ISLAM

By

SEYYID SAEED AKHTAR RIZVI

TEHRAN - IRAN

In the Name of Allah,The All-compassionate, The All-merciful

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all being;the All-compassionate, the All-merciful;

the Master of the Day of Judgement;

Thee only we serve, and to Thee alone we pray

for succour;

Guide us in the straight path;

the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,

not of those against whom Thou art wrathful,nor of those who are astray.

O' Allah! send your blessings to the head of

your messengers and the last of

your prophets,

Muhammad and his pure and cleansed progeny.

Also send your blessings to all yourprophets and envoys.

Dear Reader,

The book you now have in hand is one ofthe many Islamic publications distributed bythis Organization throughout the world in different languages with the aim of conveying themessage of Islam to the people of the world.

You may read this book carefully andshould you be interested to have further studyon such publications you can contact us througha letter. Naturally, if we find you to be a keenand energetic reader we shall give you a deserv-ing response in sending you some other publi-cations of this Organization.

You may express your views on this pub-lication and the subject matter discussed in it,and how far you have benefited from it or whichpart of the subject matter has proved useful toyou and your environment. You will be able, inthis manner, to introduce yourself as one, of ourgood and active reader.

Meanwhile, you can keep our address at thedisposal of your friends and those individualsinterested in Islamic Studies.

Publication Secretary,WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICES,

( W0FIS).

CONTENTS

Page

FOREWORD TO THE SIXTH EDITION ... ... ...

1

SALIENT FEATURES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5

1. TAWHID - UNITY OF GOD ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8

2. `ADL - JUSTICE OF GOD ..... ... ... ... ... ... ... 12

Need of Religion ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... 20

3. NUBUWAH - PROPHETHOOD ... ... ...... .... ... 28

Life Sketch of Prophet .. ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 31

4. IMAMAH -IMAMATE... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 43

5. QIYAMAH - DAY OF JUDGMENT.. ... ... ... ..... 63

BRANCHES OF RELIGION ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 65

FOREWORD TO THE SIXTHEDITION

The present book is a series of lecturesdelivered at the Makerere University College,Kampala (Uganda) by eminent scholar and highlyrespected Chief Missionary of Bilal MuslimMission of Tanzania, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi.This edition has been revised by the author and isdistributed to readers by his kind permission.

The first edition of this book was publishedin 1967 by the Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaats of Africa, Mombasa (Kenya).Prior to that, it was published as a pamphlet inDar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), and as a booklet inManchester (U.K.).

The unique aspect of this book is itsintensive subject matter presented in a very

lucid way which includes such important subjecton Principles of Religion as tawhid or belief inDivine Unity; `adl or Divine Justice; nubuwwah

or Prophecy; imamah or the Imamate, belief inthe Imams as successors of the Prophet; ma'ador Resurrection.

In view of this, World Organization forIslamic Services has translated this book intoFrench, Italian, Indonesian, Burmese and Hawsalanguages; and has distributed them to morethan eighty countries of the world.

Scholars and intellectuals striving for truthcan greatly increase their knowledge by studyingthis book.

We feel it necessary to extend our thanksand a deep sense of appreciation to the authorfor his efforts, and to Bilal Muslim Mission,the first publishers of this book.

Lastly, we pray to the Almighty Allah, forthe success and achievement of all people whosearch for the truth and strive for reality.

WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICES

(Board of Writing, Translation and Publication)

1st July, 1977

13th Rajah, 1397

In the Name of Allah the Beneficent,the Merciful

SALIENT FEATURES

Now let us begin with the salient featuresof this faith. hl y sect, like other sects of Islam,consists of some beliefs and some religiousobligations. Its social life is based upon somewell-defined ethical patterns. It has fully devel-oped civil as well as criminal laws. All these as-pects of religion are based upon the Holy Qur'an(The Book of Almighty Allah) and the Traditionsof the Holy Prophet and Imams.

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Every religion has a history; its present can-not be separated from its past; and its pastinfluences its present trend of thinking. You willagree with me that it is not possible to deal withall these aspects of Shi'ah Ithna `Ashari sectin one lecture. So, with your permission, I willlimit this discussion to the beliefs in particular.

In our terminology the faith is called the` Root' (usul) of the religion, and the religiousperformances are named the `Branches' (furu')of religion. These terms are very significantbecause they show the relation between `Faith'and `Deeds,' from our point of view. As no treecan survive without its root, so no prayer can besaid to be alive without faith. And, as no tree canbear fruits without branches, so no faith can beof much help without good deeds.

The Roots of our Religion are Five:-

1. Tawhid (Unity of God)

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2.

`Adl (Justice of God)

3. Nubuwwah (Prophethood)

4. Imamah or Imamate (Successorship ofthe Prophet)

5. Qiyamah (Day of Judgment)

l. "TAWHID" - UNITY OF GOD

Belief in Allah and His Unity. The beliefin the Unity of God is the foundation stone ofIslam. This belief governs the religious faith,designs the social patterns and gives life to themoral codes.

The first sentence of the Islamic kalimah,i.e. "There is no god except Allah," leads aMuslim throughout his life not only in religiousmatters but in social behaviour also. "There is nogod" shows a Muslim that nothing in the Uni-verse is superior to him. It is observed in Qur'anthat:

"He it is Who created for you all thatis in the earth . . .

" (2:29).8

So a Muslim knows that nothing in thisworld is to be worshipped. Neither stone nortrees; neither animals nor human-beings; neitherthe Sun nor the Moon nor the Stars can beworshipped; because everything is created, andcreated for his benefit. When a Muslim, thus,has rejected every falsehood and every idea ofNature-worship, Idol-worship or Human-worship,he is ready to believe in the positive truth of theUnity of God. Believing in a Supreme being givesan aim to our life and provides a purpose for ouractions. Had a man been left with the wrongimpression that there was no God at all, his lifewould have been aimless, and an aimless life isdangerous. So it is added that there is no god"except Allah." This sentence has a negative aswell as a positive aspect. Both are instrumental increating the belief that every man is equal toevery other person. When nobody is superior,nobody is inferior. Thus, the belief in the Unityof God promotes the sense of brotherhood andequality and equity which is another feature ofIslam.

