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(Front)

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

2 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 03

3 The Personality and Teachings of the Holy Prophet (S) 04

4 Gradual Progress 19

5 Countenance and Conduct of Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari (A.S.) 22

6 The Awaited Saviour “Replies to the Objections” 30

7 Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S.), The Chief of Jafari School of

Thought 45

8 Rights of Children 55

Kids’ Kids’ Kids’ Kids’ CornerCornerCornerCorner

9 Birthday Anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (S) and Imam

Jafar Sadiq (AS) 61

10 Kindness of the Holy Prophet (S) 61

11 Who is the promised Imam and the Savior of the world? 63

12 Harun Al-Makki, A Sincere Follower of Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) 64

THE MESSAGE

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

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

Mr. Hasnain Nanjiani.

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

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

Published by

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

The Message Rabi-ul-Awwal 1441 AH

2

1. Treat all people with

fairness, but the believers

with self-sacrifice.

2. The Prophet (SAWW)

forbade using the services

of a worker before he is in-

formed of his wages.

3. Aim for the Hereafter and

this world will submit to

you in humility.

4. He who advises his brother

in private adorns him, and

he who advises him publicly

degrades him.

5. The best inheritance

parents bequeath their

progeny are good manners.

6. Misfortune is a form of

discipline for the wrongdo-

er.

7. Overeating is the greatest

aid to acts of disobedience.

8. Start with salt before you

eat. If people knew what

[benefits] salt has, they

would prefer it to tested

medicine.

9. A soul does not depart

from expectation until it

enters the realm of death.

10. Yes indeed, the earth will

not be devoid of one who

upholds the proofs for the

sake of Allah - either a

manifest and well-known

authority, or one who is

worried and undistinguish-

able - so that His proofs

and arguments may never

be invalid.

11. The most perfect in faith

from among you is the one

with the best character.

12. Do not betray a man who

trusts you, even if he be-

trays you. And do not dis-

close his secrets even if he

discloses yours.

13. When you meet your

brothers, shake hands with

them and show them cheer-

fulness and joy; thus when

you part company all your

sins will have gone.

��

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

Rabi-ul-Awwal 1441 AH The Message

3

Q.1: What is iddah of nikah

and temporary marriage?

Ans.: Iddah of nikah for a

women who is not in meno-

pause is that she should wait

till she sees Haidh twice and

becomes Pak. Thereafter, as

soon as she sees Haidh for

the third time, her waiting

period will be over. If, howev-

er, a husband divorces his

wife before having sexual

relationship with her, there is

no waiting period for her.

Iddah of temporary marriage

is seeing haidh twice after

divorce.

Q.2: A person has severe

back pain and can't bend.

What is the ruling about

doing feet masah if he

can’t bend during Wudhu?

Ans.: If a person must be

assisted by another person in

doing Wudhu, then an obliga-

tory precaution is that both

should make the niyyat of

Wudhu. Then his assistant will

hold his hand, and help him

do the wiping. And if that is

not possible, he will take

some moisture from his

hands, and with that moisture

wipe his feet.

Q.3: I am currently unem-

ployed. Is Khums obliga-

tory on me to pay?

Ans.: Khums is obligatory

once a year on what exceeds

the expenses during the year.

Q.4: A father died, leaving

behind his 2 daughters and

a son as inheritors. One

daughter told her brother

that she will not want her

share. After several years,

the daughter demands her

share from her brother.

Does she have the right to

it now?

Ans.: If she gave her share to

her brother and he received it,

then she cannot claim the

given share back for herself.

If she did not give it to him

but promised him that she will

give him her share, then she

is allowed to change her

mind; the same ruling applies

if she gave her share to him

but he did not receive it.

��

Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


4

One of the factors that can

serve as the pivot of Muslim

unity is the existence of the

Holy Prophet (S). Muslims and

Muslim intellectuals should

invest their time and efforts

on the personality of the Holy

Prophet (S), his teachings and

Muslims' love for him, with a

comprehensive outlook on

Islam. Among the factors

which can serve as the pivot

of this unity and which all

Muslims agree about, is

following the household of the

Holy Prophet (S). All Muslims

hold the household of the

Holy Prophet (S) in high

regard.

Of course, Shia Muslims

believe in their imamate and

non-Shia people do not

consider them as Imams in

the same sense as Shia

Muslims, yet they consider

them among Islamic luminar-

ies and the Holy Prophet’s (S)

household. They too believe

that our Imams were knowl-

edgeable about Islamic

teachings and divine rules.

Muslims should be unanimous

in implementing the words of

the Imams (a.s.) and the Holy

Prophet’s (S) household. This

is one of the instruments that

can be used to achieve unity.

Of course, this is a task that

should be carried out by

experts. It is an easy and

simple task. Experts on hadith

and related areas of

knowledge know what the

requirements are. It is neces-

sary to reach an agreement

on the standards of under-

standing and interpreting

hadith, and the standards of

verifying the validity of hadith.

It is necessary to reach an

agreement on hadith narra-

tors. In the past – during the

time of the Umayyad Cali-

phate and particularly during

the time of the Abbasid

Caliphate – they tried to erase

the teachings of the Holy

Prophet’s (S) household from

The Personality and Teachings of the

Holy Prophet (S)

By: Ayatollah al-Uzma Sayyid Ali Khamenei


5

the minds of Muslims. For this

reason, there are fewer

narrations from their time.

A hadith narrator goes about

the task of narrating hadith

without being favoring a parti-

cular person to narrate from.

So why would they not narrate

from Ja’far ibn Muhammad

(a.s.)? It was the governments

of Harun, Ma’mun, Mu’tasim,

Mutawakkil and other such

people that would stand in

their way and sometimes they

would condemn hadith

narrators. Therefore, one of

the things that must be done

is reaching a common under-

standing in the areas relating

to the requirements of hadith.

Religious scholars are respon-

sible in this regard. Muslim

intellectuals are also responsi-

ble.

It is regrettable that Muslim

intellectuals, who should write

and make efforts to promote

Muslim dignity and to raise

the flag of Islam, go after

issues that may create

discord. It is regrettable that

they write and make efforts to

foment discord and pitch

Muslims against each other. It

is regrettable that they level

accusations against different

people and try to push people

out of religion. In this regard,

religious scholars have a

heavy responsibility to create

unity and to fulfill the re-

quirements that are necessary

for unity. This responsibility is

not limited to religious schol-

ars of one side of the conflict,

rather religious scholars of

both sides of the conflict are

responsible.

Brothers and sisters, some-

times in order to foment

discord among both Shia and

Sunni people, the enemy uses

individuals who bear no

grudges. Sometimes in a Shia

society a move is made that

provokes non-Shia Muslims.

The same thing is sometimes

done in Sunni societies, which

provokes Shia Muslims and

fills them with hatred. Who is

doing these things? Today all

Muslims are faced with the

same enemy. However, in an

Islamic society we also share


6

the same Book, the same

Sunnah, the same Prophet

(S), the same Qiblah, the

same Ka’bah, the same hajj

rituals, the same kinds of

worship and the same set of

ideological principles.

Of course, there are disa-

greements among us as well.

Scholarly differences of

opinion might exist between

any two scholars. Moreover,

the world of Islam is faced

with the same enemy. The

issue of Muslim unity is a

serious issue. This issue

should be treated seriously.

Any day that Muslim unity is

delayed, the world of Islam

has fallen one day behind,

and there are certain days

that are so important that

they affect one’s entire life.

You must not let it become

too late.

The Holy Prophet’s (S)

birth: A Permanent divine

mercy on humanity

This great birth was the birth

of the best divine blessing

that has ever been bestowed

on humanity. The sending of

the Holy Prophet (S) was a

blessing that Allah the Exalted

bestowed on His servants. His

birth was the birth of a

blessing. The world of Islam

should understand the point

that this blessing is perma-

nent and constant, not

temporary.

At that time, many people

fought this manifestation of

light and guidance because of

their ignorance or their self-

centered prejudices although

the Holy Prophet (S) had been

sent in order to remove a

burden from the shoulders of

humanity.

“He will relieve them of their

burden and the fetters that

they used to wear.” [1]

Human beings were carrying

heavy burdens at that time.

They were carrying heavy

millstones around their necks.

And people are still carrying

the same burden. It is not

extravagant to claim that

humanity is carrying heavy

burdens today, burdens that


7

are heavier than the burdens

that people were carrying in

the Arabian Peninsula during

the time of Jahiliyya.

The oppression that human

beings are currently suffering

from, the injustice that exists

in human communities, the

efforts to make materialistic

tendencies dominant over the

life of humanity, the different

methods that are used to

force spirituality out of the

lives of human beings these

are the burdens that have

been placed on the shoulders

of humanity.

What humanity feels today in

the era of industrial civilization

and among the attractions of

materialism, is more difficult

and in certain cases more

bitter than what people were

feeling in the darkness of

Jahiliyya at the time of the

emergence of Islam – the

burden is heavier than the

burden that humanity was

carrying at that time.

The need for the teachings

of Islam

If human beings pay attention

to this blessing the blessing of

Islam and the Holy Prophet’s

(S) teachings, which are a

source of unity if human

beings try to discover this

blessing, their greatest

problem will be resolved.

Although the existing civiliza-

tions have undoubtedly

benefitted from the teachings

of Islam, although there is no

doubt that the existing virtues

and noble concepts among

human beings have been

derived from divine religions

and revelations and from the

teachings of prophets, the

majority of which belong to

Islam, today humanity is in

need of Islamic spirituality,

Islamic purity and the correct

and pleasant teachings of

Islam after all, any just heart

would accept and understand

Islamic teachings.

It is for this reason that the

Islamic call has gained ground

in the world and many non-

Muslims have accepted the

Islamic call. Accepting the call

of Islam does not mean


8

official adoption of Islam, but

it is one of the stages.

Another stage is when the

people of the world accept the

message, teachings, truths

and proposals of Islam in this

regard. Today when nations

of the world are presented

with the message of Islam,

they feel that this message is

beneficial for them and that it

will fill the gaps that exist in

their lives. What Islam says

about the value, importance

and goals of humanity, what

Islam says about family,

women, the goal of science

and the relations between

different communities, what

Islam says about the social

relationships between weak

and powerful people when

people from different civiliza-

tions look at what Islam says

about these things, they feel

that the problems in their lives

can be resolved if they make

use of the proposals of Islam.

For this reason, the message

of Islam is very attractive and

this is why the arrogant

powers of the world and

propaganda networks

throughout the world which

are affiliated with the same

centers of coercion, oppres-

sion and anti-human activities

are extremely hostile towards

the message of Islam.

Since the time the Islamic

Republic which is the manifes-

tation of establishing the rule

of Islam over the life of a

nation and the manifestation

of implementing the political

proposals of Islam was

established in Iran, the

arrogant and oppressive

powers of the world increased

their hostilities towards Islam

and Islamic values throughout

the world.

As long as Islam is limited to

mosques and hearts, as long

as Islam does not step into

the arena of politics, re-

sistance and government, as

long as Islam has not entered

great international arenas,

global centers of oppression

and injustice will not feel

threatened and they will not

be motivated to fight and

confront it. Since the day the


9

Islamic Republic was estab-

lished in Iran and the flag of

Islamic government was

raised in our country, since

the time Muslims from differ-

ent parts of the world re-

sponded to the call of our

magnanimous Imam (r.a) and

developed a tendency towards

it, since the time many groups

of people started moving

towards the slogan of reviving

Islam, the enmities have been

increased. [8]

A realistic evaluation would

show that Be’that of the Holy

Prophet (S) was the greatest

event in the history of man-

kind and it affected the lives

of all human beings in history.

With Be’that a door was

opened to divine truths and

the Holy Prophet (S), who

was prepared to be tested

and to shoulder the burden of

this responsibility, started his

great movement from that

moment. Therefore, the issue

of Be’that is different from the

issue of learning divine truths.

Human beings are inspired to

make use of the assets that

have been bestowed on them

in order to lead humanity

towards the final destination.

