Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

CHAPTER THREE: Rejection of Objections against Tawassul

In the last chapter I have made reference to only a few verses out of hundreds of Qur’anic verses to explain the concept of Tawassul, which have helped in removing the film of confusion and misconception that had enveloped it over decades of prejudiced and semi-scholarly fumbling. If we reflect on these divine injunctions in the light of a correct understanding of the spirit of our religion, we will not only be able to grasp the crux of Islamic faith but this will also automatically serve to clarify a number of misunderstandings that have gathered round the concept. It will sort out the grain from the chaff, differentiating people with correct and balanced understanding from those whose interpretation is askew and exclusive. In this chapter I shall attempt to answer the baseless objections which have been levelled against the validity of Tawassul as a religious concept and establish its true meaning in the light of the reasoning furnished by the Qur’an and the hadith. Therefore, this chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section, correct meanings of the Qur’anic verses are given which are made a basis of arguments against Tawassul through flagrant misinterpretation. In the second section, a correct assessment shall emerge as a result of the form of intermediation followed by the prophets and the saints, particularly in response to an objection, but strictly in the light of the reasoning provided by Shariah.

Section One :Rectification of doubts and errors

First objection: Tawassul is not valid through another person

Some people deny the valid status of intermediation through the holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) by suggesting that it is not an act performed by the petitioner himself. It is invalid because it is not based on a personal act. These people believe that only a personal good deed can act as a source of intermediation. They cite the following Qur’anic verses to justify the invalidity of intermediation through another person:

Each man gets what he strives for.[1]

And anyone who bears a burden shall not bear the burden of another man.[2]

It is rewarded for whatever good it earned and it is punished for whatever sin it earned.[3]

Correct Stand on Tawassul through another person

This is based on the valid premise that in addition to the petitioner, another’s act can also serve as a source of intermediation. The Qur’anic verses which are marshalled as arguments against the reality of intermediation are all related to deeds and the reward or punishment for those deeds. They are not related to prayer, the acceptance of prayer and struggle to attain the nearness of Allah by seeking means of approach to Him. In the case of intermediation, a beloved object or a sacred person is offered as a means for the fulfilment of one’s need. But these Qur’anic verses are not even marginally concerned with the theme of intermediation. Therefore, to quote them as a justification for the irrelevance of

intermediation is both a logical and a semantic error. Besides, their transposition from one context to the other also leads to their contextual distortion, which amounts to disrespect and sacrilege. In fact, to fit a Qur’anic verse into a preconceived slot is the height of perversity and is not becoming of any well-meaning Muslim.

The verse mentioned first simply means that whatever man receives is a consequence of what he has done. It is a reward or punishment for his actions, it does not involve any other person as it revolves around the acts of a single individual. No other individual, whether he is a relative or a stranger, is associated with these acts. Their commission and their consequences, whether they are favourable or unfavourable, exclusively apply to the individual concerned. While, in a discussion of intermediation, the act and its implications of reward and punishment do not come into the picture at all: it is only related to prayer; and at the time of prayer seeking someone else for its acceptance constitutes an act of intermediation.

Similarly, the second mentioned verse relates to the burden of sin. It highlights the theme of accountability. It means that we all bear burdens but these burdens are our own. They relate to our own selves, to our own errors, and to our own sins, and we cannot bear the burden of others. They are accountable for their sins while we are accountable for our sins. The two kinds of burden are not interchangeable; they are mutually exclusive. Thus the Qur’anic verse transparently applies the process of accountability, which will be based on a comprehensive evaluation of our acts. It has nothing to do whatsoever with the act of intermediation. Therefore, to spin it out unnecessarily and to fit it into the straitjacket of intermediation with which it is not even remotely related, is to disfigure its application, which comes close to a form of heresy.

The third verse relates to commission and consequence. This brief explanation makes it clear that all these Qur’anic verses, from the thematic as well as the semantic point of view, are extraneous to the discussion of intermediation. The following tradition is an irrefutable argument in support of the act of intermediation:

It is attributed to Abū Hurayrah that Allah’s Messenger(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) said: When a person dies, his acts are disconnected but three acts are not disconnected: continuing charity, knowledge that benefits mankind and pious children who pray for him.[4]

From the point of view of the tradition, even death cannot terminate these three human acts and man will continue to receive their reward and recompense even after his death:

The first of these acts is the continuing act of charity. For example, someone constructs a mosque or an educational institution or a road or hospital; or finances a campaign or an organization for the dissemination and resurgence of Islamic faith; or funds a struggle for the welfare of the poor and the needy, he will continue to receive their reward as long as they survive.

Similarly, beneficial knowledge. For example, a scholar teaches someone and he continues to teach others, or he writes a book on religion or some branch of knowledge or does research for any useful work for Allah’s

pleasure. As long as his ideas are transmitted to mankind through his pupils and work, and human beings benefit from them or that book remains a part of the syllabi of various universities in the world and the people find it positively rewarding, he will continue to reap the reward of his efforts.

There is an agreement on the continuing act of charity, and beneficial knowledge that they can act as sources of intermediation but the tradition also refers to pious children. They can also serve as an act of continuing charity for their parents. Their good deeds are a source of benefit to the parents even after death. As a matter of fact, the acts of the pious children constitute an act performed by someone else but they serve as a source of intermediation for the parents.

It should be noted here that good deeds are being performed by the children but they are serving as a means of salvation for the parents after their death. This example proves that the act of one man benefits another man. The act of continuing charity was his personal act, which will continue to benefit him as long as the act continues. Similarly, through his knowledge and research, he disseminated virtue and guidance. This was also his personal act and he will continue to receive its reward, both in this world and the next. But the good deeds of his children are not his deeds, and yet he is garnering their reward. Those pious deeds are now serving as the means of the parents’ redemption. Thus, this tradition proves the fact that one’s own good deeds are not the only means of intermediation but the deeds of others can also play this role and benefit the other person.

Second objection: Good deeds of one’s children are not deeds of others

Those who cling to the principle that only one’s own acts are the valid means and the acts of others are invalid as means, interpret the tradition in a different sense altogether. They say that a good child is surely his son and shares his lineage, but it is the upbringing of his father that has turned him into a pious person. Therefore, whatever the son does will be directly considered his own act. Whatever good deeds he performs will automatically benefit his father and, therefore, they will be regarded his own unmediated deeds. And they cite the following tradition as a clinching argument for their interpretation:

Whosoever sets a good precedent in Islam, there is a reward for him for this (act of goodness) and the reward of that also who acted after him according to its subsequence.[5]

Correct view

This is in fact a misinterpretation of the tradition. This is their modus operandi in understanding the import of traditions. They twist their meanings out of shape and focus on the sense that suits their fallacious point of view. It is their normal practice to decontextualize the traditions and dress them in robes tailored by their whims and runaway fancies. Thus the meanings they draw out of the traditions are absolutely unrelated to their themes. If the reader or the listener is mentally alert, he/she will at once come to know the reality of the situation, but a common reader or listener is generally flustered by these misinterpretations.

This is part of their conscious design to mislead the credulous people. The common man, on account of his ignorance and lack of understanding, is easily swayed by their highly capricious, rather malicious, explanations, and treats them as correct interpretations of the Qur’anic verses. In such a state of affairs he will remain a victim of ambiguity or uncertainty unless he turns for clarification to a religious scholar who is gifted with both vision and knowledge to interpret them correctly and in the right spirit in which they were revealed. Allah says:

So you should ask people of knowledge if you yourselves do not know (about something).[6]

It is not being discussed in this tradition whether the good deeds of the children are also the good deeds of the parents or not. What is being discussed is the clear and untwisted fact that the good deeds of the children not only benefit themselves but they also benefit their parents although these have not been performed by them. It makes it further clear that after the death of the parents, children will perform good deeds for their personal benefit alone (which of course is the motive behind these deeds). But their parents will also receive a share of the reward which logically ensues from the commission of good deeds. Similarly, a number of Qur’anic verses are cited by these malevolent scholars to reject the concept of intermediation and to bring home to the gullible people that it is not permissible in Islam. One of these verses is as follows:

And (O beloved,) when My servants ask you about Me, (tell them,) “I am Near. I answer the caller whenever he calls Me. So they should obey and have (firm) faith in Me so that they may find the (right path).”[7]

To draw the inference from this Qur’anic verse that to call anyone except Allah is improper as Allah Himself hears the call and acknowledges it with His blessing, is quite incorrect. The correct position is that it is Allah Alone Who listens to people’s prayers and grants them; it is He Alone Who fulfils our needs. But it is also quite proper to process these prayers through some prophet or saint to expedite their acceptance as it has been debated in the last chapter at length.

The following Qur’anic verses are also offered as argument against the validity of intermediation and intercession:

And fear the day when no soul shall serve as a substitute for another soul, nor shall intercession (of a person) be accepted for it (who does not have Allah’s permission), nor shall any money (as ransom) be taken from it, nor shall (against Allah’s will) they be helped.[8]

You should keep in mind that all the Qur’anic verses, which are supposed to deny the relevance of intercession are meant only for the non-believers and hypocrites who are the fuel of the hell. These are not meant for the believers, as the theme of intercession is relevant only to them. The non-believers are not even marginally concerned with them because the fact of intercession is, first of all, related to belief. And if one is deprived of this precious asset either through perversity or as a result of some divine curse, or if someone possesses it but it fluctuates like the flame of a flickering candle or it is wobbly as jelly, intercession will have no value for him. Therefore, intercession is being devalued or negated for the non-believers.

The implication is, and there is sound logic behind it, that when these non-believers do not subscribe even to the basic values of Islam, how can they be expected to appreciate the phenomena like intercession and intermediation. Therefore, the value of intercession is directly based on the value of faith. Since the non-believers reject the faith, it is only logical for them to reject intercession. But the believers accept faith as well as what is derived from it. Thus, on the Day of Judgement, the prophets and the righteous will intercede for their followers, the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) will be appointed to the highest station to make intercession a reality and the non-believers will be wailing and crying in an agony of repentance, ignorance and missed opportunities. As it is stated:

So (today) we have no intercessor nor any bosom friend.[9]

They have no one who will intercede on their behalf, nor anyone who can put in a word of recommendation for them. They are friendless on a day when the need for a friend is agonizingly felt. They are stranded and completely alienated. All they can do is cry and wail. Their cries are a proof of the fact of intercession on the Day of Judgement. If there were no intercession, the non-believers would not have cried; on the other hand, they would have exulted in the baseless expectations of the believers, their cries would have been replaced by fits of ridicule and sarcasm. Thus their moaning and wailing proves the truth of intercession through this Qur’anic verse. It means all the promised and positive things will be there, but the non-believers will look only wistfully at them, as they will be inaccessible to them. Only the believers will benefit from them.

Therefore, to apply the Qur’anic verses to the believers, which were actually revealed for the non-believers and were meant to be applied to them is both improper and perverse. Our sense of propriety demands that we should distinguish between believers and non-believers because it is this basic distinction that decides the division and distribution of rewards and punishments. Therefore, these verses cannot be made as the basis of arguments against the reality of intercession. If intercession is not allowed to the non-believers as a favour and a concession, it does not follow that it is also disallowed to the believers. Thus intercession is a fact but it is exclusively reserved for the believers.

Need for a correct understanding of Qur’anic verses

It is extremely vital to clearly grasp the meanings of Qur’anic verses, especially those which deal with delicate problems. To determine their context and then to explain their genesis and application within these contextual bounds results in a sound interpretation of these verses as well as a clarification of the niggling issues they are revealed to explicate. To fix these bounds of sanity is even more relevant in the present sectarian and polemical environment where each sect tries to browbeat the other sect, and does not hesitate to twist the meaning of a Qur’anic verse out of shape to make his opponent lick the dust. In their sectarian frenzy they do not seem to realize that they are doing a great disservice to their faith. In most cases, their egotistical concerns drive out religious concerns and they bend and twirl the meanings of these verses to pamper their bloated selves. Therefore, in such a situation it is necessary to determine the contextual and semantic

range and relevance of a Qur’anic verse. In this regard the collective consensus of sound religious scholars and exegetes should be kept in mind, and any interpretation that strays too far from the text or highlights only marginal issues as a purely innovative exercise, should either be discarded altogether or downplayed to minimize its significance. Such interpretations, posing to be modernistic, are generally inspired by malicious motives to strike at the solid moorings of our faith. Therefore, all such interpretations should be discouraged and one way to discourage them is to be indifferent to them. In this way, the Muslims will learn to follow the correct interpretation and gradually this attitude will moderate the unnecessary tensions that exist between various sects.

