Mouood Mouood English Edition
2.On the authority of Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz Balkhi, who said:
“One day in the morning, I sat on a street called “Ghanam”, and it happened that Abu Muhammad (A.S.), (the Holy Imam), was coming from his house, on the way to a public inn. I said to myself: “Consider O people! This is Allah’s proof on you; therefore, acknowledge him. ‘ When he[the Holy Imam (A.S.)] passed beside me, he gestured with his forefinger towards me to keep silent. On that night I saw him saying: ‘Surely, it is either to keep silent or be killed, therefore be awere of Allah against yourself.'”
Images of Political Struggle
Imam Hasan al-Askari (A.S.), like his respected holy forefathers (peace be upon them all), engaged in political struggle to confront oppression, terrorism, safeguard the holy Islamic message, values and principles as essential tasks of leadership and the Ummah whose task they undertook according to Allah’s wishes.
For fulfilling this great mission they exprienced torture,imprisonment and long sufferings. They bore prisons, pursuit, killings, accusations and oppression against them as mentioned in the following narrations:
1. Abu Hashim Ja’fari was imprisoned together with Abu Muhammad (A.S.). The caliph, Mu’taz imprisoned both of them with other “Talibiyyin’ [the followers of Imam Ali(A.S.)].
2. Abu Hashim Dawood bin Qasim is Quoted to have said:
“I was in the prison known as the prison of Salih bin Wasif Ahmar, together with Hassan bin Muhammad Aqiqi, Muhammad bin Ibrahim Amari, and others… It happened that both Abu Muhammad al-Hassa (A.S.), together with his brother, Ja’far were brought into prison. Thus, we started to be in the service of him (the Holy Imam). Salih bin Wasif was resonsible for the imprisonment of the Holy Imam (A.S.). In prison, with us, there was a man from the tribe of Jumhi who pretended to be a follower of Imam Ali(A.S.), who said: Abu Muhammad (A.S.) turned around and said:
“Were it not that among you is the one who is not from you, I would let you know when you would be set free. Then, he gestured to Jumhi to go out and thus he went away. Then, Abu Muhammad (A.S.) said: This man (i.e. Jumhi) is not from you, therefore, be careful of him. Because, in his clothes, there is a letter which he wrote for the caliph telling him what you say about him (the caliph). Therefore, some of the prisoners stood up and checked his clothes and found the same letter written therein.”
3. In his book “A’lam Wara” Tabarsi, an historian, mentioned on the authority of a chain of narrators:
“On the authority of Ahmad bin Muhammad, who said: “I wrote a letter to Abu Muhammad (A.S.) when the caliph, Muhtadi, started killing the supporters of (Imam Ali bin Abi-Talib(A.S.)) and said: O my Lord, praise be to Allah who kept him away from you. Indeed, I had been informed that the caliph threatened you, saying: “By Allah, I would drive them away from the surface of the earth’. Abu Muhammad(A.S.) wrote a letter saying: “That causes the caliph’s age to be shorted, therefore, start counting from today five days and on the sixth, he (i.e. the caliph) will be assassinated after being humiliated and disdained, and, thus, it took place as the Holy Imam(A.S.) prophesied.”
The caliph, Mu’taz, like Muhtadi, thought deeply about killing the Holy Imam (A.S.) and plotted a conspiracy against him. In this respect, Ibn Sharh Ashub is quoted to have said:
“The caliph, Mu’taz asked Sa’id, the chamberlain, to take Abu Muhammad(A.S.) to Kufa and behead him on the way. His (the Imam’s) letter reached us, saying: ‘Whatever you heard would be safe with you. Thus, after three days, Mu’taz was deposed and killed.”‘
4. Sheikh Mufid is, also, quoted to have said:
“Abu Muhammad (Hassan al-Askari), peace be on him, was handed over to Nahrir. He was hard on him and did harm to him. His wife said to him: “Fear Allah, you do not know who is in your house. She mentioned to him his [Imam Hasan al-Askari’s] righteousness and devotion (to Allah) and said: I fear for you as a result of him.”
5. Sheikh Mufid, on the authority of Ismael Alawi, said:
“Abu Muhammad (Hassan al-Askari(A.S.)), was detained by Ali bin Awtash. The latter was violent in his hostility to the holy family of Muhammad, (S.A.W.) and severe on the family of Abu-Talib (A.S.). He was told to treat him (badly) and he did so. Yet, [Imam Hassa al-Askari(A.S.)] was only with him for a day and he bagan to treat him with humility. He did not raise his eyes to him out of respect and honour. He would take leave from him and had become the most perceptive of men in repect to him and the best of them in his words about him.
Imam Hasan al-Askari’s(A.S.) Divine Knowledge:
The Holy Imam’s main task was to safeguard the Message of Islam, to defend its originality, to call people towards it and to convey its principles and values.
During the reign of Imam al-Askari(A.S.), the school of Ahlul-Bayt (A.S..) was filled with knowledge, calling to Islam and defending it and spreading its ideas, the chief element of this act was done through the academic way.
Indeed, the Holy Imam (A.S.) had students, companions and narrators, some of whom had continued their task since the reign of his father and grandfather, while others joined in during the period of his divine leadership. All these students and narrators had studied under the Holy Imam(A.S.) and quoted him in narrating Islamic sciences and culture.
Sheikh Tusi mentioned the names of the narrators of Imam al-Askari (A.S.). Their number was about 99 narrators on different levels of knowledge and culture.
Indeed, the religious scholars who either narrated from Imam al’Askari (A.S.), or who studied under his school, or who were educated in the school of the Holy Imam(A.S.) and his forefathers, participated in developing the scholarly offering in the fields of jurisprudence, interpretation, narration, faith, literature, geography, and other sciences.
All these evidences indicated the greatness of this school and also refer to the scholarly status of the Holy Imam(A.S.) and his high rank among people.
Holy Imams’ Martyrdom
Imam al-Askari (A.S.) lived during the times of the Abbasid caliphs, Mu’taz, Muhtadi and Mu’tamid. The Holy Imam (A.S.) suffered more afflictions, confinement, terrorism and pursuit by the three above mentioned brutal and cruel caliphs and was, also, exposed to imprisonment at different times before them.
The last caliph, whom the Holy Imam (A.S..) lived with, Mu’tamid, was dissoulte, disposed to entertainment and pleasures, singing, and committing the forbidden. All these caused people to hate him,
The Holy Imam (A.S.) suffered different kinds of troubles and torments in the hands of the caliph, Mu’tamid, who surrounded him with intensive security forces to keep an eye on him and pursue those who wanted to contact him.
The reason that caused the Abbasids to be more envious against the high position of the Holy Imam (A.S.), among the Ummah, was their being afraid of his son, the Awaited Imam Mahdi(A.S.). They knew that Imam would be the son of Imam Askari(A.S.) whom he referred to in one of his letters:
“They thought that they could kill me in order to cut off my offspring, but Allah denied their sayings and praise be to Allah.”
The anger of the caliph, Mu’tamid, increased more when he saw that the whole ummah glorified, and showed great respect and superiority to the Holy Imam (A.S.); and the Shias more thant the Abbasids. On the other side, the caliph, Mu’tamid was greatly hated by the whole ummah. Therefore, he decided to annihilate the Holy Imam (a.s.) and assassinate him.
