Severe Punishments on the 'Alawides
The 'Abba`sids openly persecuted the 'Alawides, inflicted severe punishments on them, and killed them. As for Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, he witnessed some of these severe punishments.
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1. Hayat al-Imam Musa b. Ja'far, vol. 2, pp. 403-406, quoted from the book Maqatil al-Talibiyyin and the like.
2. Al-Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 10, p. 231. Ibn al-Athir, Tarikh, vol. 5, p. 177.
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Al-Mansu`r al-Dawa`niqi was the first to bring about the discord between the 'Alawides and the 'Abbasids.
1 It was he who said: "I killed one thousand or more (persons) of the progeny of Fa`tima, and I left their master, protector, and Ima`m, Ja'far b. Mohammed.
2"
He killed this number of the children of Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, that he might make them provisions for him through offering them to Allah, the Exalted, and their grandfather, Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family. It was he who left behind him the case of the heads of the 'Alawides, and attached to each head a piece of paper on which he wrote the name of the 'Alawide. The case contained the heads of old men, children, and youths.
3
He said to Ima`m al-Sa`diq, peace be on him: "I will kill you and your family, that I may leave none of you on earth!
4 "
When Abu` al-Qa`sim al-Rassi escaped from al-Mansu`r and went to al-Sind, he said:
The tyrant is not satisfied with our blood which he sheds every where, and he does not fall short of looking for (us).
Nothing will quench his thirst except that he will not see on earth a son belongs to the daughter of the Prophet.
5
Al-Sayyid Amïr 'Ali said: "Shedding the blood of the children of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, is the worst page in the history of the 'Abbasid state.
6"
In the time of al-Ha`di, the 'Alawide family suffered from fear and terrorism, for he (al-Ha`di) terrified them, looked for them, stopped their livelihoods, and wrote to (the governors of) the distant regions in
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1. Al-Siyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa' , p. 261. Al-Mas'udi, Muruujj al-Dhaha, vol. 4. p. 222.
2. Al-Adab fi Zil al-Tashyyu', p. 68.
3. Al-Tabari, Tarikh, vol. 10, p. 446.
4. Al-Manaqib, vol. 10, p. 446.
5. Al-Maqrizi, al-Niza' wa al-Takhasum.
6. Mukhtasar Tarikh al-'Arab, p. 18.
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order to summon them.
1 He was the leader at the Battle of Fakh, which was similar to the Battle of Karbala`' in tragedies, for the number of the heads which were sent to him was more than one hundred. Children and women were captured. The captives along with the children were killed.
2
In the time of al-Rashïd, the 'Alawides suffered from severe and cruel oppression. In this regard al-Fakhri said: "He (i.e. al-Rashïd) was not afraid of Allah and His acts with respect to the leading members of 'Ali, while they were the innocent children of the daughter of his Prophet.
3 He swore (by Allah) that he would kill them and their followers. He said: 'Till when will I be patient toward the family of Abu` Ta`lib? By Allah, I will kill them and their followers.'
4" He ordered his governor over Medina (Yathrib) to force the 'Alawides to guarantee each other.
5It was he who demolished the grave of the master of martyrs and sweet basil of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, Ima`m al-Husayn. He ordered the nabk in whose shade the visitors sat to be cut down. This was done by his governor over Ku`fa Mu`sa` b.Isaal-'Abbasi.
6
The most dreadful sin which he committed was his assassinating the Ima`m of the Muslims and master of the Allah-fearing, Musa b. Ja'far, peace be on him. That was after he had spent many years in his (al-Rashïd's) prisons.
In his poem al-'Asma', Di'bil al-Khaza'i lamented for Imam al-Rida, peace be on him, and described the sufferings of the 'Alawides such as killing, prison, and torture at the hands of the 'Abbasids. He says:
We know that all the districts which belong to Dhi Yaman, Bakr, and Mudar took part in shedding their blood
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1. Al-Ya'qubi, Tarikh, vol. 3, p. 136.
2. Hayat al-Imam Musa b. Ja'far.
3. Al-Adab a;-Sultaniya, p. 20.
4. Abu al-Farraj al-Asfahani, al-Aghani, vol. 5, p. 225.
5. Al-Wilat wa al-Qudat, p. 198.
6. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, al-Amali, p. 330.
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just as the gamblers take part in gamble.