That is to say, human beings

are inspired to start a move-

ment. This first step was

taken after divine revelations

descended into the holy heart

of the Prophet (S). Then it

was time to implement the

essence of Be’that in the

world, and this requires

struggle.

23 years of efforts to

promote the divine mes-

sage among the people

The first step after Be’that is

to start a movement. No

divine prophet managed to

follow this path, fulfill his

responsibility and announce

his message to people without

being forced to fight. It was

not the case that the people

of their societies easily

accepted the new world. For

this reason, they would start

fighting divine prophets.

Among the people with a

truthful message, divine

prophets have had the largest

number of enemies.


10

Since the first day after his

Be’that, the Holy Prophet (S)

was faced with different kinds

of hostilities. The Holy Proph-

et (S) started countering

these hostilities from the first

day and continued doing so

until the moment he passed

away. He fought this battle for

twenty-three years.

Notice that those twenty-

three years were very auspi-

cious. Twenty-three years is

not a long period of time. You

see many people who do not

even manage to do something

that is presentable in twenty,

twenty-three or twenty-five

years. Normally, people spend

almost all their time on

personal matters. If you take

a look at the biography of

great personalities including

scientists, philosophers and

politicians you will see the

amount of work they did in

twenty- three years.

Depending on their capabili-

ties, people may or may not

be able to make great

achievements in twenty-three

years. But notice how many

blessings originated from the

23 years of the Holy Prophet’s

(S) life after Prophethood. At

the heart of this Jahiliyya and

at the heart of Jahiliyya eras

throughout the world, the

Holy Prophet (S) managed to

build such a system and raise

such a beacon of guidance

which will become more

brilliant on a daily basis and

will help and guide increasing

numbers of people.

The Holy Prophet (S) started

following this path in the first

13 years of his Prophethood

and he gradually built an

Islamic system. Therefore, the

next step is to establish a

system that is based on this

idea. These things clearly

show that what is claimed by

those who try to draw a line

between religion particularly

Islam and government, is

wrong. Of course, all divine

religions are similar in this

regard, but this claim is

particularly unbelievable in the

case of Islam.

It is unbelievable that some

people try to separate Islam


11

from daily life, from politics,

from management of national

affairs, from government. It is

unbelievable that some people

try to push Islam out of these

areas. Since the first day

when Islam was introduced,

there was a fierce battle to

move towards establishing an

Islamic society and govern-

ment. And after thirteen years

of resistance, the Holy Proph-

et (S) managed to establish

this system, although this did

not happen in his birthplace.

After that long-lasting re-

sistance, this is the 2nd step.

It is on the basis of this idea

that an Islamic system is built.

As long as Islamic ideas are

not backed by this system and

this source of power, it is not

possible to spread divine

ideas, rules and concepts into

the lives of the people. This is

the exact opposite of the

distorted view which is held

by those who claim that

religion becomes corrupt

when it achieves power.

On the contrary, if religion

achieves political power, it will

spread and gain ground. It

will be possible for religion to

fulfill religious goals and

wishes. It will be possible for

religion to implement the

values that are promoted by

religion. These things are

impossible in the absence of

power. It is through political

power that these things can

be achieved. For example, do

you think it is possible to

establish justice in society

through advice and begging?

In the absence of political

power, it is not possible to

establish justice, eliminate

discrimination and help

establish equity in one’s

society and in the world.

When a word of justice is

uttered in the world, global

powers do not hesitate to

work against it unless they

believe that it is not important

enough to take action. This

has always been the case.

Wherever in the world the

voice of Islam and Islamic

thought is raised, the arrogant

powers, capitalists and

company owners quickly


12

become alert, fearing that

they might be threatened.

This has always been the

case. Wherever a word of

justice was uttered by some-

body, wherever great men

decided to promote truth,

suddenly they were faced with

the iron walls and fists of the

enemies and opponents. The

enemies would deploy their

forces against them. Of

course, they would be defeat-

ed. Falsehood is always

defeated by truth. There is no

doubt in this regard. If truth

resists, there is no doubt that

falsehood will be defeated.

However, the important point

is that in the absence of

resistance and struggle and

without political power, it is

not possible to implement

religious ideas and values and

to fulfill religious wishes or

any other wish for that

matter. Of course, there are

certain things that can be

done through reasoning and

offering advice.

Therefore, even divine

prophets were after establish-

ing a government. The Holy

Prophet of Islam (S) is an

obvious example in this

regard. From the first day, he

started his struggle and he

focused his efforts on estab-

lishing an Islamic govern-

ment. Later on, he managed

to establish a government in

Medina and he defended it.

He even extended the scope

and this movement continued

for many years.

Thus, the next step is to

establish a government.

However, establishing a

government is not the goal

and this is the essential point.

The purpose of establishing a

government is to implement

values. If an Islamic govern-

ment is established but it fails

to move towards implement-

ing values, that government is

corrupt. This is a general rule.

This is the standard. It may

take years to implement

values.

There may be obstacles and

problems, but the Islamic

government that has been

established should move


13

towards the goals and values

that it has promoted, the

goals and values that can be

found in the Holy Quran and

in Islamic teachings. If the

orientation is different, that

government is definitely

corrupt. The goal is to estab-

lish social justice and order

that is based on the law. The

goal is to establish divine laws

everywhere.

If divine laws are established

in society, if Islamic order is

resorted, if social justice is

established, only one of the

stages has been completed.

Only one medium-level goal

has been achieved. The next

stage is to encourage the

people who are living com-

fortably in justice and peace

under this government to

develop moral virtues in

themselves. This is the point

that I would like to stress:

after establishing a govern-

ment, the goal is to encour-

age the people to develop

moral virtues in themselves.

This is the goal after a just

government has been estab-

lished, after justice has been

administered in society, after

a truly Islamic government

has been built. This is the

next goal.

Developing moral virtues:

The Ultimate goal of

establishing an Islamic

Government

Developing moral virtues is

the stage of perfection that is

in our hands. The Holy

Prophet (S) correctly pointed

out: “I was appointed as

prophet in order to complete

moral virtues.” This hadith has

been narrated by both Shia

and Sunni people. Basically,

the Holy Prophet (S) is saying

that he was appointed for this

reason and that everything

else is just a prelude. The

purpose is to “complete moral

virtues.” The Holy Prophet (S)

says that he was appointed in

order to help complete moral

virtues in human communities

and among members of the

Islamic Ummah so that moral

virtues develop and everybody

benefits from them & be-

comes a good human being.


14

We should develop and

become good human beings.

We should develop and

complete moral virtues in

ourselves. This is the next

step, which is very important.

If in a society that is built on

Islamic pillars, people drift

away from divine virtues and

go after human passions and

self-interest, if everybody tries

to receive a bigger share and

live a better life, if everybody

tries to steal from others and

is prepared to appropriate

more than he deserves, if

there is no forgiveness and

self-sacrifice, what kind of

government would allow

these things? What kind of

Islam and Islamic society

would allow these things?

This is the basis of the issue.

“I was appointed as prophet

in order to complete moral

virtues.” Dear people, you

should know that the world is

in need of this. Unfortunately,

the materialistic world lacks

this characteristic altogether.

Moral virtues have been

explained in holy sharia,

including the things that are

related to human beings such

as patience, worship, purity

and simple lifestyles, the

things that are related to

other human beings such as

forgiveness, humility, self-

sacrifice and respect for

others, and the things that

are related to the Islamic

community. The scope of

moral virtues is vast in Islam.

These are the same things

that the efforts of all divine

prophets, saints and religious

luminaries and in the case of

Islam, the efforts of the Holy

Prophet of Islam (S), the

infallible Imams and Islamic

luminaries were focused on.

Of course, under an oppres-

sive government, these things

might appear to be extremely

difficult. As I said, in a system

whose foundations are

falsehood, oppression and

materialistic tendencies such

as the governments that have

been established by Taghuts

throughout the world it is

clear that these things cannot

be achieved easily. However,


15

in an Islamic system, it is

easier to achieve these things.

And today the world needs

this.

An honest person says

whatever he has in mind, as

opposed to individuals who

are narrow-minded, individu-

als whose outlook is flawed.

In a society that is filled with

dishonest people, a sophisti-

cated person is one who is

not honest, one who distorts

reality, one who can trick and

deceive. This is an instance of

transforming values. This

happened under the rule of

oppressive, corrupt and anti-

ethics kings.

Of course, the revolutionary

movement helped and revived

ethical institutions and the

spirit of ethics in our society.

However, more efforts are

required. This is the first

stage. The second stage is to

teach these things to the

world. Today the world needs

these things. Human beings

throughout the world suffer

from lack of ethics. Islam and

Muslims can present nations

of the world with the best

ethical gift. They can present

the best gift to humanity.

The role of the arrogant

powers in causing the

pitiable conditions in the

contemporary world

Unfortunately, today the

biggest crime of the arrogant

powers is that through their

behavior, they have been

promoting lying, deception,

cheating and a tendency

towards falsehood in the

world. In the arrogant gov-

ernments of the world which

are led by the government of

America, there are certain

individuals who have carried

out the largest number of

assassinations around the

world. Recently it was an-

nounced that one of the

American politicians has

claimed that the CIA was

involved in the killings and

kidnappings in Guatemala,

The role of the arrogant

powers in causing the pitiable

conditions in the contempo-

rary world which had attract-

ed the attention of the entire


16

world. America’s CIA has

hunted down, kidnapped and

killed each and every one of

America’s political opponents

in Guatemala and the truth

has been discovered after all

this time.

In every part of the world,

particularly in Latin America

and many other parts of the

world, these people have

carried out assassinations.

They have plotted coups

d'état. They have done illegal

things. They have supported

the most hideous terrorists in

the world. They have har-

bored them. They have had

friendly relationships with

them. They have praised

them. They have offered them

financial support. And they are

still continuing these actions.

They have helped and sup-

ported the Israeli regime,

which is a government that is

founded on terrorism, occupa-

tion and hostility. They have

supported and helped this

regime more than others.

They openly support the

Israeli regime. They do not

even support their Arab

friends as much as they

support Israel. Currently, the

Americans do not help their

traditional friends in the

region as much as they help

Israel. In fact, their real friend

is Israel and they prefer it to

all the other governments.

This is while Israel is a regime

that is founded on terrorism.

From the beginning, this

regime was built on the

foundations of terror, killing

opponents, lies, oppression,

murder and massacres. This is

the same as supporting terror

and assassination. This is

while America is carrying the

flag of fighting terrorism in

the world.

This is a clear case of lying

and deception. This is a clear

case of depriving humanity of

ethics, a clear case of drifting

away from ethics. Those who

are claiming to support values

and moral virtues in the world,

are the archenemy of moral

virtues and this is more tragic

than any other crime that is

committed in the world.


17

The world needs your mes-

sage and your path. It needs

the truth that you have

discovered, the truth that is in

the Holy Quran and in

Prophethood of the Holy

Prophet (S). However, you will

be able to teach these things

to the world only when you

have internalized them and

translated them into action.

Regarding the Holy Prophet of

Islam (S), first I would say

that it is not possible for

people like us to achieve the

brilliant understanding that he

had achieved. That most

noble human being, that most

honorable being in the entire

creation is beyond materialis-

tic dimensions of the world.

Human beings use their

wisdom and experience and

five senses to rank people on

the basis of genius, wisdom,

knowledge and experience.

The Holy Prophet of Islam (S)

enjoys the highest rank in all

these areas.

Even if there were no narra-

tions, no Quranic Ayahs and

no religious evidence, people

could discover this truth

through reasoning and the

proofs that exist in the world.

Those who can make use of

these things are capable of

achieving part of the brilliance

that the Holy Prophet (S)

enjoyed. Using our five senses

and despite the existing

restrictions, we can see,

recognize and feel the great-

ness of the Holy Prophet (S).

