فصلنامه تاریخ اسلام
پیاپی 58 (تابستان 1393)

The Islamic way of life is based on the lifestyles of the infallibles. Following and adhering to this way of life is filled with challenges and problems in this era. Identifying and solving these problems is of utmost importance so that the path to this lifestyle can be easily followed. A study of historical and religious analyses shows that some of the biggest challenges facing us today are: jurisprudential problems, cultural difference in non-Muslim lands, technological backwardness in innovation and discoveries, differences in the abilities of general Muslims and their infallible leaders, differences in the status of general Muslims and their infallible leaders, differences in the abilities of Muslims amongst themselves with regards to their responsibilities, and absence of proof with regards to some of the things and actions that are accepted as part of the lifestyle. Current writing have termed these new discussions as pooya, which means paying attention to the current challenges facing us and going back to the fundamentals to find a solution for them.

Gatherings and commemorations are the result of teachings, values, historical influences, and other aspects of a community. One of the things that make the study of this area important is the infiltration of non-Islamic values and rituals. There is a chance that some of the rituals have absolutely no place in our gatherings, because we lack any evidence from the infallibles. In other cases, some people use weak narrations and evidence to try and infiltrate our rituals with things that the infallibles have not asked us to do. This writing takes this into consideration, and also highlights the fact that Islamic gatherings and rituals are the most obvious ways for Muslims to feel connected to their religion and belief. With this in mind, we will be discussing the actions and lifestyle of Imam Ali in the month of Ramadhan. We have divided this into three parts: his personal life, his social life, and his political life. His personal life shows us a focus on health and cleanliness, sincerity and pure intention in actions, moderation and goal-setting in his life. His social life teaches us methods of interaction with the public, propagation and social leadership and a focus on masajid as the focal point of society. His social life shows that he gave importance to incorporate Islamic values in the society, teaching Islamic values through beliefs and actions, as well as defending Islamic rituals from infiltration of foreign influences. He also defended Islamic political thought from influences of other political philosophies.

Commemoration is a natural part of the human lifestyle; an aspect that the infallibles have also acknowledged. Studying the lives of the infallibles can teach us the methods through which they commemorated events in their lives, and also how they expressed their sorrow and grief. This article has divided the rituals of commemoration in the lives of the infallibles into two parts: personal and social. After an analysis of the texts, we have reached the conclusion that the infallibles have taught us methods of commemoration that are accepted within an Islamic lifestyle. Studying their traditions can show us what methods of commemoration that Allah does not like. From a personal perspective, we see that the infallibles used methods such as crying, avoiding beautification, wearing black clothes, not wearing the ‘aba (cloak), and avoiding business transactions. From a social perspective, the infallibles used to inform the family of the deceased and attend his funeral, consoling those who are in mourning, showing grief when a person of good standing in the society died, acknowledging the efforts and contributions of the deceased to society, holding commemoration ceremonies for the deceased in a public and private manner, as well as reciting eulogies.

This writing uses Shia sources that are available to us regarding the character and lifestyle of the Imams, and tries to provide methods with which we can apply them to the current Shia lifestyle. We see that the Imams have used six methods to explain what they expect from their followers: a positive outlook on life, an explanation of the lifestyle of the Prophets and Imams, staying away from laziness and a passive approach to life, and correcting the misinterpretation of zuhd in the society. This lifestyle needs to be applied in our current era, and we have some examples of people who were successfully able to follow this lifestyle.

Butriyyah is a sub-sect of the Zaydiyyah sect of Islam, although according to some reports this sect existed in Kufa before the movement of Zayd, and they were only accepted as a sub-sect after they accepted the leadership of Zayd ibn Ali. This article accepts them as a sub-sect of Zaydiyyah, and analyzes the philosophical and cultural impacts that it had on Islam in the short time that it existed. Historical evidence suggests that Imams Baqir and Sadiq had two distinct methods of dealing with the followers of this sub-sect. The direct approach was to use caution when interacting with them, which led to the unity of the Shia faith and followers in society. They focused on the shared beliefs, and tried to bring them closer to the true Shia faith. The indirect approach that was applied led to the protection of the lives and beliefs of the Ithna ‘Ashari faith, and also exposed the Butris to the beliefs and jurisprudence of the Shia Ithna ‘Asharis.

