Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part VII)

[Note: I apologize in advance, if my Sunni brothers/sisters feel offended by the content of these parts of the article due to their previous background on Aisha.

The purpose of this article is not to make you feel bad, but to provide you with some pieces of information that the Sunni collections carry, but they have been ignored due to some scholars who prevented discussing them. The final judgment is with you. ]

Aisha After the Prophet's Demise

Another important approach to realize who Ahlul-Bayt are, is studying the historical events after the demise of the Prophet.

According to the purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33), Ahlul-Bayt are free from any dirt and impurity.

On the other hand, the documented Sunni history testifies that Aisha (one of the wives of the Prophet) was not righteous.

If we examine her life after the demise of the Prophet, we will find her misconducts more horrible than what she did during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF).

Undoubtedly, on of her most terrible misconduct was instigating the Battle of Camel during the Caliphate of Imam Ali (AS).

The battle was named Camel (Jamal) since Aisha was riding a Camel to lead the rebels.

How can she be pure when she fought against the legitimate Caliph of his time and when she is responsible for shedding the blood of more than 10,000 Muslims? What impurity can be imagined greater than this horrible Fitna which caused to disunite the Muslim Ummah once and forever.

Let us first briefly discuss the event preceding to this strife.

Agitation Against Uthman

Aisha claimed that the reason for her rise against Imam Ali (AS) (which was manifested in the battle of Camel) was getting revenge of the blood of Uthman.

Yet, the history testifies that Aisha herself was one of the main figures of agitation against Uthman which ended up with his murder.

Once she went to Uthman and asked for her share of inheritance from the Prophet (after so many years passed from the demise of the Prophet).

Uthman refrained to give Aisha any money, and reminded her that she was one of those who counseled Abu Bakr not to pay the share of inheritance of Fatimah al-Zahra (AS).

So if Fatimah does not have any share, then why should she? Hearing this, Aisha became very angry at Uthman, and came out and said to the people:

"Kill this old fool (Na'thal), for he is unbeliever. "

Sunni references:

History of Ibn al-Athir, v3, p206

Lisan al-Arab, v14, p141

al-Iqd al-Farid, v4, p290

Sharh Ibn Abil Hadid, v16, pp 220-223.

 

The following paragraph from the History of al-Tabari shows the struggle of Aisha to agitate against Uthman and to push the famous companions against him.

It also shows her position toward Imam Ali (AS), and her plots with Talha for overthrowing Uthman when Talha was able to take over the treasury of state during the siege against Uthman:

While Ibn Abbas was setting out for Mecca, he found Aisha in al-Sulsul (seven miles south of Medina).

Aisha said: "O' Ibn Abbas, I appeal to you by God, to abandon this man (Uthman) and sow doubt about him among the people, for you have been given a sharp tongue.

(By the current siege over Uthman) people have shown their understanding, and light is raised to guide them.

I have seen Talha has taken the possession of the keys to the public treasuries and storehouses.

If he becomes Caliph (after Uthman), he will follow in the path of his parental cousin Abu-Bakr.

" Ibn Abbas said: "O' Mother (of believers), if something happens to that man (i. e. , Uthman), people would seek asylum only with our companion (namely, Ali).

" Aisha replied: "Be quiet! I have no desire to defy or quarrel with you. "

Reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15, pp 238-239

Another Sunni historian, al-Baladhuri, in his history (al-Ansab al-Ashraf) said that when the situation became extremely grave, Uthman ordered Marwan Ibn al-Hakam and Abdurrahman Ibn Attab Ibn Usayd to try to persuade Aisha to stop campaigning against him and to help him pass this difficult time.

They went to her while she was preparing to leave for pilgrimage, and they told her:

"We pray that you stay in Medina, and that Allah may save this man (Uthman) through you.

" Aisha said: "I have prepared my means of transportation and vowed to perform the pilgrimage.

By God, I shall not honor your request.

I wish he (Uthman) could fit to one of my sacks so that I could carry him.

I would then through him into the sea. "

Reference:

"al-Ansab al-Ashraf", by al-Baladhuri, v4, part 1, p75

The Battle of Camel

Some traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari imply to the reader that the dislike of Aisha toward Imam Ali was because Ali suggested the Prophet to divorce her.

The fact is that the Prophet was about to divorce her because he himself found her troublesome since Aisha and Hafsa backed each other against the Prophet to the extent that Allah sent down a revelation in this regard.

(Please see Part IV for the verses related to divorce of Aisha and Hafsa and the corresponding traditions from Sahih al-Bukhari).

She often used to offend the Prophet (PBUH&HF) and caused him distress, but the Prophet (PBUH&HF) was compassionate and kind, his character lofty, his patience deep, therefore he frequently said to her, "Your Satan has confused you, O Aisha. "

Even if we suppose the story is true (that Imam Ali advised the Prophet to divorce her), is it a sufficient excuse for her to disobey the words of God and her husband? Allah, in the beginning of the verse 33:33 of Quran, orders the wives of the Prophet saying:

And stay in your houses.

Bedizen not yourselves with the bedizenment of the Time of ignorance. (Quran 33:33)

Aisha was required by the above verse of Quran to stay at home, but she disobeyed the order of God.

Is this a sign of piety, purity and righteousness? All of other wives of the Prophet obeyed the above injunction with the exception of Aisha.

Historians relate that Hafsa Bint Umar wanted to go with her for the battle of the Camel.

But her brother, Abdullah, reproached her and recited the aforementioned verse to her.

Hafsa then canceled her plans.

Aisha, however, rode the camel that that Prophet had forbidden her from riding and warned her about the barking of al-Haw'ab's dogs:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said to his wives: "I wonder which one of you will be the instigator of the Camel Affair, at whom the dogs of Haw'ab will bark, and she will be the one who has deviated from the straight path.

As to you Humayra (i. e. , Aisha), I have warned you in that regard. "

Sunni references:

History of Ibn al-Athir, v3, p120

al-Imamah wa al-Siyasah, by Ibn Qutaybah

This prophecy of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) took place 28 years later in the plain of al-Haw'ab.

The story that all historians tend to agree is that during her journey to Basra (to lead the war of Camel), Aisha passed by the waters of al-Haw'ab and heard the dogs barking.

She remembered the warning of the Prophet, and she cried and said: "Take me back! Take me back!" But Talha and Zubair brought fifty men and bribed them to testify in front of her that the place was not the plain of al-Haw'ab.

Many Sunni historians believe that those fifty men gave the first falsified testimony in the history of Islam.

(al-Tabari, Ibn al-Athir, and al-Mada'ini who wrote on the events of the year 36 AH.

See also "The Great Sedition" -- "al-Fitna al-Kubra", by Taha Husain).

I believe that this narration was fabricated during the time of the Umayad to reduce the severity of disobedience of Aisha, thinking that she would be exonerated after her nephew, Abdullah Ibn al-Zubair, deceived her, coming with fifty men who swore by God and gave false testimony that the water was not that of al-Haw'ab.

Did the fabricator of the report who forged this narration find an excuse for her disobedience to the order of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) to stay within her house and the prohibition of riding a camel before arriving at the well of al-Haw'ab, the watering place of the barking dogs? Did they find an excuse for her after she rejected the advice of the Mother of Believers, Umm Salama? Historians have recorded that:

Umm Salama said to Aisha: "Do you remember the day the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) proceeded and we were with him and he turned left from [a place called] Qadid and sat alone with Ali and whispered to him for a long time? You wanted to force yourself on them; I tried to prevent you, but you disobeyed me and intruded.

It did not take long before you returned in tears.

I asked: 'What happened to you?' And you replied: 'I approached them and they were in conversation, so I said to Ali: 'I get with the Prophet of Allah one day out of nine, so can you not, O son of Abu Talib, leave me with him on my day?' The Messenger of Allah came towards me and he was red with anger, and said: 'Go back! By Allah, none except those who have abandoned faith can hate him'.

Then you returned repentant and sad.

" Aisha said: "Yes, I remember that.

" Umm Salama continued: "I also remind you that you and I were with the Prophet of Allah and he said to us: 'Which one of you will be the rider of the trained camel, at whom the dogs of Haw'ab will bark, and she will have deviated from the right path?' We said: 'We seek refuge from Allah and His Prophet from that'.

He touched your back and said: 'Don't be that one, O Humayra.

'" Aisha said: "I remember that. "

Umm Salama said: "Do you not remember that day when your father came with Umar, so we put on our veils.

They came in and spoke about what they wanted to, until they said: 'O Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) we do not know how long you will be with us.

If only you were to tell us who will succeed you as Caliph over us, so that there will be after you a place we can turn to.

' He said to them: 'As for me, I have seen his position [in front of you].

Were I to do this, you would all fall into disunity as the Israelites dispersed from Aaron'.

They remained quiet and left.

After they had departed, we came out to the Prophet of Allah and you said to him, as you were more forthcoming with him than all of us: 'O Messenger of Allah who did you appoint as Caliph over them?' He said: The wearer of the mended shoe.

' we went out and we saw it was Ali.

You said: 'O Prophet of Allah, I do not see anyone apart from Ali'.

He replied- 'He is the one.

'" Aisha said "Yes, I remember that.

" Umm Salama said to her: "So then, Aisha, how can you go ahead after all these"? She replied "I venture forth to reconcile the people. "

Sunni reference:

Commentary of Ibn Abil Hadid, v2, p77

Umm Salama also sought to prevent her from the uprising, using strong words, saying:

"The pillars of Islam, if they lean, are not set erect by women; and if they crack, are not joined by women.

The praiseworthy things for women are lowering their gazes and protecting their chastity.

What would you say if the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) appear before you in one of these deserts and finds you driving your camel from one watering place to another? By Allah, if I were to embark upon this journey of yours, then it was said to me: 'Enter paradise' I would be ashamed to face Muhammad after having thrown off the veils he has placed upon me. '

Sunni reference:

Kitab al-Musanif fi Gharib al-Hadith, by Ibn Qutaybah, Chapter of Imamat and Politics.

Just as Aisha did not accept the advice of many sincere companions, al-Tabari in his history related that:

Jariyah Ibn Quddama al-Sa'di said to her: 'O mother of the believers, by Allah, the murder of Uthman is less despicable than you going out on this accursed camel from your house and bearing arms.

Allah has imposed on you the veil and sanctity, you have destroyed your cover and defiled your respect.

Surely, whoever sees your uprising, sees your destruction.

If you come to us obeying, then go back to your house.

If you have come to us in coercion, then seek the help of the people".

 

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, v6, p482

Historians have recorded that she was the general leader of the battle, supervising, separating people and issuing commands.

Even when Talha and al-Zubair argued as to who should lead the prayer, and when both of them wanted to lead, Aisha intervened and removed them both and ordered Abdullah Ibn Zubair, her nephew, to lead the dissents in prayer.

She would dispatch messengers with letters which she sent to several regions, requesting their assistance against Ali Ibn Abi Talib and urging them with the Jahili zeal.

She even recruited twenty thousand or more rabble and greedy Arabs to fight and depose the Commander of the Faithful.

Her urging resulted in zealous discord, where large numbers of people were killed in the name of defending and aiding the mother of the believers.

The historians say that when the companions of Aisha came to Uthman Ibn Hanif, the governor of Basra, they took him along with seventy of his officers who were in charge of the public treasury as prisoners.

They brought them to Aisha who ordered that they be put to death.

They were slaughtered as sheep are slaughtered.

It is even reported there were 400 men in all and that they were the first Muslims whose heads were cut off whilst they were patient.

Sunni references:

History of al-Tabari, v5, p178

Sharh Ibn Abil Hadid, v2, p501

al-Sha'bi reported from Muslim Ibn Abi Bakra from his father "When Talha and Zubair reached Basra, I put on my sword as I wanted to help them.

I visited Aisha, she was ordering, prohibiting; she was in command.

I remembered a Hadith from the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) which I used to hear him say: 'A community which has its affairs administered by a woman will never succeed. '

I [therefore] withdrew from them and left them".

(reported by al-Bukhari, v8, p97; al-Nisa'i, v4, p305; al-Hakim, v4, p525)

One of the things that makes us laugh and weep at the same time is that Aisha, went out of her residence in disobedience to Allah and His Prophet and then ordered the companions to remain in their houses.

This is surely an amazing phenomena! Ibn Abil Hadid, in his Sharh, along with some other historians, reported that Aisha sent a letter when she was in Basra to Zaid Ibn Sawhan al-'Abdi in which she said to him: "From Aisha, the mother of the believers, daughter of Abu Bakr, the truthful one, wife of the Prophet.

To her devoted son, Zaid Ibn Sawhan.

Remain at home and make the people abandon the son of Abu Talib.

I hope to hear what I would love from you, since you are the most trustworthy of my family.

Wassalam".

This righteous man replied to her thus: "From Zaid Ibn Sawhan to Aisha Bint Abi Bakr: Allah issued a commandment to you and, He also issued a commandment to us.

He ordered you to remain in your residence, and He ordered us to fight.

Your letter has come to me instructing me to do contrary to what Allah has ordered me to do, [You have asked me] to do what Allah has ordered you to do, and that you do what Allah has asked me to do! Your order to me is [something] that I cannot obey, therefore there is no reply [necessary] to your letter. "

From this, it becomes clear to us that Aisha was not content with leading the army of the Camel, but rather, she craved for absolute control over the believers in all the corners of the land.

In all matters, she would command Talha and al-Zubair, who had been nominated for the Caliphate by Umar.

Due to this, she made it lawful for herself to correspond with the chiefs of the tribes and with the governors, enticing them and seeking their help.

If the heroes and men, famous for their courage, abandon and flee from the lines of battle when facing Imam Ali (AS) and would not stand in front of him, she stood, inciting, screaming and arousing the people.

Aisha permitted the killing of innocent people, and led the first civil war against Imam Ali who was chosen by people as Caliph.

The result was massacre of thousands of Muslims according to the historians (See the History of al-Tabari and the History of Ibn al-Athir on the events of the year 36 AH).

Allah to whom belong Might and Majesty stated in Quran:

"And Whoever kills a believer deliberately, his reward is Hell forever, and the Wrath of Allah is upon him, He cursed him and prepared a great punishment for him.

" (Quran 4:93)

Nevertheless, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did not divorce her.

So why all this hatred toward Imam Ali (AS)? History has recorded some of her aggressive actions that could not be explained.

When she was on her way back to Mecca, she heard that the plot of Killing Uthman finally took place, so she became very delighted.

But when she heard that people had chosen Imam Ali (AS) to succeed him, she became very angry and said: "I wish the sky would collapse on the earth before son of Abu Talib (i. e. , Ali) could succeed the Caliphate".

Then she said: "Take me back," and thus she started the civil war against Imam Ali (AS) whose name she disliked to mention.

Sunni traditionists narrated that:

When Ubaydullah Ibn Utbah mentioned to Ibn Abbas that Aisha said "In his death-illness the Prophet was brought to (Aisha's) house while his shoulders were being supported by Fadhl Ibn Abbas and another person", then Abdullah Ibn Abbas said: "Do you know who this 'other man' was?" Ibn Utbah replied: "No.

" Then Ibn Abbas said: "He was Ali Ibn Abi Talib, but she is averse to name him in a good context. "

Sunni references:

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, pp 34,228

al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p29

History of al-Tabari (Arabic), v1, pp 1800-1801

al-Ansab al-Ashraf, by al-Baladhuri, v1, pp 544-545

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p29

al-Sunan al-Kubra, by al-Bayhaqi, v3, p396

A milder version of the above tradition has also been mentioned by al-Bukhari.

(See Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, traditions 3. 761 and 5. 727 and 5. 736).

The hatred of Aisha toward Imam Ali (AS) is well known.

This was not just limited to waging war against Imam Ali.

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal recorded that:

"Ata Ibn Yasar, who says that a certain person came to Aisha and began to use impudent and abusive words for Ali while Ammar, was in her presence.

She said to him: "As regards Ali, I have nothing to tell you, but as regards Ammar, I have heard the Messenger of Allah saying about him that if he has to make a choice between two things he will always choose that which is better from the point of view of good guidance and salvation. "

Sunni reference:

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p113

Aisha's hatred for Imam Ali (AS) was so much that she always tried to distance him from the Prophet (PBUH&HF) whenever she could find the means to do so.

Ibn Abil Hadid, in his commentary on the Nahjul Balagha reported:

The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) beckoned to Ali to come close.

He came close until he sat between him and Aisha, and he and the Prophet (PBUH&HF) were clung together.

She said to him "Can you not find a seat for this one except on my thigh?" Ibn Abil Hadid also reported that one day the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) was walking with Imam Ali and the conversation became prolonged.

Aisha approached as she was walking from behind until she came between them saying: "What is it between you two that you are taking so long?" Upon this the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) became angry.

 

Sunni reference:

Sharh Ibn Abil Hadid, v9, p195

It is also reported that she once came upon the Prophet (PBUH&HF) whilst he was conversing quietly with Ali.

She screamed and said: "What is it with you and me, O son of Abu Talib? I have [just] one day with the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF)".

Thereupon the Prophet (PBUH&HF) became angry.

Would the Prophet (PBUH&HF) be pleased with any believing man or woman whose heart was filled with hatred and malice towards his cousin, the leader of his progeny, about whom he said: "He loves Allah and His Prophet, and Allah and His Prophet love him"? He also said about him: "Whoever loves Ali has loved me, and whoever hates Ali has hated me.

" (al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p130 who said this Tradition is authentic as set by the two standards of Muslim and Bukhari).

Had Aisha not heard the saying of the Prophet about Ali that "Non but a believer would love him, and none but a hypocrite would nurse grudge against him"? (Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter XXXIV, p46, Tradition #141; Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p643; Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, p142; Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal v1, pp 84,95,128; Tarikh al-Kabir, by al-Bukhari, v1, part 1, p202; Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v4, p185; Tarikh, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v14, p462).

This saying of the Prophet was so well-known that some of the companions used to say: "We recognized the hypocrites by their hatred of Ali.

" (Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p639, Tradition #1086; al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p47; al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v3, p242; Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p91).

Moreover, Had Aisha not heard the saying of the Prophet: "Whoever I am his master, Ali is his master.

O God! Love those who love him and be hostile to those who are hostile to him"? (Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v2, p298, v5, p63; Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, pp 12,43) Undoubtedly she heard all of them, but she did not like them, and when she heard of the assassination of Imam Ali (AS), she knelt and thanked Allah!!! (See the History of al-Tabari and the History of Ibn al-Athir on the events of the year 40 AH).

She was also involved in the intercepting the funeral procession of al-Hasan, the leader of the Heaven's youth, and prevented his burial beside his grandfather (the Prophet), and she said: "Do not let anybody that I don't like enter my house.

" She forgot, or maybe ignored the saying of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) about al-Hasan and al-Husain that: "I love them, and Allah loves those who love them" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, Traditions 5. 90 and 3. 333), or the saying of the Prophet that: "Nothing has been dearer to me than al-Hasan.

" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, Tradition 7. 772).

End of Part 7 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part VI)

The most beloved wife?

Some people claim that Aisha was the most beloved and affectionate wife of the Prophet, and that the Prophet could not be separated from her.

They even report that some of his wives gave up their turn of visitation for her when they came to know that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) loved her and could not wait for her turn!!! Such claims are in clear contradiction with authentic reports mentioned previously about Khadija being the best wife of the Prophet, and about Aisha being the most jealous one.

