ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Life of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin Chapter 14: The Time Of The Imam I (the author) think that there was no Islamic period like that when Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin, peace be on him, lived. This period was full of political, social, and economic disorders. In it all the members of the society led a life of worries and grieves. They lost hope in a noble life.

This is because the Umayyads spread wrongdoing and persecution and forced the people to follow what they hated. We will briefly speak about the general aspects of the time when the Imam, peace be on him, lived, the political events and problems which attacked the Muslims and led to discords and misfortunes. We will also speak about the features of the economic and social life, etc.

This is because the research on such matters will complete the research on the life of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin, peace be on him. They are as follows: The Political Life As for the political life in the time when the Imam, peace be on him, lived, it was filled with disorders and discords. In it fear and terror spread over the people, and they lost all kinds of security and stability. This divided the society and resulted in critical, political crises.

I (the author) firmly believe that such crises resulted from the Umayyad, corrupt regime, which employed all its organs to war against social reform and to spread corruption in the earth. We will objectively present this in the following researches: The Nature of the Umayyad Government As for the Umayyad government, it caused many troubles and afflictions to the Muslims, made them lead a life of discords and hardships, and threw them into great evil.

As for the nature of this government and its prominent aspects, they are as follows: Despotism The Umayyads dictatorially ruled the Islamic nations. Their government did not follow any law; rather it followed the sentiments of the kings, the desires of the ministers, and the wishes of their retinues. Al-‘Alaili said: “The government of the Umayyad kings is similar to what we call nowadays martial law, which sheds blood, suspends ordinary law, and threatens every person’s existence.

In this time such a law is taken during exceptional conditions and for especial states to return security through terrorism. However, this regime lasted throughout the Umayyad period. In fact we cannot call this (regime) as judicial power.