2. Continuation of Jihād by Knowledge
Duringthe imamateofthefifthImam,asaresultofthe injusticeofthe
Umayyads, revolts and wars broke out in some parts of the Islamic
world every day. Moreover, there weredisputes within the Umayyad
familyitself whichkept the governmentoccupied and,to acertain ex-
tent,theAhlu‘l-BaytoftheProphetwereleftalone.Fromtheotherside,
thetragedyofKarbalaandthe oppressionsufferedbytheAhlu‘l-Bayt,
ofwhichthefourthImamwasthemostnoteworthyembodiment,hadat-
tracted many Muslims to the Imams.
Thesefactorscombinedtomakeitpossibleforpeopleandespecially
theShi’astogo ingreatnumberstoMedinaandtocomeintothepres-
enceofthefifthImam.PossibilitiesfordisseminatingtruthaboutIslam
and the sciences of the Ahlu ‘l-Bayt, which had never existed for the
Imamsbefore him,werepresentedtothe fifthImam. Theproofof this
factistheinnumerabletraditionsrecountedfromthefifthImamandthe
largenumberofillustriousmenofscienceandShi’ascholars whowere
trainedby himin differentIslamic sciences. These namesare listed in
books of biographies of famous men in Islam.
‘Abdullāhbin‘Atā’al-Makkitestifiesthat,“Ihaveneverseenstudents
whoaremucholderthantheirteacherinageasIhaveseenintheaudi-
ence of Imam Muhammad bin ‘Ali. Hakam bin ‘Utayba, with all his
reputation andprestige, used to sitathis pulpit like achild sitting in
front of his tutor.”
‘Abdullāh, son of the second caliph ‘Umar, was a highly respected
scholar for the early Sunni Muslims. During the days of Imam
Muhammadal-Bāqir(a.s.),someone asked‘Abdullāhaquestion which
hewasunabletoanswer. “Askthatyoungman,”said‘Abdullāhpoint-
ingtowardstheImam,“andalsonarratetomehisanswertoyourques-
tion.”Whenthepersoncamebackto‘Abdullāhbin‘Umarwiththe an-
swer,thelattersaid,“Theybelongtoafamilywhoseknowledgecomes
from God.”