For if Aisha was the most beloved wife, can we find any justification or explanation for Aisha's excessive jealousy? More over, in that case, one would have assumed that the opposite, i. e. , that the rest of the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) would have been jealous of Aisha due to his intense love and inclination towards her, according to what they report and claim.

If she was pampered by the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), what was the need for the jealousy?

Here we relate another narration which al-Bukhari and several others of the Sunni transmitters have reported.

It speaks of the extent of aversion which Aisha felt towards her husband, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF).

al-Bukhari reports that Aisha swears in the name of Allah that the Prophet wishes Aisha dies! Here is the tradition:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 7. 570

Narrated al-Qasim bin Muhammad:

Aisha, (complaining of headache) said, "Oh, my head"! Allah's Apostle said, "I wish that (i. e. , your death) had happened while I was still living, for then I would ask Allah's Forgiveness for you and invoke Allah for you.

" Aisha said, "A likely story! By Allah, I think you want me to die; and If this should happen, you would spend the last part of the day sleeping with one of your wives!"

Does this narration indicate that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) loved Aisha so much so that he could not live without her?! Aisha, filled with jealousy, is confessing that the Prophet wishes to be with his other wives than to spend time with Aisha! Forecasting her future deeds, the Prophet wished she would have died in his lifetime so that he could have asked Allah for her forgiveness.

Moreover, how could the Prophet (PBUH&HF) love someone who would lie, backbite, slander and would doubt Allah and his Prophet, suspecting them of injustice? (See the traditions in the previous part as well as the traditions below).

How could the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) love someone who spied upon him, going out of her house without his permission to find out where he had gone? How could the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) love someone who, in his presence, insulted his wives (like Khadija) even though they were dead? How could the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) love someone who hated his son Ibrahim, and accused his wife, Mariya, of lying?

How could the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) love someone who hated his daughter, Fatimah al-Zahra, and who hated his brother and cousin, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, to the extent where she could not mention his name and think any good of him? (See Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, traditions 3. 761 and 5. 727 and 5. 736).

All these deeds are detested by Allah and His Prophet (PBUH&HF), and they do not love those who committed them, for with Allah is the truth, and His Messenger (PBUH&HF) is the reflection of the truth, and as such, it is not possible for him to love one who is against the truth.

In fact, not only the Messenger of Allah did not love Aisha, but also, he warned the nation against her seditions/Fitna.

The weak reports claiming excessive love of Prophet for Aisha are, in fact, fabricated by the rivals of Imam Ali (AS).

They gave her the highest preference when she served their interests.

She narrated for them what they loved to hear, and she fought against their enemy, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS).

We should also point out that due to their hatred against the Prophet, the Umayad strove to distort the truth and turn everything head over heels, from the time the Caliphate fell into the hands.

They, thus, elevated to the zenith of power people who were, during the life of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), ordinary, with no special standing, while they ignored others who were at the peak of honor and nobility during the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

As we have partially witnessed so far, and if we study the actual events which occurred, ignoring the spurious narrations which the Umayad composed, we will observe that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) was, on many occasions, severely troubled and angered by Aisha.

Once I asked some Sunnis the reason for the Prophet's (PBUH&HF) excessive love for Aisha, specifically to the exclusion of his other wives.

One of them said: "Because she was beautiful and young, and she was the only virgin he had, for no man had taken her before him!"

Another said:

"Because she was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the truthful one, his companion in the cave. "

The third said: "Because she memorized half the religion from the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) and was a learned jurist!"

Non of the above claims has any basis, and non is acceptable to either the intellect or to reality.

We will refute these answers with indubitable proofs.

As for the first claim, if the Prophet loved her because she was beautiful and the only virgin that he had, what prevented him from marrying the beautiful virgins who excelled her in charm and beauty, and were the role models among the Arab tribes, and who were at his beck and call? On the other hand, the historians mentioned that Aisha's jealousy towards Zainab Bint Jahsh, Safiyya Bint Huyayy, and Mariya the Copt, was because they were more beautiful than her.

Furthermore, Ibn Sa'd and Ibn Kathir reported that:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) married Malika Bint Ka'b who was known for her outstanding beauty.

Aisha went to see her and said to her: "Aren't you ashamed to marry your father's killer?" She then sought refuge against the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), whereupon he divorced her.

Her people came to him and said: "O Prophet of Allah, she is young and lacking in perception.

She was deceived, so take her back".

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) refused to do so.

Her father was killed on the day of the conquest of Mecca, and his killer was Khalid Ibn al-Walid al-Khandama. "

Sunni references:

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v8, p148

Ibn Kathir, v5, p299

This narration clearly proves that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) was not concerned with youth and beauty in his marriages, otherwise, he would not have divorced Malika Bint Ka'b when she was young and of outstanding beauty.

This narration, and others like it, also show us the methods which Aisha adopted in deceiving the innocent believing women, and prohibited them from marrying the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF).

Here, Aisha was instigating in Malika feelings for her father's death, and that the killer was the Apostle of Allah (PBUH&HF), saying to her: "Aren't you ashamed to marry your father's killer?" What could this poor woman do but seek refuge against the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF)? Perhaps she said more than that, at a time when people still had traits of Jahiliyya in them, which instigated people to retaliation and reproached whoever did not exact revenge against his father's killer.

This is while the Prophet was not the killer of his father as the above report also testifies.

Other than the above divorce case, history testifies the case of divorce of Asma Bint Nu'man, who due to her beauty, was also targeted by the envy of Aisha.

Her envy reached a point whereby she lied to Asma when she was married to the Prophet.

It has been reported that:

When Asma Bint Nu'man was being led as a bride to her groom (i. e. , the Prophet), Aisha told her that the Prophet was highly pleased with the woman who, when he approaches her, says to him: "May Allah save me from you. "

Sunni references:

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v4, p37, on the account of Asma

al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v4, p233

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, p104, v8, p145

Tarikh al-Ya'qubi, v2, p69

Her underlying aim was to have the Prophet (PBUH&HF) divorce this naive woman for these offensive words, and the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did divorce her before consummating the marriage due to these words as the above references further testify.

It is now left for us to ask why did the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) divorce these two naive women (Asma and Malika), who both fell victims to the plotting and deception of Aisha?

Before anything else, we must realize that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) was infallible, and as such, he would not oppress anyone nor would do anything which was not right.

Therefore, in divorcing the two women, there must have been some wisdom known to Allah and His Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Similarly, in spite of Aisha's deeds, there must have been wisdom in him not divorcing her which we will talk shortly.

As far as the second woman is concerned, i. e. , Asma Bint al-Nu'man; her naive disposition became apparent when Aisha's tricks captured her, and the first words that she greeted the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) with, when he stretched out his hand to her were: "I seek refuge in Allah from you".

Despite her excessive beauty, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did not let her remain due to her simple mindedness.

Along with some other narrators, Ibn Sa'd, in his al-Tabaqat, v8, p145, on the authority of Ibn Abbas said: "The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) married Asma Bint al-Nu'man, and she was among the most beautiful and complete women of her time".

Perhaps the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) wanted to teach us that the importance of intelligence outweighs that of physical beauty, for how many pretty women have been led by their foolishness towards corruption?

As for the first mentioned woman, i. e. , Malika Bint Ka'b, who Aisha incited by telling her that her husband was her father's killer, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did not want this poor girl (who was young and lacked perception as her people testified) to live in fear and terror which would cause great problems for her, especially since Aisha would never let her live in peace with the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF).

No doubt, there are other reasons known to the Prophet which are not known to us.

The important thing to realize is that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) did not crave for beauty or physical and sexual desires, as some ignorant persons and orientalists assume.

They claim that Muhammad was pre-occupied with beautiful women.

We have observed how the Prophet (PBUH&HF) divorced these two women despite their tender age and beauty.

They were the most beautiful women of their times, as documented in the historical and Hadith books.

Thus the claim of those perverts who say that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) loved Aisha for her youth and beauty is baseless and unacceptable, and rather insulting.

If we also recall the narration reported by Aisha (mentioned in the previous part), she said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) did not wait for long before he thought she was asleep, then he took his upper garment, slowly opened the door, went out and then closed it, we can perceive the lie of the claim that he could not do without her.

Also as we quoted from Sahih al-Bukhari in the previous part, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) never lost an opportunity to mention Khadija.

This used to cause Aisha's heart burn with jealousy, and she would lose control of herself and forget her manners.

She would abuse (Khadija) as she liked, with no respect for her husband's feelings.

Aisha said to the Prophet (PBUH&HF): "Why do you mention that old woman of the Quraish? She who had reddened cheeks that time had destroyed!" (See the previous part for references).

Dare we ask Aisha who never saw Khadija for a single day in her life nor ever met her, how did she know that she was an old woman with red cheeks? Is this the conduct of the average believer who is forbidden to speak ill of a believer in his/her absence if that person is alive? How about if that person is dead and has been taken up to the Lord? And how severe is the crime if the person being backbitten is the lady in whose house Gabriel came down and gave her the tidings of a house in paradise, a house without noise or trouble? (See Sahih al-Bukhari, Traditions: 9:588, 3. 19, 5. 164, 5. 165, 5. 167, 5. 168, 7.156, 8. 33, and 9. 576).

There is no doubt that all these authentic narrations refute the contention of the claim that Aisha was the most beloved wife of the Prophet's (PBUH&HF) wives.

It is clear that Aisha's jealousy and hatred increased when the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) informed her that His Lord had not given him someone better than Khadija.

Once again, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) teaches us that he did not have any sort of inclination for base desires, and had no inclination towards beauty and virginity, because Khadija (PBUH&HF) had been previously married twice and was older than himself by fifteen years.

Despite this, he loved her and never ceased to praise her.

By my life, this is the true character of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), who loved for Allah's sake and hated for Allah's sake.

There is a huge difference between these authentic traditions and the forged one which claims the Prophet preferred Aisha, so much so that his wives sent to him someone imploring him to show fairness with regard to the daughter of Abu Quhafa (i. e. , Abu Bakr)!!!

As for those who allege that he loved her because she was the daughter of Abu Bakr, this is also untrue.

We can say that he married her for the sake of Abu Bakr's tribe.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) married into several tribes for political reasons so as to placate their hearts and foster affection and feelings of mercy between those tribes, replacing rancor and hatred.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) married Umm Habiba, the sister of Muawiyah and the daughter of Abu Sufyan, the foremost enemy of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The Prophet's compassion and love for the Arab tribes led him to marrying Jews, Christians and Copts so that the people of the scriptures could get closer to each other.

This is especially so if we realize, from our readings of the biographical works, that it was Abu Bakr who asked the Prophet (PBUH&HF) to marry his daughter Aisha, just as Umar had asked him to marry Hafsa.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) accepted these proposals because his heart encompassed all mankind.

Allah, the Exalted, states:

"And if you were harsh and of severe heart, they would have deserted you. " (Quran 3:159)

Muslim in his Sahih as well as many other Sunni traditionists reported that:

Umar Ibn al-Khattab reported: When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) kept himself away from his wives, I entered the mosque and found people striking the ground with pebbles and saying: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has divorced his wives, and that was before they were commanded to observe seclusion.

Umar said to himself: I must find this today.

So I went to Aisha and said (to her): O Daughter of Abu Bakr, have you gone to the extent of giving trouble to the Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? Thereupon she said: Son of Khattab! You have nothing to do with me.

You should look to your own receptacle (i. e. , your own defects, or your own daughter).

He (Umar) said: I visited Hafsa, daughter of Umar and said to her: O Hafsa! This (news) has reached me that you cause Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) trouble.

By Allah! You know that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) does not love you, and had I not been (your father) he would have divorced you.

(On hearing this) she wept bitterly .

Sunni references:

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter DLXXXI (Titled: Ila and Keeping away from the wives), v2, p763, Tradition #3507.

Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, v4, p188, The book of Divorce, Chapter on separation and being away from them, giving them a choice and Allah's words: 'And if you two support each other against him. '

This narration clearly illustrates for us, without doubt, that the Prophet's (PBUH&HF) marriage to Hafsa was not due to love, but rather, for the political needs that circumstances dictated.

What makes us certain of our deduction is the fact that Umar Ibn al-Khattab swore by Allah that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) did not love Hafsa.

Therefore not even the slightest of doubt is left in our minds about the marriage to her being for political considerations when he said to her: "Had it not been for me, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) would have divorced you".

Also we will quote later on, there are in numerous traditions in which the Prophet (PBUH&HF) ordered Muslims to love his Ahlul-Bayt as an order from Allah.

This is also mentioned in Quran.

Yet, in the above tradition Umar swears by Allah that the prophet does not love Hafsa.

This clearly shows that Hafsa (the wife of the Prophet) was not among Ahlul-Bayt whose love is obligatory to all the believing men and women.

This narration also gives us some idea about the Prophet's (PBUH&HF) marriage to Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, and that, despite all her troubles, he exercised patience and perseverance for the sake of Abu Bakr's tribe.

Otherwise, Hafsa was more worthy of the love and affection of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), for she did not do a tenth of the things that Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, did to offend the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

If we return to the claim that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) loved Aisha since she had memorized half the religion from him, and that he used to say, "Take half your religion from this Humayra", we realize that this tradition is fabricated and has no basis of truth, nor is it compatible with the ridiculous and sorrowful rulings which have been reported from Aisha.

As such, it is not fitting that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) should have mentioned them.

It would be sufficient to refer to the incident of the suckling of an adult, which she used to report from the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), and which was narrated by Muslim in his Sahih and by Malik in his Muwatta'.

All the other wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) rejected this detestable claim and refused to act according to it.

Even the reporter of the Hadith remained silent for a complete year and was scared to mention it due to its repulsive and shameless nature.

One of the methods for a person to become "Mahram" (intimate; forbidden to marry) is through fosterage.

A woman may suckle the child and become her foster-mother when the child is less than two years old.

It is forbidden for a female to show any parts of her body such as breasts, chest, hair, and so on, to a grown male who is not Mahram.

However, Aisha claimed that a woman can suckle a grown up man who understands sexuality and has even beard! For a female who wants to suckle such adult male for the first time, she must do the following:

1) To allow this grown-up man to enter her house,

2) To open her clothes intentionally (by the intention of suckling)

3) To allow such stranger adult to see parts of her body, chest, breasts, and so on,

4) To allow this man to touch her body.

 

This is for the first time when the person in question is not Mahram as yet based on the Fatwa of Aisha, he will become Mahram after being suckled, and nothing would be wrong! Here are some traditions from Aisha attributing such shameful thing to the Prophet:

Aisha reported that Sahla Bint Suhail came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I see on the face of Abu Hudhaifa (signs of disgust) on entering of Salim (who is an ally) into (our house), whereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Suckle him.

She said: How can I suckle him as he is a grown-up man? Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) smiled and said: I already know that he is a young man.

Amr has made this addition in his narration that he participated in the Battle of Badr and in the narration of Ibn Umar (the words are): Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) laughed.

 

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, Chapter DLXVI, titled: Suckling a Young boy, Tradition #3424.

Ibn Abu Mulaika reported that al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr had narrated to him that Aisha reported that Sahla Bint Suhail Ibn Amr came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, Salim (the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa) is living with us in our house, and he has attained (puberty) as men attain it and has acquired knowledge (of the sex problems) as men acquire, whereupon he said: Suckle him so that he may become unlawful (in regard to marriage) for you.

He (Ibn Abu Mulaika) said: I refrained from narrating this Hadith for a year or so on account of fear.

I then met al-Qasim and said to him: You narrated to me a Hadith which I did not narrate (to anyone) afterwards.

He said: What is that? I informed him, whereupon he said: Narrate it on my authority that Aisha had narrated that to me.

 

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, Chapter DLXVI, titled: Suckling a Young boy, Tradition #3426.

Zainab daughter of Abu Salama reported: I heard Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), saying to Aisha: By Allah, I do not like to be seen by a young boy who has passed the period of fosterage, whereupon She (Aisha) said: Why is it so? Sahla daughter of Suhail came to Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's messenger, I swear by Allah that I see in the face of Abu Hudhaifa (the signs of disgust) on account of entering of Salim (in the house), whereupon Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Suckle him.

She (Sahlah Bint Suhail) said: He has a beard.

But he (again) said: Suckle him, and it would remove what is there (expression of disgust) on the face of Abu Hudhaifa.

She said: (I did that) and , by Allah, I did not see (any sign of disgust) on the face of Abu Hudhaifa.

 

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, Chapter DLXVI, titled: Suckling a Young boy, Tradition #3428.

Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle, used to say that all wives of Allah's Apostle disclaimed the idea that one with this type of fosterage (having been suckled after the proper period) should come to them. and no one was going to be allowed to enter (our house) with this type of fosterage and we do not subscribe to this view.

 

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, Chapter DLXVI, titled: Suckling a Young boy, Tradition #3429.

Aisha herself testified that:

Aisha reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) visited me when a man was sitting near me, and he seemed to disapprove of that.

And I saw signs of anger on his face and I said: Messenger of Allah, he is my brother by fosterage, whereupon he said: Consider who your brothers are because of fosterage since fosterage is through hunger (i. e. in infancy).

 

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, Chapter DLXVI, titled: Suckling a Young boy, Tradition #3430.

Also al-Bukhari narrated:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 3. 815

Narrated Aisha:

Once the Prophet came to me while a man was in my house.

He said, "O Aisha! Who is this (man)?" I replied, "My foster brothers" He said, "O Aisha! Be sure about your foster brothers, as fostership is only valid if it takes place in the suckling period (before two years of age). "

The last three traditions in the above show that the prophet (PBUH&HF) does not approve an adult male to be with his wife (Aisha). He said that fosterage relationship is only possible if the male is less than two years old.

These set of traditions are in clear contradiction with the claim of Aisha stated in the early traditions.

Besides, I would like you to think whether you would allow your wife to suckle a grown-up man? If no, why do you think that the most honorable man on the earth, the Prophet (PBUH&HF), will allow it?

Regarding the scandal of the above traditions, the translator of Sahih Muslim (Abdul Hamid Siddiqui, Saudi Arabia) wrote in the footnote of the above traditions that:

This Chapter (i. e. , suckling a young boy) is one of the most difficult chapters of this book.

Fosterage which makes marriage unlawful is only that which has been referred to in the Holy Quran: "And the (divorced) mothers may nurse their children for two whole years if they wish to complete the period of nursing.

" (2:233) It implies that the fosterage within two years of the child's birth is effective in determining the nature of relationship, and that of the subsequent period, and specially in a grown-up age, is NOT effective.

This view is held by Imam Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Muhammad, and is supported on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Huraira, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar.

 

Sunni reference:

Footnote of Sahih Muslim, English version, by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui, v2, p43

The above astonishing issue was just one of the false verdicts of Aisha.

Let us now turn to Sahih al-Bukhari in the Chapter on: "Whoever Leaves his Place of Residence Must Shorten the Prayer. "

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 2. 206

Narrated Ibn Umar:

I accompanied Allah's Apostle and he never offered more than two Rakat during the journey.

Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman used to do the same.

 

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 2. 188

Narrated Abdullah bin Umar:

I offered the prayer with the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar at Mina and it was of two Rakat.

Uthman in the early days of his caliphate did the same, but later on he started praying the full prayer.

 

It is clear that Uthman changed the regulation of the prayer of the traveler in the later years of his reign.

For more traditions concerning this innovation, please also see Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, Tradition 2. 190.

It is noteworthy that Aisha also followed this innovation as al-Bukhari testified:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 2. 196

Narrated Aisha:

"When the prayers were first enjoined they were of two Rakat each.

Later the prayer in a journey was kept as it was but the prayers for non-travelers were completed.

