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Content

What is the purpose of this Program and whom does it address? ........................... 5 Chapter 1: Introduction to Ahl- us-Suṉnah, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Al-Ibāḍiyyah .. 6

Commonalities between Ahl us Suṉnah,Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ibāḍīs ................ 7 Major Differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ ..................... 8 Major Differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Al-Ibāḍiyyah ............................ 9 Assignments ....................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: The viewpoint of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ about ahdīṯh

of Holy Prophet 11 ........................................................................................... صلى الله عليه وسلم

Assignments ..................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: The issue of Imāmah (Imamate) ......................................................... 15

The viewpoints of both sides ............................................................................ 15 The viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ .............................................................. 15 The viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah ................................................................... 18

The arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ about Imāmah (Imamate) ........................ 18

Arguments from Holy Qurān ........................................................................ 19 Logical Arguments ........................................................................................ 27

Consequences of the Doctrine of Imāmah (Imamate) ....................................... 31 Assignments ..................................................................................................... 31

Chapter 4: Ṣaḥabah ,Ahl al-Bayṫ of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Caliphate ............................. 33

The Viewpoint of both sides ............................................................................. 34 The viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ .............................................................. 34 The Viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah .................................................................. 35

The Arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and the Answers of Ahl us Suṉnah ......... 37

Relationship of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم with Al ī RA .......................... 40

Hadīṯh about teasing ʻAl ī RA ........................................................................ 41 Other Ahadīṯh about Al ī RA ........................................................................ 42

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further present the following verse from chapterAl-Fatĥ of Holy Qurān: .................................................................................................................. 45

Logical Arguments ........................................................................................ 49 Assignments ..................................................................................................... 51 Arguments about legitimacy and forbiddance of Mut'a (Temporary marriage) 74


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Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present following narration is support of Mut'a (temporary marriage): ................................................................................... 79

Assignments ..................................................................................................... 86

Assignments ..................................................................................................... 99

Assignments .................................................................................................... 113

Assignments .................................................................................................... 118

Assignments ................................................................................................... 131 Chapter 12: Summary of the Module CS01 ......................................................... 132


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What is the purpose of this Program and whom does it address? The purpose of this book is to undertake an impartial analysis of the differences which exist between different groups and schools of thoughts of Muslim Ummah and also to analyze their dianoetic and discursive approaches besides their perspectives and standpoints. In this program we have tried to state all the viewpoints and stances in their original and true form without any addition and subtraction. Moreover their fundamental arguments in support of these viewpoints as stated by their believers will be described clearly. We did not present our own point of view nor did we give our verdict against or in favor of a stance. It’s your call to contemplate about a particular set of beliefs and decide about the truth. This program is for those people who:

• Are farsighted and open-minded

• Want to understand different viewpoints positively.

• Do not study with a negative and contradictious attitude.

• Want to build their ideologies on logic and reason rather than emotions.

• Are able to study the ideology which is different to their own with open- mindedness and

without having narrowness in their heart.

If you think you possess these qualities, you can read the books included in this program no matter to which school of thought you belong to. But this series of books is not for you if you think that you lack these qualities.


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Chapter 1: Introduction to Ahl- us-Suṉnah, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Al-Ibāḍiyyah The literal meaning of the word “Shīʿah” is, "a party, a group or an assembly". This word has

also been used in Holy Qurān in the same meanings. “Tashayyu’ ” means, “to form a group”.

This word was used during the period of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

for any group or party. The particular supporter groups of ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA were

designated as the Shīʿaān-e-Ali and Shīʿaān-e- Mu‘āwīyya respectively when dispute arose

between them. However, in later periods this word was particularized only for Shīʿaān-e-ʻAlī. In

the current period Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is the second largest sect after Ahl us Suṉnah. It is

estimated that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ make 10-15 percent of the total population of Muslims;

however, the figures might be inaccurate because of the fact that it is difficult to estimate the

exact numbers of minority populations. They live in majority in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and

Bahrain whereas in Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Yemen, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and in some

other countries they live as the largest minority. The second largest population of Shīʿahs after

Iran resides in Pakistan.

On the other hand the term "Ahl-us-Suṉnah wal-Jama’aah" means "the group of the followers

of Suṉnah of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى and the party of Muslims i.e. Muslims government. After


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the period of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) when different sects

emerged then this term was used for the Muslims who did not associate themselves with any

particular group and followed the rulers of that time and the Suṉnahof Holy Prophet الله عليه صلى

disseminated to them from continuous transmission through Muslims. It should be noted وسلم

that Shīʿahs do not abnegate the authority of Suṉnah rather they claim that they are the real

Ahl-us-Suṉnah because of their associations with Ahl Al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه

.It is estimated that Ahl-us-Suṉnah constitute about 85-90 percent of Muslim population .(وسلم

They live in majority in almost all the countries except Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Lebanon and

Bahrain where they make the largest minority of those countries. They are shortly referred to

as Sunnis for their affiliation with Suṉnah.

Besides Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ another sect also exists which is known as

Ibāḍiyyah. It is also an ancient group. A group among Shīʿaān-e-ʻAlī raised the standards of

revolt against ʻAlī RA which was later known as Khawārij. This was an extremist group which

considered it legitimate to kill and ransack the wealth of other Muslims by declaring them non-

believers. A somewhat moderate group separated itself from Khawārij which is now known as

Ibāḍiyyah. The adherents of this group live in majority in Oman at present while in Libya,

Algeria and Tanzania they live as the largest minority.

In this module we will study the beliefs, distinguishing features, history, politics, social dynamics

and the mutual interactions of these three groups. We shall study the disputed issues between

Ahl us Suṉnahs and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’s in the first ten chapters and at the end of the module

there is a chapter about Khawārij andIbāḍī sect.

Commonalities between Ahl us Suṉnah,Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ibāḍīs

Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree on the fundamentalbeliefs and practices of Islam. All

of them believe in the oneness of Allah Almighty, strictly negate polytheism, believe in Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى as their final prophet and believe in all previous prophets.

They believe in the concept of life hereafter, reward and punishment on the Day of Judgment

and paradise and hell. All three of them believe in Holy Qurān as being the revelation from

Allah Almighty. They all believe in the Suṉnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and

comprehend religion on the basis of ahadīṯh disseminated from. It is a notable fact that there is


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a difference between the standards of assessing the Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak) nature

of ahadīṯh and their acceptance among these three groups.

Ahl us Suṉnah, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ibāḍiyyah believe in the fundamental ethics of religion

such as justice, beneficence, fear of Allah Almighty, repentance on sins, humbleness and

modesty. Moreover they disprove arrogance, sanctimony, enviousness, animosity and

preconception. There does not exist any disagreement between them on all these issues.

All three groups agree on the fundamentalprinciples of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). All of

them believe that five prayers are Fard (The obligatory) on a Muslim and there is no

disagreement on the Fard (The obligatory) rakʿah of these prayers. However there is some

disagreement between them on partial details of Ṣalāh (Prayer). They do not have any

disagreement on Sawm (Fasting), Zakāt (Obligatory charity) and Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to

Mecca) as being a part of the Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life); however, some disputes about the

secondary details of their procedures are found between them.They also agree on the

fundamental commandments of nikāḥ (marriage) and divorce, customs and rituals, Jihad

(Sacred struggle or Holy War in the way of Allah Almighty)and eating or drinking etc.; however,

some disputes are found regarding the details of these commandments.

Major Differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

There are a number of disputed matters between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. The

disagreement is of extreme nature in some of these disputed matters while in other matters

the disagreement is not of large scale or intense nature. In this book we will restrict ourselves

only to the issues in which the disagreement is of intense nature because the disagreements in

these issues mark the differentiating boundary between the two sects. Some of the

disagreements are based upon the nature of belief; some are of historical nature whereas

others are related to the matters of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). A brief list of these

disputed matters is presented below:

• The disagreement regarding the acceptance of ahadīṯh of Holy ProphetMuhammad صلى

وسلمالله عليه

• The belief of Imāmah (Imamate)

• The way of analyzing the history of Islam


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• The place and status of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet وسلمالله عليه صلى ) and Ahl

Al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم )

• Mut'a (Temporary marriage)

• Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith)

• The rituals of Muharram-ul- Ḥarām

• The Fadak Garden

We will study all these issues one by one and analyze the arguments of both sides regarding

them in the following chapters.

Major Differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Al-Ibāḍiyyah The major differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Al-Ibāḍiyyah are presented below:

• The collection of ahadīṯh

• The belief that sinners will lead an eternal life in hell

• The issue of Imāmah (Imamate)

• The way of analyzing Islamic history

• Rebellion against rulers

Assignments 1. What are the matters on which Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ mutually agree?

Prepare a list of these matters and explain any four of them on the basis of your

previous knowledge.

2. Search the internet to look for the proportions of populations of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ in different countries.

3. What are the major disputed mattersbetween Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’?

Prepare a list of these differences.


10 Module: CS01

Personality Building Develop your habit of starting every work by ��


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Chapter 2: The viewpoint of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ aboutahdīṯh of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree that all ahadīṯh reported from Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى are binding upon Ummah. Both of them also believe that only those

ahadīṯh can be accepted which fulfill the conditions of principles of Darayat -e- Hadīṯh

(Research and investigation of the Matan (Body) of hadīṯh) and Riwayat -e- Hadīṯh (Narration of

the hadīṯh). The principles of Riwayat -e- Hadīṯh instruct that all those persons through which

the hadīṯh has been reported should be reliable and of good moral character. Moreover it is

also compulsory that they possessed good memory and they also made arrangements to

preserve the hadīṯh. The principles of Darayat -e- Hadīṯh instruct that the hadīṯh should not be

against the teachings of Holy Qurān, other Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) ahadīṯh and general wisdom.

After this elementary agreement on the fundamental principles; the dispute arises from the

issue that the narrators of ahadīṯh considered reliable by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are not considered

reliable by Ahl us Suṉnah. Similarly there are a number of narrators of Ahl-us-Suṉnah which are

considered unreliable by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. The definition of Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) hadīṯh according

to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ states: “The hadīṯh whose chain of narrators ultimately reaches Masoom

(an infallible person) and the narrators of each class are Ithnā‘ashari and ʻĀdil”. (Hidaya-tul-

Muhaddithin, Muhammad Ya'qub al-Kulayni (c. 250-329/864-940) (Usūl al-Kāfī, Urdu Translation: Syed


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Zafar Hassan Naqvi Amrohvi, Karachi: Zafar Shamim Publications Trust, Preface, Page 15). On the other

hand; the definition of Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) hadīṯh; according to Ahl-us-Suṉnah states:” The hadīṯh

which is reported by a reliable narrator from another reliable narrator, the chain of reference connects

with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , it does not contradict any other Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) hadīṯh and

it does not contain any hidden defect. ” (Mehmood Tuhan, Translation: Muhammad Mubashir Nazeer,

Tayasar Muṣṭalaḥ Al- hadīṯh,http://www.mubashirnazir.org/ER/Hadith/L0004-00-Hadith.htm)

These two definitions differ in the following two matters:

• Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the saying of any Masoom (an infallible person)

personality can be designated as hadīṯh which also includes the Imams besides Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . According to Ahl-us-Suṉnah only the saying of Holy

prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى can be termed as hadīṯh.

• According to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’; for a hadīṯh to be declared Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) it is

necessary that all the narrators are Shīʿah. On the other hand Ahl-us-Suṉnah accept

ahadīṯh from reliable and well reputed narrators of all different sects. However, they do

not accept those ahadīṯh from the narrators of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Khawārij which

acclaim their own particular sects.

Therefore there are different collections of ahadīṯh of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

because of this difference between the narrators of ahadīṯh. The books of ahadīṯh compiled by

Imam Malik (93-179/711-795), Imam Bukhārī (194-256/810-870) and Imam Muslim (204-

261/819-875) are considered most authentic by Ahl us Suṉnah. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view

that these books do not contain Ḍaʻīf (weak) ahadīṯh because their compilers took a great care

of sanād (chain of narration) while compiling these books. A minority of them believes that

there are a few ahadīṯh in these books whose sanād (chain of narration) can be questioned and

criticized from the view point of Darayat -e- Hadīṯh (Research and investigation of the Matan

(Body) of Hadīṯh). Ahl-us-Suṉnah have hundreds of collections of ahadīṯh the most prominent

of which include Tirmidhī (209-279/824-892), Abu Dawood (202-275/817-889), Nasā'ī (214-

303/829-915), Ibn Mājah (209-273824-887), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164-241/780-855) and Hakim

(321-403/933-1012). Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that these collections contain all sorts of ahadīṯh

including Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic), Ḍaʻīf (weak) and false ahadīṯh. Therefore it is necessary to assess and

evaluate them before accepting them.

The most authentic and reliable book after Holy Qurān; according to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’, is Nahj

ul-Balāghah which includes the sermons of ʻAlī RA. These sermons were compiled by Syed

Shareef Razi (359-406/970-1015). Moreover four other books of ahadīṯh are read and taught by


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Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which are collectively referred to as Usūl Al-Arbʿah. The most authenZc of

these four books is Al-Kāfī which was compiled by Sheikh Al-Kulayni (c. 250-329/864-940).

However in contrast with Al-Bukhārī and Muslim; Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ do not claim about Al-Kāfī

that it contains only Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) ahadīṯh rather they admit the existence of Ḍaʻīf (weak)

ahadīṯh in this book. One book among Usūl Al-Arbʿah is compiled by Sheik Al-Saduq (c. 306-

381/918-991) and two books are compiled by Abu Ja'afar Al-Tusi (385-460/995-1067). Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ believe that these books contain all sort of ahadīṯh including Ṣaḥīḥ (authetic) and

Ḍaʻīf (weak) which must be evaluated and assessed.

It is not so that the books of ahadīṯh of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah contain completely

different ahadīṯh from one another. They possess a number of common ahadīṯh; nevertheless

they also possess ahadīṯh which portray completely different pictures. Both of them have been

accepting ahadīṯh from narrators of each other. The books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in particular

contain narrations from many Shīʿah narrators; however, it is said about the books of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ that they contain narrations from Sunni narrators in a small number. There exists

difference of opinion about some narrators whether they were Sunnis or Shīʿahs. Ahl-us-

Suṉnah present ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in order to substantiate their

viewpoint whenthey debate with them. The same is done by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ when they quote

the books of Ahl us Suṉnah. The reason behind the existence of Shīʿah narrators in the books of

Ahl-us-Suṉnah is that in the first three centuries both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ lived

together and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ concealed their viewpoint under the principle of Taqiyya (Hiding

the Faith). That is why a number of ahadīṯh narrated by Shīʿah narrators found place in the

books of Ahl us Suṉnah.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah adhere to the principle that if the narrator of a particular hadīṯh is Shīʿah and the

hadīṯh substantiates the viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ then the hadīṯh will not be authentic

and reliable rather it will be Ḍaʻīf (weak) and mawḍūʻ (fabricated) despite of its presence in the

books of Ahl us Suṉnah. Almost similar principle is observed by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ because they

believe that the ahadīṯh narrated by non- Shīʿahs are Ḍaʻīf (weak) despite of their presence in

their own books.

Another important dispute regarding hadīṯh reflects the issue that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also

consider the sayings and actions of “aʼimmah-e-masoomeen (Infallible Imams)” as hadīṯh;

whereas, according to Ahl-us-Suṉnah the term hadīṯh only depicts the sayings and actions of

Holy Prophet Muhammad. The narrations about Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet صلى الله

are referred (صلى الله عليه وسلم the companions of the companions of Prophet) and Tabaʿīn (عليه وسلم

to as “Āsaar” by Ahl-us-Suṉnah and they do not consider them binding in the perspective of

commandments of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). The Ijmāʿ (the consensus of Ummah on juristic


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issues) of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) is considered as binding in the

perspective of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) because it maintains the status of Suṉnah

Mutawatir. However the opinion of an individual Ṣaḥabi (the companions of the Prophet صلى الله

صلى الله عليه in case of disagreement between Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet ;(عليه وسلم

is not regarded as a binding commandment. Nevertheless Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the (وسلم

belief that one should adopt an opinion from the opinions of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) rather than establishing a new opinion independent of their opinions. On

the contrary; Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the sayings of “aʼimmah-e-masoomeen (Infallible

Imams)” maintain the status of binding commandments. We will describe the detail of this issue

in the next chapter under the title “The Issue of Imamate”.

Assignments 1. Prepare a list of the books of hadīṯh of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and

download them by searching on internet.

2. Write the names of six books of hadīṯh of Ahl-us-Suṉnah which are known as Saha-e-

Sittah along with the names of their authors.

3. Write the names of four books of hadīṯh of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ along with the names of

their authors.

4. DoAhl-us-Suṉnah consider the opinions and actions of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) binding upon them? Moreover, what it is called in literal

meanings? In comparison to this, what is the importance of sayings and actions of

aʼimmah-e-masoomeen (Infallible Imams) among Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’?

Personality Building

Meet your Lord. Ṣalāh (Prayer) is not just a physical exercise but also a meeting with

Allah Almighty.


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Chapter 3: The issue of Imāmah (Imamate) The biggest difference between Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah is regarding the issue of

Imāmah (Imamate). Imām means leader. This is a term which can be used for both religious and

political leaders. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain a specific viewpoint in this regard which is different

from the viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah.

The viewpoints of both sides The viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain the viewpoint that Allah Almighty has made it binding upon Himself

to appoint a masoom (infallible person) in every period of time for the guidance of his servants

who guides Ummah in religious and political matters. It is necessary for that Imām to descend

from the progeny of ʻAlī RA and Fatima RA and it is binding upon all people to obey him. If they

do not obey that Imām then they will be sinful because the directives of Imām are raised to the

status of commandments of Allah Almighty. No one has the authority to depose or dethrone

the Imām because of his appointment from Allah Almighty. The famous Shīʿah expositor of

HolyQurān from Iran, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi (b.1924) writes:

Different meanings of Imāmah (Imamate) are described:

1. Imāmah (Imamate) refers to leading and guiding people only in worldly affairs. (As is done by


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Ahl us Suṉnah)

2. Imāmah (Imamate) means leading and guiding people in both religious and worldly affairs. (Some of the Ahl-us-Suṉnah agree with this definition)

3. Imāmah (Imamate) means establishment of religious programs that encompasses a wider scope of instituting a government for implementing the commandments of Allah Almighty in the light of His directives. Similarly the upbringing and nurturing of people from overt and covert perspectives is also included in the meanings of Imāmah (Imamate).

This status is higher than the status of prophet hood according to the third definition because prophet hood includes the responsibilities of disseminating the word of Allah Almighty, forwarding His commandments, giving good news and making people aware but the status of Imāmah (Imamate) additionally includes the responsibilities of upbringing people from overt and covert perspectives besides these responsibilities. (However it is clear that many of the prophets were also raised to the status of Imāmah (Imamate)). In reality the Imāmah (Imamate) means practical implementation of religious plans. (Tafseer-e- Namoona, Verse 2:124)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’s believe that many prophets like Abraham AS and Holy Prophet Muhammad

الله عليه وسلم صلى were also raised to the status of Imāmah (Imamate) besides prophet hood. The

prophet hood was concluded on Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى but Imāmah (Imamate)

continued in the following order:

1. ʻAlī RA (599-661/40H) was the first Imām after Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى .

The Imāmah (Imamate) and the apparent caliphate were collected in one personality in

his period. The Imāmah (Imamate) was transferred to his sons after him.

2. Hassan RA (3-49/625-669)

3. Husain RA (4-61/626-680) (After him the Imāmah (Imamate) was transferred to his

offspring)

4. Ali ibn Husain Zayn al-'Abidin (38-95/659-712)

5. Muhammad Baqir (57-114/676-733)

6. Ja'afar As-Sadiq (83-148/702-765)

There exists disagreement among different groups of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ after this. The next

Imāms according to Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) which is the majority group of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ is listed below:

7. Musa Al-Kazim (128-183/745-799) ibn Ja'afar As-Sadiq

8. Reza (153-203/765-818) ibn Musa Al-Kazim

9. Taqi (195-220/811-835) ibn Reza

10. Naqi (c.212-254/827-868) ibn Taqi


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11. Hassan Al-Askari (232-260/846-874) ibn Naqi

12. Imām Mahdi the son of Imām Hassan Al-Askari was the twelfth Imām who disappeared

in his childhood and he will emerge again near the Day of Judgment. His date of birth

was 255/869 according to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

This group is referred to as Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) because of their association with

twelve Imāms. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that Imāmah (Imamate) can be substantiated by the

contentions of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). It means that one Imām appoints his successor

Imām in clear words before his death. Now who should fulfill the responsibilities of Imāmah

(Imamate) in the absence of Imām Mahdi? In this regard there are found two groups of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. The minority group is of AkhbārīShīʿahs which believes that now the guidance

towards right path can only be realized by the means of Holy Qurān, hadīṯh and the sayings of

aʼimmah (the plural of Imām). The majority group is of Usuli Shīʿahs which believes that the

religious scholars will act as his successors. This doctrine is called the ideology of velāyat-e faqīh

(the guardianship of faqīh). These scholars have various ranks; the highest of which is Taqliīd

and Ayatollah Al-Uzma.

The second largest sect of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is Ismāʿīlīs. They believe that the seventh Imām was

Ismāʿīlibn Ja'afar As-Sadiq (103-138/721-755) after whom the Imāmah (Imamate) was

transferred to his family and Imāms are being appointed from his offspring till today. There

emerged several other sects of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in history besidesIsmāʿīlīs who believed in

some other persons as their Imāms rather than those mentioned above. These sects include

Zaidi and Alvi. We will study the detail of all these sects in the subsequent chapters.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the issue of Imāmah (Imamate) is among the fundamentals of

religion. The famous Shīʿah scholar Mulla Baqir Majlisi (1025-1109/1616-1698) who is among

the most prominent religious scholars of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’, writes:

According to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ belief; professing faith in an Imām is a part of the fundamentals of religion and those who relinquish it will be included among infidels on the Day of Judgment; whereas, they are treated as Muslims in the affairs of this world. However, those who demonstrate open enmity against

Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) -for instance the Khawārij- should be treated as non-

believers even in worldly affairs as well.

Some narrations reveal that those (Ahl us Suṉnah) should be apparently declared Muslims in order to get graciousness on Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ during the period in which the righteous Imām does not have dominant power so that the social interaction with them might not be difficult. And after the emergence of The Man of Authority (Imām Mahdi) they will only be declared as infidels. Majority of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ scholars believe that all of them will remain in the hellfire forever like other infidels except those who are weak in their beliefs. Only a few Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ scholars believe that they would be able to achieve salvation after remaining confined under the punishment of Allah Almighty for a long period of time. And "the weak in belief" means a person who cannot differentiate between


18 Module: CS01

the right and wrong because of the weakness of his intellect or those to whom the truth of the true religion was not clear despite of his efforts. For instance, the people who were grown in palaces of Ahl-us-Suṉnah kings did not get information about religious differences and found nobody who could prove the truth of Shīʿah religion to them. We can hope salvation for them on The Day of Judgment and the truth is that there is no hope of salvation from the eternal damnation for anyone other than these weak people. All of them will live in the eternal damnation. (Hayat-ul-Quloob, Urdu Translation, Page 54)

Contrary to this excerpt from the writings of Mulla Baqir Majlisi, common Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ live

in harmony with Ahl-us-Suṉnah and proclaim "Unity between Muslims". Modern Shīʿah scholars

such as Ayatollah Khomeini and Allama Makarim Shirazi in his famous exegesis of Holy Qurān

“Tafseer-e-Namoona” laid stress on this aspect.

The viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain a completely different viewpoint from Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. According to

their viewpoint Allah Almighty did not make it binding upon Himself rather upon Muslim

Ummah to select an Imām from them to run their affairs. This Imām is actually a political ruler

and not a religious leader. It is not necessary for Imām to descend from the offspring of ʻAlī RA

or any particular lineage and it is also not possible for him to be infallible. He is a common

person who can be criticized, held accountable and deposed from his position. The sayings of

Imām do not uphold any religious status and they can only be obeyed if they are in accordance

with the commandments of Holy Qurān and Suṉnah or at least not against them. If the directive

of Imām is against the commandments of Holy Qurān and Suṉnah then it would be refuted.

Imām can be selected with the mutual advice and consent of the Muslims and the affairs of the

government will also be run with the mutual advice and consent of the Muslims.

As far as the religious leader is concerned; he can also be called Imām but his sayings cannot be

binding upon Muslims. His statement should be evaluated in the light of commandments of

Holy Qurān and Suṉnah and accepted if found in accordance with them otherwise it should be

rejected. Even a religious leader cannot be infallible. One can disagree with him and criticize his

opinions.

The arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ about Imāmah (Imamate) Both the sects place the foundation of their indigenous viewpoints in the disputed matters

upon the ahadīṯh present in their own books. It is not useful to present these ahadīṯh because

Ahl-us-Suṉnah do not consider the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ reliable and also Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

believe that the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah are unreliable. A neutral observer can only be satisfied


19 Module: CS01

with the arguments that originate from the source which is considered reliable by both sides. In

this matter an argument can be established on both sides from the following sources only:

Holy Qurān: Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree on the authority of Holy Qurān.

Those ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah which are believed to be authentic by Ahl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present them in support of their viewpoint.

Those ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which are believed to be authentic by Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah present them in support of their viewpoint.

It should be noted that there are found such ahadīṯh in the books of both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which are believed to be Ḍaʻīf (weak) or mawḍūʻ (fabricated) by themselves.

Therefore it is not reasonable logic or an admissible argument if a Sunni presents the reference

of a Ḍaʻīf (weak) hadīṯh from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ or if a Shīʿah presents the reference

of aḌaʻīf (weak) hadīṯh from the books of Ahl us Suṉnah. There can be difference of opinion on

the explanation and interpretation of Holy Qurān and for the eradication of this difference it is

necessary to look at the context of the relative verses.

Now we present the arguments of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ about the issue of

Imāmah (Imamate) in detail. Because the assertion is from Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’; therefore the

responsibility of presenting arguments in this issue also rests upon them. Because Ahl-us-

Suṉnah have difference of opinion in the issue of Imāmah (Imamate) with Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’;

therefore they do not present arguments rather they only respond to the arguments of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’.

Here we present the summary of the arguments presented by Mulla Baqir Majlisi in his book

“Asbaat-e- Imāmah”. The Urdu translation of this book was done by Syed Basharat Husain Kamil

Mirzapuri and published by Majlis A'almi Islami Pakistan. We will also present arguments from

Tafaseer-e-Namoona of Makarim Shirazi. These arguments can be divided in three parts: Holy

Qurān, hadīṯh and general intellect.

Arguments from Holy Qurān We can classify the verses presented by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in support of their belief of Imāmah

(Imamate) under following headings: The Imāmah (Imamate) ofProphet Abraham, Obedience

to the man charged with the authority, The verse of preaching, The verse of purification and the

instruction to appoint an Imām.

Imāmah (Imamate) of Prophet Abraham

ي� و ذر

قالماما ك �لن�اس ا�

جاعل

ني ا�

�هن� قال تم

�اهيم رب)ه بكلمات ف + ذ ابتلى ا� عهدي وا�

لا ينال

تي قال


20 Module: CS01

المين . الظ�

And [remember this:] when his Sustainer tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: "Behold, I shall make you a leader of men." Abraham asked: "And [will You make leaders] of my offspring as well?" [God] answered: "My covenant does not embrace the evildoers." (2:124)

نا صالحين و جعل

9 و:

ة

سحق ويعقوب >فل ه ا�

يرات . وهبنا ل

الخ

يهم فعل

ل مر> وJ�وحينا ا�

� يهدون ب

ناهم J�ئم�ة

وجعل

Pنا عابديتاء الز�كاة وكاQا ل لاة وا� قامة الص� . وا�

And We bestowed upon him Isaac and [Isaac's son] Jacob as an additional gift, and caused all of them to be righteous men, and made them leaders who would guide [others] in accordance with Our behest: for We inspired them [with a will] to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and to dispense charity: and Us [alone) did they worship. (21:72-23)

ائيل سر ناه هدى لبني ا�ن في مرية لقائه وجعل

كتاب فلا تك

قد Jتaنا موسى ال

يهدون . ول

نا منهم J�ئم�ة

وجعل

مر �eتنا dقنون ب

م�ا صبروا وكاQا ب

.> ل

AND, INDEED, [O Muhammad,] We did vouchsafe revelation unto Moses [as well]: so be not in doubt of [thy] having met with the same [truth in the revelation vouchsafed to thee). And [just as] We caused that [earlier revelation of Torah] to be a guidance for the children of Israel, and [as] We raised among them leaders who, so long as they bore themselves with patience and had sure faith in Our messages, guided [their people] in accordance with Our behest - [so, too, shall it be with the divine writ revealed unto thee, O Muhammad.] (32:23-24)

In the opinion of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ the status of Imāmah (Imamate) is different from that of

prophet hood which is granted from Allah Almighty to His servants.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah do not agree with this. They are of the view that the context of the verse infers

that Imāmah (Imamate) is not a status or position rather a religious obligation which means to

guide people. This guidance can either be performed by a prophet or a common religious

scholar and it is not necessary for anyone to be appointed from Allah Almighty. Contrary to this

the prophet hood is a status and position for which it is necessary to be appointed from Allah

Almighty. The maximum which can be inferred from these verses states that the political and

religious leaders of Muslims should invite people towards virtue and establish a system of Ṣalāh

(Prayer) and Zakāt (obligatory charity). However the condition of being infallible and being

appointed from Allah Almighty for Imām is not substantiated from these verses in any way.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further assert that had Imāmah (Imamate) been among the fundamentals of

religion then it would have been clearly described in Holy Qurān in the degree in which the

subjects of Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty), Risalāh (Prophet Hood) and

ʾĀkhirah (The Day of Judgment) have been described. As there does not exist a second


21 Module: CS01

argument in the subject whether Holy Qurān proclaims Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of

Allah Almighty) or Širk (Polytheism) and instructs about the life hereafter or not; similarly had

the belief of Imāmah (Imamate) among the fundamentals of religion, then it would have been

described in Holy Qurān in detail leaving no disagreement behind. As this is not the case;

therefore it is not possible to consider the belief of Imāmah (Imamate) a fundamental belief of

religion in any way.

A minority group of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in this regard maintains that the part of Holy Qurān was

wasted in which the belief of Imāmah (Imamate) had been described. That part of Holy Qurān

included the chapters of Ali, Hasnain and Fatima. This belief has been refuted by the dominant

majority of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ who strictly state in affirmative that there had been no

amendment in Holy Qurān which is perfect and safe.

Obedience to the man charged with the authority

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present the following verse in support of their view point:

�J منواJ Pذ�ا ال و J e�يه) الله�

لى وه ا� ء فرد)

ن تنازعتم في شي فا� مر منكم

�oولي اqJو

سول وJ�طيعوا الر� سول طيعوا الله� . الر�

O you who have attained to faith! Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle and unto those from among you who have been entrusted with authority; and if you are at variance over any matter, refer it unto God and the Apostle.( 4:59)

All the Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’, with concordance believe that the words Ulu'l-Amr i.e. "those who

have been charged with authority" actually refer to aʼimmah-e-Ahl al-Bayṫ who are infallible

according to their belief. Makarim Shirazi writes in the exegesis of this verse:

All Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ exegetes (of the Holy Qurān) maintain an agreed upon belief that Ulu'l Amr refers to aʼimmah-e-masoomeen (Infallible Imāms) who have been entrusted upon by Allah Almighty and prophet with the authority to physically and spiritually guide the Islamic society in all affairs of life. This phrase is not suitable for anyone else. However the obedience to those who have been appointed by them on a position or portfolio, or occupy an important position of Islamic society with stated conditions is necessary. But it is not based upon the reason that they are Ulu'l Amr rather on the reason that they are the representatives of the Ulu'l Amr. (Tafseer Namoona: Verse 4:59)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah state that in this verse it is directed to obey Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been

charged with authority); but it has also been described that one can disagree with them and in

such situation the matter should be returned towards Allah Almighty and His prophet.

Therefore it can be inferred that Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged with authority)

reflects a personality with whom it is allowed to disagree. Had Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been

charged with authority) been infallible; the disagreement with him would not have been

allowed. The permission to disagree with Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged with

authority) is the proof of the fact that he is not infallible.


22 Module: CS01

Makarim Shirazi in response to this argument of Ahl-us-Suṉnah writes:

If indeed Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged with authority) means infallible Imām and leader then

why He states the following while describing the disagreement and conflict between Muslims: “If you are

at variance over any matter, refer it unto God and the Apostleif you [truly] believe in God and the Last

Day. This is the best [for you], and best in the end”.

It is obvious that Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged with authority) are not meant here and the

procedure to eradicate disagreement involves the Book of Allah Almighty and Suṉnah of Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى .

The answer to this question is that this objection does not remain limited only to the exegesis of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ scholars rather a small contemplation on the subject reveals that it encompasses other

exegesis also. It means that this particular objection also includes the exegesis of Ahl us Suṉnah.

Secondly there is no doubt that the disagreement in the above-mentioned sentence actually reflects the

disagreement in directives rather than in those issues which are related to the fundamentals of

government and leadership because in those issues the obedience to Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been

charged with authority) is necessary as explained in the first sentence of verse. Hence the disagreement

means the disagreement in the commandments and entire laws of Islam whose explanation is related to

Allah Almighty and His prophet as we know that Imāms only issue directives and do not make or abolish

laws. Imāms always work on the issuance of the commandments of Allah Almighty and Suṉnah of

prophet. This is why ahadīṯh of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) state that if anyone of us

quotes anything which is opposite to the directives of the Book of Allah Almighty and ahadīṯh of prophet

then we should not accept it because it is impossible and difficult that we state anything against the

Book of Allah Almighty and Suṉnah of prophet. This is why in the commandments and laws of Islam the

first and the foremost sources to eradicate the differences between people are Allah Almighty and Holy

Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه who receives revelation from Allah Almighty. Now the commandments

described by aʼimmah-e-masoomeen (Infallible Imāms) are not from themselves rather they are from the

Book of Allah Almighty or from the knowledge which has been disseminated to them from Holy Prophet

Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه . This is the reason that the phrase of Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged

with authority) is not included among the solvers of disputed matters. (Tafseer-e-Namoona, Verse 4:59)

In reply to this argument of Makarim Shirazi,Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the viewpoint that the

following words of the verse “If you are at variance over any matter, refer it unto God and the

Apostle” mean that if there comes a disagreement with Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been

charged with authority) in a case then the matter should be returned to Allah Almighty and His

prophet. It reflects that once cannot disagree with Allah Almighty and Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى ; however one can disagree with Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been

charged with authority). The one with whom disagreement is allowed; cannot be infallible. It is


23 Module: CS01

obvious that the matters that can be returned to Allah Almighty and Holy Prophet Muhammad

الله عليه وسلم صلى are of religious nature.

They further state that if Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged with authority) meant an

infallible Imām and the disagreement was related to the mutual disagreement of people then it

would have been commanded to return the matter to infallible Imām rather than to Allah

Almighty and His prophet. The reason behind is that a living Imām can readily decide in the

matters of people whereas the returning of the matter to Allah Almighty and His prophet would

require detailed arguments from Holy Qurān and Suṉnah and the difference in the

interpretation and explanation of Holy Qurān is also possible. However if a living personality

appointed from Allah Almighty is present then the disputed matters will be decided readily. But

Allah Almighty ordered to return the matters to Himself and His prophet rather than returning

it to a living Imām. Therefore it can be inferred that Ulu'l-Amr (those who have been charged

with authority) can never refer to an infallible Imām and it is permissible to disagree with Ulu'l-

Amr (those who have been charged with authority).

The verse of preaching

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present the following verse of Holy Qurān in support of their viewpoint:

يعصمك J e�يه) ته والله�غت رسال

�ا بل

فم

تفعل

ن لم يك ربك وا�ل ا�

غ ما yqJل

بل

سول لا ا الر� ن� الله� الن�اس ا�

Pكافرقوم ال

.يهدي ال

O Apostle! Announce all that has been bestowed from on high upon you by your Sustainer: for unless you do it fully, you will not have delivered His message [at all]. And God will protect you from men: behold, God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth. (5:67)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’s believe that Allah Almighty commanded Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه صلى

in this verse to announce the appointment of ʻAlī RA on the position of Imāmah (Imamate) وسلم

and asked him not to take care of any opposition of people. Allah Almighty has given him the

guarantee to protect him in this matter.