Third objection: To attain nearness to Allah, Tawassul is invalid as worship of anyone except Allah is invalid

One objection against Tawassul is based on the following reasoning:

The non-believers used to say, while worshipping the idols, that they worshipped them to attain nearness to Allah. Just as worshipping idols in order to be close to Allah is an invalid act, similarly if someone relies on an intermediary to be near to Him, it will also be regarded as invalid. In support of their argument, they offer the following Qur’anic verse:

We worship them merely because they may bring us near to Allah.[10]

This holy verse makes it clear that the non-believers worshipped the idols to attain nearness to Allah; they did not treat them as the creator. It only served as a means of accessibility to Allah but Allah rejected this form of intermediation.

Reply: Worship of non-Allah cannot be proved by the argument for intermediation

The fact is that the Qur’anic verse neither denies nor rejects intermediation. This kind of reasoning against the validity of intermediation is based on sheer ignorance and prejudice. This Qur’anic verse is specifically revealed to reject the worship of anyone except Allah, and no form of reasoning can convert the illegal nature of such an act into a legal injunction. The non-believers worshipped the idols but Islam declared it illegal and equated it with disbelief. When Islam condemned their worship of idols as forbidden, they argued in favour of the sanity of their traditional practice. Instead of accepting their worship of idols as an illegal act as declared by Islam, they started looking for lame justifications, i.e. they did not worship the idols as the creator but they worshipped them to acquire nearness to Allah. They used the idols only as a form of intermediation and their target was only to come close to Allah.

The Qur’anic verse rejects this argument. Even if someone worships non-Allah as a means to come closer to Allah, it is treated by Islam as a kind of disbelief and a forbidden act and no argument can make it valid.

Now the question arises why did the non-believers rely on mediation to legalize their illegal acts? It is an established fact that the one, who is arguing, is arguing on the basis of the beliefs and convictions of his addressee. In his discussion he brings forward an argument which is not only acceptable to his opponent but is also a part of his belief. Relying on

this argument, he tries to argue with him so that he may accept the legality of his act on the basis of his argument. On the contrary, if he knows that idol worship is a form of disbelief for the addressee and he has a similar attitude towards all forms of intermediation, in that case, the non-believer would never have relied on idolatry and intermediation as justifications for their idolatrous practice. Therefore, for the non-believers to argue for the legality of their illegal acts on the basis of intermediation is an ugly attempt to legalize the forbidden act of idol worship. They were well aware of the fact that the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) and the Companions regarded it as valid practice. If they had known that Islam treated intermediation as an invalid act, they would never have argued with the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) and the Companions on its basis to justify their idolatry. Thus the very fact of their reliance on intermediation for the vindication of their idol worship clearly proves that intermediation is a legal act in Islam.

But Allah rejected their argument. Even though the form of intermediation practised by them was popular and valid, it could not transform disbelief into a legal act as all forms of disbelief are strictly forbidden. Thus even an argument based on the noble concept of intermediation cannot purify idolatry from the virus of disbelief. Thus disbelief is disbelief, and even if it takes a billion somersaults, and changes colours like a chameleon, it will remain disbelief. Allah refused to accept the argument in its favour. As the holy Qur'an states:

Surely Allah does not forgive that a partner be associated with Him but a smaller (sin whatever it is,) He forgives for whomsoever He pleases.[11]

He forgives every sin except the sin of associating partners with Him. The commission of this kind of sin is an act, which is unacceptable and unpardonable under all circumstances. Thus the gist of the holy verse is that Allah rejects disbelief, no matter what robes it is dressed in or what language it is phrased in; He does not reject intermediation because it is an absolutely valid act in Islam.

First similitude

Suppose a son is giving shoe beating to his mother. The father catches hold of him and asks him why is he beating up his mother. The son says he would never have done it, as he knows it is an uncivilized act, but he has done it because she was hurling filthy abuses at him. His argument is based on the psychology of his father. He knows that his father is allergic to filthy abuses, and he thought that an argument based on filthy abuses would cool down his father’s boiling anger and he would say to him, “Well, son, you have done the right thing. A person who pours out filthy abuses at others must be given such lesson.” But, instead, he gave him a few slaps and said to him, “There is no doubt that hurling abuses is bad, but after all, she is your mother and you have no right to beat her.” Thus his argument based on abuse was rejected. But the rejection of the argument does not imply that throwing abuses at others is a valid act. It does not justify the act of shoe beating. Similarly, the argument based on its defence is also discarded.

In the same way when the non-believers and infidels were asked, “Why do you worship the idols?” They replied, “We worship them as a form of

intermediation, we do not regard them as the creator or as worthy of worship in themselves.” But their argument that justified the worship of non-Allah as a form of intermediation was refuted. Thus their argument in favour of intermediation cannot justify their idol worship.

Second similitude

An impure object cannot be made pure by giving an argument based on a pure object, nor can a forbidden act be legalized by simply fabricating an argument for its justification. Suppose someone says that he drinks. When someone asks him why does he drink and he replies that he drinks to dilute his grief. He can be told that there are countless ways to relieve one’s grief or the intensity of one’s sorrow. Drinking, which is a forbidden act, is not the only way; for example, he may stroll in a garden, do some exercise, inhale the cool morning breeze, remember Allah, concentrate on prayer, in short, he has a wide range of valid choices on hand to find solace for his grief.

Now as far as the argument of finding relief for one’s grief is concerned, it is quite valid but how can it validate the act of drinking? One finds it difficult to swallow the inference. The argument does not mellow the evil act of drinking, the argument based on relief cannot legalize it. Similarly, the argument of the non-believers was fallacious to justify their idolatry. Since idolatry is essentially an un-Islamic act, it could not be justified by any means, not even by an argument grounded in intermediation, which is otherwise an Islamic act.

As far as soliciting nearness to Allah is concerned, there are numerous valid means to achieve it. Idol worship is not a valid means. It is forbidden, as it is a form of disbelief. Therefore, only valid means must be employed to attain the nearness and pleasure of Allah. Idolatry is not a means of His nearness; it is rather the cause of His punishment.

Fourth objection: Prophets and saints were themselves in search of mediation

One objection that flows from their slick tongues as coffee from a press-button percolator is that those who are close to Allah, and on whom we tend to rely as intermediaries, are themselves in search of a means to gain close access to Allah. Since they themselves are looking for support, how can they be expected to support others? On the basis of this reasoning, they declare that reliance on the prophets and the saints as intermediaries is invalid. And to validate their invalid viewpoint they rely on the following Qur’anic verse by misrepresenting its essence:

Those, whom they worship (that is, the angels, jinn, ‘Īsā (عليه السلام) and ‘Uzayr (عليه السلام) etc., - they make their portraits and statues and worship them), they (themselves) seek nearness to their Lord, through those who among them are the nearest (to Allah’s presence).[12]

Proof for the justification of Tawassul in the holy verse

This Qur’anic verse furnishes a strong argument in favour of intermediation. To infer from it that the prophets and the righteous are

themselves in search of mediation to have access to Allah and, therefore, they cannot serve as means of nearness to Him is invalid. The question arises if they themselves are pious and, therefore, near to Allah on account of their piety, then what other means are they seeking to possess what they already possess. The answer is provided by the Qur’an itself. Ayyuhum aqrab are the people who are nearer to Allah and the prophets and the righteous rely on them as intermediaries. This shows that intermediation is a graded process. There are those who are the nearest to Allah and there are those who are less near, while still there are others – who are on the periphery. Thus there are different grades of nearness and the process of drawing near to Allah is infinite. Those who are the closest to Him are trying to be still closer and those who are closer to these are trying to be closer to the ones who are the closest to Him. Thus, if intermediation is being practised by Him on intimates, how can it be declared invalid for the common man?

Section Two : Tawassul through the prophets and the righteous (In fact Tawassul through virtuous deeds)

Objection

Those who are against intermediation through the prophets, the righteous and the saints, argue that it is their deeds that particularize them and, therefore, serve as a source of intermediation for them. How can an intermediatee whose own salvation depends on his good deeds serve as a means of redemption for another man? Therefore, only good deeds serve as the basis of intermediation, not the personalities of the righteous people.

Answer

I do not consider this stand as valid. We rely on the prophets, the righteous and the saints and offer them as a means of access to Allah on account of our limitless love and devotion for them. The choice of means is justified only by the presence of love. It is also an established fact that to love those who are near and dear to Allah is in itself a virtuous act and this is obviously an argument which cannot be rebutted by any other argument, no matter how subtle or elaborate or tantalizing it may be.

1. Love of Allah’s favourites as a form of mediation

The petitioner is acting for himself because he loves those whom Allah loves. He is in fact saying: ‘O Lord, I love Your friend, the holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) , and I love the orthodox Caliphs, the Companions, the Successors and their followers, the saints and the righteous. I offer this love to You as the source of intermediation so that You grant my prayer and fulfil my need.’ It means love of Allah’s favoured ones becomes a means of the prayer’s acceptance. There is no doubt that love of Allah’s favourites is not only the fulfilment of a divine command but is also a great virtuous deed. It is narrated by Abū Hurayrah:

Allah’s Messenger(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) said: When Allah loves some person, He sends for Jibrīl and commands him: Verily, I love such and such person; you should also love him, so Jibrīl loves him as well. Then Jibrīl proclaims in the heavens that Allah loves such and such

person; you should also love him. Then the residents of the heavens love him as well. Then his love is sent down to the earth (the world).[13]

First of all, Allah elevated His Own obedient servant to the status of His beloved, then He commanded Jibrīl and all other angels that they should love His servant. The angels, following the divine command, also made him their beloved. In this all the heavenly creatures shared the divine love for His beloved servant. But the matter does not end here. Allah descended this love for His servant down on this earth and then created a niche for the love and popularity of His servant in every heart and every creature fell in love with him. It follows that to love those who are loved by Allah is a divine command. From this point of view this act of loving is in itself a virtuous act in which Allah is not only Himself involved but He has also involved His angels as well as the creatures of the earth. When this act is endorsed not only by the practice of the prophets but also a popular act performed by the creatures of the earth and the heavens, then what could be a better virtuous act in favour of the petitioner.

2. Reciprocal nearness of lover and beloved on the Day of Judgement

True love is that virtuous act which draws the lover increasingly closer to the beloved. It is narrated by Anas bin Mālik:

A person called on the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) and said to him: O Messenger of Allah, when is the Hour (the Day of Judgement)? The Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) stood up for prayer. After performing the prayer he said: where is the person who had asked about the Hour? That person replied: O Messenger of Allah, I am here. He said: what preparation have you made for that (Hour)? He submitted: O Messenger of Allah, I have offered neither many prayers nor kept many fasts, but I know that much that I love Allah and His Messenger. On hearing this, Allah’s Messenger(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) commented that (on the Day of Judgement) a person will be with him whom he loves and you will be judged along with him. It is reported that, after accepting Islam, this made the Muslims happier than anything else had made them in the past.[14]

This tradition proves that whereas prayer, fast, zakat and hajj are virtuous acts and their performance entitles a man to a set of rewards, similarly love is also an act of virtue, which results in nearness to his beloved. The words of the tradition themselves endorse love as a virtuous act. When the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) asked the petitioner: what preparation have you made for the Day of Judgement? He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah! My acts do not include big-ticket deeds like prayer and fast, but the act of loving Allah and His Messenger(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) is one of my deeds.’ The Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) replied that as each act has a reward, similarly the act of loving has also a reward. A person will be judged along with the man he loves and you will be judged on the Day of Judgement along with the man you love. It means that this man, simply on account of his love for the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) , will be judged with him. He will be in the Prophet’s company and this is a promise made by the Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) himself and this is Allah’s promise as well.

Besides, this promise is not restrictive; it has a general application; it applies to the Companions, the Successors, their followers, even the entire Muslim community.

Love of Allah’s Messenger(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) is an act, which not only earns the lover a number of blessings through the agency of his beloved on this earth but also brings him closer to his beloved in the next world. Since the word hubb (love) here is used in a generic sense, it equally applies to all forms and grades of love. Its litmus test is sincerity as insincere love is a travesty of true love and, therefore, not only repulsively hideous but also morally revolting. This comment is vindicated by the words of Anas bin Mālik that after accepting Islam, he had never found the Muslims happier than he found them on hearing this explanation.

This tradition conclusively proves that the love of Allah’s favoured people serves as a source of intermediation for divine blessings. And when the servant prays to Allah, he, in fact, is saying: My Master, the love I have for Your beloved Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) , and the love I have for the Companions, the Successors and the righteous on account of You, I offer this act of love as mediation to You and request You to grant my such and such need for their sake. The servant’s love for Allah’s favoured ones is an act that enjoys Allah’s blessings and this very act becomes a source of intermediation for the servant.

