Theory of a 250-Year-Old Person

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This article is about The theory of a 250-year-old person. For a book with the same title, see A 250 Years Old Person (book).

The theory of a 250-year-old person is the view of Imams of the Shia during the reigns of Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties as a single 250-year-old person given the unity of their methods of political dissidence. The theory was put forward by Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, before the victory of the Islamic Revolution. He believes, despite their prima facie differences, the political lives of Imams of the Shia constituted a long continuous movement, which lasted 250 years. They all aimed to achieve a specific goal of human development and perfection and establishment of an Islamic society, although they adopted different strategies in the fight against the enemies of their time.

According to this theory, the 250 years of the lives of the Infallibles can be divided into four periods: (1) the period of patience and silence, which lasted twenty-five years, (2) the short period of government by the Imams, (3) twenty years of secret organized activities, and finally, (4) the period of reviving the intellectual foundations of Islam, which began since the Imamate of Imam al-Sajjad (a).

Elaboration of the Theory

According to the theory of a 250-year-old person, Imams of the Shia after the Prophet (s) count as a single human person, who engaged in a constant political fight with the injustice and deviations of the tyrants of their time from 11/632 to 260/873.[1] On this view, the entire Ahl al-Bayt (a) was like a single person who fought for a specific intellectual goal for 250 years. This person utilized various factors to lead people to the true school of Islam, including infallibility, inspiration from the Quran[ and the words of the Prophet (s), and profound awareness of the social condition and the Islamic school. They never deviated from their goal. Indeed, it was impossible for them to deviate in leading the society toward true Islam.[2]

The determined political fight as the main characteristic of Imams of the Shia during those 250 years[3] accounted for the unity of their character with respect to jihad.[4] On this view, all Imams of the Shia after Imam al-Husayn (a) were indeed his comrades who fought the same enemy against whom Imam al-Husayn (a) fought and was martyred, although the form of their jihad varied in accordance with circumstances.[5]

Arguments

According to Alireza A'rafi, the foundations of this theory are found in the Shiite conception of their Imams that they are the same light and are of the same nature, as asserted in al-Ziyara al-Jami'a al-Kabira. Moreover, there is a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) to the effect that knowledge and virtues of all Imams of the Shia are the same.[6]

Theorist and Background

The theory of a 250-year-old person was put forward by Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, before the Islamic Revolution in 1971.[7] In his view, the same political line is seen in the thoughts and acts of Ahl al-Bayt (a) during those 250 years, albeit in various forms.[8] Their lives were directed at the same goal and inspired by one source; that is, the Quran and the tradition.[9] Nevertheless, it is said that before him, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shiite intellectual (b. 1935, d. 1980), offer this view of the lives of Imams of the Shia, although Sayyid Ali Khamenei’s formulation of the view was more political and creative.[10]

Alireza A'rafi also presents this theory as that of the unity of the character of Imams of the Shia, believing that it is a presumption of Shiite ijtihad and a foundation of Shiite jurisprudence.[11]


Characteristics of the 250-Year Period

General Lines of the Movement of Imams of the Shia

According to the theory of the unity of the character of Imams of the Shia, as presented by Arafi, different fronts in which the Imams were present can be captured in four directions:

  • Intellectual and cultural encounter with paganism or atheism.[12]
  • Encounters with theological and jurisprudential thoughts of other Islamic denominations[13] as a preservation of Islamic unity against enemies and protection of the doctrinal boundaries of Shiism as the pure version of Islam.[14]
  • Encounters with deviations within Shiism.[15]
  • Political and social encounters with Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs.[16]

The Four-Stage Division

The theory of a 250-year-old person divides the political lives of Imams of the Shia into four stages in terms of their apparent differences.[17]