They killed them, took them as captives, burnt them, and plundered them just as the invaders did toward the People of Rome and Khazar.
I think that the Umayyads were excused when they had done (what they did), but I think that the 'Abba`sids have no excuse.
1
Mansu`r al-Nimri says:
The family of the prophet and those who love them hide themselves out of fear of killing.
The Christians and the Jews feel secure, while they (the Prophet's family) eternally belong to the community of monotheism.
In his poem in which he laments for Yahya`, the immortal martyr, Ibn al-Ru`mi, a great poet, displays the sufferings of the 'Alawides as follows:
O people, your harm has lasted (through your losing) the family of Allah's Messenger. So fear (Allah) or hope for (Him).
Every time one of the pure (children) of the Prophet Mohammed is killed and stained (with his own) blood.
Through him, you sell the religion to evil Imams.
2 So, by Allah, the religion of Allah is about to be corrupt and confused.
Then he says:
O children of the Chosen One (the Prophet), until when do the people kill your children?
Your tribulation will soon be dispelled.
Isn't there anyone who conforms to the right of his Prophet and fears his Lord?
3
In their many poems, the free poets have shown that the tyrannical rulers persecuted and oppressed the 'Alawides. We have mentioned many of their poems in our books on the Imams of the
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1. Di'bil Divan.
2. By the evil Imam the poet means the 'Abbasid kings.
3. Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, p. 646.
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members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, that the dear reader may refer to them. We will end this research with the following letter, which shows the sufferings of the 'Alawides.
The Letter of al-Khawarizmi
In his letter to the people of Nishabur, al-Khawarizmi demonstrated the ordeals and tribulations which befell the 'Alawides. We will narrate some of the letter as follows: "When they (i.e. the Umayyads) violated that sanctity and committed that dreadful sin, Allah became angry with them and removed the dominion from them, so He sent against them (Abu` Mujrim), not Abu` Muslim, and he looked, may Allah not look at him, at the firmness of the 'Alawides and at the leniency of the 'Abba`sids, so he left his reverential fear and followed his caprice, and sold his hereafter for his world through his killing 'Abd Allah b. Mu'a`wiya b. 'Abd Allah b. Ja'far b. Abu Talib, and empowered the tyrants of Khurasan, the Kurds of Asfaha`n, and the Kha`rijites of Sijsta`n over the family of Abu` Ta`lib. He killed them everywhere, and sought them in every plain and mountain until Allah empowered over him the most lovable of people to Him, and he killed him as he killed the people in obeying him, and punished him as he punished the people in pledging allegiance to him; it does not benefit him that he has made Allah angry through his pleasure, and committed what He does not desire. Al-Dawa`niqi dominated the whole world, so he oppressed and wronged (the people) and treated (them) unjustly, hence his prisons were full of the members of the House of the Message (
ahl Bayt al-Risala), the source of goodness and purity. He traced their absent and arrested their present until he killed 'Abd Allah b. Mohammed b. 'Abd Allah al-Husayni in al-Sind at the hand of 'Umar b. Hisha`m al-Tha'labi; then what do you think of those who were close to him and easy for him to arrest? This is little in comparison with those of them Harun killed, and with what Musa had done toward them before him. You have come to know what al-Husayn b. 'Ali faced at the hand of Musa at (the Battle of) Fakh; (what) 'Ali b. al-Aftas al-Husayni (faced) at the hand of Harun (al-Rashïd); (what) Ahmed b. 'Ali al-Zaydi and al-Qasim b. 'Ali al-
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Husayni (faced) in prison; (and what) Ghassa`n b. Hadir al-Khaza'i (faced) when he ordered him to be taken. Generally speaking, before his death, Ha`ru`n had reaped the Tree of Prophethood and uprooted the Plant of the Ima`mate; you, may Allah set you right, have a greater share in religion than al-A'mash, for they have cursed him; more than Shurayk, for the they have removed him (from the office); more than Hisha`m, for they have frightened him; and more than 'Ali b. Yaqtï~n, for they have accused him...."
After this part of his letter, al-Khawa`rizmi mentioned the Umayyads, and then he mentioned the 'Abba`sids, saying: "And say about the 'Abba`sids, for you, through praising Allah, will find a statement; pass through their wonders and you will see whatever you like.
