'ba. There-

after, the Holy Prophet picked

up the sacred Black Stone and

placed it at its original place.

It was because of the Holy

Prophet's insight as well as

the sense of justice that the

dispute was settled amicably.

The Holy Prophet in the

Battlefield:

Imam Ali says: "The Holy

Prophet used to be always on

the forefront in the battlefield

to face the enemy. And in the

Battle of Trench when it was

decided to dig a trench

around the city of Madina, the

Holy Prophet was the first to

pick up the pickaxe for

digging the earth and he

continued digging the trench

along with his followers until

the trench was completely

ready". The Holy Imam

further says: "In the battle-

fields whenever we Muslims

were faced with some difficul-

ty, we took shelter of the Holy

Prophet and sought his help

and protection".

His Decisiveness:

The Holy Prophet was never

prepared to ignore his ideo-

logical programme or any of

its principles for the sake of

increasing the number of his


12

followers. Some people from

Ta'if came to the Holy Prophet

and said: "We can profess

Islam provided that you give

us permission for idol-worship

and exempt us from offering

prayers". The Holy Prophet

rejected their conditions

straightaway. He did not care

to increase the numerical

strength of his followers at

the cost of the fundamental

principles of Islam.

His Piety and Devotion:

Once the Holy Prophet gave

twelve Dirhams to Imam Ali to

buy a dress for him (the

Prophet). The Holy Imam

went to the bazaar and

brought a dress costing the

same amount of money. The

Holy Prophet seeing the dress

said: "If the dress had been

simpler, it would have been

better. If the shopkeeper

agrees to take back the dress,

return it to him". The Holy

Imam returned the dress and

brought back twelve dirhams

to the Holy Prophet. This time

the Holy Prophet went along

with Imam Ali to the bazaar.

On the way he saw a slave-

girl who was crying. The Holy

Prophet asked her the cause

of her trouble. She said: "My

master gave me four dirhams

to buy things from the bazaar

but I lost that amount of

money. I am afraid of going

back home because of my

master". The Holy Prophet

gave that girl four dirhams

and bought a dress for

himself for four dirhams. On

his way back home he saw a

man who was without proper

clothes. The Holy Prophet

gave his dress to this man

and came back to the bazaar

to buy another dress for the

remaining four dirhams left

with him. On his way back

again the Holy Prophet saw

the same slave-girl still

standing there. She lamented

that since she was already

late for home she was scared

of her master who would beat

her for this. The Holy Prophet

accompanied the slave-girl to

her master's house. In

deference to the Holy

Prophet's coming to his house


13

the master not only excused

the slave-girl but also freed

her. The Holy Prophet then

said: "Those twelve dirhams

were so auspicious that they

enabled two needy ones to

clothe themselves and a slave-

girl to become free".[10]

Indeed if we care to cut down

our personal expenditure we

can help the needy to procure

some of their basic needs.

The Holy Prophet owed a few

dirhams to a Jew. One day he

came to the Holy Prophet and

demanded his money but the

Holy Prophet had no money

with him to pay off his debt.

The Jew said: "I will not leave

this place until you give me

my money back". He stayed

there till it was the Zohr

(midday prayers) time. People

offered their Zohr prayers.

Then the time for evening,

dusk and night prayers came

and the Jew was still there to

pester the Holy Prophet. At

last the people became

annoyed. But the Holy Proph-

et said: "We are not supposed

to be unjust to him". Conse-

quently the Jew who shad-

owed the Holy Prophet until

the following day embraced

Islam, and distributed his

money in charity in the name

of Allah. He said: 'I was not

actually meaning to harm the

Holy Prophet, for my intention

was to test the Holy Prophet's

high qualities of character ".

His Loyalty:

Ammar Yasir, one of the

celebrated companions of the

Holy Prophet narrates:

"Before the announcement of

the Prophethood of the Holy

Prophet, he and I together

used to tend the cattle. One

day I suggested to the Holy

Prophet that a certain place

was most suited for tending

our cattle and we should go

over to that pasture. The Holy

Prophet agreed. On the

following day I found that the

Holy Prophet had already

reached there but he was

holding his sheep off and was

not allowing them to graze.

On my asking the reason for

this the Holy Prophet said:

"There was an agreement


14

between us that both of us

together would graze our

sheep and thus it was not

proper on my part to graze

my sheep without you doing

the same at the same time".

His Method of Teaching:

While teaching the people

Islamic faith and moral

conduct or answering ques-

tions, the Holy Prophet used

to repeat his instructions

three times so as to drive the

idea home.

His Sheltering the Enemy:

In the eighth year of the

migration, when the Holy

Prophet left Madina at the

head of an army and con-

quered Makkah, he entered

the Holy Ka'ba and smashed

up all the idols in it. Safwan,

one of the chiefs of the

idolaters, who belonged to the

tribe of Umayya fled away to

Jeddah which was at a

distance of a few miles from

Makkah. Some people inter-

ceded with the Holy Prophet

for his pardon. The Holy

Prophet then sent his head-

gear to him so that he should

be under protection while

entering Makkah. Safwan

returned from Jeddah and

asked for a grace time of two

months until he could think of

embracing Islam. But the Holy

Prophet gave him the grace

period of four months instead

of two months.

Safwan remained with the

Holy Prophet on his many

travels and after finding

himself enchanted by the

personality of the Holy

Prophet and move by the

powerful force of his preach-

ings, voluntarily professed

Islam as his religion.

The Holy Qur'an says:

If the pagans ask you to give

them refuge, give them

asylum so that they may hear

the words of Allah. Then let

them return to their towns for

they are ignorant people.[11]

According to Islamic jurispru-

dence in Jihad (the Holy War

against the infidels) the giving

of shelter and asylum to

infidels have been stressed.


15

His Behavior with the

Enemies:

On the occasion of the

conquest of Makkah, the Holy

Prophet pardoned even his

blood-thirsty enemies and not

only that he even pardoned

the unbelieving woman who

had conspired to kill him by

cooking for him a poisoned

meal.

Once an enemy of Islam

happened to come to the Holy

Prophet and instead of

greeting him with the cele-

brated Islamic Greeting

"Assalam u Alayka" (Peace be

in you) he said "Assamu

Alayka" (Death be on you)

and insolently repeated these

words several times, but

despite possessing the means

for revenge, the Holy Prophet

replied back by saying "Wa

Alayka" (Same be to you).

Some of those who were

present there became very

furious at the insolent behav-

ior of the enemy. They said to

the Holy Prophet: "Why did

you not retaliate upon your

enemy?" The Holy Prophet

replied: "I reciprocated his

greeting in his own words that

is, "The same on you" which

he had wished for me".

Affectionate Treatment of

His Friends:

While on a journey people

used to divide work among

themselves and the Holy

Prophet, too, had his work to

do himself. He used to collect

the firewood for cooking food.

Despite his worthy compan-

ions’ desire not to let him

work, the Holy Prophet would

not agree to it. Once when

the Holy Prophet alighted

from the camel's back and

went to tether the animal to a

tree, some companions

rushed forward to do that

little job but the Holy Prophet

did not accept the help of the

companions and instead said"

"You too should not throw

yourself upon the help of

other".

Some Special Traits of the

Holy Prophet

• The Holy Prophet readily

accepted the invitation of the


16

slaves and he considered it

necessary to hold them in

high regard like other nota-

bles of the tribes. However he

would entrust their leadership

to those who were held in

respect by them.

• The Holy Prophet was not

mindless of good or bad

behavior. He used to encour-

age as well as admonish

people as the occasion

demanded. He was always

much concerned about the

proper guidance of the

people. In this context the

following Qura'nic verse was

revealed to him:

We have not revealed the

Qur'an on you that you should

be burdened, but as admoni-

tion for whom who fear. [12]

• In a gathering the Holy

Prophet gave so much indi-

vidual attention to each other

and every person that he

thought that he was the only

favorite of the Holy Prophet.

• Sometimes the companions

suggested to the Holy Prophet

to curse the enemies but he

never agreed and instead

prayed to Allah to show them

guidance.

• Whenever he shook hands

with somebody he would not

withdraw until the other

person withdrew his hand

first.

• Whenever he went on riding

he never allowed anybody to

follow him on foot and instead

he asked the people to go

separately until he met them

on the appointed place.

• The Holy Prophet never

disappointed a beggar. A

woman sent his son to the

Holy Prophet and asked for

his dress. When the son came

to the Holy Prophet he gave

him his dress. On this occa-

sion the following Qur'anic

verse was revealed to him.

Do not be niggardly or

extravagant that you may

later feel reprehensive and

constrained. [13]

• Whenever he happened to

attend a gathering he always

seated himself at a lower


17

place. He would readily accept

a present howsoever humble

it was.

• Whenever he found any

Muslim or a companion

missing in a meeting, he

would immediately inquire

after him. If he happened to

be on a journey, he would

pray for his safe return and if

he happened to be sick he

would pray for his speedy

recovery.

• He would ask the people to

sit in a circular seating ar-

rangement so as not to give

any distinction to anyone over

the other.

• In matters of enforcing

laws, he never showed special

favour to anybody. Once, one

of his companions interceded

with him for a woman of a

famous tribe to excuse her

punishment. At this the Holy

Prophet said: "By Allah! I am

not the one to relax the

punishment ordained by

Divine commandment in

favour of anybody. If my own

daughter Fatima had commit-

ted a theft, I would have not

spared her even from the

punishment".

• The Holy Prophet paid

particular attention to the

captives and the slaves and

he himself married a captive

woman and thus by this

action of his the Muslims

started showing regard to the

captives and they freed many

of them. The Holy Prophet

asked the people to be kind to

the captives and to feed them

and clothe them like them-

selves and to call them by

their names so as not to give

them a feeling of inferiority.

• The Holy Prophet treated

the poor and the rich alike

and during the conversation

he never allowed irrelevant or

controversial things to be

discussed, besides he never

found fault with anybody nor

did he indulge in laughter.

His Concern of the Com-

mon Man:

Unlike those leaders who fled

away from the scene of

trouble and hardship or those


18

who left their friends in the

lurch and migrated from their

town or country, the Holy

Prophet stayed in Makkah all

the time and instead sent his

followers to migrate to

Abyssinia (Ethiopia). While

migrating to Madina, the Holy

Prophet first sent a batch of

the loyal followers to Madina.

His Consulting the People:

In all those matters where

there was no special com-

mand from Allah and they

were left to the people's

discretion, the Holy Prophet

very often used to consult

them before taking any

decision. As for example on

the occasion of the Battle of

Uhud, the Holy Prophet set up

an advisory council and

consulted the people as to

whether the believers should

fight the battle outside Madina

or they should remain within

the city of Madina. The Holy

Prophet himself and a few of

his companions were of the

opinion that the battle should

be fought in Madina and

accordingly defense should be

built up there, but most of the

young people gave their

opinion for fighting the battle

outside Madina. Here we see

that the Holy Prophet gave

preference to the opinion of

young and zealous fighters

over that of others including

his own, and as such they all

marched forward towards

Uhud to face the enemy.

