In the light of what reached him from Iraq al-Husayn...

In the light of what reached him from Iraq al-Husayn believed that the people were ripe for rebellion on one hand, while, on the other hand, he noticed that the Community as a whole had become stagnant and needed somebody to bring it back to life Therefore he advanced towards Kufa and, in spite of the fact that the Kufans who had previously premised to help him, had withdrawn their support and listened to the overtures of the authorities, he determined to fight despite the fewness of his followers, until all of theme perished at the Battle of Kerbala.

From this it is clear that al-Husayn's decision to fight was by no means an innovations but rather a continuation of the policy of his brother, father and grandfather, as regards opposition to the power of the Jahiliyya whenever possible. The assassination of al-Husayn led al-Sajjad and the other Imams to adopt their quiescent policy towards the auth- itories who had seized power, because he realised that: i.

(Firstly) In spite of their numbers, the followers of al-Husayn did not possess sufficient loyalty to surrender themselves and their possessions in the path of God, according to the instructions of the Imam; ii) (and secondly) Many of the Community were unaware that al-Husayn was the rightful Imam and the leader of the Islamic community, by the Prophet's designation, just as they were unaware that the existing authorities were illegal.

For this reason we find al-Sajjad following a policy of silence towards the authority of the Umayyads, however this silence did not indicate recognition of their authority, but rather that his own followers were few.

Similarly his isolation from society was by no means an escape from reality, but was in fact tacit oppesition to the corruption and tyranny which had brought about the assassination of al-Husayn, the burning of the Ka'ba, and the attacking and plundering of the Ciy of the Prophet, which had lasted for three days.

Al-Sajjad, during the time of his Imamate, concentrated his efforts on purifying the souls of his people and encouraging fear of God in their acts and in their statements, giving priority to the purification of the soul by applying the rules of God firstly upon the individual, discourag- ing him from the self-interest which had contributed to al-Husayn's death.