Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Islam and Religious Pluralism

An indepth discussion on the Islamic perspective of Religious Pluralism. This book offers rational answers to questions such as: will the great inventors and scientists, despite their worthy services for humanity, go to Hell? Will the likes of Pasteur and Edison go to Hell whilst indolent people who have spent their lives in a corner of the Masjid go to Heaven?

Author(s): Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari

Translator(s): Sayyid Sulayman Ali Hasan

Publisher(s): Islamic Publishing House (Canada)

Table of Contents

Foreword 3

Introduction 5

Notes 14

Biography of the late Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari 16

Notes 24

Good Deeds of Non-Muslims 25

Notes 31

Good Deeds Without Faith 32

Notes 39

Value of Belief 41

Notes 64

Below the Zero Point 65

Notes 73

The Sins of Muslims 74

Notes 82

Summary and Conclusion 84

Foreword

From the frying pan of the ‘Narrow-Minded, Dry, Holy Ones’ “tang nazari khoshk muqaddasan” into the fire of Hick’s Religious Pluralism

Some years ago, in Brampton Canada, my Muharram majālis provoked the question: Where will Mother Teresa go – Heaven or Hell? This was in reaction to my submission challenging the notion of religious pluralism, which seemed to have found favour amongst members of the congregation, who as a result of their intellectual discussions within academia, appeared to have concluded that ‘all roads lead to Rome’.

My deliberations with a number of such academic members of our community revealed their unawareness that the original concept of religious pluralism was a subtle defence to the doctrine of salvation through Christ.

Thereby, providing in Christianity, toleration for other religions. Essentially, the roots of religious pluralism lie in the development of political liberalism in eighteenth century Europe, which was reeling from the horrible tales of religious persecution.

The Enlightened European thinkers of the time were reacting to religious intolerance, which had resulted in the history of sectarian wars to be avoided by all means.

Having witnessed the consequences of religious intolerance, the eighteenth century European Christians were anxious to recover through an ideology that was entrenched in religious principles and thereby securing its permanent effect of ensuring peace and progress in Europe both politically and philosophically - whilst preserving the sanctity of Christianity.

The principal advocate, Professor John Hick, devised the convoluted concept of religious pluralism by incorporating the Christian doctrine of salvation, allowing almost anyone to enter heaven.

Ironically, to make his case, Hick used amongst other arguments Rūmī’s fable of the blind men describing an elephant. Thus suggesting that in our visualization of the ultimate reality, we are in the position of the blind men describing the elephant.

Our ultimate reality is limited by the structures of the various religions. In other words, be it through the trunk, or the leg or the ear, it was sufficient to conceptualize the elephant.

While Rūmī used the parable to demonstrate our limitations in knowing the ultimate reality, Hick expounded religious pluralism by suggesting that the world’s numerous faiths had reconcilable differences in striving for the ultimate reality.

It is indeed a sorry state of affairs that when we are blessed with far more profound answers to the issues of rigid exclusivity, that Muslim intellectuals should be impressed by Hick’s weak defence supported only by marginalised Christian thinkers.

This timely translation of the Persian essay on Islām and Religious Pluralism by Āyatullāh Shahīd Muťahharī is a much needed contribution to further this debate, so as to enable us to better understand the Islāmic perspective on religious pluralism.

This work is yet another example of this deceased scholar’s ingenious foresight, for decades ago, he undertook to address the topical questions that vex Muslim youths exposed to Western academia today.

This book offers rational answers to questions such as: will the great inventors and scientists, despite their worthy services for humanity, go to Hell? Will the likes of Pasteur and Edison go to Hell whilst indolent people who have spent their lives in a corner of the Masjid go to Heaven? Has God created Heaven solely for the Shī`as?

In contrast to Hick’s compromising view, Shī`ī scholars generally agree that God’s damnation does not arbitrarily apply to all who lack faith in His revelations. For instance, exceptions are made for those who are incapable (qāsir) such as children and adults who are intellectually impaired.

The scholars of the school of Ahlul Baīt (as) make a distinction between the incapable (qāsir) and the negligent (muqassir) who have misplaced convictions despite having access to Islām. Shahīd Muťahharī’s enquiry into the problem of religious pluralism elaborates the distinction of these two categories.

What is interesting however, is that he defines the category of the incapable to include those for whom Islām has not been accessible. For instance, a remote residence where Islām has not been propagated or those living in an Islāmaphobic environment which has resulted in ill-founded misconceptions.

Shahīd Muťahharī’s brilliant rationale of the incapable (qāsir) establishes that heaven has not been reserved for a minority within a minority.

Thus, boldly answering the dogmatism actively promoted by those he has identified as “narrow minded dry holy ones” (tang nazari khushk muqaddasan). The impact of such dogmatism is manifested in many superstitions of the Shī`ī masses.

To illustrate, I can do no better than to quote one such example by Āyatullāh Muťahharī:

“Will (we) make a will that a large sum out of the money that we have acquired through wrong means or that we should have spent in our lifetime in good causes – but didn’t – should be given to the caretakers of one of the holy shrines in order for us to be buried near the graves of God’s saints, so that the Angels don’t dare punish us.” Such people should know that they have been blinded and the curtain of negligence has covered their eyes.”

I conclude that to seek other means to satisfy intellect curiosities on this discussion inevitably results in falling from the frying pan of the tang nazari khoshk muqaddasan into the fire of Religious Pluralism.

Hasnain Walji

Plano Texas

May 7th 2004 – 17th Rabiul Awwal 1425

Introduction

By Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

Is Islām the only right path? Is as-Ŝirātul Mustaqīm (the right path) a single phenomena or are there multiple paths leading to the same destination? What happens to the non-Muslims who live a decent life and do not violate the rights of other people? Do they gain salvation, and go to Paradise or not? These are some of the burning questions of the modern era.

The concept of religious pluralism is not new; it has been discussed in one form or another by past philosophers and theologians of various schools. However, with the increased interaction between followers of different religions and inter-faith dialogues, religious pluralism has taken a new life in the stream of current thought.

When the great philosopher, Āyatullāh Murtadhā Muťahharī, wrote his seminal work, `Adl-e Ilāhī (The Divine Justice) about thirty-five years ago, the debate on religious pluralism had not yet become that popular in Iran.

What you have in your hands is the translation of `Adl-e Ilāhī’s last chapter on “Good Deeds of Non-Muslims”.

The more appropriate place to discuss religious pluralism and its related issues would be under the theme of “nubuwwah - prophethood” when discussing the finality of Prophet Muhammad’s (S) prophethood, however the question “What happens to the good deeds of non-Muslims?” is also connected to the theme of Divine justice; and so Āyatullāh Muťahharī has answered it at the end of his `Adl-e Ilāhī.

Nonetheless, before discussing that question in detail, Āyatullāh Muťahharī has also briefly stated his views on religious pluralism itself. As you will read yourself, he expresses the prevailing view of the Muslim theologians and philosophers that Islām is the only right path.

However, and more importantly, he cautions the readers not to jump to the conclusion that since Islām is the only right path therefore all non-Muslims will go to hell. The exclusivist view of Islām being the right path does not automatically and necessarily lead to the belief that all non-Muslims will go to hell.

In the last one and a half decades, the question of religious pluralism has been passionately debated among the Muslims in the West as well as the East. Some Muslim intellectuals have even tried to impose the concept of religious pluralism onto the Qur’ān itself!

I would like to take this opportunity to briefly present this discussion as a preamble to the writing of the great scholar, Āyatullāh Murtadhā Muťahharī.

While discussing the concept of pluralism in the Islāmic context, it is important to define the term clearly. Pluralism can be used in two different meanings: “Social pluralism” in the sociological sense means a society which consists of a multi-faith or multi-cultural mosaic.

“Religious pluralism” in the theological sense means a concept in which all religions are considered to be equally true and valid.

Social Pluralism

As far as social pluralism is concerned, Islām seeks for peaceful co-existence and mutual tolerance between the people of different religions and cultures. Among the three Abrahāmic religions, it is only Islām which has accorded recognition to Judaism and Christianity. Judaism does not recognize Jesus as the awaited Messiah or the Prophet; and Christianity does not recognize Muhammad (S) as the true Prophet and Messenger of God.

In the Islāmic worldview, God sent many prophets and messengers to guide mankind; the number given in the Ĥadīth is 124,000 prophets. The first prophet was Ādam and the last Prophet was Muhammad - the Prophet of Islām (S). However, not all the 124,000 prophets were of the same rank and status.1

Five of these prophets are given the highest rank in the spiritual hierarchy: and they are Nūh (Noah), Ibrāhīm (Abraham), Mūsā (Moses), `Isā (Jesus), and Muhammad (as). Almighty Allāh says in the Qur’ān:

    وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنْكَ وَمِنْ نُوحٍ وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ .

“And when We made a covenant with the prophets: with you, with Nūh, Ibrāhīm, Mūsā and `Isā, son of Mariam…”2

A Muslim is required to believe in all the prophets, otherwise he cannot be considered a “Muslim”.3 If a person, for instance, says that I believe in Muhammad, `Isā, Ibrāhīm and Nūh but not in Mūsā as one of the prophets of God, then he cannot be accepted as a Muslim; similarly, if a person believes in all the prophets but refuses to accept `Isā as one of the prophets and messengers of God, then he is not a Muslim.

That is why Islām considers the Christian and the Jewish communities as “the People of the Book” or “the People of Scripture” (Ahlul Kitāb). Islām has even allowed a Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman, but not those from the other faiths.

What is noteworthy is that Islām accorded this recognition to the Ahlul Kitāb fourteen centuries ago when there was absolutely no talk of tolerance among people of different faiths or an ecumenical movement among religions.4

On a socio-political level, a Muslim government would readily sign an agreement with its Christian and Jewish minorities. Imām `Alī Zaīnul `Ābidīn, the great-grandson of the Prophet, writes:

“It is the right of the non-Muslims living in a Muslim country that you should accept what Allāh has accepted from them and fulfill the responsibilities which Allāh has accorded them… And there must be a barrier keeping you from doing any injustice to them, from depriving them of the protection of Allāh, and from flaunting the commitments of Allāh and His Messenger concerning them. Because we have been told that the Holy Prophet said, ‘Whosoever does injustice to a protected non-Muslim, I will be his enemy (on the Day of Judgement).’”5

Although Islām does not accord to followers of other religions the same recognition that it has accorded to Jews and Christians, it believes in peaceful co-existence with them. One of the earliest messages of peaceful co-existence given by the Prophet Muhammad (S) to the idol-worshippers of Mecca is reflected in Chapter 109 of the Qur’ān:

    قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ. لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ. وَلاَ أَنْـتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. وَلاَ أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدتُّمْ. وَلاَ أَنْـتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Say: “O unbelievers! Neither do I worship what you worship; nor do you worship what I worship. Neither am I going to worship what you worship; nor are you going to worship what I worship. To you shall be your religion and to me shall be my religion.”

(From the historical perspective, the treatment that Muslim societies have given to the minorities under their rule, especially the Christians and the Jews, is comparatively better than the way minorities were treated in Christian Europe.6)

Religious Pluralism

The most famous proponent of modern religious pluralism is John Hick, who abandoned his Catholic exclusivist view and formulated his specific theory in the seventies. Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis claims that each religion in its own way represents an authentic revelation of the Divine world and a fully authentic means of salvation.

He believes that all religions are culturally conditioned responses to the same ultimate reality; and, therefore, are equally valid, and salvation is possible through any of them.

Hick uses the famous story of the Hindu mystics to illustrate his point:

“An elephant was brought to a group of blind men who had never encountered such an animal before. One felt a leg and reported that an elephant is a great living pillar. Another felt the trunk and reported that an elephant is a great snake. Another felt a tusk and reported that an elephant is like a sharp ploughshare, and so on. And then they all quarrelled together, each claiming that his own account was the truth and therefore all the others false. In fact of course, they were all true, but each referring only to one aspect of the total reality and all expressed in very imperfect analogies.”7

There are many flaws in Hick’s hypothesis. The most serious problem is of reconciling the conflicting truth-claims of various religions: for example, monotheism of Islām as opposed to polytheism of Hinduism; death and resurrection of Islām and Christianity as opposed to reincarnations and reaching the state of nirvana of Buddhism; salvation through Trinity as opposed to Tawhīd (Monotheism), etc.

