Hasan b.

Hasan b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib, which the Imam compares with an earlier revolt of Zayd b. 'Ali b. Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib. The Imam warns people not to conflate the two upheavals, and thereby justify their positive response to the later revolt. For Zayd's revolt was launched in order to restore the true Imamate to the rightful Imam; whereas there was no such noble goal in Muhammad's revolt. Moreover, there was a difference in the leadership of the two movements.

Zayd's personality was far more credible than Muhammad's. Imam Sadiq's observation that the latter would not obey him clearly explains his misgivings about the goal of the recent revolt. Abu Faraj Isfahani, writing about Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah, says that the ahl al-bayt used to call Muhammad the Mahdi, and believed that he was the promised Mahdi of the traditions.

The belief was so widespread that a group of people belonging to the Hashimites, descendants of Abi Talib, and the 'Abbasids paid allegiance to him. To add to this atmosphere of expectation and revolution, according to Abu Faraj, Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah used to publicly confirm his own candidacy to Mahdiism[^3]. In any case Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah arose as the Mahdi during Imam Sadiq's period and called upon people to join him.

It was in this context that the above cited hadith was related as a warning to the Shi'a not to be taken in by such messianic claims. In other words, the purpose of the Imam was not to issue a blanket prohibition against any kind of activist response to social and political turmoil. Rather, his efforts were directed towards educating his followers to distinguish between the well-intended revolt of Zayd and the ill-intended rise of Muhammad, both members of the ahl al-bayt.

In fact, on the basis of the above narrative, it appears that Imam Sadiq gave his approval to the former, including people's participation in that, while condemning the latter. It is important to understand the goals of the revolution of Zayd, which received positive commendation from Imam Sadiq. Of course, in the limited space that we have in this study, we can only treat them in brief: (1) Zayd was a pious, knowledgeable, and truthful person.

He had the necessary qualifications for becoming a leader of the movement. Imam Sadiq's own evaluation of his uncle's character provides the main evidence for his endorsement of his revolution. He says: "My uncle Zayd was beneficial to us in this and the next world. Indeed, he attained martyrdom in God's way.