‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith

‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith17%

‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith Author:
Publisher: Unknown
Category: Imam Ali
ISBN: 13: 978-1492390497

‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith
  • Start
  • Previous
  • 40 /
  • Next
  • End
  •  
  • Download HTML
  • Download Word
  • Download PDF
  • visits: 26891 / Download: 6534
Size Size Size
‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith

‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah: Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith

Author:
Publisher: Unknown
ISBN: 13: 978-1492390497
English

‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah

Explicit Testimonies of Sahih Sunni Ahadith

This book is an in-depth academic critique, and a thoroughly investigative refutation, of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah’s Minhaj al-Sunnah on the specific question of Abu Bakr’s alleged superiority overAmir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib. The shaykh has adopted a two-pronged approach in his Minhaj. He presents arguments and proofs to support Abu Bakr’s superiority and discredits all arguments and proofs in favour of ‘Ali’s superiority. Toyib Olawuyi has however placed all the primary submissions, evidences and denials of Ibn Taymiyyah under the microscope and punctured every single one of them severely using the Book of Allah, thesahih ahadith of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, and their strictestrijal verification methods. Full transparency, accuracy and accountability are strictly observed throughout our book, and we hope it will ease the way for every soul seeking to find out the real truth.

Author(s):  Toyib Olawuyi

Miscellaneous information:

Copyright © 2014 Toyib Olawuyi All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-1492390497 ISBN-10: 1492390496

Table of Contents


Dedication. 3


Acknowledgments 4


Preface 5


1. Hadith Al-Qadha, Investigating Its Authenticity. 10


2. Hadith Al-Qadha, Confessions Of The Sahabah. 14


3. Hadith Al-Qadha, ‘Ali’s Superior Knowledge Of The Qur’an And Sunnah  17


4. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice I 20


5. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice II 24


6. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice III 29


7. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice IV. 33


8. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice V. 37


9. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice VI 42


10. Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice VII 50


11. Hadith Al-Qadha, ‘Ali Versus ‘Umar 52


12. Hadith Al-Tafdhil, Investigating Its Authenticity. 57


13. Hadith Al-Tafdhil, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah Raises Objections 62


14. Hadith Al-Tafdhil, is ‘Aishah Really the best of the Ummah?. 67


15. Hadith Saluni, Investigating Its Authenticity. 70


16. Hadith Saluni, Implications Of The Reports 75


17. Hadith Saluni, Did The Sahabah Ask ‘Ali?. 80


18. Hadith Al-‘Ilm, Establishing Its Authenticity. 84


19. Hadith Al-‘Ilm, Proving Its Tawattur 90


20. Hadith Al-‘Ilm, Some Further Shawahid. 97


21. Hadith Al-Istislam, Investigating Its Authenticity. 100


22. Hadith Al-Zuhd, Correcting An Exaggeration. 107


23. Verse Of Al-Najwa, A Real Eye-Opener 114


24. Hadith Al-Rayat, A Truly Messy One 119


25. Hadith Al-Rayat, Investigating Its Authenticity. 125


26. Hadith Al-Tair, Investigating Its Authenticity. 133


27. Hadith Al-Tair, Examining Some Shawahid. 136


28. Hadith Al-Ta’rif, Understanding Its Background. 143


29. Hadith Al-Ta’rif, Proving Its Authenticity. 150


30. Hadith Al-Tashbih, Establishing Its Authenticity. 154


31. Hadith Al-Tashbih, Instances Of Equality. 159


32. Hadith Al-Ikhtiyar, Examining The Verse Of The Cave 164


33. Hadith Al-Ikhtiyar, ‘Ali: The True Second Of Two. 176


Bibliography. 184


Endnotes 189


Dedication

This research is dedicated toAmir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib,salawatullah wa salamuhu ‘alaihi , who is mymawla and themawla of all believers.


Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following brothers and sisters for their encouragement: Shaykh Muhammad Nura Dass, Ahmad Olawuyi, Ali Baker, Tural Islam, Syed Jarry Haider, Syed Mansab Ali Jafri, Jaffer Abbas, Agbonika Salihu, Jibreel Ibn Mikael, Syeda Umme Rabab Bukhari, Aneela Sultan, Nasir Hasan, and Hassan Bokhari. May Allah bless them all and all our loving brothers and sisters from the Shi’ah Imamiyyah and the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.


Preface

The question of who the best of the Sahabah,radhiyallah ‘anhum , was has always been a thorny issue within theUmmah , especially among the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. Even the Sahabah disputed with one another over the topic. Specifically, the debate often revolves around Abu Bakr and ‘Ali,‘alaihi al-salam , only. It is very difficult to see anyone - whether Sunni or Shi’i – arguing that ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, Talhah, Zubayr or some other Sahabi – was the best of the Sahabah. Rather, the exact point of contention is, and always was: was Abu Bakr their best or ‘Ali?

Expectedly, most of the Ahl al-Sunnah consider Abu Bakr to have been the best of the Sahabah, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthman, and then ‘Ali. By contrast, the Shi’ah believe thatAmir al-Muminin ‘Ali was the best, then al-Hasan, then al-Husayn, and then Sayyidah Faṭimah,‘alaihim al-salam . There is a minority among Sunnis – including some Sahabah and a lot of Sufis – who share the Shi’i view on the matter.

Ordinarily, the debate over who was the best should have been a mere, healthy academic exercise. However, it is linked withImamah andkhilafah in theUmmah . So, it is a very big issue, and provokes the deepest emotions of some people. In fact, countless Shi’is and others have been murdered for more than a millenium by Sunni extremists, only for their belief in the superiority of ‘Ali. The best of theUmmah at each point in time is the only one qualified for thekhilafah . This is the Command of Allah and His Messenger,sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi . Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) confirms:

ففي هذا الخبر إخبار عمر بين المهاجرين والأنصار أن أبا بكر سيد المسلمين وخيرهم وأحبهم إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ذلك علة مبايعته فقال بل نبايعك أنت فأنت سيدنا وخيرنا وأحبنا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ليبين بذلك أن المأمور به تولية الأفضل وأنت أفضلنا فنبايعك

In this report is the declaration of ‘Umar among the Muhajirun and the Ansar that Abu Bakr was thesayyid of the Muslims and the best of them, and the most beloved of them to the Messenger of Allah. This is the reason for following him. So, he (‘Umar) said, “Rather, we will follow you because you are oursayyid , and the best of us, and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him”. He wanted to make clear through it that:WHAT IS ORDAINED IS TO GIVE AUTHORITY TO THE BEST , and you are the best of us. So, we will follow you.1

The bottomline here is thatkhilafah by anyone who is not the best of his time is contrary to the Order of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and is therefore both illegal and abid’ah . That makes thekhalifah himself and all his supporters ringleaders of abid’ah , as long as they are aware of his deficiency and still uphold hiskhilafah . In that way, they would be guilty of creating a new provision in the religion to supplant that of Allah. The grave danger of all this is captured perfectly in these words of the Messenger of Allah, documented by Imam al-Nasai (d. 303 H):

شر الأمور محدثاتها وكل محدثة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة في النار

The worst of the (religious) affairs are their innovations, and every innovation is abid’ah , andevery bid’ah is misguidance, and every misguidance ends to the Fire .2

‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) comments:

صحيح

Sahih 3

The Command of Allah and His Messenger is that the best of theUmmah should always be theirkhalifah , as testified by ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭab. Meanwhile, the innovation in this matter is to make or allow any inferior individual as thekhalifah . This innovation is abid’ah , and will land whosoever leads, practices or recognizes it in Hellfire. It is understandable then why some of our Sunni brothers are so hell-bent upon emphasizing the superiority over Abu Bakr over the wholeUmmah , followed by ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, by all means – even to the extent of committing massacres. The survival of theirSahih depends very heavily on it. Should Abu Bakr, ‘Umar or ‘Uthman fall, Sunnism itself ceases to exist as a valid entity!

So, certain drastic steps were taken to address the challenge. First, a very wide re-definition was issued for Shi’ism. This, apparently, was to scare Sunnis away from researching into the issue. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 852 H) takes the podium:

والتشيع محبة على وتقديمه على الصحابة فمن قدمه على أبى بكر وعمر فهو غال في تشيعه ويطلق عليه رافضي وإلا فشيعي فإن انضاف إلى ذلك السب أو التصريح بالبغض فغال في الرفض وإن اعتقد الرجعة إلى الدنيا فأشد في الغلو

Shi’ism is love of ‘Ali and the placing of him over the Sahabah (except Abu Bakr and ‘Umar only). Whoever places him above Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, such is an extremist in his Shi’ism, and he is called a Rafidi.

If he does not (place ‘Ali over the two), then he is only a Shi’i. If he added to that (i.e. preference of ‘Ali over Abu Bakr and ‘Umar) abuse, cursing or open hatred (of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar), he is then an extremist inRafdh . If he believes in Raj’ah into this world, then he is severe in (Rafidhi) extremism.4

Therefore, a Sunni is only someone who considers ‘Ali as inferior to Abu Bakr, ‘Umar AND ‘Uthman. Whosoever places him above ‘Uthman is a Shi’i, and whosoever views him as superior to Abu Bakr or ‘Umar is a Rafidhi. In the Sunni creed, being a Shi’i is abid’ah . Imam al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) says:

أن البدعة على ضربين: فبدعة صغرى كغلو التشيع، أو كالتشيع بلا غلو ولا تحرف، فهذا كثير في التابعين وتابعيهم مع الدين والورع والصدق. فلو رد حديث هؤلاء لذهب جملة من الآثار النبوية، وهذه مفسدة بينة. ثم بدعة كبرى، كالرفض الكامل والغلو فيه

Bid’ah has two types:

The minor bid’ah: like extreme Shi’ism, or like moderate Shi’ism , for this was widespread among the Tabi’in and their followers, despite their

devotion, piety and truthfulness. If theahadith of these people were rejected, part of teachings of the Prophet would be lost, and that would be a clear evil.

