If any person thanks and praises any other person in any
manner at any place at any time and for any reason, all this thanks and praise
belong to Allâhu ta’âlâ by rights. For,
He, alone, is the creator, the educator, the trainer of everything and the
maker and the sender of every goodness. He, alone, is the owner of power and
authority. To say that a certain person ‘created a certain thing’ would mean to
attribute ‘creation’ to someone other than Allâhu ta’âlâ, which in effect would, like praising a fly for having constructed
an apartment house or for driving, be a squalid sin, not to mention the
derision it would provoke against the person concerned.
May all benedictions and good wishes be on Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, His Prophet and Darling, on his Ahl-i-Bayt
(immediate relatives), and on all his Ashâb (Companions) ‘ridwânullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaihim ajma’în’!
Niţancýzâde Muhammed bin Ahmed ‘rahima hullâhu ta’âlâ’, the author of
the grand tome of history entitled Mir’ât-i-kâinât,
states as follows: “The Sahâba have been described in various ways. It is
written in Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya that a
Believer who saw our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ at least for a moment, or who talked with him at least for a
moment, if he was a blind person, as the Prophet
was alive and after he had been appointed as the Prophet,
is called a Sâhib or a Sahâbî, regardless of his age at that blessed
moment. When they are more than one, they are called Ashâb, or Sahâba, or Sahb. A person who was a disbeliever when he saw
the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and became a Believer
after the Prophet’s passing away, or a person
who was a Believer when he saw him and reneged Islam –may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against it– after the Prophet’s passing away, is not a Sahâbî. Ubaydullah
bin Jahsh and Sa’laba bin Abî Khâtib were among the Sahâba, but afterwards they
reneged Islam. According to scholars, if a person who reneged Islam (after the
blessed event that had made him a Sahâbî) became a Muslim once again, he is
still a Sahâbî.” Wahshî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ also was
one
of the Sahâba, and he passed away as a Sahâbî. The phrase that reads as “Wahshî
(wild, untamed both in name and in body,” in the well-known book entitled
Muhammediyye means his state before converting to Islam. Why shouldn’t Washî
have been a Sahâbî while other people became Sahâbîs by joining the Believers
and seeing only once the blessed face of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ after an eighty years’ life
as unbelievers? Also Jinnîs who have these qualifications are Sahâbîs.
The book of explanations entitled Hadîqat-un-nadiyya, written by
Abdulghanî Nablűsî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, is very valuable. It was printed in
Istanbul in 1290 [A.D. 1873]. Its first part was reproduced by offset process
in 1400 [A.D. 1980]. It is written as follows on its thirteenth page: “A jinnî
or a human being who met the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa
sallam’ after having become a Believer and who is known to have died as a
Believer is called a Sahâbî. According to this definition, a blind person as
well as a person who did not see for more than a moment, are Sahâbîs. An angel
cannot be a Sahâbî. When the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
passed away, there were more than one hundred and twenty-four thousand Sahâbîs.
They were all learned, mature and noble people.”
All religious authorities say in consensus that the Sahâba
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ are the third best and highest creatures after Prophets
‘alaihimussalawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’ and angels. A Muslim who saw Rasűlullah (Messenger of Allah) ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ at least once is much higher than those who did not see him,
including Weys al-Qarânî, (who did not see him, either). When the Sahâba
entered Damascus, Christians who saw them admired them and said, “These people
are higher than the apostles of Îsâ (Jesus) ‘alaihis-salâm’.” Abdullah ibni Mubârak
‘rahima hullâhu ta’âlâ’, one of the greatest scholars in this religion, said,
“The dust that drifted into the nostrils of the horse that Hadrat Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was riding as he accompanied Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ was a thousand times
higher than ’Umar bin ’Abdul’azîz, (who was not a Sahâbî).
The virtues of the Sahâba ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ are cited in
a number of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs.
It is purported in Sűra Âl-i-’Imrân: “Of
the entire human
race, you are the best umma and the best community.” In
other words, “You are the second best people after Prophets.”
Sűra Tawba purports:
“Allâhu
ta’âlâ is pleased with those Sahâbîs who, born and living in the blessed city
of Mekka as they were, migrated to the illuminated city of Medina, as well as
with those Muslims who have been following their example in goodness. And they,
too, are pleased with Allâhu ta’âlâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ
has prepared Gardens of Paradise for them.”
As is purported in Sűra Anfâl, Allâhu ta’âlâ addresses to His beloved Prophet: “Allâhu
ta’âlâ and Believers who follow you will suffice for you.” At that time the Ashâb-i-kirâm were very few in number.
However, their grades in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ being very high, they were said to be adequate in spreading Islam.
It is purported in Sűra Fat-h:
“Muhammad
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
is the Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ,
and all those people who are with him, [i.e. all the Ashâb-i-kirâm,]
are harsh
towards the unbelievers. Yet they are compassionate and tender towards one
another. You will see most of them making the rukű’ (bowing with both hands on knees during the performance of prayer
called namâz or salât)
or making the sajda
(prostration during namâz). They beg Allâhu ta’âlâ
to give all people
all sorts of goodness and superiority in this world and the next. They also
wish for ridwân, i.e. that Allâhu ta’âlâ
be pleased with them. It will be seen on their faces that they have
been making the sajda very much. These facts about their states and honours
have been stated in the Torah as well as in the Injîl
(the original,genuine Bible revealed to Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’). As is stated in the Injîl, they are like crops. As a flimsy
sprout appears from the soil, becomes thicker and taller, likewise, they were
few in number and weak, yet they spread far and near in a short time. They
filled everywhere with lights of îmân. As others marvel at a sprout’s growing
in a short time, likewise, as these people’s beautiful manners and fame spread
over the earth, those who saw it were astonished and they admired them, while
unbelievers became angry.” The fame stated in this âyat-i-kerîma covers not only those Muslims who
were among the Ashâb-i-kirâm when it was
revealed, but also those who would join those most fortunate
Believers afterwards. It is a known fact that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ also
was a Sahâbî who rendered great services to the spread of Islam. Like any other
Sahâbî, he, too, is included in these praisals showered on them by Allâhu ta’âlâ.
The following hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the greatness and the high grades of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ are written on the three
hundred and twenty-sixth (326) page of the book entitled Mir’ât-i-kâinât:
1– “Do not speak ill of any of my
Ashâb. Do not say something that would not be worthy of their honour! I swear
in the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, whose power holds my nafs, that if any one of you paid gold as huge
as the mount Uhud in the name of alms, he would not earn thawâb (blessings, rewards that a Muslim will be given in the Hereafter
for the pious acts he has done in the world) equal to
the amount earned by one of my Ashâb for paying one mudd.” Giving alms is an act of worship. The thawâb earned for acts of
worship is dependent on the purity of intention. This hadîth-i-sherîf shows how pure the hearts of
the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were. [Mudd means
‘menn’, which is equal to two ritls, or 260 dirham-i-shar’î, or 875 grams.
Sadaqa-i-fitr (the alms that a Muslim rich enough has to pay poor Muslims on
the ’Iyd day after the holy month of Ramadân)[1] is half a sâ’ (at least), which makes two mudds, or 1750 grams of
wheat.]
2– “Each and every one of my Ashâb
is like the stars in the sky. Adapting yourself to any one of them will guide
you to love of Allâhu ta’âlâ.” In other
words, if you act in accordance with the advice given by any one of them, you
will be walking along the right way. As the stars help people out in the sea or
in a desert to find the direction they have to follow, so those who follow the
directions given by these people will be walking in the right path.
3– “Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ that you should
speak ill of my Ashâb! After me, do not use them as targets of your evil
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the third chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss, for Sadaqa fitr, available from Hakîkat Kitâbevi, 34262 Fâtih, Ýstanbul, Türkiye.
purposes! Do not feel grudge against them by following your nafs!
Those who love them do so because they love me. Those who dislike them do so
because they dislike me. Those who hurt them with their hands and tongs will
have hurt Allâhu ta’âlâ (by doing so), which is an offence that
will incur exemplary punishment without any delay.”
4– “The most useful and the best
of the (Muslim) people of all
times are the people of my time, [which means all
the Ashâb-i-kirâm]. Next to them are the Believers of
the second century (after me), and next are those of the third century.”
5– “The fire of Hell will not burn
a Muslim who has seen me, nor any (Muslim) who has seen those who have seen me.”
Ahmad ibn Hajar Haytamî Makkî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ was
one of the greatest scholars of the Islamic religion. He lived in a time when
India, (his country,) was rich in scholars and Walîs and the sun of Islam had
reached the height to enlighten the entire world. Yet there were still some
heretics whose hearts had been blackened with ignorance and egoistic personal
ambitions and who therefore were vilifying the Ashâb-i-kirâm, so much so that
their bigotry had driven them beyond the boundaries of decency. Fortunately,
however, it happened to be the time of Humâyűn Shâh ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’,
the Indian Sultân, a deeply pious sovereign who was extremely respectful to
scholars. He was a champion of justice and benevolence, an adroit statesman
under whose administration each and every personality would receive the due
treatment, and a generous benefactor of Muslims. He was the founder of the
Jurjânî state in India and the son of Bâbur Shâh ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’.
Scholars of that happy time came together and resorted to Hadrat Ibn Hajar for
the silencing of the heretics. Upon this, he wrote two huge books containing
explanations about the virtues of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’. With authentic documents, proofs and testimonies, he gave the lie to
the enemy. The following are the English translations of two of the hadîth-i-sherîfs written in Sawâ’iq-ul-muhriqa, one of the
books:
6– “Allâhu ta’âlâ chose me from
among the Qoureish tribe, the noblest people, and selected the best people as
companions for me. He chose a few of them as my viziers
and my assistants in communicating Islam to people. And he singled
out some of these few as my As-hâr, i.e. my relatives through marriage. May
those who abuse them or slander them or swear at them be accursed in the view
of Allâhu ta’âlâ, and in the view of
all angels and men! On the Rising Day Allâhu ta’âlâ will reject their fard and sunnat acts of worship.” [Abű Bakr and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were both his
viziers and his as-hâr. For, the former was the father of Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhâ’, one of the Azwâj-i-mutahhara (the Blessed Wives of the Messenger
of Allah), and the latter was the father of Hafsa ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ’,
(another one of the Blessed Wives). Also Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who was
a brother of our Prophet’s
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ blessed wife Umm-i-Habîba ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’,
and also his father Abű Sufyân and his mother Hind ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ were
among the as-hâr. These three people are therefore included in this hadîth-i-sherîf.]
7– The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book:
“Protect my right concerning the
affection (I feel) for my Ashâb, for my relatives, for those who help me, and for
those who follow the path I have shown! Those who protect my right of
Prophethood by loving them: Allâhu ta’âlâ will protect them against harms and disasters in this world and the
next. Allâhu ta’âlâ hates those people who disregard my right of Prophethood by hurting
them. So near is the time when Allâhu ta’âlâ will torment the people He hates.”
These hadîth-i-sherîfs show clearly that we should love and respect each and every one
of the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. We should believe
that the combats among them were intended to carry out the commandment of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. None of those who joined those combats had any ambitions for
position, fame or money. They all meant to carry out the commandment of an âyat-i-kerîma and a hadîth-i-sherîf.
When ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ attained martyrdom, all the Muslims
elected Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ Khalîfa. The first thing Hadrat Khalîfa
tried to do was to re-establish peace. Most of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ demanded of the Khalîfa that he arrest the murderers of
Hadrat ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as soon as possible and retaliate on
them.
Among the people who supported this view were two of the ’Ashara-i-mubashshara,[1] i.e. Talha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who
was related to our master the Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ by the seventh grandfather in retrospect and
who had joined the Believers during the earliest days of Islam and had
undergone very cruel torments inflicted by the unbelievers, –for instance, the
unbelievers would tie him and Abű Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ to a post in order
to prevent them from performing namâz-, (and he and Khâlid ibn Zayd abâ Ayyűb
al-Ansârî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ were brothers of the Hereafter,) and Zubayr
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’; and our Mother Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’, who had
attained the honour of being praised in the Qur’ân al-kerîm
by Allâhu ta’âlâ and who had been our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ darling till
death separated them. Yet the Khalîfa said, “The country is still in turmoil.
If I start now, it may escalate the fitna and may perhaps cause a second catastrophe.
Let me put down the insurrection first, and then I will carry out the
retaliation, which is a commandment of Allâhu ta’âlâ[2].
The other party was of the ijtihâd that any delay would “make it quite
impossible to find the murderers and carry out Islam’s commandment. Now is the
best time to do it.”
Talha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who was one of the holders of
the former ijtihâd, had not joined the Holy War of Bedr because he had been in
Damascus for some duty, yet he had joined all the other Holy Wars. In the War
of Uhud, for one, he had undergone various tortures in the way of Allâhu
ta’âlâ. He had shielded Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ with his own body and had carried
our master ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ on his back up to the rocks under a
shower of arrows.
It is reported on the authority of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ that Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “Talha and Zubayr are my neighbours in Paradise.” Zubayr bin Awwâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was the son of Hadîja-t-ul-kubrâ’s[3] ‘radiy-
---------------------------------
[1] The ten people who were given the good news that they would go to Paradise.
[2] This commandment, retaliation, is termed ‘Qisâs’.
[3] The first Blessed Wife of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. She was very rich, deeply learned and wise. She gave all her property to the Messenger of Allah. She served him perfectly for twenty-four years.
Allâhu ’anhâ’ brother, and his mother was Safiyya, a paternal aunt
of our master ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. He was fifteen years old when he
embraced Islam during the earliest days of Islam. He was the first person to
draw a sword in the way of Allâhu ta’âlâ. In other words, he was the first
Islamic officer. At the most dangerous moments of most of the Holy Wars, he
fought before the Messenger of Allah, which cost him many a wound. Our master
the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ stated, “Every Prophet has a hawârî (apostle). My hawârî is Zubayr.” Two of the six people whom ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ named as
the people whom he thought would be worthy of succeeding him as Khalîfa as he
was about to pass away were Talha and Zubayr. Zubayr was very rich and had
sacrificed all his wealth for the sake of the Messenger of Allah.
These great persons insisted positively that qisâs
(retaliation) be made immediately because their ijtihâd showed so. At that
time, the ijtihâd performed by the As-hâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’ led them to three different conclusions. The ijtihâd of one group
agreed with that of the Khalîfa, while another group were of the ijtihâd
concordant with that of the other party. There was yet a third group whose
members preferred silence. Each and every one of these people had to act upon
his own ijtihâd and not to follow someone else. People in the first and second
groups increased in number. Meanwhile, a Jew named Abdullah bin Saba’ incited
the difference into a warlike situation, which ended in the events called Basra
and Jamal (Camel).
In those days Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was in
Damascus, as the governor of the territory. Being of the ijtihâd concordant
with that of the third group, he did not let Muslims under his administration
take part in the combats. Owing to his policy, all the Muslims living there led
a life of comfort and peace. However, when Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ invited the
Damascenes, Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ reconsidered the situation in the
light of a number of hadîth-i-sherîfs and reached a new ijtihâd agreeing with that of the other party.
