Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Question 27: Why do the Shias cut short the five daily prayers joining them to three times a day?

ANSWER:

Firstly, in an effort to clarify the subject to this discussion, it is worthy to mention the view that the jurisprudents hold in this regard.

All the Islamic sects agree that on the day of 'Arafah', one can perform both the noon as well as the afternoon prayers uninterruptedly during noontime. Also in 'Muzdalifah', it is permissible to perform both the 'Maghrib' and the 'Isha' prayer at the time of 'Isha'

The 'Hanafi' claim that: joining of the noon and afternoon prayer, and that of 'Maghrib' and Isha is only permissible in the two cases of 'Arafah' and 'Muzdalifah' and ought not to occur at any other instance.

The 'Hanbali', Maliki and Shafa-ee say: The joining of the noon and afternoon prayer or the 'Maghrib' and Isha one, at a special situation in addition to the two mentioned cases and whilst traveling becomes permissible. Some of these groups consider it permissible to join the prayers when necessary such as sickness or fear of an enemy at lurk.

The Shiabelieve that each of the noon as well as the afternoon, and the 'Maghrib' and the Isha prayers, have a 'special time' and a 'joined time'.

The special time of the noon prayer begins from mid-daytill the time when the four units of prayers have been recited and this is a limited period in which only the noon prayer can be performed.

The special time for the afternoon prayer is the time starting from that particular moment until sunset, only considering up to the period of performance of the afternoon prayer.

The joint time that is between the two prayers of the noon and afternoon, starting from the end of the special time noon prayer to the commencing of the special time of the afternoon prayer.

The statement of the Shias to this regard is that between anytime of the joined period, one can perform both the noon and the afternoon prayer jointly and without any interruption.However the Sunnis believe that from the beginning of the legal noon (mid-day) up to the time when the shadow of everything is equal to its length, is the specific time for the noon prayer and during that time, one should not pray the afternoon prayer, but after this time has elapsed to the time of sunset, it becomes exclusive for the afternoon prayer and one cannot pray the noon prayer during this interval.

The specific time for the 'Maghrib'prayer is from the beginning of the legal 'Maghrib' time until the time that the three units can be performed.

The special time for Isha prayer is the time starting from that particular moment up to the time of being able to perform the Isha prayer, frommidnight.

The joined time for the two prayers of 'Maghrib' and Isha is from the end of the special time of 'Maghrib' prayer and prolongs up to the beginning of the special time of Isha prayer.

The Shia believe that in the midst of this joined period, one can perform the 'Maghrib' as well as Isha prayer jointly without any interruption, however, the Sunnis say that: It ought to be recited from the beginning of sunset until the fading of the evening twilight that is exclusive for the 'Maghrib' prayer and 'Isha' should not be recited during this particular time; and from the time of the fading away of the evening twilight up to the legal midnight, is exclusive for the Isha prayer and one cannot perform the 'Maghrib' prayer during this particular time.

Result:

According to the theory of the Shias, after the arrival of the legal noon, one can perform the noon prayer and immediately after performing the afternoon prayer or can delay the noon prayer till close to the beginning of the special time of the afternoon prayer such that he can finish the noon prayer before the specific time of the afternoon prayer and perform the afternoon prayer. Thus, to jointly pray the noon and afternoon prayers is perfectlyalright although it is recommended to perform the noon prayer after 'mid-day' and the after noon prayer when the shade of things turn out equal to their lengths.

One can also perform the 'Maghrib' prayer when the specific time of 'Maghrib' arrives, and immediately after that, can perform the Isha prayer, or delay the 'Maghrib' prayer till close to the specific time for the Isha prayer so as to terminate the 'Maghrib' prayer before the specific time for Isha prayers, then perform the Isha prayer and in this way, join the 'Maghrib' and Isha, although it is recommended to perform the 'Maghrib' prayer after the legal 'Maghrib' time and 'Isha' after the fading of the evening twilight from the western frontier.

This is the prospect that the Shias have. However, the Sunnis do not accept it as being permissible to pray the noon and afternoon prayers together or the 'Maghrib'and Isha for that matter, in the same manner, and at all times and places. Hence, the subject of discussion lies whether the joining of two prayerscan be performed in the likely manner just as it is in 'Arafah' and 'Muzdalifah', or not.

