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The situation during the time of the 4th Imam (‘a) was truly regretful; the people had little knowledge of Islamic teachings, and religious deviations and various deviancies had cropped up in a very alarming manner. It was through a deep and comprehensive understanding of these issues that the Imam (‘a) would exert his utmost in teaching the people the correct manner of Islamic life and in awakening them to its realities. For a further understanding of how bad the situation was like, we will mention some other examples of how unaware the people were in regards to their religious duties, and how widespread religious deviations had become:
1- According to some scholars, the Hāshimīs (during the time of Imam Sajjād (‘a)) did not how to pray correctly or how to properly perform the Ḥajj pilgrimage; in essence, the Shias were unaware of the religious principles, except in what they had heard in the form of hearsay.[1]
When we are faced with a time, in which the correct manner of prayer is forgotten by the people, and in particular amongst the Banī Hāshim (when they should have been the foremost amongst all the other Muslims), and while it is the most basic fundamental action of the religion, then it shows the deep extent of moral decline and deterioration in the society as a whole. In particular, if Mecca and Medina were this hard hit, then other cities, which were farther away and had been influenced by Islam at a much later date, were naturally worse off.
2- Anas ibn Mālik, the famous Ṣaḥābī, is quoted as saying: ‘From the things which were current during the time of the Prophet (ṣ), nothing has been left. The people said: Then what about the prayers? He replied: Then what was it that you did during the prayers?’[2]
3- During the reign of Walīd ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, in the year 87 Hijrī, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (who was the governor of Medina at the time), went to the Ḥajj pilgrimage as the Emir of the Ḥajj. In spite of his critical position, he did the Wuqūf incorrectly during the ‘Īd of the Sacrifice.[3]
4- Muḥammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihāb Zuhrī is quoted as saying: ‘In Damascus, we went to see Anas ibn Mālik. We found him alone and crying. We asked as to the reason why he was crying, and he responded: From all of the things that I learnt about Islam, the only thing which I know to be left is these prayers, and even that has become ruined.’
5- In the time after Anas, Ḥasan Baṣri is quoted as saying: ‘If the Messenger of God (ṣ) returns back to your midst, of all the things which he taught you, the ‘Qiblah’ is the only thing which he will recognize.’[4] [5]
[1] Murtaḍā al-Ḥusaynī al-‘Āmulī, Ja‘far, Dirāsāt wa buḥūth fī tārīkh wa al-islam, (Majmū‘ah Maqālāt) 1400 Hijrī Qamarī, vol. 1, p. 56 (Maqālah: al-Imām al-Sajjād Ba‘ith al-Islām Min Jadīd).
[2] Ibid, p. 56; Amīn, Aḥmad, Ḍuḥ al-islām, al-Ṭab‘at al-Sābiqah, Cairo, Maktabah al- Nihḍat al-Miṣrīyah, vol. 1, p. 365 (narrated from Būkhārī and Tirmidhī - The Bāb of ‘Itisām al-Sunnah).
[3] Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn, The History of the Caliphs, researched by: Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd, al-ṭab‘at al-thālithah, Cairo, Maṭba’at al-Madanī, 1383 Hijrī Qamarī, p. 224.
[4] Murtaḍā al-Ḥusaynī al-Āmulī, Ja‘far, Dirāsāt wa buḥūth fī tārīkh wa al-islam, (Majmū‘ah Muqallāt) 1400 Hijrī Qamarī, vol. 1, p. 57.
[5] Taken from the text: Sīrah Pīshvāyān, Mahdī Pīshvāī, MuÞasasah Imam Ṣādiq (‘a), Qum, 1390 Hijrī Shamsī, 23rd Edition, p. 269.
1- According to some scholars, the Hāshimīs (during the time of Imam Sajjād (‘a)) did not how to pray correctly or how to properly perform the Ḥajj pilgrimage; in essence, the Shias were unaware of the religious principles, except in what they had heard in the form of hearsay.[1]
When we are faced with a time, in which the correct manner of prayer is forgotten by the people, and in particular amongst the Banī Hāshim (when they should have been the foremost amongst all the other Muslims), and while it is the most basic fundamental action of the religion, then it shows the deep extent of moral decline and deterioration in the society as a whole. In particular, if Mecca and Medina were this hard hit, then other cities, which were farther away and had been influenced by Islam at a much later date, were naturally worse off.
2- Anas ibn Mālik, the famous Ṣaḥābī, is quoted as saying: ‘From the things which were current during the time of the Prophet (ṣ), nothing has been left. The people said: Then what about the prayers? He replied: Then what was it that you did during the prayers?’[2]
3- During the reign of Walīd ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, in the year 87 Hijrī, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (who was the governor of Medina at the time), went to the Ḥajj pilgrimage as the Emir of the Ḥajj. In spite of his critical position, he did the Wuqūf incorrectly during the ‘Īd of the Sacrifice.[3]
4- Muḥammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihāb Zuhrī is quoted as saying: ‘In Damascus, we went to see Anas ibn Mālik. We found him alone and crying. We asked as to the reason why he was crying, and he responded: From all of the things that I learnt about Islam, the only thing which I know to be left is these prayers, and even that has become ruined.’
5- In the time after Anas, Ḥasan Baṣri is quoted as saying: ‘If the Messenger of God (ṣ) returns back to your midst, of all the things which he taught you, the ‘Qiblah’ is the only thing which he will recognize.’[4] [5]
[1] Murtaḍā al-Ḥusaynī al-‘Āmulī, Ja‘far, Dirāsāt wa buḥūth fī tārīkh wa al-islam, (Majmū‘ah Maqālāt) 1400 Hijrī Qamarī, vol. 1, p. 56 (Maqālah: al-Imām al-Sajjād Ba‘ith al-Islām Min Jadīd).
[2] Ibid, p. 56; Amīn, Aḥmad, Ḍuḥ al-islām, al-Ṭab‘at al-Sābiqah, Cairo, Maktabah al- Nihḍat al-Miṣrīyah, vol. 1, p. 365 (narrated from Būkhārī and Tirmidhī - The Bāb of ‘Itisām al-Sunnah).
[3] Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn, The History of the Caliphs, researched by: Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd, al-ṭab‘at al-thālithah, Cairo, Maṭba’at al-Madanī, 1383 Hijrī Qamarī, p. 224.
[4] Murtaḍā al-Ḥusaynī al-Āmulī, Ja‘far, Dirāsāt wa buḥūth fī tārīkh wa al-islam, (Majmū‘ah Muqallāt) 1400 Hijrī Qamarī, vol. 1, p. 57.
[5] Taken from the text: Sīrah Pīshvāyān, Mahdī Pīshvāī, MuÞasasah Imam Ṣādiq (‘a), Qum, 1390 Hijrī Shamsī, 23rd Edition, p. 269.
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