The Khalîfa was about to make an agreement with the Damascenes, when the Jews
intruded their Zionist finger into the matter, inflaming the two parties to the
warfare known as the combats of Siffîn.
In those wars, the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’
never thought of hurting one another, wreaking
vengeance
on one another, or attaining caliphate, sovereignty, high positions or wealth;
all they endeavoured to do was to carry out Islam’s commandment, on which they
had different ijtihâds. A number of documentary accounts of the wars expose the
fact that even during the wars they exchanged letters, counselled one another
and extended best wishes to one another. For instance, during the war of
Siffîn, Constantine II, the emperor of Byzantium, was harassing the Muslim
cities along the border. Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ wrote him a letter that
said: “If you do not stop this molestation right away, I will make peace with
my master, assume commandership of his army, be there and burn your cities,
making you a swineherd.” It was amidst those same commotions when Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, the Khalîfa, addressed to a mass audience, saying, “Our
brothers disagree with us. This does not make them sinners or disbelievers. It
is their ijtihâd that is different.” As they fought against each other, one
party said, “My brother,” about the other, while the other party said, “My
master,” about the former. Their fights were on account of different ijtihâds
and were not intended to seize power, to acquire wealth, or to achieve fame.
Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
stated that a mujtahid with the correct ijtihâd would receive two to ten
blessings whereas the mistaken one would be given one. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm
were mujtahids. And it is fard (obligatory) for each mujtahid to act upon his
own ijtihâd.
Abű Zur’at-ir-râzî, one of the great teachers who added to
Imâm-i-Muslim’s education ‘rahimahumallâhu ta’âlâ’, states as follows in a book
of his: “A person who belittles or vilifies the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ is a zindiq.[1] Muslims should know the enemies of the Messenger of Allah
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ as their own enemies, and they should feel
deeper antipathy towards them than they do towards the enemies of the
Ahl-i-bayt. While they do not accurse or even criticize Abű Jahl, who was an
arch enemy of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and
perpetrated the bitterest torments and persecutions against him, they look on
Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who attained praisals and affections on the part
of the Messenger of Allah ‘salla-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, as an enemy of the
Ahl-i-bayt,
---------------------------------
[1] A heretic; a blasphemous person.
vilify and accurse that blessed person - May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against that
abominable misdeed! What kind of faith is that, and what kind of Muslims are
they? The Ashâb-i-kirâm are the people who conveyed to us the fact that
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ is the Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ and that the Qur’ân al-kerîm is the heavenly book that Allâhu ta’âlâ revealed to him. Denying the greatness and the rectitude of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm is synonymous with rejecting the information they conveyed to us,
(which is Islam;) it goes without saying, therefore, that people who will do so
will demolish their own faith.”
Ibn Hazm says that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm are Ahl-i-Jannat
(People of Paradise). For Allâhu ta’âlâ declares about them, as is purported in an âyat-i-kerîma, “I shall
grant them high grades.” It is purported in the
Sűra Hadîd,
“We have promised Husnâ, i.e. Paradise
to all of them.” And in the Sűra Anbiyâ,
“I made them People of Paradise in the eternal past, before I
created anything. Hell is far from them.” These âyat-i-kerîmas show that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ are Ahl-i-Jannat. None of them shall be
close to fire of Hell. For they have been given the good news (that they shall
go to) Husnâ, i.e. Paradise.
Moreover, as is written in the three hundred and
twenty-seventh (327) page of the same book, Mir’ât-i-kâinât, the following
information exists in all the books of Aqâ’id (books telling about the tenets
of creed): There are definitely authentic documents showing that it is wâjib
for all Muslims to know all the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’ as great people, to have an optimistic opinion about all of them, to
believe that they were all pious and just Muslims, not to criticize any of
them, not to feel hostility against any of them, and not to have a bad opinion
about some of them as if it were a requirement to be fulfilled to perfect your
love for the rest.
Allâma Sa’daddîn Taftâzânî ‘rahima hullâhu ta’âlâ’ states
in his books Sharh-i-aqâ’îd that the wars that took place among the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were based on religious reasons. If the
statements criticizing them are in contradiction to adilla-i-qat’iyya
(definitely authentic documents), i.e. âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, people who make those statements become disbelievers. If not
so, they become sinful, heretical and aberrant people.
The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya: “Be quiet when you hear the names of my Ashâb ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhum ajma’în’! Do not make statements that would not go with their honour!”
It would not befit Muslims to make statements that would
not go with the honour of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim
ajma’în’. Their combats were not based on bad reasons or evil intentions.
Company with the best and the highest of mankind ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’, which meant a lifetime illuminated with his blessed lectures and
counsels, had purified and enlightened their nafses and souls, purging their
hearts of all sorts of rancour and strife. Because each and every one of them
had attained the grade of ijtihâd, it was obligatory and wâjib for them to act
upon their own ijtihâd. When their ijtihâds disagreed, the right course for
each of them to follow was to act upon his own ijtihâd and not to follow the
others. Their disagreements, as well as their agreements, were the requirements
of the right way and had nothing to do with the desires of the nafs.
Some people stigmatize those who fought against Imâm-i-Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as disbelievers. However, more often than not there were
differences of ijtihâd also between our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and
some of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. These
differences did not make them sinful. When Jebrâîl (Archangel Gabriel)
‘alaihis-salâm’ came (to rectify any possible mistakes), no message (in the
nature of reproof) was sent (through him). Then, could those blessed people be
blamed for disagreeing with Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in ijtihâd? Could
they ever be called disbelievers? In fact, the ones with the disagreeing
ijtihâd were in the majority, and they were mostly greater ones of the
Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’; among them were the beloved ones of the
Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, as well as those who had
been blessed with the good news that they were People of Paradise. Could they
ever be criticized or called disbelievers? It is these people who conveyed to
us almost half of Islam’s religious knowledge. To impute any fault to them
means to undermine half of the religion. None of Islam’s great authorities has
ever done anything that would mean disrespect to those great people.
Leaders of the four Madhhabs[1] and greater ones of the Sôfiyya-i-aliyya[2] deemed those people as great and
exalted.
Islam’s second most correct book after the Qur’ân al-kerîm is (the tremendous book of hadîth-i-sherîfs entitled) Bukhârî-i-sherîf. Shiites agree
with this fact. This very book, Bukhârî-i-sherîf, contains all the hadîth-i-sherîfs that were conveyed by any
one of the Sahâbî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. The wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ did not bring any harm to the authenticity
and truthfulness of their reports. This book, (Bukhârî-i-sherîf, that is,) as
well as all the other books of Hadîth, contains hadîth-i-sherîfs conveyed by Hadrat Alî as well as those conveyed by Hadrat
Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’. The wars they fought against one another did
not devalue their reports. Books contain reports from the ones who were with
Hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ as well as reports from those who
sided with Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. Had Hadrat Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and those who were with him had a venial offense, the hadîth-i-sherîfs they conveyed would not
have been written in books. None of the religious scholars took it into
consideration to have agreed with Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as a criterion
in their selections of hadîth-i-sherîfs. It should be added, however, that Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ was the rightful side in these wars. Yet those who did not agree with his
ijtihâd cannot be said to have erred. For, many of the Sahâba and the Tâbi’în,
and some of the highest scholars, including leaders of our Madhhabs, disagreed
with Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in a number of matters that needed ijtihâd.
If it were to be taken for granted that Imâm Alî’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ ijtihâd was
always correct, all this number of great religious authorities would not have
disagreed with him in their ijtihâd. In some matters, even Hadrat Alî himself
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ admitted ijtihâds that were discordant with his ijtihâds.
The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the three hundred and twenty-seventh (327) page of Mir’ât-i-kâinât:
“Beat those people who vilify my Ashâb
and those who
---------------------------------
[1] There are four correct but different ways, called Madhhabs, in matters pertaining to acts of worship and behaviour in Islam. Please read our other publications for details.
[2] A chain of great Islamic scholars.
make statements offensive to their honour.”
Imâm-i-Jalâladdîn Suyűtî[1] quotes the following hadîth-i-sherîf in his book Jâmi’us-saghîr: “Allâhu ta’âlâ will forgive my Ashâb
for the mistakes they will make after me. For, no other people did the service
equal to theirs to Islam.” The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book:
“I shall do shafa’ât, (i.e. I shall
intercede in the Hereafter) for everybody. Yet I shall not
intercede for those who vilify my Ashâb.”
It is written in Khulâsa-t-ul-fatâwâ: Those who swear at
Hadrat Abű Bakr and Hadrat ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ become disbelievers. Those
who say that Imâm-i-Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was higher than the two Khalîfas,
(i.e. Hadrat Abű Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar,) become people of bid’at and dalâlat.
They have dissented from the Ahl as-sunna, which in its turn is something that
will cause them to go to Hell.
It is written in the same page, i.e. in the three hundred
and twenty-seventh (327) page (of the book Mir’ât-i-kâinât) that Imâm a’zam Abű
Hanîfa ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated: “It is one of the symptoms of (being among)
the Ahl as-sunna(t) wa-l-jamâ’a(t) to hold Abű Bakr and ’Umar higher and to love ’Uthmân and Imâm
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’. Holding the first two Khalîfas higher while
cherishing the other two is peculiar to people who have saved themselves from
Hell. That the first two were higher was stated by all the Ashâb-i-kirâm and
conveyed by all the Tâbi’în to the imâms of our Madhhabs, who in their turn
wrote it in their books. It is an established fact, for instance, that
Imâm-i-Shâfi’î and Abul Hasan Esh’arî ‘rahima-humallâhu ta’âlâ’ stated that Abű
Bakr and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were the highest Muslims in this Umma(t).
Another positively known fact is that Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was
occupying the office of caliphate when he said to the notables around him that
“Abű Bakr and ’Umar were the highest of this Umma.” Imâm-i-Zahabî and
Imâm-i-Bukhârî ‘rahima-humallâhu ta’âlâ’ reported that they had heard the hadîth-i-sherîf, “After me, Abű
---------------------------------
[1] Jalâladdîn Abdurrahmân bin Muhammad (849 [1445], Egypt-911 [1505 A.D.], Egypt), one of the greatest mujtahids of Hadîth in the Shâfi’î Madhhab. Even Christians praise him in their books. For instance, it is written about him as follows in the well-known scientific encyclopaedia Meyer Lexicon: “Suyűtî, who spent his entire lifetime with dedicated and untiring lucubration, has more than three hundred written works.”
Bakr and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ are the highest of this Umma,” from Imâm Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. Moreover, Abdurrazzâq Lâhijî, a Shiite scholar,
acknowledges that these two (Khalîfas) are the highest, and adds, “Could I
leave Imâm Alî’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ way and follow my own opinion although I
know that he is so high and say that I love him? For, he stated that Abű Bakr
and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were superior to him.” Abdurrazzâq bin Alî
Lâhijî was a professor in the city of Qum. He passed away in 1051 [A.D. 1642].
During the caliphates of Hadrat ’Uthmân and Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’, mischief and public disturbances were on the increase and people were mostly uneasy and hurt. Therefore, it was made a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at to love these two Khalîfas; thereby the Ashâb-i-Khayr-ul-bashar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were defended against ignorant people’s calumniations and Muslims were protected against the peril of feeling hostility against the Khalîfas of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. As is seen, it is one of the requirements of being in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at to love Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as well. Yet, love also has its limitations. If a person exceeds the limitations in his love of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, calumniates the Ashâb of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and thereby dissents from the path led by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, the Tâbi’în-i-izâm and the Salaf as-sâlihîn[1], he is called a heretic. Nor are those wretched people who are devoid of loving Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in the Ahl as-sunna, for it is a requirement of being in the Ahl as-sunna. They are called Khwârij (Khârijîs). If those who claim to love Ahl-i-bayt loved all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as well, everything would be quite all right. If they admitted that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on benevolent reasons and good intentions, they would be in the Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at and would be immune from being Ahl-i-bid’at. It is a characteristic trait of the Ahl as-sunnat to embellish one’s respect and high esteem for all the Ashâb-i-kirâm with one’s affection for the Ahl-
---------------------------------
[1] Who the Ashâb-i-kirâm were has already been explained in the text. The Tâbi’în-i-izâm are those fortunate people who saw at least one Sahâbî although they had not seen the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. Salaf as-sâlihîn were the earliest Islamic scholars.
i-bayt. Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “If a person loves
my Ashâb, he does so because he loves me. And enmity against them is enmity against
me.” Then, why should one not love the Ahl-i-bayt? All the
Ashâb-i-kirâm loved one another and the Ahl-i-bayt as well. The Sunnîs have
deemed the love of Ahl-i-bayt as a part of îmân. They have said that dying as a
Believer is dependent upon the potency of this love.
It is written as follows in the three hundred and
twenty-seventh [327] page of the book Mir’ât-i-kâinât: Our scholars classify the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhum ajma’în’ in three groups: The first group are the Muhâjirîn, i.e. those Muslims who migrated to
Medina from Mekka or elsewhere until the conquest of Mekka. Talha and Zubayr
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were two of the greatest ones of the Muhâjirîn.
The second group, called Ansâr-i-kirâm, were those Muslims living in the blessed city of Medina or in
its vicinity. They were honoured with the title Ansâr (Helpers) on account of
the help they offered to our master, the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’. Khâlid ibn Zayd abâ Ayyűb al-Ansârî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was one of the greatest Ansâr. It is stated
in a hadîth-i-sherîf conveyed by
Imâm-i-Tirmuzî: “On the Rising Day each of my Ashâb
will rise from his grave and, leading the Believers of the country where he
passed away and showering haloes and lights on them, he takes them to the
square of Arasât.” Accordingly, all the Believers in
Istanbul will come to the place of judgement behind Hadrat Khâlid ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ and under his light.
The third group were the people who embraced Islam in
Mekka or elsewhere upon the conquest of the blessed city or afterwards; they
are Sahâbîs, although they are neither Muhâjirs nor Ansâr. Mu’âwiya and ’Amr
ibn al-Âs ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ are two of the greatest ones in this group.
Imâm-i-Wâqidî states: Of all the Sahâbîs who passed away in Kűfa
(today’s Najaf), Abdullah ibn Awfâ was the last one. The last one to pass away
in Damascus was Abdullah bin Yasr. The last one of those who passed away in
Medîna-i-munawwara was Sahl bin Sa’d; he was ninety-five years old when he passed
away. Enes bin Mâlik was the last one to pass away in Basra. Abu-t-tufayl Âmir,
who was the last one of those who
passed
away in Mekka-i-mukarrama, was at the same time the last of them all; he passed
away in the hundredth year of the Hijrat (Hegira).
All the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’, with the exception of a few close relatives of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’,
were younger than the Messenger of Allah. Although the number of Rasűlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
Ashâb is not exactly known, he went to Mekka with ten thousand people and to
the Holy War of Tabuk with a seventy-thousand-strong army, while
ninety-thousand people accompanied him in his Farewell Hajj. More than one
hundred and twenty-four thousand Sahâbîs were still alive at the time of his
passing away.
