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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

2 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 03

3 The Noble Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.W.) 04

4 Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (A.S.), the Chief of Ja‘fari School of

Thought 16

5 Position & Status of Women among the Arabs before Islam 27

6 The Religious Life During the Age of Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) 31

7 The Value of Duties and Obligations 37

8 Signs for the Re-Emergence of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) 49

9 Miracle of Imam Zamana (ATF) during the lifetime of his father

(A.S.) 55

Kids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ Corner

10 17th Rabi al-Awwal Birthday Anniversary of Prophet Mu-

hammad (S) & Imam Sadiq (AS) 61

11 The Special Features of Imam al Mahdi (A.S.) 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.

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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 1440 AH

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1. The one who assists [you]

in obeying [Allah] is the

best companion.

2. Complement your food with

hunger and discipline your-

self with contentment.

3. Being good to parents is

the greatest [and most im-

portant] duty.

4. Physical beauty is of no

benefit without nobility.

5. Your secret is a source of

happiness for you if you

conceal it but if you divulge

it, it is your destruction.

6. Turning away the needy is

the cause of diminishment

of affluence.

7. It is obligatory on the poor

that he should not put for-

ward his request [to others]

unless he has no other

choice.

8. If you were to preserve the

bounds of Allah, the Glori-

fied, He would hasten for

you His promised bounty.

9. Three things weaken one’s

spirit: loss of loved ones,

poverty in a strange land

and unending hardship.

10. The one who takes charge

of caring for the orphans

and the needy is consid-

ered [to be] among the

honourable ones in the

sight of Allah.

11. You must be diligent even if

you are not assisted by

[good] fortune.

12. Complement your food with

hunger and discipline your-

self with contentment.

13. The experienced person is

more proficient than a doc-

tor [who is inexperienced].

14. Take wisdom from whoever

brings it to you, look at that

which is being said and do

not look at who is saying it.

15. He who lags behind as a

result of his deeds will not

be accorded a front position

because of his lineage.

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

Rabi-ul-Awwal 1440 AH The Message

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Q.1: Does cat hair affect

the prayers?

Ans.: If there is one cat hair or there are two or three hairs on a person's body or clothe, his prayer is in order but if there are more than that, his prayer becomes void, as an obligatory precaution.

Q.2: I would like to calcu-

late my religious tax

(khums) up until now. Is

there a formula, which I

can use to work out the

amount?

Ans.: If you earn money by any means such as trade, industry, or even teaching, provided it exceeds your annual expenses for maintain-ing yourself and your family, you should pay khums on the money which is extra, or left over and not spent through-out one year.

Q.3: Sometimes I see

blood mixed with the

saliva of my mouth. It

often happens when I

brush my teeth. What is

the ruling on this kind of

blood?

Ans.: If the blood, which comes from inside the teeth, vanishes as it gets mixed with the saliva, the saliva is Pak, and it can go down the throat.

Q.4: Whose permission is

needed for marriage?

Ans.: A girl who has attained the age of puberty and is mature and virgin should obtain her father or paternal grandfather's permission for marriage.

Q.5: I forgot one Sajdah in

my obligatory prayer and

also forgot to offer its

qadha, what should I do?

Ans.: If between the Salam of prayers and the qadha of missed Sajdah, a person performs an act which would invalidate the prayers, pur-posely or forgetfully, like, turning away from Qibla, the recommended precaution is that, after performing the qadha of Sajdah, he should repeat his prayers.

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Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


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The Holy Prophet, Muhammad bin Abdullah (S.A.W.W.), with whom Prophethood came to an end, was born in 570 AD at Makkah. He was raised as a Prophet when he was 40 years of age. For 13 years He preached Islam in Makkah, where he underwent great many difficulties and hard-ships. During this period he trained a few selected per-sons. Thereafter he migrated to Madina where he estab-lished his centre.

For ten years he openly propagated Islam there. He fought a number of successful battles against the arrogant Arabs whom he finally sub-dued. By the end of this period the entire Arabian Peninsula had embraced Islam. The Holy Qur'an was revealed on him piecemeal over a period of 23 years. The Muslims showed a wonderful devotedness and reverential attachment to the Holy Qur'an and the person of the Holy

Prophet, who passed away in 11 A.H. in the 23rd year of his Prophetic mission when he was 63 years of age. He left behind a nascent society full of spiritual zeal, believing in a constructive ideology and conscious of its world respon-sibility.

There were two things which gave this new-born society a spirit of enthusiasm and unity. One was the Holy Qur'an which inspired the Muslims. It was always recited by them. The other was the lofty and penetrating personality of the Holy Prophet of which they were greatly enamoured. Now we briefly discuss the person-ality of the Holy Prophet:

His Childhood:

He was still in his mother's womb, when his father, returning from a business trip to Syria died in Madina. Thereafter Abdul Muttalib, his grandfather took over his custody.

The Noble Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.W.)

By: Martyr Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari


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From his very childhood the signs of the Holy Prophet's great future were evident from his features, his conduct and his demeanor. Abdul Muttalib intuitively detected that his grandson had an exceptionally bright future.

The Holy Prophet was only 8 years old when his grandfa-ther also passed away and according to the will of the old gentleman, the guardianship of the child passed to his elder uncle, Abu Talib, who was also surprised to see that the boy's behaviour differed from that of other children.

Unlike the children of the neighbours he was never covetous of food, and unlike the prevailing custom of those days he always kept his hair combed and his face and body clean.

One day Abu Talib wanted him to change his dress in his presence before going to bed. Muhammad (Peace be on him and his progeny) did not like the idea. But as he could not flatly refuse to obey the order

of his uncle, he asked him to turn his face away, so that he could take off his dress. Abu Talib was naturally surprised, as even the Arabs of mature age during those days were not averse to become totally naked in the presence of others. Abu Talib says:

"I never heard him telling a lie, nor did I see him doing anything indecent. He never laughed unnecessarily, nor was he desirous of taking part in the games of the children. He preferred to be alone and was always modest".

Abhorrence of Idleness

and Lethargy:

He disliked idleness and laziness. He used to say: "Allah! I take refuge in You from laziness, lethargy, disability and worthlessness".

He always exhorted the Muslims to work hard and to be industrious, and used to say that adoration (Ibadat) had seventy parts; the best of them is to earn one's liveli-hood lawfully.


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Honesty:

The Holy Prophet, prior to his being raised to Prophethood, made a journey to Syria on behalf of Khadija who subse-quently became his wife. This journey, more than ever before made his honesty and efficiency clear. His honesty and reliability became so well known that he received the epithet of Muhammad, the trust-worthy. People entrusted their valuables to him for safe custody. Even after his being raised to Prophethood despite all their hostility to him, the Quraysh continued to deposit their valuables with him, for safe keeping. That is why at the time of his migration to Madina he left behind Imam Ali for a few days to return the deposits to their original owners.

Combat with Tyranny:

During the pre-Islamic period a pact was concluded by the victims of cruelty and tyranny with a view to make common efforts for the protection of the oppressed against the

unjust tyrants. This pact which is known as "Hilful Fuzul" was arranged in the house of Abdullah ibn Jad'in in Makkah by certain important personalities of the time. Later during the period of his Prophethood, the Holy Proph-et often mentioned this pact and said that he was still willing to participate in a similar pact and not to violate its provisions.

Family Behaviour:

He was kind to his family. To his wives he was never harsh. The Makkans were not generally familiar with such a good behaviour. He tolerated the stinging remarks of some of his wives, though they were resented by others. He emphatically counseled his followers to be kind to their wives for, as he often re-marked, men and women both had good and bad traits. Man must not take into consideration only the un-pleasant habits of his wife and divorce her for that reason. If he disliked some qualities of


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his wife, she must be pos-sessing some other qualities which he liked. Thus the whole thing was balanced. The Holy Prophet was ex-tremely affectionate to his children and grand-children and showed love and tender-ness to them. He loved them, seated them on his lap, put them on his shoulders and kissed them. All this was contrary to the custom and usage of the Arabs of those days.

The Holy Prophet showed love and affection to the children of the common Muslims also. He seated them on his lap and passed his hand on their heads. Mothers often brought their children to him for his blessing. Sometimes it so happened that some child urinated on his clothes. On such occasions mothers were upset and felt ashamed. Some of them tried to stop the child from making water. But the Holy Prophet asked them not to interrupt the child and said that he himself would clean

his clothes, if they became dirty.

Treatment of Slaves:

He was extraordinarily kind to the slaves. He told people that the slaves were their brothers. He said: "Give them of the same food of which you eat yourselves, and provide them with the same kind of clothes as you put on yourselves. Do not force them to do jobs which are too difficult for them. Share with them their jobs and help them in the performance of them. Do not call them slaves, for all men are the bondsmen of Allah, who is the real Master of everyone. Call your male slaves young man and your female slaves young woman." Islam gives to the slaves all possible facilities leading to their complete liberation. The Holy Prophet described the slave-trading as the worst occupation and said that those who traded in human beings were the worst people in the sight of Allah.


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Cleanliness and Use of

Perfume:

The Holy Prophet was greatly interested in cleanliness and was fond of the use of per-fume. He urged his friends and followers also to keep their body and house clean and perfumed. He especially exhorted them to have bath and use perfume on Fridays so that bad odor might not cause inconvenience to the congregation.

Social Behaviour:

In his social life the Holy Prophet was always kind, cheerful and courteous to the people, took a lead in greeting all, including the children and the slaves. He did not stretch his feet in front of anyone and did not recline in the presence of others. In his company all sat in a circular form, and none had any distinct place or position. He was watchful of his companions and if he did not see anyone of them for two or three days, he inquired about him. If anyone of them was ill, he went to see him

and if anyone had any trou-ble, he made every effort to solve his problem. In a gathering he did not address or pay attention to any one individual, but equally attend-ed to all. He did not like that he should be sitting and others be serving him. He personally took part in all that was to be done. He used to say that Allah hates to see a man who considered himself to be superior to others.

Soft as well as Tough:

In his personal matters the Holy Prophet was soft, sympathetic and tolerant. His tolerance on many historical occasions was one of the reasons of his success. But in the matters of principle where a question of public interest or of law was involved, he was tough and never showed any leniency. At the time of the conquest of Makkah and his victory over the Quraysh he overlooked all the wrongs which they had committed against him over a period of 23 years and declared general


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amnesty. He accepted the apology of the murderer of his well-beloved uncle, Hamzah. But on that very occasion he punished a woman of Banu Makhzum, who had commit-ted theft. This woman be-longed to a very respectable family, who regarded the enforcement of a punishment against her as a great insult to them. They persistently requested the Holy Prophet to pardon her. Some prominent companions of the Holy Prophet also interceded on her behalf. But the Holy Prophet said angrily that the Divine law could not be suspended for the sake of any individual. In the evening on that day he delivered a speech and said:

"Former nations and commu-nities declined and ceased to exist because they discrimi-nated in the enforcement of the Divine law. If an influen-tial person committed a crime, he was let off and no action was taken against him, but if an unimportant and weak

person committed it, he was punished. I swear by Allah in whose hands my life is that I will be ruthless in the en-forcement of justice even if the culprit be one of my own relatives".