"Their (the Ima`ms') war booties are collected and divided among the Daylami and the Turkish and they are carried to the Moroccan and the Forgha`ni, but when one of the Ima`ms of guidance or one of the 'Alawides from among the Household of the Chosen One (
al-Mustafa, i.e. the Prophet) dies, none follows his coffin or plasters his grave. However, if insignificant one of them (the 'Abba`sids) dies, men of justice and judges follow his coffin. The leaders and the governors go to mosque for condolences on his behalf. They (the 'Abba`sids) give security to him who is an atheist or sophisticate, and they do not oppose him who reads a philosophical or Ma`ni book. However, they kill him who is a Shï~'ite and shed the blood of him who names his son 'Ali.
"If none of the Shï'ites of the
ahl al-Bayt other than al-Mu'lla` b. Khanïs, killed by Dawud b. 'Ali, was killed, and if none of them was imprisoned apart from Abu` Tura`b al-Marwazi, then that would be a wound which never recovered, anger which never calmed, a crack which never closed, and an injure which never healed. It is sufficient for them that the poets of Quraysh in the pre-Islamic times composed poems in which they satirized the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and opposed the poems of the Muslims; yet their poems have been reported, and their stories have been recorded and transmitted by narrators like al-Wa`qidi, Wahab b. Munabbih al-Tamïmi, al-Kalbi, al-
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Sharqi b. al-Qata`mi, al-Haythem b. 'Adi, and Da'b b. al-Kin`ani. Some Shï~'ite poets spoke of the laudable deeds of the Revelation; rather they mentioned the miracles of the Prophets, may Allah bless him and his family; nevertheless their tongues were cut off and their divans were torn, as it was done toward 'Abd Allah b. 'Amma`r al-Barqi, as it was wanted toward al-Kumayt b. Zayd al-Asadi, as the grave of Mansu`r b. al-Zubrqa`n al-Nimri was dug up, and as it was schemed against Di'bil b. 'Ali al-Khaza`'i. They (the 'Abba`sids) associated with Marwa`n b. Abu` Hafsa al-Yama`mi and 'Ali b. al-Jahm al-Sha`mi for nothing except for their extremism in opposition (to the Ima`ms), and their worthiness of the detest of the Lord, to the extent that Ha`ru`n b. al-Khayzara`n and Ja'far, who relied on Satan not on the Merciful (Allah), did not give money to anyone except to those who cursed 'Ali b. Abu` Ta`lib and supported the creed of his opponents such as 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ab al-Zubayri, Wahab b. Wahab al-Bakhtari, and the poet Marwa`n b. Abu` Hafsa al-Amawi. During the days of Ja'far, there were (persons) such as Bakka`r b. 'Abd Allah al-Zubari, Abu` al-Samt b. Abu` al-Jawn al-Amawi, and Ibn Abu` al-Shawa`rib al-'Abshami."
After this speech he (al-Khawa`rizmi) mentioned the Umayyads and their oppression toward the 'Alawides, and then he continued his speech about the 'Abba`sids, saying: "And this is not more amazing than the shouting of the poets of the 'Abba`sids at their heads with the truth, even if they hated it. Giving details of him whom they (the 'Abba`sids) disparaged and killed, Mansu`r b. al-Zubarqa`n said on Harun's carpet:
"'The family of the prophet and those who love them hide
themselves out of fear of killing.
The Christians and the Jews feel secure, while they (the
Prophet's family) eternally belong to the community of monotheism.'
"Di'bil, the creature of the 'Abba`sids and their poet, said
1 : 'Do
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1. Da'bil al-Khaza'i was not the creature of the 'Abbasis; rather he was the creature of the members of the House (ahl-Bayt), peace be upon them, and their poet. For them, he faced difficulties and persecutions.
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you not see that I have gone and come for thirty years, and I am always in sorrow? I see that their booty is divided among other than them, and their hands are void of their booty.'
"'Ali b. al-'Abbas al-Rumi, al-Mu'tasim's retainer, said: 'I have sworn that none of you will be hit on the forehead. We will be patient toward you, O the Banu` al-'Abba`s, just as the brave one heavily armed is patient toward the sword. Every time one of the pure (children) of the Prophet Mohammed is killed and stained (with his own) blood.'