Even within the limits that

restrict the understanding of

human beings, the Holy

Prophet (S) is not comparable

to any other luminary. For

example, Ali ibn Abi Talib

(a.s.) has always attracted the

attention of many luminaries

throughout the world and

they have described him as a

great personality and as a

person who is more like a

mythical character. However,

even that great man is

considered small and insignifi-

cant compared to the Holy

Prophet (S). He himself

considered his position far

lower than that of the Holy

Prophet (S). Compared to the


18

greatness of the Holy Prophet

(S), which is like a boundless

ocean, the personality of the

Commander of the Faithful

(a.s.) fades into insignificance.

This shows the greatness of

the Holy Prophet (S).

Love and respect for the

Holy Prophet (S): The only

things that Muslims agree

about

The point which is important

in today’s world and which I

emphasize repeatedly is that

there is one thing that all

Islamic denominations have in

common and there is no

disagreement as far as that

one thing is concerned. Today

Muslims are suffering from

numerous problems and

afflictions. They are all

grappling with these problems

and they should use every

instrument that is available to

them in order to eliminate

these problems and afflictions.

Even in the case of monothe-

ism, which all Muslims agree

about unanimously, there

might be certain people who

have their own interpretations

and might not accept what

others say.

However, as far as love and

respect for the Holy Prophet

of Islam (S) is concerned,

there is no disagreement

among Muslims. This is a

point of unity and all Muslims

should focus their efforts on

it. I have previously said that

some determined people have

made efforts to unite different

Islamic denominations on the

basis of this point of unity.

And today those who are

determined should try to

attract the attention of all

Muslims to this point of unity.

Let us make a point about the

issues that are related to the

world of Islam. Muslims

should try to figure out their

current conditions and they

should understand what

horrible plans the enemies of

Islam have for the destiny of

Muslims. Knowledge of the

existing conditions alone

should be enough to awaken

conscientious people to the

fact that they need a remedy.

��


19

We should start working on a

small scale. But this does not

mean that we should begin

with little courage.

What we mean is that we may

prepare an elaborate and

lengthy program and also start

working on it with great

courage but we should not try

to hurry through all the things

simultaneously. Rather we

should advance little by little

and achieve our goal gradual-

ly.

Why should we draw a big

program?

Because those who have lofty

thoughts and high intelligence

cannot limit their courage in

small circles. They intend to

pursue a new aim as soon as

they achieve the first one.

Therefore it is necessary to

make a big program right from

the beginning.

Human psychology also

demands it. Unless a man

does not ready himself for a

big goal he cannot attain his

aim and sometimes he is

unable to obtain even half of

it.

Narrow-minded and coward

people remain content with

their present condition and

want to remain where they

are, but people having high

ideals and foresight begin their

job with lofty thoughts and

always try to improve their

condition.

Saaduddin Taftazani was one

of those great Islamic scholars

who founded the art of

eloquence in Islam. Once

intending to gauge the cour-

age of his son he asked him,

"What is your aim in acquiring

knowledge?"

"I want to acquire as much

knowledge as you have."

He was sorry to see this low

aim of his son and told him

regretfully, "If your courage is

only this much then you will

not reach even half of it. Your

thinking is very narrow. I am

your father Saaduddeen. I had

Gradual Progress

By: Ayatullah Jafar Subhani


20

heard about the marvelous

knowledge of Imam Ja’far

Sadiq (a.s.) and was appreciat-

ing his high position through

his memorable narrations of

Hadith. From the beginning of

my primary stage it was my

endeavor to reach the stand-

ard of knowledge of this great

man. Despite such a high

ideal. I could attain only the

position, which you are now

observing, while this is nothing

compared to the knowledge of

the great leader. Therefore, if

your aim is so low, you will

attain very little knowledge

and one day you will give up

the pursuit."

Hence it is necessary for us to

begin with great courage.

Why to begin at a low

level?

The initial stage of any job is

an experimental one wherein

the exact idea about its

benefits and harms is not quite

clear. Maybe there are some

obstacles in the path of the

aim, which may require a long

time for their removal.

It is also possible that we have

adopted a path, which may

not be leading to the goal we

have in mind. Perhaps we

have made some mistakes in

drawing the program. There-

fore, if we begin our work on a

high level it might become

difficult to correct our mistakes

to remedy the situation by

changing the strategy.

We oriental people have this

defect that we begin our jobs

on a high level with much

pomp. In such a condition it is

quite difficult to change the

path leaving the wrong road.

As a result we may lose both,

precious years of our life as

well as our money, become

disappointed and courage-less

and remain where we are.

We read in the diary of

Nasiruddin Shah that he had

gone on a tour of Europe. In

London he met the British

Queen. He wanted to know

the reason of a British bank’s

successful functioning in Iran.

Hence he asked the Queen,

"When this bank had opened

its branch in the capital of Iran


21

it began to function with a

very little investment. How did

it achieve so much progress so

soon?"

The Queen replied to the

effect, "Britishers do not reveal

the secrets of their success to

others. But due to our respect

for you I shall mention one

point. We, the westerners,

especially the British, begin

our work always on a low

scale, so that in case we do

not succeed, we may have an

avenue for return and we may

be able to change our strategy

with a little loss. And if we

achieve some benefit we

expand our field at once. In

this respect we are totally

different from eastern people."

We ourselves have seen

people who invested money

without keeping the aforesaid

point in mind and, conse-

quently suffered much loss.

They were then engulfed in

difficulties and economic crisis.

Now we may look at the

success of the Holy Prophet

(s.a.w.w.). Millions of Muslims

are proud to follow him. At the

beginning of the call of Islam

their number could be counted

on ones fingers.

The Holy Prophet’s program

was so vast that it covered all

the field of human life, be it

politics or economics, morals

or anything else. Moreover his

program was perfect in every

respect.

In the beginning the Holy

Prophet did not demand from

the people except the ac-

ceptance of belief in the ‘Two

witnesses’ that is, belief in

Only One God and in his being

the prophet or messenger of

Allah.

The Holy Prophet’s great work

had started on a little meas-

ure. He created the atmos-

phere little by little and issued

commandments one by one

for each and every aspect of

human life and guided the

entire humanity with such a

great program that it changed

the course of their life tremen-

dously.

��


22

Imam al-Hasan al-‘Askari (as)

was born in Medina in

232/846. His dignified mother,

Susan or Salil, was a compe-

tent and virtuous woman who

took extreme care to rear her

son, the Hujja (proof) of Haqq

as he really deserved. This

pious lady accompanied Imam

al-‘Askai (as) to Samarra and

passed away there. The

patronymic of Imam al-Hasan

al-‘Askari (as) was Abu

Muhammad.

The eleventh Imam had a

swarthy face and a moderate

stature. He also had black

curved eyebrows, large eyes

and a broad forehead, as well

as large and bright white

teeth. He had a mole on his

right cheek. Imam al-Hasan

al-‘Askari (as) was attractively

eloquent and of a divine and

dignified personality, and was

a matchless interpreter of the

Holy Qur’an. In his short life,

he clarified the straight path

of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and the

appropriate way of interpret-

ing the Qur’an to the people

and particularly to his noble

companions.

The Period of His Imamate

In general, the 29 year life-

span of Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as) is divided into

three periods: The first period

consisted of 13 years which

was spent in Medina. The

second period included 10

years in Samarra before

Imamate. The third period

covered the six years of the

Imamate of his Holiness.

The Imamate period of his

Holiness was contemporary

with the superficial authority

of the Abbasids, who imitated

Harun in their ambitions to

acquire and wield power.

During his six years of Imam-

ate, Imam al-Hasan al-‘Askari

(as) spent three years in

prison. His jailor, Salih b.

Wasif, assigned two tyrannical

retainers over him so that he

Countenance and Conduct of Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari (A.S.)

By: Ahmad Ahmadi Birjandi


23

could further persecute him.

The two retainers, however,

closely observing the state

and the manners of the holy

Imam (as), were impressed

by that noble Imam (as) and

treated him in a peaceful and

decent manner.

When asked about the Imam

(as)'s state, these retainers

said the prisoner fasted during

the day and was engaged in

prayers and supplications to

his Beloved Allah all night long

till dawn, not speaking to

others.

‘Ubayd Allah Khaqan, vizier to

the Abbasid Mu‘tamid, with all

his arrogance, would always

rise to his feet whenever he

met Imam al-‘Askari (as) and

would offer him his own seat

to sit on. He would always

say: “I never saw anybody

like him in Samarra, he is the

most pious and knowledgea-

ble man of the time.”

‘Ubayd Allah Khaqan's son

said: “I always asked people

about the state of the Imam. I

would find people humble

toward him and noticed them

admitted to his nobility and

would love him.”

Although the Holy Imam (as)

would not associate with

others except his devoted

Shi‘as, the Abbasid ruling

regime had him most of the

time imprisoned and banned

him from contact with others

in order to maintain the

caliphate in peace and quiet.

“One of the problems in the

time of Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as) was that the

property and endowments

belonging to the Shi‘as were

trusted by the caliphate to the

enemy of the Prophet's

progeny so as to prevent the

Shi‘ite movements would not

be financially strengthened. It

is reported, for example, that

Ahmad b. ‘Ubayd Allah b.

Khaqan was assigned by the

caliph as the custodian of the

endowments and alms in

Qum. He inflicted the severest

atrocities on the household of

the Prophet (S).

Also, Imam ‘Askari (as)'s

companions were dispersed


24

and it was impossible to

gather in one place. Some like

Abu ‘Ali Ahmad b. Ishaq

Ash‘ari lived in Qum and

others like Abu Sahl Isma‘il

Nowbakhti lived in Baghdad.

The pressure and surveillance

exerted by the Abbasid

caliphate following the mar-

tyrdom of Imam ‘Ali al-Ridha

(as) was so extensive that it

had driven the opposite front

into the most extreme chal-

lenges. Believing in the truth

and calling to comprehensive

principles of justice, the latter

tolerated all the atrocities and

hardships and never neglect-

ed to guard and defend their

position.”[1]

That we said Imam al-Hasan

al-‘Askari (as) was under

intense control by the cali-

phate and not allowed to

meet with people, and that all

our noble Imams (as) would

rarely associate with anyone

except their devoted compan-

ions or those who referred to

them to consult their financial

and religious problems, was

because the occultation of

Imam al-Mahdi (as) was

drawing near and people had

to gradually get used to it and

receive their political direc-

tions and solution to their

problems from the devoted

companions who were the

flag-bearers of the religious

frontiers, and not to find the

occultation period astonishing.

Anyhow, Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as) lived only 29

years, but during his six years

of Imamate and the spiritual

leadership, he left behind

significant works of the Qur’an

interpretation, legal rulings,

and clarification of jurispru-

dential issues, and directed

the revolutionary movements

of Shi‘as who came to him

from far distances to enjoy his

favors and presence.

In the time of the eleventh

Imam's leadership, the

sublime Qur’anic teachings,

dissemination of Divine

ordinances, and theological

disputes revived a particular

scholarly movement. Similarly,

the Shi‘ite culture – which was

already well known – in other


25

fields such as philosophy and

theology presented such great

men as Ya‘qub b. Ishaq Kindi,

who was a contemporary and

disciple of Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as).

Many things have been related

on the Imam (as)'s scholarly

authority, which had been

originated from the splendor

of the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt

(as)'s Divine knowledge. For

example, the above-

mentioned Ya‘qub b. Ishaq al-

Kindi the great Arab philoso-

pher – to whom Abu Nasr

Farabi, the well-known Iranian

scholar, was a disciple –

became helpless in a debate

with the Holy Imam (as) and

burnt up the book he had

written against the Qur’an,

and later on joined the lovers

and followers of his Holiness

(as).

The Martyrdom of Imam

al-Hasan al-‘Askari (as)

The martyrdom of Imam al-

Hasan al-‘Askari (as) is

reported to be on Friday, Rabi

al-Awwal 8, 260/January 1,

874. The way that noble

Imam (as) was martyred is

related as follows: ‘Ubayd

Allah b. Khaqan's son said:

“One day my father (who was

the vizier to the ‘Abbasid

Mu‘tamid) was informed that

Ibn al-Ridha, i.e., Imam al-

Hasan al-‘Askari (as) had

fallen sick. Upon hearing this,

my father rushed to the caliph

to tell him the news.

