The Objective of the Holy Imams' Struggles

By: Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Ali Khamene\'i
Political struggle is neither a theological debate nor is it an armed struggle, rather it is a struggle with a political objective. What is the political objective of this struggle? The political objective of this struggle is the establishment of an Islamic or an ALAWI government (a righteously government similar to that of Imam Ali\'s).
From the departure of the Prophet of Islam until 260 hijra the Imams tried to establish a divine government in the Islamic society. This was their main contention. However, it does not mean that every Imam tried to establish an Islamic government in his own time. They had an eye on the long-term, amid-term and short-term opportunities to accomplish this goal. For instance, Imam Mujtaba (as) tried to establish an Islamic government in a short-term span.
The answer of Imam Mujtaba to the questions of people like Musayib and Ibn Najbah who used to ask the reason for his silence, indicated that he had planned for the establishment of an Islamic government in the future. He used to tell them: \"We do not know; it might be a test for you and a promise for the future.\" While in my opinion, Imam Sajjad\'s (as) struggles were planned in a manner to achieve their goal within the framework of an amid-term plan.
There are certain clues and evidences that underline this issue. Most probably Imam Baqir\'s struggles were designed in a way to attain their objectives in the short run. After the martyrdom of the Eighth Imam, the struggles of the Imams aimed to accomplish their objectives in the long run. In sum, although the question of setting up an Islamic government varied from time to time, this issue had always been present in the struggles of the Imams.
Except the spiritual activities of the Imams which are related to man\'s self-perfection and his proximity to God, their other activities, including their teaching, traditions, theology, debates with the scientific contenders, support and acknowledgment of certain groups, or rejection of a group, etc. were all directed towards this goal, that is, the establishment of an Islamic government. This was the bone of contention.
Of course, this issue has been, and will remain, controversial and I do not insist that my understanding of this issue must be accepted by others. But, I insist that this clue should be carefully followed and the issue should be studied from this perspective while reviewing the history of the Imams\' lives. We have tried over the past few years to prepare a reasonable, rational history of the lives of the Imams - both, their lives as a continuous stream and the life of every individual Imam.
Of course some of the proofs are general ones. For instance, we know well that Imamate (Islamic leadership) is the continuation of Nubuwat (Prophethood), and that the Prophet is an Imam as well. Imam Sadiq (as) has been quoted as saying: \"Verily, the holy prophet of Islam was an Imam...\" The Messenger of God rose in order to set up a system based on the divine teachings and justice through his continuous struggles. He safeguarded the system as long as he was alive. Hence, the Imam, whose leadership is the continuation of the Prophet\'s leadership, does not neglect the system, which had been established by the Prophet (S).
This is a general argument, which can be followed through lengthy discussions and careful attention to its various aspects. Some other arguments are inferred from the statements of the infallible Imams, or are based on their precept and lifestyles. In fact, a thorough study of the prevailing conditions of the Imams\' time would decisively help the understanding of their eras.
When imprisoned in the dark cell of a jail, one can easily understand the following statement, which is said about Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (the 7th Imam of Shiites): \"One who was tortured in the depth of cells and darkness of dungeons and his legs carried the wounds of shackles.\"(Bihar-ul-Anwar, Vol. 102, P. 17). However, this is the direction and the line I would like to discuss and offer my own understanding in this honorable meeting.

The Nature of the Imams\' Struggles
The nature of the Imams\' struggles differed from that of the theological debates and armed struggles. Those who are acquainted with the history of the second century hijra, and those who have studied the activities of the Abbasside Dynasty (Bani Abbas) before the first century hijra until 132 hijra when they came to power, may well appreciate that the fierce political struggle of the Imams can be compared to those of the Abbasside during this period.
Of course, this comparison will not be clear and impressive for those who have not studied the Abbasside struggles and the methods of their call. Similar features are found in the struggle of our Imams, but with essential differences in their goals, objectives, methods and personalities. Nevertheless, the plans and form of their activities are almost similar. Hence, we observe that sometime these two currents are intermingled, that is, due to the similarity of their methods, propagation and call, the Abbasside in the far away places like Hijaz and Iraq pretended to be the followers of the path of the Family of Imam Ali (as).
Following the style of \"Musawwadah\", who used to wear \"black\" shirt in the beginning of the call of the Abbasside in Khurassan and Rai’, the Abbasside used to wear black shirts. But they used to tell the people: our black shirt marks our mourning for the martyrs of Karbala, Zaid, and Yahya. (Bihar-ul-Anwar, Vol. 42, P. 61). Some of their leaders even imagined that they are working for the Family of Imam Ali (as).
The Imams launched such a movement, but with marked differences in three areas: their objectives, methods, and personalities. This is the nature and meaning of the political struggle in the lives of the infallible Imams.