3. Love for Allah’s lovers is the cause of divine love

The servant, following the divine commands, performs all kinds of worship: he offers prayer, keeps fast, performs hajj and pays zakat. In short, he fulfils all his obligations. These acts have a twofold significance. On the one hand, he is implementing the divine commands; on the other hand, he earns the reward for these acts. The range and scope of these rewards include a place in Paradise for him. But the highest and the most cherished prize is the pleasure of Allah. To secure this prize, he spends every moment of his life in doing things which please Allah. And he does not restrict his remembrance of Allah only to a specific schedule or timetable but it straddles his entire life. No matter where he is, or what he is doing, he never forgets the Lord. The focus of his love or enmity is Allah Alone. The following tradition is about such lovers of Allah:

It is narrated by Mu‘ādh bin Jabal that he heard the Messenger of Allah(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) saying:

Allah the Exalted and Almighty said: My love has been made obligatory for those two persons who love each other on My count and spend time together for My sake, and see each other for My sake and give money to each other generously for My sake.[15]

Allah states in this tradition: those of My servants who love one another on My count, and also love those who love one another for My sake, then My love for them becomes mandatory and obligatory. I own them as my beloveds. Their object is not any ulterior gain. They spend time together in search of My pleasure. They spend money because they want only to please Me and not to display their riches and they call on each other, not out of any personal or selfish motive, but only out of their love for Me. Such are the people who deserve My love and uncounted blessings. Now a petitioner

loves the Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) , members of the Prophet’s family, the Companions, the saints and the righteous people simply because the basis of his love is the love of Allah. By loving these people, he himself in return is loved by Allah. Thus all these forms are various links in the chain of love which is ultimately the love of Allah, and these expressions and acts of love eventually draw him closer to Allah and he acquires a favoured status. Thus the petitioner’s act of love is regarded by Allah as a virtuous as well as a favourite act and it is graded higher than the other virtuous acts mainly because in this act the Lord Himself is one of the participants and it is uncertain whether the other acts will find divine acceptance or not. But love of the saints and the favourites of Allah is an act which transforms the petitioner into Allah’s beloved. In this way its acceptance is guaranteed.

4. Love for the sake of Allah results in higher grades

Love of the servants of Allah brings one not only nearer to Him but also helps him in securing higher grades.

It is narrated by ‘Umar bin al-Khattāb that the Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) said:

Among Allah’s servants there are some who are neither prophets nor martyrs but on the Day of Judgement the prophets and the martyrs will envy their grades. The Companions asked: O Messenger of Allah, tell us, who are those people? He replied: ‘those are the people who love one another on Allah’s count. They are neither related to one another nor do they have any property to exchange. I swear on Allah that they will have faces of light, they will be on pulpits of light. They will not have any fear when others will be afraid, they will not have any grief when others will be aggrieved.’ Then he recited the verse: Beware! No doubt, there is no fear for the friends of Allah nor shall they be sad and sorrowful. [Qur’an (Yūnus) 10:62].[16]

On the Day of Judgement when people will be scrambling selfishly for personal safety and survival, everybody will be overawed by the overwhelming presence of Allah, there will be a few people untouched by this pushing, shoving and jostling. They will be content and an unbelievable serenity will be visible on their faces. Everyone will envy their unruffled calmness; even the prophets and the saints will be deeply impressed by the halo of tranquillity hovering around their faces. Their highly-graded position will be a feast for every eye. The Companions asked in amazement: O Messenger of Allah, who are these people? The Holy Prophet(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) replied: these are the people who love one another and the basis of their mutual love is neither blood relationship nor abundance of wealth, they love one another only for the sake of Allah. Thus the basis of their love is in fact their shared love of Allah. Their rewards and grades derive directly from this source. On this day their faces will emit rays of light and they will be seated on pulpits of light.

The tradition has clearly established the fact that people who love one another simply because they love Allah deserve high rewards and grades on the Day of Judgement and they will receive these precious gifts through the mediation of Allah’s favourites because their love of these intimate friends

is based fundamentally on their love of Allah from which basic source it draws its strength and influence.

5. Love of Allah’s friends is the cause of Allah’s love

Love of holy men and saints is an act which earns the servant not only the love of Allah but also draws him closer to Him.

It is reported by Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah(Peac Be Up Him and His Household) said:

If two persons love each other on Allah’s count, and if one of them is in the east and the other in the west, Allah will bring them together on the Day of Resurrection and He will say: This is the man you loved on my count.[17]

It is now established that intermediation through the prophets, the holy persons and the saints is quite valid whether it is by invoking their name in prayer, or by physical presence in their companionship or through expressions of love for them. This act of intermediation is correct and legally permissible. A detailed discussion on this issue will be found in the sixth chapter. For the time being, in the light of Qur’anic injunctions and relevant traditions, it should be kept in mind that intermediation through the servants of Allah, who are His favourites and who are the righteous, is quite valid and is compatible with Islamic teachings. The doubts and objections expressed against this form of intermediation are baseless and grounded in prejudice. People who oppose intermediation through Allah’s favourites and holy men need to revamp the very basis of their faith. I have made it clear that we rely on holy persons as sources of intermediation on account of our love for them and loving a holy person is in itself a virtuous act. Therefore, intermediation through these holy men is in fact intermediation through virtuous deeds and this kind of intermediation based on righteous deeds is universally permissible in Islam.

References

[1]. Qur’an (an-Najm) 53:39.

[2]. Qur’an (al-An‘ām) 6:164.

[3]. Qur’an (al-Baqarah) 2:286.

[4]. Muslim narrated it in his as-Sahīh, b. of wasiyyah (will) ch.3 (3:1255#1631); Abū Dāwūd in Sunan, b. of wasāyā (wills and testaments), 3:117 (#2880); Nasā’ī in Sunan, b. of wasāyā (6:251); Tirmidhī in al-Jāmi‘-us-sahīh, b. of akhām (judgements) ch.36 (3:660#1376) and graded it hasan (fair) and sahīh (sound); Ahmad bin Hambal in Musnad (2:372); Bayhaqī in as-Sunan-ul-kubrā (6:278); Baghawī in Sharh-us-sunnah (1:300#139) and declared it sahīh; and Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī in Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of ‘ilm (knowledge), 1:104 (#203).

[5]. Muslim, as-Sahīh b. of zakat (obligatory charity) ch.20 (2:705#1017); Ahmad bin Hambal, Musnad (4:357 & 359); Bayhaqī, as-Sunan-ul-kubrā (4:175); and Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalānī, Fath-ul-bārī (13:302).

[6]. Qur’an (an-Nahl) 16:43.

[7]. Qur’an (al-Baqarah) 2:186.

[8]. Qur’an (al-Baqarah) 2:48.

[9]. Qur’an (ash-Shu‘arā’) 26:100-1.

[10]. Qur’an (az-Zumar) 39:3.

[11]. Qur’an (an-Nisā’) 4:48.

[12]. Qur’an (al-Isrā’) 17:57.

[13]. Muslim transmitted it in his as-Sahīh, b. of birr was-silah wal-ādāb (virtue, good manners and joining of the ties of relationship) ch.48 (4:2030#2637); Bakhārī narrated it at three places in his as-Sahīh: b. of bad’-ul-khalq (beginning of creation) ch.6 (3:1175#3037), b. of adab (good manners) ch.41 (5:2246#5693), and b. of tawhīd (Islamic monotheism) ch.33 (6:2721#7047); Ahmad bin Hambal in Musnad (2:413); Mālik bin Anas in al-Muwattā, b. of sha‘ar (hair) ch.5 (2:953#15); and Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī in Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of ādāb (good manners) ch.16 (3:74#5005).

[14]. Tirmidhī narrated it in al-Jāmi‘-us-sahīh, b. of zuhd (piety) ch.50 (4:595#2385), and graded it sahīh (sound); Ahmad bin Hambal in Musnad (3:104, 168, 178, 200); Ibn Hibbān, as-Sahīh (1:182, 308-9#8,105; 16:345#7348); Baghawī, Sharh-us-sunnah (13:60-4#3475-9). Bukhārī also narrated it with different words in his as-Sahīh, b. of fadā’il-us-sahābah (merits of the Companions) ch.6 (3:1349#3485), b. of adab (good manners) ch.95, 96 (5:2282-3#5815-9), and b. of ahkām (judgements) ch.10 (6:2615#6734); Muslim in as-Sahīh, b. of birr was-silah wal-ādāb (virtue, good manners and joining of the ties of relationship) ch.50 (4:2032-3#2639); Ahmad bin Hambal in Musnad (3:110,165,167,172,173,207,208,255,276); ‘Abd-ur-Razzāq, al-Musannaf (11:199#20317); Humaydī, Musnad (2:502#1190); Ibn Abū Shaybah, al-Musannaf (15:169#19407); Abū Ya‘lā, Musnad (5:144#2758; 6: 36,256#3280-1, 3557); Ibn Hibbān, as-Sahīh (2:323-4#563-5); Tabarānī, al-Mu‘jam-ul-kabīr (3:183#3061); Bayhaqī, Shu‘ab-ul-īmān (1:380,387#462,498; 2:130-1#1379); and Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī in Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of adab (good manners) ch.16 (3:75#5009).

[15]. This sahīh (sound) hadith narrated by Mālik bin Anas in al-Muwattā, b. of sha‘ar (hair) ch.5 (2:954#16), and Ibn ‘Abd-ul-Barr said its chain is good. Ahmad bin Hambal also transmitted it in his Musnad (5:233); Hākim in al-Mustadrak (4:169), who graded it sahīh, and also confirmed by Dhahabī; Baghawī in Sharh-us-sunnah, (13:49-50#3463); Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī in Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of ādāb (good manners) ch.16 (3:75#5011).

[16]. Abū Dāwūd, Sunan, b. of ijārah (wages) 3:288 (#3527); Bayhaqī, Shu‘ab-ul-īmān, (6:486#8998,8999); Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī, Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of adab (good manners) ch.16 (3:75-6#5012).

[17]. Bayhaqī, Shu‘ab-ul-īmān, (6:492#9022); Muhammad Khatīb Tabrīzī, Mishkāt-ul-masābīh, b. of ādāb (good manners) ch.16 (3:77#5024); ‘Alā’-ud-Dīn ‘Alī, Kanz-ul-‘ummāl (9:4#24646).

Letter 4

I Juristic Proofs Mandate Adherence to the Sect of Ahl al­Bayt,

Thul Qida 4, 1329 A.H.

1) Our adherence, in the principles of the creed, to a sect other than that of al­Ash’ari, and our following in the branches of Islam of a sect other than those four sects, has never been due to partisanship nor fanaticism, nor has it been because of doubting theijtihad of the Imams of these sects, of their fair mindedness, trustworthiness, integrity, or loftiness in knowledge and deeds.

Juristic proofs, rather, have mandated upon us to follow the sect of the Imams from the Household of Prophethood, the cradle of the Message, and the place the angels frequent, the abode of revelation and inspiration.

We have always, therefore, referred to them in order to comprehend all matters related to the creed's branches and doctrines, in the roots and in the bases offiqh , in the knowledge of ethics, behaviour, and manners. We have done all this in accordance with the judgment of evidence and proof, following the Sunnah of the Master of Prophets and Messengers, peace of Allah be upon him and all his progeny.

Had the proofs allowed us to differ from the Imams of Muhammad's progeny, or had we been able to achieve nearness to Allah, Glory to Him, by following others' sects, we would then have followed in the general public's footsteps, asserting the friendship and strengthening the ties of fraternity. On the contrary, positive proofs stand in the believer's way, diverting him from following his own inclinations.

2) Still, the majority cannot prove that their own sect must be preferred over those of others, let alone making it obligatory. We have looked into Muslims' pretexts as one inquiring in depth with keen eyes, but we have found no proof for your argument except what you mentioned of theirijtihad , trustworthiness, fair mindedness and loftiness.

You, however, know thatijtihad , trustworthiness, fair mindedness and loftiness of status are not a monopoly of them only; therefore, how, since the case is as such, can their sects be obligatory by your merely pointing them out?

I do not think that there is anyone who dares to advocate their preference in knowledge or deeds over our Imams who are the purified‘itra , the nation's life-boats, the Gate of Salvation, the security against dissension in religion, the flags of its guidance, the descendants of the Messenger of Allah and his remnant in his nation.

