3. Jihād by Knowledge
The fourth Imam, upon returning to Medina, retired from public life
completelyandspenthistimeinworshipandineducatinghisloyalfol-
lowers.HewasincontactwiththeeliteamongtheShi‘itessuchasAbu
HamzahThumāli, Abu KhālidKābuli andthe like. Theelite dissemin-
atedamongtheShi’ahthereligioussciencestheylearnedfromtheImam.
The number of such students of Imam reached to 170. In this way
Shi’ismspreadconsiderablyandshoweditseffects duringtheimamate
of the fifth Imam.
The highstatus of knowledgeandpietyof thecompanionsof Imam
Zaynu’l-‘ĀbidīncanbeseenfromoneexampleofSa‘īdbinJubayr.Sa‘īd
was arrested by Hajjāj bin Yusuf ath-Thaqafi, the governor of the
UmayyadsinIraqandabitterenemyofImam‘AliandtheShi‘as.When
Sa‘īdwasbroughttoHajjāj, aninterestingconversationtookplace and
we present part of it below:
Hajjājj:“Whatisyour beliefaboutAbuBakrand‘Umar—aretheyin
Paradise or Hell?” (Hajjājj was looking for an excuse to kill Sa‘īd.)
Sa‘īd:“IfandwhenIgotoParadiseandseethepeopleoverthere,then
Iwill be ableto saywho is there;and ifIgo to Hell, onlythenI will
know who is over there.”
Hajjājj: “What is your belief about the caliphs?”
Sa‘īd: “I am not responsible for them.”
Hajjājj: “Whom do you like the most among the caliphs?”
Sa‘īd: “The one with whom God is most pleased.”
Hajjājj: “With whom is God most pleased?”
Sa‘īd: “God knows best.”
...
Hajjājj: “How should I kill you.”
Sa‘īd:“Killmeinwhateverwayyoulike,because,byGod,youwillbe
treated in the same way on the day of judgment.”
HajjājjfinallyorderedtheexecutionertokillSa‘īd.MayAllahblesshis
soul and elevate his ranks among the martyrs.
AmongtheworksofthefourthImamisabookcalledas-Sahīfahas-Sa-
jjādiyah.It consists of fifty-sevenprayers concerningthe mostsublime
Divinesciencesandisknownas“ThePsalmoftheAhlulBayt.”Another
famousworkoftheImamisRisālatu‘l-Huqūq(theCharterofRights)on