Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

The Role of Holy Imams (a.s.) in the Revival of Religion Vol. 3

Author(s): Sayyid Murtadha al-'Askari

Translator(s): Jalil Dorrani

Publisher(s): Naba Organization

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Preface 10

Human Powers and Instincts 10

The State of Arab Society in the Pre-Islamic Era 11

1. The Arab Race and Origin 11

2. The Religious, Cultural, Economic and Social conditions of the Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Era 11

1) Religious Conditions in the Arabian Peninsula 11

First- The Shariah of Ibrahim (a.s.), the Friend of Allah (Khaleel al-Rahman) 11

Few Who Sought Ibrahim’s “Shariah” 12

The “Shariah” of Moses son of Imran (a.s.) 13

Relationship between the followers of the Three Religions 13

Belief in the Resurrection and Day of Judgement 14

2) The culture of the Arabs 14

Science of Genealogy 14

Experts On Genealogy In The First And Second Centuries 15

Eloquent poems 15

3) The economic condition of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era 16

The Arab Markets 17

First: The Power Of The Tribe’s Leader 18

Second: The Power of Poems 19

Third: The Heroes And Warriors Of The Tribe 19

Fourth: The Power of Wealth 19

The Positive Aspect 19

The Importance of Promises and Agreements in Arab societies 19

The Arab Judges 20

A- Culture of Mecca and Medina 21

1. Culture of the Meccans 21

2. Culture of the people of Medina 21

B- The Socio-Political Conditions of the People of Mecca and Medina 21

1. Sociopolitical condition in Mecca 21

The state of Taif, a rural district of Mecca 22

2. Sociopolitical conditions in Medina 24

Notes 25

A Brief Glance At The Biography of The Holy Prophet (S) 27

Before Appointment 27

The Holy Prophet’s ancestors 27

Hashim’s Authority 27

Abdul-Muttalib’s Authority 27

Aam-ul-Feel (Year of the Elephant) 28

Abu Talib’s Authority 29

Construction of the Ka’ba 29

People of the Book awaiting the arrival of the last Prophet (S) 30

The Prophet’s Appointment 30

Commencement Of The General Call 31

Reaction of the Quraish and their leader’s support for the Prophet (S) 31

Other Recommendations of the Quraish 32

Conflict between the Prophet’s uncle (Hamza) and Abu Jahl 34

Revolt against the Meccan chief 35

The last moments of Abu Talib’s life 37

The stalwart of Islam face to face with the Quraish 38

1-Effect on the tribe of Bani-Hashim and the entire believers 40

2-Effect on the Quraish 40

Abu-Lahab and his wife Umm-Jameel 41

Notes 42

Migration To Medina 44

The Foundation of the Islamic Society 45

The battle of Badr 46

Disagreement in Distribution of the Spoils of War 48

The effect of the battle of Badr on the people of the Arabian Peninsula 49

The First Encounter with the Jews 50

The battle of Uhud 50

The Commencement Of The Battle 51

A Brief Comparison 54

The battle of Hamrah-ul-Asad 54

Notes 54

After the Demise of the Prophet (S) 56

The Sunnah During Abu Bakr’s Era 59

Abu Bakr, the Caliph from the Quraish 59

Abu Bakr’s policy vis-a-vis the supporters and opponents of his allegiance 59

Appraisal of These Utterances 61

The result of the opposition’s actions against Abu Bakr’s allegiance 62

A) The result of the actions of the Ansar 62

B) The result of the actions of the Bani Hashim 63

Keeping Aloof the Ansars and the Bani Hashim from the Political Arena 64

C) The actions of the Arab tribes who resided outside Medina 65

The Policy of Abu Bakr’s Government Towards the Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith 65

Narration of a Hadith in Approval of Abu Bakr’s Rule of Government 65

The Reason for the Silence of the Prophet’s Companions Before the Caliphate 67

The Importance of Promises and Contracts in the Eyes of Arabs of the Arabian Peninsular 67

The Policy of Abu Bakr’s Government vis-a-vis the Prophet’s Hadith and Sunnah 68

Prohibition on the Narration of the Prophet’s Hadith 70

The Sunnah During Umar’s Era 72

Umar, the Caliph from Quraish 72

Polices during Umar’s era 72

1. Policy of preferential treatment for the Quraish 72

Policy of preferential treatment for the Arab race 74

Policy of setting up class-system in the Islamic society 75

Policy of imprisoning the Prophet’s companions 76

Policy of fabricating kinsfolk and Ahl-ul-Bayt for the Prophet (S) 76

(a) Introducing Abbas and his son as the Prophet’s Ahl-ulbayt and kinsfolk 77

(b) and (c) Introducing Abu Bakr and Umar as the Prophet’s two distinguished friends 79

(d) Introducing Ayesha as Islam’s symbolic woman 79

Umar’s policy vis-a-vis the Prophet’s hadith and Sunnah 79

1. The ban on the propagation of the Holy Prophet’s (S) hadith and Sunnah 80

2. Spread of Bani-Israil ideas 82

3. The rules and ordinances laid down by the Caliph 82

4. Narrating hadith in support of the Caliph’s policy 82

The Insight Created By Such Traditions 83

Return to the discussion on Umar’s policy 85

The end of Umar’s rule and the appointment of a six-member Consultative Committee 85

