I would like to know more about ahlul bayt’s position during the Islamic conquests that occurred during the rule of the first three khulafah. And especially the conquest of Persia.

– What was Imam Ali’s general stance about these policies ?
– Why Imam never participated in battles during their reign ?
– Despite that, is it true that he encouraged Omar to attack Persia ?
– Did the sons (Hasan, Hussein etc) and close companions (Salman, Abu Dharr etc) of the Imam participated in the battles with his blessings?
– If the Imam indeed approved the conquest of Persia, isn’t contrasting with our beliefs that jihad should only be defensive and not offensive towards people ?

by

1- Many scholars believe that Imam Ali (a) was critical of these conquests and did not support them.

2- Imam Ali (a) did not participate in them because he did not find them to be legitimate. However, he sent some of his companions. Why? Probably so they can try to reduce the injustice committed by some Muslim fighters, or to play a good role in guiding those areas that came under conquest.

3- It’s not clear whether Imam Ali (a) encouraged Omar to fight the Persians. Some believe he did (since the Persians would later fight Muslims, so it was defensive in the sense that it was preemptive). Some doubt that.

4- We don’t have any authentic evidence that Imams Hassan (a) and Hussain (a) participated in those battles. Yes, other companions did participate.