The Broad Outlines of the Struggles of the Infallible Imams
I deem it pertinent here to draw a broad outline of the struggles of the infallible Imams and then discuss some features of their struggles during their lifetime.
At this stage, I am not touching the outlines of the struggle during the time of the first three Imams, that is, the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (as), Imam Mujtaba (as), and the Master of the Martyrs Imam Husayn (as). There are ample materials on their struggles and no one doubts that their movement had a political orientation.

Various Stages of the Struggle
I begin this issue with alluding to the era of Imam Sajjad (as). In my opinion, the entire struggles, from the era of Imam Sajjad (as), that is, the year 61, until 260 hijra, can be divided into three stages.
The First Stage, 61-135 hijra (H.) -- The struggle in this stage gradually intensifies, deepens, expands and reaches its peak until 135 H. when Saffah passes away and is succeeded by Mansur Abbasi. When Mansur comes to power, some difficulties are created and as a result the progress of the struggle is to a great extent retarded. Such developments are natural in a political struggle. We have observed similar developments in our own struggle.
The Second Stage, 135-202 (or 203) hijra -- This year marks the martyrdom of Imam Ridha (as). During this stage the intensity of the struggles is higher than that in 61 H.; they are more widespread and deeper, but at the same time they face new difficulties. They gradually spread and step by step get closer to the victory until the year of the martyrdom of the Eighth Imam (as). At this stage the struggles are once again stopped.
After Mamun had gone to Baghdad and began his rule in 204 H., one of the most difficult phases on the life of the infallible Imams began. The new phase is the era of the difficulties for the infallible Imams. Although Shiism spread more than ever during this period, in my opinion the difficulties the Imams faced were also more than ever during those days.
During this period the Imams launched their struggle to achieve their goal in the long run, that is, the Imams did not struggle to achieve their goals before the Minor Occultation of Imam Mahdi (May Allah Hasten His Reappearance), rather they prepared the ground for the ensuing period. This period, which began in 204, continued until 260 H. when Imam Askari (as) was martyred and the Minor Occultation of Imam Mahdi (as) began. Each of these three periods has certain characteristics, which I am going to touch briefly.

The First Stage
The struggles during the first stage begin with great difficulties. This stage covers the eras of Imam Sajjad (as), Imam Baqir (as) and some part of the era of Imam Sadiq (as). The event of Karbala not only had greatly shaken the pillars of Shiism, but also the foundations of the world of Islam in general.
Although assassination, persecution, torture and oppression were not unprecedented, the assassination of the sons of the Prophet, taking the members of the Progeny of the Messenger of God as captives, taking them from one city to another, and raising the head of the dear son of Zahra (sa) on a sword - at a time when there were still many people who remembered the Prophet kissing his lips - in effect, astonished the world of Islam.
No one could imagine that the unfolding of events would go that far. A couplet attributed to Hazrat Zaynab (SA) in fact underlines this public astonishment \"O my dearest, I could never imagine that such a destiny would await you.\"(Bihar-ul-Anwar, Vol. 45, P. 115)
All of a sudden a sea change was felt in the political landscape. The restrictions went beyond the imagination. Unconceivable events unfolded and as a result, horror engulfed the entire world of Islam, except Kufa, thanks to the presence of the Tawwabun (repentant people) and Mukhtar\'s upheaval. Despite the fact that Abdullah ibn Zubair led an insurgency in Mecca sometime after the episode of Karbala, the horror engulfing Medina and other places due to the event of Karbala was unprecedented in the world of Islam.
Although the movement of Tawwabun and the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (as) and his companions -- apparently in 64-65 H. -- injected a fresh blood into the muffled atmosphere of struggle in Kufa and Iraq, the martyrdom of all the members of this movement once again caused the intensification of the atmosphere of suppression and horror.
Thereafter, the enemies of the Umayyad System, that is, \"Mukhtar\" and \"Musab ibn Zubair\" waged wars against each other, while Abdullah ibn Zubair from Mecca could not even tolerate Mukhtar who was a supporter of the Progeny of the Prophet of Islam in Kufa and finally Mukhtar was killed by Musab. Consequently, the atmosphere of fear intensified and disappointment spread in every nook and cranny. Shortly after Abdul Malik had come to power, the entire world of Islam came under the control of the Umayyad. Abdul Malik ruled powerfully for 21 years.