Worship:

He devoted a part of every night, sometimes half of it and sometimes one third or two thirds of it, to worship and adoration. Though his whole day was preoccupied, especially during his stay at Madina, he never curtailed the time of his worship. He found complete satisfaction in his worship and communication with his Lord. His worship was an expression of love and gratitude and was not moti-vated by a desire of securing paradise or by a fear of Hell. One day one of his wives asked him why after all he was so devoted to his wor-ship? His reply was: "Should I not be thankful to my Lord?"

He fasted very often. In addition of fasting during the whole month of Ramazan and


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a part of the month of Sha'ban, he kept fast every other day. He always passed the last 10 days of the month of Ramazan in seclusion in the mosque, where he devoted his whole time to worship. Nevertheless, he told others that it was enough to observe fast for three days every month. He used to say that each one should carry out the acts of worship according to one's capacity and should not exert oneself more than one can bear, for such an exertion has an adverse effect. He was against monastic life, escape from worldly involvement and renunciation of family life. Some of his companions had expressed an intention to lead a monastic life, but he cen-sured and reproved them. He used to say: "Your body, your wife, your children and your friends all have a claim on you and you must fulfil your obligations".

He prolonged his acts of worship while performing them singly, and sometimes

was busy with his pre-dawn prayers for hours. But he tried to shorten his prayers while in congregation. In this respect he considered it essential to have a regard for the aged and weakest among his followers, and counseled others also to follow his example.

Austerity and Simple

Living:

Simple living was one of the principles of his life. He took simple food; wore simple clothes and travelled in a simple manner. He slept mostly on a mat, set on bare ground and milked his goat with his own hands. He mounted saddle-less animals and did not like anybody to walk by his side while he was riding.

His staple food mostly com-prised barley bread and dates. He mended his shoes and patched his clothes with his own hands. Though he led a simple life, he did not advo-cate the philosophy of asceti-cism, and believed that it was


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necessary to spend money for the good of society and other lawful purposes. He used to say: "What a nice thing wealth is, if obtained through legal means by a man who knows how to spend it".

He also said: "Wealth is a good aid to piety".

Resolution and Persever-

ance:

He had a wonderful willpower which permeated among his companions also. The total period of his Prophethood was entirely a lesson in resolution and perseverance. In his lifetime several times the conditions so developed that no hope was apparently left, but he never allowed the idea of failure to enter his mind, nor was his conviction of his final success ever shaken for a moment.

Leadership, Administra-

tion and Consultation:

Though his companions carried out every order of his without any hesitation and repeatedly said that they had

an unflinching faith in him and were willing even to plunge themselves into a river or a fire if he ordered them to do so, he never adopted any dictatorial methods. In regard to the matters about which he had received no specific instructions from Allah, he consulted his companions and respected their views, and thus helped them develop their personality.

On the occasion of the Battle of Badr he left the questions of taking military action against the enemy, choosing the camping ground, and as to how the prisoners of war should be dealt with, to the advice of his companions. On the occasion of Uhud he made consultation as to whether the Muslim troops should fight from within the city of Madina or should go out of the city. He consulted his companions on the occasion of the Battles of Ahzab and Tabuk also.

The kindness and tolerance of the Holy Prophet, his anxiety to seek the forgiveness of the


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sins of his community, his giving importance to his companions and his consulta-tions with them were the main factors which contribut-ed to the wonderful and great influence that he exercised over his companions.

The Holy Qur'an points out this fact when it says: "It is by the mercy of Allah that you (the Prophet) were lenient to them, for if you had been harsh and hard-hearted, they surely would have left your company. Therefore pardon them and implore Allah to forgive them. And hold consultations with them in regard to the conduct of affairs. Once you are re-solved, put your trust in Allah. Allah likes those who put their trust in Him" (Surah Ale Imran, 3:159)

Regularity & Orderliness:

All his actions were governed by regularity and orderliness. He worked according to a well-drawn time-table, and urged others also to do

likewise. His companions under his influence were fully disciplined. Even when he considered it necessary not to disclose certain decisions lest the enemy should get an inkling of them, his compan-ions carried out his orders without any argument.

For example, once he said that they would move the next day. Next day all those who were ordered proceeded with him without knowing the final destination of which they came to know only in the last moments. Sometimes he ordered some people to move in certain direction, gave a letter to their commander and said that he should open it on reaching such and such point and act according to the instructions given in it. They acted accordingly. Before reaching that particular point they did not know what was their destination and for what purpose they were going. In this way he kept the enemy and his spies in the dark and often took them unawares.


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Capacity to Listen to

Criticism and Dislike of

Flattery and Undue Com-

pliments:

Sometimes he had to face the criticism of his companions, but without being harsh to them, he explained his decision and gained their agreement and concurrence.

He absolutely disliked flattery and undue compliments. He used to say: "Throw dust on the face of the flatterers".

He liked solid work. He was in the habit of doing things correctly and firmly. When Sa'd ibn Mu'az died and was laid in his grave, the Holy Prophet with his own hands placed the bricks and stones in their right place on the grave and made them firm. He said: "I know that before long all this will be mined, but I like things to be done correctly and efficiently".

Fight against Weak Points:

He did not exploit the weak points and the ignorance of his people. On the other hand

he tried to rectify their weaknesses and acquainted them with what they did not know. The day his 17 months old son expired, by chance the sun was eclipsed. People said that the solar eclipse was due to the calamity suffered by the Holy Prophet. He did not keep quiet in the face of this silly notion, but ascended the pulpit and said: "Men! The moon and the sun are the two signs of Allah. They are not eclipsed on account of the death of anybody".

Possession of the Neces-

sary Qualities of Leader-

ship:

He had the maximum qualities of leadership such as the sense of knowing men, firmness, determination, boldness, having no fear of the possible consequences of a necessary action, foresight, capacity of bearing criticism, recognition of the ability of others, delegation of powers to others in accordance with their ability, flexibility in his personal matters, rigidity in


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regard to the matters of principle, giving importance to others, promotion of their intellectual, emotional and practical talents, refraining from despotism, not demand-ing blind obedience, modesty and humility, simplicity and contentment, dignity and elevation of manners and great interest in organizing human resources. He used to say: "If three persons of you travel together, choose one of you as your leader and commander".

At Madina he organized a special secretariat, and appointed a group of persons for performing specific job. There were scribes of revela-tion who wrote the Holy Quran. Some people were entrusted with the job of drafting and writing special letters. Some recorded the deeds of legal transactions. Some others were made responsible to keep financial records. Still some others were responsible for drafting agreements and treaties. All

these details are recorded in the books of history.

Method of Preaching:

In preaching Islam his method was gentle and mild, not harsh and severe. He mostly relied on arousing hope and avoided threatening and frightening. To one of his companions, whom he sent for preaching Islam, he said: "Be pleasant and do not be harsh. Tell the people what may please them and do not make them disgusted".

He took active interest in the propagation of Islam. Once he went to Taif for this purpose. During the Hajj season he used to call upon various tribes and convey the mes-sage of Islam to them. Once he sent Imam Ali and on another occasion Mu'az bin Jabal to Yemen for preaching. Before going to Madina himself he sent there Mus'ab bin Umayr to preach Islam. He sent a good number of his companions to Ethiopia. Besides escaping from the persecution of the Makkans,


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they propagated Islam there and paved the way for the acceptance of Islam by the Negus, the king of Ethiopia and 50% of the population of that country. In the sixth year of migration he wrote letters to the heads of a number of States in the various parts of the world and intimated them about his Prophethood. About hundred letters which he wrote to various personalities are still extant.

Encouragement of Know-

ledge:

He encouraged his compan-ions to acquire knowledge and literacy and with this end, he made it compulsory for their children to learn reading and writing. He often said: "It is obligatory on every Muslim to seek knowledge". Some of his other sayings are: "Wherever you find a useful piece of knowledge, acquire it. It does not matter if you find it with a disbeliever or a hypocrite".

"Acquire knowledge even if you have to go to China for that purpose"

This emphasis on knowledge was the reason why the Muslims so speedily spread to all corners of the world in search of it and secured the scientific works wherever they found them. The Muslims not only translated these works, but took to research them-selves also, and thus they became a connecting link between the ancient cultures of Greece, Rome, Iran, Egypt and India and the modern culture of Europe. In the course of time the Muslims themselves became the founders of one of the grand-est civilizations and cultures in human history, known to the world as the Muslim civiliza-tion and culture.

The Holy Prophet's character and behaviour like his sayings and his religion were compre-hensive and all-sided. History does not at all remember any personality who like him ever attained perfection in all human dimensions. He was really a perfect man.

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Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as), the chief of Ja‘fari School of thought (Shi‘ism) was born on Rabi‘ al-Awwal 17, 83 – April 20, 702 in Medina.

His father was Imam Mu-hammad al-Baqir (as) and his mother was Umme Farvah, daughter of Qasim b. Mu-hammad b. Abi Bakr. His patronymic was Abu ‘Abd Allah and his nickname was al-Sadiq.

Up to the age of 12, Imam al-Sadiq (as) was contemporary to his noble grandfather Imam al-Sajjad (as) and was primarily trained under his supervision and gleaned from the knowledge stack of his grandfather.

After the demise of the fourth Imam (as), he lived in the service of his honorable father, Imam al-Baqir (as) for 19 years amounting to 31 years of spending his life serving his grandfather and

father who were each at his own time a proof of Allah obtaining light directly from the Divine source.

Thus, in addition to the Divine aspects and Holy blessings that every Imam receives, enjoying the presence of his noble father and grandfather caused Imam al-Sadiq (as) who possessed innate talent, scholarly sense and abundant brilliance, to achieve perfec-tion in knowledge and ethics and to become the greatest figure on knowledge and learning.

After his father's demise, his Imamate lasted 34 years, during which he founded Ja‘fari School (Madhhab al-Ja‘fari) and contributed to the reconstruction and revival of Muhammad (S)'s law (shari‘a).

The prolific and productive life of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as) coincided with the rule of five Umayyad caliphs (Hisham b.

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (A.S.), the Chief of

Ja‘fari School of Thought

By: Ahmad Ahmadi Birjandi


17

‘Abd al-Malik, Walid b. Yazid, Yazid b. Walid, Ibrahim b. Walid, and Marwan Himar), each one of whom inflicted much persecution and sorrow upon the lofty soul of the Infallible Imam (as); two of the ‘Abbasid caliphs (Saffah and Mansur) also usurped the caliphate in the time of the Imam (as) and proved to be more tyrannical and unjust than the Umayyads. Conse-quently, Imam al-Sadiq (as) lived his last ten years of life in insecurity and discomfort.

The Era of Imam Sadiq (as)

Imam al-Sadiq (as)’s era is characterized as one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Islam, during which, on one hand, frequent rebel-lions of different groups, particularly by revenges for Imam al-Husayn (as)'s blood, took place, including the uprising by Abu Salama in Kufa and Abu Muslim in Khurasan, which were the most important of all.