What is more interesting is

that the verse 159 of Surah

Ale Imran was revealed after

the set-back of the Muslims in

the Battle of Uhud. [14]

The above-mentioned verse

was revealed despite the fact

that after accepting the

opinion of the companions,

Muslims had to suffer defeat.

Allah says in the same verse

as follows:

Forgive them and ask Allah to

forgive (their sins) and consult

with them in certain matters.

But when you reach a deci-

sion trust Allah. Allah loves

those who trust Him. [15]

His Behavior with His

Opponents:


19

The treatment of the Holy

Prophet with his opponents

was based on the following

Qur'anic injunction:

If they (the unbelievers)

propose peace, accept it, and

trust in Allah. [16]

Of course, in another verse

we read that if the doubts

arise the agreement should be

revoked. The Holy Qur'an

says:

If you are afraid of treachery

of some of your allies, you

may disregard your treaty

with them. Allah does not love

the treacherous ones. [17]

The Holy Qur'an says about

the Jews and the Christians as

follows:

Muhammad, say to the

followers of the Bible, 'We

must come to a common

term. Let us worship no one

except Allah nor consider

anything equal to Allah, nor

regard any of us as our lord

besides Allah. [18]

A group among the followers

of the Bible would love to

mislead you but they mislead

no one save themselves. [19]

Some of them speak ill of the

Prophet saying, 'He listens to

everything and believes what

he hears'. (Muhammad) tell

them, 'He only listens to what

is good for you, believes in

Allah and has trust in the

believers. He is Mercy for the

believers among you. Those

who speak ill of the Messen-

ger of Allah will face a painful

punishment'. [20]

The Holy Prophet considered

military preparations for

fighting against the enemies of

Islam, the necessity of coach-

ing of youngster for the art

and skill of archery and similar

other skill of paramount

importance. He used to say

that in exchange for one single

arrow that was shot at the

enemy of Allah, its maker, its

buyer who handed it over to

the soldiers of Islam and the

one who shot it at the enemy

were ensured of Paradise.

In the case of hypocrites, we

see that the Holy Prophet


20

ordered the demolition of a

Masjid that was built by the

hypocrites. On the occasion of

the Battle of Tabuk some

hypocrites were conspiring

against Islam in a room of a

public inn. When the Holy

Prophet learnt of such a

conspiracy he ordered the

storming of the room where

the plot was being hatched

and accordingly the believers

stormed the room over the

heads of the hypocrites, (and

those who survived were

treated harshly). The Holy

Prophet did not offer the

funeral prayers for these

hypocrites. However, he was

lenient towards the infidels

when they wanted some more

time to take a decision about

their embracing Islam.

Family affiliations had no

influence on his taking

ideological decisions. It was

the uncle of the Holy Prophet

for whose condemnation a

strongly worded Qur'anic

verse was revealed. The Holy

Qur'an says:

May the hands of Abu Lahab

perish! May he too perish! His

property and worldly gains will

be of no help to him. He will

suffer in a blazing fire and so

too will his wife (who threw

thorns and firewood in the

Prophet's way). Around her

neck will be a rope of palm

tree. [21]

Indeed the disruptionist's

hands should be cut off no

matter even if he happens to

be the uncle of the Holy

Prophet. In this connection

there is clear injunction in the

Holy Qur'an that believers

cannot ask for the forgiveness

of the infidels and polytheists.

The Holy Qur'an says;

After it was made clear that

the pagans are to be the

dwellers of Hell, the Prophet

and the believers should not

have sought forgiveness from

Allah for them even if they

may have been relatives. [22]

In the following verse Allah

encourages the Holy Prophet

lest the enemy's plot might

shake his decision.


21

Do not yield to the disbeliev-

ers or the hypocrites, ignore

their annoying you and trust

in Allah. Allah is your all-

Sufficient Protector. [23]

Exercise patience and let it be

only for the cause of Allah. Do

not be grieved about them

nor be disappointed at their

evil plans. [24]

But they (the idols) will not be

able to help them. Instead the

disbelievers as the troops of

the idols will be brought

before Allah. [25]

Muhammad, exercise patience

against what they say, glorify

your Lord with His praise

before sunrise and sunset.[26]

An Apology to the Holy

Prophet:

While writing on the merits of

the Holy Prophet I am feeling

helpless because of my limited

knowledge. As a matter of

fact an appreciation on the life

and attributes of the Holy

Prophet can only be under-

taken by a person of the

caliber of Imam Ali as it is the

Holy Prophet whose praise

has been done by Allah

Himself, whom Allah takes

him through the heavens and

by whose auspicious presence

the angels' abode becomes

blessed.

It is the Holy Prophet whom

the Divine carrier takes away

from the Holy Masjid (the

Ka'ba) in Makkah to Baytul

Muqaddas (the Masjid in

Jerusalem). The Holy Qur'an

says:

Glory to Him who carried His

servant during the night for a

visit from the Holy Mosque (at

Makkah) to the Aqsa Mosque

(at Jerusalem). Whose

precincts We have blessed,

that We may show him some

of Our signs. [27]

On the one hand these

exalted destinations are the

proof of the exalted personali-

ty of the Holy Prophet. On the

other hand we find his attrib-

utes and personal qualities of

love and affection and refined

thoughts and sympathetic

behavior towards all. "Once a


22

thirsty cat keeps an eye on

the water container meant for

the Prophet's ablution. The

Holy Prophet instead of using

that water for ablution places

it before the cat. The Holy

Prophet is harder than the

rock against the enemies and

is softer than snow toward his

friends. He foregoes his

personal rights against his

enemies also but in the

implementation of the laws he

is very strict, so much so that

he swears that he would not

forgive even his own daugh-

ter, if she ever committed any

wrong". [28]

How dare we talk about the

attributes of the Holy Proph-

et? We read in Nahjul

Balaghah (Peak of Eloquence)

that when nobody could read

or write, the Holy Prophet

stressed the acquiring of

knowledge by saying that it

was obligatory for all the

Muslims. Now after the

passage of fourteen centuries

we see that everybody is

clamoring for acquiring

knowledge.

At the time when on the

murder of one person the

entire tribe used to rise for

taking revenge upon the

murderer's people and several

of their innocent people were

put to death, the Holy Prophet

stopped this heinous custom.

That was the time when

savagery was at its peak. The

Holy Prophet said that if

anyone would drive his animal

even on his journey to Mak-

kah too fast, his testimony

would not be considered

reliable because the one who

cruelly fatigues his animal is

hard-hearted. The example of

compassion and mercy that

the Holy Prophet set before

the people in those days

became the sign of the

success and grace of the

nation. The Holy Qur'an says:

Believers, listen to Allah and

the Messenger when they call

you to that which gives you

life. [29]

The command of Allah is not

without meaning when He

says about the Holy Prophet

of Islam as follows:


23

He who obeys the Messenger

obeys Allah. [30]

He does not speak out of his

own desire. [31]

He will grant you a majestic

triumph. [32]

How can one attempt to write

something in praise of the

Holy Prophet when Allah

Himself has exalted his name

and his mission in the follow-

ing words?

(Muhammad), haven't We

comforted your heart and

relieved you of the burden

which had been a heavy

weight upon your back, and

exalted your fame? Surely

with hardship there is ease.

With hardship indeed there is

ease. So when you are free,

work diligently and turn to

your Lord with all your

love.[33]

It is not possible that in these

few pages we may throw light

on the high morals of the Holy

Prophet about whom Allah

Himself says in the following

verse of the Holy Qur'an:

You have attained a high

moral standard. [34]

The Holy Qur'an which

describes this world a poor

and insignificant thing makes

the position of the Holy

Prophet exalted. There can be

no better appreciation of the

Holy Prophet than the one

given in the Holy Qur'an as:

(Muhammad), We have

granted you abundant virtue.

So worship your Lord with full

dedication and sacrifice. It is

surely your opponents whose

line will come to end. [35]

And in the Hereafter too, Allah

dignified the position of the

Holy Prophet as an interceder.

What can I write about the

highly exalted attributes of

the Holy Prophet whose birth

extinguished the leaping

flames of the Fireplace of

Persia, and whose installation

as Prophet removed all

disturbances and chaotic

conditions from the land.

When he was born, the

foundation of the palace of

Kisra, the ancient monarchs of


24

Persia (Iran), were shaken.

When he was assigned to

Prophethood the entire

humanity got wonder-struck.

It was he, whom the Holy

Qur'an declared the "Mercy

for the whole Universe". Who

can write and how can we

write about such a unique

personality?

What can I say about him,

who reaches such a lofty

place of honour that he

becomes the guest of Allah on

the night of Me'raj; and yet

who, in his humbleness,

declares that he would not

turn down the invitation of a

slave and would travel a far

off distance in order to share

a simple food with him?

For his journey to the heav-

ens, Buraq, a Divine carrier,

was provided to him, while at

his own, he never hesitated to

ride on a mule. The Archangel

Jibra'il who brings the Divine

revelation to him conveys him

the greetings of Allah, and he

himself is so humble in

disposition that he first greets

the children.

In the state of prostrating

himself before Allah he

submits his forehead and

heart before Allah and when

his two grandsons (Imam

Hasan and Imam Husayn) find

him under that position and

ride on his back, he prolongs

his prostration so that their

feeling might not be hurt.

How to speak of him, who at

one and the same time is

dedicated to the worship and

remembrance of Allah and is

also mindful of the feelings of

the two children! The people

should take lesson from this in

the matter of upholding the

rights of children, men,

women and the laborers and

they should be ashamed of

raising empty slogans.

The Holy Prophet remains

cheerful with the people while

he is in their company He

sheds tears also at the demise

of his son, Ibrahim. But in

either case he does not

exceed the limit and does not

do anything against the Will of

Allah.


25

False Accusations:

Is it correct to make false

allegations against Islam

whose Prophet gives a grace

period of four months instead

of the two asked for, on the

day of the conquest of

Makkah; makes the house of

his arch-enemy as sanctuary

of peace; announces general

amnesty and pardons to all

his opponents and bears with

patience hardships for fifteen

years at the hands of the

infidels of Makkah, and if he

takes his sword in hand to

protect himself and his faith

and to defeat the nefarious

designs of his enemies and

asks the believers to wage

Jihad (Holy War) against them

so as to emancipate mankind

from treachery, savagery,

oppression, and to liberate

man from all kinds of domina-

tion and subjugation? Certain-

ly not.

Sometimes the opponents say

that Islam was spread at the

point of the sword and this is

not correct because from

historical facts and evidence

the total number of those

killed was not more than 1700

from both sides in all the

battles of Islam against

enemies.

