bayyinaat

Published time: 14 ,March ,2017      22:55:06
In this write up, we are trying to examine the terms "Shiah" in the Prophetic traditions, particularly from the Sunni sources.
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Meanwhile, apart from the verses discussed in our previous discussion (i.e. Shi’ah in the Qur’an), it is necessary to mention here that the word "Shī’ah” has been used negatively in the Qur’ān as well. Moreover, the Messenger of Allāh (Peace be upon him and his family) has explicitly refer to his followers as "Shī’ah”. Thus, we want to examine those instances in this write-up.

Without any doubt, the term "shī’ah,” has been used in a pejorative sense in a number of verses in the Qur’an:

قل هو القادر على أن يبعث عليكم عذابا من فوقكم أو من تحت أرجلكم أو يلبسكم شيعا ويذيق بعضكم بأس بعض انظر كيف نصرف الآيات لعلهم يفقهون

Say: He has the power that He should send on you a chastisement from above you or from beneath your feet, or that He should throw you into confusion, (making you) of different parties; and make some of you taste the fighting of others. See how We repeat the communications that they may understand[1]

The word "Shiya’” is the plural of shī’ah, which itself is a collective noun, and it means – within the religious context – "a group of adherents.” Thus, Shiya’ refers to several different religious groups and that is the reason why it is often translated as "sects” in the above verse.

Another verse, which actually proves this:

إن الذين فرقوا دينهم وكانوا شيعا لست منهم في شيء إنما أمرهم إلى الله ثم ينبئهم بما كانوا يفعلون

Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects, you have no concern with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they did.[2]

And

من الذين فرقوا دينهم وكانوا شيعا كل حزب بما لديهم فرحون

Of those who divided their religion and became sect, every faction rejoicing in what they had with them.[3]

In line with these verses, it is clear that every sect or group of people is regarded as a shī’ah. Moreover, the adherents of every single religion are likewise a shī’ah:

ولقد أرسلنا من قبلك في شيع الأولين

And certainly We sent (apostles) before you among the nations of yore.[4]

And:

ثم لننزعن من كل شيعة أيهم أشد على الرحمن عتيا

Then We will most certainly draw forth from every sect of them him who is most exorbitantly rebellious against the Beneficent Allah.[5]

These are clear references to all religions and sects. This then shows that the term "shī’ah” in itself is neutral. Every group of adherents – of any religion or any religious figure – are a shī’ah. They cease to be a shī’ah only when they cease to be a group of adherents.

Of course, the term shī’ah has social meanings too. For example, it means "caste” in this verse:

إن فرعون علا في الأرض وجعل أهلها شيعا يستضعف طائفة منهم

Surely, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into parties, weakening one party from among them[6]

Ordinarily, there is no inherent problem from being a member of a shī’ah. After all, the adherents of every religion are called shī’ah in the Qur’an. Rather, it is the head and the mission of such group, which determines whether it is good or evil. For instance, Prophet Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was a Shī’ah of Prophet Nū (Peace be upon him); and al-Sāmirī was originally a Shī’ah of Prophet Mūsā (Peace be upon him). From this, we know that if the head of a shī’ah is a man of Allāh, then it is a good one. However, if he is a deviant, then, it is only one of the deviant groups.

Undoubtedly, the true adherents of Islam are a Shī’ah too in the sight of Allāh. They are the Shī’ah of Muḥammad (Peace be upon him and his family). Meanwhile, the question that come to mind is that did the Holy Prophet himself ever call his adherents a Shi’ah?

Image result for Shia in the Prophetic Hadith 

At this juncture, we consider it necessary to briefly discuss the concept of ‘Tawāttur’ in Sunni hadith sciences before proceeding to the narrations. Dr. Shuaib Hasan tells us what a ‘Mutawātir’ Hadīth is:

A ‘Mutawatir’ Hadith is one, which is reported by such a large number of people that they cannot be expected to agree upon a lie, all of them together.... There is no precise definition for "a large number of reporters”; although the numbers four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy, among others, have all been variously suggested as a minimum, the exact number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of Hadith, carry more weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries). The important condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood” be obviously negligible.[7]

Thus, what matters in ‘Tawāttur’ is only the large number of the chains and narrators. If it is enough to rule out a conspiracy to lie by the narrators, then it is ‘Mutawātir’. A very fundamental point that must also be stressed is that the chains of ‘Mutawātir’ reports are not checked. The status of its narrators are irrelevant and inconsequential to its authenticity, as al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī emphasizes:

والمتواتر لا يُبْحَث عن رجاله، بل يجِبُ العمل به من غير بحث.