" al-Zuhri said, "I asked 'Urwa what made Aisha pray the full prayers (in journey).

" He replied, "She did the same as Uthman did. "

Muslim also reported the first tradition in "The Chapter on the Prayer recited by the Travelers and Shortening it" He narrated on the authority of al-Zuhri from 'Urwa from Aisha, that: "The prayer was first decreed as two rak'ah.

Then this ruling was preserved for the prayer during a journey, and the prayer at [a person's town of] residence was made complete".

al-Zuhri said: "I said to 'Urwa 'So how come Aisha [recites the] complete prayer on a journey?' He replied: 'She interpreted [the ruling] as Uthman interpreted it. '

The above traditions show that the action of Aisha was in opposite of her own claim.

For she is the one who reports that the prayer of a traveler was decreed as two units but she opposes what Allah has made obligatory, and what the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) followed, and she changed the ruling of Allah and His Prophet, reviving the practice of Uthman.

Aisha had not lived with the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) for more than six to eight years, according to different reports, along with nine other co-wife who had also share from the time of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

She spent the first years of this period playing games that children play whilst she was the wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

She was, as Barira, the slave girl of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), described her: "A young girl, who sleeps leaving the dough (unguarded) that the goats come and eat".

(Sahih Bukhari Hadith, Arabic-English version, Tradition 9. 462).

After the demise of the Prophets, she modified the religion as she wished, and issued scandalous verdicts, and as such, it is quite impossible that Aisha's husband, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), would be pleased with her and would order the people to follow her.

In fact, as implied in the following tradition which has been related in Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim and the other Sunni documents, obedience to her is disobedience to Allah:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 9. 220

Narrated Abu Maryam Abdullah bin Ziyad al-Aasadi:

When Talha, al-Zubair and Aisha moved to Basra, Ali sent Ammar bin Yasir and al-Hasan bin Ali who came to us at Kufa and ascended the pulpit.

al-Hasan bin Ali was at the top of the pulpit and Ammar was below al-Hasan.

We all gathered before him.

I heard Ammar saying, "Aisha has moved to al-Basra.

By Allah! She is the wife of your Prophet in this world and in the Hereafter.

But Allah has put you to test whether you obey Him (Allah) or her (Aisha). "

This Hadith indicates that obedience to her is disobedience to Allah, and to oppose and disobey her is to obey Allah.

We can also note in the Hadith, that the Umayad narrators have added the phrase "and the hereafter" to the saying of Ammar (RA) and making it "She is the wife of your Prophet in this life and the hereafter" so that they may lead the masses into thinking that Allah has forgiven her every sin she Committed, and allowed her to enter the heaven, and to continue to live with her husband.

Otherwise, how did Ammar know that she will be his wife in the hereafter? How could Ammar take an oath about something he did not know? Did he have a verse from the book of God? Or was it a covenant promised to him by the Prophet (PBUH&HF)? Thus, excluding what has been falsely added, we are left with the true Hadith, i. e. , that Aisha traveled to Basra, and that she is the wife of your Prophet, but Allah is testing you through her to know whether you obey Him or her.

End of Part 6 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
www.tebyan.net

Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part V)

The Mother of Believers

One thing that our Sunni brothers/sisters usually say as means of justifying Aisha is that she was "Ummul Mu'minin" the mother of believers.

In fact, Quran states that the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) are the mothers of the believers.

But let us ponder the following points:

1. Let's consider someone who is a believer.

It naturally follows that his mother becomes a mother of believer.

Does it automatically mean that his mother is also a good believer? Most certainly not! Being a mother of believer does not make that mother a good believer and righteous.

The same argument applies for the mother of all the believers.

2. All the Sunni collections of traditions are replete with the traditions reported by Ummul Mu'minin Aisha.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) had many other wives, and all of them were mothers of believers.

Many of the wives of the Prophet were highly pious and righteous, such as Umm Salama and Umm Ayman.

But unfortunately there are not many traditions from them in the Sihah Sittah (not even 5% of what is conveyed by Aisha).

But we hear from Aisha in a bulk rate.

Was it because she was the daughter of Abu Bakr? or because she was the only one among the wives of the Prophet who fought Imam Ali (AS)?

3. According to Islam, a believer is required to respect his mother.

However, if such mother goes against the instruction of the Messenger of Allah, conducts and leads the rebellions, and kills innocents, we are religiously required to disassociate ourselves from such mother, and more importantly, we can NOT trust such mother for transmitting the traditions of the Prophet in such volume.

4. Indeed, there is a good reason why Allah gave them the title of "Mothers of Believers.

" Allah gave them this title in order to prevent people to marry them after the demise of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

We can not marry our mother.

Right? If Allah wouldn't have given this title to them, some influential people would have married them and would probably have brought sons from them and would have ordered people to follow them as the Ahlul-Bayt, or even worst, they might have claimed that they are the real sons of the Prophet and would have claimed prophethood for them and many more possible dangerous consequences.

As such, Allah (SWT) gave them this title (the mother of believers) to prevent such marriages.

The Best Wife of the Prophet vs.

the Most Envious

It is well-known among Muslims that the best wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) was Khadija (RA).

She was the first woman who embraced Islam and spent all her wealth for the cause of Allah and the Prophet never married another woman as long as Khadija was alive.

The Messenger of Allah gave the name of the best women of the world in chronological order and one should not be surprised that the name of Aisha is missing:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "The most excellent of the women of all worlds whom Allah chose over all women are: Asiya the wife of Pharaoh, Mary the daughter of Imran, Khadija the daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad. "

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p702

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p157, who said this tradition is authentic based on the criteria of two Shaikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, p135

Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p755, Tradition #1325

Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v2, p344

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p223

al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v4, p377

al-Awsat by al-Tabarani, as well as Ibn Habban, etc.

Furthermore, Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: Four women are the mistress of the worlds: Mary, Asiya (the wife of Pharaoh), Khadija, and Fatimah.

And the most excellent one among them in the world is Fatimah. "

Sunni references:

Ibn Asakir, as quoted in Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor

Moreover, after the demise of Khadija (RA) when the Prophet (PBUH&HF) married Aisha and others, he explicitly preferred some of them over Aisha and said they are better than Aisha (see Sahih al-Tirmidhi; al-Isti'ab by Ibn Abd al-Barr; and al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, in the biography of Safiyya).

Also the verse: "Perhaps if he divorces you, his Lord will give him wives who are better than you, who submit and believe (Quran 66:5)" clearly indicates that there were believing women among the Muslims who were much better than Aisha.

Envy so controlled her heart and her mind that she conducted herself in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) without respect or manners.

On one occasion, Aisha said to the Prophet (PBUH&HF), when he mentioned Khadija in her presence:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 5. 168.

b

Narrated Aisha: Once Hala Bint Khuwailid, Khadija's sister, asked the permission of the Prophet to enter.

On that, the Prophet remembered the way Khadija used to ask permission, and that made him sad.

He said, "O Allah! Hala!" So I became jealous and said, "What makes you remember an old woman amongst the old women of Quraish an old woman (with a teethless mouth) of red gums who died long ago, and in whose place Allah has given you somebody better than her?"

The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) became very angry at this until his hair stood.

(also reported in Muslim).

Moreover, al-Bukhari narrated that Aisha confessed:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 5. 166

Narrated Aisha:

I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija though I did not see her, but the Prophet used to mention her very often, and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them to the women friends of Khadija.

When I sometimes said to him, "(You treat Khadija in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth except Khadija," he would say, "Khadija was such-and-such, and from her I had children. "

Khadija was the foremost believing woman, to whom Gabriel gave Greetings, and was given the glad tidings of Paradise:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 9. 588

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said that Gabriel said, "Here is Khadija coming to you with a dish of food or a tumbler containing something to drink. Convey to her a greeting from her Lord (Allah) and give her the glad tidings that she will have a palace in Paradise built of Qasab wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble). "

Similar traditions was reported by the authority of Isma'il and Aisha (See Sahih al-Bukhari, Traditions: 3. 19, 5. 164, 5. 165, 5. 167, 5. 168, 7. 156, 8. 33, and 9. 576).

When Aisha was jealous, she would exceed her bounds and would do strange things like breaking dishes or tearing clothes.

On another occasion when the Prophet was in the house of Aisha, one of the mothers of the believers (namely Safiyya) sent to the Prophet a dish that he really loved.

She destroyed the dish, together with the food in it.

Let us see how Aisha herself described this episode:

Aisha said: "Safiyya, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), sent a dish she had made for him when he was with me.

When I saw the maidservant, I trembled with rage and fury, and I took the bowl and hurled it away.

The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) then looked at me; I saw the anger in his face and I said to him: 'I seek refuge from Allah's Apostle cursing me today.

' The Prophet said: 'Undo it'.

I said: 'What is its compensation, O Prophet of Allah?' He said: 'The food like her food, and a bowl like her bowl. '

Sunni references:

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p227

Sahih al-Nisa'i, v2, p148

al-Bukhari confirms this episode as well:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 7. 152 (The Chapter of Envy)

Narrated Anas:

While the Prophet was in the house of one of his wives, one of the mothers of the believers sent a meal in a dish.

The wife at whose house the Prophet was, struck the hand of the servant, causing the dish to fall and break.

The Prophet gathered the broken pieces of the dish and then started collecting on them the food which had been in the dish and said, "Your mother (my wife) felt jealous.

" Then he detained the servant till a (sound) dish was brought from the wife at whose house he was.

He gave the sound dish to the wife whose dish had been broken and kept the broken one at the house where it had been broken.

 

And on another occasion, speaking of herself:

Aisha said: "I said to the Prophet (PBUH&HF) 'Enough for you about Safiyya is such and such.

' The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) said to me: 'You have uttered words which, if they were mixed with the waters of the sea, would color it. '

Sunni reference:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, and al-Zamakhshari has related it from him on, p73

By this Aisha was trying to disclose Safiyya's faults.

Glory be to Allah! How far was this mother of the believers away from the ethics and basic rights which Islam has enjoined concerning forbidding of backbiting and slander? No doubt her speech: "Enough for you about Safiyya is such and such" and the response of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) "You have uttered words which, if they were mixed with the waters of the sea, would color it" shows what Aisha had said regarding Safiyya was a grave thing and of immense concern.

The narrators of the Hadith found it repulsive, and since they respected her, they changed the words to "so and so" as is their normal practice in such scandals.

And here is Aisha, the mother of the believers, narrating, once again, of her envy of Mariya (another mother of the believers).

Aisha said:

"I have never been as jealous of any woman as I have been of Mariya.

That was because she had beautiful ringlets.

She used to stay in the house of Haritha Ibn al-Numan.

We frightened her and I became concerned.

The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) sent her to a higher place and he would visit her there.

That was very hard upon us, and then Allah blessed him with a boy through her and we shunned him".

 

Sunni references:

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v8, p212

al-Ansab al-Ashraf, by al-Baladhuri, v1, p339

Aisha's jealousy went beyond the person of Mariya, and was directed even against Ibrahim, the innocent, newly born suckling baby:

Aisha said: "When Ibrahim was born, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) brought him to me and said: 'Look how much he resembles me.

' I said: 'I do not see any resemblance.

' The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: 'Don't you see how robust and fair he is?"' Aisha said: "I said: 'Whoever is fed with the milk of sheep becomes fair and robust. '

Sunni references:

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v1, p37

also in al-Ansab al-Ashraf, by al-Baladhuri

Aisha was very partial and yielded to emotions and selfish motives.

When some people maliciously accused Mariya (the wife of the Prophet), she was Aisha who supported the accusers and tried to confirm the false blame.

But Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, absolved her from blame and saved her from injustice, through the Commander of Believers, Imam Ali (AS).

(For details refer to the account of Lady Mariya, may Allah be gracious to her, in al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v4, p30, or Talkhis of al-Mustadrak, by al-Dhahabi).

When she was overcome by suspicion and devilish insinuation, her jealousy crossed all boundaries and was beyond the expression of words, leading her to suspect the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF).

Quite often, she used to pretend to be asleep when the Prophet stayed the night at her house, but, in fact, she would closely observe her husband, spying upon him in the darkness, following behind where he went.

Here is a report, in her own words, which was narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad and other Sunni scholars:

Aisha said: When it was my turn for Allah's Messenger to spend the night with me, he turned his side, put on his mantle, and took off his shoes and placed them near his feet and spread the corner of his shawl on his bed and then lay down till he thought that I had gone to sleep.

He then took hold of his mantle and put on the shoes slowly, and opened the door and went out and then closed the door lightly.

I covered my head, put on my veil, and tightened my waist wrapper, and then went out following his steps till he reached (the cemetery of) al-Baqi.

He stood there for a long time and then he lifted his hand three times and then returned, and I also returned.

He hastened his steps and I also hastened my steps.

He ran and I also ran.

He came (to the home) and I also came (to the home).

I, however, preceded him and entered and lay down on the bed.

He entered and said: Why is it, O Aisha, that you are out of breath? I said: There is nothing.

He said: Tell me or the Subtle and the Aware will inform me.

I told him the story.

He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes.

He struck me on the chest which caused me pain and the said: Did you think Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?

Sunni references:

Sahih Muslim, English version, chapter CCCLII (titled: What is to be said while visiting the graveyard), v2, pp 461-462, Tradition #2127

Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, v2, pp 669-670, Tradition #103

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p147

On another occasion, she said:

"I lost track of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF), and I suspected that he had gone to another of his wives. I went looking for him and I found him in prostration, saying.

"O My Lord! Forgive me"

Sunni reference:

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p147

On another occasion:

Aisha said: "One night, when he was with me, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) went out".

She said: "I became jealous.

When he came and saw what I had done, he said: 'What is the matter, O Aisha? Are you jealous?' I replied: 'And why should not those like me be jealous of those like you?' The Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) then said: 'Has your devil taken possession of you?'.

Sunni reference:

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p115

No doubt Aisha was quite often overcome or confused by her devil, for he found a way to her heart through jealousy.

It has been narrated that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Jealousy for a man is faith and for a woman disbelief", meaning that a man may get jealous concerning his wife, for his wife is not religiously allowed to have sexual relation with another man.

The woman, however, does not have the right to be jealous of her husband, because Allah, Glory be to Him, has allowed him to marry more than one wife.

An upright and believing woman who submits to the rulings of Allah, accepts her co-wife wholeheartedly, especially if her husband is just, upright, and God-fearing.

How about the leader of humanity, the symbol of perfection and justice, and the most noble character, the Messenger of Allah?

Once the Prophet asked Aisha to collect certain information about a particular woman, namely, Sharraf, the sister of Dihya al-Kalbi.

The information that she conveyed to him was not the information she had gathered, but wrong information prompted by selfish motives.

When the Prophet (PBUH&HF) informed her of the truth of what she had observed, Aisha replied: "O Prophet of Allah! No secret is unknown to you.

Who is able to hide anything from you?"

Sunni references:

Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v6, p294

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v8, p115

She said once she addressed to the Messenger of Allah: "I smell Maghafir (a kind of flower having a very bad odor) from you.

" She said this in order to prevent him from visiting the house of Umm al-Mu'minin Zainab (RA) and eating honey there.

This is the claim of Aisha.

No other people mentioned this.

As I will point out shortly, the story said by Umar regarding the revelation of divorce verses, is much different than the context of what Aisha said.

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 6. 434

Narrated Aisha:

Allah's Apostle used to drink honey in the house of Zainab, the daughter of Jahsh, and would stay there with her.

So Hafsa and I agreed secretly that, if he come to either of us, she would say to him "It seems you have eaten Maghafir (a kind of bad-smelling resin), for I smell in you the smell of Maghafir. "

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 7. 192

Narrated 'Ubaid bin Umar:

I heard Aisha saying, "The Prophet used to stay for a long while with Zainab Bint Jahsh and drink honey at her house.

So Hafsa and I decided that if the Prophet came to anyone of us, she should say him, "I detect the smell of Maghafir (a nasty smelling gum) in you.

Have you eaten Maghafir?'.

So there was revealed:

'O Prophet ! Why do you ban (for you) that which Allah has made lawful for you .

If you two (wives of Prophet) turn in repentance to Allah,' (66:1-4) addressing Aisha and Hafsa.

'When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to some of his wives.

'(66:3)

Tradition 8. 682 of Sahih al-Bukhari is also similar to above and is narrated by Aisha himself.

No other person narrated the story of honey in connection with the divorce verses.

Please also see the previous article where we mentioned Sahih al-Bukhari, Tradition 7. 119.

In that tradition which is narrated by Umar, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did not enter to the house of Aisha and Hafsa for one full month as a punishment for their aggressive actions.

Considering the compassionate and the gentle personality of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), such severe punishment and the threat to divorce just for their saying to the Prophet "You smell Maghafir" (as Aisha claimed) does not seem reasonable.

Quran confirms that the charges against Hafsa and Aisha was revealing a secret news:

When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives (i. e. , Hafsa) and she then divulged it (i. e. , to Aisha) and Allah made it known to him, he made known (to her) part thereof and passed over part.

Then when he (i. e. , the Prophet) told her thereof, she said: "Who told you this?" He said "He who knows and is well-aware (of all things) told me. " (Quran 66. 3)

It seems that the report of Umar is more accurate.

Umar said: "The Prophet kept away from his wives for twenty-nine days because of the story which Hafsa had disclosed to Aisha. " (See Sahih al-Bukhari 7. 119 and 6. 435).

This is much different than the story made by Aisha about honey.

After one month that the Prophet deserted his wives, and when the words of Allah: "You may defer any one of them you wish and take to your self any you wish and there is no sin for you to take back any of them you have (temporarily) set aside (33:51)" were revealed, Aisha said to the Prophet:

"It seems to me that your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire!"

Sunni references:

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter DLXXII (titled: Permissibility of bestowing the turn on one's fellow wife), v2, pp 748-749, Traditions #3453-3454

Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, v2, pp 1085-1086, Traditions #49-50

Her evil conduct in the presence of the Prophet of Allah (PBUH&HF) reached a point that while he was praying, she would spread her feet towards his direction of prostration.

When he prostrated and pinched them, she retracted them.

When he stood up for the rest of the prayer, she would spread her feet out again:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 1. 492 & 1. 379

Narrated Aisha:

"I used to sleep in front of Allah's Apostle with my legs opposite his Qibla (facing him); and whenever he prostrated, he pushed my feet and I withdrew them and whenever he stood, I stretched them. "

One day, in the presence of her father, she started a quarrel with the Prophet and told him: "Be just.

" Her father punished her for the impudence by giving a powerful a slap on her face so that she bled profusely and the blood ran onto her clothes.

Sunni references:

Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v7, p116, Tradition #1020

Ihyaa al-Ulum, by al-Ghazzali, Chapter 3, Bab al-Nikah, v2, p35

Mukashifat al-Qulub, by al-Ghazzali, Chapter 94, p238

If Aisha got angry at the Prophet - which she did quite often - she would avoid uttering the name of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

She would not mention the name of Muhammad, but rather used to say: "By the Lord of Abraham" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, Tradition #7.

155 and #8. 101, The Chapter of Jealousy and Wiles of a woman).

Once she angrily said to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF):

"It is you who pretend to be a prophet from Allah. "

Sunni references:

- Ihyaa al-Ulum, by al-Ghazzali, Chapter 3, v2, p29, The Book on the Etiquettes of Marriage

- Mukashifat al-Qulub, by al-Ghazzali, Chapter 94

Subhana Allah!!! This is the Messenger of Allah, and submitting to his order is obligatory for every believing men and women.