He, Allah's peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "Do not go ahead of them lest you should perish, nor should you lag behind them lest you should perish. Do not teach them, for they are more learned than you." But it is the dictates of politics at the dawn of Islam.

I wonder about your claim that the good previous generations adhered to those sects, finding them the most fair and the best of sects, and that they agreed to adhere to them in every time and clime. You say so as if you do not know that our predecessors, the good past generations that followed the progeny of Muhammad and that, literally, constituted half the Muslim population, followed only the faith of the Imams among the descendants of Muhammad, peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny.

They did not find for it any substitute, and they have been this way ever since the days of ‘Ali and Fatima, when neither al­Ash’ari nor any Imam of the other four sects, or even their fathers, existed, as you very well know.

3) The generations of the first three centuries, then, never followed any of those sects at all. Where were those sects during those three generations, the best generations ever? Al­Ash’ari was born in 270 A.H. and died in 320 A.H. Ibn Hanbal was born in 164 A.H. and died in 241 A.H. Al­Shafi’i was born in 150 A.H. and died in 204 A.H. Malik was born in 95 A.H.2 and died in 179 A.H. Abu Hanifah was born in 80 A.H. and died in 150 A.H.

Shi’as follow the sect of the Imams from the Prophet's Household, and the household surely know what their house contains. Non­Shi’as follow the sects of the learnedsahabah andtabi’in ; so, what makes it "mandatory" on all Muslims, after those three centuries had gone by, to follow those sects instead of the one followed before them?

What made them divert their attention from those who were peers only to the Book of Allah and its own companions, the descendants of the Messenger of Allah and his trustees, the nation's ark of salvation, the leaders, the security, and the Gate of Salvation?

4) What caused the door ofijtihad to be shut in the face of Muslims after it had been kept widely open during the first three centuries other than resorting to reluctance, comfort, laziness, the acceptance of deprivation and the satisfaction with ignorance?

Who would permit himself, knowingly or unknowingly, to say that Allah, Dignity and Glory to Him, has not sent the best of His Messengers and Prophets with the best of His religions and codes, nor has He revealed unto him His best Books and Tablets, judgment and doctrines, nor has He completed His Religion for him and perfected His blessing unto him, nor has He taught him the knowledge of the past and the present, except for the sole purpose that the whole matter would end to the Imams of those sects to monopolize for their own selves?

They would then forbid all others from acquiring it from any other source, as if the Islamic faith, in its Book and Sunnah, and in all other signs and testaments, a property of their own, and that they forbade faring with it in any way contrary to their own opinions... Were they the Prophets' heirs, or had Allah sealed through them the successors and Imams, or taught them the knowledge of the past and the present, and that He bestowed upon them what He had never bestowed upon anybody else among all human beings?

No! They were just like many others, pillars and care­takers of knowledge, ministers and callers. Those who call for knowledge are far above closing its doors against others or forbidding others from reaching it. They never curb the minds, nor confine public attention only to their own selves, nor can they seal people's hearts or make others deaf, blind, dumb, handcuffed, or chained. This can never be attributed to them except as a liar's allegation, and their own statements bear witness to ours.

5) Let us now concentrate on the matter to which you attracted our attention: the unity of Muslims. What I see is that this matter does not depend on Shi’as forsaking their faith, nor the Sunnis forsaking their own. Asking Shi’as to do so without asking others (Sunnis) to do likewise is to prefer without preponderance, or even to favour the less preferable. It is demanding what is beyond one's capacity as it is known from our Introduction.

Yes. Unity and uniformity can be achieved if you release Ahl al­Bayt's sect and view it as you view any of your own sects so that the Shafi’is, Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis may consider the followers of Ahl al­Bayt just as they consider each other. Only then can the unity of Muslims be achieved, and they will be unified in one fold.

The difference among Sunni sects is not less than it is between the Sunni and Shi’a schools of thought as thousands of books on the principles and branches of the creed of both groups testify; therefore, why have several people among you condemned the Shi’as for differing from the Sunnis? Why have they not, by the same token, condemned the Sunnis for differing from the Shi’as, or even for differing from one another?

If sects can be four, why cannot they be five? How come it is alright to have four sects but not five? How can four sects be considered as "unifying" Muslims, and when they increase to five unity is shattered and Muslims are divided unto themselves?

I wish when you invited us to "sectarian unity" you also invited the followers of the four sects to the same. The latter will be a lot easier for you and for them. But why have you singled us out for your invitation anyway? Do you find the followers of Ahl al­Bayt breaking the unity while the followers of others unite the hearts and determination eventhough their sects and minds are different, their tastes and inclinations are nUmarous? I think of you to be above that, knowing your love for your kinfolk, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 5

Thul-Qi’da 9, 1329 A.H.

I Admitting Our Argument,

1) Your letter has been quite clear, very well arranged, praiseworthy. It is eloquent, powerful in determination, and strong in argument. It spares no attempt to prove that it is not compulsory to follow the majority's sects in the principles and branches of religion, saving no effort to confirm that the doors ofijtihad must remain open.

Your letter, therefore, is strong in both matters, correct in proving each one of them, and we do not deny your careful research in their respect, your clarification of their obscurities, although we really were not acquainted with them, and our view in their regard is identical to yours.

II Asking for Detailed Proofs

2) We had asked you about your reason for not accepting the sects followed by the Muslim majority, and your answer was that because of "judicial proofs," whereas you were expected to explain that in detail. Could you please yield now to explaining them with positive proofs from the Book (Qur'an) or the Sunnah which, as you mentioned, divert the believer from following his own inclinations? Thank you, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Letter 6

Thul-Qi’da 12, 1329 A.H.

You, thanks to Allah, can be convinced by a mere hint, without the need for an explanation, and you are above doubting the very fact that the purified offspring (‘itra ) are superior to all others. Their case is quite clear: they have surpassed those with qualifications and have distinguished themselves from seemingly equal peers. They have carried from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, the knowledge of the prophets, and from him have they digested secular and religious jurisdictions.

I References to Proofs Mandating Following the ‘Itra

1) The Prophet, hence, has made them equal only to the Glorious Book and set them models of conduct for those endowed with reason, and the ark of safety when hypocricy with its tumultous waves overwhelms the security of the nation, safeguarding it against dissension if the tempests of division rage, the Gate of Salvation: whoever enters it is forgiven, and the strong Rope of Allah which is unbreakable.

II The Commander of the Faithful (as) Invites to Ahl al­Bayt's Sect

2) The Commander of the Faithful is quoted in sermon 86 inNahjul­Balaghah as saying:

"‘Where are you heading (Qur'an, 81:26),'

and

‘where are you straying (Qur'an, 6:95, 10:34, 35:3, 40:62),'

since the flags are poised up high, the Signs are clear, and the light­house is erected? So, where are you straying? Nay! How can you be blindfolded while you have among you the household (‘itra ) of your Prophet?

They are the reins of righteousness, the religion's flags, and the tongues of truth; therefore, accord them as you accord the Qur'an and approach them as thirsty camels approach the water. O people! Take this3 from the last of the Prophets, Allah's peace be upon him and his progeny: ‘whoever among us passes away, he is not really dead, and whoever disintegrates (after dying) from among us does not really disintegrate; therefore, do not say what you do not know, for there is the greatest truth in what you deny.

Accept the argument of one against whom you have no argument and it is: ‘Have I not dealt with you according to the Greatest Weight4 (Qur'an)? Have I not left among you the Lesser Weight (Ahl al­Bayt) and laid firm among you the flags of faith?'"

He, peace be upon him, said, in sermon 96 ofNahjul­Balaghah , "Behold the Household of your Prophet; emulate their example and follow in their footsteps, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor shall they ever bring you back into destruction; halt when they halt, and rise when they rise, and do not go ahead of them lest you should stray, nor should you lag behind them lest you should perish."

He, peace be upon him, has mentioned them once, as stated in sermon 237 ofNahjul-Balaghah , saying: "They are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance; their forbearance informs you of their knowledge, and their outward appearance informs you of their conscience. Their silence indicates the wisdom of their speech. They neither differ from truth, nor do they differ among themselves about it. They are the pillars of Islam and the gateways to salvation. Through them, justice was achieved and wrong­doing was removed, and its tongue was uprooted. They comprehended the creed with care and concern, not like hearing and reporting, for the ‘reporters' of knowledge are many indeed, but those who safeguard it are few."

He, peace be upon him, as stated in sermon 153 inNahjul-Balaghah , has also said, "His offspring (‘itra ) is the best, and his family is the best. His tree is the best of trees: it was planted in the sacred place (Haram ), and it grew like a vine; it has long branches and its fruit is not unattainable."

He, peace be upon him, is quoted in sermon 153 ofNahjul-Balaghah saying: "We are the banner, the companions, the trustees and the gates. Houses are not supposed to be approached except through their gates: whoever approaches them otherwise is called a thief," until he said, describing the purified offspring (‘itra ), "They are the vital portions of the Qur'an, and they are the teasures of the Merciful. They tell the truth when they speak, or when they remain silent; none can speak ahead of them. Therefore, let the forerunner speak the truth to his people, maintaining his reason."

He has said in sermon 146 ofNahjul-Balaghah : "You should know that you will never know guidance unless you know who abandons it, nor will you abide by the Book (Qur'an) unless you know who contradicts it, and you will never uphold it unless you know who has discarded it; so, seek that from those who possess it, for they are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance.

They are the ones whose judgment informs you of their knowledge, their silence of their power of speech, their outer appearance of their inner selves; they neither violate the religion, nor do they differ among themselves about it, while it is among them a truthful witness and a silent speaker."

There are many similarly impressive statements of his, peace be upon him, in this regard; consider this one which is excerpted from sermon 4 inNahjul-Balaghah : "Through us you received guidance in the darkness, ascending the zenith of nobility, and through us you reached the light and dissipated the gloomy night. May the ears that do not listen to the summoner be deafened."5 He is quoted in sermon 104 ofNahjul-Balaghah saying: "O people! Secure your light from the flame of the lamps of a preacher who follows what he preaches, and drink from a spring cleansed from impurity."

He has also said the following in sermon 108: "We are the tree of Prophethood, the place of the Message, the ones to whom the angels make a pilgrimage, the treasures of knowledge, the springs of wisdom. Our supporter and lover awaits the mercy, while our enemy or antagonist us awaits the wrath."6

Among what he has said in this regard is sermon 143 ofNahjul-Balaghah wherein he says: "Where are those who claimed to be deeply versed in knowledge other than our own selves?7

It is a lie and a transgression against us, for Allah has raised us high while putting them down; He bestowed upon us while depriving them, and He permitted us to enter (in the fortress of knowledge) while turning them out. Through us, guidance is achieved and blindness is removed. Surely the Imams from Quraysh have been planted in Hashim's loins. Imamate can never fit anyone else, nor can government either."

Then he stated: "But they preferred a speedy gain to a later one, forsaking a pure well to drink from an impure one," up to the end of his statement. He has also said at the conclusion of khutba (sermon) 189 ofNahjul-Balaghah : "Whoever among you dies on his bed knowing the rights of his Lord and knowing the rights of His Messenger and his family (Ahl al­Bayt) dies as a martyr, and his reward will be incumbent upon Allah, and he deserves the reward of what good deeds he has intended to do: his own intention will make up for his use of his sword (injihad )."

Also, he, peace be upon him, has said: "We are the virtuous; our descendants are the descendants of Prophets; our party is the party of Allah, the Sublime, the Glorified, while the transgressing party is the devil's; whoever equates us with our enemy is certainly not of us."8

Imam al­Mujtaba Abu Muhammad al­Hasan, the patient, master of the youths of Paradise (as), has said the following in one of his sermons: "Fear Allah regarding us, for we are your rulers."9

III Relevant Statement of Imam Zainul­‘Abidin

3) Whenever Imam Abu Muhammad, ‘Ali son of al­Husayn Zainul­‘Abidin, master of those who prostrate in prayer, used to recite this verse of the Almighty: "O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with the Truthful," he would make a lengthy invocation to Allah containing his plea to be included among "the Truthful" to attain the high ranks. He would then count the calamities and innovations of the group that split from the Imams of Faith and the Tree of Prophethood.

Then he would say: "Some people went as far as underestimating us, making excuses for the Qur'anic verses which seem to them to be alike, giving their own interpretation thereof, and casting doubts about the transmitted narrarations in our honour," until he would say: "With whom shall people in this nation seek refuge, since the pillars of this creed have been forgotten and the nation has divided upon itself with dissension, each party accusing the other of kufr, while Allah says:

‘Do not be like those who became divided and disagreed (with each other) even after receiving the Clear Evidences (Qur'an, 3:104)?'