Thenthe major bid’ah: like complete rafdh and extremism in it.5

By classifying the placing of ‘Ali above ‘Uthman as abid’ah – which leads to Hellfire – the classical Sunni‘ulama hoped to put a firm lid on all threats to theirSahih . However, their action has produced some horrible unintended consequences. Many of the Sahabah were Rawafidh by Sunni definition, and therefore heretics who will burn forever in the Fire! Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463 H) identifies some of these Rafidhi Sahabah:

وروى عن سلمان وأبي ذر والمقداد وخباب وجابر وأبى سعيد الخدري وزيد بن الأرقم أن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه أول من أسلم وفضله هؤلاء على غيره

Salman, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Khabab, Jabir, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Zayd b. Arqam narrated that ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first to accept Islam,and they considered him the most superior (among the Sahabah) .6

These senior Sahabah considered ‘Ali as superior to Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman! By Sunni standards, theirbid’ah , therefore, was of the major type! They were complete Rafidhis. Another well-known Sahabi like them was Abu al-Tufayl, radhiyallah ‘anhu. Imam al-Dhahabi states about him:

واسم أبي الطفيل، عامر بن واثلة بن عبد الله بن عمرو الليثي الكناني الحجازي الشيعي. كان من شيعة الإمام علي.

The name of Abu al-Tufayl was ‘Amir b. Wathilah b. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr al-Laythi al-Kanani al-Hijazi, the Shi’i. He was from the Shi’ah of Imam ‘Ali.7

Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr adds:

وكان متشيعا في علي ويفضله ويثني على الشيخين أبي بكر وعمر ويترحم على عثمان

He was a Shi’i of ‘Ali and considered him the most superior. He used to extol the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and would ask for Allah’s mercy upon ‘Uthman.8

Al-Hafiz explains the words of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr above:

قال أبو عمر كان يعترف بفضل أبي بكر وعمر لكنه يقدم عليا

Abu ‘Umar said: He accepted the merit of Abu Bakr and ‘Umarbut he considered ‘Ali to be the most superior. 9

This creates an impossible dilemma for Sunni Islam. If Sunnis stick with their view that Shi’ism – as defined by them – is abid’ah , then they must agree that all these fine Sahabah were heretics with no hope of salvation in the Hereafter. By contrast, if they free the Shi’i Sahabah, then they must equally free all other Shi’ah and Rawafidh! What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. Besides, the Sahabah, who met the Prophet, are in an even more accountable position on any Islamic matter than all the generations after them. It gets scary when one considers the possibility that the Messenger of Allah could have been of the same opinion as the Shi’i Sahabah! If he did, then it would have been Sunnah to place ‘Ali over Abu

Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman. In that case, the majority view of the Ahl al-Sunnah on the matter would have been abid’ah - in fact, a compoundedbid’ah .

The other step taken by the Sunni‘ulama was to confuse their followers on the status and meanings of explicitahadith indicating the overall superiority ofAmir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib over all Sahabah. The most guilty individual in this regard was none other than “Shaykh al-Islam” Ibn Taymiyyah. Others, such as Imam al-Mubarakfuri (d. 1282 H), ‘Allamah al-Albani, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ and others, have also followed his steps, albeit at a much lower level. In this book, we will be examining some of suchahadith , proving their authenticity absolutely, and analyzing their texts in the light of the Qur’an andmutawatir Sunnah. Ourmanhaj in this regard is open, transparent, mathematical and precise. For instance, we have relied very heavily upon the verdicts concerning the individual narrators by al-Hafiz al-‘Asqalani in his legendary reference work,al-Taqrib . The reasons for this approach are two. First, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, often fondly referred to simply as al-Hafiz, is one of the greatest Sunni scholars ofrijal andhadith . ‘Allamah al-Albani says about him:

لكن من كان في ريب مما أحكم أنا على بعض الأحاديث فليعد إلى فتح الباري فسيجد هناك أشياء كثيرة وكثيرة جداً ينتقدها الحافظ أحمد بن حجر العسقلاني الذي يسمى بحقٍ أمير المؤمنين في الحديث والذي أعتقد أنا وأظن أن كل من كان مشاركاً في هذا العلم يوافقني على أنه لم تلد النساء بعده مثله.

But, whoever is in doubt concerning the verdicts I have given concerning someahadith (inSahih al-Bukhari ), let him refer to Fath al-Bari, and he will find there lots and lots of things (inSahih al-Bukhari ) which have been criticized byal-Hafiz Ahmad b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, who is rightly named the Amir al-Muminin in Hadith, and whom I believe – and I suppose that anyone who has this knowledge (i.e. science of hadith) would agree with me – that no woman has ever given birth to anyone like him after him. 10

The phrase “amir al-muminin” is of course a reference to the supreme master.

Secondly, al-Hafiz himself states in the Introduction toal-Taqrib :

أنني أحكم على كل شخص منهم بحكم يشمل أصح ما قيل فيه، وأعدل ما وصف به

I have graded every individual among them with a verdict that contains the most correct of what is said about him, and the most just of the descriptions given for him.11

In other words, a lot of things have been said about each of the narrators. But, not everything said about them is authentically transmitted, correct or accurate. So, al-Hafiz, who is a king in the Sunni science ofhadith , has compiled only “the most correct” and “the most just” of the statements made about them. No wonder, top Sunnihadith scientists like ‘Allamah al-Albani and others have relied very heavily upon thisal-Taqrib in all their works. We will be doing the same throughout this book and others. There are two clear advantages in doing this. One, it would ensure the accuracy of our conclusions on the various narrators. Two, it would keep our book

concise and neat. As such, we will firstly quote the criticisms of a Sunni scholar, mostly Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, against a particularhadith - which establishes ‘Ali’s superiorty over all the Sahabah – and then examines the trustworthiness of all its narrators, primarily throughal-Taqrib . Where the name of the narrator is not present inal-Taqrib , then we go for the books of Imam al-Dhahabi, who is equally a superweight in Sunnihadith sciences, as well as others like ‘Allamah al-Albani and Shaykh al-Arnauṭ.

This humble author has adopted a very stricttakhrij style throughout the book. This is why he has excludedahadith which he believes to be true, but which do not meet the strict standards of authenticity in the Sunnihadith sciences. In particular, we focus on the reliability of the narrators and the full connectivity of the chains. We also seek if there are corroborative supports for either the chains or the texts of theahadith . Most importantly, we also investigate any possible hidden defects in the chains, such astadlis , poor memory andirsal of the narrators and present detailed researches to make clarifications wherever necessary. Sometimes, in order to save space, we do simply rely upon explicit authentications of chains andahadith by the topmost Sunnihadith scientists. Through this methodology, we hope to give the full opportunity to whoever is researching the topic in order to determine the real truth.

Meanwhile, we do not neglect Sunni arguments and reports in favour of the superiority of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar either. We query their authenticity too, in line with strict standards of Sunnirijal and further test their compatibility with the Qur’an and undisputed history. The full details of our investigations are provided in our book, so that our esteemed reader can verify, reason and make his independent conclusions too.

Throughout our book, we have relied upon Sunni books only, and specifically those of the highest standing in their respected categories. This way, we aim ensure full accuracy in everything. We implore Allah to forgive us all our mistakes, and to accept this as a worthy act ofirsal .


1. Hadith Al-Qadha, Investigating Its Authenticity

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) states:

و إما قوله قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم لاقضاكم علي والقضاء يستلزم العلم و الدين فهذا الحديث لم يثبت و ليس له إسناد تقوم به الحجة لم يروه أحد في السنن المشهورة و لا المساند المعروفة لا بإسناد صحيح و لا ضعيف و إنما يروي من طريق من هو معروف بالكذب

As for his statement, “The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:‘The best judge among you is ‘Ali’” , and justice dispensation requires knowledge and religious devotion.But, this hadith is not authentic , and it has no chain of transmission which makes it a valid proofIt is not recorded by anyone in the famous Sunan books, and not (by anyone) in the well-knownMusnad books – not with asahih chain, nor with adha’if chain.It is only narrated through the route of notorious liars. 12

Meanwhile, Imam Ibn Majah (d. 273 H) records in hisSunan :

حدثنا محمد بن المثنى ثنا عبد الوهاب بن عبد المجيد ثنا خالد الحذاء، عن أبي قلابة، عن أنس بن مالك، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :أرحم أمتي بأمتي أبو بكر وأشدهم في دين الله عمر وأصدقهم حياء عثمان وأقضاهم علي بن أبي طالب.

Muhammad b. al-Muthanna – ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. ‘Abd al-Majid – Khalid al-Haza – Abi Qilabah – Anas b. Malik:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “The most merciful of myUmmah to myUmmah is Abu Bakr. The most severe of them in the religion of Allah is ‘Umar. The most shy of them is ‘Uthman.And the best judge among them is ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.” 13

This report cancels out the first leg of our Shaykh’s claims: that thehadith is not documented in any of the authoritativeSunan andMusnad books – whether with asahih chain or even adha’if one!

So, the next question is: has thehadith truly been narrated by a liar or liars?