Sometimes the opponents find

fault with the Holy Prophet

that he married too many

wives and mislead the people

by insinuating, God forbid,

that he was lustful, although

the fact is that the Holy

Prophet passed the youthful

years of his marital life with

only wife, the revered Lady of

Islam, Khadija-tul Kubra up to

the age of fifty years, and his

wedding with her was solem-

nized at the initiation of Lady

Khadija when she was forty

and the Holy Prophet was

twenty five years old.

Lady Khadija had already

rejected the offer for marriage

of several other men who

wanted to marry her because

of her financial standing. But

Lady Khadija proposed to the

Holy Prophet because he was

found to be a trustworthy,

truthful and righteous person

enjoying high reputation in


26

the whole of the Arabian

Peninsula and besides, she

had already heard from her

uncle Warqa bin Nawfal the

prophecies of the preceding

Prophets about the appear-

ance of the Holy Prophet as

the Prophet of Allah and of

her marriage with him.

The Holy Prophet spent 25

years of his married life with

Lady Khadija and spent her

wealth in the preaching of

Islam and to relieve mankind

from ignorance and tyrannies

although there were some of

the choicest girls wanted to

marry him, but he always

refused their offer. The other

wives of the Holy Prophet

were married to him only after

the demise of his first wife

Lady Khadija and that too

when he had passed the age

of fifty. These women were of

elderly age and were widows

and had orphaned children

and hence he had to lead a

hard and strenuous life with

them instead of life of ease,

comfort, and indulgence.

These wives of the Holy

Prophet were of varying

temperament and dispositions

and as such it was not easy to

get along with them. The

husbands of some of these

wives were martyred while

fighting against the infidels

and as such they needed

protection for themselves and

the orphans. If they had not

been married to the Holy

Prophet they would have

reverted to infidelity. One

among them was Sauda

whose husband died after he

had migrated to Abyssinia and

she was left without any

patron and supporter. Umm

Salama was another such wife

who was of old age and was

mother of orphaned children.

Zaynab was also another wife

of the Holy Prophet who was

the daughter of his aunt from

the father's side. She was first

married to Zayd bin Harith,

the slave and adoptive son of

the Holy Prophet. Her mar-

riage with Zayd did not last

long and she was divorced by

him. Then she married the

Holy Prophet.


27

The Holy Prophet married

Zaynab at Allah's command so

that the very root and basis of

a wrong custom might be

abolished. According to this

custom of the Age of Igno-

rance nobody was allowed to

marry the wife of his adopted

son and in this case since

Zayd was the adopted son of

the Holy Prophet, the latter

could not marry Zaynab, the

divorced wife of the former.

But Allah ordered this mar-

riage in order to abolish this

custom at the hands of the

Holy Prophet himself.

Juwayria, another wife of the

Holy Prophet was a captive.

Her marriage with the Holy

Prophet motivated the Mus-

lims to treat the captives with

great regards and kindness so

much so that they freed many

of them. Besides, with a view

to maintain cordial relations

among various influential

tribes, to prevent disruption

among them, and to promote

internal stability, the Holy

Prophet married such women

as Ayesha, Hafsa, Umm

Habiba, Safiya and Maymuna.

Safiya of course was the

daughter of the tribal chief of

a big Jewish tribe of Bani

Nuzayr. When she was taken

prisoner, the Holy Prophet

married her and established

relationship with a big tribe.

In short, many of the wives of

the Holy Prophet were those

who had passed the age of

youth and personal charm,

and most of them had been

married once or twice before,

and had orphaned children

with them, and whom the

Holy Prophet married when he

was past fifty, an age which

by no means can be regarded

as an age of youthful and

lustful desires and by that

time he had attained great

reputation already, and that

many a beautiful girl aspired

to marry him. This is the proof

of the fact that the purpose of

the Holy Prophet in contract-

ing various marriages was

based on pious and noble

cause only and as such no

sane person can dare attack

his personal character.


28

Besides keeping these wives,

the Holy Prophet most often

passed his nights in offering

prayers and remembering

Allah as he did in his youth

also. The Holy Qur'an says

about his dedication and

worship of Allah as follows:

You, who have enwrapped in

a mantle, worship (Allah) for

only a few hours at night.[36]

It is only we who even for the

sake of one wife forsake

Allah. If the number of wives

does not prevent anyone from

getting right guidance,

spiritual enlightenment,

performing religious duties of

offering prayers, attending

jihad, uplifting the society and

doing justice to wives them-

selves and instead it becomes

the source of their support

and protection, there cannot

be any reason for criticism.

Notes:

1. Surah Nisa, 4:19

2. Mustadrak, vol. 2, p. 643

3. Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 122

4. Kuhlul Basar

5. Surah Nahl, 16:58

6. Mustadrak, vol.2, p.614,615

7. Wasa'il, vol. 15, p. 101

8. Biharul Anwar, vol.16, p. 281

9. Surah al-Ahzab, 33:53

10. Biharul Anwar, vol.16. p. 215

11. Surah at-Taubah, 9:6

12. Sura Ta Ha, 20:2

13. Surah Bani Isra'il, 17:29

14. Tafsir-i Namuna, vol.3, p.142

15. Surah Ale Imran, 3:159

16. Surah al-Anfal, 8:61

17. Surah al-Anfal, 8:58



20. Surah at-Tauba, 9:61

21. Surah Lahab, 111:1—5

22. Surah at-Tauba, 9:113

23. Surah al-Ahzab, 33:48

24. Surah an-Nahl, 16:127

25. Surah Ya Sin, 36:75

26. Surah Qaf, 50 39

27. Surah Bani Isra'il, 17:1

28. Biharul Anwar, vol. 16

29. Surah al-Anfal, 8.24

30. Surah an-Nisa, 4:80

31. Surah an-Najm, 53.3

32. Surah al-Fath, 48:23

33. Surah al-Inshira, 94:1—7

34. Surah al-Qalam, 68:4

35. Surah al-Kauthar, 108:1—3

36. Surah Muzzammil, 73:1—3

��


29

Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-

Sadiq, the sixth Imam, was

revered by both Sunni and

Shi’a Muslims for his deep

Islamic scholarship, piety, and

academic accomplishments.

This article offers a brief

biography of his life, the

distinctive features of his

Imamate compared to other

Imams, his educational

achievements, and his political

confrontations.

Although the Imam is most

renowned as the initiator of

Shi’a Islamic fiqh, called Ja’fari

jurisprudence, his extensive

knowledge in a variety of

fields had a great academic

impact on the people of his

time, Tawhid al- Mufaddal, a

compilation of his teachings,

reflected his extensive

knowledge, particularly on the

wonders of creation.

The sixth Shi‘a Imam (a) was

born on a Monday or Friday

on the 17th of Rabi’ul Awwal

83 or 86 A.H.[1] He was born

on the same day the Prophet

was born 136 years earlier.

He was named Ja‘far by his

holy father, Imam Baqir (a).

In response to Daris Kanani

as to why he was called Ja’far,

the sixth Imam responded,

“Oh Daris! Your father igno-

rantly called you Daris, which

is the name of an offspring of

Satan, while my father out of

knowledge named me Ja‘far,

which is the name of a brook

in Heaven.”[2] His great

father was Imam Muhammad

Baqir (a) and his mother was

Umm Farwah bint Qasim ibn

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. His

epithets are Aba Abdillah, Aba

Isma‘il, and Abu Musa.[3]

His appellations are also al-

Sadiq, Sabir, Fadil, Tahir,

Qa’im, Kafi and Munji; the

most famous one is al-Sadiq.

As to why he was called al-

Sadiq (the truthful), while all

Imams are truthful in the real

sense of the word, Imam

Sajjad (a) is quoted as saying,

A Biography of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (A.S.)

By: Muhammad Nasir Husayni ‘Ala’i


30

“The dwellers of Heaven know

Ja‘far ibn Muhammad as al-

Sadiq because a descendant

of his called Ja‘far would

falsely claim to be Imam. That

is why he is known as Ja‘far

al-Kazzab (the liar).”[4] Ja‘far

al-Kazzab attempted to

present himself as the succes-

sor of Imam Hassan Askari

(a). However, by Allah’s grace,

Imam Mahdi (a) would prove

his false claim to the Shi‘as.

The distinction between the

sixth Imam and this descend-

ant of his through five genera-

tions proves his veracity.

The Distinctive Features of

his Imamate

The turbulent lifetime of

Imam al-Sadiq (a) began in

83 A.H. and ended in 148 A.H.

He spent thirty one years of

his life in the presence of his

holy father.

Compared to other Imams

before and after him, the

period of Imam al-Sadiq’s

Imamate is politically distinc-

tive and noteworthy in two

respects:

1. The great number of

Caliphs during his Imam-

ate

The sixth Imam was a con-

temporary of seven Caliphs,

namely:

1. Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik

(105-125 A.H.),

2. Walid ibn Yazid Abdul-

Malik (125-126 A.H.),

3. Yazid ibn Walid ibn Abdul-

Malik (126),

4. Ibrahim ibn Walid ibn

Abdul-Malik (70 years in

126 A.H.),

5. Marwan ibn Muhammad

known as Marwan Himar

(126-132),

6. Abdullah ibn Muhammad

known as Saffah (132-137), &

7. Abu Ja‘far known as

Mansur Dawaniqi (137-

158).[5]

No other Imam was a con-

temporary of this great

number of Caliphs, and Imam

Sajjad (a) and Imam Hadi (a)

were contemporary with at

most six Caliphs during their

Imamate.


31

2. Different dynasties

In contrast to the political

situations of other Imams,

during the Imamate of Imam

al-Sadiq (a), the Umayyad

dynasty was replaced by the

Abbasid one. Thus, his

confrontation with the gov-

ernments of his time, his

backing the Shi’i uprisings, his

advising the Shi‘as to adopt

an appropriate approach to

confront tyrants, and so forth

are noteworthy.

The holy Imam (a) was not

only active in the era of

freedom, but he also lived

under the extremely dictatori-

al and tyrannical regimes.

3. Training Students

In order to train his students,

Imam al-Sadiq (a) made the

most out of the time when

there was no dictatorship and

cruelty because the Abbasids

and the Umayyads were in

political conflict with one

another over power.

In doing so, Imam al-Sadiq

(a) followed in his father’s

footsteps. The school estab-

lished by Imam Baqir (a) was

expanded by Imam al- Sadiq

(a). Students trained in this

school include:

1. Hisham ibn Hakam,

2. Muhammad ibn Muslim,

3. Aban ibn Taghlab,

4. Hisham ibn Salim,

5. Mu’min Taq,

6. Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar,

7. Jabir ibn Hayyan,

8. Mu‘alli ibn Khanis,

9. Mu‘awiyyah ibn Ammar, &

10. Ali ibn Yaqtin.[6]

Some of these students were

so advanced and well trained

that they were the pivots of

their fields. For example,

Hisham ibn Hakam wrote

thirty one books[7] and Jabir

ibn Hayyan authored more

than two hundred twenty

books[8] on various subjects,

especially on rational and

natural subjects and chemis-

try, which was called alchemy

then. That is why Jabir ibn

Hayyan is known as ‘The

Father of Chemistry.’