  • First: Twenty-five years after the beginning of the caliphate (Imam 'Ali’s life during the reign of the first caliphs), which is described as the period of patience.[18]
  • Second: The period of the government of Imams of the Shia, which includes the caliphate of Imam 'Ali (a) (35/656 - 40/661) and the short period of Imam al-Hasan’s caliphate. This period is mainly characterized by the rightful rule of the Imams and the establishment of a revolutionary government just like that of the Prophet (s).[19]
  • Third: The period of secret organized activities of Imams of the Shia from 41/662 to 61/682. This period is largely characterized by preparing the intellectual ground in the society through warriors and by training people who could help Imam al-Husayn (a) to achieve the goal.[20]
  • Fourth: This period began after the beginning of the Imamate of Imam al-Sajjad (a) and continued until 250/864. Two significant measures were taken in this period:[21]
• Revival of Islam: before and during the long-term reign of the Umayyad dynasty, the Islamic society had changed and the intellectual foundations of the pure Islam of Muhammad (s) were thrown into oblivion. For this reason, the Imams began to revive the intellectual foundations of Islam and tried to destroy the non-Islamic thoughts that were injected into the Islamic society in those years.[22]
• Establishment of a secret religious political party with the goal of protecting the authentic intellectual movement of pure Islam, creating an organized political movement, and establishing a relation among those affiliated with that organized political movement. This was a significant event, because if the Imam (a) intended to fight against the ruling system, he would need a group of warriors who were already trained for that purpose.[23]

The Book on a 250-Year-Old Person

Main article: A 250 Years Old Person (book)

The book, A 250 Years Old Person, includes speeches delivered by Ayatollah Khamenei concerning the theory of a 250-year-old person. The book was published in 2011 by Markaz-i Sahba Publication in 375 pages.[24] Until the end of 2020, the book was reprinted more than 85 times. It is translated into languages such as Arabic, English, Urdu, Turkish, Kurdish, Azeri, Sindhi, Hindi, German, and Thai.[25]

Note

  1. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 6.
  2. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Du Imām-i mūjāhid, p. 61.
  3. ↑ Sīyāhpūsh, Sīyāsat, p. 483.
  4. ↑ Jibrāʾīlī, Riwāyat-i rahbarī, p. 319.
  5. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 5, 99, 100, 236.
  6. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 24-25.
  7. ↑ Ghaffārī, Az nīma-yi khurdād, p. 74; Khāmeneʾī, Insān-i 250 sāla, p. 15.
  8. ↑ Ghaffārī, Az nīma-yi khurdād, p. 75.
  9. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 61.
  10. ↑ Najafī, Muʿllifahā-yi tamaddunsāz dar maktab-i sīyāsī-yi Imām Riḍā, p. 29.
  11. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 24-25.
  12. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 31.
  13. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 31.
  14. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 31.
  15. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 32.
  16. ↑ Aʿrāfī, Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā, p. 33.
  17. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 61.
  18. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 118.
  19. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 124.
  20. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 124, 148.
  21. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 124, 150.
  22. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 150, 151.
  23. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn, p. 154.
  24. ↑ Khāmeneʾī, Insān-i 250 sāla, p. 4, 5.
  25. ↑ A 250-year-old man, explaining the strategy of imams during the political struggle (Persian).

References

  • Aʿrāfī, ʿAlī Riḍā. Khurshīd-i ʿashūrā. Edited by Muḥammad Āzādī. Qom: Muʾssisa Ishrāq wa ʿIrfān, 1396 SH.
  • Ghaffārī, Muṣtafā. Az nīma-yi khurdād. [n.p], Muʾassisa-yi Pazhūhishī Farhangī Inqilāb-i Islāmi, 1398 SH.
  • Jabraʾīlī, Yāsir. Riwāyat-i rahbarī. Muʾassisa-yi Pazhūhishī Farhangī Inqilāb-i Islāmi, 1398 SH.
  • Khāmeneʾi, Sayyid ʿAlī. Hamrazmān-i Hūsayn. Muʾassisa-yi Pazhūhishī Farhangī Inqilāb-i Islāmi, 1397 SH.
  • Khamenei, Sayyid ʿAlī. Insān-i 250 sāla. [n.p], Markaz-i Ṣahbā, 1391 SH.
  • Khamenei, Sayyid ʿAlī. Du imām-i mūjāhid. [n.p], Muʾassisa-yi Pazhūhishī Farhangī Inqilāb-i Islāmi, 1396 SH.
  • Najafī, Mūsā. Muʿllifahā-yi tamaddunsāz dar maktab-i sīyāsī-yi Imām Riḍā. [n.p], Ārmā, 1396 SH.
  • Sīyāhpūsh, Amīr. Sīyāsat. [n.p], Muʾassisa-yi Pazhūhishī Farhangī Inqilāb-i Islāmi, 1398 SH.
  • A 250-year-old man, explaining the strategy of Imams during the political struggle (Persian)
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