The first narrator, Muhammad b. al-Muthanna isthiqah (trustworthy) without absolutely any doubt. Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) for instance says about him:

محمد بن المثنى بن عبيد العنزي بفتح النون والزاي أبو موسى البصري ….ثقة ثبت

Muhammad b. al-Muthanna b. ‘Ubayd al-‘Unaza, Abu Musa al-Basri....Thiqah (trustworthy), thabt (accurate ).14

Elsewhere, he adds about him:

روى عنه) خ (مائة حديث وثلاثة أحاديث ومسلم سبعمائة واثنتين وسبعين حديثا

Al-Bukhari narrated 103ahadith from him (in hisSahih ), and Muslim also narrated 772ahadith (from him in hisSahih ).15

Apparently, he was a super-weight in Sunniahadith .

Al-Hafiz also says about the second narrator:

عبد الوهاب بن عبد المجيد بن الصلت الثقفي أبو محمد البصري ثقة تغير قبل موته بثلاث سنين

‘Abd al-Wahhab b. ‘Abd al-Majid b. al-Salt al-Thaqafi, Abu Muhammad al-Basri:Thiqah (trustworthy). He changed (i.e. his memory weakened) 3 years before his death.16

In his Lisan, he gives further, crucial information about him:

لكنه ما ضر تغيره حديثه فإنه ما حدث بحديث في زمن التغير

But, his change (in memory) does not harm hisahadith , for he never narrated a singlehadith during the period of the change.17

So, what about the remaining narrators? Shaykh al-Arnauṭ saves us a lot of time with thistahqiq :

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا عفان ثنا وهيب ثنا خالد الحذاء عن أبي قلابة عن أنس بن مالك عن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إسناده صحيح على شرط الشيخين

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – ‘Affan – Wuhayb– Khalid al-Haza – Abu Qilabah – Anas b. Malik – the Prophet, peace be upon him Its chain issahih UPON THE STANDARD OF THE TWO SHAYKHS. 18

We understand from this that both Khalid al-Haza and Abu Qilabah arethiqah (trustworthy) narrators of bothSahih al-Bukhari andSahih Muslim , like Muhammad b. al-Muthanna.

Interestingly, Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H), Imam al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) and ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) also confirm that the second narrator is like the others too in this regard. The ‘Allamah writes:

أخرجه الترمذي (2 / 309) وابن ماجه (154) وابن حبان (2218) و (2219) والحاكم (3 / 422) من طريق عبد الوهاب بن عبد المجيد الثقفي حدثنا خالد الحذاء عن أبي قلابة عن أنس قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: فذكره، وقال الترمذي: " حديث حسن صحيح ". وقال الحاكم: " هذا إسناد صحيح على شرط الشيخين ". ووافقه الذهبي وهو كما قالا.

Al-Tirmidhi (2/309), Ibn Majah (154), Ibn Hibban (2218) and al-Hakim (3/422) narrated it through the route of‘ABD AL-WAHHAB B. ‘ABD AL-MAJID AL-THAQAFI – Khalid al-Haza – Abu Qilabah – Anas – the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Al-Tirmidhi said: “Thehadith ishasan sahih ”. Al-Hakim (also) said,“This chain is sahih UPON THE STANDARD OF THE TWO SHAYKHS”. Al-Dhahabi concurred with him, andit is (indeed) as they both have stated. 19

In a simple summary,Hadith al-Qadha – as documented by Imam Ibn Majah – has a chain of transmission that issahih upon the standard of al-Bukhari (d. 256 H) and Muslim (d. 261 H). All its narrators are relied upon in bothSahih al-Bukhari andSahih Muslim , and there is no disconnection anywhere in the chain. Apparently, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah’s weird,

unfounded claim that thehadith is narrated only by notorious liars is itself a sickening rape of the truth!

There is equally amutaba’ah for Muhammad b. al-Muthanna copied by Imam al-Haythami (d. 807 H):

أخبرنا أحمد بن مكرم بن خالد البرتي، حدثنا علي بن المديني، حدثنا عبد الوهاب الثقفي، حدثنا خالد الحذاء، عن أبي قلابة عن أنس بن مالك قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم :ارحم أمتي بأمتي أبو بكر، وأشدهم في أمر الله عمر، وأصدقهم حياء عثمان، وأقضاهم علي

Ahmad b. Makram b. Khalid al-Birti – ‘Ali b. al-Madini – ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi – Khalid al-Haza – Abu Qilabah – Anas b. Malik:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “The most merciful of myUmmah to myUmmah is Abu Bakr. The most severe of them concerning the Command of Allah is ‘Umar. The most shy of them is ‘Uthman.And the best judge among them is ‘Ali .20

We already know that the last four narrators – including Anas – arethiqah narrators of bothSahih al-Bukhari andSahih Muslim . So, we only have to find out the status of the first two narrators. Once again, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ saves us time. Imam Ibn Hibban (d. 354 H) records this chain in hisSahih :

أخبرنا أحمد بن مكرم بن خالد البرتي قال حدثنا علي بن المديني قال حدثنا معن بن عيسى قال حدثنا مالك بن أنس عن صفوان بن سليم عن عطاء بن يسار عن أبي سعيد الخدري

Ahmad b. Makram b. Khalid al-Birti –‘Ali b. al-Madini – Ma’n b. ‘Isa – Malik b. Anas – Safwan b. Sulaym – ‘Aṭa b. Yasar – Abu Sa’id al-Khudri21

Al-Arnauṭ says:

إسناده صحيح على شرط البخاري رجاله ثقات رجال الصحيح غير علي بن المديني فمن رجال البخاري

Its chain is sahih upon the standard of al-Bukhari. Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy), narrators of theSahih , except ‘Ali b. al-Madini because he is from the narrators of (Sahih )al-Bukhari (only).22

So, both al-Birti and ‘Ali b. al-Madini arethiqah (trustworthy) narrators ofSahih al-Bukhari too. As such, themutaba’ah of ‘Ali b. al-Madini to Muhammad b. al-Muthanna inHadith al-Qadha issahih as well, upon the standard ofSahih al-Bukhari !

Thehadith has equally been transmitted from other Sahabah, apart from Anas. Imam al-Haythami for instance records:

عن جابر بن عبد الله الأنصاري قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : أرحم أمتي بأمتي أبو بكر وأرفق أمتي لأمتي عمر وأصدق أمتي حياء عثمان وأقضى أمتي علي بن أبي طالب

NarratedJabir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari :

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “The most merciful of myUmmah to myUmmah is Abu Bakr. The kindest of myUmmah to myUmmah is ‘Umar. The most shy of myUmmah is ‘Uthman. The best judge of myUmmah is ‘Ali b. Abi Talib”.23

He comments:

رواه الطبراني في الأوسط وإسناده حسن

Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsaṭ,and its chain is hasan .24

In modern prints ofMu’jam al-Awsaṭ of Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H), thishadith , unfortunately, is no longer present! The previous existence of this report inal-Awsat is further confirmed by Imam al-Haytami (d. 974 H):

و في رواية الطبراني في الأوسط أرحم أمتي بأمتي أبو بكر وأرفق أمتي لأمتي عمر وأصدق أمتي حياء عثمان وأقضى أمتي علي بن أبي طالب

In the report of al-Tabaraniin al-Awsat , it is recorded: “The most merciful of myUmmah to myUmmah is Abu Bakr. The kindest of myUmmah to myUmmah is ‘Umar. The most shy of myUmmah is ‘Uthman.The best judge of my Ummah is ‘Ali b. Abi Talib” 25

It has gone missing in the sameal-Awsat after the time of al-Haytami.

Finally, ‘Allamah al-Albani has copiedHadith al-Qadha from yet another Sahabi, namely Ibn ‘Umar:

أرأف أمتي بأمتي أبو بكر وأشدهم في دين الله عمر وأصدقهم حياء عثمان وأقضاهم علي

The most compassionate of myUmmah to myUmmah is Abu Bakr, and the most severe of them in the religion of Allah is ‘Umar. The most shy of them is ‘Uthman andthe best judge among them is ‘Ali. 26

The ‘Allamah says:

(صحيح) [ع] عن ابن عمر.

Sahih ... (Narrated) byIbn ‘Umar 27

Station of Mastership (Wilayat) in Islam

Since Wilayat has a fundamental and distinctive role in Islamic teachings, we would have a brief discussion about it here.

Wilayat is introduced in traditions to be the most important pillar of Islam. Imam Muhammad Baqir (a) said: Islam is based on five pillars: Prayer, Zakat, Fast, Hajj and Wilayat. People are not invited to anything with as much emphasis, as they are invited to Wilayat.[9]

In another tradition, Zurarah says: I asked Imam Baqir (a): “Which of these five is the most important?” He replied: “Wilayat is the most important, because it is their key. The Guardian is a guide to them.”[10]

Wilayat is in the meaning of guardianship and taking charge of affairs of others. The world of ‘Wali’ is also from the same root and it describes one in charge of guardianship of an individual or individuals, like Wali of the young and Wali of the mentally challenged persons. The word of ‘Waali’ is also derived from the same root. The governor or governor-general is called as ‘Waali’ since the administration of the city and affairs of citizens are in his charge and they are supposed to obey his commands. The Holy Prophet (s) also has the same type of Wilayat over the Ummah, since he is their guardian and has discretion over them. Almighty Allah says in Quran:

ألنَّبِىُّ أَوْلَى‏ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

“The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves…” (33:6)

The word of Maula is also derived from the same root. That is why the Holy Prophet (s), at the beginning of Ghadeer sermon in Farewell Hajj addressed the people: Do I not have more authority on you more than what you have on yourself? They said: Why not? Then he said: Of whomsoever I am the master; this Ali is also his master.[11]

Umar bin Khattab, who was present in the event of Ghadeer and witnessed the appointment of Ali (a), also derived the same meaning from the word of ‘Maula’, because he remarked to Ali (a): “O Ali, congratulations; you have become the master of every believer man and woman.”[12]

It can be concluded from these statements that Wilayat is an executive position and not only a holy rank.