There are numerous books rendering correct accounts about
the virtues and values of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’. The book Usud-ul-ghâba, by Shaikh Shams-ud-dîn Alî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, contains
biographies of more than seven thousand and five hundred Sahâbîs; it was
translated into European languages. The correct ones among the books telling
about the Islamic history are the ones written by Wâqidî, by Ibn Khaldűn, and
by Ibn Hillighâ ‘rahima humullâhu ta’âlâ’. These books contain nothing that
would be incompatible with Islam or Islamic manners about the Sahâba-i-kirâm.
Meyers Lexicon, a technical encyclopaedic dictionary in German, gives an
appreciative disquisition on the importance of the Islamic civilization in its
four hundred and seventy-eighth (478) page and reports that “The history of
Wâqidî telling about the Holy Wars was translated into German in 1882 by
Welhausen. Ibn Sa’d, a disciple of Wâqidî, wrote about the life of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa
sallam’ and the lives of his Ashâb ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. His
book, of nine volumes, was translated in 1921 by Sachau. The history of Ibn
Khaldűn, which consists of seven volumes, was translated in 1858 by Qutemere.”
A passage beginning in the four hundred and seventy-eighth page of the book
Meyers Lexicon, and also the passage below the entry ‘Islam’ were read and
translated in the presence of the great Islamic scholar Sayyid Abdulhakîm
Arwâsî Efendi ‘quddisa sirruh’; he expressed his appreciation.
The history books in Turkish telling about the wars among the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ are mostly translated
versions of the history books that were written
during
the Abbasid domination and which, therefore, reflect the time’s trends and
preferences. That is why the accounts given about such blessed people as Hadrat
Âisha, Mu’âwiya, Talha, Zubayr and other Sahâbîs in those books carry some
fault-finding aura about them. None of Islamic governments succeeding the
Umayyads and the Abbasids attempted to sabotage the Sunnî credo, and the Turks
hold best for our argument. Owing to them, the credo has survived to our time.
Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ states as
follows in the beginning of his book: O you Muslim, whose heart is full with
the love of Allâhu ta’âlâ and with the love
of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’! Your first duty is to mix the love of our Prophet’s ‘alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’
Ashâb-i-kirâm with the love of the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî in your heart. As we
love the Ahl-i-bayt because they are Rasűlullah’s descendants, so we should love the others because they are his
Ashâb (Companions). For, the honour that the Ashâb-i-kirâm attained is very
high. Others cannot attain that honour. An essential of that honour is that the
blessed looks of the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
penetrated into them, giving them spiritual support and help. Others do not
have this exclusive merit. None of the later comers attained their perfections
and vast learnings or the (spiritual property called) haqîqat which they
inherited from our master, the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. Every Muslim has to know them
all as just, pious and learned Muslims and as Walîs and mujtahids. Allâhu ta’âlâ gave them the good news that
He would forgive them for any possible mistake on their part. An âyat of the Qur’ân al-kerîm purports, “Allah ‘jalla jalâluh’ is pleased with them all. Also, they are pleased with Allâhu ta’âlâ.” To blame or vilify any one of the Sahâba-i-kirâm means to deny
this âyat-i-kerîma. There is no
doubt that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ is one of the notables of the
Sahâba-i-kirâm with respect to genealogy. He is a very close and intimate
relative of our master ‘alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’, both through genealogy and
through nikâh.[1] Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ praised his finesse
and beneficence. Honours such as Islam, sohbat, kinship and relationship through
nikâh came together in his person; each of these honours would in itself be
enough to cause one to be
---------------------------------
[1] Marriage as prescribed by Islam.
close to Rasűlullah in Paradise. When the honours of finesse, knowledge and caliphate
are added to them, a person with understanding and with an average degree of
peace, faith, piety and belief in his heart would save us any extra words in
this respect.
Imâm-i-Rabbânî Ahmad Fârűqî Serhendî ‘rahima-hullâhu
ta’âlâ’ states as follows in the thirty-sixth letter of the second volume of
his masterpiece, Maktűbât: One of the symptoms of Ahl as-sunnat is to believe that the
Shaikhayn, i.e. Abű Bakr as-siddîq and ’Umar ul-fârűq ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhumâ’ are the highest ones (of the Sahâba) and to love the two sons-in-law
(of Rasűlullah), i.e. ’Uthmân and Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Tâbi’în-i-izâm said in
unanimity that the Shaikhayn were higher. Those who had not attained the honour
of seeing the blessed face of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and yet who were lucky enough to
see a few Sahâbîs, are called the Tâbi’în. Having seen the Sahâba-i-kirâm made these people great in this
religion. The statements of the Ashâb and the Tâbi’în were conveyed to us by
our scholars. For instance, Muhammad bin Idris Shâfi’î, the leader of the
Shâfi’î Madhhab, and Abul Hasan Alî Esh’arî, one of the leaders of the Ahl
as-sunna, state that it is a definite and absolute fact that Abű Bakr and ’Umar
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ are higher than all the other Ashâb. One day during his
caliphate Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ said to a large audience: “Abű Bakr and ’Umar
are the highest of this Umma.”
As is written in the twelve-volumed book of history by
Imâm-i-Muhammad Zahabî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, Muhammad bin Ismâ’îl Bukhârî
‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, the author of the Bukhârî-i-sherîf, which is the most
authentic book of Hadîth and is considered to be the basis of the Islamic
religion, states: Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated, “The best member of this
Ummat, after our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, is Abű Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’. The second best is ’Umar, and after him comes someone else.” When his
son said, “And it is you,” he replied, “I am one of the Muslims.”
So many are the reports testifying to the superiority of Abű Bakr and
‘Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ that it has become an indisputable fact. Denying
this fact is comparable to disignoring the existence of the sun. People who do
so must be either vulgarly ignorant or blind or imbecilic. Abdurrazzâq, one of
the
eminent
Shiite scholars, saw that there was no reason to deny the realities and
acknowledged the superiority of the Shaikhayn. Imâm-i-Rabbânî states as
follows:
Imâm ’Umar’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ ten-year caliphate and the first six
years of Imâm ’Uthmân’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ twelve years in the office make up
a period of welfare and rest; throughout that period, not only were the Islamic
rules and rites carried out perfectly in all the Muslim countries, but also the
Islamic world made considerable territorial gains. In fact, the entire Arabia
and a large section of Africa became parts of the Muslim land, Tripolitania,
Fîzân, Benghazi, Tunisia, Algeria, Fes, Morocco, Damietta, Zeyyad, Aden, San’â,
Assyria, Bahrain, Hadhramaut, Qatif, Nejd, Iraq entirely, India, Sind, China,
Samarkand, Hîva, Bukhâra, Turkestân, Iran and Caucasus found themselves under
the sway of Islam, and the Islamic flag was carried to positions before the
city walls of Istanbul. Because the inhabitants of the countries conquered mostly
enthused over the honour of converting to Islam, the Muslim population rapidly
soared to numbers well above millions. This non-stop territorial enlargement,
doubled with the express increase of population, lay the groundwork for an
abrupt meeting of a variety of different cultures, which meant differring
ideas, thoughts, customs and understandings. Some irreligious impostors lost no
time in provoking the most sensitive extremes in these diverse cultures into
such situations as would make clashes and conflicts irretrievable, and
fomenting an insurrection against the Khalîfa. Therefore, the last six years of
the caliphate of ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was a period of confusions and
upheavals. Sad to say, the gentle and tender elements that were prevalent in
the blessed Khalîfa’s nature would not let him take the draconian measures to
put a timely end to the chaos, so that thirteen thousand of the rebels took the
liberty of besieging the blessed city of Medîna and demanding that the Khalîfa
should retire. Imâm ’Uthmân’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ answer was: “I will not just
doff the attirement that the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
made me put on,” which was a decision perfectly agreeable with the common
ijtihâd of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and the
Tâbi’în-i-izâm. Yet it was impossible to dissuade the rebels. Thus the
horrifying martyrdom took place on the eighteenth day of Zilhijja in the
thirty-fifth year of the
Hijrat.
Some people annually celebrate that day. After him, Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ became Khalifa, rightfully and by a unanimous vote of all the Muslims.
Since differences, controversies and hostilities among the
people of those vast territories were on the increase during the times of these
two Khalîfas, affection towards these two blessed sons-in-law was made
indicative of one’s being in the group of Ahl as-sunnat. This was intended to
close a possible gap whereby the ignorant could transgress the bounds of
deference due to the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. Then,
joining the group of Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at, the people blessed by our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ with
the good news of Paradise, requires feeling affection for Hadrat Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. A person devoid of this affection is not Ahl as-sunnat or
Ahl al-Jannat. Such people are called Khawârij. There are also people, however, who squander this affection due
to Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ on criticizing or cursing one or all of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm on the presumption that it is an essential condition for this
affection. These people are aside from the way guided by the Ashâb-i-kirâm, by
the Tâbi’în-i-izâm and by all the greatest scholars. They are called Râfidîs. ‘Râfidî’ means ‘dissenter’, or
‘dissident’. These people have dissented from the Ahl as-sunnat. ‘Ahl
as-sunnat’ means ‘people who follow the moderate and correct way.’ By neither
disliking Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ nor misusing the affection due to him,
they have protected themselves against excess in one direction or the other.
Ahmad ibn Hanbal ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, the leader of the Hanbalî
Madhhab, quoted the following hadîth-i-sherîf on
the authority of Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’: Imâm Alî said: The Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “Yâ Alî! You are like Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. Jews became his
enemies. They calumniated his blessed mother Hadrat Maryam. And Christians
overestimated him. They extolled him to heights that were above his real
position. In other words, they called him Son of Allah.” After
reporting this hadîth-i-sherîf, Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated, “On account of me, two groups of people have been
doomed to destruction. One group will love me too much and ascribe to me things
that I do not have. The others will feel hostility towards me and spread
various slanders
about
me.” This hadîth-i-sherîf compares the Khawârij
to Jews, and people who are hostile to the Ashâb-i-kirâm to Christians.
As we have stated already, the number of the Ashâb-i-kirâm
is above one hundred and twenty-four thousand. This is a number equal to the
number of Prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’. Each of them represents
a Prophet. Abű Bakr as-siddîq
represents Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, ’Umar ul-Fârűq represents Műsâ (Moses)
‘alaihis-salâm’, ’Uthmân-i-zinnűrayn represents Nűh (Noah) ‘alaihis-salâm’,
Alî-y-yul-murtadâ represents Îsâ (Jesus) ‘alaihis-salâm’, and Hadrat Mu’âwiya
represents Dâwűd (David) ‘alaihis-salâm’ ‘ridwânullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în’. We
know that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was created without a father, which is something
without the law of causation but within the power of Allâhu ta’âlâ, that he was raised up to
heaven, and that he will descend to earth and land in Damascus, which, again,
is something outside of the law of causation. The known facts about his birth,
life and ascension gave rise to three different beliefs concerning him. One
group of people developed too high an opinion about him, calling him ‘God’ -may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect against that belief-
and saying that God had entered him and that he was the Son of God. This group
are Christians.
Another group, seeing the extraordinary events about him,
demoted him to extremely low grades far below his noble person, and said that
his father was not known -may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against saying so-. This group are Jews.
Others, the third group, that is, knew that the extraordinary facts
about him were all within the endless power of Allâhu
ta’âlâ and had hikmats (hidden divine causes) about them; this group
believed that he was only a human and a Prophet.
The path taken by this group is correct. These extraordinary events concerning
Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ were told clearly and in detail in the (original) Torah.
The facts about these three groups and their beliefs are written at a number of
places in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Islamic scholars
learned these facts from the Qur’ân al-kerîm and
explicated them in detail in their books. Because the Sahâba-i-kirâm also knew
these facts well, Muhammad the Sarwar-i-’âlam and the Sayyid-i-awlâd-i-Âdam
‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ said to Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’,
who was his paternal uncle’s son and also his son-in-law and also his spiritual
brother: “You are like Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’.”
This
hadîth-i-sherîf spread among the Ashâb-i-kirâm. This hadîth-i-sherîf was one of the hadîths telling about
unknown things, and its truth manifested on Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ during
his caliphate. At that time people parted into three groups. One group overestimated
Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and said that Allah had entered Imâm Alî and his
children -may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against
that belief-, and others claimed that Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was the Prophet but Jabrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm’ had by mistake
revealed the Qur’ân al-’azîm-ush-shân to Muhammad ‘alaihis-salât-u-wa-s-salâm’.
A third group deviated from the right path by holding Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ superior to the other three Khalîfas as well as to all the other Sahâba.
The first group’s belief (concerning Hadrat Alî) is like the belief that
Christians hold about Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’.
The second group of people marred their own belief by
casting aspersions on Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and tarnishing his
honourable reputation. This group are called Khawârij (Khârijîs). The hatred they felt against Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ and his innocent progeny caused them to swerve from the right way. These
people are like Jews. The third group are the people who have known Imâm Alî
and his children and household and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm as they are described
in the hadîth-i-sherîfs of the
Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. These people with the correct
îmân (belief) are called the Ahl as-sunnat
wa-l-jamâ’at. They are the only group to be saved
from Hell. Of the people who fought against Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’; Âisha
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’, who was the beloved wife of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and
at the same time the blessed daughter of Abű Bakr as-siddîq; Talha and Zubayr
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’, who were among the ten people called
Ashara-i-mubash-shara because they had been given the good news that they would
go to Paradise; and Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who was a brother-in-law of
our master the Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ because he was the
brother of our blessed mother Umm-i-Habîba ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’, –who in her
turn was one of the blessed wives of the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’–, and at the same time his secretary of wahy, (i.e. the trustworthy
person whose duty was to write the âyat-i-kerîmas revealed to the Messenger of Allah,) were the greatest members
of the Ashâb-i-kirâm.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Observe my right of prophethood by
loving my Ashâb. Allâhu ta’âlâ will protect and help those people who observe my right in this
manner, in everything they are involved in. Allâhu ta’âlâ dislikes those who
do not observe my right of prophethood. The time when they shall suffer
punishment is quite imminent.”
He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf: “People are increasing in number, and
my Ashâb are becoming less and less numerous and, inversely, more and more
valuable. Do not curse my Ashâb! May Allah accurse those who curse my Ashâb!”
He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Do not criticize or try to vilify any
of my Ashâb! I swear on the name of Allah, under whose power I live, that if
one of you gave a piece of gold as big as the mount of Uhud in the name of alms
he would not earn thawâb equal to the blessings that one of my Ashâb would be
given for alms worth one mudd [two ritls, or
260 dirham-i-shar’î, or 1209.6 gr] of barley.”
He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf:
“How lucky for those who saw me, and
how lucky for those who saw those who had seen me, and how lucky for those who
saw those who had seen those who had seen me! All those people are so lucky and
so happy. Their destination, Paradise, is the best place.” Those who saw the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ are the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi alaihim ajma’în’. Those who saw
them are the Tâbi’în, and people who saw the Tâbi’în are the Taba’i tâbi’în. Two of the Tâbi’în are Imâm
a’zam Abű Hanîfa and Imâm Mâlik, (the learders of the Hanafî and Mâlikî
Madhhabs, respectively). And two of the Taba’i tâbi’în are Imâm Shâfi’î and
Imâm Ahmad, (the leaders of the Madhhabs called Shâfi’î and Hanbalî,
respectively).[1]
---------------------------------
[1] There are four different ways, called Madhhabs,
with respect to religious practices. A Muslim has to adapt himself to any one
of these Madhhabs in his daily acts of worship. For further information, please
see our other publications, such as The Sunni Path, Endless Bliss,
five fascicles.