Who can be trusted to convey the Divine proofs and interpret the Judgment other than the peers of the Qur'an and the descendants of the Imams of Guidance, the lamps amidst the darkness, those whom Allah made as His Arguments against His servants?

He has never left His creation alone without a Proof. Do you know them or find them except from the branches of the Blessed Tree, the remnant of the Elite from whom Allah has removed all impurity, purifying them with a perfect purification, clearing them from sinning and decreeing their love in His Book?"

That was his own speech, peace be upon him,verbatim .8 Look into it and into our quotations from the speech of the Commander of the Faithful; you will find them both representing the Shi’a School of Muslim Thought in this regard very clearly. Consider this much of their speech as a specimen for all such speeches of the Imams from Ahl al­Bayt. They all are unanimous in this respect, and oursahih books quoting them are mutawatir (consecutively reported), and peace be with you

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 7

Thul-Qi’da 13, 1329 A.H.

I Requesting Proofs from Statements by Allah and His Messenger

1) Bring the proofs from the statements of Allah and His Messenger bearing witness to the mandatory allegiance to the Imams among the Ahl al­Bayt exclusively, and leave aside the speech of anyone else in this respect except those of Allah and His Messenger.

II Proofs from Ahl al­Bayt are Circumventive

2) Your Imams' statements cannot serve as arguments against their rivals, and such an argument creates a logical cycle, as you know, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Letter 8

Thul-Qi’da 1329

I Overlooking Our Previous Statements,

1) We have not neglected deriving our proofs from the traditions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny. As a matter of fact, we referred to them at the beginning of our letter which clearly stated that following the Imams from Ahl al­Bayt exclusively is mandatory.

We did so when we stated that he, peace be upon him and his progeny, had compared them with the Glorious Book, setting them as a model for those endowed with reason, equating them with the ark of salvation, the nation's security, the gate of salvation - all in reference to and quotations from the well­known clear texts in thesahih books. We have also said that you would be satisfied with the hint instead of the details, without the need for further explanations.

II Error in Necessity of (Logical) Cycle,

2) The statements of our Imams, then, as we have explained, do fit to be used as an argument against their opponents, and using it as such a manner cannot be regarded as a (vicious) cycle, as you yourself know.

III Hadith of the Two Weighty Things,

3) Take, for example, the statements of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, to which we referred whereby he struck an awe in the heart of the ignorant, calling upon the indifferent, as quoted by al­Tirmithi and al­Nisa'i from Jabir and they, in turn, are quoted by al­Muttaqi al­Hindi at the beginning of his chapter on those who uphold the Book and the Sunnah in his workKanzul­‘Ummal , Vol. 1, page 44, saying:

"O people! I am leaving with you the Book of Allah and my household (‘itra ), my family (my Ahl al­Bayt). As long as you uphold them, you shall never go astray."

He has also said:

"I have left with you that which, as long as you uphold, you shall never let you stray after me: Allah's Book, a Rope extending from heavens to earth, and my‘itra , my Ahl al­Bayt. These twain shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool; therefore, see how you succeed me in faring with them."11

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said:

"I am leaving among you two successors: the Book of Allah, a rope extending from heavens to earth - or between heavens and earth - , and my household (‘itra ) from my family (Ahl al­Bayt); they shall never separate from each other until they reach me by the Pool."12

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, also said:

"I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things: the Book of Allah and my Ahl al­Bayt; they shall never separate from each other till they reach me at the Pool."13

He, peace be upon him, has said:

"Me thinks I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things, the Book of Allah Almighty and my offspring, my Ahl al­Bayt. The Sublime and omni­Scient has informed me that they shall never part from each other till they reach me by the Pool; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them."14

Having returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he, peace be upon him and his progeny, camped at Ghadir Khumm and ordered the area underneath a few huge trees to be swept clean then said in his sermon:

"It seems as if I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving with you the Two Weighty Things, one of which is greater than the other: the Book of Allah Almighty, and my Household; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them, for they shall never separate from each other until they reach me at the Pool."

Then he (pbuh) added:

"Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, is my Master, and I am the master of every believer." Having said so, he took ‘Ali's hand and said: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this ‘Ali is his master. O Allah! Befriend whosoever befriends ‘Ali, and be the enemy of whosoever opposes him, etc."15

‘Abdullah ibn Hantab has said: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) delivered a sermon to us at Al-Juhfa wherein he asked us: 'Don't I have authority over your own selves more than you yourselves do?' Attendants there answered: 'Yes, indeed, O Messenger of Allah!' Then he said: 'I shall then question you about these two: the Qur'an and my‘itra .'"16

IV Its Tawatur,

4) Thesahih books which deem it mandatory to follow the Two Weighty Things are successive through more than twenty companions who all are in consensus in this regard. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has emphasized these things on nUmarous occasions: on Ghadir Khumm's Day, on the ‘Arafat day of his Farewell Pilgrimage, after leaving Taif, from his pulpit in Medina, and inside his blessed chamber during his sickness, when the room was full of his companions.

He said in the latter incident: "O people! I feel I am going to die very soon, and I had previously informed you as my duty, and to leave no excuse for you, that: I am leaving with you the Book of Allah, the Glorious and Mighty, and my‘itra , my Ahl al­Bayt." Having finished, he took ‘Ali's hand and lifted it saying: "This ‘Ali is with the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is with ‘Ali: they shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool."17

A learned group among the majority has admitted the above. Even Ibn Hajar, quoting the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, says, "Be informed, then, that the tradition calling for upholding both of them comes through nUmarous ways narrated by more than twenty companions."

Further he says, "Here a doubt arises about when he said so. Some traditionists say he said so at Arafat during the Farewell Pilgrimage and others that he said so in Medina when he was sick, while his room was crammed with his companions. Another group say that he made that statement at the Khumm swamp, and in yet another that he made it, by way of preaching, after having left T'aif as mentioned above."

Ibn Hajar furthermore says, "There is no contradiction here, for there is no objection to his repeating it at those places, and at others, out of his own concern for the18

Suffices the Imams from the Purified‘itra the fact that their rank with Allah is similar to that of the Book which falsehood cannot approach from front or from back. This must be sufficient testimony that takes people by the neck and obligates them to abide by their sect. A true Muslim does not accept any substitute for the Book of Allah; therefore, how can he deviate from the path of those who are its own peers?

V Non­Adherents to the ‘Itra Shall Stray,

5) The gist of his saying "I am leaving unto you that which, as long as you uphold to it, shall never let you stray: the Book of Allah and my‘itra " is that anyone who does not uphold both of them spontaneously will eventually stray. This is supported by his saying, peace be upon him and his progeny, in the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, as Tabrani narrates it, "Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more learned than you."

Ibn Hajar has said: "In his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny, ‘Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more learned than you,' there is proof that whoever among them is elevated to high offices and religious vocations must be preferred over all others," up to the end of his statement.19

VI Their Similitude to the ark of Noah, the Gate of Salvation, and the Security Against Religious Dissensions,

6) What makes it compulsory to follow and refer to Ahl al­Bayt is thishadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny: "The similitude of my household among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever embarks upon it is saved, and whoever lags behind it is drowned,"20 and his statement (pbuh), "The similitude of my Household among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever boards it is saved, and whoever lags behind it is drowned. And the similitude of my Household among you is the Gate of the Israelites: whoever enters it is forgiven."21

Also, consider his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny, "The stars protect the inhabitants of earth against drowning, and my Ahl al­Bayt protect my nation against dissension (in religious matters). If a tribe among the Arabs differs (regarding the commandments of Allah, the High, the Mighty) from them, they will all then differ and become the party of Satan."22

This is fully sufficient to oblige the nation to follow them and to protect it against differing from them. I do not think that there is any language of man more clear than thishadith to support my argument.

VII What is Meant by "Ahl al­Bayt" in this Regard

7) What is meant by his word, peace be upon him and his progeny, "Ahl al-Bayt" (i.e. "Household") here is their entirety, collectively, as being their Imams, not merely their entirety inclusively, for this status is nothing but a testimony for the Proofs of Allah - particularly those who stand for His Commandments - as reason and scholarship would rule. A learned group among the majority has admitted the same, such as Ibn Hajar in hisAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa . Some of them have said that what is probably meant by ‘Ahl al­Bayt' who are a security are their own learned men, for they are the ones who are like guiding stars; when lost, inhabitants of the earth will get what they were ominously warned against.

bn Hajar said: "That will be during the time when al­Mehdi (as) appears, and the tradition indicates that Jesus will pray behind him, and the anti­Christ will be killed during his time; after that, unusual events will succeed one another," up to the end of his statement which is quoted in the exegesis of verse 7, in Chapter 11, page 91, ofAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa . Somewhere else he indicates that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, was asked once: "How would people live after them?" and he answered: "They will live like an ass whose spleen has been broken."23

VIII Reasons for Similitude to Noah's Ark and the Gate of Salvation

8) You know that likening them with the ark of Noah implies that whoever resorts to them in matters related to the creed, deriving the branches and basics of religion from their virtuous Imams, will certainly be saved from the fire of hell, and whoever lags behind them is like one who seeks shelter during the flood with a mountain so that it may save him from Allah's destiny, but he will eventually be drowned in water while the first will be hurled in the inferno, may Allah protect us from it.

The reason why they, peace be upon them, are compared to the Gate of Salvation is that Allah has made that Gate a symbol of humility before His Greatness and submission to His Judgment; therefore, it becomes a reason for forgiveness. This is the reason for the similitude.

Ibn Hajar, in the exegesis of Chapter 7 of the Holy Qur'an, in Chapter 11, page 91, of hisAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa , has accepted it while saying, after quoting these and other similar traditions, "The reason for their similitude to the ark is that whoever loves and highly respects them as means of thanking the One Who gave them honours, following the guidance of their learned men, will be saved from the darkness of dissension, and whoever lags behind it is drowned in the sea of ingratitude and will perish in the paths of tyranny."

Then he adds the following: "As to the Gate of Salvation (meaning thereby their similitude thereto), Allah has made entering that gate, which probably was the gate of Shittim or of Jerusalem, in humility, seeking forgiveness, a reason for salvation, and He (likewise) has made loving Ahl al­Bayt a reason for this nation's salvation."24

Thesahih books are consecutive in stating that following Ahl al­Bayt is mandatory especially quoting the purified‘itra . Had I not curbed my pen for fear of boring you, I would have elaborated in detail, but what I have stated here must suffice for the purpose,Wassalam .

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 9

Requesting More Relevant Texts

Thul Qi’da 1329

Do not curb your pen, and do not worry about boring me. I am all ears listening to you; my chest is wide, and in learning from you, my heart is at ease and soul in peace and tranquility. All the proofs and arguments which you have stated made me even more enthusiastic, thus removing the obstacle of boredom. Send me, therefore, more of your captivating speech and manifestations of wise genius. I find in your speech the quest of the wise, and it is thus more saturating to my heart than crystal­clear cool water; so, let me have more, may Allah bless your father, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 10

A Glimpse of Sufficient Texts

Thul-Qi’da 1329

If you have been pleased by receiving my letter, and if you have approached it with self­satisfaction, then I have often placed my hope on you for victory and concluded my effort with success. Whoever intends well, adopting a good attitude while being humble, amiable, dignified, crowned with knowledge, well­mannered with patience, is surely worthy of being truthful in what he says and writes, while equity and integrity are in his hand and on his tongue.