All the Muslims agree that the honorable prophet (p) also prayed the two prayers together and this traditioncan be elaborated in two ways:

The Shias state that at the beginning of the time for noon-prayers, one can perform the afternoon prayer as well after completing to recite the noon prayer, and likewise, if one recited the 'Maghrib' prayer at its specific timing, then he can recite his Isha prayer after completing the 'Maghrib', and this does not relate to only particular instances, rather at all times and places can this be applicable and permissible.

Others claim that: Whatis meant by this tradition is that the noon prayer can be performed at the end of it's time and the afternoon prayer at the beginning of it, just as the 'Maghrib' prayer at its end time and the Isha, at its specific time.

In an effort to clarify this matter, let us ponder over the traditions regarding this discussion and prove what is meant by these narrations in the Shia perspective; i.e., performing both the prayers whilst it ought to performed at its specific times and not to perform it at the end of its time and performing the other one at the specific time.

Narrations:

Ahmad bin Hanbal leader of the Hanbali sect in his Masnad, narrates the following fromjabir bin Zaid:

"Jabir bin Zaid said:

"I heard Ibn Abbas saying:

"We performed the eight units of (noon and afternoon) prayers together and also the seven units of ('Maghrib' and 'Isha') prayers simultaneously. He then added,I asked him:

"O Abal-Shatha, I assume hedelayed the noon and performed the afternoon prayer earlier and did the same with 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers."

Abul Shaatha replied:

"I also hold the same opinion as you."

Hence it becomes evident from this narration that the honorable Prophet joined both noon and afternoon as well as 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers without interruption.

Ahmad bin Hanbal narrated form Abdulah bin Shaqeeq the following:

Ibn Abbas gave a short sermon to us after the afternoon prayer until the time of sunset had reached and the stars had started to appear. The people called for prayers; amongst them was a man present from the tribe of bani Tameem who repeated the prayer. Ibn Abbasgot perturbed and said:

"Do you want to teach me the prophet's tradition?I witnessed the Prophet joining both the noon and afternoon prayers, not to mention that of 'Maghrib' and 'Isha'

Abdullah said:

" I became dubious regarding this matter and so I decided to visit Abu-Huraira and asked him about this regard, to which he approved the speech of ibn Abbas."

In the mentioned tradition, two of the companions of the prophet 'Abdullah bin Abbas' and 'Abu Huraira', testified this reality that the Holy prophet himself recited the noon and afternoon prayers simultaneously, and like wise, the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayer, and the fact that Ibn Abbas followed his practice.

Malik bin Anas leader of the Maliki sect in his book, 'Muwata' has written the following that:

"God's messenger prayed both the noon and the afternoon prayer as well as the 'Maghrib' and the 'Isha' prayer without fear from being attacked or even if he was not traveling."

Malik bin Anas narrated from Ma-ath bin jabal the following: "God's messenger joined the noon and afternoon prayers and the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayer."

Malik bin Anas from Nafe-a, narrated the following from Abdullah bin Omar:

"Whenever the prophet seemed too be in a hurry for traversing a path, he would join the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers."

Malik bin Anas narrated from Abu-Huraira the following:

"God's messenger used to join the noon and afternoon prayers when traveling to 'Tabuk."

Malik in 'Al-Muwata' from Nafe-a narrated the following: "Whenever the leaders joined their prayers by reciting both 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' together, it happened to be raining, and Abdullah bin omar did the same."

Malik bin Anas from Ali bin Al-Hussein wrote the following:

"Whenever the Prophet wanted to travel during the day-time, he would join the noon and afternoon prayers and recite them together and likewise, when he wanted to travel during the night, he would join the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers and recite them together one after the other."

Muhammed Al-Zarqani in the explanation of 'al-Muwata' narrated the following from Abi-Shatha:

"Abdullah bin Abbas in the city of Basra recited the noon and afternoon prayer together and also the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayer in a manner that there was no interruption between the two."

Al-Zarqani narrated from Al-Tabarani who narrated from Ibn masood that:

"The honorable prophet joined the noon and afternoon prayer reciting them together and also the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha'. He was asked in thisregard as to why he did so, to which he replied:

"So that mynation are not put in toil and hardship."

Muslim bin Hajjaj through Abu Zubair from Saeed bin Jubair who from Ibn Abbas narrated the following, "The Holy prophet whilst in Madina, joined the noon and afternoon prayer without fear (of an enemy) or the intention to travel."

