Introduction:
The origin of referring to the scholars of the Shiite religion within the Minor Occultation era, comes back to the time, when the infallible Imam (pbu th) [Ahl al Bayt (pbu th)] lived among the people.
[A brief part of] Ahl al Bayt (pbu th)’s biographies
Ahl al Bayt (pbu th) “The Mediators of the Guidance”
The divine’s wisdom and will was to guide [the people] via Ahl al Bayt (pbu th)’s. So, this became a motivation for creation.
Humans are not the ones who have been guided by the Imāms (pbu th). Angels were guided by them, as well.
In this regard, the Messenger of God [prophet Muḥammad (pbuh&h)] stated, ‘We did Tasbīḥ1 God, first. So, did they [angels]. Then we did Tahlīl2 and Takbir3God, and they did too.’ (Kamāl al-Dīn, Page 184).
[The translator: I draw your attention to the fact “Prostration of angels before prophet Adam (pbuh)”, which was stated in the Holy Quran:
And behold, We said to the angels: “Bow down to Adam” and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith. (Surah al-Baqarah, Verse 34)
On the subject “Prostration of angels before prophet Adam (pbuh)”; mind that, prophet Adam (pbuh) was not the specific one to be Prostrated! But, as Ahl al Bayt (pbu th)’s lights would be in prophet Adam (pbuh)’s loin4, God ordered all to prostrate his prophet.
*The birth of Ahl al Bayt (pbu th), among the ignorant Arab
[Here by Arabs, it refers to the ancient one, not the people after them]
1400 years ago, the central regions of Arabian Peninsula were in such a situation that, no civilization of that time (Iranian, Egyptian, and Roman) intended to conquer them! There were no signs of civilization, and the people lived in the extreme primitiveness and ignorance. The only signs of civilization, were two cities: Mecca and Medina.
Having those ranks and positions, Ahl al Bayt (pbu th) were ordained by God to be born in such a land.
God had promised5 prophet Ibrāhīm (pbuh) to increase the number of his offspring. Well, he did it via Her Excellency Zahrāʾ [Fātimā] (pbuh), who was the daughter of the Messenger of Allah.
*The people’s realization about “Imāmate”, in early Islām
Imams (pbu th)’s infallibility:
[As many people know in the world], not more than those 70 people, swore allegiance to Aba ‘Abdullah6 (pbuh)! It was because, the people hadn’t accepted the Imām (pbuh); they didn’t know him truly!
Imāms (pbu th) ‘s [specific] knowledge:
The Muslīms living in the early times of Islām neither accepted the Imāms (pbu th), nor believed in their foreknowledge! As an instance, ‘Amir al Muʾminīn would have the foreknowledge for the people, to prove that he was different from those three [untrue] preceding caliphs.
*The evolutionary process of people’s realization of the Imāms (pbu th)
From the time of Amir al Muʾminīn (pbuh) till Imām Haṣan ʻAskarī (pbuh), and from that time on, the evolutionary process of Shiites [improvement in their knowledge about the Imāms (pbu th)] has been quite evident. This change can be seen in the literature and expression of texts in the Ziarat7 books of the Imāms (pbu th).
[It’s unbelievable to know that], when the people learned ‘Amir al Muʾminīn (pbuh) was a martyr in Kūfah Mosque, some of them wondered, ‘What was he doing in the mosque? Was he praying?!’.
Hence, in the early Ziarat books of Ahl al Bayt (pbu th), it reads:
اّشْهَدُ اَنَّكَ قَدْ اَقَمْتَ الصَّلوةَ وَآتَيْتَ الزَّكو ةَ
I bear witness that you established the prayers, gave the prescribed share to the needy,
(Ziarat of Imām Huṣayn (pbuh))
Then Shiites views have progressed so much that in the latter Ziarat books, it reads:
والْمَعْرُوفُ مَا أَمَرْتُمْ بِهِ وَ الْمُنْكَرُ مَا نَهَيْتُمْ عَنْهُ
And the goodness is whatever you ordered. And the evil is whatever you have prohibited from.
(Ziarat Ale Yassin (pbu th))
Anyhow, some Imāms like Imām Sādiq (pbuh) had to Taqīyah; because the society of the believers were not prepared enough [they weren’t enough wise and thoughtful]!
The beginning of raising Shiites
Saving the Shiites from depravity:
Imām Sajjad had a key role in raising Shiites. He bought 20 thousand slaves, raised them, then let them free. After that, they would travel to various areas and propagate Shi’ism. Yes, the people loved their knowledge and when they introduced themselves as” Imām Sajjad (pbuh)’s students”, the people would get to Imām Bāqir (pbuh)’s and Sādiq (pbuh)’s pulpits soon.