"Ibra`hïm b. al-'Abbas al-Sawli, who was the scribe of the people and their governor, said concerning al-Rida` when al-Ma'mu`n brought him near: 'He bestows upon you through your properties, and you are given one percent.'
"And how does a group of people not revolt against them (the 'Abba`sids), while they have killed their cousins, filled the houses of the Turks and the Daylamis with silver and gold, ask for the help of the Maghribi and the Fargha`ni; the black Nabatis have undertaken their ministries; the non-Arabs (
'ajam) and the
Timtimis1 have surrounded their leadership; nevertheless the family of Abu` Ta`lib have been deprived of the inheritance of their mother and of the booty (
fayya') of their grandfather; the 'Alawide feels appetite for a certain meal, but he is deprived of it; he asks the days for the appetite but he does not get it. The land tax (
khara`jj) of Egypt and of al-Ahwa`z, the alms of the two sacred cities (Mecca and Medina) and of al-Hijaz are spent on Ibn Maryam al-Madï~ni, Ibra`him al-Mousili, Ibn Jami' al-Sahmi, Zalzal al-Da`rib, and Barsoma` al-Zamir. The feudal estates of Bakhtishiyu`' al-Nasra`ni, Ja`ri al-Turki, and al-Afshï~n al-Ashrawasani are enough to be the food of a country and sufficient to numerous communities.
"They claim that al-Mutawakkil spends the night with twelve thousand mistresses, while the Sayyid from among the Sayyids of the Household is chaste through a Negro or a Sindi woman; the choice of the fund of land tax is confined to the provisions of the Safa`'ina, the dining tables of the Makhatina, the foods of the Kallabïn, the rites of
____________
1. The Timtimis are those who speak Arabic incorrectly.
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the Qarradïn, Makhariq, 'Ilwiya the singer, Zarzar, and 'Umar b. Bana al-Mahlabi, while they (the 'Abba`sids) are miserly toward the Fa`timids through a meal or a drink. They (the 'Abba`sids) spent it on a Danek (weight) of a meal; they buy the songstress for ten thousand dirhams and spend on her (an amount) sufficient to the provisions of an army.
"While the people to whom one-fifth (
khums) is lawful, alms is unlawful, dignity and love is obligatory, beg out of distress and perish owing to poverty; they mortgage their swords, sell their garments, look at their booty (
fayya') with a satisfied eye, and are strong toward their time through weak souls. They have no guilt except that their grandfather is the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, their father is the testamentary trustee
(wasi), their mother is Fa`tima, their grandmother is Khadïja, their creed is faith, and their Ima`m (leader) is the Qur'an; yet their rights are spent on the woman housekeeper, the barmaid, the masseuse, and the dressmaker; and their one-fifth (
khumus) is divided among the pecking of the blood roosters, monkeys, the heads of the games, and the she-camel of journey.
"What shall I say concerning the people who incited the wild animals and birds to attack the Muslim women, plowed the grave of al-Husayn, peace be on him, and banished his visitors from their regions? What shall I say in the description of the people who were the sperms of the drunk in the wombs of the songstresses? What shall I say concerning the household from whom prostitution stemmed, through whom effeminacy spread, and through whom sodomy was known? Ibrahim b. al-Mahdi was a singer; al-Mutawakkil was lowly and womanish; al-Mu'tazz was feminine; Ibn Zubayda was an idiot masseur; al-Ma'mun killed his brother; al-Muntasir killed his father; Mu`sa` b. al-Mahdi poisoned his mother; and al-Mu'tazid killed his uncle."
After this paragraph al-Khawa`rizmi presented the tragedies which the Umayyads committed, and then he ended his letter with mentioning the defects of the 'Abba`sids, saying: "These defects though big, many, ugly and horridare small and few in comparison with the defects of the 'Abbasids, who built the city of the
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tyrannical and spent the funds of the Muslims on amusement centers and sins.
1"
I (i.e. the author) think that there is no inclusive political document similar to this one, for it contains all qualities of the 'Abba`sid kings and gives an account of their evil policy of which is the extreme cruelty towards the 'Alawides and depriving them of their natural rights, to the extent that they could not bear poverty; the 'Abba`sids spent enormous funds on lusts, the mischievous, the singers, and the dissolute, whereas the Household (of the Prophet) and their followers were unable to find a loaf of bread, a garment, and other life requirements.