In order to resolve the problem of conflicting truth-claims, Hick suggests that religious traditions differ on three issues:

(1) on historical facts;

(2) on trans-historical facts;

(3) on conceptions of the Real.

Then he proposes the solution for these differences.

For the disagreements on historical facts, Hick suggests that they are minor issues and they could be resolved by application of the historical method.

As for differences on trans-historical facts (i.e., matters that cannot be established by historical or empirical evidence such as “is the universe temporal or eternal” or “death and then resurrection versus reincarnations”), he says that the resolution of such differences are not necessary for salvation and that religions need to dialogue more in order to modify their beliefs.

For differing conceptions of the Real, Hick assumes that all religious traditions are authentic manifestations of the Real and that each tradition’s deity is an authentic face of the Real.8

Finally, Hick believes that any religious belief that would conflict with, and if literally true, falsify another religious belief, must be treated as mythological.

The end result of this theory is that in order to make it workable, Hick would have to redefine many religious beliefs in ways that the founders and followers of those religions would strongly protest! Take the example of the historical status of Jesus from Islāmic, Christian and Jewish perspectives:

Apart from the two first items (and that also only between Islām and Christianity), all three Abrahamic religions have conflicting views on Jesus. According to John Hick’s theory, the first two common beliefs would be considered as “facts” (at the least in Christianity and Islām) whereas the other points of disagreements must be treated in two possible ways: Either these conflicting views should be resolved by historical/empirical inquiry or they should be put in the category of “mythology”!

The first solution will force the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims to reject many verses of their respective scriptures while the second solution will place many statements from the Bible and the Qur’ān into the category of “mythology”. None would be acceptable to any of the three faiths.

I think this one example (that also of Islām vis-à-vis Christianity and Judaism which are closer to one another than Islām vis-à-vis Hinduism and Buddhism) suffices to show that Hick’s theory of religious pluralism is not workable.

Based on Hick’s solution for meta-historical facts (issues related to death and after), Muslims will be forced to consider more than five hundred verses of the Qur’ān on death, resurrection and afterlife as part of “mythology”!

Coming to the third type of differences on conceptions of the Real, Dr. John Hick wants us to believe that the Trinity of Christians, the multiples idols of Hindus, and the Tawhīd (Monotheism) of Muslims are equally valid and true! This hypothesis weakens the faith in one’s religion and pushes one towards agnosticism if not atheism.

Using Immanuel Kant’s view of dualistic categories, Hick says that there is a difference “between an entity as ‘it is in itself’ and as ‘it appears in perception’.”9

Something could be completely true “in itself” but when it is perceived by others, it is relatively true. Based on this idea, Hick wants all religions to accept all differing conceptions of God as equally authentic because none of them are absolutely true, all are only relatively true.

The way Hick has used the story of the blind men and the elephant, he has assumed all religious people to be blind and that they lack the ability to know the complete truth. Unfortunately, he has missed the moral of the same story as given by Mawlānā Rūmī:

Some Hindus have an elephant to show.

No one here has ever seen an elephant.

They bring it at night to a dark room.

One by one, we go in the dark and come out

saying how we experience the animal.

One of us happens to touch the trunk.

“A water-pipe kind of creature.”

Another, the ear. “A very strong, always moving

back and forth, fan-animal.”

Another, the leg. “I find it still,

like a column on a temple.”

Another touches the curved back.

“A leathery throne.”

Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk.

“A rounded sword made of porcelain.”

He’s proud of his description.

Each of us touches one place

and understands the whole in that way.

The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark are

how the senses explore the reality of the elephant.

If each of us held a candle there,

and if we went in together,

we could see it.10

These men were groping in darkness and, therefore, they came with wrong description of the elephant; if they had used a “candle”, they would have seen the light! In Islām, God does not let a searcher for truth grope in darkness:

    للٌّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ

“Allāh is the Protector of the believers, He brings them forth from the shadows into the light.” 11

The Qur’ān and Religious Pluralism

Some Muslim intellectuals have attempted to read the theory of religious pluralism into the Qur’ān itself. The most famous argument used by them is that the term “Islām,” in the Qur’ān, should not be taken as a noun but just as a verb.

Sometimes they differentiate between “islam” (the act of submission) and “Islam” (the religion); and say that the main message of God and the basis of salvation is submission to God, and that it does not matter whether the submission takes place through Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, `Isa or Muhammad (as).

This is nothing new; even Āyatullāh Muťahharī, in the present work, writes, “If someone were to say that the meaning of ‘Islām’ in this verse is not our religion in particular; rather, the intent is the literal meaning of the word, or submission to God, the answer would be that undoubtedly ‘Islām’ means submission and the religion of Islām is the religion of submission, but the reality of submission has a particular form in each age. And in this age, its form is the same cherished religion that was brought by the Seal of the Prophets (Muhammad). So it follows that the word ‘Islām’ (submission) necessarily applies to it alone.

“In other words, the necessary consequence of submission to God is to accept His commandments, and it is clear that one must always act on the final Divine commandments. And the final commandments of God is what His final Messenger [Muhammad] has brought.”12

“Islām” in the Qur’ān [3:19-20]

When the Qur’ān says, for example:

    إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللٌّهِ الإِسْلاَمُ

“Surely the religion with Allāh is al-Islām,”13,

some Muslim intellectuals say that it does not mean “Islām” the religion that started in the seventh century by Prophet Muhammad (S). They say it means “islām,” submission to God through any of the Abrahamic religions.

In their attempt to read a politically correct idea into the Qur’ān, they even ignore the context of the verse. Let us read the whole passage together:

    إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللٌّهِ الإِسْلاَمُ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلاَّ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمْ الْعِلْمُ بَغْياً بَيْنَهُمْ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِآيَاتِ اللٌّهِ فَإِنَّ اللٌّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

“Surely the religion with Allāh is al-Islām. And those who have been given the Book [i.e., the Christians and the Jews] did not show opposition but after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allāh, then surely Allāh is quick in reckoning.”

    فَإِنْ حَاجُّوكَ فَقُلْ أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِي لِلٌّهِ وَمَنْ اتَّـبَعَنِي

“But if they dispute with you, say: “I have submitted myself entirely to Allāh and (so has) everyone who follows me.”

    وَقُلْ لِلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالأُمِّـيِّينَ أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُوا فَقَدْ اهْـتَدَوا وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوا فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلاَغُ وَاللٌّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

“And to those who have been given the Book [i.e., the Christians and the Jews] and to the idol-worshippers [of Mecca], say: “Do you submit?” If they submit, then they are rightly guided; but if they reject, then upon you is only the delivery of the message. And Allāh sees the servants.”14

This passage clearly states the following:

“Al-Islām” mentioned in this verse is the message of submission as brought by Prophet Muhammad (S).

The People of the Scripture (i.e., Christians and Jews) are in opposition of this version of submission to God.

The Prophet Muhammad (S) and his followers are followers of the Islām which was brought by him.

The People of the Scripture are being asked to submit to God through Prophet Muhammad (S) even though they already are followers of Prophets Mūsā (as) and `Isā (as).

The same message is given to the idol-worshippers of Mecca.

If the People of the Scripture do not submit (as Prophet Muhammad (S) and his followers have submitted), then they are not “rightly guided”.

So the term al-Islām, in this verse, refers to “submission to God” through His final message brought by Prophet Muhammad (S) and not through previous prophets.

“Islām” in the Qur’ān [3:83-85]

Another passage from the same chapter is also relevant for understanding the meaning of “Islām”:

    أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ اللٌّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُ أَسْلَمَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ طَوْعاً وَكَرْهاً وَإِلَـيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ

“Is it then other than Allāh’s religion that they seek while to Him submits whoever is in the heavens and the Earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him shall they be returned?”

    قُلْ آمَنَّا بِاللٌّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْـزِلَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَالنَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say: “We believe in Allāh, and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Ibrāhīm, Ismā’īl, Ishāq, Ya`qūb, and the Tribes; and what was given to Mūsā and `Isā and to the prophets from their Lord. We do not make any distinction between (the claim of) any of them, and to Him do we submit.”

    وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الإِسْلاَمِ دِيناً فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“And whoever desires a religion other than Islām, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers.”

This passage clearly explains basic beliefs of Allāh’s religion:

Among those basic beliefs is the requirement to believe in “what has been revealed to us” (i.e., the Qur’ān that has been revealed to Muslims).

“Islām – submission” only follows when one accepts all the prophets and does not differentiate in the truth of any one of them, including Prophet Muhammad (S).

“Islām” and “Imān “in the Qur’ān [2:135-137]

The following passage in Chapter Two of the Qur’ān further clarifies the meaning of “islām–submission” as well as “imān–belief”:

    وَقَالُوا كُونُوا هُوداً أَوْ نَصَارَى تَهْتَدُوا

“And they say: “Be Jew or Christian and you will be guided aright.”

    قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

“Say: “Nay! (we follow) the religion of Ibrāhīm, the sincere, and he was not one of the polytheists.”

    قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللٌّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say: “We believe in Allāh, and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Ibrāhīm, Ismā’īl, Ishāq, Ya`qūb, and the Tribes; and what was given to Mūsā and `Isā and to the prophets from their Lord. We do not make any distinction between (the claim of) any of them, and to Him do we submit.”

    فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنتُمْ بِهِ فَقَدْ اهْـتَدَوا وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمْ اللٌّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“If they (i.e., the Jews and the Christians) then believe as you believe, then they are rightly guided; but if they refuse, then they are only in great opposition; and Allāh will suffice you against them. He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”

These two verses clearly define the “imān - faith and belief” of the Muslims as opposed to that of the Jews and the Christians. Central to the imān of the Muslims is belief in the revelation of all the prophets, including the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (S). They clearly say that if the Jews and the Christians “believe as you believe,” only then will they be rightly guided.

Sūratul Baqarah (2), Verse 285 also confirms this meaning of “imān”:

    آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْـزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللٌّهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ

“The Messenger (i.e., Muhammad) has believed in whatever that has been revealed to him from his Lord; and the believers all believe in Allāh, His Angels, His books, and His messengers. (And they say:) “We do not differentiate between (the claim of) any one of His messengers.”

A note on “we do not differentiate between any one of the messengers” or “we do not make any distinction between any one of them”: it does not mean that all the prophets and messengers of Allāh (S) are of the same rank and status.

We have already mentioned that there are five prophets who rank highest in the spiritual hierarchy. Rather, this means that we do not make any distinction in the truth of any of the prophets; all are equally true in their claim.

This is unlike the Jews who accept all the prophets but reject `Isā (as) and Muhammad (S) or the Christians who accept all the prophets but reject Muhammad (S).

Prophet Muhammad (S) and Religious Pluralism

Those Muslim intellectuals who preach about religious pluralism in Islām seem to be oblivious of some historical facts of Islāmic history and the Prophet’s life.

If Judaism and Christianity are concurrently valid paths of submission to God, then why did the Prophet Muhammad (S) work so hard to convey his message even to the Jews and the Christians? If they were already on the Right Path (Ŝirat Mustaqīm), then why did the Prophet (S) feel it important to invite them to Islām?

After the peace treaty of Hudaybiyya in 6 A.H., the Prophet of Islām (S) sent emissaries to various rulers and tribes around and beyond the Arabian Peninsula with a distinct purpose of inviting them to Islām. According to historians, around 25 letters were sent by the Prophet (S) to various rulers and tribes.15

Among those who were sent to the Christian rulers and tribes, we see the following names: Dihyah al-Kalbī sent to Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantine; `Amr bin Umayyah Zamrī to the Negus, the King of Abyssinia; Hāťib bin Abī Baltā‘a sent to the Muqawqis, the King of Egypt; and the tribes of Ghassan and Ĥanīfah (in northern Arabia). Three letters are important and relevant to our discussion.

In his letter to Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, the Prophet Muhammad (S) wrote:

“… Peace be upon him who follows the guidance.

I invite you to accept Islām. Accept Islām and you will prosper and Allāh will give you double rewards. But if you refuse, then the sin of your people also will fall upon your shoulders.

O’ People of the Scripture, come to the word common between us and you that we shall not worship anything but Allāh, and that we shall not associate anything with Him, nor shall some of us take others for lords besides Allāh. But if you turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.”