In reply to this, Ahl-us-Suṉnah argue that it is the fundamental principle to understand any

excerpt from any book that it should be understood in the light of its context. This verse does

not depict the caliphate of ʻAlī RA at any place rather the context of the verse reveals that

general preaching of religion is meant here. The complete context is presented below:

ناهم جن�ات الن�عيم دخل

�oئاتهم وaر> عنهم س ف�

ك

كتاب Jمنوا وات�قوا ل

ال

و J�ن� J�هل

) 65( ول

وما yqJل

نجيل وراة والا� م J�قاموا الت� و J�نه�

ول

كلوا فوقهم و�o م يهم ربه

ل ون ا�

ثير منهم ساء ما يعمل

مقتصدة وك

ة ت J�رجلهم منهم qJم�

) 66(تح

غ ما yqJل

بل

ا الر�سول J e�يه)


24 Module: CS01

ن� الله� يعصمك الن�اس ا� ته والله�غت رسال

�ا بل

فم

تفعل

ن لم يك ربك وا�ل كافرP ا�

قوم ال

ستم ) 67( لا يهدي ال

كتاب ل

ال

J e�هل

قل

منه ثيرا

يزيدن� ك

ول

ربكم يكم

ل ا�

وما yqJل

نجيل وراة والا� ء �� تقيموا الت�

شي

� يك ربك طغيا>

ل ا�

فلا م ما yqJل

فرا

وك

Pكافرقوم ال

ال

س �

� ) 68(ت

If the followers of the Bible would but attain to [true] faith and God-consciousness, We should indeed efface their [previous] bad deeds, and indeed bring them into gardens of bliss; (65) and if they would but truly observe the Torah and the Gospel and all [the revelation] that has been bestowed from on high upon them by their Sustainer, they would indeed partake of all the blessings of heaven and earth. Some of them do pursue a right course; but as for most of them - vile indeed is what they do! (66)

O Apostle! Announce all that has been bestowed from on high upon you by your Sustainer: for unless you do it fully, you will not have delivered His message [at all]. And God will protect you from men: behold, God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth. (67)

Say: "O followers of the Bible! You have no valid ground for your beliefs - unless you [truly] observe the Torah and the Gospel, and all that has been bestowed from on high upon you by your Sustainer! Yet all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee [O Prophet] by thy Sustainer is bound to make many of them yet more stubborn in their overweening arrogance and in their denial of the truth. But sorrow not over people who deny the truth: (68) (4:65-68)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain that the context of the verse of preaching makes it clear that here the

matter is not about the caliphate of ʻAlī RA rather it is regarding inviting The People of Book to

the faith and it is about its preaching. It does not make sense that Allah Almighty issued an

order about the caliphate of ʻAlī RA without quoting his name in the middle of preaching to The

People of Book and then again returned back to The People of Book.

The verse of purification

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present the following verse in support of their viewpoint:

تطهيرا بaت ويطهركم

ال

الرجس J�هل

هب عنكم

ليذ ا �يد الله� نم� ا�God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the (Prophet's] household, and to purify you to utmost purity. (33:34)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ argue that Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) were promised in

this verse that every sort of corporal and moral uncleanness will be removed from them; then

who can deserve Imāmah (Imamate) more than them? Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله

وسلمعليه ) includeʻAlī RA, Fatima RA, Hassan RA and Husain RA according to them.

In reply to this argument; Ahl-us-Suṉnah state that the context of the verse makes it clear that here Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn (Mothers of Believers) are under discussion and the matter of caliphate and Imāmah (Imamate) are not the subject here rather the matter under discussion is something different:


25 Module: CS01

ذ �قول فيطمع ال

ضعن �ل

تخ

ن ات�قيتن� فلا حد ال�ساء ا�

�ستن�

ل بي

e ¢ساء الن� وقل

به مرض

معروفاي في قل

ن قولا

ة وJتين الز�كاة

لا وJ�قمن الص� ولىq oاهلي�ة ا

ج الج جن تبر) تبر�

ن� ولا

الرجس وقرن في بيوتك

هب عنكم

ليذ ا �يد الله� نم� ه ا� ورسول وJ�طعن الله�

بaت وي ال

ط J�هل

كان ل ن� الله� ة ا�

كم

والح ن� eJت الله�

رن ما يتلى في بيوتك

تطهيرا واذك

يفا خبيراطهركمO wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God. Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way. And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance; and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the (Prophet's] household, and to purify you to utmost purity. And bear in mind all that is recited in your homes of God's messages and (His] wisdom: for God is unfathomable (in His wisdom], all-aware. (33:32-34)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the context of the verse of purification reveals that this particular verse was actually revealed for the education and guidance of Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn (Mothers of Believers). Incidentally it is also applicable to the daughters, son-in-laws, grandsons, granddaughters and other family members of Holy Prophet Muhammad. However the subject under discussion here is not caliphate and Imāmah (Imamate) rather it is the education and guidance. In reply to this, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present a hadīṯh from the books ofAhl-us-Suṉnah which is known as hadīṯh Al-Kisā'. This hadīṯh has been quoted in the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in detail but only Tirmidhī narrated this among the books ofAhl us Suṉnah. The hadīṯh is presented below:

لمة ربيب حدثنا قتيبة حدثنا محمد بن سليمان الأصبهاني عن يحيى بن عبيد عن عطاء بن أبي رباح عن عمر بن أبي س

إنما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس { النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لما نزلت هذه الآية على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

في بيت أم سلمة فدعا فاطمة وحسنا وحسينا فجللهم بكساء وعلي خلف ظهره } أهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا

أذهب عنهم الرجس وطهرهم تطهيرا قالت أم سلمة وأنا معهم يا نبي الله فجللهم بكساء ثم قال اللهم هؤلاء أهل بيتي ف

.قال أنت على مكانك وأنت على خير قال هذا حديث غريب من حديث عطاء عن عمر بن أبي سلمة

'Umar bin Abī Salamah RA- the step-son of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى - said: "When these verses were

revealed to the Prophet وسلمالله عليه صلى : Allah only wishes to remove the Rijs from you, O members of the

family, and to purify you with a thorough purification; in the home of Umm Salamah, he called for Fatimah, Hassan, Husain, and wrapped them in a cloak, and Ali was behind him, so he wrapped him in the cloak, then he said: 'O Allah! These are the people of my house, so remove the Rijs from them, and purify them with a through purification.' So Umm Salamah said: 'And I, Prophet of Allah?' He said: You are in your place, and you are upon goodness. Tirmidhī states that this hadīṯh has only been narrated by Aṭā' from 'Umar bin Abi Salamah. (Tirmidhī: The Book of Exegesis of Holy Qurān,Hadīṯh 3205)

حدثنا عبد بن حميد حدثنا عفان بن مسلم حدثنا حماد بن سلمة أخبرنا على بن زيد عن أنس بن مالك أن رسول الله

إنما يريد { صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يمر بباب فاطمة ستة أشهر إذا خرج إلى صلاة الفجر يقول الصلاة يا أهل البيت


26 Module: CS01

قال هذا حديث حسن غريب من هذا الوجه إنما نعرفه من } الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس أهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا

.حديث حماد بن قال وفي الباب عن أبي الحمراء ومعقل بن يسار وأم سلمة

Anas bin Mālik said: For six months, the Messenger of Allah الله عليه وسلم صلى would pass by the door

ofFãtimahwhen going to the Fajr prayer saying: 'Aṣ-Ṣalāt' O people of the house! Allah only wishes to remove the Rijs from you, O members of the family, and to purify you with a thorough purification. Tirmidhī states that it is a weak narration from the perspective that we only know it by the narration of Ḥammād bin Salamah. There are narrations on this topic from Abū Al-Ḥamrā', Ma'qil bin Yasār, and Umm Salamah. (Tirmidhī: The Book of Exegesis of Holy Qurān,Hadīṯh 3206)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that they believe that Fatima RA, ʻAlī RA, Hassan RA and Husain

RA are among Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and this hadīṯh reflects the

special hard work of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه for their grooming. This hadīṯh

does not depict that Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn (Mothers of Believers) are excluded from Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) or the other daughters of Holy prophet

Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه and his son-in-laws are excluded from Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy

Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). [Nauzubillah (We seek refuge from Allah Almighty)]. These ahadīṯh are

related to the upbringing and grooming of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) by

Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه and not with the subjects of Imāmah (Imamate) and

caliphate. Ahl-us-Suṉnah state that the concept of family was much wider in that period of time. The wife, children, married sons, daughters, son-in-laws, servants, slaves and even freed slaves of a person were also considered a part of the family. In this perspective the holy wives, daughters,

son-in-laws, slaves and freed slaves, all were part of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه

لموس ). This is the reason that at one occasion Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه declared

Salman Farsi a part of his family. In this way all the slaves who were freed by him either from his personal wealth or from the wealth of Bayt Al-Mal, were also included in his Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) by him.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ ask the question that if this is the case then why Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى

وسلمالله عليه included only those four persons in his cloak and kept Umm ul-Muʾminīn (Mother of

Believers) Umm Salamah out of this? Ahl-us-Suṉnah in reply to this question maintain that it

was a way of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه to groom them. It is evident from the

second hadīṯh that he used to recite the same verse for six months when going to offer Fajr prayer in order to wake up the family of Fatima RA. As a result of this; the whole family was elevated to such a reverent position that their nights were spent in the worship of Allah Almighty. As far as the point of not including Umm Salamah in the cloak is concerned; the explicator of Tirmidhī, Abdul Rehman Mubarikpuri writes in the explanation of these ahadīṯh: “You should stay at your place because you are at goodness”. These words may infer the meaning that you are on goodness and you should stay at your place because you are already included in my Ahl al-


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Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and there is no need to enter the cloak. (Tuhfatul Ahwazi,

Volume 9)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further state that there is no description of the caliphate or Imāmah (Imamate) of ʻAlī RA in the above mentioned ahadīṯh.

Arguments from Ahadīṯh The ahadīṯh presented byAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ to prove their belief of Imāmah (Imamate) are quoted by them from their own books. Both the groups do not reach any conclusion because of the reason that these books and their narrators are not considered reliable and authentic by Ahl us Suṉnah. The comparative study is not possible because of the absence of any common ground between them; therefore we neglect this part.

Some Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ scholars present some ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in this

regard. Most of these ahadīṯh state the preeminence of ʻAlī RA, Fatmia RA, Hassan RA and

Husain RA. We will analyze these ahadīṯh in the chapter related to Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) because this is a

separate subject which requires detailed analysis.

Logical Arguments

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present some logical arguments in favor of the doctrine of Imāmah

(Imamate). Two of these arguments are of more importance that have been described on the

appendage in the beginning of the book “Asbat-e- Imāmah”.

Allah Almighty is beneficent and merciful. How is it possible that He leaves human beings

unguided? Not only the book of Allah Almighty, but also, a living Imām is necessary who can

explain and elucidate the meaning of the book.

The presence of a protector of the Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى in

every period of time is necessary who can guard it against amendments, variations and

changes. As the verses of Holy Qurān are compact and compendious; therefore the apparent

words do not reveal many of the commandments. Hence there should be an illustrator

appointed from Allah Almighty who can extract the commandments from Holy Qurān.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah respond to these arguments in the following way:

Firstly, Allah Almighty never left human beings unguided. After the finality of prophet hood on

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى ; Holy Qurān is present in front of us in its original form

in which there exists no difference of opinion. The suṉnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه صلى

which has been transferred consistently from one generation to other, explains and ;وسلم

elucidates Holy Qurān. Besides this, a large collection of ahadīṯh associated with Holy Prophet


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Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى is available to us. Although this collection incorporates all sorts of

ahadīṯh including Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak) yet the scholars of this Ummah have

formed such a mechanism of inspection of this collection of ahadīṯh which can differentiate

between the Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak)ahadīṯh. In the presence of all these details the

need of a living Imām and illustrator ceases to exist.

Secondly if the presence of a protector of religion of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمالله عليه صلى is

necessary in every period of time, then it is against the very own belief of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’;

because according to their belief there emerged eleven Imāms and the twelfth Imām Mahdi

disappeared who will appear again near the Day of Judgment. If Imām is absent then how he

can lead the Ummah and illustrate Holy Qurān? It should be noted that the same objection is

presented by Ismāʿīlīs against the belief of Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers).Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

respond to this objection by stating that Imām Mahdi is spiritually benefitting the world similar

to the way in which the light of sun reaches the closed doors. They also state that he is

preparing a group of people which will be ready to help him on the time when he will appear

again. (“Kamāl-ud-Din wa Tamaam-un-Na'imat” by Sheikh Suduq and its Urdu Translation “Falsafa-e-

Ghaibat Mahdi”)

Thirdly, if an Imām is present in the world in every period of time, even then neither it is

possible for him to disseminate his message to all the people nor it is possible for all the human

beings to get the instructions by attending him.

Fourthly, if the belief of Imāmah (Imamate) is accepted then it practically abnegates the belief

in the finality of prophet hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمالله عليه صلى . A Sunni scholar

Muhammad Haneef Nadvi (1908-1987) writes:

The Imām should be infallible according to the belief of Imāmis. It should be noted that obedience to the

infallible Imam is mandatory. If these three aspects are joined together then they portray a picture which

reflects that according to the belief of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ a system of Imāmah (Imamate) is running in

parallel with the prophet hood.

It means that the appointment of aʼimmah (The plural of Imām) is as mandatory and necessary as the annunciation of prophets.

Aʼimmah (The plural of Imām) are free from all sorts of mental and practical faults just similar to prophets who are infallible from intellectual and practical aspects.

The obedience to aʼimmah (The plural of Imām) and adherence to their decisions is as mandatory as it is to believe in prophets, have faith in them and submit to their decisions.

It is possible that there might be some distinguishing features between prophet hood and Imāmah (Imamate); however, as far as the comprehendible concept of prophet hood for a common man is concerned, it includes three major constituents: the mandatory nature of divine appointment and nomination, the existence of infallibility and the mandate of having the authority. It means that a


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prophet must be appointed by Allah Almighty, his practical life should be pious and exemplary and conforming to his commandments should be mandatory for all. These three aspects are shared by Imāmah (Imamate) and prophet hood. Now if one group believes that finality of prophet hood only restricts the application of the title of prophet for someone but the succession of divine guidance will

remain continued with a new title after Holy Prophet Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلمand believing and

conforming to it is as compulsory as believing in prophet hood then there remains no difference between prophet hood and Imāmah (Imamate) from conceptual and practical viewpoint.

It can be understood by taking the example of a person who perceives from the meaning of Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty) that the word Allah cannot be applied to anyone and no one can be declared the Lord or the Sustainer. But he practically reveres all those places and centers which do not appear to be less than Allah Almighty in their authority; then should this act be taken as Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty) and not Širk (Polytheism)? It is not correct to interpret Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty) in the meanings that it is not permissible to bow before anyone except Allah Almighty; however, there is no harm in prostrating before someone except Allah Almighty and there is no sin in calling him in the hour of need and seeking his refuge with the only safety measure that he should not be called Allah Almighty.

In the similar way, the doctrine of "the finality of prophet hood" cannot be interpreted in a way that trapdoors to the obedience and authority of someone are kept opened even after Holy Prophet

Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم. It means that human beings are still forced to believe in a succession of

divine guidance and revere it as a center of their love. However in order to reconcile it with the theme of "the finality of prophet hood"; this sort of succession which is conceptually equivalent to the concept of prophet hood, is not declared as the succession of prophet hood rather titled as Imāmah (Imamate).

The difference between prophet hood and Imāmah (Imamate) believed by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is only that of name and reflection and not of reality and meaning.

On the contrary, we believe that prophet hood is a decreeing realityand contains positive meanings. In the conceptual and practical backdrop it is nothing but accepting unconditional mandatory obedience; accepting that it is nothing more than unquestionable obedience. When we state that

Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is the last prophet of Allah Almighty then we actually mean

that there is no one after him whose obedience is mandatory for us, believing in him is compulsory or he acts as a role model for us. It means that a permanent center of reverence and veneration has been established for us.

It actually reflects that all doors of obedience and reverence to anyone; except to Holy Prophet

Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم , are closed for Ummah. Therefore the doors of prophet hood that have been

closed are not of name and title only rather they are of concrete meaning and reality. (“Mirzaiyat from New Angles”, Chapter: The Decisive Research).

Abu Al-Hassan Nadvi states that it is mandatory demand of the belief of Imāmah (Imamate)

that the personalities of aʼimmah (the plural of Imām) become the main center of attention

rather than the preservation of the level of love and reverence for Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى

:He writes .الله عليه وسلم

No rightly believed Muslim has any doubt that the personalities of aʼimmah Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy

Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )have always been the torchbearers of light and the leaders of ethical guidance in


30 Module: CS01

the darkness. However we note that exceptional emotional relation of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ with aʼimmah

Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and their excessive concentration in their love have

dominated their wisdom, emotions and conscience. We get the impression that this affiliation and

affection have somewhat damaged and weakened the love and affiliation that is expected from a

Muslim with the prophet hood and personality of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه who is the

reason behind the respected and honorable status of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )

and made them worthy for our love and respect. It seems that a part of the inner love and relation with

Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه has been transferred to the relation with Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of

Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ).

Hence we do not observe the enthusiasm, fervor and narration of the subject in the poetry of last period

of Iran (which is not much in volume) written to praise and glorify the personality of Holy Prophet

Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه as compared to the poetry written to glorify Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet

وسلمصلى الله عليه ), the dirges and especially the poetry which describes the praise and commendation of ʻAlī

RA and Hussain RA and states the difficulties of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). This

difference can be observed between the poetry describing the praise of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله

وسلمعليه and admiration of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) among Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. You

can yourself read and compare the dirges of Anees and Dabeer with the poetry written to admire the

personality of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه by them and by other poets of their sect. One can

observe the difference of spontaneous revelation of thoughts and the forced revelation and also of

genuine and derivative subjects between the two. Almost same difference exists between the studies of

the pious life history of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه and the glory of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy

Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). We observed the same thing in Iran that the affinity which exists with the

mausoleums of martyrs and tombs is not existent for mosques; likewise the desires to travel to Najaf,

Karbala and holy places in Iraq is more dominant than the desire of visiting and pilgrimage to al-

Ḥaramayn al-Sharifayn (The noble sanctuaries: notably Mecca and Medina).

It might be possible that such reaction emerged among our Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) brothers

because of the attitude of some of enthusiast scholars and adherents of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and our

negligence in admitting the rights of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ); however in this

case it is more than mere reaction from them. The halo of love and reverence, enthusiasm and fervor and

consecration and adoration which has been developed around these personalities and the exaggeration

in their praise and admiration has given birth to the threat that it might develop Imāmah (Imamate) as

an opponent of prophet hood and associate in a number of its characteristics and properties. If it

happens then the whole sphere of life will be directed towards such a center which will run in parallel

with Holy Prophet Muhammad. (From Kabul river to Yarmuk river, Chapter Iran, Page 107)


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Consequences of the Doctrine of Imāmah (Imamate) The differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ on the issue of Imāmah

(Imamate) generate such consequences which lead to a wide chasm between them. Some

important points are listed below:

Because Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that aʼimmah (the plural of Imām) are infallible therefore

their sayings and actions are given the status of hadīṯh. This results in an addition of the third

source of religion - the sayings and actions of aʼimmah (the plural of Imām) - besides Holy

Qurān and Suṉnah among Ahl ut T ashayyu’. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that Holy Qurān and

Suṉnah are the only sources of religion. The difference between the sources of religion creates

huge differences in the commandments of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) betweenAhl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that ʻAlī RA was raised to the status of Imāmah (Imamate) by Allah

Almighty and Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) did not accept his status

and thus they believe that it was a deprivation of his right. A number of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

criticize Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) for not accepting the Imāmah

(Imamate) of ʻAlī RA and some go to the extent of declaring them non-believers [Ma'azAllah

(We seek refuge from Allah Almighty)]. For this reason Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain a completely

different viewpoint regarding the history of Islam. We will study the detail of this in the next

chapter.

Assignments 1. What are major Qurānic arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’s in favor of Imāmah (Imamate)

and also describe the viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnahs about these arguments? Write your

answers in both cases and give arguments.

2. Compare the concept of "Caliphate" of Ahl-us-Suṉnah with the concept of "Imāmah

(Imamate)" of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. Search the history of these two concepts on internet.

3. Describe three logical arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in favor of Imāmah (Imamate) .

4. What will be the ground on which Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ can discuss the

concept of Imāmah (Imamate) with each other? Write down the arguments of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ and the answers of Ahl-us-Suṉnah on this concept in the form of a dialogue.


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Develop consciousness within you that Allah Almighty is always watching you and you have

to be answerable in front of Him for your deeds.


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Chapter 4: Ṣaḥabah ,Ahl al-Bayṫ of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Caliphate The belief of Imāmah (Imamate) is considered to be among the fundamentals of religion byAhl-

ut-Tashayyu’; as we have studied it in the previous chapter. They also unanimously agree on the

point that Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى appointed ʻAlī RA as his successor and caliph.

However the historical reality is opposite to this. The dominant majority of Muslims appointed

Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA and Uthman RA as their caliphs and after them the status was endowed

upon ʻAlī RA. Therefore; in contrast to Ahl us Suṉnah, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain a completely

different viewpoint regarding Islamic history and its important characters because of the

difference in their ideal and reality. We will study its detail in this chapter.

Both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree on the point that the love with the family of

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى is the condition of faith. Both of them also agree on the

point that the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )whosincerely sided with

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى maintain a prestigious status. The difference actually

exists regarding the status and position ofṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه صلى

وسلمصلى الله عليه andAhl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet(وسلم ). They also maintain different

viewpoints about some particular Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).

Moreover the difference between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also exists on

thedefinition ofAhl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ).


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The Viewpoint of both sides The viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) comprised of five

members including Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه himself, his daughter Syeda Fatima

RA, her husband ʻAlī RA and their two sons Hassan RA and Husain RA. They are known as

Panjetan-e-Pak in subcontinent. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain the viewpoint that these four

personalities are the most preeminent following the personality of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى

وسلمالله عليه . All the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )who sided with these

four personalities after the demise of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى are considered

respectable by them. For example Miqdad RA, Salman Farsi RA, Ammar ibn Yasir RA and Umm

ul-Muʾminīn (Mother of Believers) Umm-e-Salamah RA are specially respected by Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. The paternal uncle of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and the father of ʻAlī

RA, Abu Talib is counted amongṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) by Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ who use the phrase ʿAlayhi as-salām (عليه السلام) with his name. However Ahl-us-

Suṉnah believe that he died without embracing Islam. This particular viewpoint of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ is based upon a number of ahadīṯh which have been narrated in their books.

Moreover Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present a number of ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah

in this regard.

The viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ about the history states that after the demise of Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى ; it was the right of ʻAlī RA to be appointed as the caliph

because he had been raised to the status of Imāmah (Imamate) of the Ummah.Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

use the titles of “Wasi-ur-Rasool” and “Khalipha Bila-Fasal” for ʻAlī RA and these titles are a part

of their Adhān (Call for Prayer) and Kalima (Standard phrase for the confession of faith).

According to the viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ the majority of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) committed a crime by granting the status of caliphate to someone else

other than ʻAlī RA. When ʻAlī RA received caliphate; a number of people raised the standards of

revolt against him and snatched it away from his ancestry. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the

entire history of Muslims is full of these sorts of cruelties and brutalities with the exception of

only a few periods of time.

The extremist Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ vehemently and openly narrate this viewpoint and slam and

abuse all those whose names are included in this particular issue. Some people execrate

thoseṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)].

Moderate Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ state their viewpoint but do not abuse Ṣaḥabah (the companions of


35 Module: CS01

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) for the reason that they are considered highly esteemed personalities

by Ahl us Suṉnah.

The Viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that originally the phrase Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه

has been used in Holy Qurānfor the Holy Wives of Holy Prophet Muhammad (وسلم الله عليه وسلم صلى .

Moreover Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم)also include Fatimah RA -the

daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم - her husband ʻAlī RA, grand children

Hassan RA and Husain RA, in addition to other daughters of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه

Zainab RA, Ruqayya RA, Umm Kalsoom RA and their husbands Abu Al-Aas RA and Uthman ;وسلم

RA. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe in the dignity of ʻAlī RA and his family and pay high respect to them.

As far as Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) are concerned; Ahl-us-Suṉnah

maintain the viewpoint that it is more important to realize the services rendered by them for

religion. They believe that ten Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) were

granted the promise of paradise by Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى because all of them

included those who embraced Islam in extremely difficult situations and worked whole-

heartedly and diligently for the religion. Ahl-us-Suṉnah pay a high degree of respect to all of

them and defend them in all aspects. They present a number of ahadīṯh from their books

narrating their distinction and eminence. Their names are listed below:

1. Abu Bakr Siddiq RA (573-634 CE/13H): He was the first caliph and his period ranged between 11-

13/632-634.

2. Umar Farooq RA (586-645/23H): He was the second caliph and his period ranged between 13-

24/634-644.

3. Utman Ghani RA (579-656/35H): He was third caliph. His period ranged between 23-35/644-656.

4. Ali AL-Murtaza RA (598-661/40H): He was fourth caliph. His period ranged between 35-40/656-

661.

5. Talha ibn Ubaid-ul-Allah RA (595-656/36H): He is included in the first ten persons who embraced

Islam.

6. Zubair ibn Al-Awwaam RA (594-656/36H): He was known as Hawari-e-Rasool (The Disciple of

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى )

7. Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarāḥ RA(580-652/32H): He was known as Amin Al-Ummah and was the

supreme commander of the army which conquered Syria.

8. Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās RA (595-664/43H): He was the commander of the army which conquered

Iran.

9. Abdur Rehman ibn Awf RA (580-652/32H)

10. Saeed ibn Zaid RA (593-673/51H) RA


36 Module: CS01

(Note: The dates of births mentioned above are approximate)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that all these Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

accepted the message of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى in the early years and endured

extreme difficulties in the way of Islam. They pay a high degree of respect to all these

personalities; however, they do not consider them infallible. They believe that occurrence of

mistakeby these personalities is possible; however their vilification is not permitted in any

degree. The allegations leveled against them by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are fervently denied and

defended byAhl us Suṉnah. On the contrary, at least five of these personalities including Abu

Bakr RA, Umar RA, Uthman RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA are severely denounced byAhl-ut-

Tashayyu’ and some of them slam and execrate them. Khawārij criticize Uthman RA, ʻAlī RA,

Talha RA and Zubair RA; and declare all theṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه صلى

.of their period non-believers (وسلم

Ahl-us-Suṉnah equally respect all Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى );

however, they believe that their classification is possible only on the basis of their services

rendered for Islam rather than their family relation with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى .

They are of the view that Abu Bakr RA is the most eminent of the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), respectively followed by Umar RA, Uthman RA, ʻAlī RA, the remaining

of the Ashara Mubashira (the ten companions who were promised paradise), the remaining of

the As Sabiqoon Al Awaloon (Those who embraced Islam in the initial times), the remaining of

Ahl e Badr, the remaining of Ahl 'Uhud, those who were included in the Bay'ah of Rizwan, those

who embraced Islam before the conquest of Mecca and then those who embraced Islam after

the conquest of Mecca. The reason behind this classification is based upon the fact that

especially thoseṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) who embraced Islam

before the Battle of Badr struggled hard for Islam in extremely severe conditions. In later

periodsthose who embraced Islam after it became a great power; did not have to face those

severe difficulties. Moreover Caliph Umar RA fixed the scholarships ofṢaḥabah (the companions

of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) in his caliphate in the same order.

As Ahl-us-Suṉnah do not believe in the concept of Imāmah (Imamate); therefore they do not

accept that there occurred any cruelty in the history which deprived an eligible Imam (Religious

Leader) of his right. They are of the view that the selection of caliph was the discretion of

Ummah. When Muslims selected Abu Bakr RA as their caliph by their mutual consent then

there was nothing such that could be regarded as cruelty. The same was the case with the

selection of subsequent caliphs. Abu Bakr RA appointed Umar RA as the caliph before his death

after consultation with all Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) including ʻAlī

RA. Umar RA formed a committee for the selection of caliph before his martyrdom which also

included ʻAlī RA. This committee unanimously appointed Uthman RA as the caliph after


37 Module: CS01

consultation with general people. ʻAlī RA took oath of allegiance on the hands of all three

caliphs and took part in the responsibilities of caliphate. When he himself took part in the

responsibilities of caliphate then there remained nothing such which could be regarded as

cruelty.

The martyrdom of Caliph ʻAlī RA was the biggest cruelty ofKhawārij which is condemned by Ahl

us Suṉnah. In the same way the martyrdom of his son Husain RA is also considered as cruelty

and a very tragic incident byAhl-us-Suṉnah and all of them–except a small group- severely

denounce the then ruler Yazid.

The Arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and the Answers of Ahl us Suṉnah Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present a number of ahadīṯh from their books on the subject of ʻAlī RA being

the “Wasi-ur-Rasool” and “Khalipha Bila-Fasal”. These ahadīṯh cannot be an authority onAhl-us-

Suṉnah because they do not consider them authentic and reliable. This is the reason thatAhl-ut-

Tashayyu’ present some ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in this issue. Here we will

present these ahadīṯh and then the response of Ahl-us-Suṉnah towards them. We are

presenting these ahadīṯh from the book “Ali Khalipha-tur-Rasool” written by Syed Fakhar-ud-

Din Muswi. Moreover we will also present some verses from Holy Qurān:

Verse of Preaching and Verse of Purification See last chapter for details.

Analogy with Prophet Aaron AS

Jن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خرج الى تبوك، : حدثنا يحيى، شعبة، الحكم، مصعب ا¯ سعد، Jبيه: حدثنا مسدد

.Jلا ½ضى Jن تكون مني بمنزلة هارون موسى؟ الا Jنه لaس نبي بعدي: Jتخلفني في الصبيان وال�ساء؟ قال :واس·خلف عليا، فقالNarrated Sa`d RA: Allah's Apostle وسلمالله عليه صلى set out for Tabuk appointing `ʻAlī RA as his deputy (in

Medina). `ʻAlī RA said, "Do you want to leave me with the children and women?" The Prophet said, "Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Aaron to Moses? But there will be no prophet after me." (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, The Book of Al-Maghazi (Holy Battles), Hadīṯh: 41545)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah recognize this hadīṯh as authentic. They are of the view that Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى appointed ʻAlī RA as his deputy in Medina while going for the Battle of

Tabouk. Some other Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) including Abu Bakr

RA and Ibn Umm Maktoom RA were also given the same responsibility on other occasions. But it does not mean that he became the “Wasi-ur-Rasool” and “Khalipha Bila-Fasal”; otherwise, all

the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) who had been appointed as the

deputy at Medina on different occasions by Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى should have

been recognized as “Wasi-ur-Rasool”. His analogy with Aaron AS had been drawn in the


38 Module: CS01

perspective as Moses and Aaron AS were brothers; hence Ai RA is the brother of Holy Prophet

Muhammad وسلمالله عليه صلى .

Ghadirkhum Sermon

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ state that Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى issued an address at

Ghadirkhum in which he appointed ʻAlī RA as his deputy. This has been also narrated in the books of Ahl us Suṉnah.

اسمعيل ¯ ¢شaط العامري سمع Âر ¯ حوشÁوجميلا سمع منه J¿ نعيم وd¢س ¯ بكير، قال لى عبيد حدثنا d¢س سمع اسمعيل

. جميل ¯ عامر Jن سالما حدثه سمع سمع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول dم غد� خم كنت مولاه فعلى مولاه

Narrated Saalim RA that he listened Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى on the day of Ghadirkhum that ʻAlī RA is

the master of whom I am a master. Abu-Abdullah stated that the references of this hadīṯh have some issues with them.(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (The Great History),Jami` at-TirmidhiHadīṯh: 2458, 1191)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that a number of references of this hadīṯh are Ḍaʻīf (weak). The

words of this narration do not at any place command to appoint ʻAlī RA as the deputy. It is

possible that Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى described the status of ʻAlī RA in a response

to some local dispute. If the grand announcement of the caliphate or succession was the

objective then the occasion of theKhuṭbatu l-Wadāʿ (The Farewell Sermon) would have been

the best occasion when the people of whole Arabia were gathered rather than announcing it on

an occasion when people made a short stay at a place on their way back to home. It is also

evident that Ghadirkhum was on the way from Mecca to Medina and only one group of

Muslims was along with Holy Prophet Muhammad on this occasion which was travelling to

North from Mecca. The pilgrims coming from East and South had returned back to their own

routes. Moreover all the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) travelling to

North were not along with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى rather they had dispersed in

the way. The dispute of caliphate would not have been there if the announcement of

succession had been made on the occasion ofKhuṭbatu l-Wadāʿ (The Farewell Sermon).

The Hadith of Paper

Jخبر> معمر الزهري، ). حدثنا عبدالرزاق: وقال ا¯ رافع. Jخبر>: قال عبد(وحدثني محمد ¯ رافع وعبد ¯ حميد

:عبيدالله ¯ عبدالله ¯ عتبة، ا¯ عباس، قال

هلم Jكتب (فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم . لما حضر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي البaت رجال فيهم عمر ا¯ الخطاب

حسÁنا كتاب . وعندكم القرJن. ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قد غلب عليه الوجع: فقال عمر). لكم كتا� لا تضلون بعده


39 Module: CS01

قر¿ا يكتب لكم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كتا� لن تضلوا بعده، : فمنهم يقول. موافاختص. فاختلف Jهل البaت. الله

فلما Jكثروا ا�لغو والاختلاف عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه . ومنهم يقول ما قال عمر

كل الرزية ما حال بين رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وبين Jن ان الرزية : فكان ا¯ عباس يقول: قال عبيدالله.وسلم قوموا

.يكتب لهم ذلك الكتاب، اختلافهم ولغطهم

Narrated Ibn Àbbas RA: When we reached the house of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى there were some

men in the house, and among them was Ùmar bin Al-Khatttab RA .The Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى said,

"Come near let me write for you a writing after which you will never go astray." Ùmar RA said, "The Prophet is seriously ill (he is suffering from pain.Do not discomfort him), and you have the Qur'an, so Allah's Book is sufficient for us." The people in thehouse differed and disputed. Some of them said, "Come near so that Allah's Apostle may write for you a writing after which you will not go astray," while some of them said what Ùmar RA said. When they made much noise and differed greatly

before the Prophet وسلمالله عليه صلى , he said to them, "Go away and leave me."

Ibn Àbbas RA used to say, "It was a great disaster that their difference and noise prevented Allah's Apostle from writing that writing for them.(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, The Book of Holding fast to the Qurān and Suṉnah, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, The Book of Wills)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ state about this hadīṯh that Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى wanted to

make them write a will in favor of ʻAlī RA but Umar RA and some other people did not let that

happen. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that here the description of making a will is present but

it is not mentioned what he wanted them to write. If Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى

wanted to appoint a caliph after him then he was not to stop just because of the talks of the

people. Especially from the viewpoint ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’; if Allah Almighty had commanded to

appoint ʻAlī RA as the caliph then it was not possible that Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى

avoided to make will in accordance with this commandment. In the same way how ʻAlī RA could

abandon the right granted by Allah Almighty? Hence it is evident that the will was about some

instructions and advices and Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى did not consider it

necessary to make them write. According to a narration of Musnad Ahmad when ʻAlī RA later

asked Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى about this; then he instructed about saying

prayers, paying Zakāt (obligatory charity) and making fair treatment with slaves.

A small group of Ahl-us-Suṉnah does not consider this hadīṯh reliable becauseIbn Shahab Zehri

(d. 124/741) is included in the chain of narrators. [Tamanna Imadi; Imām Tabari and Imām Al-

Zuhri]He is a person of high value in hadīṯh both according to Ahl-us-Suṉnah andAhl-ut-

Tashayyu’. This small group believes that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ intentionally or unintentionally used

Ibn Shahab Zehri to spread their orchestrated ahadīṯh among Ahl us Suṉnah. This viewpoint is

strongly refuted by a number of Ahl-us-Suṉnah especially by Ahl ul Hadīṯh.


40 Module: CS01

Relationship of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم with ʻAlī RA

<Jشي جنادة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم � مني وÁبي اسحاق حJ حدثنا اسماعيل ¯ موسى حدثنا شريك

� ولا Ôدي عني الا J <Jو � قال J¿ عaسى هذا حديث حسن غريب.

Hubshi bin Junãdah RA narrated that the Messenger of Allah وسلمالله عليه صلى said: "'ʻAlī RA is from me and I

am from ʻAlī RA. And none should represent me except myself or ʻAlī RA." (Ḥasan) [Abü 'Elsa said] This Hadith is Ḥasan Gharīb Ṣaḥīḥ. (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadīṯh: 3719)

حدثنا dسف ¯ موسى القطان البغدادي حدثنا � ¯ قادم حدثنا � ¯ صالح حيي حكيم ¯ جبير جميع ¯ عمير

بين Jصحابه فجاء � تدمع عيناه فقال e رسول الله Jخيت بين Jصحابك التØ ¯ عمر قال J× رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

خرة قال J¿ عaسى هذا حديث حسن oفي الدنيا وا ×J نتJ حد فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلمJ ني وبينaولم تؤاخ ب

غريب

Ibn 'Umar RA narrated that the Messenger of Allah وسلمالله عليه صلى made bonds of brotherhood among his

Companions. So ʻAlī RA came crying saying: "O Messenger of Allah وسلمالله عليه صلى ! You have made a bond

of brotherhood among your Companions, but you have not made a bond of brotherhood with me and anyone." So the Messenger of Allah said to him: "I am your brother, in this life and the next." Imam Tirmidhi said this Hadith isḤasan Gharīb (which means that it is of middle standard and has beennarrated by a single referece). (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadīṯh: 3720)

عمش حبaب ¯ Jبي Ýبت حدثنا � ¯ oبي سعيد واJ عمش عطية

oالمنذر كوفي حدثنا محمد ¯ فضيل قال حدثنا ا

زيد ¯ Jرقم رضى الله تعالى عنهما قالا قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم اني ßرك فيكم ما ان تمسكتم به لن تضلوا بعدي

خر كتاب الله حبل ممدود oا رض وعترتي Jهل بaتي ولن يتفرقا � �دا � الحوض فانظروا Jحدهما Jعظم

oالسماء الى ا

كيف تخلفوني فيهما قال هذا حديث حسن غريب

Zaid bin Arqam RA narrated that the Messenger of Allah وسلمالله عليه صلى said: "Indeed, I am leaving among

you, that which if you hold fast to them, you shall not be misguided after me. One of them is greater than the other: The Book of Allah is a rope extended from the sky to the earth. And my family - the people of my house. And they shall not split until they meet me at the Ḥawd, so look at how you deal with them after me." Imam Tirmidhi said this Hadith isḤasan Gharīb (of middle standard). (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadīṯh: 3788)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that these ahadīṯh narrate the status of ʻAlī RA and his relation

with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى with which they also agree. This hadīṯh does not

describe the caliphate in any way. There are a number of ahadīṯh which narrate the eminence

and the relation of a number of various Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى .Ahl-us-Suṉnah pay respect to all Ṣaḥabah (the


41 Module: CS01

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )

and are convinced of their eminence and distinction. As they appointed Abu Bakr RA the caliph

after their mutual consultation; therefore one cannot denounce them.