It is you to whom I owe my thanks when you asked for more, for who else can be more graceful, kind and humble? In order to grant your quest and cool your eyes, I would like to state the following:

Both al­Tabrani'sAl-Mujma’ al-Kabir and Rafi’i'sMusnad , quoting Ibn ‘Abbas, state that "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘Let whoever is pleased to live like me and die like me and inhabit Eden's Paradise which my Lord cultivated take ‘Ali as his master after me, and let him obey whoever he places in charge over him, and let him follow the example of my Ahl al­Bayt after me, for they are my progeny: they are created of my own mould and blessed with my own comprehension and knowledge. Woe unto those who reject them and separate me from them! May Allah never permit them to enjoy my intercession.'"25

Al­Matir, al­Barudi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Shahin, and Ibn Mundah have all quoted Ishaq citing Ziyad ibn Matraf saying: "I have heard the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘Whoever wishes to live my life and die my death and enter the Garden which my Lord promised me, the Garden of eternity, then let him take ‘Ali and his progeny after him as his masters, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor let you stray.'"26

Similarly, Zayd ibn Arqam is quoted in onehadith saying: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘Whoever wishes to live like me and die my death and inhabit the perpetual Garden promised to me by my Lord, let him take ‘Ali as his master, for he shall never get you out of guidance, nor shall he let you stray.'"27

Also, consider this tradition narrated by ‘Ammar ibn Yasir: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘I admonish whoever believed in me and held me truthful to accept the government of ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib, for whoever accepts him as the ruler accepts me as such, and whoever loves him loves me too, and whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates him hates me, and whoever hates me hates Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty."28 ‘

Ammar quotes others stating thishadith : "O Lord! Whoever believed in me and held me truthful, let him take ‘Ali as his master, for his government is also mine, and mine is that of the Almighty Allah."29

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, once delivered a sermon wherein he said: "O people! Favours, honours, prestige and government are for the Messenger of Allah and his progeny; therefore, let no falsehood divert you."30 He, peace be upon him and his progeny said: "In every generation of my nation there are members of my Household who equal only my own self and who safeguard this religion from the distortion of wrong­doers and the interpretation of the ignorant. Be informed that your Imams are your deputies to Allah; so, see who you send to Him as your deputies."31

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said: "Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, nor should you lag behind them else you should perish. Do not teach them, for they are more learned than you."32

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "Consider my Ahl al­Bayt among you as you consider the head of the body, and the eyes in the head, for the head is guided by the eyes."33

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Uphold loving us, we Ahl al­Bayt, for whoever faces Allah loving us shall enter Paradise through our intercession. I swear by the One in Whose Hands my soul is placed that the good deeds of a believer shall never avail him except through recognizing our rights."34

And he has also said: "The knowledge of the progeny of Muhammad brings salvation from the Fire, and loving Ahl al­Bayt is walking on the Straight Path. Allegiance to the progeny of Muhammad is a security against the torture."35

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "The feet of any servant of Allah shall never move on the Day of Judgment unless he is asked about four things: how he spent his life, what he wore his body out for, how he made and spent his wealth, and about loving us, we Ahl al­Bayt."36

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "If a man stands in prayer between the Rukn and Maqam, hating Muhammad's progeny, he shall still enter Hellfire."37

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said: "Whoever dies because of his love for the progeny of Muhammad dies a martyr. Whoever dies because of loving the progeny of Muhammad dies as a believer of a perfect faith.

Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's children will be given the glad tiding of entering Paradise by the angel of death, then by Munkir and Nakir. Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's descendants will be taken to Paradise like a bride taken to her groom's house. Whoever dies loving Muhammad's progeny will have two doors in his grave overlooking Paradise. Allah will make the grave of whoever dies for loving Muhammad's children a visiting place for the angels of mercy. Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's progeny dies adhering to the Sunnah and consensus.

Whoever dies hating Muhammad's progeny will come on the Day of Judgment with this inscribed between his eyes: ‘He should despair of Allah's mercy,'" up to the end of his unmatchable sermon,38 the sermon whereby he, peace be upon him and his progeny, intended to divert the inclinations and whims.

The implication is that all these traditions are unanimously agreed upon, especially those narrated through the authority of the purified‘itra . Their status would not have been confirmed had they not been the obvious Proofs of Allah and the fountainhead of His Jurisprudence, the obvious Proofs of Allah, the fountainhead of His Jurisprudence, the ones who represent the Messenger of Allah in bidding or forbidding, his own deputies in the most clear terms.

Whoever loves them, therefore, is also a lover of Allah and His Messenger, and whoever hates them is an enemy of Allah and His Messenger. He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "None loves us except a God­fearing and sincere believer, and none hates us except a hypocritical wretch."39 It is for these reasons that al­Farazdaq, the poet, has said these verses in their praise:

You are ones loving whom is belief, hating an abomination;

Nearness to you is indeed a rescue and a salvation.

If the pious ones are counted, you will be their Imams; it is true.

If one asks: "Who are the best of man?" the answer will be you.

The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, used to say:

"I and the virtuous among my descendants are the best in manners when young, and the most learned when old. Through us does Allah obliterate lies, and through us does He turn the wild fox's teeth ineffective. Through us does Allah cure your barrenness, and through us does He emancipate you. Through us does Allah begin and conclude."40

Suffices us a reason for preferring them over others the fact that Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty, has preferred them over all others, making sending prayers unto them part of the obligatory prayers, albeit if the one saying his prayer were a Siddiq or Faruq, with one light, or two, or with nUmarous lights. Nay! Everyone who worships Allah by performing His obligations also worships Him while doing so by sending blessings unto them, just as he worships Him when testifying through the two parts of the Shahadah. This, indeed, is a status before which the nation's heads were lowered, and in front of which the eyes of whoever you mentioned of the imams have submitted. Imam al­Shafi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, has said:41

O Household of Allah's Messenger! Loving you is an obligation

Which Allah has enforced in His Honored Revelation;

Suffices you a great honour if one sends no prayer unto you all,

It will be as though he did not say his prayers at all.

Let us now be satisfied with this much of the sacred Sunnah in testimony to the fact that following their Sunnah is compulsory; so is emulating them. In the Book of Allah Almighty, the Sublime and the omni­Potent, there are clear verses which make that, too, compulsory. It is to such verses that we would like to attract your aware conscience and sensitive reason. You can be satisfied with an indicative hint, and a signal suffices to attract your attention; all praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the world.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 4

I Juristic Proofs Mandate Adherence to the Sect of Ahl al­Bayt,

Thul Qida 4, 1329 A.H.

1) Our adherence, in the principles of the creed, to a sect other than that of al­Ash’ari, and our following in the branches of Islam of a sect other than those four sects, has never been due to partisanship nor fanaticism, nor has it been because of doubting theijtihad of the Imams of these sects, of their fair mindedness, trustworthiness, integrity, or loftiness in knowledge and deeds.

Juristic proofs, rather, have mandated upon us to follow the sect of the Imams from the Household of Prophethood, the cradle of the Message, and the place the angels frequent, the abode of revelation and inspiration.

We have always, therefore, referred to them in order to comprehend all matters related to the creed's branches and doctrines, in the roots and in the bases offiqh , in the knowledge of ethics, behaviour, and manners. We have done all this in accordance with the judgment of evidence and proof, following the Sunnah of the Master of Prophets and Messengers, peace of Allah be upon him and all his progeny.

Had the proofs allowed us to differ from the Imams of Muhammad's progeny, or had we been able to achieve nearness to Allah, Glory to Him, by following others' sects, we would then have followed in the general public's footsteps, asserting the friendship and strengthening the ties of fraternity. On the contrary, positive proofs stand in the believer's way, diverting him from following his own inclinations.

2) Still, the majority cannot prove that their own sect must be preferred over those of others, let alone making it obligatory. We have looked into Muslims' pretexts as one inquiring in depth with keen eyes, but we have found no proof for your argument except what you mentioned of theirijtihad , trustworthiness, fair mindedness and loftiness.

You, however, know thatijtihad , trustworthiness, fair mindedness and loftiness of status are not a monopoly of them only; therefore, how, since the case is as such, can their sects be obligatory by your merely pointing them out?

I do not think that there is anyone who dares to advocate their preference in knowledge or deeds over our Imams who are the purified‘itra , the nation's life-boats, the Gate of Salvation, the security against dissension in religion, the flags of its guidance, the descendants of the Messenger of Allah and his remnant in his nation.

He, Allah's peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "Do not go ahead of them lest you should perish, nor should you lag behind them lest you should perish. Do not teach them, for they are more learned than you." But it is the dictates of politics at the dawn of Islam.

I wonder about your claim that the good previous generations adhered to those sects, finding them the most fair and the best of sects, and that they agreed to adhere to them in every time and clime. You say so as if you do not know that our predecessors, the good past generations that followed the progeny of Muhammad and that, literally, constituted half the Muslim population, followed only the faith of the Imams among the descendants of Muhammad, peace of Allah be upon him and his progeny.

They did not find for it any substitute, and they have been this way ever since the days of ‘Ali and Fatima, when neither al­Ash’ari nor any Imam of the other four sects, or even their fathers, existed, as you very well know.

3) The generations of the first three centuries, then, never followed any of those sects at all. Where were those sects during those three generations, the best generations ever? Al­Ash’ari was born in 270 A.H. and died in 320 A.H. Ibn Hanbal was born in 164 A.H. and died in 241 A.H. Al­Shafi’i was born in 150 A.H. and died in 204 A.H. Malik was born in 95 A.H.2 and died in 179 A.H. Abu Hanifah was born in 80 A.H. and died in 150 A.H.

Shi’as follow the sect of the Imams from the Prophet's Household, and the household surely know what their house contains. Non­Shi’as follow the sects of the learnedsahabah andtabi’in ; so, what makes it "mandatory" on all Muslims, after those three centuries had gone by, to follow those sects instead of the one followed before them?

What made them divert their attention from those who were peers only to the Book of Allah and its own companions, the descendants of the Messenger of Allah and his trustees, the nation's ark of salvation, the leaders, the security, and the Gate of Salvation?

4) What caused the door ofijtihad to be shut in the face of Muslims after it had been kept widely open during the first three centuries other than resorting to reluctance, comfort, laziness, the acceptance of deprivation and the satisfaction with ignorance?

Who would permit himself, knowingly or unknowingly, to say that Allah, Dignity and Glory to Him, has not sent the best of His Messengers and Prophets with the best of His religions and codes, nor has He revealed unto him His best Books and Tablets, judgment and doctrines, nor has He completed His Religion for him and perfected His blessing unto him, nor has He taught him the knowledge of the past and the present, except for the sole purpose that the whole matter would end to the Imams of those sects to monopolize for their own selves?

They would then forbid all others from acquiring it from any other source, as if the Islamic faith, in its Book and Sunnah, and in all other signs and testaments, a property of their own, and that they forbade faring with it in any way contrary to their own opinions... Were they the Prophets' heirs, or had Allah sealed through them the successors and Imams, or taught them the knowledge of the past and the present, and that He bestowed upon them what He had never bestowed upon anybody else among all human beings?

No! They were just like many others, pillars and care­takers of knowledge, ministers and callers. Those who call for knowledge are far above closing its doors against others or forbidding others from reaching it. They never curb the minds, nor confine public attention only to their own selves, nor can they seal people's hearts or make others deaf, blind, dumb, handcuffed, or chained. This can never be attributed to them except as a liar's allegation, and their own statements bear witness to ours.

5) Let us now concentrate on the matter to which you attracted our attention: the unity of Muslims. What I see is that this matter does not depend on Shi’as forsaking their faith, nor the Sunnis forsaking their own. Asking Shi’as to do so without asking others (Sunnis) to do likewise is to prefer without preponderance, or even to favour the less preferable. It is demanding what is beyond one's capacity as it is known from our Introduction.

Yes. Unity and uniformity can be achieved if you release Ahl al­Bayt's sect and view it as you view any of your own sects so that the Shafi’is, Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis may consider the followers of Ahl al­Bayt just as they consider each other. Only then can the unity of Muslims be achieved, and they will be unified in one fold.

The difference among Sunni sects is not less than it is between the Sunni and Shi’a schools of thought as thousands of books on the principles and branches of the creed of both groups testify; therefore, why have several people among you condemned the Shi’as for differing from the Sunnis? Why have they not, by the same token, condemned the Sunnis for differing from the Shi’as, or even for differing from one another?

If sects can be four, why cannot they be five? How come it is alright to have four sects but not five? How can four sects be considered as "unifying" Muslims, and when they increase to five unity is shattered and Muslims are divided unto themselves?

I wish when you invited us to "sectarian unity" you also invited the followers of the four sects to the same. The latter will be a lot easier for you and for them. But why have you singled us out for your invitation anyway? Do you find the followers of Ahl al­Bayt breaking the unity while the followers of others unite the hearts and determination eventhough their sects and minds are different, their tastes and inclinations are nUmarous? I think of you to be above that, knowing your love for your kinfolk, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 5

Thul-Qi’da 9, 1329 A.H.

I Admitting Our Argument,

1) Your letter has been quite clear, very well arranged, praiseworthy. It is eloquent, powerful in determination, and strong in argument. It spares no attempt to prove that it is not compulsory to follow the majority's sects in the principles and branches of religion, saving no effort to confirm that the doors ofijtihad must remain open.

Your letter, therefore, is strong in both matters, correct in proving each one of them, and we do not deny your careful research in their respect, your clarification of their obscurities, although we really were not acquainted with them, and our view in their regard is identical to yours.