Disputing him is a sign of great impurity and the one who does that can not be regarded as pure and righteous since s/he has committed a grave sin, let alone casting doubt on the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH&HF).

End of Part 5 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
www.tebyan.net

Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part IV)

Matrimonial Relationship

In the previous parts, we quoted extensive authentic traditions from Sahih Muslim and else, proving that during the lifetime of the Prophet, his Ahlul-Bayt constituted only Imam Ali, Fatimah al-Zahra, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, and also the purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed on their virtue and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

These facts were proven based on the testimony of the Messenger of Allah as well as the testimony of his wives and his companions.

Here I would like to quote another interesting tradition from Sahih Muslim, in which another famous companion of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) swears in the name of Allah that wives of the Prophet are NOT included in his Ahlul-Bayt.

The tradition explains the reasoning of this companion and his justification.

Here is the tradition recorded in Sahih Muslim:

Narrated Yazid Ibn Hayyan:

We went to Zaid Ibn Arqam and said to him: You have found goodness (for you had the honor) to live in the company of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) and offered prayer behind him, and the rest of the Hadith is the same (as 3 traditions before) but the Prophet said: "Behold, for I am leaving amongst you two weighty things, one of them is the Book of Allah.

", and in this (Hadith) these words are also found: We said: "Who are his Ahlul-Bayt (that the Prophet was referring to)? Are they his wives?" Thereupon Zaid said: "No, by Allah! A woman lives with a man (as his wife) for a while; he then divorces her and she goes back to her parents and her people.

The Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet are his lineage and his descendants (those who come from his blood) for whom the acceptance of charity (Sadaqah) is prohibited. "

Reference:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of the virtues of Ali, 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1874, Tradition #37

For the English version of Sahih Muslim, please see Chapter CMXCVI,

Tradition #5923

Here is the Arabic text of the above tradition narrated by Sahih Muslim:

As we see, even some of the companions of the Prophet swear in the name of Allah that Ahlul-Bayt do NOT include the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

However Sahih Muslim has another tradition from Zaid Ibn Arqam in the very same chapter which is:

Zaid Ibn Arqam said: I have grown old and have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).

So accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that.

He then said: One day, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khum (Ghadir Khum) which is situated between Mecca and Medina.

He praised Allah, Extolled Him and delivered the sermon and exhorted (us) and said: "Now to our purpose, O people, I am a human being.

I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I shall answer that call (would bid good-bye to you).

But I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah.

The second are the members of my household (Ahlul-Bayt).

By Allah I remind you (of your duties) to the Members of my House (saying three times). "

He (Husain Ibn Sabra) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren't his wives the members of his family? Thereupon Zaid said: His wives are among Ahlul-Bayt but here Ahlul-Bayt are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden.

And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: Ali and the offspring of Ali; Aqil and the offspring of Aqil, and the offspring of Ja'far and the offspring of Abbas.

 

Reference:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of the virtues of companions, section of the virtues of Ali, 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1873, Tradition #36.

 

For the English version of Sahih Muslim, see Chapter CMXCVI, p1286, Tradition #5920

Please note that the second Paragraph of the above tradition is NOT the saying of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

It is the alleged opinion of Zaid Ibn Arqam.

In contradiction to the previous tradition, here Zaid asserts that: "The wives of the Prophet are among his Ahlul-Bayt BUT HERE (what the Prophet meant by) Ahlul-Bayt (were some other people who) are Ali and his offspring, and the offspring of Abbas. "

My question is that: Should we obey the saying of the Prophet who specified who Ahlul-Bayt are, or we should accept the opinion of a companion which, in this case at least, is in contradiction with the opinion of the Prophet?

Besides the history tells us that there were many tyrant rulers among the Abbasid (the descendants of Abbas).

So how can we obey them and love them? Allah in Quran said: " and obey not from among them a sinner or an ungrateful one. " (Quran 76:24).

Were Abbasid tyrants among Ahlul-Bayt who the Messenger of Allah put them beside Quran as one of the two precious thing that he left for his community to be obeyed after him?!

This shows Ahlul-Bayt are special individuals and do not cover all the relatives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The word Ahlul-Bayt, linguistically, does not cover all relatives at all.

It means family who come from his blood as pointed in the first tradition of Zaid.

Thus, even the Prophet's wives are not going to be included in Ahlul-Bayt.

Those of Sunni brothers who believe all the traditions in Sahih Muslim are authentic, can find a contradiction here between the two traditions which are in the same chapter and only tree traditions away from each other.

In one tradition, Zaid said that the Prophet's wives are among Ahlul-Bayt, and in three traditions away from it, the very same person (Zaid) is swearing in the name of Allah that the Prophet's wives are NOT among his Ahlul-Bayt? What should we conclude?

Should we disregard the clarification of the Prophet and stick to the opinion of a companion?

If yes, then should we accept the saying of a companion who tells two contradicting opinion while he himself said in the second tradition that he has grown old and he does not remember too much?

Should we accept such contradicting narrations as Sahih (authentic)?

If yes, then should we accept the one in which he swears in the name of Allah, or the one in which he does not swear for?

When the Prophet clearly excludes his wives from Ahlul-Bayt, and when his wives such as Aisha, Umm Salama and Safiyya also testify to this fact (please see part I), and when Zaid Ibn Arqam swears by Allah that the wives of the Prophet are NOT among Ahlul-Bayt, then there will remain no choice but to accept the fact that the wives of the Messenger of Allah were NOT included in the Ahlul-Bayt.

It might be possible to accepts both narrations, if we carefully look at what Zaid said: "The wives are among his Ahlul-Bayt but here (what the Prophet meant by) Ahlul-Bayt (were some other people who) are Ali and his offspring, . "

Zaid is saying that we may say (in general sense) the wives included in Ahlul-Bayt, BUT HERE the Prophet meant a special meaning for Ahlul-Bayt which does not cover the wives of the Prophet.

It is with this meaning that the Prophet put Ahlul-Bayt beside the Quran.

In this case, the contradiction between the two traditions can reconciled.

Now, let us focus on the last part of saying of Zaid in the above tradition where he said:

"A woman lives with a man (as his wife) for a while; he then divorces her and she goes back to her parents and her people.

The Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet are his lineage and his descendants (those who come from his blood) for whom the acceptance of charity (Sadaqah) is prohibited. "

This is a correct reasoning.

The matrimonial relation between and a man and a woman can never be considered permanent; it is only circumstantial and can be given up at any moment since the wife could be divorced.

In fact two wives among the wives of the Prophet, namely Aisha (the daughter of Abu Bakr) and Hafsa (the daughter of Umar) were threatened to divorce by Quran, because of a secret news that they released to their parents.

It is well-known that the following verses of Quran were revealed about Aisha and Hafsa:

66:3

When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives (i. e. , Hafsa) and she then divulged it (to Aisha) and Allah made it known to him, he made known (to her) part thereof and passed over part.

Then when he (i. e. , the Prophet) told her thereof, she said: "Who told you this?" He said "He who knows and is well-aware (of all things) told me. "

66:4

If you two (i. e. , Aisha and Hafsa) turn unto Allah repentant, (you have cause to do so) for your hearts indeed desired (against the order of the Prophet); and if you two aid one another against him (Muhammad) then lo! Truly Allah is his Protector and Gabriel and the righteous one among those who believe and furthermore the angels will back (him) up.

66:5

If he divorces you, Allah may give him instead wives better than you who will be submissive (to Allah), believing, pious, penitent, inclined to fasting, widows and maids. "

Explanation Sahih al-Bukhari on verse 66:5

In the Volume 6 of the Arabic-English version of Sahih al-Bukhari, in a chapter titled: "It may be, if he divorces you, that his Lord (Allah) will give him, instead of you, wives better than you . (66:5),"

we read: Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 6. 438

Narrated Umar:

The wives of the Prophet out of their jealousy, backed each other against the Prophet, so I said to them, "It may be, if he divorced you all, that Allah will give him, instead of you wives better than you.

" So this Verse (66. 5) was revealed.

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 6. 436

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

I intended to ask Umar so I said, "Who were those two ladies who tried to back each other against the Prophet?" I hardly finished my speech when he said, They were Aisha and Hafsa. "

If the Allah threatened the two wives of the Prophet by divorce, because they backed each other against the Prophet, then how can we render them as pure and sinless? Moreover, the following tradition states that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) deserted Aisha and Hafsa for one full month as punishment for revealing the secret news:

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 7. 119

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

I had been eager to ask Umar bin al-Khattab about the two ladies from among the wives of the Prophet regarding whom Allah said 'If you two (wives of the Prophet namely Aisha and Hafsa) turn in repentance to Allah, your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet likes).

(66. 4) till Umar performed the Hajj and I too, performed the Hajj along with him.

Then I said to him, "O chief of the Believers! Who were the two ladies from among the wives of the Prophet regarding whom Allah said: 'If you two (wives of the Prophet) turn in repentance to Allah your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet likes)?" (66. 4)

He said, "I am astonished at your question, O Ibn Abbas. They were Aisha and Hafsa. "

Then Umar went on narrating the Hadith and said, " I shouted at my wife and she retorted against me and I disliked that she should answer me back. She said to me, 'Why are you so surprised at my answering you back? By Allah, the wives of the Prophet answer him back and some of them may leave (do not speak to) him throughout the day till the night. ' The (talk) scared me and I said to her, 'Whoever has done so will be ruined!' Then I proceeded after dressing myself, and entered upon Hafsa and said to her, 'Does anyone of you keep the Prophet angry till night?' She said, 'Yes. ' I said, 'You are a ruined losing person! Don't you fear that Allah may get angry for the anger of Allah's Apostle and thus you will be ruined? So do not ask more from the Prophet and do not answer him back and do not give up talking to him.

Ask me whatever you need and do not be tempted to imitate your neighbor (i. e. , Aisha) in her manners for she is more charming than you and more beloved to the Prophet. "

Umar added, "At that time a talk was circulating among us that (the tribe of) Ghassan were preparing their horses to invade us.

My Ansari companion, on the day of his turn, went (to the town) and returned to us at night and knocked at my door violently and asked if I was there.

I became horrified and came out to him.

He said, 'Today a great thing has happened.

' I asked, 'What is it? Have (the people of) Ghassan come?' He said, 'No, but (What has happened) is greater and more horrifying than that: Allah's Apostle; has divorced his wives.

Umar added, "The Prophet kept away from his wives and I said "Hafsa is a ruined loser.

' I had already thought that most probably this (divorce) would happen in the near future.

So I dressed myself and offered the morning prayer with the Prophet and then the Prophet entered an upper room and stayed there in seclusion.

I entered upon Hafsa and saw her weeping.

I asked, 'What makes you weep? Did I not warn you about that? Did the Prophet divorce you all?' She said, 'I do not know. There he is retired alone in the upper room.'

I said (to Allah's Apostle) chatting, 'Will you heed what I say, O Allah's Apostle? We, the people of Quraish used to have power over our women, but when we arrived at Medina we found that the men (here) were overpowered by their women.

' The Prophet smiled and then I said to him, 'Will you heed what I say, O Allah's Apostle? I entered upon Hafsa and said to her, "Do not be tempted to imitate your companion (Aisha), for she is more charming than you and more beloved to the Prophet.'

Then the Prophet kept away from his wives for twenty-nine days because of the story which Hafsa had disclosed to Aisha.

The Prophet had said, 'I will not enter upon them for one month,' because of his anger towards them . Some of his wives were the cause of him taking that decision, therefore he deserted them for one month.

See Quran: (66. 4)

Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 6. 435

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

For the whole year I had the desire to ask Umar bin al-Khattab regarding the explanation of a Verse (in Surat al-Tahrim) .

Umar went aside to answer the call of nature by the Arak trees.

I waited till he finished and then I proceeded with him and asked him.

"O chief of the Believers! Who were the two wives of the Prophet who aided one another against him?" He said, "They were Hafsa and Aisha. "

Then Umar added, "Once while I was thinking over a certain matter, my wife said, "I recommend that you do so-and-so.

" I said to her, "What have you got to do with the is matter? Why do you poke your nose in a matter which I want to see fulfilled?" She said, How strange you are, O son of al-Khattab! You don't want to be argued with whereas your daughter, Hafsa surely, argues with Allah's Apostle so much that he remains angry for a full day!" Umar then reported how he at once put on his outer garment and went to Hafsa and said to her, "O my daughter! Do you argue with Allah's Apostle so that he remains angry the whole day?" Hafsa said, "By Allah, we argue with him. "

Umar said, "Know that I warn you of Allah's punishment and the anger of Allah's Apostle .

O my daughter! Don't be betrayed by the one who is proud of her beauty because of the love of Allah's Apostle for her (i. e. Aisha). "

Umar added, (One day) my Ansari friend unexpectedly knocked at my door, and said, "Open Open!" I said, "Has the king of Ghassan come?" He said, "No, but something worse; Allah's Apostle has isolated himself from his wives.

" I said, "Let the nose of Aisha and Hafsa be stuck to dust (i. e. , humiliated)!"

In the above tradition, Hafsa swears by Allah that she argues with the Messenger of Allah and keeps him angry for the whole day! Is this a sign of purity and righteousness? According to Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33), perfect purity and sinlessness is the characteristic of Ahlul-Bayt.

The above verses of Quran as well as the above traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari proves that some of the wives of the Prophet were not righteous and pure, otherwise Allah would not have threatened them in Quran by divorce.

This is the main reason why I preferred the reference from Sahih Muslim on the authority of Zaid Ibn Arqam in which he * swears by Allah * that the Prophet's wives are NOT among Ahlul-Bayt since they can be subject to divorce and being substituted with women better than them (Quran 66:5).

Another astonishing tradition in Sahih al-Bukhari is as follows:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 4. 336

Narrated Abdullah:

The Prophet stood up and delivered a sermon, and pointed to the house of Aisha, and said: "Fitna (trouble/sedition) is right here," saying three times, "and from where the side of the Satan's head comes out. "

All these traditions give us more alarms not to include the wives of the Prophet into the Ahlul-Bayt who are spotless and sinless based on the testimony of the Messenger of Allah:

Ibn Abbas Narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah recited "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a perfect purification".

(Quran, the last sentence of Verse 33:33) and then the Messenger of Allah said: "Thus Me and my Ahlul-Bayt are clear from the sins.

 

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, as quoted in:

al-Durr al-Manthoor, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, v5, pp 605-606,198 under the commentary of Verse 33:33 of Quran

Dala'il al-Nabawiyyah, by al-Bayhaqi

Others such as al-Tabarani, Ibn Mardawayh, Abu Nu'aym, etc.

 

Please note the word "thus" in the highlighted part of the above tradition.

It means the Prophet himself is CONCLUDING that the verse MEANS Ahlul-Bayt are sinless.

In his exegesis, Ibn Jarir Tabari quotes Qatadah who interpreted the sacred verse of Tat'hir that people of the Holy Prophet's family are those whom Almighty Allah has purified from every sin and showered special blessings on them.

He also stated in explanation of the verse:

"It is this and nothing else that Allah willed to ward off every badness and indecency from the people of the family of Muhammad and to keep them clear from every contamination and sin!"

Sunni reference:

Tafsir al-Tabari, v22, p5 under commentary of verse 33:33

Thus the Purification Verse (Ayah al-Tat'hir) and the Tradition of Mantle (Hadith al-Kisaa) confer a special distinction and honor upon the Holy Family that is: being free from every blemish and uncleanness, being infallible, and being kept purified by Allah and absolved of any sin.

They are therefore entitled to absolute obedience from the Muslim Ummah not only as a logical inference, but as a fulfillment of the very intention and utmost desire of the Prophet of Islam in pin pointing them and making them distinguished from the rest of the Muslim Ummah.

As we discussed earlier, in the special meaning that the Prophet elucidated in the previously mentioned traditions, Ahlul-Bayt even does NOT cover all those who come from his blood.

Only those among them who are pure and sinless (Quran 33:33) are the Ahlul-Bayt.

These are a very selected individuals among his progeny.

End of Part 4 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part III)

The Incident of Mubahala

Here I would like to bring another evidence from Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi that why the wives of the Prophet are not included in Ahlul-Bayt, which is also, by the way, another reason for the superiority of Ali (AS) for the position of leadership after the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The following incident is related to the event of "Mubahala" (which means imprecation, or invoking the curse of Allah upon the liar), which took place in the 9th-10th year of Hijrah.

In that year a delegation consisting of 14 Christian priests came from Najran to meet the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

When they met the Prophet they asked him what is his opinion about Jesus (AS).

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "You may take rest today and you will receive the reply afterwards.

" The next day, 3 verses of Quran (3:59-61) about Jesus were revealed.

When Christians did not accept the words of Allah, The Prophet recited the last revealed verse:

But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: Come let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and our selves and your selves; then let us be earnest in prayer and invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars.

(Quran 3:61).

In this way, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) challenged the Christians.

The next day the Christian priests came out on one side of the field.

Also on the other side, the Prophet came out of his house carrying al-Husain in his arm with al-Hasan walking along with him while he was holding his hand.

Behind him was Fatimah al-Zahra, and behind her was Ali, peace be upon them all.

When the Christians saw the five pure souls, and how determined the Prophet is in his idea that he put the closest people to him at risk, the Christians were terrified and abstained from the proposed malediction (Mubahala) and submitted to a treaty with the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

al-Suyuti who was a great Sunni scholar, wrote:

In the above verse (3:61), according to what Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari (the great companion of the Prophet) said, the word "sons" refers to al-Hasan and al-Husain, the word "women" refers to Fatimah, and the word "our selves" refer to the Prophet and Ali.

Thus Ali is referred as "the self" of the Prophet (Nafs of the Prophet).

Reference: al-Durr al-Manthoor by al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, v2, p38

It follows that just as it is unlawful to seek to be superior to the Prophet, similarly it is unlawful to supersede Ali (who is the "self" of the Prophet according to the words of Allah).

Any one who presumed to supersede Ali, was, in essence, presumed to supersede the Prophet! This is another Quranic proof for the right of Imam Ali as the immediate successor of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Muslim and al-Tirmidhi both confirm the above incident, and recorded the following tradition in their authentic collections of traditions:

Narrated Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas:

And when the verse 3:61 was revealed, the Prophet called Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain.

Then the Prophet said: "O Lord! These are my family members (Ahli). "

Sunni references:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of virtues of Ali, 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1871, the end of tradition #32.

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p654

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p150, who said this tradition is authentic based on the criteria set by two Shaikhs, al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p25

Here is the Arabic text of the above tradition given by both

Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi:

The point, here, is that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) did not bring any of his wives to the field of "Mubahala", and according to above tradition, he used the word "Ahl" (family) ONLY for the above-mentioned individuals (i. e. , Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain).

Note that in the verse 3:61 of Quran Allah uses plural form "women" by saying "Let us bring our women", but the Prophet only brought his daughter Fatimah (AS).

If there were more than one woman in Ahlul-Bayt, the Prophet was required by this verse to bring them, but since there was not any other woman among his Ahlul-Bayt, he brought Fatimah (AS) only.

Again, in that incident, the Prophet explicitly mentioned who Ahlul-Bayt are, and named them one by one, and Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and many other Sunni scholars recorded that and all confirmed its authenticity.

There was no mention of his wives in any of these reports.

