The Organizational Movement:
Imam Sadiq (as) was a man of knowledge, a man of struggle, and a man of organizational skills. We have all heard about him being a man of knowledge. His teachings and the educational assembly he gathered was unique in the life history of Shi’a Imams--before and after him. All true lessons of Islam and authentic concepts of Quran that were distorted, during the previous century by disbelievers, corruptors, or uninformed, were correctly expressed by Imam Sadiq (as).
But we have heard less of him being a campaign leader. Imam Sadiq (as) was engaged in a continuous campaign: a campaign for changing the (unjust) government into an Islamic government based on the teachings of Imam Ali (as). Imam Sadiq (as) prepared the ground, continuously, for the overthrow of Bani Umayyah, and the bringing to power of the true Islamic government, i.e. the Alawi government (one that complies with Imam Ali's principles).
The third aspect of his personality —one we have rarely heard of— is his organizational approach. He created a magnificent community of believers, supporting the Alawi government movement across the Islamic world, extending from Khorassan, Transoxiana, and into Northern Africa. What does organization mean? It means that, when Imam Sadiq (as) wished to inform the people on an issue, information was communicated effectively, reaching all people of a community via his ambassadors. It means that donations and resources come from all over one community in order to support the management of a political campaign. It means that ambassadors and representatives of Imam Sadiq (as) be present in all the cities, so that the followers of Imam Sadiq (as) can refer to them for their religious and political duties.
Political duty is just as valuable as religious duty, it must be accomplished. Imam Sadiq (as) had created such great outreach and organization within communities. It was through such great organization, with the help of the people, he fought against Bani Umayyah. When his victory over Bani Umayyah was certain, Bani Abbas emerged as a disturbing and opportunistic wave. Afterwards, Imam Sadiq (as) fought against both Bani Umayyah and Bani Abbas.
September 05, 1980