In the letter to the Negus, the King of Abyssinia, the Prophet Muhammad (S) wrote:

“… Peace be upon him who follows the guidance.

Praise be to Allāh besides whom there is no other god, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Preserver of Peace, the Keeper of the Faithful, the Guardian.

I bear witness that Jesus, son of Mary, is indeed a spirit of God and His word, which He conveyed unto the chaste Mary. He created Jesus through His word just as He created Ādam with His hands.

And now I call you to Allāh who is One and has no partner, and to friendship in His obedience. Follow me and believe in what has been revealed to me, for I am the Messenger of Allāh. I invite you and your people to Allāh, the Mighty, the Glorious.

I have conveyed the message, and it is up to you to accept it.

Once again, peace be upon him who follows the path of guidance.”

In the letter sent to the Muqawqis, the King of Egypt and a Coptic Christian, the Prophet Muhammad (S) wrote:

“…Peace be upon him who follows the guidance.

I invite you to accept the message of Islām. Accept it and you shall prosper. But if you turn away, then upon you shall also fall the sin of the Copts.

O’ People of the Scripture, come to a word common between us and you that we shall worship none but Allāh and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him and that none of us shall regard anyone as lord besides God.

And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.”16

Even the arrival of the delegation from Christian Najranis and how the Prophet (S) invited them to Islām and, finally, the mubāhala with them is in the same spirit of inviting the Ahlul Kitāb to Islām.

All these letters and the meeting with Najranis prove beyond any doubt that if the Ahlul Kitāb (the People of the Scripture) were on Ŝirāt mustaqīm - on the right path that leads to salvation - then the Prophet (S) would not have invited them to Islām.

Important Caution

At the conclusion of this introduction, I would like to reiterate the caution that believing in Islām as the only valid path of submission to God does not automatically and necessarily lead to the belief that all non-Muslims will go to hell.

Neither does this exclusivist view of Islām as the only sirāt mustaqīm prevent us from promoting tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the followers of various religions, especially the Jews and the Christians.

While talking about polytheist parents, Almighty Allāh says:

    وَإِنْ جَاهَدَاكَ عَلى أَنْ تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلاَ تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا

“And if they insist on you to associate with Me (someone as on object of worship) of what you have no knowledge, then do not obey them, however interact with them in this world kindly …”17

Thus, a Muslim has to resist the un-Islāmic influence of non-Muslims, but still be kind to them. In other words, although your paths in the hereafter will be separate, that does not prevent you from being kind, merciful, and just to non-Muslims in this world.

Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

Toronto, Ontario

May 13th, 2004 / 23th of Rabīul Awwal 1425 AH

Notes

1. Al-Qur'ān, Sūratul Baqarah (2), Verse 253; Al-Qur'ān, Sūrat Banī Isrā'īl (17), Verse 55

2. Al-Qur'ān, Sūratul Ahzāb (33), Verse 7; also see Al-Qur'ān, Sūratul Shūra (42), Verse 13:

    شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحًا وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ..

    “He has made plain to you the religion that He enjoined upon Nūh, and that which We have revealed to you, and that We have enjoined upon Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, and `Isā…”

3. Al-Qur'ān, Sūrat Āli Imrān (3), Verse 84

4. It took the Catholic Church almost two thousand years to recognize the non-Christians including the Muslims. The Second Vatican Council declared in 1964 that “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his church, but who seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience–those too may achieve eternal salvation.” Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1975) p. 367.

5. Imām `Alī Zaīnul `Ābidīn, Risālatul Huqūq, tr. SSA Rizvi (Vancouver: VIEF, 1989) p. 36.

6. Ira Lapidus writes: “The Ottomans, like previous Muslim regimes, considered the non-Muslim subjects autonomous but dependent peoples whose internal social, religious, and communal life was regulated by their own religious organizations, but their leaders were appointed by, and responsible to, a Muslim state.” A History of Islāmic Societies (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1990) p. 323. Also see Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islām, vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974) p. 306.

7. Hick, God and the Universe of Faith (London: Macmillan, 1977) p. 140.

8. Hick, An Interpretation of Religion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989) p. 364-365.

9. John Hick, An Interpretation of Religion, p. 241. In other words, we cannot really know God; what we know is our perception of Him. Muslim philosophers do not accept Kant’s theory. For more on the theory of knowledge from the Islāmic perspective in English, see Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabā'tabā'ī, The Elements of Islāmic Metaphysic, tr. S.A.Q. Qarā’i (London: ICAS Press, 2003) p. 115-132 and also Part One of S.M. Bāqir as-Sadr, Our Philosophy, tr. Shams C. Inati (London: Muĥammadi Trust, 1987).

10. The Essential Rumi, translated by C. Barks (New Jersey: Castle Books, 1997) p. 525.

11. Al-Qur'ān, Sūratul Baqarah (2), Verse 257

12. See the discussion in this book. Āyatullāh Muťahharī’s comment that “the reality of submission has a particular form in each age” is also key to the proper understanding of Sūratul Baqarah (2), Verse 62.

13. Al-Qur'ān, Sūrat Āli Imrān (3), Verse 19

14. Al-Qur'ān, Sūrat Āli Imrān (3), Verse 19-20

15. Muhammad Ibrāhīm Āyatī, Tārīkh-e Payghambar-e Islām (Tehran: Tehran University Press, n.d.) p. 480-482.

16. Ibid, p. 483- 494.

17. Al-Qur'ān, Sūrat Luqmān (31), Verse 15

Lesson sixteen: The first infallible figure, the great prophet

Muḥammad was born on Rabī‘al-Awwal 17, in the year when the story of the elephants and the destruction of the army ofAbrahih[ 29] took place.

His father passed away prior to his birth and his grandfather ‘Abd al-Muṭṭallib adopted him. At the age ofsix , his mother Āminah died and two years later, he lost his grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muṭṭallib, and then his uncle Abūṭālib adopted him. He married Khadījah when he wastwenty five years old.

He lived among people with so much honesty, trustworthiness, and magnanimity that everyone called him the trustworthy Muḥammad and they had so much confidence in him that on great social occasions and whenever a dispute took place, they sought his judgment, during these forty years (prior to his appointment), he had no preoccupation except worshiping God and serving people. Every year, he spent some time in a cave called Ḥirā’ and there he worshipped God with reflection upon His signs.

The Commander of the Faithful in his book Nahj al-Balāghah observes, “God had commanded one of His greatest angels to wait on the great Prophet who kept him company day and night and guided him in the virtues and good deeds.”

At the age of forty, hewas appointed to the prophetic mission. The first man to accept his invitation was ‘Alī and the first woman to do so was his wife Khadījah and for a long time only these two individuals said prayers along with the Prophet.

Saudi Arabia, at that time, was bereft of science, culture, and civilization and bloodshed, indecency, atrocity, and pillage were ubiquitous. The great Prophet set out to guide andlead people toward God in such a bleak environment and suffered so much in this cause that we could never imagine.

For example, we read in history that following the demise of the revered Abūṭālib, the great Prophet set out on a journey to Ṭā’if to guide the dwellers of that city.There, the respected citizens did not accept his invitation and besides that, they abused him and the thugs of the city, having realized that he was not respected by the senior members of the city, lined up on both sides of his path and pelted so many stones at his legs that they were covered with blood and were severely injured.

The great Prophet spent thirteen years in Mecca after his appointment and then immigrated to Medina where he laid the foundations of the global Islamic rule and spent the rest of his life, that is, ten years, there. He was solely preoccupied with the advancement of the community and familiarizing people with God and spirituality and eventually passed away ten years after immigration at the age ofsixty three and was buried in Medina.

The great Prophet’s conduct

The Prophet was the wisest, most knowledgeable, mostpatient and kindest of all people. He always sat on the ground and ate his meals there and helped in household chores, for example, he occasionally answered the door himself. He drew milk form the sheep himself and helped his servant when he got tired of spinning the manual mill (whichwas kept at home then).

He never lost his temper due to mundane affairs and his fury and anger were aroused only because of God. He consorted with the poor and working classes and shared meals with them and he honored the learned and the righteous.

He never exercised discrimination between himself and his servants in food and clothing. He never abused anyone. He greeted everyone he saw and he remembered God wherever he was. He mostly sat facing Ka‘bah. If anyone needed his help, he swiftly went tohelp out . He honored guests and attimes he spread his cloak on the ground so that the guest could sit on it.

One day, a person talking with the Prophet was trembling and shuddering out of his greatness and nobility, the Prophet said, “why are you afraid of me, I am not a despot (I am a God’s servant like you).”

The people of Ḥijāz attached no importance to women and they even buried their female babies but the great Prophet offered much advice concerning women and saved them from captivity and misfortunes.

Drinking liquor, adultery, indecency, gambling and a variety of other sins were widespread among people but thanks to the sacrifices of the great Prophet, they were eradicated and a population which was deprived of everything attained a power that could save the two powerful kingdoms of the time (Iranian and Roman) from the yoke of oppression and make them acquainted with Islamic teachings.

In whatever he did, he solely relied on God and his faith and he always urged people to take steps in the cause of God and for His satisfaction.

In one of the conflicts, the great Prophetwas separated from his companions by a long distance.He was noticed by one of the foes sitting at one corner . He picked up hissword and rushed toward him and said, “O Muḥammad! Who can save you from me now?”

The great Prophet said confidently, “God.” As the Prophet uttered this word, that man’s hands began trembling and his sword fell. Then the great Prophet took his sword and said, “Who will save you from me now?” The man said, “No one, because I don’t believe in your God to seek help from Him, ” and subsequently he professed his belief in God and testified to the prophetic mission of him.[30] Indeed, anyone who has faith in God, He will help him under all circumstances and will save him.

Lesson seventeen: the second infallible figure, Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭalib (‘a)

‘Alī was born on Rajab 13, thirty years after the destruction of the elephants, in the House of God, Ka‘bah. He was ten, when the great Prophet was appointed and during thetwenty three years of his mission, he always stood by him and spared no sacrifice in the cause of God and the great Prophet. His sacrifices and his efforts in the cause of Islam especially at times when Islamwas seriously threatened on all sides are unforgettable.

On the night, when the infidels had plotted to raid the house of the Prophet and kill him, the Prophet told ‘Alī, “The infidels have decided to break into my house and kill me and God has commanded me to leave Mecca and ask you to sleep in my stead. Are you ready to do so?”

‘Alī said, “If I sleep in your bed, will you be safe?”

The great Prophet replied, “Yes.”

‘Alī prostrated himself to thank God and said, “May my life be sacrificed to yours, I willingly comply with whatever you command and pray God for success.”

In all battles, he span around the Prophet like a butterfly and faced many dangers to keep him safe.

In every way, he was identical to the great Prophet as if he were his reflection in the mirror.

The great Prophet has said, “I am the city of knowledge and ‘Alī is like the gate to this city and anyone who seeks entry to acquire knowledge must do so through ‘Alī.”

The great Prophet has also observed, “’Alī is with truth, and truth is with ‘Alī and these two will never part from one another and whatever ‘Alī says is truth and whatever way he specifies is the path of truth.”

Although he was inalienably entitled to succeed the Prophet[31] following the demise of the Prophet his undeniable right to succession was violated, nevertheless to preserve the foundation of Islam, ‘Alī never, during the twenty years when he was robbed of his right, did anything that might divide the Muslim community and thus afford Islam’s foes the opportunity to destroy it but rather he did his best to help Islam and Muslims and did not withhold his guidance on important occasions. Finally people pledged allegiance to him as the ruler in the year 35, and his rule lasted five years until in the Ramaḍān of the year 40, he was martyred at the mosque of Kūfah. May God bless him! His holy shrine is located inNajaf which is one of the cities of Iraq.

‘Alī’s will

Excerpts from the Commander of the Faithful’s recommendations to his son, Imām Ḥasan (‘a).

Say your prayers on time and pay your alms taxes (zakāt) punctually and under any circumstances, whether you feelpleased or angry or furious, observe the golden mean. Be friendly to the needy and consort with them.

Omy son! Endeavor in the cause of God anddon’t quit recommending decency and forbidding indecency. Behave in a brotherly manner toward your fellow-Muslims for the sake of God. Remember God all the time. Be kind to children, and respect the elderly.Don’t eat any food unless you have already given some part of it away to the needy.[32]

The woman who introduced ‘Alī (‘a) to Mu‘āwiyah (May God’s curse be upon him)

After the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) Sūdah, the daughter of ‘Ammārah called on Mu‘āwiyah to complain about their governor who was appointed by him. Mu‘āwiyah did not heed her protest and threatened to send her to the same ruler to be at his mercy.