As far as Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )are concerned; Ahl-us-Suṉnah are

fully convinced of their prominence and distinction. Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه

not only includeʻAlī RA and Fatima RA but also the other daughters and Holy Wives of Holy(وسلم

Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه . Ahl-us-Suṉnah also consider it necessary to maintain relation

with all of them and act upon their instructions; however, they also believe that these ahadīṯh

do not substantiate caliphate.

Hadīṯh about teasing ʻAlī RA

سلمي oية - و عمرو ¯ شاس اÁصحاب الحديJ خرجت مع � عليه السلام الى اليمن فجفاني في سفري ذلك � : قال - وكان

وجدت في نفسي عليه فلما قدمت المدينة Jظهرت شكايته في المسجد � سمع بذلك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فدخلت

عي�يه يقول حدد الي النظر � اذا المسجد ذات غداة ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم جالس في >س Jصحابه فلما رJني Jبد لي

Jذاك e رسول الله قال بلى Jذى عليا فقد Jذاني ê� عوذJ ذي·ني قلتJ عمرو والله لقد e حمد والطبراني . جلست قالJ رواه

. �ختصار والبزار Jخصر منه ورجال Jحمد ثقات

Amar ibn Shas Aslami (who was among the people of Hudaybiyyah) states: I set out for Yemen along with ʻAlī RA. He somehow caused harm to me for which I felt resentment in my heart against him. When I returned to Madina, I complained about this in mosque. Next morning when I entered

the mosque; Holy Prophet was sitting among his companions. When I sat down; he عليه وسلمالله صلى

said, “Amar! You have annoyed me”. I stated: “O’ Prophet of Allah Almighty I seek refuge of Allah Almighty of annoying you”. He said, “Yes one who annoys ʻAlī RA actually annoys me”.

Ahmad and Tabrani narrated this in brief. Bazar narrated this with more brief description. The narrators described by Ahmad are reliable. (Majma' al-Zawa'id, Hadīṯh 14736)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه diffused the

resentment present in the heart of Amar RA. They also consider it bad to tease ʻAlī RA; however

it is not correct to assume about a Ṣaḥabi (the companion of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) only on

the basis of historical narrations that he annoyed ʻAlī RA. However thishadīṯh also does not

substantiate caliphate.

No proof of caliphate and keeping bad opinion about Ali, they agree.


42 Module: CS01

Other Ahadīṯh about ʻAlī RA

The ahadīṯh which are presented byAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ from the books ofAhl-us-Suṉnah are

considered Ḍaʻīf (weak) by them because their narrators include people who belong to Ghali

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and no opinion can be established on the basis of theseahadīṯh. These ahadīṯh

have been declaredḌaʻīf (weak) or Mawḍūʻ (fabricated) by the Muhaddithin(the scholars of

Hadīṯh) of Ahl-us-Suṉnah such as Ibn Adi and Ibn Jawzi. These ahadīṯh were listed by Sunni

Muhaddithin(the scholars of Hadīṯh) in their books during the compilation period because they

wanted to collect all sorts of ahadīṯh including Ḍaʻīf (weak) and Mawḍūʻ (fabricated).

The Arguments of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and the

Answers of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Ahl-us-Suṉnah present arguments from Holy Qurān, books ofahadīṯh ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ and

general intellect, in support of their viewpoint:

Arguments from Holy Qurān Ahl-us-Suṉnah present following verses of Holy Qurān to exhibit the eminence and distinction

of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).

Pذ�نصار وال

�oوا Pمهاجر

ون ال

ل و�

�oابقون ا تها والس�

ري تح

هم جن�ات تج

عنهم ورضوا عنه وJ�عد� ل �حسان رضي الله� ات�بعوهم �

عظيم فوز ال

ذلك ال

نهار خالدP فيها J�بدا

�oا.

And as for the first and foremost of those who have forsaken the domain of evil and of those who have sheltered and succoured the Faith, as well as those who follow them in [the way of] righteousness - God is well-pleased with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. And for them has He readied gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: this is the triumph supreme! [9:100]

ي سج�دا

عا

�ار رحماء بينهم ½اهم رك ف�

ك

ال

اء � ذP معه J�شد�

� وال الله�

د رسول م�

مح

ورضوا> الله�

سaماهم في وجوههم Áتغون فضلا

جود الس)

ò�J . MUHAMMAD is God's Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another. Thou canst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves [in prayer], seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration. [48:29]

م ئك هم ال

معه qJول

ذي yqJل

�وه وات�بعوا الن)ور ال ذJ Pمنوا به وعز�روه ونصر

� .فلحون فال

Those who shall follow the [last] Apostle, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them, and [later on] in the Gospel: [the Prophet] who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right and forbid them the doing of what is wrong, and make lawful to them the good things of


43 Module: CS01

life and forbid them the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [aforetime]. Those, therefore, who shall believe in him, and honour him, and succour him, and follow the light that has been bestowed from on high through him - it is they that shall attain to a happy state." [7:157]

مؤمن ئك هم ال

وا qJول ذJ Pووا ونصر

� وال ذJ Pمنوا وهاجروا وجاهدوا في سÁيل الله�

�ريم وال

هم مغفرة ورزق ك

ل

.ون حقا

And they who have attained to faith, and who have forsaken the domain of evil and are striving hard in God's cause, as well as those who shelter and succour [them] - it is they, they who are truly believers! Forgiveness of sins awaits them, and a most excellent sustenance. [8:74]

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that these verses are of general nature and do not contain

the name of a particular Ṣaḥabi (the companion of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). However Ahl-

us-Suṉnah are of the view that these verses clearly describe Abu Bakr RA in a positive way

who was along with Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى in the travel of migration.

ف ذP ك

�ذ J�خرجه ال ا� ه الله� وه فقد نصر تنصر

�لا ا� الله�

yل

� معنا ف ن� الله� زن ا�

تح

لصاحبه لا

ذ يقول غار ا�

ا في ال

ذ هم �ين ا� سكي�ته روا Ýني اث

الله�

فلى وكلمة فروا الس)ذP ك

� ال

كلمة

½وها وجعل

يه وJ�ي�ده بجنود لم عز÷ حكيم عل يا والله�

عل

هي ال

If you do not succour the Apostle, then [know that God will do so -just as] God succoured him at the time when those who were bent on denying the truth drove him away, [and he was but] one of two: when these two were [hiding] in the cave, [and] the Apostle said to his companion, "Grieve not: verily, God is with us." And thereupon God bestowed upon him from on high His (gift of] inner peace, and brought utterly low the cause of those who were bent on denying the truth, whereas the cause of God remained supreme: for God is almighty, wise. [9:40]

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that some among the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) were hypocrite. These verses are exclusively about sincere Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). Those Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله صلى

.whom they criticize are considered hypocrite by them (عليه وسلم

Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the viewpoint that the faction of hypocrite came to existence when

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى gained power in Medina after migration and when Islam

became a big power. The faction of hypocrite did not exist during the phase of life of Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى in Mecca. The reason is that there can be no one senseless to

the extent that he endures torture for a religion in which he does not believe from his heart. Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA, Uthman RA, ʻAlī RA, Talha RA, Zubair RA, Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās RA, Saeed ibn Zaid RA, Abū ‘Ubaydah RA and Abdur Rehman ibn Awf RAall are among As Sabiqoon Al Awaloon (Those who embraced Islam in the initial times) who embraced Islam during the life of

Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى in Mecca when Muslims were extremely weak and

overpowered. They suffered torments and tortures for Islam in the period when hypocrisy did not exist. If hypocrites were present among them [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)] then why did they suffer tortures and torments for a religion in which they did not believe.


44 Module: CS01

Ahl-us-Suṉnah present the following verse of Holy Qurān to substantiate the validity of the caliphate of four righteous caliphs.

ف اس·خل

ù رض�oم في ا aس·خلفنه�

الحات ل وا الص�

ل

وعم

ذJ Pمنوا منكم� ال ذي وعد الله�

�هم دينهم ال

� ل

ننيمك

قبلهم ول Pذ

�ال

فر ب و ك

ون بي شaئا

يعبدونني لا üشرك

م بعد خوفهم J�منا نه�

ل يبد

هم ول

فاسقون ارتضى ل

ئك هم ال

ول

q .عد ذلك ف

God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish forthem the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security - [seeing that] they worship Me (alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me. But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous! [24:55]

Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain thatṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) have been

promised in the verse of chapter Al-Noor of Holy Qurān that they will be granted caliphate. Some of the Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that it is correct; however, some of them state that this verse actually reflects the caliphate of Imām Mahdi which will be established in the last period.Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the context of the verse reveals that the caliphate of

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) has been mentioned here because the

Muslims of their period have been continuously described while the hypocrites present in their period have been refuted. The complete context of the verse if presented below:

فاþزون ئك هم ال

ول

qقه ف ويت� ه ويخش الله�

ورسول ئن J�مر 0 و يطع الله�

جهد J�يمانهم ل �ê� قسموا�Jو

تقسموا طاعة

لا

يخرجن� قل

تهم ل

ون خبير بما تعمل ن� الله� ا�

تم 0معروفة

ما حمل

يكم وعل

يه ما حمل

ا عل نم� وا فا�

�ل ن � فا�

وJ�طيعوا الر�سول J�طيعوا الله�

ن تطيعوه ته قل تدوا وا�

مبين ال

غ

بلا

ال

�لا الر�سول ا�

0وما �

�ف ال

اس·خل

ù رض� oم في ا aس·خلفنه�

الحات ل وا الص�

ل

وعم

ذJ Pمنوا منكم� ال ذP منقبلهم وعد الله�

ذي �هم دينهم ال

نن� ل

يمك

ول

ون بي شaئا و ك

üشرك

م بعد خوفهم J�منا يعبدونني لا نه�

ل يبد

هم ول

ئك هم ارتضى ل

ول

qلك ف فر بعد ذ

فاسقون ½ 0ال

كم�عل

ل

ة وJ�ا الز�كاة وJ�طيعوا الر�سول

لا واهم الن�ار 0حمون وJ�قيموا الص�

�رض وم

� oفي ا Pفروا معجز

ذP ك

�سبن� ال

تح

لا

مصير ب�س ال

0ول

For, they who pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and stand in awe of God and are conscious of Him, it is they, they who shall triumph [in the end]! Now [as for those half-hearted ones,] they do swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if thou [O Apostle] shouldst ever bid them to do so, they would most certainly go forth [and sacrifice themselves]. Say: "Swear not! Reasonable compliance [with God's message is all that is required of you]. Verily, God is aware of all that you do!" Say: "Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle." And if you turn away [from the Apostle, know that] he will have to answer only for whatever he has been charged with, and you, for what you have been charged with; but if you pay heed unto him, you will be on the right way. Withal, the Apostle is not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to him]. God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, even as He


45 Module: CS01

caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for' them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security - [seeing that] they worship Me (alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me.

But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

Hence, [O believers,] be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto the Apostle, so that you might be graced with God's mercy. (And] think not that those who are bent on denying the truth can elude [their final reckoning even if they remain unscathed] on earth: the fire is their goal [in the life to come] - and vile indeed is such a journey's end! [24: 52-57]

A Sunni scholar Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī (1903-1979) writes while explaining this verse:

There is another notable aspect. This promise indirectly reaches Muslims of later period [if it actually does]; however, the direct addresses were those who were present in the period of Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . Muslims were actually overwhelmed by fear at that time and Islam had not

gained strong roots in al-Ḥiǧāz. This state of fear was not only replaced by peace but also Islam dominated a large part of Asia and Africa after coming out of Arabia and gained roots in the whole world besides the place of its origin. This is the historic proof of the fact that Allah Almighty fulfilled His promise during the period of Abu Bakr RA, Umar Farooq RA and Uthman Ghani RA. After this no rightful man can have any doubt in the fact that the caliphate of these three caliphs has been validated by Holy Qurānand Allah Almighty hastestified their righteous and pious personality. If anyone has any doubt in this regard then he should read the speech of ʻAlī RA in Nahj ul-Balāghah which he had delivered to stop Umar RA from his intentions of facing Iranians himself. [This address will be presented next] [Tafhim Al-Qurān, Under Verse 24:55]

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further present the following verse from chapterAl-Fatĥ of Holy Qurān:

ول �يدون J�ن يبد

وها ذرو> ن·�بعكم

خذ� لت

مغانم

لى قتم ا�

ذا انطل فون ا�

�مخل

ال

سaقول الله�

قال

لكم

ذن ت·�بعو> ك

ل

قل م الله�

ا :

كاQا لا ي

سدوننا بل

تح

ون بل قبل فسaقول

قليلا

�لا س شديد . فقهون ا�

� قوم qJولي ب

لى عراب س·دعون ا�

�oا فين

�مخل

�ل

قل

يتم �ل �

ù وا�ن تتول وا�

حس�ا

J�جرا الله�

تكم Ô ن تطيعوا ونهم J�و üسلمون فا� يع تقاتل

قبل

J�ل

ا�

عذ

بكم

. ذ


46 Module: CS01

As soon as you [O believers] are about to set forth on a war that promises booty, those who stayed behind [aforetime] will surely say, "Allow us to go with you" - [thus showing that] they would like to alter the Word of God. Say: "By no means shall you go with us: God has declared aforetime [to whom all spoils shall belong]." Thereupon they will [surely] answer, "Nay, but you begrudge us [our share of booty]!" Nay, they can grasp but so little of the truth!

Say unto those bedouin who stayed behind: "In time you will be called upon [to fight] against people of great prowess in war: you will have to fight against them [until you die] or they surrender. And then, if you heed [that call], God will bestow on you a goodly reward; but if you turn away as you turned away this time, He will chastise you with grievous chastisement." [48:15-16]

Ahl-us-Suṉnah state that it is known for chapter Al-Fatĥ that it was revealed in 6/627 right after

the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. After this Muslims had to face only one severe battle which was the

Battle of Khyber. In this battle those villagers were not included who have been described in

these verses. Muslims did not have to face any strong power after this in the life of Holy

Prophet Muhammad .Mecca was conquered after this without any battle in 8/629 . عليه وسلمالله صلى

A brief battle was fought after this against a small army of Hawazin at Hunayn in which their

6000 people were arrested. No battle was fought on the occasion of Tabouk. Moreover no big

battle was fought after this in the life of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمالله عليه صلى ; however,

during the caliphate of Abu Bakr RA in 11/632 a battle was fought against those deserters who

had raised the standards of revolt against him. Thus it proves that the caliphate of Abu Bakr RA

was true and it has been described in Holy Qurān. An Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ expositor of

HolyQurān,Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi believes that this verse actually hints at the Conquest of

Mecca and the Battle of Hunayn. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that this inference is not

correct because Muslims did not have to face any powerful enemy in both of these battles and

victory was easily achieved. Muslims had to face some difficulty in the beginning of the battle of

Hunayn; however, after this initial difficulty they captured 6000 prisoners and enormous

quantity of spoils. Therefore the first and the foremost inference of this verse can be the battles

of the period of Abu Bakr RA. Some of the Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ expositors of HolyQurān; for

instance Husain Baksh Jara are of the view that the battle of Siffin is meant here which took

place way after the revelation of this verse in 37/657 and the both belligerents were Muslims.

Arguments from Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ books of

Hadīṯh Anumber ofahadīṯh about the eminence and distinction ofṢaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )are present in the books of Ahl us Suṉnah; however, it is no use to

describe them here because Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ do not have believe in them. Here we present

only those ahadīṯh and incidents which have been described in the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.


47 Module: CS01

: وقد شاوره عمر ¯ الخطاب في الخروج الى غزو الروم) عليه السلام(و :م له

وزة وستر

�عزاز الح � P ا الد

هل هذ�o الله�

لا و قد �كل�

ون ومنعهم وهم قليل لا ي�تصر

هم وهم قليل ذي نصر�عورة و ال

ال

م ن �ل

ب لا تك

قهم فتنك

عدو بنفسك فتل

ا ال

هذ

لى ن�ك متى �سر ا� يمتنعون �� لا يموت ا� دون J�قصى ب

aس سلمين كانفة

لادهم ل

بلاء والن�صيحة ال

واحفز معه J�هل

محر�

يهم رجلا

ل يه فابعث ا�

ل جعون ا� ن بعدك مرجع �

ن تك ب) وا�

اك ما تح

فذ ن J�ظهر الله� فا�

مسلمين �ل

�لن�اس ومثابة

نت ردءا

خرى ك

oا.

The statement of ʻAlī RA when Umar ibn Khattab RA sought his suggestion for the Ghazwa Rome:

Allah Almighty has trusted upon the believers of this religion by strengthening their control and hiding the secret affairs. He is the one who helped them when they were small in number and could not help themselves. He prevented the attacks (of non-believers) when they (Muslims) were small in number and could not prevent those attacks. He is alive and will never ever die. Muslims will be left without shelter if you yourself travel to face the enemy and some harm is caused to you. In such a situation there will be no one even in distant cities towards whom they could return. You should send the expedition under the command of an experienced soldier accompanied by brave and devoted fighters towards the enemy. If Allah Almighty gives them success then this is what you like. And if the other thing happens (they are defeated) then you will be the center towards which the Muslims will be able to return and rally. (Nahj ul-Balāghah: Address 146)

:هوقد اس·شاره عمر ¯ الخطاب في الشخوص لقتال الفرس بنفس) عليه السلام(و :م له

ذي J�ظهره وجن � ال ة وهو دP الله�

�ة ولا بقل

ثر

لانه بك

ه ولا خذ ن نصر

يك

مر لمoا ا

ن� هذ ذي J�عد� ا�

�غ ده ال

غ ما بل

ه �� بل ه وJ�مد�

� قيم منجز وعده و>صر جنده ومكان ال والله� موعود الله�

ن �

ع ونح

ع حيث طل

ه وطل رز يجمعه ويضم)

مر مكان النظام الخ

o

ن انقطع النظام فا� فهم ك

ن كاQا قليلا يوم وا�

عرب ال

وال

افيره J�بدا

يجتمع بحذ

لم� رز وذهب ثم

ق الخ ثيرون �لاسلام عز÷ون تفر�

رب

عرب وJ�صلهم دونك >ر الح� �ل واس·در الر�

ن قطبا

ع فك

عرب �لاج�

يك ال

رض انتقضت عل

oهذه ا صت

ن شخ ن�ك ا� فا�

�ا بين يديك يك ممل عورات J�هم� ا�

وراءك ال

ون ما تدع

يك

� يقو J�طرافها وJ�قطارها �

يك غدا

ل ن ينظروا ا� ا�

عاجم

oن� ا وا ا�

ل

يك و�عهم فيك بهم عل

ون ذلك J�شد� لكل

ذا اقتطعتموه استرحتم فيك عرب فا�

ا J�صل ال

هذ

قوم ا�لى

رت مسير ال

ا ما ذك م�

� ف

ره لمسير انه هو J�ك � ن� الله� مسلمين فا�

ن قتال ال

نك

>� لم رت عددهم فا�ا ما ذك ره و J�م�

تغيير ما يك

هم منك وهو J�قدر �

معونة ن�ا نقاتل �لن�صر وال

ا ك نم� ة وا�

ثر

ك

نقاتل ف مضى �ل

The statement of ʻAlī RA when Umar ibn Khattab RA sought his suggestion for the Persian campaign:

Remember the victory and defeat of Islam does not depend upon the majority or minority in terms of number of men. Rather; this is the religion of Allah Almighty who has dominated this: and this is His army; which He has prepared and He himself helped it unitl it has reached this destination and acquired this much expansion. We are on a promise from Allah Almighty and He is to fulfill His promise in any case and help His army.

The position of the governor of the country is like a thread in the collection of beads, which unites


48 Module: CS01

them all, and all the beads disperse and never unite again once the thread is broken. Although Arabs are small in number but they are actually large in number due to Islam and they are to dominate because of their unity. Hence you should stay at the center, move this mill (with the help of other Muslims), and let them face the fire of war. You should not go; because if you leave, Arabs will pounce upon this state from all sides. And all of them will be indulged in a war in such a way that all safe places which you will leave; will eventually become more problematic than the war itself.

If those non-Arabs spot you in the war, they will recognize that you are the real spirit of Arabs and will try to cause harm to you for their eternal relief. This will intensify their attacks and they will be more inclined towards you (to cause harm to you). Moreover, the point which you have mentioned that they (non-believers) are coming to fight against Muslims; this is more unpleasant to Allah Almighty than to you. And He has all the powers to change the thing which He dislikes. In addition, the point that you have mentioned about the large number of enemy; remember we never fought in the past on the basis of our majority in terms of nember of men but on the basis of help and assistance from Allah Almighty. (Nahj ul-Balāghah: Address 146)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the sincerity and high degree of well-wishing of ʻAlī RA with

Umar RA is evident from these addresses. Thus it reveals that there was no dispute of extreme

grave nature between Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are divided in two groups in this issue. One groups which includes Zaidis and

Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) accept that this was the actual case. They believe in three

righteous caliphs and do not abuse them. The second group which is comprised of Ghali Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ states that ʻAlī RA made use of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith). This group abuses the

three righteous caliphs.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah present the following letter of ʻAlī RA related to the selection of caliph by the

Shūrā (Mutual consultation):

:الى معاوية) عليه السلام(و كتاب له

ن�ه �يعني اهد J�ن ا� ن �لش�م يك

يه فل

ما �يعوهم عل

ن �

�ر وع

ر وعم

ذP �يعوا J�� بك

�قوم ال

ورى ال ا الش) نم� د� وا� غائب J�ن �

يختار ولا �ل

وه رجل وسم�

ن اجتمعوا � نصار فا�oوا Pمهاجر

ما �ل

لى وه ا� ن خرج J�مرهم خارج بطعن J�و بدعة رد) رضا فا� �ê كان ذلك

ماما ا�

عمري ول

� ما �لى مؤمنين وولاه الله�

اتباعه غير سÁيل ال

وه �

ن J�بى قاتل خرج منه فا�

ئن نظرت بعقلك دون هواك e معاوية

ل

لا J�ن تتجنى� فت ة عنه ا�نت في عزل

ك

من� J�ني

تعل

ن ول

�J� الن�اس دم ع +�J

تجدني

لام ل ك والس�

جن� ما بدا ل

The letter of ʻAlī RA to Mu‘āwīyya RA:

The same Ummah has taken the oath of allegiance to me, which took the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA and Uthman RA. This oath is of same nature as was that of them; which means that neither anyone present there was entitled to revise it nor any absent person had the right to reject it. The right of shūrā (consultation) also extends only to Muhajirin (The Emigrants from Mecca) and Ansar (The Helpers: The original residents of Medina on the time of migration). Hence, if they agree upon a person to recognize him as their leader then it means that it is the will of Allah


49 Module: CS01

Almighty. If someone denounces this or crosses the limits of this commandment because of Bidʿah (Innovative religious practices) then it is the duty of the people to bring him back; and if he refuses (to return back), then fight against him; because he invents a way different to the way of believers and Allah Almighty will also turn him towards the way he chose for himself.

Mu‘āwīyya! I swear by my own life! You will find me exonerated from the murder of Uthman RA if you use your wisdom rather than your desires and you will also come to know that I was completely distant from this matter. However if you want to level allegations by concealing the reality then you have the right to do this. Regards (Nahj ul-Balāghah: Letter 6)

A scholar of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Zeeshan Haider Jawadi- who has translated Nahj ul-Balāghah in simple Urdu language and also wrote a brief explanation (printed in 1998) - in reply to the arguments of Ahl-us-Suṉnah writes in the explanation of this address:

“This is an indication towards the status of previous oaths of allegiance otherwise; in Islam, caliphate is not decided by shūrā (consultation)”.

The scholars of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present the other addresses of Nahj ul-Balāghah, which prove the right of caliphate for ʻAlī RA.

Logical Arguments Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that some historical facts aboutṢaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) are established and accepted both according to Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’:

1. All the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) who embraced Islam

during the phase of life of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى in Mecca absolutely

stood with him and endured many difficulties in this regard. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also do

not abnegate the fact that those Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

included Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA, Uthman RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA in addition to ʻAlī

RA.

2. The majority of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) selected Abu Bakr

RA, Umar RA and Uthman RA as their caliphs after Holy Prophet Muhammad. Whatever

the viewpoint of ʻAlī RA was; it is an established fact that he sided with the caliphs, did

not revolt against him and performed a number of responsibilities in the affairs of the

government. The addresses of Nahj ul-Balāghah bear testimony to the fact that ʻAlī RA

adopted a behavior based upon grace and well-wishing with those caliphs.

3. The Holy Qurān was compiled during the periods of Abu Bakr RA and Uthman RA and a

number of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) took part in this

process. ʻAlī RA did not oppose this process rather he remained a part of it.


50 Module: CS01

4. ʻAlī RA fought against Ayesha RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA but after this he completely

respected Ayesha RA and stated nice comments about Talha RA and Zubair RA.

5. Hassan RA made a truce with Mu‘āwīyya RA. Hassan RA and Husain RA did not revolt

against them throughout his period and acceded to his caliphate.

6. The establishment of relationships between Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet صلى

وسلمصلى الله عليه and Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet (الله عليه وسلم )is the proof of the fact

that they enjoyed very good relations with each other and all of them accepted each

other as true believers of faith. We present some examples of this aspect here. More

details can be read from the books “Ruhama' Bayinahum” written by Muhammad Nafe'

in which he has described the detail of these relations with reference to the books of

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. Moreover the book “Nasab-e-Quraish” written by Mas'ab Zubairi; the

famous genealogist of 2nd and 3rd century can also be consulted.

• ʻAlī RA and Ayesha RA had the relation of son-in-law and mother-in-law.

• A'asma bint Amees; the wife of Ja'afar RA – the brother of ʻAlī RA- was married to

Abu Bakr RA and then she married ʻAlī RA after his death. When Syeda A'asma

was the wife of Abu Bakr RA; she took care of Syeda Fatima RA when she was at

death’s door and then gave her a bath after her death. ʻAlī RA brought up her son

Muhammad ibn Abe Bakr like his own sons.

• The daughter of ʻAlī RA, Umm Kulsoom was married to Umar RA.

• The granddaughter of Abu Bakr RA; Hafsa bint Abdur Rehman ibn Abe Bakr was

Married to Husain ibn ʻAlī RA.

• ʻAlī RA named three of his sons Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman.

• The niece of ʻAlī RA; Umm Kulsoom bint Ja'afar was married to Abaān the son

Of Uthman RA.

• The two daughters of Husain RA; Sakeena and Fatima were married to two

Grandsons of Uthman; Zaid RA and Abdullah ibn Amar ibn Uthman RA.

If someone considers Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA, Uthman RA, Ayesha RA, Talha RA, Zubair

RA and Mu‘āwīyyathe hypocrites [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)] and abuses them then he

not only execrates and laments these personalities but also ʻAlī RA, Hassan RA and

Husain RA who took oath of allegiance on their hands and did not revolt against them.


51 Module: CS01

Holy Qurān on which all Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ andAhl-us-Suṉnah agree; also reached us by

the way of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). If these Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) are believed to be hypocrites then the

authenticity of Holy Qurān becomes doubtful. It is out of mind to accept that one does

not believe in the faith of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) but

believes about Holy Qurān that it has reached us through reliable sources. Similarly it is

also the conflict of thoughts that one believes in the personalities of ʻAlī RA, Husain RA

and Hassan RA but does not believe in the personalities whose oath of allegiance they

took and worked for Islam together with them.

As we have stated above that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are divided in two groups in response to

these arguments. One group which includes Zaidis and Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers)

maintain the viewpoint that they do not abuse of execrate those Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and accept their caliphate. However they

consider ʻAlī RA more eminent and distinct than them. The second groups which is

comprised of Ghali Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ state in response to these arguments that ʻAlī RA,

Husain RA and Hassan RA made use of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith). Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are

of the view that Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) is an important principle of Islam which

means concealing or hiding faith. The detail of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) will be studied

in the next chapters.

Assignments 1. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the caliphate was the right of ʻAlī RA. State their

arguments in this regard and the response of Ahl-us-Suṉnah to their arguments.

2. What is the difference between the viewpoints of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah

about the role of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet لمالله عليه وس صلى ) in the matter of

caliphate?


Stating and describing the weaknesses of the personality of someone in his absence is called

Backbiting. Holy Qurān has declared this act equivalent to eating the flesh of one’s own dead

brother.


52 Module: CS01

Chapter 5: The History of Later

Periods Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree and disagree on a number of points regarding the

history of the period of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and of later

period. It would be appropriate to describe the entire historical landscape first so that the

whole scenario can be understood easily. These are the incidents which are continuously and

consistently proven and there exists no difference of opinion regarding them betweenAhl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. They can be studied in any book of history. You can study the

module HH03 of “Muslim History Program” for a detailed study of these incidents.

Banū Umayya and Banū Hāshim were the two households having political conflicts between

them in the politics of Mecca during the Days of Ignorance. Umayya and Hāshim who lived in

the fifth-sixth century had the relation of uncle and nephew between them; however, disputes

erupted between them on the issue of the lordship of Quraish which later continued among

their lineages. Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى was the great grandson of Hāshim. When

he announced his prophet hood then Banū Umayya considered it an attempt to surpass and

outmatch them. This is the reason that many people of Banū Umayya opposed him; however,

some of their pious personalities embraced Islam which included Uthman Ghani RA. The

leadership of Quraish especially of Banū Umayya was assumed by Abu Sufyan after the killing of

non-believer leaders of Quraish in the Battle of Badr; who led the armies of Quraish in the


53 Module: CS01

Battle of Uhud and Battle of Trench. When Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى married to

his daughter Syeda Umm Habiba RA who was leading a deprived life in Ethiopia after the death

of her husband; then the heart of Abu Sufyan got softened. He embraced Islam on the occasion

of The Conquest of Mecca and thus the disputes between Banū Umayya and Banū Hāshim were

buried.

These mutual disputes remained buried during the periods of Abu Bakr RA and Umar RA

because both of them belonged to some other tribes of Quraish. In that period of time the

leadership of Banū Umayya and Banū Hāshim was assumed by the great personalities Uthman

RA and Abbas RA respectively; therefore there arose no big issue. Umar RA was a far-sighted

person and he had the fear in his mind that this dispute might surface again after his death.

Therefore he wanted a caliph who did not belong to any of these households. He expressed his

desire in this regard that he would have appointed one from Abū ‘Ubaydah RA and SʻAlīm

Mawla Abu Hudhayfa RA as the caliph if they would have alive. This is the reason that he

constituted a Shūrā(Consultation Committee) comprising of six persons in order to decide

about the next caliph.

There surfaced no issue for about seven to eight years even after the appointment of Uthman

RA as the caliph. He used to appoint governors and other functionaries on merit. He made the

appointments on merit irrespective of the tribal associations. Some persons who belonged to

Banū Umayya were appointed as governors during the period of Abu Bakr RA because they had

the experience of running affairs of the government and Uthman RA also appointed them or

kept them appointed as governors because he did not want to deprive a deserving person just

because of the reason that he was his own relative. These persons which included Mu‘āwīyya

RA, Saeed ibn Al-A'as RA, Abdullah ibn Aāmir RA and Abdullah ibn Sa'ad ibn Abe Sarah RA;

proved their eligibility by administering their subject areas in an efficient way and added more

areas to the Islamic empire. When Abdullah ibn Sa'ad RA became the governor of Egypt then he

conquered the areas between the present day Egypt and Tunisia within 2-3 years. Mu‘āwīyya

RA remained the governor of Syria since the period of Umar RA. He established a powerful navy

and snatched some areas of present day Turkey, Cyprus and Italy from Roman Empire. Abdullah

ibn Aāmir RA and Saeed ibn Al-A'as RA led a simple life in a time when there was a rain of

wealth upon Muslims from all sides and evoked the picture of the period of Abu Bakr RA and

Umar RA. Saeed ibn Al-A'as RA conquered a number of areas of Central Asia.

The performance of all these governors exhibits that Uthman RA appointed them on merit.

Nevertheless some worldly-minded people of Banū Hāshim became irritated with this;

however, they could not vent their irritation because the leadership of Banū Hāshim was in the

hands of ʻAlī RA who was a simple person with his aim at the Day of Judgment. His simplicity

and indifference to the worldly-positions and wealth is famous as proverbs. He continued to


54 Module: CS01

work as the right hand of Uthman RA and gave his suggestions in the affairs of the government

with complete sincerity and honesty.

There were a number of people in Arabia in those days who did not embrace Islam from the

cores of their hearts and had worldly ambitions in their minds. They were angry to see the

control of other people on the enormous wealth which was coming to Islamic Empire. They

wanted to assume the control of Bayt Al-Mal (House of Wealth) by seizing power by hook or by

crook. They started a secret mission whose roots spread to Iraq, Egypt and Yemen and those

like-minded people gathered together at one platform. According to the narrations of Tabari

some of their activists were arrested from Kufa and efforts were made for their reformation by

keeping them in Syria but it did not affect that movement. We will have to admit that Ṣaḥabah

(the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) could not get timely information of this

movement and it became very late till it came to their knowledge. Mu‘āwīyya (602-680/60H)

sought permission of Uthman RA to send a contingent of Syrian army to Medina or in other

case suggested for caliph to relocate to Syria. However the caliph rejected both of these

proposals because he wanted to avoid bloodshed in the Ḥarām and spend his last time at this

place at the same time.

In 35/656 the Islamic Empire had been extended to far flung areas and most of the Muslim

army was on the borders. There was a small number of army in the cities which performed the

role of police rather than that of army. The leaders of the movement had the intentions to

attack Medina all at once to murder the caliph and appoint a Ṣaḥabi (the companion of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) as the caliph whose caliphate was acceptable for the people and he could

have been used as a puppet ruler by them for their own vested interests at the same time. They

desired to rule by living in the background. For this purpose some of them presented the name

of Talha RA, some of Zubair RA and some of ʻAlī RA and after their mutual consultations they

ultimately agreed on the name of ʻAlī RA.

They chose the time for this armed revolt when the majority of Muslims had gone for

pilgrimage and only a small number of men were there in Medina. The rebels besieged Medina

and then besieged the house of Uthman RA and banned the movement of eatables to this

house. They demanded the renunciation of caliphate by Uthman RA. Umma ul-Muʾminīn

(Mother of Believers)Syeda Umm Habiba tried to deliver water and food to him but rebels blew

the water container off and looted the goods. ʻAlī RA along with his two companions Talha RA

and Zubair exhibited the height of bravery and valor and all of them gave the responsibility of

the protection of caliph to their sons Husain RA, Hassan RA, Abudllah ibn Zubair RA and Musa

ibn Talha RA. Hassan RA even got injured at one time in result of the attack of rebels. They

were protecting the front door of the Amīr al-Mu'minīnn (Leader of Faithful) when a group of


55 Module: CS01

rebels broke into the house of caliph from back side and martyred him on 18 Dhū l-Hijjah 35H

and her wife got injured while trying to protect him.

The rebels tried to appoint ʻAlī RA soon after this. He at first denied but later accepted by

keeping in mind some reconciliation and rapprochement. It was evident that he wanted to gain

some time to gather the power of Muslims and get rid of rebels. The intentions of rebels

reflected that they wanted to murder other sincere Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet

الله عليه وسلم صلى ) to make their way clear. Because of this situation Talha RA and Zubair RA left

Medina for Basra where a considerably large army of sincere Muslims was present. On the

other side; Syeda Ayesha RA was present in Mecca for Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) who

left for Basra on receiving that news. Thus a large army gathered there which was led by Syeda

Ayesha RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA. This army demanded to take retribution from the

murderers of Uthman RA so that chaos could be diffused and rebellion could be crushed.

There in Medina; sincere Muslims were small in number and rebels had dominated in all the

spheres. The sincere Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) including Hassan

RA and Ibn Abbas suggested ʻAlī RA not to leave Medina for that time and pay full attention to

consolidate his power. Probably ʻAlī RA thought to reach Basra and seek the help of sincere

Muslims to get rid of rebels. Hence he left for Basra. His army contained a large number of

those rebels who had martyred Uthman RA. Thus the two armies faced each other when he

reached near Basra. ʻAlī RA met with Syeda Ayesha RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA and initiated the

dialogues. The both sides agreed on some results and a consensus was reached.

Now the rebels feared their death so they simultaneously attacked both armies in the darkness

of night. Each of those armies considered it a breach of promise from the other side. ʻAlī RA

made the war stopped by the virtue of his extraordinary wisdom but till than 5000 Muslims had

been martyred on the both sides including the eminent Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) Talha RA and Zubair RA. According to some narrations when a rebel

disseminated the news of the martyrdom of Zubair RA to ʻAlī RA then he threatened him with

eternal place in hell. When the son of Talha RA came to him then he said nice comments about

him. This is called The Battle of Jamal (The Battle of Camel).

On the other hand a secret group of rebels was also working in Syria. This group spread the

propaganda that rebels martyred Uthman RA on the instructions of ʻAlī RA [Nauzubillah (We

seek refuge from Allah Almighty)]. The people of Syria who were sincere Muslims were affected

by this propaganda. The governor of Syria; Mu‘āwīyya RA demanded ʻAlī RA to punish the

murderers of Uthman RA and correspondence was made between them on this issue for

months. It was not possible for ʻAlī RA to do so because rebels had joined his army in a large

number. On one occasion he wanted to ascertain and find out the murderers of Uthman RA but


56 Module: CS01

thousands of people stood out to announce that all of them were the murderers of Uthman RA.