It was this revolution that finally toppled down the

ominous rule of the Umayyads and liberated the people from their injustice and tyranny. But finally, the Abbasids took over the rule and caliphate with fraudulence and conspir-acy. The transference period of the Umayyad rule to Abbasids was the most violent and chaotic time in the life of Imam al-Sadiq (as).

On the other hand, his era was a time of clashes among schools and ideologies and an age of contradiction of different philosophical and theological thoughts which were raised by the encounter of the Islamic nations and those of the conquered lands as well as through the rela-tions between Islamic centers and the rest of the world, creating enthusiasm and eagerness in Muslims for understanding and research-ing.

It was an age in which the slightest negligence or una-wareness and inactivity by the true guardian of Islam, i.e., Imam al-Sadiq (as), would


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have ruined the faith and marred the life-giving teach-ings of Islam, both from inside and out.

It was then that the Imam (as) was facing great troubles and bearing topmost respon-sibility. In such a critical situation, the sixth Imam (as) had to be concerned with the salvage of the thoughts of Muslim masses from atheism and infidelity as well as preventing the Islamic princi-ples and knowledge from deviating from the right path and the religious decrees from being wrongly and reversely interpreted and articulated by the caliphs of his time.

In addition, he had to skillfully and with accurate planning liberate the Shi‘a from being annihilated and wiped out, which was, amid the strangle-hold and tortures by the previous rule, taking the last breaths and its great men and scholars were either hiding or absorbed by the pomposity and gaudiness of the tyranni-cal occupying regime and did

not dare to reveal their faith.

The new rule was no better in murder and injustice than the previous one and the situation was so adverse and dire that all of the Imam (as)'s com-panions were in danger of being killed, with their elite being already on the blacklist.

Jabir Ju‘fi, one of the Imam (as)'s special companions and envoys, was dispatched by his holiness to Kufa on a certain mission. On the way, the swift-riding courier of the Imam (as) caught up with him and said: “The Imam advises you to feign insanity.” Follow-ing this advice, his life was spared; that is, the governor of Kufa who had secretly received a command from the caliph to assassinate him refrained from killing him on the ground of madness.

An intimate companion of Imam al-Baqir (as), Jabir Ju‘fi has said: “Imam al-Baqir (as) has taught me seventy thousand hadiths, which I have not narrated to anyone and will never do.


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One day he humbly said to the holy Imam (as): “You have told me some secrets, which neither I can endure, nor I have a confidant to entrust them to; and I am about to go insane.”

“Go to the desert,” the Imam (as) said to him, “and dig a well, put your head onto it and say in the quiet of the well: “Muhammad b. ‘Ali – i.e., Imam al-Baqir (as) – related such and such to me…”

Truly, the Shi‘as were about to be wiped out, i.e., the genuine Islam was going to take the color of the caliphs and turn into an Umayyad and Abbasid Islam.

In such a dire situation, the Holy Imam (as) undertook the revivification and reconstruc-tion of the Islamic knowledge, and set up a great scholarly school whose end-product and output was fourteen thousand expert disciples (such as Hisham, Muhammd b. Muslim, etc.) in various disciplines, who spread over

the extended Islamic lands of the time.

Each one of them were, on the one hand, the representa-tive of Imam (as)'s logic which denoted the logic of Islam, the guardian of reli-gious and scientific legacy, as well as the protectors of the true Shi‘ism, and on the other hand, were defenders against infiltration of anti-Islamic and destructive thoughts among the Muslims.

The establishment of such a school of thought and such reconstruction and revival of the Islamic teachings, made Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as) known as the head of Ja‘fari school (i.e., Shi‘ism).

Shortly afterwards, however, upon reinforcement of their influence and foundations, the Abbasids assumed the same tyrannical procedure as the Umayyads, and even sur-passed them in their atroci-ties.

Having always been an untiring combatant and a radical revolutionary in the


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arena of thought and action, Imam al-Sadiq (as) did what Imam al-Husayn (as) had done in his bloody uprising, albeit in the form of teaching and setting up a school of thought, training people, and, putting up an all-out jihad.

Scientific Movement

Political discrepancies among the Umayyad and the Abbas-ids, division of Islam into different sects, and the appearance of materialistic ideas and the influence of Greek philosophy in the Islamic countries gave rise to a scientific movement, which was founded on indisputable facts.

Such a movement was crucial both for purging the religious truths of superstitions and forged traditions and resisting against the heretics and materialists with the power of reasoning to condemn their shaky opinions. His Holiness' scholarly talks and debates with atheists and materialists such as Ibn Abi al-‘Awja’ and Abu Shakir al-Daysani, and

even with Ibn Muqaffa‘, are well-known.

Nobody was capable of creating such a scientific movement in that chaotic and dark era; the only one deserv-ing this great status was the one having Divine mission and being upheld by Allah, so that he would be able to relate to the unseen through revelation power, purity of soul, and God-fearing, and to obtain the truths of knowledge from the boundless ocean of Divine knowledge, and impart them to those who would appreci-ate their value.

It was only the Holy Imam al-Sadiq (as) who was worthy of having such a position, and it was just he who by withdraw-ing from politics and political controversies since the beginning of his Imamate, made great efforts in spread-ing the Islamic knowledge, the genuine traditions of the true religion, and disseminating the ordinances and teachings as well as training the Muslims.

The era of Imam al-Sadiq (as)


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was actually the golden age of knowledge and promulgation of divine ordinances and education of disciples who would each carry the brilliant torch of knowledge to the nooks and corners of the world and, like their honorable teacher and leader, make endeavors to guide people through self-knowledge and knowledge of their Lord.

It was in this splendid era that the Islamic theology and philosophy – in contrast to Greek philosophy – thrived and great philosophers and sages were trained in the world of Islam.

Simultaneous to the scientific movement and development of knowledge by Imam al-Sadiq (as) in Medina, Mansur, the Abbasid caliph, out of hatred and envy thought of establishing another school which would be able both to be scientifically independent against the Ja‘fari school and keep the people busy and distracted from plucking flowers of knowledge from the

rose-garden of the Imam (as)'s school of knowledge. To this end, Mansur set up a school in Karkh neighborhood of Baghdad.

In this school, Mansur utilized Abu Hanifa in legal issues and had scientific and philosophi-cal books brought from India and Greece and had them translated. He also installed Malik, the chief of the Maliki sect, as the head of jurispru-dence department. However, these schools were unable to carry out their guiding duties as expected.

Imam al-Sadiq (as) compiled and formulated the dispersed juristic, scientific, and theo-logical issues, and in every discipline trained numerous disciples who later on spread the Islamic knowledge throughout the world. That was the beginning of Imam (as)'s worldwide spreading of different disciplines such as jurisprudence, philosophy, theology, natural sciences, etc. Ja‘fari jurisprudence is the same as Muhammadan


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jurisprudence of religious rulings, which were revealed by Allah to the noble Prophet (S) through the revelation of the Qur’an.

Contrary to other sects in which views and ideas were arbitrarily manipulated, the Ja‘fari jurisprudence was indeed the elaboration and elucidation of the same principles and laws set forth from the beginning in Islam. Abu Hanifa, the head of Hanafi sect, has stated about Imam al-Sadiq (as): “I have neither seen nor known anyone more learned in jurisprudence than Ja‘far al-Sadiq.”

The legal judgment (fatwa) by the greatest contemporary jurist of the Sunni world, Shaykh Muhammad Shaltout, the dean of Al-Azhar universi-ty, who explicitly proclaimed as permissible the practice of Ja‘fari jurisprudence just like that of other schools, is in itself an acknowledgment of the rightfulness of Ja‘fari jurisprudence. These are but

the outcome of Imam al-Sadiq (as)'s endeavors in those days.

Imam al-Sadiq (as) frequently debated on philosophy and hikma with his companions and even with those who were away from religion and belief in Allah. An example of his statements, which proves the existence of the Almighty Allah is addressed to one of his disciples called Mufadhdhal b. ‘Umar. These statements are reported in a book called Tawhid al-Mufadhdhal.

A great number of wise sayings, writings, and tradi-tions are related from Imam al-Sadiq (as), which cannot be represented except as a drop from an ocean.

As for the disciples and students of Imam al-Sadiq (as), they number over four thousand, of whom one is Jabir b. Hayyan. He was from Khurasan. His father was a druggist in Tus and was murdered by the followers of the Umayyads. After his father's murder, Jabir b.


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Hayyan went to Medina. First, he studied with Imam Mu-hammad al-Baqir (as), then, he joined the students of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as). Jabir is actually one of the wonders of the time and a great genius of the Muslim world.

Having written numerous books on sciences and arts, especially chemistry, he stated everywhere in his treatises that Ja‘far b. Mu-hammad (as) told him or taught him or related to him so and so. Among his discov-eries are nitric acid, aqua regia, and alcohol. He has also discovered several metals and metalloids. In the Renais-sance period in Europe, around 300 treatises of Jabir b. Hayyan have been translat-ed into German and are preserved in Berlin and Paris libraries.

By the intrigues of Mansur ‘Abbasi, Imam al-Sadiq (as) was fatally poisoned and buried in Baqi‘ cemetery in 148/765, when he was 65

years old. As he (as) lived a longer life than other Imams (as), he is named as Shaykh al-A’imma.

Imam al-Sadiq (as) had seven sons and three daughters.

Following Imam al-Sadiq (as), the position of Imamate was ordained by Allah to be handed over to Imam Musa al-Kazim (as).

Isma‘il was the eldest of Imam al-Sadiq (as)'s sons, who died before the Imam (as)'s martyrdom. The Isma'ilis believe that he is the next Imam after his father.

The Temperament of

Imam al-Sadiq (as)

Like his noble ancestors, Imam al-Sadiq (as) was eminent amongst his contem-poraries in all his dignified traits and moral qualities. He was endowed with a heart radiant with divine light and was like his ancestors in benevolence and infaq (helping out the poor) toward the needy. He also enjoyed great wisdom and knowledge


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and influential speech with powerful eloquence.

He would quite humbly and at the same time with the highest magnanimity do his own work in person, and do farming with a spade in his hand on his farm in the scorching sun of Hijaz, saying: “If in this state I meet my Lord, I will be very delighted, as I am earning my own living and that of my family through manual labor and hardwork-ing.”

Ibn Khallakan wrote: “Imam al-Sadiq (as) is one of the twelve Imams of the Imamiy-ya School and one of the descendants of the Holy Apostle of Allah (S). He was called al-Sadiq for whatever he said was true; his piety is beyond description.” Malik said: “I was accompanying Imam al-Sadiq (as) on a Hajj pilgrimage when we arrived at the ihram location (where pilgrimage garb is put on).

The Imam, who was riding a camel, was so awe-stricken that he was about to fall off

the camel and unable to utter labbayk (here I am) however he tried. I told him, “O son of the Prophet! You have per-force to say labbayk.” He replied: “How would I dare to say labbayk, as I fear that my Lord would say in response: ‘La labbayk and la sa‘dayk (you are not here for Me and you are not given blessed-ness)’.”