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Now allow me to explain other aspectsabout the belief in the Unity of God:-

We believe that God is Omnipotent andOmniscient. He was there when there wasnothing. Nothing except Him is eternal. He hasno beginning and no end. He knows everything.Even our unspoken intentions and desires are nothidden from Him. We believe that He has nopartner, no advisor, no helper. He has no son,no daughter, no wife. He is above every need,because need presumes deficiency. He has nobody, because body needs space. He is nowhere,because He has no body; and He is everywhere,because His power and knowledge is magnifi-cently apparent everywhere. He cannot be de-fined in terms of Time and Space. He cannot beincarnated, because incarnation needs body andspace. He cannot be seen because of the samereason.

When we say that Allah is Omnipotent and

Merciful, we do not mean that His Power andMercy is something different from His Person.We see that a child is born without any power,and then he acquires strength day by day. It isso because power is not his person. Allah is notlike this. He is Power Himself; Mercy Himself;Knowledge Himself; Justice Himself; Virtue Him-self; Truth Himself and so on.

The proper name which we use for God is'ALLAH' and that also needs some explanations.

'ALLAH' means `One who deserves to be loved'and `Into Whom every one seeks refuge.' Thisword, grammatically speaking, is unique. It hasno plural and no feminine. So this name itselfreflects light upon the fact that Allah is one andonly one; He has neither any partner nor anyequal. The name cannot be translated by theword ` GOD' because God can be transformed into`gods' and `goddess.'

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2. ''ADL - JUSTICE OF GOD

This was a short sketch of onr belief inAllah. Now we come to the second Root ofReligion and that is "Justice of Allah." Franklyspeaking, this root of religion is the mostimportant one to study, if anybody wants toknow the real and basic difference betweenSunnis and Shi'ah Ithna `Asharis. So far as theexistence and Unity of God is concerned, itcomes under the First Root `tawhid," that is,"The Unity of God." But the actions of Allahcome under this second root; and here thedifferences are vast and manifold: Here I proposeto show the differences in a few words:-

i) First and foremost difference is thatwhile certain Muslim sects hold that nothing isgood or evil by itself; and only what Allah hascommanded us to do, is good; what He has

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forbidden is evil. The Ithna `Asharis on the otherhand, believe that irrespective of religious com-mandments, there is real merit or demeritin different courses of action, and it is because acertain thing is good that . God commands usto do it; and because the other thing is badthat lie forbids it.

ii) Stemming from the above mentioneddifference is the fact that the Shfahs believe thatAllah never acts aimlessly; i.e. without anypurpose or design. All His actions are based onwisdom and intelligent purpose, though we maynot know them. The Sunnis on the other hand,say that there is no real demerit in actingaimlessly, and if Allah does anything withoutpurpose, the mere act of Allah will makethat action good.

iii) The Shi'ah Ithna `Asharis say that if aperson can do good to any other person and hedoes not do it, it is against the virtue. Likewise,

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they say that if Allah can do anything beneficialto His creatures and then, suppose that, He doesnot do it, it will be against Virtues of Allah andnot commendable. Therefore, the Ithna `Asharissay that: "It is morally incumbent upon Allah todo every act of Grace dealing with mankind."

Here is a quotation from our book ofbeliefs:-

"By Grace is understood that action on thepart of Allah which would help to bring Hiscreatures nearer to His devotion and obedienceand facilitate their moral correction (which is)morally incumbent on Him i.e. GOD. Allah hascommanded us to be just, while He Himselftreats us with something better, namely Grace(tafaddul). Justice (al-adl), means that He re-quites a good act with a good reward and anevil act with a punishment. The Prophet said:`No man ever enters Paradise by virtue of hisgood actions alone except by the Mercy of

Allah.' "

(I`tiqadatu 'l-Imamiyyah,

by

ash-Shaykh as-Saduq)

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The Sunnis, on the other hand, do notbelive that lulf i.e. Grace is incumbent onAllah. They say that even adl, i.e. Justice, is notincumbent on Allah, even if He sends good andvirtuous persons to Hell, it will be quite right.

iv) Then comes the most vital differencebetween Ithna `Asharis and Sunnis, i.e. thequestion of jabr' (compulsion) and `ikhtiyar'(choice). The position of Sunnis in this respect,according to general belief, is that:-

"No act of any individual, even though it bedone purely for his benefit, is independent ofthe will of Allah, for its existence; and there doesnot occur in either the physical or the extra-terrestrial world the wink of an eye, the hint ofa thought, or the most sudden glance, except bythe decree of Allah, of His power, desire and will.

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This includes, evil and good, benefit and harm,success and failure, sin and righteousness, obedi-ence and dis-obedience, polytheism and truebelief."

(al-Ghazzali).

We the Ithna `Asharis on the other hand saythat we know the difference between fallingdown from a roof-top and coming down byladders. The second act is done by our power,will and intention; while the falling down is notdone so. And we know that our own actions arenot like falling down from a roof-top; but theyare like climbing down with our own will andpower. Therefore, they are our acts and theycannot be attributed to Allah.

Again we see that we are praised or blamedfor some of our acts, while for other acts we areneither praised nor condemned. It means thatthe first category comes within our power andwill; and the second is beyond our power andwill. We may be advised to treat our ailments

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in such and such a way, but we cannot be advisedto recover from the illness. It means that gettingtreatments is within our power; but getting re-covered is not within our sphere of activities.Therefore, we say that there are many thingsand aspects of life which are within our ownpower and will, while some are not within ourpower. Those things about which we can beordered to do or not to do, for which we can beadvised, for which we can be praised or blamed,all those acts are within our power and will. Andas the commandments of religion come underthis category, therefore, it is wrong to say thatour sins or righteousness, our obedience or dis-obedience or polytheism or true belief, are bythe decree of Allah. Therefore it has been writtenin the book of our creed that:

"Allah possesses fore-knowledge of humanactions, but does not compel mankind to act inany particular manner. When Allah will collectHis servants on the Day of Resurrection, He will

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ask them concerning what He had enjoined onthem and will not question them concerningwhat He had destined for them." (I`tiqadatu 'l-Imamiyyah).

But it does not mean that man is quiteindependent of Allah. In fact, the power and willto act as we like is given to us by God. Thus,Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:"There is no compulsion (by Allah); nor is thereabsolute delegation of power (from Allah toman); but the real position is between these twoextremes." (ibid.)

