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It is said that al-Bakir summed up the persecutions since the demise of Prophet Muhammad to his period in these words: 'Since the death of the Prophet, the Ahl-al-Bait have continued being humiliated, inflicted with pains, maltreated, put under trials, deprived of their rights, murdered, frightened. We did not find any security for our own blood and for our friends. The liars and deniers of our rights found a good pretext for their lies in order to be in the good books of their masters and bad judges and governors in every town. They told them fabricated traditions and reported of us those things which we never said nor had we done, in order to instigate people against us. The reign of Muawiya after the death of Hasan was prime period for such activities. In every town, our friends were killed; their hands and feet were amputated on mere doubt. Whoever mentioned our names with love was imprisoned, his property confiscated and his house pulled down. These calamities got severer and increased during the rule of Ubaidullah bin Ziyad, the murderer of Hussain. Then came Hijjaj. He killed them in cold blood and arrested them on doubt. So much so that the man who declared a pagan or kafir was dearer to him than the one who called himself a friend of Ali.' ('Ad-Darajat-ur-Rafiah fi Tabaqatil Imamiya min Shiah' by Sayed Ali Khan, cf. 'Shiite Encyclopaedia' by Hassan al-Amin, 1st vol., p. 29).