The Debate of Imam al-

Sadiq (as) with Abu Hanifa

There are references to arguments or debates in the biographies of the noble Imams (as) that they have had with the atheists and people of different faiths and denominations. For example, we relate here one of Imam al-Sadiq (as)'s scathing, decisive, and at the same time, brief arguments to display his vast power of speech and logic, as a little indicates much:

One day Abu Hanifa went to Imam al-Sadiq (as)'s house and asked for an audience with him, but the Imam (as)


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denied him admittance. Abu Hanifa said: “I lingered a while at the doorway until a number of the Kufans turned up and sought an audience, which was granted.

I went in with them too. When I was in his presence I said: ‘It is worthwhile that you send an envoy to Kufa and prohibit the people there from abusing the companions of Muhammad (S), as there are over ten thousand people in this town giving bad names to the Prophet (S)'s compan-ions.”

The holy Imam replied: “People will not accept it from me.” Abu Hanifa said: “How is it possible that the people will not accept it from you as you are the grandson of the Prophet (S)? The Imam said: “You are yourself one of them who did not pay attention to me. Did you not enter the house without any permis-sion? And did you not sit without me allowing you? And did you not start talking without asking for permission?

I have heard that you give fatwa (legal ruling) by analo-gy.” To which Abu Hanifa nodded.

The Imam (as) went on to say: “Woe to you! The first one who judged this way was Satan. When Allah ordered him to prostrate before Adam, he said he would not do that, for he had been created of fire and Adam of earth (i.e., fire is more precious than earth).”

Then, (in order to falsify the analogical fatwa, he pointed out some instances of the Islamic laws contradicting this principle,) he said: “Which one do you think is more criminal, murdering or adul-tery?”

Abu Hanifa replied: “Murder-ing.”

Imam: “So, if judging accord-ing to analogy is right, why then two witnesses are required to prove a murder case, but for proving adultery four witnesses are needed? Is this Islamic law compatible with analogy?”


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Abu Hanifa: “No.”

Imam: “Which one is filthier, urine or semen?”

Abu Hanifa: “Urine.”

Imam: “Then why has Allah ordained wudhu (minor ablution) in the former case and ghusl (major ablution) in the latter one? Is this ordi-nance compatible with analo-gy?”


Imam: “Is prayer more important or fasting?”

Abu Hanifa: “Prayer.”

Imam: “Why then is it manda-tory for menstruous women to make up fasting but not praying? Is this ordinance compatible with analogy?”


Imam: “I heard that you have interpreted the verse (Then, that day, you will surely be questioned concerning the blessing) Al-Qur'an, 102:8 as: “Allah will call the people to account for the delicious foods and cool water they had in

summer.”

Abu Hanifa said: “That is right; I interpreted the verse that way.”

The Imam said: “If someone invited you to his house and served you with tasty food and cool water and then held you indebted for his favor, what would be your judgment about such a person?”

Abu Hanifa replied: “I would say he was a miserly one.”

The Imam said: “Is Allah so miserly so as to call us to account for the foods that he has given to us?”

Abu Hanifa asked: “What is then meant by the blessings and favors that the Qur’an says man will be questioned about?”

The Imam said: “It is the blessing of loving us, the household, and the Ahl al-Bayt of the Holy Apostle of Allah (S).” (Munazira dar Rabita ba Masa’il-Ideology)

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In the Holy Qur'an also verses have been revealed condemn-ing the actions of the Arabs, and throwing light on their moral degradation. It men-tions their loathsome practice of killing the girls, and says, "When the infant girl, buried alive, is asked for what crime she was slain". (Surah Takwir, 81:8). Evidently it is the height of moral debasement that when one's own child has grown up or has just arrived in the world one should bury it under tons of dust and should not be moved in the least by its cries and lamenta-tions.

The first people who resorted to this practice were the tribe named Bani Tamim. No'man bin Munzir, the ruler of Iraq, attacked his enemies (includ-ing Bani Tamim) at the head of a big army and routed them. He confiscated their properties and took their girls as captives. Representatives

of Bani Tamim approached him and requested for the return of their girls. However, as some of the girls had contracted matrimonial alliances during the period of their captivity, No'man gave them the option either to sever their connections with their parents and stay on with their husbands or to obtain divorce and return to their homes. One of the represent-atives of Bani Tamim was an old man named Qays bin 'Asim. His daughter preferred to stay on with her husband. The insult cut the old man to the quick and he decided that, in future, he would finish his daughters as soon as they were born. Gradually this practice penetrated into other tribes also. When Qays bin 'Asim had the honour of presenting himself before the Holy Prophet, one of the Ansar enquired from him about his daughters. Qays said in reply "I buried all my

Position and Status of Women among the Arabs before Islam

By: Ayatollah Ja'far Subhani


28

daughters alive and was not touched in the least while doing so (except once).

At one time l was journeying and the time for my wife being delivered of a child had drawn near. By chance my journey was prolonged. On return home l enquired from my wife about the issue. She replied that owing to some illness she had been delivered of a still-born child. In fact, however, she had given birth to a female child and fearing me had entrusted it to her sisters. Years passed by and the girl attained her youth. l did not have the least infor-mation about it. However, one day, while l was sitting in my house, a girl stepped in all of a sudden and inquired about her mother. It was a very beautiful girl. Her tresses were knit together and she wore a necklace round her neck. I enquired from my wife as to who the lovely girl was. With tears in her eyes she replied, "She is your own daughter. She is the same girl

who was born while you were journeying. Fearing you I had concealed her". My silence was taken by my wife to be a sign of my acquiescence and she thought that I would not besmear my hands with the blood of the girl. Hence, one day, she left the house with a confident mind. Then, accord-ing to my solemn promise and vow, I caught the hand of my daughter and took her to a far-off place. There l began digging a pit. When l was engaged in this task my daughter asked me repeatedly as to why I was digging the earth. Digging over, I caught the hand of my daughter, pushed her into the pit and began throwing dust on her head and face without paying any heed to her heart-rending cries.

She continued groaning and saying. "Dear father! Are you burying me under earth? Will you return to my mother after leaving me here alone?" But l continued pouring the dust till it enveloped her completely.


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It was only on this occasion that I had some scruple of conscience".

When the narrative of Qays came to an end tears were flowing from the eyes of the Prophet and he remarked: "This is an act of hard-heartedness and a nation which does not possess feelings of pity and kindness is not entitled to Divine mercy". (In 'Usudul Ghaba' Ibn Athir quotes Qays as saying that the Holy Prophet asked him as to how many daughters he had buried alive and he replied that they were twelve in number).

Social Position of Women

amongst the Arabs

Amongst the Arabs, woman was just like merchandise which could be bought and sold and did not possess any individual or social rights - not even the right of inheritance.

Usually on account of fear of famine and occasionally dreading embarrassment they beheaded their daughters on

the very first day of their birth or hurled them down from a high mountain into a deep valley or, at times, drowned them in water. The Holy Qur'an contains a strange narrative on the subject. It says When the birth of a girl was announced to one of them, his face grew dark and he apparently swallowed his anger. Because of the bad news he hid himself from his kinsmen and did not know whether he should keep the new-born with disgrace or bury her under dust? How ill they judge? (Surah al-Nahl, 16:60).

Most deplorable of all things was their marriage system which was not based on any law in vogue in the world of that time. For example, they did not believe in any limit in the number of wives. To avoid payment of dowry they maltreated women and in case a woman ceased to be chaste she lost the dowry in toto. At times they took undue advantage of this rule


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and calumniated their wives to be able to refuse the payment of dowry. In the event of the death of a person or his divorcing his wife it was treated to be lawful for his son to marry her. When a woman obtained divorce from her husband her right of 2nd marriage was dependent on the permission by the first husband and such permission was usually accorded on her surrendering her dowry! In the event of the death of a person his successors took possession of the woman like other household chattels and declared themselves to be her owners by throwing a head-dress on her head.

A Brief Comparison

If the esteemed reader takes notice of the rights of woman in Islam and ignores the quarrels and disputes which at times crop up all of a sudden, he will certainly acknowledge that the rules and regulations and the effective steps for the improvement and normaliza-tion of the rights of woman,

which were taken through the Holy Prophet of Islam, are themselves a glaring testimo-ny of his truthfulness and communication with the world of revelation. For what sympathy and good treatment could be greater than that (besides proclaiming the rights of women in various verses of the Holy Qur'an and in Ahadith (traditions) and also setting practical examples in this behalf for his followers to act upon) in the sermon of the last Haj performed by him, whereby, as ordained by God Almighty, he reiterated his message in a concise form, nominated his successor and at that very time also recommended women to men in the following words: "O people! You have rights over your women and they too have rights over you. Enjoin them to do good, for they aid and assist you. Give them to eat such as you eat yourself and give them to wear such as you wear yourself".

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The religious life at the time of Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) was not sound or straight. It was confused and roiled by some deviants who raised spurious arguments about the pure Islamic beliefs. Some non-Muslim jugglers tried to misguide Muslims and corrupt their beliefs. Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) resist-ed all those attempts and he refuted all those fabrications and illusions, and he brought out the pure face of Islam.

There was another phenome-non that appeared in the age of Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.). Some charlatan fabri-cated lies against Imam Abu Muhammad and his father (a.s.) before him to corrupt the beliefs of the followers of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), but the imam cursed him and ordered his followers to curse and disavow him.

Refuting Al-Kindi: Isaaq al-Kindi was the philosopher of

Iraq. His thoughts predis-posed him to some suspicion about the Holy Qur'an, and he spread among scholars that he had written a book called “The Contradiction of the Qur'an”. He busied himself with this matter. This news came to Imam Abu Muham-mad (a.s.) who met one of al-Kindi’s disciples and said to him, ‘Is there no wise man among you to prevent your teacher al-Kindi from that which he has busied himself with in the Qur'an?’

The disciple said, ‘We are his disciples. How is it possible for us to object to him whether in this matter or else?’

Imam Abu Muhammad said to him, ‘Do you tell him what I shall say to you?’

He said, ‘Yes.’

Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) said to him, ‘Go to him, be courteous with him, and show him that you will help him in

The Religious Life During the Age of

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A.S.)

By: Allama Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi


32

what he is in. When he feels comfortable with you, you say to him, ‘If someone recites the Qur'an, is it possible that he means other meanings than what you think you understand?’ He shall say that it is possible because he is a man who understands when he listens. If he says that, you say to him, “How do you know? He might mean other than the meanings that you think, and so he fabricates other than its (the Qur'an) meanings…’

The disciple went to his teacher al-Kindi and did as the imam told him. Al-Kindi said to his disciple, ‘I adjure you by Allah to tell where you have got this from!’

The disciple said, ‘It was something that came to my mind and I mentioned it to you.’

Al-Kindi said, ‘No, no one like you can get to this. Would you tell me where you have got this from?’

He said, ‘Imam Abu Muham-mad asked me to say that…’

Al-Kindi said, ‘Now you say the truth. The like of this cannot be expressed, except from that house (the Ahlul Bayt)…’

After that, al-Kindi burnt his book.