The Era of the emergence of Ahl al Bayt (pbu th)’s knowledge:
Within Imām Sādiq (pbuh)’s lifetime, the opportunity was created for Ahl al- Bayt (pbu th)’s knowledge to be emerged.
[Know that,] among 7 present Aḥādīth, 6 were stated by Imām Sādiq (pbuh). After the Messenger of God (pbuh&h), there was some forgery of Aḥādīth by some caliphs. But afterward, they were responded [truly] by Imām Sādiq (pbuh). So they became eliminated.
1- It literally means, to say God is glorified.
2- It literally means, to say God is Unique, alone [There is no God, but Allah].
3- It literally means, God is magnified.
4- Here are some of the Hadees which says that the Spirits(Ruh)/Lights(Noor) of Ahl ul Bayt (PBUH) were created before the creation of Adam (PBUH) from Clay:
Ali ibn Muḥammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyād from Musa ibn al-Qāsim ibn Mu’āwiya and Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā from al- ‘Amrakiy ibn Ali altogether from Ali ibn Ja’far from abu al-Hassan Musa (PBUH) who has said the following:
Imam abu ‘Abdallah (PBUH) has said, ‘Allah, the Most Holy, the Highest, created us and He made our creation the best. He formed us and made our the best. He made us the treasurers of in His heavens and His earth. For us the tree spoke and with our worship Allah, the Most Holy, the Highest, is worshiped. Had we not been in existence Allah would not have been worshiped.
[Source: Al-Kāfi, Vol. 1 Pg. 193]
[Note: Authentic Hadees as per Chain of narrations. Mirat Al-Uqool – Allama Majlisī Vol. 2, Pg. 349]
Muḥammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walīd – may God be pleased with him – narrated that Muḥammad ibn Khalid al-Hāshimi quoted Al-Hassan ibn Himad al-Basry, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abil Jarud, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abdullah, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his forefathers that God’s Prophet (P.B.U.H&H. P) said:
“Both Ali and I were a single light near God four thousand years before he created Adam. When God created Adam, God placed this light in his loins and transferred it through him from one generation to the next generation until it reached the loins of Abdul Muṭṭalib. Then God took it out of Abdul Muṭṭalib ’s loin; divided it into two parts; placed one part in Abdullah’s loins; and placed the other part in Abi Talib’s loins. Thus, Ali (PBUH) is from me and I am from Ali (PBUH). His flesh is from my flesh and his blood is from my blood. Whoever loves me will also love Ali (PBUH). Whoever is Ali’s enemy will be my enemy.”
[Source: Al-Khisal – Shaykh Sadooq, Vol. 2 Pg. 172]
Ahmad ibn Muḥammad has narrated from Muḥammad ibn al-Hassan from Muḥammad ibn ‘Isa ibn ‘ʿUbayd from Muḥammad ibn Shu ‘ayb from ‘Imran ibn Isḥāq al-Za ‘farani from Muḥammad ibn Marwan who has said the following:
“I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (PBUH) say, ‘Allah has created us from the light of His greatness. Thereafter He shaped our form from a preserved and hidden clay under the Throne. Then He made that light to reside in that clay. We were then a Nooraani (light) creature of the human being species. He has not placed anything as a share from that which we were created in anyone else. He has created the spirits of our Shi‘a from our clay and their bodies from a preserved and hidden clay from below that clay. Allah has not placed anything as a share of that which they are created in anyone except the prophets. Therefore, our followers and we became the people. The rest of the people became riffraff for the fire and to the fire.”
[Source: Al-Kāfi, Vol.1 Pg. 389]
5- Ibrāhīm (pbuh) is recognized as a prophet and messenger of God in Islam. Ibrāhīm plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Muslim belief, Ibrāhīm fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Ibrahim was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world. The Quran extols Ibrahim as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolater. In this sense, Ibrāhīm has been described as representing “primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form”. The Islamic holy day ‘Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the sacrifice of Ibrāhīm, and each able bodied Muslim is supposed to perform the pilgrimage to pay homage at the Kaaba in the Hejazi city of Mecca, which was built by Ibrāhīm and his son Ishmael as the first house of worship on earth.
6- Some sources have mentioned that the Imam’s surname (Aba Abdullah) is because of the name of his infant child named Abdullah [Ali Asqar], that was only six months old and was martyred in Karbala.
7- They include pieces of salutations to Imāms (pbu th) and the Prophet (pbuh&h)
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