Ibn Abbas, regarding the prophet's intention towards such an act, said the following:

"Because the prophet didn't want to cause hardship for anybody in his nation."

Muslim in his 'sahih' from saeed bin Jubair who form Ibn abbas narrated the following:

"The honorable prophet in Madina joined the noon and afternoon prayer as well as the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayer without having the fear of downpour."

Abu-Abdullah Al-Bukhari has allocated one section exclusive to discuss this particular matter and clarify it. 'Bab Ta'kheer Al-zohr ElaAl-Asr', and this title in itself is the most evident witness that the noon prayer can be delayed and both the noon and afternoon prayer at the time of the afternoon prayer. Al-Bukhari in that very section narrated to the following tradition that:

"The prophet (p) prayed seven units ('Maghrib'and 'Isha') and eight units (noon and afternoon prayers) in Madina."

It is quiet clear from this narration that not only can we delay the noon prayer and that of the afternoon to the time of 'Asr' then pray both of them together, but also from the context, one can benefit that by following the holy prophet, one can also delay the 'Maghrib' prayer and perform it at the time of Isha prayer.

Thus, al-Bukhari in another volume of his 'Sahih'says: "Abdullah bin Umar, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari and Abdullah bin-Abbas had narrated:

"The Prophet performed the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers without any interruption."

Al-Bukhari, whilst deriving benefit from this Hadith, goes on to quote that according to this narration, the honorable prophet performed the 'Maghrib'and 'Isha' jointly because it is obvious that the holy prophet never neglected his prayers, Muslim bin hajjaj in his 'Sahih' writes the following:

"A man announced the call of prayer near Ibn-Abbas saying 'Al-Salat-get ready for prayers' Ibn Abbas was quiet and did not respond, the man once again said the same phrase and once again Ibn Abbas didn't respond. The man kept on repeating the same phrase until he did so four times. The fourth time Ibn Abbas said: "Do you want to teach me how to pray? Whilst you are aware that we join the two prayers and recite it behind the holy prophet performing it together one after the other."

Muslim narrated:

"The Holy Prophet recited both the prayers together during the time of his expedition to Tabuk; he joined the Zohr andAsr prayers, and the 'Maghrib'and 'Isha' as well, and recited them one after another.

Saeed bin Jubair commented:

"I asked Ibn Abbas to explain me the reason behind it, to which he replied: "The prophet wanted his nation not to undergo toil and hardship and not have any burden in their minds whilst praying."

Muslim Ibn hajjaj spoke after Maath mentioning the fact that:

"We were going along with the Holy prophet during the Battle of tabuk when the Holy prophet performed both the 'Zohr' and 'Asr' prayers together not to mention that of 'Maghrib' and 'Isha'.

Malik bin Anas in his book 'Al-Muwata' writes the following:

Ibn Shihab asked Salim bin Abdullah:

"should the noon and afternoon prayers be joined whilst traveling?" He replied:

"Yes, it is alright to do so; did you not see the prayers of the people in Arafah?"

It is necessary to mention that the Muslims consider it permissible to join the Zohr andAsr prayers on the day of Arafah, performing both the prayers uninterruptedly. Regarding this point, Salim bin Abdullah said:

"In the same manner that the people join their prayers and recite in together in the day of Arafah, they can do so at other instances also."

Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi in his book, 'Kanz Al-Amal' mentioned, Abdullah bin Omar said:

"The honorable Prophet joined the reciting of the noon and afternoon prayer as well as 'Maghrib'and 'Isha' whilst still settled in a particular place and not only when he was travelling."

A man when heard this statement, asked as to why the prophet continued with this practice even whilst he was not travelling and was at ease. He answered:

"So that his nation would not have to go through any toil or difficulty when reciting their prayers."

In the book of 'KanzAl-Amal' we read the following that:

"Jabir bin Abdullah said:

"The holy prophet prays the noon and afternoon prayer with a single 'Adhan' and two 'Eqamah's."

Onceagain in 'Kanz Al-Amal' the following narration is mentioned that: Jabir bin Abdullah said:

"It was the time of sun-set when the honorable prophet was in Mecca and when he reached the area where they had to pray in straight rows, he joined one of the rows and prayed both the 'Maghrib' and 'Isha' prayers together."

