Conflict among the Imams

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7 years 7 months ago #357 by Abu Yusuf
salaam `alaykum,

I have some thoughts of my own on this but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it. When we look at the history of the Imamate particularly in post-Hadawi era Yemen, we find that while among those who have held the Imamate there were individuals of great learning and piety, this has not always apparently been the case. In fact, we see often in its history a great deal of conflict, with multiple candidates fighting one another, even one current Imam fighting against a future one, or things like one imprisoning the other. A number of them seem to have ruled more like European monarchs, and with some moral corruption was known, even in one case of being known as a drinker who had dancing girls.

How do you then reconcile this with the vision of an Imamate that is just, commanding to the good and forbidding evil, when the results have often been just as bad as other dynasties in history?

Also, what today apart from lineage can we say that would make a Hasanid or Husaynid any more privy to religious knowledge than anyone else? That is, often we will find the ijma` of the Ahl al-Bayt in the sense of the line(s) of historical Imams over the centuries. But with most of these, say past the first few hundred years of Islamic history, their source of knowledge would have been the same as any other scholar, i.e. through teachers and reading books. How then is their ijma` or even opinions on things any more valid than say a regular scholar regardless of his descent?

Again, I have some thoughts on how this all might be reconciled, but I would like to hear your say on the matter.

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7 years 7 months ago #360 by Imam Rassi Society
wa alaykum as salaam.

Thank you for your question! As for the behaviour of some imams, it cannot be denied that some may have taken advantage of the trust that Allah has placed on them, However, one of the other qualities that is necessary for the imam is justice. That is to say that the imam must not be guilty of any moral blemish on their character. Any imam that outwardly exhibited open displays of disobedience are therefore disqualified as imam. Another necessary quality of the imam is zuhd, or indifference towards the life of this world. The descriptions that you gave does not fit anyone who has achieved zuhd and the recognition of such. This would apply to the squandering of the people's wealth and such.

As for the warring of some candidates for the imamate, this can equally be demonstrated through history; however, precedence is given to the most qualified. If someone is more qualified in the realms of knowledge, warfare, etc, that person is to be recognised as the imam. If an Alawi/Fatimi rebels against an existing imam who was recognised as such and has not violated any of the preconditions of the imam, such rebel is to be fought even if he sees himself as more qualified. This is because the former was already recognised as the imam.

As for the knowledge that would make an imam more qualified, it must be understood that the knowledge refers to the ability to execute independent judgement as well as draw upon the traditions of their forefathers. Some 12ers for example jibe the Zaydis by saying that the Zaydi criteria of Imamate would apply to people such as Ayatollah Khomeini since he was a Fatimi sayyid who was an alim. However, we reply by saying that since the Zaydis do not see the 12er doctrine as accurately representing the madhhab of the Ahl al-Bayt; Khomeini, the Fatimiyya imams/caliphs, the Sharifs of Jordan, etc do not qualify as candidates for the Zaydi imamate. Therefore, their knowledge is not like other scholars. Many of our imams, such as Imam Abdullah bin Hamza (as) have been able to trace their doctrine back to the Alawi line through unbroken chains of narrators. It is not only the lineage of our ulema that made them the lamps of guidance but also their ability to trace their doctrine back to the Prophet or Amir al-Mumineen--either through ancestor to ancestor or otherwise. Therefore, their source of knowledge is unlike any other source. The many proofs from the Qur'an and ahadith testifying to the truthfulness of the Ahl al-Bayt as well as the obligation to follow them are sufficient.

And Allah knows best!

IRS

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