Preface

After the atrocious tragedy that befell Ahl al-Bayt (the people of the Prophet’s household) at Karbala which claimed the life of Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali as well as most of the rest of his followers-in-arms an air of fear and intimidation gripped [Muslim] society as a whole. Any grassroots movement for change was anathematized by the high-handed regime. People kept a “low profile.” They could only watch as events unfold. People basically had no recourse for any type of corrective action when that action applied to the rulers of the day.

Many people were busy trying to make ends meet as they were placed in an economic vicious circle. Much of the (Islamic) state’s revenue was spent and squandered by a ruling hierarchy that was busy with its entertainment and leisure.

Honorable military commanders could no longer spend their precious time on duty guarding a corrupt ruling class so they preferred to go to the war-fronts for their jihad obligation and to participate in the military triumphs of the ummah. Still, the outstanding military figures were harassed and subject to the royal absolutism from which they tried to flee by going to the frontiers. Famous commanders were viciously killed by the Umayyads such as Tareq ibn Ziyad and Musa ibn Nusair.

Forward looking ‘ulema who would not bend to official diktat were placed in prisons where they were tortured and severely beaten. Some left prison either to become a refugee or an assassin’s target. A case in point is Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, Sa‘id ibn Jubair, al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan al-Rida, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Leyla, and other prominent second and third generation luminaries.

During such critical times Imam Zain al-‘Abideen – who was the senior figure in the Ahl al-Bayt inner circle – advised his partisans to work on educating and motivating the Islamic public, out of which may emerge a more confident Islamic social order. With proper Islamic information and orientation — the reasoning was — there will be hope to launch a movement for governmental change.