The Example of the People's Calf-Worship in the Time of Imam Hasan, Peace Be Upon Him

When we look at human lives, truly there are not few great people; people who have become legends for their nations. Perhaps because of this legendary status, exaggeration has occurred about some of them, and at times they have gone beyond legend and become myth. Much has been said and many books have been written about such legendary myths.

This time the discussion is about a personality who stands so high in existence that praise cannot reach the essence and ultimate limit of his description - Ziyarat al-Jami'a al-Kabira - and God has created no one and nothing in this world with whom that towering personality can be compared - Ma'ani al-Akhbar. Truly, how can one reach the limit of describing him, or compare him with any ordinary human being, when he is al-Mujtaba?

God chose him and selected him for His revelation, and made his heart the vessel of His will. It is perfectly clear that any rational person who looks at him with these merits will have his intellect judge nothing except humility and obedience toward him, because his will and intent are the will of God. Therefore, obedience to him is obedience to God, and his pleasure is the pleasure of God.

Can this great personality, whose single station could not be described even if all the rational people gathered together - the sermon of Imam al-Rida in Marw - be subjected to criticism? Can one ask why he did not take up the sword? Why did he make peace? Why and why and why?

Certainly, whatever question is asked about him, one must not forget that God sent him for the guidance of His creatures. Therefore, we must conform ourselves to him, not him to us. If this point is kept in mind, the direction of these questions changes. Then, through these questions, we seek guidance in his conduct, not fault-finding and criticism. Of course, the objections of opponents should not be left unanswered.

The events that occurred in early Islam and during the life of Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, are very important and significant, but only a very small corner of them will be mentioned here so that perhaps, in its light, we may see the path of guidance more clearly.

One of the most important events was peace with someone who was cursed on the tongue of the Prophet of God. This peace has remained a subject of question until today, and analysts have offered many analyses about it: What was the cause of the peace? Was this peace truly an admission of defeat, or was it itself the imposition of defeat upon the enemy? Although the terms of the peace treaty show that Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, entered the peace from a position of strength, and the conditions he included in the treaty indicate the enemy's inability and fear.

In a sermon, Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, declares that the reason he accepted peace was the people's breaking of their covenant in obeying the Imam whose obedience is obligatory. He also points to the ominous outcome of turning away from an Imam appointed by God.

Imam Hasan says: I swear by God, if the people had pledged allegiance to me, obeyed me, and supported me, the sky would have bestowed its drops of rain upon them and the earth would have granted them its blessings, and you, O Mu'awiya, would not have coveted the caliphate.

This is while the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him and his family, said: 'No community ever entrusts its affair to someone while there is among them one more learned than him, except that their affair continues to decline until they reach the religion of the calf-worshippers.' Banu Israel abandoned Aaron and turned to the calf, even though they knew Aaron was Moses' successor. This community also abandoned Ali, while they had heard the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him and his family, say to Ali, peace be upon him: 'You are to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there is no prophethood after me.'

In this sermon, the Imam points to the great doctrinal deviation that had taken place among the people. Perhaps this statement of the Imam is the best answer to the question: Why did the people stop supporting the Imam of their time? Why did the people of Kufa, despite their knowledge of Mu'awiya's corruption and treachery, support Mu'awiya for worldly interests?

Yes, according to Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba's statement, this deviation was rooted in the people's beliefs. That is, before the soldiers were deceived by Mu'awiya's gold and coins, they had already suffered corruption in belief, and this corruption was rooted in Saqifa: the place where the rightful Imam was set aside, and instead of pledging allegiance to the learned one, they pledged allegiance to the ignorant one.

It is no surprise that someone whose heart contains love of the calf, and who is a calf-worshipper, will never rush to support God and God's caliph. In light of the verses of the Qur'an, Imam al-Mujtaba explains to us one of the secrets of the Qur'an: it is God's way that whenever we refuse to accept the authority of the rightful wali, we are undoubtedly under the authority of the calf and have become calf-worshippers, just as the community of Moses refused to accept the authority of Aaron, who was appointed by God, and in the end became calf-worshippers.

Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, through the knowledge of Imamate, knew what outrage the enemies would commit at his funeral procession. He knew that they would shoot arrows at his pure body to such an extent that even his shroud would be torn apart - Ziyarat Jami'at A'immat al-Mu'minin. But through this funeral procession and the enemy's outrage, the instance of the calf in this community became clear, so that in this community the path of guidance and God-worship would be separated and made clear from the path of misguidance and calf-worship.

Since the Qur'an was revealed for all times, we must be aware that the just government of the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, will not be realized by people who, in the Qur'an's expression, have become calf-worshippers. We must admonish ourselves and ask whether in political and social life, and in all other aspects, we are under the authority of the Imam of the Age, or whether we have fallen into the deviation that afflicted the people of Moses.