Expanding the Shi‘ite Organizations Throughout the World

That these noble men were alienated for a long time is really true; far from Medina and far from families and also far from their familiar environment. Besides this, there is another point about these three Imams (P.B.U.T.)–from Imam Jawād up to Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.T.)–and that is that as we get closer to the end of the era of Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.H.), this alienation increases. The extent of influence and broadness of the circle of Shi‘ites during the time of these three Imams (P.B.U.T.) may have been ten times more than that of Imam Ṣādiq and Imam Bāqir (P.B.U.T.); and this is strange. Perhaps the reason why they put them under such pressure and restriction was for this reason. After Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) moved toward Iran and Khurāsān, one of the things that happened was this very incident. Perhaps this incident had even existed in the calculation of the eighth Imam (P.B.U.H.). Before that the Shi‘ites were sporadic, everywhere but without links to one another, hopeless, without a vision of the future and without any hope. The ruling domination of the caliphs was present everywhere, too; and its inner core was Hārūn with his Pharaonic power. When the Imam (P.B.U.H.) was heading toward Khurāsān and crossing this route, he appeared as a personality before the eyes of the people who was full of knowledge, greatness, inspiring, honesty, and radiance. People had never seen a person like him. Before that, how many of the Shi‘ites had been able to move from Khurāsān and go to Medina to see Imam Ṣādiq (P.B.U.H.)? But everywhere along this long route, people were able to see the Imam (P.B.U.H.) in person. How strange it was; it was as if they were looking at the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). It was that awe and spiritual greatness, that dignity, that morality, that faith, that brightness, and that extensive knowledge [of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) in him] that whatever you asked and whatever you wanted to know he had [the answer] with him; something that people had never seen–it raised a tumult.
The Imam (P.B.U.H.) arrived in Khurāsān and Merv. Merv was the capital, which is situated in modern Turkmenistan. A couple of years later the Imam (P.B.U.H.) was martyred and people were bereaved. Both the arrival of the Imam (P.B.U.H.)–which was a disclosure of the things that people had never seen or heard of before–and the martyrdom of that noble man–that created a heart-rending bereavement–in fact put all the places of these regions at the disposal of the Shi‘ites; not that everybody became a Shi‘ite, but all became the friends of the household of the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.). Everywhere in these places, the Shi‘ites ready to work. You see the “Ash‘arites” suddenly appeared in Qum. Why did they come? Yet, the Ash‘arites are Arabs. They set out to come Qum and began to propagate Islamic traditions and thought there and made it their base. In the city of Rey, also, people like Kulaynī appeared. Initially, someone like Kulaynī would have not emerged in a city; the city must be of a Shi‘ite atmosphere. It must have had people who were believers and be able to nurture a young person with these qualities who later became a person like Kulaynī. You see Sheikh Ṣadūq (May Allah be pleased with him) who went to Hirāt and Khurāsān and other places and compiled narrations for the Shi‘ites; this is very important. What were Shi‘ite narrators doing in Khurāsān? What were Shi‘ite narrators doing in Samarqand? Who is in Samarqand? Sheikh ‘Ayāshī Samarqandī. ‘Ayāshī Samarqandī was in the same city of Samarqand where it has been said:
«في دارِهِ الّتي كانَت مرتعا لِلشيعةِ و أهلَ العِلم»
[His home was the place where the Shi‘ites and scholars gathered.] This is [recorded] in the statements of Sheikh Kashshī. Sheikh Kashshī himself was from Samarqand. Therefore Imam Riḍā’s (P.B.U.H.) movement and then, the wrongfully martyrdom of this noble figure did something that the setting fell into the hands of the Imams (P.B.U.T.), who started to make benefit from. Correspondences and visitations did not take place in a normal way. All were going on under a veil of secrecy; however, if it was done overtly, they would have been arrested and their arms and legs cut off. For example, given the restrictions that Mutawakkil showed and his prevention of people from going to Karbalā, could he have allowed them to easily bring up the people’s problems to the Imam (P.B.U.H.), then let them take the answers back to the people, to collect funds and bring them to the Imam (P.B.U.H.), then get a receipt and give it back to the people? These represent massive propaganda and didactic network of these three great Imams (P.B.U.T.).
After Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.) until the time of the martyrdom of Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.H.) such incident as this had happened. Imam Hādī and Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.T.) were able to organize all these relations throughout the whole Muslim world in the very town of Sāmirrā that was in reality a base–not a big town as such, it was a newly created capital which «سُرّ مَن رَأى» [lit. pleases whoever sees it, i.e. Sāmirrā]. Dignitaries, elites, and the state officials were gathered in that town and it was filled with enough ordinary people who were seeking ways to cover their daily needs. When we look at the dimensions of the lives of the Imams (P.B.U.T.) we understand what they were doing. Therefore, they were not only answering questions about prayer and fasting or ritual cleanness or impurity. They would be put in the position of the “Imam”–with its own Islamic meaning–and speak to the people. In my opinion this dimension is considerable, together with these [the above mentioned] dimensions. You have seen that they were bringing Imam Hādī (P.B.U.H.) from Medina to Sāmirrā and he was martyred–in his youthful years–at the age of forty-two; or Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.H.) who was martyred at the age of twenty-eight. These are all signs of the great movement of the Imams (P.B.U.T.) and the Shi‘ites and the companions of these noble men throughout history. Although the caliphs’ system, was a police system that was aggressive; yet the Imams (P.B.U.T.) made such outstanding achievements. What I mean is, alongside alienation [living in exile], this dignity and greatness should also be noticed.
2003/10/05
At no period of time were Shi‘ite relations and the organizational expansion of the Shi‘ites throughout the Muslim world Islamic world like the eras of Imam Jawād, Imam Hādī, and Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.T.). The presence of Lawyers and representatives and these stories that are narrated from Imam Hādī and ‘Askarī (P.B.U.T.)–as, for instance, someone brought money to the Imam (P.B.U.H.) and the Imam (P.B.U.H.) designated what should be done with it–indicates this meaning. That is, in spite of the condemnation of these two noble men [Imam Hādī and Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.T.)] in Sāmirrā as well as–somehow–of Imam Jawād and Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.T.), the relationship with the people grew as well. This relationship also existed before Imam Riḍā (P.B.U.H.). However, the coming of the Imam to Khurāsān had a great impact on this matter.
2005/9/08
Throughout these two hundred and fifty years of Imamate–that is, from the day the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) passed away until the demise of Imam ‘Askarī (P.B.U.H.)–our Imams (P.B.U.T.) suffered a lot; they were killed, they were oppressed and it behooves us to cry for them; their innocence has drawn hearts and emotions toward them; however, these innocent ones were able to overcome; they overcame both at certain length of time as well as collectively and over time.
2005/21/08