Message of Thaqalayn
Volume:12 Issue: 4, Winter 2012

In the previous parts, we discussed the various names and attributes used for God in the Qur’an which refer directly to His mercy. Out of His mercy, which contains various characteristics, God created the world and in particular human beings. We also studied the role of God’s mercy in providing arrangements for our survival and convenience on Earth as well as its role in guiding mankind. In this part, we will continue studying the role of God’s mercy in guiding mankind which includes sending books of guidance. God’s mercy also provides humankind with different kinds of support in their spiritual life, such as protection from Satan, misguidance, and from the tempting soul.

The prophets’ aims in spreading the message were to teach monotheism, ethics, and religious law. Since ethics is a means for achieving monotheism, Prophet Muhammad placed significant emphasis on morality and character building. This paper studies the meaning of morality and the various facets of the Prophet’s socio-political life from a moral perspective. To understand the moral nature of this governance, this series offers a description of the method of forming an Islamic nation and achieving power, form, structure, as well as the limits of power, the fundamental rights of citizens, the control of the public, and enforcement of the law. We will also study how the Prophet brought ethical features to the initial building blocks of the Islamic community as well as the ethical structure of political power. He appointed ethics as the basis of social solidarity and as the boundaries and responsibilities of a leader and its people. Moreover, we will observe how the Prophet's economic, military, judicial, political, cultural, educational, and social management were founded on ethics.

Part I of this series offered a biography of Imam Sajjad (a), a brief history of the events after ‘Ashura, and his endeavours in reviving the Muslim community through teaching Islamic principles, emphasizing on the concept of Imamate, resisting moral corruption, and caring for the needy. In this part, Imam Sajjad’s devotional and political activities are examined in terms of his efforts to enjoin good and forbid evil, divulge the Umayyad’s crimes, and resist against oppressive rulers to bring about social and cultural changes. His interactions with rulers such as Yazid, Mu’awiyah II, and Marwan ibn Hakam as well as the notable uprisings that occurred during that period have been studied. The social disorder and intense fear instilled in the people by the Umayyads prevented the Imam from revolting. His accomplishments of political change were instead achieved through social change.

Sheikh Mufid, a highly distinguished theologian and jurist, was the founder of developing the tradition in the fields of theology (kalam) and legal studies (fiqh). His role included establishing an independent identity of the school of Ahlul Bayt, created a model for the development of Shi‘i fiqh, and formulated a method in theology and legal studies based on logical coherence between reason and revelation. This paper offers an explanation of Sheikh Mufid’s efforts to revive the principles of fiqh and kalam, a brief history of the political situation during his time, and his status with prominent scholars and the Ahlul Bayt.

The science of jurisprudence dates back to the earliest Islamic era. It deals with an array of problems confronting society based on Islamic principles, morals, and practical laws. These precepts are manifested in the Qur’an and tradition as these are the main sources in which legal rulings derive from, and these rules are firmly abided by without exercising one’s own opinion. In this article, the stages of the development of jurisprudence will be clarified, along with revealing its prominent authors, major collections of narrations, and the notions that drove scholars to enhance jurisprudential progress.

Lady Umm Salamah was the highest-ranking wife of the Prophet after Lady Khadijah. Her two migrations – one to Medina and the other to Abyssinia (Habasha) – alongside her presence in many wars and her defence of the household of the Prophet resulted in her elevated status. She was so trustworthy that at the time of leaving Mecca to go to Iraq, Imam Husayn left behind some deposits with her which were be handed to Imam Sajjad (a). Furthermore, 378 narrations have been reported from her through the Sunni sect, the most important being the Hadith of the Cloak (hadith al-kis
’). This paper offers a biography of Umm Salamah along with the attributes that distinguish her from the rest of the Prophet’s wives, namely her role in Fatima al-Zahra’s upbringing, her political activism, her accounts of the Prophet’s narrations, and her unwavering defence of Imam Ali’s personality and leadership.

In the previous parts of this series, the importance of Imamate in Shi‘i Islam was discussed. In doing so, narrations of the Prophet regarding the necessity of simultaneously holding on to the Qur’an and the Ahlul Bayt (a) were presented. Using mainly Sunni sources, both the meaning and authority of Ahlul Bayt were studied. In this part, we will examine one of the characteristics of divinely appointed leaders including both prophets and Imams, that is, infallibility. With respect to the Prophets, both Shi‘a and Sunni scholars agree on the necessity of infallibility with respect to the delivery of the message, but there are differences of opinions with respect to their personal life and the period before the prophethood. The Shi‘a believe in the Prophets’ and Imams’ infallibility during and before their mission both in their public and private lives