Sūdah bowed her head for a while and then raised it and recited this verse,

“May God bestow His blessing upon the body which when it was placed in the grave, justice was buried simultaneously, too.”

“The one who was allied with truth and was inextricably linked to faith and truth.”

Mu‘āwiyah said, “Perhaps you mean ‘Alī.”

She said, “Yes, I mean ‘Alī (‘a)”. Then she recounted her memory of that Imām, “During his rule, we were oppressed by one of his appointees, we expressed our discontent to ‘Alī. Having listened to our complaint, he started crying and said, “O God you bear witness that I have never told them to wrong people.”And he immediately sacked that oppressive appointee.[33]

Lessoneighteen : the third infallible, FāṬimah al-Zahrā, the daughter of the prophet

Fāṭimah (‘a) was born on Jumādā al-Thānī 5, five years after the appointment of the Prophet from Khadījah. At the age of five, her mother passed away. The great Prophet loved his daughter so much that he used tosay “Fāṭimah is the dearest and most respected of people to me.”

Fāṭimah’s stature in terms of great human attributes, and virtues, and God’s worship was so high that whenever she went to the Prophet’s house, she was welcomed and greeted by him and he kissed her hand and gave his place to her and about her he has said, “Fāṭimah is my flesh, whoever pleases her has pleased me and whoever offends her has offended me.”

Imām Ḥasan (‘a) recounts that, “On a Friday night, my mother, Fāṭimah, was engaged in worshipping God and saying prayers nonstop until daybreak but she prayed for other people most of the time.I told her, ‘O mother! Why don’t you pray for yourself?’ She replied, ‘O my son! First neighbors, then ourselves.’” [34]

One day, the great Prophet asked, “What is the best thing for women?”

Fāṭimah (‘a) replied, “O Father! It is best for women not to be seen by strange men and not to see a strange man.” The great Prophet embraced her and said, “Offspring and generation that some spring from some.”[35] That is, Fāṭimah is the daughter of the Prophet and has obtained her excellence from him.

Indeed, today when the societies are suffering from the consequences of mixing the sexes and their unrestricted relationship, they appreciate the true meaning of Fāṭimah’s remarks that the only way through which the society might be kept from corruption and depravity is to segregate the sexes at work and at school, otherwise, the society will plunge deeper and deeper into corruption and decadence.

Fāṭimah (‘a) died at the age of eighteen. For nineyears she lived with ‘Alī and bore children like Imām Ḥasan, Imām Ḥusayn, and Zaynab for the Muslim community. Eventually, approximately three years after the demise of the great Prophet, she passed away in Medina and was secretly buriedovernight[ 36] . During these three months, she did her best to defend ‘Alī’s right to succession and leadership and finally sacrificed her life for the same cause.

Lesson nineteen: the second Imām and the fourth infallible figure, Imām Ḥasan (‘a)

It was on Ramaḍān 15, 03 that Imām Ḥasan (‘a) was born from such a great mother as, Fāṭimah (‘a). He was the first child who beamed in the house of leadership. As the great Prophet was informed of his birth, he went to the house of ‘Alī and Fāṭimah and took his daughter’s baby and embraced him and then recited Adhān in his right ear and Iqāmah in his left ear and subsequently, at the command of God, called him Ḥasan.

One of his most famous epithets is Mujtabā.Imām Ḥasan was raised by such exemplary parents as ‘Alī and Fāṭimah and the marks of greatness and magnanimity were evident in him from early on.The great Prophet liked him so much and regarding him has observed, “O God! You know that I like Ḥasan and also like anyone that likes him.”

He has also observed, “Ḥasan is my blossom”and also that, “Ḥasan and Ḥusayn are the leaders of Muslims whether they rise up or not.” That is, even if for the sake of Islam they decide to remain silent and refuse to protest against others’ rule.

As children, once he and his brother Ḥusayn saw an old man performing the ablutions incorrectly. They wanted to correct the old man but since he was aged, they did not want to do so offensively.

They staged an interesting scene. They went up to him and told him, “O old man! We both perform ablutions, you observe and judge who does so better!” The old man looked as they performed ablutions and realized that his own ablutions have been wrong and these great children have done that to teach him. Then he told them, “O the darlings of the Prophet! You perform ablutions correctly but my ablutions were not correct and I learned from you how to do it accurately.” [37]

Imām Ḥasan was seven when the Prophet passed away and then he spent thirty years with the Commander of the Faithful and attained the position of leadership at the age ofthirty seven . He was poisoned to martyrdom at the age of forty seven and was buried atBaqī‘ cemetery in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām al-Ḥasan (‘a),

Anyone who frequents a mosque will derive one of the following benefits (the mosques should have such features).

1. He will learn the primary principles of the faith and other Islamic teachings.

2. He will hear remarks that will lead him to the straight path and keep him from deviation.

3. Out of the dread of God or shyness or embarrassment, he will avoid wrongdoing.

4. He will come across a helpful brother (a faithful and close friend).

5. He will be blessed by God.[ 38]

Imām Ḥasan’s peace agreement

Following the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, the shī‘ah people of Iraq and the four thousand troops of ‘Alī (‘a) who had gathered at Nukhaylah, pledged allegiance to Imām Ḥasan (‘a). Having concluded the allegiance ceremony, Imām Ḥasan delivered a critical and moving speech before a large crowd at the mosque of Kūfah. During this speech, he warned people against depravity, and obedience to Satan and his followers.

Then he expressed his readiness to fight Mu‘awiyah and called on the commanders of his army to get their soldiers ready for the attack on Shām and he was involved in making preparations in Kūfah himself.

Mu‘awiyah learned about these events and realized that Imām Ḥasan has decided to carry on with his father’s plans. Therefore, he started sabotage and since he was adept at deception, hypocrisy, and intrigue, he managed to draw a number of Imām Ḥasan’s companions to himself through different means and thus he drove a wedge in Imām’s army. As a result of duplicity, bribery, and riches, he went so far as some of the opponents of Imām Ḥasan and the hypocrites and mercenaries, who were abounding in his army, wrote a letter to Mu‘awiyah and promised to deliver Imām a captive, if Mu‘awiyah came to Iraq.

Despite this, Imām Ḥasan never retracted his statements and in one of his speeches said, “Mu‘awiyah along with a group of people from Shām are coming toward Kūfah, you must get ready to confront them.” After that he executed a spy that was sent by Mu‘awiyah to Kūfah and wrote to ibn ‘Abbās, the governor of Baṣrah, to execute Mu‘awiyah’s spy in that city too.

Initially, people did not respond positively and at last through the encouragement and perseverance of one of his companions, they promised to assist but when Imām Ḥasan went to Nukhaylah, he learned that the majority of those who had pledged to help, had shrunk form their commitment and had deserted him.

Furthermore, some of his commanders joined the army of Mu‘awiyah after receiving large sums of bribes at the border with Shām and abandoned Imām Ḥasan. In short, Imām’s armywas dispersed and his companions were anxious and agitated. In the meantime, a number of his enemies exploited the opportunity to attack Imāmhimself and plundered his tent and severely wounded his leg. This was a summary of Imām Ḥasan’s conditions then. At this time, Mu‘awiyah raised the peace agreement.

Imām Ḥasan (‘a) thought that if he did not make peace with Mu‘awiyah, both he and his companions would be slain and then Mu‘awiyah would declare that they did not accept his proposal for peace and had themselves killed. Thus, hewould be slain and it would not bring about any advantage for Islam and Muslims. Appreciation of the duty is more important than its fulfillment. Occasionally, we are compelled to keep quiet for a longtime as sages have observed, “Sometimes withdrawal is the most effective assault.” In other words, at times peace is themost honorable combat. If Imām Ḥasanhad been swayed by the emotions of his companions, he and his companions would have been slain in vain, and he would not have derived any result form his martyrdom. Therefore, under those circumstances, Imām concluded that it is in the best interests of Islam and Muslims to accept peace, but within the framework of this peace, all the interests of Muslims should be guarded and Mu‘awiyah’s true nature must be exposed.

In fact, one of the wrong inclinations of some people is that, they tend to engage in warfare all the time, while on the other hand, the tendency to be constantly at peace with the enemies is also wrong. A realistic person should take into account the interests and take steps accordingly.

Sometimes, expediency compels us to wage a war and attimes it dictates peace. In Islamic laws, there are rules pertinent to warfare and there are ones about peace. If the Prophet fought with the infidels in the conflicts of Badr and Aḥzāb, the same Prophet established peace with the same folks and signed the well-known Ḥudaybiyyah peace treaty.

Thus, at the command of God, the Exalted, Imām Ḥasan (‘a) made peace with Mu‘awiyah in a peace agreement that contained some articles. Upon closer examination of this treaty, it grows clear how far Imām took the interests of the Islamic community into account.

And the fact that Mu‘awiyah did not abide by the peace agreement revealed his true nature and people more or less realized that he is not an Islamic leader but an ambitious, despotic, and secular tyrant.

The text of the peace agreement

1. Mu‘awiyah must conduct himself in accordance with the divine book and the tradition of the great Prophet.

2. He must refrain from reviling and maligning ‘Alī (‘a) and command his subordinates to abstain from abusing that Imām in their speeches.

3. He must not introduce anyone as his successor or deputy.

4. Imām Ḥasan (‘a) should be absolved of having to call Mu‘awiyah, the Commander of the Faithful.

5. He should put an end to the persecution of ‘Alī’s household and companions and let them live peacefully like other people.

6. He must allocate part of the revenues to Imām Ḥasan so that he could distribute that among the families who had lost their breadwinners in the conflicts of Jamal and Ṣiffīnand also to be able to repay the debts that he had to incur for the sake of people.[39]

Lesson twenty: the third Imām and the fifth infallible figure, Imām Ḥusayn (‘a)

He was born on Sha‘bān3 , 04. At the command of God, the great Prophet named himḤusayn and foretold his martyrdom in the cause of religion on the day of his birth and said, “A group of infidels and tyrants from Banī Umayyah would kill him. May God keep my intercession fromthem. ”

Ḥusayn (‘a) spentforty six years with his grandfather, parents, and brother and attained the position of leadership at the age of forty seven after the demise of Imām Ḥasan.He suffered under the deceptive and oppressive rule of Mu‘awiyah but so long as Mu‘awiyah was living, he could not do anything because just as Imām Ḥasan, for the sake of Islam, agreed to peace with Mu‘awiyah on a number of conditions and thought it advantageous to Islam and Muslims to renounce war with him, Imām Ḥusayn (‘a) also thought it expedient to refrain from confrontation during the remaining ten years of his rule.

But following the death of Mu‘awiyah, Yazīd mounted the throne and announced his rule and to strengthen his position, demanded allegiance from all senior figures including Imām Ḥusayn (‘a) but Imām (‘a) from the very beginning said, “When persons like the dissolute, gambling and drunken Yazīd, who do not even superficially observe and respect Islam, intend to assume the leadership of the Islamic community, that time would mark the death and annihilation of Islam because these people intend to eradicate Islam with its own power.”[40] And on these grounds, he refused to pledge allegiance and did not recognize the rule of Yazīd and at the command of God, the Exalted, and for the sake of Islam, he decided not to acknowledge Yazīd’s rule and rise up against him even at the risk of his life.

Thus, upon the invitation of the inhabitants of Kūfah, he set out toward Iraq in the year 60. From the start of this journey through his martyrdom, he announced to his companions and other Muslims that his uprising was aimed at the promotion of decency and prohibition of indecency and revolt against the oppressor and refusal to acknowledge a tyrannical regime, and eventually the protection of the Koran, Islam and the prophetic tradition. With the same steadfast resolve, finally, he and his children and some of the youths of Banī Hāshim and some of the most prominent figures of the time, were killed in Karbalā and his household went into custody but he made it clear to his contemporaries and the following generations that sacrifice and selflessness are essential in the great cause of truth and he established his reputation like a shining sun in the history of Islam.

A lesson from the school of Imām Ḥusayn (‘a)

Since his martyrdom, his followers and devotees have constantly commemorated his memory and have held mourning services and thus and by visiting his holyshrine they have renewed allegiance to the memory of Karbalā.