No investigation is made concerning the narrators of the ‘Mutawātir’ report. Rather, it is obligatory to follow it without doing any investigation.[8]

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah also mentioned this, in another manner:

فإن تعدد الطرق وكثرتها يقوى بعضها بعضا حتى قد يحصل العلم بها ولو كان الناقلون فجارا فساقا

When the chains are many, they support one another, such that certainty may be achieved through them, even if the narrators are immoral people and fussāq.[9]

Shaykh al-Albānī also states:

ولا يشترط فى الحديث المتواتر سلامة طرقه من الضعف , لأن ثبوته إنما هو بمجموعها , لا بالفرد منها

It is not a condition of the ‘Mutawātir’ Hadīth that its chains must be free from weakness, because its confirmation is only through their combined strength, not through the individual chains.[10]

In line with this, let us examine the traditions, which establish that the Messenger of God (PBUH) in some occasion referred to his adherents as his "Shī’ah”.

Reports of ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib

Imām Ibn Asākir records:

The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, said to me: "You (i.e. Ali) and your Shī’ah will be in Paradise.”[11]

It is also documented in Faḍāil al-Ṣaḥābah of Imām Aḥmad:

I complained to the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, about the animosity of the people towards me. He said, "Are you not pleased that you are one of the first four people to enter Paradise: I, you, al-asan and al-usayn, and our wives will be at our right and left sides, and our descendants will be behind our wives and our Shī’ah will be behind us (all)?”[12]

Then, Ibn Asākir further has this:

"The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, said, "O ‘Alī! They are the believers in your ‘wilāyah’ and your Shī’ah and lovers. They love you on account of their love for me, and they love me on account of their love for Allāh. They will be the successful ones on the Day of Judgement.”[13]

Report of Fatimah bint Muḥammad

Imām al-Ajurrī reports:

imah, may Allāh be pleased with her, the daughter of Muammad, peace be upon him:

‘Alī, may Allāh be pleased with him, came to the Messenger of Allāh, while the latter was sitting. Then, he said, "Have glad tidings. Verily, you and your Shī’ah will be in Paradise. Surely, you and your Shī’ah will be in Paradise.”[14]

Report of al-Ḥusayn b. ‘Alī

Imām al-Muwaffiq al-Khawārazmī al-Ḥanafī:

The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him and his family, said: "O ‘Alī! Your similitude in my Ummah is the similitude of al-Masī ‘Īsā b. Maryam. His people were divided into three groups: the group of the mūminūn, and they were the awāriyūn; and the group of his enemies, and they were the Jews; and the group of those who exaggerated concerning him and thereby left īmān. Verily, my Ummah will soon be divided, concerning you, into three groups: the group of your Shī’ah, and they are the mūminūn; and the group of your enemies, and they are the oath-breakers; and the group of those who will exaggerate concerning you, and they are the foremost disbelievers. So, you, O ‘Alī, and your Shī’ah will be in Paradise. The lovers of your Shī’ah will also be in Paradise. And your enemies and those who exaggerate about you will be in Hellfire.”[15]

Report of Umm Salamah

"It was my night, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, was with me. Then, Fāimah came to him. But, ‘Alī had earlier came. So, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him, "O ‘Alī, you and your companions will be in Paradise. You and your Shī’ah will be in Paradise.”[16]

Ibn Asākir also reports:

Muammad b. ‘Alī: I asked Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, about ‘Alī and she said, "I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying: "Verily, ‘Alī and his Shī’ah are those who will be successful on the Day of al-Qiyāmah.[17]

Report of Abū Sa’īd al-Khudrī

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Ghaṭrīf documents:

The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, looked at ‘Alī, peace be upon him, and said: "This one and his Shī’ah are those who will be successful on the Day of al-Qiyāmah.”[18]

Report of Jābir b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārī

Ibn Asākir documents:

Jābir b. ‘Abd Allāh: We were with the Prophet, peace be upon him, when ‘Alī b. Abī ālib came. So, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "My brother has come to you.” Then, he turned to the Ka’bah and tap it with his hand. Then, he said, "I swear by the One in Whose Hand my life is, verily, this one and his Shī’ah, they surely are the successful ones on the Day of al-Qiyāmah.”[19]

Report of Abū Rāfi’

Al-Ṭabarānī reports:

Abū Rāfi’: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to ‘Alī: "You and your Shī’ah will meet me at the Lake-Fount. You will be given water, and your faces will be bright. As for your enemies, they will meet me, thirsty, evil-looking.”[20]

Report of Ibn ‘Abbās

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Maghāzilī:

