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QuestionsOn The Third Testimony

Author:Bashir Alidina

www.alhassanain.org/english

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Table of Contents

Preface 5

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 27 CH 10 H 16 5

AL YAQEEN - SYED IBN TAWOOS 589 - 664 AH 5

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 6 - H 16 6

The Firmest Handle 7

THE HOLY QUR'AN - AL BAQARAH VERSE 256 7

AL FADHAAIL - SHADHAAN BIN JIBRAEEL - 6C AH P152 7

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 37 CH 54 H 10 7

AL IHTIJAJ AL TABARSI - VOL 1 P230 7

ADHAAN AT THE TIME OF THE HOLY PROPHET (S.A.W.) 7

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 27 CH1 H1 9

AL YAQEEN - SYED IBN TAWOOS 589 - 664 AH 10

Basharat Al Mustafa Li Shiat Al Murtaza - 511 AH 11

TAFSEER AL IMAM HASSAN AL ASKARI (A.S.) 11

AL FADHAAIL - SHAZAN BIN JIBRAEEL 5TH C H 13

CONCLUSION 13

Namaaz (Prayer) 14

QUESTIONS 14

TASHAHHUD (BEARING TESTIMONIES) 14

ILLUL AL SHARAIE - VOL 2 P602 15

Tashahhud Of The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) 15

Tashahhud Of The Holy Imam Ali Al Ridha (A.S.) 17

SO WHY HAVE THEY TOLD US TO RECITE ONLY TWO TESTIMONIES? 17

AL KAFI VOL 2 P 547 17

AL KAFI VOL 3 P 337 17

CONCLUSION 17

Our Life 19

AL KAFI - H 1077, Ch. 107, h 4 19

BIRTH 19

MUSTADRAK AL WASAAIL - CH 115 H 14 19

THIS WORLD 19

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 67 CH 27 H 38 19

The Grave 19

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT 20

MUSTADRAK AL WASAAIL - VOL 47 H 2 20

BRIDGE OF SIRAAT 20

PARADISE 20

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 27 H 24 21

Final Point 22

Preface

The main purpose of the article is to explain the importance of the Third Testimony in theAdhaan and theNamaaz .

ThoseHadeeth that establish the Third Testimony to be the main crux of the matter of religion andemphasise its importance are simply too many to mention here. For the sake of the brevity of this article,I will take it for granted that we all regard this as an established fact.

This testimony was established when the heavens and the earth were established, and it permeates every nook and cranny of the Universe.Basically there is no place that is devoid of it.

The very first thing that the Pen was told to write on the Tablet was this testimony, whereas the Heavens did not calm down after their creationuntil such time as the Third Testimony was inscribed on them.

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 27 CH 10 H 16

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said: "By the One who sent me as a giver of good news, Neither the Chair and the Throne was set up nor were the heavens and the earth established but Allah (s.w.t .) Wrote on it - 'There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,Ali is the Commander of the faithful'".

All the Prophets from the first to the last have borne this testimony. Thiswas inscribed on the seal of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) in between his shoulder blades.and was revealed in the previous Divine Scriptures of the Torah and the Evangel and the Book of the Holy Prophet Ibrahim (a.s .). The list goeson and on and on . Let us justtake a look at a couple of examples.

AL YAQEEN - SYED IBN TAWOOS 589 - 664 AH

The Holy ImamJa'far AlSadiq (a.s ) said: 'A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s .) in the Mosque ofkufa and said, 'O Commander of the Faithful! Surely there is in the Quran a Verse which has corrupted the religious.' He (a.s )said: 'And which one is that?'

The Statement of Allah (s.w.t .) 'And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Beneficent Allah? (43:45).' And where were the Prophets during the time of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w .) that he (s.a.w .) would have asked them?' The Commander of the Faithful (a.s .) said to them: 'Take a seat! God WillingI shall inform you of this.

Surely Allah (s.w.t .) has Said in His Book 'Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs' -

One of the signs of Allah (s.w.t .) that he (s.a.w .) saw was thatJibraeel stopped at theBayt AlMa'moor and the ablution was performed at the Mosque of AlAqsa andJibraeel stood and recited theAdhaan said to him (s.a.w .), 'Go forward and Pray and the angels behind you of a number known only to Allah (s.w.t .).

In the first line were Adam (a.s .) andNooh (a.s .) and Ibrahim (a.s .) andHud (a.s .) and Musa (a.s .) and Isa (a.s .) and every Prophet that Allah the Holy the High had sent since the creation of the Heavens and the earth and then sent Muhammad (s.a.w .). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) moved forward and led them in Prayer with dignity and without bashfulness.

