The Jobs and Occupations of Infallible Imam's Companions and Hadith Narrators to the End of Minor Occultation

Infallible Imams’ recommendation on occupation and prohibition of idleness and unemployment is one of the important and influential points in Imamiyyah Shi’as life during Imams’ presence. Shi’as were so eager to have an occupation and earn Halal (permitted) sustenance that some of them were known by their occupation. Occupation is a necessity of man’s life and Shi’as are no exception. Conducting a sufficient induction and a comprehensive review, the present paper seeks to find out the occupations of Infallible Imams’ companions, economic atmosphere of Imams’ period and Shi’as’ economic status in that period, though it is difficult to find out the occupations of all Imams’ companions due to lack of resources. According to the induction, Imams’ companions and friends had various occupations, that is, they were active in economic domain. On the other hand, they conveyed Infallible Imams’ sciences and knowledge along with their common jobs, some of them had memorized thousands of hadiths and some others had reached the stage of independent reasoning and jurisprudence.