The development of shiite political thought from shura to wilayat al-faqih

 

THE DEATH OF IMAM ASKARI

The death of Imam Hassan Askari (A.S) in Samirra’i in the year 260 A.H. without his declaring a successor, and the will which he gave to his mother called ‘Hadith’ led to an explosion of a serious crisis in the ranks of the Musawite Imamate Shiites, who believe in the necessity of the continuity of the divine Imamate till the day of Resurrection including the appearance of doubt, perplexity and ambiguity, as well as questions on the fate of the Imamate after Askari. In response to these questions, the Imamate Shiites became divided into fourteen (14) sects. This was stated by Nubakhti in ‘Firaq al-Shiah’, Sad bin Abdullah Ash’ari al-Qummi in ‘Al-Maqalat wa al-firaq’, Ibn Abi Zaynab al-Nu’mani in his ‘Al-Ghaybah’, Saduq in ‘Ikmal al-Din’, Mufid in ‘Al-Irshad’, and Tusi in ‘Al-Ghaybah’ and so on and so forth.

Shiite historians say that: ‘Ja’far bin Ali Hadi the brother of Hassan, tried to bring into his possession all the inheritance of the Imam. When the news of his death reached his mother, while she was in Madinah she set out till she reached “Surr Man Ra’a”, and she then claimed the possession of a will, and that was confirmed by the court.” (1)

The Shiite historians also mention that a slave girl of Imam Askari called Saqil claimed that she was pregnant from him, which caused the distribution of his inheritance to be delayed. Caliph Mu’tamid took the slave girl to his palace and he directed his wives and maids and the wives of al-Wathiq and the wives of the Chief judge-Ibn Abi al-Shawarib to take good care of her and confirm her claim of pregnancy or otherwise… Those given the task of watching over her kept close eye on her, till it became clear to them the falsity of the claim of conception: Hassan’s inheritance was then distributed between his mother and brother, Ja’far. (2)

 

THE CLAIM OF JA’FAR BIN ALI TO THE IMAMATE

As the Imamate is usually established through a will from the previous Imam to the succeeding one, the brother of Imam Askari, Ja’far bin Ali Hadi, who used to compete with his brother for the Imamate while he was still alive, exploited the apparent vacuum of the non-existence of a son for his brother, and the lack of any will for him or any indication to anyone, he exploited it by claiming that he was the Imam. He said to the Shiites: “My brother has passed away without leaving behind any successor either male or a female. I am the one to whom he gave his will”. He also wrote to some of his loyalists in Qum—which was an important Shiite center then, calling on them to him, telling them that he was the leader after his brother, claiming that he has the knowledge of the lawful and the unlawful that would make others require him and some other kinds of learning. (3)

Saduq transmitted in his: ‘Ikmal al-Din’ p. 475, a tradition from Abu al-Adyan al-Basri—whom he described as a servant of Imam Askari and his messenger to the Shiites of different cities—saying that, the general Shiites population passed their condolences to Ja’far, as well as congratulated him, among them was ‘Al-Na’ib al-Awwal, Uthman bin Said al-Umari.

Nubakhti, Ash’ari al-Qummi and Mufid mentioned that some of the Shiites (supporters) of Imam Askari, admitted the apparent non-existence of any son for Askari, and believed in the Imamate of his brother Ja’far, and accepted some of what the Fathites (Al-Fathiyyah) accepted—those who believe in both the Imamate of Abdullah and Musa the two sons of Ja’far Sadiq, not making ‘vertical inheritance’ condition for the Imamate.