Wilayat during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet

Now the question arises that what were the circumstances of Muslims during the proclamation of prophethood (Besat) of the Prophet of Islam (s)? Did they live without leaders and social administrator? Or an arrangement, control and rulership existed although in a limited way and in enforcing simple laws? In order to get the replies to these questions, it is necessary to cast a brief glance on the rules and laws of Islam:

Laws of Islam, which are mentioned in Quran and traditions, can all be divided into two types:

A) Individual laws and duties like Prayers, fast, Hajj, observing good manners, refraining from bad morals, purification, impurity and other individual laws.

Such laws are personal duties and they are addressed to each and every duty bound person individually and acting on them does not require presence of rulership and social management.

B) The second type of laws and political duties – are social, like: Struggle (Jihad) to propagate Islam, defending existence of Islam and Muslims, military preparedness, securing social peace, legal judgment and solving of disputes, enforcing penalties, blood monies and retaliations, punishment of criminals, mutual relations between Islamic countries, relations with others, collection of Zakat and its proper use, collection of Khums and its proper use, and tens of other similar social matters. Such social and political laws and rules have are also included in Islam. With a little consideration, we would know that acting on such laws needs formation of institutions headed by a determined and a religious ruler and leader.

That is why it can be said that rulership and Wilayat is included in religion and there should always be a ruler who is in charge of guaranteeing the application of political and social laws. And if it is not so, a great part of Islamic laws would be in suspended condition.

The Holy Prophet; the first Wali of Muslims

Although in Quran we don’t have a verse in which the Messenger of Allah (s) has clearly ordered formation of government, but in some verses he has commanded about some practices and acts, which are concerned with government; for example the following verses can be cited as proof:

إِنَّآ أَنْزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَبَ بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَآ أَرَيكَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَكُنْ لِلْخَآئِنِينَ خَصيماً

“Surely We have revealed the Book to you with the truth that you may judge between people by means of that which Allah has taught you; and be not an advocate on behalf of the treacherous.” (4:105)

وَ أَنْزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَبَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَبِ وَ مُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَ لَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الحَقِّ

“And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you…” (5:48)

يَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ جَهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَفِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ

“O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them.” (9:73)

يَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ

“O Prophet! urge the believers to war…” (8:65)

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَ لِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا

“Take alms out of their property, you would cleanse them and purify them thereby…” (9:103)

It is clear that arbitration and solving disputes of people, encouraging people to Jihad, collection of Zakat and taxes and expending them in the specific ways are from the duties of the ruler, and since their performance was asked from the Messenger of Allah (s), it is known that he was ruler appointed by Almighty Allah. Therefore, it must be said: The Prophet of Islam in addition to receiving revelation, its protection and propagation to people, also had other duties and it implies formation of government, enforcing of political and social laws, leadership and administration of Islamic Ummah in different matters.

The Holy Prophet (s) in managing the affairs of Islamic state, took advantage of laws, which he received through revelation; he was also authorized to issue commands and apply them in accordance with exigency of the nation. Such laws were named as laws of governance. Muslims also are duty bound to obey his commands.

The Holy Quran says:

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِى الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَزَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْ‏ءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمِ الْأَخِرِ ذَ لِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً

“O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end.” (4:59)

It can be concluded from this verse that it is obligatory on the believers to obey the commands of three persons: Allah, the glorified, the Prophet and those vested with authority (Ulil Amr). Obedience of Allah is in the instances when the Prophet announces the command as revelation and message of God. Obedience of the Prophet is in instances, when he issues commands in the capacity of religious authority and ruler of Muslims and not as divine revelation. Such laws are called laws of government and authority. The third type is obedience of Ulil Amr. Ulil Amr is one who is introduced by the Prophet as a ruler and owner of authority. In many traditions, the Holy Imams (a), who are from Ahle Bayt (a) and progeny of the Holy Prophet (s) are introduced as implications of Ulil Amr. They are also having authority on people and their obedience is obligatory. With reference to books of biography, it would become absolutely clear that the Holy Prophet of Islam since the beginning of the migration (Hijra) to Medina and when the call to Islam became evident, felt the need of establishing a government, which would protect the interests of Islam and Muslims and when he got opportunity, he took the necessary steps. During a period of ten years in Medina, gradually he performed actions, which were necessary to form a simple government and to administer a limited society. Some of them are as follows:

Selection of minister and advisor, selection or appointment of chief and governor for big and small towns, selection of judge, establishment of courts of justice, selection of persons for application of penalties, guarding the prisons and prisoners, selection of chiefs of tribes, selection of persons for gathering information and intelligence, selection of persons to enjoin good and forbid evil, establishment of classes for Quranic education, writing, jurisprudence and laws, selection of individuals for making copies of Quran, selecting individuals to write letters, selecting officials and collectors of Zakat, individuals for collecting taxes, treasurer and treasury in charge, accountants, officials for paying and distributing shares, appointment of commander-in-chief, standard bearer, weapons in charge, selection of security personnel, supervisor of commercial transactions, and other small and big posts of responsibilities.[13] Such types of acts are definitely from the ranks of rulership. On the basis of this, one should not reject the rulership of the Prophet of Islam. He was the first owner of authority (Wali Amr) over Muslims and the founder of the Islamic government, and his Wilayat is proved from revelation and Quran. It should be mentioned that although the position of Wilayat and rulership was given to His Eminence by God, it would not have been possibly realized externally without earnestness, loyalty, sacrifice and preparations through people. From this aspect, responsibility of application of social and political laws of Islam in Quran is placed directly upon the Muslims. For example, Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran:

وَ جَهِدُواْ فِى اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ

“And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving as is due to Him…” (22:78)

وَقَتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَتِلُونَكُمْ وَلاَ تَعْتَدُواْ

“And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits.” (2:190)

وَ قَتِلُواْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَآفَّةً كَمَا يُقَتِلُونَكُمْ كَآفَّةً

“…and fight the polytheists all together as they fight you all together…” (9:36)

وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَ مِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَ عَدُوَّكُمْ

“And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier, to frighten thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy…” (8:60)

وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءً بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَلاً مِّنَ اللَّهِ

“And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah…” (5:38)

اَلزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِى فَاجْلِدُواْ كُلَّ وَحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِاْئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ

“(As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them, (giving) a hundred stripes…” (24:2)

وَلْتَكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى‏ الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ

“And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong…” (3:104)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّ مِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ

“O you who believe! Be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake…” (4:135)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْكَفِرينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَجْعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَناً مُّبِيناً

“O you who believe! do not take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers; do you desire that you should give to Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?” (4:144)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَرَى‏ أَوْلِيَآءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ

“O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other.” (5:51)

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah…” (3:110)

From the above verses, which are revealed about the ‘obligatory-ness’ of holy struggle (Jihad) and defense, military preparedness, application of punishments and fines, enjoining good and forbidding evil, obligatory-ness of establishment of social justice, relations of Muslims with others and tens of other similar verses and hundreds of traditions, which are recorded with reference to jurisprudence, political, administrative, economic, dissemination of sciences and popularizing of cultural values and prevention of opposing values, can be nicely concluded that the holy lawmaker of Islam has regarded Muslims to be a proper nation, which should, in order to administer its community and to fulfill its social and political needs, form organizations. And since Muslims have practically accepted the leadership and Wilayat of the Holy Prophet (s) the possibility of formation of government for him is obtained.

Wilayat after the Messenger of Allah (s)

After the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s), although divine revelation (direct contact with Allah and receiving of laws) came to an end, the religion was perfected and legislation of laws reached its conclusion, but with attention to the fact that the Prophet of Islam is the last of the prophets and the religion of Islam is a universal religion and it is to endure till Judgment Day and would always remain as a torch of guidance, it is necessary that after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (s) there should be a prominent person to take over his responsibilities and pursue his agenda. He is named as the Caliph of the Prophet and the Imam of Muslims.

The Holy Prophet bore the following four responsibilities:

1. Receipt of divine laws and messages through revelation. 2. Conveyance of divine messages to people. 3. Protection of divine laws. 4. Formation of government and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam. In all these stages, the Holy Prophet (s) was infallible from sins and doubts. In books of theology, it is proved that the Caliph of the Prophet also like him should be immune from mistakes, doubts and forgetfulness so that aims of the Prophet should be pursued and the true religion remains strong.

Imamite Shia, with attention to the need of condition of infallibility in Caliph say: Except for the Prophet, no one can introduce and appoint the Caliph, as except for the Prophet, who is having divine revelation, no one else is aware of the infallibles.

From the same argument and numerous historical evidences and tens of traditions that are present in sources of narrations, it is said: The Messenger of Allah (s) due to his concern for survival of Islam and its spread and greatness of Islamic Ummah was definitely not oblivious of appointing his infallible successor.

Therefore historical testimonies and traditions hint at that great personage during the period of his prophethood and he was always concerned about this important matter and for this purpose had selected Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a). He paid utmost attention to his education and training and entrusted necessary knowledges to him. Imam Ali (a) also with his personal capacity and with divine supports memorized the knowledges and did not forget anything. Moreover, as per the orders of the Prophet, he wrote down all knowledges to leave behind for the Imams succeeding him.

Imam Ali (a), as a result of the special bestowals of the Messenger of Allah (s) mastered all the sciences of prophethood. As the Holy Prophet (s) mentioned about him: I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate; so one who wants to seek knowledge should come to its gate,[14] and tens of other traditions, which are recorded in books of Shia and Ahle Sunnat.