The Episode of Harrah
It is pertinent here to allude to the episode of Harrah. Muslim ibn Aqaba attacked Medina in 64 H., creating more horror and terror and causing total isolation of the Progeny of Prophet Muhammad (S). The Harrah incident occurred when Yazid in 62 H. appointed an inexperienced young general of Damascus (erstwhile Shaam) as the ruler of Medina.
The new ruler decided to reconcile the citizens of the city with Yazid. Hence, he invited a group of them to go to Yazid in Damascus. They went to Damascus and met Yazid who paid a large amount of money (50,000 to 10,000 drachmas) to them. Being the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad(S) or their descendents, they were outraged after witnessing Yazid\'s system.
Upon their return to Medina, Abdullah - the son of \"Hanzalah Ghasil-ul-Malaa\'ikah\" whose body was washed by the angels after his martyrdom - rose against the central government and announced autonomy for Medina. Yazid sent Muslim ibn Aqaba to Medina who created one of the saddest tragedies recorded in the history books. The event added to the horror and fear of the people.

Political Corruption
These issues reflect the condition of those days; in addition to \"intellectual\" and \"moral\" decadence, \"political\" corruption was another characteristic of this period. Most of the luminaries were deeply involved in fulfilling their own material desires, which was possible through establishing links with the government officials. A great personality like Muhammad ibn Shahab Zuhri who was earlier a disciple of Imam Sajjad (as), had so deteriorated that Imam Sajjad (as) writes a letter to him, reminding him of his attachment to undesirable things.
There were a number of people like him. The late Allameh Majlesi quotes Jabir as saying: Imam Sajjad (as) said: \"WE do not know how to behave these people: when we narrate what we have heard from the Prophet (S) for the people, they laugh; if we decide to keep silent, we cannot.\" Then quoting Ibn Abi al-Hadid, the late Majlesi says that one day Imam Sajjad narrated a tradition for a group of people. One of them ridiculed and did not accept it.
He then explains the accounts of Sa’id ibn Musayib and Zuhri, calling them among the depraved figures -- of course, I do not agree that Sa’id ibn Musayib was depraved; there are certain reasons indicating that he was among the disciples of the Imam. However, his idea about Zuhri and many others is correct.
Then he says: Ibn Abi al-Hadid has named a number of the luminaries and officials of the time who had turned their back to the Ahl-ul-Bayt (the Progeny of the Prophet Muhammad (S)). He also quotes a tradition attributed to Imam Sajjad (as), saying: \"There are not even twenty people in Mecca and Medina who are our cordial friends.\"
This was the situation when Imam Sajjad decided to undertake his great task. Describing this period later, Imam Sadiq (as) said: After the episode of Karbala only three persons remained [faithful]; Abu Khalid al-Kabuli, Yahya ibn Umm al-Tawil, Jubair ibn Mut’am.
However, Allama Shushtari believes that the third one was not Jubair ibn Mut’am, rather he was Hakim ibn Jubair ibn Mut’am. Some historians have mentioned Muhammad ibn Jubair Ibn Mut’am as the third person. However, there are some traditions in Bihar-ul-Anwar mentioning names of four to five persons. Imam Sajjad (as) started his task in such a bare desert.