They sent female spies to see which of his wives would give...

They sent female spies to see which of his wives would give birth to a male baby to be taken away, but Allah the Almighty made the pregnancy and the birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) unknown as He had made the birth of Prophet Moses (a.s.) unknown to the Pharaoh. This book studies the age of Imam al-Askari (a.s.) and all its events.

The study of the age is necessary because it sheds lights on the intellectual, social, economical, political life of that age, and naturally it has direct influence on the life of one who lives in that very age, besides that it uncovers the dimensions of his life and personality and the extent of the influence of the events of that age on him. The book shows the economical life of that age which was neither sound nor stable but confused and paralyzed.

The Abbasid governments at the age of Imam al-Askari (a.s.) did not achieve ease for people or the noble life that Islam wanted for the nation. Excessive wealth was accumulated in the possession of the members of the Abbasid family, statesmen, and their agents. They spent lavishly.

They appropriated the treasures of the earth while the majority of the Muslim peoples suffered poverty and deprivation besides the pains, sufferings, and subjugation they faced from the government officials in collecting the land tax and other taxes. We have also presented a study on the kings of the age of Imam al-Askari (a.s.). Most of those kings were insignificant and ineffective. They submitted to their lusts and desires and were fond of maids and songstresses.

Their red nights were full of erring. They were indifferent to what Allah had ordered the guardians of Muslims to do in order to better the general life of the nation, to offer the necessary services for people, and to find equivalent opportunities for all citizens. However, most Abbasid kings did nothing of that. Rather they appropriated the wealth of Allah for themselves and took the people of Allah as slaves. They ran the nation violently and oppressively.

They entrusted the Turks, who were harsh, ignorant, and unaware of administration and politics, with absolute authority over the nation, and they sank the nation into seditions and disasters. Loyalty imposes on a researcher who researches in history to look into the historical facts with accuracy and scrutiny. Many historical facts and events were mixed together, distorted, or fabricated because some historians intended to overlook the errors of some kings and rulers.