In 'KaAl-Amal', the followingis narrated from Ibn Abbas: "The holy prophet whilst residing in Madina, joined the noon and afternoon prayers and the 'Maghrib'and the 'Isha' prayers whether he was travelling or not, or i'f there be a downpour. The narrator said:

"I asked Ibn Abbas as to why the Prophet did so, to which he replied that:

"Due to the fact that the prophet wanted for his nation to be at ease."

Result:

Considering all the traditions we have already mentioned, we sum up the clear evidences for the correctness of the explanation regarding the joining of prayers according to the Shia point of view.

Question 28: What do the Shia Jurisprudents use as their sources?

ANSWER:

The Shia, for the purpose of deducing the legal rules, abide by the divine book of Allah and the tradition of the Holy prophet (p) and basically benefit from the following four basic resources:

God's book

Prophet's tradition. Consensus. Reasoning.

Among the above-mentioned sources, The Quran and the tradition of the Holy prophet are the most fundamental sources for the Shia jurisprudents that we will briefly recount:

Quran, the divine book of Allah.

The followers of the Shia school of thought consider the Quran to be the most ideal and equitable source for deducing laws in jurisprudence and for the criterion of identification of the divine commandments, due the Shia leaders having introduced this heavenly book of Islam as the most eminent reference for achieving the jurisprudential judgments; such that if any theory was to be compared to the Holy Quran and it was in total concurrence with it, then only would it have been accepted, or else it would be rejected.

The sixth holy Imam Jaffer Sadiq (p) has stated in the light of this that:

"And every speech that in not in accordance with the Holy Quran is unfounded."

Imam Sadiq (p) has also narrated form the honorable Prophet that: "O people, any statement that is attributed to me, if it be in accordance with the Holy Quran, then it is considered mine and if it is in disagreement to it, then it is far form mine."

Regarding the above-mentioned Hadith, it isclearly evident that according to the Shia leaders, the heavenly book of the Muslims is considered the most credential source for the deduction of legal judgments.

Prophet's judgment:

The tradition of the holy prophet ascribed to his speech, behavior and his approval of the works, is the second considerable source for the Shia jurisprudents. The impeccable household of the Holy Prophet (the Imams)are known as the sole transmitters of the prophet's tradition and are the treasuries of his knowledge. Of course, if at all the prophet's speech was transmitted through other reliable methods oftransmission, it can also be accepted by the Shia and can be counted as a relibale source for them.

Let us discuss the following dividing it into two fields:

Evidences in support of the adhearance to the prophet's tradition:

The Imams of the Shias, inferred from the divine book of Quran to their followers and alongside the prophet's tradition extolling both the Quran and the Tradition of the Prophet (p). Imam Sadiq (p) says in this regard that:

"When coming across a tradition, find the evidence for it referring to the Quran and thesunnah , then accept its authenticity or else the speech is only more suitable for the narrater himself."

Imam Muhammed Baqir (p) considered that a traditionmust be traced down from the Holy prophet's for it to be fully qualified and says the following: "The real jurisprudent is one who is austere in this world, shows eagerness to the hereafter and the one who strictly adheres to the Prophet's tradition."

Further more, the beacons of light who are the impeccable household of the Prophet, consider it disagreeable a matter, that God's Book and the tradition of the prophet would ever be a cause of ambiguity.

Imam Sadiq (p) to this regard says:

"Whosoever has any disagreement with the Quran and the prophet's tradition is a non-believer."

Thus, it becomes clear that the Shia, more than any other Islamic group, hold the tradition of the Holy Prophet in great esteem and so the baselessness of the ones who accuse the Shias of alienating themselves from the Holy prophet's traditionsis already verified .

The Validation regarding the Adherence to the Holy prophet's traditions.

In order to elucidate the perspective of the Shias regarding the tradition of the Holy prophet, we are obligated to explain the matter into two ways:

Question 29: Did Abu-Talib die as a believer of Islam such that the Shiaconsider it an honor to visit his shrine?

Thus, the prophets household are the companions of the holy Quran and are introduced as beacons of lights to guide the Muslims all over the world and these are none other than the twelve holy Imams of the prophet's household who are the firm protectors of the tradition of the God's messenger from any fabrication, and are reagrded the bearers of true knowledge.

The commander of the faithful, Ali bin Abi talibis also mentioned to have been from the tribe of Bani-Hashim, pointing to another clear witness for the correctness of the Shias speech, regarding the recognition of this sacred household; where he said:

"The leaders (imams) from the tribe of Quraish are from the family of Bani-hashim, others do not have the guardianship over thepeople and the ruler ship of the other rulers is but unfounded!"

