Many people have asked why Imam Hussein (A.S) decided to go and fight against the tyrant of his time, and why Imam Hassan (A.S) entered into a peace treaty. Why did Imam Reza (A.S) cooperate with the government, while Imam Sajjad (A.S) distanced himself from the government? There are books devoted to answering these specific questions, so we won’t go into it here. But the short answer is that every Imam that we have has had a different situation and lived in different and varied environments. This is actually a blessing for us, as we can study the lives of the Imams and how they acted, given all of their different situations. Thus, we can apply these to our lived the best we can.
Sufyan al-Thawri visited Imam Sadiq (A.S) and objected to the Imam wearing fine clothing, since the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) did not wear such garments. The Imam said, “Are you inferring that since the Prophet used to live in that way, everyone else should do the same until the end? Do you not know that this is not a part of the Islamic commandment? You must act and think upon wisdom. You must use your intellect and take time and place into consideration. The Prophet used to live a middle class lifestyle appropriate to his time. Islam commands equality and compassion. We must observe that this was the lifestyle of the majority at that time. Of course, as the Prophet was the leader, people used to give up their wealth and their life for him, and it was possible for him to have all kinds of lifestyles. However, he never took advantage of that, even though it was all available to him. Islamic commandments denote sympathy compassion and equality. They stand for justice and fairness. It is the soft and delicate methods which stop the frustration in the soul of the poor and prevents a friend or a neighbor, or whoever may be watching your acts, from becoming upset. If the luxurious lifestyle that is available now were possible during the time of the Prophet, then he would not have conducted his life in that way. People are given personal choices on the aspect of dressing up, and may choose whether to wear old or new clothes, in whichever material or style they prefer. Religion does not pay attention to such matters. What is important in religion are issues such as sympathy, compassion, equality, justice and fairness.” The Imam then added, “And as you see me now, I am aware of the responsibilities towards my possessions; thus, there is no logical or spiritual difference between my method and the Prophet’s.”
(Ref: A Survey into the Lives of the Infallible Imams by Ayatollah Mutahhari, page 8)