Our infallible leaders underlined the preservation of the memory of Karbalā and repeatedly held commemoration and mourning ceremonies themselves and talked a lot about the benefits of mourning for Imām Ḥusayn.

Abū ‘Ammāreh has said, “One day I was with Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a). He asked me to recite some elegies about Imām Ḥusayn and as I started reading, Imām burst out crying and he kept on weeping so loudly that his cries were audible outside the house, when I finished, he talked about the advantages and greatness of reciting elegies and mourning for Imām Ḥusayn (‘a).”[41]

Indeed, mourning and crying for Imām Ḥusayn and recalling the history of Karbalā is a great virtue and is invaluable but we should bear in mind that the mourning services and the narration of the incidents of Karbalā are intended to derive lessons of selfless sacrifice and devoutness in the cause of religion, and the dignity and honor and protection of the Koran and its holy edicts and not lamentation and mourning for their own sake, because the objective behind these mourning ceremonies and rites is to immortalize the goals of Imām Ḥusayn (‘a).

Excerpts from Imām Ḥusayn’s supplications

“O God! I grantYour unity and count Your blessings although I know that I won’t be able to enumerate them because Your gifts are countless.”

“I have consistently, from my birthday, enjoyedYour blessings and from the start of my life, You have protected me from poverty and destitution and suffering and misery and have provided the means of my welfare.”

“O the best person to whom we can express our demands, and the kindest from whom to seek forgiveness.”

“O the one who is aware of the closing eyes and the secret peeping, O the one to whom the hidden secrets of the hearts are not unknown. O the kindest, bestow your good regards upon Muḥammad and his household.O God! I can’t accomplish but what merits my meanness and we demand what meritsYour generosity.”

These were the prayers that Imām said at the plains of ‘Arafah on the day of ‘Arafah and wept and taught greatness and knowledge of God to mankind.[ 42]

Lesson twenty one: the fourth Imām and the sixth infallible figure, Imām AL-Sajjād( ‘a)

His name is ‘Alī, the son of Imām Ḥusayn and his most well-known epithets are Sajjād and Zayn al-‘Ābidīn.He was born on Jumādī al-Awwal 5 or 15, 36 or 38 and attained the position of leadership after the martyrdom of his father, Imām Ḥusayn in the year 61.

His leadership coincided with the zenith of the Umawī rule and the enemies of the prophetic household (‘a) and during this period, momentous events and bloody revolts tookplace which entailed difficulties for Imām. Occasionally, his life and at times his dignity and honorwere jeopardized but with foresight, patience, fortitude, self-sacrifice and self-esteem he managed to overcome all the obstacles and preserved his life and honor along with those of many others.

He was not only devout and devotedbut also a thoughtful and adept leader who did his best to guard the interests of Islam and Muslims at critical moments.

One of his most outstanding services to the Islamic world and Islamic teachings is the collection of the prayers of that Imām whichis known as The Complete Saḥīfah-ye Sajjadiyyah. This book and its prayers incorporate a series of rational, moral,philosophical and social facts and teachings and have been preserved in the form of supplications toward the absolutely needless.And it is impossible that anyone save an infallible Imām who has inherited the knowledge of the prophets could provide humanity with such facts and truths.

He was poisoned to martyrdom by the agents of the Umawī regime on Muḥarram 25, 97 at the age offifty seven or fifty nine and was buried in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām al-Sajjād (‘a)

“The dearest of you, before God, is the most righteous and the most respected of you, before God, is the most pious and god-fearing.”

“O men! You will eventually die and will be revived to stand trial before divine justice, so have an answer ready.” [43] That is, until the opportunity is available andyou’re alive get ready for the hereafter and endeavor to earn the divine pleasure.

“If all men were perished and Iwere deserted, I would not be terrified so long as I am with the Koran.” (I will approach the Koran and derive benefits from it).[ 44]

Lessontwenty two : the fifth Imām and the seventh infallible figure, Imām al-Bāqir (‘a)

Hewas called Muḥammad and was distinguished with the epithet Bāqir al-‘Ulūm, literally, explorer of sciences. His father was ImāmḤusayn and his mother was Fāṭimah, the daughter of Imām Ḥasan, therefore, he was directly related to Imām ‘Alī ibn Abīṭālib through both of his parents.

He was born on Rajab 1, 47 in Medina and attained the position of leadership atthirty nine in 95. Since toward the end of his life, the Banī Umayyahregime had declined and was on the verge of disintegration, he managed to utilize the opportunity to explain Islamic laws and teachings to people and train innumerable students and scholars. The contemporary scholars and jurists honored him and drew benefits from him.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Atā has said, “I never saw scholars and scientists honor and venerate anyone as much as they did Imām Muḥammad. For example, whenever Ḥakam ibn Utaybah, who was one of most prominent scholars of the time, met Imām, he behaved so respectfully, as if an elementary pupil behaves toward his teacher.” [45]

Imāmaṣ- Ṣādiq (‘a) has said, “My father, Imām Bāqir, was always praying to God and on occasions when I walked with him, I noticed that he prayed as he walked. He was constantly worshipping God, during meals, at services with people, and he used to urge us to recite Koran.”

Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a) has also observed, “Whenever my father, Imām Bāqir instructed his servants to do something, he went to supervise them and if he saw they had difficulty performing that, he tried to help them.” [46]

Imām Bāqir (‘a) passed away at fifty seven on Dhū’l-Ḥijjah 7, 114 and was buried atBaqī‘ cemetery in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām Bāqir (‘a)

Imām Bāqir told Jābir Ja‘farī, who was one of his companions, “O Jābir!I swear by God that our follower (Shī‘ah) is one who submits to the command of God and is pious and god-fearing. God is not biased toward anyone and the dearest servants before God are those who are the most righteous and comply with divine edicts better and more often than others. By God, the only way to please God and get closer toHim, is through obedience and submission. Wecan not save you from the flames of hell. Anyone who obeys God is our companion and friend and anyone who commits sins and wrongdoings and disobeys God is our enemy.O Jābir! One can not attain our affection but through piety and good deeds.” [47]

Lessontwenty three : the sixth Imām and the eighth infallible figure, Imām al-Sādiq (‘a)

He was calledJa‘far and was known with the epithet, Sādiq. His father was Imām Bāqir and his mother was Umm Farwih, who was one of the most devout women of her time. He was born on Rabī ‘al-Awwal 17, 83 in Medina. He assumed leadership at the age ofthirty two . He dedicated his life to educating and training thousands of students and seized the opportunity (that is, when Banī Umayyah regime was declining and fighting with Banī ‘Abbās) and opened up the gates of Islamic sciences and teachings to the Muslim community.

Around 4000 people have recounted narrations from that Imām and some of them have achieved high ranks of faith and conduct.

One of them is Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, who is unanimously acknowledgedto be the founder of chemistry. Muḥammad ibn Muslim is another figure who has heard and reported thousands of ḥadīths from that Imām and the third is Hishām ibn Ḥakam who was the most prominent figure in rhetoric and beliefs of that time.

Mu’ālī ibn khunays, who was one of the companions of the Imām, says, “On a rainy night, I noticed Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq leave his house and set out toward the shelter of Banī Sā‘idah where the homeless and the needy slept overnight. I also followed the Imām and all of asudden something dropped from his hand, I went up to him and said hello. He toldme to pick them up. WhenI bent, I realized that they were pieces of bread and I gathered them and gave them to him. He put them in a bag.I asked him to let me carry the bag but he declined and said that he was more worthy of doing that. When we arrived at that shelter,I saw a number of the poor sleeping there. He put some bread near each one of them and went past.I asked him whether they were his followers. He said if they had been his followers, he would have attended to them much more.” [48]

Indeed, the great Prophet, ‘Alī (‘a), and other leaders constantly helped the needy and the wretched and sympathized with their misery.

Imām aṣ-Ṣādiqwas poisoned to death by Manṣūr, an ‘Abbāsī ruler, on the 25 of Shawwāl in 148 at the age of 65. He was buried at Baqī’ cemetery next to the tombs of his father, Imām Bāqir, and his grandfather, Imām Sajjād, and his uncle, Imām Ḥasan.

His advice on deathbed

Umm Ḥamīdah, the magnanimous wife of Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq says, “Before his death, Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq opened his eyes and asked all his relatives to meet at his bed. All members of Banī Hāshim got together, and then Imām glanced at them and said, “’Our intercession won’t benefit anyone who scorns the obligatory prayers and does not attach importance to them.’” [49]

Lessontwenty four : the seventh Imām and the ninth infallible figure, Imām al-KāẒim (‘a)

He was called Mūsā and waswell-known as Kāẓim. His father was Imāmaṣ- Ṣādiq and his mother was Ḥamīdah who was very knowledgeable and Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq used to ask women to consult her regarding religious edicts and teachings.He was born on Ṣafar 7, 128, and attained the position of leadership at 21.

He spent some time in prison because Hārūn, the ‘Abbasī ruler, deemed his presence among people dangerous and was jealous of his popularity among them and put him into jail on different pretexts. At prison, he spent his time saying prayers and worshipping God. At one of the prisons, the ‘Abbasī ruler sent an attractive woman as a servant to Imām and his aim was to get Imām infatuated with that woman and thus exploit this against him outside.

After a few days, the ‘Abbasī ruler sent someone to inspect the prison and see about the Imām and the woman. He walked into the prison and saw that at one corner, Imām was engaged in prayers and at the other corner was sitting the woman praying.

The woman was taken to the ruler and was askedhow come she had changed so dramatically. She replied, “Imām Kāẓim’s routine and his devotion and devoutness influenced and changed me.” (But I could not exert any influence upon him whatsoever).[ 50]

Indeed, men of God and their conduct and lifestyle attracted people toward them and they reformed and rectified the environment, and theywere never swayed and corrupted by other people and the environment .

He was poisoned to death by the ‘Abbasī ruler’s agents and passed away in the corner of the prison of Baqdād on the 25th of Rajab of 183 and was buried at Quraysh cemetery which was later known as Kāẓimayn. Currently, his shrine is visited by all Muslims especially shī’ahs.

Some remarks by the Imām

Anyone whose yesterday and today are equal, that is, aftertwenty four hours, he has not gained anything in spirituality and humanity and has not advanced on the path of piety and faith, this person is like someone who has invested but has not obtained any value in return.

And anyone who is worse than yesterday, that is, instead of spiritual progress, has deteriorated and is inclined toward wrongdoing and impiety; such a person will be far from God’s grace.

Lessontwenty five : the eighth Imām and the tenth infallible figure, Imām RiḌā (‘a)

The eighth infallible Imām, Riḍā (‘a) was born on Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 11, 148 in Medina. His father was Imām Kāẓim and his mother was Najmah, who was one of the most prominent women of that era. He assumed leadership in 183 at the age of 36.

Concurrent with the rule of the ‘Abbasī ruler, Ma’mūn, and at his insistence, the Imām immigrated to Khurāsān and agreed to function as his deputy. In Khurāsān, he conducted debates with the scholars of other religions and all of them conceded his greatness and bowed to his knowledge and learning.

A person from Balkh says, “Once I was with Imām Riḍā. He ordered to unroll the cloth for food. All the servants, even the black slaves sat at the same cloth and shared the meal with Imām.I told Imām, “It would have been better, if you did not share the meal with them.” He said, “Hold it! (what is the difference between us and them) we share one God and descend from the same parents and everyone’s recompense will be in proportion to his good deeds.” [51]

Whenever he sat to eat food, he had already given away part of all the dishes to the poor and then started eating. At night, he slept very little and stayed up from evening to dawn.

He fasted very often and never neglected the three days of fasting every month, that is, thefirst and the last Thursday of the month and the Wednesday of the middle. He went to the households of the needy, in the darkness of nights and attended to them.[ 52]

He was poisoned to death by Ma’mūn, who was afraid of peoples’ attention to him, on the last day of Ṣafar of 203 and was buried in the city of Mashhad. Currently, his shrine is the hub of the Shī‘ahs of the world.