The aim of the Messenger of Allah (s) in stating the excellences and virtues of Imam Ali (a) was to prepare public opinion and prepare the grounds of his introduction and appointment as his successor and for Imamate of Muslims and always looking for opportunity to declare his appointment formally.

These circumstances continued till the 10th year of Hijrat. That year, the Holy Prophet (s) decided to perform the Hajj of the Holy House of Kaaba. He invited all Muslims to participate in the Hajj so that they may witness the rituals of Hajj from close quarters. The Messenger of Allah (s) intended to officially declare the appointment of Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) as his successor and to introduce him to the pilgrims, who had arrived from various countries to perform the Hajj. The rituals of Hajj came to an end and the pilgrims started returning to their hometowns. When the Messenger of Allah (s) and his followers reached Ghadeer Khum it was almost noon and the climate was extremely hot. At that moment Jibraeel arrived with the following verse:

يَأَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَ إِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْكَفِرِينَ‏

“O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.” (5:67)

The Holy Prophet (s) halted at that spot. He issued orders to prepare that place for Noon Prayer. Pilgrims gathered. After the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (s) mounted the pulpit. He recited a lengthy sermon, which later came to be known as tradition of Ghadeer Khum. This tradition is reported in various versions and is present in reliable Shia and Sunni sources. Below we mention one such version:

Zaid bin Arqam says: When the Messenger of Allah (s) was returning from the Farewell Hajj he reached Ghadeer Khum. Initially he ordered them to sweep the ground below the trees and then he delivered a sermon: As if I have been called to Allah. I leave among you two important things by way of trust and one of them is greater than another: The Book of Allah (Quran) and my progeny. Try to take care of these two trusts. They would not separate from each other till Judgment Day. Then he said: Allah, the Mighty and Sublime is my master and I am the master of all believers. Then he raised the hand of Ali (a) and said: Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is also his master.

O Allah, take under Your guardianship whoever accepts the mastership (Wilayat) of Ali and be inimical to whoever is inimical to Ali.[15]

Baraa Ibne Azib has added the following words in narrating the same sermon that in the beginning the Messenger of Allah (s) asked: Am I not having more authority over the believer than they have on themselves? They replied: Why not, O Messenger of Allah (s)? You are having more authority. At that moment he pointed to Ali and said: Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is also his master.[16]

After that Umar Ibne Khattab met Ali (a) and said: “Congratulations Ali, you have become my master and the master of all believer men and women.”[17]

The tradition of Ghadeer is a widely related (Mutawatir) and authentic tradition and there is no doubt in its authenticity.

Thus on that blessed day, the Holy Prophet (s) performed two most important tasks: One was that he declared Quran and Progeny to be complimentaries of each other and left them as two reliable sources of reference for the Muslims as trusts and advised them to refer to them to derive the laws of religion.

Another was introduction of Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) as master and owner of discretion. In this act he delegated to him the position of his Wilayat and rulership so that he may become the Caliph and Imam of Muslims after him; and that by enforcing the laws of religion about whom he was perfectly knowledgeable, he should administer the Islamic dominions.[18]

On the basis of this, the Messenger of Allah (s) in the tradition of Ghadeer and other traditions transferred three of his duties to Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a): 1. Protection of divine laws. 2. Conveying them to Muslims. 3. Rulership and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam; as he was one of the implications of ‘progeny’ and Ahle Bayt (a).

From the tradition of Ghadeer and tens of similar traditions, it can well be concluded that with the death of the Messenger of Allah (s) the period of his rule has not ended and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam do not remain without an infallible executive. On the contrary, by appointment and nomination of Ali (a), he fixed the duration of the Imamate of the infallible Imams.

Imam Ali (a), as per the orders of the Holy Prophet (s) during his lifetime, appointed Imam Hasan (a) and Imam Hasan (a) appointed his brother, Imam Husain (a) and Imam Husain (a) appointed his son, Imam Ali Ibne Husain (a) to Imamate and in this way Imamate continued till the twelfth Imam.

According to belief of Shia Imamiyah, after the Messenger of Allah (s) the following twelve have been appointed as Caliphs and Imams in sequence:

Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a)

Hasan Ibne Ali (a)

Husain Ibne Ali (a)

Ali Ibne Husain (a)

Muhammad Ibne Ali (a)

Ja’far Ibne Muhammad (a)

Musa Ibne Ja’far (a)

Ali Ibne Musa (a)

Muhammad Ibne Ali (a)

Ali Ibne Muhammad (a)

Hasan Ibne Ali (a)

Hujjat Ibnul Hasan al-Askari (a)

Imamate and Caliphate of these twelve personages in its own capacity is proved through evidence and proofs.[19]

Each of the above mentioned personages were having the two necessary qualifications of Imamate: (1) Infallibility from mistakes, forgetfulness and sins; and (2) knowledge of all the laws of Shariah. That is why they were directly appointed by the Holy Prophet (s) as Imams.

Although except for Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) and that also after a delay and only for few years, none of them practically reached to the post of Caliphate, but the Caliphate of the Messenger of Allah (s) was their right, which due to ignorance and shortcoming of people in defending Wilayat was trespassed and Caliphate deviated from the path that the Holy Prophet (s) had specified for it. Muslims were duty bound and are duty bound to have faith in Wilayat of the Infallible Imams from the progeny of Prophet and they should make efforts to prepare grounds for the rule of the righteous and to become aloof from the rule of non-righteous. This is in fact the implication of Tawalla and Tabarra.[20]

Wilayat during the period of Occultation

As concluded from a large number of traditions, the authority (Wali Amr) of Muslims is the twelfth Imam, His Eminence, Mahdi (a), who has attained this position from Almighty Allah and through the Messenger of Allah (s) and the Holy Imams (a). But due to the shortcoming of people in preparing the prefaces of his reappearance and establishment of his rule, he is compelled to live in occultation and is in anticipation of the time, which would provide the background of his reappearance, but in this time also the holy lawmaker of Islam (God) has not ignored the enforcement of His social and political laws and establishment of Islamic rule.

Since Muslims during the period of the Messenger of Allah (s) and during the tenure of infallible Imams are duty bound to make efforts and struggle in establishment of their kingdom and to prepare the background of reaching the position of Wilayat, during the time of occultation also, they are duty bound to recognize the most superior of the people; that they accept their leadership, obey their commands and prepare background for enforcement of all Islamic laws and religious rules and regulations. Such persons would be authority (Wali Amr) and representatives of the Imam of the Time (a) and their Wilayat would have the same status as that of the Holy Imam (a) and the Holy Prophet (s). But how and in what manner can one obtain these qualifications is a matter, which requires extensive research and study. In this regard, a large number of traditions have been recorded from the Holy Imams (a), which can be found in reliable sources and they can help us to decide this matter.

In this book, it is not practically possible to study this important subject in detail. But many scholars have published well researched books on this topic; especially after the Islamic revolution (of Iran).

However, in brief, we can say that the authority (Wali Amr) and leader of Muslims should have the following qualities:

1. Academic capability to issue verdicts in various subjects of jurisprudence.

2. Justice and piety, which is necessary for leadership of the community.

3. Right political and social opinion, management, determination and sufficient ability for leadership.

Part II: Morals and manners in Islam

Morals and manners in Islam

Ethical Practices

Supplication (Dua)

Worship in Islam

Morals and manners in Islam

‘Khulq’ means a good disposition and personal behavior. The late scholar, Faiz Kashani defines morals thus: Disposition is an aspect, which has become deeply rooted in the soul of man, in such a way that easily and without any need of thinking and contemplating acts are committed by him. Thus if from that aspect such acts are committed by him, which are logically and religiously praiseworthy that aspect is called as a good disposition and if acts are evil, the disposition is called as bad.[21]

Intellectuals, in defining moral acts, have said: Act or quality is a value, whose good or evil is detected by perfect reason and all human beings, at all times and places are having consensus on its goodness or evil. Moral act is an act that realization can perceive its goodness and the duty of man itself sees that it should be performed, or it perceives its evil and personally feels that its performance does not befit his humanity and it should be abandoned.

Good character in Islam is having great status and lofty position. So much so that it is considered to be a sign of perfection of faith. Good character is described as the heaviest act that would be placed in the scale of deeds. Development of good morals was so important that it was said to be the aim of the sending of the Prophet.

The Holy Quran says:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُواْ مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ‏

“Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them an Apostle from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error.” (3:164)

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: I advise you to adopt good morals, because Allah, the Mighty and Sublime has sent me with this aim.[22]

The Holy Prophet said: I have been sent to perfect morals.[23]

Imam Muhammad Baqir (a) said: The most perfect of the believers are those whose morals are the best.[24]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: On Judgment Day, nothing would be placed on the scale of deeds more valuable than good nature.[25]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Allah, the Mighty would reward a servant for good morals with such reward, which is given day and night to the fighter in the way of Allah.[26]

The Holy Prophet (s) said: Good moral is half the faith.[27]

Islam had advised much with regard to purification and discipline of self and development of good character. A large number of verses of Quran are with regard to moral science, so much so that most stories of Quran pursue moral aims. Thousands of traditions of the Holy Prophet (s) and the Holy Imams (a) have been narrated on the topic of good and bad morals. Glad tidings for adopting a good character and punishments of smearing oneself with bad morals which are mentioned are definitely not less than that which is mentioned about the obligatory and prohibited acts, because they can either lead one to the perfection of self and proximity to Allah or decline of self and remoteness from God.