The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the book Sawâiq-ul-muhriqa, by Ibn Hajar-i-Makkî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’:
“Allâhu ta’âlâ chose me from among the
entire mankind. He bestowed on me all superiorities and goodnesses, and chose
Ashâb (Companions) for me. From among
my Ashâb, He chose me relatives and assistants. If a person loves and respects
these people for me and for my prophethood, Allâhu ta’âlâ will protect him
against Hell. If a person disregards my right by disliking, criticizing or
hurting them, Allâhu ta’âlâ will burn and torment them with the fire of Hell.”
The following hadîth-i-sherîf is written in the same book:
“Allâhu ta’âlâ chose me from among all
people. He chose the best people as my Ashâb and relatives. After them many
people will appear and they will criticize my Ashâb and my relatives. By
casting aspersions on them, they will try to malign them. Do not sit with such
people! Do not eat and drink with them! Do not give them your daughters or
accept their daughters in marriage!” This hadîth-i-sherîf shows that we must love and
respect all the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’.
Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ states, “After me, Muslims will part into
seventy-three different groups. Seventy-two of them will go to Hell, and only
one group will enter Paradise.” This one group, called Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at, are those people who
follow the way guided by our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and by his Ashâb. Leaders of our four Madhhabs
and the great scholars educated by them are the people who learned this way
from the Ashâb-i-kirâm, carried it safely throughout centuries, and made it
reach us. It is these same great scholars, again, who say that one of the
conditions for being in the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat and a distinguishing
symptom indicative of being so is to love all the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Hadîth-i-sherîfs show that it is necessary to say
nothing but goodness about the Ashâb-i-kirâm, to respect them, to know all of
them as great, and to say, “radiy-Allâhu ’anh”,
when the name of any one of them is mentioned. Especially the Muhâjirîn, who
migrated from Mekka-i-mukarrama to Medina-i-munawwara; the Ansâr, who met the
Muhâjirîn in Medîna and granted them asylum and extended their warmest
hospitality to
them;
the fourteen hundred Sahâbîs, who promised allegiance to our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ under a tree
and who sacrificed all their existence for his sake; the Sahâbîs who joined the
Holy War of Bedr and those who attained martyrdom in the Holy War of Uhud
deserve profoundest reverence. The Ummat-i-Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
(Muslims) have reached a consensus on that these people (the Sahâba) are very
exalted. What devolves on us Muslims is to think of the meritorious and
self-sacrificing services they rendered to the Islamic religion and to
pronounce the benediction ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’
on them all. For, they were the pioneers and guides in the Islamic religion. It
is them who took the lead in following our master the Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, in spreading his religion over the world and
making it known to all, who took the commandments of
Allâhu ta’âlâ from His Prophet and
brought them to us, and who strengthened the foundation of the Islamic
religion. It is them who made Islam reach every country. It is them who spread
Allâhu ta’âlâ’s religion over His lands and among His human slaves. Is there a
blessing greater than the Islamic religionthat
has reached us? All of us must be always thankful to them for their goodnesses.
The acts of grudge, enmity, vilification and malediction perpetrated against
the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and based on
concoctions, lies, slanders and false stories, which did not exist in times
closer to that of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ and which appeared afterwards, are all the soot and grime of
the earliest sedition manufactured by Abdullah bin Saba’. It is wâjib[1] for us
all to keep away from these corybantic movements and the like.
We should believe in the fact that the wars among the
Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ were based on religious
considerations, rather than being the consequences of evil purposes or
maleficent intentions. From the religious, logical, traditional and historical
points of view, we have no business to comment on whether their actions were
right or wrong or to pass judgment on their preferences. Anything that is
overtly disagreeable with or contradictory to the Qur’ân al-kerîm or hadîth-i-sherîfs is kufr (disbelief). What
makes an act or behaviour heretical, sinful or corrupt, however,
---------------------------------
[1] Necessary; a religious duty; incumbent on.
is not necessarily in overt and direct contradiction to them.
Then, it is not something religiously permissible to criticize or malign
Mu’âwiya or other people like him ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’. For, they are all in
the group of Sahâba-i-kirâm whom Allâhu ta’âlâ and our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ praises. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
stated, “May people who malign or curse any one
of my Ashâb be accursed in the view of Allâhu
ta’âlâ and angels and all people!” It is not something sinful not to curse the devil, who is
accursed. The wisest policy is not to curse any creature. Nor is it anything
advisable to curse Yazîd or Hajjâj.
The Muslims in the group of Ahl as-sunnat wa-l-jamâ’at esteem and love
each and every one of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’;
then, why should one presume that they do not love Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’
despite his multifarious relationships to our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wasallam’, -he
was his paternal first cousin, son-in-law, and spiritual brother-, and in the
face of the fact that he was praised in so many hadîth-i-sherîfs that no other Sahâbî attained an equal number of praisals? Such
an ignorant presumption, alongside its slanderous implication, would mean to deliver
love of Hadrat Alî into Shiites’ possession.
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Allâhu ta’âlâ has commanded me to love
four people. So I love them.” When he was asked who they
were, he explained, “Alî is one of them; Alî is one of
them; Alî is one of them; and (the others are) Abű Zer, Mikdâd and Salmân.”
Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ commanded
the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘ridwânullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în’ to be brotherly with one
another. Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ came to the Huzűr-i-sa’âdat and said, “Yâ
Rasűlallah (O Messenger of Allah)! Why didn’t you make me anyone’s brother?”
Upon this the Prophet stated, “You are my brother in the world and in the Hereafter.”
One day Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ related: Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ said
to me, “He who loves you is a Believer. He who dislikes you is only
a munâfiq[1].”
Abű Sa’îd-i-Hudrî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated: “The
criterion by
---------------------------------
[1] A person who pretends to be a Muslim though he is not.
which we knew Believers from munâfiqs was based on sympathy and
antipathy for Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’.”
It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “I am the city of knowledge. Alî is the gate to the city.” Imâm
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ related: I was very young when Rasűl-i-akram
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ wanted to send me as a judge to Yemen. I said,
“O Messenger of Allah! I am young yet. How can I be a judge for the people
there?” He put his blessed hand on my chest and invoked, “Yâ Rabbî (O my Allah)! Give hidâyat (guidance) to his heart and thebât (firmness,
perseverance) to his tongue!” It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “Alî is the most eligible for judgeship
and the most knowledgeable of you.” It is stated
in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “It is an act of worship to look at Alî. A person who has hurt Alî
has hurt me, so to speak.” It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “Affection towards Alî is affection towards me. And affection
towards me is affection towards Allâhu ta’âlâ. Enmity towards Alî is enmity
towards me. And enmity towards me is enmity towards Allâhu ta’âlâ.” It is stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “Allâhu ta’âlâ ordered me to give my
daughter Fâtima in marriage to Alî. Allâhu ta’âlâ created each prophet’s progeny through him, yet He creates my progeny through Alî.” In another occasion he stated, “Îmân (belief) has its symptoms: Its first symptom is to love Alî. Alî is the
guide of the good. A person who helps Alî will attain help himself. Those who
try to cause trouble to Alî incur their own destruction. Paradise is in love
with three people: Alî, Salmân and Ammâr.” It is stated
in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “A munâfiq’s heart will never share the combined love for the
following four people: Abű Bakr, ’Umar, ’Uthmân, and Alî.” ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’.
All the hadîth-i-sherîfs written so far were translated from the book Manâqib-i-Chihâr Yâr-i-ghuzîn, by
Hadrat Sayyid Ayyűb. The book, which renders a perfectly long and elaborate
account of the greatness of the four Khalîfas and of all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, is
in Turkish; it was printed in 1325, and reproduced in 1998 (A.D.). We
importantly recommend that those who understand Turkish read it.
Affection towards Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ is symptomatic of being
in (the group of) Ahl as-sunnat. And it is
wrong
to say that affection towards him necessitates disaffection towards the other
three Khalîfas. To dislike another Sahâbî or a few other Sahâbîs for the
purpose of showing affection towards him means to deviate from the right
course. Imâm-i-Shâfi’î ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ stated in a distich:
If they call those who love Alî ‘Shiites’,
Know, you, o humans and genies, I am a Shiite.
Both Shiites and Sunnites profess love of Muhammad’s
‘alaihis-salâm’ Âl and Ahl-i-bayt (household and children). What makes them
different is that one group love the other Sahâba as well, whereas the other
group do not. The Ahl-i-bayt and the Âl-i-Abâ, or the Âl-i-Rasűl ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’, are loved above all by the Ahl as-sunnat.
The book Manâqib-i-Chihâr
Yâr-i-ghuzîn, from the four hundred and fortieth
[440] page onwards, enlarges on the greatness of the Ahl-i-bayt ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. The first episode reads as follows:
Allâhu ta’âlâ says to the Ahl-i-bayt, i.e. Imâm Alî,
Fâtima-t-uz-zahrâ, Imâm Hasan and Imâm Husayn, in the Qur’ân al-kerîm: “Allâhu ta’âlâ wishes to remove all sorts of deficiency and dirt
from you, and He wills to clean you with perfect purification.” The Ashâb-i-kirâm asked, “O the Messenger of Allah! Who are the
Ahl-i-bayt?” At that moment Imâm-i-Alî joined them. The blessed Prophet took him under his blessed overcoat.
Then he sent for Hadrat Fâtima. When she came, clad as she was properly and in
a manner compatible with Islam’s prescription, he took her under his blessed
overcoat, too. The next comer was Imâm-i-Hasan. He took him to his one side;
and taking the final comer, Imâm-i-Husayn, to his other side, he stated “Here, these are my Ahl-i-bayt.” These
blessed people are also called Âl-i-Abâ or Âl-i-Rasűl ‘ridwânullahi ’alaihim ajma’în’.
It is related as follows in the ninth episode in the two hundred and
forty-first [241] page of the same book: Imâm-i-Hasan and Imâm-i-Husayn
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ became ill at a very young age. When the children
recovered health, their father and their mother Fâtimatuzzahrâ and their
servant Fidda began to fast. The first day, they were about to have (the dinner
called)
iftâr[1], when some orphans came to the door.
Giving all the food to the orphans, they began the next day’s fast without
eating anything. The second day’s food also was dispensed with, this time to
some very poor people who had knocked on the door at the same hour as the
orphans had done the previous evening and asked for something to eat “for
Allah’s sake.” So the third day’s fasting began, hungry as they were. The third
evening’s visitors were some slaves, who, too, were given all the day’s food
lest they should go back empty-handed. Upon this, an âyat came down; it
purported, “These people have kept their vows. With
the fear of the Rising Day, which is long and perpetual, they have given their
food which they liked so much and hungered so strongly for to very poor people,
to orphans and slaves. They said, ‘It is for the sake of Allah that we give
this food to you to eat. We expect nothing in the name of gratitude on your part.
Nor do we demand anything in return.’ Therefore, Janâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu
ta’âlâ) has blessed them with the drink called
sharâb-i-tahűr (purest drink).”
Affection towards the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî causes salvation
at the time of death, which means to migrate to the Hereafter with îmân (as a
Believer). Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “My Ahl-i-bayt are like Nűh’s (Noah’s) ‘alaihis-salâm’ ark. He who
follows them will attain salvation. He who lags behind will perish.”
The Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî have myriad virtues and
perfections, which would cost an endless list to attempt to make a tally of. It
is beyond the human power to tell about them or to praise them. The values and
greatnesses they possess are best understood from the âyat-i-kerîmas. Imâm-i-Shâfi’î puts it so
beautifully: “O you the Ahl-i-bayt-i-Rasűl! Allâhu ta’âlâ commands in the Qur’ân al-kerîm to love you. The greatness of your value and your high grades can
be imagined from the fact that (a daily ritual prayer called) namâz[2] performed without a benediction
---------------------------------
[1] Iftâr means the dinner that you eat when you break fast after sunset. There is detailed information about fasting in the second chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss.
[2] The first chapter of the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss contains detailed information about namâz, importance of namâz, kinds of namâz, and how to perform it.
pronounced on you will not be acceptable. Your honour is so great
that Allâhu ta’âlâ salutes you in
the Qur’ân al-kerîm.”
It is farz for every Believer to love the Ahl-i-bayt. It
causes one to die with îmân. Some people with unsound wisdom and narrow
reasoning capacities make a mistake in this subject. They say that love
requires antipathy towards the beloved one’s enemies, (which is right).
Presuming that Âisha-i-siddîqa, Mu’âwiya, Talha and Zubayr ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhum’ were enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt because they fought against the Ahl-i-bayt,
-although they did so in consequence of their ijtihâd-, they nurse a grudge
against those great people. Thereby they deviate from the right course. In fact,
as it becomes clear in the light of âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, those wars between the Ashâb-i-kirâm and the Ahl-i-bayt did not
ensue from worldly ambitions such as position and fame. They were based on
difference of ijtihâd. When they met, their aim was not to make war, but to
reach an agreement. It was the plotting and intrigue carried on by the Jew
named Abdullah bin Saba’ and his accessaries that inflamed the event so that it
escalated into a warlike situation. All the Ashâb-i-kirâm loved the Ahl-i-bayt
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. Not to believe so, i.e. to think that the
Ashâb-i-kirâm were hostile to the Ahl-i-bayt, means to deny the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. The âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs show the fact that the Ashâb-i-kirâm established their capital
of îmân out of their love of Ahl-i-bayt.
Hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ served as a writing secretary in
the presence of our master the Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. Abű Nuaym states that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ was one of the writing secretaries of Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi
wa sallam’, that he had beautiful handwriting, and that he was eloquent,
gentle, and dignified. Zayd bin Thâbit ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ states that Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ wrote the Wahy (âyat-i-kerîmas)
brought by (the Archangel) Jebrâîl and Rasűlullah’s
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ letters. Then, he was a person whom the
Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ trusted. Does this high position
not indicate how exalted he was? Do those people who criticize and malign that
great person not denigrate, by doing so, someone to whom the Sarwar-i-’âlam
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ entrusted the business of writing the Qur’ân al-kerîm? To try to evade this
question
with the prevarication that afterwards he took a turn for the worse would be
even a more insolent felony. For, the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ was the Sultân of ’Ilm al-ladun, i.e. he was made to know (by Allâhu
ta’âlâ) everything that would happen as well as all that had happened; how
could it ever be supposed, then, that he did not know about a future treason?
