The Circumstances of the Times of Imam Askari (a.s)

One of the most sensitive periods of Islamic history is the times of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) which, from the view of intellectual, doctrinal and political problems as well as from the aspect of the then present sects and various trends and also from the view of history, is considered as a peculiar period of time. In this period, the deviating sects and schools of thought, one after another, emerged with the aim to mislead Muslims while the Imam (a.s) stood against the digressions like forging hadith and traditions and casting doubts about Quran, with his insightfulness and he used to explicate the real and correct faith.
Despite the Imam’s (a.s) short life, abundant books including a book of Tafseer (the commentary on holy Quran) is ascribed to him, which shows the high cognitive status of Imam (a.s).
Imam Askari (a.s), in his times, was considered as the “Marja`-e-`ilmi” (the cognitive reference) and the intellectual backing for Shias while he spent his most time of Imamah in prison whereas he used to take help from his representatives to communicate with the Shias. The practice of this vicegerent system prepared Shias for the occultation of Hazrat Mahdi (a.s).
This article, meanwhile explaining the various circumstances of the times of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) and his cognitive and religious status, explains the reason of ruthlessness of the caliphs regarding Hazrat (a.s) and his manner of guidance for Shias throughout this period.