We thus observe that the (‘a)...

We thus observe that the (‘a), from the beginning, in addition to undertaking their general responsibilities entrusted to them by Almighty Allah, used to pay special attention to activity within the private circle. For instance, the Holy Prophet (S) took an extraordinary interest in this aspect; he, therefore, founded the practice of following Imam ‘Ali (namely, tashayyu’ ) and promoted it as an ideological and political line that came into existence during his lifetime and under his supervision.

Not stopping here, the Holy Prophet (S) directed an elite group of his companions towards this line, causing them to be the virtuous seed of Shi’ism.[^1] In addition, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) himself undertook this mission when he built a virtuous community in the holy city of al-Madinah.

Thereafter, he expanded this group in al-Kufah through the agency of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, Salman al-Farisi (the Persian), and ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, and in Lebanon through the agency of Abu-Dharr al-Ghifari, and in the Yemen during the period that he spent there as governor. The same thing can be said about other cities, such as Egypt and al-Basrah.

More light will be shed on this topic later in this book when we present the features of the process of building a virtuous community as led by the (‘a). [^1]: - The reader is advised to refer to my book entitled ‘al-Shi’ah wa’l-Tashayyu’’ for evidence on this claim and more details about this topic. Previous…