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Brothers in Arms
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Imam Husain s Brothers in Arms consists of a series of ten
lectures delivered by Ayatollah Khamenei in the month of
Muharram of 1393 (September 1972), approximateel.y— seven
years prior to the triumph of the Islamic Revolution of Iran
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The main thesis of the book goes against the millennia
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consensus of scholarly opinion that holds that the Imams
were basically apolitical. Ayatollah Khamenei posits
arguments based on scriptural as well as rational proofs of
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the politicism of all of the Imams, stating that every one of
the Imams was engaged in a concerted clandestine effort to
overthrow the Umayyad, and later, the Abbasid political
orders, the differences being one of tactics, which varied to
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suit the conditions current at the time, rather than strategy.
In doing so, Ayatollah Khamenei analyzes the historical
events and subjects the theo] ical beliefs of the Sh’ia around
the issues of the iman :e, jihad and taqiya to a critical
reevaluation.
With the translation of these lectures, the Englis]
i public can judge the cogency of Ayatollah
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arguments for themselves on this most central issue
political discourse of Islam. The reader will realiz<
Ayatollah Khamenei’s thesis is not one that can easily be
dismissed, and that it is one that opens huge unexplored and
highly stimulating vistas in the revival of the political
discourse in Islam.
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[PUBLICATIONS 9 781922 583246
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Imam Husain’s
Brothers in Arms
by Ayatollah Sayyid All Khamenei
An Interpolative Rendition into English with Annotations
by Blake Archer Williams
ffiLANTERN
I " I u L I C A T IONS
Copyright © 2021 by Blake Archer Williams
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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publisher, addressed “Attention: - Permissions (Imam Husain’s Brothers in
Arms),” at the email address below.
Lantern Publications THT
A catalogue record for this
[email protected] ’ book is available from the
LIBRARY National Library of Australia
www.lanternpublications.com
Ordering Information: I
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by I
corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the distributor at i
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ISBN-978-1-922583-24-6
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First Edition
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In the Name of God,
the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Prayers of God’s Peace and Blessings
In keeping with the Islamic practice of showing respect for the name of God,
and sending prayers of God’s peace and blessings whenever the name of His
blessed Prophet, Lady Fatima, and the Twelve Imams is mentioned.
Additionally, for asking God to hasten the reappearance of the Lord of the
Age on this Earthly plane; one or more of the following Arabic symbols have
been employed throughout the text. They are repeated for their great rewards.
a
Used exclusively after the name of God, meaning “the Sublimely
Exalted”, or, as a prayer, “[May His name be] Sublimely
Exalted”.
Used exclusively after the name of the Prophet, meaning “May
the peace and blessings of God be unto him and unto [the
purified and inerrant members of] his family”
Used for any of the Twelve Imams or past prophets of God,
meaning “May God’s peace be unto him”.
Used for two or more of the Twelve Imams or past prophets of
God, meaning “May God’s peace be unto them”.
AI
Used for Lady Fatima, meaning “May God’s peace be unto her”.
Used for a plurality of the Fourteen Immaculates, meaning “May
God’s peace be unto them all collectively”.
Used for the Lord of the Age (the Twelfth Imam), meaning “May
God hasten the advent of his noble person”.
Table of Contents
A Note on Transliteration 6
The Names and Dates of the Twelve Imams 14
Translator’s Foreword 15
1. Various Approaches to Leadership of the Community 17
2. The True Identity of the Imams 37
3. The Meaning and Purpose of the Imamate 59
4. The 250-Year-Old Warrior 91
5. The Four Phases of the Imamate 113
6. The Initial Period of the Fourth Phase of the Imamate 139
7. The Political Life of Imam Sadiq 169
8. The Imams’ Politicism and their Militant Actions 209
9. The Revolutionary Sons of the Imams 253
10. Precautionary Dissimulation (Tflyfyfl) 279
A Note on Transliteration
The transliteration system used in this book is basically that of the ICAS
Press method (which is based on the Library of Congress Romanization
Tables), with the following changes: The shamsi and qamari consonants
appear in the definitive article ‘al’ (in place of the ‘1’). This is so that those
who are not familiar with the pronunciation of the Arabic words can become
familiar with the words as they should be pronounced (as opposed to how
they are written), enabling them to pronounce the words properly. Persian
words of Arabic origin are transliterated as they are pronounced in the
Arabic language, rather than their Persian pronunciations. However, Persian
words, proper names, and personal names are transliterated to reflect their
proper Persian pronunciation. Thus, ‘Bukhari’ is Bokhari, Kulayni is Kolayni,
Khumayni is Khomeini, Khamini’i is Khamenei, etc. In such cases, the sound
for the kasra is romanized by ‘e’ rather than by ‘i’, and the damma by ‘o’
rather than by ‘a’ or ‘u’. Similarly, the lP3, \ and letters are all Romanized
by the letter ‘z’ (for Persian words only). Thus, the ezafe (idafa) is Romanized
-e after a consonant, and -ah or -ye after a vowel.
Detailed Table of Contents
A Note on Transliteration 6
The Names and Dates of the Twelve Imams 14
Translator’s Foreword 15
1. Various Approaches to Leadership of the Community 17
1. The discussion concerning the necessity of the Imamate 18
2. The discussion concerning the succession to the Prophet 19
3. The discussion concerning the attributes and characteristics of the Imam of the
community of Muslims and the conditions under which investiture to the office
of the Imamate is appropriate 20
4. The discussion concerning the role of the Imams and their [intellectual and
practical] posture concerning insurrection against the forces of illegitimate
governance (or the Islamic counter-revolution) 26
5. The principles of comprehending the way of the Imams and the criteria for
determining their success 29
6. The relationship of the leader and the follower: the relationship between one
who is deferred to and one who defers 30
7. The Importance of becoming aware of the benefits of the Imamate and of the
Function of the Imams 31
8. The necessity of understanding the approach of the Imams towards their
followers (Shi’ayan), the caliphs, and the court-allied religious scholars 33
2. The True Identity of the Imams 37
1. The dearth of knowledge of the Shi‘a concerning the social and political posture
of the Imams 38
2. Two Benefits of becoming Aware of the Personalities of the Imams 40
2.1 Learning how one should lead one’s life 41
2.2 Becoming motivated and increasing one’s sense of religious self-confidence 44
3. Two methods of the enemies of nations for eliminating national heroes and
heroines 47
3.1 Forbidding the mentioning of the hero’s name to wipe his memory from
public discourse 47
3.2 Distorting and falsifying the image of the hero 49
4. Our failure to fully appreciate the two benefits of knowing the way of the Imams
51