The leader of those people and their main advocate in that was a man from Kufah called Ali bin al-Tahi al-Khazzaz, and the scholars of Bani Fidal, and the sister of Faris bin Hatim bin Mahawaih al-Qazwini. (4)

The people of Qum were on the verge of responding to Ja’far, since they do not know anyone other than him. They gathered around their leader, Ahmad bin Ishaq and wrote to Ja’far responding on those issues, demanding from him to reply on a number of issues, they said: “Our predecessors did ask your forefathers on these (issues) and they replied them, and we depend on those replies and take guidance from them, so reply us similar to the way your gone fore-fathers replied so that we perform the duties you impose on us as we used to do for them.”. They sent a delegation to Ja’far to converse with him. The letter was received, and they asked him in the beginning on the manner of the transfer of Imamate to him in the presence of a tradition saying that it is not permissible that the Imamate be transferred to two brothers after Hassan and Hussain. Ja’far resorted to the claim of ‘bada’ (change of will) from Allah due to the lack of issue from his brother Hassan. (5)

Khusaibi says in ‘Al-Hidayah al-Kubra’: “ The delegation remained with him for some time demanding from him the reply of the issues raised, but he did not reply, nor did he reply on the letter at all.” (6)

Saduq, Tusi and Sadr however, did not discuss this simple problem, which will not be difficult for anyone who claims the Imamate like Ja’far, they only say: “The delegation asked Ja’far on the Unseen (al-Ghayb), and demanded from him to tell them the amount of wealth they were carrying from Qum and their owners. He replied: “ Hassan used to tell that”, he abstained from speaking on the al-Ghayb (unseen) , and denied attributing it to his brother. (7)

Khusaibi says: “ Some people from Qum, namely, Abu al-Hassan bin Thawabah and Abu Abdullah al-Jamal, and Abu Ali al-Sa’igh and Al-Qazwini, used to take money from the Shiites in the name of Ja’far to utilize it and will not send it to him and they accused him of lying. This shows that a good number of Shiites from Qum do believe in the Imamate of Ja’far in reality, and were sending money to him.” (8).

As Nubakhti, Ash’ari al-Qummi, Kulayni, Mufid, Tusi, Saduq and Al-Hurr al-Amili say: “ A portion of Imamate Shiites accepted the doctrine that the Imamate has come to an end, and has ceased and the belief in the Interval (Fatrah), similar to that period between one Messenger and the other. They depended in this on some traditions from the two Imams Baqir and Sadiq, on the possibility of having more Imams or the cessation of the Imamate, especially when Allah will be displeased with His creation. They believed that was the time. (9)

Two earlier Shiite historians contemporaneous to that period, i.e. Nubakhti and Ash’ari al-Qummi say.” The death of Imam Hassan Askari without a clear issue, in whom the Imamate will continue led some Shiites to rethink their position on the Imamate of Askari himself, as some Musawite Shiites did one hundred years before as regards the belief in the Imamate of Abdullah al-Aftah bin Ja’far Sadiq, who became Imam after his father, but did not leave believed an issue in whom the Imamate should continue.

They believed the claim of the Imamate of Hassan was an error and a mistake, and it is incumbent upon us to rethink our position on it, and to accept the Imamate of Ja’far. As Hassan died without an issue that vindicates that he made a false claim to the Imamate. This is because according to our consensus, the Imam will not die, until he left behind an apparent issue to succeed him, one who is well-known, to whom he will give his will, and appoint him as the Imam. Imamate will never continue in two brothers after Hassan and Hussain. So the Imam without doubt is Ja’far through the will of his father to him.

The reason for this change of opinion, as regards the Imamate of Askari, was their belief in the law of vertical inheritance, and the non-permissibility of the transfer of the Imamate to a brother, nephew,uncle or cousin.

Another group of the Shiites denied the death of Imam Askari and claimed that the was the Mahdi, who went into occultation, based on the belief that it is not permissible for the Imam to die without a known and apparent issue, because the world can never be without an Imam. They considered the hiding of the Imam, a kind of occultation from them. (11)

Some of them admitted his death, but claimed that he returned to life again. That was based on a tradition on the meaning of Qa’im: “ he returns (to life) after his death.” He will live without an issue. If he had a son, who confirmed his death and his nonreturn, because the Imamate will be established for his successor and he will not give the will (of Imamate) to anyone… There is no doubt that he was the Qa’im.             Hassan bin Ali has undoubtedly died without an issue or successor; he did not give the will (to anyone), as he has not any will or anyone to receive the will (from him)… There is no doubt that he was the Qaim (the standing one), and that he is alive after his death. They reported: The Qaim—when the news of his return to life reached the people- they will say: “ How can so- and –so be the Imam after his bones had become like dust?  He is living today in occultation. He will appear and instructs the people, filling the world with justice, as it was filled with injustice. “ (12)