And at what point does our ability to dothings start? Imam Musa al-Kazim (p.b.u.h.)said: "A man acquires that ability when fourconditions are fulfilled: 1. When there is nothingto hinder his plans; and his 2. health and 3.faculties (needed for that work) are upto therequired standard; 4. and God provides him theoccasion of that work. When all these conditions

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are fulfilled a man becomes able to act accordingto his own free will." When asked about anexample, he said: "Let us suppose that there is aman, without any hinderance, of good health andstrength; yet he cannot commit adultery unlesshe finds a woman. When (the 4th condition isfulfilled, and) he gets a woman, then it is uptohim to choose one of the two alternatives - eitherhe controls his evil emotions and saves himself asJoseph did; or, on the other hand, commitsadultery; if he protects himself from that sin, itwill not be by compulsion of Allah (as somepeople think), and if he commits the sin, it doesmean that he was above the power of Allah (asothers think)."

According to our point of view, if anybodybelieves in predestination, he cannot, at the sametime, believe in the Day of Judgment. Because,if Allah decrees every act which is done on ourhands, then it is gross injustice to inflict punish-ment upon us for those sins and evils and

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polytheism and disbelief and immoralities whichwere predestined by Allah Himself.

NEED OF RELIGION

As you are aware, man is a social animal,every man is- dependent on millions of peoplefor his life and its necessities. And you knowthat every society needs some laws to preventinjustice and preserve the rights of every memberof the society. But who is the right person tomake the Laws? One man? (Be he a monarch ora dictator.) No! Because he, instinctively, willlook, first of all, after his own interest. A groupof people? (Be it an aristocracy or democracy.)No! Because every one of them is capable ofwrong judgment; and a lot of wrong decisionsdo not add up to a right decision. Also, it isapparent that no group of people can disengageitself from self interest.

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Moreover, you will agree with me that noman or group of men is in a position to make acomprehensive law based on perfect equity andjustice. So it is necessary that the laws should bemade by someone who is superior to man, whohas nothing to loose or gain by that law and withWhom every man has equal relation. And thatone is "Allah." Hence the need of religion.

ALLAH

Allah can do no wrong. I do not use thisphrase in the sense of "King makes no mistake."Because "King makes no mistake" means actually that he does nothing at all; he just signswhat is passed by the Parliament. So this tributeis based upon 'in-action.' But "Allah does nowrong" means that He is active and powerful butHe can do no wrong. Anybody who commitswrong or injustice does so either because he doesnot know that it is wrong, but Allah knows every

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thing; or because he needs something whichcannot be obtained without wrong-doing, butAllah has no need; or because he has beencompelled by somebody else to commit thatwrong, but Allah is Ommipotent and nobody cancompel Him to do anything. So, logically it isimpossible for Allah to do any wrong or commitany injustice.

We believe that Allah created man so thathe may acquire those virtues which may bringhim nearer to Allah in the life hereafter. Mancomes in this world like a blank paper. Duringhis life time, various designs appear upon it bythe effect of his works and deeds. Virtuesacquired are like beautiful designs; and the vicesare like monstrous drawings.

We believe that Allah has given the manwisdom, will and power to acquire the virtues.lie has shown the man the right path, and haswarned him against going astray. But fie has not

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compelled him to do good works nor to commitvices. He has given him power to do as he wishes.

We believe that the actions of Allah areintended for the benefit of His creatures. Maybe, a man who is repairing his roof, feels annoyedbecause of heavy torrents of rain. But rain isintended for the common benefit; and even theperson who at this particualr time feels annoyedby it, will derive benefits from it in the long run.

Even such so-called disasters as earthquakesand floods are for common benefit. We deem itas disaster, because we do not know its ultimatepurpose. We are like a man who has never seen ahouse being built. He comes to a city and seesearth being dug out, stones being cut and broken,trees being felled, and he just wonders why allthese destructions!, In his eyes, it is destruction,because he does not know its ultimate result.But in fact, it is construction and not destruction.Likewise, we are unaware of the ultimate

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result of a particular earthquake or flood.So, we say it is disaster, but if we lookbackwards, we see that the present good condi-tion of the Earth is, mainly an outcome of thevery so-called disaster. Geography and Geologybear testimony to these facts.*

But now arises another question. There isno denying that these acts of God, thoughintended for common benefit, cause inconvenience, hardship and even death to hundredsand thousands of people. Is it not injusticeagainst those victims of those disasters? Whyshould they be sacrificed for the benefit of

* It is only one of the causes of these natural phenomena.Sometimes, a hardship or disaster is intended as awarning to mankind or a group or individual; at othertimes it may be just a test to a person's spiritual virtuesto see his submission to the will of Allah. It might havebeen, in earlier times, a punishment to the mankindfor its unabated sins (like flood of Noah), but suchpunishments have been expressly discontinued afterthe advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

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others? To understand it clearly, we shouldremember that death on this Earth is not the endof life. We die here to live another life which wecall "Life Hereafter." Every inconvenience in thisinsignificant life will be rewarded for in the lifehereafter. In fact, the troubles in this world, likethe World itself, are not lasting; while theirrewards in the form of the Grace of Allah in thelife hereafter are everlasting. As we believe in thelife hereafter, in the presence of Allah, we appre-ciate that the troubles and disasters of this worldare not `Injustice.' Instead, they are Mercy of thegreatest magnitude.

It will not be out of place to mention herethat most of the beliefs (mentioned under thissecond root of religion) are specialities of Shi'ahIthna `Ashari sect. Other sects in Islam differfrom us in these beliefs. In the past, they gave us(together

with the Mu'tazilites) the name "al-`adliyyah" that is "Believers in the Justice ofGod." For instance, they say that human beings

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are not the actual doers of their acts. Theybelieve that their actions are done by AllahHimself. Man is only an instrument to performthe actions of Allah. But even then he isresponsible for those actions which were per-formed by Allah upon his hands. But we say thatit is gross injustice to make a man commitrobbery and then inflict punishment for thatfelony to commit which he was compelled bythe Judge himself.

Now for some things which are more or lesscommon in all the sects of Islam and which areconnected with this topic. We believe that Allahdoes not give us any command which is beyondthe limit of our power. We believe that everyinstinct and desire has been created in the manfor some reasons. These instincts or desiresshould not be crushed but harnessed for thegeneral benefit of the mankind. For instance,sexual desire has been embodied in human natureby Allah Himself. To crush that instinct will be

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a protest against the Creator. It should not be,and cannot be crushed but of course, its functionshould be regulated for the benefit of mankind.And hence the necessity of marriage.