II Asking for Detailed Proofs

2) We had asked you about your reason for not accepting the sects followed by the Muslim majority, and your answer was that because of "judicial proofs," whereas you were expected to explain that in detail. Could you please yield now to explaining them with positive proofs from the Book (Qur'an) or the Sunnah which, as you mentioned, divert the believer from following his own inclinations? Thank you, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Letter 6

Thul-Qi’da 12, 1329 A.H.

You, thanks to Allah, can be convinced by a mere hint, without the need for an explanation, and you are above doubting the very fact that the purified offspring (‘itra ) are superior to all others. Their case is quite clear: they have surpassed those with qualifications and have distinguished themselves from seemingly equal peers. They have carried from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, the knowledge of the prophets, and from him have they digested secular and religious jurisdictions.

I References to Proofs Mandating Following the ‘Itra

1) The Prophet, hence, has made them equal only to the Glorious Book and set them models of conduct for those endowed with reason, and the ark of safety when hypocricy with its tumultous waves overwhelms the security of the nation, safeguarding it against dissension if the tempests of division rage, the Gate of Salvation: whoever enters it is forgiven, and the strong Rope of Allah which is unbreakable.

II The Commander of the Faithful (as) Invites to Ahl al­Bayt's Sect

2) The Commander of the Faithful is quoted in sermon 86 inNahjul­Balaghah as saying:

"‘Where are you heading (Qur'an, 81:26),'

and

‘where are you straying (Qur'an, 6:95, 10:34, 35:3, 40:62),'

since the flags are poised up high, the Signs are clear, and the light­house is erected? So, where are you straying? Nay! How can you be blindfolded while you have among you the household (‘itra ) of your Prophet?

They are the reins of righteousness, the religion's flags, and the tongues of truth; therefore, accord them as you accord the Qur'an and approach them as thirsty camels approach the water. O people! Take this3 from the last of the Prophets, Allah's peace be upon him and his progeny: ‘whoever among us passes away, he is not really dead, and whoever disintegrates (after dying) from among us does not really disintegrate; therefore, do not say what you do not know, for there is the greatest truth in what you deny.

Accept the argument of one against whom you have no argument and it is: ‘Have I not dealt with you according to the Greatest Weight4 (Qur'an)? Have I not left among you the Lesser Weight (Ahl al­Bayt) and laid firm among you the flags of faith?'"

He, peace be upon him, said, in sermon 96 ofNahjul­Balaghah , "Behold the Household of your Prophet; emulate their example and follow in their footsteps, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor shall they ever bring you back into destruction; halt when they halt, and rise when they rise, and do not go ahead of them lest you should stray, nor should you lag behind them lest you should perish."

He, peace be upon him, has mentioned them once, as stated in sermon 237 ofNahjul-Balaghah , saying: "They are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance; their forbearance informs you of their knowledge, and their outward appearance informs you of their conscience. Their silence indicates the wisdom of their speech. They neither differ from truth, nor do they differ among themselves about it. They are the pillars of Islam and the gateways to salvation. Through them, justice was achieved and wrong­doing was removed, and its tongue was uprooted. They comprehended the creed with care and concern, not like hearing and reporting, for the ‘reporters' of knowledge are many indeed, but those who safeguard it are few."

He, peace be upon him, as stated in sermon 153 inNahjul-Balaghah , has also said, "His offspring (‘itra ) is the best, and his family is the best. His tree is the best of trees: it was planted in the sacred place (Haram ), and it grew like a vine; it has long branches and its fruit is not unattainable."

He, peace be upon him, is quoted in sermon 153 ofNahjul-Balaghah saying: "We are the banner, the companions, the trustees and the gates. Houses are not supposed to be approached except through their gates: whoever approaches them otherwise is called a thief," until he said, describing the purified offspring (‘itra ), "They are the vital portions of the Qur'an, and they are the teasures of the Merciful. They tell the truth when they speak, or when they remain silent; none can speak ahead of them. Therefore, let the forerunner speak the truth to his people, maintaining his reason."

He has said in sermon 146 ofNahjul-Balaghah : "You should know that you will never know guidance unless you know who abandons it, nor will you abide by the Book (Qur'an) unless you know who contradicts it, and you will never uphold it unless you know who has discarded it; so, seek that from those who possess it, for they are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance.

They are the ones whose judgment informs you of their knowledge, their silence of their power of speech, their outer appearance of their inner selves; they neither violate the religion, nor do they differ among themselves about it, while it is among them a truthful witness and a silent speaker."

There are many similarly impressive statements of his, peace be upon him, in this regard; consider this one which is excerpted from sermon 4 inNahjul-Balaghah : "Through us you received guidance in the darkness, ascending the zenith of nobility, and through us you reached the light and dissipated the gloomy night. May the ears that do not listen to the summoner be deafened."5 He is quoted in sermon 104 ofNahjul-Balaghah saying: "O people! Secure your light from the flame of the lamps of a preacher who follows what he preaches, and drink from a spring cleansed from impurity."

He has also said the following in sermon 108: "We are the tree of Prophethood, the place of the Message, the ones to whom the angels make a pilgrimage, the treasures of knowledge, the springs of wisdom. Our supporter and lover awaits the mercy, while our enemy or antagonist us awaits the wrath."6

Among what he has said in this regard is sermon 143 ofNahjul-Balaghah wherein he says: "Where are those who claimed to be deeply versed in knowledge other than our own selves?7

It is a lie and a transgression against us, for Allah has raised us high while putting them down; He bestowed upon us while depriving them, and He permitted us to enter (in the fortress of knowledge) while turning them out. Through us, guidance is achieved and blindness is removed. Surely the Imams from Quraysh have been planted in Hashim's loins. Imamate can never fit anyone else, nor can government either."

Then he stated: "But they preferred a speedy gain to a later one, forsaking a pure well to drink from an impure one," up to the end of his statement. He has also said at the conclusion of khutba (sermon) 189 ofNahjul-Balaghah : "Whoever among you dies on his bed knowing the rights of his Lord and knowing the rights of His Messenger and his family (Ahl al­Bayt) dies as a martyr, and his reward will be incumbent upon Allah, and he deserves the reward of what good deeds he has intended to do: his own intention will make up for his use of his sword (injihad )."

Also, he, peace be upon him, has said: "We are the virtuous; our descendants are the descendants of Prophets; our party is the party of Allah, the Sublime, the Glorified, while the transgressing party is the devil's; whoever equates us with our enemy is certainly not of us."8

Imam al­Mujtaba Abu Muhammad al­Hasan, the patient, master of the youths of Paradise (as), has said the following in one of his sermons: "Fear Allah regarding us, for we are your rulers."9

III Relevant Statement of Imam Zainul­‘Abidin

3) Whenever Imam Abu Muhammad, ‘Ali son of al­Husayn Zainul­‘Abidin, master of those who prostrate in prayer, used to recite this verse of the Almighty: "O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with the Truthful," he would make a lengthy invocation to Allah containing his plea to be included among "the Truthful" to attain the high ranks. He would then count the calamities and innovations of the group that split from the Imams of Faith and the Tree of Prophethood.

Then he would say: "Some people went as far as underestimating us, making excuses for the Qur'anic verses which seem to them to be alike, giving their own interpretation thereof, and casting doubts about the transmitted narrarations in our honour," until he would say: "With whom shall people in this nation seek refuge, since the pillars of this creed have been forgotten and the nation has divided upon itself with dissension, each party accusing the other of kufr, while Allah says:

‘Do not be like those who became divided and disagreed (with each other) even after receiving the Clear Evidences (Qur'an, 3:104)?'

Who can be trusted to convey the Divine proofs and interpret the Judgment other than the peers of the Qur'an and the descendants of the Imams of Guidance, the lamps amidst the darkness, those whom Allah made as His Arguments against His servants?

He has never left His creation alone without a Proof. Do you know them or find them except from the branches of the Blessed Tree, the remnant of the Elite from whom Allah has removed all impurity, purifying them with a perfect purification, clearing them from sinning and decreeing their love in His Book?"

That was his own speech, peace be upon him,verbatim .8 Look into it and into our quotations from the speech of the Commander of the Faithful; you will find them both representing the Shi’a School of Muslim Thought in this regard very clearly. Consider this much of their speech as a specimen for all such speeches of the Imams from Ahl al­Bayt. They all are unanimous in this respect, and oursahih books quoting them are mutawatir (consecutively reported), and peace be with you

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 7

Thul-Qi’da 13, 1329 A.H.

I Requesting Proofs from Statements by Allah and His Messenger

1) Bring the proofs from the statements of Allah and His Messenger bearing witness to the mandatory allegiance to the Imams among the Ahl al­Bayt exclusively, and leave aside the speech of anyone else in this respect except those of Allah and His Messenger.

II Proofs from Ahl al­Bayt are Circumventive

2) Your Imams' statements cannot serve as arguments against their rivals, and such an argument creates a logical cycle, as you know, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Letter 8

Thul-Qi’da 1329

I Overlooking Our Previous Statements,

1) We have not neglected deriving our proofs from the traditions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny. As a matter of fact, we referred to them at the beginning of our letter which clearly stated that following the Imams from Ahl al­Bayt exclusively is mandatory.

We did so when we stated that he, peace be upon him and his progeny, had compared them with the Glorious Book, setting them as a model for those endowed with reason, equating them with the ark of salvation, the nation's security, the gate of salvation - all in reference to and quotations from the well­known clear texts in thesahih books. We have also said that you would be satisfied with the hint instead of the details, without the need for further explanations.

II Error in Necessity of (Logical) Cycle,

2) The statements of our Imams, then, as we have explained, do fit to be used as an argument against their opponents, and using it as such a manner cannot be regarded as a (vicious) cycle, as you yourself know.

III Hadith of the Two Weighty Things,

3) Take, for example, the statements of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, to which we referred whereby he struck an awe in the heart of the ignorant, calling upon the indifferent, as quoted by al­Tirmithi and al­Nisa'i from Jabir and they, in turn, are quoted by al­Muttaqi al­Hindi at the beginning of his chapter on those who uphold the Book and the Sunnah in his workKanzul­‘Ummal , Vol. 1, page 44, saying:

"O people! I am leaving with you the Book of Allah and my household (‘itra ), my family (my Ahl al­Bayt). As long as you uphold them, you shall never go astray."

He has also said:

"I have left with you that which, as long as you uphold, you shall never let you stray after me: Allah's Book, a Rope extending from heavens to earth, and my‘itra , my Ahl al­Bayt. These twain shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool; therefore, see how you succeed me in faring with them."11

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said:

"I am leaving among you two successors: the Book of Allah, a rope extending from heavens to earth - or between heavens and earth - , and my household (‘itra ) from my family (Ahl al­Bayt); they shall never separate from each other until they reach me by the Pool."12

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, also said:

"I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things: the Book of Allah and my Ahl al­Bayt; they shall never separate from each other till they reach me at the Pool."13

He, peace be upon him, has said:

"Me thinks I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things, the Book of Allah Almighty and my offspring, my Ahl al­Bayt. The Sublime and omni­Scient has informed me that they shall never part from each other till they reach me by the Pool; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them."14

Having returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he, peace be upon him and his progeny, camped at Ghadir Khumm and ordered the area underneath a few huge trees to be swept clean then said in his sermon:

"It seems as if I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving with you the Two Weighty Things, one of which is greater than the other: the Book of Allah Almighty, and my Household; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them, for they shall never separate from each other until they reach me at the Pool."

Then he (pbuh) added:

"Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, is my Master, and I am the master of every believer." Having said so, he took ‘Ali's hand and said: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this ‘Ali is his master. O Allah! Befriend whosoever befriends ‘Ali, and be the enemy of whosoever opposes him, etc."15

‘Abdullah ibn Hantab has said: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) delivered a sermon to us at Al-Juhfa wherein he asked us: 'Don't I have authority over your own selves more than you yourselves do?' Attendants there answered: 'Yes, indeed, O Messenger of Allah!' Then he said: 'I shall then question you about these two: the Qur'an and my‘itra .'"16

IV Its Tawatur,

4) Thesahih books which deem it mandatory to follow the Two Weighty Things are successive through more than twenty companions who all are in consensus in this regard. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has emphasized these things on nUmarous occasions: on Ghadir Khumm's Day, on the ‘Arafat day of his Farewell Pilgrimage, after leaving Taif, from his pulpit in Medina, and inside his blessed chamber during his sickness, when the room was full of his companions.

He said in the latter incident: "O people! I feel I am going to die very soon, and I had previously informed you as my duty, and to leave no excuse for you, that: I am leaving with you the Book of Allah, the Glorious and Mighty, and my‘itra , my Ahl al­Bayt." Having finished, he took ‘Ali's hand and lifted it saying: "This ‘Ali is with the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is with ‘Ali: they shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool."17

A learned group among the majority has admitted the above. Even Ibn Hajar, quoting the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, says, "Be informed, then, that the tradition calling for upholding both of them comes through nUmarous ways narrated by more than twenty companions."