Result:

Of the sum of the mentioned narrations, the visages of both the realities becomecrystal clear :

ANSWER:

According to the view of the Shias, AbuTalib, the Son of AbdulMuttalib and the father of the Commander of the faithful, the uncle of the honorable prophet of Islam is a believer in the message of God and His prophet, and was a supporter of the Prophet during difficulties and hardships right from the early period of Islam.

The Family of Abu talib:

He was born in the family of 'Abdul-Muttalib', the Prophet's grandfather who happened to be the hero of the followers of the religion of Prophet Ebrahim, the friend of God. Abdul-Muttalib never desisted in worshipping Allah and supporting the truthful religion of unity, and thisis clearly noted throughout the pages of History. It all began when Abraham came with a heavy army of elephants aiming to destroy the Holy sanctuary of Kaaba and in the midst of their path; some of the camels of Abdul-Muttalib were confiscated.At this juncture , Abdul-Muttalib came and asked Abraham to restore his camels, Abraham retorted:

" Instead of asking back for your camels, why don't you ask that my army should return back, and Allah's sanctuary, the Holy Ka'aba, not be destroyed?"

Abdul-Muttalib answered with an overflowing spirit of faith and reliance towards the Lord that:

"I am the owner of my camels, and this House the 'Ka'aba' has a Lord in the same manner, forit's protection."

Then Abdul-Muttalib came towards Mecca and reached the holy Ka'aba, and supplicated to the Lord whilst holding the loop of the door, saying,

"O my Lord, I have no hope whatsoever in anyone but Thou. O Lord! Protect me from the evil of these enemies, the enemies of the Ka'aba who are fighting against you, prevent them from destroying your Holy Sanctuary."

Such eloquent utterances among other similar ones, clarify the evidences of His worship towards Allah, and his firm faith this is why 'Yaqoobi' in his history writes the following regarding Abdul-Muttalib:

"He refused to worship idols and was a believer in the one and only Exalted and Glorious Lord."

Now let us now look at the opinion of Abdul-Muttalib regarding his son, Abu-Talib:

Abu Talib from the viewpoint of Abdul-Muttalib:

Amidst the pages of History, it is evident that some of the predictors of clear conscience informed Abdul-Muttalib of the bright future of the Holy prophet and his prophethood.

When 'Saif bin thi Yazdan' was ruling over Abysinnia, Abdul-Muttalib who was heading a mission came to meet him, and after presenting him with an eloquent speech, the commander of Abyssinia gave him the glad tidings that a dignified Prophet shall be born in his family, then added to the following regarding the characteristics of the Prophet;

"His Name will be Muhammed (p), His father and mother shall die and both his grandfather and uncle will take the responsibility of his guardianship."

Later the king went on giving a detailed description of this prophet who would come in the future adding that:

"He worships the beneficent God, prevents the Satan, puts off thefires and destroys the idols. His speech shall be the criterion for distinguishing right from wrong and his judgmentwill be based on justice. He will not only invite the mankind to enact the lawful, but will also practice it himself, and shall forbid the people from committing the unlawful and will nullify it."

Then the King said to Abdul-Muttalib:

"Undoubtedly, you are his grandfather."

Abdul-Muttalib after hearing all these gladtidings, immediately went in prostration to show his gratitude towards the Lord. He mentioned the story of this blessed child as follows:

"I had a son whom I loved very dearly, in his youth, I arranged his marriage with an noble lady known as 'Aminah', the daughter of Wahab bin Abd-Manaf, she then gave birth to a boy whom I named Muhammed, His parents after some time, died and so both his uncle and I became his guardians."

According to the above-mentioned statement of Abdul-Muttalib, it becomes quite evident that Abdul-Muttalib was aware of the bright future of the orphan child and thus, he planned to assign his guardianship to his dearest son, Abu-Talib after him and deprived the rest from this great honor of the guardianship of the Prophet.

Therefore it was only Abu-Talib who was worthy to guard the Holy Prophet according to the Abdul Muttalib, who was a staunch believer in the unity of God.

For further explanation, let us go on to mention the proofs of the faith of Abu Talib:

The Proof Of The faith of Abu-Talib.