There is not a single Muslim unaware of Abdullah ibn
Mubârak’s high grade in knowledge. He was a religious imâm (leader). He was
quite advanced in every branch of knowledge. He had accumulated in his person
all the branches of scientific knowledge as well as those of the traditional
knowledge. He was possessed of profound knowledge in fiqh (knowledge teaching
Islam’s commandments, prohibitions, practices, daily transactions, etc.), in
adab (Islamic manners and rules of behaviour), in nahw (Arabic grammar), in
lughat (an extensive branch in linguistics that includes sub-branches such as
lexicon, syntax, semantics, etc.), fesâhat (rhetoric), belâghat (eloquence,
belles lettres), shejâ’at (bravery, valor), furűsiyyat (horsemanship), sehâ
(beneficence), and karam (generosity, kindness). He was steady with midnight
prayers of namâz (called tahajjud). He made hajj[1] various times and joined numerous
Holy Wars against the enemies of religion. At the same time, he was a great
merchant and dispensed a hundred thousand gold coins to the poor yearly. He
feared Allâhu ta’âlâ very much. He
avoided the harâm and doubtful things. He offered financial help to his friends
and people who were in straights and ran for their rescue when they were in
trouble. He did many a generous kindness to great religious luminaries such as
Sufyân-i-Sawrî, Sufyân bin Uyayna, Fudayl bin Iyâd, Ibn Sammâk, and Mesrűq. His
practices were always in concordance with his theory. His learnings were a
perfect reflection of Rasűlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ teachings. Mawlânâ
Abd-ur-Rahmân Jâmî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ praises Abdullah bin Mubârak very
highly and explains his superiority with examples in his book Shawâhid-un-
---------------------------------
[1] Hajj means an act of worship, which,
alongside its other rituals and technicalities, mainly consists of visiting the
Ka’ba. Detailed information about hajj can be found in the seventh chapter of
the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss.
nubuwwa, which he wrote in the Fârisî
language. The so highly praised, great scholar states as follows: “The dust
that went into the nostrils of the horse that Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ rode
as he accompanied Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ is a thousand times as good as
’Umar bin Abd-ul-’azîz’.” What other words do you think would be needed to
confute the obdurate claims?
Whenever the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ said, “Sami’ Allâhu liman hamidah,” in (the bowing position called) rukű’ as he conducted namâz in
jamâ’at, Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who stood in the first line, would add,
“Rabbanâ laka-l-hamd.” This
expression won (the Prophet’s) approval
and approbation, and to say so was established as a sunnat till the end of the
world. Such a great attainment! Given the aforesaid comparison wherein the name
of Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ‘anh’ evokes a praisal of such a great Islamic
scholar as Abdullah ibni Mubarak, whose physical and spiritual superiorities
have been acknowledged by all the religious leaders, what could be so futile as
groping for evidence to prove to the contrary, as these ignorant,
self-indulgent and obstinate people do?
Enemies of Islam who try to mislead the younger
generations profess love of Ahl-i-bayt. If their love of Ahl-i-bayt contained
itself within its precincts, if they were not inimical towards the
Ashâb-i-kirâm, if they respected the Ashâb-i-kirâm and believed that the wars
among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were based on ijtihâd and reflected their unselfish
religious zeal, then they would be clear of the anathema that makes them people
without a certain Madhhab. For, dislike for the Ahl-i-bayt makes one a Khârijî. Dislike felt towards the
Ashâb-i-kirâm means heresy. On the other hand, if you love and respect the
Ahl-i-bayt and all the Ashâb-i-kirâm, you are in the group of Ahl as-sunnat. This means to say that to
be a person without a certain Madhhab means to feel antipathy towards some of
our Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ Ashâb-i-kirâm. And to be a Sunnî Muslim means to protect yourself
against this antipathy and love all of them. A person with firm îmân, a sound
reasoning and an adequate realization of the greatness of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ will
know that to love is better judgement than being hostile to them. Because he
loves our master the Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, he will
love each and every one of them. In fact, as we have already
stated, it is declared in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Affection towards them originates from
affection towards me. And hostility to them is because of hostility to me.”
It is hard to understand why these people should think
that the Sunnî Muslims are inimical towards the Ahl-i-bayt. As we have stated
in the previous pages, it is the Sunnî Muslims who say that dying with îmân,
(as a Believer, that is,) is dependent on loving the Ahl-i-bayt.
Imâm-i-Rabbânî ‘quddisa sirruh’ states as follows in the
thirty-sixth (36) letter: This faqîr’s (my) father was deeply learned in the
zâhirî (physical) and bâtinî branches of knowledge. [Bâtin means something
pertaining to the heart.] He always advised and encouraged to love the
Ahl-i-bayt. He said that affection towards them would be of great help in dying
with îmân. This faqîr (I) was with him as he was passing away. As his
consciousness of this world grew weaker towards his last breath, I reminded him
of his recurrent advice and asked him about the effect of that love. Amidst
those difficult moments he had the zeal to say, “I am bathing in an ocean of
affection for the Ahl-i-bayt.” I immediately made hamd-u-thenâ (thanks and
praise) to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Love of Ahl-i-bayt is a capital for the Ahl
as-sunnat. This capital will be the source of all the earnings in the
Hereafter. People who do not know the Ahl as-sunnat do not recognize the
temperate, equable and true love cherished by these great people and, equating
this modest and fair love with antipathy, they lend themselves to an overdose
of love. They stigmatize the Ahl as-sunna as Khârijîs. These wretched people do
not know that there is a reasonable and moderate type of love between excessive
love and absence of love. And the right one is usually the medial and central
one. This center of right and justice has devolved on the Ahl as-sunnat. May Allâhu ta’âlâ lavish rewards on those great
people for their toil! Âmîn.
It is paradoxical that the people who exterminated the Khawârij and
wreaked the Ahl-i-bayt’s vengeance on them were in the group of Ahl as-sunnat.
Do they think the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims are Shiites? Do they call those who
love the Ahl-i-bayt ‘Shiites’? It is odd of them to call the Ahl as-sunnat
‘Shiites’ when it suits their purposes, and ‘Khawârij’ when it does not. They
are so ignorant that when they hear expressions
articulating
love of Âl-i-Muhammad ‘alaihi wa ’alâ âlihi-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ from the
Awliyâ among the Ahl as-sunnat, they think that these people are Shiites. As a
matter of fact, Ittilâ’ât-i-Hefteghî, a Persian periodical that was issued
regularly in Teheran during the Second World War, concocted a number of
ridiculous stories in its attempt to prove that most of the Sunnî scholars and
Awliyâ, including Sa’dî Shirâzî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, who was a member of
the Qâdirî order, were not among the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims. Naturally, it
received the answer it deserved: mockery. In fact, as he himself (Sa’dî
Shirâzî) stated in his writings, and as it is written in the book Kâműs-ul-a’lâm, by Shams-ad-dîn Sâmi Bey, he had
received a full spiritual degree from Shihâbuddîn Suhrawardî, who in turn had
been a disciple educated and graduated with a full spiritual degree by
Ghaws-i-a’zam Sayyid Abdulqâdîr Geylânî. In other words, he had acquired his
spiritual degree in Tasawwuf from the great luminaries of Ahl as-sunnat. His
lifetime, more than four score and ten years, contains a military career in the
wars against the crusades.
These ignorant people call some blessed Sunnî scholars
‘Khârijîs’ on the grounds that they prohibit from an excessive and harmful
affection for the Ahl-i-bayt ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and try to
establish an all-embracing affection that includes also love of the other three
Khalîfas.[1] Shame on these
two groups of ignorant people, and shame on them thousands of times! How do
they dare make such unsuitable statements? We consign ourselves to Allâhu
ta’âlâ’s protection against such excessive and dangerous affection and against
the calamity of disaffection.
Excessive and dangerous affection is to say, as they do, that affection for Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ necessitates hostility towards the other three Khalîfas. One must be reasonable and think well; what kind of affection could it be to stipulate hostility towards Rasűlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ Khalîfas, who were his representatives? How could it ever necessitate cursing the Ashâb of the Best of Mankind? ‘alaihi wa âlihi wa ashâbihi-s-salawâtu wa-t-tehiyyât’. They blame the Ahl as-
---------------------------------
[1] The first four Khalîfas, called Khulafâ-ar-râshidîn,
are Abű Bakr, ’Umar, ’Uthmân and Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum ajma’în’. ‘The other
three Khalîfas’ means, therefore, ‘the first three’.
sunnat for synthesizing love of Ahl-i-bayt with respect and
deference to Rasűlullah’s Ashâb, for not harbouring ill will towards any one of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ or maligning them on account of the wars and
tumults among them, and for knowing all of them as virtuous people whose hearts
were free from vices such as jealousy and prejudice. Because the scholars of
Ahl as-sunna ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’ esteem our master the Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
company and his words highly, they have a very high opinion of the great and
valuable people who attained the honour of attending his sohbat (company,
togetherness) and hearing the effective words, which were a source of flavour
and life for ears and hearts. Yet they distinguish between the right ones and
the mistaken ones. They know, however, that the base motives such as worldly
ambitions, sensuous desires and bigotry had no business in their mistakes,
which were purely based on ijtihâd and re’y. The Ahl as-sunnat Muslims will
have to feel animosity, so to speak, against those great religious guides of
ours, the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ to win these aberrant people’s
approval. The Khârijîs, on the other hand, want you to be inimical towards the
Ahl-i-bayt ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’, who are Hadrat Muhammad’s ‘alaihi wa ’alâ
âlihi-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ household and closest relatives so that they will be
pleased with you. Yâ Rabbî (O our Allah)! After You guide us to the right way,
protect us from going wrong and deviating from the right way! We will perish if
we are left to ourselves. Bless us with Your Mercy from Your endless Treasury
of Compassion! You, alone, are the true, magnanimous Benefactor who gives all
sorts of goodness to everybody without any return!
As we have explained, according to the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, the
Ashâb-i-kirâm parted into three groups (with respect to ijtihâd). One group had
reached the conclusion after their ijtihâd, which was based on authentic
documents, that Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was right. The other group,
whose ijtihâd also was based on other authentic documents, were of the opinion
that the other party was right. The authentic documents whereon the third
group’s ijtihâd was based led them to the conclusion that no party had a
clearcut ascendancy over the other (with respect to their ijtihâd). Each and
every one of these three groups had to act upon their own ijtihâd. Accordingly,
the
first
group had to support Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. By the same token, the
second group had to help the other party, as their ijtihâd necessitated to do
so. What was correct for the third group to do was not to interfere at all, for
it would have been incompatible with their ijtihâd to give preference to one
party over the other. Then, all three groups acted upon their own ijtihâd. They
did what was necessary and wâjib for them to do. Which one of them can ever be
criticized or castigated for that? Imâm-i-Shâfi’î and ’Umar bin ’Abd-ul-’azîz
state, “Since Allâhu ta’âlâ has protected us
from smearing our hands with their blood, we should protect our tongues from
interfering with their business!” This statement shows that it would be wrong
for us even to say that one party was right and the other party was wrong. For,
a mujtahid will be given a blessing even when he is mistaken; that blessing is
for his ijtihâd and painstaking investigation.
When the ijtihâds of two mujtahids disagree with each other, each
mujtahid has to consider his own ijtihâd to be right and the other one’s
ijtihâd wrong. For instance, bleeding nullifies ablution in the Hanafî Madhhab;
yet it does not, in the Shâfi’î Madhhab. Certainly, one of them is correct and
the other one is incorrect. However, can there be more than one correct side in
the same issue? This is a rather deep and complicated matter. Considering that
only one of them is correct, the others should be wrong in the view of Allâhu
ta’âlâ; yet Allâhu ta’âlâ gives two to ten
blessings to the correct side, and one blessing to the erroneous sides each, in
addition to the kindness of forgiving them their error. There are also scholars
who say that it is possible for there to be more than one (contradictory but at
the same time) correct answers for the same matter. For instance,it was a
canonical rule in the dispensation of Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’ for girls to marry
their brothers, which was, inversely, harâm (forbidden) in the dispensations of
the prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’ who came after him; both of
these opposite tenets, however, were the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Since
there cannot be mistakes in the commandments of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, both of the commandments are correct. The former was a
commandment dictated to Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’ and his ummat, whereas the latter
was an injunction granted to the other prophets and their ummats, and both of
them were suitable for the ummats they concerned. What is correct for
every
mujtahid is his own re’y and ijtihâd. An ijtihâd is right and correct for the
Muslims of the Madhhab which it belongs to. Then, there are more than one
correct ways. Therefore, a person who follows one of the (four Islamically
accepted) Madhhabs cannot claim that the Muslims of the other (three) Madhhabs
are in the wrong way or that their ijtihâd, (which makes their Madhhab
different from his own,) is a wrong way. As is seen, every mujtahid has to act
upon his own ijtihâd. The ultimate divine causes and the ulterior benefits
underlying this divine rule are elucidated in a hadîth-i-sherîf,
which reads as follows: “My Ummat’s (Muslims’)
reaching different conclusions in their ijtihâd
ensues from Allâhu ta’âlâ’s extensive compassion,” which points to a
vast area of conveniences that Muslims can utilize without having to overstep
the bounds of Islam. For instance, if a person in the Hanafî Madhhab has a
bleeding that he cannot stop, it will be difficult for him to renew his
ablution, which will be continually broken on account of the continual
bleeding. He can overcome the difficulty by transferring himself to, or by only
imitating, the Shâfi’î Madhhab, (which is based on the ijtihâd, in this
respect, that bleeding will not break one’s ablution). By the same token, if a
person in the Hanafî Madhhab has his teeth filled or crowned without any
darűrat to do so, his ghusl[1] will not be accepted in his Madhhab. This person will
absolve himself from the state of canonical uncleanliness (janâbat) by adapting
himself, (in matters pertaining to ghusl, ablution and other acts of worship
whose acceptability is dependent on ghusl and ablution,) to the Shâfi’î Madhhab,
(whose ijtihâd says that washing inside the mouth is not one of the precepts of
ghusl). On the other hand, the difficulties encountered in the Shâfi’î Madhhab
in matters such as nikâh,[2] talâq, and zakât[3] are surmounted by adapting yourself to the Hanafî
Madhhab.
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the fourth chapter of the
fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss for detailed information about ghusl
for a better understanding of the subject and of such terms as darűrat and
haraj.
[2] ‘Nikâh’ means a marriage contract
performed in a manner prescribed by Islam. ‘Talâq’ means ‘breaking of
marriage’. Please see Endless Bliss, twelfth chapter of the fifth
fascicle.
[3] Two and half percent of one’s property
dispensed to poor Muslims. Please see Endless Bliss, first chapter of
the fifth fascicle for details.
Likewise, the dilemmas faced in matters pertaining to
water[1] by people in the Hanafî and Shâfi’î Madhhabs are resolved by
adopting the conveniences offered in the Mâlikî Madhhab. There are many other
examples for the conveniences (to be utilized owing to the existence of [four,
as of today,] different Madhhabs). For instance, during a journey, people in
the Hanafî Madhhab may adapt themselves to the Shâfi’î Madhhab and perform
early and late afternoon prayers, and evening and night prayers, at the same
time, respectively. For, when a person in the Hanafî Madhhab performs namâz on
a moving ship or train, his namâz becomes nullified if he loses his standing
position in the direction of Ka’ba because of the change of directions on the
course followed by the ship or train. The teachings offered by the Islamic
scholars about the utilization of the other (three) Madhhabs are written at
length in the Turkish book Se’âdet-i-ebediyye, (a part of which has been translated into English and published
in fascicles under the title Endless Bliss).