The caliph sent five of his

trustees and courtiers along

with him. One of them, called

Nahrir the retainer who was

one of the special trustees to

the caliph, ordered the rest to

keep a constant watch over

the house of that Holy Imam,

and to keep him posted on

the things happening to the

Imam. He also assigned a

physician to visit and check

him every morning and

evening.

After two days my father was

informed that the Imam's

illness had been deteriorated

and weakness had over-

whelmed him. So, early in the

morning, he personally went


26

to the Imam (as) and ordered

the physicians – mostly

Christian and Jewish – not to

leave the Imam (as) and

summoned the supreme judge

and ordered him to bring ten

well-known scholars to remain

constantly in his company. He

did all this in order to conceal

from people the poison he

had given him and to pretend

to the people that his Holiness

(as) had died a natural death.

They were continually in and

around the Imam (as)'s house

until a few days after the

beginning of Rabi al-Awwal,

260/January, 874, when the

tyrannized Holy Imam (as)

gave up his carnal body and

joined the Eternal Abode of

Allah at the age of 29. There-

upon, the caliph launched a

thorough search for the Imam

(as)'s son, having heard that

his son would one day domi-

nate the entire world and

overthrow the wrongdoers

and false-minded. This search

continued for two years.[2]

The inquiry and searching was

the outcome of the fear

nested in the heart of the

Abbasid Mu‘tasim and the

caliphs before and after him

regarding the advent of Imam

al-Mahdi (as). They had heard

through traditions related

from the Holy Prophet (S) that

a pure-natured child would be

born to Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as) and Nargis Khatun

by the name of al-Mahdi of

the End of the Time, who has

the same appellation of the

Holy Apostle (S), and would

overthrow the despotic rule of

the tyrannical powers and put

an end to their domination

and sovereignty. On this

ground, they frequented the

Holy Imam (as)'s house by

various pretexts, looking

around to find any possible

sign of that noble baby in

order to kill him.

Verily the story of Nimrud and

Pharaoh in the advent of the

Prophets Abraham (as) and

Moses (as) was repeated.

Even midwives were assigned

to look into this crucial

matter. But as you will read in

the next chapter, Allah


27

Almighty has secured His

Hujja (proof) from receiving

any harm by the enemies and

any detriment from the inflicts

of time; and He will keep

doing so until he gets his

Divine mission accomplished.

Anyway, the martyrdom of

the Holy Imam (as) has been

reported to be due to the

poison Mu‘tamid had fed him

in his meal; later on, however,

he repented for this sordid

action. Perforce, he called for

Christian and Jewish physi-

cians who were practicing

medicine then in Baghdad and

Samarra, especially for the

purposes like plotting the

murder of such a noble Imam

(as) as Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as). Nevertheless, he

had other intentions by this

ostentatious compassion, and

that was pleasing people and

keeping them unaware of the

true event.

When the Shi‘as were in-

formed of the heart-rending

demise of Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as), the whole city of

Samarra was overshadowed

with deep sorrow and lamen-

tation being heard from every

corner. People prepared to

carry out the funeral and

mourning processions.

The Rightful Successor to

Imam al-‘Askari (as):

Abu al-Adyan said: “I was at

the service of Imam al-Hasan

al-‘Askari (as). I used to

deliver his letters to various

cities. One day, on his death-

bed, he called me and gave

me several letters to be

delivered to Mada’in. Then he

said: ''You will return to

Samarra only to hear wails

and laments from my house;

at that time my body will be

given ghusl (major ablution).”

Abu al-Adyan said to the

Imam (as): “O my master,

whenever this tragic event

occurs, to whom the Imamate

shall be handed over?”

“Whoever demands from you

the reply to my letter.” The

Imam answered.

Abu al-Adyan asked again:

“Present me with another

sign.”


28

The Imam (as) said: “The one

who performs funeral prayer

for me.”

Abu al-Adyan further request-

ed: “Let me know one more

sign.”

The Imam (as) responded:

“The one who can tell what is

in the satchel will be your

Imam.”

Abu al-Adyan goes on to say:

“The bravery and dignity of

the Imam (as) was so awe-

inspiring that I could not ask

further questions. I set off to

deliver the letters and re-

turned in fifteen days. When I

reached the door of the Holy

Imam (as)'s house, a loud

wailing and crying was heard

from the house.

Once inside, I saw Ja‘far

Kadhdhab, the Imam (as)'s

brother, sitting down and the

Shi‘as who were expressing

their condolences to him and

congratulating him on his

Imamate. I was so surprised

at this. I approached him and

expressed my condolences

and congratulations. He did

not say anything and asked

nothing.

When the sacred body of the

Imam (as) was shrouded and

prepared for funeral prayer, a

retainer came in and called on

Ja‘far Kadhdhab to perform

the prayer for his brother's

body. When Ja‘far stood up to

say the funeral prayer, a very

handsome child, with curly

hair, wide apart teeth and

swarthy face went toward

him, held on the Ja‘far's robe,

and said: “O uncle step aside,

for I am more deserved to

perform the prayer.”

Ja‘far's face paled at the sight

of his nephew. He stepped

back, then the boy came to

the front, said prayer for his

father's body and then had

the sacred body buried next

to the grave of Imam ‘Ali al-

Naqi (as).

He then faced me and told me

to hand him the answers to

the letter that were with me. I

gave the answers to that

child. After a while, Hajiz

Washsha’ asked Ja‘far who


29

that child was. Ja‘far said: “By

Allah I do not know him and I

have never seen him.”

At this time, a group of Shi‘as

arrived in from the city of

Qum. When they found out

about the Holy Imam (as)'s

death, the people present

there beckoned them to ask

Ja‘far. Several of them went

to Ja‘far and inquired: “Tell us

who the letters we are holding

are from and how much the

money is.” Ja‘far said: “Look

people! They are asking me

the knowledge of the hidden

things! Thereupon a retainer

of the Imam of the age (as)

came along and quoted the

Imam (as) as saying: “O

people of Qum! There are

letters with you from so and

so as well as a satchel in

which there are a thousand

gold coins and among them

there are ten coins coated

with gold.”

The Shi‘as who had come

from Qum said: “Whoever has

sent you is the Imam of the

age (as). Hand in these letters

and the satchel to him.”

Ja‘far Kadhdhab went to

caliph, Mu‘tamid, and related

the event. The latter told his

agents to search into the

house of Imam al-Hasan al-

‘Askari (as) to find the child.

They did so but of no avail.

Perforce they arrested Sayqal,

the woman retainer to Imam

al-Hasan al-‘Askari (as) and

kept her under arrest for a

long time imagining that she

was pregnant. But the more

they searched the less they

found.

Allah Almighty preserved that

blessed and auspicious child

who has been under His

protection up to the present

time and is apparently hidden

from views.[3] May the praise

of Allah keep showering upon

him.

Notes:

1. Imam dar ‘Ayniyat-i Jami‘a,

p. 91.

2. Imam dar ‘Ayniyat-i Jami‘a,

p. 92

3. Muntahi al-Amal, (with a

slight change).

��


30

(a) Longevity

Is it possible for any human

being to continue to live for

many centuries, as is pre-

sumed in the case of this

Awaited Saviour who has

already lived for more than

1145 years? This long life is

about 14 times the life of an

ordinary man who passes

through all stages of life from

infancy to old age.

The impossibility of such a

long life is the objection. Let

us have a close look at the

objection. The word impossi-

bility here (like any other

truth) is relative. It has

meaning only in relation to

some person, place and time.

What is impossible for one

person need not be so for the

others. Then what is impossi-

ble in one place may be quite

possible in another place.

Again what is not possible at

one time may be quite

possible at another. There is

no dearth of illustrations to

prove how impossibility is a

relative term.

In other words, the possibility

of a thing may be of three

categories viz. factual possibil-

ity, scientific possibility and

logical possibility. To journey

across the ocean, to reach the

bottom of the sea and to

travel to the moon are practi-

cal possibilities. There are

people who have accom-

plished these tasks in one way

or another.

By a scientific possibility we

mean that there may be

certain things which may not

be practicable in the present

circumstances but there exists

no scientific reason to justify

the denial of their practicabil-

ity in favorable circumstances

and the scientific trends

indicate that they will be

feasible sooner or later. For

example, there exists no

The Awaited Saviour

“Replies to the Objections”

Edited excerpts from the book, “The Awaited Saviour” By: Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr & Martyr Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari


31

scientific reason to deny the

possibility of man's travelling

to Venus. Although, it has not

been possible for anyone to

go to that planet so far, yet

we know that there is only a

difference of degree between

man's landing on the moon

and his landing on Venus.

It is only a question of sur-

mounting additional difficulties

because of the greater

distance. Hence, it is scientifi-

cally possible to go to Venus,

though practically it is still

impossible. In contrast, it is

scientifically impossible to go

to the sun in the sense that

science does not hope that it

will ever be possible to

manufacture a protective

shield against the heat of the

sun which is virtually a huge

furnace blazing at the highest

imaginable degree of temper-

ature.

By a logical possibility we

mean that, on the basis of

self-evident laws, reason does

not regard a thing impossible.

For example, it is logically

impossible to divide three

oranges into two equal parts

without cutting anyone of

them. It is self-evident that,

three being an odd number, it

is not divisible into two whole

numbers.

Only an even number can be

so divided and the same

number cannot be both odd

and even simultaneously,

because that will mean self-

contradiction which is impos-

sible. But a man's entering

into fire without being hurt or

going to the sun without

being affected by its heat is

not logically impossible, for it

is not self-contradictory to

suppose that heat does not

pass from a body having a

higher temperature to a body

having a lower temperature.

Only experience has proved

that if two bodies are mixed

or put together, heat passes

from a body having higher

temperature to a body having

lower temperature, till the

temperature of both the

bodies is at par.

Thus, we know that the scope

of the logical possibility is


32

wider than that of the scien-

tific possibility and the scope

of the scientific possibility is

wider than that of the practi-

cal possibility.

There is no doubt that a

person's remaining alive for

thousands of years is not

logically impossible, for there

is nothing irrational or self-

contradictory about it. Life

itself does not imply the sense

of quick death.

Admittedly, such a long life is

not as practical as descending

to the bottom of the sea or

ascending to the moon.

Notwithstanding the present

scientific facilities it has not so

far been possible to prolong

human life to hundreds of

years. Even those who have

all the modern facilities at

their disposal and are the

keenest to continue to live

cannot have more than the

normal span of life.

As for the scientific possibility

there exists nothing to justify

its denial from a theoretical

point of view. In fact this

question is related to the

physiological explanation of

senility. The question is,

whether there exists a natural

law according to which human

tissues and cells, after attain-

ing the stage of full develop-

ment, automatically begin to

stiffen and degenerate, till

they cease functioning at a

particular moment or the

senile degeneration is caused

by some external factors,

such as microbes and poisons

infiltrating into the body

through polluted food, un-

healthy jobs or some other

causes.

It is a question with which

science is grappling at present

and is earnestly trying to find

an answer to it. For the

present there is more than

one scientific explanation of

senility. Anyhow, if we accept

the view that senile degenera-

tion is caused by external

influences, it means that if the

tissues of the human body are

secluded from these particular

influences it is theoretically

possible to prolong life, to


33

delay senility and even to

control it eventually.

The other view tends to

suppose that living cells and

tissues are governed by a

natural law according to which

they carry within themselves

the seeds of their complete

exhaustion. They, in their

natural course, pass through

the stages of old age and

senility and eventually cease

to function.

Even if we accept this view it

does not mean that this

natural law is not flexible. In

fact it is supposed to be a

flexible law, for we see in our

ordinary life, and it has been

confirmed by scientific labora-

tory observations also, that

senility is an untimely physio-

logical phenomenon in the

sense that sometimes it

appears early and sometimes

very late.