On the basis of this, ethical matters should be considered at par with Islamic laws or higher and one cannot be shortcoming and careless in observing them under the pretext that they are ethical commands. Basically, human life is not possible without good morals; therefore every nation and community of the world followed ethical matters and does so even today.

Moral affects success and comfort or misfortune and restlessness in two ways:

A: Worldly life and community living: If individuals of a society are aware of their duties, they fulfill rights of each other, they are kind and concerned for each other, they are having cooperation in good deeds, they hasten to solve the difficulties of each other and in one word it can be said that they consider success and comfort of society as success and comfort of themselves, they have a happy and healthy life and as much as possible, they take advantage of worldly bounties.

On the contrary, if they were not bound by ethical restraints, they would not have got their comforts. Therefore, success or misfortune of a society should be searched in observance of restraint in ethical criteria or lack of it in its individuals. That is why Islam has emphasized too much on adoption of social ethics.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Success of man lies in good morals and his misfortune lies in bad morals.[28]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: No life is more pleasing than good morals.[29]

In the same way, he said: Good behavior increases sustenance.[30]

And he said: Good manners and morals populate towns and increase lifespans.[31]

He also said: One who is having bad morals is putting himself in hardship and punishment.[32]

We have a large number of traditions with regard to social manners and communal behavior, which are recorded in books like: Biharul Anwar, Vols. 74 and 75; Al-Kafi, Vol. 2; Jami Ahadith Shia, Wasailush Shia etc.

B: Spiritual perfection or decline: Good morals give perfection to the self and bring man close to God. Bad morals also cause decline and destruction of the soul of man and they make one distant from Almighty God, the consequences of which would become clear in the hereafter.

Amirul Momineen (a) said to his son: Allah, the Mighty and Sublime has made good morals as means of connection between Himself and His servants; do you not like to observe morals, which would be means of getting connected to God?[33]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Good morals are ornaments in the world and promenade for the hereafter. Faith of man is perfected through good morals and it is the means of proximity to God.[34]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: The things most instrumental to get my followers admitted to Paradise are fear of God and good morals.[35]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Good morals destroys sins just as sun melts ice.[36]

The self of man is a noble essence, which is illuminated, ethereal and is superior to matter, which due to being ethereal is superior to all animals.

It is here that the status of moral values would become clear. Perfection of morals with the humanity of man and its ethereal spirit is having proportion and originality. If we take away perfections and excellence of morals from man, there would be no difference between him and animals.

That is why Islam has emphasized that man should guard his ethereal soul and personal nobility and should always endeavor to strengthen it.

Amirul Momineen (a) said: One who considers his self as great; it would be easy for him to abandon has animal desires.[37]

He also said: One, who considers his self noble, does not besmear it with sins.[38]

He again said: One who is attentive to the nobility of his self; he keeps it from degrading desires.[39]

And he said: Self is a valuable gem, one who takes care of it, scales a lofty position and one who drags it to meanness, has taken it to lowliness.[40]

In the same way, he said: A noble self will increase compassions.[41]

It is said with regard to perfection of ethics: All human beings in all periods of time and in all the places have consensus on beauty and value. Yes, the pure nature of man possesses such perception and ethical discrimination and the ‘should be’ and ‘should not be’ also show this holy perception. It is this same self knowledge and attention to humanity of man that gives control to his ethereal soul over body so that he may control his animal desires and inclinations and may come to the level of gaining human values.

Prophets were also sent to help human beings in this holy struggle, in the path of purification and to strengthen the discipline of self. Prophets say to the people: Why are human beings and not animals. Do not forget your humanity and do not submit to animal desires that you suffer loss. The worst loss is that human being should sink into the terrifying whirlpool of animal desires and lose his humanity and finally enter the world of the hereafter in form of a wild beast.

The Holy Quran says:

قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَ أَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَلَا ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ‏

“Say: The losers surely are those who shall have lost themselves and their families on the day of resurrection; now surely that is the clear loss.’ (39:15)

Amirul Momineen (a) said: I am astonished at one who in the world is in pursuit of his lost property, whereas he has lost his self, but is not in pursuit of it.[42]

Station of Mastership (Wilayat) in Islam

Since Wilayat has a fundamental and distinctive role in Islamic teachings, we would have a brief discussion about it here.

Wilayat is introduced in traditions to be the most important pillar of Islam. Imam Muhammad Baqir (a) said: Islam is based on five pillars: Prayer, Zakat, Fast, Hajj and Wilayat. People are not invited to anything with as much emphasis, as they are invited to Wilayat.[9]

In another tradition, Zurarah says: I asked Imam Baqir (a): “Which of these five is the most important?” He replied: “Wilayat is the most important, because it is their key. The Guardian is a guide to them.”[10]

Wilayat is in the meaning of guardianship and taking charge of affairs of others. The world of ‘Wali’ is also from the same root and it describes one in charge of guardianship of an individual or individuals, like Wali of the young and Wali of the mentally challenged persons. The word of ‘Waali’ is also derived from the same root. The governor or governor-general is called as ‘Waali’ since the administration of the city and affairs of citizens are in his charge and they are supposed to obey his commands. The Holy Prophet (s) also has the same type of Wilayat over the Ummah, since he is their guardian and has discretion over them. Almighty Allah says in Quran:

ألنَّبِىُّ أَوْلَى‏ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

“The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves…” (33:6)

The word of Maula is also derived from the same root. That is why the Holy Prophet (s), at the beginning of Ghadeer sermon in Farewell Hajj addressed the people: Do I not have more authority on you more than what you have on yourself? They said: Why not? Then he said: Of whomsoever I am the master; this Ali is also his master.[11]

Umar bin Khattab, who was present in the event of Ghadeer and witnessed the appointment of Ali (a), also derived the same meaning from the word of ‘Maula’, because he remarked to Ali (a): “O Ali, congratulations; you have become the master of every believer man and woman.”[12]

It can be concluded from these statements that Wilayat is an executive position and not only a holy rank.

Wilayat during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet

Now the question arises that what were the circumstances of Muslims during the proclamation of prophethood (Besat) of the Prophet of Islam (s)? Did they live without leaders and social administrator? Or an arrangement, control and rulership existed although in a limited way and in enforcing simple laws? In order to get the replies to these questions, it is necessary to cast a brief glance on the rules and laws of Islam:

Laws of Islam, which are mentioned in Quran and traditions, can all be divided into two types:

A) Individual laws and duties like Prayers, fast, Hajj, observing good manners, refraining from bad morals, purification, impurity and other individual laws.

Such laws are personal duties and they are addressed to each and every duty bound person individually and acting on them does not require presence of rulership and social management.

B) The second type of laws and political duties – are social, like: Struggle (Jihad) to propagate Islam, defending existence of Islam and Muslims, military preparedness, securing social peace, legal judgment and solving of disputes, enforcing penalties, blood monies and retaliations, punishment of criminals, mutual relations between Islamic countries, relations with others, collection of Zakat and its proper use, collection of Khums and its proper use, and tens of other similar social matters. Such social and political laws and rules have are also included in Islam. With a little consideration, we would know that acting on such laws needs formation of institutions headed by a determined and a religious ruler and leader.

That is why it can be said that rulership and Wilayat is included in religion and there should always be a ruler who is in charge of guaranteeing the application of political and social laws. And if it is not so, a great part of Islamic laws would be in suspended condition.

The Holy Prophet; the first Wali of Muslims

Although in Quran we don’t have a verse in which the Messenger of Allah (s) has clearly ordered formation of government, but in some verses he has commanded about some practices and acts, which are concerned with government; for example the following verses can be cited as proof:

إِنَّآ أَنْزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَبَ بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَآ أَرَيكَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَكُنْ لِلْخَآئِنِينَ خَصيماً

“Surely We have revealed the Book to you with the truth that you may judge between people by means of that which Allah has taught you; and be not an advocate on behalf of the treacherous.” (4:105)

وَ أَنْزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَبَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَبِ وَ مُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَآ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَ لَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الحَقِّ

“And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you…” (5:48)

يَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ جَهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَفِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ

“O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them.” (9:73)

يَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ

“O Prophet! urge the believers to war…” (8:65)

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَ لِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا

“Take alms out of their property, you would cleanse them and purify them thereby…” (9:103)

It is clear that arbitration and solving disputes of people, encouraging people to Jihad, collection of Zakat and taxes and expending them in the specific ways are from the duties of the ruler, and since their performance was asked from the Messenger of Allah (s), it is known that he was ruler appointed by Almighty Allah. Therefore, it must be said: The Prophet of Islam in addition to receiving revelation, its protection and propagation to people, also had other duties and it implies formation of government, enforcing of political and social laws, leadership and administration of Islamic Ummah in different matters.

The Holy Prophet (s) in managing the affairs of Islamic state, took advantage of laws, which he received through revelation; he was also authorized to issue commands and apply them in accordance with exigency of the nation. Such laws were named as laws of governance. Muslims also are duty bound to obey his commands.