‘Abd Allāh b. ‘Abbās: We were with the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him … and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said …: "O Fāimah! Verily, ‘Alī and his Shī’ah will be the successful ones tomorrow.”[21]

Report of ‘Abd al-Raḥman b. ‘Awf

Ibn Asākir records:

‘Abd al-Raḥman b. ‘Awf: Would you not ask me before the aādīth become corrupted with fabrications. The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, said: "I am the Tree and Fāimah is its root or branch. ‘Alī is its flower, and al-asan and al-usayn are its fruits, and our Shī’ah are its leaves. The root of the Tree is in Paradise of Eden, and the root, the branch, the flower, the leaves and the fruits will (all) be in Paradise.”[22]

Report of Abū Hurayrah

Al-Ṭabarānī reports:

‘Alī b. Abī ālib said, "O Messenger of Allāh! Who is more beloved to you: I or Fāimah?” He said, "Fāimah is more beloved to me than you. But, you are more honourable to me than her. It is as though I will be with you, and you will be at my Lake-Fount, chasing people away from it. Upon it are pitchers, similar in number to that of the stars in the sky. I, you, al-asan, al-usayn, Fāimah, ‘Aqīl and Ja’far will be brothers in Paradise, on thrones facing each another. You and your Shī’ah will be with me in Paradise.” Then, the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, recited: "{(they will be) brothers on thrones facing each other} [Qur’ān 15:47]. None of them will look at the back of the other.”[23]

Report of Ibn ‘Umar

Imam al-Tha’labī documents:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to ‘Alī: "O ‘Alī! You will be in Paradise, and your Shī’ah (too) will be in Paradise.”[24]

Report of Abū Amāmah al-Bāḥilī

Ibn Asākir records:

The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, said: "Verily, Allāh created the prophets from different trees, and He created me and ‘Alī from the same tree. So, I am its root and ‘Alī is its branch. Al-asan and al-usayn are its fruits, and our Ashyā’ are its leaves.”[25]

The term Ashyā’ is the alternative spelling of the word "Shī’ah.”

Report of Anas b. Malik

Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī reports:

The Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, said: "Seventy thousand people from my Ummah will enter Paradise without reckoning.” Then, he turned to ‘Alī and said, "They are your Shī’ah, and you are their Imām.”[26]

Conclusion

These are thirteen companions of the Prophet (PBUH) who reported these traditions. This number is apparently far above what is enough to establish ‘Tawāttur’.[27] Clearly, these aḥādīth are definitely ‘Mutawātir ma’nawī’,[28] and they establish unmistakably that the genuine adherents of Prophet Muḥammad were called the "Shī’ah of ‘Alī” by him. Some of these reports also mention "our Shī’ah,” to indicate that the Shī’ah of ‘Alī are none other than the Shī’ah of Muḥammad, and that they can also be referred to as the Shī’ah of al-Ḥasan, or the Shī’ah of al-Ḥusayn, or simply the Shī’ah of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them all. All of these names refer to the same set of people. Interestingly, various leading Sunnī ‘ulamā[29] have equally referred to the adherents of the Messenger as his Shī’ah.



[1] Qur’ān 6:65

[2] Qur’ān 6:159

[3] Qur’ān 30:32

[4] Qur’ān 15:10

[5] Qur’ān 19:69

[6] Qur’ān 28:4

[7] Dr. Suhaib Hasan, An Introduction to the Science of Hadith (Riyadh: Darussalam), p. 30

[8] Aḥmad b. ‘Alī b. Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī, Shar Nuzhat al-Naar fī Tawdī Nukhbat al-Fikar fī Muṣṭali Ahl al-Athar (Riyadh: Dār al-Mathūr li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzī’; 1st edition, 1432 H) [annotator: Abū Mu’ādh Ṭāriq b. ‘Awaḍ Allāh b. Muḥammad], p. 47

[9] Abū al-‘Abbās Amad b. ‘Abd al-alīm b. Taymiyyah al-arrānī, Majmū’ al-Fatāwā, vol. 18, p. 26

[10] Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī, Irwā al-Ghalīl fī Takhrīj Aādīth Manār al-Sabīl (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islāmī; 2nd edition, 1405 H), vol. 6, p. 95

[11] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 42, pp. 331-332

[12] Abū ‘Abd Allāh Amad b. anbal, Kitāb Faāil al-aābah (Jeddah: Dār al-‘Ilm li al-abā’ah wa al-Nashr; 1st edition, 1403 H) [annotator: Waiyyullāh b. Muammad ‘Abbās], vol. 2, p. 624, # 1068