Allah (s.w.t .) revealed in the twinkling of an eye 'And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Beneficent Allah? (43:45)'. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) turned towards them and addressed themaltogether: 'How did you bear the testimonies?'

They replied, 'We bore that surely there is no Deity except Allah (s.w.t .) Who is One without Partner and you are the Messenger of Allah and that the Commander of the Faithful Ali is your Trustee, and you are the Messenger of Allah and the Master of all Prophets and Ali is the Master of all the Trustees, and these testimonies were taken as a covenant from us.' The man said, 'You have revived my heart and rescued me O Commander of the Faithful!'

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 6 - H 16

InAmaali ofSheykh Toosi it has been narrated that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said to the Holy Imam Ali (a.s .): 'Take this ring of mine and get inscribed on it 'Muhammad Bin Abdullah'.

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s .) took it and gave it to the engraver and said to him, 'Inscribe on it 'Muhammad Bin Abdullah'.' The engraver mistakenly inscribed on it 'Muhammad the Messenger of Allah' on it. The Commander of the Faithful (a.s .) went to him and asked him what he has done. He said that he had engraved it as such.

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s .) said that: 'Indeed it is true but I will take it to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w .) and see what he (s.a.w .) has to say about this and so he (a.s .) did and said: 'O Messenger of Allah (s.a.w .)! The engraver has made this error and has engraved this as such.' The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) took andlook and the engraved ring and said: 'I am Muhammad Bin Abdullah and I am Muhammad the Messenger of Allah.' He (s.a.w .) decided to keep it.

The next morning when he (s.a.w .) looked at the ring he saw inscribed on it 'Ali is the Trustee of Allah' and was surprised. The ArchangelJibraeel descended and told him (s.a.w .) that Allah (s.w.t .) hasSaid : 'O Muhammad! You have written on it what you desired andWe have written on it what We have Desired.'

As you can see from thisthat the Third Testimony is the Desire of Allah (s.w.t .), our Creator.

There is simply too much evidence to provide for the importance of the Third Testimony. The objective of this article is mainly to discuss it in the context of theAdhaan and theNamaaz .

Whatever the evidence, one thing is for certain, that the Third Testimony is the axis around which the whole wheel of our religion rotates. This is the key to salvation. Withoutthis there is nothing left worthy of mention.

Bashir Alidina

The Firmest Handle

THE HOLY QUR'AN - AL BAQARAH VERSE 256

[Shakir 2:256] There is no compulsion in religion;truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in theShaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

AL FADHAAIL - SHADHAAN BIN JIBRAEEL - 6C AH P152

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said: Whoever intends to hold on to the Firmest Handle in this world and in the hereafter should immediately say 'There is no God but Allah (s.w.t .), Muhammad (s.a.w .) is the Messenger of Allah (s.w.t .), Ali (a.s .) is the Trustee of Allah (s.w.t .).'

Wonderful! Indeed there is no compulsion in religion. Indeed, the truth has clearly become distinct from error.

How much more clarity do you expect? Those who hold on to the Third Testimony are on truth whereas the others have erred.

That's it!

Adhaan (The Call)The First Call

Let us start from the beginning.

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 37 CH 54 H 10

The first One to bear the third testimony after the two was Allah (s.w.t .).It has been related from the Holy ImamJafar AlSadiq (a.s .) who said: 'When Allah (s.w.t .) Created the heavens and the earth, He (s.w.t .) Commanded a caller who announced - I bear witness that there is no God except Allah, three times; I bear witness that Muhammad (s.aw.) is the Messenger of Allah (s.w.t .), three times; I bear witness that Ali (a.s .) is the Commander of the faithful truly, three times'.

And so this is how it all began, with the Third Testimony forming part of the bearing of all testimonies. This is the reason why the Holy Imam (a.s .) commanded us to bear this testimony whenever we bear the first two.

AL IHTIJAJ AL TABARSI - VOL 1 P230

So came the order from the ImamJa'far AlSadiq (a.s .): 'Whoever says - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah must immediately say Ali is the Commander of the Faithful'.

And thus , the hypocrites, who only bear two testimonies, were trapped.

[Shakir 63:1] When the hypocrites come to you, theysay: We bear witness that you are most surely Allah's Messenger; and Allah knows that you are most surely His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars.

