Conclusion

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Conclusion

 

After the success, bounty, and generosity of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala in enabling me to complete this book, I will in this conclusion point to several very important observations that represent the essence of its subject matter and what has been mentioned in its chapters:

 

Observation 1

How did the Imamiyyah reconcile between these two contradictory depictions of the Imams which are found in their sources?

 

The First Depiction

The Imams are described as weak, humiliated, worn down, and fearful of the oppression of the caliphs of the Umayyads and Abbasids, to the extent that they rid themselves of the divine duty of Imamah that is greater, more significant, and more exalted than the rank of prophethood. Indeed, they even attributed to him a grave offense, i.e. that he practiced the distortion of the Qur’an by adding the verse of stoning, as we have cited.

 

The Second Depiction

The Imams are described as possessing strength and might, through their ownership of deadly weapons, which caused their enemies to fall upon their knees begging for pardon, forgiveness, and safety from the wrath of the Imams and the force of their vengeance, as was mentioned in reports in the first chapter, such as their statement about ‘Umar proclaiming, “By Allah, by Allah, O Abu al Hasan, I will never repeat it again,” after which he began to plead with him. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala thus manifests, from His great power, against those two tyrants—viz. al Mansur and al Rashid—what strikes fear into them, until each of them collapsed unconscious more than once.

 

Observation 2

In this observation, I will establish a comparison between the depiction of the Imams observing Taqiyyah—which squandered the religion and effaced its features—and the depiction of the companions of the Imams who proclaimed the truth and avoided acting with Taqiyyah—which preserved the religion. Were it not for their courage, the religion would have been obliterated and its features lost.

 

The First Depiction

The Imams’ observing Taqiyyah caused the loss of the religion and the effacement of its features. This depiction has been acknowledged by the great scholars and researchers of the Imamiyyah.

1. The researcher of the Imamiyyah, Yusuf al Bahrani, said:

 

وما بلغ إليه حال الأئمّة صلوات الله عليهم من الجلوس في زاوية التقيّة والإغضاء على كلّ محنة وبلية حتى كورت شمس الدين النيرة وخسفت كواكبه المقمرة فلم يعلم من أحكام الدين على اليقين إلا القليل ولامتزاج أخباره بأخبار التقيّة كما قد اعترف بذلك ثقة الإسلام وعلم الأعلام محمّد بن يعقوب الكليني نور الله تعالى مرقده في جامعه الكافي فإن جلّ الاختلاف الواقع في أخبارنا بل كله عند التأمّل والتحقيق إنما نشأ من التقيّة

The condition to which the Imams ‘alayhim al Salam were reduced—sitting in the corner of Taqiyyah and overlooking every trial and affliction until the radiant sun of religion was eclipsed and its shining stars were darkened. Thus, nothing of the rulings of religion was known with certainty except a little, due to the intermingling of its reports with the reports of Taqiyyah, as acknowledged by the trusted authority of Islam and the eminent scholar, Muhammad ibn Yaqub al Kulayni—may Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala illuminate his resting place—in his compilation, al Kafi. For indeed, most of the contradictions found in our reports, rather, all of them, upon reflection and verification, arose only from Taqiyyah.^[1]

 

2. Muhammad Salih al Mazandarani acknowledged that all the Imams were in concealment, in the sense of being unable to manifest the religion as it ought to be, out of fear for the enemies. He said:

 

المراد بالإمام المستتر من لا يقدر على إظهار الدين كما ينبغي خوفاً من الأعداء والظلمة سواء كان ظاهراً بين الخلق أو كان غائباً عنهم فكل إمام إلى زمان ظهور صاحب الزمان فهو مستتر بهذا المعنى

What is meant by the concealed Imam is the one who is unable to manifest the religion as it ought to be, out of fear for the enemies and the oppressors, whether he was outwardly present among the people or absent from them. Therefore, every Imam until the time of the appearance of the Sahib al Zaman^[2] is considered to be in concealment in this sense.^[3]

 

The Second Depiction

The fortitude of the companions of the Imams with the truth and their rejection of practicing Taqiyyah caused the preservation, endurance, and continuation of the religion.

This image has been acknowledged by the great authorities of Imami Shi’ism, as conveyed in chapter 3. Here is its summary: Indeed, the stances of these champions and pillars are what established the foundations of the principles of truth, deepened them, and were a cause for their spread and continuity to this day—among them, Mitham al Tammar, Hujr ibn ‘Adi, Rushayd al Hajari, Sa’id ibn Jubayr, Habib ibn Muzahir, al Shahid al Awwal, al Shahid al Thani, al Qadi Nur Allah al Shushtari, and their likes—those who were truly divine proofs, protectors of the religion and the creed, and guardians of the Shari’ah. Were it not for the struggle of men like Hujr, Mitham, ‘Amr ibn al Hamiq, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Afif, ‘Abdullah ibn Yaqtar, and Sa’id ibn Jubayr, the traces of Prophethood and the legacy of the pure Imams from his Household (upon them peace and thousands of salutations) would have been effaced. Were it not for the striving of these men with their souls and their very selves, it was near that nothing would remain of Islam except its name, nor of the Qur’an and its inseparable companion except its outline and mention. Had they remained silent and observed Taqiyyah, the remnant of truth would have been lost.