Some Sunni scholars have narrated that on the day of consultation for appointing the ruler after the death of Umar, Imam Ali (AS) argued with the members of Shura reminding them his rights to the Caliphate, and one of his reasons was the incident of Mubahala:

On the day of consultation, Ali argued with the committee members saying: "I adjure you in the name of Allah, is there anyone amongst you closer in relationship to the Messenger of Allah than me? Is there any other man whom the Prophet made him 'his (own) soul' (Nafs), and that he made his children 'his (own) children', and his women 'his (own) women'?" They replied: "No, by God!"

Sunni reference:

al-Darqunti, as per:

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p239

It is also narrated that:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Verily, Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, has placed the progeny of each prophet into his backbone (Sulb), and He, Exalted, has placed my progeny into the backbone of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. "

Sunni references:

al-Tabarani

Abul-Khair al-Haakimi, on the authority of al-Abbas

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p239

al-Kunooz al-Mataalib

It is also narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "Me and Ali are from one tree, and the rest of people are from different trees. "

 

Sunni references:

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 9, section 2, p190

Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171

al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani, from Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari

In another Sunni commentary of Quran, it is narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Umar that:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "Had there been any soul on the whole earth better than Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain, Allah would have commanded me to take them along with me to Mubahala. But as they were superior in dignity and respect to all human be beings, Allah confined His choice on them only for participation in Mubahala. "

Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Baidhawi, under the commentary of Verse 3:61

Concluding, the event of Mubahala between the Prophet (PBUH&HF) the Christians was significant in many aspects, among them are:

1. It proved to be a lesson for all the Christians of Arabia who no longer dared any confrontation with the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF).

2. The invitation of "Mubahala" (literally meaning cursing each other) was directed by Allah and it was in compliance with His Command that the Holy Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt along with him to the field of Mubahala.

This serves to show how affairs pertaining to prophethood and Islam are determined by the Will of Allah; allowing no margin of interference from the common people (Ummah).

(The matter of Imam Ali's (AS) succession after the Prophet should be viewed similarly)

3. The indispensability of Imam Ali, Lady Fatimah, Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Husain in the following of the precepts of the Holy Prophet could no longer be disputed.

4. Notwithstanding their childhood, al-Hasan and al-Husain did nevertheless serve as two active partners of the Holy Prophet on the field of Mubahala.

This yields the conclusion that age is no criteria for the greatness of those infallible souls.

5. That the Holy Prophet's act of having preferred a few obviously elevates their status above all others.

6. Traditions from the Prophet with regards to this event clearly indicates who the Ahlul-Bayt are.

7. Imam Ali (AS) has been mentioned as the 'Self' of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) according to the revelation of Allah, and is, in fact, superior to all others with regard to the matter of succession.

 

Is It Just Blood Relationship?

It is narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Any relation will end on the day of Judgment except my relation.

And the root (identification) of every one is his father, except the progeny of Fatimah, since I am their father and their root (identification). "

Sunni references:

Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Bayhaqi, and al-Darqunti, al-Dhahabi on the authorities of Umar Ibn al-Khattab, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Zubair, and Ibn Umar.

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p239

Similar tradition has been narrated by Abu Ya'la, al-Tabarani on the authority of Fatimah (AS) and Ibn Umar

The above precious tradition proves that, blood relationship is of little value in Islam and it will soon melt away when the day of Judgment appears.

But what makes the relationship of the Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt different than others is the qualifications and spiritual purity that they have besides their pure gene (which is also necessary).

It is worth mentioning that Lady Fatimah (AS) is the only surviving child of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) who left progeny for him.

All other children of the Prophet died in their early ages, without being able to leave an issue behind themselves.

The infidels of Hijaz (Arabia) used to dishonor the Prophet by saying that he does not have a son to preserve his generation.

For that reason, Allah revealed the Chapter of "al-Kawthar":

"Lo! We have given you Abundance (i. e. , a long-standing pure progeny).

So pray unto your Lord, and sacrifice.

Lo! It is your insulter (and not you) who is without progeny.

" (Quran, Chapter 108).

 

In the above Chapter, Allah refers to Fatimah al-Zahra as Abundance who brings for the Prophet a sanctified progeny.

Again, by progeny we do not mean all those whose ancestor are the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

We rather mean those among his descendants who have been thoroughly purified by Allah, and the history and the Hadith can not count more that 14 of them (including the Prophet).

Here is the commentary of the above Chapter by Yusuf Ali (the translator of Quran):

Abu Jahl and his Pagan confederates vented their personal spite and venom against the holy Prophet by taunting him with the loss of his two infant sons by Khadija, but where were these venomous detractors a few years afterwards, when the divine Light shone more brilliantly than ever?

Fatimah received severe injuries and was martyred at the age of eighteen, just six months after the demise of the Prophet, leaving two sons: al-Hasan, and al-Husain.

After martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS), Imam al-Hasan came to power.

But Muawiyah, the disloyal governor of Syria, continued his aggression by preparing another attack (after the war of Siffin), and meanwhile he bought the key elements of the army of Imam al-Hasan by money and bribe, and by corrupting his army, was finally able to complete a peaceful military coup, and to take over the power.

Imam al-Hasan was poisoned to death shortly after.

The second (and the last) grandson of the Prophet was Imam al-Husain (AS), who was slaughtered along with his family (except one of his sons), relatives, and companions, in the desert of Karbala, by the army of Yazid, the corrupt and drunk son of Muawiyah.

That catastrophe took place only 50 years after the demise of the Prophet!!!

The above was a very short horrible story of what happened to Ahlul-Bayt, whom Quran and the Prophet (PBUH&HF) ordered us to love them and obey them beside the book of Allah.

End of Part 3 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part II)

In the previous part, three authentic versions of "The Tradition of Cloak/Mantle" (Hadith al-Kisaa) reported in Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi, and Mustadrak al-Hakim.

In these traditions three wives of the Prophet testified that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) specified that the Members of his House (in his lifetime) are restricted to his daughter Fatimah (AS), her husband Ali (AS) and their two sons: al-Hasan (AS), and al-Husain (AS).

Also according to the quoted traditions, the purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed for their virtue and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Now, let us see what the Messenger of Allah used to do for quite sometime after the revelation of the verse:

The Long-Term Custom of the Prophet After the Revelation of the Purification Verse

It has been widely narrated that after the revelation of the purification verse of Quran (Ayah al-Tat'hir), the Messenger of Allah used to recited this verse at the door of the House of Fatimah and Ali before EVERY prayer when people were gathering to pray with the Messenger of Allah.

He continued this practice for many months simply to show the people who his Ahlul-Bayt are.

Anas Ibn Malik narrated:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF), from the time the revelation of "Verily Allah intends to.

(the last part of Verse 33:33)" and for six (6) months thereafter, stood by the door of the House of Fatimah and said: "Time for Prayer Ahlul-Bayt; No doubt! Allah wished to remove all abomination from you and make you pure and spotless. "

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v12, p85

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, p258

Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p158

who wrote this tradition is authentic as per the criteria of Muslim and Bukhari

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, pp 197,199

Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, pp 5,6 (saying seven month)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p483

Musnad, by al-Tiyalasi, v8, p274

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v5, p146

Abu al-Hamra narrated:

"The Messenger of God continued eight (8) months in Medina, coming to the door of Ali at every morning prayer, putting his two hands on the two sides of the door and exclaiming : "Assalat! Assalat! (prayer! prayer!) Certainly God ward off all uncleanness from you, O Members of the House of Muhammad, and to make you pure and spotless. "

Sunni references:

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, pp 198-199

Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p6

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p483

Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p24 on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik

Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v5, p637

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v5, p146

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, pp 121,168

Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, p338

Also Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated:

"We have witnessed the Messenger of God for nine (9) months coming to the door of Ali, son of Abu Talib, at the time of each prayer and saying: 'Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullah Ahlul-Bayt (Peace and Mercy of God be upon you, O Members of the House).

Certainly God wants only to keep away all the evil from you, Members of the House, and purify you with a thorough purification.

' He did this seven times a day. "

Sunni reference:

al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh al-Suyuti, v5, p198

In Majma' al-Zawa'id and exegesis of Suyuti it has been quoted from Abu Said Khudri with a variation in words that:

For forty days the Holy Prophet approached the house of Fatimah Zahra every morning and used to say: 'Peace be upon you O people of the House! The time for the prayers has come'.

And thereafter he used to recite this verse: O people of the Prophet's House.

And then said: 'I am in a state of war with him who fights with you and am in a state of peace with him who is at peace with you'.

Sunni references:

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh al-Suyuti, v5, p199

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, pp 121,168

He repeated this openly at the time of each prayer so as to demonstrate the meaning of this verse verbally as well as practically and he explained it to his followers on the lines of the sacred verse: "We have revealed the Quran to you so that you could tell the people what has been revealed to them and that perhaps they will think.

(Quran 16:44)" This concept became well known among the people and even the companions of the Holy Prophet argued on its basis on behalf of the Holy Prophet's family:

Those Who Protested based on the Purification Verse to Prove the Virtues of the Holy Family

Imam al-Hasan Ibn Ali (AS)

al-Hakim (in al-Mustadrak) in connection with the attainments of Imam al-Hasan, and al-Haythami (in connection with the excellence of the Holy Family) have narrated that Imam al-Hasan (AS) addressed the people after the martyrdom of his father Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) and said during his speech:

O People! Whoever knows me, knows me and whoever doesn't know me should know that I am al-Hasan Ibn Ali; I am the son of the Holy Prophet and of his executor (Wasi).

I am the son him who invited people to Allah and warned them of the torture of His Hell-fire.

I am the son of the luminous Lamp.

I belong to the family upon whom Gabriel used to descend and from there ascend to heavens.

I belong to the family from whom Allah has ward off all filth and made them pure.

Sunni references:

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p172

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p172

It has been narrated in Majma' al-Zawa'id and Tafsir Ibn Kathir that:

After his father's martyrdom when (Imam) al-Hasan attained the Caliphate, one day while he was performing his prayers, a man attacked him and thrust a sword in his thigh.

He remained confined to bed for some months.

Thereafter, he recovered and delivered a sermon and said: "O People of Iraq! Fear Allah.

We are your Amirs (leaders) and your guests and belong to the family about whom Almighty Allah has said: 'O People of the Prophet's House.

' Imam al-Hasan dwelt on this subject so much that all those present in the Mosque began to cry. "

Sunni references:

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p172

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p486

This tradition has also been quoted by al-Tabarani and others

 

Ummul Mu'minin, Umm Salama (RA)

In Mushkil al-Athar, al-Tahawi has quoted Umrah al-Hamdaniyyah as saying:

I went to Umm Salama and greeted her.

She inquired: "Who are you?" I replied: "I am Umrah Hamdaniyyah.

" Umrah says, "I said O mother of the Faithful! Say something about the man who has been killed among us today.

One group of the people like him and another group is inimical towards him," (He meant Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib).

Umm Salama said, "Do you like him or are you hostile to him?" I replied, "I neither like him nor I am hostile to him.

" [Here the narrative is defective and thereafter it is like this:] Umm Salama began to tell about the revelation of the verse of Tat'hir and said in this behalf: "Allah revealed the verse: O People of the Prophet's House.

There was none in the room at that time, except Gabriel, the Holy Prophet, Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain.

I said: 'O Prophet of Allah! Am I too one of the people of the House?' He replied: 'Allah will reward you and recompense you.

' I wished that he might have said 'Yes' and would have valued such a reply much more than anything else in the world. '

Sunni reference:

Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, p336

Ahmad in Musnad; Tabari in his exegesis and al-Tahawi in Mushkil al-Athar have quoted Shahr Ibn Haushab, to have said:

When the news of the martyrdom of al-Husain reached Medina I heard Umm Salama, wife of the Holy Prophet, saying: "They have killed al-Husain.

I myself observed that the Holy Prophet spread his Khaibari cloak on them and said: 'O Allah! These are the members of my family! Ward off any uncleanness from them and keep them clean and pure!'"

Sunni references:

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p298

Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p6

Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, p335

 

Ibn Abbas (RA)

Ahmad, al-Nisa'i, Muhibbuddin, and al-Haythami have reported (the wording being of Ahmad's Musnad):

'Amr Ibn Maimoon said: "I was with Ibn Abbas when nine persons came to him and said: 'Ibn Abbas! Either come out with us or provide us privacy.

' He said: 'I shall go out with you.

' In those days the eyes of Ibn Abbas were all right and he could see.

They had mutual conversation and I am not aware as to what they talked about.

After some time Ibn Abbas returned to us.

He was then shaking off his dress saying: 'Fie be upon them! They are talking about the man who enjoys ten excellences.

' [Later in the narration Ibn Abbas details the virtues of the Imam till he says:] 'The Holy Prophet spread his cloak upon Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husain and said: O People of the Prophet's House! Allah intends to keep you pure from all sorts of uncleanness and blemish and to purify you with a thorough purification. '

Sunni references:

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p331 (First edition)

al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v2, p269

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p119

 

Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas

In al-Khasa'is, al-Nisa'i has quoted Amir Ibn Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas as saying:

Muawiyah said to Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, "Why do you refrain from abusing Abu Turab?" Sa'd said, "I don't abuse Ali for three attributes of his which I heard from the Holy Prophet.

If even one of them had been for me, I would have valued it much more than anything else on earth.

I heard from the Holy Prophet that When he left Imam Ali as his representative in Medina and proceeded to fight a battle, Ali said: 'Are you leaving me with the women and the children in Medina?' The Holy Prophet replied: 'Don't you like that your position vis-a-vis me should be like that of Aaron (Haroon) with Moses.

You enjoy the same position in regard to me as Aaron enjoyed with Moses.

' On the fateful day of Khaibar, too, I heard the Holy Prophet as saying: 'Tomorrow I shall give the standard (of the army) to one who loves Allah and His Prophet and Allah and His Prophet also love him'.

All of us were keen to be graced and singled out in the face of this declaration and wished that the standard might be in our hands.

In the meantime the Holy Prophet said: 'Bring Ali to me.

' Ali came in such a condition that he had some trouble in his eyes.

The Holy Prophet applied the saliva of his mouth to (Imam) Ali's eyes and gave the standard in his hand.

Moreover, when the verse of Tat'hir was revealed, the Holy Prophet called Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain near himself and said: 'O Allah! These are the People of my House. '

Sunni references:

al-Khasa'is, by al-Nisa'i, p4

A fairly similar narration is given in Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CMXCVI (Virtues of Ali), p1284, Tradition #5916

Also al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, al-Hakim, and al-Tahawi have quoted from Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas that:

At the time of the revelation of the verse, the Holy Prophet called Ali along with his two sons and Fatimah and accommodated them under his own cloak and said: 'O Lord! These are the members of my family'.

Sunni references:

Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p7

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p485

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p147

Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, p336; v2, p33

History of al-Tabari, Arabic version, v5, p31

 

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri

It narrated on that:

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: "This verse has been revealed about five individuals: Myself, Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husain, and Fatimah. "

Sunni references:

Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p5, under the verse 33:33

Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p24

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch.

11, section 1, p221

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami

 

Wathilah Ibn Asqa'

al-Tabari while commenting on the verse 33:33, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, al- Hakim who considers the tradition to be authentic according to the criteria of Muslim and al-Bukhari, also Bayhaqi, al-Tahawi, and Haythami quote Abu Ammar as having said (the wording is of al-Tabari):

I was sitting with Wathilah Ibn Asqa' when a discussion took place about Ali and the people abused him.

When those present rose to leave he said to me: 'Keep sitting so that I may talk with you about the man whom they have been abusing.

I was with the Holy Prophet when Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain approached him and the Holy Prophet spread his cloak on them and said: "O Allah! These are the members of my family.

Ward off every uncleanness from them and keep them clean and pure. "

Sunni references:

Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p6

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416; v3, p417

Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p107

Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p167

Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, p346

Sunan, al-Bayhaqi, v2, p152

Also Ibn al-Athir quoted Shaddad Ibn Abdullah saying:

I heard from Wathilah Ibn Asqa' that when the head of (Imam) al-Husain was brought, one of the Syrians abused (Imam) al-Husain and his father, Wathilah stood up and said: "I swear by Allah that ever since I heard the Holy Prophet say about them: 'O People of the Prophet's House! Allah intends to keep you pure from uncleanness and blemish and to purify you with a thorough purification,' I have always loved Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain (Peace be upon them). '

Sunni reference: Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p20

Ali Ibn al-Husain, Zain al-Abideen (AS)

While commenting on the verse 33:33, al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir and al-Suyuti have stated in their exegesis:

Ali Ibn Husain said to a Syrian: "Have you read this verse in Surah al-Ahzab, O people of the House! Allah intends to keep you pure from blemish and to purify you with a thorough purification (Quran 33:33)?"

The Syrian said: "Does this verse pertain to you?" The Imam replied: "Yes, it pertains to us. "

Sunni references:

Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, p7

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p486

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh al-Suyuti, v5, p199

al-Kharazmi has quoted this very narration in his Maqtal in the following words:

When, after the martyrdom of (Imam) al-Husain the grandson of the Holy Prophet, (Imam) Zain al-Abideen and other prisoners belonging to the House of the Holy Prophet were carried to Damascus and stationed in a jail located by the side of the Grand Mosque of Damascus, an old man approached them and said: "Praised be Allah who killed you and annihilated you and relieved the people from your men and provided the Commander of the Faithful (Yazid) with authority over you.

" Ali Ibn al-Husain said: "O old man! Have you read the Holy Quran?" He replied: "Yes. "

Then the Imam said: "Have you read the verse: Muhammad! 'Say, I do not ask you of any reward for my preaching except the love of my kinsfolk'?" The old man said: "Yes. I have read it. "

The Imam said: "Have you read the verse: 'So give what is due to the near ones, the needy and the wayfarer.

' and the verse: 'Know that whatever (income) you gain, one fifth belongs to Allah, the Messenger, his near ones, orphans the needy and the wayfarers, if you believe in Allah and what We revealed to Our servant in the Holy Quran'?" The old man replied: "Yes. I have read them. "

The Imam said: "I swear by Allah that the word 'near ones' refers to us and these verses have been revealed about us.

(The Imam added): And have you also read this verse in the Holy Quran wherein Allah says: 'O people of the Prophet's House.

' (33:33)?" The old man said: "Yes. I have read it".

The Imam said: "What is meant by people of the Prophet's House! It is we whom Allah has especially associated with the verse of Tat'hir (purification). "

The old man said: "I ask you by Allah! Are you of the same family?" The Imam replied: "I swear by my grandfather the Prophet of Allah that we are the same people. "

The old man was stunned and expressed regret for what he had said.

Then he raised his head towards the sky and said: "O Allah! I ask forgiveness for what I have said, and forsake enmity against this family and hate the enemies of the progeny of Muhammad. "

Sunni reference: Maqtal al-Husain, by al-Khateeb al-Kharazmi

End of Part 2 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part I)

Introduction According to most authentic traditions in collections of both Sunni and Shia, Ahlul-Bayt (People of the House) of the Prophet are one of the two most precious Symbols of Islam after the departure of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

There are numerous traditions in the collection of both schools that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has reminded us to stick to these two weighty things (al-Thaqalain), namely Quran and Ahlul-Bayt, in order not to go astray after him.

The Messenger of Allah also informed us that these two weights are non-separable and are with each other till the day of Judgment.

This requires us that for understanding the interpretation of Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) we should refer to those who are attached to it, namely Ahlul-Bayt.

Knowing exactly who Ahlul-Bayt are, thus becomes a very vital matter when one considers the above tradition of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) as well as many other traditions which unequivocally state that adherence to Ahlul-Bayt is the only way of salvation.

This clearly implies that the one who follows a wrong set of Ahlul-Bayt (!!), will be led astray.