Refuting A Monk

Once, people suffered from a terrible drought. Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid caliph, ordered people to go out in the open air for three days in order to offer the prayer for rain. They did, but no rain fell down. Christians as well went out with whom there was a monk who whenever stretched his hand towards the sky, it rained. He did that many times and some ignorant (Muslims) doubted their religion and some others apostatized. This was hard for al-Mu’tamid. He went to Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) who was in prison then and said to him, ‘Attain to the nation of your grandfather before they will perish!’ Imam Abu Mu-hammad (a.s.) said to him,


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‘Let people go out tomorrow and I shall remove their doubts insha’Allah.’

Al-Mu’tamid set the imam free from prison, but the imam asked him to set free all his companions from prison too, and al-Mu’tamid agreed to his request. On the following day, people went out to offer the prayer for rain. The monk raised his hand towards the sky and it clouded and rained. Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) asked his men to catch the monks hand and take what there was in it. There was a bone of a human being. The imam took the bone from the monk and asked him to pray for rain again. The monk raised his hands towards the sky, but clouds disappeared and the sun shone. People were astonished.

Al-Mu’tamid asked Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) what that thing was and the imam said, ‘This is a bone of one of the prophets that this monk has got in some way or another from some grave. Whenever a

prophet’s bone is exposed under the sky, it will rain…’

Al-Mu’tamid checked that and it was as the imam said. Then suspicions and doubts were refuted.

Liars and Fabricators

Liars and fabricators were not few at that time, and this was another plague of that age. It was a result of weak faith. From the most famous fabricators was Urwah bin Yahya ad-Dihqan al-Baghdadi who fabricated lies against Imam Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad al-Hadi (a.s.) and Imam Abu Muhammad al-Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) after him. He embezzled the monies that came to Imam Abu Muham-mad (a.s.) from his followers. The imam cursed him and ordered his followers to curse and disavow him lest he would destroy their beliefs.

Amusement and Diversion

Amusement, singing, dancing, and all kinds of diversion were widespread in the age of


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Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.). Baghdad and Samarra’ were full of debauchery and vices. It was the Abbasid kings who led the society to this corrup-tion. They submitted to their lusts and desires, and their red nights were full of all kinds of vices and sins.

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To the Better World

Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) spent his short life in suffer-ings and distresses. 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 economical 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.

Assassination of the Imam

Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid tyrant, could not bear Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) any 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. The poison reacted on his body, and he began suffering bitter and severe pains, while being patient, resorting to Allah.

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 Abu Muhammad (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


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not long, his pure soul flew towards the Heaven sur-rounded 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 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’.

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.

In His Last Abode

The pure corpse was brought under a halo of takbir and tahlil towards the last abode. Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) was buried in his house beside the tomb of his father Imam al-Hadi (a.s.).

Samarra’ had two imams from the twelve imams and leaders of Muslims, and it became one of the chief holy places in the Muslim world. It received and still receives thousands of visitors from everywhere in the world who came to visit the two holy shrines of Imam al-Hadi and Imam al-Askari (peace be on them).

Once, an-Nasir Lideenillah, the Abbasid caliph, visited the holy shrines of these two infallible imams to be blessed and close to Allah. His vizier suggested to him that he might visit the tombs of his fathers of the Abbasid kings and he agreed. When he reached there, he found the graves dark and miserable where sweepings were


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accumulated and crows gathered. The vizier asked the king to take care and pay money to rebuild these graves, but the Abbasid king said,

‘How far! That is of no use.’

The vizier asked, ‘why, O Ameerul Mu’minin?’

He said, ‘Did you see the flourishing tombs of the pure imams?’

The vizier said, ‘Yes.’

The king asked, ‘Do you know the secret behind that?’

The vizier answered, ‘No.’

An-Nasir Lideenillah said, ‘My fathers associated with Satan, and these masters associated with Allah, and all that which is for Allah remains, and all that which is for Satan perishes and disappears.’

The Alawids, the Abbasids, and Ja’far, Imam Abu Mu-hammad’s brothers stood at the tomb and the masses of people began consoling them for this painful affliction.

The Date of His Death

Imam Abu Muhammad al-Askari (a.s.) left to the better world on the eighth of Rabee’ul Awwal in the year two hundred and sixty of hijra, while he was twenty-eight years old and still in the prime of youth.

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Golden Sayings of Imam Askari (A.S.)

1. I recommend you to fear

Allah, be pious in your reli-

gion, strive for Allah, be

truthful in speaking, give

deposits back to their own-

ers, whether he be good or

evil, increase prostration,

and to be good to neighbors.

2. Worship is not abundant

fasting and praying, but

worship is abundant ponder-

ing; it is the continuous

thinking of Allah.

3. Better than life is that, which

if you lose, you shall hate

life, and worse than death is

that which if comes to you,

you shall love death.

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All these innumerable means of living, that are now available to man and that we endeavor to acquire and use them day and night, were not available to man from the beginning of his life on the earth. They have, gradually, been brought into existence by man's efforts and have been utilized.

But in any case, from the primitive man to the civilized man of today, human beings have never ceased working and striving and through their Allah-given nature, they have tried to provide better means of living. This is because if a man loses his energy and the internal and external organs of his body such as his eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, and also if his brain, heart, lungs, and liver fail to function properly, he will be nothing but a dead person.

For this reason, man works not only out of necessity, but also because he is a human

being, he displays various activities. Since by his commonsense he realizes that he should arrange for the happiness and prosperity of his life in any way possible, he engages in work and effort and moves in the direction of his demands.

Therefore, living in any environment and in any manner, religious or non-religious, legal or despotic, urban or nomadic, man feels the necessity of a series of duties and obligations for himself (those things which are indispensable for living). If these duties and obligations are carried out, the reasonable desires of man will be fulfilled and he will lead a happy, comfortable, and prosperous life.

Certainly, the value of these duties and obligations, which are the only means of prosperity, is the humanity itself. We cannot perceive anything more precious and

The Value of Duties and Obligations

By: Allamah Syed Muhammad Husain Tabataba'i


38

valuable than the humanity and which cannot be exchanged with any other commodity.

Therefore, 'dutifulness' and its implementation are the most important practical matters that man confronts in his life, for its value is exactly the same as that of man himself. Whoever refrains from performing his indisputable duties, or sometimes neglects them, he proportionately lapses in morality from the eminent position of humanity and naturally accepts his humility and worthlessness. With every violation of his human duty, such an individual inflicts blows after blows on the body of his society and indeed on his own body as well.

The Almighty Allah states in the Holy Qur'an: "Most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience (103:2-3)."

The Almighty Allah also states: "Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought... (30:41)."

Difference of Opinion in

the Identification and

Specification of Duties

The importance attached to the identification of duties and their implementations are indisputable obligations in the world of humanity. Never can a human being possessing human nature be found who would deny this reality.

Since human duties have an absolute relationship with man’s prosperity and life and because the religion differs with non-religious isms and practices as far as views regarding man's life are concerned, naturally religious duties will differ from the duties of other non-religious isms and practices.

Religion believes that man has an infinite and endless life which does not terminate with


39

death. The capital of pure and true beliefs, praiseworthy ethics, and good deeds that man has acquired in this world prior to his death, serves as the great investment for his infinite life in the Hereafter.

Therefore, in obligations and duties that religion has formulated for the individuals and the society, the life in the everlasting Hereafter is also taken into consideration.

Religion establishes its provisions in the sphere of theism and the worship and servitude of Allah, the obvious consequence of which will become manifest on the Day of Resurrection.

Non-religious isms and practices (whatever these may be) only take the short and transient life of this world into consideration and formulate duties through which man can benefit more from his materialistic life and material profits which are common between him and other animals.

Indeed with a reasoning which originates from feelings and sentiments of grazing animals and beasts, they draw up an animal life for man. They pay no attention to man's realism and his everlasting life full with intellectualities.

Therefore, the sublime human ethics (as definite experience indicates) gradually disappear from non-religious commu-nities and the moral decadence of their members becomes clearer and more manifest day by day.

Some people argue that the base of religion is following and also the unquestionable acceptance of a series of duties and regulations; whereas, social policies can be justified by the current logic.

Those who have said so neglect the fact that the rules and regulations which are implemented in the society must be carried out indisputably. No one has ever heard or seen the people of a


40

country following the prevalent laws after argument and scientific discourse or be exempted and free from following the laws whose philosophy they do not understand. Thus, in this respect, the religious and non-religious practices do not differ.

Indeed, through a study of the natural and social conditions of a country and on inquisitiveness in its general policies, one can find out the philosophy behind the generalities of the laws of that country and some of their details (not all).

This also holds true in the case of religious laws. By means of realism and inquisitiveness about creation and man's natural requirements, one can discover the generalities of the laws of religion which is an innate policy and some of their details.

The Holy Qur'an and many ahadith call the people to

reasoning, reflection, and pondering and in some precepts refer to the brief expedience behind the commandments. There are many ahadith available to us from the Holy Prophet (S) and the Ahl al-Bayt (as) which state the reasons behind the precepts.

Dutifulness

As mentioned in the beginning of this book, the holy religion of Islam is a general and permanent program that has been descended to the last Prophet, Muhammad (S), from the Almighty Allah for human life in this world and the Hereafter to be carried out in the human society so as to pull the ship of humanity out of the whirlpool of ignorance and tribulation and carry it to the coast of salvation.

Since religion is a program of life, it has inevitably specified duties for man on things which are linked to his life and asks him to carry them out.


41

In general, our life is connected to:

(1) The Almighty Allah Who has created us. Our moral obligation towards His blessings is greater than any other duty and our dutifulness towards His Holy Presence is more obligatory than any other obligation.

(2) Ourselves.

(3) Our fellow creatures with whom we are obliged to live and perform our duties and tasks with their cooperation and assistance. Thus, according to the order, we have three general duties: duty towards Allah, duty towards ourselves, and duty towards others.

The Duty of Man towards

Allah

Our duty towards the Almighty Allah is the most important duty of all and we must perform it with a pure heart and a sincere intention. It is the first and foremost duty of man to know his Creator. Since the Almighty

Allah is the source of existence of every creature and the originator of every existing phenomenon, the cognizance and knowledge of His pure Entity also illuminates every realistic person. Being inattentive to this moral reality is total ignorance, lack of insight, and irresponsibility. Whoever pays no attention to cognizance of Allah, he consequently puts out the light of his own conscience and thus will have no way of attaining the real human happiness.

As we see, those who refrain from cognizance of Allah and pay no heed to this reality in their lives are completely away from the human spiritualities and have no logic other than the logic of grazing animals and beasts.

The Almighty Allah states: "Therefore turn aside from him who turns his back upon Our reminder and does not desire anything but this world's life. That is their goal of knowledge... (53:29-30)."