Likewise, fear and desire are naturalinstincts

and should be ultilized for humanupliftment.

A Muslim is taught not to fearanybody or anything except ALLAH, and notto desire anything in thisworld, but to beanxious to receive the Grace of Allah.

3. NUBUWWAH - PROPHETHOOD

As I have said before, society needs rulesand laws to preserve peace and justice, that thelaw cannot be free from inequities unless it isgiven by Allah. But I have told you earlier thatAllah cannot be seen, He cannot appear Himselfbefore human beings to give them His law.Therefore, Allah appoints somebody to representHim on the earth. That Viceregent of Allah iscalled "Prophet." As a mirror has a bright side toreceive light and another side to reflect that light,so a Prophet has the highest spiritual puritywhich enables him to receive the divine messageand a human body which enables him tocommunicate that message to his fellow humanbeings. The purpose of Prophethood is two-fold:First to bring people nearer to Allah and theSecond to bring peace and happiness in the world.

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According to our belief, all the Prophetswere infallible and sinless. Suppose that there is aman who, just like ourselves commits or cancommit sins or wrongs, and then such a manclaims that he has been sent by Allah as aProphet to lead people on the right path.Naturally, the people cannot believe that whathe says is the truth, the whole truth and nothingbut the truth; because his every word is liable tobe wrong. So he cannot command unreservedrespect and undoubtable obedience from hispeople. Therefore, to carry out the mission ofAllah, it was necessary that the Prophets beinfallible and sinless.

The Prophets were given miracles as theircredentials. Miracles, according - to our belief, aresuch performances which are not impossible,but which cannot be done without apparatus,medicine or practice. But the Prophet performsthem without any practice and without anymachinery. Curing the blind persons or lepers

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is not impossible. But Jesus Christ cured themwithout any medicine, and that was his miracle.Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny)had innumerable miracles, but his greatest livingmiracle is the Qur'an.

When Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.)went to heaven in his life time and narrated thehappennings after his return, his enemies said,"How was it possible to go to heaven withbody?" But we believed from the beginning thatif an infallible Prophet says that he did go toheaven, it was not impossible. Now the recentadvent of science has proved that we were right.Where scientists are trying to go by space-shipsMuhammad (p.b.h.a.h.p.) went without anyaid from any machine and that was his miracle.

The Qur'an says that Allah sent Prophets inevery part of the world. Their basic Faith was thesame. According to common belief, one hundredtwenty-four thousand prophets were sent by

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Allah from time to time. Adam was the First ofthem and Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was theLast.

Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) brought Islamwhich is the last Divine Religion and whichcancels all previous religions. Islam is intendedfor all the world without any distinction ofcolour or origin. Islamic teachings are embodiedin Qur'an which is the Book of Allah. It wasrevealed to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) in thecourse of twenty-three years of his Prophethood.

LIFE SKETCH OF PROPHET

A brief sketch of the life of the Prophet ofIslam will not be out of place here. Muhammad(p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was born in the year 570 A.D.,at Mecca. He was the only son of `Abdullah andAminah. His grandfather,`Abd al-Muttalib son ofHashim was a Chief of Quraysh. `Abdullah,

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father of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.), died aboutfour months before his birth and he lost hismother when he was in his sixth year. The chargeof the orphan was undertaken by his grandfather,who also passed away when Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was eight years old. `Abd al-Muttalibat the time of his death, entrusted the boy to thecare of his son, Abu Talib, who was poor butvery respected person. Abu Talib and his wife,Fatimah hint Asad showered upon Muhammad(p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) more love and care than they everdid for their own children.

From his early childhood till the age offorty, Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) showed allthe noble traits of highest human character thatcommanded respect from everyone who knewhim. The Arabs conferred on him the title"as-Sddiq al-amin" (The Truthful and TrustedOne). At the age of twenty-five he married anoble lady, Khadijah, who gave birth to his onlysurviving child, Fatimah, the Lady of Paradise.

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At the age of forty he was called to the mis-sion of Prophethood by Allah. The first to accepthis call were those who were nearest to him inthe daily life. Khadijah, his wife, was the first toaccept Islam. His cousin, `Ali, son of Abu Talib,was his first male follower. Then come the namesof Zayd ibn Harith, Abu Bakr, Arqam and so on.

The propagation of Islam, at first was asecret mission. But three years after the firstrevelation, came the command:-

"And warn your nearest relations" (26:214)

Having got this command, the Prophet ordered` Ali to prepare a feast. When all the memberswere assembled and the feast began, the Prophetsaid, "I have been sent to you by Allah and I havebrought to you the good tiding for this worldand for the life hereafter. Who among you willhelp me in this great task? Whoever accepts thisresponsibility will be

my wazir (vizier), mybrother and my successor." No body came for-

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ward, only `Ali stood up and said "O! Prophet ofAllah! I will help thee and I am ready to sacrificeeverything on thy command." Three times theProphet asked them the same question and threetimes it was only `Ali who gave assurance to helphim with all his power. At last the Prophetdeclared: "O! People of Quraysh! Listen to me!Here is `Ali who is my wazir, my brother and mysuccessor. Listen to him and obey him." Thepeople left the place cutting jokes with AbuTalib, father of `Ali, telling him he should obeyhis own child. The coming years proved that itwas not a laughing thing.

The hurling of open denunciation at theancestral idols of Quraysh by the Prophet set allArabia ablaze. The resentment, at first, let themto approach his uncle and guardian, Abu Talib,to persuade him to silence his nephew. AbuTalib conveyed their message to Muhammad.Muhammad replied: "Uncle dear, even if theyplace the Sun in my right hand and the Moon in

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my left hand in order to turn me away from thework which I have been entrusted by Allah todo, I will not listen to them." Saying this heburst into tears. Abu Tglib said: "Go in peace,my son! and do what thou wilt for, by God!I will not abadon thee." This decision of AbuTalib infuriated the Quraysh. As a last attemptthey approached Muhammad himself. They toldhim: "If your ambition is to acquire wealth, wewill amass wealth for you as much as you mayever desire; and if you are aspiring for power andhonour, we are prepared to accept you as ourKing and overlord; and if you have any fancyfor beauty, you shall have the hand of the fairestmaiden in the land." Muhammad's reply wasshort and clear: "Neither I want wealth nor do Iwant power or beauty. I have been commissionedby Allah as a warner to the mankind, I amcommunicating His message to you. If youaccept it, you shall have facility in this life andthe life hereafter and should you reject it, verily,Allah will decide between you and me."