32

Imam al-Sadiq’s students

were not limited to Shi‘as;

rather, Sunnis also benefited

from his knowledge. Many

well-known Sunni leaders

were directly or indirectly the

Imam’s students. Foremost

among these leaders is Abu-

Hanifah who studied under

the Imam for two years. He

talked of these two years as

the foundation of his

knowledge, saying, “Had it

not been for those two years,

Nu‘man (Abu-Hanifah) would

have been destroyed.”[9]

The Imam’s Breadth of

Knowledge

The spread and modification

of Shi‘i Islam is indebted to

the scientific endeavors of

Imam al-Sadiq (a). On differ-

ent occasions, the Imam

made use of the political

pressures in society caused by

the transfer of power from the

Umayyads to the Abbasids to

revive the principles of Shi‘i

thought that the governments

prevented their dissemination

to define the injunctions of

Islamic law (shari‘a) and to

elevate Shi‘a Islam. Hence,

the “twelver-Imam Shi‘ism” is

called “Ja‘fari Shi‘ism”.

According to the renowned

leader of the Hanafi sect,

Abu-Hanifah, “When Mansur

Dawaniqi summoned Ja‘far

ibn Muhammad (a), he told

me, ‘People are fond of Ja‘far

ibn Muhammad (a). In order

to denounce him, think of

some difficult questions.’”

So I thought of forty difficult

questions. One day Mansur

was in “Hayrah” and sum-

moned me. When I went to

him, I saw Ja‘far ibn Muham-

mad (a) sitting on his right

side. Mansur turned to him

and said, ‘This is Abu-

Hanifah.’

‘Yes, I know him,’ he replied.

Then Mansur added, ‘O’ Abu-

Hanifah! Share your questions

with Abu-Abdillah.’

I started posing the questions.

For every question I asked

him, he explained all about

my opinion, the view of

people of Medina and the Shi‘i


33

opinion on it. On some

questions, he agreed with us,

on others with people of

Medina, and still on some

others he disagreed with both

of us. This way, I raised forty

questions and he answered

all. Reaching this point, I

pointed to Imam al-Sadiq (a),

saying,

“[He is] the most knowledge-

able of people, aware of their

disagreements on Fatwas and

jurisprudential issues.”[10]

According to the famous

scholar of the 3rd century

A.H., Abu-Bahr Jahizh,

“Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (a) is a

person whose knowledge is

world-famous. It is said that

Abu-Hanifah and ’Uthman

Thawri were his students. This

suffices for demonstrating his

high scholarly status.”[11]

Besides strengthening the

principles of Shi‘i thought,

Imam al-Sadiq (a) particularly

endeavored to refute the

principal thoughts of other

sects. In a debate between

him and Abu-Hanifah, he

refuted the analogical reason-

ing of Abu-Hanifah.

The Imam said, ‘I have heard

you issue an Islamic ruling

(fatwa) based on analogical

reasoning.’

‘Yes.’

‘Woe to you! The first one

who expressed ideas based on

analogical reasoning was

Satan. When Allah ordered

him to prostrate himself

before Adam, he said, ‘I will

not, because You have

created me out of fire and

him out of soil, and fire is

superior to soil.’

Then, in order to invalidate

‘analogical reasoning’, the

holy Imam mentioned some

instances of Islamic legal

rulings opposed to this

principle. He said, “Which one

is worse, killing somebody

unjustly or committing adul-

tery?”

“Killing someone unjustly.”

“Now if acting upon analogical

reasoning is to be correct,

why are two witnesses


34

enough to convict somebody

of murder, but four are

necessary for convicting

somebody of adultery? Is this

Islamic ruling in accordance

with analogical reasoning?”

“No.”

“Which one is more important,

prayer or fasting?” “Prayer.”

“So why is it incumbent on

menstruating women to make

up for obligatory fasting, while

this is not the case with

obligatory prayer? Is this

Islamic ruling concurrent with

analogical reasoning?”

“No.”

“I was told you have com-

mented on this Quranic verse,

“Verily you shall be ques-

tioned about the blessings on

the Day of Judgment,” as

follows, “Allah will rebuke

people for eating delicious

foods and drinking cold water

in the summer.”

“Yes, I have commented on it

this way. If somebody invites

you over and serves you

delicious food and cold water,

then he reproaches you for

having entertained you, what

will you think of him?”

“I will consider him ungener-

ous.” “Is Allah ungenerous?”

“So what is meant by the

blessings about which man

will be questioned?”

“This blessing is the love for

us, the Prophet’s Household

(a).”[12]

Tawhid of Mufaddal: A

Reflection of the Imam’s

Knowledge

Mufaddal ibn ’Umar Kufi was a

student of Imam al-Sadiq (a)

who was instructed by the

Imam for four days and

compiled the Imam’s teach-

ings in the form of a treatise

called Tawhid of Mufaddal.

This book includes complicat-

ed and hidden facts about the

world from humankind to

astronomy.

I am going to tell you about

the Divine philosophy in

creating the universe, with its

animals, wild ones, and

insects; that is, all living


35

beings, animals and plants,

from fruit trees to the edible

and inedible plants, so that

[people] may learn a lesson.

Afterwards, the Imam spoke

of the wonders of creation as

Mufaddal wrote them

down.[13]

Imam al-Sadiq’s Confron-

tation with the Tyrants of

his Time

The Imam spent 21 years of

his Imamate under the

tyrannical rule of the second

Abbasid caliph, Mansur. The

struggle strategies the Imam

recommended to his followers

included adopting a non-

violence policy, covert and

overt struggle and defensive

policies, showing the Shi‘as

the appropriate policy of not

cooperating with the govern-

ment, supporting the Shi‘a

uprisings while not helping

those who wanted to align

Imam al-Sadiq (a) with

themselves.[14]

Each above-mentioned

strategy is beyond the con-

straints of this paper. How-

ever, part of the Imam’s

struggle was based on not

recognizing any illegitimate

government. According to

Imam al-Sadiq (a), a legiti-

mate government has its

roots in Allah’s order, not in

social contract, coercion, and

the like.

For example, consider the

following valid narration

reported by ’Umar ibn Hanza-

lah. It is considered accepted

(maqbul) by some scholars

due to the reliability of its

chain of authorities; some

others consider it a sound

hadith. ’Umar ibn Hanzhalah

related: Imam al-Sadiq (a)

was asked about two Shi‘as

who had a dispute over debt

and inheritance, and turned to

the illegitimate ruler or judge

for a verdict on it. He was

asked if this (turning to them)

was allowed.

The Imam (a) replied, “Who-

ever turns to the illegitimate

ruler or judge whether

rightfully or not and asks him

for a verdict definitely asks

Taghut (false deity) for a


36

verdict. Also, it is wrong that

he should accept something

by the verdict of Taghut even

though it is his vested right

because he enjoys it by the

judgment of Taghut. Allah has

ordered people to disbelieve

in Taghut. He said in the Hoy

Quran:

“They want to turn for

judgment [in their dis-

putes] to Taghut, though

they were ordered to

disbelieve in him,” (4:60).

The Imam (a) was asked

again, “So what should they

do?”

He responded, ‘They should

turn to somebody who

narrates our Hadiths, takes

our halal and haram into

account and knows our

injunctions. Whatever verdict

he gives, they should be

content with it because I have

appointed him a judge. So if

they belittle his verdict which

is based on our injunctions,

they definitely underestimate

the verdict of Allah and deny

us. Whoever denies us

actually denies Allah and this

is tantamount to associating

somebody with Allah.’[15]

In the above-mentioned

narration, Imam al-Sadiq’s

saying is well- documented by

his referring to the divine

word.[16]

Considering the verses before

and after it, that is, verses 58-

68, the Qur’anic verse Imam

al-Sadiq (a) mentioned enjoys

a unique theme. If we consid-

er all 10 verses together, it

will be made completely clear

that the rule of Taghut and

turning to him are illegitimate

and unlawful. In some parts

of these verses,[17] Allah

even swears by Himself, and

He sees those who ask

somebody other than the

Messenger of Allah for a

verdict on their disputes as

faithless. In some other part,

He views the faith of those

who accept the judgment of

Taghut as imaginary. In a

nutshell, Allah regards turning

to Taghut and submitting to

him as false and wrong.


37

In this narration, Imam al-

Sadiq (a) extended this

Qur’anic verse beyond the

time of the Holy Prophet[18]

to the future. Thus, when

Shi‘a have dispute over an

issue and there in no Infallible

(a), they should turn to a

jurisprudent because three

characteristics, namely

narrating hadiths, taking halal

and haram into account and

knowing the injunctions, are

not consistent with qualities of

anybody but jurisprudents.

Therefore, as for the time

when there is an Imam but he

is inaccessible or when he is

in occultation, the permanent

ruling has been made clear.

The word ‘taghut’ from the

root of ‘tughyan’, means

rebelling against Allah and

breaking divine laws, or any

means of revolt and rebellion

against Allah.[19]

Imam al-Sadiq (a) is also

quoted as saying, “Whoever

does not judge by right and

truth, and people seek his

judgment, is considered a

taghut.”[20]

Another hadith by the sixth

Imam reads as follows, “We

are those obeying whom Allah

has made obligatory, while

you obey the one for whose

ignorance people cannot

provide any pretext before

Allah.”[21]

The sixth Imam also warned

jurisprudents and hadith

narrators against having any

tie with the illegitimate

government of that time,

saying, “Jurisprudents are the

trusted agents of the Proph-

ets. If you see them turning

to the kings and intimately

cooperating with oppressors,

be suspicious of them and do

not trust them.”[22]

Imam al-Sadiq (a) prevented

his companions from associat-

ing and cooperating with the

court of the caliphate. Once a

companion asked him, “Some-

times Shi‘as become poor and

short of money, and they are

offered to build houses and

dig a canal for the Abbasids.

What do you think of this

job?”


38

The Imam replied, “I do not

like to tie a knot or to put a lid

on water-skin for them even

though they pay a high wage,

because those who help the

oppressors will be thrown into

a tent of fire until Allah gives

His verdicts on all serv-

ants.”[23]

Notes:

1. The Virtues of Abi Talib’s

Household, Ibn Shahr Ashub,

vol. 4, pp. 279-280

2. Bihar-ul-Anwar, Allama

Majlisi, vol. 47, p. 27.

3. The Virtues of Abi Talib’s

Household, vol. 4, p.281.