Some remarks by the Imām

God’s devotion is not merely marked by the frequency of prayers and fasting but true devotion consists in man’s contemplation and reflection upon the religious rules to realize his duties under any circumstances and to be industrious in their fulfillment.[ 53]

Cleanliness and sanitation are the manners of the divine prophets.[ 54]

Dependence on God means that man is not afraid of anything but God, the Exalted.[ 55]

Helping the disabled and the feeble is better than charity in the cause of God.[ 56]

Lessontwenty six : the ninth Imām and the eleventh infallible figure, Imām Jawād (‘a)

He was called Muḥammad and hisbest known epithets are Jawād and Taqī. His father was Imām Riḍā and his motherwas called Sabīkah. He was born on Rajab 10, 195. He assumed leadership in 203 at the age of 9. Of course, as we noted earlier, the leadership of Imām is a divine position thatis assigned by God and the Prophet and has nothing to do with age. That is, the great Prophet has determined that after the eighth leader, Imām Riḍā, his son, Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī should succeed and therefore, Imām Riḍā introduced him as the successor.

One day, when Imām Jawād (‘a) entered the great Prophet’s mosque, ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far, the son of Imām Ja‘far, who was the uncle of his father was sitting there, and as Imām walked into the mosque, he rushed toward Imām barefoot and without his cloak, and bowed to him and kissed his hand and stood by him respectfully. Imām Jawād asked him tobe seated . ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far replied, “How could I sit while you are standing?”

Following the departure of Imām Jawād (‘a), some people who had witnessed this went up to ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far and reproached him and said, “You are the uncle of his father and he is the grandson of your brother, why do you honor him? (He should respect you) ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far held his white beard in his hand and said, “When God has not deemed me with my white beard worthy of the position of leadership and has regarded him deserving of the leadership despite his young age, then how do you tell me not to accept it. I seek refuge in God from what you are saying.” (He is our Imām and it is incumbent upon us to submit to him and to honor him).[ 57]

Yaḥyā ibn Aksam says, “One day, I entered the mosque of the Prophet and was paying tribute to his tombstone when I noticed Imām Jawād there.” I posed somequestions and he answered them all very well and then I said, “I have a question but I don’t dare to raise it.” He said, “Before posing your question, I will say it. Yourquestions is , who will be the leader of Muslims after my father, Imām Riḍā?”I said, “By God! That was my question.” He said, “After my father, I will be the Imām and God’s proof.” [58]

Hewas poisoned to death at the order of Mu’taṣim ‘Abbasī, on the last day of Dhu’l-Qa‘dah of 220 at the age of 25. Hewas buried next to his grandfather, Imām Mūsā in Baqdād (Kāẓimayn).

Some remarks by the Imām

Someone asked Imām to advise him, Imām said, “Will you take it?”

He replied, “Yes.” Then Imām expressed remarks with this theme,

Quit lustful desires and oppose your evil ego. Beware that God sees you constantly so watch what you are doing and how you are doing.[ 59]

Lesson sixteen: The first infallible figure, the great prophet

Muḥammad was born on Rabī‘al-Awwal 17, in the year when the story of the elephants and the destruction of the army ofAbrahih[ 29] took place.

His father passed away prior to his birth and his grandfather ‘Abd al-Muṭṭallib adopted him. At the age ofsix , his mother Āminah died and two years later, he lost his grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muṭṭallib, and then his uncle Abūṭālib adopted him. He married Khadījah when he wastwenty five years old.

He lived among people with so much honesty, trustworthiness, and magnanimity that everyone called him the trustworthy Muḥammad and they had so much confidence in him that on great social occasions and whenever a dispute took place, they sought his judgment, during these forty years (prior to his appointment), he had no preoccupation except worshiping God and serving people. Every year, he spent some time in a cave called Ḥirā’ and there he worshipped God with reflection upon His signs.

The Commander of the Faithful in his book Nahj al-Balāghah observes, “God had commanded one of His greatest angels to wait on the great Prophet who kept him company day and night and guided him in the virtues and good deeds.”

At the age of forty, hewas appointed to the prophetic mission. The first man to accept his invitation was ‘Alī and the first woman to do so was his wife Khadījah and for a long time only these two individuals said prayers along with the Prophet.

Saudi Arabia, at that time, was bereft of science, culture, and civilization and bloodshed, indecency, atrocity, and pillage were ubiquitous. The great Prophet set out to guide andlead people toward God in such a bleak environment and suffered so much in this cause that we could never imagine.

For example, we read in history that following the demise of the revered Abūṭālib, the great Prophet set out on a journey to Ṭā’if to guide the dwellers of that city.There, the respected citizens did not accept his invitation and besides that, they abused him and the thugs of the city, having realized that he was not respected by the senior members of the city, lined up on both sides of his path and pelted so many stones at his legs that they were covered with blood and were severely injured.

The great Prophet spent thirteen years in Mecca after his appointment and then immigrated to Medina where he laid the foundations of the global Islamic rule and spent the rest of his life, that is, ten years, there. He was solely preoccupied with the advancement of the community and familiarizing people with God and spirituality and eventually passed away ten years after immigration at the age ofsixty three and was buried in Medina.

The great Prophet’s conduct

The Prophet was the wisest, most knowledgeable, mostpatient and kindest of all people. He always sat on the ground and ate his meals there and helped in household chores, for example, he occasionally answered the door himself. He drew milk form the sheep himself and helped his servant when he got tired of spinning the manual mill (whichwas kept at home then).

He never lost his temper due to mundane affairs and his fury and anger were aroused only because of God. He consorted with the poor and working classes and shared meals with them and he honored the learned and the righteous.

He never exercised discrimination between himself and his servants in food and clothing. He never abused anyone. He greeted everyone he saw and he remembered God wherever he was. He mostly sat facing Ka‘bah. If anyone needed his help, he swiftly went tohelp out . He honored guests and attimes he spread his cloak on the ground so that the guest could sit on it.

One day, a person talking with the Prophet was trembling and shuddering out of his greatness and nobility, the Prophet said, “why are you afraid of me, I am not a despot (I am a God’s servant like you).”

The people of Ḥijāz attached no importance to women and they even buried their female babies but the great Prophet offered much advice concerning women and saved them from captivity and misfortunes.

Drinking liquor, adultery, indecency, gambling and a variety of other sins were widespread among people but thanks to the sacrifices of the great Prophet, they were eradicated and a population which was deprived of everything attained a power that could save the two powerful kingdoms of the time (Iranian and Roman) from the yoke of oppression and make them acquainted with Islamic teachings.

In whatever he did, he solely relied on God and his faith and he always urged people to take steps in the cause of God and for His satisfaction.

In one of the conflicts, the great Prophetwas separated from his companions by a long distance.He was noticed by one of the foes sitting at one corner . He picked up hissword and rushed toward him and said, “O Muḥammad! Who can save you from me now?”

The great Prophet said confidently, “God.” As the Prophet uttered this word, that man’s hands began trembling and his sword fell. Then the great Prophet took his sword and said, “Who will save you from me now?” The man said, “No one, because I don’t believe in your God to seek help from Him, ” and subsequently he professed his belief in God and testified to the prophetic mission of him.[30] Indeed, anyone who has faith in God, He will help him under all circumstances and will save him.

Lesson seventeen: the second infallible figure, Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭalib (‘a)

‘Alī was born on Rajab 13, thirty years after the destruction of the elephants, in the House of God, Ka‘bah. He was ten, when the great Prophet was appointed and during thetwenty three years of his mission, he always stood by him and spared no sacrifice in the cause of God and the great Prophet. His sacrifices and his efforts in the cause of Islam especially at times when Islamwas seriously threatened on all sides are unforgettable.

On the night, when the infidels had plotted to raid the house of the Prophet and kill him, the Prophet told ‘Alī, “The infidels have decided to break into my house and kill me and God has commanded me to leave Mecca and ask you to sleep in my stead. Are you ready to do so?”

‘Alī said, “If I sleep in your bed, will you be safe?”

The great Prophet replied, “Yes.”

‘Alī prostrated himself to thank God and said, “May my life be sacrificed to yours, I willingly comply with whatever you command and pray God for success.”

In all battles, he span around the Prophet like a butterfly and faced many dangers to keep him safe.

In every way, he was identical to the great Prophet as if he were his reflection in the mirror.

The great Prophet has said, “I am the city of knowledge and ‘Alī is like the gate to this city and anyone who seeks entry to acquire knowledge must do so through ‘Alī.”

The great Prophet has also observed, “’Alī is with truth, and truth is with ‘Alī and these two will never part from one another and whatever ‘Alī says is truth and whatever way he specifies is the path of truth.”

Although he was inalienably entitled to succeed the Prophet[31] following the demise of the Prophet his undeniable right to succession was violated, nevertheless to preserve the foundation of Islam, ‘Alī never, during the twenty years when he was robbed of his right, did anything that might divide the Muslim community and thus afford Islam’s foes the opportunity to destroy it but rather he did his best to help Islam and Muslims and did not withhold his guidance on important occasions. Finally people pledged allegiance to him as the ruler in the year 35, and his rule lasted five years until in the Ramaḍān of the year 40, he was martyred at the mosque of Kūfah. May God bless him! His holy shrine is located inNajaf which is one of the cities of Iraq.

‘Alī’s will

Excerpts from the Commander of the Faithful’s recommendations to his son, Imām Ḥasan (‘a).

Say your prayers on time and pay your alms taxes (zakāt) punctually and under any circumstances, whether you feelpleased or angry or furious, observe the golden mean. Be friendly to the needy and consort with them.

Omy son! Endeavor in the cause of God anddon’t quit recommending decency and forbidding indecency. Behave in a brotherly manner toward your fellow-Muslims for the sake of God. Remember God all the time. Be kind to children, and respect the elderly.Don’t eat any food unless you have already given some part of it away to the needy.[32]

The woman who introduced ‘Alī (‘a) to Mu‘āwiyah (May God’s curse be upon him)

After the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) Sūdah, the daughter of ‘Ammārah called on Mu‘āwiyah to complain about their governor who was appointed by him. Mu‘āwiyah did not heed her protest and threatened to send her to the same ruler to be at his mercy.

Sūdah bowed her head for a while and then raised it and recited this verse,

“May God bestow His blessing upon the body which when it was placed in the grave, justice was buried simultaneously, too.”

“The one who was allied with truth and was inextricably linked to faith and truth.”

Mu‘āwiyah said, “Perhaps you mean ‘Alī.”

She said, “Yes, I mean ‘Alī (‘a)”. Then she recounted her memory of that Imām, “During his rule, we were oppressed by one of his appointees, we expressed our discontent to ‘Alī. Having listened to our complaint, he started crying and said, “O God you bear witness that I have never told them to wrong people.”And he immediately sacked that oppressive appointee.[33]

Lessoneighteen : the third infallible, FāṬimah al-Zahrā, the daughter of the prophet

Fāṭimah (‘a) was born on Jumādā al-Thānī 5, five years after the appointment of the Prophet from Khadījah. At the age of five, her mother passed away. The great Prophet loved his daughter so much that he used tosay “Fāṭimah is the dearest and most respected of people to me.”

Fāṭimah’s stature in terms of great human attributes, and virtues, and God’s worship was so high that whenever she went to the Prophet’s house, she was welcomed and greeted by him and he kissed her hand and gave his place to her and about her he has said, “Fāṭimah is my flesh, whoever pleases her has pleased me and whoever offends her has offended me.”

Imām Ḥasan (‘a) recounts that, “On a Friday night, my mother, Fāṭimah, was engaged in worshipping God and saying prayers nonstop until daybreak but she prayed for other people most of the time.I told her, ‘O mother! Why don’t you pray for yourself?’ She replied, ‘O my son! First neighbors, then ourselves.’” [34]

One day, the great Prophet asked, “What is the best thing for women?”

Fāṭimah (‘a) replied, “O Father! It is best for women not to be seen by strange men and not to see a strange man.” The great Prophet embraced her and said, “Offspring and generation that some spring from some.”[35] That is, Fāṭimah is the daughter of the Prophet and has obtained her excellence from him.

Indeed, today when the societies are suffering from the consequences of mixing the sexes and their unrestricted relationship, they appreciate the true meaning of Fāṭimah’s remarks that the only way through which the society might be kept from corruption and depravity is to segregate the sexes at work and at school, otherwise, the society will plunge deeper and deeper into corruption and decadence.

