About the Author

Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was a well-known andwidely respected figure throughout the Muslim world. His twinbooks Falsafatuna (Our Philosophy) and Iqtasaduna (OurEconomics) have been widely acclaimed as masterpieces inbridging the gap between Islamic tradition and contemporaryMuslim intellectuals. He also wrote on Al- Usul al-Mantiquiyahli-l Istiqra' (The Logical Foundations of Induction), Al-Bankal-Laribawi (Towards a Non-Usurious Islamic Bank), AI-insanal-Mu'asir wa-al Mushkilah al-Ijtima'iyah (Contemporary Manand Social Problems) and many other original works. Hispopularity was obviously unpalatable to the satanic Takriticlique in Iraq and both he and his numerous followers werecontinually harassed. He had been under intermittent housearrest since he declared his open support for the IslamicMovement in Iran and expressed the hope of bringing about asimilar change in Iraq. Many of his close followers have beenexecuted.Ayatullah al-Sadr, who was martyred in April 1980 with hissister Bint al-Ruda by the tyrant Saddam Takriti, raised thebanner of opposition to the regime in the glorious tradition ofhis predecessors going back to Imam Husayn, upon whom bepeace, and took up the struggle in the Name of Allah, theAnnihilator of Tyrants.

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful the Compassionate

Chapter 1

A Study on the Question of AI-Wilaya

By As-Shahid Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr(Translated by Dr P Haseltine)

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and prayers andpeace be upon Muhammad and his Family (Ahl al-Bayt).Some modern scholars view Shi'ism as an accidental manifestationin Islamic society, and see the Shi'a as a part of the mainchorus of the Islamic community; a result of the events whichtook place with the passing of time and of specific socialdevelopments, which in turn led to the formation of a specialsectarian attitude within this larger body, and then graduallyexpanded into a sect. Having assumed this fact, these scholarsdisagree as to the actual events and developments which led tothe growth of this manifestation and to the birth of this sect.Some assume that the supposed political activities of 'Abd Allahibn Saba' formed the basis for the formation of the Shi'a.Others, however, attribute the appearance of Shi'ism to thekhilafah of Imam Ali, prayers and peace be upon him, and tothe political and social position which was established duringthat era, according to the events which took place.

While othersassume that the appearance of the Shi'a was hidden in eventswhich occurred later than this in the historical process of Islamic society.What has encouraged many of these scholars to the assumption and the belief that Shi'ism was an accidental manifestation inIslamic society is, in my opinion, the fact that the Shi'a in theearly times only constituted a small part of the whole Islamiccommunity. This fact has given them the impression that non-Shi'ism was the original foundation of Islamic society, and thatShi'ism was an accidental and exceptional manifestation, whosecauses must lie in the development of the parties opposed to thesituation of the day.However, it is hardly logical to define principles or exceptions,or bases and deviations, according to largeness or comparativefewness of numbers, and it is erroneous to consider non-Shi'ismas the basis according to its large numbers, and to considerShi'ism as a deviant, accidental manifestation because thisdisagrees with the fundamental nature of doctrinal divisions.We have often found a particular doctrinal division within thedevelopment of a single religion founded upon the basis of somedifference in the definition of the tenets of that religion withoutthere being two equal doctrinal divisions according to numbers.Yet they may be equal according to their purity of origin andequally expressive of the religion, while differing as regards to itsbasic character. Thus it is not in any way permissible for us toconstruct our conceptions of the internal doctrinal divisionswithin Islam, of the Shi'a and others, according to numericalstrength.Similarly, it is not permissible for us to link the birth of the Shi'apresentation of Islam in the development of Islam with the birthof the word 'Shi'a' or 'Shi'ism' (al-Tashayyu') as a technical termor special name for a clearly defined group of Muslims; for thebirth of technical terms is one matter and the growth ofconventions and presentations is quite another.Even if we did not find the word 'Shi'a' in the normal languageused during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him andhis family and grant him peace, or after his death, this wouldnot mean that the Shi'a presentation of Islam and its attitudesdid not exist. It is in this spirit that we must deal with thequestion of Shi'ism (al-Tashayyu') and the Shi'a, and answer thetwo following questions:a) How did Shi'ism come into existence?b) How did the Shi'a appear?