4. ‘Illal-u-Sharayi’, Shaikh

Saduq, vol. 1, p. 234.

5. The History of the Caliphs,

Suyuti, pp. 281-312.

6. Imam al-Sadiq (a) and the

Four Islamic Sects, vol. 1, pp.

69-77.

7. Rijal, Khu’i, vol. 19, p. 271.

8. Al-Fihrist, pp. 420-423.

9. Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Four

Islamic Sects, vol. 1, p. 70.

10. Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol.47, pp.

217-218


Four Islamic Sects, vol. 1, p.

55.

12. See its details in Bihar-ul-

Anwar, vol.10, p. 220-221,

no. 20.

13. The Conduct of the Shi‘a

Leaders, Mahdi Pishwa’i, pp.

353-410.

14. Wasa’il-ul- Shi‘a, Hurr Ameli,

vol. 18, p. 99, Hadith no. 1.

15. Nisa’, 65.

16. The example of Signs on the

Occasions of the Revelation

of the Quranic verses, Dr.

Muhammad Baqir Mu-

haqqiq, pp. 215-216.

17. Nemuneh Quranic Commen-

tary, vol. 3, p. 443.

18. ibid.

19. Usul Kafi, Kulayni, vol. 1,

p.186, Hadith no. 3.


Four Islamic Sects, vol. 2, p.

21

21. Wasa’il-ul- Shi‘a, vol. 12, p.

129, Hadith no.6

22. Bihar-ul-Anwar, v.47, p. 184.

23. Nemuneh Quranic Commen-

tary, vol. 3, p. 456.

��


39

Imam Abu Muhammad Hasan

al-Askari (a.s.) spent his short

life in sufferings and distress-

es. The Abbasid kings spared

no effort in oppressing him.

They moved him from a

prison to another. They

subjected him to confinement

and imposed on him economi-

cal blockades.

They prevented him from

meeting with his followers as

they prevented ‘Ulama’ and

scholars from contacting with

him to take away from the

fountain of his sciences. And

this, as I think, was the worst

distress the imam suffered.

They tried more than once to

assassinate him but Allah

protected him from their plots.

There were some reasons that

made the Abbasids bear a

grudge against Imam Hasan

al-Askari (a.s.). Here are

some of them: First, the

Abbasids feared the Awaited

Imam whom the Prophet (S)

had brought good news about

and told that he would be the

greatest reformer that man-

kind had never seen like him

throughout all stages of

history. The Prophet (a.s) told

that the Awaited Imam (a.s.)

would spread political, social

justice all over the world,

would do away with all kinds

of injustice and oppression,

and defeat all tyrants and

oppressive powers in the

world.

He would do away with

polytheism and atheism, and

raise the banner of faith and

truth. He would revive the

annulled laws of Allah. There-

fore, the Abbasids tried to kill

Imam al-Askari (a.s.) to be

sure he would not leave any

offspring. Imam (a.s.) said

about that, ‘They claimed that

they wanted to kill me in

order to cut off my offspring,

but Allah falsified their saying,

and praise be to Allah.’[1]

Appointing Imam al-Mahdi (A.T.F.) as the

Next Imam by Imam Hasan al-Askari (A.S)

By: Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi


40

Second, the Abbasids bore

envy towards Imam Hasan al-

Askari (a.s.) for his popularity

and the great respect that all

classes of society showed

him, whereas the authority

was in the hand of the

Abbasids who received

nothing of respect or honor

from people. Therefore, they

plotted day and night to do

away with him.

Third, the Alawids rose in

many revolts against the

Abbasid rule since its begin-

ning, aiming at achieving the

political justice of Islam and

applying its economic and

social programs in life. Those

revolts were supported by

great masses of people in the

different Muslim communities

that harmed the dignity of the

rule and shook its throne and

were about to overthrow it.

Those revolts filled the hearts

of the Abbasids with hatred

and grudge against the

Alawids, and so they ordered

their policemen to chase

every Alawid. It was naturally

that Imam al-Askari (a.s.)

suffered the bitterest distress-

es from the Abbasids because

he was the master and chief

of the Alawids and the imam

of Muslim at that time.

Now, let us come back to the

last days of Imam Hasan al-

Askari (a.s.).

Appointing Imam Al-

Mahdi as the Next Imam

Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) is the

hope, not only for Muslims,

but for all oppressed human

beings who suffer slavery,

oppression, and subjection.

He is the Savior who will free

the will of man and save

peoples and nations from the

oppression of the corruptive

regimes who have turned this

world into unbearable hell.

Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) was and

is a great miracle in Islam.

Allah concealed his birth, as

he had concealed the birth of

Prophet Moses (a.s.), because

the Abbasid government

looked for him… and in his

remaining alive (in occulta-

tion) throughout the long

stages of life is also a miracle


41

for Islam, and in his reap-

pearance and announcing the

pure principles of Islam is

another miracle too.

The following are some of the

traditions transmitted from

Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.)

concerning the Imamate of

his son al-Mahdi (a.s.).

1. Ahmad bin Is’haq bin

Sa’eed al-Ash’ari said, “Once,

I went to al-Hasan bin Ali

(a.s.) intending to ask him

about the successor after him.

He said to me before I asked

him, ‘O Ahmad bin Is’haq,

Allah the Almighty did not

deprive the earth since He

created Adam, and He will not

deprive it until the Day of

Resurrection, of an authority

over His people. By him (the

authority) distresses are

pushed away from the people

of the earth, by him rain falls

down, and by him the bless-

ings of the earth are emitted.’

I said to him, ‘O son of the

messenger of Allah, who is the

imam and successor after

you?’ He got up hastily and

went in the house. Then, he

came out holding a three-year-

old boy, whose face was

(bright) like a full moon, on his

shoulder and said, ‘O Ahmad,

were it not for your honor near

Allah the Almighty and near

His authorities, I would not

show you my this son. He was

named and surnamed like the

messenger of Allah (a.s.). He

will fill the earth with justice

and fairness after it has been

filled with injustice and op-

pression. O Ahmad, he, in this

nation, is like al-Khidhr (Elijah)

and Thul Qarnayn. By Allah, he

will hide in an occultation,

during which no one shall be

saved except one whom Allah

fixes on the belief in his

imamate and supplicating Allah

to hasten his deliverance.’ I

said, ‘Is there any sign so that

I may be sure?’ The young boy

said, ‘I am the representative

of Allah in His earth and the

avenger on His enemies. Do

not look for a sign after a

proof!’

I left delightedly. On the

following day, I came back to


42

him and said, ‘O son of the

messenger of Allah, my

delight was so great for what

you favored me with. Would

you please tell me what norm

with al-Khidr and Thul

Qarnayn was?’

He said, ‘Long occultation.’

I said, ‘O son of the messen-

ger of Allah, shall his (al-

Mahdi’s) occultation last long?’

Imam al-Askari (a.s.) said,

‘Yes, by my Lord, until many

of those, who believe in this

matter (occultation and

reappearance), shall aposta-

tize, and no one shall remain

(believing) except those

whom Allah has taken from

them a covenant on our

guardianship, fixed faith in

their hearts, and supported

them with a mercy from Him.

O Ahmad, this is a command

from Allah, a secret from the

secrets of Allah, and an

unseen matter from the

unseen (matters) of Allah.

Take what I told you, and be

from the grateful; you shall be

with us in Illiyin.[2]”[3]

2. Muhammad bin Uthman al-

Umari narrated that his father

said, “Once, I was with al-

Hasan bin Ali (al-Askari) when

he was asked about the

tradition transmitted from his

father that the earth would

not be empty from an authori-

ty from Allah over His people

until the Day of Resurrection,

and that whoever died

without knowing the imam of

his age would die as an

unbeliever. He said, ‘This is

true as day is true.’

Someone asked him, ‘O son of

the messenger of Allah, then,

who shall be the authority and

imam after you?’ He said, ‘My

son Muhammad is the imam

and the authority after me.

Whoever dies without know-

ing (acknowledging) him shall

dies as an unbeliever. He will

be in an occultation where the

ignorant will be confused,

deniers will perish, and

daters[4] will tell lies. Then,

he will reappear, and as if I

see white flags fluttering over

his head at the hill of

Kufa.’”[5]


43

3. Imam Abu Muhammad

(a.s.) said, ‘Praise be to Allah

Who did not take me out of

this life until He made me see

the successor after me. He is

the most similar in shape and

morals to the messenger of

Allah (a.s.). Allah will protect

him in his occultation and

make him reappear to fill the

earth with justice and fairness

after it will be filled with

injustice and oppression.’[6]

4. Musa bin Ja’far al-Baghdadi

narrated that he had heard

Imam Abu Muhammad al-

Hasan bin Ali al-Askari (a.s.)

saying, ‘(It is) As if I see that

you will disagree after me on

my successor. Surely, he, who

believes in the imams after

the messenger of Allah (a.s.)

but denies my son, is like one,

who believes in all prophets

and messengers of Allah but

denies the prophethood of the

messenger of Allah (Muham-

mad) (a.s.), because the

obedience of the last of us is

like the obedience of the first

of us, and one, who denies

the last of us, is like one who

denies the first of us. My son

will have an occultation where

people will be in doubt about

it except those whom Allah

preserves.’[7]

The Imam Comforts

Himself

Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.)

perceived from behind the

unseen that he would leave

this life and go near his Lord.

He said to his mother, ‘In the

year 260 I shall suffer bad

fever from which I shall be

afflicted…’

She was distressed, and

sorrow overcame her. She

began crying. Imam Abu

Muhammad (a.s.) calmed her

down saying, ‘The fate of

Allah must take place. Do not

worry…!’

On the 8th of Rabi-ul-Awwal,

in the year 260, he died as he

had predicted, while he was

twenty-eight years old. [8]

Assassination of the Imam

Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid

tyrant, could not bear Imam

Abu Muhammad (a.s.) any


44

longer, for he saw and heard

people every when and

everywhere glorify the imam

and prefer him to all the

Alawids and the Abbasids.

Finally, he made up his mind

to do away with the imam. He

assassinated him by poisoning

him.[9] The poison reacted on

his body, and he began

suffering bitter and severe

pains, while being patient,

resorting to Allah.

The Government’s Confu-

sion

The Abbasid government was

very confused when Imam

Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) became

seriously ill. Al-Mu’tamid

ordered five of his trusted

statesmen, among whom was

Nahrir, to remain in the

imam’s house and report to

him about every new happen-

ing. He also ordered a com-

mittee of physicians to test

the imam’s health day and

night. After two days, he

ordered the physicians not to

leave the imam alone because

his state was very griev-

ous.[10]

To The Best of Abodes

The imams’ health got worse,

and the physicians were

despondent of his recovery.