Of them were those who said that: “ He was not called Qa’im except that he returns to life after death”. These people have fabricated or imported many traditions in this context from some earlier Waqifite Shiite movements. (13)

Saduq says: “ Those people were called Waqifites on Hassan.  They did claim that the occultation happened to him, for the validity of occultation in their view and their ignorance of its place. “(4)

MUHAMMADITES AND NAFISITES

Some of those who rethought the Imamate of Askari, due to the lack of an issue for him, believed in the Imamate of his brother Muhammad, who died seven years before the death of his father Hadi. They denied the death of Muhammad, and claimed that his father did point to him and appointed him as the Imam, and had mentioned him by his name and person--- this is what was agreed  by all. It is not possible for the Imam to point through will to one who was not the Imam. Therefore he did not die in reality, as was apparent. His father had rather, hidden him due to insinuation (Taqiyyah) as Imam Sadiq hid his son Ismail – according to the Isma’ilites, so he was the Awaited Mahdi. (15) This sect came to be known as the Muhammadites.

A group from this sect said later that, Muhammad bin Ali did die, and that he gave the will to a servant of his father called ‘Nafis’. He handed over to him books, different kinds of knowledge and the sword and whatever the Ummah would need, and he advised him: “If I died, give that to Ja’far”. (16)

This sect took a very violent stand as regards Imam Hassan Askari. They considered him an unbeliever, so also all those who believe in his Imamate. They exceeded bounds in the case of Ja’far and claimed that he was the Qa’im. This extremist sect was known as the Nafisites. (17)

In contrast to the above extremists there was another sect of the followers of Imam Hassan Askari who believed, as a result of shock and bewilderment, that the Imam did not die, but has entered an occultation and that he was the Mahdi. That was on the basis of the impossibility of the death of the Imam without an apparent known issue, since the earth can never be without an Imam according to their doctrine. (18)

These groups later separated into several other groups… Among them were those who admitted the death of Imam Hassan, but added that he returned to life after a little while, that was in accordance with a tradition on the meaning of the word Qa’im: one who returns to life after his death. Among them were those who claimed that he died and did not return to life, but will return to life in future. (19)

These groups have incorporated some traditions (into their thought) from some early Waqifite Shiite movements, and were called Waqifites of Ali, they claimed that he did go into occultation and that he was the Awaited Mahdi.

The death of Imam Askari without an apparent issue led to a crisis that led in turn, the Imamate Shiites who believe in the continuation of the Imamate to the day of Resurrection, it led them to the search and exploration of a likely son for Imam Askari, who hide for some reason or another, like fear of his being attacked for example. Some of them refrained from any statements, waiting for an end to the crisis. They did not claim or believed in the Imamate of Ja’far, as they did not also believe in an end to the Imamate, nor did they claim that Hassan Askari was the Mahdi. Rather they said: “ We do not know what to say in all these…. we are confused. We do not know that Hassan bin Ali had a son or not, nor that the Imamate was valid for Ja’far or Muhammad. There are a lot of conflicting opinions. We only say: Hassan bin Ali was an Imam whose obedience was incumbent on all. His Imamate was established, but he has died, and we are convinced of that. The world will never be without an authority (Imam). Then we stop here and will not claim the Imamate of anyone after him…since we do not believe that he left any successor, whose affair is not clear to us. We cannot be sure of the Imamate of any of the children of others, as there is a consensus among the Shiites that the Imamate of an Imam cannot be established, except through a clear will from his father.” (20)