ʻAlī RA advanced towards Syria where a powerful army of Mu‘āwīyya RA was present. A battle

was fought between them at the place of Siffin. The Conqueror of Egypt; Àmr ibn al-Às RA

suggested Mu‘āwīyya RA a plan to bring the war to conclusion. The plan was to raise Holy

Qurān on the spears to demand that dialogues should be made in the light of the teachings of

Holy Qurān. He sent a messenger to ʻAlī RA who invited him to reach a decision in the light of

teachings of Holy Qurān. ʻAlī RA accepted this demand and agreed to reach a decision by the

way of dialogue.

An arbitrator from each side was appointed who had to jointly reach a decision. These

arbitrators could not reach any decision; however, the benefit of this action was that the war

was ended. This incident is known as Incident of Tahkim in the history. A large group of rebels

separated itself from the army of ʻAlī RA because they did not want peace in any case. These

people came to be known as “Khawārij” and they declared that reaching a decision by way of

dialogue was infidelity and blasphemy. Thus they inflicted the religious decree of infidelity on

both ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA and established their headquarters in Iraq. ʻAlī RA tried his best

to convince this group and sent the most eminent scholar Ibn Abbas RA to make conversations

with them. A number of Khawārijis were convinced but one group remained adamant on his

stance.

ʻAlī RA did not take any further action against those Khawārij in the capacity of a righteous

caliph; however, after some time they inflicted the religious decree of infidelity on all the

Muslims and declared it permitted to rob their lives and wealth. Their armed groups started

raids on the settled urban populations and convoys. Now the action became inevitable. ʻAlī RA

fought against them at the place of Naharawan and destroyed their center by eradicating them

to a large extent and their remaining members were dispersed.

As a result of these three battles the power of the movement to arrest the murderers of

Uthman RA was largely weakened. At one hand Khawārij were separated from this movement

and on the other hand their remaining members were killed in a large number in the battles of

Jamal, Siffin and Naharwan. Moreover sincere Muslims were also martyred in these battles in a

large number; however, their sacrifices diffused this tribulation to a large extent. The histories

compiled by both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ describe that the group which sided with

ʻAlī RA was highly disobedient to him. His statement quoted in Nahj ul-Balāghah states that he

said that if Mu‘āwīyya RA takes ten of you in exchange of his one person than it will not be a

trade of loss.

Khawārijis were not completely eliminated rather their movement continued secretly. They

prepared a plan in 40/660 to kill ʻAlī AR, Mu‘āwīyya RA and Amr ibn al-Às RA simultaneously in

a single night so that they could assume power. Their suicide assailants attacked these three


57 Module: CS01

personalities simultaneously for this purpose. Mu‘āwīyya RA and Amr ibn al-`As RA escaped this

attack; whereas, ʻAlī RA was martyred. People appointed his son Hassan RA as the caliph after

his martyrdom. He made peace with Mu‘āwīyya RA after ruling for just six months. Mu‘āwīyya

RA sent him a plain paper with his signatures and asked to write terms and conditions of his

choice and he will accept them. Muslims gathered together after this rapprochement. The

section of the murderers of Uthman RA which was included in the companions of Hassan RA (3-

48/624-669) was suppressed and those who could be identified were punished. However

Khawārij continued bushwhacking but overall complete peace prevailed in the next 20 years

and Mu‘āwīyya RA paid complete attention to the external affairs.

The period of Mu‘āwīyya RA (40-60/660-680) was the period of prosperity. Hassan RA and

Husain RA maintained excellent relations with him and he too patronized them like father. They

also left the field of politics and diverted their attention towards the religious education and

training of people. A rebellion broke out in Iraq when 'Yazīd the son of Mu‘āwīyya RA assumed

power after the death of Mu‘āwīyya RA. At that time Husain RA was alive whereas Hassan RA

had died. The people of Kufa invited Husain RA to Iraq to assume power. He left for Iraq along

with his family where the incident of Karbalā’ took place on the outskirts of Kufa in which he

was martyred along with his family.

Abudllah Ibn Zubair announced the establishment of his government in Mecca when 'Yazīd

faced an accidental death in 64/684 after ruling for about 2 years. His government was also

established in Al-Ḥiǧāz and Iraq. After 'Yazīd; his ailing son Mu‘āwīyya II assumed power but he

also died after about 20-22 days. After him the power was transferred to Marwan who also

belonged to Banū Umayya. He could rule for only one year and after him his son Abd Al-MʻAlīk

ibn Marwan became the caliph. A battle was fought between the armies of Abd Al-MʻAlīk and

Abdullah ibn Zubair in which the former came out victorious and the whole Islamic world was

once again united under the leadership of Abd Al-MʻAlīk.

The kingship started from the period of Abd Al-MʻAlīk (65-86/685-705) in true sense and the

rule of Banū Umayya was consolidated. His four sons successively became caliph after him. In

the same period the nephew of Abd Al-MʻAlīk; Umar ibn Abd Al-Aziz ruled for a brief period of

time (98-101/717-720) and revived the memories of the period of caliphate of four righteous

caliphs. However a diversified trend was observed in the other periods of time. Khawārij and

some other groups consistently raised the standards of revolt but failed.

On the other hand Banū Hāshim divided in two large groups after ʻAlī RA. One group was of

Alavis which was initially led by Hassan RA (3-49/625-669) and then by Husain RA (4-612). This

leadership was transferred to their step brother Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (16-81/637-700)

after the incident of Karbalā’. He also kept his family away from political activities; however, his

sons led a rebellion after his death. Their groups came to be known as Kaisaynia which was


58 Module: CS01

later included in the movement of Banū Abbas. The other branch of Alavis was led by ʻAlī ibn

Husain Zain-ul-AbidinRA (38-95/659-712) who stopped his associates from all sorts of

rebellions; however, his son Zaid revolted after his death. Nevertheless his son Muhammad

Bāqir (57-114/676-733)and grandson Ja'afar Sadiq (83-148/702-765) avoided all sorts of

rebellion.

The second group of Banū Hāshim was of Abbasids who descended from Abbas RA. They

organized a movement against Banū Umayya in the beginning of second century after migration

in which they joined those factions of Alavis with them who were in favor of revolt. The 90

years long rule of Banū Umayya (40-132/660-750) came to end as a result of a compelling

rebellion in 132/750. Abbasids did not transfer the power to the descendent of ʻAlī RA and set

up their own government which remained in power in one way or the other till 918/1513.

Different groups of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also found a number of opportunities to establish their

governments. When Abbasid Sultanate weakened then a number of rulers – some of them

were Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ - established their own local governments in different areas. There was

Buyid Dynasty in Iraq in 322-447/934-1055, Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt in 297-567/909-1171 and

Safavid Dynasty in Iran in 906-1148/15001-1736.

The viewpoints of different sides

The historians of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ agree on the fact that the incidents of

history described above took place in the same order as we have stated them. They have

immense disagreements regarding the partial details of these incidents which completely

change their standpoint from each other. We are presenting a chart comprising of the

comparative analysis of the viewpoints of all the sides before describing the details. The third

group in this regard is Khawārij which ended with the passage of time; however, it would be

beneficial to analyze their viewpoint for comparative analysis.

Issue Ahl us Suṉnah Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Khawārij

The Caliphate of Abu

Bakr RA, Umar RA and

Uthman RA (11-

35/632-656)

It was absolutely

legitimate because

caliphate is based upon

Shūrā (Mutual

Consultation) in Islam.

It is illegitimate because

caliphate was the right

of ʻAlī RA.

It was absolutely

legitimate because

caliphate is based upon

Shūrā (Mutual

Consultation) in Islam.

The Role of ʻAlī RA

during the period of

the caliphate of three

He was the sincere

associate and supporter

of three caliphs.

He accepted their rule

with obsession because

of Taqiyya (Hiding the

He was the sincere

associate and supporter

of three caliphs.


59 Module: CS01

righteous caliphs Faith)

Assassination of

Uthman RA (35/656)

It was the biggest

atrocity of the history of

Islam.

Position Not Clear.

Some consider it

rightful while some

consider it wrongful.

Position Not Clear.

Majority of them

consider it rightful while

some consider it

wrongful.

The Caliphate of ʻAlī

RA

(36-40/656-660)

It was absolutely

legitimate and he was

the fourth righteous

caliph because he was

appointed by Shūrā

(Mutual Consultation)

It was his right because

he was Wasi-ur-Rasool

and first righteous

caliph

It was legitimate till the

incident of Tahkim but

illegitimate after that

The Battle of Jamal

(The Battle of Camel)

(36/656)

The rebels were

responsible for war who

attacked both sides and

initiated war

Ayesha RA, Talha RA

and Zubair RA were

responsible for war

Ayesha RA, Talha RA

and Zubair RA were

responsible for war

The Battle of Siffin

(36/656)

The objective of

Mu‘āwīyya RA was to

shatter the power of

rebels and save ʻAlī RA

from them

The objective of


seize power and

deprive ʻAlī RA.

The objective of


seize power.

The Incident of

Tahkim

ʻAlī RA, Mu‘āwīyya RA

and Amr ibn al-Às RA

were sincere and

wanted to make peace

for the cessation of war

The incident of Tahkim

was the conspiracy

hatched by Mu‘āwīyya

RA and Amr ibn al-Às

RA

ʻAlī RA, Mu‘āwīyya RA,

Amr ibn al-Às RA and

all thoseṢaḥabah (the

companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

who agreed upon this

turned heretics

The war with Khawārij

(37/657)

ʻAlī RA was rightful

ʻAlī RA was rightful

Khawārij were rightful

whereas ʻAlī RA

committed atrocity and

turned heretic

Assassination of ʻAlī It was the most cruel It was the most cruel It was justified


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RA (40/660) act done by Khawārij act done by Khawārij

Peace between

Hassan RA and

Mu‘āwīyya RA

(40/660)

The great achievement

of both of them

Don't like Don't like

Reign of Mu‘āwīyya

RA (40-60/660-680)

A bright part of the

history

A dark part of the

history

A dark part of the

history

The Period of 'Yazīd

(61-64/680-683)

Censurable The darkest period of

history

Censurable

The Incident of

Karbalā’ (61/680)

Condemnable but the

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ of

Kufa were responsible

The most tragic incident

of the history. 'Yazīd

and Banū Umayya were

responsible

Indifferent

War between Abd Al-

MʻAlīk Ibn Marwan

and Abdullah Ibn

Zubair

(65-72/685-692)

Abdullah Ibn Zubair was

rightful (A minority

group believes that Abd

Al-MʻAlīk Ibn Marwan

was rightful )

Indifferent but prefer

Ibn Zubair over Banū

Umayya

Initially they favored Ibn

Zubair RA but later they

opposed him. Later

both Ibn Zubair and Abd

Al-MʻAlīk crushed them

The Later period of

Umayyad (65-

132/682-750)

Censurable caliphs who

accomplished some

achievements

Extremely cruel rulers Extremely cruel rulers

The Period of Umar

Ibn Abd Al-Aziz (98-

101/717-720)

The period of righteous

caliphate

Admirable Admirable

Abbasids Revolt

against Umayyad

(132/750)

Some consider it

rightful whereas some

consider it wrongful

Initially supported but

later opposed

Opinion unknown

Abbasid Sultanate

(132-918/750-1517)

Some emperors were

good and some were

bad; however, they

were accepted as the

caliph of the Muslims

Some groups continued

to revolt whereas some

accepted their rule with

obsession

They continued to

revolt


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world.

Now we describe the viewpoints of these three sides in detail.

The Viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

The incident of Karbalā’ maintains pivotal position in the ideology of history of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. They see this event as the central incident in the entire history of humanity. They

are of the view that this incident was reported by Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and

other previous prophets beforehand. The objective of Husain RA was to overthrow 'Yazīd and

establish his Imāmah (Imamate) but his army martyred him along with his companions with

brutʻAlīty.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ usually observe this history as a consistent episode of collusion in which

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), Banū Umayya and Banū Abbas

sometimes hatched various conspiracies and sometimes openly fought wars and deprived Ahl

al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) of caliphate. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are antagonist to

Banū Umayya in particular and condemn all of their rulers with the exception of Umar ibn Abd

Al-Aziz to whom they admire. [See the book “Spirit of Islam” by Justice Ameer ʻAlī (1849-1928)] They

believe about the Sunni rulers of later periods that they did cruelties against Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

The personalities considered as heroes by Ahl-us-Suṉnah are treated as villains by Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. Some other Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) besides the first

three righteous caliphs; such as Khālid ibn al-Walīd RA and Amr ibn al-`As RA also receive severe

criticism fromAhl-ut-Tashayyu’.

Some Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ declare Imām Abu Hanifa (80-150/699-767) and Imām MʻAlīk (93-

179/711-795) the conspirators who set up their own schools of thought after getting the

knowledge of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) from Imām Ja'afar (83-148/702-765) and got

closed to Abbasids with the help of this. [ʻAlī Husain Rizwi, “Tareekh-e- Shīʿahan ʻAlī RA”, Page 58]

The Viewpoint of Ahl us Suṉnah

In the same way some of theAhl-us-Suṉnah view the history from the angle of conspiracies.

They are of the view that when Ajami (non-Arab) countries including Iraq and Iran were

overpowered by the virtue of military power of Islam then they adopted the ways of

conspiracies and collusions. They term it as “The Conspiracy of Ajam (non-Arab)”. They were

the people of Ajam (non-Arab) who took revenge of their defeat in Iran and Iraq by

assassinating Umar RA. The assassin of Umar RA; Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al- Pīrūzwasan Iranian who had

been arrested in a battle and brought to Medina. He hatched a conspiracy in collusion with


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Iranian General Hormuzan in 23/645 and attacked Umar in the state of prayer with a rapier at

the time when he was making the people inorder for the purpose of offering prayer. Umar RA

succumbedto hisinjuries and embraced martyrdom.Al- Pīrūz further injured 20-22 people and

when he was overpowered; he committed suicide.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that this was the first conspiracy of Ajam (non-Arab) and they hold Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ responsible for this. They claim that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ pay high degree of respect

to Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al- Pīrūz. In support of their claim they state that the tomb of Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al-

Pīrūzis still present in the city of Kashan in Iran which is highly revered by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. We

could not find the official viewpoint of the scholars of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in this issue; however

we found some photos of the tomb of Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al- Pīrūzwhile searching on internet on

which a dispute was surfaced in the recent years. A group of Arab scholars demanded Iran on

official government level in 2007 to demolish the tomb of Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al- Pīrūz which resulted

in protests in Iran. Muhammad ʻAlī Ay'i who is a part of the movement to protect the Iranian

heritage; wrote an essay whose excerpts are presented here:

The tomb of Al- Pīrūz; who is better known as Abu-Lu'lu'ah, is situated in the city of Kashan in

the province Isfahan and is being closed for the pilgrims. It is being announced that Islamic

government is ordering to demolish this tomb.

A large crowd of Iranians gathered outside the office of the governor on Tuesday June 26, 2007

and protested against the possible destruction and closure of Iranian heritage and the tomb

which is a symbol of struggle of Iranians against the Arab invaders in 7th century. Some people

are of the view that Al- Pīrūz was a respectable Sufi and Shīʿah. The second caliph of Muslims;

Umar RA was assassinated in 645 by Al- Pīrūz…… One protestor said, “This action of Al- Pīrūz

was the reaction against those atrocities which were committed by Arab Muslim invaders in Iran

and which resulted in the incidents of murders, rape and looting in our country. We the Iranians

will never forgive nor forget those crimes which were committed against us.”

Some Arab and Muslim historians claim that Al- Pīrūz assassinated Umar RA for the reason of

arguing on the issue of Jizyah (The tax levied on the non-Muslim subjects of Islamic State)

[which is established on the basis of a narration reported by Ibn Shahab]; just in order to hush

up his valor and heroism. When Shīʿah Muslims came back to power during the period of

Safavids then they gave him [Al- Pīrūz] the appellation of Baba Shuja ud-Din (one who exhibits

valor for the sake of religion) and claimed that he was a firm Shīʿah and a martyr.

Another protestor angrily said, “They state that he is not buried here. Some state that he was

not even a Muslim. It does not matter. Whatever the case is; this tomb is his symbol and is a

sign of struggle against the uncivilized aggressors who invaded us and our religion.” Another

protestors added, “Had Abu-Lu'lu'ah been an Arab then they would have built a gold vault on


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the tomb rather than demolishing it. But no, no, they want to demolish the tomb on the mere

reason that he was an Iranian; a respectable Iranian. This is the insult of Iranian nation.”

The tomb of Al- Pīrūz is situated on the road that leads to Finis from Kashan. It was built in eleventh century and its architecture exhibits the Iranian and royal Khwarzimi art of construction. It includes a courtyard, a porch and a conical dome which displays light blue colored tiles and its ceiling is painted. The original date of construction is unknown but it was comprehensively built in the last half of fourteenth century and a new stone was fixed on the grave. [The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS),http://www.caissoas.com/News/2007/June2007/28-06.htm, accessed 12 Sep 2011]

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that during the period of Uthman RA the people of Ajam (non-Arab) in association with the people of Kufa, Basra and Egypt rioted under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Sabaʾ. They are of the view that this was the group prepared by ibn Sabaʾ which rioted in Medina and assassinated Uthman RA. After this; a group of them accepted ʻAlī RA as their caliph and the second group disseminated such propaganda in Medina which resulted in the spread of misconceptions about Talha RA, Zubair RA and Umm ul-Muʾminīn (Mothers of Believers) Syeda Ayesha RA. When ʻAlī RA neutrʻAlīzed their misconceptions and misunderstandings after meeting with them then the same group of ibn Sabaʾ agacked both sides in the darkness of night and caused the war to initiate in which thousands of Muslims were martyred. A group of them consistently continued the propaganda in the court of Mu‘āwīyya RA that Uthman RA was martyred on the instructions of ʻAlī RA. This resulted in the Battle of Siffin. Then a faction of army of ʻAlī RA separated itself and revolted against him.Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ reject this allegation and usually declare ibn Sabaʾ a hypotheZcal personʻAlīty. Ahl-us-Suṉnah highly praise Hassan RA who made peace with Mu‘āwīyya RA and accepted him as the caliph and thus saved Ummah from chaos and anarchy. However this conspiracy of Ajam (non-Arab) continued to flourish behind the scene. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that when 'Yazīdassumed power after the death of Mu‘āwīyya RA then the same conspirators invited Hassan RA to Kufa and then assassinated him. Ahl-us-Suṉnah usually denounce 'Yazīd and the rulers after him; however, a group of them maintains the view point that facts have not been rightly presented in the books of history. The character of 'Yazīdhas been particularly assassinated by false self-orchestrated narrations;

whereas on the other hand a majority of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

including the eminent Abdullah ibn A'mar RA and Abdullah ibn Abbas RA had taken the oath of allegiance to 'Yazīd. However the majority of Ahl-us-Suṉnah does not accept this viewpoint. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the incident of Karbalā’ was a mishap. Husain RA did not revolt against 'Yazīd. The people of Iraq wrote letters to him and invited to assume control of the government. He sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqeel to Kufa to verify and authenticate these news who informed him that anarchy is prevailing in Iraq because the control of government has weakened and people are ready to take oath of allegiance to him. He was going to establish government in an anarchy-hit province when the conditions changed and the rule of 'Yazīd established there. Then the governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad assassinated Muslim Ibn Aqeel and sent an army to Husain RA to force him to take oath of allegiance. He became ready to take oath of allegiance but the brothers and ancestry of Muslim Ibn Aqeel vehemently attacked that


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army which sparked the war and Husain RA was martyred along with his companions. When 'Yazīd heard of this news he felt extremely sorry for that and solaced the women of his family and Zain-ul-Abidin. Some Sunnis are of the view that Husain RA was martyred by the people of Kufa and not by the armies of 'Yazīd. However the majority of Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that 'Yazīd was responsible for the incident of Karbalā’ and the subsequent events. Old Ahl-us-Suṉnah usually respected the initial rulers of Banū Umayya including Marwan and his son Abd Al-MʻAlīk ibn Marwan. For instance Imām MʻAlīk has quoted their religious decrees and judicial decisions in his book Muwaṭṭaʾ. However; the Ahl-us-Suṉnah of later period usually condemn those rulers. Ahl-us-Suṉnah possess soft corner for the revolts raised by the elders of

Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) such as Zaid ibn ʻAlī (75-122/695-740) and

Nafas Zakiya (d. 144/762) against Banū Umayya. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe about the history of later period that Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ dethroned Banū Umayya in collaboration with Banū Abbas and then the rule of their households such as of Buyids practically started. Ahl-us-Suṉnah also level the allegation that the lives of Ahl-us-Suṉnah were made difficult and they were forced to convert to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ during the period of the Safavids in Iran. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ reject this allegation and assert that they were Sunni rulers who committed atrocities against Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ for the reason of which they had to resort to Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith).

The Viewpoint of Khawārij

Khawārij maintain a completely different viewpoint from that of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. They considered both ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA as heretics and non-believers. They

were of the view that no commandment can be issued by anyone except Allah Almighty. As ʻAlī

RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA appointed judges in the incident of Tahkim; therefore, they turned

heretics [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)]. And then the one who does not consider them heretics;

himself turns heretic. Therefore they considered it legitimate to assassinate all Muslims by

declaring them heretics. The military action taken against them by ʻAlī RA was considered

cruelty by them and the actions taken against them by Mu‘āwīyya RA and other rulers of Banū

Umayya in the later periods were also considered cruelty by them. This group of Khawārij was

eliminated due to continuous battles one after the other; however, a moderate group

separated from them which was known as Ibadhis. We will make a detailed analysis of their

viewpoints in the next chapters.

The examination of historical narrations


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The questions arises in the mind of a neutral student that which of the conspiracy theories of

Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is correct. It is an interesting fact that both of these groups

present historical narrations in support of their viewpoints. It is necessary to ascertain the

nature of the collection of historical narrations before reaching a conclusion.

It is a well-known fact that that art of writing was not very popular during the period of

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). Holy Qurān was the only book which

was present in the written form. The scholars of different disciplines including hadīṯh, tafsīr

(Exegesis of Holy Qurān), the juristic opinions, religious decrees, judicial decisions, sermons and

poetry used to learn all those collections of knowledge by heart and narrate them in the classes

of their students which were further learnt by their students. Arabs had exceptional memory

and they learnt by heart the eulogies comprising of hundreds of verses. Moreover if someone

had written something then it was not regarded as a book rather it was a personal diary. One

reason of this was that paper was imported to Arabia from China because of which it was very

expensive.

In the second century after migration there arose the trend that the knowledge present in the

hearts of the scholars must be written so that it might not get wasted. In the same period the

rarity of paper in Arabia vanished when Arabs learnt the art of making paper from Chinese.

Therefore all the available information regarding every discipline of knowledge was composed

and wrote down. As far the ahadīṯh of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى regarding the

religious commandments are concerned; extraordinary care was taken in writing them because

everyone knew the threat of hellfire in case of associating false statements with Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . In order to ascertain the reliability of ahadīṯh not only ahadīṯh but the

life conditions of their narrators were also noted. There were established different mechanisms

to determine the authenticity of ahadīṯh which made it possible to differentiate between the

Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak)ahadīṯh.

This care could be taken in case of other disciplines of knowledge including the history. The

process of compiling and writing of knowledge culminated to the zenith in 3rd century and all

the knowledge from the previous generations was noted down. An extraordinary personality of

that period was that of Imām Ibn Jarir Tabari (224-310/838-922). He chose the fields of Tafsīr

(Exegesis of Holy Qurān) and history and noted down all the knowledge regarding these fields

from the previous generations in his two books with references. These books are known as

“Tafsīr Ibn Jarir” and “Tareekh-e-Tabari”. His two books maintain the status of Ummahāt i.e. the

fountain source in their respective fields. Tabari did not comprehensively investigate these

narrations rather he aimed at listing all the knowledge in its available form so that anyone

desirous of research on this collection could separate the Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak)

narrations. He did exclude all the irrelevant and absurd narrations.


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The historical narrations presented by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ against Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) are not considered reliable and authentic by Ahl us Suṉnah. The

reason behind is that they maintain the view point that these narrations had been fabricated by

extremist GhʻAlī Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ who invented them to denounceṢaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and obtain the political and sectarian benefits. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

refute this and state that they did not invent any such narration. Similarly Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ do

not accept the historical narrations of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and state that they fabricated these

narrations in order to deprive the elders of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )of

power.

If these historical narrations are evaluated on the same standards on which ahadīṯh are

evaluated then 90 percent of them will not remain reliable. Muhaddithin (the scholars of

Hadīṯh) adopt the procedure that they do not accept the narration of a person about whom any

doubt exists that he fabricates false narrations in order to support his own viewpoint and

disprove the viewpoint of the opposite. They do not take care of any sect in this regard. For

instance if Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ fabricate some narration in support of the eminence of Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) then they do not accept his narration; in the same

way if Ahl-us-Suṉnah fabricate some narration to prove the eminence of Abu Bakr RA and Umar

RA then they also do not accept his narration. The Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh)

invented an art known as the “Knowledge of Men” under which they collected the detailed life

events of all the narrators to the possible extent. The experts ascertain the reliability and

authenticity of a person in the light of this knowledge. This art is known as Jarh-wa-Ta’deel

(Cross examination and Praising).

If the historical narrations concerning the disputes between the Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) which are described in Tareekh Tabari are analyzed then one finds

that most of the narrations are narrated by only five persons whose names include:

Muhammad ibn Umar Al-Waqidi, Muhammad ibn Saib Al-Kalabi, Hasham ibn Muhammad ibn

Saib Al-Kalabi, Muhammad ibn Marwan Asadi, Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya and Muhammad ibn

Ishaq. With the exception of the last person; all others are notorious for fabricating lies. Here

we present the opinions of Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh) about them from the books of

Jarh-wa-Ta’deel (Cross examination and Praising).

Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151/768)

He is the person who wrote the first book under the title “Kitāb al-maghāzī” about the life

history of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , Islamic history and wars. This is the book

which became the foundation of the historic books of later periods. A large part of the historical


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narrations has been narrated from this book. Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh) and the

experts of Jarh-wa-Ta’deel (Cross examination and Praising) do not have unanimous agreement

on the issue whether he (Muhammad ibn Ishaq) was a reliable narrator or not.ʻAlī ibn

Madīnīand Ibn Shahab Zahri declared him the greatest scholar. Sufyān ibn `Uyaynah consider

him Amīr al-Mu'minīnn (Leader of Faithful) in Hadīṯh; however declare Imām Malik (93-

179/711-795); who was his contemporary, the Dajjal (Antichrist). He is alleged of being Shīʿah

and belonging to Qadariya sect. Moreover he is also alleged of hiding the name of unreliable

narrators in order to pretend that the hadīṯh is reliable. Yhaya ibn Mo'een is of the view that he

was reliable but not argumentum. [For details see: Tehzeeb Al-Kamal, Narrator No. 5057]

Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya (d. 170/786)

He is famous as Akhbari i.e. one who narrates Khabar (report). The incident of Karbalā’ and

most of the events after the incident in Tareekh Tabari have been reported by him. Daraqutni

has declared them Ḍaʻīf (weak). Ibn Mo'een is of the view that he is nothing. Ibn Adi' has

declared them Ghali Shīʿah. [See Meeza Al-A'itadal; Narrator No. 6998]

Muhammad ibn Saib Al-Kalabi

The Famous Imām Sufyan Thawri said about Muhammad ibn Saib Al-Kalabi, “Stay away from

Kalabi.” It was stated, “You also narrate from him.” He said, “I can differentiate between his

truth and lie.” Sufyan Thawri told that Kalabi said to him, “Whatever I narrate from Abu Saleh is

false.” Aa'mysh said, “Stay away from this sabai. I have seen people declaring him liar.” Ahmad

ibn Zuhair states that he asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal, “Is it fair to consult the Tafsīr (Exegesis of

Holy Qurān) of Kalabi?” He replied, “No.” Ibn Mo'een states, “kalabi is not reliable.”

Jūzjānī declared kalabi ‘”The Liar” and Daraqutni declared him the abandoned. The famous

Muhaddith (the scholar of Hadīṯh) Al-Dhahabi stated that even it is not right to describe him in

the book then how his narrations can be accepted. [See Meeza Al-A'itadal; Narrator No. 7580]

Muhammad ibn Marwan Asadi (d. c. 190/805)

Ibn Mo'een is of the view that he is not reliable. Ibn Adi' states that his narrations contain

weakness. It is stated that he was the companion of Kalabi. [See Meeza Al-A'itadal; Narrator No.

8160]

Hasham ibn Muhammad ibn Saib Al-Kalabi (d. 204/819)


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He was the son of the same Kalabi and used to narrate from his father. Daraqutni has declared

him abandoned. Ibn Askar does not consider him reliable. He was the writer of 150 books. [See

Meeza Al-A'itadal; Narrator No. 9245]

Muhammad ibn Umar Al-Waqidi (d. 207/822)

He was the judge in Baghdad and a great scholar. Ahmad ibn Hanbal is of the view about him

that he was a liar. Ibn Mo'een does not consider him reliable and forbids from narrating hadīṯh

from him. Bukhārī and Hatim consider him abandoned. Ibn Madīnī, Abu Hatim and Nasā'ī are of

the view that he used to fabricate ahadīṯh. Daraqutni states that his narrations are weak. Ibn

Madīnī states that he used to narrate 30 thousand completely strange ahadīṯh. [These details

have been taken from the book “Meeza Al-A'itadal” written by famous expert of “The Knowledge of

Men” Hafiz Dhahabi. Narrator No. 7999]

Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Mo'een, Bukhārī, Abu Hatim, Ibn Madīnī, Nasā'ī and Daraqutni all are

the famous scholars of Jarh-wa-Ta’deel (Cross examination and Praising) of the third century

and their opinion is considered as authority in the field of Jarh-wa-Ta’deel (Cross examination

and Praising).

How to examine the historical narrations?

Muhammad ibn Tahir Al-Barzanji and Muhammad Subhi Hassan Hallaq; two researches from

Syria have recently investigated the Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak) narrations of Tareekh

Tabari under the title of “Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) and Ḍaʻīf (weak) Tareekh Tabari.” It is possible that

one narrator is reliable according to one group but unreliable according to the other; however,

it becomes impossible to make an ultimate decision where doubt arises. It is not possible for a

neutral researcher to reach an ultimate conclusion for the reason that these historical incidents

did not reach us through the sources that can be considered reliable by both Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

and Ahl us Suṉnah. Now the question arises; what to do? Ponder upon following example in

this regard:

Suppose you are an honest and unbiased judge in a court. A case has been brought to you in

which you have to indict an accused after investigating a murder which was committed 50 years

ago. All the possible witnesses of this case are dead and all the evidences which were present in

the form of finger prints etc. have wasted. All the available data includes only the recorded

statements of some people which are not present in the judicial record but someone heard

these statements from the concerned witnesses and he is now stating them. The character of

the person who is claiming to hear these statements from those witnesses is itself doubtful.

Can you indict someone by giving a verdict in the light of these proofs? If an issue of just 50


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years ago cannot be decided in the absence of witnesses and proofs then how the incidents of

14 hundred years ago can be decided?

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the historical narrations can be easily examined in the light

of brief eminence of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), Ummahāt ul-

Muʾminīn (Mothers of Believers) and Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )

described in Holy Qurān. There are a number of narrations present among these narrations

which describe the mutual relationship and ascription of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). These narrations

dictate that they maintained mutual relationships based upon high degree of respect and

regard for each other. If narrations are to be accepted; then why these narrations should not be

accepted? A famous Sunni scholar Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī (1903-1979) writes:

This history portrays a picture in which a brave person conquered a country after the struggle of many

years and then established a sultanate by the virtue of his power. Then he died by the will of God and all

his companions and associates who were raised by him and trusted by him throughout his life; suddenly

withdrew from him. His family was still busy in performing his last rituals when they all began the

struggle to capture the throne. So all of them gathered and quarreled on the issue as everyone wanted to

get this treasure. After long debate they finally appointed a person among them as the emperor. When

the family of the founder of the sultanate received the news after the completion of this action; they

became much worried. There was no son of the deceased; however, he had a son-in-law. He (the son-in-

law) became infuriated on this and said that who else can be the emperor in his presence. The daughter

of the deceased also got angry as no one had any right to rule on the sultanate which was established by

her father with struggle of many years. First the family consulted with each other and then they

appealed the old companions of the deceased emperor by bringing to them the beneficence of deceased

emperor and demanded their right in public. The son-in-law of the deceased took his daughter with him

to the castles of empire and went to every influential tribe so that the hearts of people might melt as a

result of his whine. He whimpered by addressing the grave of the deceased emperor by thinking that this

might work but none paid heed to him. At last the poor son-in-law became silent and when the real

claimant of the throne; the daughter of the deceased emperor died, he unwillingly went to the false

occupier of throne and accepted his allegiance. However he continuously remained infuriated in his heart

and expressed his infuriation time and again.

Is this the real picture of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , his Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet

وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )? Was this the position of the

prophet of Allah Almighty that he was just an ordinary founder of a sultanate like other founders? Were

these kinds of characters and personalities prepared by 23 years long education, company and moral

training of the prophet of Allah Almighty? What is the relation of this picture with: the Holy Qurān and

its chaste teachings; the life of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and his highest moral instructions

which are present in the collection of hadīṯh?; the lives of ʻAlī RA and Fatima RA which do not exhibit


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even a minor reflection of their desires for this world (except this single incident); the lives of Abu Bakr RA

and Umar RA whose no angle matches with those who are hungry for this world; and with the

personalities of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) with which the picture portrayed

in this story does not fit at all.

Then if the authentic collection of the history of this group portrays one picture of its character,

personality, and philosophy whereas this single collection of narrations portrays a picture completely

opposite to the first one; then what does the general wisdom dictate? Did sea accidently caught fire? Or

was there no water in the sea and it contained just fire? Or the story of the sea catching fire was false.

When all the evidences proved that it was sea then there could be nothing present except water.

However if someone wants to realize this story then we cannot stop him. The pages of history are after

all polluted with this. Nevertheless we will have to admit at the same time that the claim of prophet

hood was mere a fabrication [God Forbid]; Holy Qurān was nothing but poetic verses and the stories of

sacredness were mere the stories of affectation. Actually a person just entrapped the world with his feats

in order to establish his sultanate and he was surrounded by the people who usually gather around such

materialist deceivers and the objectives for which he was working behind the curtain of sacredness were

exposed by his own family. [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid), Again Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)]

History also presents some other narrations in contrast to this. Have a look on them. Allama Abu Ja'afar

Ibn Jarir Tabari reports this with complete references that Saeed Ibn Zaid RA was asked about the events

of the demise of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . He stated in this regard:

ʻAlī Ibn Abi Talib RA was in his house when someone informed him that Abu Bakr RA is there to take the

oath of allegiance. On hearing this he set out without any cloak and Izâr (lower-half body-cover) wearing

only shirt. He did not like to waste time in wearing clothes. He took the oath of allegiance first and then

sent for his clothes and sat in the meeting.

The narration of Bayhaqi states something different. He reported from Abu Saeed Khudri RA:

“Then Abu Bakr RA stepped upon the rostrum and looked upon the audience of the meeting. He noticed

that Zubair RA was not present. He sent for him. When he came he (Abu Bakr RA) said, “I was asking

where is the paternal cousin and the companion of Holy Prophet Muhammad Did you want ? عليه وسلمالله صلى

to live separate from the group of Muslims?” He replied, “O’ The successor of Holy Prophet Muhammad

الله عليه وسلم صلى forgive me.” Then he stood up and took the oath of allegiance. Then Abu Bakr RA again had

a look at the audience and noticed that ʻAlī RA was not present. He sent someone to call him. When he

arrived; he (Abu Bakr RA) said, “ I was asking where is the paternal cousin and the son-in-law of Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى ? Did you want to live separate from the group of Muslims?” He also

said, “O’ The successor of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى forgive me…..” And then took the oath

of allegiance.

We do not want to indulge in debate and argumentation with someone without any reason. We gave

presented both these pictures. Now every wise person should think himself that which of the picture is in


71 Module: CS01

accordance with the characters of the preacher of Holy Qurān Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and

hisṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). If the heart of someone inclines towards first

picture then it might be the case; however one must realize that this is not only an issue of candidature

and claim rather it makes the whole religion and faith unresolved. If someone accepts the second picture

then there remains no issue that ʻAlī RA was the candidate or claimant of caliphate. [Rasal-o-Masa'il,

Volume 1]

The arguments presented by Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī regarding the oath of allegiance to Abu

Bakr RA are also applicable to the cases of Uthman RA,ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA. The same

argument has been presented by Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk Syed Mahdi Ali ibn Syed Zamin ʻAlī

Husaini (1837-1905) who at first belonged to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’:

This is a fact that the belief of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ regarding Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله صلى

actually alleges the prophet hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad (عليه وسلم الله عليه وسلم صلى and it raises doubts

in the mind of the listener. Therefore if someone believes that those who embraced faith in the prophet

hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى did not have any impact of Islam on their hearts, they

were overtly Muslims but covertly heretics [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)] and they withdrew from Islam

soon after the demise of prophet; then he cannot testify the prophet hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad

الله عليه وسلم صلى . He believes that had Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى been a true prophet; there

would have been solid effectiveness in his teachings, there would have been someone embracing his

prophet hood from the core of his heart and there would have been at least 100-200 steadfast believers

out of thousands and millions of believers. If Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) were

not perfect in their faith –as stated by the false beliefs- then who were those upon whom the teachings

of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى proved effective and how many they were in number who

actually benefitted from the prophet hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى ? If the companions

of prophet- with the exception of a few- were all hypocrite and deserters [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)];

then who actually embraced Islam and benefitted from the training and guidance of Prophet? [A'yat e

Baẏanāt, Part 1 with reference to The Opposite Pictures by Abu AL Hassan Nadvi]

Some raise the question that a large part of the historical narrations has reached us through

these five personalities and mostly by two of them i.e. Al-Waqidi and Muhammad Ibn Ishaq;

then wouldn’t it be hypocrisy if we accept only positive narrations of them but neglect the

negative narrations? Then wouldn’t we be among those who accept what they like but neglect

what they do not like? If we abandon their narrations then we will have to abandon 90% part of

the Islamic history.

