ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam (A Historical Background) The Underground Activities of the Twelth Imam as seen in the Actions of the Saf’irs A Brief Study of the Wikala Before the Twelfth Imam As mentioned in Chapter Two, a critical situation the Imams faced, brought about by the ‘Abbasids, forced the Imams to search for a new means to communicate with the members of their congregation.

The Imamite sources indicate that the sixth Imam al‑Sadiq was the first Imam to employ an underground system of communication (al­Tanzim al‑Sirri) among his community[^1]. The main purpose of the Wikala was to collect the khums, the zakat, and other kinds of alms for the Imam from his followers. Although the Wikala may have had other purposes at that time, the sources rarely record them.

Al‑Sadiq directed the activities of the organization with such care that the ‘Abbasids were not aware of its existence. As part of his prudent fear (al‑Taqiyya), he used to ask some of his followers to carry out certain tasks for the organization without informing them that they were in fact his agents. Al‑Tusi reports that Nasr b. Qabus al‑Lakhmi spent twenty years working as an agent (wakil) for al‑Sadiq, without knowing that he had actually been appointed as one.

Al‑Sadiq's most important agent in Iraq was ‘Abd al‑Rahman b. al‑Hajjaj, who continued in this office until his death, after the time of the eighth Imam al‑Riďa[^2]. Mu'alla b. Khunays was al‑Sadiq's agent in Medina. In 133/750 he was arrested by the ‘Abbasids and sentenced to death because he refused to reveal the names of the Imamite propagandists[^3].

Despite the difficulties which faced the Wikala in its early stages, the areas covered by the agents and their training were extended during the time of al‑Kazim as activities were intensified. The rite of pilgrimage was used as a means to communicate with each other. Al-Kazim's agent in Egypt was ‘Uthman b. ‘Isa al‑Rawwasi[^4]. He also had agents in numerous other places, such as Hayyan al‑Sarraj in Kufa, Muhammad b. Abi ‘Umayr in Baghdad, and Yunis b. Ya'qub al‑Bajli in Medina[^5].

Al‑Mas'udi's report suggests that all the agents received their instructions from ‘Abd al‑Rahman b. al‑Hajjaj, who was then resident in Baghdad[^6]. The agents faced another campaign of arrests in 179/795 instigated by the caliph al‑Rashid. It caused the Imamite organization considerable damage. The agent in Baghdad, Muhammad b.