Interaction of Shias with non-Shias is something that has become very important especially in our time. It requires a lot of research and critical thinking in order for us to understand what is required from us. The best way to find out our responsibilities and duties is to analyze the life of the Imams in order to understand how they dealt with this issue. An analysis of the historical and religious text available to us shows that the interactions of the Imams were based on certain fundamentals, which we try to analyze in this article. We have divided the non-Shias into three categories: the general non-Shia Muslim population, non-Shia rulers, and non-Shia scholars. For the first category, the Holy Household showed their complete etiquette and respect to the people, and empathized with them in their happiness and sorrow. They worked with them side-by-side and tried to solve their problems. The Holy Household also maintained healthy social relationships with them. For the second category, the Imams refused to recognize the leadership and rule of the non-Shia rulers, but at the same time cooperated on issues of great social importance to Muslims, and attempted to fight the infiltration of non-Islamic values. With the third category, the Holy Household held scholars in utmost respect, and entertained debates and scholarly discussions with them.

‘People of the Book’ is a term used to refer to followers of certain heavenly beliefs that either live outside Muslim lands or live in Muslim lands under certain conditions that they choose to accept. By analyzing the social, political, and economic interactions of Muslims at the time of the Prophet and Imams, we have tried to come up with certain fundamentals that must govern our interactions with them in this era. This article first briefly defines and explains the concept of the People of the Book and then analyzes the fundamentals given to us by the infallibles. These can be divided into four broad categories: pivotal piety, good character of individuals, an attempt to maintain peaceful relations, and not trying to force anyone to accept the religion of Islam along with the consequences of infringing on their rights. The article reaches the conclusion that the interactions of the Prophet and the Imams were not like what the enemies try to portray, rather they were based on intellectual and social principles.

One of the biggest challenges that the Imams faced was the rise of false claimants to the Islamic leadership, who took advantage of the emotions of the people and the right political circumstances in order to pursue their own selfish goals. The Imams had certain ways to deal with these individuals who sometimes claimed to be Imams, or Prophets, or a direct connection with God and revelation. We can state some of the most popular of these claimants, and the methods that they used. They used to lie about things that the Prophets and Imams before them stated, by altering traditions and other times coming up with traditions that never existed before. They used to betray the trust that the infallibles placed in them. This article analyzes the methods with which the Imams dealt with these people. The Imams used two distinct corrective and punitive. The punitive measures included inviting them to come back to the right path, public announcement of the lie, informing the people about the ill character of the claimant, and announcing the claimant to be disbeliever. The corrective measures included teaching them the fundamentals of Islam, as well as the importance of the Prophet and the Imams. They also advised the individual to work on his spirituality, and providing examples to do so. The article ends with certain suggestions on how to make these lessons applicable on our own lives.

The birth of children and the methods with which to approach this issue is an aspect of the Islamic lifestyle that due to its importance cannot be ignored. We can analyze the lives of the Imams in order to come up with practical advice that can be implemented by Shias in our time and in this era. This article analyzes the traditions that are available to use to study the birth of the Imams and the interaction of the Imams with women who were pregnant with the next Imam to come up with this advice, while keeping in mind that there are certain things that are specific to the infallibles and cannot be replicated by us. We see the Imams were always present at the place of birth, taking the newborn in their arms right after his birth, choosing a midwife for the mother, preventing any distressing news from reaching the mother, and reciting spiritual messages to the newborn. This article shows us new aspects that can be useful to married couples and to families that are expecting a newborn, in addition to providing new material to the gynecological and psychological spheres.