Considering the critical importance of the subject, it will not be surprising to see that the Shia differ from some Sunnis in this subject.

In fact, the Sunnis do not have one voice in specifying the Members of the House the Prophet.

Most Sunnis are in the opinion that the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) are:

Fatimah al-Zahra (AS) (the daughter of the Messenger of Allah),

Imam Ali (AS),

Imam al-Hasan (AS),

Imam al-Husain (AS),

Wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)

Others among the Sunnis further include ALL the descendants of the Prophet to the list! Some other Sunnis are very generous and include all the descendants of Abbas (the Abbasid) as well as the descendants of Aqil & Ja'far (the two brothers of Imam Ali) to the list.

It should be noted, however, that there have been some leading Sunni scholars who did NOT consider the wives of the Prophet among Ahlul-Bayt.

This happens to be consistent with the Shia point of view.

To the Shia, the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) consist of the following individuals ONLY:

Fatimah al-Zahra (AS),

Imam Ali (AS),

Imam al-Hasan (AS),

Imam al-Husain (AS),

Nine descendants of Imam al-Husain (AS).

and including the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself, they will become fourteen individuals.

Of course, at the time of the Holy Prophet only five of them (including the Prophet) were living and the rest were not born yet.

The Shia further assert that these fourteen individuals are protected by Allah from any kind of flaws, and thus worthy of being obeyed beside Quran (the other Weighty Symbol), and they are the only people who have the full knowledge of the interpretation of the Quranic verses.

In this discussion, we would like to explain why the Shia exclude the wives of the Prophet from Ahlul-Bayt, and also we will briefly discuss why Ahlul-Bayt are protected/infallible.

(More detailed discussion on the infallibility is provided in Chapter 2).

We base our proofs on:

1. Quran,

2. Traditions from the authentic Sunni Collections,

3. Historical events.

Evidence From Quran The Holy Book of Allah mentions Ahlul-Bayt and their exceptional virtue in the following verse which is known as "Purification Verse" (Ayah al-Tat'hir):

"Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you with a perfect purification".

(Quran, the last sentence of Verse 33:33)

Note that the word "Rijs" in the above verse has got the article "al-" at its beginning which makes the word universal.

Thus "al-Rijs" means "EVERY KIND of impurity".

Also at the end of the verse, Allah states "and purify you a PERFECT purification.

" The word "perfect" comes from the emphasis of "Tat'hiran".

This is the only place in Quran that Allah uses the emphasis of "PERFECT purification".

According to the above verse, Allah expresses his intention to keep Ahlul-Bayt pure and flawless/sinless, and what Allah intends it will certainly take place as Quran itself testifies (see 16:40).

Indeed, a human can be sinless because he is not forced to commit sin.

It is the human's choice to accept the instructions of Allah and get His help to avoid sin, or to neglect Allah's commandments and commit the sin.

Allah is advisor, and encourager, and warner.

A sinless human is still a human; no doubt about it.

Some people assert that in order to be human, one SHOULD have some mistakes.

Such claim is unsupported.

The truth is that Human CAN make mistakes but he does not have to.

It is the Grace of Allah that attracts His servants towards Him, WITHOUT compelling them any way.

This is our choice to pursue this attraction and refrain from doing mistakes, or to turn away and commit the mistakes.

However, Allah has GUARANTEED to show the Right Path and to provide a pure life for those who seek it:

Whoever works righteousness man or woman and is faithful, We shall revive a PURE life for him.

(Quran 16:97)

And whosoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him.

(Quran 65:2)

It is worth mentioning the sentence of Quran in verse 33:33 which is related to purification of Ahlul-Bayt, has been placed at the middle of verses related to the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and this was the main reason why some Sunnis include the wives of the Prophet in Ahlul-Bayt.

However, the sentence related to Ahlul-Bayt (given above) distinguishes itself from the sentences before and after it with a clear distinction.

The sentences before and after, use only feminine gender which clearly shows they are addressing the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

However, in contrary, the above sentence uses only masculine gender which is a clear indication that that Quran is changing the individuals who is referring to.

People who are familiar with Quran to some extent, know that such a sharp change of addressee is not a weird-thing, and it has been applied to several places in Quran.

For instance we read in Quran:

"O Joseph! pass this over and (O wife of Aziz!) ask forgiveness for your sin, for truly you have been at fault. "

(Quran 12:29)

In the above verse, "O wife of Aziz" has not been mentioned and the address to Joseph (AS) looks to continue.

However the transition of the address from masculine gender to feminine gender clearly shows that the second sentence is addressing the Aziz's wife and not Prophet Joseph (AS).

Notice that both sentences are WITHIN one verse.

Also note the immediate change of addressing from Aziz's wife to Joseph and again back to the wife in verses before verse 29 and also WITHIN that verse.

In Arabic language, when a group of women are being addressed, feminine gender is employed.

However, if only one man exists among that group, masculine gender is used instead.

Thus the above sentence of Quran clearly shows Allah is referring to a group other than the wives of the Prophet, using masculine gender, and that group includes some male members.

From the verse 33:33 alone, we can not conclude that the wives of the Prophet are not included in Ahlul-Bayt.

This latter claim can be proven by the authentic traditions of the Sunnis from Sihah Sittah in which the Prophet mentioned who Ahlul-Bayt are; and also by comparing the specifications of Ahlul-Bayt given in the verse of Quran with the behavior of the some of the wives of the Prophet mentioned in Sihah Sittah to prove the contrary.

What can be understood from the verse ALONE is that Allah is changing His address (which was exclusively the wives of the Prophet at the beginning of the verse) to some people who include some male members, and may or may not include the wives of the Prophet.

Authentic Traditions It is interesting to see that both Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi as well as many others confirm the Shi'ite point of view explained above.

In Sahih Muslim, there is a chapter named "Chapter of Virtues of the Companions".

Inside this chapter, there is a section called "Section of the Virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet".

There exists ONLY ONE tradition in this section, and this tradition has no reference to the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The tradition is known as "The Tradition of Cloak/Mantle" (Hadith al-Kisaa), and is as follows:

Narrated Aisha:

One day the Prophet (PBUH&HF) came out afternoon wearing a black cloak (upper garment or gown; long coat), then al-Hasan Ibn Ali came and the Prophet accommodated him under the cloak, then al-Husain came and entered the cloak, then Fatimah came and the Prophet entered her under the cloak, then Ali came and the Prophet entered him to the cloak as well.

Then the Prophet recited: "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a perfect purification (the last sentence of Verse 33:33). "

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of the virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), 1980 Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1883, Tradition #61.

Below is the Arabic text of above tradition given in Sahih Muslim: One can see that the author of Sahih Muslim confirms that:

Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain are the Ahlul-Bayt,

The purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed for the virtue of the above-mentioned individuals, and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Muslim (the Author) did not put any other tradition in this section (section of the virtues of Ahlul-Bayt).

If the author of Sahih Muslim believed that the wives of the Prophet were included in Ahlul-Bayt, he would have quoted some traditions about them in this section.

It is interesting to see that Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) is the narrator of the above tradition, and she herself is testifying that Ahlul- Bayt are the above-mentioned individuals (i. e. , Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, may the blessing of Allah be upon them all).

Another version of the "Tradition of Cloak" is written in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, which is narrated in the authority of Umar Ibn Abi Salama, the son of Umm Salama (another wife of Prophet), which is as follows:

The verse "Verily Allah intends to (33:33)" was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH&HF) in the house of Umm Salama.

Upon that, the Prophet gathered Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, and covered them with a cloak, and he also covered Ali who was behind him.

Then the Prophet said: "O' Allah! These are the Members of my House (Ahlul-Bayt).

Keep them away from every impurity and purify them with a perfect purification.

" Umm Salama (the wife of Prophet) asked: "Am I also included among them O Apostle of Allah?" the Prophet replied: "You remain in your position and you are toward a good ending. "

Sunni reference:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 351,663

Here is the Arabic text of above tradition given by Sahih al-Tirmidhi: As we see, al-Tirmidhi also confirms that Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain are the Ahlul-Bayt, and the purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed for the virtue of the above-mentioned individuals, and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Also it is apparent from above authentic tradition that the Prophet himself excluded his wives from Ahlul-Bayt.

If Umm Salama (RA) was among Ahlul-Bayt, why didn't the Prophet answer her positively? Why didn't he enter her into the cloak? Why did the Prophet tell her that she remains in her own position? If the Prophet (PBUH&HF) would consider Umm Salama among Ahlul-Bayt, he would surely have entered her to the cloak and would have prayed for her perfect purity as well.

It is also worth mentioning that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did NOT say: "These are among the Members of my House".

He rather said: "These are THE Members of my House" since there was no other member of Ahlul-Bayt who was alive at the time of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Also notice that Umm Salama (RA) who is the virtuous wife of the Prophet is the narrator of the tradition to his son and gives the testimony that who Ahlul-Bayt are.

In the tradition of al-Hakim the wording the last question and answer is as follows:

Umm Salama said: "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not one of the members of your family?" The Holy Prophet replied: "You have a good future but only these are the members of my family.

O Lord! The members of my family are more deserving. "

Sunni reference: al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416 Also the wording reported by al-Suyuti and Ibn al-Athir is as follows:

Umm Salama said to the Holy Prophet: "Am I also one of them?" He replied: "No.

You have your own special position and your future is good. "

Sunni reference:

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p289

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, p198

Also al-Tabari quotes Umm Salama saying:

I said, "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not also one of your Ahlul-Bayt?" I swear by the Almighty that the Holy Prophet did NOT grant me any distinction and said: "You have a good future. "

Sunni reference:

Tafsir al-Tabari, v22, p7 under the commentary of verse 33:33 Beside Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi from which we quoted the Tradition of Cloak on the authority of Aisha and Umm Salama respectively, below are more Sunni references of the Tradition of Cloak who reported both versions of the traditions: (3) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, pp 323,292,298; v1, pp 330-331; v3, p252; v4, p107 from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (4) Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p578, Tradition #978 (5) al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416 (two traditions) from Ibn Abi Salama, v3, pp 146-148 (five traditions), pp 158,172 (6) al-Khasa'is, by an-Nisa'i, pp 4,8 (7) al-Sunan, by al-Bayhaqi, narrated from Aisha and Umm Salama (8) Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Bukhari (the author of Sahih), v1, part 2, p69 (9) Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v2, p700 (Istanbul), from Aisha (10) Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, pp 198,605 from Aisha and Umm Salama (11) Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, pp 5-8 (from Aisha and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri), pp 6,8 (from Ibn Abi Salama) (10 traditions) (12) Tafsir al-Qurtubi, under the commentary of verse 33:33 from Umm Salama (13) Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p485 (Complete version) from Aisha and Umar Ibn Abi Salama (14) Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p12; v4, p79 narrated from Ibn Abi Salama (15) Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, sec. 1, p221 from Umm Salama (16) Tarikh, by al-Khateeb Baghdadi, v10, narrated from Ibn Abi Salama (17) Tafsir al-Kashshaf, by al-Zamakhshari, v1, p193 narrated from Aisha (18) Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, pp 332-336 (seven traditions) (19) Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibb al-Tabari, pp21-26, from Abu Sa'id Khudri (20) Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p166 (by several transmitters) and more .

Here is another authentic variation of "The Tradition of Cloak" which is related to Safiyya who was another wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib narrated:

When the Messenger of Allah noticed that a blessing from Allah was to descent, he told Safiyya (one of his wives): "Call for me! Call for me!" Safiyya said: "Call who, O the Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Call for me my Ahlul-Bayt who are Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain.

" Thus we sent for them and they came to him.

Then the Prophet (PBUH&HF) spread his cloak over them, and raised his hand (toward sky) saying: "O Allah! These are my family (Aalee), so bless Muhammad and the family (Aal) of Muhammad.

" And Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, revealed: "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a thorough purification (Quran, the last sentence of Verse 33:33)".

Sunni references:

al-Mustadrak by al-Hakim, Chapter of "Understanding (the virtues) of Companions, v3, p148.

The author then wrote: "This tradition is authentic (Sahih) based on the criteria of the two Shaikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim). "

Talkhis of al-Mustadrak, by al-Dhahabi, v3, p148

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v3, p33

Although the majority of traditions on this issue show that the last sentence of the verse 33:33 was revealed in the house of Umm Salama (as quoted earlier), the above tradition implies that it might have been revealed in the house of Safiyya.

Based on the opinion of the Sunni scholars including Ibn Hajar, it is quite possible that the verse was revealed more than once.

In each occasion, the Prophet repeated his action in front of different wives so that they all realize who his Ahlul-Bayt are.

The testimony of three wives of the Prophet (Aisha, Umm Salama, and Safiyya) leaves us no room but to believe that the Ahlul-Bayt at the time of the Prophet were no more than five individuals: Prophet Muhammad, Lady Fatimah, Imam Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husain (Peace be upon them all).

The fact that the gender in later part of Verse 33:33 is switched from feminine to masculine, has led the majority of Sunni commentators to believe that the last part was revealed for Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain, as Ibn Hajar al-Haythami indicated:

Based on the opinion of the majority of (Sunni) commentators, the saying of Allah :"Verily Allah intends to .

(the last sentence of the verse 33:33)" was revealed for Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, because of the usage of masculine gender in the word "Ankum" and after that.

Sunni reference:

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section 1, p220

Although the Shia have great respect for the highly righteous wives among the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), such as Khadija, Umm Salama, Umm Ayman and .

(may Allah be pleased with them) who closely followed the Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt before and after the demise of Prophet (PBUH&HF), yet we do not include even those respected individuals into Ahlul-Bayt since the Prophet clearly excluded them according to the authentic Sunni and Shi'i traditions.

Ahlul-Bayt have exceptional virtues that no other pious person after the Prophet would possess them in the world, which are according to Quran: sinlessness, flawlessness and perfect purity.

End of Part 1 of 8

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Sunni Feedback on the Issues of Infallibility and Ahlul-Bayt

In this article, we reply on the comments of the Sunni brothers who studied the previous articles regarding to who Ahlul-Bayt are, and why they are infallible.

More discussions on the issue of infallibility will be presented later in the next chapter.

A Sunni brother mentioned that the verse 33:33 expresses the decision of Allah to purify Ahlul-Bayt and make them spotless.

How could this imply that they are flawless/sinless? This is adding an incorrect implication to the Arabic language!

To answer this question, we would like to ask: Isn't sin a kind of impurity? A person who commits sin is not a pure person.

If you think this is adding an incorrect meaning to the Arabic language, then I would ask you to quote one example where a scholar of Quran, Arabic grammar, and literature claims that committing sin is a sign of purity!!!

Also, based on your translation, you used the word "spotless".

Then what will be the difference between "spotless" and "flawless"? Any spot is a flaw and is sin; and vice versa.

Moreover, which scholar of Arabic language can we find better than the Messenger of Allah? We quoted from the authentic Sunni collections that

The Messenger of Allah recited "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul- Bayt), and purify you a perfect purification".

(Quran, the last sentence of Verse 33:33) and then the Messenger of Allah said: "Thus Me and my Ahlul-Bayt are clear from sins. "

The word "thus" in the highlighted part means that the Prophet himself is CONCLUDING that the verse means Ahlul-Bayt are sinless.

Is the Prophet violating the Arabic language?

Another Sunni brother commented that the Verse 33:33 does not make Ahlul-Bayt infallible any more than verse 5:6 makes anyone who performs ablution infallible! Allah sates:

O you who believe! when you prepare for prayer wash your faces and your hands to the elbows; rub your heads and your feet to the ankles.

If you are in a state of ceremonial impurity bathe your whole body.

But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you had call of nature or you have touched women and you find no water then take for yourselves clean sand or earth and rub therewith your faces and hands.

Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty but to make you clean and to complete His favor to you that you may be grateful.

(Quran 5:6)

To answer this brother, we would like to point out that purification/ cleansing has degrees and is of different types.

If ones hand and face become dirty, and then if he washes them with soap and warm water they will become cleansed.

The above verse (5:6) also tells us by ablution one can become cleansed.

Now if somebody argues that the degree of cleansing with ablution is not any more than cleansing the hands and face with soap, then what will be your answer to him? You will tell him that ablution make different type of cleansing than of washing the body by soap.

The same goes for the difference between cleansing of EVERY KIND OF IMPURITY and the cleansing of ablution.

Surely if a murderer makes ablution, he will not cleans his crime by that, because the IMPURITY caused by murder can not go away by ablution even though Allah sent down the verse 5:6.

Quran never said that by ablution you will get a Perfect purification.

There are different degrees of Purification.

The ONLY place that Allah said I intend to do a PERFECT purification is in verse 33:33 where He is addressing the Ahlul-Bayt.

The word "PERFECT" comes from the emphasis of Allah by "Tat'hiran" which has been used ONLY in verse 33:33.

This emphatical word occur in any other place in Quran.

Do you see the difference brother?

Do you agree that any small sin is a type of impurity? If yes, then a PERFECT purification will not leave any small sin for the Ahlul-Bayt.

If Allah intends to KEEP OFF EVERY KIND OF UNCLEANNESS from Ahlul-Bayt, no impurity, no matter how small, will reach them, because Allah is omnipotent.

(The phrase "EVERY KIND OF" is due to article of "al-" at the beginning of the world "al-Rijs").

A Sunni mentioned that saying 'we have respect for the pious wives among the wives of the Prophet' indicate that you consider some of them to be otherwise!

This is not something strange.

After all, they were non-infallible humans who may have had some or many mistakes.

That's exactly why they are not among Ahlul-Bayt.

Even Quran confirms that some of the wives of the Prophet might have been wrong-doers:

33:29

But if you seek Allah and His Apostle and the Home of the Hereafter verily Allah has prepared for the well-doers amongst you a great reward.

 

 

In the above verse, Allah states that He will only give the good reward to the well-doers among the wives of the Prophet.

If all the Prophet's wives were well-dowers, then there was no need for Allah to say this.

Allah would have said, "all of you will receive a great reward".

Now look at the next two verses after the above verse:

33:30

O' Consorts of the Prophet! if any of you were guilty of evident misconduct conduct the Punishment would be doubled to her and that is easy for Allah.

 

 

33:31

But any of you that is devout in the service of Allah and His Apostle and works righteousness to her shall We grant her reward twice, and We have prepared for her a generous Sustenance.

 

 

Again Allah is threatening the wives of the Prophet that they will receive a double punishment if they have misconduct, while giving glad tidings that the good wives of the Prophet will receive twice reward.

You see, God is selective toward the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), but you are not!

Please check the traditions narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari on the misconduct Aisha and Hafsa, some of which I provided in Parts IV through VIII of the article of "Who are Ahlul-Bayt?" and then let me know what you think of them? This is exactly what I mean by non-pious.

If the Allah threatened Aisha and Hafsa by divorce, because they backed each other against the Prophet (PBUH&HF), then how can we render them as pure? The verse of Quran tells us that Ahlul-Bayt are perfectly pure.

According to the traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hafsa is swearing by Allah that she argues with the Prophet (PBUH&HF) and keeps the Prophet angry for the whole day.

Umar is advising her not to imitate Aisha who is proud of her beauty! Are these attitudes signs of perfect purity mentioned for Ahlul-Bayt? Perhaps you might want to also look at the history, and see who rode the Camel and allowed shedding the blood of ten thousand Muslims.

I also would like to remind you there have been some prophets in the past that some of their wives were not pious.

Among them are the wife of Prophet Noah, the wife of Prophet Lot, and so on.

Allah informed those prophets that those wives who don't follow your instructions are not related to them and they will perish along with the rest of people.