Similarly, this document gives an account of affairs of great importance; there is no need to explain them, for their meanings are clear.
The Waqifities
Another example of the events which occurred in the time of Imam al-Rida, peace be on him, and annoyed him very much was that the creed of the Wa`qifities spread among the classes of the Shï'ites. The Waqifities maintained that Imam Musa b. Ja'far, peace be on him, was alive, did not die, and would never die, that he was raised to the heaven just as al-Masïh b. Maryam was raised, and that he was the awaited one who would undertake (the office of the Ima`mate,
al-qa'im) and fill the world with justice and fairness as it was filled with oppression and tyranny. They claimed that the one who was in the prison of al-Sindi was not Imam Musa, peace be on him, rather the people imagined that he was in prison. It is necessary for us to give a brief account of this group of people.
1. The Cause for the Waqifites doctrines
As for the reason for the Waqifites's doctrines, it is that when Imam al-Kazim, peace be on him, was in the prison of Harun (al-Rashïd), he appointed some agents on his behalf in order to collect the
____________
1. Hayat al-Imam al-Rida, pp. 100-106, quoted from al-Khawarizmi's Letters.
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legal rights which had come to him from his Shï'ites, so some agents gathered many funds, for example, Ziya`d b. Marwan al-Qandi collected seventy thousand dinars, and 'Ali b. Abu` Hamza gathered thirty thousand dinars. When the Imam died, they dined his death and bought country estates and houses for the money which they had. When Imam al-Rida, peace be on him, demanded them to give the money to him, they denied the death of his father and refused to hand it over to him.
1
2. The Waqifites' doctrines spread
The Waqifites' doctrines were spread by the summoners who lavishly spread enormous properties in order to buy the minds and to misguide the people. In this connection Yunus b. 'Abd al-Rahma`n narrated, saying: "Abu` Ibrahim Musa, peace be on him, died and every one of his people had a lot of money; this is the reason for their doctrines and their denying his death as a sign of desire for the properties, for example, Ziya`d b. Marwan al-Qandi had seventy thousand dinars, and 'Ali b. Abu` Hamza had thirty thousand dinars. When I saw that, I realized the truth and knew the affair of Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him. I began speaking and summoning the people to him. So they sent for me and said: 'What makes you do this? If you want money, we will help you.' They guaranteed me ten thousand dinars and said: 'Refrain from (this matter).' However, I refused (that) and said to them: 'We have been told on the authority of the two truthful ones, peace be on them, who said: 'When heresies appear, then it is obligatory on (religious) scholars to manifest their own knowledge. If they do not do (that), they will be deprived of the light of faith.' Any how, I will not leave jiha`d according to Allah's command. Accordingly, they showed enmity toward me and harbored malice against me.
2"
Through such deceiving ways, the Wa`qifites spread their doctrines, but shortly after that they were destroyed and their false claims were discovered.
____________
1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 308.
2. Ibid., vol. 12, p. 308.
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The Imam condemns the Waqifites' doctrines
Imam al-Rida, peace be on him, condemned the Wa`qifites for their creeds. One of his followers (Shï'ites) had written to him and asked him about them, and he, peace be on him, replied: "The Wa`qifite has deviated from the True Religion and persisted in his evil deed. If he dies for it, then his abode is hell; and evil is the resort.
1"
A Shï'ite asked Imam al-Rida whether it was permissible for him to pay
zakat (alms) to the Wa`qifites, and he prevented him from that, saying: "They (the Wa`qifites) are unbelievers, polytheists, and hypocrites.
2 "
Mohammed b. Fudayl visited Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, and told him about the conditions of the leaders of the Wa`qifites, saying: "May I be your ransom, I have left Ibn Abu` Hamza, Ibn Mahra`n, and Ibn Abu` Sa'ï~d (who were some leaders of the Wa`qifites), while they are the most violent of people in showing enmity toward Allah, the Most High."
The Ima`m answered him: "He who goes astray does not harm you when you are rightly guided. They (the Wa`qifites) have accused Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, of lying; they accused so-and-so, so-and-so of lying; and they have accused Mu`sa` b. Ja'far, peace be on him, of lying; and I follow my fathers' example."
"You said to Ibn Mahra`n: 'May Allah take away the light of your heart and enter poverty in your house,'" retorted Mohammed.
"How is he, and how are his brothers?" asked the Ima`m, peace be on him.