Ahl us Suṉnah; in reply to this, are of the view that such common historical information which

does not involve any sectarian issue can be accepted in the light of information described by

any reliable or unreliable narrator. For instance the date of occurrence of a particular incident,

the date of a battle, the strategy adopted by the General in a particular battle, the resting place


72 Module: CS01

of caliph during a journey, the decision of caliph in daily matters etc. If such information

provided by Muhammad ibn Ishaq and Al-Waqidi is accepted and supposedly it is false; even

then it does not make a big difference. However contrary to this; their narrations in case of

disputed matters cannot be accepted for the reason that there are no alternate sources to that

information, no matter whether their narrations prove to be in favor of Ahl-us-Suṉnah or in

favor of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

They present an example to prove that we adopt the same way in our daily life. If we have to

buy and ordinary article which costs only rupees 10-20 then we make decision by accepting any

available information from any person. Then if that information proves wrong even then we

bear the loss and become careful in future. On the other hand; if we have to make some big

decisions such as the decisions about the wedding of our daughter or buying some article which

costs billions of rupees, then we take much care and do not trust upon the information of all

and sundry. In this case we do not accept the information by making the excuse that although

the information is originated from unreliable source yet we will accept it because it is available

from this only source. On the contrary we make every possible effort to access the correct

information and delay our decisions till the attainment of correct information. This principle is

in the same way applicable to historical narrations.

Suppose if a person having doubtful character tells us that our grandfather helped him about 50

years ago by giving him 100 rupees. We know that our grandfather was a pious man and he

used to help every needy person. Then should we have any issue in accepting his claim? On the

contrary if he tells us that our grandfather used to accept bribe or he had established illicit

relations with a prostitute or he himself was the son of a prostitute; then should be accept his

claim at once? Firstly; we will reject his claim. If he presents any evidence to prove his claim

then we will investigate the evidence in every possible way and will not believe in the

statement of that person unless we find some solid proof to the concrete level. When we are so

much careful about our grandfather then why do we adopt careless behavior in case ofṢaḥabah

(the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and accept the statement of all and every who

assassinate their pious characters?

Assignments

1. Make a comparison of the conspiracy theories put forth by Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’.

2. What way should we adopt in case of the differences between ʻAlī RA andMu‘āwīyya RA,

ʻAlī RA and Ayesha RA and Husain Ra and Yazid etc?


73 Module: CS01

Chapter 6: Mut'a (Temporary

Marriage) Mut'a (Temporary marriage) is such a practical issue regarding which there exist disputes

of extreme nature between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. This is a practice of very high

standard according to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ whereas Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider this the worst act. The

literal meaning of the phrase Mut'a is “To get benefit from” and the same is the meaning of

this phrase according to the terms of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). This is the reason that

getting the additional benefit of Umrah during the travel of Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) is

known as Hajj Tamattu'according to the terms of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). The

terminological meanings of the phrase Mut'a imply “temporary marriage”. For instance one

marries a woman on the condition that their marriage will automatically expireand

divorce will take place after a specific period of time. This period of time can last for one

year or for even one hour. The male pays a specific amount to the woman as mahr

(mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of marriage).inMut'a (Temporary

marriage).

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that this agreement is also a form of conventional nikāḥ

(marriage) and it is not only absolutely legitimate but also appreciable because one can save

himself from adultery and fornication by the virtue of this. They are of the view that it is

included in the conditions ofMut'a (Temporary marriage) to formally performnikāḥ


74 Module: CS01

(marriage) and Ijab and Qubūl (Offering and Acceptance). Some of the Fuqahā' (Islamic Jurista)

consider that the presence of witnesses is mandatory while some are of the view that the

presence of witnesses is not mandatory. It is Ḥarām (The Forbidden) to perform Mut'a

(Temporary marriage) between the men and women among whom it is Ḥarām (The

Forbidden) to perform nikāḥ (marriage). It is mandatory for male to pay some amount to the

woman as mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of marriage) in Mut'a

(Temporary marriage).

Contrary to this; Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider Mut'a (Temporary marriage) Ḥarām (The

Forbidden) and strongly denounce it. They are of the view that practically there is no difference

between Mut'a (Temporary marriage) and adultery. Both of these groups present ahadīṯh

from their own books in this regard. But it is not beneficial to analyze them because these

books are not mutually agreed upon by both of them. However we will surely analyze those

ahadīṯh which are presented by one group from the books of other group.

Arguments about legitimacy and forbiddance of Mut'a (Temporary marriage) First Argument: The argument from Holy Qurān Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present following verse of Holy Qurān in support of their viewpoint of Mut'a (Temporary marriage):

محصنين غير مسافحين موالكم

� J�ن تÁتغوا ب

ما وراء ذلكم كم

ل

�ا اس·متعتم به وqJحل

�هن� فم

ولا جناح منهن� ف

qJجورهن� فريضة

حك

كان عل ن� الله� فريضة ا�

ف ½اضيتم به بعد ال

يكم (4:24).عل

Ahl-us-Suṉnah interpret this verse in the following way:

And [forbidden to you are] all married women other than those whom you rightfully possess [through wedlock]: this is God's ordinance, binding upon you. But lawful to you are all [women] beyond these, for you to seek out, offering them of your possessions, taking them in honest wedlock, and not in fornication. And unto those with whom you desire to enjoy marriage, you shall give the dowers due to them; but you will incur no sin if, after [having agreed upon] this lawful due, you freely agree with one another upon anything [else]: behold, God is indeed all-knowing, wise. [4:24]

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ interpret this verse as follows:

All the women (except those mentioned women) and those whom you adopt by your wealth are Ḥalāl

(lawful and permissible in Sharīʿah) for you provided that you remain pious and abstain from adultery.

And you should pay the mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of marriage) which

is binding upon you to the women with whom you perform Mut'a(temporary marriage). And there is no

sin upon you if you mutually agree on a mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of


75 Module: CS01

marriage). God is indeed all-knowing wise. (Makarem Shirazi, Tafseer Namuna, Translation: Syed Safdar

Husain Najafi)

There is found difference of opinion between Ahl-us-Suṉnah andAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ regarding the

translation of red colored words.

Makarem Shirazi writes in the explanation of this verse:

This part of the verse points towards temporary marriage, which in literal meanings is known as Mut'a.

Allah Almighty has said: You should pay the mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time

of marriage) as a mandatory payment to the women with whom you do mut'a. It can be ascertained that

Muslims recognized the actual explanation of the temporary marriage before the revelation of this verse.

That is the reason that Allah Almighty has commanded to pay mahr (mandatory payment by groom to

the bride at the time of marriage) in this verse because it is an important subject of discussion of exegesis

of Holy Qurān, Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and collective society. Hence, it is necessary to analyze

this subject from different aspects and features.

1. The presumptions in the above-mentioned verse substantiate the authenticity of

temporary marriage.

2. This kind of marriages took place during the period of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى and they

were not cancelled in that period.

3. This kind of marriages is a social and collective necessity.

4. Mut'a (Temporary marriage) is a solution of a number of problems.

First, we consider the origin of term Mut'a (Temporary marriage). This term has been used in

Islam for temporary marriage and it is supported by evidences of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). It is

supported by the fact that this term has been used in the same meanings in the ahadīṯh of Holy

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى and sayings of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).

Secondly, if the above-mentioned meanings of this term are not recognized then alternatively its literal meanings are assumed which mean, “To get benefit from”. In this case, the summary of the meanings of the verse conclude to pay the mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of marriage) to the women with whom permamnet marriage bond has been established after getting benefited from them. Whereas we know that being benefitted from women is not the condition of paying mahr (mandatory payment by groom to the bride at the time of marriage); rather, the complete mahr or atleast half of it beomes mandatory to be paid right after nikāḥ (marriage).

Moreover, elder Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), Tabaʿīn (the companions of the

companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), some Ahl-us-Suṉnah expositors of Holy Qurān and all expositorsof

Holy Qurān from Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم )have concluded the same meanings of

temporary marriage from above-mentioned verse. Such elders include Abdullah ibn Abbass, Abe ibn

Ka'ab, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Imran ibn Hassain, Saeed ibn Jubair, Mujahid, Qatada, Sadi and many others.

(Tafseer-e-Namuna)


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As Makarem Shirazi has stated that Ahl-us-Suṉnah andAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ disagree on the

meanings of ا اس·متعتم به

منهن� فم . Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that these words mean “The

women with whom you perform Mut'a (Temporary marriage)” whereas Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of

the view that these words mean “And unto those with whom you desire to enjoy marriage.”

Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider the literal meanings of this verse. As Mut'a or Istimt'a means “to get

benefit from”; therefore they are of the view that here it is meant to get benefits from

the matrimonial life. Ahl-us-Suṉnah present the argument that the words محصنين غير

فحين مسا (taking them in honest wedlock and not in fornication)hint that here the literal

significance is meant and not Mut'a (Temporary marriage) as terminology. If someone

performsMut'a (Temporary marriage) with a woman; fulfills his desires and then starts

living with a second woman and finally goes to a third woman then the words محصنين غير

.cannot be applied to him (taking them in honest wedlock and not in fornication)مسافحين

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further state that there is no difference between Mut'a (Temporary marriage) and fornication in terms of their results. This is the purpose of nikāḥ (marriage) that a man and a woman intend to live together for their entire lives. This will produce their offspring and they will be able to nourish and nurture them. This will result in the establishment of pious culture which is the real purpose of nikāḥ (marriage). Mut'a (Temporary marriage) leads to secret relations and does not result in the establishment of pious culture rather it is possible that male leaves the female alone after fulfilling his desire and if a baby is born as result of this relation then his guardianship will be the responsibility of his mother alone. A sunni scholar Mufti Muhammad Shafi (1896-1976) writes:

Holy Qurān - after describing those women with which it is Ḥarām (The Forbidden) to perform nikāḥ

(marriage) - has stated that you should look for Ḥalāl (Permissible) women according to your means. The

sexual pleasure should not be the only objective and the constraint of Muhsineen has been

simultaneously applied: which means that they should take care of their dignities. As Mut'a (temporary

marriage) is performed for a specific time, therefore it does not aim at attaining progeny, building a

family or protecting the respect and modesty. This is why the opposite group (Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’) does not

consider the women; with whom Mut'a (temporary marriage) is performed, rightful to get share in

inheritance: moreover, they do not count them among their known marriages. And because the sole

reason is to fulfill the sexual desire, hence men and women continue to look for new couples. In this

situation, Mut'a (temporary marriage) is an enemy of respect and modesty rather being the guarantor.

(Tafseer Ma'arif-ul- Qurān; Verse 4:24)

Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī (1903-1979) writes:

The absolute permission, unnecessary advantage and benefiting from women who perform Mut'a

(temporary marriage) is such a freedom which cannot be even accepted by a wise-natured personality


77 Module: CS01

and it is absolutely unfitting to associate it with Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) brought by Holy Prophet صلى

and elders of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم لى الله عليه وسلمص ). I believe that even no noble Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ can tolerate that someone sends a message of Mut'a (temporary marriage) to his daughter

or sister rather than nikāḥ (marriage). It means that a lower class of women should exist in the society

which allows Mut'a (temporary marriage) to be performed with them. Otherwise, Mut'a (temporary

marriage) should only be performed with the women of poor class for the benefits of rich class. Can we

expect such laws of injustice from the Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) of Allah Almighty and Holy Prophet

وسلمصلى الله عليه ? In addition, can we expect from Allah Almighty and Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه to issue such

a commandment, which is considered an insult and an immoral act by every honorable woman?

(Tafheem-ul- QurānAl-Mu'minūn)

Second Argument: Was Mut'a (temporary marriage) declared

Ḥarām (The Forbidden) by Umar RA? Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present a number of ahadīṯh from their own books in order to substantiate the legitimacy of Mut'a (temporary marriage). There is no benefit of discussing theseahadīṯh as they are not mutually agreed upon. They also present a number of ahadīṯh from the books of Ahl us Suṉnah. Here we will analyze them to realize the viewpoint of Ahl-us-Suṉnah regarding them. We are presenting these ahadīṯh from the book “Tafsīr Anwaar Al-Najaf” written by a Shīʿah scholar Husain Baksh Jara: The first narration is the statement of Umar RA which has been quoted by Husain Baksh Jara from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. This reference is not correct. This narration; however, has been quoted by ibn Ḥazm in his book al-Muhallā.

وJضرب عليهما هذا لفظ dJب ، متعتان كانتا � عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وJ <Jنهى عنهما : قال عمر ¯ الخطاب

ومتعة الحج. متعة ال�ساء . وJعاقب عليهما واية خالد J <Jنهى عنهما وفير

Umar RA stated that two kinds of Mut'a (temporary marriage) were allowed during the time of Holy

Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمand I declare them Ḥarām (The Forbidden). One is Mut'a (temporary marriage) with

Hajj (Pilgrimage) and the other is Mut'a (temporary marriage) with women.(Ibn Ḥazam,Al-Muhallā)

The second narration is narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah RA inṢaḥīḥ Muslim.

. فجئناه في منزله. معتمراقدم جا+ ¯ عبدالله : قال عطاء: قال. Jخبر> ا¯ جريج. حدثنا عبدالرزاق. وحدثنا الحسن الحلواني

له القوم Jشaاء .وJبي بكر وعمر. اس·متعنا � عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. نعم: فقال. ثم ذكروا المتعة. فس

People gathered around Jabir ibn Abdullah RA when he came for Umrah. After discussing various topics when they started discussion on the topic of Mut'a (temporary marriage) then Jabir RA

replied, “We used to perform it during the period of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم, Abu Bakr RA and

during the half period of Umar RA. After that Umar RA forbade us from this”.(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the Book of Marriages, Hadīṯh 1405)


78 Module: CS01

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that how Umar RA can amend a commandment which

was originally issued by Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ? If he did so; then his

amendment will not be accepted. It is proved by the narration of Jabir RA that people used to perform Mut'a (temporary marriage)during the period of prophet hood and the period of Abu Bakr RA.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the view point that it is not correct that Mut'a (temporary

marriage)was allowed during the period of Holy Prophet Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم and

then Umar RA banned it.Mut'a (temporary marriage) was gradually banned just like all other evils such as drinking wine and interest were not declaredḤarām (The Forbidden)all

of the sudden rather a gradual approach was adopted. Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه

strongly motivated people to perform nikāḥ (marriage) with the aim that peopleوسلم

should not establish temporary sexual relationships rather they should adopt permanent associations spanning their entire life. After this; he forbade from performing Mut'a (temporary marriage) on the occasion of Battle of Khyber but did not strictly imposed this decision. After one year; on the occasion of Conquest of Mecca the forbiddance of Mut'a (temporary marriage) was vigorously announced but no punishment was imposed on the commission of this act. Umar RA did nothing but implementing this decision firmly and imposed the punishment of fornication on the act of Mut'a (temporary marriage).

As far as the hadīṯh of Jabir RA is concerned, it is not about performing Mut'a (temporary marriage) with women rather it is about the Mut'a with Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) which means to combine Hajj and Umrah in one travel which is known as Hajj Tamattu'. Some people were of the view that it was not right to combine Hajj and Umrah in one travel and same was the opinion of Umar RA. He wanted to forbid people from this practice but then did not forbid after consultation with Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). Whenever the performance ofMut'a by Ṣaḥabah (the companions

of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) is described in ahadīṯh; it actually means Hajj Tamattu' and

not “The temporary marriage.”

Ahl-us-Suṉnah present the following hadīṯh in addition to these ahadīṯh:

Jخبرني d¢س ا¯ Âاب، الحسن وعبدالله ابني محمد ¯ � . Jخبر> ا¯ وهب: قالا. وحدثني J¿ الطاهر وحرملة ¯ يحيى

نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، متعة ال�ساء، :يقول لا¯ عباس¯ Jبي طالب، Jبيهما ؛ Jنه سمع � ¯ Jبي طالب

.و Jكل لحوم الحمر الا¢سaة. dم خيبر

It is narrated from ʻAlī RA that Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade from doing Mut'a (temporary

marriage) with women and eating the meat of domestic donkeys. (Bukhārī and Muslim, the Book of Marriages, Hadīṯh 1407)

As Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ do not accept this hadīṯh; therefore it is legitimate to perform Mut'a (temporary marriage) according to them.

Third Argument: The Practice of Ṣaḥabah (the companions


79 Module: CS01

of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present following narration is support of Mut'a (temporary marriage):

When someone asked Ibn Umar RA about Mut'a (temporary marriage) then he replied in

affirmative. At that time the person asking the question stated that your father had declared it

Ḥarām (The Forbidden). In reply to this, Ibn Umar RA stated: “If my father stops from something

which is declared Suṉnah by Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, will you act upon the Suṉnah of Holy Prophet

or the advice of my father? (Tirmidhī) صلى الله عليه وسلم

Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider this hadīṯh mawḍūʻ (fabricated) and false. This hadīṯh is not present in Tirmidhī anywhere. However a hadīṯh which is somewhat related to this is present in Musnad Ahmad and is described below:

eد عبد الر�حمن نا ا�ث قيط حد�

ل

eد ا� نا عبيد الله�ث وليد حد�

نا J�¿ ال

ث شك� J�¿ حد�

عر(� oو نعيم ا�J نعم

وليد قالال

عهد ر

ا � ن� ما ك والله�

متعة وJ�> عنده متعة ال�ساء فقال

ر ال

عم رجل ا

ل

� س

م زانين ولا

�يه وسل

عل صلى� الله� سول الله�

عت قد سم ل والله�

قال

� مسافحين ثم

وك

ج�ال مسaح الد�

قيامة ال

م ال d

� قبل

و+يك

ل

م يقول

�يه وسل

عل صلى� الله� الله�

ا¿ن رسول

�ذ

ثرن J�و J�ك

,

لا

ث

A person asked Ibn Umer RA about doing Mut'a (temporary marriage) with women while I was sitting with them. He said: “By God we were neither adulterous nor made love in secret. By God, I have heard the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saying that Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl (The False Messiah) and thirty or more

Kazzab (False Prophets) must be revealed before the Day of Judgment. ” (Musnad Ahmad, Chapter Ibn Umer RA, Hadīṯh: 5546, 5444)

This hadīṯh infers thatIbn Umar RA was convinced of the forbiddance of Mut'a (temporary marriage) and considered this practice equivalent to fornication and secret love-making. The narration presented by Husain Baksh Jara is not about performing Mut'a (temporary marriage) with women rather it is about performing Mut'a with Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) which is known as Hajj Tamattu'. This hadīṯhhas been quoted by ImāmNawawi in his book “Al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab.”

مربهافقيل�ك : س�لابنعمرعنمتعةالحجف

بيلميقلالذييقولون،انماقال : فقال . انكتخالف

: Jفردواالحجمنالعمرة،Jي : ان

Âرالحج،فجعلتموهاJنتمحراما،وعاقب�لناسعليها،وقدJحلهاا�لهعزوجل،وعملبهارسولا�لهصلىا�لهعليهوسلمقال : ا>لعمرةلتتمفي

معمر؟ : فاذاJكثرواعليهقالني·بع

حق

فكتا��له

When Ibn Umer RA was asked about the Mut'a with Hajj (Performing Hajj and Umrah in single travel)

then he permitted. It was said, “Your father was against it”. He replied, “My father did not use to say

what you are stating. He only used to command to perform Hajj and Umrah separately i.e. to complete

Umrah during the months of Hajj.” You have declared it Ḥarām (The Forbidden) and people have strictly

imposed it while Allah Almighty has declared it Ḥalāl (Permissible) and Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم acted


80 Module: CS01

upon this. When people used to argue too much, he said,” Is the book of Allah Almighty more rightful to

be obeyed or Umer RA?”

Therefore wherever the performance of Mut'a (temporary marriage) by Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) is concerned; it actually means Hajj Tamattu' and not

Mut'a (temporary marriage) with women.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present the following narration:

It is reported by Abu Nuzrah RA that I recited the verse of Mut'a (temporary marriage) in front of Ibn

Abbas RA. Ibn Abbas RA stated: ا اس·متعتم به منهن�

ىفم الى J�جل مسم� .i.e. “When you perform Mut'a (temporary

marriage) with them for a specific period of time.” The narrator replied, “We did not read it in this

manner.” Ibn Abbas RA replied, “By God it was revealed in the same way.” (Mustadrak Al-Hakim)

Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider this hadīṯh mawḍūʻ (fabricated) and false. Firstly this narration itself

negates Holy Qurān which is proved with consistence. How is it possible that Ibn Abbas RA

himself added the words of ى in Holy Qurān? Moreover other Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic)الى J�جل مسم�

narrations prove that Ibn Abbas RA used to issue the decree of forbiddance of Mut'a

(temporary marriage). However he was convinced of the legitimacy of Mut'a (temporary

marriage) in the extreme compulsion but later he revised this particular stance.

Is Mut'a (temporary marriage) practiced in reality?

It is very difficult to find the answer of this question. We have limited knowledge about the

other regions of world; however, if the Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ of sub-continent are asked about this,

then they usually state that it is permissible but not practically performed by us because it is

not the tradition of our society.Ahl-us-Suṉnah present some incidents of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in

this regard about Mut'a (temporary marriage); especially on the occasion of Eid Al-Ghadeer,

however their authentication is a difficult task. Nevertheless it is confirmed that the women of

noble Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ families do not perform Mut'a (temporary marriage).

Assignments 1. Describe the viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ on the benefits of Mut'a (temporary

marriage) and state its disadvantages according to the views of Ahl us Suṉnah.

2. Arguments are extracted from Holy Qurān and Hadīṯh both in support and opposition of

Mut'a (temporary marriage). Describe them in two separate columns.

3. What are the conditions of Mut'a (temporary marriage) according to Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’?


81 Module: CS01

4. Analyze the logical arguments presented by Ahl-us-Suṉnah against Mut'a (temporary

marriage) and state the response of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ towards these arguments.


82 Module: CS01

Chapter7: Taqiyya (Hiding the

Faith) and the belief in Mahdīism

(Belief in the Mahdī) In this chapter, we shall study two important disputed issues between Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl

us Suṉnah. One issue is related to Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) and the other is related

toMahdīism (Belief in the Mahdī). They have no relation with each other; however, we have

combined them in one chapter for the reason because there is no much extent for their

discussion.

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) is an important disputed issue between Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl us

Suṉnah. Taqiyya means “to hide.” Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that one should hide his

faith and not express it openly in unfavorable circumstances. This practice is the source of

reward and merit.

The argument of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is based upon following verses of Holy Qurān:

aس الله� ذلك فل

مؤمنين و يفعل

كافرJ P�ولياء دون ال

مؤمنون ال

ال

خذ لا يت�

ركم

قوا منهم تقاة ويحذ J�ن تت��لا ء ا�

في شي


83 Module: CS01

مصير ال الله�

لى نفسه وا� . الله�

LET NOT the believers take those who deny the truth for their allies in preference to the believers - since he who does this cuts himself off from God in everything - unless it be to protect yourselves against them in this way. But God warns you to beware of Him: for with God is all journeys' end. [3:28]

ح � كن شريمان ول به مطمئن� �لا�

ره وقل

qJك

�لا يمانه ا� بعد ا� �ê� فر

اب ك

هم عذ

ول يهم غضب الله�

فعل

فر صدرا

ك

ل

. عظيم

As for anyone who denies God after having once attained to faith - and this, to be sure, does not

apply to one who does it under duress, the while his heart remains true to his faith, but [only, to] him

who willingly opens up his heart to a denial of the truth -: upon all such [falls] God's condemnation,

and tremendous suffering awaits them. [16:106]

A famous Shīʿah scholar Makarem Shirazi writes:

It is correct that sometimes man gets ready to even sacrifice his own life for the attainment of some

noble objectives such as protection of modesty, strengthening of truth and defeating the wrong. But can

a wise person declare the endangering of his life without any purpose as a legitimate and rightful act?

Islam has clearly allowed temporarily concealing the truth and performing the duties covertly if the life,

wealth or modesty and respect are in danger and stating the truth does not bring any conclusion or

benefit.

The commandment of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) is not uniform rather it sometimes becomes wājib

(obligatory), Ḥarām (The Forbidden) or Mubah (Neither forbidden nor recommended).

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) becomes wājib (obligatory) when the life of a person gets in danger withouth

any important benefit. However, it is Ḥarām (The Forbidden) in the situations in which it becomes the

source of deviance from religion and strengthens the rule of cruelty.

If a wise person finds himself on a cross road where he has to choose between concealing his faith or

endangering his life, wealth or modesty and respect by openly declaring his faith than he finds it right to

sacrifice his life, wealth and respect by declaring his faith but prefers concealing his faith in case it does

not give any benefit. (Tafseer Namuna: Explanation of verse 3:28)

The viewpoint of Ahl-us-Suṉnah is not much different than this. They also believe in the

principle that in the circumstances of compulsion and coercion, it is permitted to utter the

heretic words in order to save the life provided that his heart remains fastened to faith.

However they are of the view that the best practice is to sacrifice the life by stating the truth.

Nevertheless if one is unable to do this; then this convenience has been granted. This is only a

convenience and not a practice of high eminence. If the life and faith of someone is in danger

and migration is possible then he should leave the place and resettle in a place where acting

upon religion and expression of faith is possible. It is not permissible for him to stay at the place


84 Module: CS01

of coercion for very long. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’; on the other hand believe that Taqiyya (Hiding the

Faith) is permissible for infinite period of time. They have lived and are still living with Ahl-us-

Suṉnah and they are making use of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith); however, they have abandoned

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) where they have obtained power. There is not much difference

between the viewpoints of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah in principle of Taqiyya (Hiding

the Faith) but the actual difference exists regarding the use of this principle. When some Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ are asked that when ʻAlī RA believed that caliphate was his right then why did he

accept the caliphate of Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA and Uthman RA or if the government of

Mu‘āwīyya RA was based upon cruelty then why Hassan RA and Husain RA accepted the

atrocities of his government? Then they reply that he made use of the principle of Taqiyya

(Hiding the Faith). Ahl-us-Suṉnah strongly condemn this stance and maintain that making use of

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) is not in accordance with the attributes of the brave personality of

ʻAlī RA. A Sunni expositor of Holy Qurān Pir Muhammad Karam Shah Al-Azhari (1917-1998)

writes:

If someone declares a statement of disbelief in order to save his life but his heart remains contented than

it is permitted; however, it is much more superior to remain committed to belief and sacrifice the life.

This fact has no relation with the concept of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) maintained by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

which is considered holy and rewarding by them. While describing the greatness of their concept of

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith); they go to the extent of saying that although the first three caliphs amended

the Holy Qurān, modified the commandments of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) and eradicated the

Suṉnah of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى yet, ʻAlīRA adopted the principle of Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) and

remained silent. Instead; he helped them in the working of state, accepted his share in the war booty and

offered prayers in their leadership. ʾastaġfiru l-lāh (I seek forgiveness from Allah Almighty). This is an

unholy allegation leveled against the great personality of ʻAlī RA. We seek refuge from Allah Almighty on

leveling such allegations against the personality of ʻAlī RA. (Tafseer Zia-ul- Qurān)

The same point has been described by a Shīʿah scholar Dr. Musa Al-Mousawi:

Here came the turn of the character of those who endeavored to eradicateʻAlī RA and his personality and

aimed at indirectly leveling allegations against him. Similarly everything regarding the period of prophet

hood and the period of Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) can be eradicated;

because the period of prophet hood which also included elder Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet

الله عليه وسلم صلى ) can be painted in the dark colors only when that Islamic society is presented as in revolt

against the open commandments of Allah Almighty. This plot depended upon establishing that the

caliphate of ʻAlī RA was recognized by Allah Almighty, Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى preached

this recognition of caliphate to Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ), Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) violated this recognition even after being dictated about I: and

then by portraying a corrupt, hypocrite and adulator picture of ʻAlī RA who apparently remained the


85 Module: CS01

honest advisor and enthusiast friend of the first three caliphs for 25 years and always praised them in the

best words but his heart did not match with his words. He had no faith in whatever he did; till in extreme

obsession he married his daughter Umm Kulsoom to Umar ibn Khattab RA and named his sons after Abu

Bakr RA, Umar RA and Uthman RA, despite of the fact that he was not agreed upon that.

This is the summary of all what the Shīʿah scholars and the narrators of their ahadīṯh [May Allah

Almighty forgive them] have written clearly or indirectly. I do not know what will be their standpoint on

the Day of Judgment when ʻAlī RA will file complaint against them in the court of Allah Almighty? [Musa

Al-Mousawi, Urdu Translation: Abu Masood Āal Imām]

Belief in Mahdīism (Belief in the Mahdī)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that Mahdī was the son of Hassan Askari (232-260/8446-874)

who disappeared in his childhood. The reason behind his disappearance was that the emperor

of that time wanted to assassinate him. He adopted a life of decampment after this and he will

remain alive by leading the life of decampment till the time approaches close to the Day of

Judgment. He will reveal himself near the Day of Judgment and his government will be

established which will be based upon pure justice and pious caliphate. The disappearance of

Imām Mahdī is described by them in two periods. The first period is known as Minor

Occultation which ranged between 260/874 and 329/941. Imām Mahdī used to meet with his

companions and they received instructions from him. The period of Major Occultation started

after 329/941 which is still continued and will remain in process till the time approaches close

to the Day of Judgment. In this period of time Imām Mahdī does not meet anyone except some

of his close companions.

The arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are based upon their own books which include the

narrations about him from Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , ʻAlī RA, Hassan RA, Husain

and the elders of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم) of later period.

The majority of Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that Mahdī will be from the descendants of Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى who will be born near the Day of Judgment and pious

caliphate will be established in his period. This is the difference between these two viewpoints

that according to Ahl-us-Suṉnah he will be born near the Day of Judgment but Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

are of the that he has born 11-12 hundred years ago and will remain alive till the Day of

Judgment. Jesus Christ will reveal in the same period and he will offer prayer in the leadership

of Imām Mahdī. Then the caliphate will be transferred to Jesus Christ and he will rule the world

in the capacity of a follower of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى .


86 Module: CS01

Further differences are about the concept of pious caliphate. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view

that the caliphate of Imām Mahdī will be Shīʿah caliphate in which Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ will be in

majority who will crush Ahl us Suṉnah. However Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that the caliphate of

Imām Mahdī will be Sunni caliphate and he will rule according to Sunni school of thought.

Both the groups present their own narrations in this issue. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that the

narrations ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ are unreliable and same is the response ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’. It is

impossible to reach any conclusion of this issue because of the absence of any commonly

agreed ground of arguments.

A minority group of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain a different viewpoint. They believe that all the

narrations regarding Imām Mahdīare formulated byAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ and have entered the

books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah by means of Shīʿah narrators. They maintain that Imām Mahdī is a

hypothetical personality. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ formulated this abstract because Imām Hassan

Askari (232-260/846-874) had no offspring and it was not possible to run the succession of

Imāmah (Imamate) after him. Later when the narrations regarding this particular concept

became a part of the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah then they adjusted and modified this concept in

the light of their own viewpoint. The viewpoint was presented in sub-continent by Allama

Tamanna Emadi (1888-1972), Shabbir Ahmad Azhar Meerthi and Habib-ur-Rehman Kandhalvi

(1924-1991). This viewpoint received negation both from Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

A book of a Salafi scholar Muhammad Ismael Al-Muqaddam has been recently published under

the title “Al-Mahdī” in the rejection of this viewpoint. He gathered all the narrations about

Imām Mahdī, performed Takhrij [Collection of all the references (chain of narrators) of a hadīṯh]

and declared after analyzing the narrators that most of the narrations in this regard are Ṣaḥīḥ

(authentic).

Assignments 1. Is it evident from the Suṉnah of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى that he ever performed

Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith)? Present your arguments in this regard from Holy Qurān and

ahadīṯh.

2. Whether Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith) will be considered Ḥalāl (Permissible) or Ḥarām (The

Forbidden) if preformed under coercion and compulsion? Present an example in which

it becomes necessary to perform Taqiyya (Hiding the Faith).

3. What are the points of agreement and disagreement between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ regarding Mahdī?


87 Module: CS01


Envious person does not cause harm to anyone rather keeps on burning in his own fire of enviousness.


88 Module: CS01

Chapter 8: The Rituals of

Muharram-ul- Ḥarām and the

Garden of Fadak A major practical difference between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ is about the rituals

performed in the month of Muharram-ul- Ḥarām. Besides this; the issue of garden of Fadak is a

historical issue and matter of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) regarding which there exists

difference of opinion betweenAhl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. We will study both of these

issues in this chapter.

The rituals of the month of Muharram-ul-

Ḥarām

The month of Muharram-ul- Ḥarām is the first month of Hijri calendar. The 10th of this month

which is known as “Day of ʻĀshūrā’” maintains a specific significance both according to Ahl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that the importance of the day exists in

the fact that Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلمcommanded to keep fast on this day. This

obligation was later withdrawn; however, keeping fast on this day is still a mustaḥabb


89 Module: CS01

(recommended) practice. According to Islamic history; the grandson of Holy Prophet

Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ; Husain RA was martyred on this day which is considered one of the

most tragic incidents of history both by Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that the day maintains a pivotal importance in the whole year.

An environment of mourning and lamentation prevails soon after the sighting the moon of

Muharram-ul- Ḥarām. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ hold assemblies in the mosques -which are also known

as Imambarghah- in which narrations about the incident of Karbalā’ are told in a sorrowful

manner by weeping; eulogies are recited; dirges are performed and all ten days are spent in

extreme sorrow and grief. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ moan and groan in these days. Some perform

moaning with their hands; some injure themselves with knives and chains whereas some youth

moan by walking bare-footed on fire.

All these practices reach their climax on the Day of ʻĀshūrā’ and a grand procession is held in

every big city in which the representation of the tomb of Husain RA in Karbalā’ is presented,

dirges are recited and moaning is performed. The picture of the complete incident of Karbalā’

is portrayed in the light of the Shīʿah narrations about martyrs of Karbalā’. Some people assume

the role of prisoners and bind themselves with chains in the memory of survivors of incident of

Karbalā’. There is found some difference in these rituals in different parts of the world;

however, lamenting and moaning is the fundamental constituent. It is stated that the

philosophy behind Azadari (Mourning) aims at keeping the grief of those cruelties alive which

were committed against Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم).

The scholars of Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the viewpoint in this regard that all these rituals are

Bidʿah (InnovaZve religious pracZces) and illegiZmate; they are not permiged in Islam. On the

contrary; however, a number of Sunnis participate in these procession. They do not participate

in moaning and mourning nevertheless they view the processions and express their grief by

listening to the dirges and moaning.

Both Sunnis and Shīʿahs present their arguments from their own books of ahadīṯh. The

narrations presented by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in this regard are the statements of elders of Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) which are presented in their own books. The

following statement of Imām Raza can be presented as the example:

The one who describes our troubles and weeps on our worries will stand with us in our ranks on

the Day of Judgment. Those; whose eyes weep on our troubles will not weep on the Day of

Judgment when all the eyes will be weeping. And the one who will attend a sitting where our

practices are revived; his heart will remain alive on the Day of Judgment when every heart will

be dead. [Majalis-e-Fakhira; Syed Abdul Husain Sharaf ud Din]


90 Module: CS01

The arguments of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in the forbiddance of

mourning

The elders of Ahl-us-Suṉnah do not consider it rightful to associate these statements with

elders of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). They are of the view that there does

not exist any such narration even in the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which can prove that elders

of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) took out processions in the month of

Muharram-ul- Ḥarām and bemoaned in the same way. They present their arguments on the

basis of the verses of Holy Qurān in which patience has been taught. Moreover they also

present their arguments on the basis of those ahadīṯh narrated from Holy Prophet Muhammad

وسلمصلى الله عليه which denounce the acts of beating against the chest in sorrow, lamenting and

mourning. We are presenting these verses of Holy Qurān and two ahadīṯh as example:

كن لا �شعرون J�حياء ول

J�موات بل وا لمن يقتل في سÁيل الله�

موال . ولا تقول

�oا وع ونقص

وف والج

ء الخ /شي

ون�كمنبل

ول

نفس �oوا P+ا الص� مرات و/شر يه راجعون . والث�

ل >� ا� وا� �ê �< وا ا�

قال

ذا J�صابتهم مصيبة ذP ا�

� . ال

And say not of those who are slain in God's cause, "They are dead": nay, they are alive, but you perceive it not. And most certainly shall We try you by meansof danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of [labour's] fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity who, when calamity befalls them, say, "Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return." [2:154-156]

قال النبي صلى الله : حدثنا زبيد اليامي، ا+اهيم، مسروق، عبد الله رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا سفيان: حدثنا J¿ نعيم

).لaس منا لطم الخدود، وشق الجيوب، ودعا بدعوى الجاهلية: (عليه وسلم

Narrated Abdullah RA: the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى said, "He who slaps his cheeks, tears his clothes and

follows the ways and traditions of the Days of Ignorance is not one of us." (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, The Book

of Funerals, Hadīṯh: 1232)

منصور . حدثنا J�ن ¯ ÷يد. حدثنا عفان. شaبةحدثنا J¿ بكر ¯ Jبي ) وا�لفظ له(ح وحدثني اسحاق Jخبر> حبان

شعري حدثه ؛ Jن النبي صلى الله عليه . حدثنا J�ن. هلالoمالك ا �J نJ سلام حدثه ؛ �J نJ ن زيدا حدثه ؛J حدثنا يحيى ؛

¢ساب، والاس·سقاء �لنجوم، : يتركونهنJربع في Jمتي Jمر الجاهلية، لا " :وسلم قالoحساب، والطعن في ا

oالفخر في ا

".النائة اذا لم ت·ب قبل موتها، تقام dم القيامة وعليها سر�ل قطران، ودرع جرب: " وقال". والنياحة


91 Module: CS01

Abü Mâlik Al-Ash'ari RA narrated that the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى said: "There are four matters of the

Jâhiliyyah among my Ummah that they will not abandon: Pride in one's nobility, slandering people's

lineage, seeking rain by the stars, and wailing." And he said: "If the woman who wails does not repent

before she dies, she will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise

of scabs." (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, The Book of Funerals, Hadīṯh: 934)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ do not consider these narrations correct as they have been quoted from the books of Ahl us Suṉnah.In reply to this; Ahl-us-Suṉnah present ahadīṯh and the sayings of their elders from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. In the same way Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present some narrations from the books of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in order to prove the legitimacy of wailing and mourning. We will analyze them here.