Death began approaching him

quickly. At those last mo-

ments of his life, Imam al-

Askari (a.s.), mentioned Allah,

glorified Him, and prayed Him

to take him nearer to Him. His

lips were busy reciting verses

from the Holy Qur'an. He

turned towards the Qiblah,

and after not long, his pure

soul flew towards the Heaven

surrounded by the angels of

the Beneficent Lord.

It was the greatest loss

Muslims suffered in that age.

They lost their leader, reform-

er, and instructor who loved

and helped their weak, poor,

and orphans.

The imam’s body was (ritual-

ly) washed, enshrouded, put

in the coffin, and carried to be

prayed on by Muslims. Eesa

son of al-Mutawakkil led the

prayer by al-Mu’tamid’s order.

After the prayer, he uncov-

ered the imam’s face before


45

the Hashemites, the Abbasids,

army leaders, government

clerks, state officials, judges,

and physicians and said to

them, ‘This is al-Hasan bin Ali

bin Muhammad bin ar-Reza

(peace be on them). He died

a natural death in his bed. So-

and-so of Ameerul Mu’minin’s

(al-Mu’tamid) servants and

trusted men, So-and-so of

judges, and So-and-so of

physicians were present with

him.’ Then he covered his

holy face.[11]

The painful news spread

everywhere in Samarra’. It

was a great shock for Muslims

who hurried up to the imam’s

house while crying and

weeping. Government offices

and all markets were closed.

It was like the Day of Resur-

rection in Samarra’.[12]

Samarra’ had never witnessed

before, a day of escorting like

this. Waves of human beings

and flowing masses of people

from all classes and societies

came to escort the holy

corpse of this pure imam

(a.s.) while mentioning his

virtues and favors and talking

with great sorrow and regret

about the great loss they

were afflicted with.

Notes:

1. Kifayat al-Athar.

2. Illiyin is the highest

position in the Paradise.

3. Ikmaluddeen by Sheikh

as-Saduq, p.216-217.

4. Those who defines

certain dates for the re-

appearance of the

awaited imam (a.s.).


6. Kifayat al-Athar, Ikma-

luddeen, p.228.


8. Muhaj ad-Da’awat,

p.274.

9. Al-Irshad, p.383.



12. Al-Irshad, p.383, Ency-

clopedia of al-Bustani,

vol.7 p.45.

��


46

9th of Rabi al-Awwal is the

day of Eid. It is our greatest

Eid and the Eid of our follow-

ers, as narrated to Ahmad ibn

Is’haq al-Qummi by Imam

Muhammad al-Hadi (a.s.).

With heavy hearts, we take

this opportunity to bid farewell

to the Martyrs of Karbala as

the Ayyam-e-Aza come to an

end. We will have to wait for

another year to witness and

experience majalis, matam,

Ashura, Arba’een, mourning,

and Azadari at this scale. As

we remove the black cloth

from the walls, we salute the

Martyrs of Karbala and declare

that we are with you, we are

with you, surely we are

against your enemies. We will

endeavor to perform your

Ziyarat, and will endeavor to

shed tears in your remem-

brance every Thursday night.

Furthermore, we will strive to

apply the principles you stood

for in our daily lives; the

foremost of which is dedica-

tion and loyalty to the Imam

of the Time (a.s.).

Ahmad ibn Is’haq al-Qummi

was a great companion of

Imam Hassan al-Askari (a.s.).

On the 9th Rabi al-Awwal,

Muhammad Hamadani and

Yahya Baghdadi came to visit

him and were informed that

Ahmad was busy performing

Ghusl for that day. When they

inquired what the Ghusl was

about, they were told that

Ahmad had heard from Imam

Muhammad Taqi al-Hadi

(a.s.), who said:

“9th of Rabi-ul-Awwal is the

day of Eid. It is our greatest

Eid and the Eid of our follow-

ers.”

After performing his Ghusl

Ahmad ibn Is’haq said to the

two visiting men: “I have

performed Ghusl because

today is the Eid of 9th Rabi-al-

Awwal.

9th Rabi al-Awwal –

A Day of Rejoicing and Celebration

Source: www.hujjat.org


47

9th of Rabi al-Awwal is also

known as Eid-e-Zahra mean-

ing the festival of Fatima al-

Zahra (s.a.), because three to

four years after the tragedy of

Karbala, it was on this day

that joy and happiness was

restored in the family of Ahlul-

Bayt (a.s.). From the tragedy

of Karbala in 61 A.H. till this

day, the family members of

the Holy Prophet (S) had

continuously mourned and

grieved the martyrdom of

Imam al-Husayn (a.s.).

Then Mukhtar bin ‘Ubaydullah

as-Saqafi, together with

Ibrahim bin Malik al-Ashtar

and others rose to avenge the

blood of Imam al-Husayn

(a.s.). They arrested every

killer of Karbala and executed

them. Finally, Mukhtar arrest-

ed ‘Umar ibn Sa’d and

‘Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. He

beheaded them and sent their

heads to Imam Sajjad (a.s.) in

Medina. These two heads

reached the Imam (a.s.) on

9th Rabi-ul-Awwal and on

seeing them, Imam Sajjad

(a.s.) went into prostration

and said, “I thank Allah who

kept me alive to this day so

that I could see the heads of

the tyrants who killed my

father.” He then instructed the

members of his family to

remove the clothes of mourn-

ing, adorn themselves and

celebrate the day with joy and

happiness.

9th Rabi al-Awwal is the first

day of the Imamate of our

Living Imam, Imam al-Mahdi

(a.s.). It is true that an Imam

is an Imam from birth but

every Imam assumed the

official role of his Imamate

after the death of the previous

Imam. The reason why we

celebrate, in particular, the

Imamate of our Living Imam

(a.s.) is to perhaps remind

ourselves of his presence and

about our responsibilities

towards him. Imam Hassan al-

Askari (a.s.) passed away on

8th Rabi al-Awwal 260 A.H.

and our 12th Imam (a.s.)

assumed his Imamate formally

at a young age of 5 years on

9th Rabi al-Awwal 260 A.H.

��


48

After Imam Ali, Imam Hasan

attained to the caliphate. At

this time the Muslim society

had assumed a peculiar form.

Their strength had been

divided almost evenly, and if

Imam Hasan had continued

fighting against Mu’awiyah

neither of the two parties

could expect victory without

severe bloodshed. The result

of such a fighting would have

been disastrous for the

Muslims. Hence, Imam Hasan

was faced with a situation in

which he had no alternative

but to come to terms with

Mu’awiyah and prevent

senseless bloodshed. If he

had persisted in fighting it

would have resulted in gain to

the Eastern Roman Empire on

the external front and to the

Khawarij within the Islamic

territories.

If those 400,000 or 500,000

Muslims had attacked one

another on that day and

fighting with Mu’awiyah had

been continued only Allah

knows what calamity would

have fallen on the Muslims

from the side of the Eastern

Roman Empire and what

dimensions the danger from

Khawarij would have as-

sumed, and what the history

of Islam would have been!

Hence, Imam Hasan retired

from the caliphate and thus

safeguarded the blood of the

Muslims and the strength of

Islam, and prevented the

external and internal enemies

from taking undue advantage

of the situation. This does

not, however, mean that he

surrendered to Mu’awiyah and

recognized him as the caliph

and the Commander of the

Faithful.

One of the conditions of the

Peace Treaty between Imam

Hasan and Mu’awiyah reads

thus: "Hasan bin Ali makes

Peace on the condition that

Peace Treaty of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (A)

Edited excerpts from the book, “A Probe into the History of Ashura”

By: Ayatollah Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Ayati


49

he will not be under an

obligation to call Mu’awiyah,

the Commander of the

Faithful". It meant that he did

not recognize Mu’awiyah to be

the caliph and the Command-

er of the Faithful. Those, who

think that by retiring, Imam

Hasan bin Ali surrendered to

Mu’awiyah and Mu’awiyah

became the caliph of the

Muslims and Hasan bin Ali

also became one of his

obedient subjects, should

keep in mind this valuable

narration by Ibn Athir which

refutes this false belief:

"After Hasan bin Ali retired

and Mu’awiyah became the

caliph, Farwa bin Nawfal

Ashjaie Khariji, who had

deserted the Khawarij earlier

along with five hundred men

and gone to the city of Zur

said:

"Now there is no doubt about

the fact that we should fight

against Mu’awiyah’s admin-

istration. As Mu’awiyah has

come at the helm of affairs

and become the caliph we

must wage war against him".

They, therefore, marched

towards Iraq and reached the

palm-grove of Kufa. In the

meantime Imam Hasan had

left Kufa and was on his way

to Madina. When Mu’awiyah

came to know that the said

Khariji had revolted along with

his five hundred men, he

wrote a letter to Imam Hasan,

possibly with a view to

strengthening the Peace

Treaty with the Imam.

He wrote thus: "I understand

that Farwa bin Nawfal Khariji

is proceeding to Kufa along

with five hundred men. I,

therefore, direct you to go

and fight against him and

ward him off, and after you

have vanquished him there

will be no objection to your

proceeding to Madina".

Imam Hasan received

Mu’awiyah’s letter when he

had arrived at Qadisiya. He

sent him the following reply:

"O Mu’awiyah! You have

appointed Hasan bin Ali to go

like one of your officers and

to ward off a rebellious

Khariji. I, Hasan bin Ali, have


50

retired, in the interest of the

Muslims, from the caliphate,

which is my right. If I had

wished to fight against one of

the people of the Qibla i.e.

with a Muslim, whoever he

might be, and to which ever

sect he might belong, I would

have fought against you in the

first instance".

The Imam meant to say that

he desisted from fighting

against Mu’awiyah in spite of

the latter's being deviated

from Islam as compared with

all others. It will be observed

that the Imam did not say: "I

have recognized you as the

caliph".

On the other hand he wrote:

"I let you go and did not fight

against you". And possibly a

better interpretation of the

words "I let you go" may be

this: 'I have set you at liberty

in the field of politics and

have myself retired only in the

interest of Islam and to avoid

the bloodshed of the Muslim

i.e. I considered it futile that

these two forces of Islam

which are evenly balanced

should fight and kill and

weaken each other and be

annihilated, and the external

and internal enemies should

take undue advantage of this

situation '.

After the martyrdom of Imam

Hasan, Imam Husayn did not

also rise up in arms against

Mu’awiyah during the last ten

years of his rule (49-60 AH)

and did not undertake that

campaign against him - the

campaign, which he consid-

ered necessary during the

regime of Yazid. However, he

continuously criticized and

reprimanded Mu’awiyah and

denied his rightfulness to the

caliphate in the same manner

in which his brother Imam

Hasan had done.

