The Faith of Shi'a Islam

37. the Meaning of "shi'a" in the Opinion of the Household of the Prophet =========================================================================

The Imams of the Household (A.S.) did not receive the leadership of Islam, although, however, they never had any designs towards it. So they devoted themselves to educating the Muslims, and to instructing them as Allah had ordered. They remained with those who were faithful to them, and confided in them their secrets, took great pains to teach them all the religious commandments and instill in them religious knowledge, and showed them what is of advantage to man and what is harmful. They recognised no-one as Shi'i or as one of their followers unless he obeyed the commands of Allah, kept himself apart from his desires and carried out what they taught and guided him towards. Only to love them will not suffice to save someone, it. that person also follows his desires. making excuses for his disobedience to Allah, because they have clearly said that love of them will save no-one unless it is accompanied by pure actions, truth, honesty, piety and virtue.

Imam Baqir (A.S.) said:

O Khuthayma! Say to our friends that we can be of no help to them before Allah unless their actions are pure, and that they cannot attain our friendship and love except through their virtue. For surely, one who reveres justice, but does not act in accordance with it, will be stricken with grief and remorse more than anyone else.

The Imams desired and expected their followers to guide others and show them the correct path of goodness, and they instructed them to call the people to the truth by good actions, saying that this was more important than calling by word.

Call the people unto the truth by your behaviour, so that they can see your obedience, and know that you are truthful and obedient.

We shall give some extracts here from conversations between the Imams and their followers, so that the reader may see how they were anxious to educate the people.

1. From Imam Baqir's conversation with Jabir al-Ju'afi:

O Jabir! How can someone who claims to follow us be content with only loving us? I swear that our follower is one who carries out his duty to Allah and fears Him. Our followers are known by their humility. modesty, exceeding remembrance of Allah, fasting, prayer, being sympathetic and helpful towards the poor, their reading of the Qur'an, saying nothing about a person except concerning his good actions, and they are most trustworthy among those close to them. (O ye who follow!) Observe your duty to Allah, and perform good actions for His reward, for there is no preference by Allah towards anyone. The most beloved of His servants in the presence of Allah is the best in conduct and obedience to Him.[^8] O Jabir! Nobody can come close to Allah except through obedience. Without this nobody will be saved from Hell, nor can anybody excuse himself before Allah without it. Whosoever obeys Him, he is our friend, but whosoever disobeys Him, he is our enemy. You cannot attain to our friendship except through good actions and virtuousness.

2. From Imam Baqir's conversation with Sa'id ibn al-Hasan:

al-Imam: 'Does it happen to you that one of you approaches his brother and puts his hand into his brother's pocket to take some money of which he is in need, without his brother preventing him?' Sa'id: 'I do not know of such a thing.' 'Then truly, there are no real Shi'i among you.' 'Shall we all perish, in that case?'. 'Yes, indeed, for such people do not put into action what they say.'

3. From Imam Ja'far's conversation with Abi as-Sabah al-Kanani:

al-Kanani: 'How much harassment we receive from people for your sake!' al-Imam: 'What harassment do you receive from them?' 'When there is a dispute between one of us and one of them, they immediately condemn us for following you.' 'Do they condemn you for my sake?' 'Yes, indeed!' 'But there are only a few of my followers among you. Only those who possess great and real virtue, whose acts are only for the sake of the Creator and to obtain his reward, only these are my followers.'

4. There are many traditions from Imam Ja'far concerning these matters. Here we have chosen some of them and written them down.

• If a man lives in a town with a hundred thousand inhabitants or more, and there is someone in that town whose virtue is greater then his, then that man is not one of my followers.
• We do not count among the believers anyone unless he obeys all our commandments. Indeed, righteousness is the only sign of one who follows us. Adorn yourselves with it, and may Allah have Mercy on you.
• One whose chasteness and abstinence from unlawful sexuality is not the subject of talk among women is not one of our followers. And one who lives in a town with ten thousand inhabitants, and one of them is greater in righteousness than he, then that man is not one of our followers. -Truly, a follower of Ja'far is one who does not listen to his stomach or to his carnal desires, who endeavours in the path of Islam, who acts for the sake of Allah, hoping only for His reward and fearing His chastisement. Yes, indeed, such are the followers of Ja'far.

**38. The Avoidance of Oppression ** In the opinion of the Imams, one of the worst sins among men is enmity and iniquity between themselves. Just as it is said in the Qur'an:

Deem not that Allah is heedless of what the iniquitous do; He is only deferring them to a day when eves shall stare.(14:42)

Likewise, 'Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin (A.S.) had a strong aversion to iniquity, and he told the truth when he said:

I swear by Allah that if all the continents of the earth and all that is under the sun were offered to me in exchange for sinning towards Allah even by stealing a grain of barley from an ant, truly 1 should never do such a thing.

And this shows how much a person can be aware of the evil of iniquity and hold himself back from doing it. 'Ali would not do wrong even to an ant by stealing a grain of barley from it, even though all the lands of the earth were offered to him. How then does one stand who sheds the blood of Muslims, plunders their property, and pours scorn on their reputation and honour? How should he be compared with 'Ali? Where does he stand compared to the wisdom of 'Ali? Truly, 'Ali's behaviour is a shining example of the excellent religious education which Islam seeks to instill in humanity.

