ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Al-serat (a Journal of Islamic Studies) Imams - Clear and Coherent Policy S.J Hussain Vol V No. 3 & 4 , 1400 A question has puzzled some believers a great deal, namely why did al-Husayn fight with the sword, while his successors refrained from doing so, especially as all the Imams subscribed to a single and coherent ideology.

For, if al-Husayn, in spite of the small number of his followers rose up against injustice, demanding his usurped rights, why did Imam al-Sadiq, for example, not rise up when the numbers of his partisans had increased. This question necessitates knowledge of the circumstances faced by al-Husayn, compared to those which faced the other Imams, so that we can recognise our task today.

It is, naturally, well-known that the Prophet started his mission peace- fully and secretly, and that this continued for more than ten years. During these years he succeeded in forming a group of followers, who firmly believed in the new message and rejected everything which was connected with the time of the jahiliyya.

Eventually the Prophet felt that this group was capable of confronting the power of the jahiliyya, and so raised the jihad with the sword, and, after a bitter military struggle, succeeded in founding the Islamic state in Medina.

This hard task which led to the Prophet's establishment of a new society, was left, in its entirety, to Imam Ali, so that he could complete what the Prophet had initiated, as regards the complete elimination of the beliefs of the Jahiliyya, and then establish a society which would base its relationships upon the prescribed rule of God's law. However Imam Ali did not come to power immediately after the death of the Prophet.

On the contrary he was prevented from achieving power, and had but a few loyal supporters, having discovered that many of those who had been converted to Islam had only embraced it externally, without true belief in their hearts, and acted according to the customs of the Jahiliyya, while covering it with a superficial belief in Islam.

Such a situation confirmed the predictions of the Quranic verse which says, "If he dies or is killed you shall turn your backs" (Imran, 144), that is you shall return to your old beliefs. The Imam found that he could not rise to recover his rights, so he did net rebel.