Here we are presenting some details from the book “Sharah Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (The Book of Funerals)” written by a Sunni scholar Allam Ghulam Rasool Saeedi (b.1937) and some of the details are extracted by us from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’:

ه ): عليه السلام(وقال ل

ذه عند مصيÁته حبط عم

فخ

ب يده � مصيبة و ضر

قدر ال

بر � الص�

ل

.ينز

ʻAlī RA narrated that patience is revealed according to the hardships. One who slaps his hand against

his thighs; his virtues go wasted. (Nahj ul-Balāghah: Number 144)

قتلى صفين و) عليه السلام(وروي J�ن�ه

Áاميين فسمع بكاء ال�ساء � صفين مر� �لش قادما

وفة

ك

ا ورد ال م�

يه ل

ل خرج ا�

حرب

وكان وجوه قومه فقالÁامي الش

حبيل ما J�سمع J� لا تنهونهن� ) عليه السلام(شر

�

¢ساؤكم ه J� تغلبكم

ل

حرب يمشي معه وهو

ا الر�نين وJ�قبل

) عليه السلام(هذ

ا) عليه السلام(راكب فقال

ن� مشي مثلك مع مثلي فتنة رجع فا�

مؤ �ل

ة

�ل

والي ومذ

�ل

It is narrated that ʻAlī RA passed by the tribe Shabam when he reached Kūfah, while returning back

from Siffin. He listened the woman moaning on the murders in Siffin. The leader of that tribe Harab

ibn Sharjil came to him. He (ʻAlī RA) said to him, “Have your women dominated you as far as I am

listening? Why do you not stop them from moaning in such a way?” He moved forward by saying this.

He was riding while Harab was walking on his feet along with him. He said to him, “Go back because

your walking along with a person on ride creates commotion from the ruler and humiliation for the

believer”. (Nahj ul-Balāghah: Number 322)

Syed Zeeshan Haider Jawadi: an expositor of Nahj ul-Balāghahstates that one should remain patient on his personal troubles. Hence he hints at the exception of mourning, crying and wailing at the incident of Karbalā’ from this statement of ʻAlī RA.

As far as the second narration is concerned; they are of the view that weeping and crying in this manner is forbidden which exhibits weakness in front of enemy. Ahl-us-Suṉnah in reply to this


92 Module: CS01

maintain that there were no enemies on the way back from the Battle of Siffin in front of whom he did not want to exhibit weakness? As far as the exception of the grief of Karbalā’ from this statement; it has not been mentioned anywhere.

: قال) عليه السلام( 5ل زeد، Jحمد ¯ محمد ¯ Jبي نصر، والحسن ا¯ � جميعا، Jبي جميلة، جا+، Jبي جعفر

النواصي و Jقام النواحة فقد Jشد الجزع الصراخ �لويل والعويل ولطم الوجه والصدر وجز الشعر : الجزع؟ قالما : قلت له

½ك الصبر وJخذ في غير طريقه و صبر واسترجع وحمد الله عزوجل فقد رضي بما صنع الله ووقع Jجره � الله و لم يفعل ذلك

.تعالى Jجرهجرى عليه القضاء وهو ذميم وJحبط الله

Abu Ja'afar (Imam Muhammad Al-Bāqir) was asked, “What is impatience? The biggest impatience

is to cry, moan, beat against chest and face and pinching hear from the forehead. One who wails

actually abandons patience and goes against it. One who adopts patience recites, Inna lillahi wa

inna ilayhi raji'un (Surely we belong to Allah Almighty and to Him shall we return), praises Allah

Almighty and agrees on the will of Allah Almighty than he will be rewarded by Allah Almighty. And

one who works against this; he will have to face the decision of fate at one hand and Allah

Almighty will destroy his reward on the other hand. ” (Furūʿ al-Kāfī, Volume 3, Hadīṯh: 4672,

http://www.almurtadha.org )

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that this is a Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) hadīṯh; however, mourning and wailing on the incident of Karbalā’ are exempted from this commandment. Only that mourning and wailing is bad which is done on the personal troubles. Nevertheless crying, mourning and wailing on the incident of Karbalā’ are exempted from this commandment; because they are

performed on the hardships of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). They present a

number of ahadīṯh from their own books to prove this exception.

The arguments of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in the support of

mourning

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present their arguments in support of mourning from Holy Qurān and some

ahadīṯh from the books ofAhl us Suṉnah. The detail is described below:

It has been stated in Holy Qurān that when angles disseminated the good news of a son to

Ibrahim AS then his wife Syeda Sarah RA laughed and beat her face. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the

view that this incident proves the legitimacy of beating face. Ahl-us-Suṉnah in reply to this

maintain the viewpoint that it has nothing to do with mourning or wailing. As Syeda Sarah RA

was an old woman therefore she became much surprised on receiving the news of son and

unintentionally hit her hand against her forehead as is the practice of old women.


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According to a narration of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; once Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه woke

up ʻAlī RA and Fatima RA to offer the Tahajjud (Night Prayer) and made some warning upon this

on which they replied: “O’ Prophet of Allah Almighty! Our souls are in the hands of Allah

Almighty. He wakes us up whenever He wants.” On this; Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه

hit his hand against his thighs and said: “Human beings argue more than any other creature.”

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that this narration substantiates hitting the body. In reply to

this Ahl-us-Suṉnah state that Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه did this as a warning. It

was neither mourning nor it was the appropriate time of being sorrowful or grief-stricken.

A narration of Muwaṭṭaʾ Imam Malik which has been narrated from Saeed ibn Musayyib RA

states that a Bedouin broke his fast. He became so much grief-stricken that he beat against his

chest, squeezed his hair and then went to Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه . Ahl-us-

Suṉnah are of the view that this is a Mursal (the narration in which the narrator between the

successor and Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه is omitted) narration which is Ḍaʻīf (weak)

and is never binding. The same incident has also been described in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ

Muslim but the practices of beating against the chest and squeezing hair is not described. The

timing and the environment of the incident described in this narration does not portray the

background of moaning rather a mistake was made by that person and he did that act after

being remorseful.

It is famous regarding Uwais Al-Qarani that he broke all his 32 teeth on receiving the news that

the two teeth of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه broke in the Battle of Uhud. Ahl-us-

Suṉnah are of the view that this narration has not been described in any book with authentic

references. Hence no arguments can be made on the basis of this narration. If this incident is

proved in some way even than mourning and wailing cannot be legitimized on its basis because

Uwais Al-Qarani was a Tabaʿī (the companion of the companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) not a

Ṣaḥabi (the companion of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and the action of a Tabaʿī (the companion

of the companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) cannot be binding upon Ummah.

On the occasion of the Battle of Uhud after the martyrdom of Hamzah RA; Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى said, “Alas! There is no one to weep and mourn upon Hamzah RA.” In

reply to this; Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that this narration has been reported only in

Tabaqat-e-ibn-Sa'ad without any reference; hence arguments cannot be based upon this.

Tabaqat-e-ibn-Sa'ad is not a book of ahadīṯh rather it is a book which describes the life events

of different people and it is not compiled by taking such care that has been taken in the

compilation of books of ahadīṯh. The same narration is present in Ibn Mājah but it only

describes the act of weeping; whose legitimacy is also accepted by them. It does not describe


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mourning or wailing. Moreover another narration of Ibn Mājah proves that Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى said that there is no one to weep upon Hamzah RA just to express his

grief and when the women of Ansar (The Helpers: The original residents of Medina on the time

of migration) started weeping then Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى forbade them. The

narration is described below:

ن ث نا 5ل زeد، Jحمد ¯ محمد ¯ Jبي نصر، والحسن ا¯ � جميعا، Jبي جميلة، حد�

ث مصري) حد�

سعيد ال ا هارون

صلى� الله� الله�

رJ�ن� رسول

عم زيد >فع ا

> qJسامة

� وهب J�نب Âل يبكين عبد الله�

� oم مر� ب�ساء عبد ا

�يه وسل

عل

d كاهن� هل

� oاء ¢ساء ا

ه فج

¿اكي ل

كن� حمزة لا

م ل

�يه وسل

عل صلى� الله� الله�

رسول

م qJحد فقال الله�

نصار يبكين حمزة فاس·يقظ رسول

بن بع ويحهن� ما انقل

م فقال

�يه وسل

عل يوم صلى� الله�

هالك بعد ال

يبكين �

ينقلبن ولا

.د مروهن� فل

It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar RA that the Messenger of Allah الله عليه وسلم صلى passed by some women of

'Abdul-Ashhal who were weeping for their slain on the Day of Uhud. The Messenger of Allah said: "But

there is no one to weep for Hamzah RA." So the women of Ansar started to weep for Hamzah RA. The

Messenger of Allah وسلمالله عليه صلى woke up and said, 'Woe to them, have they not gone home yet? Tell

them to go home and not to weep for anyone who dies after this day. (Sunan Ibn Mājah, The Book of

Funerals, Hadīṯh: 1591)

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present a number of incidents from the books of history including “Al-Bidāya

wa-n-nihāya” and “Tabari” which describe the mourning of some Ṣaḥabiat (the female

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that all these

narrations have been narrated by Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya who was a Ghali Shīʿah. Hence

these narrations are not authentic and reliable.

The Garden of Fadak

The issue of the garden of Fadak is a historical issue which also contains a religious aspect. Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى did not find any spare time for trading or any other way to

earn and fulfill the needs of his family because he used to spend all of his time in preaching of

Islam and running the affairs of the government. After the conquest of Khyber; a garden there

was dedicated for fulfilling the needs of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم) which was known as the garden of Fadak. Holy

Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم used to fulfill the financial needs of his family and other

needy people of Medina by the earnings of that garden.


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Syeda Fatima RA demanded to divide this garden as inheritance after the demise of Holy

Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم . Abu Bakr RA told her that the inheritance of prophets does

not get divided rather their inheritance is only the knowledge. This garden was not the personal

property of Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ; instead it was under the ownership of the

government. Therefore it was not possible to divide this garden as inheritance. Hence he

maintained the status of Trust of that garden and gave its administration under the control of

ʻAlī RA and Abbas RA so that they could take care of the needs of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy

Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ).

This incident is stated in the same way up to this point by both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’; however difference of opinion starts from here. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ believe that the

inheritance of prophets can also be divided. This garden was under the ownership of Holy

Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه and it should have been divided. Abu Bakr RA did not perform

a good deed by doing that and deprived Syeda Fatima RA of her right for which she remained

angry at him till her death and made a will that no one should offer her funeral prayer.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that Abu Bakr RA decided exactly in the light of the

commandment of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) and did not deprive anyone. Syeda FaZma RA

was initially angry but later she agreed to the decision of Abu Bakr RA. ʻAlī RA himself did not

take the garden of Fadak in his personal possession even in his period of caliphate. Both the

groups present narrations in support of their viewpoints.

This is the historical aspect of this issue; however it also leads to a religious issue. Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ believe that the inheritance of prophets should have been divided. Not only wealth

but also the government was the inheritance of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه which

was the right of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ). Contrary to this;Ahl-us-

Suṉnah maintain the viewpoint that firstly the inheritance of prophets is only their knowledge

and they do not leave any wealth in inheritance. Even if they possess some wealth; it is

dedicated for their Ummah. As far as the government is concerned; it is the right of common

people in Islam to elect the ruler by their mutual consultation. This is not the monarchy in

which government is also transferred to the next generation as inheritance.

The viewpoints of both Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are based upon their own

particular narrations. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ also present a verse of Holy Qurān in this regard which

is presented below:

e

ن داوود وقال مبين وورث سل

فضل ال

هو ال

ا ل

ن� هذ ء ا�

شي

ير وqJوتaنا كل منا منطق الط�ا الن�اس عل . J�يه)

And [in this insight] Solomon was [truly] David's heir; and he would say: "O you people! We have


96 Module: CS01

been taught the speech of birds, and have been given [in abundance] of all [good] things: this,

behold, is indeed a manifest favour [from God]!" [27:16]

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that this verse makes it clear that Soloman AS received

the government of Dawood (David) AS in inheritance. Therefore it becomes evident that

inheritance of prophets is also transferred. Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain a different viewpoint.

They are of the view that wealth and riches are not the inheritances of prophets instead

their inheritance is their knowledge and prophet hood. These words have been quoted in

Holy Qurān in the same meanings at a number of places and the same inheritance is

meant here. As far as the matter of government is concerned; the monarchy in the family

of Dawood (David) AS was maintained on the request of Bani Isra'ilotherwise a

democratic system was established there before this in the form of “Qazāat” whose detail

can be found in the book Qazāat (Judge) of Bible. Ahl-us-Suṉnah present the following

argument from the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in support of this viewpoint:

5ل زeد، Jحمد ¯ محمد ¯ Jبي نصر، والحسن ا¯ � جميعا، Jبي جميلة، محمد ¯ يحيى، Jحمد ¯ محمد ¯ عaسى،

خالد، Jبي البختري، Jبي عبدالله نÁياء لم dر,ا ان العلماء ورثة الانÁياء وذاك Jن الا: قال) عليه السلام( محمد

خذونه؟ درهما ولا دينارا، وانما اور,ا Jحاديث Jحاديثهم، فمن Jخذ /شئ منها فقد Jخذ حظا وافرا، فانظروا علمكم هذا عمن ت

ويل الجاهلين .فان فينا Jهل البaت في كل خلف عدولا ينفون عنه تحريف الغالين، وانتحال المبطلين، وت

Narrated Abu Abdullah AS, “Surely the scholars are the successors of prophets. It means that they do

not get Dirhams and Dinars from the inheritance of prophets but get the inheritance from their

ahadīṯh. Whoever extracts something out of this gets in abundance. Look at your knowledge; how

you get it from them. Surely, we have Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) amongus who

negate the distortion of those who exaggerate, following of falsehood and the interpretations of

illiterates. ” (Usūl al-Kāfī, The Book of Beatitude of Knowledge)

كنت عند Jبي عبدالله : Jحمد ¯ ادرüس، محمد ¯ عبدالجبار، صفوان ¯ يحيى، شعيب الحداد، ضرüس الكناسي قال

ان داود ورث علم الانÁياء، وان سلن ورث داود، وان محمدا ): عليه السلام(وعنده J¿بصير فقال J¿عبدالله ) عليه السلام(

ان : وان عند> صحف ا+اهيم وJلواح موسى، فقال J¿بصير) صلى الله عليه وJله(ورث سلن، وا> ورثنا محمدا ) الله عليه وJله صلى(

.J e� محمد لaس هذا هو العلم، انما العلم ما يحدث ��ليل والنهار، dما بيوم وساعة /ساعة: هذا لهو العلم، فقال

Narrated Zarees Al-Kinasi that I was with Abu Abdullah AS and Abu Baseer was also along with him.

Abu Abdullah stated, “Surely Dawood AS received from the inheritance of knowledge of prophets.

Than Solomon AS received from the inheritance of Dawood AS. Surely Holy Prophet وسلميه صلى الله عل is the

successor of Solomon AS and we are his successors. We have scriptures of ʾIbrāhīm AS andplates of

Mūsa AS.” Asked Abu Baseer, “Is this the knowledge?” He was replied, “O Abu Muhammad it is not


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that knowledge. The knowledge is the one which is stated by days and nights daily and at every

instant.”(Usūl al-Kāfī, The Book of Beatitude of Knowledge, Chapter: ان الائمة ورثوا علم النبي وجميع

والاوصياءالانبياء )

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ present the following hadīṯh in support of their viewpoint from the book of

Ahl us Suṉnah; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:

Jن عا>شة Jم : Jخبرني عروة ¯ الزبير: حدثنا ا+اهيم ¯ سعد، صالح، ا¯ Âاب قال: حدثنا عبد العز÷ ¯ عبد الله

لت J� بكر الصديق بعد وفاة : Jن فا�ة عليها السلام، ابنة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :المؤمنين رضي الله عنها Jخبرتهس

ان : Jن يقسم لها ميرا=ا، ما ½ك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مما Jفاء الله عليه، فقال J¿ بكر: رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

فغضبت فا�ة ب�ت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فهجرت J� ). ما ½كنا صدقةلا Qرث، : (رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال

.بكر، فلم <ل مهاجرته � �فيت، وعاشت بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم س·ة ÂJر

Narrated 'Aishah RA (Mother of the believers): After the death of Allah's Messenger وسلمصلى الله عليه , Fatima

RA the daughter of Allah's Messenger وسلمصلى الله عليه , asked Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq RA to give her, her share of

inheritance from what Allah's Messenger وسلمصلى الله عليه , had left of the Fai (i.e., booty gained without

fighting) - which Allah had given him. Abu Bakr RA said to her, "Allah's Messenger وسلمصلى الله عليه said,

'Our property will not be inherited, whatever we (i.e., Prophets) leave is Sadaqa (to be used for

charity)." Fatima RA, the daughter of Allah's Messenger وسلمصلى الله عليه got angry and stopped speaking to

Abu Bakr RA, and continued assuming that attitude till she died. Fatima remained alive for six months

after the death of Allah's Messenger. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, The Book of The Obligations of Ḵẖumus,

Hadīṯh: 2926)

This hadīṯh describes the displeasure of Syeda Fatima RA. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ establish their

argument on these basis that Abu Bakr RA violated her rights and breached the

commandments of Holy Qurān regarding inheritance. They maintain that if he had divided

the inheritance of the garden of Fidak then he had to divide the inheritance of caliphate too.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah in reply to this maintain that Abu Bakr RA did so by acting upon the hadīṯh

which describes that the wealth of prophets is not divided in inheritance; this hadīṯh has also

been quoted in the books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. This narration infers that there was no guilt

of Aby Bakr RA in the displeasure of Syeda Fatima RA. His guilt would have been proved if he

had occupied the garden of Fidak by himself. However he did not occupy it; instead kept it

under the ownership of government and continued to spend its income on Ahl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and the poor and needy people.

A group of Ahl-us-Suṉnah is of the view that above mentioned hadīṯh seems to be amended


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and exaggerated. How is it possible that a hadīṯh of Holy Prophet Muhammad وسلمصلى الله عليه

was presented of her and she became angry at this rather than acting upon this? She lived

for six months after this incident; therefore she could have investigated this hadīṯh from

other Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )if she did not have belief in its

authenticity. Therefore it can be inferred that narrators have amended and made additions

in this incident. They name Ibn Shahab Zahri for this act and are of the view that he was

among Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ or at least he was impresses from their beliefs.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah further raise a question that if Abu Bakr RA and other Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) had violated the commandments of Holy Qurān

about inheritance by not dividing the garden of Fadak then why ʻAlī RA didn’t divide this

property as inheritance in his period of caliphate? As far as the intentions of Abu Bakr RA are

concerned; Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintain the viewpoint that only Allah Almighty better knows the

intentions of hearts. If he was a ruler like the rulers of current age who avoided the division

of that inheritance just to save his rule even then that decision was not correct from the

predacious viewpoint. If Siddique Akbar had been a predacious politician then he could have

easily consolidate his rule by giving this garden as bribe. Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that such

beliefs are equivalent to the character assassination of not only Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) but also of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) and

SYeda Fatima RA.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe that the logic behind the forbiddance of division of inheritance of

prophets is that no one should be able to level the allegations of nepotism and corruption

against them. The companions of prophets neither get any materialistic benefits from their

personalities by themselves nor do they allow their relatives to do so. On the contrary the

false prophets and religious leaders get full financial benefits from their followers. Syed Abu

Al-Hassan Nadvi (1913-1999) writes:

It is necessary for that inviter to faith, messenger of Allah Almighty and prophet to not only maintain

clear difference from the founders of sultanates, the conquerors of lands and political leaders in his

taste, character, practices, aims and results but also there should be open contrast between him and

the opposite group. The establishment of family sultanate and monarchist government is the highest

objective or at least natural or mandatory outcome of the efforts and struggles of the founders of

sultanates, conquerors of countries, the world lovers and desirous of materialistic world. This process

continues for centuries (as dictated by the histories of rise and fall of Roman, Byzantine, Sassanid,

Kiani, Suraj Bansi and Chandar Bansi households). If this does no remain possible for some

extraordinary reason then at least the families of those founders of sultanates, conquerors of lands

and political leaders (who came out victorious in their movements) become the masters of enormous

wealth and massive sources of riches and pleasures. They play and enjoy in enormous wealth as

stated by a famous proverb in Urdu Language; similar to the situation in jungle in which a lion hunts


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and hundreds of animals eat that……

On the other hand the prophet of Allah Almighty neither lays the foundation of any family dynasty

nor preserves the interests of his family by arranging the sources of wealth and riches capable of

serving for a long period of time which enable them to live a life of more ease and relaxation as

compared to the rest of the people of Ummah. Rather his case dictates the opposite and they (his

family members) live a life of more God consciousness, content, sacrifices, stringency and

hardworking; moreover, after him they have to rely upon their personal abilities and struggles and

they cannot live a life of cadgers or lethargy like Brahmins, priests or the members of some sacred

race or family. [The Religion of Islam and the Two Opposite Pictures of Initial Muslims, Chapter: Four

Conditions for Universal and Eternal Religion]

The behavior of Holy Prophet Muhammad with hisAhl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه )and

relatives was not only different but also completely opposite to that of worldly nobles, racists and

common rulers of the world. He adopted the principle that he kept the person on the frontlines of the

danger and farthest from the rewards who was closest to him. When Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, Shaybah ibn

Rabi'ah and Walid ibn Utbah challenged Quraysh and called out for battle; then Holy Prophet

Muhammad sent for Hamza RA, ʻAlī RA and Ubayda RA and sent for battle despite of knowing the

strength of soldiers of Mecca. However when he announced the compulsion of Zakāt (obligatory

charity) [which is a fundamental pillar of Islam which will remain intact till the Day of Judgment, an

eternal and universal institution and a ceaseless source of income]; he forbade Banū Hāshim from

getting benefits from it and did not fix any part for them. However when he announced the

forbiddance of interest; then initiated it from his paternal uncle Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib.[The

Religion of Islam and the Two Opposite Pictures of Initial Muslims, Chapter: On the front lines in

dangers: Farthest in profit]

Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that this is the character of the prophets on the basis of which

the truthfulness of prophets is decided. On the other hand if one looks at the offspring of

false claimants of prophet hood then he comes to know that they are actually thriving on the

wealth provided by the followers of their grandparents.

Assignments 1. What was the matter of disagreement between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ on

the issue of Garden of Fadak? What were the arguments of both of them?

2. Describe two arguments each in support of the legitimacy and opposition of wailing.

3. Isn’t wailing opposite to the teachings of patience? What is the viewpoint of Ahl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ on this issue?

4. Search a video of a procession of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ taken in Muharram-ul- Ḥarām and

describe the methods of mourning and wailing which are found among them.


100 Module: CS01


It is an unbalanced attitude to remain indulged in the minor disputes of religion and neglect the

fundamental commandments.


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Chapter 9: The Sub-Sects of Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ We will analyze the sub-sects of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in this chapter and evaluate the differences

between their viewpoints in different issues.

The process of separation and division between Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ started in the initial centuries.

The fundamental reason behind this process was the concept of Imāmah (Imamate). As you

have studied that the concept of Imāmah (Imamate) is one of the fundamentals beliefs of

religion which states that Allah Almighty appoints someone on the position of Imāmah

(Imamate) from the decedents of ʻAlī RAwho directly receivesdirections form Allah Almighty

and guides people.

Now the question arises; how to appoint an Imām? Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ are of the view that this

appointment is made by Allah Almighty and no one else can make this appointment. The Imām

himself announces his successor before his death after receiving guidance from Allah Almighty.

There happened several times in the history that disputes arose on the dissemination of this

information which resulted in the appointments of two Imāms at the same time. Therefore as a

result of this situation; the followers of both of them took the form of permanent sects. Here

we present the details of these sects from the book “Tareekh Shīʿahan-e-ʻAlī RA (The history of

Shīʿahan-e-ʻAlī RA)” described under the title of “Maslak-e-Imāmia Kay Zaili Firqay (The sub-

sects of Imāmia Creed)” written by ʻAlī Husain Rizwi.


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The very first difference in this regard originated from the offspring of ʻAlī RA. He had two sons

Hassan RA and Husain RA from Syeda Fatime RA; who are unanimously considered the second

and the third Imāms by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. ʻAlī RA also had many sons from other wives. The

leadership of the offspring of ʻAlī RA was assumed by Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (16-

81/637-700) after the incident of Karbalā’. He acceded to the government of Banū Umayya and

stopped his elder brother Husain RA from going to Karbalā’. His Imāmah (Imamate) was

announced by his freed slave Kaysan who later accepted his son Abu Al-Hāshim as Imām after

him. This sect came to be known as The Kaysanites which was later absorbed in the movement

of Banū Abbas. It is also stated that Abu Al-Hāshim used to invite people to the Imāmah

(Imamate) of Banū Fatima (i.e. the offspring of ʻAlī RA from Syeda Fatima RA).

The second sect was Zaidiyyah. Ali ibn Husain (38-95/659-712) who is famous with the title of

Zayn al-'Abidin; is considered the fourth Imām. He had acceded to the government of Banū

Umayya. After his death, a dispute arose whether the Imāmah (Imamate) should be transferred

to his son Zaid (75-122/695-740) or Muhammad Baqir (57-114/676-733). The followers of Zaid

are known as Zaidiyyah. This Shīʿah school of thought is closest to Ahl-us-Suṉnah among all

other Shīʿah schools of thought. They are in majority in Yemen at present and they constitute

40-50% of the total population. Moreover they are also present in Oman and Saudi Arabia in

minority.

The third sect was of Abbasids who were the descendants from the paternal uncle of Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , Abbas RA (566-654/32H). Initially they took the oath of

allegiance to Nafs Al-Zakiyya (d. 144/762), announced the caliphate of Banū Fatima and

revolted against Banū Umayya. This revolt was successful and it brought Banū Abbas in power.

However after assuming power they announced their own caliphate rather than that of Banū

Fatima. Most of them belonged to Ahl-us-Suṉnah but some people consider them among Ahl-

ut-Tashayyu’ for the reason that they supported Banū Fatima. It is stated about Abbasid caliph

Maʾmūn Rashid that he appointed Reza ibn Musa Al-Kazim (153-203/765-818) the eighth Imām

of Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم)as the caliph; however he died before

Maʾmūn.

The fourth sect was of Ismāʿīlīs which was formed after the death of Imām Ja'afar As-Sadiq (83-

148/702-765). He had two sons: The elder was Ismāʿīl (103-138/720-755) and the younger was

Musa Al-Kazim (128-183/745-799). Ismāʿīl died in the life of his father Imām Ja'afar As-Sadiq.

After that one group embraced the Imāmah (Imamate) of Musa Al-Kazim whereas the other

group embraced the Imāmah (Imamate) Muhammad son of Ismāʿīl. This second group came to

be known as Ismāʿīlīs. This group is still present. They are further divided into two factions: one

is known as Bohris and the other is known as Agha Khanis. Bohris mostly reside in Maharashtra


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and Gujarat provinces of India and in Karachi in Pakistan. Agha Khanis are present in all parts of

the world. They constitute the majority of population in the Northern parts of Pakistan

including Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu. A branch of Ismāʿīlīs in Lebanon is known as Daruz and

another branch of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which is known as ʻAlvīs largely exists in Turkey, Syria and

Lebanon.

A Shīʿah historian ʻAlī Husain Rizwi writes:

The fundamental reason behind the emergence of these sects was the desire of power. However there

was no permission of using sword in the divine manifesto of Imāmah (Imamate)which was put forth by

the righteous aide of Holy Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى but cruelties against the family of Holy Prophet الله عليه صلى

,never stopped. It resulted in the scenario, which compelled the youth to take swords in their hands وسلم

look for permission from their elders and on being unable to get any encouragement from their elders in

this situation their inner annoyance did not let them live in peace.[ʻAlī Husain Rizwi;Tareekh Shīʿahan-e-

ʻAlī RA (The history of Shīʿahan-e-ʻAlī RA); Page 54]

The main issue with these schools of thoughts is that their own books are not available and

most of the available material is that which has been associated with them by their adversaries.

It is not appropriate to present this material because it has been the practice of the opponents

to pick up the material which can be used to defame the other group. Here we will try to

present the material extracted from the authentic books of that particular school of thought or

that which has been presented by some neutral source such as non-Muslim orientalist. Now we

present a chart which describes different sects and aʼimmah (the plural of Imām) of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. The detail is listed below:


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Courtesy: Wikipedia.org

Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) The largest sect ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ is Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers). They believe in twelve

aʼimmah (the plural of Imām). We have been presenting the detail of this very sect in this book.

In this chapter; instead of Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers), we will study the details of other

sects ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ and their differences with Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers).

Zaidiyyah

This sect exists at present and they live in majority in Yemen. Moreover they also live in Oman.

This sect is closest to Ahl-us-Suṉnah among all the sub-sects ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’. Zaidis are close


105 Module: CS01

to Mu’tazila school of thought among different Kalami schools of thought of the mediaeval era.

Here we are presenting their viewpoint from the book “Al-Zaidiyyah” which was written by an

eminent Zaidi scholar Ibad Ibn Sahib (326-385/937-995) in the fourth century.

The beliefs of Zaidis

Zaidis believe that Imāmah (Imamate) is a position which must be granted to the most eminent

person of the Ummah. They believe that ʻAlī RA was the most eminent of all the Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) therefore it was his right to secure that position.

However they are of the view that this particular position can be given to someone else other

than that most eminent person for the reason which is termed as 'Illat by them. Therefore on

the basis of this argument they believe that the caliphate of Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA and Uthman

RA was rightful because ʻAlī RA also acceded to their caliphate. Zaidis believe that ʻAlī RA was

succeeded by Hassan RA, Husain and his son ʻAlī RA Zayn al-'Abidin (38-95/659-712) as Imāms.

They further believe that instead of Muhammad Baqir (57-114/676-733) his brother Zaid ibn

ʻAlī (75-122/695-740) was the next Imām and are therefore known as Zaidis with this reference.

In this way; Zaidis believe in the first four Imāms of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ but part their ways with

them from the fifth Imām; however they pay respect to other Imāms ofIthnā‘asharis (The

Twelvers). Similarly Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) pay respect to Imām

Zaid ibn ʻAlī.

Contrary to Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers), Zaidis believe that it is not necessary for an Imām

to be infallible. They are of the view that Imāmah (Imamate) is not transferred in inheritance

rather it is proved by the arguments of sharīʿah (the moral code and religious law of Islam). ʻAlī

was granted the position of Imāmah (Imamate) because Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى

made a will in his favor. If there does not exist any argument of sharīʿah (the moral code and

religious law of Islam) in favor of a person to be the appointed on the position of Imāmah

(Imamate) then Imāmah (Imamate) cab be established by Da‘wah (Invitation). This procedure

dictates that the person in whose personality all the attributes of Imāmah (Imamate) are

accumulated should give the Da‘wah (Invitation) of his Imāmah (Imamate). This will establish

his Imāmah (Imamate). The attributes of Imāmah (Imamate) include that Imām should be a

sagacious, adult, Muslims male who should have knowledge of the political affairs. He should

be just, brave, equable and generous and should have high respect in the society. He should be

the one who spends the wealth of government on right cause and should be free from the

physical and mental defects such as blindness or irrational fears. There can be only one Imām at

one time. It is mandatory for a person to get prepared for the help and assistance of Imām who

receives his message. Zaidis do not believe in the belief of disappeared Imām and are of the

view that Imām should be alive and present. [Ibad Ibn Sahib; Zaidiyyah]


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The Zaidis are close to Hanafi school of thought of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in the matters of Fiqh

(Islamic Jurisprudence).

The History of Zaidis

Zaid ibn ʻAlī (75-122/695-740) revolted against Banū Umayya and died in this effort. He was not

the son of ʻAlī RA rather he was his great grandson. He was the son of ʻAlī Zayn al-'Abidin. The

preachers of Zaidi school of thought continued to work and eventually their two governments

were established in 3rd century AH or in 9th century AD. One government was established in

Tabristan which is situated in the South of Caspian Sea in present day Northern Iran and the

second was established in Yemen.These governments were known as Imamate. The Imamate in

Tabristan remained established till 6th century AH or 12th century AD and then suffered

downfall. After this most of the Zaidis here were absorbed in the Ithnā‘ashari (The

Twelvers)Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

The Zaidi Imamate in Yemen was established in 890 and remained there till 1595. The Ottoman

Empire of Turkey captured Yemen after this; however Zaidis continued to revolt against them

and ousted them in 1635. Their government remained established there after this for about

200 years. In 1872 the Ottomans once again captured Yemen and annexed it as a province

which remained a part of Ottoman Empire till the First World War. Then Yemen was liberated

and declared the Zaidi Imamate. This sequence continued till 1962 when it was declared a

Socialist Republic after government was dethroned as a result of army take over. The position

of Zaidi Imamate is vacant from that time. [Wikipedia: "Zaidiyya"]

Nizāri or Agha Khani Ismāʿīlīs The third largest sect (second largest according to some) of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ which exists to

date is known as Ismāʿīlīya. They associate themselves with Ismāʿīl (103-138/721-755) son of

Imām Ja'afar As-Sadiq (83-148/702-765) who died in the life of Imām Ja'afar As-Sadiq. Ismāʿīlīs

are of the view that he did not die rather Imām Ja'afar As-Sadiq hid him for the fear of Abbasi

kings and started a secret mission of preaching by him. Therefore they believe in six Imāms of

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. They are of the view that Imāmah (Imamate) is transferred from father to son

and not to brother. Hence after the demise of Ismāʿīl; Imāmah (Imamate) was transferred to his

son Muhammad Ibn Ismāʿīl and not to his brother Musa Al-Kazim (128-183/745-799). This

group of Ismāʿīlis was later divided into a number of different sects. The two of their sects

namely “Qaramita” and “Batiniya” became much famous in history but later ended with the


107 Module: CS01

passage of time. There are found three important sects of Ismāʿīlis at present which are known

as Khojas or Agha Khanis, Bohris and Daruz.

Completely contrary to Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers); all the sects of Ismāʿīlis are of covert

nature. They conceal their religion and do not publicize their books. This does not mean that

other people are not allowed to embrace their religion rather they organize secret preaching of

their religion at a wide scale. The books about different sects of Ismāʿīlis are very much scarce.

Most of the books available in this regard are written by their opponents and it is very difficult

to authenticate the information presented in those books. Their opponents have associated a

number of illusions and false information with them. It is not appropriate to discuss them here

because they are far from reality.

We have availed a book “Introduction to Ismailism” written by an Ismāʿīli scholar of Lebanon Dr.

Sheikh Hadhar Hamwi (b. 1929) on their website www.ismaili.net. We are presenting their

viewpoint on the basis of this book. Moreover some information has been presented by Sheikh

Muhammad Ikraam in his book “Aab-e-Kausar.” The information about the history of preaching

by Ismāʿīlis can be found in the book “The Preaching of Islam” written by a famous orientalist

T.W. Arnold. Here we present a summary of this available material.

The fundamental beliefs and practices of Ismāʿīlis:

The difference of opinion regarding the personality of Imām is not the only difference between

Ismāʿīlis andIthnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) instead there are some issues in which there exist

differences of fundamental nature. Some details are presented below:

Ismāʿīlis maintain firm belief in Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty), Holy

Qurān, Hadīṯh and Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). They are of the view that explanaZon and

elaboration of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) is the responsibility of “Current Imām” who

possesses the mandate to abolish the commandments of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). Some

Ismāʿīlis maintain the belief of Incarnation according to which they believe that God incarnates

in the “Current Imām.” As a result of this belief the Imām is revered and respected to the same

level which is maintained by Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ithnā‘ashari (The Twelvers)Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ for

Allah Almighty. Many of the Ismāʿīlis grant “Current Imām” the status, equal to a prophet or

some less than that. All the Ismāʿīlis agree on the point that the “Current Imām” reflects the

authority of Allah Almighty on earth who is the final authority in this regard. The constitution of

Ismāʿīlis also grants this infinite authority which is present on the website www.ismaili.net. This

is the reason they request the “Current Imām” for prayers. The final prayer of their day states:

“O Divine Light Maulna Shah Karim Al-Husaini! The Current Imām! Resolve the difficulties of this

entire congregation. Forgive the sins of this entire congregation.”