Non of those prophets took it as insult.

I also would like to say that it happened to me that I heard from a Sunni Muslim claiming that Shia believe that Aisha committed adultery! (May Allah protect us).

This is a false accusation.

Shia do NOT attribute such a thing to any of the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The problem of the Shia with Aisha is mainly around the line of politics and her hostility toward Ahlul-Bayt.

A naive contributor mentioned that:

It is reported on the authority of 'Akrama that Ibn Abbas said this verse (33:33) is addressed to the wives of the Prophet.

 

There is no denial to the fact that the above report exists in some Sunni books.

Such reports also indicate that Akrama even had the audacity to yell in the public places that the verse was revealed only for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

But the issue doesn't stop here, and it is important to look at the very personalities of those individuals involved.

Surprisingly, al-Dhahabi wrote in his work:

The very first reason to reject the tradition(s) of Akrama is based on the fact that he was Kharijite.

Secondly his being a Kharijite, he even justified the killings of the fellow Muslim(s).

 

Sunni reference:

al-Kashaf, by al-Dhahabi, v2, p272

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani quoting from Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and others, wrote:

In the season of Hajj Akrama came to Africa, and said: It would be very dear to me if I were at Hajj at this moment, I would have had swords in both my hands, and I would massacre the Muslims.

After these statements by Akrama, the people of Africa avoided him.

 

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal says: Akrama narrates contradictory Hadiths.

 

Yahya Ibn Sa'id Ansari says: Akrama is a compulsive liar.

 

Sunni reference:

Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v8, p268

In fact, Akrama was a slave of the son of Ibn Abbas.

Abdullah Ibn Harith reported:

I once went to Ali Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abbas, and I was surprised to see that Akrama was tied to the rest room.

I said to Ali: Is this how you treat your slaves, and he replied: Akrama associates many lies to my father (Ibn Abbas).

 

Sunni reference:

Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v8, p268

At this point, it would be nice to quote another report which is also falsely attributed to Ibn Abbas:

Abul Qasim Abdurrahman Ibn Muhammad Siraj says: it is related through Muhammad Ibn Yaqub, through Hasan Ibn Ali Ibn Affan through Abu Yahya al-Hamani through Saleh Ibn Musa al-Qurshi through Khaseef through Sa'id Ibn Jubair through Ibn Abbas that the verse 33:33 was revealed for the wives of the Prophet.

 

Sunni reference:

Asbab al-Nuzool, by al-Wahidi, p239

The scrutiny of the above tradition by the Sunni scholars yields the following facts about three individuals in the chain of authorities of the above report:

Imam al-Nisa'i says: Abu Yahya al-Hamani (one of the narrators in the chain) is not a reliable reporter.

Sunni references:

al-Kashaf, by al-Dhahabi, v2, p152

Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v1, p469

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal says: Sa'id Ibn Jubair (one of the narrators in the chain)is not an authority and this Hadith is not a reliable Hadith.

Abu Hatem Salah says: He has a weak memory and tends to mix up Hadiths.

 

al-Dhahabi writes: Khaseef Ibn Abdurrahman (one of the narrators in the chain) is the slave of the Umayad, but he has a weak memory and Ahmad has declared him as weak.

 

Sunni references:

Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v3, pp 143-44

al-Kashaf, by al-Dhahabi, v1, p280

A contributor claimed that there exists a tradition narrated by both Shia and Sunni which reads: "al-Salmanu minna Ahlal-Bayt" and translates to: "Salman (al-Farsi) is one of us, Ahlul-Bayt".

This contradicts the Shi'ite doctrine that Ahlul-Bayt are some selected individuals from the progeny of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

My comment is: Yes, there is a tradition with the above mentioned Arabic words.

However the correct translation is as follows:

The Messenger (PBUH&HF) of Allah said: "Salman is from us Ahlul-Bayt. "

which means he is our agent and is attached to us Ahlul-Bayt.

In fact, Salman was an agent and a trustee for Ahlul-Bayt to the end of his life-time.

His affinity to Ahlul-Bayt was to the extent that he was attached to them.

An analogy would be a friend who would visit a family a lot, such that one would consider him attached to the family, although the blood relation is the only thing missing.

Salman (RA) was one of the best companions of the Messenger of Allah.

It is narrated that:

The Messenger of God said: "Certainly Allah commanded me to love four persons and informed me that He loves them.

" The companions asked the Prophet: "O' Messenger of God, who are those four persons?" The Prophet (PBUH&HF) replied: "Ali is from them (repeating that three times), Abu Dhar, Salman al-Farsi, and Miqdad. "

Sunni References:

Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, p52, Tradition #149

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p130

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v5, p356

Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p648, Tradition #1103

Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1, p172

Notice that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said, "Salman is from us Ahlul-Bayt".

This does NOT necessarily mean that "Salman is one of us Ahlul-Bayt".

The Arabic word "min" has different meanings.

In the above tradition (about Salman) as well as many other traditions "min" does not mean "one of".

For instance, al-Bukhari recorded that:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said to Ali: "You are from me, and I am from you"

Sunni reference:

Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, v5, Tradition #553.

There is no mention of Ahlul-Bayt here.

So if we suppose that the only meaning of "min" is "one of", then the saying of the Prophet will become:

"Ali is one of me and I am one of Ali"

What a beautiful translation! How many persons is the Prophet, so that one of the Prophet is Ali? More funny phrase in this translation is the latter part, that is, the Prophet is one of Ali!

Now, similarly it is narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Husain is from me and I am from al-Husain.

 

Sunni references:

(1) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v4, p172

(2) Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p772, Tradition #1361

(3) al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p177

(4) Amali, by Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, p64

(5) al-Kuna wal Asmaa, by al-Dulabi, v1, p88

(6) al-Tabarani, v3, p21

(7) Adab by al-Bukhari, also al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, as quoted in:

(8) al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 3, p291

(9) Mishkat al-Masabih, by Khatib al-Tabrizi, English Version, Tradition #6160

Again, if we suppose that the only meaning of "min" is "one of", then the saying of the Prophet will become:

"Husain is one of me and I am one of al-Husain. "

So this does not make sense either (specially the second phrase which is "The Prophet is one of al-Husain").

One meaning for the saying of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) who said: "Husain is from me and I am from al-Husain," is that al-Husain is attached to him and he is attached to al-Husain.

In other words, the path of the Prophet Muhammad and the path of al-Husain are non-separable.

And their instructions are the same and will not contradict each other.

Another contributor commented that if based on Sunni references we quoted, Ahlul-Bayt are the Prophet, Fatimah, Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husain, then how can you include the nine descendants of al-Husain?

As we have already pointed out, only five members of Ahlul-Bayt were alive at the time of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

They were Prophet Muhammad, Lady Fatimah, Imam Ali, Imam al-Hasan, and Imam al-Husain.

They were mentioned as Ahlul-Bayt by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) and the most important Sunni collections testify to this fact.

However the nine descendants of Imam al-Husain were not alive at that time so that the Prophet could not cover them by his mantle! But the Prophet did, in fact, mention their names and their numbers.

Let us review some traditions from Sihah Sittah:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "al-Mahdi is one of us Ahlul-Bayt. "

Sunni reference:

Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4085

also:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah (the Prophet's daughter).

 

Sunni references:

Sunan Abi Dawud, English version, Ch. 36, Tradition #4271 (narrated by Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet)

Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4086

al-Nisa'i and al-Bayhaqi, and others as quoted in:

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p249

By the above traditions, the Prophet extended Ahlul-Bayt up to Imam al-Mahdi (AS).

So Ahlul-Bayt are not just those five, and Imam al-Mahdi is the last member of Ahlul-Bayt, but he was not born at the time of the Prophet so that he could take him into the Cloak as well! Also the messenger of Allah said:

"There shall be twelve Imams/Caliphs/Amirs for my nation"

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v9, Tradition #329;

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter DCCLIV, v3, pp 1009-1010, Traditions #4476 --> #4483;

Sunan Abi Dawud, v2, p421 (three traditions);

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v4, p501;

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v5, p106;

Others such as al-Tiyalasi, Ibn al-Athir, etc.

 

These 12 Imams will cover till the day of resurrection as Sahih Muslim testifies.

The last of them is surely Imam al-Mahdi (AS) who will appear in the last days and who is also from Ahlul-Bayt as the above tradition specified.

There are other traditions in the Sunni collections in which the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has even mentioned the name of all these twelve individuals one by one.

(see Yanabi' al-Mawaddah, by al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi).

Referring to the tradition narrated by Aisha where the Messenger of Allah named the members of his house, a Sunni brother commented that Aisha is by no means a trusted source of Hadith for the Shia.

Then why do the Shia take her narration in this instance?

The first part is true.

The Shia believe that all the narrators in the chain of a document should have been just.

If Aisha used to argue with the Prophet, and keep him angry for the whole day, or led the battle of Camel (the first civil war) then we consider these as BIG injustice.

If any narrator has done any injustice in the history their narrations are void for us UNLESS the same tradition has been narrated via another chain of authorities who are all trustworthy.

Thus some of the traditions of six Sunni collections fall in this category, i. e. , accepted for us.

Although Aisha is not a trustworthy narrator in the opinion of the Shi'ites, any part of his narrations that has also been transmitted by a trustworthy narrators such as Umm Salama (who also, by the way, reported the tradition of Cloak), will be accepted.

All those traditions which we quoted from Sunni sources in support of the Shi'ite views, fall in this category, and we believe in them.

Moreover, the reason that we brought the Tradition of Aisha is that this is a tradition which is reported in Sahih Muslim and the Sunnis can not dispute its authenticity.

After reading my article on the necessity of following Ahlul-Bayt, a Sunni brother asked me what exactly following Ahlul-Bayt means, and if there is anything which is taught by the Imams and not explained by the Prophet himself?

As we have pointed out, following Ahlul-Bayt means to inquire about the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) only through them.

In fact, Ahlul-Bayt are THE MEANS of identifying the true Sunnah of the Prophet from the innovations.

No doubt that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) explained all the fundamentals of the religion.

However, people around him did not benefit from his knowledge equally.

We have only one companion whom the Prophet called him the Gate of the City of Knowledge.

Others got their knowledge based on their capacity.

The major duty of the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt was to PRESERVE the Islamic teaching in its true spirit and reject the innovations and mutilation of the religion.

The deputies/successors of the Prophet don't bring any new massage, and they just serve as leaders (Imams), Guardians for their true followers.

They explain/elaborate Shari'ah (Divine law) for people.

They clear up confusing things and events that may happen in each era.

Also they are the only individuals who can be trusted for the correct interpretation of the Quranic verses as pointed in Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Adhering to Quran is not enough to guarantee our survival, because Quran only specifies very general rules, and has lots of ambiguous (Mutashabihat) verses which only Ahlul-Bayt know its true meaning:

He is Who has revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations, which are the Essence of the Book, and others (verses which are) ambiguous.

But those who have sickness in their hearts follow the part of which that is ambiguous, seeking discord and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge who say: We believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed.

(Quran 3:7)

The term "Those who are firmly grounded in knowledge" refers to Ahlul-Bayt.

In fact Ahlul-Bayt are "Quran, the Speaker.

" In another verse, Allah states:

"Ask the people of Reminder (the possessors of the Message, i. e. , Quran) if you do not know.

" (Quran 21:7)

Again this is referring to Ahlul-Bayt.

Ahlul-Bayt know the internal meaning/commentary of Quran which was revealed to Prophet along with Quran but were not a part of Quran.

These pieces of information are hidden but to the purified ones:

None touches (the depth of meaning of Quran) save the purified ones.

(56:79)

Please refer to the article titled: "Quran and Ahlul-Bayt" in which we quoted authentic traditions from the Sunni sources where the Messenger of Allah declared that Quran and Ahlul-Bayt are non-separable.

Regarding the necessity of following Ahlul-Bayt, a Wahhabi mentioned:

No thanks I am not a Christian, I only obey God and he is my savior.

not Christ, not Ahlul-Bayt.

 

This reminds me of what Imam Ali said to al-Khawarij when they said what is highlighted above! Imam Ali commented: "kalimatu haqqin yuridu biha al-batil" (a word of truth, but falsehood was meant by it).

I should even say that there is no truth in what you said.

Do you believe in Quran, or you say you only follow God and not Quran?! If you are a true believer in Quran, then read the following verse please:

"O' you who believe! Obey Allah, and Obey Apostle and those from among you who are given authority (by Allah).

" (Quran 4:59)

Allah tells you to obey His Messenger and His Ulul-Amr (Imam), but you say you ONLY obey Allah! Khawarij said exactly the same thing! Don't you reflect? You insist to ONLY obey Allah while Allah orders you to obey others also.

If you come down and say (for heck of it) you also obey the Prophet, then according to the most authentic traditions the Prophet order you to OBEY Ahlul-Bayt.

But you mentioned you do not obey them.

What kind of rhetoric is this? You said you are not Christian.

Do you think if you obey the Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt, you will become Christian? Exalted be Allah (SWT) from such ignorant and stupid allegations against His commandments by people who lack all knowledge!

You are mixing apples and oranges, my friend.

Christians believe that Jesus went on cross to save them.

So if they commit any sins, they are already forgiven by the Christ.

And in this way they do what they wish to do.

However, to your surprise, the Shia think exactly the other way around.

They say:

"The Prophet ordered you to OBEY him and his Ahlul-Bayt.

The most important books of the major Islamic schools testify to this fact.

If you do not OBEY them you will be doomed to Hell. "

Do you see the difference? Christians say you do not really have to obey to be saved.

It is enough if you believe in Jesus.

However Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) said that you should obey Ahlul-Bayt to be saved from Hell.

A person who calls himself a Shia, but does not really obey the instructions of Ahlul-Bayt, is not any better than a Christian.

As I mentioned, true love requires the person to obey the one who loves.

If one claims the love of Ahlul-Bayt, but he does not obey their instructions, then he is only fooling his own soul.

Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:

"Whoever wishes to live and die like me, and to abide in the Garden of Eden after death, should acknowledge Ali as WALI after me, and take his WALI (i e. , Imams after him) as WALI, and should follow the Imams after me for they are my Ahlul-Bayt and were created from my clay and are gifted with the same knowledge and understanding as myself.

Woe unto those who deny their virtues and those who disregard their relationship and affinity with me, for my intercession shall never reach them. "

Sunni references:

(1) Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1, pp 84,86

(2) al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p128

(3) al-Jami' al-Kabir, by al-Tabarani

(4) al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani

(5) Kanz al-Ummal, v6, p155

(6) al-Manaqib, by al-Kharazmi, p34

(7) Yanabi' al-Mawaddah, by al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi, p149

(8) History of Ibn Asakir, v2, p95

The Ahulbayt in Quran
www.tebyan.net

Leadership and Infallibility (Part 1)

Imamat is of Allah's Grace

From the Shi'ite point of view, Imamat (God-assigned leadership) is an Allah's bounty upon mankind by which the religion was perfected.

Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said:

"Today I have perfected your religion and completed my bounty upon you, and I was satisfied that Islam be your religion. " (Quran 5:3)

See the articles on "Ghadir Khum" in Chapter 3 which provides the list of Sunni commentators of Quran who confirmed the revelation of the above verse in Ghadir Khum after the Prophet (PBUH&HF) announced Ali (AS) as the master of all believers.

Imamat is the Grace (Lutf) of Allah which attracts mankind towards His obedience and keeps them away from His disobedience, without compelling them in any way.

When Allah orders mankind to do something yet He is aware that either they can not do it, or it is very difficult for them to do it without His assistance, then if Allah does not provide His assistance, He would be contradicting His own aim.

Obviously, such negligence is evil according to reason.

As such, Grace (Lutf) is one of Allah's character, and He is purified/exalted from inadequacy of lacking such attribute.

In fact, the holy Quran states that: "Allah is Gracious to His servants. " (Quran 42:19).

And, there are many other places that Almighty uses the word Grace (Lutf) in His book.

See for instance, 6:103, 12:100, 22:63, 31:16, 33:34, 42:19, 67:14, etc.

The messengers of God were entrusted the responsibility of bringing new commandments from Allah to the people.

They were warners as Quran testifies.

However, some of the messengers were Also Imams/Guides.

The successors of the last Messenger of God were not messengers/prophets, and as such, they did not bring any new massage nor did they cancel any of the regulations set by the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

They just served as guides and guardians of religion.

Their mission is to explain, elaborate Shari'a (Divine law) for the people.

They clear up confusing things and events which may happen in each era.

Also they are the only individuals who have the full knowledge of Quran and the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) after him, and as such, they are the only qualified people who can properly interpret the verses of the holy Quran and explain its meaning, as mentioned in Quran itself (See 3:7 and 21:7).

Imamat is a great bounty of Allah, because when people have a righteous leader who guides them, they can get closer to righteousness and depart from corruption and deviations in the matter of religion.

A divinely appointed Imam is also the most liable person to rule as the head of the community who can maintain justice and remove oppression.

Of course, people have been given free will and can refrain from accepting the Imam, but they will be held responsible for that, as was for the case of the prophets.

Nonetheless, the Imam would remain as a Proof of God on the earth and as spiritual leader for the believers among people who benefit his guidance.

Superiority of the Imam

The Shi'a believe that, like the prophets, a divinely appointed Imam should excel the community in all virtues, such as knowledge, bravery, piety, and should possess complete knowledge of divine law.

If he does not, and Allah entrusts this high position to a less perfect person when a more perfect person is available, the inferior has been given preference over the superior, which is wrong rationally, and is against divine justice.

Therefore no inferior person may receive Imamat from Allah when there exists a person superior to him.

Infallibility of the Imam

If a divinely appointed leader is not infallible (Ma'sum), he would be liable to errors and to deceive others as well.

In such a case, no implicit confidence may be placed in his sayings/commands/actions.

A divinely appointed Imam is the most liable person to rule as the head of the community, and people are supposed to follow him in every matter.

Now if he commits a sin, people would be bound to follow him in that sin as well, because of their ignorance of whether that action is sin or not (Keep in mind the assumption that Imam is the MOST knowledgeable person in his community).

Such a situation is not acceptable by the Grace of Allah since obedience in sin is evil, unlawful, and forbidden.

Moreover it would mean that leader should be obeyed and disobeyed at the same time, that is obedience to him is obligatory yet forbidden which is clearly a contradiction and is not commendable.

Besides, if it would be possible for an Imam to commit sin, it would be the duty of other people to prevent him from doing so.

(Because every Muslim is obliged to forbid other people from unlawful acts.

) In such a case, Imam will be held in contempt, and instead of being the leader of community, he will become their followers, and his leadership will be of no use as far as religion is concerned.

Imam is the defender of divine law, and this work can not be entrusted to fallible hands, nor can any such person maintain this task properly.

Thus infallibility is an indispensable condition for a divinely appointed Imam or Caliph who is the protector and interpreter of the religious law.

Allah, Exalted, stated in Quran that:

 

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority (Ulul-Amr) from among you. " (Quran 4:59).

 

This verse obliges the Muslims to obey two things: First, to obey Allah; second, to obey Messenger and those vested with authority (Ulul-Amr).

The arrangement of the words shows that the obedience of Ulul-Amr is as much obligatory as is the obedience of the Messenger because Quran uses just one verb for both of them without repeating the verb again.

Naturally, it means that Ulul-Amr should be of the same importance as the Messenger; otherwise Allah would not have joined them together in this verse (Waw of Atf) under one verb.