It is the greatest blessing of Allâhu ta’âlâ for a person to love the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’, to be attached to them, and to yearn for a
life-style imitative of theirs, for they are the most valuable and select group
strained out of the entire mankind. Since it is stated, “A person will be with the people he loves,” in a hadîth-i-sherîf, those who love them will be with them, and very close to the
positions they occupy in Paradise.
The scholars of Ahl as-sunna ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’
have realized by means of the documentary evidences they had obtained that Imâm
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was right and that the other party were mistaken in
their ijtihâd. In fact, since it was a mistake made in ijtihâd, no one has the
right even to make a comment. Then, how can anyone ever say that they were
guilty and accursed people? They performed ijtihâd, which was a religious
commandment. They exerted themselves and did their best. The conclusion they
reached was the truth in their eyes. Their disagreeing with each other was like
the disagreements (with respect to some religious practices) among the leaders
of the (four) Madhhabs. As we have stated earlier in the text, Imâm Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ said, “Our brothers do not agree with us. They are not
disbelievers. Nor are they sinful at all. For
---------------------------------
[1] Please see Endless Bliss, seventh
chapter of the fourth fascicle for detailed information on water and kinds of
water.
they have ijtihâds and findings that protect them against
disbelief and sinfulness.” Some people traduce those who fought against Imâm
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. Scholars, on the other hand, state that Imâm Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was right, although they do not fault-findingly comment on
the ijtihâd of the other party. They do not censure, or even criticize any one
of them. Our master, the Khayr-ul-besher (the Best of Mankind) ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’, stated, “Fear Allâhu ta’âlâ if you should say
anything about my Ashâb!” He repeated this statement
several times in order to stress its importance. At another occasion he stated,
“Each of my Ashâb is like a star in the sky. If you follow
any one of them, you will attain salvation.” There
is a great number of hadîth-i-sherîfs emphasizing the value, the greatness and the highness of each
Sahâbî. Then, we should hold all of them as valuable and exalted people, and we
should know that all their actions, including those which appear to be
mistakes, were the fruits of beautiful intentions. This is the Madhhab of Ahl
as-sunnat.
Some people have overstepped the bounds of moderacy in this matter.
They say that those who fought against Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ were
disbelievers. They do not feel shame at hurling the bitterest invectives at the
greatest religious leaders. If their purpose were to state that Hadrat Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ had been right and the other party had been mistaken,
following the way led by the Ahl as-sunnat would suffice for that purpose. They
would not have to curse or castigate those great paragons of the religion,
which is quite incompatible with Islam. Indeed, the course these people have
been pursuing in the name of religion appears to consist in cursing the
Ashâb-i-kirâm, the blessed Companions of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, which is sheer
irreligiousness. What kind of a religion can something be if its basic act of
worship is to swear at our Prophet’s
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ Khalîfas? Throughout long centuries, several
people in the world have fabricated various falsities and swerved from the
right way by adhering to heresies. Of all those heretics, no group have
equalled Shiites and Khârijîs in their race to get away from Islam. What share
from the right way could be considered due to people whose credo is based on a
systematic vituperation of Islam’s spiritual élite? This group consists of
twelve sub-groups; all of them hold the belief and say that the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’
were disbelievers. They mention them with the most offensive and slanderous
language. They deem it as an act of worship to curse three of the four
Khalîfas. When they learn the hadîth-i-sherîfs
admonishing about the torment that be inflicted on such people in Hell, they
think that others are meant by such people. Would they know the consequence of
the course they have been following and ceased from their attitude; how beautiful
it would be if they desisted from their animus towards our master the Prophet’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
Ashâb-i-kirâm! Likewise, Christians call themselves ‘Îsawîs’ (followers of Îsâ
‘alaihis-salâm’), while Jews are Műsawîs (followers of Műsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’) in
their own view. Neither group calls itself ‘disbelievers’. Both groups are
wrong; they are all disbelievers.
Enmity against the Ashâb-i-kirâm was invented by a Jewish convert
named Abdullah bin Saba’. Although it was forgotten in the course of time, Shâh
Ismâ’îl Safawî rekindled it and spread it over the world, thus inflicting a
gaping wound on the Islamic religion and causing an abyss in the Islamic world.
The ancestry of this man, who founded the State of Safawiyya in Iran in 907 [1501
A.D.], can be traced back to Safiy-ad-dîn Ardabilî, his sixth grandfather, a
pious Muslim in the (chain of Islamic scholars called) Sôfiyya-i-aliyya, and
who had received a full spiritual degree from Muhammad Geylânî. Safiy-ad-dîn’s
great grandson, Junayd, was deported from Ardabil by the ruler of the Akkoyunlu
State, Mirzâ Jihân Shâh, who had been alarmed by the huge number of his
disciples and followers. He came to Diyâr-i-Bakr, in southeastern Turkey, and
received asylum from Hasan (the Tall), the ruler of the Karakoyunlu State.
Later he married Hasan the Tall’s sister. Also, his son, Khaydar, married Hasan
the Tall’s daughter. Shâh Ismâ’îl’s father and later his brother were killed.
Afterwards he took revenge for his father, established a government in Tabriz,
Iran, and proclaimed overt enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. In order to
mislead Muslims easily, he claimed to be a descendant of Imâm Műsâ Kâzim
‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’, one of the Twelve Imâms All the Muslims living in Iran
up until his time had been Sunnî Muslims. He was a notorious sadist whose
cruelties include the spitting and roasting alive of Shirwanshah, whose sole
offense was to have been the third ruler of the State of Dirbandîya, to the west of Caspian Sea, because
the earlier
rulers
of that state had exterminated the fitna and fasâd (mischief and instigation)
provoked by his father, and his putting all the Sunnî Muslims to the sword when
he invaded Tabriz.
Before Shâh Ismâ’îl’s heretical movement, which is the
only dirty passage blemishing Islam’s history, not a single word critical of
the Ashâb-i-kirâm had been heard from any scholar or teacher or disciple at any
lecture or conference in any school or madrasa in any of the Islamic countries.
Scholars of the Hanafî Madhhab had not given their approval even for cursing
Yazîd. Only, a few people who had been misguided had taken an overrating
attitude towards the Ahl-i-bayt ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. Yet they
had not said anything incompatible with Islam or Islamic manners about the
Sahâba-i-kirâm. In underrating the value of the Ahl-i-bayt, Abbasids were ahead
of Umayyads.
Shâh Ismâ’îl, whose reign coincides with that of Yavuz Sultân Selîm
Khân ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’, exploited the religion as a means for his political
purposes and did his best to mislead Muslims out of the way of Ahl as-sunnat in
order to achieve his goals. Sending his men out far and near, he smeared Muslim
countries with his heresies. Because the Bektâshî order was in the hands of the
ignorant in those days, the heresy easily caught on in the Bektâshî convents.
So the convents were closed for the purpose of protecting the country from the
nuisance. The remnants of the convents scattered around, found asylum in other
convents here and there, and carried on their activities, this time in a
clandestine way and in a sporadic frequency. They began to imbue the naive and
gullible Anatolian Muslims coming to the convents with the noxious idea that
love of the Ahl-i-bayt necessitates enmity towards the Ashâb-i-kirâm. The
convent leadership, (wherein the leaders are called shaikhs,) mutated into a
legacy that passed from the father on to the son, which in turn meant its
mostly being occupied by incompetent, heedless and unlearned people, who were
totally unaware of the Sunnî creed and therefore fell easy prey to the
dissemination of the corrupt credo. They related false stories reflecting their
heretical views and base worldly ambitions and interests in the name of
historical accounts of the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anhum ajma’în’. They distorted the facts and events. They concocted abominable
tales. They misinterpreted âyat-i-kerîmas and
hadîth-i-sherîfs. In the course of time the ugly credo
tunneled its way into all the dervish convents, so that there was almost no
dervish convent left unstained with the smudges of the Shiite heresy.
During the entire Umayyad period, except for the times of
a few of the Khalîfas such as Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, his grandson
Mu’âwiya II, and ’Umar bin Abd-ul-’azîz, the detestable practice of vilifying
the Ahl-i-bayt and fabricating lies that were not worthy of their high grades
was rife among the Muslims. The Abbasid dynasty, on the other hand, had no
members knowledgeable enough to perform ijtihâd, and the candidates for
caliphate tried to seize the office only for worldly purposes; this state of
affairs offered a misleading example for the time’s historians, so they wrote
about the events among the Ashâb-i-kirâm by likening them to those among the
Abbasid Khalîfas. Also, they calumniated, blemished and misrepresented the
Umayyad Khalîfas.
Perhaps these people identify the Ahl-i-bayt-i-nabawî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ with themselves. They think that those exalted people also were inimical towards Hadrat Abű Bakr and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’. They imagine their own hypocritical, double-faced persons in their visualization of those great people. They surmise that the widely known friendship between Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and the other three Khalîfas must have been a mere façade to mask some inner political considerations and that his apparent affection and homage towards them must have been insincere and hypocritical. So ambivalent an attitude. If these people loved the Ahl-i-bayt really because they loved Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, they would inevitably feel animosity towards his enemies. In fact, their vituperation of his enemies would necessarily be more acrid than all this scurrility they have been waging against the postulated enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt. No one has heard any one of these people curse or swear at Abű Jahl, who was Rasűlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ arch enemy and who continuously hurt and tormented his blessed body and delicate soul. On the other hand, they do not hesitate to curse and cast the dirtiest aspersions on Abű Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, who was the most beloved companion of the messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and whose great and exalted person attained many a praise in âyat-i-
kerîmas
and hadîth-i-sherîfs; and this they do only
because they suppose he was an enemy of the Ahl-i-bayt. What kind of a religion
is it that they have been practising in the name of Islam? May Allah protect us
against a belief based on the supposition that Hadrat Abű Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were hostile to the Ahl-i-bayt. If these unconscionable
people only did not begrime the names of the greatest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ in the maledictions they have been pronouncing against the
enemies of the Ahl-i-bayt, there would be no difference between them and the
Ahl as-sunnat Muslims, who, too, feel animosity towards the enemies of the
Ahl-i-bayt and say that they are evil and base people. Another thing that makes
the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims good people is that they have not given their
sanction to those who will curse in name a certain disbeliever or villain, with
the hope that the person concerned may have become a Muslim or made tawba, although
they approve of a condemnation directed towards disbelievers en masse. The few
disbelievers they curse in name are the ones who are certainly known to have
died as unbelievers, -may Allah protect us against such a destiny! These
people, on the other hand, do not feel shame to curse Hadrat Abű Bakr and
Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhuma’. They speak ill of the greater ones of the
Ashâb-i-kirâm. May Allâhu ta’âlâ guide them to
the right way!
They differ from the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims in the
following two important points:
1– The first difference is that the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims say that all
four Khalîfas were rightly-guided and their caliphates were rightful. For, our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “After me, there will be a thirty-year period of caliphate.”
This is one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs foretelling
about future events. The thirty-year period was over by the end of the
caliphate of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. This hadîth-i-sherîf
refers to the (first) four Khalîfas whose caliphates were in correct order.
These people, by contrast, do not believe in the righteousness of the
caliphates of the (first) three Khalîfas. They say, “The first three caliphates
were obtained by force. No one but Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ had the right
to become Khalîfa. Hadrat Alî’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ homage and obedience to the
other three Khalîfas were a requirement of (the dissimulative policy called) taqiyya, which means that he had to
do
so, though unwillingly.” These words of theirs show that they think that the
Ashâb of the Best of Mankind behaved mendaciously and hypocritically towards
one another. According to these people, “Those who loved Hadrat Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and the ones who were against him pretended to have
sympathy for one another for years, they hid the antipathy in their hearts, and
they dissembled their enmity by acting friendly.” According to them, all the
Ashâb-i-kirâm, who were educated and matured in the blessed sohbat of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, were
“deceitful, mendacious and double-faced people. They hid what really was in
their hearts and dissembled affection, which their hearts did not feel at all.”
Accordingly, they must have been “the worst of this Ummat (Muslims),” and Rasűlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ sohbat
must have been “the worst of all the sohbats and lessons,” since the
wickednesses imputed to them would have been communicated by him. According to
these people, the era of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ must have been
“the worst era,” since it is allegedly an era wherein “animus, vengeance and
hypocrisy prevailed.” However, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares,
as is purported in the Fat-h sűra of the Qur’ân al-kerîm:
“They are always compassionate towards one another.”
May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against such
heretical beliefs!
If the predecessors of this Ummat had all the so-called wickednesses,
could their successors have anything in the name of goodness? Have these people
not seen or heard of the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the superiority
attained by attending the sohbat of our master the Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and about the goodness and value of this Ummat?
Or do they not believe them although they have heard of them? It is those great
people who taught us the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs. If the Ashâb-i-kirâm
‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ were wicked people, wouldn’t something learned from them be
wicked, too? Is their real purpose under the cloak to undermine the religious
faith and thereby to destroy Islam? Pretending to love the Ahl-i-bayt, they are
trying to annihilate Islam. If they only spared some value at least for the
ones who had loved Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and exempted them from the
shame of hypocrisy that they impute to them all! If the Ashâb-i-kirâm, some of
whom, they allege, loved
Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and the others did not, had pretended
to get along together and hidden the alleged vices of mendacity, grudge and
hypocrisy, how could they ever have had any goodness at all? How could their
words ever be believable? They speak ill of Abű Hurayra ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ and
swear at him. They are unaware of the fact that to censure him means to censure
half of Islam’s teachings. As is stated by our superiors who have attained the
grade of ijtihâd in religious scholarship, there are three thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs communicating Islam’s teachings. In
other words, three thousand Islamic rules, (termed ahkâm-i-shar’iyya,) have
been conveyed by way of sunnat. Fifteen hundred of these three thousand hadîth-i-sherîfs have been reported on the authority
of Abű Hurayra. Then, to vilify him means to vilify half of the
ahkâm-i-shar’iyya. Imâm-i-Muhammad bin Ismâ’îl Bukhârî states that more than
eight hundred people reported hadîth-i-sherîfs
that they had heard from Abű Hurayra ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. Each and every one of
those eight hundred people was either a Sahabî or a Tâbi’. Four of them are
Abdullah bin Abbâs; Abdullah bin ’Umar; Jâbir bin Abdullah; and Enes bin Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhum ajma’în’. The statement censuring Abű Hurayra ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, which
these aberrant people report, is not a hadîth-i-sherîf.