After the martyrdom of his

brother Imam Hasan, Imam

Husayn wrote the following

letter to Mu’awiyah that has

been reproduced by Ibn

Qutayba Denuri:

"O Mu’awiyah! Are you not

the same person who killed

Hujr bin Ady and his pious


51

friends unlawfully? They were

the persons, who condemned

heresy and ordered the

people to do good and

restrained them from evil. You

killed them cruelly after

granting them security and

making firm promises and

covenants with them. By

doing so you defied Allah and

considered the Divine cove-

nants to be frivolous.”

Are you not the man who

associated Ziyad, the son of

an unknown father, with your

father Abu Sufyan and called

him your brother, as Ziyad bin

Abu Sufyan, and supposed

that he is the son of Abu

Sufyan although the Holy

Prophet has said: "The child

belongs to the man on whose

bed (i.e. in whose house) he

is born and the woman giving

birth to the child is married to

him and the adulterer is to be

stoned to death as command-

ed by Allah. And then you

have appointed Ziyad to rule

over the Muslims so that he

may kill them and amputate

their hands and feet and hang

them on date-palm trees.

Allah be praised!

"O Mu’awiyah! It appears that

you are not a member of the

Muslim community and the

Muslims have no connections

with you. Fear Allah and

beware of the Day of Judg-

ment, because Allah has a

document from which nothing,

whether small or big or good

or bad, is omitted and every-

thing is taken into account.

You must remember that Allah

does not forget these acts of

yours, that is, you kill people

on mere suspicions and false

accusations and have made a

boy, the ruler of the Muslims,

who drinks wine and plays

with dogs.

"O Mu’awiyah! I see that you

have destroyed yourself,

spoiled your faith and made

the Muslim ummah helpless".

This was the manner in which

Imam Hasan and Imam

Husayn, addressed and wrote

letters to Mu’awiyah and

called him to account.

��


52

Going Into Exile To

Achieve The Divine Goal

The Holy Prophet of Islam

was well aware of the fact

that people who were plunged

in prejudice, superstition, and

ignorance would not abandon

their beliefs and ways easily

and that it would take exten-

sive struggle, severe hard-

ships, and sincere self-

sacrifice to save them from

the pit of corruption and guide

them onto the path of virtue

and monotheism. He could

easily read in the faces of the

people of Makkah, the opposi-

tion to Islam and their bigoted

determination to fight the

Muslims.

The divine foresight of the

Holy Prophet of Islam had

given him a dark image of the

future. With such an insight

and divine knowledge, he held

high the banner of prophecy

and adopted patience and

tolerance. The Prophet

struggled with the enemies of

Islam in Makkah for 13 years

and resisted all their torments

and obstructions, but the

opponents of Islam did not

give up their devilish beliefs

and manner and utilized all

their power to destroy Is-

lam.[1] Under such circum-

stances, the universal mission

of the Holy Prophet of Islam

necessitated his migration to

a calm, suitable place and to

find a new arena for his work

and mission.

Yathrib - Ready To Submit

To Islam

At the time of the pilgrimage

to the Ka'aba, some of the

men of importance of the

Khazraj tribe came to Makkah

and met with the Holy Proph-

et in the Masjid al-Haram. He

explained the divine faith of

Islam to them and encour-

aged them to believe in this

The of Historical Transformation

Excerpts from the book, “A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet of Islam” By: Dar Rahe Haqq’s Board of Writers


53

religion, which is the faith of

peace and fraternity. The

Khazraj chiefs, who were tired

of their deep-rooted disputes

and conflicts with the Aws

tribe, felt that Islam was

exactly what they needed,

and so they most willingly

submitted to Islam.

When the Khazrajis, who had

become Muslim, were about to

return to Yathrib, they asked

the Holy Prophet of Islam for a

missionary, and he assigned

Mas'ab ibn `Umir to accompa-

ny them. Thus, the people of

Yathrib were informed of the

rising sun of Islam and hurried

to gain information about the

new faith.

The most effective factor in

making the people ready and

eager to adopt Islam was

listening to the luminous

verses of the Holy Qur'an.

Mas'ab reported the conver-

sion to Islam of the chiefs and

leaders of both the Khazraj

and Aws tribes to the Holy

Prophet. Later on, a large

number of the people of

Yathrib who had come to

Makkah to take part in the

Hajj pilgrimage held a secret

meeting with the Prophet at

midnight and swore allegiance

to support him just as they

supported and protected their

own families.[2]

The Plot To Murder The

Holy Prophet Of Islam

Dawn had hardly broken

when the infidel Quraysh were

informed of the allegiance of

the Yathribi Muslims. They

hurriedly attempted to frus-

trate it and hinder the ad-

vance of Islam. For this

purpose, they held a council

in the place where the

Quraysh gathered to pass

judgment and to consult each

other. After a great deal of

talk and consultation, it was

resolved that they select one

man from each tribe to rush

into the house of the Prophet

at night and murder him so

that the basis of the propaga-

tion of Islam would be de-

stroyed.[3]

But Almighty God made the

Holy Prophet aware of the


54

intrigue of his enemies and

commanded him to leave

Makkah by night.[4] The

Prophet, upon receiving this

revelation, decided to leave

his homeland and migrate to

Yathrib.

Ali’s Self-Sacrifice

When the Holy Prophet of

Islam was divinely command-

ed to migrate to Yathrib, he

called 'Ali, disclosed his secret

to him, gave him the people's

trusts to be returned to their

owners and then said, `I have

to migrate, but you must lie in

my bed'. 'Ali sincerely obeyed

the Holy Prophet and lay in

his bed, thus devotedly

exposing himself to the

dangers that threatened the

Holy Prophet of Islam.[5]

'Ali's self-sacrifice was so

sincere and significant that

God praised it in the Holy

Quran.[6]


Goes To The Thawr Cave

At midnight the enemies of

Islam surrounded the house

of the Holy Prophet to carry

out their satanic plot. But

since God was the supporter

and protector of the Prophet,

He saved him from harm at

the hands of the murderous

infidels.

While reading verses from

Sura Yasin, the Holy Prophet

of Islam came out of his

house and through a by-way,

went to the Thawr cave,

which was situated outside

Makkah. Abu Bakr was

informed of the matter and

accompanied the Holy Proph-

et."[7]

The infidels rushed towards

the Prophet's bed with drawn

swords in their hands, but to

their surprise, they found 'Ali

in his place. Upset and

enraged, they asked, `Where

has Muhammad gone? 'Ali

answered, `Had you assigned

me to watch him? Well, you

intended to expel him and he

has left the city'.[8]

Realizing that all their plots

were frustrated, the idol

worshipping Quraysh took


55

serious measures but all in

vain.

On The Way To Yathrib

After staying in the Thawr

cave for three days, the Holy

Prophet of Islam proceeded

towards Yathrib.[9]

One of the Makkans, Saraqa

ibn Malik, attempted to

pursue him, but his horse's

hoof sank into the ground

three times and threw him

down, so he repented and

returned to Makkah."[10]

On the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal,

the Holy Prophet of Islam

reached a place called

Quba,[11] where he stayed

for a few days."[12]

Abu Bakr insistently asked the

Prophet to begin travelling

towards Yathrib, but the Holy

Prophet refused to go without

'Ali. He said to Abu Bakr,

'Ali has endangered his own

life to save mine. He is my

cousin, my brother, and the

dearest among the family to

me. I will not leave here until

he joins me'.[13]

After fulfilling the mission

assigned to him, 'Ali joined

the Holy Prophet in Quba, but

his legs were so bruised that

he could hardly walk. The

Holy Prophet embraced him

most affection-ately, blessed

his hurt legs with the saliva

from his own mouth which

healed 'Ali's swollen legs.

Thus together they started

towards Yathrib.[14]

Yathrib Eagerly Awaiting

The Holy Prophet

Yathrib had taken on an

extraordinary air and intense

excitement and eagerness had

overtaken the whole city. In

every alley and neighborhood

people impatiently awaited

the Holy Prophet of Islam.

He entered Yathrib on Fri-

day.[15] People were over-

joyed and could not stop

looking at the resplendent

countenance of the Prophet.


settled in Yathrib and there

laid the foundations of Islam

and a magnificent culture

based on justice and faith.


56

After the blessful entrance of

the Holy Prophet of Islam into

Yathrib, its name was

changed into Medinat ul-Nabi,

meaning `the City of the

Prophet'."[16] That year, the

year the Holy Prophet of

Islam migrated from Makkah

to Yathrib, was recognized as

the origin of history, due to

this significant historical

event, the triumph of right-

eousness and justice.

The illuminating sun of Islam

gave new life to the people.

They discarded all the old

superstitious beliefs and

thoughts and all the wrong

deeds and manners of the

past, replacing them with the

perfect life-giving culture of

Islam.

A Lesson From The Hijra

Fourteen centuries have now

passed since the momentous

historical event of the Hijra -

the migration of the Holy

Prophet from Makkah to

Medina. A careful study of

history reveals the sincere and

indefatigable efforts of the

Muslims in the cause of the

migration and laying the

foundation of Islam.

After migration to Yathrib, the

migrant Muslims had obvious-

ly rid themselves of the

torment and torture of the

infidel Quraysh and found a

peaceful, agreeable environ-

ment.

Nevertheless, they showed no

tendency towards self-

indulgence and pleasure-

seeking. Rather they cease-

lessly endeavoured to estab-

lish an Islamic civilization and

to spread the divine faith of

Islam.

It was these very sacrificial

efforts and hard work of the

Muslims that rescued them

from slavery and so many

miseries and brought them

honour, prosperity, and glory.

It is indeed necessary for the

Muslims all over the world to

be constantly reminded of the

devotion and incessant efforts

of the Muslims in the early

days of Islam, who relied on

their faith in God and, through


57

obeying the instructions of the

Holy Prophet, managed to

make a holy revolution and

attained great achievements.

It is of vital significance to

Muslims in all places and at all

times to take a lesson from

the lives and sacrificial

endeavors of those truly

devoted Muslims. Each year,

on the occasion of the anni-

versary of the migration,

sincere reflection on the lives

of these godly men and

women will effectively serve

this purpose.

It is also incumbent upon us

to teach posterity the fact that

the Muslims of the beginning

of Islam owed their glory and

greatness to their faith and

their sincere efforts and that

we must try to adopt their

manners if we want to regain

the honour and greatness that

devoted Muslims really

deserve.

Notes:

1. Kamil, Vol. 2, pp.108.

2. A'lam Alwari, pp.55-61.

3. Tarikhi Tabari, Vol. 3, p.i229; A'lam Alwari, pp.61-62.

4. Tarikhi Tabari, Vol. 3, p.1231; Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 19, p.60.

5. Sirihi ibn Hishim, Vol. 1; p.481; Tarikhi Tabari, Vol. 3, p.1232.

6. Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 19, p.78.

7. Tarikhi Tabari, Vol. 3, p.1234.

8. A'lam Alwari, p.63.

9. Sirihi ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, p.486; Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 19, p.69.