It is a common experience

which has also been con-

firmed by the observations of

the physicians, that many a

man of advanced age still

possess a supple body and do

not suffer from any old age

ailments. It is because of the

flexibility of this natural law

that the scientists have

already succeeded in prolong-

ing the life of certain animals,

hundreds of times beyond

their normal span of life by

artificially creating conditions

conducive to the delay of

senility.

They have falsified the law of

natural senility by acquiring

brilliant successes and have

made it clear scientifically that

to postpone senility or to

provide opportunities and

specified factors therefore is

possible and if present day

science is not able to enforce

this programme in the case of

phenomena like human beings

it is on account of the fact

that more difficulties are

involved in the matter with

regard to man as compared

with other animals.

In a nutshell, it is logically and

scientifically possible to

prolong life, though it is still

practically impossible to do so.


34

Anyhow, science is endeavor-

ing to make it practical also.

If we consider the question of

the Mahdi's age in this light

there appears to be nothing

strange or surprising about it,

for it has been proved that

such a long life is logically and

scientifically possible and the

scientists are working to turn

its possibility into a reality. All

that appears to be surprising

is that the Mahdi has attained

such a long life before the

scientists have been able to

turn its theoretical possibility

into a practical one. This

phenomenon can be com-

pared to the discovery of a

cure for cancer or brain

hemorrhage before science

can make such a discovery.

If the question is how Islam,

which planned the age of the

Awaited Saviour, could

anticipate science in this field

the answer is simple. This is

not the only field wherein

Islam has anticipated science.

The Islamic Shari'ah as a

whole anticipated the scien-

tific movement and the

natural development of

human thinking by several

centuries. Islam had already

presented, for practical

application, the laws which

science has taken hundreds of

years to discover.

It has propounded doctrines,

the wisdom of which has been

corroborated by science only

recently. It disclosed such

secrets of the universe which

none could think of at that

time and the truth of which

was later confirmed by

science. If we believe in this,

then it is not too much for

Allah, the Exalted, to antici-

pate science in planning the

age of the Mahdi. We have

talked of only those aspects of

anticipation which we can see

directly. We can add other

instances about which Qur'an

has told us.

Here we have talked of only

those aspects of anticipation

by Islam vis-à-vis science

which we can observe direct-

ly. It is, however, possible for

us to add some other instanc-

es of anticipation about


35

matters which it has not been

possible for science to com-

prehend so far. For example,

Qur'an tells us that the holy

Prophet was carried one night

from Masjid al-Haram (at

Mecca) to Masjid al-Aqsa (at

Jerusalem).

If we try to perceive the

quality of this journey within

the framework of natural laws

it points to the application of

laws which govern nature in

this sense that science has

not yet been able to under-

stand them and it will take it

hundreds of years more to

specify their quality. The

same Divine Knowledge,

which granted the holy

Prophet this high speed long

before science could consider

it to be possible, also granted

long life to his last Divinely

appointed successor, long

before it could be achieved by

science.

(b) His training for the

mission

Now we come to another

question as to how the

preparation of the Awaited

Saviour for his mission was

completed, as he was only

about five years old when his

father, Imam Hasan al-Askari

died. This age is the time of

early childhood and the child

is not old enough for the

development of the personali-

ty of a leader. Then how did

his personality develop?

The answer is that several of

his forefathers also assumed

the Imamate at an early age.

Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-

Jawad assumed it when he

was only eight years old and

Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-

Hadi when he was only nine.

It should be observed that the

phenomenon of the early

Imamate reached its zenith in

the case of the Imam Mahdi.

We call it a phenomenon,

because it assumed a tangible

and practical form as in the

case of Imam Mahdi's forefa-

thers. It was felt and experi-

enced by the Muslims coming

into contact with the Imam

concerned. Experience of the

people being the best proof of


36

a phenomenon, we cannot be

asked to give a more tangible

or a more convincing proof of

it. The following points will

elucidate what we mean:

(i) The Imamate of an Imam

belonging to the Holy House

was not a centre of hereditary

power and influence, nor did

it have the backing of any

ruling regime, as was the case

with the Imamate of the

Fatimid caliphs and the

caliphate of the Abbasid

caliphs. The extensive popular

support and allegiance which

the Imams enjoyed was due

only to their spiritual influence

and the conviction of their

followers that they alone

deserved the leadership of

Islam on spiritual and intellec-

tual grounds.

(ii) The popular bases sup-

porting the Imamate had

existed since the early days of

the Islamic era. They expand-

ed further during the time of

the Imam Baqir and Imam

Sadiq. The school set up by

them assumed the form of an

extensive intellectual move-

ment which included among

its ranks hundreds of legists,

scholastic theologians, exe-

getes and others learned in

various fields of Islamic

scholarship and the humani-

ties known at that time.

Hasan ibn Ali Washsha, when

visiting the Masjid of Kufah,

found there 900 scholars all

repeating the traditions

narrated to them by Imam

Ja'far al-Sadiq.

(iii) The qualifications which

an Imam possessed, as

believed in by this school and

the popular bases represented

by it, were very high. The

Imam was judged by the

standard of these qualifica-

tions to find out whether he

was really fit to be an Imam.

They believed that the Imam

must be the most learned and

wise man of his time.

(iv) The school and the

popular bases had to make

great sacrifices for the sake of

their belief in the Imamate

which the contemporary

governments regarded as a

hostile line, at least from the


37

ideological angle. This attitude

led the then authorities to the

persecution of the followers of

the Imams. Many people were

killed. Many others were

thrown into dungeons.

Hundreds died while in

detention. Their belief in the

Imamate of the Prophet's

House used to cost them

dear. The only attraction was

their conviction of gaining the

favour of Allah.

(v) The Imams, whose

Imamate these popular bases

acknowledged, were not living

like the kings in high towers

isolated from their followers.

They never segregated

themselves, except when

imprisoned, exiled or forcibly

kept aloof by the ruling

juntas. This we know for

certain on the authority of a

large number of reporters

who have narrated the

sayings 'and deeds of each of

the first eleven Imams.

Similarly, we have a record of

the correspondence ex-

changed between the Imams

and their contemporaries.

The Imams used to make

journeys to various places and

appointed their deputies in

different parts of the Muslim

world. Their supporters also,

while visiting the holy places

during Hajj, made it a point to

call on them at Madina. All

this meant a continuous

contact between the Imams

and their followers scattered

all over the Muslim world.

(vi) The contemporary caliphs

always regarded the Imams

and their spiritual leadership

as a threat to themselves and

their dynasty. For this reason,

they did all they could to

disrupt this leadership and in

pursuance of their nefarious

ends, they resorted to many

mean and arbitrary actions.

Occasionally their behaviour

was too harsh and despotic.

The Imams themselves were

continuously chased and kept

in detention. Such actions

were painful and disgusting to

all the Muslims, especially to

the supporters of the Imams.

These six points comprise

historical facts. If we take


38

them into consideration, we

can easily come to the conclu-

sion that the early Imamate

was a real fact and not a

fiction. It is certain that an

Imam who appeared on the

scene at a very early age,

who proclaimed himself to be

the spiritual and intellectual

leader of the Muslims and

who was acknowledged to be

so by a vast cross-section of

the people must have had

great knowledge, competence

and mastery over all branches

of theology. Otherwise, the

popular bases could not be

convinced of his Imamate.

We have already said that

these bases had continuous

contact with the Imams and

were in a position to judge

their personalities. It is not

conceivable that so many

people should have accepted

a boy to be their Imam and

should have made sacrifices

for his sake without ascertain-

ing his real worth and as-

sessing his competence. Even

if it is presumed that the

people made no immediate

efforts to ascertain the

position, still the truth could

not remain unknown for years

in spite of the continuous

contact between the child

Imam and the people. Had he

been childish in his knowledge

and thinking, he would

certainly have been exposed.

Even if it is supposed that the

popular bases of the Imamate

could not discover the truth, it

was easy for the government

of the day to expose the child,

if he had been really childish

in his thinking and cultural

attainments like all other

children. It certainly would

have been in the interest of

the government of the day to

bring him before his support-

ers and others to prove that

he was not fit to be an Imam

and a spiritual and intellectual

leader.

It might have been difficult to

prove the incompetence of a

man of 40 to 50, but it would

have been quite easy to prove

the incompetence of an

ordinary child, howsoever

intelligent he might have


39

been. Evidently this would

have been much simpler and

easier than the complex and

risky policy of suppression

adopted by those in power at

that time. The only explana-

tion for why the government

kept quiet and did not play

this card is that it had realized

that the early Imamate was a

real phenomenon and not a

concoction.

The fact is that the govern-

ment did attempt to play that

card but did not succeed.

History tells us of such

attempts and their failures,

but it does not report any

occasion on which the child

Imam vacillated or showed

signs of such embarrassment

as could shake the confidence

of the people believing in his

early Imamate.

That is what we meant when

we said that the early Imam-

ate was really a phenomenon

and not a mere presumption.

This phenomenon has deep

roots, for there exist parallel

cases throughout the history

of the heavenly mission and

Divine leadership. We cite just

one instance.

We commanded John; Zacha-

riah's son, to follow the

guidance of the Lord with due

steadfastness. To John We

gave knowledge and wisdom

during his childhood', (Surah

Maryam, 19.12)

After it has been proved that

the early Imamate had been a

real phenomenon already

existing in the life of the

people of the Prophet's

House, no exception can be

taken to the Imamate of the

Mahdi and his succession to

his father while he was still a

child.

(c) Reasons for his contin-

ued existence

Now we come to another

question. Even if it is pre-

sumed that theoretically the

existence of the Mahdi, with

all its implication including the

long life, the early Imamate

and the complete occultation

is possible, how can we

believe that he actually exists,

for a mere possibility is not


40

enough to prove that. As the

concept of the Mahdi is

unusual and extraordinary,

the existence of a few sayings

of the holy Prophet, which are

enshrined in the books, is not

enough to prove that the

existence of the Mahdi is a

historical fact and not a mere

presumption which has seized

the imagination of a large

number of people for certain

psychological reasons.

The answer to this question is

this that the concept of the

Mahdi as the Awaited Saviour

who is to change the world

for the better has been

mentioned in the traditions of

the holy Prophet generally

and in the sayings of the

Imams particularly. It has

been emphasized in so many

passages that there is no

reason to doubt it. The

number of the reports on this

subject found in the books of

our Sunni brethren comes to

400,[1] and the total number

of the reports found in both

the Shi'ah and the Sunni

sources comes to more than

6,000.5 This is a colossal

figure, unparalleled in the

case of most of those Islamic

issues which are not usually

doubted by any Muslim.

As for the embodiment of this

concept in the person of the

twelfth Imam, there exists

enough justification to believe

that. This justification can be

summarized in two argu-

ments, one being Islamic and

the other scientific.

By the Islamic argument we

prove the existence of the

Awaited Saviour and by the

scientific argument we prove

that the Mahdi is not a mere

myth but his existence is a

fact proved by historical

experience.

As for the Islamic argument, it

is represented by hundreds of

traditions which have come

down from the holy Prophet

and the Imams of his House.

They specify that the Mahdi

will belong to the Prophet's

House, will be descended

from his daughter Fatimah-

tuz-Zehra and will be the


41

descendant of Imam Husayn

in the ninth generation.

The traditions also say that

the total number of the

caliphs will be twelve. Thus,

the traditions give a specific

shape to the general idea of

the Mahdi and determine that

he is none other than the

twelfth Imam of the Prophet's

House. The number of these

traditions is very large in spite

of the fact that the Imams

were very reserved on this

subject, for fear of an attempt

on the life of the Mahdi.

It is not only because of their

number that we have to

accept these traditions, but

there are also other indica-

tions of their authenticity.

According to the different

versions of a tradition of the

holy Prophet, he has to be

succeeded by twelve caliphs,

by twelve Imams, or by

twelve commanders.