Iniquity is, then, one of the greatest of the sins Allah has prohibited, and this is why the Household of the Prophet have cautioned their followers against it above all else, through their words and prayers. Thus was their policy and behaviour, and they acted justly not only towards their friends, but also towards those who showed disrespect for them and treated them with rudeness.

The story of the forebearance of Imam Hasan (A.S.) with the man of Sham (Damascus) who insulted him[^9] is well known. On that occasion, the Imam spoke gently with him and treated him kindly, letting him understand that he had done wrong. Even as the fourth Imam, Sayyid as-Sajadin asked for forgiveness for iniquitous persons in hisad'iyah. This is the utmost generosity and nobility of mind that a perfect man can reach. Although it is correct from an Islamic point of view to avenge an oppressor in one's own manner, and to curse him before Allah, it is better to forgive than to avenge, for forgiveness is a sign of virtue; indeed, in the opinion of the Imams, to curse him is to be iniquitous oneself.

Imam Sadiq (A.S.) said:

Verily, a slave is oppressed so long as he refrains from cursing his oppressive master excessively, but if he should do so, then he becomes an oppressor too.

How sublime this is! But if to curse an oppressor is oppression itself, what is the condition of those who instigate oppression and iniquity, who commit aggression against people, or caste aspersions on their reputations, who plunder their property, denounce them before oppressors, or deceive them so that they fall into danger or are hurt, or who spy on them? How do they stand in the wisdom of the Imams? Truly, such persons are the farthest from the generosity of Allah, their sins and their punishment are the most horrible, just as are their actions and morality.

**39. Doctrine of Non-Cooperation with Oppressors ** Because oppression is very dangerous and has evil consequences, Allah has forbidden men to cooperate with the iniquitous or to associate with them. He has said:

And do not incline towards those who are injust, lest the fire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped. (11;113)

This is exactly what the Descendents of the Prophet have taught us, and their teachings are the same as the Qur'an's. It is narrated that they had the greatest aversion to those who form ties with, help or cooperate with oppressors at any price, even to the extent of half a date. Without doubt, the greatest misfortune that has beset Islam and the Muslims is their lack of firmness in dealing with the evils of oppressors, and their connivance with them, not to mention their cooperating with them and protecting them in their oppression. There is no greater reason for the weakness and backwardness of the Muslims than their deviation from the straight path of Islam, and, as a result, the religion loses its power and disintegrates day by day, becoming foreign to the people. The Muslims, or rather those who call themselves Muslims, become powerless and far from the protection of Allah, so that they are unable to defend themselves against the most feeble and lowest enemies like the abject Jews let alone their powerful Christian opponents.

As far as they were able, the Imams always endeavoured to prevent their companions and relatives from cooperating with oppressors or helping them, and concerning this innumerable traditions have been related by the narrators. One of these traditions is from Imam Zayn al'Abidin (A.S.), who had written to Muhammad ibn Muslim az-Zuhari after warning him not to engage in oppression himself.

The reason they ask for you is only to use you as a grinding stone, a bridge whereby they can progress to their evil aims, a ladder to their deviations, so that you may be an agent and a propagandist for their crimes. Through you, they can hide their affairs from wise men, and attract the ignorant to themselves. Neither their own ministers nor their followers can disguise their faults as you can; what little will they give to you compared with what they take away. Take care of yourself, examine yourself and reckon with your actions as a responsible person.

The last sentence is full of meaning. Because, as long as man is conquered by his desires he considers himself worthless, and feels no responsibility for what he does; he cannot feel the evil of his bad deeds and he supposes that what he does is as nothing and will not be taken account of. Truly this is one of the secrets of man's unruly soul.

Then the Imam wanted to make az-Zuhari aware of this spiritual secret which mysteriously is part of his nature, so that he would not be deluded by his imagination and exceed his responsibility.

One conversation that is more forceful than the above, but which is on the same subject, comes from Imam Musa Kazim. He was speaking to Safwan al-Jammal who was a Shi'i and a faithful narrator of his traditions, according to al-Kishshi, who has given a biography of al-Jammal.

It is narrated that al-Jammal went to see Imam Musa. 'O Safwan! All of your actions are good, except one.' 'And what is that!' 'Your hiring of camels to that man Harun.' 'I swear by Allah that I did not do this so that he might live in pleasure, nor that he might hunt, or amuse himself, hut only that he might make the pilgrimage to Mecca. I have not taken charge of the camels myself, but have entrusted them to a servant.' 'Does he have to pay for them?' 'Yes.' 'Do you wish him to live until he pays.' 'Yes.' 'Whosoever wishes them (i.e. the oppressors) to stay alive is in fact one of them, and he shall enter Hell.' Safwan relates that he immediately went and sold all his camels.

If such is the future for one who only wishes the iniquitous to live, then how bad it must be for one who helps them or joins with them, or does their work or who obeys them.