Summary of the commission “The Tradition and Life of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)” in International Conference “Tradition and era of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”

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Thursday, 03 November 2022

The session of the commission “The Tradition and Life of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)” was held on Thursday morning, in the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy in Pardisan, Qom.

The session of the commission “The Tradition and Life of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”, under the international conference “Tradition and Era of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”, was held on Thursday morning, November 3, 2022, in the Imam Hassan (a.s.) Hall of the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy in Pardisan, Qom.

The Board of Directors of this commission was composed of Dr. Mohammad Reza Jabbari, Sayed Qassem Razzaghi and Dr. Ne’matullah Safari Forushani.

At the beginning of this meeting, Asghar Montazer al-Qaem in presenting his article entitled “Strategies and Cultural Engineering of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) in the Face of the People of the Book”, while referring to the influence of Christians in the Abbasids government, stated, “In the era of Abbasids, Christians gained a wide influence in the government. After the Baghdad physicians failed to treat Al-Mansur Davanighi’s disease, a Christian physician was able to cure him. By coming to Baghdad, the Christians were able to infiltrate the Abbasid caliphate, and by scientific influence, they could find a special place in Baghdad and Samarra. Christians in that period raised doubts against Islam.”

“The way Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) dealt with Christians during the Abbasids time was based on principles such as answering doubts and turning the intellectual threats of the People of the Book into opportunities for the Shiites. For instance, the Abbasid caliph ordered for holding rain prayers, but it did not rain. The Christians said that they pray for rain, and with the prayer of a Christian monk it rained. This caused doubts for Muslims. Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) said, “Look what that Christian monk is holding”. People saw the monk holding a piece of bone in his hand. They took that bone from him, and his prayers were no longer answered. Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) said, “That piece of bone belonged to a prophet, which the monk had obtained from the prophet’s grave, and the reason why his prayer was answered was this piece of bone”,” he added.

“In different situations, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) proved to the People of the Book that he is the most knowledgeable, and they admitted this and even some of them converted to Islam,” Montazer al-Qaem said.

“Even though Christians had a position during the era of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.), the Imam could control them and neutralize their missionary movement. Imam’s strategy can be a model for us,” he continued.

“Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) was very firm in answering the doubts of the People of the Book in the field of fundamental matters, such as Tawhid (monotheism).

Further in the conference, Hojat al-Islam Yadollah Moqadasi presented his article entitled “Livelihood style of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”.

“There are very few sources about the financial status of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.),” he said

“The study of the lives of the Infallibles (a.s.) should be conducted in an interdisciplinary way and should not be exclusive to the field of history. Because they have the characteristic of infallibility, and their lives should be examined from the point of view of history, Rijal, and jurisprudence,” Moqadasi continued.

“Financial livelihood has two parts: production and income. Production resources in the life of the Infallible Imams (a.s.), including Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.), included traditional agriculture and animal husbandry. Agriculture was followed by Infallible Imams (a.s.) in two parts: waqf and personal property,” he added.

Referring to the gifts of the Shiites to the infallible Imams (a.s.), Moqadasi stated, “One of the sources of income of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) was the gifts and Nazr (In Islam, Nazr is a vow or commitment to carry out an act or pay an amount of money) of Shiites. These gifts and Nazrs were continuously received from Khuzestan, Qom and Yemen.”

“One of the common expenses of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) was in the cultural matters. One year, his representative took one hundred thousand dinars from the Imam to give to the Shiites during Hajj,” he mentioned.

Then, Mohammad Ali Jivan, in presenting his article entitled “Economic activities of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) to make money” said, “Among the principles of earning income according to Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) were hardworking and effort, halal income, supporting the producer, cooperation and consultation and avoiding luxury.”

“Due to the political pressure during the Abbasid era, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) tried for Shiites to be able to earn income so that they could have a comfortable life,” he continued.

In the following of the conference, Ms. Hajar Rezayat presented her article entitled “The application of Taqiyah (ostensible denial of religious belief) in the tradition of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”.