The total number of reports

about this saying as counted

by some writers exceeds 270

and they are found in the

most celebrated Shi'ah and

Sunni books, such as Sahih

Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sahih

Tirmizy, Sunan Abu Dawud,

Ahmad's Musnad and Hakim's

Mustadrak. It may be noted

that Bukhari, who has quoted

this tradition, was a contem-

porary of Imam Muhammad

bin Ali al-Jawad, Imam Ali bin

Muhammad al-Hadi and Imam

Hasan al-Askari.

This fact has great signifi-

cance, for it proves that the

tradition was recorded before

its contents could materialize.

Hence, it cannot be suspected

that it is a possible reflection

on the actual number of the

Imam, as believed by the

Twelver Shi'ah to reinforce

their belief in the twelve

Imams. This is because the

spurious sayings attributed to

the holy Prophet refer to the

events which take place

earlier and the saying comes

afterwards. Such sayings do

not precede the events nor

are they recorded in the

books of tradition earlier.


42

So long as we possess mate-

rial evidence of the fact that

the tradition was recorded

before the number of the

Imams was actually complet-

ed we can safely say that it is

not a reflection on an accom-

plished fact. It is only an

expression of a divine truth,

expressed by him who never

spoke whimsically, and a

prophecy which was subse-

quently fulfilled by the actual

number of the Imams begin-

ning with Imam Ali and

ending with Imam Mahdi.

As for the scientific argument,

we have to state that it

consists of the experience of a

large number of people for a

period covering about seventy

years. This period is known as

that of minor occultation. To

elucidate the point we pro-

pose to explain minor occulta-

tion briefly.

The minor occultation repre-

sents the first stage of the

Imamate of the Awaited

Saviour who was destined to

keep himself physically absent

from the public scene, from

the very inception of his

Imamate, though he still

continues to take an intelli-

gent interest in what happens

around him. Had this occulta-

tion come suddenly it would

have been a great shock to

his supporters, for they had

been accustomed to be

always in contact with the

Imam and to consult him on

their divergent problems.

His sudden disappearance

would have caused a big

vacuum which might have

absorbed and even destroyed

the whole organisation, for his

supporters would have felt

that they had been cut off

from their spiritual and

intellectual leadership. In

order to familiarize them with

the idea of occultation and to

enable them to adapt them-

selves to the new situation it

was felt necessary that a

preparatory stage should

precede the final occultation.

This stage was that of minor

occultation during which the

Imam disappeared from the

public scene, but maintained


43

his contact with his followers

through certain representa-

tives who formed a connect-

ing link between him and

those who believed in his role

as an Imam. During this

period four persons, whose

piety and impeccability was

recognized by all, occupied

the position of the vicegerents

of the Imam. They are as

under:

1. Uthman ibn Sa'id al-'Amravi

2. Muhammad ibn Uthman

'Amravi

3. Abu'l Qasim Husayn ibn

Ruh Nawbakhti

4. Abu'l Hasan Ali ibn Mu-

hammad al-Simmari

These four persons performed

the duties of his vicegerent in

the above order. As and when

one of them died, another

was duly appointed by the

Mahdi to succeed him.

The vicegerent was in contact

with the Shi'ah. He carried

their questions to the Imam

and submitted their problems

to him. He also conveyed the

Imam's replies to his follow-

ers. The replies used to be

mostly in writing and were

occasionally verbal. The

people who missed the sight

of the Imam, found consola-

tion in correspondence and

indirect contact. All the letters

received from the Imam

during the tenure of his four

vicegerents, which lasted for

about seventy years, were in

the same hand-writing and in

the same style and bore the

same signature.

Al-Simmari was the last

vicegerent. He announced the

end of the stage of the minor

occultation, the distinctive

feature of which was the

appointment of the particular

vicegerent. It was turned into

the major occultation after its

object had been achieved and

the Shi'ah had gradually

adapted themselves to the

absence of the Imam.

They had been immunized

against the shock and the

vacuum. Following the major

occultation, instead of being

represented by a specially


44

appointed vicegerent, the

Imam is now represented in a

general way by the qualified

mujtahids (eminent legists,

capable of arriving at an

independent decision on

issues of religious law) having

a keen insight into both the

spiritual and temporal affairs.

Now, in the light of the

foregoing, it can easily be

inferred that the existence of

the Mahdi is a fact which was

experienced by a larger

number of the people.

He was represented by his

vicegerents for seventy long

years during which they dealt

with so many people but no

one observed any inconsisten-

cy in what they said, nor

discovered any signs of

deception in their conduct. Is

it conceivable that a fraud

could be continued for seven-

ty years by four persons, one

after the other, without giving

rise to the least suspicion?

These four persons had no

special link with each other

and no collusion between

them could be suspected.

Their conduct was above

reproach. They gained the

confidence of all and everyone

believed in the genuineness of

their claim and the reality of

their experience.

An old proverb says that truth

will always come but. Events

of practical life also prove that

a fraud has no chance to last

for such a long time in such a

way. It is not possible to deal

with so many people fraudu-

lently and at the same time to

gain their confidence.

Thus we know that the minor

occultation is tantamount to a

scientific experiment to prove

the facts about the Awaited

Saviour including his birth, life

and occultation and the

general proclamation of his

major occultation, according

to which he retired from the

scene of life and does not

now disclose his identity to

anyone.

[To be continued…]

��


45

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as), the

chief of Ja‘fari School of

thought (Shi‘ism) was born on

Rabi‘ al-Awwal 17, 83/April

20, 702 in Medina.

His father was Imam

Muhammad al-Baqir (as) and

his mother was Umm Farvah,

daughter of Qasim b.

Muhammad b. Abi Bakr. His

patronymic was Abu ‘Abd

Allah and his nickname was

al-Sadiq.

Up to the age of 12, Imam al-

Sadiq (as) was contemporary

to his noble grandfather

Imam al-Sajjad (as) and was

primarily trained under his

supervision and gleaned from

the knowledge stack of his

grandfather.

After the demise of the fourth

Imam (as), he lived in the

service of his honorable

father, Imam al-Baqir (as) for

19 years amounting to 31

years of spending his life

serving his grandfather and

father who were each at his

own time a proof of Allah

obtaining light directly from

the Divine source.

Thus, in addition to the Divine

aspects and Holy blessings

that every Imam receives,

enjoying the presence of his

noble father and grandfather

caused Imam al-Sadiq (as)

who possessed innate talent,

scholarly sense and abundant

brilliance, to achieve

perfection in knowledge and

ethics and to become the

greatest figure on knowledge

and learning.

After his father's demise, his

Imamate lasted 34 years,

during which he founded

Ja‘fari School (Madhhab al-

Ja‘fari) and contributed to the

reconstruction and revival of

Muhammad (S)'s law (shari‘a).

The prolific and productive life

of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as)

coincided with the rule of five

Umayyad caliphs (Hisham b.

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A.S.),

The Chief of Jafari School of Thought

By: Ahmad Ahmadi Birjandi


46

‘Abd al-Malik, Walid b. Yazid,

Yazid b. Walid, Ibrahim b.

Walid, and Marwan Himar),

each one of whom inflicted

much persecution and sorrow

upon the lofty soul of the

Infallible Imam (as); two of

the ‘Abbasid caliphs (Saffah

and Mansur) also usurped the

caliphate in the time of the

Imam (as) and proved to be

more tyrannical and unjust

than the Umayyads.

Consequently, Imam al-Sadiq

(as) lived his last ten years of

life in insecurity and

discomfort.

The Era of Imam al-Sadiq

(as)

Imam al-Sadiq (as)’s era is

characterized as one of the

most turbulent periods in the

history of Islam, during which,

on one hand, frequent

rebellions of different groups,

particularly by revenges for

Imam al-Husayn (as)'s blood,

took place, including the

uprising by Abu Salama in

Kufa and Abu Muslim in

Khurasan, which were the

most important of all.

It was this revolution that

finally toppled down the

ominous rule of the Umayyads

and liberated the people from

their injustice and tyranny.

But finally, the Abbasids took

over the rule and caliphate

with fraudulence and

conspiracy. The transference

period of the Umayyad rule to

Abbasids was the most violent

and chaotic time in the life of

Imam al-Sadiq (as).

On the other hand, his era

was a time of clashes among

schools and ideologies and an

age of contradiction of

different philosophical and

theological thoughts which

were raised by the encounter

of the Islamic nations and

those of the conquered lands

as well as through the

relations between Islamic

centers and the rest of the

world, creating enthusiasm

and eagerness in Muslims for

understanding and

researching.

It was an age in which the

slightest negligence or

unawareness and inactivity by


47

the true guardian of Islam,

i.e., Imam al-Sadiq (as),

would have ruined the faith

and marred the life-giving

teachings of Islam, both from

inside and out.

It was then that the Imam

(as) was facing great troubles

and bearing topmost

responsibility. In such a

critical situation, the sixth

Imam (as) had to be

concerned with the salvage of

the thoughts of Muslim

masses from atheism and

infidelity as well as preventing

the Islamic principles and

knowledge from deviating

from the right path and the

religious decrees from being

wrongly and reversely

interpreted and articulated by

the caliphs of his time.

In addition, he had to skillfully

and with accurate planning

liberate the Shi‘a from being

annihilated and wiped out,

which was, amid the

stranglehold and tortures by

the previous rule, taking the

last breaths and its great men

and scholars were either

hiding or absorbed by the

pomposity and gaudiness of

the tyrannical occupying

regime and did not dare to

reveal their faith.

The new rule was no better in

murder and injustice than the

previous one and the situation

was so adverse and dire that

all of the Imam (as)'s

companions were in danger of

being killed, with their elite

being already on the blacklist.

Jabir Ju‘fi, one of the Imam

(as)'s special companions and

envoys, was dispatched by his

holiness to Kufa on a certain

mission. On the way, the

swift-riding courier of the

Imam (as) caught up with him

and said: “The Imam advises

you to feign insanity.”

Following this advice, his life

was spared; that is, the

governor of Kufa who had

secretly received a command

from the caliph to assassinate

him refrained from killing him

on the ground of madness.

An intimate companion of

Imam al-Baqir (as), Jabir Ju‘fi

has said: “Imam al-Baqir (as)


48

has taught me seventy

thousand hadiths, which I

have not narrated to anyone

and will never do.

One day he humbly said to

the holy Imam (as): “You

have told me some secrets,

which neither I can endure,

nor I have a confidant to

entrust them to; and I am

about to go insane.”

“Go to the desert,” the Imam

(as) said to him, “and dig a

well, put your head onto it

and say in the quiet of the

well: “Muhammad b. ‘Ali –

i.e., Imam al-Baqir (as) –

related such and such to

me…”

Truly, the Shi‘a s were about

to be wiped out, i.e., the

genuine Islam was going to

take the color of the caliphs

and turn into an Umayyad and

Abbasid Islam.

In such a dire situation, the

Holy Imam (as) undertook the

revivification and

reconstruction of the Islamic

knowledge, and set up a great

scholarly school whose end-

product and output was

fourteen thousand expert

disciples (such as Hisham,

Muhammd b. Muslim, etc.) in

various disciplines, who

spread over the extended

Islamic lands of the time.

Each one of them were, on

the one hand, the

representative of Imam (as)'s

logic which denoted the logic

of Islam, the guardian of

religious and scientific legacy,

as well as the protectors of

the true Shi‘ism, and on the

other hand, were defenders

against infiltration of anti-

Islamic and destructive

thoughts among the Muslims.

The establishment of such a

school of thought and such

reconstruction and revival of

the Islamic teachings, made

Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as)

known as the head of Ja‘fari

school (i.e., Shi‘ism).

Shortly afterwards, however,

upon reinforcement of their

influence and foundations, the

Abbasids assumed the same

tyrannical procedure as the


49

Umayyads, and even

surpassed them in their

atrocities.

Having always been an

untiring combatant and a

radical revolutionary in the

arena of thought and action,

Imam al-Sadiq (as) did what

Imam al-Husayn (as) had

done in his bloody uprising,

albeit in the form of teaching

and setting up a school of

thought, training people, and,

putting up an all-out jihad.