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So began the bitterest persecution ofMuslims in the first years of its birth at the handsof the Meccans. Islam was making slow butsteady progress. At the same time, the persecu-tion and the torture of the poor Muslims wasgrowing in its intensity day by day. The Prophetordered some eighty Muslims of both sexesto seek refuge in the Christian country ofAbyssinia. Ja'far, the third son of Abu Talibwas the leader of this caravan. Negus, theEthopian King of that time received them withhonour, and as the history says, after a shortperiod, he himself became converted to Islam.Africa can be proud of the fact when Islam wasbeing persecuted in the land of its origin, Africagave shelter to the poor Muslims, and wheneverany list of the Muslim Kings will be prepared,the name of Negus, the African king, willbe on the top.

After seven years of these atrocities,Quraysh decided to boycott Banu Hashim, the

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family of Muhammad, because they had per-sistently refused to disown him. Three years ofthe cruelest hardships passed and Banu Hashimsuffered such tortures which were beyond humanendurance. At last, the Quraysh themselves wereashamed of their inhuman behaviour, but stillthey did not lift the ban. Then a miracle occuredand the ban was lifted after more than threeyears.

Shortly afterwards, as a direct result ofthese sufferings both Abu Talib and Khadijahdied. Just at the time when Muhammad stoodsorely in need of the protection of his lovinguncle and the comfort of his wife, the hand ofdeath snatched them both away from him. NowQuraysh had a free hand in dealing withMuhammad and his followers. And they lost notime in deciding that Muhammad should bekilled on a certain night. Muhammad under thedivine guidance, asked `Ali to sleep in his bed tokeep Meecans unaware of his absence, and he

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left Mecca to Medina, 280 miles from Mecca.Abu Bakr accompanied him on his own accord.This epoch-making event in the history of Islammarks the beginning of the Muslim Era, called"Hijrah. "

The Meccans did not let Muhammad remainin peace even at Medina. They waged war afterwar against him. After six years of continuedanxieties, Muhammad concluded a peace treatywith Meccans on apparently humiliating terms,in order to keep peace in the land. But theQuraysh violated even that treaty within twoyears. Now seeing that there was no alternativeleft, Muhammad marched and made a bloodlessentry into Mecca, from which, eight years before,he had fled a hunted fugutive. The Meccans,remembering fully well their own dark past andshameful record, were apprehensive of him. Butthey were surprised to hear the Prophet speaking:"There is no reproof against you. May Allahforgive you, for He is Merciful and Loving; Go,

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you are free."

Three months before his death, the Prophetwent for his last pilgrimage to Mecca. In thereturn journey he ordered the caravan to halt ata place named Khumm. It was a place whereseveral routes met. It was mid-day and the Sunof Arabia was pouring its full heat upon theparched earth. A temporary platform was pre-pared for the Prophet and he delievered a longKhutbah, (lecture) at the end of which he askedthe Muslims: "Have I not more authority uponyou than you have got upon yourselves?"All of them responded by saying: "Surely OMessenger of Allah!" Then, the Prophet took thearms of `Ali, and showing him to the audience,declared:

"Whomsoever I am master, `Ali is hismaster too."

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Saying it, he took the arms of 'Ali andshowed to the audience. Then he ordered themto go and greet 'Ali as their Amir (i.e. Leaderand Guide). Less than three months after thisdeclaration the Prophet died at Medina.

The announcement at Khumm: The de-tailed account is given in, besides hundredof books, Kanz al-'ummal, the famous bookof traditions, (vo1.6, pp.390, 397 & 399) andKhasa'is (by an-Nasa'i, p.48). From these ac-counts the following words of the Prophet-should be copied here:-

"Remember! I am leaving behind amongyou two most precious things - One of them isgreater than the other - i) The Book of Allah,which is the rope of Allah from the heaven uptothe earth, and the other ii) My Descendants whoare my family-members. So look how you dealwith them, and verily, both will not be separatedfrom each other until they come to me (in

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Qiyamah) at the Kawthar. . . Verily, Allah ismy Master and I am Master of every believer."Then he took the hands of `Ali in his handsand said: "He whose Master am I, `Ali is HisMaster. . ." This tradition, jointly and sev-erally, are narrated, in every book of traditionwhich is worth its name.

There is no argument about the fact, thoughsome Muslims try to interpret it in some otherway, but the fact is undisputed. The famousScholar of Ahl-i hadith (generally known asal- Wahabiyyah) Nawwab Siddiq Hasan of Bhopal,says: "Hakim Abu Saeed says that the traditionsof "two most precious things" and "WhoseMaster am I, `Ali is his Master" is `mutawatir'i.e. narrated by so many people that no doubtcan be entertained about its authenticity, be-cause a great number of the companions havenarrated it, so much so that Muhammad ibnJarir has written these two traditions by 75(seventy-five) different chains. (Minhdj al-wusul,

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page 13).

I have left many events in the life of theProphet because most of them are commonknowledge. Here I have mentioned only thoseevents which, though commonly narrated inArabic histories, traditions and commentaries ofQur'an, are not known, for one reason oranother, to non-Arabic-speaking public.

* * * * * *

4. IMAMAH -IMAMATE

Now I want to explain our stand about the`Fourth Root of Religion'

that is "Imamate."Imamate means `Leadership.'

Here it means"Succession to the Prophet."

We believe that it is necessary for a Prophetto be infallible and sinless, so it is necessary forhis successors to be infallible and sinless. Thesame reason and proofs which are put forwardfor infallibility of prophets can be put forinfallibility of his successors. Otherwise, nobodywill believe that the interpretations of the Bookof AIlah and the directions about religion whichcome from Imam, are true interpretations andright directions. Here it should be made clearthat an Imam is not entitled to change the

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commands of Qur'an or concepts of religion.Imim is the defender of Faith. His work is topreserve it, not to change it. Islam and Qur'anas brought by Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.), arethe last Divine Religion and last Divine Book.Nothing is to be added to it, nothing is to betaken away from it, nothing is to be amended init. And it is the duty of Imam to see that thecommands of Qur'an are respected and the pathopened by the Prophet is followed.