In the midst of that atmosphere of doubt and confusion, conflict and search for the truth, some Imamate Shiites depended on the claim of a slave girl, ‘Saqil’ or ‘Narjis’ that she was pregnant from Hassan at the time of his death. They claimed that she delivered a child for him eight months after his death.  The child was however, hidden; no one knows his name, or his hiding-place. They depended on a tradition in this regards, which they reported from Imam Rida in which he says: “You will be tried by means of an embryo in the womb of his mother, and by means of a suckling child.”  (21)

Some of those who accepted the existence of that pregnancy at the time of (his) death also claimed that the pregnancy continued in the womb of the slave girl for an uncertain period of time. They believed in the inevitability of the delivery of the slave girl of a male child, in whom the Imamate will continue, and then in his children to the day of Resurrection. (22)

In so much as delivery after death is normal and possible, the claim of the continuation of the pregnancy in the womb for an uncertain period, is not reasonably acceptable. It is rather seriously rejected, more so that the slave girl Saqil or Nargis disappeared in the heat of the events, or she died. No one was able to watch her or see the result of her pregnancy after that. It was not far in an extremist atmosphere, which is far away from reason and known customs that any group can claim what it wishes, in terms of false claims, or statements, theories and imagination.

Despite the fact that those Shiites who searched for a son for Askari were not able to arrive at any result, and that confusion was engulfing the general Imamate Shiites, so also the ambiguity surrounding the issue of succession, and the conflicting views tearing the people apart, despite all these, some of the companions of Imam Hassan Askari were whispering in secrecy that he had a son born two or three or five or seven or eight years before his death. They claimed that they saw him during the lifetime of his father, and that they were in contact with him. They demanded from the general Shiite masses to stop their search for him or declaring his name, which they forbade. (23)

They interpreted the claim of the slave girl, Saqil of her pregnancy at the time of the death (of the Imam), as an attempt on her part to conceal the existence of the child secretly.

Those who claimed the existence of a concealed son for Imam Askari were known as the Twelver-Imam Shiites.

The belief that Imam Hassan Askari had a son was an esoteric and confidential statement from some of his companions after his death. The matter was never agreed upon or based on clear common knowledge among the Shiites of that time. That was why there was atmosphere of confusion as regards who will succeed the Imam. The situation was very tense.

Many contemporary scholars of that time wrote works discussing the perplexity that has gripped the Shiites, ways of cooling out of it. Among these scholars was Sheikh Ali bin Babawaih Saduq who wrote a book he entitled: “Imamate and Enlightenment from Perplexity”(Al-Imamah wa al-Tabsirah min al-Hayrah).

This situation of perplexity continued up to the middle of the fourth century of Hijrah, as sheikh Muhammad bin Ali Saduq mentioned in the introduction of his work ’Ikmal al-Din’, the confusing state that has descended on the Shiites. He said: “ I discovered that the majority of the Shiites who come to me have been confused by the occultation, and an ambiguity has accrued on to them on the affairs of the Qa’im.” Kulayni, Nu’mani and Saduq reported a large number of traditions, which emphasized the occurrence of perplexity after the occultation of the in-charge (Imam), and the differences among the Shiites, and their being scattered at that time. So also the allegations of some against others, as regards lies, disbelief, spitting in their faces and cursing them and their capsize like ships, due to strong waves from the sea, or like breaking into pieces of glass or pottery. (24)

Muhammad bin Abi Zaynab Nu’mani said in ‘Al- Ghaybah’ while describing the confusing state that has engulfed the Shiites of that time. “ The majority of them were saying (in the background): Where is he? How can these happen? For how long he will be absent? How long he will live? He has now more than eight years. Among them were those who believed he was dead; among them were those who denied his birth and rejected his existence at once, and mocked those who believed in him; among them were those who believed the period (of occultation) will be long.” (25).

He says: “ What kind of confusion is more severe than the present one, which affected a large number of people, taking them away from this affair (Imamate)? Those left in it were very few due to the doubt of people. (26)

This shows that the issue of the existence of a son for Imam Askari was never an agreed matter among the ranks of the Imamate Shiites at that time. And that the claims of consensus, common knowledge made by some as regards the traditions on the existence, birth and Mahdism of the twelfth Imam (Muhammad bin Hassan Askari) were not existing (not true) at that time….