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Agha Khanis and Daruz are of the view that the Imām of the time holds the authority to abolish

Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life). No book is needed for guidance to the right path instead the

guidance of the current alive Imām is the real guidance. Their statements are Sharīʿah (Islamic

code of life). Whereas contrary to this; the Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life) pracZced by other

Muslims is held by Bohris to a large extent. They do not offer prayer rather they make

supplications in a particular style for which ablution is not considered mandatory. They keep

fast on Friday or on the day when new moon is sighted. They offer 12.5% of their total income

to Agha Khan rather than paying Zakāt (Obligatory charity). The pilgrimage to the Imām is

considered substitute of Hajj (Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) by them. The “Current Imām” is

considered the spiritual father of his community; therefore he does not marry within his own

community and always marries outside of his community. The Ismāʿīli scholar Dr. Sheikh

Hadhar Hamwi states:

The practice of an Ismāʿīli comprises of four stages:

1. Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life): This is the law.

2. Ṭarīqah (The Way): this is the road map.

3. Ḥaqīqah (Ultimate Truth): this is the reality.

4. Marifa (The Understanding): this is the knowledge.

There are two aspects of Sharīʿah (Islamic code of life): the first is Islam. i.e. to give up oneself

and the second is to embrace faith in Imām. There are three aspects of Ṭarīqah (The Way):

Conformation, Preaching and Oath of allegiance. There are two aspects of Ḥaqīqah (Ultimate

Truth): Trustworthiness and Tawḥīd (The doctrine of Oneness of Allah Almighty). All these

aspects are the part of those supplications which are made by Ismāʿīlis of the entire world.

[Khodr Hamawi, Introduction to Ismailism, www.ismailiya.net]

Ismāʿīlis actively take part in social welfare activities related with their own community. The

details of these social welfare works are available on their websites.

The history of Ismāʿīlis

Ismāʿīlis have remained more active in the field of preaching then Ahl-us-Suṉnah and

Ithnā‘ashari (The Twelvers)Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in the first intiall centuries. They speedily spread

the scope of their secret preaching. There emerged a dispute on the appointment of the

successor of their Imām Mustanṣir bi-llāh (428-487/10361095) in the fifth century. One group

embraced his son Nizār as the Imām and came to be known as Nizāris. Another group embraced

the Imāmah (Imamate) of his second son Mustā‘lī b’il-Lāh and adopted the title of Mustā‘līwiya.

Their detail will be presented in the next section.


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Hassan-ibn Sabbāh (c. 441-517/1050-1124) was the personality who organized Nizāris and was

known as “Sheikh Al-Jabal.” He established his center in the castle of Alamut in Northern Iran in

483/1090 and titled his followers as “The Batiniya”. The Batiniya maintained the viewpoint that

every word of Holy Qurān had two meanings i.e. the covert meaning and the overt meaning.

The meanings of the words of Holy Qurān which are described by scholars are the overt

meanings whereas the covert meanings are defined by the Imām of time. For instance the overt

meaning of Ṣalāh is “prayer”; whereas the covert meaning is “the pilgrimage to Imām”. In the

same way the overt meaning of Sawm is “to keep fast”; whereas the covert meaning is “to stop

oneself from the things which are forbidden by Imām”. Therefore in this fashion they invented

an entire system of covert meanings.

Hassan-ibn Sabbāh gained repute because of his suicide attackers who were known as

Ḥashshāshīn and the English word “Assassin” has been derived from this phrase. They used to

sacrifice their lives on the orders of their Imām because they had the belief to enter in paradise

in return of their sacrifice. They used to commit suicide after killing their target. It is stated that

Hassan-ibn Sabbāh used to make them experience a trip to paradise after making them

addicted to bhang and by hypnotism. They remained a threat for Seljuk Empire which was a

companion state of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and a number of emperors were targeted by Ḥashshāshīn.

History also finds the traces of their attack on Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Ayyūb (reign 569-589/1174-1193).

[Wikipedia: Batiniyya]

Another sect of Nizāris was “Qaramita” who established their government in Bahrain and Al-

Aḥsāʾ and consistently conZnued to bagle against Abbasi Sultanate of Baghdad. They

culminated to pinnacle of their glory in the fourth century. They attacked Mecca in 318/930,

dismantled Al-Ḥajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone), took it with them and returned it back after

several years. A group of them established their government in Sindh (which comprised of

present day Sindh and a large part of Punjab) and set up their center in Multan. This

government was ended by the attacks of Sultan Maḥmūd Ghaznavi (reign 387-421/997-1030)

and this Qaramiti sect was finished gradually in sub-continent. After this their followers were

absorbed in Ahl-us-Suṉnah or Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers).

The Nizāri rule in Iran was brought to an end by Tatars in 654/1256. These people remained in

Iran after this and their preaching centers continued to change. The process of sect formation

continued in them and they were finally divided into two groups namely: Qasim Shahi and

Muhammad Shahi. They set India the target of their preaching and their two large centers were

established here. One of them was established in Gujarat province and the second was set up in

the Northern areas. Professor Arnold is of the view that the preachers in Gujarat prepared a

collection of their teachings by a combination of Islam and Hinduism which is known as

“Ginan”. The other preachers of NizāriIsmāʿīlis focused on the Northern areas of sub-continent


110 Module: CS01

as the center of their preaching as a result of which their teachings were disseminated to Gilgit,

Chitral, Hunza, Skardu and the Xinjiang province of China. A large faction of the society of these

areas belongs to Ismāʿīli sect.

The 46thImām of Qasim Shahis, Imām Hassan ʻAlī Shah (1804-1881)- who is known as Agha Khan

I- revolted against the Qajar King of Iran in 1842 which failed. They headed towards India to

escape from the anger of the king and set up their center in Mumbai. They later spread their

teachings to Europe. He served Royal British Army for some time. Sultan Muhammad Shah

(1877-1957) was his grandson who was known as Agha Khan III. He was one of the founding

members of All India Muslim League in 1906. The Ismāʿīli community was structured in the first

half of twentieth century and its various branches were set up and ordered in Europe and East

Africa. Ismāʿīlis celebrated Silver, Golden and Platinum jubilees in his period in which Agha Khan

was weighed against Silver, Golden, Diamonds and Platinum. This was an expression of

veneration from Ismāʿīlis for their Imām. This wealth was given to various welfare organizations

under the banner of Agha Khan Foundation. [Wikipedia: Aga Khan III]

The current Agha Khan IV (b. 1936) lives in his splendid castle near Paris and guides his

followers from here who are spread in the entire world. He maintains warm relations with big

political powers of the world and Agha Khani community has made tremendous progress in

different regions of the world in his period. The golden jubilee of his Imāmah (Imamate) was

celebrated in 2007. [Wikipedia: Aga Khan IV]

Mustā‘līvi Ismāʿīliyyah: Bohris

Ismāʿīlis had gained power in Northern Africa before their division in Nizāris and Mustā‘līvis.

They established their rule in Tunisia in 296/9090 which gradually spread to current day Libya

and Egypt. It was known as Fatimid Caliphate (296-566/909-1171). It remained established in

those areas and its splendor and magnificence was comparable in to the Abbasi Sultanate in

Baghdad and Umayyad Sultanate in Spain. As their government was mostly established on the

Sunni masses; therefore they adopted a number of practices of Ahl-us-Suṉnah and practiced

sharīʿah (the moral code and religious law of Islam). A dispute emerged on the appointment of

successor of their Imām Mustanṣir bi-llāh (419-486/1029-1094). One group believed that Nizār

(436-489/1045-1097) was his successor; hence this group was separated in the form Nizāri sect.

You have studied the detail of this sect above. The second group embraced Mustā‘lī b’il-Lāh (d.

493/1101) as Imām and were known as Mustā‘līvis. They ruled on Egypt and the famous Jāmiʻat

al-Azhar was also established by them. They remained indulged in warfare with Abbasi

Sultanate and other emperors. The Fatimid Caliphate was eventually brought to an end by

Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Ayyūb (reign: 569-589/1174-1193) in 566/1171. [Wikipedia: Mustali]


111 Module: CS01

The Mustā‘līviIsmāʿīlis scattered after the end of their caliphate. As the preaching mission is

kept secret by them; hence it happened several times that after the death of one Imām,

disputes emerged between his sons on the issue of Imāmah (Imamate). This situation resulted

in the division of their followers. The process of continuous division sustained and as a result

there are a number of groups of Ismāʿīlis at present. One group of Mustā‘līviIsmāʿīlis left Egypt

and set up the center of their preaching in Lebanon. They are known as Daruz. They still live in

Lebanon and Syria in a large number. Their detail will be presented in the next section.

Their second group established their center of preaching in Yemen in 567/1172 and entered

sub-continent from here via sea route where they came to be known as Bohris. Bohris believe

that their Imām Tayyab was disappeared in 546/1151 which is known as Occultation by them.

The institution of “Preachers” was established after Imām. Therefore now they have Preachers

rather than Imāms.It is believed about those Preachers that they directly receive guidance from

disappeared Imām and lead people. They are also further divided into a number of groups on

the issue of appointment of Preachers and Dawwodi Bohris are the most famous among those

groups. Their current preacher is Muhammad Burhan Ud-Din (b. 1915) who is at number 52 on

the list of preachers. Their center was transferred from Yemen to Gujarat province in sub-

continent in 974/1567. Their large community lives in Gujarat and Maharashtra in India and

Karachi in Pakistan at present. Besides this; large population of Bohris is also present in East

Africa and Yemen.

Bohris maintain the viewpoint that there are seven fundamental pillars of Islam which include:

Walāyah, Ṭaharah (Purification), Ṣalāh (Prayer), Sawm (Fasting), Zakāt (Obligatory charity), Hajj

(Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and Jihad (Sacred struggle or Holy War in the way of Allah

Almighty). They also proclaim the Walāyah of ʻAlī RA and his status of being Khalipha Bila-Fasal

and Wasi-ur-Rasool in KalimaShahādahandAdhān (Call for Prayer). [Wikipedia: Dawoodi Bohra]

A large number of Bohris joined Ahl-us-Suṉnah during the period of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq

(751-790/1351-1388). They came to be known as Sunni Bohris and followed Hanafi school of

thought of Ahl us Suṉnah. In the modern era a progressive movement has started among Bohris

which aims at eradicating the religious stagnation. The famous liberal scholar of India Asghar

ʻAlī RA Engineer (b. 1939) is also included among those Bohris who have revolted against their

own sect.

Mustā‘līvi Ismāʿīlis: Daruz

Daruz is the sect of Ismāʿīlis which has probably gone far away from mainstream Muslims than

any other sect despite of the fact that other Ismāʿīli sects such as Bohris have kept themselves

close to mainstream Sunni and Shīʿah sects. Daruz were mainly inspired by the ChrisZan sect


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Gnosticism and they adopted a number of their beliefs. Gnosticism is inspired by Greek

Philosophy therefore Daruz adopted the Greek Philosophy to the extent that they embraced

Plato as a prophet. They believe that Allah Almighty incarnated in Caliph Al- Ḥākim because of

which he disappeared in 411/1021.

Daruz believe that Holy Qurān is a sacred book; however, they are of the view that the words

portray only an apparent meaning. They believe that the words of Holy Qurān have some

covert meanings. They possess their own sacred book which is known as “Kitab Al-Hikma (Book

of Wisdom)”. Daruz also believe in the concept of Reincarnation or Metempsychosis similar too

Hindus which infers that they maintain the belief that soul leaves a body and enters into

another body after death. They are of the view that in this way human soul goes to Allah

Almighty after completing a number of life cycles. This is the Paradise according to their beliefs.

There exist two classes of Daruz sect: Ùqqāl (The Wise) and Juhhāl (The Ignorant). Juhhāl (The

Ignorant) - the plural ofJāhil- refers to common people; they are not allowed to read religious

books. This right is reserved only for Ùqqāl (The Wise) – the plural of Aāqil- who are the

religious leaders of Daruz. 50 Ùqqāl (The Wise) among them are selected to form a body which

is known as Ajawīd. They act as the leaders of their community. Daruz usually do not act upon

the commandments of Ṣalāh (Prayer), Sawm (Fasting), Zakāt (Obligatory charity) and Hajj

(Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) instead they consider their congregations equal to worship. Their

congregations are held on Thursday. [Druze (Muwahidoon).

http://www.druze.org.au/religion/index.htm (accessed 3 Oct 2011)]

Daruz keep their issues secret. They do not admit any outsider in their community. Their center

is set up in Jabal Al-Daruz in Syria. Their community lives in a large number in Syria and

Lebanon. They also live in Jordan and Egypt. They have vibrant communities in Australia and

America.

ʻAlvīs

ʻAlvī is a sect of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. It is difficult to ascertain about them whether they belong to

Ismāʿīli group or Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) because they hide their beliefs and no

information is available about them. They form the largest minority in Syria where the ruling

family also belongs to ʻAlvī sect. Moreover they are also present Lebanon and Turkey in a large

number. It is stated about the ʻAlvīs of Lebanon that they maintain the same beliefs as that of

Ithnā‘ashari (The Twelvers) Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. This is the reason that ImāmMūsá aṣ-Ṣadr (1928-

1978) ofAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ has declared them Shīʿahs. [Hassan Mahdi Al-Shirazi (1972); [Al-

Muslimūn Al-ʻAlvīwyun; (accessed 3 Oct 2011) http://www.freemoslem.com/showthread.php?t=222]


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It is said about the ʻAlvīs of Turkey that they maintain different belief as compared to Ahl-us-

Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and they are inspired from the Bektashi order of Ṣūfīs. Their

beliefs are a combination of the beliefs of Ahl us Suṉnah, Christians, Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and

Batinya; however it could not be authenticated from their own sources.

Assignments 1. What is the main reason of real and fundamental disagreement between sub-sects of

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’?

2. Describe the main reasons of division of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in different sects.


It is called sanctimony to perform virtues in order to impress others. Such deeds are not

accepted in the court of Allah Almighty.


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Chapter 10: The Political and

Social aspects of the History of

Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ maintain a somewhat similar history of their mutual

interaction. Sometimes they proclaimed the slogans of “Unity between Muslims” whereas at

other times their mutual disputes went beyond scholastic limits and turned into public chaos.

Sometimes it happened that both of these groups lived together in the same place for centuries

whereas at other times the political wars were established on the grounds of sectarian

differences. Besides this both the groups influenced each other in the fields of knowledge,

beliefs, rituals and rites.

In the history; Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ usually liked to perform the role of opposition to the rulers.

There were witnessed a number of movements from Banū Hāshim during the 90 years long

period of Banū Umayya in which not onlyAhl-ut-Tashayyu’ but also a number of Ahl-us-Suṉnah

sided with them. There was not found much difference between the beliefs of these two

groups at that time. Common Muslims liked the role of elders of Banū Hāshim and sided with


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them in comparison with the corrupt rulers of Banū Umayya. The revolts of Zaid son of Zayn al-

'Abidin (75-122/695-740) and Nafs Al-Zakiyya; the great grandson of Hassan RA (d. 144/762) are

more significant.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ usually stood with Banū Abbas (132-918/750-1513)when they launched a

great movement to oust Banū Umayya from power. This movement was successful and the rule

of Banū Umayya came to an end. After this;Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ who were looking for the rule of

aʼimmah Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet وسلمصلى الله عليه ) strongly opposed Banū Abbas after

they assumed power. However, some groups of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ such as Buyids (322-447/934-

1055) joined Abbasids in power and practically administered the affairs of the government.

It happened two times in the history when Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ assumed complete control on

different areas. First time they got power in Northern Africa in the form of Fatimid Caliphate

(296-566/909-1171). This was the rule established by Mustā‘līvi group of Ismāʿīli sect of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’. Cairo was founded and the famous Jāmiʻat al-Azhar university was established in the

same period. Later, the Sunni conqueror Sultann Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Ayyūbbrought this government

to end. Second time was that when Ithnā‘ashariyyah (The Twelvers) group gained power in Iran

during the period of Safavid dynasty (906-1148/1501-1736). Iran was a Sunni majority country

before this where great Sunni scholars such as Imām Ghazālī (450-505/1058-1111) and Fakhr

Ad-Din Ra-Razi (543-606/1148-1209) were born. Iran was converted to a Shīʿah majority

country during the period of Safavid dynasty. Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that the people in

Iran were forced to convert to Shīʿahs and those who did not convert their sect were forced to

leave the country. There were two great empires ofAhl-us-Suṉnah on both sides of Safavid

Empire; there was Mughal Empire of India in the East and Ottoman Empire of Turkey in the

West. Safavid Empire maintained good relations with the former but faced the second empire

in battlefields many times. After this the Sunni rulers of Qajar household (1732-1925) ruled in

Iran for a small period of time.

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ had a great deal of interference in the affairs of sub-continent during the

period of Mughals. When Humayun (1508-1556) was ousted from power in India by Sher Shah

Suri (1486-1545) the he sought help from the Safavid Empire of Iran and returned back to

power with their help. This resulted in increased interference of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in the affairs

of sub-continent and their empire was established in Northern India i.e. Deccan. The Shīʿah

viewpoint culminated to its climax during the period of Jahangir the grandson of Humayun

because the queen Noor Jahan of Jahangir was Shīʿah and the affairs of the government were

practically controlled by her.

History has witnessed such period during which one group religiously persecuted the other

group. At one hand Shīʿahs claim that they were persecuted during the periods of Banū


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Umayya, Banū Abbas, Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire and especially during the period of

Aurangzaib Alamgir; whereas, on the other hand Sunnis assert that atrocities were committed

against them and they were forced to convert to Shīʿahs during the periods of Fatimid Caliphate

in Egypt and Safavid Empire in Iran. In present era Shīʿahs claim that they are being treated with

cruelty wherever they are present in minority. In the similar way Sunnis living in Iran claim the

same that they are leading a poor life there and they do not have a single mosque in Tehran

despite of their 100,0000 Sunni population.

The Impacts of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ on Ahl us

Suṉnah

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ have remained more active in the fields of fine arts such as poetry, music,

dramas and movies as result of which they have left rich impacts on Ahl us Suṉnah. The great

poets of Urdu language for example Ghalib, Meer Anees etc. all are Shīʿahs. The impacts of

Shīʿah beliefs on Ahl-us-Suṉnah because of their historical mutual interactions can be

experienced at present. For instance many Sunnis also perform the rituals of the Day of

ʻĀshūrā’ in Muharram-ul- Ḥarām and participate in the congregations of Muharram-ul- Ḥarām.

Some Sunnis organize their own congregations in which their orators refresh the memories of

the incident ofKarbalā’ in an emotional manner. Some Sunnis offer charity in clay pots in the

month of Rajab which is considered a pure Shīʿah ritual.

It can be stated that the rituals of Ahl-us-Suṉnah on the day of martyrdom of Husain RA are not

inspired from Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’; rather the reason behind them is that Ahl-us-Suṉnah believe

Husain RA of having highly eminent personality. If it is accepted then the question arises that

why Ahl-us-Suṉnah do not perform theses rituals on the days of martyrdom of righteous caliphs

Umar RA and Uthman RA?

The second impact of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ can be observed in case of shrines and pilgrimages to

the shrines. We find no trace of glorious buildings on graves or even cemented graves during

the period of prophet hood of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and his Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). A recent research reveals that the glorious shrines of

aʼimmah Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم) were first built in the fourth century

AH by Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and they made these shrines the centers of their pilgrimages and

reverence. This situation also influenced Ahl-us-Suṉnah in the form that they also started


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building glorious shrines of the elders of religion and started pilgrimages to these shrines.

[Muhammad Uzair Shams; Muqaddama Ziarat Qabar-e-Nabvi, Page 15]We will study more detail of

this subject in the next chapter.

The major influence of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ can be witnessed in the history books of Ahl us

Suṉnah. Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ were not separated as a distinct sect during the first two centuries

rather they were only a political party. All the Muslims used to offer prayers and live together.

A good number of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ took interest in the field of history and some great scholars

of history were born among them during the first period of compilation of history because they

viewed history from a particular angle. A Sunni scholar Ibn Jarir Al-Tabari (224-310/838-922)

has listed the historical narrations described by them in his book. The Sunni historians of later

periods used his book as a source for their own books which resulted in the scenario in which

the narrations of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ entered the books of Ahl us Suṉnah. Many of the Sunni

scholars such as Ibn Taīmiyāh (661-728/1263-1327), Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindī (971-1034/1564-

1624), Shāh Walīullāh (1703-1762) and Shah Abdul Aziz (1745-1823) severely criticized those

narrations.

The Impacts of Ahl-us-Suṉnah on Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’

Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ have lived together for centuries; therefore it was

inevitable for them to share mutual influences upon each other. At one hand Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

influenced Ahl-us-Suṉnah and on the other hand Ahl-us-Suṉnah also left their impressions upon

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

The prominent effect of Ahl-us-Suṉnah on Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ that can be witnessed in the

current era is that Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA, Uthman RA and Ayesha RA are remembered with

respect. The old Shīʿah wriZngs contained material of vilificaZon against those personalities;

however, the modern compositions take care of their respect. Even if those personalities are

criticized in some issue; the criticism remains within the boundaries of respect and the

expressions of blasphemy and vilification are not used. The book “Rooh –ul-Islam (Spirit of

Islam)” written by Justice Ameer ʻAlī (1849-1928)is an example of this. Similarly Makrim Shirazi

has also used appropriate language in his Tafsīr (Exegesis of Holy Qurān) of Holy Qurān. It is

stated that Ayatollah Khomeini had issued a religious decree of not vilifying the personalities of

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) for the purpose of unity between the

Muslims; however, Sunni scholars present some of his compositions as evidence in which

blasphemy has been committed against Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).


118 Module: CS01

This particularly includes his Persian book “Kashaf Al-Asrar (Uncovering of Secrets)” whose

chapter “Guftar Shīʿah Dar Baab-e-Imāmah (The Viewpoint of Shīʿah regarding the Issue of

Imāmah)” contains a number of such blasphemies. [Khomeini; Kashaf Al-Asrar (Uncovering of

Secrets) (Arabic Translation); Chapter: Maqala tush- Shīʿah Fi Baab Al- Imāmah; Page 120-126, ac. 4

Sep2012, www.hajr-up.info/download.php?id=1443]

Many of the Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ families have been establishing matrimonial

alliances because of which they have been influenced by the beliefs of each other. This results

in the situation in which the mutual viewpoints of each sect are combined in the next

generations.

Assignments

1. Which sect among Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ has imparted greater impacts on

the social values of other sect? Describe in details.

2. What impacts are imparted by Ahl-us-Suṉnah on Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

on Ahl us Suṉnah?


Love the creatures of Allah Almighty because He himself loves his creatures. Do not harm any human

being or a living thing.


119 Module: CS01

Chapter 11: Khawārij, Ibāḍīs and

Ahl us Suṉnah There emerged three large political groups among Muslims as a result of the incidents which

happened after the martyrdom of Uthman RA. These groups included Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’,

Khawārij and Ahl us Suṉnah. The Khawārij became extinct with the passage of time but Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ and Ahl-us-Suṉnah survived. We have studied the viewpoint of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’

regarding different issues in the previous chapters. You have also studied the viewpoint of

Khawārij about history. In this chapter we will study the viewpoints of Khawārij and Ibāḍī sects

in detail and compare them with the viewpoints of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ and Ahl us Suṉnah.

Although Khawārij have become extinct yet the study of their beliefs and views maintains a

specific importance in the history of Islam which enables us to understand the mutual disputes

of the Muslims in the earlier centuries. Moreover the study of the views of Khawārij also helps

to understand the psychology of Takfīrīs of present day.

The Evolution of Sects during the period of

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه صلى


120 Module: CS01

and Tabaʿīn (the companions of the (وسلم

companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

Islam had spread to the entire Arabian Peninsula at the time of demise of Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . There were some mischievous persons in some tribes who did not

embrace Islam from the cores of their hearts; therefore they renounced Islam soon after the

demise of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى . Many of them were those who had embraced

Musaylimah as a Prophet. Some people refused to pay Zakāt (Obligatory charity) and raised the

standards of revolt against the government. Abu Bakr RA performed Jihad (Sacred struggle or

Holy War in the way of Allah Almighty) against them in association with other Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet عليه وسلمالله صلى ) and all the mischiefs in Arabia were eradicated. Those

who were left behind embraced Islam with sincerity and became a part of Muslims.

The empires of Syria and Iran were conquered during the period of Umar RA and this process

continued till the beginning of the period of Uthman RA. Earlier, Syria, Palestine and Egypt were

ruled by Romans and the masses faced their cruelties. The masses became very happy when

Muslim rule was extended to these areas and they sided with Muslims against Romans.

Muslims also granted them complete religious liberty and treated them well. However; the case

of Iran and Iraq was different because a great empire of Zoroastrians was established here

which was abolished as a result of war against Muslims. The followers of Manichaeism were

also settled here besides Zoroastrians. They had their own philosophy and civilization which

was defeated against Muslims; however, they continued to revolt and hatch conspiracies.

Moreover there was a group of those Arabs who wanted to capture the government and

financial resources of that great empire which was in the process of expansion.

The Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) who were directly trained by Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى had died in a large number till the period of Uthman RA. On

the other hand those who wanted to spread anarchy among the ranks of Muslims were secretly

working. They organized themselves to the extent that they became able to attack the capital

Medina during the last years of Uthman RA. Most of the Muslim army was deployed on the

distant borders at that time. Most of the people of Medina had also gone to perform Hajj

(Annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and male Muslims were small number in Medina. That organized

group of rebels martyred Uthman RA. ʻAlī RA, Talha RA and Zubair RA tried to protect the

oppressed caliph by their sons but the rebels had decisive power. You have already studied all

these details.


121 Module: CS01

The rebels took the oath of allegiance to ʻAlī RA after the martyrdom of Uthman RA. Other

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) also took the oath of allegiance to him

but Talha RA and Zubair RA left Medina for Mecca. They travelled to Basra which was a military

cantonment along with Ayesha RA. It was the desire of the rebels to appoint ʻAlī RA as a puppet

caliph and actually assume power by themselves. This is the reason that a large group of

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) demanded ʻAlī RA to take Qiṣāṣ

(Retaliation in kind or revenge) from the assassins of Uthman RA so that their conspiracies

could be foiled. On the other hand ʻAlī RA was of the view that some time should be given to

consolidate the government first and then take Qiṣāṣ (Retaliation in kind or revenge).

ʻAlī RA reached Basra accompanied by an army and made dialogues with Ayesha RA, Talha RA

and Zubair RA. All the issues were settled; however, hypocrites and that group of rebels

attacked both armies in the darkness of night. Both of them considered that the other one has

initiated the attack and in this way war started. The war was ended because of the wise

strategy adopted by ʻAlī RA; however considerable loss had occurred till then. This is called The

Battle of Jamal (The Battle of Camel).

A group of rebels was working as the fifth columnist in Syria. They gave air to such rumors in

Syria which created the environment that ʻAlī RA was just a puppet caliph and the actual power

was held by the assassins of Uthma RA. This is the reason that Mu‘āwīyya RA the governor of

Syria announced that the oath of allegiance to ʻAlī RA will not be taken until he takes Qiṣāṣ

(Retaliation in kind or revenge) from the assassins of Uthman RA. The armies of ʻAlī RA and

Mu‘āwīyya RA faced each other in the battle field. This war is known as The Battle of Siffin. At

one occasion ceasefire took place between the two armies and both of them appointed one

person each as a judge to decide the dispute between them. This incident is known as Incident

of Tahkim in the history. Abu Musa Ash'ari RA from was appointed on behalf of ʻAlī RA andAmr

ibn al-`As RA was appointed on behalf of Mu‘āwīyya RA. However they could not reach any

decision.

On this occasion one group from the army of ʻAlī RA announced that both ʻAlī RA and

Mu‘āwīyya RA had turned heretics [Ma'az Allah (Allah Forbid)] for the reason of appointing judges

hence it was not permitted to take oath of allegiance to both of them. It is obvious that this

group would not have been formed overnight but a comprehensive planning was there behind

its formation. This group came to be known as Khawārij or Khārijite because they had left the

army of ʻAlī RA.

This group of Khawārij gathered at the place of Harawara' in Iraq and started preaching their

viewpoint. It is stated that they were highly reverent and worshipful and strictly acted upon the

commandments of religion such as Ṣalāh (Prayer) and Sawm (Fasting). They were extremists in


122 Module: CS01

the religious affairs, very quick in declaring other Muslims the heretics and frequently used to

issue religious decrees of infidelity against Muslims. Their arguments were based upon the

following verse of Holy Qurān:

خرى فقاqoا

ا �

حداهم ن بغت ا� صلحوا بينهما فا��وا ف

مؤمنين اقتتل

ن طائفتان ال ن وا� فا� J�مر الله�

لى تي تب@ �� ت?ء ا�

�وا ال

تل

مقسطين يحب) ال ن� الله� عدل وJ�قسطوا ا�

صلحوا بينهما �ل

� .فاءت ف

Hence, if two groups of believers fall to fighting, make peace between them; but then, if one of the two (groups) goes on acting wrongfully towards the other, fight against the one that acts wrongfully until it reverts to God's commandment; and if they revert, make peace between them with justice, and deal equitably (with them): for verily, God loves those who act equitably! (49:9)

Khawārij inferred the meaning from this verse that it is mandatory to fight against the group

which revolts and it is not allowed to adopt any other option (than fighting); rather it is

blasphemy (to adopt any other option) because of being against the commandments of Holy

Qurān. It was mandatory for ʻAlī RA to fight against Mu‘āwīyya RA because the later had

revolted against him. As he did not do so; instead appointed two judges to make decision,

therefore he had violated the commandment of Holy Qurān. As a result of that violation he

turned non-believer and heretic. On the contrary ʻAlī RA and Abbas RA were of the view that

the appointment of two judges is in accordance with the commandment of that verse to make

peace and ʻAlī RA did not violate any commandment of Holy Qurān.

Khawārij maintained the viewpoint that violation of even a single commandment of Holy Qurān

was the Major Sin and the one who committed a Major Sin turned non-believer and heretic. On

the contrary;Ahl-us-Suṉnah were of the view that the one who committed Major Sins turned

sinful but not heretic. However Khawārij used to frequently inflict the religious decree of

infidelity upon the Muslims on the basis of their standpoint. It happened several times that they

declared their own leader heretic for the reason of committing some Major Sin. This resulted in

the division of their group in several sects. [Fazal ur Rahman. Revival and Reform in Islam.P 36.

London: One World Publications (2006)]

The information available about Khawārijis derived from thestatements of their opponents

because their own books are not available today; hence it is difficult to state something about

them with complete authenticity. Nevertheless, the available information infers that three

political groups emerged in that period of time: Shīʿaān-e- ʻAlī, Shīʿaān-e- Mu‘āwīyya and

Khawārij. The fourth group was of mainstream Muslims who were known as Ahl us Suṉnah.

Shīʿaān-e- Mu‘āwīyya sided with Mu‘āwīyya RA and other rulers of Banū Umayya. This group

ceased to exist in 132/750 when the rule of Banū Umayya came to an end. The remaining

members of this group went to Spain where they supported the Umayya government. The


123 Module: CS01

supporters of Umayya were later completely ended when this government was also abolished.

On the other hand the Khawārij also ceased to exist with the passage of time; however, Shīʿaān-

e- ʻAlī still exist in the form of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’.

The fundamental disagreement between Khawārij and other common Muslims was on the issue

of Tahkim. They were of the view that ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA turned heretics by appointing

two judges. ʻAlī RA made great efforts to convince the Khawārij and sent the eminent scholar

Abdullah Ibn Abbas RA to them for discussions. However they could not be convinced and he

did not argue with them.The fundamental statement of belief of Khawārij stated “ ”لا حکم الا الله�

(No One has any authority except Allah Almighty). ʻAlī RA stated about this statement, “This

phrase is true which is being used for false purposes.”

After some time Khawārij declared all the Muslims the heretics and also declared it Mubah

(Neither forbidden nor recommended) to kill them or rob their belongings. At this occasion ʻAlī

RA had to take military action against them. A furious battle was fought at Naharwan in which

Khawārij were killed in a large number. They continued to revolt times and again later in the

period of Mu‘āwīyya RA. Moreover they also continued their revolts in the different periods of

Banū Umayya and Banū Abbas and were finished after a few centuries.

In the first 2-3 centuries; Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ continued to denounce Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA,

Uthman RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA. Some of them maintained respect for Abu Bakr RA and Umar RA

but criticized Uthman RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA; and even the extremists committed blasphemies

against those eminent personalities. On the contrary; Khawārij commit blasphemies against ʻAlī

RA, Hassan RA and Husain RA. Ahl-us-Suṉnah adopted the way of respecting and revering all

those personalities and left the issues of their mutual disputes to be decided by Allah Almighty.

The Khawārij were later divided in different sects including: The Azariqa, The Zafariyya and The

Muhakkamah. Another group was later separated from The Muhakkamah which came to be

known as Ibāḍiyyah. This is the only group among Khawārij which exists at present.

Ibāḍiyyah

The sect of Khawārij has become extinct in the world; however, a group still exists whose views

are somewhat similar to that of Khawārij. This is called the Ibāḍiyyah sect which is present in

Oman, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and some areas of East Africa. They are in majority in Oman and

they are currently ruling the country; whereas in other countries they are in minority. People

usually declare them a remnant group of Khawārij; however they themselves strictly deny this.

They are of the view that they are a separate group and do not maintain any relation with


124 Module: CS01

Khawārij. Their critics count them among Khawārij because they criticize the personalities of

both ʻAlī RA and Mu‘āwīyya RA.

Ibāḍīs are also convinced of the fact that Holy Qurān and Suṉnah are the two fundamental

sources of religion. However they maintain differences with mainstream Muslims in some

beliefs and practices. Those fundamental differences are listed below:

Ibāḍīs Ilm Al-Kalām:

Ibāḍīs had maintained the viewpoint similar to Mu’tazila - which was a sect of mediaeval era- in

some issues regarding to beliefs; however, they are of the view that Mu’tazila adopted their

viewpoint because of the reason that Ibāḍiyyah sect is older than Mu’tazila. Here we are

presenting the summary of those disputed issues from the book “Ibāḍiyyah: The Moderate

Islamic Religion” written by an Ibāḍī scholar ʻAlī Yahya Mu'ammar. [ʻAlī Yahya Mu'ammar;

Ibāḍiyyah: The Moderate Islamic Religion, Page 8-9]

• Ibāḍīs do not consider the literal meanings of the verses of Holy Qurān and explain

them in covert meanings in which some affairs regarding Allah Almighty have been

described such as Staying on the Heavens or the Hand of Allah Almighty. For instance

they believe that the Hand of Allah Almighty means His Power. On the other hand Ahl-

us-Suṉnah consider the literal meanings of these verse; however they maintain that

they do not have comprehensive knowledge of that affairs because they did not witness

them. They are however in accordance with the level of personality of Allah Almighty

and we cannot measure those issues on human intellectual.

• Ibāḍīs are of the view that no one will be able to see Allah Almighty even on the Day of

Judgment. On the other hand Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that it will be possible to

see Allah Almighty on the Day of Judgment.

• Ibāḍīs believe that the one admitted to the Hell will remain in it forever. However Ahl-

us-Suṉnah are of the view that sinful believers of faith will be admitted to Hell and later

withdrawn from there after completing their punishment; and will be finally admitted to

Paradise. For this reason Ibāḍīs do not believe in the intercession of Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى for those who died without Tawbah (Repentance on sins).

• Contrary to Khawārij; Ibāḍīs do not declare the committers of Major Sins the heretics

and polytheists rather consider them those who do not remain thankful for the blessings

of Allah Almighty. For this reason they maintain contacts with common Muslims and

consider it legitimate to establish matrimonial relations with them. They also believe

that the animal slaughtered by common Muslims is Ḥalāl (Permissible).


125 Module: CS01

• Ibāḍīs maintain the belief that Holy Qurān is the creature of Allah Almighty. Whereas on

the other hand Ahl-us-Suṉnah are of the view that Holy Qurān is the word of Allah

Almighty and not the creature.

• Ibāḍīs maintain the belief regarding the Meezan (Final Balance) and The Bridge of As-

Sirāt that they are not physical entities. The Meezan (Final Balance) actually means the

difference between good and bad deeds. Whereas on the other hand Ahl-us-Suṉnah

believe that these are physical entities; however, we are not aware of their nature as

they belong to the Day of Judgment and we cannot ascertain their reality.

The Difference between Khawārij and Ibāḍīs

Khawārij maintained the belief regarding the Major Sins that the one who committed them

became heretic and non-believer and he will always remain bound in Hell fire. On the basis of

this viewpoint they declared almost all the Muslims heretics, believed it permissible to kill them

and rob their belongings and also considered it Ḥarām (The Forbidden) to maintain

relationships with them or to establish matrimonial relations with them.

Ibāḍīs differed with them is this issue. They are of the view that the committer of Major Sins

actually exhibits ingratitude for the blessings of Allah Almighty i.e. he becomes the culprit of

being unthankful to Allah Almighty; however he does not become heretic. This is the reason

that Ibāḍīs do not consider other Muslims the non-believers. They believe it permissible to

marry with non- Ibāḍīs. They consider the animal slaughtered by non- Ibāḍīs Ḥalāl (Permissible)

and also believe it permissible to maintain the relations of inheritance with them. However on

the other hand Khawārij consider all the Muslims heretics; therefore they do not consider it

permissible to establish matrimonial relations with them, eat the animal slaughtered by them

and establishment of the relations of inheritance.

Khawārij maintained the viewpoint that it was mandatory to revolt against a cruel ruler no

matter whether one keeps enough power or not. This is the reason that their whole history is

full of revolts and rebellions. On the other hand Ibāḍīs maintained the viewpoint that it is

“Permissible” to revolt against cruel rulers but not “Obligatory”. Contrary to the views of both

of them; the majority of the old Ahl-us-Suṉnah maintained the viewpoint that it is not

permissible to revolt against the ruler even if he is cruel until he openly commits the acts of

non-believers. If he does so then it is allowed to revolt against him provided that Muslims keep

the power of ousting him. However if they do not maintain enough power then the revolt is not

permissible.