His Library and Scholarly works:

The Islamic scholars and historians have mentioned beautiful poems of Abu Talib that cover very high literary scholarly works, and disclose his true faith. Let us mention some of these:

"Let the noble and great people know that Muhammed is a prophet as was Prophet Musa and Jesus. He had the same heavenly light which they had; thus all the divine prophets with God's command guide the people and prevent them from the unlawful."

"Don't you know that we found Muhammed (p) a prophet as Moses; this was explained in the heavenly books. People love him and no oppression should be practiced against the one whom the Mighty Lord has put His love in the hearts."

"The Glorious Lord has honored his Prophet Muhammed. Therefore, the most honored creature of God is Ahmad. God had derived the Prophet's name from His own, wanting to glorify him. Thus, God, the owner of the throne is Mahmood (the praiseworthy), and his prophet is Ahmad (the very much praising)"

"O God's messenger, never shall your enemies get to you, not till I rest in my grave, so don't worry, disclose your mission, give glad tidings and enlighten the hearts. You called me to your religion and I know that you are only a well- wisher to me,and also sincere in your call.I clearly realized that Muhammed's (p) religion is the best of religions in all of the worlds.

"O God's religion witness upon me, witness to my faith in God's messenger: Muhammed (p), if others are mislead in religion, I am guided." Abu-Talib in his last days of his sacred life, adviced the important figures of the tribe of Quraish to give their full support to God's messenger and this is clearly witnessed in the following poems (translated)

"I advice four persons to support the prophet of goodness, my son Ali, the great man of our tribe: Abbas, God's Lion: Hamza who has always been the protector of the honored prophet, and my son Jaffer. You-who is my beloved and I am sacrificed for you- be as the shields towards God's messenger, before the enemies."

Any impartial and righteous person, by witnessing all these Lovely poems which states with perfect frankness and lucidity, explaining Abu-Talib's faith in the Oneness of God and the honorable Prophet's message, will realize his perfect faith; and will feel remorseful for the baseless accusations which some writers, with special political aims, have against the believer of Quraish, God's prophet's uncle and the protector of the great religion in the most difficult circumstances of early Islam.

Abu Talibs love and affection towards the Holy prophet shows his faith in Islam:

All the well-known historians and biographers mention that his unique devotion to God's messenger clearly states the evidence to the firm belief that he had.

Abu Talib with the aim of protecting Islam and the HolyProphet, preferred three yearof seclusion besides God's messenger in the mountain pass defile of Abu-talib, to heading Quraish. He stayed with the Honorable Prophet will the end of the economical siege and bore all the problems in those unendurable circumstances.

Moreover, he also called his beloved son Ali (p) to have perfect agreement with the messenger of Allah and to accompany him in all the difficult circumstances during the early period of Islam. Ibn Abi-Al-Hadid Al-Mutazali in the commentary of Nahjul-Balagha mentioned that Abu-Talib addressed his son (p) Ali, of this:

"God's messenger is only calling you to goodness, thus make sure to always accompany him."

It is clear that all these services of Abu-talib towards the Holy prophet and his sincere self-sacrifices in the defending of Islam are the most evident witnesses to his faith.

Therefore, this great Muslim scholar Ibn Al-Hadid said the following poem regarding the crucial role of Abu-Talib in protecting God's messenger and His religion.

"If it was not for Abu-Talib and his son, the religion of Islam would never be settled; the one gave protection to him in Mecca and the other (his son) immersed in the maelstrom of death (in defense of God's messenger).

Nobody can ever harm the glory of Abu-talib, neither the ignorant idle-talker, not those who are aware, pretending of ignorance!" The final will of Abu Talib shows his faith in that:

The well known historians of Islam such as 'Halabi Shafe-ee' in his history and 'Muhammed Dayar-bakri' in Tareekh Al-Khamees mentioned the last speech of Abu-Talib calling his people to the support of the messenger of Allah saying that:

"O people of Quraish, be the lovers and followers of Muhammed and support his party (Islam), swearing to God, that whosoever followed his light of guidance will gain nothing but felicity. Ifmy life would have continued and death gave me a respite, I would have undoubtedly removed all his hardships and difficulties. He said this and then passed away.

God's messenger in many occasions glorified his uncle-Abu-Talib- showed his love to him, that weshall point two instances:

Question 30: Do the Shia believe that Gabriel was not faithful in communicating the message and that he revealed the Quran to Allah's messenger instead of revealing it to Ali Ibn Abi Talib?