I was telling you that an Imam, likeProphet, should be infallible. But nobody canknow anything about another person. A manmay. have an excellent character, but nobodycan be sure that he cannot commit any mistakeat any time. Only the Creator of the man knowswhether a man is infallible. And as we receivemessage of Allah through the Prophet, it is withthe words of the Prophet that we can know the

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real nature of a man. According to the Qur'anand accepted traditions of the Prophet, therewere three men, after the Prophet who weresinless. First of them was `Ali, who was declaredby the Prophet as his successor in Khumm.Other two were Hasan and Husayn, sons of `Aliand Fatimah and grandsons of the Holy Prophet.There is an ayah (verse) in Qur'an which says:

11 .. . Verily, Allah intends but to keep off

from you (every kind of) uncleanliness, O Peopleof the House! and purify you a thoroughpurification " (33:33)

Both the Sunnis and the Shi'ahs agree that` Ali, his wife Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn aredefinitely included in the title "People of the

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House (of the Prophet)." The Sunnis, however,add the names of the wives of the Prophet in it,but the Shi'ahs do not agree with it. Anyhow,according to Qur'an and the traditions of theProphet and the commentaries of Qur'an it isclear that `Ali and his two sons were infallibleand sinless.

The verse of "Purity": When I said, "Shi'ahsdo not include anyone else in the verse ofQur'an," I made an under-statement. In fact,many Sunni Scholars also have said the samething. They also do not include anyone else.

I would like to quote Mawlana Wahid al-Zaman, the famous Sunni Scholar, whose tran-slation and commentary of Qur'an as well as hisbook Anwar al-lughah (being the dictionary ofQur'an and Traditions) are among the recognizedreference books. He writes in his commentary ofQur'an about this ayah

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"Some think that it is especially for thosefamily members who had blood relation with theProphet, i.e. `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.The present translator, (i.e. himself), says thatcorrect

(sahih) and well-connected upto Prophet(Marfu)

traditions support the same view,because when the Prophet himself has declaredthat my family members are these only, then toaccept it and believe in it becomes obligatory.And one more sign of correctness of this viewis that the pronouns used before and after thisverse are those for females, while in this verseare those for males. It appears that this versehas been placed between the verses connectedwith the wives of the Prophet. Perhaps thecompanions (who compiled the Qur'an) did soaccording to their own `ijtihad' (independentjudgment)." (Tafsir al-Wahidi, on the margin ofthe translation of Qur'an, by the same author,printed at Gelani Press, Lahore, par.22, p.549,Foot-note No.7)

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Again he says in his dictionary of Qur'anand Traditions ( Anwar al-lughah, par-22, p.51): "The correct view is that in this ayah of`Purity' only these five persons are included (i.e.The Prophet, `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn),though in the usage of Arabs, the word Ahlu'l-Bayt ' is used for wives also. Some people proveby this

ayah that these five persons were sinless

and masum (infallible). But, if not `ma'sum'

then, of course, they were `mahfuz' (Protected

from committing any sin or error) surely."

I have quoted two references (though I donot agree fully with him in some of his assertions)just to show that not only the `Ithna `Asharis butthe learned men of Sunnis also confirm that,according to the rules of Arabic Grammer andaccording to the correct unbroken traditions ofthe Prophet only `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan andHusayn are included in it, besides the Prophethimself. Also it is clear that our claim that thesepersons were sinless, is shared by the Sunnis

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scholars also. It is apparent that the leastthey can say is that they were not infallible(theoratically) but were protected from sinsand errors (practically).

But infallibility is not enough. Accordingto our belief, as the Prophets were chosen byAllah to carry on His mission, so their successorsalso should be appointed by Allah.

It may be mentioned here that there aresome more conditions for Imamah, but I havementioned here two of them only i.e. Infallibilityand appointment by Allah through the Prophet,because these two conditions are the mostimportant of all.

Now I think I should throw some light onthe question of our Imams' appointment byAllah. As I have mentioned earlier Prophet madea promise to `Ali (which was in fact a commandof Allah) in the early days of Islam that he

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would be his successor, and that promise wasfulfilled in Khumm when the Prophet declaredthat all the believers were to accept `Ali as theirMaster just as they accepted the Prophet as theirMaster. `Ali was the man who was chosen by theProphet to sleep in his bed and offer himself forsacrifice when the Prophet left Mecca. He wasentrusted to return the articles of the Meccanswhich were deposited with Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.). `Ali was the man whom the Prophetdeclared twice as his brother in this world andthe life hereafter. It was `Ali, his wife and hischildren who were selected by the Prophet torepresent Islam against the tribe of Najran. It wasabout `Ali that the Prophet said: "I am the cityof knowledge and `Ali is its gate." It was thefamous saying of the Prophet that: "`Ali is fromme and I am from `Ali." It was to `Ali that theProphet said: "Thou hast the same position withme as Aaron had with Moses."

Thus it is clear that so far as `Ali is

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concerned the question of infallibility and ap-pointment from Allah are settled once and forever. Even the Sunnis do not challange theauthenticity of these traditions and events,although they might differ in interpretations.

After the death of the Prophet the Muslimssplit in two groups; Sunnis and Shi`ahs. TheShi'ahs, as mentioned above believe that `Aliwas the first Imam appointed by Allah, declaredby the Prophet. The Sunnis believe that AbuBakr, a father-in-law of the Prophet, was his firstsuccessor. They call them "Caliphs." Abu Bakrwas elected by some people at the time whenmost of the Muslims were attending the funeralof the Prophet. But there was the ancient tribalcustom of Arabs that when a man was acceptedas Chief even by some of the members of thetribe, others accepted him as such withoutgrumbling. When it was known that Abu Bakrhad been elected as Caliph, the majority of theMuslims followed him, according to the old rule.

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The second Caliph, `Umar ibn al-Khattabwas not elected but nominated by the firstCaliph. `Umar, at the time of his death appointeda committee of six persons and said that theyshould select one amongst themselves, and, thethird Caliph, Osman, thus came to power. Theirsixth Caliph, Mu'awiyah, came to power by mili-tary strength. So the Sunnis following theseprecedents, believe that a Caliph can be regardedas a legal successor of the Prophet if he is eitherelected or nominated, or selected by a committeeor if he gains power by military strength.

But we, the Shi'ahs, do not think thatthese are the right methods to determine thesuccession of Prophet. We say that these methodsmay be useful to settle the claims for a King'sthrone, but not correct for setting a man on theProphet's pulpit. According to our belief, onlyAllah, who appointed the Prophet, has the right

to appoint his successors.