Interesting to note that Allah employs a separate verb for Himself before mentioning the Messenger and Ulul-Amr which shows that Allah has higher authority than that of the Messenger and Ulul-Amr.

It is also clear from the above verse that Ulul-Amr are not restricted to messengers otherwise Allah would only have said: "Obey Allah, and Obey Messenger only.

" But He added Ulul-Amr (those who are given authority by Allah).

This is one of the places where the concept of Imams and the necessity of obedience to them come from.

In the previous article titled "Infallibility of the Prophets," we quoted many verses of Quran to prove the infallibility of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

All those verses proved the following two points:

 

1.The authority of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) upon the believers was unlimited and all-comprehensive.

Any order given by him, under any condition, in any place, at any time, was to be obeyed unconditionally.

2. Supreme authority was given to him because he was sinless (Ma'sum) and free from all types of errors and sins.

Otherwise, Allah would not have ordered us to obey him with no questioning or doubt.

In that Article, we also gave reference to a tradition in Sahih al-Bukhari which proves that both prophet and divinely appointed Caliphs are infallible (Ma'sum).

Also from the verse 4:59 we concluded that Ulul-Amr have been given exactly the same authority over Muslims as of Messenger, and that the obedience of Ulul-Amr has the same standing as the obedience of the Messenger.

It naturally follows that Ulul-Amr must also be sinless (Ma'sum) and free from any type of error, otherwise, their obedience would not have been joined with the obedience of the Prophet and WITHOUT any condition.

The Commander of Believers, Imam Ali (AS), said:

 

The one who disobeys Allah is not to be obeyed; and "verily obedience is for Allah and of His Messenger and those vested with authority.

" Verily, Allah ordered (people) to obey the Messenger because he was sinless and clean (pure), who would not tell people to disobey Allah; and verily He ordered (people) to obey those vested with authority because they are sinless and clean (pure), and would not tell people to disobey Allah. " (Ilal al-Sharaye', by Shaikh al-Saduq, v1, p123).

 

 

Does Ulul-Amr Mean Muslim Rulers?

Many of our Sunni brothers tend to interpret "Ulul-Amr Minkum" as the rulers from among yourselves, i. e. , Muslims rulers.

This interpretation is not based on any logical/Quranic reasoning; it is solely based on the twists of history.

The majority of the Muslims have remained as a vassal of the monarchs and rulers, interpreting and reinterpreting Islam and the Quran to strengthen their own kingdom.

The history of Muslims (like any other nations) is replete with the names of rulers whose injustice, debauchery and tyranny have tarnished the name of Islam.

Such rulers have always been and will be.

And we are told that they are the Ulul-Amr mentioned in this verse!

If Allah were to order us to obey such kings and rulers, an impossible situation would be created for Muslims.

The wretched followers would be condemned to the displeasure of Allah, no matter what they do.

If they obey these rulers, they have disobeyed the Command of Allah: "Do not obey a sinner" (Quran 76:24).

And if they disobey such rulers, they have again disobeyed the Command of Allah: "Obey the Muslim rulers" (if it would mean so).

Therefore if we accept this interpretation, Muslims are condemned to eternal disgrace whether they obey or disobey their fallible (sinful) Muslim rulers.

Also, there are Muslim rulers of different schools and persuasions.

There are Shafi'is, Hanbalis, Malikis, Hanafis, as well as the Shi'a and Ibadis.

Now, according to this interpretation the Sunnis residing under an Ibadi king (like in Amman) should follow Ibadi tenets; and those residing under a Shi'a ruler (like in Iran) should follow the Shi'a beliefs.

Do these people have the conviction of courage to follow their professed interpretation to its logical end?

The famous Sunni scholar, Fakhr al-Razi, concluded in his Tafsir al-Kabir that this verse proves that Ulul-Amr must be infallible (Ma'sum).

He argues that Allah has commanded people to obey Ulul-Amr unconditionally; therefore, it is essential for the Ulul-Amr to be infallible; because if there is any possibility of their committing sin (and sin is forbidden), it means that one has to obey them and also disobey them in that very action, and this is impossible! However, in order to dissuade his readers from the Ahlul-Bait, Fakhr al-Razi invented the theory that the Muslim community as a whole is infallible!!! (Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhruddin Muhammad Ibn Umar al-Razi, v10, p144)

This interpretation is unique, and no Muslim scholar ever subscribed to this theory and it is not based on any tradition.

It is quite surprising that Fakhr al-Razi accepts that each individual of the Muslim nation is fallible, yet claims that their sum total is infallible.

Even a primary school student knows that 200 cows plus 200 cows makes 400 cows and not one horse.

But Fakhr al-Razi says that 70 million fallible people plus 70 million fallible people will make one infallible! Does he want us to believe that if all the patients of a mental hospital join together they would be equal to one sane person?

Obviously, with his knowledge of Quran, he was able to conclude that Ulul-Amr must be infallible; yet he did not pause to see that the verse contains the word "minkum" (from among you) which shows that Ulul-Amr should be part of Muslim community, not the whole Muslim nation.

Moreover, if the whole Muslim nation is to be obeyed, then who is there left to obey?

Moreover, the whole community have never had a single voice.

Then who should we follow among them? Also, the opinion of majority is not a good criteria to distinguish the false from the truth.

Looking at the Quran, one could see that Quran severely denounces the majority of by frequently saying that "the majority do not understand," "the majority do not use their logic," "the majority follow their whims".

since the vision of the majority of people is always impaired due to their tendencies.

( see e. g. 6:116, 5:49, 10:92, 30:8)

The Real Meaning of Ulul-Amr

We now turn to the correct interpretation of the above verse, that is the interpretation of the verse by Ahlul-Bait.

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (the 6th Imam) said that this verse was revealed about Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husain, peace be upon them.

Upon hearing this, someone asked the Imam: "People say, why did Allah not mention the name of Ali and his family in His Book?" Imam answered: "Tell them that there came the command of Salat (prayer), but Allah did not mention whether three or four units to be performed; it was the Messenger of Allah who explained all the details.

And (the command of) Zakat (religious tax) was revealed, but Allah did not say that it is one in every forty Dirhams; it was the Messenger of Allah who explained it; and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) was ordered but Allah did not say to perform Tawaf (turning around Ka'ba) seven times; it was the Messenger of Allah who explained it.

Likewise, the verse was revealed: Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority from among you, and it was revealed about Ali and al-Hasan and al-Husain (who were the only living Imams at the time of the Prophet). "

It is quite obvious that if Allah would have ever mentioned the name of Imam Ali (AS) in Quran explicitly, those who bore mountains of hatred against him would have attempted to alter the Quran.

Thus this was the Grace of Allah that He codified all the branches of knowledge of religion in Quran to be understood ONLY by the processors of the understanding mind.

And in this way, Allah kept Quran intact.

On the commentary of the verse 4:59 of Quran in which Allah orders us to obey Ulul-Amr, al-Khazzaz in his book, Kifayatul Athar, gives a tradition on the authority of the well-known companion of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari (RA):

 

When the verse (4:59) was revealed, Jabir asked the Prophet (PBUH&HF): "We know Allah and the Prophet, but who are those vested with authority whose obedience has been conjoined to that of Allah and yourself?"

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "They are my Caliphs and the Imams of Muslims after me.

The first of them is Ali; then al-Hasan; then al-Husain; then Ali son of al-Husain; then Muhammad son of Ali who has been mentioned 'al-Baqir' in the Torah (the old testament).

O Jabir! You will meet him.

When you see him, convey my greetings to him.

He will be succeeded by his son, Ja'far al-Sadiq (the Truthful); then Musa son of Ja'far; then Ali son of Musa; then Muhammad son of Ali; then Ali son of Muhammad; then al-Hasan son of Ali.

He will be followed by his son whose name and nick name will be the same as mine.

He will be Proof of Allah (Hujjatullah) on the earth, and the one spared by Allah (Baqiyyatullah) to maintain the cause of faith among mankind.

He shall conquer the whole world from the east to the west.

So long will he remain hidden from the eyes of his followers and friends that the belief in his leadership will remain only in those hearts which have been tested by Allah for faith. "

Jabir said: "O Messenger of Allah! Will his followers benefit from his seclusion?" The Prophet said: "Yes! by Him who sent me with prophethood! They will be guided by his light, and benefit from his leadership during his seclusion, just as people benefit from the sun even though it is hidden in the clouds.

O Jabir! This is from the hidden secrets of Allah and the treasured knowledge of Allah.

So guard it except from the people who deserve to know. " (Kifayatul Athar, by al-Khazzaz, p53).

 

Now that we know who "those vested with authority" are, it is evident that the question of obeying tyrant and unjust rulers does not rise at all.

Muslims are not required by the above verse to obey rulers who may be unjust, tyrannical, ignorant, selfish and sunk in debauchery.

They are, in fact, ordered to obey the specified Twelve Imams, all of whom were sinless and free from evil thoughts and deeds.

Obeying them has no risks whatsoever.

Nay, it protects from all risks; because they will never give an order against the order of Allah and will treat all human beings with love, justice, and equity.

End of Part 1 of 2

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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Leadership and Infallibility (Part 2)

Is Imamat a matter of Inheritance?

According to the Shi'a, Imam is chosen by Allah.

It is not the matter of inheritance, for if it was the case, then Imam al-Husain (AS) should not have become Imam after the martyrdom of Imam al-Hasan (AS).

Imam al-Hasan had many children and descendants, yet non of them became Imam.

Rather, his brother, Imam al-Husain (AS), became Imam after him.

Also there have been some heretical sons and grandsons for some of the Imams, non of whom received the position of Imamat.

This shows that leadership is not hereditary.

Of course, a pure gene is necessary for the Imam, but Imam needs many other qualifications as well.

Allah knows who has all such qualifications.

It was just Allah's wish to put all the Imams in the Progeny of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

In fact, if one study the history of the prophets of God, he will find that they were from the same family.

Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said:

 

"And when Abraham was tested by his Lord with certain commands and he fulfilled them.

Then He said: Lo! I appoint you an Imam for mankind.

(Abraham) said: And of my offspring (will there be Imam)? He said: My covenant does not reach the wrong-doers (among them)." (Quran 2:124).

 

In the above verse, Allah did not deny leadership from the descendants of Abraham, but He rather limited this position to the qualified progeny of the Prophet Abraham.

Allah said that God-assigned leadership does not reach to a person who is a "Dhalim" (wrong-doer), even if such person is the descendant of Abraham.

Thus being the descendant of Abraham does not necessarily make the person Imam because there should be other qualifications beside it.

Those among them who were not wrong-doer (free from sin) were qualified, since they not only had pure gene, but they have gained other qualifications through hardship.

As Allah had the foreknowledge of their patience and qualifications, He entrusted them with this position, and preferred them above all His creation:

 

Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham and the Family of 'Imran above (all His) creatures.

(3:33)

 

Prophet Muhammad's lineage goes back to Prophet Ishmael (Isma'il) (AS), the son of Prophet Abraham (AS).

Also Prophet Moses (AS) and Prophet Jesus (AS) were both from Prophet Isaac (AS) who was the other son of Prophet Abraham (AS).

In fact ALL the prophets after Abraham were from his House.

Yet, we do not claim that Prophethood is hereditary.

He was Allah who chose them one by one.

In other words, we do not say that the son of the Prophet should always be a prophet.

There should be many other qualifications beside it, otherwise Kan'an, the son of Noah (AS), would have survived.

Prophet Noah (AS) had three other sons: Aam, Sam and Yafas who were believers and who with their wives entered the Ark and were saved.

They were from different mother than that of Kan'an, however.

Therefore being son of a prophet or an Imam does not necessarily make the person prophet or Imam or even righteous.

In short, pure gene for the prophets and Imams is necessary but NOT sufficient.

Ulul-Amr/Imam is assigned by Allah, the same way that prophet is assigned by Allah.

Look at Holy Quran in which Allah frequently stated that He is the one who assigns Imam.

(see Quran 2:124, 21:73, 32:24, etc. )

There are twelve Imams who are assigned by Allah as the successors of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF).

There is a widespread tradition in the Sunni documents which states that the number of Imams after the Prophet are twelve.

(See for instance, Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, v9, p250, tradition #329; Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter DCCLIV, v3, p1009, traditions #4477, #4478; Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v4, p501; Sunan Abu Dawud, v2, p421 <three traditions>; Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v5, p106).

There are other Sunni documents in which the Prophet (PBUH&HF) even mentioned these twelve Imams name by name.

(see, for instance, "Yanabi' al-Mawadda" by al-Qunduzi al-Hanafi).

Allah assigned these twelve Imams, not just because they were from the House of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), but because they were, in their times, the most knowledgeable, the most illustrious, the most god-fearing, the most pious, the best in personal virtues, and the most honored before Allah; and their knowledge was derived from their ancestor (the Prophet) through their fathers, and also by direct teachings from Allah through inspiration (Ilham).

The successors of the prophets (except the successors of Prophet Muhammad) were also prophets, and thus they were all assigned by Allah.

Also Quran tells that some prophets, with the order of Allah, assigned Imams (who were not prophets).

Let me give you some verses of Quran:

 

Didn't you turn your vision to the chiefs of the children of Israel after Moses? They said to a Prophet (that was) among them: "Appoint for us a king that we may fight in the cause of Allah. " (Quran 2:246)

 

Anyone who has been specifically assigned by Allah as king is an Imam.

A prophet can also be Imam/king but not all the prophets were Imam.

If one becomes a divinely appointed king/Imam, it does not necessarily mean that he will physically govern.

The above verse of Quran is about Talut (AS) Below is another verse of Quran which provides more details:

 

Their Prophet[1] said to them: "Allah has appointed Talut (Saul) as king[2] over you.

" They say: "How can he exercise authority over us when we are better fitted than he to have authority and he has not been given wealth enough?[3]" He (i. e. , their Prophet) said: "Allah has chosen him[4] above you and has gifted him abundantly with knowledge[5] and bodily prowess; Allah grants His authority to whom He pleases.

[6] Allah cares for all and He knows all things. " (Quran 2:247)

 

The first part of the above verse (marked 1) proves that the community had a prophet and Talut was among the people of that community, so that their Prophet was the prophet of Talut also.

Thus Talut was not a prophet.

The part marked 2, shows that Allah appointed Talut as Imam/leader/king.

Part 3 shows that divinely appointed king is not chosen based on wealth.

This kingship is primarily spiritual, and of course Talut is the most qualified person to govern physically also, but the latter depends on the adherence of people to them while the former position (spiritual leadership) is always fixed for the Imam.

Electing Imam/king is not the duty of People, and as Part 4 suggests, Allah chooses king/Imam for He knows who is the most qualified for such eminent position.

King here means the person who has authority by Allah.

This is proved by Part 6 of the above.

The person who has this authority is replete with knowledge and wisdom as Part 5 testified.

In the next verse, we read:

 

And (further) their Prophet said to them: "A sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the Covenant with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron carried by angels.

In this is a Symbol for you if you indeed have faith. " (Quran 2:248)

 

Also in another verse, Allah mentions:

 

Or do they envy mankind for what Allah has given them of His bounty? But We have bestowed the House of Abraham the Book and Wisdom and bestowed upon them a great kingdom.

(Quran 4:54)

 

Again this kingdom is Imamat since only very few members of the House of Abraham physically governed.

Can people choose Imam?

The Sunnis claim that the issue of successor of the Prophet is resolved by consultation (Shura) for Allah stated in Quran that their matter is resolved through Shura.

The claim that the very issue of leadership is to be resolved through consultation is unsupported.

such claim is due to misunderstanding the meaning of consultation (Shura).

Consultation is different than

voting/election, and for that very reason, it can not be used for the issue

of Caliphate.

Let me explain why:

When a leader wants to decide on a matter, based on the Islamic regulations he may attempt to consult with a group of experts to get their opinion on that specific matter.

But he finally decides HIMSELF.

He does not take any vote.

To prove my point, let us see the following verse:

" And consult with them (Shawirhum) in the matter, then

when thou (Prophet) decided, put thy trust in Allah" (Quran 3:159)

The above verse asks for the Shura, but Allah states "fa itha azamta. "

means only Prophet takes the final decision.

There is no voting at all.

It is just the matter of getting the opinion.

The final decision by the Prophet may be different than of the majority of people being consulted (because of "Maslaha" (discretion for the goodness) that the leader realizes and because the leader is supposed to be superior in knowledge, smarter, etc. ).

One side remark here is that, due to his supreme knowledge, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did not even need to get the opinion of any of his people.

However, he did in some circumstances just to teach people the importance of consultation.

In the issue of consultation (Shura), the existence of a leader is already assumed who makes the final decision.

This clearly proves that, in the issue of successorship, consultation is meaningless (unless it is done by the previous leader before his death).

After the death of a leader, there exists no leader who could do consultation, unless such late leader had a deputy (or say vice-president) who could carry out this function.

Usually such APPOINTED deputy is the most qualified person for the position of leadership, and even if he decides on somebody else to be the leader, such leader is still appointed by this previously-appointed deputy, and not by people!

Voting, however, is a totally different issue.

In a democratic community, all people have a chance to elect the choice of their nominee.

Such procedure has no support in Quran and Sunna for the issue of leadership of the whole Muslims, because Islam is based on theocracy (kingdom of Allah) and not democracy (government of people over people).

In fact, Quran denounces the opinion of the majority of people (see 6:116, 5:49, 10:92, 30:8) since the vision of the majority of people is usually impaired due to their tendencies.

Also, such popular election did not happen for the first three rulers who came after the Prophet (PBUH&HF), not even among the people of Medina.

Also, what if people choose an unqualified person who seems to be qualified in their eyes, like a hypocrite? How can such corrupt person becomes Ulul-Amr and his obedience becomes necessary? Certainly Allah and His Prophet know better who is more qualified to be successor of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Believe in Ulul-Amr

If Quran tells us to unconditionally obey a person, it means that we

should believe in him and in his authority over us voluntarily (with satisfaction).

Note, however, that one should distinguish between "believing that we should obey Ulul-Amr" and "obeying Ulul-Amr".

If one believes that he should obey Ulul-Amr, yet he sometimes disobeys Ulul-Amr, he is a sinner and a weak believer.

However if one does NOT believe that he should obey Ulul-Amr, then such person is unbeliever since he does not believe in a part of the religion of Allah, which is explicitly mentioned in Quran.

In fact, both Shi'a and Sunni believe in Ulul-Amr since it is the clear text of Quran.

However they differ in how to choose Ulul-Amr.

According to the Shi'a, leadership of the whole Muslims is not a choice of people so that the leader could be elected by people or selected by a committee, and then is artificially made the Ulul-Amr whom Allah has ordered people to obey!

I also remember a claim by a Sunni brother who mentioned that this verse commands Muslims to obey people in authority (i. e. , rulers) as long as they do not interfere with religion!

To answer this claim, we would like to stress that there is no restriction whatsoever given by Quran for obeying Ulul-Amr.

In fact, in the above verse, Ulul-Amr have been given exactly the same authority over Muslims as that of Messenger, because both the Messenger and the Ulul-Amr have been jointly mentioned (Waw of Atf) under one word "Obey", which shows that the obedience of Ulul-Amr has the same standing as the obedience of the Messenger, and therefore Ulul-Amr is the head of religious affairs also.

He is the one who can properly interpret Quranic verses (See 3:7 and 21:7) and is the most knowledgeable to the Sunna of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Thus claiming that Ulul-Amr should not interfere with the religious affairs is absurd, for he is the most qualified individuals to do exactly such thing.

End of Part 2 of 2

The Ahulbayt in Quran
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