Scientific Movement

Political discrepancies among

the Umayyad and the

Abbasids, division of Islam

into different sects, and the

appearance of materialistic

ideas and the influence of

Greek philosophy in the

Islamic countries gave rise to

a scientific movement, which

was founded on indisputable

facts.

Such a movement was crucial

both for purging the religious

truths of superstitions and

forged traditions and resisting

against the heretics and

materialists with the power of

reasoning to condemn their

shaky opinions. His Holiness'

scholarly talks and debates

with atheists and materialists

such as Ibn Abi al-‘Awja’ and

Abu Shakir al-Daysani, and

even with Ibn Muqaffa‘, are

well-known.

Nobody was capable of

creating such a scientific

movement in that chaotic and

dark era; the only one

deserving this great status

was the one having Divine

mission and being upheld by

Allah, so that he would be

able to relate to the unseen

through revelation power,

purity of soul, and God-

fearing, and to obtain the

truths of knowledge from the

boundless ocean of Divine

knowledge, and impart them

to those who would

appreciate their value.

It was only the Holy Imam al-

Sadiq (as) who was worthy of

having such a position, and it

was just he who by

withdrawing from politics and

political controversies since


50

the beginning of his Imamate,

made great efforts in

spreading the Islamic

knowledge, the genuine

traditions of the true religion,

and disseminating the

ordinances and teachings as

well as training the Muslims.

The era of Imam al-Sadiq (as)

was actually the golden age of

knowledge and promulgation

of divine ordinances and

education of disciples who

would each carry the brilliant

torch of knowledge to the

nooks and corners of the

world and, like their honorable

teacher and leader, make

endeavors to guide people

through self-knowledge and

knowledge of their Lord.

It was in this splendid era that

the Islamic theology and

philosophy – in contrast to

Greek philosophy – thrived

and great philosophers and

sages were trained in the

world of Islam.

Simultaneous to the scientific

movement and development

of knowledge by Imam al-

Sadiq (as) in Medina, Mansur,

the Abbasid caliph, out of

hatred and envy thought of

establishing another school

which would be able both to

be scientifically independent

against the Ja‘fari school and

keep the people busy and

distracted from plucking

flowers of knowledge from the

rose-garden of the Imam

(as)'s school of knowledge. To

this end, Mansur set up a

school in Karkh neighborhood

of Baghdad.

In this school, Mansur utilized

Abu Hanifa in legal issues and

had scientific and

philosophical books brought

from India and Greece and

had them translated. He also

installed Malik, the chief of

the Maliki sect, as the head of

jurisprudence department.

However, these schools were

unable to carry out their

guiding duties as expected.

Imam al-Sadiq (as) compiled

and formulated the dispersed

juristic, scientific, and

theological issues, and in

every discipline trained

numerous disciples who later


51

on spread the Islamic

knowledge throughout the

world. That was the beginning

of Imam (as)'s worldwide

spreading of different

disciplines such as

jurisprudence, philosophy,

theology, natural sciences,

etc. Ja‘fari jurisprudence is

the same as Muhammadan

jurisprudence of religious

rulings, which were revealed

by Allah to the noble Prophet

(S) through the revelation of

the Qur’an.

Contrary to other sects in

which views and ideas were

arbitrarily manipulated, the

Ja‘fari jurisprudence was

indeed the elaboration and

elucidation of the same

principles and laws set forth

from the beginning in Islam.

Abu Hanifa, the head of

Hanafi sect, has stated about

Imam al-Sadiq (as): “I have

neither seen nor known

anyone more learned in

jurisprudence than Ja‘far al-

Sadiq.”

The legal judgment (fatwa) by

the greatest contemporary

jurist of the Sunni world,

Shaykh Muhammad Shaltout,

the dean of Al-Azhar

university, who explicitly

proclaimed as permissible the

practice of Ja‘fari

jurisprudence just like that of

other schools, is in itself an

acknowledgment of the

rightfulness of Ja‘fari

jurisprudence. These are but

the outcome of Imam al-Sadiq

(as)'s endeavors in those

days.

Imam al-Sadiq (as) frequently

debated on philosophy and

hikma with his companions

and even with those who

were away from religion and

belief in Allah. An example of

his statements, which proves

the existence of the Almighty

Allah is addressed to one of

his disciples called Mufadhdhal

b. ‘Umar. These statements

are reported in a book called

Tawhid al-Mufadhdhal.

The debates of Imam al-Sadiq

(as) with the Indian physician,

which is the subject of a book

called Ihlilaja, also includes

sagacious points which are a


52

small portion of Imam al-

Sadiq (as)'s unfathomable

ocean of knowledge. In order

to know a master (ustad)

there are normally two ways:

first, getting to know his

works and words; second,

getting to know his disciples

and the ones educated in his

school.

As for the disciples and

students of Imam al-Sadiq

(as), they number over four

thousand, of whom one is

Jabir b. Hayyan. He was from

Khurasan. His father was a

druggist in Tus and was

murdered by the followers of

the Umayyads. After his

father's murder, Jabir b.

Hayyan went to Medina. First,

he studied with Imam

Muhammad al-Baqir (as),

then, he joined the students

of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (as).

Jabir is actually one of the

wonders of the time and a

great genius of the Muslim

world.

Having written numerous

books on sciences and arts,

especially chemistry, he

stated everywhere in his

treatises that Ja‘far b.

Muhammad (as) told him or

taught him or related to him

so and so. Among his

discoveries are nitric acid,

aqua regia, and alcohol. He

has also discovered several

metals and metalloids. In the

Renaissance period in Europe,

around 300 treatises of Jabir

b. Hayyan have been

translated into German and

are preserved in Berlin and

Paris libraries. (Sadiq ‘Alayh

al-Salam).

The Debate of Imam Ja‘far

al-Sadiq (as) with Abu

Hanifa

We relate here one of Imam

al-Sadiq (as)'s scathing,

decisive, and at the same

time, brief arguments to

display his vast power of

speech and logic, as a little

indicates much: One day Abu

Hanifa went to Imam al-Sadiq

(as)'s house and asked for an

audience with him, but the

Imam (as) denied him

admittance. Abu Hanifa said:

“I lingered a while at the


53

doorway until a number of the

Kufans turned up and sought

an audience, which was

granted.

I went in with them too.

When I was in his presence I

said: ‘It is worthwhile that you

send an envoy to Kufa and

prohibit the people there from

abusing the companions of

Muhammad (S), as there are

over ten thousand people in

this town giving bad names to

the Prophet (S)'s

companions.”

The holy Imam replied:

“People will not accept it from

me.” Abu Hanifa said: “How is

it possible that the people will

not accept it from you as you

are the grandson of the

Prophet (S)? The Imam said:

“You are yourself one of them

who did not pay attention to

me. Did you not enter the

house without any

permission? And did you not

sit without my allowing you?

And did you not start talking

without asking for permission?

I have heard that you give

fatwa (legal ruling) by

analogy.” To which Abu

Hanifa nodded.

The Imam (as) went on to

say: “Woe to you! The first

one who judged this way was

Satan. When Allah ordered

him to prostrate before Adam,

he said he would not do that,

for he had been created of

fire and Adam of earth (i.e.,

fire is more precious than

earth).”

Then, (in order to falsify the

analogical fatwa, he pointed

out some instances of the

Islamic laws contradicting this

principle,) he said:

“Which one do you think is

more criminal, murdering or

adultery?”

Abu Hanifa replied:

“Murdering.”

Imam: “So, if judging

according to analogy is right,

why then two witnesses are

required to prove a murder

case, but for proving adultery

four witnesses are needed? Is

this Islamic law compatible

with analogy?”

Abu Hanifa: “No.”


54

Imam: “Which one is filthier,

urine or semen?”

Abu Hanifa: “Urine.”

Imam: “Then why has Allah

ordained wudhu (minor

ablution) in the former case

and ghusl (major ablution) in

the latter one? Is this

ordinance compatible with

analogy?”


Imam: “Is prayer more

important or fasting?”

Abu Hanifa: “Prayer.”

Imam: “Why then is it

mandatory for menstruous

women to make up fasting

but not praying? Is this

ordinance compatible with

analogy?”


Imam: “I heard that you have

interpreted the verse:

Then, that day, you will surely

be questioned concerning the

blessing (Al-Qur'an, 102: 8)

as: “Allah will call the people

to account for the delicious

foods and cool water they had

in summer.”

Abu Hanifa said: “That is

right; I interpreted the verse

that way.”

The Imam said: “If someone

invited you to his house and

served you with tasty food

and cool water and then held

you indebted for his favor,

what would be your judgment

about such a person?”

Abu Hanifa replied: “I would

say he was a miserly one.”

The Imam said: “Is Allah so

miserly so as to call us to

account for the foods that he

has given to us?”

Abu Hanifa asked: “What is

then meant by the blessings

and favors that the Qur’an

says man will be questioned

about?”

The Imam said: “It is the

blessing of loving us, the

household, and the Ahl al-

Bayt of the Holy Apostle of

Allah (S).”

(Munazira dar Rabita ba

Masa’il-Ideology)

��


55

The Holy Prophet said to Àli

(a.s.): O' Àli, there are as

many rights of children

incumbent upon parents as

there are rights of parents

incumbent upon children.

Rights and duties are inter-

related. The right of À' is the

duty of `B'. Although, as

mentioned above, natural

parental love was a sufficient

surety for the upkeep, welfare

and upbringing of the child,

Islam prepared some wonder-

ful guidelines for the parents.

There are many important

turning points in human life -

right from birth to adulthood -

in which a wrong step may

prove fatal for happiness and

success - both of this world

and of the life hereafter.

Most important is education

and character building. Here

are a few sign-posts concern-

ing these two aspects.

Name: Amir al-mu'minin, Àli

ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) said:

The first beneficence of a

parent towards his child is to

give him a good name;

therefore, you should name

your child with a good name.

It is a fact that good names

may have a good influence on

the mind of a person. A child

hears his name day and night;

and it is reasonable to believe

that the meaning of that name

subconsciously strengthens

those characteristics which are

implied in that name. Of

course, it does not mean that

no evil person has a good

name. What is emphasized

here is the fact that a name

has a psychological effect on

the person, provided it is not

countermanded by rearing or

society.

A bad name has one more

tangible evil effect. Whenever

that name is announced, the

person will feel embarrass-

ment and the name will

become a source of constant

irritation, effecting his outlook

Rights of Children

Edited excerpts from the book, “Islamic Family Life” By: Sayyid Sa'eed Akhtar Rizvi


56

of society. Hence the emphasis

in ahadith on giving good

names to children.

The Holy Prophet used to

emphasize this aspect of life so

much that al-Imam Ja'far as-

Sadiq (a.s.) said: ”(The Apostle

of Allah) used to change the

bad names of people and

places.”

It is recommended that the

child should be named after

the Holy Prophet and his

family. Strangely enough,

nowadays people name their

children after film actors and

actresses. This trend points to

a far deeper malady of our

society.

It shows that now our daily life

and dominating thoughts have

lost their connection with the

founder of Islam and his

family. Now we are glorifying

those whose lives are diamet-

rically opposed to Islamic

tenets; and who depend on

haram (forbidden) actions for

their livelihood. By giving our

children the names of such

anti-Islamic persons, we are

teaching our children not to

care about Islam in their lives.

Three Stages of Life

From infancy up to the age of

21-22 years, one's life may be

divided into three stages:

The First Stage is up to the

age of 7. Ancient philosophers

were of the opinion that the

human mind in the very

beginning is completely blank,

and it is only gradually that it

starts using the faculties of

sight, hearing etc.

During childhood, it becomes

strong enough to understand

common words and ideas and

associate names with objects.

Still it is not developed enough

to bear the strain of logical

reasoning and abstract ideas.

That theory basically is ac-

cepted even today. And tests

and experiments have led

modern psychologists to

believe that as a general rule

the child's mind up to the age

of 7 and 8 years is not strong

enough to grasp book

knowledge. Children who are


57

required to cram pages and

pages of books at such a

tender age suffer a lot and

their originality is sacrificed on

the altar of written pages.

