Shafaqna English | by Leila Yazdani- Imam Musa Sadr has not been among us for 44 years, but his pioneership and determination in the fight against ignorance and unawareness as well as his attention to all Islamic schools, and calling to Islam based on wisdom and good preaching still stands as the great goal of the Islamic Ummah.
He was truly the herald of unity and identity for Muslims and a preacher of coexistence and mutual respect among followers of religions and political sects. Sadr would always take this Hadith by Imam Ali (AS) as a principle: “People are of two kinds, your brother in faith, or your brother in humanity”.
In an interview with a Lebanese newspaper, he says: “My religious activities before everything else are meant to elevate the social life of the people in general and the religious culture of Muslims in particular. I believe that as long as the social life of the people is at this level, one cannot elevate their religious conditions.”
What people say and write about Imam Musa Sadr is true but is not everything about him
Much has been said about Imam Musa Sadr and everyone has described him in a certain way. Some regard him as a reformer Mujtahid and some as a religious intellectual. Some say he is the architect of dialogue and some say he is the flag-bearer of religious proximity. Other descriptions include the Imam of the oppressed, defender of the rights of the oppressed, forerunner in fighting against Israel, a history-maker in Lebanon, a successful leader, one who gave identity to Lebanese Shias, etc.
Everyone has described him from his perspective. However, the image his daughter has in mind of Imam Musa Sadr is one of life inside and outside the home, conforming knowledge and practice, and harmony in thought and action.
He is the same everywhere
What people say and write about him is true but it is not everything about him. He is the same everywhere and has one character. On the one hand, his thought is harmonious and consistent. When you look at what he has said at different times in different places and under different circumstances, you see harmony. There are no contradictions. They have clearly come from a consistent mind.
His behavior and remarks mirror his thoughts and beliefs, and his thoughts and beliefs create his deeds and words. What he thinks in private, he does in society, and what he tells people, when goes home acts upon it in private. He has one consistent character.
He knows no hypocrisy. His beliefs are in his heart and he has faith in what he says. Pretention never gets into his deeds, thoughts, and behavior. He believes in what he says, thinks of the goal without making a fuss. What he is after is doing something, solving a problem, improving people’s life.
Imam Musa Sadr’s life
Imam Seyyed Musa As-Sadr was born on 4th June 1928 in the city of Qom, Iran, to a family of scholars, originating from Jabal Amel. His great-great-grandfather, Seyyed Salih, was born in Shhour, a village in southern Lebanon, and is of the offspring of Imam Musa Ibn Ja’afar (AS). He enrolled in Qom elementary school in 1934, he finished his secondary school studies in 1947.
He began his religious studies in the Hawza in 1941, and continued his education until he reached the level of a Mujtahid in the holy city of Qom. He enrolled in the Faculty of Law, the department of economics in the University of Tehran in 1950. He graduated in 1953. He was the first religious scholar to receive a degree in modern academics in the university. Furthermore, he continued his studies and teaching in the Hawza. He travelled to the holy city of Najaf to continue his higher religious studies in 1954.
He returned to the Hawza in Qom in 1958, where he participated in the establishment of “Maktab-i Islam” Magazine and worked as chief editor in it. He wrote several articles in the magazine, which was the first Islamic cultural magazine to issue form the Hawza in Qom. The magazine had a distinguished impact on the creation of an awareness of the importance of Iran’s renaissance.
Imam Musa Sadr took major steps related to cultural, political and economic problem of Lebanon
Then at the invitation of Seyyed Sharafuddin, Leader of Lebanese Shia Muslims, departed to that country in 1959 and took major steps related to the cultural, political and economic problem of Lebanon underclasses.
He work for the rights of Shia Muslims in the port city of Tyre, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut. He became involved in social work among the country’s largely disenfranchised Shia community.
At the time when Sadr was in Lebanon, deep political and military developments were happening in the region and the conditions of the time required a brave man who was capable of taking Lebanon out of those circumstances. In 1968–69 he formed the Higher Shia Islamic Council to promote the community’s interests, and in 1975 he formed Amal, an armed wing of his Harakat-al-Mahrumin (“Movement of the Deprived”), a Shia social reform movement, in order to defend the Shia community in the Lebanese Civil War.
How Imam Musa Sadr managed to implement his ideas in Lebanon?
Sadr had a powerful, firm and reliable character. “He tried to address people at different levels, which required mastery over different intellectual and religious sciences as well as various lines of thoughts. In addition, he had a firm belief foundation and all of his political, intellectual and cultural stances were based on this foundation.
Imam Musa Sadr was an influential character in political, social and cultural arenas and when he felt a need to enter other fields, too, he would do so. Imam Musa Sadr’s character was not limited to a special time or place. He was an influential figure whose influence reached Lebanon and other Islamic and Arab countries. He managed to take effective steps to promote Islam. Sadr was well acquainted with Western thought, but he would present his political thoughts in Lebanon and across the Arab world relying on religious teachings and based on Islamic beliefs. Sadr, relying on wisdom and religious teachings, struggled on the path of God to serve God’s people.
Religious proximity was always a priority for Imam Musa Sadr
Religious proximity was always a priority for Sadr and that was the reason why he would travel from one country to another and took part in various conferences and forums. “Sadr played a major part in establishing unity and solidarity in Lebanon and creating a civilization free from any prejudices and biases.
The prominent Shia cleric disappeared on August 31, 1978, during an official visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli. He was accompanied by Sheikh Mohammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine.
He and a small entourage disappeared while on an official trip in Libya. The Libyan government disavowed any knowledge of what became of the cleric and his companions. His disappearance still has remained a highly controversial mystery.
Sources: En.Imam-Khomeini.ir, Oral-history, ABNA, Imam Sadr.ir