The Holy Quran says:

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِى الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَزَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْ‏ءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمِ الْأَخِرِ ذَ لِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً

“O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end.” (4:59)

It can be concluded from this verse that it is obligatory on the believers to obey the commands of three persons: Allah, the glorified, the Prophet and those vested with authority (Ulil Amr). Obedience of Allah is in the instances when the Prophet announces the command as revelation and message of God. Obedience of the Prophet is in instances, when he issues commands in the capacity of religious authority and ruler of Muslims and not as divine revelation. Such laws are called laws of government and authority. The third type is obedience of Ulil Amr. Ulil Amr is one who is introduced by the Prophet as a ruler and owner of authority. In many traditions, the Holy Imams (a), who are from Ahle Bayt (a) and progeny of the Holy Prophet (s) are introduced as implications of Ulil Amr. They are also having authority on people and their obedience is obligatory. With reference to books of biography, it would become absolutely clear that the Holy Prophet of Islam since the beginning of the migration (Hijra) to Medina and when the call to Islam became evident, felt the need of establishing a government, which would protect the interests of Islam and Muslims and when he got opportunity, he took the necessary steps. During a period of ten years in Medina, gradually he performed actions, which were necessary to form a simple government and to administer a limited society. Some of them are as follows:

Selection of minister and advisor, selection or appointment of chief and governor for big and small towns, selection of judge, establishment of courts of justice, selection of persons for application of penalties, guarding the prisons and prisoners, selection of chiefs of tribes, selection of persons for gathering information and intelligence, selection of persons to enjoin good and forbid evil, establishment of classes for Quranic education, writing, jurisprudence and laws, selection of individuals for making copies of Quran, selecting individuals to write letters, selecting officials and collectors of Zakat, individuals for collecting taxes, treasurer and treasury in charge, accountants, officials for paying and distributing shares, appointment of commander-in-chief, standard bearer, weapons in charge, selection of security personnel, supervisor of commercial transactions, and other small and big posts of responsibilities.[13] Such types of acts are definitely from the ranks of rulership. On the basis of this, one should not reject the rulership of the Prophet of Islam. He was the first owner of authority (Wali Amr) over Muslims and the founder of the Islamic government, and his Wilayat is proved from revelation and Quran. It should be mentioned that although the position of Wilayat and rulership was given to His Eminence by God, it would not have been possibly realized externally without earnestness, loyalty, sacrifice and preparations through people. From this aspect, responsibility of application of social and political laws of Islam in Quran is placed directly upon the Muslims. For example, Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran:

وَ جَهِدُواْ فِى اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ

“And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving as is due to Him…” (22:78)

وَقَتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَتِلُونَكُمْ وَلاَ تَعْتَدُواْ

“And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits.” (2:190)

وَ قَتِلُواْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَآفَّةً كَمَا يُقَتِلُونَكُمْ كَآفَّةً

“…and fight the polytheists all together as they fight you all together…” (9:36)

وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَ مِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَ عَدُوَّكُمْ

“And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier, to frighten thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy…” (8:60)

وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءً بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَلاً مِّنَ اللَّهِ

“And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah…” (5:38)

اَلزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِى فَاجْلِدُواْ كُلَّ وَحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِاْئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ

“(As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them, (giving) a hundred stripes…” (24:2)

وَلْتَكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى‏ الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ

“And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong…” (3:104)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّ مِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ

“O you who believe! Be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake…” (4:135)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْكَفِرينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَجْعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَناً مُّبِيناً

“O you who believe! do not take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers; do you desire that you should give to Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?” (4:144)

يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَرَى‏ أَوْلِيَآءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ

“O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other.” (5:51)

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah…” (3:110)

From the above verses, which are revealed about the ‘obligatory-ness’ of holy struggle (Jihad) and defense, military preparedness, application of punishments and fines, enjoining good and forbidding evil, obligatory-ness of establishment of social justice, relations of Muslims with others and tens of other similar verses and hundreds of traditions, which are recorded with reference to jurisprudence, political, administrative, economic, dissemination of sciences and popularizing of cultural values and prevention of opposing values, can be nicely concluded that the holy lawmaker of Islam has regarded Muslims to be a proper nation, which should, in order to administer its community and to fulfill its social and political needs, form organizations. And since Muslims have practically accepted the leadership and Wilayat of the Holy Prophet (s) the possibility of formation of government for him is obtained.

Wilayat after the Messenger of Allah (s)

After the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s), although divine revelation (direct contact with Allah and receiving of laws) came to an end, the religion was perfected and legislation of laws reached its conclusion, but with attention to the fact that the Prophet of Islam is the last of the prophets and the religion of Islam is a universal religion and it is to endure till Judgment Day and would always remain as a torch of guidance, it is necessary that after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (s) there should be a prominent person to take over his responsibilities and pursue his agenda. He is named as the Caliph of the Prophet and the Imam of Muslims.

The Holy Prophet bore the following four responsibilities:

1. Receipt of divine laws and messages through revelation. 2. Conveyance of divine messages to people. 3. Protection of divine laws. 4. Formation of government and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam. In all these stages, the Holy Prophet (s) was infallible from sins and doubts. In books of theology, it is proved that the Caliph of the Prophet also like him should be immune from mistakes, doubts and forgetfulness so that aims of the Prophet should be pursued and the true religion remains strong.

Imamite Shia, with attention to the need of condition of infallibility in Caliph say: Except for the Prophet, no one can introduce and appoint the Caliph, as except for the Prophet, who is having divine revelation, no one else is aware of the infallibles.

From the same argument and numerous historical evidences and tens of traditions that are present in sources of narrations, it is said: The Messenger of Allah (s) due to his concern for survival of Islam and its spread and greatness of Islamic Ummah was definitely not oblivious of appointing his infallible successor.

Therefore historical testimonies and traditions hint at that great personage during the period of his prophethood and he was always concerned about this important matter and for this purpose had selected Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a). He paid utmost attention to his education and training and entrusted necessary knowledges to him. Imam Ali (a) also with his personal capacity and with divine supports memorized the knowledges and did not forget anything. Moreover, as per the orders of the Prophet, he wrote down all knowledges to leave behind for the Imams succeeding him.

Imam Ali (a), as a result of the special bestowals of the Messenger of Allah (s) mastered all the sciences of prophethood. As the Holy Prophet (s) mentioned about him: I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate; so one who wants to seek knowledge should come to its gate,[14] and tens of other traditions, which are recorded in books of Shia and Ahle Sunnat.

The aim of the Messenger of Allah (s) in stating the excellences and virtues of Imam Ali (a) was to prepare public opinion and prepare the grounds of his introduction and appointment as his successor and for Imamate of Muslims and always looking for opportunity to declare his appointment formally.

These circumstances continued till the 10th year of Hijrat. That year, the Holy Prophet (s) decided to perform the Hajj of the Holy House of Kaaba. He invited all Muslims to participate in the Hajj so that they may witness the rituals of Hajj from close quarters. The Messenger of Allah (s) intended to officially declare the appointment of Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) as his successor and to introduce him to the pilgrims, who had arrived from various countries to perform the Hajj. The rituals of Hajj came to an end and the pilgrims started returning to their hometowns. When the Messenger of Allah (s) and his followers reached Ghadeer Khum it was almost noon and the climate was extremely hot. At that moment Jibraeel arrived with the following verse:

يَأَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَ إِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْكَفِرِينَ‏

“O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.” (5:67)

The Holy Prophet (s) halted at that spot. He issued orders to prepare that place for Noon Prayer. Pilgrims gathered. After the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (s) mounted the pulpit. He recited a lengthy sermon, which later came to be known as tradition of Ghadeer Khum. This tradition is reported in various versions and is present in reliable Shia and Sunni sources. Below we mention one such version:

Zaid bin Arqam says: When the Messenger of Allah (s) was returning from the Farewell Hajj he reached Ghadeer Khum. Initially he ordered them to sweep the ground below the trees and then he delivered a sermon: As if I have been called to Allah. I leave among you two important things by way of trust and one of them is greater than another: The Book of Allah (Quran) and my progeny. Try to take care of these two trusts. They would not separate from each other till Judgment Day. Then he said: Allah, the Mighty and Sublime is my master and I am the master of all believers. Then he raised the hand of Ali (a) and said: Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is also his master.

O Allah, take under Your guardianship whoever accepts the mastership (Wilayat) of Ali and be inimical to whoever is inimical to Ali.[15]

Baraa Ibne Azib has added the following words in narrating the same sermon that in the beginning the Messenger of Allah (s) asked: Am I not having more authority over the believer than they have on themselves? They replied: Why not, O Messenger of Allah (s)? You are having more authority. At that moment he pointed to Ali and said: Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is also his master.[16]

After that Umar Ibne Khattab met Ali (a) and said: “Congratulations Ali, you have become my master and the master of all believer men and women.”[17]

The tradition of Ghadeer is a widely related (Mutawatir) and authentic tradition and there is no doubt in its authenticity.

Thus on that blessed day, the Holy Prophet (s) performed two most important tasks: One was that he declared Quran and Progeny to be complimentaries of each other and left them as two reliable sources of reference for the Muslims as trusts and advised them to refer to them to derive the laws of religion.

Another was introduction of Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) as master and owner of discretion. In this act he delegated to him the position of his Wilayat and rulership so that he may become the Caliph and Imam of Muslims after him; and that by enforcing the laws of religion about whom he was perfectly knowledgeable, he should administer the Islamic dominions.[18]

On the basis of this, the Messenger of Allah (s) in the tradition of Ghadeer and other traditions transferred three of his duties to Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a): 1. Protection of divine laws. 2. Conveying them to Muslims. 3. Rulership and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam; as he was one of the implications of ‘progeny’ and Ahle Bayt (a).

From the tradition of Ghadeer and tens of similar traditions, it can well be concluded that with the death of the Messenger of Allah (s) the period of his rule has not ended and enforcement of political and social laws of Islam do not remain without an infallible executive. On the contrary, by appointment and nomination of Ali (a), he fixed the duration of the Imamate of the infallible Imams.

Imam Ali (a), as per the orders of the Holy Prophet (s) during his lifetime, appointed Imam Hasan (a) and Imam Hasan (a) appointed his brother, Imam Husain (a) and Imam Husain (a) appointed his son, Imam Ali Ibne Husain (a) to Imamate and in this way Imamate continued till the twelfth Imam.