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Certainly, it should be pinpointed that the cognizance of Allah is necessary and natural for man who is a realistic being endowed with the instinct of reasoning, for man, with his Allah-given commonsense, notices the signs of the Presence of Allah and His Knowledge and Might wherever he looks in the world of creation. Thus, the cognizance of Allah does not mean that man should bring it into existence for himself, rather it means that the man should not disregard this obvious reality which cannot be covered by any curtain, giving a positive response to his conscience which invites him to Allah and eliminating any doubt from his mind by following this philosophy.

The Worship of Allah

After cognizance of Allah, our second duty is the worship of Allah. This is because, while recognizing the truth, this reality becomes clear that happiness and prosperity,

which are our only objectives, will be attained by implementing and executing the program which the Almighty Allah has specified for our lives and has communicated to us through His messengers. Therefore, obeying Allah's orders and serving him are the only duties of man compared to which other duties seem insignificant and trivial.

The Almighty Allah states: "And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but Him...(17:23)."

The Almighty Allah also states: "Did I not charge you, O children of Adam! that you should not serve the Shaytan? Surely he is your open enemy. And that you should serve Me; this is the right way (36:60-61)."

Thus it is our duty to recognize the status of our servitude and needs and to keep in mind the infinite Grandeur and Greatness of Allah. We must consider that


43

Allah knows and sees our deeds in every respect and we must obey His commands. It is our obligation not to serve any but Allah and not to obey anyone else except the Holy Prophet (S) and the A'immat al-Huda (infallible Imams of Guidance) whom we are commanded to obey by the order of Allah.

The Almighty Allah states: "O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you...(4:59)."

Surely, due to the obedience of Allah and the authorities of religion, we should actually maintain a great respect for anything attributed to Allah. We must respect the holy name of Allah and the names of the leaders of religion. We must endeavor for the honor of the Divine Book (the Holy Qur'an), the honored Ka'bah, and the holy mosques and the holy shrines of the leaders of religion, as the Almighty Allah states: "...and whoever respects the signs of Allah,

this surely is (the outcome) of the piety of hearts (22:32)."

The Duty of Man towards

Himself

No matter what policy or course of action man pursues in his life, indeed he looks after nothing but his happiness and prosperity. The recognition of the happiness of something is of minor importance with regard to-the recognition of the thing itself; that is, unless we know ourselves, we will not know our actual needs whose fulfillment provides us with happiness. Therefore, the most essential duty of man is to know himself so as to perceive his happiness and prosperity and endeavor to fulfill his needs by the means that are at his disposal. He must not waste away his valuable life which is his only treasure.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "whoever knows himself knows his Allah". And Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (as), states:


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"whoever knows himself, attains the highest position of knowledge."

After knowing himself, man realizes that his greatest duty is to value highly the essence of his humanity and not to trample upon such a valuable treasure. He also finds that he must strive for his physical and mental health so as to attain a prosperous and delightful eternal life.

The entity of man is comprised of two things: the self and the body. It is man's responsibility to try to keep both these essential parts, i.e., the self or soul and body healthy and stable. He is duty bound to endeavor for the health of his soul and body in accordance with the adequate and precise orders given on both of them by the holy religion of Islam.

Physical Health

Abstaining from Harmful Things: Through a series of rules and regulations, the holy religion of Islam has

adequately safeguarded the physical health such as enjoining people not to eat corpse, blood, flesh of some animals, and poisonous food; prohibiting them from drinking alcoholic beverages and polluted water; over eating; causing harm to the body; and other directives which are beyond the scope of this chapter.

Keeping Clean: Cleanliness is one of the most important principles of health. For this reason, great importance has been attached to this principle in the holy Shari'ah of Islam. The importance given by Islam to cleanliness cannot be found in any other religion.

The Holy Prophet (S) has stated: "Cleanliness is a part and parcel of Islamic faith" and this, by itself, is the greatest praise for cleanliness.

Repeated recommendations have reached us from the leaders of Islam in regard to taking bath. Al-'Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (as) states: "Taking


45

a bath every other day makes man healthy and stout."

Al-'Imam 'Ali (as) states: "Bathroom is a very good place since it removes the dirtiness of man."

In addition to giving general orders concerning cleanliness and neatness, Islam enjoins in particular for each and every cleanliness; for instance, it orders the people to pare the nails of their hands and feet, to shave arid remove the excess hair on their bodies and heads, to wash their hands before and after meals, to comb their hair, to gargle with water and inhale water, to sweep their homes, and to keep clean the roads, house doors, ground under the trees, etc.

Beside these orders, Islam has specified certain actions which are linked with permanent taharah and neatness such as for reciting salat and having sawm, removing the najasahs (impurities) from the body

and the clothes, performing several times everyday the wudu' before reciting the salawat, and performing various ghusls (taking bath according to the specified Islamic manner).

From the fact that water should reach the surface of the body during wudu' before salat and ghusl and that the body should not be dirty and greasy, it becomes clear that the cleanliness of the body is implicitly essential.

The Neatness of Clothes: The Surat al-Muddaththir is one of the suwarwhich was revealed to the Holy Prophet (S) in the early stages of his prophetic mission. In the fourth verse of this surah,

Allah orders the people for taharah of their clothes: "And do taharah of your garments (74:4)."

The taharah of garments is wajib for salat according to specific Islamic jurisprudential order, but, in general, taharah from uncleanliness and


46

dirtiness is always recommended. Many recommendations have reached us from each of the Fourteen Ma'sumin (as) in this regard. The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Whoever puts on clothes should clean them as well." Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Ali (as) states: "Washing garments relieves one from grief and anxiety and neat clothes are a means for acceptance of his salat."

It has been narrated from al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) and al-'Imam Musa al-Kazim (as) that possessing ten or twenty shirts and changing them is not extravagance.

In addition to the cleanliness and taharah of garments and body, a Muslim must also be well-dressed and must meet the people with the best possible appearance and looks. Al-'Imam 'Ali (as) states: "Put on beautiful clothes and dress yourself up, for Allah is good and likes the good things, but these should be religiously lawful." Then,

al-'Imam 'Ali (as) reads the following verse: "Say: Who has prohibited the embellishment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants and the good provisions...(7:32)?"

Mental Health

Moral Refinement: With his Allah-given conscience, man perceives the value of praiseworthy ethics and realizes its significance from the individual and social viewpoints. Thus, there is no one in the human society who does not praise good ethics and who does not respect those who are endowed with praiseworthy ethics.

The Almighty Allah states: "And the soul and Him Who made it pure, then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it; he will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it (91:7-10)."

While interpreting this verse, al-'Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) has stated: "The Almighty


47

Allah has revealed to man the things which are good for him and must be put into effect and the things which are bad for him and must be avoided."

Receiving Education and

Knowledge

Wisdom and knowledge distinguish a man from other animals. It is only man who augments his existing knowledge with new know-ledge through his wisdom and attains a new value and splendor for his materialistic and spiritual life by discovering the laws of nature and metaphysics. It is only man who takes a deep look into the past periods and lays the foundation for his own future and the future of others.

More than all the new and old social systems of all religions and faiths, Islam encourages the people to acquire knowledge and learning. In order to establish a fundamental culture and civilization, Islam has made receiving the education as

wajib upon every Muslim man and woman. Many orders have been handed down to us from the Holy Prophet (S) and religious leaders in this regard.

The Holy Prophet (S) states: "Education is wajib upon every Muslim." In this hadith, knowledge is described in an absolute form and includes all branches of science. There is no exception even as far as women and men are concerned. Thus, the acquisition of knowledge and learning in Islam is not intended to apply only to a particular nature or type. On the contrary, the duty of acquiring knowledge is universal and all-embracing.

The Holy Prophet (S) also states: "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave." Every religious precept has a specific time and for all of them maturity is a necessary condition: i.e., the person, for whom the religious principles are applicable, must have reached maturity. The


48

religious precepts are not wajib upon a person unless he has reached maturity.

Some of the religious wajibat are no longer applicable during old age and at the time of weakness, but acquiring knowledge and learning is wajib for man since his birth until his death. In other words, acquiring knowledge is wajib at all the stages of man's life. On the basis of this principle, a Muslim should acquire knowledge all through his life and should add to his knowledge day by day. This hadith, too, has extended and generalized the time of this wajib obligation.

The Holy Prophet (S) also states: "Go for seeking knowledge even if it may be in China (i.e., far away)." Another hadith states: "Knowledge is the most valuable thing that the believer has lost. He should go after it, even if he finds it in China (the farthest points in the world)." According to this commandment, every Muslim

is obliged to acquire knowledge even if long journeys are required for this purpose. Finally, he should endeavor to find at any cost what he has lost.

The Holy Prophet (S) also said in another hadih: "knowledge is what a believer has lost. He must get it back from wherever he finds." However, in acquiring knowledge, the only condition is that it should be appropriate and beneficial to the societies.

Islam highly recommends man to know the secrets of creation and to think about the heavens, the earth, the human nature, the history of nations and peoples, and the works of former generations (philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences, etc). Also, learning moral and religious matters (ethics and Islamic laws) and different kinds of arts which shape man's life are highly encouraged and stressed by Islam.

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Question: What are the signs for the re-emergence of Imam Mahdi (A.S.)?

Brief Answer

The topic of the signs of the re-emergence is a complicat-ed one and calls for a thor-ough investigation of all the related narrations. However, in brief, the signs fall under two categories. One group consists of those signs which will certainly occur, foreshad-owing the re-emergence:

1. The rebellion of Sufyani,

2. The rebellion of Yamani,

3. The burst of a heavenly cry,

4. The murder of an innocent soul,

5. The sinking of the army of

Sufyani into the desert ground,

6. The rebellion of Dajjal.

The remaining signs are not certain and as such might not occur.

But from another perspective, the signs can be categorized into four groups:

1. The social signs: that is, to put it in a nutshell, those social phenomena whose upshot would be the downfall of the then perverted human civilization.

2. The religious and Ideologi-cal signs: which constitute the collapse and distortion of the Divine religion.

3. The Natural Signs: changes such as alterations in the constellations.

4. The individual and miracu-lous signs: such as the burst of a heavenly cry, and the murder of the Innocent Soul.

Detailed Answer

A discussion regarding the signs of the re-emergence is somewhat complicated, for there are numerous narrations in the corpus of Shi’a ahadith, and add to that the narrations found in the Sunni sources and even the heavenly books of previous religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroas-

Signs for the Re-Emergence of Imam

Mahdi (A.S.)

By: Hojjat al-Islam Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani


50

trianism, and Indian creeds, and all these call for a com-prehensive investigation and analysis. Furthermore, the related narrations must be weighed as to the authenticity of their lines of transmission and also the soundness of their content.

Based on the Shi’a narrations, it can be inferred that the signs fall under two catego-ries. One group consists of those signs which will un-doubtedly occur prior to the re-emergence, without any qualification or prerequisite; namely: the rebellion of Sufyani, the rebellion of Yamani, the burst of a heav-enly cry, the murder of the Innocent Soul, the sinking of the army of Sufyani in the desert[237], and the rebellion of Dajjal. The second group consists of signs whose occurrence is contingent on the materialization of certain conditions. There are many such signs.