As you can see, technically, they are correct in bearing of the two testimonies, butthey have still been branded as liars by Allah (s.w.t .) .

ADHAAN AT THE TIME OF THE HOLY PROPHET (S.A.W.)

The question that arises in the mind ofa lot of people is - Did the third testimony form part of theAdhaan during the time of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .)? If it did, then that would put an end to all arguments.

ABU DHARR'S ADHAAN AFTER GHADEER - AL SALAFA FI AMR AL KHILAFA - SHEYKH ABDULLAH AL MIRAGI - 7TH C AH

Thehonourable companion AbuDharr AlGhafari (a.r .), after the event ofGhadeer , in his call for the prayer, made an increment of bearing witness to the Mastership of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s .), after the two testimonies.

The hypocrites and the enemies gathered around the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) and related to him (s.a.w .) what they had heard from AbuDharr (a.r .). They then waited for the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) to join his (s.a.w .) voice along with theirs in rebuking AbuDharr (a.r .) for the increase.Instead the Holy Prophet (s.a.w ) turned his faced towards them and rebuked them: 'Did I not address this in my sermon to you?'

Theyreplied: 'Yes!' He (s.a.w .) asked them: 'What was the meaning of my long sermon in the scorching heat of this blazing desert? Does this not mean to you that the Commander of the Faithful is the Trustee of Allah?

You all heard AbuDharr , what greenery did you pick up from this dust bowl, in the truthful tone of AbuDharr ?' Theysaid: 'Yes! AbuDharr does not talk in vain and he is steadfast in his truth. He does not speak except the truth.' He (s.a.w .) continued: 'After witnessing his sincerity, why did you come to doubt him?

Has AbuDharr come with something new?' He (s.a.w .) then uncovered the consequences of the opposition to the Command andsaid: 'You will overcome, after me, in your opposition. Yes, you will all change after me and reject my caliph as a consequence of your evil.'

And the meaning of his (s.a.w .) words is that Imam AliIbn Abi Talib (a.s .) is the third pillar of religion after Allah (s.w.t .) and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .). Imamate is the third pillar of Islam afterTawheed (Oneness of Allah) andNabuwwat (Prophethood ).

And so He (s.a.w .) decided this testimony to be part of theAdhaan and stressed its validity and permissibility. It is likely that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) had himself advised AbuDharr to take this blessed step. We do not exclude this possibility because a companion ashonourable as AbuDharr would not have taken this step of his own accord.

This must be as a result of two things - either the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) had ordered him to do so or else this was AbuDharr's understanding of the statements of the Holy prophet (s.a.w .) and his (s.a.w .) stance. Anyhow, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) has made his (s.a.w .) move. Itis agreed by the scholars and the jurists that the words of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .), his (s.a.w .) actions and his (s.a.w .) sermon is proof of law.

Okay, so thisHadeeth comes from a non-Shiite source. Sometimes it happens that even the adversaries concur with your position and then you can point to them and say that 'See! Even they agree with us!'

Incidentally, there is also anotherHadeeth from non-Shiite sources from AbuLaith AlHarwi where it is stated that the Third Testimony did form part of theAdhaan during the time of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .), but soon after was stopped by the ruling Caliphs who claimed it to have been abrogated.

The mainHadeeth from Shiite sources for the third testimony is the one below:

BIHAR UL ANWAAR - VOL 27 CH1 H1

It has been related thatQasim BinMuwaiya said to the Holy ImamJa'far AlSadiq (a.s ): 'The people of theSunnah relate aHadeeth aboutMe'raaj that when the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) was taken onMe'raaj he (s.a.w .) saw written upon the Throne - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and AbuBakr AsSiddiq '.

He (a.s .) said: 'Glory be to Allah (s.w.t .)! They have changed everything, even this?' Hesaid: 'Yes!' The Holy Imam (a.s .) continued: 'When Allah (s.w.t .) the High created the Throne, He (s.w.t .) wrote upon it - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers.

And when He (s.w.t .) the High Created the Chair, He (s.w.t .) wrote upon it - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers.And when He (s.w.t .) Created the Tablet, He (s.w.t .) wrote on it - He (s.w.t .) wrote upon it - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers.

And when He (s.w.t .) the High CreatedIsrafeel (the angel) he (s.w.t .) wrote upon his forehead - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers.

And when He (s.w.t .) Created the heavens he (s.w.t .) wrote on its fringes - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers. And when he (s.w.t .) the Exalted Created the earth He (s.w.t .) wrote on its layers - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers.