Fāṭimah (‘a) died at the age of eighteen. For nineyears she lived with ‘Alī and bore children like Imām Ḥasan, Imām Ḥusayn, and Zaynab for the Muslim community. Eventually, approximately three years after the demise of the great Prophet, she passed away in Medina and was secretly buriedovernight[ 36] . During these three months, she did her best to defend ‘Alī’s right to succession and leadership and finally sacrificed her life for the same cause.

Lesson nineteen: the second Imām and the fourth infallible figure, Imām Ḥasan (‘a)

It was on Ramaḍān 15, 03 that Imām Ḥasan (‘a) was born from such a great mother as, Fāṭimah (‘a). He was the first child who beamed in the house of leadership. As the great Prophet was informed of his birth, he went to the house of ‘Alī and Fāṭimah and took his daughter’s baby and embraced him and then recited Adhān in his right ear and Iqāmah in his left ear and subsequently, at the command of God, called him Ḥasan.

One of his most famous epithets is Mujtabā.Imām Ḥasan was raised by such exemplary parents as ‘Alī and Fāṭimah and the marks of greatness and magnanimity were evident in him from early on.The great Prophet liked him so much and regarding him has observed, “O God! You know that I like Ḥasan and also like anyone that likes him.”

He has also observed, “Ḥasan is my blossom”and also that, “Ḥasan and Ḥusayn are the leaders of Muslims whether they rise up or not.” That is, even if for the sake of Islam they decide to remain silent and refuse to protest against others’ rule.

As children, once he and his brother Ḥusayn saw an old man performing the ablutions incorrectly. They wanted to correct the old man but since he was aged, they did not want to do so offensively.

They staged an interesting scene. They went up to him and told him, “O old man! We both perform ablutions, you observe and judge who does so better!” The old man looked as they performed ablutions and realized that his own ablutions have been wrong and these great children have done that to teach him. Then he told them, “O the darlings of the Prophet! You perform ablutions correctly but my ablutions were not correct and I learned from you how to do it accurately.” [37]

Imām Ḥasan was seven when the Prophet passed away and then he spent thirty years with the Commander of the Faithful and attained the position of leadership at the age ofthirty seven . He was poisoned to martyrdom at the age of forty seven and was buried atBaqī‘ cemetery in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām al-Ḥasan (‘a),

Anyone who frequents a mosque will derive one of the following benefits (the mosques should have such features).

1. He will learn the primary principles of the faith and other Islamic teachings.

2. He will hear remarks that will lead him to the straight path and keep him from deviation.

3. Out of the dread of God or shyness or embarrassment, he will avoid wrongdoing.

4. He will come across a helpful brother (a faithful and close friend).

5. He will be blessed by God.[ 38]

Imām Ḥasan’s peace agreement

Following the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, the shī‘ah people of Iraq and the four thousand troops of ‘Alī (‘a) who had gathered at Nukhaylah, pledged allegiance to Imām Ḥasan (‘a). Having concluded the allegiance ceremony, Imām Ḥasan delivered a critical and moving speech before a large crowd at the mosque of Kūfah. During this speech, he warned people against depravity, and obedience to Satan and his followers.

Then he expressed his readiness to fight Mu‘awiyah and called on the commanders of his army to get their soldiers ready for the attack on Shām and he was involved in making preparations in Kūfah himself.

Mu‘awiyah learned about these events and realized that Imām Ḥasan has decided to carry on with his father’s plans. Therefore, he started sabotage and since he was adept at deception, hypocrisy, and intrigue, he managed to draw a number of Imām Ḥasan’s companions to himself through different means and thus he drove a wedge in Imām’s army. As a result of duplicity, bribery, and riches, he went so far as some of the opponents of Imām Ḥasan and the hypocrites and mercenaries, who were abounding in his army, wrote a letter to Mu‘awiyah and promised to deliver Imām a captive, if Mu‘awiyah came to Iraq.

Despite this, Imām Ḥasan never retracted his statements and in one of his speeches said, “Mu‘awiyah along with a group of people from Shām are coming toward Kūfah, you must get ready to confront them.” After that he executed a spy that was sent by Mu‘awiyah to Kūfah and wrote to ibn ‘Abbās, the governor of Baṣrah, to execute Mu‘awiyah’s spy in that city too.

Initially, people did not respond positively and at last through the encouragement and perseverance of one of his companions, they promised to assist but when Imām Ḥasan went to Nukhaylah, he learned that the majority of those who had pledged to help, had shrunk form their commitment and had deserted him.

Furthermore, some of his commanders joined the army of Mu‘awiyah after receiving large sums of bribes at the border with Shām and abandoned Imām Ḥasan. In short, Imām’s armywas dispersed and his companions were anxious and agitated. In the meantime, a number of his enemies exploited the opportunity to attack Imāmhimself and plundered his tent and severely wounded his leg. This was a summary of Imām Ḥasan’s conditions then. At this time, Mu‘awiyah raised the peace agreement.

Imām Ḥasan (‘a) thought that if he did not make peace with Mu‘awiyah, both he and his companions would be slain and then Mu‘awiyah would declare that they did not accept his proposal for peace and had themselves killed. Thus, hewould be slain and it would not bring about any advantage for Islam and Muslims. Appreciation of the duty is more important than its fulfillment. Occasionally, we are compelled to keep quiet for a longtime as sages have observed, “Sometimes withdrawal is the most effective assault.” In other words, at times peace is themost honorable combat. If Imām Ḥasanhad been swayed by the emotions of his companions, he and his companions would have been slain in vain, and he would not have derived any result form his martyrdom. Therefore, under those circumstances, Imām concluded that it is in the best interests of Islam and Muslims to accept peace, but within the framework of this peace, all the interests of Muslims should be guarded and Mu‘awiyah’s true nature must be exposed.

In fact, one of the wrong inclinations of some people is that, they tend to engage in warfare all the time, while on the other hand, the tendency to be constantly at peace with the enemies is also wrong. A realistic person should take into account the interests and take steps accordingly.

Sometimes, expediency compels us to wage a war and attimes it dictates peace. In Islamic laws, there are rules pertinent to warfare and there are ones about peace. If the Prophet fought with the infidels in the conflicts of Badr and Aḥzāb, the same Prophet established peace with the same folks and signed the well-known Ḥudaybiyyah peace treaty.

Thus, at the command of God, the Exalted, Imām Ḥasan (‘a) made peace with Mu‘awiyah in a peace agreement that contained some articles. Upon closer examination of this treaty, it grows clear how far Imām took the interests of the Islamic community into account.

And the fact that Mu‘awiyah did not abide by the peace agreement revealed his true nature and people more or less realized that he is not an Islamic leader but an ambitious, despotic, and secular tyrant.

The text of the peace agreement

1. Mu‘awiyah must conduct himself in accordance with the divine book and the tradition of the great Prophet.

2. He must refrain from reviling and maligning ‘Alī (‘a) and command his subordinates to abstain from abusing that Imām in their speeches.

3. He must not introduce anyone as his successor or deputy.

4. Imām Ḥasan (‘a) should be absolved of having to call Mu‘awiyah, the Commander of the Faithful.

5. He should put an end to the persecution of ‘Alī’s household and companions and let them live peacefully like other people.

6. He must allocate part of the revenues to Imām Ḥasan so that he could distribute that among the families who had lost their breadwinners in the conflicts of Jamal and Ṣiffīnand also to be able to repay the debts that he had to incur for the sake of people.[39]

Lesson twenty: the third Imām and the fifth infallible figure, Imām Ḥusayn (‘a)

He was born on Sha‘bān3 , 04. At the command of God, the great Prophet named himḤusayn and foretold his martyrdom in the cause of religion on the day of his birth and said, “A group of infidels and tyrants from Banī Umayyah would kill him. May God keep my intercession fromthem. ”

Ḥusayn (‘a) spentforty six years with his grandfather, parents, and brother and attained the position of leadership at the age of forty seven after the demise of Imām Ḥasan.He suffered under the deceptive and oppressive rule of Mu‘awiyah but so long as Mu‘awiyah was living, he could not do anything because just as Imām Ḥasan, for the sake of Islam, agreed to peace with Mu‘awiyah on a number of conditions and thought it advantageous to Islam and Muslims to renounce war with him, Imām Ḥusayn (‘a) also thought it expedient to refrain from confrontation during the remaining ten years of his rule.

But following the death of Mu‘awiyah, Yazīd mounted the throne and announced his rule and to strengthen his position, demanded allegiance from all senior figures including Imām Ḥusayn (‘a) but Imām (‘a) from the very beginning said, “When persons like the dissolute, gambling and drunken Yazīd, who do not even superficially observe and respect Islam, intend to assume the leadership of the Islamic community, that time would mark the death and annihilation of Islam because these people intend to eradicate Islam with its own power.”[40] And on these grounds, he refused to pledge allegiance and did not recognize the rule of Yazīd and at the command of God, the Exalted, and for the sake of Islam, he decided not to acknowledge Yazīd’s rule and rise up against him even at the risk of his life.

Thus, upon the invitation of the inhabitants of Kūfah, he set out toward Iraq in the year 60. From the start of this journey through his martyrdom, he announced to his companions and other Muslims that his uprising was aimed at the promotion of decency and prohibition of indecency and revolt against the oppressor and refusal to acknowledge a tyrannical regime, and eventually the protection of the Koran, Islam and the prophetic tradition. With the same steadfast resolve, finally, he and his children and some of the youths of Banī Hāshim and some of the most prominent figures of the time, were killed in Karbalā and his household went into custody but he made it clear to his contemporaries and the following generations that sacrifice and selflessness are essential in the great cause of truth and he established his reputation like a shining sun in the history of Islam.

A lesson from the school of Imām Ḥusayn (‘a)

Since his martyrdom, his followers and devotees have constantly commemorated his memory and have held mourning services and thus and by visiting his holyshrine they have renewed allegiance to the memory of Karbalā.

Our infallible leaders underlined the preservation of the memory of Karbalā and repeatedly held commemoration and mourning ceremonies themselves and talked a lot about the benefits of mourning for Imām Ḥusayn.

Abū ‘Ammāreh has said, “One day I was with Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a). He asked me to recite some elegies about Imām Ḥusayn and as I started reading, Imām burst out crying and he kept on weeping so loudly that his cries were audible outside the house, when I finished, he talked about the advantages and greatness of reciting elegies and mourning for Imām Ḥusayn (‘a).”[41]

Indeed, mourning and crying for Imām Ḥusayn and recalling the history of Karbalā is a great virtue and is invaluable but we should bear in mind that the mourning services and the narration of the incidents of Karbalā are intended to derive lessons of selfless sacrifice and devoutness in the cause of religion, and the dignity and honor and protection of the Koran and its holy edicts and not lamentation and mourning for their own sake, because the objective behind these mourning ceremonies and rites is to immortalize the goals of Imām Ḥusayn (‘a).

Excerpts from Imām Ḥusayn’s supplications

“O God! I grantYour unity and count Your blessings although I know that I won’t be able to enumerate them because Your gifts are countless.”

“I have consistently, from my birthday, enjoyedYour blessings and from the start of my life, You have protected me from poverty and destitution and suffering and misery and have provided the means of my welfare.”

“O the best person to whom we can express our demands, and the kindest from whom to seek forgiveness.”

“O the one who is aware of the closing eyes and the secret peeping, O the one to whom the hidden secrets of the hearts are not unknown. O the kindest, bestow your good regards upon Muḥammad and his household.O God! I can’t accomplish but what merits my meanness and we demand what meritsYour generosity.”

These were the prayers that Imām said at the plains of ‘Arafah on the day of ‘Arafah and wept and taught greatness and knowledge of God to mankind.[ 42]

Lesson twenty one: the fourth Imām and the sixth infallible figure, Imām AL-Sajjād( ‘a)

His name is ‘Alī, the son of Imām Ḥusayn and his most well-known epithets are Sajjād and Zayn al-‘Ābidīn.He was born on Jumādī al-Awwal 5 or 15, 36 or 38 and attained the position of leadership after the martyrdom of his father, Imām Ḥusayn in the year 61.

His leadership coincided with the zenith of the Umawī rule and the enemies of the prophetic household (‘a) and during this period, momentous events and bloody revolts tookplace which entailed difficulties for Imām. Occasionally, his life and at times his dignity and honorwere jeopardized but with foresight, patience, fortitude, self-sacrifice and self-esteem he managed to overcome all the obstacles and preserved his life and honor along with those of many others.