According to belief of Shia Imamiyah, after the Messenger of Allah (s) the following twelve have been appointed as Caliphs and Imams in sequence:

Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a)

Hasan Ibne Ali (a)

Husain Ibne Ali (a)

Ali Ibne Husain (a)

Muhammad Ibne Ali (a)

Ja’far Ibne Muhammad (a)

Musa Ibne Ja’far (a)

Ali Ibne Musa (a)

Muhammad Ibne Ali (a)

Ali Ibne Muhammad (a)

Hasan Ibne Ali (a)

Hujjat Ibnul Hasan al-Askari (a)

Imamate and Caliphate of these twelve personages in its own capacity is proved through evidence and proofs.[19]

Each of the above mentioned personages were having the two necessary qualifications of Imamate: (1) Infallibility from mistakes, forgetfulness and sins; and (2) knowledge of all the laws of Shariah. That is why they were directly appointed by the Holy Prophet (s) as Imams.

Although except for Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a) and that also after a delay and only for few years, none of them practically reached to the post of Caliphate, but the Caliphate of the Messenger of Allah (s) was their right, which due to ignorance and shortcoming of people in defending Wilayat was trespassed and Caliphate deviated from the path that the Holy Prophet (s) had specified for it. Muslims were duty bound and are duty bound to have faith in Wilayat of the Infallible Imams from the progeny of Prophet and they should make efforts to prepare grounds for the rule of the righteous and to become aloof from the rule of non-righteous. This is in fact the implication of Tawalla and Tabarra.[20]

Wilayat during the period of Occultation

As concluded from a large number of traditions, the authority (Wali Amr) of Muslims is the twelfth Imam, His Eminence, Mahdi (a), who has attained this position from Almighty Allah and through the Messenger of Allah (s) and the Holy Imams (a). But due to the shortcoming of people in preparing the prefaces of his reappearance and establishment of his rule, he is compelled to live in occultation and is in anticipation of the time, which would provide the background of his reappearance, but in this time also the holy lawmaker of Islam (God) has not ignored the enforcement of His social and political laws and establishment of Islamic rule.

Since Muslims during the period of the Messenger of Allah (s) and during the tenure of infallible Imams are duty bound to make efforts and struggle in establishment of their kingdom and to prepare the background of reaching the position of Wilayat, during the time of occultation also, they are duty bound to recognize the most superior of the people; that they accept their leadership, obey their commands and prepare background for enforcement of all Islamic laws and religious rules and regulations. Such persons would be authority (Wali Amr) and representatives of the Imam of the Time (a) and their Wilayat would have the same status as that of the Holy Imam (a) and the Holy Prophet (s). But how and in what manner can one obtain these qualifications is a matter, which requires extensive research and study. In this regard, a large number of traditions have been recorded from the Holy Imams (a), which can be found in reliable sources and they can help us to decide this matter.

In this book, it is not practically possible to study this important subject in detail. But many scholars have published well researched books on this topic; especially after the Islamic revolution (of Iran).

However, in brief, we can say that the authority (Wali Amr) and leader of Muslims should have the following qualities:

1. Academic capability to issue verdicts in various subjects of jurisprudence.

2. Justice and piety, which is necessary for leadership of the community.

3. Right political and social opinion, management, determination and sufficient ability for leadership.

Part II: Morals and manners in Islam

Morals and manners in Islam

Ethical Practices

Supplication (Dua)

Worship in Islam

Morals and manners in Islam

‘Khulq’ means a good disposition and personal behavior. The late scholar, Faiz Kashani defines morals thus: Disposition is an aspect, which has become deeply rooted in the soul of man, in such a way that easily and without any need of thinking and contemplating acts are committed by him. Thus if from that aspect such acts are committed by him, which are logically and religiously praiseworthy that aspect is called as a good disposition and if acts are evil, the disposition is called as bad.[21]

Intellectuals, in defining moral acts, have said: Act or quality is a value, whose good or evil is detected by perfect reason and all human beings, at all times and places are having consensus on its goodness or evil. Moral act is an act that realization can perceive its goodness and the duty of man itself sees that it should be performed, or it perceives its evil and personally feels that its performance does not befit his humanity and it should be abandoned.

Good character in Islam is having great status and lofty position. So much so that it is considered to be a sign of perfection of faith. Good character is described as the heaviest act that would be placed in the scale of deeds. Development of good morals was so important that it was said to be the aim of the sending of the Prophet.

The Holy Quran says:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُواْ مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ‏

“Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them an Apostle from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error.” (3:164)

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: I advise you to adopt good morals, because Allah, the Mighty and Sublime has sent me with this aim.[22]

The Holy Prophet said: I have been sent to perfect morals.[23]

Imam Muhammad Baqir (a) said: The most perfect of the believers are those whose morals are the best.[24]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: On Judgment Day, nothing would be placed on the scale of deeds more valuable than good nature.[25]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Allah, the Mighty would reward a servant for good morals with such reward, which is given day and night to the fighter in the way of Allah.[26]

The Holy Prophet (s) said: Good moral is half the faith.[27]

Islam had advised much with regard to purification and discipline of self and development of good character. A large number of verses of Quran are with regard to moral science, so much so that most stories of Quran pursue moral aims. Thousands of traditions of the Holy Prophet (s) and the Holy Imams (a) have been narrated on the topic of good and bad morals. Glad tidings for adopting a good character and punishments of smearing oneself with bad morals which are mentioned are definitely not less than that which is mentioned about the obligatory and prohibited acts, because they can either lead one to the perfection of self and proximity to Allah or decline of self and remoteness from God.

On the basis of this, ethical matters should be considered at par with Islamic laws or higher and one cannot be shortcoming and careless in observing them under the pretext that they are ethical commands. Basically, human life is not possible without good morals; therefore every nation and community of the world followed ethical matters and does so even today.

Moral affects success and comfort or misfortune and restlessness in two ways:

A: Worldly life and community living: If individuals of a society are aware of their duties, they fulfill rights of each other, they are kind and concerned for each other, they are having cooperation in good deeds, they hasten to solve the difficulties of each other and in one word it can be said that they consider success and comfort of society as success and comfort of themselves, they have a happy and healthy life and as much as possible, they take advantage of worldly bounties.

On the contrary, if they were not bound by ethical restraints, they would not have got their comforts. Therefore, success or misfortune of a society should be searched in observance of restraint in ethical criteria or lack of it in its individuals. That is why Islam has emphasized too much on adoption of social ethics.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Success of man lies in good morals and his misfortune lies in bad morals.[28]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: No life is more pleasing than good morals.[29]

In the same way, he said: Good behavior increases sustenance.[30]

And he said: Good manners and morals populate towns and increase lifespans.[31]

He also said: One who is having bad morals is putting himself in hardship and punishment.[32]

We have a large number of traditions with regard to social manners and communal behavior, which are recorded in books like: Biharul Anwar, Vols. 74 and 75; Al-Kafi, Vol. 2; Jami Ahadith Shia, Wasailush Shia etc.

B: Spiritual perfection or decline: Good morals give perfection to the self and bring man close to God. Bad morals also cause decline and destruction of the soul of man and they make one distant from Almighty God, the consequences of which would become clear in the hereafter.

Amirul Momineen (a) said to his son: Allah, the Mighty and Sublime has made good morals as means of connection between Himself and His servants; do you not like to observe morals, which would be means of getting connected to God?[33]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Good morals are ornaments in the world and promenade for the hereafter. Faith of man is perfected through good morals and it is the means of proximity to God.[34]

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: The things most instrumental to get my followers admitted to Paradise are fear of God and good morals.[35]

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) said: Good morals destroys sins just as sun melts ice.[36]

The self of man is a noble essence, which is illuminated, ethereal and is superior to matter, which due to being ethereal is superior to all animals.

It is here that the status of moral values would become clear. Perfection of morals with the humanity of man and its ethereal spirit is having proportion and originality. If we take away perfections and excellence of morals from man, there would be no difference between him and animals.

That is why Islam has emphasized that man should guard his ethereal soul and personal nobility and should always endeavor to strengthen it.

Amirul Momineen (a) said: One who considers his self as great; it would be easy for him to abandon has animal desires.[37]

He also said: One, who considers his self noble, does not besmear it with sins.[38]

He again said: One who is attentive to the nobility of his self; he keeps it from degrading desires.[39]

And he said: Self is a valuable gem, one who takes care of it, scales a lofty position and one who drags it to meanness, has taken it to lowliness.[40]

In the same way, he said: A noble self will increase compassions.[41]

It is said with regard to perfection of ethics: All human beings in all periods of time and in all the places have consensus on beauty and value. Yes, the pure nature of man possesses such perception and ethical discrimination and the ‘should be’ and ‘should not be’ also show this holy perception. It is this same self knowledge and attention to humanity of man that gives control to his ethereal soul over body so that he may control his animal desires and inclinations and may come to the level of gaining human values.

Prophets were also sent to help human beings in this holy struggle, in the path of purification and to strengthen the discipline of self. Prophets say to the people: Why are human beings and not animals. Do not forget your humanity and do not submit to animal desires that you suffer loss. The worst loss is that human being should sink into the terrifying whirlpool of animal desires and lose his humanity and finally enter the world of the hereafter in form of a wild beast.

The Holy Quran says:

قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَ أَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَلَا ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ‏

“Say: The losers surely are those who shall have lost themselves and their families on the day of resurrection; now surely that is the clear loss.’ (39:15)

Amirul Momineen (a) said: I am astonished at one who in the world is in pursuit of his lost property, whereas he has lost his self, but is not in pursuit of it.[42]


4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17