A Study of Imām Hussein's Hadith of Reformation

This article attempts to study a hadith attributed to Imam Hussein in which he says، «I have only risen to seek reformation.» It tries to find that whether the content of hadith suggests reformation of religion or that of nation. The author has concluded that this hadith is neither authentic in its chain of transmission nor acceptable in its content. If one ignores inauthenticity of chain of transmission and accepts its content، he may either accept the last part of hadith which includes confirmation of Caliphates of Abu Bakr، Omar and Othman or reject it as a fabricated part of hadith. Overall، this hadith proposes a reformation of nation rather than reformation of religion.