10. Ibid., p.489; p.88.

11. Kamil, p.106. Quba is a place near Medina.

12. Tarikhi Tabari, Vol. 3, p.1245.

13. Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 19, p.116.

14. Kamil, Vol. 2, p.106.

15. Sirihi ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, p.494; Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 9, p.122.

16. Mu’jim ul-Buldan maddihi Yathrib and Majma' ul-Bahrin Maddihi Tharb.

��


58

Question: How is it possible

for some of the Imams to

reach Imamate while still

children?

Answer

Imamate, in the view of

Imami Shi’as, is the practice

by the Wali (Divinely appoint-

ed authority) of his authority

over people (wilayah); in

other words, Imamate is a

Divinely-appointed station for

managing the people’s worldly

and religious affairs as well as

guiding them to the peak of

felicity and humanity. Thus,

the Imam cannot be deter-

mined or selected by the

people, since inherent

knowledge and inner infallibil-

ity are unseen qualities which

no one but Allah (s.w.t)

knows, and these are the two

most important qualities of

the Divinely-appointed Wali.

A monotheist who has submit-

ted to Divine authority over

him or herself is wholly

obedient to the commands

and prohibitions of his or her

Allah (s.w.t). Thus, in accept-

ing the authority of the

leaders appointed by Him as

well, he or she must be fully

obedient, submit to their

authority, and avoid compar-

ing them to others or base-

lessly second-guessing their

appointment. There are

several ways to recognize the

divinely appointed Imam/Wali:

1. Studying their conduct and

actions.

2. Referring to the attributes

and signs that the previous

Wali has mentioned for the

succeeding Wali.

3. Seeking miracles and

verifying the presence of the

conditions and necessary

corollaries of Imamate.

It is possible to find out about

their lives and character by

referring to books of history

and biography, and by looking

at collections of traditions one

Imamate at Childhood

By: Hujjat al-Islam Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani


59

can find the traditions that

have come down from the

Prophet (S); and finally by

examining at the traditions of

each Imam, one can come to

recognize the next Imam. The

Imams (a.s.) performed

miracles both in their lifetimes

and after their martyrdoms.

The occurrence of such

extraordinary deeds for those

who sought recourse to them

is so frequent that it is beyond

reckoning, and it is something

that everyone searching for

truth can experience.

So there is no specific age

necessary to attain the station

of Imamate. The spiritual,

intellectual, and mental

maturity required for the

position can be granted by

Allah (s.w.t) from the day of

his birth. This fact is one of

the extraordinary phenomena

that prove their Imamate, it

does not detract from it.

Obviously, from a superficial

and shortsighted viewpoint, it

appears difficult for prominent

personalities, scholars and the

old and young to submit to

the authority of a boy; for

ordinary people accepting

such an authority would not

be as easy as accepting older

Wali.

The contemporaries to the

young Imams—that is, Imam

Muhammad b. ‘Ali al-Taqi

(a.s.) who became Imam at

the age of eight, Imam ‘Ali b.

Muhammad al-Naqi (a.s.) who

attained the Imamate at the

age of nine, and Imam al-

Mahdi (a.s.) who became

Imam at the age of five—

were no exceptions to this

rule, and they posed this very

question to Imam ‘Ali b. Musa

al-Rida (a.s.).

For example, It has also been

narrated from al-Mahmudi

that he said, ‘I was in Tus (an

area in Central Asia near

present-day Mashhad) in the

presence of Imam ‘Ali b. Musa

al-Rida (a.s.). One of his

companions said, “If some-

thing were to happen to the

Imam, who would be the

divinely chosen Imam after

him? The Imam (a.s.) turned

to him and said, “Regarding


60

the issue of Imamate, after

me refer to my son Jawad

(Imam Muhammad b. ‘Ali al-

Taqi (a.s.)).” He (al-Mahmudi)

said, “He is still a child!”

Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida

(a.s.) replied, “Allah chose ‘Isa

(a.s.) as His messenger

though he was younger than

Imam al-Taqi (a.s.).”

In spite of these traditions

some of Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-

Rida’s (a.s.) followers out of

anxiety still went in search of

his successor. “Some of them

went after ‘Abdullah ibn Musa,

the brother of the eighth

Imam (a.s.). Since they

weren’t willing to accept

anyone’s Imamate without

evidence, they presented to

him some questions, and

when they found him unable

to answer they forsook him.”

This is because what was

important to them was the

manifestation of this divine

aspect in the Imams’

knowledge. This is also why

they would apply this principle

to all the Imams and subject

them to various questions,

and only when they felt that

they were able to answer

them (along with the textual

declarations of their Imamate)

would the Imami Shi’as

recognize them as infallible

Imams. The young Imams

were no exceptions to this

rule; the leaders of the Shi’as

would examine them to

become certain of their level

of knowledge and ability to

perform clear miracles.

On the other hand, the

enemies of the Imams, who

were always waiting for an

opportunity to marginalize the

Imams and disperse the Shi’as

from around them, did not sit

by idly. Arranging intellectual

gatherings and the like they

strove to make the young age

of these Imams an excuse to

altogether marginalize them

from society. But the more

effort they made, the more

they debased themselves, and

the superior knowledge of the

Imams stood out to their

knowledgeable contemporar-

ies.

��


61

Kids Corner

Always Speak the Truth

Dear kids!

17th of Rabi-ul Awwal is the

birthday of our Holy Prophet

Muhammad (S) and our sixth

Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.). On

this joyous occasion we

extend our heartiest greet-

ings to every Muslim in the

world. We pray to Almighty

Allah to make our world

peaceful and strengthen us

to follow Islam.

Speaking the truth is a very

good habit. If you always

speak the truth, you can

save yourself from a lot of

trouble! Here is a story of a

man who did a lot of bad

things, but his promise to

speak the truth saved him.

Once a man came to Prophet

Muhammad (S) and said, "O

Messenger of Allah (SWT),

I have many bad habits.

Which one of them should I

give up first?" Prophet

Muhammad (S) said, "Give up

telling lies first and always

speak the truth." The man

promised to do so and went

home.

At night the man was about

to go out to steal. Before

setting out, he thought for a

moment about the promise

he made with Prophet

Muhammad (S). "If tomor-

row Prophet Muhammad (S)

asks me where have I been,

what shall I say? Shall I say

that I went out stealing?

No, I cannot say that. But

nor can I lie. If I tell the

truth, everyone will start

hating me and call me a

thief. I would be punished

for stealing."

So the man decided not to

steal that night, and gave up

this bad habit of stealing.


62

Next day, he felt like

drinking alcohol, when he

was about to do so, he said

to himself, "What shall I say

to Prophet Muhammad (S) if

he asks me what did I do

during the day? I cannot tell

a lie, and if I speak the

truth people will hate me,

because a Muslim is not

allowed to drink alcohol."

And so he gave up the idea

of drinking alcohol.

In this way, whenever the

man thought of doing some-

thing bad, he remembered

his promise to tell the truth

at all times. One by one, he

gave up all his bad habits

and became a good Muslim

and a very good person.

If you always speak the

truth, you can be a good

person, a good Muslim whom

Allah (SWT) likes and

favors. If Allah (SWT) - our

Creator - is pleased with us,

He will reward us with

Heaven, which is a place of

happiness and joy.

Moral: Make a promise; I

shall always speak the truth

and never break it.

��

Recommendation for

Helping Others

Imam Sadiq (a.s) not only did

good and solved the problems

of people, but also recom-

mended others to do so.

A man told Imam Sadiq (a.s),

“The government of Najashi

that rules Ahwaz and Fars

has obliged me to pay a tax,

but I cannot afford it.

Najashi is a sincere lover of

you; recommend him about

me.” Imam Sadiq (a.s) wrote

in a letter,

“In the Name of Allah, the

Beneficent, the Merciful.

Behave leniently towards

your brother; may Allah be

lenient with you too!”

The man took the letter and

went to his own city. He

visited Najashi, gave him the

letter, and said,


63

“Imam Sadiq (a.s) has sent

you this letter.” Najashi

took the letter, kissed it,

and said, “What is your

request?” The man an-

swered, “I cannot pay the

tax that is due on me.”

Najashi asked, “How much is

that?” “Ten thousand dir-

hams,” the man replied.

Najashi called his ascribe

and told him, “Pay the debt

of this man from my own

property!” He ordered not to

take the tax of next year

from the man. Then Najashi

told the man, “Did I make

you happy?” “Yes,” the man

answered. So Najashi

ordered to give him a horse,

a slave, a female slave, and

some clothes, asking him the

same question every time.

The man repeated the same

answer every time. Then

Najashi said,

“Give this carpet on which I

received the letter of my

master, Imam Sadiq (a.s), to

this man too.” And he told

the man, “Come to me

whenever you have a re-

quest!”

The man took the property

and went. He went to Imam

Sadiq (a.s) after a while and

told him about what Najashi

had done. Imam Sadiq (a.s)

became very happy. That

man asked Imam (a.s), “O

son of Messenger of Allah

(S)! Did you become happy

of his conduct?” Imam (a.s)

replied, “By Allah yes! Allah

and His Messenger (S)

became happy too.

��

Monotheism in Worship & Fear from the Resurrection Day

The issues of “Monotheism

in Worship” in its best

manner, and the “Fear from

the Resurrection Day” are

of the significant character-

istics of the family of

infallibility and purification,

the Ahl al-Bait. One of the

companions of Imam Hassan

Askari (a.s.) narrates: ‘On

one of the days during Imam


64

Hassan Askari’s (a.s.) child-

hood, I noticed he was

standing with children of his

same age. The other chil-

dren were busy playing,

while the Imam (a.s.) was

standing in a corner crying

(this was the first time I

had seen him).

I thought that perhaps the

reason for his sadness was

because he did not have toys

like the other children. I

approached him, expressed

my kindness, and said: … ‘I’ll

buy you some good toys.’

He looked at me with an

angry face and said: “We are

not created to play!” I was

shocked by his words, such

immense knowledge and such

remarkable logic!

… so I asked him: “What are

we created for?”

He said: “[We are created]

to know [Allah] and worship

[Him]”. Amazed by his

replies, I asked: “Where

have you got that answer

from?”

He said: Allah has said: "Did

you then think that We had

created you in vain, and that

you would not be brought

back to Us?"

I realized that his logic was

based on wisdom and the

Holy Quran. I was ashamed

of what I had thought.

Then, I said: “Why are you

crying, while you are still a

child and have not commit-

ted any sins?”

His cry intensified, and he

said:” “Whenever my mother

wants to make fire with big

pieces of firewood, she first

puts some small pieces of

wood on fire, and then uses

them to flame the big pieces

of wood. My worries are

from being of those small

pieces of firewood for the

hellfire…”

There, I understood that he

is extremely distant from

me. I departed from him.

Later on, I came to know

who that child was and to

which family he belonged…” ��


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