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There are many traditions of the Prophetin which he has proclaimed the number and eventhe names of his successors whom we call`Imams.' There are the accepted traditions of theProphet that `Imams after me will be twelve.'Isma'ilis, and perhaps Zaydis, do not believe in it;but the Ithna `Asharis, get support in their belieffrom the Sunnis, who have these traditions intheir books of traditions called 'Sihah.' They alsorecord the tradition that: "The day of Judgmentwill not come unless these Twelve Imams comein this world."

Also there is a tradition recorded in Sunnibooks (e.g.

Kifayat al-athar and Rawdat al-ahbab of al-Muhaddith Jamal ad-Din) whichgives, the names of these Twelve Imams as fore-told by the Holy Prophet. It is narrated by Jabir

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ibn Abdallah al-Ansari, companion of the HolyProphet; and is as follows:-

When the ayah of the Qur'an was revealed.

Jabir asked the Holy Prophet: "O Messengerof Allah! We know Allah and His Prophet; butwho are those persons invested with authoritywhose obedience has been joined by Allah withthat of yourself?"

The Prophet said: "They are my Caliphsand the Imams of the Muslims after me. First ofthem is `Ali, then Hasan, then Husayn, then `Alison of Husayn, then Muhammad son of `Ali(who has been mentioned as Baqir in Torah).

". . . Obey Allah and obey the Messenger(of Allah) and those. invested with authorityamong you. . ." (Qur'an, 4:59).

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O Jabir, you will surely meet him; when you seehim, convey my

salaam (greetings) to him. Hewill be succeeded by his son Ja'far as-Sadiq (theTruthful), then Musa son of Ja'far, then `Ali sonof Musa, then Muhammad son of `Ali, then `Alison of Muhammad, then Hasan son of `Ali. Thenhis son whose name and patronym ((kunyah) willbe the same as mine. (He will be) `Hujjat Allah'(i.e. the Proof of Allah) on the earth and `Baqiy-yat Allah' (the one spared by Allah to maintainthe cause of faith) among His servants. Moham-mad ibn al-Hasan ibn `Ali. He it is on whosehand Allah will open (conquer) the world eastand west; he it is who will remain hidden fromhis followers and friends so long that the beliefin his Imamate will remain only in those heartswhich have been tested by Allah for the Faith."

Jabir said: "I asked him, `O Messenger ofAllah! Will his followers benefit from himduring his Seclusion?"'

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The Holy Prophet said: "Yes! By Him Whosent me with Prophethood! They will be guidedby his Light and benefit by his wilayah (Love:Obedience) during his seclusion just as peoplebenefit from the sun even when it is hidden inthe cloud. O Jabir! This is from the hiddensecrets of Allah and the treasured knowledge ofAllah. So keep it secret except from its people(who deserve to know)."

The Ithna `Asharis believe in those TwelveImams, and hence, the title "Ithna `ashariyyah"which means `Belonging to Twelve.'

Some people ask: Why this particularnumber `twelve'? But anyhow any number maybe objected to. Can anybody explain why JesusChrist selected twelve Apostles from among hisdesciples? Why was this number so importantthat when Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus wentto heaven, the remaining Apostles wanted tomake up their number? And most important of

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all, why that twelfth Apostle was not elected bythe majority of the Christians or by the Apostlesthemselves? Why his appointment was left in thehands of Allah and the Holy Ghost? All of thisshows that representatives of Allah were neverelected by the people, they were selected byAllah Himself. If any religious leader is electedby people; then he will work `for people' andnot for Allah.

These Twelve Imams are not creation of ourfancy. The Bible says that God had promisedAbraham:

"And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee:Behold, I have blessed him, and will make himfruitful, and will multiply , him exceedingly;twelve princes shall he beget, an) I will makehim a great nation" (Genesis, 17:20).

These Twelve Imams are the promisedPrinces who are respected and loved even by

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those who do not accept them as their Imams.

Our twelfth Imam was born in 256 (Hijrah).His life was in great danger. So he made sucharrangements that only selected persons wereallowed to meet him. He also appointed fourrepresentatives, one after another, to act onhis behalf. The last of them was `Ali InMuhammad Simmari. When he was on his death-bed, he received a letter from Imam, saying,inter alia:-

"O

`Ali

ibn

Muhammad

Simmari! . . .You are to die within six days from now:therefore, wind up your affairs and do not makeany will nominating anybody to take your placeafter you, because now the Total Seclusion hasbegun and I will not re-appear until Allah (MayHis Name be glorified) allows; and it will be onlyafter a long period when the hearts will becomehard and the earth will become full of tyranny."

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He died, as foretold, on the sixth day, andthe Imam is now secluded from all. For thereligious guidance, during this period, the Imamhas made the following arrangement:-

"In the events which happen (to you) referto the narrators of our traditions; because theyare my proof (authority) upon you, and I amthe Proof (authority) of Allah.

Also, our eleventh Imam had given thefollowing command:-

"And whoever among the religious scholars(jurists) saves his Self (from sins), protects hisreligion, opposes his desire, obeys the commandof his Master (i.e. Allah) then the masses shouldfollow him (do his taqlid)."

According to that command, we follow inreligious

matters the greatest `Alim of the time,keeping in view the other qualities also and we

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call them `Mujtahids.' At present our greatestMujtahid is

in Iraq; his name is al-Sayyid Muhsinal-Hakim al-Tabataba'i.* He lives in Najaf where` Ali, our first Imam, is buried. Najaf is the great-

est centre of our religious learning. It is a livinginstitution where the finest deliberations of high-est quality on religious matters are carried on dayin and day out. Those of us who desire to obtainthe highest knowledge of religious laws, go there.The teachings system, according to my informa-tion, is unique in the world. There a subject istaken, the teacher is on the pulpit, the studentsare sitting on the floor, the teacher explains thesentences of Qur'an pertaining to that particularsubject, in the light of commentaries and lan-guage; then the traditions of the Prophet andImams are explained in the same way; then therulings of past scholars are put before theaudience and then all the issues concerned areanalysed and explained by the teacher. No".

He expired in June, 1970. Now al-Sayyid al-Sistaniof Najaf, is the greatest living Mujtahid.

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the students explain why they agree or disagreewith the teacher on the particular issue. Thearguments are, sometimes, prolonged for daysand even weeks. At last, the issues are settled bythe teacher in the light of Qur'an and Traditions.Now they are ready to take up another subject.That institution is called `ijtihad' which literallymeans `striving;' and here it means `striving toreach to the correct ruling in religious jurispru-dence, according to the Qur'an and traditions ofthe Holy Prophet and Imams.'