The Second Stage begins at 8

years and goes to 14-15 years.

In this period the mind re-

mains alert and easily grasps

logical reasoning and abstract

theories. The child's interest in

acquiring knowledge is at its

peak at this age. The fresh-

ness of mind and ability to

learn more is never as marvel-

ous as is in this period. This is

because the curiosity to learn

about the unknown is general-

ly not bridled by any responsi-

bility.

The Third Stage is after 14-15

years. The human mind

becomes strong; adolescence

opens new horizons before the

eyes. Sex, marriage, domestic

life and its complex problems

come to the fore. The child of

yesterday is the youth of

today. He appreciates that

soon he will be required to

look after himself; he knows

that every passing day brings

him nearer to the responsibili-

ties of a family with all that

that entails.

These thoughts prepare him to

exert himself to earn his own

livelihood, and he starts

looking for a way to do so.

In this perspective let us look

at the following ahadith and

see how our Divine philoso-

phers explained these aspects

of life which modern psycholo-

gists have discovered after

hundreds of experiments

1) Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.)

said:

Let your child play up to seven

years (1st stage); and keep

him with you (for study etc.)

for another seven years (2nd

stage); then if he succeeds

(well and good); otherwise,

there is no good in him.

2) The Holy Prophet (S) said:

The child is the master for

seven years (1st stage) ; and a

slave for seven years (2nd

stage) and a vizier for seven

years (3rd stage) ; so if he

builds a good character within


58

21 years, well and good,

otherwise leave him alone

because (if you looked after

him for 21 years) you have

discharged your responsibility

before Allah.

As the first stage is a care-free

period, it has been called

mastership; the 2nd stage

means taking orders from

teachers and parents, there-

fore it has been called slavery;

in the third stage the child is

expected to help his parent in

earning his livelihood, so it has

been named viziership.

For each of these periods, the

Islamic shariàh has given

some guidelines.

Instruction for the Three

Stages

First Stage: It has been

explained that the child should

not be burdened with books in

this period. But this does not

mean that his mind's faculties

remain suspended. On the

contrary, the atmosphere of

society continuously influence

the child's mind, though he

himself is not aware of this

process. Therefore, it is

essential to give utmost

priority to the proper upbring-

ing and character-building.

The best way to inculcate

good behavior in children is to

behave with them with good

grace. In this way, they will

learn etiquette, good behavior

and noble character.

It is emphasized that children

should be kept in a good

environment. The Holy Proph-

et said: “O' Àli, it is among

the rights of the child on his

father to . . . teach him good

manners and keep him in good

society.”

Also, it is desirable to gradually

give them religious training,

because the impressions

gained in childhood are very

difficult to erase and if respect

and love of religion is infused

in his mind in childhood, he

will always remain attached to

the religion. The syllabus of

such training is given in the

following hadith:

“Abdullah ibn Fadl narrates

from al-Imam Muhammad al-


59

Bdqir (a.s.) or al-Imam Ja'far

as-Sadiq (a.s.): When the child

reaches 3 years, teach him

seven times to recite (la ilaha

illa'llah). Then leave him at

that till he is 3 years 7 months

and 20 days old; then train

him to say (Muhammadun

rasulu'llah). Then leave him at

that till he completes 4 years.

Then teach him seven times to

say (salla'llahu ala Muham-

madin wa aali Muhammad).

Then leave him at that till he

reaches the age of 5 years;

then ask him which one is his

right hand and which one is

the left. When he knows it

then make him face qiblah and

tell him to do sajdah (prostra-

tion).

This is to continue till he is 6

years of age. Then he should

be told to pray and taught

ruku` (to kneel down) and

sajdah. When he completes 7

years, he should be asked to

wash his face and hands, and

then told to pray. This will

continue till he reaches the

age of 9 years, when he

should be taught proper wudu'

(ritual ablution before prayer -

and should be punished if he is

not careful) and proper salat

(and should be punished if he

is not regular). When he learns

proper wudu' and salat Allah

forgives the sins of his par-

ents.”

Every sentence of this valuable

hadith deserves attention. See

how gradually the child taught

his duties of the shariàh

without putting any burden

upon him. Of course, a child

may be taught wudu' and salat

in a short period of 3-4 days

when he is 12 or 13 years old.

But that crash-programme

training will not have the

benefits of that gradual and

early training recommended in

the hadith.

Second Stage: Now comes

the period of formal education.

It is the most crucial period of

life, the foundation-stone of

the future. Islam directs that in

this period a child should first

be given necessary religious

education so that he may not

be misled by anyone in belief

or action. Al-Imam Ja'far as-


60

Sadiq (a.s.) said: “Make haste

in teaching your youngsters

hadith before they are ap-

proached by murjia or Murji'ite

(a wrong sect).”

Children are like a green,

tender branch; they may easily

be bent in any direction. If

they are not given proper

religious education at this

stage, then only Allah can save

them from misleading influ-

ences. Unfortunately, our

people do not care at all about

this instruction. There was a

time when the teaching of the

Qur'an and elementary reli-

gious subjects was a MUST.

Alas! Now our children in quite

a tender age are sent to such

institutions where inconspicu-

ously they are saturated day in

and day out with anti-religious

propaganda. No wonder that

when they grow up the anti-

religious feeling also grows up

to become a deep-rooted bias.

Third Stage: This is the

period of earning one's

livelihood. Also, this is the

period when children should

get married. And much

emphasis has been given to

getting girls married as soon

as possible. The Holy Prophet

said that it is the right of the

girl upon her father that he

should make haste in sending

her to the house of her

husband. The same hadith

guides us about male children;

that they should be married

when they become mature.

But there is no criterion for

age. The only thing which

matters is that when a young

man becomes emotionally

mature and he feels an urge to

enter into matrimonial rela-

tionship then he should get

married without any delay.

At this stage the parents'

responsibility towards their

offspring comes to an end. If

anyone brings up his children

remaining within these Islamic

limits, then that child surely

will be the apple of the par-

ents' eyes and the delight of

their hearts; and it is this child

who, in his turn, may be

hoped to fulfil his obligation

towards his parents.

��


61

Kids

Corner

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

Dear kids,

On the auspicious and joyous

occasion of Eid Milad-un-

Nabi (S) and the Birthday

Anniversary of Imam Jafar

Sadiq (A.S.) we extend our

warmest and heartiest

greetings to all the Muslims

around the world.

Prophet Muhammad (S) was

born in the year 570 CE (53

years before the Hijrah) in

the holy city of Makkah. He

was the first and only son of

Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abd Al-

Muttalib and Hazrat Aminah

bint Wahab. Hazrat Abdul-

lah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib died

before Hazrat Muhammad's

(S) birth. The precise date

of his birth is disputed

among the historians, but

Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeini

(ra), the founder of the

Islamic revolution had

declared the week between

12th and 17th Rabi al-Awwal

as "Wahdat Week" meaning

"the week of unity amongst

Muslims." Muslims all over

the world are urged to get

together and celebrate (Eid

Milad-un-Nabi) the birth of

Prophet Muhammad (S) for

the whole week.

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) the

Sixth Holy Imam of the

Shi'a Muslims has also the

same birth date as that of

our Holy Prophet (S). He was

born on 17th Rabi al-Awwal

83 A.H. in the holy city of

Madinah.

��

Kindness of the Holy Prophet (S)

More than 1400 years ago in

Arabia people worshiped

idols. In their ignorance

they would bury their newly

born daughters alive. As


62

Islam began to spread among

Arabs such cruel practices

stopped. For Islam taught

love and peace. It taught

kindness and respect.

Prophet Muhammad (S)

himself was a very kind and

loving person. He treated

every one, young and old,

with kindness and respect.

Because Prophet Muhammad

(S) was spreading the word

of God, some Arabs felt

that by the teachings of

Muhammad (S) their old

idols were losing power they

disliked Muhammad (S) and

planned to kill him. Every

time they tried to kill him,

they failed. This angered

the enemies of Islam even

more. So they began to

harass him in every way they

knew.

One old woman made a habit

of throwing rubbish on

Prophet Muhammad (S)

whenever he passed from

her house! Muhammad (S)

had to pass that house daily

on the way to the mosque.

Even when the old woman

threw rubbish on him, he

would pass silently without

showing any anger or annoy-

ance. This was a regular,

daily event.

One day when the Prophet

was passing by, the woman

was not there to throw the

rubbish. He stopped, and

asked the neighbor about

her well-being, and wonder-

ing why she wasn't dropping

any rubbish on him.

The neighbor informed the

Prophet that the woman was

sick on bed. The Prophet

politely asked permission to

visit the woman. When

allowed he entered the

house, the woman thought

that he had come there to

take his revenge when she

was unable to defend her-

self because of sickness.

But the Prophet (S) assured

her that he had come to her,

not to take any revenge, but

to see and look after her

because she was not well and


63

Allah tells us to look after

people who are not well.

The old woman was greatly

moved by this kindness and

love of the Prophet. By the

example of greatness of

Muhammad (S), she under-

stood that he was truly the

Prophet of God and Islam

was the true religion. She

accepted Islam at once.

��

Who is the promised Imam and the Savior of

the world?

The Shias are awaiting the

arrival of the promised

savior-- Imam Mahdi (a.s.) --

and are not lost in their

fantasies; they are search-

ing for an existing reality.

He is alive and lives among

the people. He sees people.

He can feel their sufferings.

Those who are lucky enough

and have the capacity

sometimes meet him without

recognizing him. He does

exist. He is a real human: a

known being with a given

name; his parents are known

and he lives among the

people and with them. This is

how our—the Shias’—belief

is. And the followers of

other faiths who do not

believe in this reality have

never been able to provide

any logical reasons to reject

this belief. There are

several obvious and strong

reasons, also accepted by

Sunni Muslims, which are a

testimony to the existence

of this exalted servant of

God. All these reasons

provide evidence that Imam

Mahdi (may our souls be

sacrificed for his sake) is

living among us - and we are

all aware of his characteris-

tics. This is what has been

cited in many non-Shia

sources as well. The birth

date of the pure-hearted

son of Imam Hassan al-

Askari (a.s.) is known to

everyone. His miracles and

those who are connected

with him are also known to

us. God Almighty has grant-

ed a long life to him. These


64

are the characteristics of

the Imam of the Time (may

our souls be sacrificed for

his sake) whom all the

nations of the world, all

ethnic groups, and people

from all faiths and races

have been impatiently

waiting for at all times.

These are the beliefs of

Shia Muslims about this

important issue.

��

Harun Al-Makki, A Sincere Follower of

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as)

Once a Khorasani chief by

the name of Sahl bin Hasan

came to Imam Jafar Sadiq

(as), and asked him why the

Imam wasn't fighting for his

rights when there were

thousands of supporters

ready to fight with him.

Imam (as) with the intention

of giving him a practical

answer, took Sahl bin Hasan

with him and went to the

fireplace. The fire was

blazing red. Imam (as) told

Sahl bin Hasan to jump into

the fire. Sahl bin Hasan

trembled and begged for-

giveness. At that moment,

Harun Al-Makki one of the

sincere companions of the

Imam (as) happened to

arrive. Imam (as) told Harun

to jump into the fire, and

Harun did this at once,

without hesitating. After a

while, Imam (as) asked Sahl

to go check on Harun. Sahl

Hasan saw Harun sitting

cross legged in the fire

safely. Imam (as) then asked

Sahl how many of his follow-

ers were like this man. Sahl

bin Hasan replied, "none,

master", Imam Jafar al-

Sadiq (as) then asked Harun

to leave the fire and no

burns were seen on him!

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as)

then explained, "I shall not

stage an uprising when I do

not have even five sincere

companions. (And do remem-

ber) we are very well aware

as to when we should stage

an uprising."

��


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Cover Page (Front) - Zahra Academyzahraacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/msg/... · 2 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 03 3 The Personality and Teachings of the Holy Prophet (S)