However, as mentioned before, the signs of the re-

emergence can be categorized into four general groups, which will be explained in brief.

a. The Social Factors

To summarize, the appear-ance of these factors repre-sent the downfall of the then misguided human civilization. Some of these factors are as follows:

1. The prevalence of injustice all over the world, or in other words, the universality and globalization of injustice.

2. The perversion of rulers. It is imperative to note that what is meant by universal injustice and perversion of rulers is that the political regimes that will govern the world would be founded on social, political, cultural, and economic injustice, and hence the rulers would exercise their power based on a spirit of domination, imperialism, and despotism. It should not be inferred that just individuals or regimes would be nonex-istent, but that the prevalent


51

system of governance would be that of injustice.

3. Inflation and economic instability which are the concomitants of an unjust system.

4. The appearance of charla-tans and Dajjal-like characters who will claim to be social reformers. The advent of Dajjal is one of the indisputa-ble signs of the re-emergence to which all previous religions have also alluded. Dajjal literally means one who covers truth with falsehood and deceit. It is likely howev-er, based on the signs men-tioned in the narrations, that Dajjal is not a proper name of a single person rather it is a general title for all devious and deceitful individuals and regimes who deceive the masses and bar the path of truth. Some scholars have interpreted Dajjal as being a reference to contemporary Western civilization.

5. Charlatan and debased individuals will become

speakers of their societies. Incompetent individuals will have authority in their socie-ties.

6. Righteous and honest people will be put aside and replaced by dishonest and boastful characters.

7. The rebellion of Sufyani. However, regarding the question of whether Sufyani refers to a specific individual or is a general title for all deceitful individuals and regimes, there can be no definite answer. But what is clear is that the name signifies an individual or individuals and regimes that are capital-ist, predatory, oppressive, backward, and which (or who) propagate superstitions. Their distinctive trait is their willing-ness to demoralize communi-ties. The narrations prophesy that Sufyani and his army will vanish into the ground in the desert of Bayda’—an area between Mecca and Medina—and only one person will survive, the one who will spread the news.[238]


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8. War, hypocrisy, and bloodshed will take over. In the narrations, it is divined that [global] war will break out whose instigators will be a people referred to in the ahadith as the Turk, which apparently constitute the ethnic groups who trace their ancestry back to Turk b. Yafith b. Nuh who today inhabit the regions of Mongo-lia, Punjab, Turkey, Siberia, Afghanistan, India, and in its broad meaning also includes the peoples of the Western hemisphere. The narrations also point to the killing of 23 people, but this is regarded as being among the unverifiable signs.

9. Revolutions will erupt in an effort to fight global oppres-sion and corruption, some of which will succeed in organiz-ing new governments. The rebellion and movement of Yamani, which is a symbol of the struggle of truth against deviation at the End of Time, will be one such uprising. The movement of a certain Sayyid

Khurasani who will be of the lineage of Imam Husayn b. ‘Ali (a.s.) and who will rise to uphold justice, is another of the factors involved. These two movements—one of which will be in Yemen and the other in Iran—will be among the elements laying the groundwork for the re-emergence of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.). The narrations augur that the regime that will be established in Iran will, firstly, invite the people to Islam and the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and will, secondly, clear its territory—which will extend to Kufah—from injustice and corruption and will join forces with and obey the Imam (a.s.) when he re-emerges.

b. Religious and ideologi-

cal factors

That is, the collapse and perversion of religion. It has been narrated from the Commander of the Believers, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (a.s.) that at the End of Time prayer will be abandoned; trusts will be dishonoured; lying will be


53

considered permissible; usury will become prevalent; bribery will be all-encompassing; religion will be relinquished in favour of the material life; women’s counsel will be sought; family bonds will be severed; people will become licentious; murder will acquire normalcy; patience will be counted as a weakness; injustice will be prided on; the people of knowledge will be treacherous; the reciters of the Qur`an will be perverse; the mosques will be embel-lished and the minarets built high [but without the spiritu-ality that is their substance]; promises will be broken; and desires will be ever diverse [and conflicting].

To put it more generally, the precepts of Islam will be neglected. However, this neglect will be relative; that is, it would be the prevalent mood of human society at the time. This is to such an extent that it has been related that when the Imam (a.s.) re-emerges he will bring a new

way, a new book, and a new religion; meaning that Islam will be so contaminated with superstitions, the Qur`an so assailed with conceptual distortions [i.e. false interpre-tations] that their reality and inner truth will have been forgotten.

c. Natural factors

Also among the signs herald-ing the re-emergence of the Imam (a.s.) are the natural disasters mentioned in the narrations; such as the [prodigious] lightning of the End of Time; lunar and solar eclipses which will occur outside their natural timeframe; changes in the constellations and the atmos-pheric conditions (in water, air, sunrise, sunset, etc.). And of course these narrations are capable of being understood in relation to certain events that are taking place in this age, just as Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari interpreted the “rising of the sun from the west” [which is counted among the signs] as the rise


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of Islam at the hands of Imam Khomeini from Paris.

d. The individual and

miraculous signs

1. The Burst of a Heavenly Cry - According to the narra-tions, before or during the event of re-emergence, an angel will cry out from the heaven proclaiming the re-emergence of the Imam (a.s.). That angel will be the Faithful Jibra`il whose cry will be heard in all four corners of the globe. Everyone will hear it in his own language without detecting the direction from which the cry originates. But at the same time the Devil will also call out, “‘Uthman was murdered while he was innocent” with the intention to confuse the people.[239]

2. The Murder of an Innocent Soul - The Innocent Soul will be the nickname of a certain Hashimite youth with a high degree of spiritual perfection. He will fight the Sufyani army and on being defeated will take refuge in Medina. When the Sufyani army reaches

Medina, he will flee to Mecca. There he will invite people to the way of the Household of Muhammad (S) but will be slain between the Rukn and the Maqam while innocent of any crime.[240] His death will awaken the conscience of the people all over the world, which will in turn prepare them to pledge allegiance to the Imam (a.s.). 15 days after his death, the re-emergence will take place.[241] He is the Imam’s (a.s.) representative and envoy among the people.

There are also other signs mentioned in the narrations which we have not included here.

Notes:

[237] Kitab al-Ghaybah, pg. 252

[238] Kitab al-Ghaybah, pp. 279-

282

[239] Kitab al-Ghaybah, pp. 253-

254

[240] Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-

Ni’mah, pg. 331

[241] Ibid., pg. 649

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809. Kamāl al-dīn: Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah al-Qummī said: I intended to ask some ques-tions from Aḥmad b. Isḥāq—the most learned person of our city—who was also one of the companions of Imam Abū Muḥammad (a.s.). He had left on a journey to visit our master at Sāmarrā and I went after him. After I caught up with him and we greeted each other he asked me, “You have come to meet me [here!]. Is everything ok?”

I replied, “The love of seeing you and the habit of asking questions [have caused me to come here].”

He answered, “Then we both have the same problem. The urge to meet our master Abū Muḥammad (a.s.), has dis-placed me. I intend to ask him some problematic questions about interpretations (ta’wīl) and some difficulties about revelations (tanzīl). So, don’t miss the blessed opportunity

of being a companion [in this journey].”

We reached Sāmarrā’ and were soon at the door of our masters [residence]. We sought permission to enter, which was granted. Aḥmad b. Isḥāq was carrying a leather sack. It contained 160 purses filled with dirhams and dinars. Every bag had its owner’s seal on it. A child was sitting on his [Imam’s] right lap, who resembled [the planet] Jupiter in creation and features. We saluted him and he replied with utmost kindness and beckoned us to seat.

Aḥmad brought out the leather sack from under his cloak and placed it in front of him. (Imam) Abū Muḥammad looked at the child and said, “O My Son! Break the seals of the gifts of your followers and friends.” The child responded, “O my master! Is it permissi-ble that I extend a pure hand towards impure gifts and

Miracle of Imam Zamana (ATF) during

the lifetime of his father (A.S.)

By: Ayatollah al-Uzma Lutfullah as-Safi al-Gulpaygani


56

unclean wealth whose ḥarām and ḥalāl are mixed together?” Then, my master said, “O ibn Isḥāq! Bring out what is in the leather sack so that he may separate the ḥalāl from the ḥarām.” When ibn Isḥāq removed the first purse, the child remarked, “This belongs to so and so who lives in such and such district of Qum. It contains 62 dinars. 45 of those are from the money of a small room which its owner inherit-ed from his father and sold. 14 dinars are from the money of 9 clothes and 3 are from the rental money of shops.” Our master said, “My son! You have spoken the truth. Now, tell this man which ones are ḥarām and which ones are ḥalāl.” The child continued, “Find the dinar which was minted in [the city of] Riyy. Its date is so and so and the inscriptions on one side have been partly erased.

Also the gold piece from [the city of] Āmul which weighs a quarter of a dinar. They are ḥarām because their owner

had given 1.25 mans of wool to his neighbor to weave for him. A thief stole the wool from the weaver and the weaver informed their owner but the owner didn’t believe the weaver and instead, took 1.5 mans of softer wool from him and made a cloth out of them and sold it. This dinar and the piece of gold were paid for it.” When the purse was opened, there was a letter in it which had the name of the person who was described and the number of dinars written on it—exactly as mentioned by the child. The aforementioned dinar and piece of gold were also in it.

Ibn Isḥāq removed another purse. The child said, “This belongs to so and so person who lives in such and such place of Qum. It has 50 dinars and it is not permissible for us to touch them.” [Ibn Isḥāq] said, “Why not?!” He replied, “Because it is from the reve-nue of wheat belonging to a landlord who has cheated on the peasant [who has planted


57

them]. When they were dividing the shares, he filled the containers completely for himself but left some of it empty when separating [the wheat] for the peasant.” Our master remarked, “My Son, you have spoken the truth.” Then, he said, “O Aḥmad b. Isḥāq! Take back all these purses and return them to their owners because we do not need them. Give us the cloth from the old woman.” Aḥmad b. Isḥāq said, “I left that cloth behind in my bag and I had completely forgot-ten about it.” When Aḥmad b. Isḥāq went to fetch the cloth, our master Abū Muḥammad looked at me and said, “O Sa`d! Why have you come here?” I replied, “Aḥmad b. Isḥāq had encouraged me to meet [you], our master.” He said, “What about those questions that you wanted to ask him?” I replied, “Their status hasn’t changed yet.”

He remarked, “Ask them from the apple of my eye” and pointed towards the child. The

child said, “Ask whatever you want.” I said, “O my master and the son of my master! “Please inform me about what Allah ordered His Prophet Moses (a.s.), (when He said), ‘So, remove your shoes [for] you are in the holy valley of Ṭuwā.’ The scholars of both sects believe that [his shoes] were made from the skin of a dead animal.” He replied, “Whoever believes this has slandered Moses and has thought him to be ignorant regarding his own prophet-hood. [If it is as they say], then it was either permissible for Moses to pray in those shoes or it wasn’t.