He was not only devout and devotedbut also a thoughtful and adept leader who did his best to guard the interests of Islam and Muslims at critical moments.

One of his most outstanding services to the Islamic world and Islamic teachings is the collection of the prayers of that Imām whichis known as The Complete Saḥīfah-ye Sajjadiyyah. This book and its prayers incorporate a series of rational, moral,philosophical and social facts and teachings and have been preserved in the form of supplications toward the absolutely needless.And it is impossible that anyone save an infallible Imām who has inherited the knowledge of the prophets could provide humanity with such facts and truths.

He was poisoned to martyrdom by the agents of the Umawī regime on Muḥarram 25, 97 at the age offifty seven or fifty nine and was buried in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām al-Sajjād (‘a)

“The dearest of you, before God, is the most righteous and the most respected of you, before God, is the most pious and god-fearing.”

“O men! You will eventually die and will be revived to stand trial before divine justice, so have an answer ready.” [43] That is, until the opportunity is available andyou’re alive get ready for the hereafter and endeavor to earn the divine pleasure.

“If all men were perished and Iwere deserted, I would not be terrified so long as I am with the Koran.” (I will approach the Koran and derive benefits from it).[ 44]

Lessontwenty two : the fifth Imām and the seventh infallible figure, Imām al-Bāqir (‘a)

Hewas called Muḥammad and was distinguished with the epithet Bāqir al-‘Ulūm, literally, explorer of sciences. His father was ImāmḤusayn and his mother was Fāṭimah, the daughter of Imām Ḥasan, therefore, he was directly related to Imām ‘Alī ibn Abīṭālib through both of his parents.

He was born on Rajab 1, 47 in Medina and attained the position of leadership atthirty nine in 95. Since toward the end of his life, the Banī Umayyahregime had declined and was on the verge of disintegration, he managed to utilize the opportunity to explain Islamic laws and teachings to people and train innumerable students and scholars. The contemporary scholars and jurists honored him and drew benefits from him.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Atā has said, “I never saw scholars and scientists honor and venerate anyone as much as they did Imām Muḥammad. For example, whenever Ḥakam ibn Utaybah, who was one of most prominent scholars of the time, met Imām, he behaved so respectfully, as if an elementary pupil behaves toward his teacher.” [45]

Imāmaṣ- Ṣādiq (‘a) has said, “My father, Imām Bāqir, was always praying to God and on occasions when I walked with him, I noticed that he prayed as he walked. He was constantly worshipping God, during meals, at services with people, and he used to urge us to recite Koran.”

Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a) has also observed, “Whenever my father, Imām Bāqir instructed his servants to do something, he went to supervise them and if he saw they had difficulty performing that, he tried to help them.” [46]

Imām Bāqir (‘a) passed away at fifty seven on Dhū’l-Ḥijjah 7, 114 and was buried atBaqī‘ cemetery in Medina.

Some remarks by Imām Bāqir (‘a)

Imām Bāqir told Jābir Ja‘farī, who was one of his companions, “O Jābir!I swear by God that our follower (Shī‘ah) is one who submits to the command of God and is pious and god-fearing. God is not biased toward anyone and the dearest servants before God are those who are the most righteous and comply with divine edicts better and more often than others. By God, the only way to please God and get closer toHim, is through obedience and submission. Wecan not save you from the flames of hell. Anyone who obeys God is our companion and friend and anyone who commits sins and wrongdoings and disobeys God is our enemy.O Jābir! One can not attain our affection but through piety and good deeds.” [47]

Lessontwenty three : the sixth Imām and the eighth infallible figure, Imām al-Sādiq (‘a)

He was calledJa‘far and was known with the epithet, Sādiq. His father was Imām Bāqir and his mother was Umm Farwih, who was one of the most devout women of her time. He was born on Rabī ‘al-Awwal 17, 83 in Medina. He assumed leadership at the age ofthirty two . He dedicated his life to educating and training thousands of students and seized the opportunity (that is, when Banī Umayyah regime was declining and fighting with Banī ‘Abbās) and opened up the gates of Islamic sciences and teachings to the Muslim community.

Around 4000 people have recounted narrations from that Imām and some of them have achieved high ranks of faith and conduct.

One of them is Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, who is unanimously acknowledgedto be the founder of chemistry. Muḥammad ibn Muslim is another figure who has heard and reported thousands of ḥadīths from that Imām and the third is Hishām ibn Ḥakam who was the most prominent figure in rhetoric and beliefs of that time.

Mu’ālī ibn khunays, who was one of the companions of the Imām, says, “On a rainy night, I noticed Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq leave his house and set out toward the shelter of Banī Sā‘idah where the homeless and the needy slept overnight. I also followed the Imām and all of asudden something dropped from his hand, I went up to him and said hello. He toldme to pick them up. WhenI bent, I realized that they were pieces of bread and I gathered them and gave them to him. He put them in a bag.I asked him to let me carry the bag but he declined and said that he was more worthy of doing that. When we arrived at that shelter,I saw a number of the poor sleeping there. He put some bread near each one of them and went past.I asked him whether they were his followers. He said if they had been his followers, he would have attended to them much more.” [48]

Indeed, the great Prophet, ‘Alī (‘a), and other leaders constantly helped the needy and the wretched and sympathized with their misery.

Imām aṣ-Ṣādiqwas poisoned to death by Manṣūr, an ‘Abbāsī ruler, on the 25 of Shawwāl in 148 at the age of 65. He was buried at Baqī’ cemetery next to the tombs of his father, Imām Bāqir, and his grandfather, Imām Sajjād, and his uncle, Imām Ḥasan.

His advice on deathbed

Umm Ḥamīdah, the magnanimous wife of Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq says, “Before his death, Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq opened his eyes and asked all his relatives to meet at his bed. All members of Banī Hāshim got together, and then Imām glanced at them and said, “’Our intercession won’t benefit anyone who scorns the obligatory prayers and does not attach importance to them.’” [49]

Lessontwenty four : the seventh Imām and the ninth infallible figure, Imām al-KāẒim (‘a)

He was called Mūsā and waswell-known as Kāẓim. His father was Imāmaṣ- Ṣādiq and his mother was Ḥamīdah who was very knowledgeable and Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq used to ask women to consult her regarding religious edicts and teachings.He was born on Ṣafar 7, 128, and attained the position of leadership at 21.

He spent some time in prison because Hārūn, the ‘Abbasī ruler, deemed his presence among people dangerous and was jealous of his popularity among them and put him into jail on different pretexts. At prison, he spent his time saying prayers and worshipping God. At one of the prisons, the ‘Abbasī ruler sent an attractive woman as a servant to Imām and his aim was to get Imām infatuated with that woman and thus exploit this against him outside.

After a few days, the ‘Abbasī ruler sent someone to inspect the prison and see about the Imām and the woman. He walked into the prison and saw that at one corner, Imām was engaged in prayers and at the other corner was sitting the woman praying.

The woman was taken to the ruler and was askedhow come she had changed so dramatically. She replied, “Imām Kāẓim’s routine and his devotion and devoutness influenced and changed me.” (But I could not exert any influence upon him whatsoever).[ 50]

Indeed, men of God and their conduct and lifestyle attracted people toward them and they reformed and rectified the environment, and theywere never swayed and corrupted by other people and the environment .

He was poisoned to death by the ‘Abbasī ruler’s agents and passed away in the corner of the prison of Baqdād on the 25th of Rajab of 183 and was buried at Quraysh cemetery which was later known as Kāẓimayn. Currently, his shrine is visited by all Muslims especially shī’ahs.

Some remarks by the Imām

Anyone whose yesterday and today are equal, that is, aftertwenty four hours, he has not gained anything in spirituality and humanity and has not advanced on the path of piety and faith, this person is like someone who has invested but has not obtained any value in return.

And anyone who is worse than yesterday, that is, instead of spiritual progress, has deteriorated and is inclined toward wrongdoing and impiety; such a person will be far from God’s grace.

Lessontwenty five : the eighth Imām and the tenth infallible figure, Imām RiḌā (‘a)

The eighth infallible Imām, Riḍā (‘a) was born on Dhu’l-Qa‘dah 11, 148 in Medina. His father was Imām Kāẓim and his mother was Najmah, who was one of the most prominent women of that era. He assumed leadership in 183 at the age of 36.

Concurrent with the rule of the ‘Abbasī ruler, Ma’mūn, and at his insistence, the Imām immigrated to Khurāsān and agreed to function as his deputy. In Khurāsān, he conducted debates with the scholars of other religions and all of them conceded his greatness and bowed to his knowledge and learning.

A person from Balkh says, “Once I was with Imām Riḍā. He ordered to unroll the cloth for food. All the servants, even the black slaves sat at the same cloth and shared the meal with Imām.I told Imām, “It would have been better, if you did not share the meal with them.” He said, “Hold it! (what is the difference between us and them) we share one God and descend from the same parents and everyone’s recompense will be in proportion to his good deeds.” [51]

Whenever he sat to eat food, he had already given away part of all the dishes to the poor and then started eating. At night, he slept very little and stayed up from evening to dawn.

He fasted very often and never neglected the three days of fasting every month, that is, thefirst and the last Thursday of the month and the Wednesday of the middle. He went to the households of the needy, in the darkness of nights and attended to them.[ 52]

He was poisoned to death by Ma’mūn, who was afraid of peoples’ attention to him, on the last day of Ṣafar of 203 and was buried in the city of Mashhad. Currently, his shrine is the hub of the Shī‘ahs of the world.

Some remarks by the Imām

God’s devotion is not merely marked by the frequency of prayers and fasting but true devotion consists in man’s contemplation and reflection upon the religious rules to realize his duties under any circumstances and to be industrious in their fulfillment.[ 53]

Cleanliness and sanitation are the manners of the divine prophets.[ 54]

Dependence on God means that man is not afraid of anything but God, the Exalted.[ 55]

Helping the disabled and the feeble is better than charity in the cause of God.[ 56]

Lessontwenty six : the ninth Imām and the eleventh infallible figure, Imām Jawād (‘a)

He was called Muḥammad and hisbest known epithets are Jawād and Taqī. His father was Imām Riḍā and his motherwas called Sabīkah. He was born on Rajab 10, 195. He assumed leadership in 203 at the age of 9. Of course, as we noted earlier, the leadership of Imām is a divine position thatis assigned by God and the Prophet and has nothing to do with age. That is, the great Prophet has determined that after the eighth leader, Imām Riḍā, his son, Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī should succeed and therefore, Imām Riḍā introduced him as the successor.

One day, when Imām Jawād (‘a) entered the great Prophet’s mosque, ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far, the son of Imām Ja‘far, who was the uncle of his father was sitting there, and as Imām walked into the mosque, he rushed toward Imām barefoot and without his cloak, and bowed to him and kissed his hand and stood by him respectfully. Imām Jawād asked him tobe seated . ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far replied, “How could I sit while you are standing?”

Following the departure of Imām Jawād (‘a), some people who had witnessed this went up to ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far and reproached him and said, “You are the uncle of his father and he is the grandson of your brother, why do you honor him? (He should respect you) ‘Alī ibn Ja‘far held his white beard in his hand and said, “When God has not deemed me with my white beard worthy of the position of leadership and has regarded him deserving of the leadership despite his young age, then how do you tell me not to accept it. I seek refuge in God from what you are saying.” (He is our Imām and it is incumbent upon us to submit to him and to honor him).[ 57]

Yaḥyā ibn Aksam says, “One day, I entered the mosque of the Prophet and was paying tribute to his tombstone when I noticed Imām Jawād there.” I posed somequestions and he answered them all very well and then I said, “I have a question but I don’t dare to raise it.” He said, “Before posing your question, I will say it. Yourquestions is , who will be the leader of Muslims after my father, Imām Riḍā?”I said, “By God! That was my question.” He said, “After my father, I will be the Imām and God’s proof.” [58]

Hewas poisoned to death at the order of Mu’taṣim ‘Abbasī, on the last day of Dhu’l-Qa‘dah of 220 at the age of 25. Hewas buried next to his grandfather, Imām Mūsā in Baqdād (Kāẓimayn).

Some remarks by the Imām

Someone asked Imām to advise him, Imām said, “Will you take it?”

He replied, “Yes.” Then Imām expressed remarks with this theme,

Quit lustful desires and oppose your evil ego. Beware that God sees you constantly so watch what you are doing and how you are doing.[ 59]