Mohammed told him about the acceptance of his supplication and about their being miserable and poor, saying: "They are in the worst condition; they are grieved in Baghdad."
The Ima`m, peace be on him, was severe in his attitude toward the Wa`qifites, who mutinied against the True Religion and to denied the Ima`m.
____________
1. Hayat al-Imam al-Imam Musa b. Ja'far, vol. 2, p. 207.
2. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 909.
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1. The Ima`m and al-Husayn Bin Mahra`n
As for al-Husayn b. Mahra`n, he was among the eminent figures of the Wa`qifites; and he wrote to Ima`m al-Rida` with an accent showing his hypocrisy and unbelief, for he ordered and prohibited the Ima`m; he did not respect the position of the Ima`m; and through that he did not conform to high moral traits in addressing. Accordingly, the Ima`m wrote a letter and ordered his companions to copy it, lest Ibn Mahra`n (i.e. al-Husayn) should conceal it. The letter is as follows:
"In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, may Allah make you and me well; your letter have come to me; in it you have mentioned the man who is accused of treason and deception; and you say: 'Beware of him.' And you have mentioned that through which he received me, and sent to me other than him, so you have advanced (many things) as arguments; and you have claimed an affair against him and wanted to enter upon the like of it...You say: 'He has worked for my affair through his reason and his stratagem, seeking it for his own soul and willing to make the hearts of the people incline to him, that the affair may be at his hand and work according to his own viewpoint; and he claims that I have obeyed him in what he has advised me; and now you have counseled me according to what is right with you through reason and stratagem after you (through other than you). The affair is not right except through the two affairs: Either you accept the affair as it is or you give the people what they have demanded and put an end (to their demand); otherwise the matter is crooked in our viewpoint; and the people will not hand over my property which is in their hands and take it along with them; therefore, the matter is not according to your reason and stratagem.
"And we will not do what you have granted through opinion and consultation, but the affair belongs to Allah, the Great and Almighty, the One, and there is no partner with Him. He does toward His servants whatever He desires; he whom Allah guides is not misguided by anyone; and he whom He misguides is not guided by anyone, and you will not find any saint to guide him.
"You said: 'And work through their affair and practice stratagem therein; and how is the stratagem?
And Allah says: And they swear by
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Allah with the most energetic of their oaths: Allah will not raise up him who dies. Yea! it is a promise biding on Him, quite true, but most people do not know, to these words of Him, the Great and Almighty: And that they may earn what they are going to earn (of evil). If you answer them concerning what they have questioned, they will be righteous and hand over; and what I have ordered you belongs to me; you and they have denied after me; and my meeting has been lengthened for me; and that has not occurred through me except that I have hoped for righteousness according to the words of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him: 'Approach and question (me).' He began rubbing his belly and saying: 'I have not filled it with food, but I have filled it with knowledge. By Allah, I know whether a verse was sent down on the sea or a land or a plain or a mountain, and I know concerning whom it was revealed.' Similarly, Abu` 'Abd Allah, peace be on him, said: 'I complain to Allah of the people of Medina; I am among them just like a hair, for I do not move; they want me not to say the truth. By Allah I will always say the truth until I die.' I say the truth in order to spare your blood and unify you as you had been before, that your secrets may be hidden with you and not spread among those other than you.
"And Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, already said: 'A secret about which Allah secretly told Gabriel; and about which Gabriel secretly told Mohammed, and about which Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, secretly told 'Ali, and about which 'Ali secretly told whomever he wished.'"
Then he said: [Abu` Ja'far, peace be on him, said:] "Then you speak about it on the road, so I want, as you your leader (
sahib), to explain you affair for you; lest you should place it in other than its place and ask about it other than its men, and hence your ruin occurs through your questioning them. How many a person claimed (the affair) for himself and he did not fall under (it). Then you said: 'If that belongs to him, it is necessary for him to maintain it and not to turn from it to other than it.' I said: 'Because he practiced precautionary dissimulation, and refraining from (it) is better. If he speaks, then it is obligatory on him to answer everything about which he is questioned.
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And what you claimed and demanded has occurred. So the affair concerns other than you and it is incumbent on you to follow them regarding it; but you have put into (effect) that which is right according to your reason, your viewpoints, and your analogy. When you claimed that my order was incorrect, you regarded your order as correct.'
