Imams of the Shi'a: Difference between revisions

'''Imams (a) of Shi'a''' are twelve men from the progeny of the [[Holy Prophet (s)]] who are, according to [[Shi'a]] teachings, successors of the Prophet (s) and the guardians and leaders of the society after the Prophet (s). The first Imam (a) is [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] and the other Imams (a) are his and [[lady Fatima (a)|lady Fatima's (a)]] sons and grandsons.  

Imam al-Husayn (a) was Imam for 10 years and except the last 6 months, his imamate was contemporary with the caliphate of Mu'awiya, during which he (a) lived under great hardships and severe conditions. During the last 6 months of Imam al-Husayn's (a) imamate, Mu'awiya tried to establish the caliphate of his profligate son, [[Yazid]]. In the middle of 60 AH, Mu'awiya died and his son took the thrown.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 207-208</ref>

Meanwhile, the Imam (a) received a stream of letters from [[Iraq]] and especially from [[Kufa]], who were asking him to go there and lead the people and rises against injustice. During the rituals of [[hajj]], Imam (a) was informed that some of the agents of Yazid had entered Mecca wearing the clothes of hajj pilgrims and were ordered to kill the Imam (a).<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 209-210</ref>

In the gathering of people, the Imam (a) made a short speech and informed them of his travel towards Iraq, mentioned his [[martyrdom]] and asked them to help him in his goal and to spend their blood on the way of [[God]]. The next day, he (a) moved towards Iraq accompanied by his family and some of his companions.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 210</ref>

Imam al-Husayn (a) and his companions were besieged by the army of [[Yazid]] about 70 kilometers away from [[Kufa]] in the desert of [[Karbala]]. In 8 days, the siege became tighter and tighter and the number of the enemy's army increased. Soon, Imam al-Husayn (a), his family and his few companions were surrounded by circles of 30,000 armed soldiers.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 211-212</ref>

During those days, the Imam (a) strengthened the position of his companions and refined them. He (a) gathered them at night, made a short speech and said, "we have nothing ahead but [[martyrdom]] and they have nothing to do with anyone except me. Here, I waive my rights to your allegiance with me, so anyone can benefit the darkness of night and saves his life from this horrible danger. "<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 212</ref>

On that day, they fought from dawn to sunset and the Imam (a) and all his soldiers were [[martyr]]ed. Among the martyrs were the two kids of [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]], a baby and Imam al-Husayn's (a) infant.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 213</ref>

[[The event of Karbala]], captivity of women and girls, taking them from one city to another, speeches made by [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] and [[Zaynab (a)]], daughter of [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] who were among the captives disgraced [[Umayyads]] and neutralized [[Mu'awiya]]'s previous propaganda, so that even Yazid publicly renounced the acts of his agents. [[The event of Karbala]] was so effective in the history of [[Islam]] in a way that in a long term it caused the government of Umayyads to be ousted. It also strengthened the roots of [[Shi'a]]. Among its short term effects were the revolutions and revolts which lasted 12 years and not a single person who participated in the murder of the Imam (a) were able to escape the revenge.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 214</ref>

Imam 'Ali b. al-Husayn (a) titled as "Sajjad" and "Zayn al-'Abidin" was the third child of Imam al-Husayn (a), whose mother was [[Shahr Banu]], daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last emperor of the Sassanid dynasty of [[Iran]]. His other three brothers were martyred in [[the event of Karbala]], but he (a) was very sick so he could not go to the war and was sent to [[Syria]] together with other [[The Captives of Karbala|captives]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 215-216</ref>

After returning to Medina, the fourth Imam (a) stayed at home, closed the door to strangers and engaged in [[worship]]ing [[God]] and did not accept to meet anyone except certain [[Shi'a]] such as [[Abu Hamza al-Thumali]], [[Abu Khalid Kabuli]] and alike. However, these certain people circulated the teachings they learned from the Imam (a) among Shi'a and doing so, Shi'a was promoted so that it bloomed at the time of [[Imam al-Baqir (a)|the fifth Imam (a)]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 216</ref>

Imam Muhammad b. 'Ali (a), known as "Baqir al-'Ulum". This is a title the [[the Prophet (s)|Holy Prophet (s)]] had given him. Imam al-Baqir (a) was born in 57/733 and was 4 years old in [[the event of Karbala]]. After his great father, he (a) became the [[imam]] following the order of [[God]] and as his forefathers had mentioned. He (a) was [[martyr]]ed in 114/733 or 117/735. According to some [[hadith]]s from [[Shi'a]], the Imam (a) was poisoned by [[Ibarahim b. Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik]], the nephew of [[Hashim]], the Umayyad [[caliph]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 217</ref>