If it was permissible, then he would also have been allowed to wear them in that valley. Even if that valley was holy and pure, it couldn’t have been holier and purer than the prayers. [On the other hand], if prayers were not allowed in those shoes, then it can be concluded that Moses was not aware about what is permissi-ble and what is prohibited;


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and that he did not know what things are permissible to wear in prayers and what things are prohibited. Having this opinion [about Moses] is equal to disbelief (kufr).” I pleaded, “O my master! Please inform me about its interpretation!” He said, “Moses invoked his Lord in the holy valley and said, ‘O Master! My love is purely for You and I have cleansed my heart of all other [affections].’ He [said this whilst he] loved his family very much. Then, Allah, the Exalted, said to him, ‘Remove your shoes,’ mean-ing, ‘Remove the love of your family from your heart if your love is exclusively for Me.’”

I said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! What is the interpretation of ‘Kāf-Hā-Yā-Àyn-Ṣād’?” He said, “These letters refer to the unseen news (anbā’ al-ghayb) which Allah informed His servant, Zachariah. He then narrated them to Muḥammad (S). This is the story: Once, Zachariah asked Allah, his Lord, to teach him the names of the five

[holy people]. So Gabriel descended and taught them to him.

Whenever Zachariah uttered the names of Muḥammad, Àlī, Fāṭima, and Ḥasan, his worries would disappear, but when he mentioned the name of al-Ḥusayn, he would choke on tears and would nearly perish. One day, he enquired, ‘O Lord! Why is it that when I mention [the first] four, I become calm, but when I mention al-Ḥusayn, my tears flow and I sob.’ So Allah, the Exalted, told him his story and said, ‘“Kāf-Hā-Yā-Àyn-Ṣād.” Kāf refers to Karbala, Hā refers to hālāk al-ìtra (the perishing of the progeny), Yā refers to Yazīd, the one who oppressed al-Ḥusayn (a.s.), Àyn refers to Àtashuh (his thirst), Ṣād refers to ṣabruh (his patience).’ When Zachari-ah heard this, he did not emerge from his prayer-place for three days and did not allow anyone to meet him. He kept crying and wailing and would say, ‘O Lord! Will You


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make the best of your crea-tures mourn his son? O Lord! Will you inflict on him such hardships? O Lord! Will you make `Alī and Fāṭima wear the robe of this tragedy? O Lord! Will you allow such a great catastrophe to befall them?’

Afterwards he would say, ‘O Allah! Grant me a son who will be the apple of my eye when I grow old and make him my inheritor and my heir. Make him for me what al-Ḥusayn [was to his grandfather]. Make me extremely attached to him and then afflict me with his grief just as You will afflict your beloved Muḥammad with the sorrow of his son.’ Thus, Allah granted him John and afflicted him with his sorrow. John was born in the sixth month of pregnancy as was the case for al-Ḥusayn (a.s.) on him. [John’s] story is very long.”

Our master, al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-Hādī stood up along with the child to perform the prayers. I left and went in

search of Aḥmad b. Isḥāq. He came to me crying. I asked him, “What has delayed you and what has made you cry?” He replied, “I have lost the cloth that my master had asked for.” I said to him, “It is not your fault. Go and tell our master.” So he hurriedly went inside and emerged after a while smiling. I asked him, “What happened?” He replied, “The cloth was spread under our master’s feet and he was praying on it.”

We thanked Allah, the Exalted, for this event. We visited our master for a number of days but did not see his son. When the time arrived to bid fare-well, I and Aḥmad b. Isḥāq went to him accompanied by two elderly men from our city. Aḥmad b. Isḥāq stood in front of him and said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! The time to bid you farewell has come and this has saddened us to no end.

We [ask Allah] to send his blessings on you and your son. We hope that Allah


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elevates your status and disgraces your enemy and does not make this our last meeting with you.” When he said these words our master became saddened to such an extent that he started crying and tears rolled from his eyes. He said, “O son if Isḥāq! Do not over-distress yourself by your invocations because you are going to meet Allah in this very journey.” On hearing this, Aḥmad b. Isḥāq fainted. When he regained consciousness, he pleaded, “I ask you by Allah and by the sanctity of your ancestors that you give me a worn out dress [worn by you] so that I use it as a burial-shroud.

Our master put his hand under the carpet and brought out thirteen dirhams and said, “Take these and don’t spend more than this amount for yourself. What you have asked for will not be neglected. Allah does not waste the rewards of the good doers.”

After we left our master, we were approximately three

kilometers short of Ḥulwān when Aḥmad b. Isḥāq caught such a high fever that he lost all hope of life. On reaching Ḥulwān, we stopped at an inn and Aḥmad b. Isḥāq sum-moned one of his fellow townsmen who dwelled there. He then said, “Go and leave me alone tonight.” Thus, we all left him and went to our sleeping quarters.

When the night passed and it was near dawn, I started worrying. I opened my eyes and I saw Kāfūr, our master Abū Muḥammad’s servant, saying, “May Allah grant you goodness for this mourning and recompense your calamity through his beloved [succes-sor]. We have finished bathing and shrouding your compan-ion. Get up and bury him. He was one of the most honorable in the eyes of your master.” He then disappeared from before us. Wailing and crying, we reached his body, paid tribute to him, and buried him. May Allah have mercy on him.”

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Kids

Corner

17th Rabi al-Awwal Birthday Anniversary

of Prophet Muhammad (S) & Imam Sadiq (AS)

On the auspicious, happy and

joyous occasion of Eid Milad

un-Nabi (S) and the Birth-

day Anniversary of Imam

Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S.) we

extend our Happy and

Heartiest Greetings and

Felicitations to the Muslim

Ummah in the world.

Prophet Muhammad (S) was

born in the year 570 CE

(fifty-three years before

the Hijrah) in the town of

Makkah, a mountain town in

the high desert plateau of

western Arabia. His name

derives from the Arabic

verb Hamada, meaning "to

praise, to glorify." He was

the first and only son of

Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abd Al-

Muttalib and Hazrat Aminah

bint Wahab. Hazrat Abdul-

lah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib died

before Hazrat Muhammad's

(S) birth. The precise date

of his birth is disputed

among the historians, but

Ayatullah Ruhullah Musawi

al-Khomeini (ra), the founder

of the Islamic revolution

had declared the week

between 12th and 17th Rabi

al-Awwal as "Wahdat Week"

meaning "the week of unity

amongst Muslims." Muslims

all over the world are urged

to get together and cele-

brate (Eid-E-Milad un Nabi)

the birth of Prophet Mu-

hammad (S) for the whole

week.

The year in which our Holy

Prophet Hazrat Muhammad

(S) was born is called as the

Year of Elephant (Aam ul-

Feel); it is because of the

famous incidence in which

the ruler of Yemen, Abraha

tried to destroy Kaaba using


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his army of Elephants and a

vast flock of small birds like

swallows, carrying pebbles in

their beaks darkened the

sky and pelted them down

upon the heads of Abraha's

army causing deep puncture

like wounds killing many. It

is also said that at the same

time for the first time in

Arabia, the diseases of

typhoid and smallpox ap-

peared, affecting the whole

army. Abraha himself

suffered from smallpox, and

remained alive only until he

reached Yemen and died

there.

The tribe that Hazrat

Muhammad (S) came from

was named "Quraish". This

tribe was one of the most

influential tribes that

governed Muslims centuries

after Islam.

Hazrat Muhammad (S) was

born and his blessed birth

gave rise to numerous

wonderful incidents in the

sky and on the earth, espe-

cially in the East, the cradle

of civilization.

News of these events

spread quickly and informed

the people of an imminent,

very significant incident.

Since this newborn child was

predestined to destroy the

people's old superstitious

beliefs and customs and to

lay new foundations for

human progress and prosper-

ity, from the very beginning

he sounded the reveille.

It is narrated that on the

day when the Holy Prophet

(S) was born, the following

incidents happened:

• All the idols fell down.

• The "Kasra Veranda" (a

part of the palace of

Iran's King) shook and

fourteen of its notches

were damaged.

• The "Saweh Lake" that

people worshiped for

years, dried up.

• The fire in the fire-

temple of Persia was ex-

tinguished, which had


63

been flaming for several

years.

• On that night, a light

came out from "Hijaz"

and spread to the east.

So the humiliated worship-

pers of that false, destruc-

tive object of worship,

whose minds had been

blocked by the obstacles of

prejudice and false imitation

were attracted toward a

totally different direction.

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) the

Sixth Holy Imam of the

Shi'a Muslims has also the

same birth date as that of

our Holy Prophet (S). He was

born on 17th Rabi al-Awwal

83 A.H. in the holy city of

Madinah.

In the grand university

founded by Imam Jafar al-

Sadiq (as) in the holy city of

Madinah the Holy Imam (as)

taught various branches of

sciences and more than 4000

students were attracted

towards him from far-off

places. Imam Jafar Sadiq

(as) is also considered as

"The Founder of the Imamia

School of Jurisprudence".

��

The Special Features of Imam al Mahdi (A.S.)

The promised Mahdi, who is

usually mentioned by his

title of Imam-i 'Asr (the

Imam of the "Period") and

Sahib al-Zaman (the Lord of

the Age), is the son of the

eleventh Imam. His name is

the same as that of the Holy

Prophet. He was born in

Samarrah in 256/868 and

until 260/872 when his

father was martyred, lived

under his father's care and

tutelage. He was hidden

from public view and only a

few of the elite among the

Shi'ah were able to meet

him.

After the martyrdom of his

father he became Imam and

by Divine Command went into

occultation. Thereafter he

appeared only to his depu-

ties (na'ib) and even then

only in exceptional circum-

stances.


64

The Imam chose as a special

deputy for a time Uthman

ibn Sa'id 'Umari, one of the

companions of his father and

grandfather who was his

confidant and trusted

friend. Through his deputy

the Imam would answer the

demands and questions of

the Shi'ah. After Uthman

ibn Sa'id, his son Muhammad

ibn Uthman Umari was

appointed the deputy of the

Imam. After the death of

Muhammad ibn Uthman,

Abu'l Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh

Nawbakhti was the special

deputy, and after his death

Ali ibn Muhammad Simmari

was chosen for this task.

A few days before the

death of Ali ibn Muhammad

Simmari in 329/939 an

order was issued by the

Imam stating that in six

days Ali ibn Muhammad

Simmari would die. Hence-

forth the special deputation

of the Imam would come to

an end and the major occul-

tation (ghaybat-i kubra)

would begin and would

continue until the day God

grants permission to the

Imam to manifest himself.

The occultation of the

twelfth Imam is, therefore,

divided into two parts: the

first, the minor occultation

(ghaybat-i sughra) which

began in 260/872 and ended

in 329/939, lasting about

seventy years; the second,

the major occultation which

commenced in 329/939 and

will continue as long as God

wills it. In a hadith upon

whose authenticity everyone

agrees, the Holy Prophet has

said, "If there were to

remain in the life of the

world but one day, God would

prolong that day until He

sends in it a man from my

community and my house-

hold. His name will be the

same as my name. He will fill

the earth with equity and

justice as it was filled with

oppression and tyranny."

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