It is a mere concoction. On the contrary, the hadîth-i-sherîf
praising him for his deep learning and his broad comprehensive capacity is
(among those most authentic groups of hadîth-i-sherîf
termed) mashhűr[1]. First, imagine such a great person guilty of hostility towards
Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, and then, hurl a torrent of invectives against
him as a form of punishment; what a rank injustice! This aberration is
consequent upon an overdose of sympathy. It may cost them their îmân. Their
allegation also bears the construction that Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ “pursued
the two-faced policy of tacit consent.” How will they explain away the praises
he lavished on the Shaikhayn, i.e. Hadrat Abű Bakr and ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhumâ’? What will they do in the face of his statements, which he made in the
presence of several people during his caliphate and which emphasized the
previous three
---------------------------------
[1] There is detailed information in the fifth and sixth chapters of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss about kinds of hadîth-i-sherîf and books reporting hadîth-i-sherîfs.
Khalîfas’, (i.e. Hadrat Abű Bakr’s, Hadrat ’Umar’s and Hadrat
’Uthmân’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’,) eligibility for the office? In
fact, if they answer that he deliberately did not say that caliphate had been
his right or that the previous three Khalîfas had occupied the office unjustly,
then what compelled him to emphasize their eligibility for the office and to
acknowledge their superiority to him? Furthermore, how will they construe the hadîth-i-sherîfs telling about the
superiority of the first three Khalîfas, and what other construction will they
suggest about the hadîth-i-sherîfs giving the good news of Paradise to other Sahâbîs? As a matter
of fact, they cannot permissibly say that our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ was
also two-faced. Prophets have to state the facts. And even furthermore, what
will they say about the âyat-i-kerîmas praising those great people? Will they blame Allâhu ta’âlâ, too?
Allâhu ta’âlâ declares in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, as is purported in the
sűras Tawba, Mâida, Mujâdala, and Bayyina,
“We are
pleased with all their doings. And each and every one of them is pleased with
Allâhu ta’âlâ.” That means to say that they both
loved and were loved.
It is purported in the sűras A’raf and Hijr,
“We, ’azîm-ush-shân, have removed ghil and ghish from their hearts.” It means, “We have exterminated such vices as grudge, treachery
and animus towards one another in their hearts.” That means to say that no
Sahâbî could possibly have harboured any jealousy or any grudge against any
other Sahâbî. These vices had already been uprooted and thrown away from their
hearts. All of them had attained (the grade called) Haqq-ul-yaqîn. The wars and
struggles among them were based on ijtihâd. Since every one of them had to act
upon his own ijtihâd, none of them can be blamed.
Jenâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ) declares to His Rasűl-i-ekrem (the Prophet) ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, as is
purported in the Anfâl sűra, “Allâhu ta’âlâ and
those Believers who adapt themselves to you will suffice for you.”
At that time the number of the Ashâb-i-kirâm was quite small. A careful
reflexion on the meaning of the âyat-i-kerîma
will reveal the greatness and highness of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. Accordingly, each and every one of them would have been
of adequate help in the Sarwar-i-’âlam’s ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi
wa
sallam’ task of propagating the Islamic religion over the world. Allâhu ta’âlâ places their name beside His Own Name,
and declares, “I am sufficient for you, and these people will serve as the
manifestation of My sufficiency. In appearance, they will be sufficient for
you, and you will need no one else.”
Jenâb-i-Haqq declares, as is purported in the sűra of
Fat-h,
“Allâhu ta’âlâ is pleased with those Believers who have paid
homage to you, [that is, who have promised that
they will do all your commandments unconditionally,]
under the tree.” Those people were the
Sahâba-i-kirâm. And He adds, “And He gives them
Sekîna, [i.e. serenity and firmness to their hearts,] and He knows their love, sidq (faithfullness) and ikhlâs (true attachment) to you, and He blesses them with the good news that He will reward
them with a fat-h (conquest) and a victory which is very close.” This âyat-i-kerîma points to the promise made under a tree called Sidra, or Sumra,
at the peace agreement of Hudaybiya. As is seen, it is stated (in the Qur’ân al-kerîm) that each and every one of
the Sahâba ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ had attained ridâ-i-ilâhî (love
and approval of Allâhu ta’âlâ), that their hearts were pure and true and
blessed with Sekina, and that they would be rewarded with Fat-h-i-qarîb
(conquest which is very close); all these blessings clearly testify about the
greatness of their grade and honour.
Another âyat-i-kerîma of Fat-h sűra purports,
“Those who have
made homage to you, i.e. those who have promised with
solemn resolution that they will keep you company in your Holy Wars and Jihâd
and in your endeavours to propagate the Islamic religion, to admonish My slaves
and to guide them to the right way;
they have made
mubâye’a (a covenent)
with Allah jalla shânuhű.”
Another âyat-i-kerîma purports, “They love Allâhu ta’âlâ. And Allâhu ta’âlâ loves them, too.” As is seen, all the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’ had attained a grade where one loves Allâhu
ta’âlâ and is loved by Him.
It is purported in Tawba sűra,
“Allâhu ta’âlâ is pleased with the inhabitants of Mekka-i-mukarrama,
who have been called Muhâjirîn, with the inhabitants of Medîna-i-munawwara, who
have been called Ansâr, and with those who follow them in goodness. And they,
too, are pleased with Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Hadrat
Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was
one of the great ones and notables of the Sahâba who lived in
Mekka-i-mukarrama.
The sublime meaning of the seventy-second âyat of Anfâl
sűra is:
“All these people have furnished a
dwelling for the Prophet ‘alaihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ among themselves and helped and
supported him in his spreading the Islamic religion.” As Imâm Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated, during the conquest of
Damascus, the Damascene Christians acknowledged, “The Ashâb (Companions) of your Prophet are better than our
Apostles. For, their names are mentioned and they are praised in the Torah and
in the Gospels.”
Imâm Mâlik ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ took the above âyat-i-kerîma of the sűra-i-Fat-h as a basis for
his conclusion that those who disliked the Ashâb-i-kirâm would become
disbelievers. Imâm Shâfi’î ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’ also reached the same
conclusion.
As these âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs show, Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Messenger ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ recognized all
the Ashâb-i-kirâm as ’âdil (just, pious, righteous) people. When a group of
people are good in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ and in the eyes of His Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, what could be the importance of
others’ not recognizing them as good people, and how could it ever harm the
fact that they are good people? Supposing that the Sahâba-i-kirâm were not
praised in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs, certain facts about them,
e.g. that they supported Islam and helped our master the Prophet ‘alaihis-salâtu wassalâm’ at the
sacrifice of their property, lives, parents and children and the firmness of
their îmân, would suffice to show clearly that they all were ’âdil Muslims, and
we would still have to know them as such. This is the Madhhab held by the
scholars of Ahl as-sunnat.
So many are the hadîth-i-sherîfs stating the great virtues, the high grades, the honours and the
ranks of the Sahâba-i-kirâm that it is impossible to cite them one by one. The hadîth-i-sherîfs stated about all of them
would make up huge volumes of books. Let us state some of them:
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ stated:
“All my Ashâb are luminous like stars,
both as a community and individually. If you adapt yourself to any one of them
and follow the way he guides, you will attain
love of Allâhu ta’âlâ, which is the true salvation, perfection and felicity for the human
race.” It is for this reason that our religious leaders, the Islamic
superiors, adopted the statements, the behaviours and the actions of each of
the Sahâba-i-kirâm as documents and exemplary models. What our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ means in this hadîth-i-sherîf is this: “If you recognize any one of
my Ashâb as the imâm (leader) of your Madhhab, adapt yourself to his guidance,
act upon his ra’y and ijtihâd, and follow the way he guides, then you will be
following the right way.” Hence, they were all mujtahids. Each and every one of
them had attained the knowledge, the high grade, the perfection and luminosity
of heart that would enable them to extract from âyat-i-kerîmas
and hadîth-i-sherîfs those religious teachings
that had not been explained with overt clarity in âyat-i-kerîmas
and hadîth-i-sherîfs. It is for this reason
that, whenever the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ was to send
his Sahâbîs abroad on the mission of teaching Islam to other people, -in fact,
many Sahâbîs were sent overseas for the same purpose-, he would usually give
them the following advice: “You will most probably encounter new events and
situations for which you will not find overtly explained solutions in the Qur’ân al-kerîm or in the hadîth-i-sherîfs.
First, minutely study the âyat-i-kerîmas (that
you want to utilize to extract solutions for the questions and problems you
encounter), taking into consideration all their aspects such as their delâlat
(denotations, significations, connotations), ishârat (indications, signs),
ruműz (symbols, ciphers), ifâda (phraseology, expression), the affirmative and
contradictory meanings they convey, and the obligations that their commandments
include, and then act upon the rules you will extract, telling other people to
follow your example!” This is the duty of mujtahids. He likened each of the
Sahâba-i-kirâm to a star, for people who have lost their ways out in the open
seas, in mountains, on hills and in dales, in wildernesses and deserts, and
people who need to know the direction of qibla or other directions find their
way owing to stars and their light. After the time of happiness, (i.e. the time
of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’,)
the Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn (the earliest
four Khalîfas, namely, Abű Bakr, ’Umar, ’Uthmân, and Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum
ajma’în’) and all the other Sahâbîs knew one another as mujtahids. None of them
said that the others’ ijtihâds
were
wrong. Likewise, most of the Tâbi’în-i-kirâm attained the grade of ijtihâd
owing to the education and training they received in the sohbats and lessons of
the Ashâb-i-kirâm. By the same token, their sohbats and lessons raised some of
their successors, the Taba’i tâbi’în, to the grade of ijtihad. Imâm-i-a’zam Abű
Hanîfa, Imâm Mâlik, Imâm Shâfi’î, Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imâm Awzâî,
Sufyân-i-Sawrî, Sufyân bin Uyayna, and Dâwűd-i-Tâi were only a few of them.
Their number became lower and lower in the course of time, so that by the end
of the third (Islamic) century scholars knowledgeable enough to fulfil the
requirements for performing ijtihâd could no longer be raised. Meanwhile, the
Madhhabs of most of the earlier mujtahids were forgotten, and only four of them
survived; they are today’s four valid Madhhabs; the names of their leaders
(imâms) were Imâm-i-a’zam, Imâm Shâfi’î, Imâm Mâlik, and Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’. After them, no one has attained the rank and grade (of
ijtihâd). Therefore, today’s Muslims have only four choices of Madhhabs; they
have to adopt only one of them.
May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless people who do
not believe in the Madhhabs with discernment sound enough to see the facts in
the face of the âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs of which we have paraphrased only a
few! Everybody knows that hypocrisy is a sign of villainy. Can a Sahâbî ever be
said to have been a hypocrite, especially if he was (Hadrat Alî, whose nickname
was) Lion of Allah, who was among the greatest ones? It would not be something
anomalous for them to say that he kept the truth secret for a couple of days
for some social or other reasons. Yet it would be a vicious and ignoble slander
against the Lion of Allah to impute to him a thirty-year-long quiescence that
could have been indicative of treacherous motives and to say that he lived in
hypocrisy for such a long time. It is said (by scholars) that venial sins
develop into grave sins when they are committed continuously. One should
imagine the gravity of committing continuously for thirty years a sin that is
symptomatic of wicked and hypocritical motives. If they had been aware of the
monstrosity of their allegation and admitted the superiority of the Shaikhayn
(Hadrat Abű Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar), they would have been saved from that
awkward situation of having so perfidiously debased the blessed name of Hadrat
Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’. This would have been the
milder
one of the two vexatious choices in their view. Another point we would like to
stress is that acknowledging the superiority of the Shaikhayn would by no means
connote an intention to disparage Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ or to deny
his caliphate. Nor would it in the least mar his high grade in Wilâyat or his
ranks of hidâyat and irshâd. In contrast, their allegation that he followed a
two-faced policy strips him of all these virtues and honours. For, two-faced
behaviour goes only with hypocrites, with liars and swindlers, who are the
basest people.
It had been foretold in hadîth-i-sherîfs that the Shaikhayn (Hadrat Abű Bakr and Hadrat ’Umar) would take
the office of caliphate, and even that their graves would be beside that of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
Those who are interested in the hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered in praise of Abű Bakr as-Siddîq and ’Umar-abnil-Khattâb
and ’Uthmân-abnil-Affân and Alî-y-ibni-Abî Tâlib ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’; I
recommend that they read the Turkish book Manâqib-i-chihâr
Yâr-i-ghuzîn, which was printed in Istanbul in
the hijrî years twelve sixty-four (1264) and thirteen twenty-five (1325).
The Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ states
about Abű Bakr as-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ as follows: “With the exception of prophets
‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-s-salâm’, the sun has not
risen or set over a person superior to Abű Bakr. He states in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “I have poured into Abű Bakr’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ chest all the
knowledge that Allâhu ta’âlâ poured into my chest.”
The Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ states
as follows in one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs in praise of ’Umar-abnil-Khattâb ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’: “If another prophet were to come after me ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ would be (that) prophet.” Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ asked Jebrâîl (the Archangel Gabriel) about the
grade of Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. “(The Angel) Jebrâîl as I am, were I to state all the virtues and perfections
that ’Umar is endued with, beginning to recount them one by one by the time
when the universe was created, I would not have completed my account of them at
the time of Doomsday,” was the Angel’s answer. However,
all the superiorities of Hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ would add up to only
one of the superiorities that Abű Bakr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was graced with.
It is stated as follows in one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs praising Imâm ’Uthmân
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’: “Every prophet has a companion in Paradise. ’Uthmân
will be my companion there.” It is stated as follows in
one of the hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered to
describe the high grade of Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’: “Alî’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ closeness to me is identical with the closeness of the prophet Hârűn (Aaron) to Műsâ (Moses) ‘alaihis-salâm’.” Hârűn ‘alaihis-salâm’ was Műsâ’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ brother,
vizier, and assistant. That the people who deny the Madhhabs have
misinterpreted and distorted these hadîth-i-sherîfs is explained in the book Documents of the
Right Word, which also provides the answers
they deserve. Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal states that no other Sahâbî has the number
of hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered about
him equal to that of the hadîth-i-sherîfs uttered about Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’.
2– The second difference is that the Ahl as-sunnat Muslims
state that the wars among the Ashâb-i-kirâm were intended not for worldly gains
but for the establishment of truth. They know that all the Ashâb-i-kirâm were
far from vices such as grudge and animus. For, all the Ashâb-i-kirâm had
attained perfect purity owing to the sohbat and guidance of the Best of
Mankind, and vices such as grudge and animus had been extirpated from their
hearts. Each and every one of them had attained the grade of ijtihâd. Since
every mujtahid had to act upon his own ijtihâd and finding, they would
necessarily disagree on points whereon their ijtihâds turned out differently,
and it would be correct for every one of them to follow his own ijtihâd. Then,
their disagreements as well as their agreements were correct. Their
disagreements did not stem from their sensuous desires and ambitions or from
their nafs-i-ammâra. They were the natural fruits of differing ijtihâds.
Ijtihâd means to bring a covert
(Islamic) commandment to light by comparing the unclearly stated commandments
to those which are stated clearly. This work is commanded in the âyat-i-kerîmas reading as, “Fa’tabirű...” and “Was’alű ahl-az-zikri... .” These âyat-i-kerîmas purport to “Apply all your
physical, mental and spiritual energy to derive Islamic rules by comparing
matters that do not exist in the Qur’ân al-kerîm or in the hadîth-i-sherîfs to those which these sources contain.”