Many people declare Ibāḍīs a sect of Khawārij; however they themselves strictly deny this and

declare it a false allegation against them. There is a huge gap between the beliefs of Khawārij

and Ibāḍīs.


126 Module: CS01

The viewpoint of Ibāḍīs regarding History

Ibāḍīs consider Abu Bakr RA and Umar RA the righteous caliphs. They also believe that the

initial six years of the period of Uthman RA were also of righteous caliphate; however, they

criticize the period after that.Some of them consider themselves among the group which

revolted against Uthman RA. They consider the initial days of the period of ʻAlī RAas the days of

righteous caliphate and believe that ʻAlī RA was on the side of truth in the Battles of Jamal (The

Battle of Camel) and Siffin. However they oppose ʻAlī RA on the issue of Tahkim and criticize

him for killing Khawārij in the Battle of Naharwan. For this reason Ibāḍīs are considered a sub-

sect of Khawārij; however they themselves deny this. The Ibāḍī scholars of present day; for

instance Sheikh Abu Ar-Rubay' Sulaiman Al-Bāruni of Libya, Khamees Ibn Rashid Al-Aḍawi,

Sheikh ʻAlī Yahya Al- Mu'ammar have avoided criticizing Uthman RA and ʻAlī RA. [Hoffman, Valerie

J. Ibadi Islam: An Introduction. http://www.uga.edu/islam/ibadis.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011)]

Ibāḍīs embrace Abdullah Ibn Wahab Ar-Raāsbi (d. 38/658) as the fifth righteous caliph who was

appointed as Imām by Khawārij and he was killed in the Battle of Naharwan by combating ʻAlī

RA. They do not consider Mu‘āwīyya RA and the rulers followed by him as the righteous caliphs;

however, they consider Umar ibn Abdul Aziz the just ruler. Ibāḍīs believe their own aʼimmah

(the plural of Imām) the legitimate rulers in which the Rustamid Dynasty (160-296/776-909) of

East Africa.

The viewpoint of Ibāḍīs about Hadīṯh

Ibāḍīs believe in ahadīṯh in principle; however, they deny some of the narrations described in

the books of Ahl us Suṉnah. Moreover they believe in a number of narrations which have been

narrated by Ibāḍī and Khawārij narrators. The Ibāḍī scholar Jabir Ibn Zaid (d. 93/711) is counted

among the great scholars of hadīṯh. The most authentic collection of ahadīṯh according to

Ibāḍīs is “Musnad Rabi' Ibn Habib” which is known as “Al- Jami`a Al- Ṣaḥīḥ” and was compiled

by Rabi' Ibn Habib (d. 180/796) a disciple of Jabir. This collection is more important than

Bukhārī and Muslim according to Ibāḍīs. This collection was compiled by Abu-Yaqub Al-Warjilani

(d. 561/1165) in better order and additions. Most of the ahadīṯh of this collection are similar to

that of the collections of Ahl us Suṉnah; however, disagreement exists regarding some ahadīṯh.

Some of the ahadīṯh accepted by Ahl-us-Suṉnah are declared mawḍūʻ (fabricated)by Ibāḍīs and

in the similar way Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider some of their ahadīṯh mawḍūʻ (fabricated).

The principles of ahadīṯh of Ibāḍīs are compiled by Abu-Yaqub Al-Warjilani which are similar to

that of Ahl us Suṉnah. The difference exists in the fact that Ahl-us-Suṉnah consider all the

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) just and believe that one cannot criticize


127 Module: CS01

them. However Ibāḍīs believe that some Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه صلى

for instance Uthman RA and ʻAlī RA can be criticized. Ibāḍīs also criticize those Ṣaḥabah ;(وسلم

(the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) who sided with ʻAlī RA to fight against Khawārij.

Ahl-us-Suṉnah bracket them with Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ for criticizing Ṣaḥabah (the companions of

the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ). [Hoffman, Valerie J. Ibadi Islam: An Introduction.

http://www.uga.edu/islam/ibadis.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011)]

The scholars of Ahl-us-Suṉnah severely criticize “Musnad Rabi' Ibn Habib” and have declared it

unauthentic. A Saudi scholar Dr. Sa'ad Ibn Abdullah Āal-e-Hamid writes:

This book (“Musnad Rabi' Ibn Habib”) cannot be authentic because:

• Its original manuscript is not available that can be compared with the current version of

the book.

• No information is available about Warjilani. No Sanād (chain of narrators) of this book is

available that can be traced to Warjilani and then the Sanād (chain of narrators) from

Warjilani to Rabi' Ibn Habib is also not available.

• Detailed information about Rabi' Ibn Habib and his teacher Abu ‘Ubaydah is not

available.

• This book did not come to surface in the period when Muhaddithin (the scholars of

Hadīṯh) compiled the books of ahadīṯh and devised the principles of their critical review.

The old Ibāḍī scholars also did not present their arguments on the basis of this book. The

Ibāḍīs of later periods state that they kept this book hidden for the fear of cruel

rulers.This is also incorrect because they could have brought it to the surface during the

period of Rustamid Dynasty which lasted for more than 130 years.

• This book contains ahadīṯh on the issues which were constantly searched by

Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh). If these ahadīṯh were being reported in that

period of time then Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh) would have presented them in

their books. [Sa'ad Ibn Abdullah Āal-e-Hamid; Musnad Rabi' Ibn Habib Al- Ibāḍī; Darsata

Naqadiyyah (Arabic) Mujalla Jamiat-ul-Umm Ul Quraa' Li-Ulum As-Sharīʿah Wa Darasat ul

Islamiyaah; Mecca; Rajab 1430/2009, Page 2]

Ibāḍī Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)

Ibāḍīs maintain their indigenous Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) which is based upon the

ahadīṯh accepted by them. They agree with Ahl-us-Suṉnah in a number of issues of Fiqh

(Islamic Jurisprudence) and also differ from them in some issues. They have the same

procedure of offering prayer as that of common Muslims with some minor differences for

instance Ibāḍīs offer prayer by opening their hands like the adherents of Shīʿah and Maliki sects


128 Module: CS01

and do not state amen after reciting the chapter Al-Fātiĥah. They are of the view that the Friday

prayer can only be offered in a city where a just government is established. Now when there is

no just government; they do not offer Friday prayer. They maintain the viewpoint about

keeping fast that if someone is in the state of Junub (he is not clean and needs to take a bath)

and the time of keeping fast starts; then his fast will not be fulfilled.

The fundamental principles of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) of Ibāḍīs are similar to that of Ahl

us Suṉnah. They also consider Holy Qurān the fundamental source of religion and believe that

Suṉnah maintains the second status after Holy Qurān. If no commandment is found in Holy

Qurān and Suṉnah about some particular issue then the Ijmāʿ (the consensus) of Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) should be consulted. And if dispute exists between

Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) on that particular issue then all possible

efforts should be diligently made to find the best opinion. If nothing is found about an issue

even from Ṣaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ); then the old Ibāḍī scholars

should be consulted. If nothing is found from them; then the Mujtahid (Competent Islamic

scholar capable of interpreting religion) scholar can perform Ijtihād (Independent reasoning) by

his opinion. It is referred to as Istidlal “Argumentation” by them. Ibāḍīs strictly denounce the

blind following of a particular personality and Taqliīd (Following a particular juristic school). We

will analyze their principles of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) in detail in the module about the

sects based upon Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence).

The viewpoint of Ibāḍīs in the political issues

An Ibāḍī scholar Muhammad Yahya Mu'ammar describes the viewpoint of his group regarding

the political issues in the following way:

We can state their (Ibāḍīs) principles of politics in the following way:

• The agreement of Imāmah (Imamate) has been declared Fard (The obligatory) from

Allah Almighty. Establishing justice, taking rights from their legitimate sources and

keeping at their rightful places, performing Jihad (Sacred struggle or Holy War in the

way of Allah Almighty) against the enemy etc. all are substantiated from Holy Qurān,

Suṉnah and Ijmāʿ (the consensus of Ummah on juristic issues).

• Islamic government (caliphate) is not limited to only Quraysh or Arabs. (Instead anyone

can be appointed as the caliph.)

• It is not permissible to revolt against a just ruler.

• It is permissible to revolt against a cruel ruler; however, contrary to the views of

Khawārij it is not Wajib (The necessary). Similarly; contrary to the views of Asha’ira, it is

also not forbidden. However it is permissible only if there is a vital chance of its success.


129 Module: CS01

• The selection of ruler will be made by consensus and the consensus will be reached by

the majority of those who have the authority to make a final decision.

• The appointment of governors will be the responsibility of rulers. It is better to consult

with the people of every area having authority to make decisions, before the

appointment or dismissal of governors.

• It is not permissible for the Muslim Ummayh to live without an Imām or Sultan.

• The cruel ruler will be demanded to do justice. If he does not do justice then he will be

demanded to get separated from the affairs of Muslims. If he does not accept any of the

option then it is permissible to use force to revolt against him no matter if he is killed in

this effort. This is allowed only if the revolt does not result in a bigger anarchy then the

earlier.

• The cruel ruler whether Ibāḍī or non-Ibāḍī will not enjoy the protection of Muslims and

his military cantonment will be considered a military cantonment of nonconformists.

• It is not permissible to revolt against a Muslims government except with the purpose to

eradicate cruelty.

• There can be more than one ruler of the Muslim Ummah provided that its area extends

to a large surface. [ʻAlī Yahya Mu'ammar; Ibāḍiyyah: The Moderate Islamic Religion, Page 8-9]

The history of Ibāḍī sect

Ibāḍīs associate themselves with Abdullah ibn Abāz Al-Mari Al-Tamimi. He was a Tabaʿī (the

companion of the companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) and lived between the periods of

Mu‘āwīyya RA (reign: 40-60/660-680) and Abdul Malik Marawan (reign: 65-86/685-705). There

is no much information available about him. It is known about him that he belonged to

Khawārij. When Khawārij broke relations with all the Muslims by declaring them heretics and

considered it permissible to rob their lives and belongings then Abdullah ibn Abāz strongly

disagreed with them in this issue and adopted a moderate viewpoint. He also wrote a letter to

the ruler of time Abdul Malik Marawan in which he explained his viewpoint that he did not

consider it rightful to revolt and did not take part in any revolt against him. The text of this

letter has been presented by an Ibāḍī scholar of Libya Sulaiman Al-Bāruni in his book “The Brief

History of Ibāḍiyyah”. He adopted a behavior of well-wishing in that letter. Some of the

excerpts of that letter include the following:

O’ Abdul Malik you demanded from me by writing a letter to write you back to try to present well wishes.

I invite you to the book of Allah Almighty and the Suṉnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and to

the message to declare Ḥalāl (lawful and permissible in Sharīʿah ) what has been commanded Ḥalāl

(lawful and permissible in Sharīʿah ) by them and declare Ḥarām (sinful and unlawful in Sharīʿah) what

has been commanded Ḥarām (sinful and unlawful in Sharīʿah) by them. You should remain happy at

their will, make Tawbah (Repentance on sins) in front of your Lord and continue to seek guidance from


130 Module: CS01

the book of Allah Almighty. I invite you to the book of Allah Almighty that can decide between us

regarding the issues in which we disagree. This is the clear path on which Allah Almighty guided Holy

Prophet Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى and his two pious caliphs (Abu Bakr RA and Umar RA) before us. You

should remain careful so that you do not get astray from this path and the following of self-desires for

which people have gathered around you; do not cause you deviated from the right path. [Sulaiman Al-

Bāruni; The Brief History of Ibāḍiyyah, Page 22-23]

Khawārij revolted again and again during the period of Banū Umayya (40-133/660-750) in which

the official army almost eradicated them. Those who left behind were finished during the

period of Banū Abbas. However contrary to this; Ibāḍīs continued their work secretly and

usually did not take part in the rebellions.

Jabir Ibn Zaid Al-Azdi (d. 93/711) was the contemporary and like-minded of Ibn Abāz. He was a

great scholar and mufti in Basra and originally belonged to the present day Oman. He received

his education from a number of eminentṢaḥabah (the companions of the Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى )

and Tabaʿī (the companion of the companions of Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ) scholars. The leadership

of Ibāḍīs was assumed by Abu ‘Ubaydah Muslim ibn Abi Karimah (d. 150/766)after Abdullah Ibn

Abāz and Jabir Ibn Zaid who organized the preaching mission on a large scale. Rabi' Ibn Habib

(d. 180/796) was a disciple of Abu ‘Ubaydah who compiled ahadīṯh on the fashion of

Muhaddithin (the scholars of Hadīṯh) and compiled a collection of ahadīṯh under the title “AL-

Jami`a Al- Ṣaḥīḥ” which has been described above. The preaching of Ibāḍīs rapidly spread in

Yemen, Oman, Khorasan and East Africa. This was the same time when different sects of Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ were also trying to spread their preaching missions on a large scale. The Zaidi sect of

Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ later dominated in Yemen and Khorasan was dominated by Ahl-us-Suṉnah and

Ithnā‘ashari (The Twelvers)Shīʿahs. Ibāḍīs are still dominant in Oman.

The preaching of Ibāḍīs was widely accepted in East Africa when they got hold on large parts of

present day Tunisia, Libya and Algeria in 160/776 which continued for about 150 years and was

terminated in 296/909 by Fatimid government of Ismāʿīlī Shīʿahs. This was known as Rustamid

Dynasty. They exhibited a behavior of tolerance for non-Ibāḍī Muslims and non-Muslims. Ibāḍīs

started decreasing in number when this government was abolished in East Africa and now at

present there are a few areas in which they live in majority.

On the other side in the East; preaching of Ibāḍīs was widely accepted in Oman. Oman was a semi-autonomous province in the period of righteous caliphate. Ḥajjāj bin Yūsuf sent a number of expeditions to it during the period of Banū Umayya. Ibāḍīs continued to spread their message in that period and in 143/760 an Ibāḍī Imām Jaland Ibn Masood established his rule. Abbasids sent a number of expeditions to Oman and this process continued. At times there were Ibāḍīs in rule and at other times the rule of Abbasids, Buyids, Seljuk and other emperors was established. Portuguese captured this area in 920/1515. This was the time when the rule


131 Module: CS01

of Portuguese, Spanish, French and English nations had begun on Indian Ocean. This process continued till 1060/1650 and after some time Oman was captured by Iranians. Different periods of Ibāḍī rulers have been established here till today and the current ruler Sultan Qābūs also belongs to Ibāḍī sect. [Ennami, Dr. Amr Khalifa. A Concise History of Al-Ibadhiyah.http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/ibadhiyah/history.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011)]

Assignments 1. What was the fundamental point of disagreement between Ibāḍīs and Khawārij? Explain

with detail.

2. What is the fundamental difference between Ahl-us-Suṉnah and Ibāḍīs? Describe in the

light of the detail, which you have studied in this chapter.

3. Although we have not discussed the differences between Ibāḍīs and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ in

this chapter yet ascertain the points of differences between them in the light of details

presented about them.


132 Module: CS01

Chapter 12: Summary of the Module CS01 We are presenting a chart below which will summarize the differences between Ahl-us-Suṉnah

and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. 10000000

Ahl us Suṉnah Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’ Ibāḍīs

Population

Estimate

1.1 billion 200 million 10 million

Areas of Majority

Population

Almost all Muslim

countries (Except

Iran, Iraq, Yemen,

Lebanon and Oman)

Iran, Iraq, Yemen

(Large minorities in

Pakistan, Afghanistan

and Lebanon)

Oman

(Large minorities in

Tanzania, Libya and

Algeria)

The Belief of

Imāmah

(Imamate)

Imāmah (Imamate) is

not the fundamental

belief of Islam.


the fundamental

belief of religion

whose abnegation

leads to infidelity.


not the fundamental

belief of Islam.

However the trend of

centralism is present.


133 Module: CS01


Who was

appointed as the

successor by Holy

Prophet

Muhammad الله صلى

عليه وسلم

He did not appoint

anyone but made Abu

Bakr RA Imām in

prayer that was an

indication for his

succession.

He appointed ʻAlī RA

and made will in his

favor.

He did not appoint

anyone but made Abu

Bakr RA Imām in

prayer that was an

indication for his

succession.

Conditions for

Imām

Whoever fulfills the

requirements of merit

He must be from the

lineage of the holy

Prophet Muhammad

الله عليه وسلم صلى .

Whoever fulfills the

requirements of merit

Status of Abu

Bakr RA, Umar

RA and Uthman

RA

The most eminent

Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the


and the most

distinguished

adherents

Most Ahl-ut-

Tashayyu’ criticize

them whereas some

pay respect to them.

The most eminent

Ṣaḥabah (the

companions of the

Prophet الله عليه وسلم صلى ).

However the last six

years of Uthman RA

are criticized.

Status of ʻAlī RA The most eminent

Ṣaḥabi (the

companion of the


and fourth caliph

The first Imām and

and the most

distinguished

adherent of Ummah

Criticize him because

of the incident of

Tahkim and war

against Khawārij

Status of

Religious and

Political Imām

A common person

who is appointed by

common people and

he is not infallible.

Infallible and divinely

appointed

A common person

who is appointed by

common people and

he is not infallible.


134 Module: CS01


Imam Mahdi He will be born near

the Day of Judgment.

He has born and is

disappeared at

present.

-----

Fundamental

Source of

Religion

Holy Qurān and

Suṉnah

Holy Qurān, Suṉnah

and aʼimmahAhl al-

Bayṫ (Family of Holy

Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم)

Holy Qurān and

Suṉnah

Important Books of Hadīṯh

Bukhārī, Muslim,

Muwaṭṭaʾ, Tirmidhī,

Nasā'ī, Ibn Mājah, Ibn

Mājah, Abu Dawood,

Musnad Ahmad

Nahj ul-Balāghah. The

collections of Kulayni,

Tūsī and Saduq.

(UsūlAl-Arbʿah)

Musnad Rabi' Ibn

Habib

Ṣalāh (Prayer),

Sawm (Fasting),

Zakāt (Obligatory

charity), Hajj

(Annual

pilgrimage to

Mecca)

Almost same with

some minor

differences

Almost same with

some minor

differences

Almost same with

some minor

differences

Taqiyya (Hiding

the Faith)

It is allowed in the

difficult situation with

disliking.

It is a practice of

eminence.

It is allowed in the

difficult situation with

disliking.

Mut'a

(Temporary

marriage)

Ḥarām (The

Forbidden)

Permissible rather

praiseworthy

Ḥarām (The

Forbidden)


135 Module: CS01


Rituals of the

month of

Muharram-ul-

Ḥarām

Usually Ḥarām (The

Forbidden) and false

according to Sharīʿah

(Islamic code of life)

Praiseworthy -------

Sacred Cities Mecca, Medina, Bayt

al-Muqaddas

Mecca, Medina, Bayt

al-Muqaddas, Najaf,

Karbalā, Mashhad

Mecca, Medina, Bayt

al-Muqaddas

Important

Festivals

Eid Al-Fiṭr, Eid Al-

Aḍḥā

ʻĀshūrāMuharram,


Aḍḥā


Aḍḥā

Personality Building It is necessary for every Muslim to act upon the commandments of Holy Qurān about inheritance. Allah Almighty has announced the threat of Hellfire for those who violate this commandment. Those who do not give share to their daughters in inheritance violate this commandment.


136 Module: CS01

The Next Module

In this chapter we have analyzed both kinds of issues in detail in which differences are found

and consensus exists betweenAhl-us-Suṉnah and Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’. In the next module we will

InshAllah analyze the sub-sects of Ahl-us-Suṉnah in detail and will ascertain the nature of

disagreements between them about different issues.


137 Module: CS01

Bibliography

Divine Books:

1. Holy Qurān

The Books of Ahl us Suṉnah:

2. Ibn Mājah, AL- Sunanhttp://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

3. Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer; Al- Shīʿah Wa Al- Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم),

Lahore: Idara Tarjuman As- Suṉnah (2003), www.kitabosunnat.com (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

4. Ahmad ibn Hanbal; Al-Musnad, http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

5. Tamanna Imadi; Imām Tabari and Imām Al-

Zuhri;http://www.aboutquran.com/ba/ba.htm (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

6. Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri, Al-Mustadrak `alâ al-Sahîhayn,

http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (ac. 3 Oct 2011)

7. Habib-ur-Rehman Kandhalwi; Our Religious Stories and their Reality,

http://www.aboutquran.com/ba/ba.htm (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

8. Sa'ad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Āal-e-Hamid; Musnad Rabi' Ibn Habib Al- Ibāḍī;

Darsata Naqadiyyah (Arabic) Mujalla Jamiat-ul-Umm Ul Quraa' Li-Ulum As-Sharīʿah

Wa Darasat ul Islamiyaah; Mecca; Rajab 1430/2009 9. Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī; Tafsīr Tafheem ul Qurān,www.iquranurdu.com (accessed 3

Oct 2007)

10. Syed Abū l-A'lā Mawdūdī; Rasail-o-Masa'il, www.quranurdu.com (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

11. Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi; The Religion of Islam and Two Opposite Pictures of the

Earlier Muslims, Karachi : Haji A'rifin Academy

12. Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi; From Kabul River to Yermuk River,

www.kitabosunnat.com (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

13. Syed Tanzim Husain; Ismāʿīlīyah, Karachi: Al-Raheem Academy, www.ahlehuq.com

(ac. 13 Oct 2011)

14. Syed Sulaiman Nadwi, Ahl-us-Suṉnah Wal Jama'at, Karachi, Majlis e Nashriat e Islam

(1997) 15. Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehalvi 1788, (Urdu Translation: Maulana Khaleel ur-

Rehman Naumani Mazahri); The Gift of Ithnā‘ashariyyah, Karachi, Dar-ul-Asha'at

16. Shabbir Ahmad Azhar Meerthi; The Historical Study of the ahadīṯh of Antichrist,

Lahore: Dar-ut-Tazkeer (2005)


138 Module: CS01

17. Shamas-ud-Din Al-Dhahabi, Meezan-ul- Ai’tadal Fi Naqad Ar-Rijaal (Arabic),

www.waqfeya.net (accessed 5 Feb 2007)

18. Abdul Halim Sharar Hassan-ibn Sabbāh, Lucknow, Dil Gudaz Press (1992)

19. Abdul Rehman Mubarakpuri; Tuhfatul Ahwazi bi-Sharah Tirmidhī (Arabic),

www.waqfeya.net (accessed 5 Feb 2007)

20. Ubaid Ullah Rehmani Mubarikpuri; ʻĀshūrā’ Muharram: The Day of Eid or the Day of

Mourning, Riyadh: Markaz- ud –Dawat-wal-Irshad, www.kitabosunnat.com (accessed

3 Oct 2011)

21. Uthman ibn Muhammad Al-Nasiri Āal-e-Khamees, (Translator: Abdul Jabbar Salafi);

The Mirror of the Days of History, Makataba Ahl al-Bayṫ (Family of Holy Prophet صلى الله

Al-A'almi, www.kitabosunnat.com, (accessed 3 Oct 2011) (عليه وسلم

22. Ata-ur-Rehman Shehbaz Madani; Forty Heretic Compositions of Shīʿah, Faisalabad,

Asha'at-ul-Ma'arif

23. Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami; Majma' al-Zawa'id wa Manba Al-Fawa'id,

http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

24. Ghulam Rasool Saeedi, Sharh Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim,Lahore, Fareed Bookstall(2003),

www.nafseislam.com (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

25. Faid Ullah Cihitrali; Agha Khanism: In the Eyes of Scholars of Ummah, Chitral: Swad-e-

Azam Ahl us Suṉnah, http://freeurdubooksdownload.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-

post_1896.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

26. Malik Ibn Ans; Al- Muwaṭṭaʾ,http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

27. Monthly Baẏinat (Special Edition); The Unanimous Decision of Scholars about

Khomeini and Ithnā‘ashariyyah, Karachi: Maktaba Baẏinat, Binori Town

28. Muhammad Ismāʿīl Al-Muqaddam; Al-Mahdi (Arabic), Alexandria: Daar-ul-Ilmiya Lil

Nashr wa-AL Tauzi' (2002)

29. Muhammad Inaam Ullah Banwi; The Issue of Amendment in Holy Qurān, Karachi:

Daar-ul-Iftā Binori Town

30. Muhammad ibn Ismā‘īl Bukhārī (194-256/810-870), Al-Jaami’ al-

Ṣaḥīḥ,http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (ac. 3 Oct 2011)

31. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-umam wal-muluk, (Arabic), Egypt Dar Al

Ma'rif, www.waqfeya.net (ac. 5 Feb 2007)

32. Mhammad ibn Tahir Al-Barzanji and Muhammad Subihi Hassan Hallaq, Ṣaḥīḥ Tarikh

Al-Tibri, (Arabic), Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir, www.waqfeya.net (ac. 5 Feb 2007)

33. Mhammad ibn Tahir Al-Barzanji and Subihi Hassan Hallaq, Zaeef wal Maskoot anh

Tarikh Al-Tibri, (Arabic), Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir, www.waqfeya.net (ac. 5 Feb 2007)

34. Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá at-Tirmidhī (209-279/824-892), Al-Sunan,

http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (ac. 3 Oct 2011)


139 Module: CS01

35. Muhammad Taqi Uthmani; Mu‘āwīyya RA and Historical Facts, Karachi: Idara-tul-

Ma'arif, http://www.tauheed- sunnat.com/sunnat/category/urdu-books/sahaba-

iqram (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

36. Muhammad Saqib Risaal Puri; Mu‘āwīyya RA and Historical Narrations, Karachi:

Maktaba Ma'arif Al- Qurān (2010)

37. Muhammad Haneef Nadwi; Mirzaiyat From New Angles, www.kitabosunnat.com

(accessed 3 Oct 2011)

38. Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan Safdar; Irshad Ash- Shīʿah, Gujranwala: Maktaba Safdariya

(2001)

39. Muhammad Abdul Rasheed Naumani, The Personality of Yazid: In the views ofAhl us

Suṉnah, Karachi:Al-Raheem Academy (2004)

40. Muhammad Abdul Rasheed Naumani, A false Allegation on Elder Ṣaḥabah and the

Martyrs of Karbalā, Karachi:Al-Raheem Academy, Published (2003)

41. Muhammad Aziz Shams; The Issue of Pilgrimage to the Grave of Holy Prophet

Muhammad الله عليه وسلم صلى , Gujranwala: Umm-ul-Qurā Publications (2010)

42. Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, Tafsīr Ziya’ al- Qurān, Lahore, Zia ul Qurān

Publications, www.ahlehaq.org (ac. 13 Oct 2011)

43. Muhammad Manzoor Naumani; Iranian Revolution,

http://www.scribd.com/doc/100139134/Irani-Inqilab-Imam-Khomeini-Aur-Shia- at-by-

Shaykh-Muhammad-Manzoor-Nomani-r-a (accessed 4 Sep 2012)

44. Muhammad Manzoor Naumani; The Differences between Shīʿahs and Sunnis: In the

Mirror of Reality, http://www.tauheed-sunnat.com/sunnat/category/urdu-

books/shia-shiyat-islam-quran-or-sahaba (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

45. Muhammad Nafi'; The Life History of Mu‘āwīyya RA, Lahore: Takhleeqat (1995)

46. Muhammad Nafi'; They are Courteous Among Themselves, Lahore: Mecca Books,

www.ahlehaq.org (ac. 10 Aug 2012)

47. Mehmood Tuhan, Translation: Muhammad Mubashir Nazeer, Tayassar Mustalah Al-

Hadīṯh, http://www.mubashirnazir.org/ER/Hadith/L0004-00-Hadith.htm

48. Muslim ibn Ḥajjāj (204-261/819-875); Al- Jami` Al- Ṣaḥīḥ,

http://www.almeshkat.net/books/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

49. Mus'ab Zubairi; The Genealogy of Quraysh, www.waqfeya.com (ac. 14 Aug 2012)

50. Mufti Abdul Sattar; The Martyrdom of Husain RA, Multan: Idara Talifat Ashrafiya

(2010)

51. Fazal ur Rahman. Revival and Reform in Islam. P 36. London: One World Publications

(2006)


140 Module: CS01

52. Nomani, Mohammad Manzoor. The Event of Ghadir Khumm in the Qur'an, Hadith

and History. http://www.islamawareness.net/Deviant/Shia/ghadir.html (accessed 3

Oct 2011) The Books of Ahl-ut-Tashayyu’:

53. Khomeini, Ayatullah Ruhullah, Kashaf Al-Asrar (Uncovering of Secrets) (Arabic

Translation), www.hajr-up.info/download.php?id=1443 (ac. 4 Sep 2012)

54. Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya, Translation: Syed Tabashar Ar-Raza Kazimi, Place of

Assasination of Abu Mikhnaf and Establishment of Mukhtaar, Islamabad:

Muhammad Ali Book Agency (2004)

55. Hassan Mahdi Shrizai (1972); Muslimūn Al-ʻAlvīwyun, (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

http://www.freemoslem.com/showthread.php?t=222

56. Husain Baksh Jara, Tafsīr Anwaar Al-Najaf Fi Asraar Al-Muhaaf; Bhakkar: Makataba

Anwaar Al-Najaf, http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed 16 Apr

2010)

57. Syed Sharif Razi (359-406/970-1015); Nahj ul-Balāghah (Arabic),

Beirut: Muasisa Al-Mua'rif (1990)

58. Syed Sharif Razi (359-406/970-1015); Nahj ul-Balāghah (Arabic),

www.PalsCoffee.com (accessed 19 Apr 2007)

59. Syed Sharif Razi (359-406/970-1015); Nahj ul-Balāghah, Urdu Translation and Sharah

(explanation): Syed Zeeshan Haider Jawadi, Karachi: Mehfooz book Agency (1999)

60. Syed Abdul Husain Sharf-ud-Din: Majalis-e-Fakhira,

http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed 16 Apr 2010)

61. Sheikh Suduq ibe Ja'afar Muhammad ibn ʻAlī AL-Qami (c. 306-381/918-991),

Translation: Syed Hassan Imdad Mumtaz Al-Afaazal, منلايحضرالفقيہ; Karachi: Al-Kisā

Publishers, http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed 16 Apr 2010)

62. Sheikh Suduq ibe Ja'afar Muhammad ibn ʻAlī AL-Qami (c. 306-381/918-991),

Translation: Mazhar Abbas Chaudhary; The Philosophy of Slandering Mahdi, Lahore:

Idara Minhaj –us-Saliheen (2007),


63. Ibad ibn Sahib (326-385); Al-Zaidiyyah (Aarabic), http://al-mostafa.info (accessed 3

Oct 2011)

64. Alī Husain Rizwi; The History of Shīʿan-e-ʻAlī, Karachi: Imāmia Academy (1992),

http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed 16 Apr (1992) (2010)

65. Ghulam ʻAlī Gulzar; The Religion of ImāmiaShīʿah, Kashmir: Tanzeem AL-Makatib,


66. Who are the Assassins of Imām Husain? (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/qatelaan_hussain/ur/index.php

:شرحهوضبطنصوصه

صدoتمقهىاeمنتد


141 Module: CS01

67. Who is convinced of the Alleged Amendment in Holy Qurān? http://www.answering-

ansar.org/answers/tahreef_quran/ur/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

68. Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (1025-1109/1616-1698), Translation: Syed Basharat Husain

Kamil Mirza Puri (1963); Hayat-ul-Qub, Imāmia Book House,


69. Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi; Shīʿahs are Real Ahl us Suṉnah, Karachi: Hassan ʻAlī

Book Depot, http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed 16 Apr 2010) 70. Muhammad Ya'qub Al-Kulyani (c. 250-329/864-940); Usūl al-Kāfī, Urdu Translation:

Syed Zafar Hassan Naqvi Amruhi, Karachi: Zafar Shamim Publications Trust 71. Muhammad Ya'qub Al-Kulyani (c. 250-329/864-940); Furūʿ min Al- Jami`a al-Kāfī,

(Arabic), http://www.almurtadha.org/ (accessed 6 Jan 2011)

72. Muntazir Abbas Naqvi; The Protection of Holy Qurān, Islamabad: Bab-ul-Ilm

Educational Trust (1999), http://www.shiamultimedia.com/urdubooks.html(accessed

16 Apr 2010)

73. Musa Al-Mauswi, (Urdu Translation: Abu Masood Āal-e-Imām); The Correction of

Shīʿah, www.kitabosunnat.com (ac. 18 Oct 2011)

74. Nasir Makarem Shirazi, Translation: Syed Safdar Husain Najafi, Tafsīr –e-Namuna,

Lahore, Misbah-ul-Qurān Trust (2006)

75. Nasir Makarem Shirazi, Translation: Syed Mukhatar Husain Ja'afari Kashmiri, The

Philosophy of Taqiyya, Karachi: Rehmt Ullah Book Agency

76. Nasir Makarem Shirazi; Your Questions and Our Answers, Qom Iran: Ma'arif Islam

Publishers

77. The Nikāḥ Al- Mut'a; (accessed 3 Oct 2011) http://www.answering-

ansar.org/answers/mutah_urdu/ur/index.php

78. Ali, Justice Amir. Spirit of Islam. www.aboutquran.com/ba/ba (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

79. Ali, Muhammad E. "Tomb of Firuzan (Abu-lolo) in Kashan to be Destroyed"

http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2007/June2007/28- 06.htm, accessed 12 Sep 2011) 80. Druze (Muwahidoon).http://www.druze.org.au/religion/index.htm (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

81. Engineer, Asghar Ali. Quran and Isma'ili Ta'wil.

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~rtavakol/engineer/ (ac. 13 Oct 2011)

82. Fadak: http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/fadak/fadak_of_al_zahra.pdf


83. Hamawi, Sheikh Khodr. Introduction to Ismailism. www.ismaili.net. (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

84. Imamate; The Perfection of Deen.

http://www.answeringansar.org/shia_viewpoint/imamate_perfection_of_deen/en/in

dex.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)


142 Module: CS01

85. Innovation with regards to the Shari`i Penalty of Cursing Sahaba by "Sipah-e-

Sahaba". http://www.answeringansar.org/answers/cursing_sahaba/en/index.php


86. Quran and Ahlul-Bayt. http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

87. Shi'a Usool al-Deen. http://www.answering-

ansar.org/fiqh/usool_al_deen/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

88. Taqiyyah (Expedient dissimulation).http://www.answering-

ansar.org/answers/taqiyyah/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 89. Temporary Marriage in Islam. http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/(accessed 3 Oct

2011) 90. The Khalifatullah in Shia'a belief.http://www.answeringansar.org/shia_viewpoint/khalifatullah_in_shia/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

91. The Last Luminary. http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/ (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 92. The non-egalitarian nature of Imamate. http://www.answeringansar.org/answers/non_egalitarian_imamate/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

93. The origins of Shia'a. http://www.answeringansar.org/shia_viewpoint/origins_of_shia/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 94. To know the Shi'a. http://www.answering-

ansar.org/shia_viewpoint/to_know_the_shia/en/index.php (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

The Books of Ibāḍīs:

95. Ahmad Ilyas Husain; (Arabic), (accessed 8 Jan 2011

http://www.ibadiyah.net

96. Rabi' Ibn Habib; Musnad,

http://www.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=1 (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

97. Sulaiman Al-Baruni (1936); Brief History of Ibāḍīs (Arabic), www.scribd.com (accessed 3

Oct 2011)

98. A'mr wa Al-Nāmi; (Arabic), (accessed 8 Jan 2011)


99. Muhammad Ibn Yousuf At-Tafeesh; (Arabic), (accessed 8 Jan

2011) http://www.ibadiyah.net

100. Muhammad Yahya ʻAlī Al-Mu'ammar; (Arabic), (accessed 3 Oct


101. Muhammad Yahya ʻAlī Al-Mu'ammar; (Arabic), (accessed 8 Jan 2011)


102. Muhammad Yahya ʻAlī Al-Mu'ammar (Arabic), (accessed 3 Oct


103. Ennami, Dr. Amr Khalifa. A Concise History of Al-Ibadhiyah. http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/ibadhiyah/history.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011)

دورفقهاءالا�ضيةفياسلاممملكةمالي

دراساßلا�ضية

الفكرالسaاسaعندالا�ضية

الا�ضيةفيفرقالاسلامية

الا�ضيةفيليÁيا

مذهباسلاميمعتدل :الا�ضية


143 Module: CS01

104. Mu’mar, Ali Yahya (Translation: Khalsa H. Al Aghbari.) Readings on the Ibadhi Thought. http://www.islamfact.com/all_topics/ibadhis/3073.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 105. Mu’mar, Ali Yahya. The Ibadhi Sect: A Moderate Sect of Islam. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19433261/The-IBADHI-SECT-a-Moderate-Sect-of-Islam (ac. 13

Oct 2011)

The Books of Neutral Sources:

106. Arnold, Thomas W. Preaching of Islam: A History of Propagation of Muslim Faith. www.archive.net (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 107. BBC Religions. Sunni and Shi'a. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/subdivisions/sunnishia_1.shtml (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 108. Hoffman, Valerie J. Ibadi Islam: An Introduction. http://www.uga.edu/islam/ibadis.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 109. Koerner, Brendan I. (2004). So You Want To Be an Ayatollah: How Shiite clerics earn the

name?Slate on the web 6 Apr 2004.http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/04/so_you_want_to_be_an_ayatollah.html (accessed 3 Oct 2011) 110. Religionfacts.com. Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam. http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm (accessed 3 Oct

2011)

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