We, therefore have to put a question mark on the later conflicting claims of consensus and agreement, which contradict historical facts…more so that the claim of consensus and agreement does not preclude second thoughts, criticism and research. In addition to the fact that consensus (Ijma) does not constitute an alternative evidence to the scientific evidence in the sight of the Twelver-Imam Shiites … In accordance with which the Jurists say: Ijma’ will be taken in the absence of a legal evidence. And if we know that a particular claim depends on traditional or rational evidences, we have to review those evidences and not hold onto Ijma’. It is well known that the claim of the birth of the twelfth Imam Muhammad bin Hassan Askari, will present historical, given (revealed) and rational evidences. It is necessary; that we review and confirm these evidences ourselves, and our non-submission and following theologians (Mutakallimin) or submitting to their claims, theories and juristic analogies without scrutinizing them.

2.      Saduq: Ikmal al-Din, P. 44, Tabari: op.cit. p. 224

3.      Tabrisi: Al-Ihtijaj, vol .2 p.79, Saduq: Ikmal al-Din, P. 475, Al-            Khusaibi: Al-Hidayah al-Kubra, P. 391 Al-Sadr: Al-Ghaybah al-            Sughra, p, 307

4.      Ash’ari: Al-Maqalat wa al-Firaq, p.110 Nubakhti: Firaq al-Shi’ah pp.             98-99 Mufid: Al-Fusul al-Mukhtarah, P. 259

5.      Khusaibi: Al-Hidayah al-Kubra, pp. 383-391

6.      ibid.

7.      Saduq: op,cit. p. 47 , Tusi: Al-Ghaybah ,al-Sadr: Al-Ghaybah al-            Sughra, p. 316

8.      Khusaibi: op.cit., p. 392

9.      Al-Kafi: vol-I, p.343, Ithbat al-Hudah, vol-3 p. 477, Al-Ghaybah. 244,             Ikmal al-Din, P. 230, Al-Fusul al-Mukhtarah p. 260, Firaq al-Shi’ah. P.             105, Al-Maqalat p. 115

10.  Firaq al-Shi’ah p. 114 al-Maqalat, P. 110     

11.  Nubakhti: Firaq al-Shi’ah, p 98, Ash’ari: Al- Maqalat, p. 106

12.  Nubakhti: Firaq al-Shi’ah pp. 96-98, Ash’ari, Al-Maqalat, p. 107

13.  ibid.

14.  Ikmal al-Din, p. 40

15.  Firaq al-Shi’ah, p. 101.Al-Fusul. P. 260

16.  ibid

17.  Nubakhti: Firaq al-Shi’ah P. 108

18.  Firaq al-Shi’ah p, 98, Al-Maqalat p. 108 Ikmal al-Din, p-40

19.  Firaq al- Shi’ah. pp. 96-98, Al- Maqalat p. 10 Ikmal al-Din, p. 40

20.  Nubakhti: Firaq al-Shi’ah, P. 108 Ash’ari: op,cit. p. 115, Mufid: Al-            Fusul, p. 260

21.  Nubakhti: op. cit. p. 103, Ash’ari: op. cit p. 114, Mufid: op. cit. p.             260

22.  Firaq al-Shi’ah p. 102, Al-Maqalat, p. 114 al-Fusul: p. 260

23.  Firaq al-Shi’ah p. 102 Al-Maqalat, p. 114 al- Fusul: p, 260

24.  Kulayni: Al-Kafi. Vol. 1, p. 366, 388 and 340 Nu’mani: Al-Ghaybah,             P.89-206 and 208, Saduq: Uyun Akhabar al-Rida. P. 6, Ikmal al-Din,             p. 408

25.  p- 113

26.  p. 1

“EVIDENCES” FOR THE EXISTENCE OF    IMAM   MUHAMMAD BIN HASSAN ASKARI