نشریه امامت پژوهی
پیاپی 13-14 (بهار و تابستان 1393)

From the early days of Islam, the most important issue among Muslims is the leadership and Imamate of the Islamic nation. Some hold the divine appointment of Imam and its conveyance by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) while some others consider Imamate and people’s consultation and selection entangled and claim that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed away and introduced nobody as his successor! For the claim of immediate vicegerency by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), claimers for the appointment of Imam and its conveyance by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have relied on the traditions narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) of which the most important is a narration known as the Guardianship Tradition. In this article, we will investigate the typology of content, chain and diversity of procession of this tradition and its similar traditions. Guardianship Tradition and its similar traditions have 40 chains from the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Household (A.S.). Among the chain, 13 of them are common between the Shia and Sunni, 6 chains belong to the Sunni sources and 21 chains to the Shia sources- which some of them are narrated by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and some others by the companions of the Household (A.S.). Totally, all these traditions have nine types of content and twelve types of procession which four types of its procession is common between Shia and Sunni and eight types belong to the Shia and three independent uniform traditions.

Some of Muslim intellectuals and Orientalists hold that after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the occurrence of Saqife, for defending the legitimacy of Imam Ali’s (AS) governorship, Shias, though started to object, had no proof to substantiate the legitimacy of their Imam’s governorship. However, Shias believe that Imamate thought had been proposed at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and considered by Shias and defended in the form of debates. To criticize the Orientalists’ point of view, this research with a historical consideration has investigated and found indications regarding the basis and content of Shias debates with the opponents of Imamate thought, and it clarified that with the political deviation in determining the successor of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the divagation of the mind, most of the Shias debates has been around defending the vicegerency right of Imam Ali (AS), proposing the characteristics and traits of caliph and Imam, and its result was converting many of the opponents to the Shia denomination.

One of the famous traditions for “the originality of Imamate” is the “Ignorant Death” tradition which is narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in six topics. This tradition is narrated in the Sunni sources in four topics of “the necessity of following the Imam, eschewing disunion among Muslims, the effects of Imam Ali’s (AS) hatred in the heart of the Muslim, and the result of insistence on drinking alcoholic beverages” with authentic documents and in two topics of “Hajj abandon and Jihad avoidance” with unauthentic documents. The inclusion of this tradition on some of jurisprudential subjects such as insistence on drinking alcoholic beverages has caused doubt in its indication for the “the originality of Imamate” among some opponents. Regarding the entry occasion of these traditions and the extant indications in them, the necessity of all four topics and even the originality of some of them can be proved.

Regarding many reports about the confusion of Shias in recognizing the denotations of Imam, it is necessary to address the causal reasons behind this phenomenon in Shia history. One of these reasons is the suppressing condition dominating the Shia community and the resulting precautionary concealment. Exploring the confusion instances in the Shia community shows that how the suppressing condition created by the governors of the cruel caliphate system for controlling the Shia community caused these traditions denoting the names of the Pure Imams to be hidden as a secret among some noble Twelvers and be out of public access, and this challenged Shias in being guided towards the denotations of Imam.

Scientific and practical conflicts of the Traditionalists with the Imamates at the time of occultation had in increasing trend. Historical evidences show that with the increase of social and scientific search of the Imamates in the late third century and the early fourth century, Traditionalists (the Hanbalite) caused social disturbances against Shia. After the rising of the Buwahid and the growth of the sociopolitical activities of Shias and revealing their rites and customs, sensitiveness and conflicts increased dramatically and at the late fourth century and the early fifth centurysimultaneous with the blooming of Baghdad school- social conspiracy reached its summit. Noble Imamates and Traditionalists’ stances were different against religious disturbances. Although Imamate thinkers were active in their scientific discussions and ideas to refute and reject the basis and grounds of the Traditionalists, but not only did not they move ahead in social disturbances, but also they were trying to stop the conspiracy while the traditionalists and scholars of the Traditionalist were outriders and heralds in conflicts and instigation and stimulation of the lay people, those as Abu Barbahari, Abubakr Muhammad Ibn Abdoolah the traditionalist, Ibn Bate Hanbali, Ibn Sam’on Hanbali the traditionalist and sermonizer, and Abu Ali Ibn al-Mazhab the sermonizer and traditionalist.

The phenomenon of Nasb or anti-Shiism is a concept which is formed in the history of Muslims. Its lexical meaning has been “to establish” which has then changed into “enmity and fight”, and it has got great application in its recent meaning. This word, first, has got an idiomatic use in Shia texts, and its meaning is the enmity with Imam Ali (AS) and the Household of the Prophet (pbuh). In this research, in addition to exploring the meaning of this word in jurisprudential texts and pointing some of the anti-Shia rules, it has been tried to provide a true understanding of the concept of Nasb and anti-Shiism. It seems that the best explanation for the concept and sign of Nasb in Shia point of view has been provided precisely in the jurisprudential texts which are limited to its special meaning, i.e., expressing enmity and fight with Infallible Imam, and the use of the general meaning of Nasb which also includes the Non-Shia has been avoided.

Imam Sajjad’s (AS) course of Imamate should be considered as the beginning of the exculpation movement of the Two Scholars. This movement is the result of the caliphate issue after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and its following disagreements. The split due to this disagreement between the Shia of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and the opposite party was not disclosed as a group and social encounter until the occurrence of Ashura. After the happening of Kerbela, the speculation of exculpation was manifested in different forms and this issue gradually launched a movement, and Kufa became a center for the development of the exculpation thought. Of course, the Umayyad was also effective in this movement. Exploring the social and political conditions of the time of Imam Sajjad (AS) and the narrations attributed to him shows that Imam Sajjad (AS) was content with launching a movement out of this thought. In addition to guiding the companions in this regard, he also was considering different aspects of precautionary concealment.