Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part III: History Lesson 41 3. JihÄd by Knowledge
3. JihÄd by Knowledge
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3. JihÄd by Knowledge
The fourth Imam, upon returning to Medina, retired from public life completely and spent his time in worship and in educating his loyal followers. He was in contact with the elite among the Shi‘ites such as Abu Hamzah ThumÄli, Abu KhÄlid KÄbuli and the like. The elite disseminated among the Shi’ah the religious sciences they learned from the Imam. The number of such students of Imam reached to 170. In this way Shi’ism spread considerably and showed its effects during the imamate of the fifth Imam.
The high status of knowledge and piety of the companions of Imam Zaynu ’l-‘Ä€bidÄ«n can be seen from one example of Sa‘Ä«d bin Jubayr. Sa‘Ä«d was arrested by HajjÄj bin Yusuf ath-Thaqafi, the governor of the Umayyads in Iraq and a bitter enemy of Imam ‘Ali and the Shi‘as. When Sa‘Ä«d was brought to HajjÄj, an interesting conversation took place and we present part of it below:
HajjÄjj: “What is your belief about Abu Bakr and ‘Umar—are they in Paradise or Hell?” (HajjÄjj was looking for an excuse to kill Sa‘Ä«d.)
Sa‘Ä«d: “If and when I go to Paradise and see the people over there, then I will be able to say who is there; and if I go to Hell, only then I will know who is over there.”
HajjÄjj: “What is your belief about the caliphs?”
Sa‘Ä«d: “I am not responsible for them.”
HajjÄjj: “Whom do you like the most among the caliphs?”
Sa‘Ä«d: “The one with whom God is most pleased.”
HajjÄjj: “With whom is God most pleased?”
Sa‘Ä«d: “God knows best.”
...
HajjÄjj: “How should I kill you.”
Sa‘Ä«d: “Kill me in whatever way you like, because, by God, you will be treated in the same way on the day of judgment.”
HajjÄjj finally ordered the executioner to kill Sa‘Ä«d. May Allah bless his soul and elevate his ranks among the martyrs.
Among the works of the fourth Imam is a book called as-SahÄ«fah as-SajjÄdiyah. It consists of fifty-seven prayers concerning the most sublime Divine sciences and is known as “The Psalm of the Ahlul Bayt.” Another famous work of the Imam is RisÄlatu ‘l-HuqÅ«q (the Charter of Rights) on socio-ethical rights in fifty different cases. Fortunately, both these works are available in English also.
