After the most tragic massacre of the third Imam Husain (A)...

After the most tragic massacre of the third Imam Husain (A) who fought against the hostile forces of ungodly Omayyids for the protection of the faith of Islam, and the holy principles, which his grand-father, the Prophet (S) had laid down for the guidance and progress of man and fell a martyr to the cause, at Karbala, the whole family of the Prophet especially the Imams took to seclusion.

They preferred peacefully preaching Islam to taking any part whatsoever, in the secular and tribal dissensions then rife in Arabia. "In the midst of misery and unhappiness they followed truly and faithfully the precepts of their ancestor and found consolation in intellectual pursuits.

Their ardent love of knowledge, their passionate devotion to the cause of humanity, their spirit looking upwards far above the literalness of common interpretations of the law shows the spirituality and expensiveness of Islam. The definition by Imam Jafar Sadiq (A) of science or knowledge gives some idea of their faith in the progress of man.

"The enlightenment of the heart is its essence, truth, its principal object; Inspiration, its guide; Reason, its acceptor; God its Inspirer, and words of man, its utterer. "While the Omayyids discouraged the peaceful pursuits of mind, the children of Fatima (the Imams) with remarkable liberalism favoured learning. [^1] As a matter of fact, whatever success the Moslems achieved in the field of learning, science, or spiritualism, has had its foundation in the teachings of these Imams.

None but these Imams were the authorised exponents of the Quran and the Hadithes (traditions) of the Prophet. When the Prophet saw that his time to leave this transient world had approached, he preached his last sermon and said, I leave behind me two things for you, The Book of God (Quran) and my descendants ('Itrat).

If you shall hold fast to them you shall not go astray after me; They (Quran and 'Itrat) shall not be separated from each other, till they reach Hauz-i-Kauthar (fount of Kauthar) unitedly. [^2] It will not be without interest, I am sure, to read this Hadith which shows the liberality of their teachings and proves the existence of One God so vividly.

As it is admitted on all hands that belief in God, Who is the Creator of this universe and to whom every man is responsible for his actions in this world, essential for the moral and material progress of man, I hope this Hadith will supply him, much food for reflection, and lead him to the right path.