From the above-mentioned collection of narrations, one can benefit that Abdul Malik bin Omair had the following characteristics: Had a weak memory and was very forgetful.

Was regarded weak himself, (According to the terminology of Ilm Al Rijal) i.e., someone whose narrations cannot be trusted.Makes critical mistakes.

One who mixes and confuses one tradition with the other. It is this clear that each of the mentioned characteristics by itself is proof enough to clarify the baselessness of Abdul malik bin Omairs traditions, considering to all the weak points that he possessed.

ANSWER:

Before we go on to prove the baselessness of this false accusation that some unaware individuals seem to attribute to the Shia, it is suitable to find the root for these accusations.

RootsFor The Accusation:

According to the Holy verses of the Quran and the related narrations from the prophet, it is quite evident about the belief of the jews, that Gabriel committed treason in communicating the message, because God had ordered him for the prophecy to be in the house of Israel, however, he, against the command of God, placed it in the lineage of Ismail.

Thus, the Jews considered Gabriel as an enemy and the phrase, 'khan Al-Ameen' i.e., Gabriel committed treason' became their slogan. The Holy Quran criticizing them and proving the falsehood of theirspeech, identified Gabriel as the trusted angel in the following verse:

"The faithful spirit has descended with it, upon your heart that you may be of the warners."And in another verse said:

"Say: Whoever is the enemy of Gabriel- for surely he revealed it to your heart by Allah'scommand. "

From the verses mentioned, considering their commentaries, it becomes clear that the Jews, for some reasons, had enemity against Gabriel, calling him the angle of torture and accusing him of committing treason in communicating the message.

Thus, the root of the slogan of 'khan Al-ameen' originated from the Jewish people's superstitions and some of the ignorant propagators who had an old enmity with the Shia, ruminating the speech of the Jews and dastardly accusing the Shia of this accusation.

Prophecy according to the Shia:

The Shia following the divine book, traditions and in the light of clear narrations of the Prophet's household not only consider 'Muhammad bin Abdullah' as the true prophet who was appointed by God for a universal message, but also declare his holiness as the seal to the prophets and one who attained the highest position among all the divine messengers.

The great Shia leader, Ali Ibn Abi talib (p) in one of his eloquent speeches, testified to this reality:

"And I bear witness that there is no God but Allah alone, no partner is associated with him and witness that Muhammed is his slave and messenger, the seal of the prophets and God's authority over the world." Imam Sadiq (p) also said:

"The Exalted and Glorious Lord only appointed five prophets among the Arabs; Hud, Saleh, Ismail, Shuaib (Jethro) and Muhammed (p) the seal of the prophets."

This blessed narration clearly proves the baselessness of the false accusation to the Shias and identifies the Holy prophet Muhammed (p) to being the last messenger of Allah.

Thus, Shias all over the world believe in the honesty of Gabriel in communicating the message, and declare that Muhammed bin Abdullah is the true prophet and the last messenger ofGod, and Ali Ibn Abi Talib (p) is his successor.

It is worth mentioning that both the Shia and the Sunni have agreement upon the following narration and have stated it in their authentic books. Thisnarration which is known as the 'Rank narration' where the honorable prophet after declaring his message as being the seal of messages, introduced Ali as his successor.

God's messenger (p) said to Ali bin Abi Talib (p)

"Aren't you satisfied to be infront of me as Haroon to Moses (i.e., as haroon was the successor to Moses, you be my caliph and successor) except that after me there is no prophet (p). This narration, which in authenticity,is accepted by the great Islamic narrators, both Shia and Sunni, is a clear evidence of the correctness of the Shia speech based on two grounds.

Muhammed bin Abdullah is the most honorable of God's messengers and the seal of the divine messengers who was appointed by the command of the Exalted God for the eternal and universal message; and after him there will be no prophets.

Ali bin Abi talib (p) is the successor and the caliph of the Muslims after him.

Tafseer Fakhr Al-Razi, vol. 1 p. 436, 437, printed in Egypt, 1308 Hijra. (Shura: 194)

(Baqara:97 )

Nahj Al-Sa-adah, vol. 1 p. 188, printed in Beirut; Usool Al-Kaafi, vol. 8, p. 67, 2nd print, 1389 Hijra, Tehran.Bihar Al-Anwar, vol. 11 p. 42, 2nd print, Beirut, 1403 Hijra.