Further he says, "Here a doubt arises about when he said so. Some traditionists say he said so at Arafat during the Farewell Pilgrimage and others that he said so in Medina when he was sick, while his room was crammed with his companions. Another group say that he made that statement at the Khumm swamp, and in yet another that he made it, by way of preaching, after having left T'aif as mentioned above."

Ibn Hajar furthermore says, "There is no contradiction here, for there is no objection to his repeating it at those places, and at others, out of his own concern for the18

Suffices the Imams from the Purified‘itra the fact that their rank with Allah is similar to that of the Book which falsehood cannot approach from front or from back. This must be sufficient testimony that takes people by the neck and obligates them to abide by their sect. A true Muslim does not accept any substitute for the Book of Allah; therefore, how can he deviate from the path of those who are its own peers?

V Non­Adherents to the ‘Itra Shall Stray,

5) The gist of his saying "I am leaving unto you that which, as long as you uphold to it, shall never let you stray: the Book of Allah and my‘itra " is that anyone who does not uphold both of them spontaneously will eventually stray. This is supported by his saying, peace be upon him and his progeny, in the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, as Tabrani narrates it, "Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more learned than you."

Ibn Hajar has said: "In his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny, ‘Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more learned than you,' there is proof that whoever among them is elevated to high offices and religious vocations must be preferred over all others," up to the end of his statement.19

VI Their Similitude to the ark of Noah, the Gate of Salvation, and the Security Against Religious Dissensions,

6) What makes it compulsory to follow and refer to Ahl al­Bayt is thishadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny: "The similitude of my household among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever embarks upon it is saved, and whoever lags behind it is drowned,"20 and his statement (pbuh), "The similitude of my Household among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever boards it is saved, and whoever lags behind it is drowned. And the similitude of my Household among you is the Gate of the Israelites: whoever enters it is forgiven."21

Also, consider his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny, "The stars protect the inhabitants of earth against drowning, and my Ahl al­Bayt protect my nation against dissension (in religious matters). If a tribe among the Arabs differs (regarding the commandments of Allah, the High, the Mighty) from them, they will all then differ and become the party of Satan."22

This is fully sufficient to oblige the nation to follow them and to protect it against differing from them. I do not think that there is any language of man more clear than thishadith to support my argument.

VII What is Meant by "Ahl al­Bayt" in this Regard

7) What is meant by his word, peace be upon him and his progeny, "Ahl al-Bayt" (i.e. "Household") here is their entirety, collectively, as being their Imams, not merely their entirety inclusively, for this status is nothing but a testimony for the Proofs of Allah - particularly those who stand for His Commandments - as reason and scholarship would rule. A learned group among the majority has admitted the same, such as Ibn Hajar in hisAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa . Some of them have said that what is probably meant by ‘Ahl al­Bayt' who are a security are their own learned men, for they are the ones who are like guiding stars; when lost, inhabitants of the earth will get what they were ominously warned against.

bn Hajar said: "That will be during the time when al­Mehdi (as) appears, and the tradition indicates that Jesus will pray behind him, and the anti­Christ will be killed during his time; after that, unusual events will succeed one another," up to the end of his statement which is quoted in the exegesis of verse 7, in Chapter 11, page 91, ofAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa . Somewhere else he indicates that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, was asked once: "How would people live after them?" and he answered: "They will live like an ass whose spleen has been broken."23

VIII Reasons for Similitude to Noah's Ark and the Gate of Salvation

8) You know that likening them with the ark of Noah implies that whoever resorts to them in matters related to the creed, deriving the branches and basics of religion from their virtuous Imams, will certainly be saved from the fire of hell, and whoever lags behind them is like one who seeks shelter during the flood with a mountain so that it may save him from Allah's destiny, but he will eventually be drowned in water while the first will be hurled in the inferno, may Allah protect us from it.

The reason why they, peace be upon them, are compared to the Gate of Salvation is that Allah has made that Gate a symbol of humility before His Greatness and submission to His Judgment; therefore, it becomes a reason for forgiveness. This is the reason for the similitude.

Ibn Hajar, in the exegesis of Chapter 7 of the Holy Qur'an, in Chapter 11, page 91, of hisAl-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa , has accepted it while saying, after quoting these and other similar traditions, "The reason for their similitude to the ark is that whoever loves and highly respects them as means of thanking the One Who gave them honours, following the guidance of their learned men, will be saved from the darkness of dissension, and whoever lags behind it is drowned in the sea of ingratitude and will perish in the paths of tyranny."

Then he adds the following: "As to the Gate of Salvation (meaning thereby their similitude thereto), Allah has made entering that gate, which probably was the gate of Shittim or of Jerusalem, in humility, seeking forgiveness, a reason for salvation, and He (likewise) has made loving Ahl al­Bayt a reason for this nation's salvation."24

Thesahih books are consecutive in stating that following Ahl al­Bayt is mandatory especially quoting the purified‘itra . Had I not curbed my pen for fear of boring you, I would have elaborated in detail, but what I have stated here must suffice for the purpose,Wassalam .

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 9

Requesting More Relevant Texts

Thul Qi’da 1329

Do not curb your pen, and do not worry about boring me. I am all ears listening to you; my chest is wide, and in learning from you, my heart is at ease and soul in peace and tranquility. All the proofs and arguments which you have stated made me even more enthusiastic, thus removing the obstacle of boredom. Send me, therefore, more of your captivating speech and manifestations of wise genius. I find in your speech the quest of the wise, and it is thus more saturating to my heart than crystal­clear cool water; so, let me have more, may Allah bless your father, and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 10

A Glimpse of Sufficient Texts

Thul-Qi’da 1329

If you have been pleased by receiving my letter, and if you have approached it with self­satisfaction, then I have often placed my hope on you for victory and concluded my effort with success. Whoever intends well, adopting a good attitude while being humble, amiable, dignified, crowned with knowledge, well­mannered with patience, is surely worthy of being truthful in what he says and writes, while equity and integrity are in his hand and on his tongue.

It is you to whom I owe my thanks when you asked for more, for who else can be more graceful, kind and humble? In order to grant your quest and cool your eyes, I would like to state the following:

Both al­Tabrani'sAl-Mujma’ al-Kabir and Rafi’i'sMusnad , quoting Ibn ‘Abbas, state that "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘Let whoever is pleased to live like me and die like me and inhabit Eden's Paradise which my Lord cultivated take ‘Ali as his master after me, and let him obey whoever he places in charge over him, and let him follow the example of my Ahl al­Bayt after me, for they are my progeny: they are created of my own mould and blessed with my own comprehension and knowledge. Woe unto those who reject them and separate me from them! May Allah never permit them to enjoy my intercession.'"25

Al­Matir, al­Barudi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Shahin, and Ibn Mundah have all quoted Ishaq citing Ziyad ibn Matraf saying: "I have heard the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘Whoever wishes to live my life and die my death and enter the Garden which my Lord promised me, the Garden of eternity, then let him take ‘Ali and his progeny after him as his masters, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor let you stray.'"26

Similarly, Zayd ibn Arqam is quoted in onehadith saying: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘Whoever wishes to live like me and die my death and inhabit the perpetual Garden promised to me by my Lord, let him take ‘Ali as his master, for he shall never get you out of guidance, nor shall he let you stray.'"27

Also, consider this tradition narrated by ‘Ammar ibn Yasir: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: ‘I admonish whoever believed in me and held me truthful to accept the government of ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib, for whoever accepts him as the ruler accepts me as such, and whoever loves him loves me too, and whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates him hates me, and whoever hates me hates Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty."28 ‘

Ammar quotes others stating thishadith : "O Lord! Whoever believed in me and held me truthful, let him take ‘Ali as his master, for his government is also mine, and mine is that of the Almighty Allah."29

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, once delivered a sermon wherein he said: "O people! Favours, honours, prestige and government are for the Messenger of Allah and his progeny; therefore, let no falsehood divert you."30 He, peace be upon him and his progeny said: "In every generation of my nation there are members of my Household who equal only my own self and who safeguard this religion from the distortion of wrong­doers and the interpretation of the ignorant. Be informed that your Imams are your deputies to Allah; so, see who you send to Him as your deputies."31

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said: "Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, nor should you lag behind them else you should perish. Do not teach them, for they are more learned than you."32

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "Consider my Ahl al­Bayt among you as you consider the head of the body, and the eyes in the head, for the head is guided by the eyes."33

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Uphold loving us, we Ahl al­Bayt, for whoever faces Allah loving us shall enter Paradise through our intercession. I swear by the One in Whose Hands my soul is placed that the good deeds of a believer shall never avail him except through recognizing our rights."34

And he has also said: "The knowledge of the progeny of Muhammad brings salvation from the Fire, and loving Ahl al­Bayt is walking on the Straight Path. Allegiance to the progeny of Muhammad is a security against the torture."35

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "The feet of any servant of Allah shall never move on the Day of Judgment unless he is asked about four things: how he spent his life, what he wore his body out for, how he made and spent his wealth, and about loving us, we Ahl al­Bayt."36

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "If a man stands in prayer between the Rukn and Maqam, hating Muhammad's progeny, he shall still enter Hellfire."37

He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said: "Whoever dies because of his love for the progeny of Muhammad dies a martyr. Whoever dies because of loving the progeny of Muhammad dies as a believer of a perfect faith.

Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's children will be given the glad tiding of entering Paradise by the angel of death, then by Munkir and Nakir. Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's descendants will be taken to Paradise like a bride taken to her groom's house. Whoever dies loving Muhammad's progeny will have two doors in his grave overlooking Paradise. Allah will make the grave of whoever dies for loving Muhammad's children a visiting place for the angels of mercy. Whoever dies for loving Muhammad's progeny dies adhering to the Sunnah and consensus.

Whoever dies hating Muhammad's progeny will come on the Day of Judgment with this inscribed between his eyes: ‘He should despair of Allah's mercy,'" up to the end of his unmatchable sermon,38 the sermon whereby he, peace be upon him and his progeny, intended to divert the inclinations and whims.

The implication is that all these traditions are unanimously agreed upon, especially those narrated through the authority of the purified‘itra . Their status would not have been confirmed had they not been the obvious Proofs of Allah and the fountainhead of His Jurisprudence, the obvious Proofs of Allah, the fountainhead of His Jurisprudence, the ones who represent the Messenger of Allah in bidding or forbidding, his own deputies in the most clear terms.

Whoever loves them, therefore, is also a lover of Allah and His Messenger, and whoever hates them is an enemy of Allah and His Messenger. He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has said: "None loves us except a God­fearing and sincere believer, and none hates us except a hypocritical wretch."39 It is for these reasons that al­Farazdaq, the poet, has said these verses in their praise:

You are ones loving whom is belief, hating an abomination;

Nearness to you is indeed a rescue and a salvation.

If the pious ones are counted, you will be their Imams; it is true.

If one asks: "Who are the best of man?" the answer will be you.

The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, used to say:

"I and the virtuous among my descendants are the best in manners when young, and the most learned when old. Through us does Allah obliterate lies, and through us does He turn the wild fox's teeth ineffective. Through us does Allah cure your barrenness, and through us does He emancipate you. Through us does Allah begin and conclude."40

Suffices us a reason for preferring them over others the fact that Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty, has preferred them over all others, making sending prayers unto them part of the obligatory prayers, albeit if the one saying his prayer were a Siddiq or Faruq, with one light, or two, or with nUmarous lights. Nay! Everyone who worships Allah by performing His obligations also worships Him while doing so by sending blessings unto them, just as he worships Him when testifying through the two parts of the Shahadah. This, indeed, is a status before which the nation's heads were lowered, and in front of which the eyes of whoever you mentioned of the imams have submitted. Imam al­Shafi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, has said:41

O Household of Allah's Messenger! Loving you is an obligation

Which Allah has enforced in His Honored Revelation;

Suffices you a great honour if one sends no prayer unto you all,

It will be as though he did not say his prayers at all.

Let us now be satisfied with this much of the sacred Sunnah in testimony to the fact that following their Sunnah is compulsory; so is emulating them. In the Book of Allah Almighty, the Sublime and the omni­Potent, there are clear verses which make that, too, compulsory. It is to such verses that we would like to attract your aware conscience and sensitive reason. You can be satisfied with an indicative hint, and a signal suffices to attract your attention; all praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the world.

Sincerely,

Sh