[13] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 42, p. 332

[14] Abū Bakr Muammad b. al-usayn al-Ajurrī, al-Sharī’ah (Muasassat Qurubah; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotators: ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Arnaū and Dr. ‘Āim b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Qaryūtī], vol. 3, p. 556, # 2060

[15] Al-Muwaffiq b. Amad b. Muammad al-Makkī al-Khawārazmī, al-Manāqib (Qum: Muasassat al-Nashr al-Islāmī; 2nd edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Shaykh Mālik Mamūdī], p. 317, # 318

[16] Abū al-Qāsim Sulaymān b. Amad al-abarānī, al-Mu’jam al-Awsat (Cairo: Dār al-aramayn; 1415 H) [annotators: Abū Mu’ādh āriq b. ‘Awa Allāh b. Muammad and ‘Abd al-Musin b. Ibrāhīm al-usaynī], vol. 6, pp. 354-355, # 6605

[17] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 42, p. 333

[18] Muammad b. Amad b. al-Gharīf al-Jirjānī, Juz Ibn al-Gharīf (Beirut: Dār al-Bashāir al-Islāmiyyah; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotator: Dr. ‘Āmir asan abrī], pp. 81-82, # 35

[19] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 42, p. 371

[20] Abū al-Qāsim Sulaymān b. Amad al-abarānī, al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr (Cairo: Maktabat Ibn Taymiyyah; 2nd edition) [annotator: amadī ‘Abd al-Majīd al-Salafī], vol. 1, p. 319, # 948

[21] Abū al-asan ‘Alī b. Muammad al-Wāsiī: Ibn al-Maghāzilī, Manāqib Amīr al-Mūminīn ‘Alī b. Abī ālib (Sana: Dār al-Āthār; 1st edition, 1424 H) [annotator: Abū ‘Abd al-Raman Turkī b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Wādi’ī], pp. 197-204, # 188

[22] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 14, p. 168

[23] Abū al-Qāsim Sulaymān b. Amad al-abarānī, al-Mu’jam al-Awsat (Cairo: Dār al-aramayn; 1415 H) [annotators: Abū Mu’ādh āriq b. ‘Awa Allāh b. Muammad and ‘Abd al-Musin b. Ibrāhīm al-usaynī], vol. 7, p. 343, # 7675

[24] Abū Isāq Amad b. Muammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Tha’labī al-Naysābūrī, al-Kashf wa al-Bayān (Beirut: Dār Iyā al-Turāth al-‘Arabī; 1st edition, 1422 H) [annotators: Imām Abū Muammad b. ‘Āshūr and Prof. Naīr al-Sā’idī], vol. 9, p. 67

[25] Abū al-Qāsim ‘Alī b. al-asan b. Habat Allāh: Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq (Dār al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Amr b. Gharāmah al-‘Amrawī], vol. 42, p. 66

[26] Abū Bakr Amad b. ‘Alī b. Thābit al-Khaīb al-Baghdādī, al-Mutaffaq wa al-Muftariq (Damascus: Dār al-Qādirī; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotator: Dr. Muammad ādiq Aydan al-āmidī], vol. 3, p. 1693, # 1204

[27] The aādīth in the Sunnī books which mention and praise the "Shī’ah of ‘Alī” are very many, and we have deliberately left out several numbers of them in order not to needlessly lengthen this book. The ones we have quoted in this chapter are more than sufficient for our purpose.

[28] When several different reports, which together reach the level of tawāttur, mention a common point or fact in their different words, they are said to be mutawātir ma’nawī. See ‘Āmir b. Ḥasan Ṣabrī, ujjiyah Khabar al-Aād fī al-‘Aqāid wa al-Akām (al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah: Majma’ al-Malik al-Fahd li Ṭabā’at al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf), p. 4.

[29] ‘Abd al-Raḥman b. Muḥammad b. Qāṣim al-‘Āṣimī al-Najdī, al-Durar al-Sunniyah fī al-Ajwibat al-Najdiyyah (6th edition, 1417 H), vol. 1, p. 94; Abū al-Barakāt ‘Abd Allāh b. Amad b. Mamūd al-Nasafī, Madārik al-Tanzīl wa aqāiq al-Tawīl (Beirut: Dār al-Kalam al-ayyib; 1st edition, 1419 H) [annotator: Yūsuf ‘Alī Badyawī], vol. 1, p. 23; Muammad b. ‘Abd Allāh al-usaynī al-Mūsawī: Kibrīt, Rilat al-Shitā wa al-ayf (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islāmī; 2nd edition, 1385 H) [annotator: Prof. Muammad Sa’īd al-anāwī], p. 3

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