At the time of the fifth Imam (a), there were frequent fights and revolts due to oppressions of the [[Umayyads]] and these challenges kept the government busy and away from annoying the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]]. On the other hand, the occurrence of the event of Karbala and that the Ahl al-Bayt (a) were oppressed, made [[Muslim]]s attracted to them and brought the Imam (a) such good opportunities for distributing Islamic teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) that none of the Imams (a) had in the past and this is proved by the many hadiths narrated from him.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 217-218</ref>

During his imamate, due to revolutions in Islamic countries and especially the uprising of [[al-Musawwida]] (black-worns) made to overthrow the Umayyad caliphate, and bloody wars were taken place which led to the fall of the caliphate of Umayyads. Therefore, the good grounds that the fifth Imam (a) had prepared by distribution of Islamic teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) during the 20 years of his imamate, brought up more opportunities and better atmosphere for spreading religious teachings.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 218-219</ref>

[[Al-Mansur al-'Abbasi]] ordered his agents to arrest Imam al-Sadiq (a) in Medina. The Imam (a) was arrested once before by the order of the Abbasid caliph [[Saffah]] and brought to [[Iraq]] and before that, he (a) was also arrested in the presence of Imam al-Baqir (a) by the order of the Umayyad caliph [[Hisham]] and brought to [[Damascus]]. Mansur kept Imam al-Sadigh (a) under surveillance for a while and wanted to kill him but finally let the Imam (a) come back to Medina and the Imam (a) lived the rest of his life in isolation, practicing [[Taqiyya]]. He was finally poisoned and [[martyr]]ed by the order of al-Mansur.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 220</ref>

The seventh Imam (a) lived contemporarily with [[al-Mansur]], [[al-Hadi]], [[al-Mahdi]] and [[Harun]], in a very dark and difficult time and practiced [[Taqiyya]]. When Harun went to [[Medina]] during the time of [[hajj]], ordered to arrest and chain Imam al-Kazim (a) when he (a) was praying in [[the mosque of the Prophet (s)]] and prison him. Then he took him (a) from Medina to [[Basra]] and from Basra to [[Baghdad]]. He (a) was taken from one prison to another for many years, so that he (a) was finally poisoned and [[martyr]]ed in the prison of [[Sandi b. Shahak]] and was buried in a place called "[[Maqabir Quraysh]]" which is now located in the city of [[al-Kazimayn]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 221</ref>

He (a) became the Imam (a) after his father by the order of [[God]] and following the report of his forefathers. His period of imamate was partly contemporary with the Abbasid caliph [[Harun]], then with his son [[al-Amin]] and later with Harun's other son [[al-Ma'mun]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 222</ref>

After his father, al-Ma'mun had challenges with his brother al-Amin which led to bloody wars and al-Amin was finally killed. Until then, the policy of the Abbasid caliphate towards supporters of the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] was aggressive and once every while one of the [['Alawi movements]] made an uprising and it was a trouble for the government. Even though, leaders of [[Shi'a]] did not cooperate with such uprisings, but Shi'a who had a great population always regarded the Imams (a) as their religious leaders and considered the caliphate an impure system far away from the holiness of their leaders.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 222-223</ref>

Continuity of such a condition was dangerous for the caliphate. So al-Ma'mun thought to make an end to these troubles that his forefathers could not solve in 70 years. He decided to announce Imam al-Rida (a) as the heir apparent, because when 'Alawis found a link to the caliphate, they would not make any uprising against it anymore. In another hand, when Shi'a saw their Imam's (a) connection with the caliphate and its rulers that he (a) had regarded as impure before, they will lose their belief and spiritual love for Imams (a) and thus their religious organization would fall and there would be no more threats from their side for the caliphate.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 223</ref> After such an achievement, killing Imam (a) would not be difficult for al-Ma'mun.  