And when he (s.w.t .) the High Created the sun he wrote on it - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers. And when He (s.w.t.0 Created the moon He (s.w.t .) wrote upon it - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the Commander of the believers. Then the Holy Imam (a.s .) added: 'Whenever any one of you says - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah - he must say - Ali is the Commander of the believers'.

O reader! Look at the extent of the focus on the name of the Holy Imam Ali (a.s .) wherever is the mention of the Glorified (s.w.t .) and the mention of the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w .).Why this emphasis?

Why this insistence upon writing of the name of Imam Ali (a.s .) on the Throne, the Chair, the Tablet, the forehead ofIsrafeel , the fringes of the heavens, the layers of the earth, the sun, the moon and elsewhere? This demonstrates the necessity of mentioning the name of Imam Ali (a.s .) when mentioning the Oneness of Allah (s.w.t .) and theProphethood of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w .) whenever and wherever they are mentioned. It is clear that theAdhaan and theIqamah are from the resources and there is no doubt about the necessity of the third testimony after the two testimonies, and the two testimonies with the third testimony.

Then we come to the argument whether any of our two testimonies are acceptable without the bearing of the third.

AL YAQEEN - SYED IBN TAWOOS 589 - 664 AH

It is reflected in thesayings of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) and his infallible sons (a.s .) in many of the chants of Allah (s.w.t .) that Wilayah (Mastership) is a precondition to the acceptability of the two testimonies and it is in the nature of the people - The Oneness of Allah (s.w.t .), theProphethood of Muhammad (s.a.w .) and Ali the Commander of the Faithful (a.s .).

So, if the absence of the third renders the first two unacceptable, where does that leave any of our deeds?

Basharat Al Mustafa LiShiat AlMurtaza - 511 AH

I do not accept the deeds of any doer until he bears witness to your (s.a.w .)Prophethood and the Mastership of Ali (a.s .). Whoever says - There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and attaches himself to the Mastership of Ali will enter Paradise.And these are the Holy Words of our Creator Allah (s.w.t .) inHadeeth Qudsi . Let us find out in detail what will happen on the Day of Judgment as regards to the Third Testimony.

TAFSEER AL IMAM HASSAN AL ASKARI (A.S.)

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said: 'Allah (s.w.t .) Said that one who does not believe in the Quran has also not believed in the Torah, because He (s.w.t .) hasSaid that He (s.w.t .) will not accept their faith on one of them without the other. In the same way, Allah (s.w.t .) has made it an obligation to believe in Wilayah of AliIbn Abi Talib (a.s .) just as he has made it an obligation to have faith in Muhammad (s.a.w .).

If someone was to claim to believe in theProphethood of Muhammad (s.a.w .) and disbelieves in the Wilayah ofAli (a.s .) has not believed in theProphethood of Muhammad (s.a.w .).Surely Allah (s.w.t .) will gather the creation on the Day of Judgment a caller will call out to them to define their belief and disbelief and cry out 'God is Great! God isGreat !

Then another caller will cry out 'O group of creatures repeat this call!' One of the Sects will become dumb and will not repeat this whilst the others will do so. Then the caller will call out, 'I bear witness that there is no God but Allah!' All the creatures will say this except for the polytheists from among theMagians and the Christians and the idol worshippers. Theywill then be separated from the others.

Then the caller will call out 'I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!' All the Muslims will altogether say this but there will be silence from the Jews and the Christians and other Polytheists. Then there will be a call directing the Muslims towards Paradise.

Then Allah (s.w.t .) will Say (Make them wait here untilI ask them) The Angels will then ask O Lord! Whyare they being detained here? Allah (s.w.t .) will Say 'Wait while IAsk them about the Wilayah of AliIbn Abi Talib and theAal E Muhammad (a.s .). O My servants andmaids ! I hadOrdered you to bear another witness after bearing witness ofMuhammmad (s.a.w .); If you bear this witness then I shall increase your rewards and good deeds, or if you do not bear this witness then you will have no benefit from bearing the witness of My Unity and theProphethood of Muhammad (s.a.w .).

Whoever has brought this witness is today successful and whoever has not brought thisis destroyed . Then one person will say: 'I have brought this witness and am a lover ofAal e Muhammad (a.s .)' although he will be a liar and he will think that he will be saved by his false claim. Allah (s.w.t .) will Say' O claimant,We will take the witness of Ali (a.s .) on this'. Allah (s.w.t .) will then Say: 'OAbul Hassan (a.s .)give witness about this'.