It is stated as follows in the book Mîzân:
There are quite a
number
of âyat-i-kerîmas commanding the work of
ijtihâd. The blessed meaning of the forty-fourth âyat-i-kerîma
of the Nahl sűra is, “So that you should explain
what We have revealed to thee....” And the blessed meaning of the
fifty-ninth âyat-i-kerîma of Nisâ sűra is,
“Consult to the Book of Allah and to the hadîths of the
Messenger!” This âyat-i-kerîma
commands to perform ijtihâd.
Of the disciples of Imâm a’zam Abű Hanîfa, the most
eminent ones of those who had attained the grade of ijtihâd were Imâm Abű
Yűsuf, Imâm Muhammad, Imâm Zufar, and Ibn Nujaym ‘rahima humullâhu ta’âlâ’.
They disagreed with Imâm a’zam only in a few matters. They acted upon their own
ijtihâds in those matters. For it was farz (fard) for them to act upon their
own ijtihâds in those matters, and they were not permitted to follow Imâm
a’zam’s re’y and ijtihâd.
By the same token, each and every one of the Sahâba-i-kirâm was a
mujtahid in every sense of the word, and therefore it was farz for them to act
upon their own re’y and ijtihâd in matters that were not clearly stated in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs.
So they did not adapt themselves to the re’y and ijtihâd of those Sahâbîs who,
they knew, were superior to them. For this reason, throughout the lifetime of
the Sarwar-i-’âlâm ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and also during the
caliphates of the Khulafâ-ir-râshidîn (the four earliest Khalîfas, namely Abű
Bakr, ’Umar, ’Uthmân, and Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum ajma’în’), those blessed
Sahâbîs who were sent out to distant countries on the mission of teaching Islam
would be told to make qiyâs (analogy, comparison) in matters without clear
explanations in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs. For instance, when the Most
Honourable of the entire creation assigned Mu’âz bin Jabal ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’
as the governor of Yemen, he questioned him, “What
will be the basis of your decisions and orders there?” “I shall act
upon the Book of Allâhu ta’âlâ,” was the latter’s answer. Then the blessed Prophet proceeded, “What
will you do when (you encounter matters whose solutions) you cannot find in the Qur’ân
al-kerîm?” This time, Mu’âz bin
Jabal was ready with the answer, “I shall adopt the hadîth-i-sherîfs
of the Prophet of Allâhu
ta’âlâ ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ as the guiding principles and
laws whereon to base my decisions, and act upon his statements, manners and
behaviours.” The Best of Mankind pressed on,
“What will you do if you cannot find a clear answer among Rasűlullah’s utterances,
either?” The reply was, “I shall act upon my own ijtihâd without
going beyond the area drawn by âyat-i-kerîmas
and hadîth-i-sherîfs.” When the Rasűl-i-ekrem
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ heard these answers, he paid hamd and thanks to Allâhu ta’âlâ for the knowledgeability and greatness
Mu’âz bin Jabal ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was endued with. This event is written in
books on the branch termed Usűl-i-fiqh, in Menâr and in its annotation Ibn
Melek ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’.
A group of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum
ajma’în’ fought against Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum’ because their
ijtihâd differed from his ijtihâd. Shiites call those people ‘disbelievers’.
They curse them with all sorts of abominable invectives because those people
fought. Yet the fact is that the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ had had
ijtihâds different from that of our master the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ in several matters whose
solutions required ijtihâd. They had not been blamed for those different ijtihâds
of theirs. Nor had they been told to recant their ijtihâds by the angel who had
brought down the Wahy afterwards.
Then, can those who disagreed with Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ in ijtihâd ever be called ‘disbelievers’? Can the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ ever be blamed for this? Quite a number of Muslims disagreed with him in ijtihâd. And they were mostly the greater ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm; in fact, some of them had been blessed with the good news that they would go to Paradise. It is not something easy to call them ‘disbelievers’ or even to criticize them. It was these great people who conveyed to us half of the Islamic religion. Wouldn’t aspersions cast on them be destructive of half of the religion? How can these great people ever be spoken ill of despite the fact that no Islamic scholar has refused a single hadîth-i-sherîf quoted by any one of them? All the hadîth-i-sherîfs they communicated have been accepted by all the learned Muslims regardless of their rank positions and branches in the Islamic sciences. The second most authentic Islamic book after the Qur’ân al-kerîm is (the book entitled) Bukhârî-i-sherîf. Shiites believe so, too. This faqîr, [i.e. Imâm-i-Rabbânî himself,] heard Ahmad Tabtî, an eminent Shiite scholar, acknowledge the fact that after the Kitâbullah (the Book of Allah, the Qur’ân al-kerîm) Bukhârî is the second most authentic book. That book contains hadîth-i-
sherîfs
conveyed by those (of the Ashâb-i-kirâm) who did not follow Hadrat Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as well as by those who followed him. The wars among them
did not by any means damage their justice and rectitude. The book quotes hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of Hadrat Mu’âwiya
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ as well as those on the authority of Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’. Had there been any obscurities or blameworthy aspects about Hadrat
Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ or his quotations, the blessed compiler (of the
book Bukhârî-i-sherîf) would not have written in his book any hadîth-i-sherîfs on the authority of him. The early
Islamic scholars and the experts of hadîth always did so, i.e. they fully
trusted in the authenticity of all the hadîth-i-sherîfs
conveyed by all the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ and, holding the
disagreements that had taken place among them above themselves, they
indiscriminately wrote in their books all the hadîth-i-sherîf
conveyed by all of them. Having disagreed with Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’
(on the part of the Sahâba) was not a sin or a fault in their view. It must be
known well that Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was not necessarily right in all
the (other) matters whereon he disagreed with the others. Nor were those who
disagreed with him always wrong. It is true that he was right in (the
disagreements that were fomented into) the so-called wars. Yet this does not
mean that he must have been always right. In fact, it was by no means a rare
event that the greater ones of the Tâbi’în and the religious leaders did not
follow him and acted upon their own ijtihâds. If the right had always been on
his side, no one would have disagreed with his ijtihâd. For instance, Qâdî
Shurayh ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’, one of the greater ones of the Tâbi’în and an
upper-class mujtahid, did not base his judgement on his ijtihâd and refused
Imâm Hasan’s testimony. Other mujtahids also followed Qâdî Shurayh’s example
and did not accept sons as witnesses for their fathers. In many other
occasions, ijtihâds disagreeing with that of the exalted Imâm (Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’) were preferred. Our conscientious readers are quite aware
of these facts. Then, it is not something sinful to have disagreed with Hadrat
Alî’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ ijtihâd. Nor is it permissible to censure those who
did so.
Âisha-i-Siddîqa ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’ was the darling of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s
darling. She was so beloved to our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ that he would always have her with him. He
passed
away in her room, in her bed, and with his blessed head on her lap. He was
buried in her musk-smelling room, and he has been there ever since. Aside from
all these superiorities and values, she was a great scholar and a mujtahid. Our
master the Prophet ‘alaihis-salâtu wassalâm’ had
left to her the task of teaching others half of the religion. Whenever the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘alaihim-ur-ridwân’ encountered a puzzling question, they would
come to her, ask her and learn the answer from her. It is something
incompatible with Islam to criticize and cast abominable aspersions on such an
exalted and blessed person, who had attained the highest honours such as
Siddîqa and Mujtahida, only because she did not agree with the Emîr [Alî]
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’. A person who believes our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ will not utter such words. As Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anh’ was our Prophet’s sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’ son-in-law and paternal first cousin, likewise Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhâ’ was his zawja-i-mutahhara (one of his pure wives), and a most beloved
one, too.
Until a couple of years ago, whenever this faqîr [Imâm-i-Rabbânî means
himself] gave food to miskîns (very poor Muslims), I had been making my niyyat
(intention for a certain act of worship, e.g. charity) to (present the
blessings earned by means of the charitable act to) the souls of the Ahl-i-abâ.
In other words, I used to send the blessings to the souls of Alî, Fâtima, Hasan
and Husayn ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ as well as to the soul of the Messenger of
Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. One night I had a dream. In the dream, I
saw the Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and made salâm to him. He
would not take my salâm, and turned his face away from me, stating, “I ate my meals in Âisha’s house. Those who wanted to send me
food would send it to Âisha’s house.” I realized that the blessed Prophet’s turning his face away from me was because I
had not added Hadrat Âisha’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’ name to the blessings that I
had been pronouncing on the souls of the aforesaid blessed people after
distributing food (to poor Muslims). From then on, I have added Hadrat Âisha,
and even all the Zawjât-i-mutahhara (the blessed wives of the Prophet) into my niyyat. Ever since, I have been
adding the names of all the Ahl-i-bayt ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’
into my prayers. For, those people, too, (i.e. the Zawjât-i-mutahhara,) were
among the Ahl-i-bayt. Then, distress caused to Rasűlullah
‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ through (something done against) Hadrat Âisha-i-Siddîqa
would be deeper than that caused through Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’. Any
person with common sense and reason will know this fact well. Indeed, these
words of ours are intended for those who love and respect Hadrat Alî
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ because they love and respect our master, the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. If a person loves
him directly, without the sake of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ in between, then we
have no words to say to him; he will not take advice. His purpose is to
demolish Islam and to defile Islam’s tenets.
These people want to eliminate Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi
wa sallam’, to establish a new religion without him, to love and attach
themselves directly to Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. As a matter of
fact, the annals of humanity teem with depictions of tyrants and dictators with
a number of idiotic lackeys and hangers-on around them toadying and trying to
ingratiate themselves with the hope of worldly advantages. All those
flatterers, and the people they lackeyed to and made partners to our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ and
even to the Creator, Allâhu ta’âlâ, in greatness, tumbled down, their bodies rotting, putrefying, and
degenerating into noisome sights. Their dirty souls went straight to Hell, the
place of torment and retribution for the unrestrained life they had led in the
world and for the insults they had flung at Islam. They saw that they had been
wrong.
It is an act of disbelief, aberration and heresy to turn
away from Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ and to hold someone else above him and more
beloved than him. Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ hates people who do so. All the
Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’, including Hadrat ’Uthmân
and Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’, are loved for the sake and love of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
For, it is stated (in a hadîth-i-sherîf), “He who loves them, does so because he
loves me. And their enemy, is so because he is my enemy.”
Talha and Zubayr ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were two of the greatest
Sahâbîs and were also among the (people who were blessed with the good news
that their destination was Paradise and who have been called)
Ashara-i-mubashshara. How can one ever censure them despite the fact that they
were given the good news that they would go to Paradise? To curse them
means
to curse yourself. As ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was about to pass away, he
nominated six people he thought eligible for caliphate and recommended that one
of them be chosen for the office. He himself could not make a choice among
those six people. Two of those six great people were Talha and Zubayr
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’. Both of them relinquished their right of candidature in
favour of the other four. Talha ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was the kind of person who
sacrificed and slew his own father on account of his impudent behaviour towards
the Sarwar-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
Allâhu ta’âlâ praises him for that behaviour in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. As for Zubayr (radiy-Allâhu ’anh’;
the Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
reports that his murderer is in Hell. Those who censure and curse him are no
less wicked than his murderer. Both of them are among the greatest Islamic
luminaries and are very much beloved of all Muslims.
How could one ever find justification for belittling the
Ashâb-i-kirâm in the face of the fact that they worked night and day and beyond
the limits of human energy in their championship of the cause of Islam and in
their enthusiasm to support the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’? They sacrificed their property in the way of Allâhu ta’âlâ. They left
their relatives, families, children, homes, houses, streams, fields and trees
for the love of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. They gave priority to his
blessed body over their own, and to love of him over their affection for their
property and progeny. They are the people who attained the honour of having
kept company with the Best of Mankind, whose sohbat, i.e.
company, togetherness, embellished them with such blessings and high grades as
have never fallen to others’ lot. They eye-witnessed miracles and wonders. They
observed blessings and pieces of knowledge which others have never had the
chance to know of. They were endued with such purity of heart and spiritual
maturity as no one after them has ever been given. Mountains of gold others
paid in the name of charity would not deserve even half the next-worldly
blessings and rewards that those most fortunate people earned by giving a
handful of barley as alms. Allâhu ta’âlâ praises
them as follows in the Qur’ân al-kerîm: “I am pleased with them. And they, in turn, are pleased with
Me.” People who nurse a grudge and enmity towards them are described
as “kâfirűn
(disbelievers,
unbelievers),” at the end of Sűra-i-Fat-h. Then, enmity towards them should be
avoided with the same dread as one would feel towards becoming an unbeliever.
The excessive affection which those blessed people felt towards the Sarwar-i-’âlam
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ made them beloved to him. They cannot be
criticized for having disagreed on some matters and having acted upon their own
ijtihâd. Their disagreement was intended to find the truth and (to obey the
commandment telling each and every one of them to act upon his own ijtihâd and)
not to adopt someone else’s ijtihâd. By the same token, it would have been wrong
for Imâm Abű Yűsuf to have followed Imâm a’zam Abű Hanîfa, (who was his
teacher) ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’, after having attained the grade of ijtihâd. It
was correct of him to follow his own ra’y. Imâm Shâfi’î ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’
would follow his own ra’y instead of adopting the ijtihâds of the
Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’. He always considered it
the right way to make a judgement in accordance to his own ra’y and not to
follow any Sahâbî’s ijtihâd, regardless of who the Sahâbî was and how great he
was, including the Siddîq-i-a’zam (Hadrat Abű Bakr) and Imâm Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhum’. Since it was possible and permissible for any mujtahid not to adopt
the words (ijtihâds) of a Sahâbî ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’, why should the
Sahâba-i-kirâm be held culpable for having disagreed on matters of ijtihâd or
for having discussed those matters among themselves? From time to time, the
Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’ did disagree with the Sarwar-i-’âlam
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ on some matters (whose solutions necessitated
the onerous job) of ijtihâd, and they were not condemned, reprehended or
criticized for having disagreed with our master ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam’; nor were they prohibited from doing so. If
Allâhu ta’âlâ had been displeased with those disagreements on the part
of the Sahâba-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum’, certainly He would have prohibited
them from doing so and would have declared that He would torment those who were
responsible for the disagreements. As a matter of fact, He warned and
reprehended some of them for talking loud with the Messenger of Allah
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
For the same matter, when the blessed Prophet
consulted with the Sahâba-i-kirâm about what they should do with the prisoners
captivated in the Holy War of Bedr, they offered
differing
opinions. ’Umar-ul-Fârűq and Sa’d ibn Mu’âz ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhumâ’ were of the
opinion that the captives should be killed. The other Sahâbîs ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhum’ said, “Let’s demand a ransom for their release.” The Sarwar-i-’âlam
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ accepted the second opinion and set the
captives free. Upon this an âyat-i-kerîma was
revealed to state that the first opinion would have been correct.
Realizing the greatness of the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’ and what the Madhhabs are, requires knowing well what
ijtihâd is.
Do not take pride in your property;
Nor at all say, “There is none else like me!”
It takes an adverse wind to winnow away all that’s yours,
Rendering an abandoned chaff of thee.