To actualize this plot, he summoned Imam (a) in 200/816 from [[Medina]] to Merv. He first offered caliphate and then succession to the thrown to the Imam (a), but for both, the Imam (a) brought excuses and refused his offer. However, al-Ma'mun forced the Imam (a) to accept the latter, thus the Imam (a) accepted it provided that he (a) would not interfere in appointing or dismissing anyone. Soon afterwards, when al-Ma'mun saw the swift progress of Shi'a, realized his mistake, so poisoned and [[martyr]]ed the Imam (a). Imam al-Rida (a) was buried in [[Tus]] which is now located in the suburb of [[Mashhad]], in North-east of [[Iran]].<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 223-224</ref>

He (a) became the [[imam]] after his father by the order of [[God]] and following the report of his forefathers. Upon the demise of his father, Imam al-Jawad (a) was in [[Medina]]. [[al-Ma'mun]] summoned him to [[Baghdad]], where at the time, was the capital of [[caliphate]]. He pretended to love him (a) so much that asked her daughter to marry the Imam (a). Then, al-Ma'mun kept the Imam (a) in Baghdad and in fact wanted to keep him under full surveillance both in his house and the outside. After a while, the Imam (a) returned to Medina and stayed there until the end of al-Ma'mun's rule. After al-Ma'mun died, al-Mu'tasim took the throne and again summoned the Imam (a) to Baghdad and kept him under surveillance. Finally, the Imam (a) was poisoned and [[martyr]]ed by his wife induced by al-Mu'tasim.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 225</ref>

Imam 'Ali b. Muhammad (titled as al-Naqi and al-Hadi), son of [[Imam al-Jawad (a)|the ninth Imam (a)]] was born in Medina in 212/828 and (according to [[Shi'a]] reports) was poisoned and martyred by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tazz in 254/868.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 225-226</ref>

In 243/857, al-Mutawakkil summoned the Imam (a) from [[Medina]] to [[Samarra]] where was the capital at the time, due to gossips they made about the Imam (a). When the Imam (a) entered Samarra, al-Mutawakkil apparently did not do anything against him, but he prepared the ground for all means of annoying and disrespecting the Imam (a). He summoned the Imam (a) to his palace many times to disrespect or to kill him (a). He also many times searched the Imam's (a) house.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 226</ref>

Al-Mutawakkil had no peer among the Abbasid caliphs in enmity with the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] and especially a serious enemy of [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] and publicly cursed him. He even had hired a clown to mimic Imam 'Ali (a) in his parties. In 237/851, he ordered to destroy the [[Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a)]] in [[Karbala]] and many houses built around it and to level them to ground. At his time, the living condition of [['Alawis]] in [[Hijaz]] became very wretched in a way that their women did not have enough clothes to wear, and some of them had only one old chador they wore in turn at the time of [[prayer]]. al-Mutawakkil would make the same pressure upon [[Alavites]] of [[Egypt]] as well. Imam al-Hadi (a) tolerated under tortures of al-Mutawakkil, then after he died, al-Muntasir, al-Musta'in and then al-Mu'tazz came to power until finally Imam (a) was poisoned and [[martyr]]ed by the plot of al-Mu'tazz.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 226-227</ref>

Imam al-'Askari (a) became the [[Imam]] after his father was martyred, by the order of [[God]] and following the reports of his forefathers. His imamate lasted 7 years, during which he (a) had to practice severe [[Taqiyya]] because of the caliphate's excessive harassments and closed the door of his house to people, even to the general [[Shi'a]] and did not meet anyone but elites of them. However he (a) was in prison most of his life. The first reason behind all these harassments was that the number of Shi'a was increased in that time and their power had reached a considerably high level. Also, this fact that Shi'a believed in imamate was known to everyone and Imams (a) were soon found; thus, caliphate kept them under surveillance more than before and tried to kill them in any way possible. Secondly, they knew that the elites of Shi'a believed that Imam al-Askari (a) would have a son who would be the [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)|Promised Mahdi]] and the [[the Prophet (s)|Holy Prophet (s)]] frequently had reported through Shi'a and Sunnis about his coming.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 228</ref>

Therefore, Imam al-'Askari (a) was kept under surveillance more than other Imams (a) and the caliph of his time had decided to finish the imamate of Shi'a in any way possible. As soon as they reported to him about the illness of the Imam (a), he sent a doctor to his house accompanied by some trustworthy men of his and assigned some judges to watch his house and anything that happened in it. After the Imam (a) was martyred, the caliph ordered to search his house and to check the Imam's (a) wife and slaves to found out if they were pregnant. For two years, caliph's agents were looking for the Imam's (a) son, until they were fully disappointed.<ref>Tabataba'i, ''Shi'a dar Islam'', p. 229</ref>

# ''[[Tadhkira khawass al-umma fi khasa'is al-a'imma]]'' written by the [[Hanafite]] scholar Yusuf b. Qazawaghli Sibt b. al-Jawzi (b. 654/1256), frequently published including in Najaf 1369/1949.  

# ''[[Nur al-absar fi manaqib Al Bayt al-Nabi al-Mukhtar]]'' written by Sayyid Mu'min al-Shablanji (d. after 1290/1873) frequently published including in Cairo in 1346/1927.