For further information of numerous narrations from the Shia point of view, stating the honorable prophets seal of prophecy, refer to'Mafaheem al-Quran' by Jaffar Subhani.

The mentionednarrations has countless references of which we shall point to a few:

Question 31: What is the criterion for 'Taqiyya' (precautionary concealment)?

ANSWER:

'Taqiyya' is the concealment of the inner belief of ones faith and convictions before the opposersfor the purpose of preventing the worldly, spiritual and religious losses, and it is one of the legal duties of every Muslim, having its roots from the Holy Quran.

Taqiyya from the Quranic point of view. The holy Quran had many verses in this regard that we shall mention a few of them:

Question 32: In the Islamic Republic constitution of the Islamic state, why do you the Shias consider the Jaffari sect as the country's official sect?

ANSWER:

There is no doubt to the fact that all the Islamic sects, from the Islamic Republic's point of view, are greatly respected, however, the Islamic Jurisprudential sects (such as the Jafari, Maliki, Shafe-e, Hanbali, hanafi and ) don't share the same thoughts and have many differences amongst them when going on further to expound the peoples individual and social duties.

On the other hand,for the purpose of compiling the civil laws and the organization of regulations in the society, there is an extreme need for the harmony and concordness of the mentioned regulations.

Thus one can only consider a single Islamic sect for the organizing of the social regulations in a special area due to the fact that in the case of variety of sources of legislation, one can never compile a set of harmonious and concord rules and regulations.

Therefore, it is suitable to determine only one of the Islamic Jurisprudential sect that has an accurate criterion, as the source of the social rules and regulations, in order to prevent any chaos and discord in the country's laws; thus making the way smooth for the compilation of a chain of harmonious and concord regulations in the civil, social and economic grounds.

The criterion for choosing the Jaffari Sect:

Yet another questionis raised here and that is what is the criterion for choosing the Jaffari sect among all the Islamic jurisprudential sects as the source for regulating the country's rules and regulations?

The answer to this question is quite clear and that is because of the fact that approximately all the People in Iran are Muslims who declare the Jaffari sect as their belief and the expounder of theirsocial and individual and moral duties. Thus, it becomes clear that choosing the Jaffari sect in the Islamic constitution is but natural and in perfect accordance with all the logical as well as legal criterions.

Respect and PositionOf The Other Islamic Sects:

In the constitution of the Islamic republic, the Jaffari sectis declared as the official sect, whereas the other sects that include Shafe-e, hanbali, hanafi, Maliki and Zaidi are also respected, and the followers of these sects are free to follow their principles according to their respective sects in the following fields:

Performing religious ceremonies

Practicingtheir own Religious teachings and Education.

Performing their personal works.

Special religious regulations such as in: marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills etc.

Question 33: Do the Shia consider the prayer of 'witr' midnight prayer as being obligatory?

Furthermore, in the territories where each of the mentioned sects are a majority, the local regulations are all in the limits of the councils authorities and is in accordance to that particular sect, at the same time, the rights of the followers of the other sects are also respected.

Now in order to provide further clarification on this matter, let us go on and present the twelfth rule of the first section from this constitution of the Islamic republic to this regard:

The official religion is obviously Islam and the Jaffari Ithna ashri sect. This rule is unchangeable.Other Islamic sects including the Hanafi, Shafe-ee, Maliki, Hanbali and Zaidi, who maintain perfect respect and the followers of these sects are free to apply their own regulations in performing religious ceremonies, religious teaching and education, other privileged conditions (marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills) and the related litigations have officially, in courts and in any territory where the followers of these sects are in majority. The local regulations in the limits of the council authorities are according to the sect, with the protection of the rights of the followers from other sects.

In the light of this rule, the respect and position of all the Islamic sects becomes clear from the viewpoint of the Islamic republic constitution.

ANSWER:

The 'witr' is one of the supererogatory night-prayers, and its performance is recommendary for all the Muslims and the followers of the messenger of Allah. However, the Shia jurisprudents, in the light of the book and the tradition, have mentioned certain specific matters as the 'characteristics of the honorable prophet, one of which being the witr prayer that was made obligatory for him'

Allama Hilli inthe , 'Tathkirat Al-Fuqaha' mentions about seventy things to being unique and exclusive to the prophet (p), it starts by mentioning,

"As for the duties obligatory only toward him and not the others in his nation are: a.Brushing of the teeth.b. Al-witr prayer.