Financial strength or political power isnot the basis of religious authority. How manyProphets of the Old Testament had had politicalpower? How many Apostles of the New Testa-ment had financial stability? The foundationrock of the Christ's Church, Peter Simon, was anordinary fisherman. Therefore, I think that youwill agree with me that religious leadership is notderived from wealth or political power.

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In short, according to our thinking, anImam is appointed by Allah, and it is because ofthat appointment that he gets the right to governthe Muslim ummah . But that governance is notthe basis of his Imamate. Our Sunni brethren, onthe other hand, treat that governance as the basicfactor and accordingly the right of religiousleadership is derived from the political power.

. QIYAMAH- DAY OF JUDGMENT

Now some words about the fifth root ofreligion and that is the `Day of Judgment.'It is the common belief of all Muslims that oneday Allah will bring life to every human beingand he will be judged according to his belief andactions. A man having true faith and doing rightdeeds will receive the Grace of Allah and will besent to Paradise where he will find contentmentaccording to his spiritual qualities. Persons havingthe wrong kind of belief will be punished in Hell.A man having right belief but doing wrongactions will be either forgiven by Allah and sentto Paradise straight away or punished at firstand then sent to Paradise.

It is impossible to deal with this topic herein detail, but it will be sufficient to say that allthis depends upon so many things and all those

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things depend upon the Mercy and Justice ofAllah.

BRANCHES OF RELIGION

Now allow me to give here a short list ofsome of the `Branches of Religion.' These arecalled `ibadaat or `Worship of God.' Accordingto Islam even alms-giving is an act of worship.However, the most important branches of religionare ten in number:.

First of them is `salat,' that is, the prayersfive times a day and special prayer onFridays and `id (Islamic festivals) days andsome other occasions.

Second is `sawm,' that is, fasting during

Ramadan.

Third is `hajj,' that is a special pilgrimage toMecca once in life-time.

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Fourth is 'zakat,' that is giving for thepleasure of Allah a portion of gold, silver,cattle and farm produce.

Fifth is `khums,' that is giving 20% of the

net income of the year after deductingthe lawful expenses of the year.

Sixth is jihad,' that is the holy war. This

topic requires some explaination. Islamdoes not like to exterminate wrong-doers,it wants to remove the wrong. Evil deedsare like disease. They need treatment andevery doctor wants to cure the ailmentswith medicines as far as possible. Butsometimes the ailment reaches a stagewhere no medicine can do any good;he feels that surgical operation is necessaryif the life of the patient is to be saved.Then he decides, not happily but reluc-tantly, to ampute one or more limbs of thepatient. It may cause hardest pain for the

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time being; but it is not torture, it is mercy.

Likewise, suppose that this humanity is acompact body, some of its parts become infectedwith spiritual disease and every medicine ofsympathetic persuasion and rational pleadinghas failed . And there is a danger that theirinfection is causing and inflicting hardships uponother parts, and the spiritual doctor, I mean theProphet or Imam who is guided by Allah, isconfident that now the surgical operation isessential to save other parts of mankind fromtrouble. Then, and only then, he will order aHoly-War; and then also it will be limited tothat part which is most necessary to remove.

But even if you feel that there is necessityof a surgical operation you will never entrustthis most dangerous task to an unauthorizedperson. It will be a very foolish and irresponsibleaction. You can never be satisfied that theoperation is essential unless a qualified doctor

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tells you so. Therefore, according to Ithna-` Ashari law, a war cannot be started unlessspecifically authorized by the Prophet or Imamhimself, and that also to the limits prescribed bythat Representative of Allah. After all, life is acreation of Allah and it should not be destroyedunless it has been authorized to do so by aRepresentative of Allah. Accordingly, the Holy-War is forbidden for the Shi'ah Ithna `Ashariduring the period when our Imam is hiddenfrom us. The Prophet himself never started anywar unless it was thrust upon him by theenemies. A study of the map of Arabia willshow the actual facts. As I have mentionedearlier, when the Prophet took refuge in Medina,the Meccans became infuriated because theycould not satisfy their anger against him. So theymade repeated attacks on him. The battle placesof three important wars will tell the story. Thefirst was `Badr' was fought at Badr in the secondyear of Hijrah. Badr is 30 miles from Medina and220 miles from Mecca. Is there any doubt that

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the Meccans were the aggressors? The second warnamed ` Uhud' was fought next year at Uhud.Uhud is 3 miles from Medina and 247 milesfrom Mecca. Three years after Uhud, Medina wassurrounded by Meccans and Jews for about onemonth. They had come 250 miles from Meccato attack Medina. Is there anybody who can saythat the Prophet should not have fought in self-defence? The first ayah of Qur'an permittingthe war, after fourteen years of continualoppressions, speaks for itself. Qur'an says:-

"Permission to fight is given to those uponwhom war has been thrust, because they areoppressed ... " (22:39).

Regarding those wars which were foughtafter the death of the Prophet to conquerneighbouring countries, everybody knows that

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our Imams had nothing to do with them. OurImams were the right authority to allow ordisallow those wars. But they had no politicalpower. And all those wars were fought withouttheir authorization. So, according to the Ithna-`Ashari law, all such wars were political manoeu-vres; they were not Holy-Wars or Religious Jihad.And Islam is not responsible for them.

To discourage such unauthorized wars, it islaid down that any booty obtained in such warswill not belong to the fighters. Instead, all of itwill vest in the Prophet or Imam, as his personalproperty; and he may dispose it according to hisown discretion. The Holy Prophet sometimes insuch circumstances used to return the booty toits former owners. But if it appears to the Imamthat the enemy might use that returned bootyagainst Islam, he will not return it at all and useit according to his discretion. That is why it hasbeen declared as his own property to keep hishands free.

This is our law about the Holy-War, Self-defence is permitted at any time. But to starta war is forbidden without specific authorityof the Prophet or Imams. Holy-Wars cannotbe started for political or worldly gains.

Seventh and Eighth of the branches ofreligion are (i) To propagate good worksand (ii) To desist others from bad deedsand evil doings.

Ninth and Tenth are to love the HolyProphet, his daughter Fatimah and theTwelve Imams; and to remain aloof fromtheir enemies.

THE END

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