If only the infallible Imams had followed the example of their fallible companions and had proceeded upon their path of courage and their proclamation of truth—striking Taqiyyah against the wall—until they offered their lives and their blood as the price for the preservation, survival, and flourishing of the religion!

 

Observation 3

After I have clarified that the practice of Taqiyyah by the infallible Imams caused the loss of the religion, and that the refusal of the Imams’ companions to act upon Taqiyyah is what aided the preservation, survival, and continuation of the religion, it is necessary to recall that the Imams possessed ‘sophisticated weaponry’ which meant they should have had no need to resort to Taqiyyah through submission, weakness, and fear for their enemies to the extent that they would undertake the distortion of the religion and the effacement of its features!

In contrast, the companions of the Imams did not possess the means of strength and power; rather, they were weak and powerless. Yet, despite this, they stood firm with the truth, enduring the bitterness of being killed, making their souls and their blood sacrifices for the preservation, survival, and continuation of the religion.

After they have hammered into our heads the necessity of the existence of a ma’sum (infallible) Imam in every age to preserve the religion from addition and omission, here they are admitting his failure in performing his responsibility of preserving the religion. Rather, he himself engages in the process of distorting the Qur’an. Then come people who are not infallible to achieve that goal of preserving and safeguarding the religion, sacrificing their lives for its achievement!

This resulted in the following:

Indeed, those who neglected the religion and distorted it are the infallible Imams, with their fear and their Taqiyyah, despite their possession of the power and ability to eradicate their enemies and ward off the danger of killing from themselves.

On the other hand, those who preserved the religion are people who are not infallible, with their courage and their adherence to the truth, despite their weakness and incapacity, drinking the agony and bitterness of being killed.

 

Observation 4

I will present in this observation an important comparison regarding the points of similarity and difference between the Imams and their companions, and between the Imams and al Masih al Dajjal. Here it is in detail:

 

The First Comparison

Between the infallible Imams and their companions

• The point of similarity between them is that all of them were killed at the hands of their enemies.
• The point of difference is that the companions of the Imams proclaimed the truth and preserved the religion, whereas the Imams suppressed the truth and neglected the religion and, beyond that, they themselves undertook the process of distorting the religion.

My commentary on this comparison is as follows:

There is a vast difference between the honourable death that the companions of the Imams attained, after they proclaimed the truth and offered their lives as a ransom for the support of the religion and ensuring its survival and continuity, and between the death of the Imams by poison or by sword after they disavowed their responsibility and duty of preserving the religion and acting with truth.

Although the Imams resorted to practicing Taqiyyah, disavowing from their responsibility of preserving the religion and engaged in distorting it, to ensure their safety, avoid the tyranny of the criminals, and save their blood, yet the tragedy is in their not being saved by that. Rather, they tasted the bitterness of being killed at the hands of their enemies by poison or by the sword, as the Shia claim]. So, they neither preserved the religion nor saved their blood from being spilled.

 

The Second Comparison

Between the infallible Imams and the one-eyed Dajjal

If we were to conduct a comparison, stripped of sentiments, between the infallible Imams according to the Imamiyyah and al Dajjal who will appear at the end of time; you will find between them a point of similarity and a point of difference as follows:

• As for the point of similarity between them, it is their possession of supernatural capabilities.
• As for the point of difference, it is that al Dajjal will use those supernatural acts to support his falsehood, by splitting a young man in half then bringing him back to life and by commanding the earth to yield its treasures. In contrast, the infallible Imams did not use those supernatural acts to support the truth and defeat the enemies of the religion.

So, reflect with me, in complete uninvested objectivity, on how the affirmations of Imami Shi’ism have led to giving preference to and deeming correct the acts of the one-eyed Dajjal over the acts of the infallible Imams.

 

Observation 5

It is well known among rational people that the purpose of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala granting miracles to the prophets and extraordinary powers to the saints is for them to be used in supporting the truth and proving that their word is the truth which Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has commanded. Therefore, it is incumbent upon them to use these miracles to achieve that very purpose for which Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had granted them these miracles and extraordinary powers in the first place. If they were not to use them, they would fall into the grave error of contradicting what Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala intended by granting it to them, i.e. the support of the truth.

However, the Imami Shia attribute this failure to the Imams, since they acknowledged that the Imams did not use those weapons and miraculous powers in supporting the truth and in striking against the enemies of religion. This alone is sufficient as a reproach and a deficiency.

In conclusion, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to make this study a means for lifting the blindness from the eyes of my people and their descendants, so that they may perceive the ugliness of what Imami Shi’ism attributes to the Imams in terms of slander, calamities, and grave sins. And may the blessings, peace, and grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all of his companions.

 

 

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^[1]  Al Bahrani: Al Hada’iq al Nadirah, 1/4–8.

^[2]  The Mahdi.

^[3]  Al Mazandarani: Sharh Usul al Kafi, 6/240.