"If you say that your leader (
sahib) was not such, then you have discarded the command of your Lord behind your backs. Accordingly, if I follow your caprices, then I will go astray and I am not among those who are rightly guided, and there will be no escape for you from that you will be like those who had been before you, while you have been told that the laws (
sunan) and the examples are tit for tat.
"The refraining from harm which you demanded in the first place and the answer in the end will not make well your chests; nor will it take away your doubts; nor there will be an escape from that which occurred through you; nor will it leave your hearts until Allah takes it away from you. If all people are able to love us, recognize our rights and submit to our command, they will do, but Allah does whatever He wills and guides to Him those who turn (to Him in repentance).
"I already answered you about many questions. Then you and those who asked such questions must carefully consider the answers. If there is no cure in the answers, then I already gave you something which was regarded as an argument and a lesson. The many questions (which are asked as a sign of) blame are reprehensible in our viewpoint, for the questioners want nothing except to examine (us) in order to find a way to vague errors and mischief; and he who wants to make (things) unclear, Allah makes them unclear to him and entrusts him with his own soul; you and your companions do not see that I have answered (your questions); therefore, that is up to me. If I will and determine, that is up to me, not up to what you and your companions say. You do not know so-and-so; rather there is no escape for us from that, for we are sure of it, while you are doubtful about it.
1"
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1. Al-Kshi, Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith, vol. 6. pp. 104-107.
( 765 )
This is the end of this letter which the Ima`m sent to al-Husayn b. Mahra`n. It contains ambiguous matters as well as there is no logical coherence in its paragraphs. It is more likely that something necessary for logical coherence and clarity has been omitted from it.
Any how, this letter has expressed the hardships which the Ima`m and the community received from the Wa`qifites, whom the world deceived.
2. Al-Husayn Bin 'Umar
He said: [I did my best with Yahya` b. Akthem (the judge of Sa`mrra`'); I debated with him, conversed with him, communicated with him, and asked him about the knowledge of Mohammed's Household; yet I heard say:] "One day while I was circling the grave of Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, I saw Mohammed b. 'Ali al-Rida`, peace be on him, circling it, so I debated with him on some questions which I had, and he answered them. The I said to him: 'By Allah, I want to ask you a question but I am ashamed of that, so he said to me: 'I will answer you before you question me, you want to ask me about the Ima`m.' So I replied: 'By Allah, this is what I want,' and he said: 'I am he.' Then I asked him: 'Is there any sign?' There was a rod in his hand, and the rod uttered and said: 'Surely my master is the Ima`m of this time, and he is the argument.'
1 "
Al-Husayn b. 'Umar b. Yazid narrated, saying: "I went to al-Rida, peace be on him, and I was then a Wa`qifite; my father had asked his father about seven questions, and he answered him about sixth of them and refrained from (answering) the seventh (question). So I said: 'By Allah, I will ask him about what my father had asked his father in order to know whether he is able to answer as (his father did).' Then I asked him, and he answered six questions just as his father did, and he refrained (from answering) the seventh (question).
"My father had said to his father: 'I will protest against you before Allah on the Day of Resurrection, for you have claimed that 'Abd Allah is not an Ima`m, so he, peace be on him, put his hand on his neck, and then he said to him: 'Yes, protest against me through
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Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 353.
( 766 )
that before Allah, the Great and Almighty. If there is any sin therein, then it is in my neck (i.e. I will shoulder the responsibility for it), and so on.'
1"
3. Al-Washsha`'
Al-Washsha`' reported, saying: "When I was a Wa`qifite, I went to Khurasa`n; I carried a mask with me; there was with me a brocaded garment in one of the parcels, but I did not know where I had put it. When I arrived in Khurasan and stopped at one of its houses, a Medinan man came and said to me: 'Abu al-Hasan al-Rida` say to you: 'Send me the brocaded garment which is with you.' So I asked the man: 'Who told Abu al-Hasan about my arrival and having a brocaded garment?' He went to him and told him, and then he came back to me and said to me: [He (al-Rida`) says to you:] 'It is in the place so-and-so.' I looked for it where he said, and then I sent it to him.
2" This was the reason for his being rightly guided.
These are some believers whom Allah guided to faith, who withdrew from the Waqifites' doctrines and adopted the Ima`mate of Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him.