Ali (a.s .) will then say: 'O Lord! Paradise is itself a witness tomy friends and Hell is itself a witness of my enemies. Whoever is true in this,then the breeze of Paradise will come towards him and will take him to its highest places and by the Grace of God will place him in his eternal abode. He will not have any grief or pain over there.

Whoever is a liar in this the hot air and boiling water of Hell and the smoke of three pronged shadow will take him away and dump him in Hell'. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) willsay: 'O Ali! It is due to this that you are the distributor of Hell and Paradise. You will say to Hell that this person is for you and you are undermy command'.And , so theMujtahids and their followers make the claim that the Third Testimony does not form part of theAdhaan .

They say theHadeeth that the Third Testimony MUSTfollow the first two should be ignored when it comes toAdhaan .And yet they accept thisHadeeth to be true.

They say theHadeeth that the first two testimoniesare rendered unacceptable when not accompanied by the third should also be ignored when it comes toAdhaan .And yet they accept thisHadeeth to be true.

They say theHadeeth that NO deeds will be acceptable on the Day of Judgment without having borne the third testimonyshould also be ignored when it comes toAdhaan .And yet they accept thisHadeeth to be true. Does this make sense to anyone? Especially when you consider the followingHadeeth :

AL MANAQIB - VOL 3 - KHUTBA AL IFTIKHARIYA OF IMAM ALI (A.S.) I am theAdhaan of Allah (s.w.t .) in this world and the caller (Muezzin) in the hereafter. When the Holy Imam Ali (a.s .) is in actual fact theAdhaan itself, how can they justify his testimony not to form part of it? Based on the above evidence, the argument of the people and theirMujtahid Imams does not make sense tome .

TheAdhaan Today

And so we take a look at theAdhaan that we have been given today as being the correct one by theMujtahids .

TAWZEEH UL MASAAIL - SYED ALI AL SISTANI - RULE 927Adhan consists of the following 18 sentences:Allahu Akbar - four times - (Allah is greater than any description) Ashhadu an lailaha illal lah - two times - (I testify that there is no god but Allah) Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasu lul lah - two times - (I testify that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger)

Hayya'alas Salah - two times - (Hasten to prayers)Hayya'alal Falah - two times - (Hasten to deliverance)Hayya'ala Khayril 'Amal - two times (Hasten to the best act)Allahu Akbar - two times - (Allah is greater than any description) Lailaha illal lah - two times - (There is no god but Allah) As you can see that according to thisMujtahid and all others (except of oneSyed MuhammadShirazi - Rule 117) the Third Testimony does not form part of the Ad-haan . It looks like theIjtihad that he did was different from the ones done by the rest of theMujtahids .

Let us now look at the some of the declarations of thisAdhaan .

The first eight sentences are the declaration of the Greatness of Allah (s.w.t .) and the bearing of the first two testimonies. The last four sentences are the two declarations once again of the Greatness of Allah (s.w.t .) and His Unity. That leaves the sixsen -tences of the threedeclarations which we should look at.

AL FADHAAIL - SHAZAN BIN JIBRAEEL 5TH C H

The Holy Imam Ali (a.s .) said: I am theSalaat (Prayer) of the believer; I am (the one referred to in) Hasten to Prayers; Hasten to deliverance and hasten to the best act. This is a clear reference to the three declarations in theAdhaan :Hayya'alas Salah - two times - (Hasten to prayers)

Hayya'alal Falah - two times - (Hasten to deliverance)Hayya'ala Khayril 'Amal - two times - (Hasten to the best act)As you can see, virtually the whole of theAdhaan has been designed for the declaration of Wilayah.

But the Third Testimony does not form part of theAdhaan as given by them. Yet, they cannot avoid the overwhelming evidence against their rulings and so they have made it a recommendation, but OUTSIDE theAdhaan .

CONCLUSION

Let us now look at these twoHadeeth once again for the conclusion. AL MANAQIB - VOL 3 - KHUTBA AL IFTIKHARIYA OF IMAM ALI (A.S.) I am theAdhaan of Allah (s.w.t .) in this world and the caller (Muezzin) in the hereafter. AL IHTIJAJ AL TABARSI - VOL 1 P230

So came the order from the ImamJa'far AlSadiq (a.s .): 'Whoever says - There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah must immediately say Ali is the Commander of the Faithful'.

Can you giveme a reason to let go of the Firmest Handle in the matter ofAdhaan ?I rest my case.