In describing Taqiyah, Ms. Rezayat stated, “Taqiyah is a jurisprudential solution derived from the Quran and the Sunnah, and historically and functionally, there have been examples of it in the pre-Islam era.”

“Shiite have always been in the minority and under pressure. During the era of Imam Javad (a.s.), Imam Hadi (a.s.) and Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.), the most pressure was put against the Shiites. The state of the society of that tiem increased the necessity of using Taqiyah,” she continued.

“One of the types of Taqiyah is the Taqiyah out of Fear, for which there is Quranic and hadith example. In the words of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) it is emphasized on Taqiyah out of Fear that Shiites should do in order to protect their lives and property, if necessary. According to Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.), Taqiyah is necessary. This Infallible Imam practiced Taqiyah in his practical life” the researcher added.

“Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) also emphasized on Concealment Taqiyah. He emphasized the preservation of Shia secrets to prevent abuse by Ghulat (exaggerators),” Rezayat stated.

“Another type of Taqiyah emphasized by Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) was the Toleration Taqiyah. He emphasized on peaceful behavior with the opposition. The presence of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) in Samarra was an example of Toleration Taqiyah,” she continued.

“In order to protect the Shiites of his era, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) used three types of Taqiyah out of Fear, Concealment Taqiyah and Toleration Taqiyah,” the researcher noted.

In the continuation of the conference, Ms. Ameneh Khaleghi Fard in presenting her article entitled, “Dressing and grooming in the biography of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)” said, “Dressing and grooming are components of the lifestyle. There are many hadiths from the Infallibles (a.s.) about the type of covering, in which some types of covering are recommended, and some types of covering are prohibited.”

“The era of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) was different from the era of other Imams (a.s.). In this era, Muslims reached relative welfare and became familiar with Western culture, which changed their culture and clothing,” she continued.

“Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) paid attention to the requirements of time and place for his cloth,” the researcher noted.

Then in the conference, Ms. Seddiqeh Ghasemi presented her article entitled “From carelessness in childhood to lack of affection in adulthood; a study of an educational narrative from Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)”.

“In a hadith, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) said, “The courage of a child at a young age causes him/her to break his relationship with his parents when he is an adult”. Topics such as courage and Uqūq al-Wālidayn (Disobedience to Parents) can be investigated in this narrative,” she said.

“A child who is aggressive in his/her childhood and annoys his parents will cut ties with parents in his/her adulthood. This issue is very important in terms of education. The importance of relationship with parents has been well considered in the tradition of AhlulBayt (a.s.),” the researcher continued.

“The central role of the family, the irreplaceable importance of childhood, the necessity of foresight in terms of education, and the processuality of the role of parents are among the points deduced from the educational hadith of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.),” Ghasemi added.

“The hadith of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) about child upbringing should lead to the creation of an indigenous view in the field of child upbringing with Islamic approach, avoiding extremes,” she mentioned.

Further, Mr. Hamid Shahdadi, in presenting his article entitled “Management of intra-family conflicts in the biography of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.); case study: Jafar bin Ali” stated, “Jafar bin Ali dreamed of being a Shiite Imamate, and he tried to take the place of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.). The management of this Infallible Imam is very outstanding in both external and intra-family attacks.”

“The management of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) led the destruction of twenty sects that were formed after the martyrdom of Imam Hadi (a.s.). Among these sects was Jafariya, whose followers believed in the Imamate of Jafar bin Ali,” he continued.

“In order to manage conflicts, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) appointed his mother as his successor. He also did not introduce his successor Imam publicly. Of course, Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) introduced Imam Mahdi (a.s.) to his special Shiites in private. Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) also explained about the signs of his successive Imam, among them were saying funeral prayers on the body of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) and informing about the Sharia payments,” the researcher noted.

It worth mentioning that the opening ceremony of the international conference “Tradition and Era of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) (Ibn Al-Reza)”, was held on Thursday morning, November 3, 2022, in the Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy in Pardisan, Qom, with the presence of ulama and scholars.

AhlulBayt (a_s_) World Assembly conference Ibn al-Reza Imam Hassan Askari (a_s_)