Some people objected when Imam Reza accepted the position of heir apparent, asking why his name would be associated with the regime of a tyrannical caliph.
He responded: “Which is of higher status, the prophets or their successors?”
They said, “The prophets.”
He then asked, “Is a pagan king worse, or a sinful Muslim king?”
They answered, “A pagan king.”
He continued, “Is it better when a person willingly seeks a position, or when it is imposed upon them by force?”
They replied, “When it is sought willingly.”
He explained, “Joseph (Prophet Yusuf) was a prophet, and the ruler of Egypt was an unbeliever and a polytheist. Yet, Joseph himself requested to be appointed as the overseer of Egypt’s treasures, saying: ‘Appoint me over the storehouses of the land; indeed, I am a knowledgeable guardian.'” (Surah Yusuf, 12:55) Joseph sought the position to use it for good, and though the ruler of Egypt was an unbeliever, Ma’mun is a sinful Muslim. Joseph was a prophet, and I am the successor of a prophet. He asked for this position, but I was forced into it.”
This is a reasoning that is accepted in all schools of thought. Every person, regardless of their ideology, allows their followers to work within the enemy’s government as long as their beliefs are maintained and the goal is to serve their own cause, not the enemy’s. In this case, the individual uses the enemy’s apparatus for their own goals, rather than the apparatus using them for its own purposes.
All the Imams (Ahl al-Bayt) had the same approach: On one hand, they strongly prohibited cooperating with the regimes of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, and whenever someone would make the excuse that if they did not cooperate, someone else would, they would respond that everyone should refuse to obey them. This excuse is illogical, for if no one follows their orders, their government will become paralyzed. On the other hand, the Imams encouraged those who had the correct belief and were working within the caliphate’s institutions in such a way that they were using the system for the sake of their faith.
(Excerpt from the book Siri fi Seerah A’imma Athar, by Martyr Morteza Motahhari, with minor modifications.)