Events following the allegiance 87

Assessing the Consultative Committee and Uthman’s appointment 87

Conclusion 89

The Sunnah During Uthman’s Era 89

Uthman, the Ummayad Caliph 89

Policies during Uthman’s rule 89

(1) The first six-year term 89

(2) The second six-year term 89

How Uthman’s Caliphate came to an end 90

The Sunnah During Ali’s Era 91

Ali-ibn-Abi-Tablib (a.s.), the Prophet’s (S) legatee 91

Policies of Ali’s (a.s.) government 92

Distributing the governance of states 92

Consequences of such a policy 93

A few instances of the anti-apartheid policy during Imam Ali’s (a.s.) rule 94

Notes 95

The Birth Of Different Sects In The Caliphate School 98

Foreword 98

Introduction 98

The dissemination of Ahlul Bayt (as) ahadith during the tussle of power between the leaders of the caliphate school 100

Compilation Of Hadith In The Caliphate School 101

First Discussion: Differences and division of sects in the caliphate school 103

The Islamic nation was further divided into two groups 103

1. Differences in the Islamic ordinances 103

Political stance of Abu-Hanifa and his students 104

2. Differences in beliefs 105

1. The Jahmiyah sect 106

The beliefs of Jahm and Jahmiyah 106

Jahm’s life in brief 106

Jahm’s political movement 107

2. The Mu’tazilah sect 108

Thus, the followers of this sect are called as “Mu’tazilah” and their sect as 108

The Mu’tazilah creed 108

3. Ahlul Hadith (people of tradition) 108

4. The Ash’arite sect 109

4. The Salafiyah sect 110

5. The Wahabiyah sect 111

History of Wahabism: Muhammad-ibn-Abdul Wahhab and the Sauds 112

Second Discussion: Unity in the Ahlul Bayt (as) School 112

Preface 112

A detailed explanation of these five issues 112

A) Appointment of the prophet’s legatees 112

B) Concealment of hadith 113

In the Caliphate school 113

In the Ahlul Bayt (as) school 113

C) Uprisings by followers of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) school 113

D) The effect of appointment of the legatees and effect of concealment of hadith 114

E) Recognition of Shi’a and Shi’ism 115

For recognizing Shi’ism, it’s first necessary to recognize Islam 115

Differences amongst the followers from the Ahlul Bayt school 117

1) Saba’eeya 117

2) Kaisaniya 118

The Kaisaniya belief 118

The True story 118

3) Gharabiyah 119

A Comparative Analysis of the Sects Ascribed Towards The Ahlul Bayt School And The Sects of the Caliphate School 120

1) The Saba’eeya sect 121

2) The Kaisaniya sect 121

3) The Gharabiya sect 121

4) Zaidiyah 121

Fathiyeh 122

5) Ismailiyah 123

The story of Musailamah, the liar and Bani-Hunaifa 125

6) Ghulat 126

Reason for Emergence Of Religious Sects 127

Musailamah, the liar and Bani-Hunaifa 128

Ismailiyah 128

Ghulat 129

The Truth 130

Differences in the Ahle-bayt (as) school during major occultation 131

The Akbariyah and the Usuliyah 131

Conclusion 132

Status of Ahlul Bayt In Divine Words 139

In the Prophet’s Sunnah 139

Note 139

Mode And Method Followed by the Prophet’s Legatees in Their Efforts Towards The Revival Of His Sunnah 141

Foreward: General overview of our discussion 141

First Discussion: By Divine Command, The Holy Prophet (S) Entrusted The Exegesis Of Quran And His Sunnah With His Twelve Legatees 141

Preface 141

The Chronicle of Hadith during Ahlul Bayt Regulation 142

(A) Systematic teaching sessions 142

(B) Imam’s unscheduled sessions and meetings with the Prophet (S) 143

The Prophet (S) instructed his first legatee to make a record for the other legatees 144

Two Kinds Of Propagation 145

The Last Session 145

Jami’ah (The assemblage) or the book of Imam Ali 146

Imam Ali’s books in the hands of successive Imams 146

Heritage of Imamat – Ali, his Sons And Grandson 147

The Recording Of Hadith During The Caliphs’ Regime 150

Second Discussion: The Divine proclamation of the custodians of Islam through Holy Prophet 152

The basis of reasoning of the two schools on Imamat 152

(a) The literal meaning of Caliph 152

(b) Caliph in the Muslim terminology 153

(c) Caliph in the Islamic terminology 153

The Concept of Imamat according to followers of Caliphate 153

1. A Caliph appoints his successor 154

2. A Caliph is elected by the people 154

3. Caliph may grab caliphate on the dint of sword and military coup 155

Caliphs and the Muslims 155

Imamat in the Ahlul Bayt School of Thought 156

Explanation about Divine Appointment 158

First Group:Traditions which prove the Imamat of Ahlul Bayt in general 159

(a) Hadith-Sa’qlain 159

(b) Traditions concerning number of Imams 160

Interpretation of hadith and erroneous interpreters 161

The actual meaning of these traditions 165

Second Group: Traditions specifying the names of the Prophet’s successors 166

The Prophet’s first Proclamation 166

The Guardian after the Prophet 168

First Hadith 170

An analysis of the hadith 170

Second Hadith 171

The significance of Ali’s immediate succession 172

Notes 172

Introduction

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the all Merciful

In our previous discussions, we witnessed the chaotic state vis-à-vis the biography of the Holy Prophet (S), his traditions (ahaadith) and the exegesis of the Holy Quran (after his demise). We saw the manner in which the Holy Prophet’s (S) Sunnah was distorted, as a result of this chaotic state, and how these came to be recognized as Islamic thought, Islamic reflection and original Islam in Muslim societies.

Now, by the Power of the Almighty, we intend to examine the manner in which the twelve legatees of the Holy Prophet (S) have remedied and settled this chaotic condition. This will be examined under the following five topics:

1. Analysis of that part of the Holy Prophet’s (S) life which is necessary for recognizing the factors influencing the spread and survival of Islam.

2. The stance of the four Caliphs towards the Holy Prophet’s (S) Sunnah and the manner in which various sects came into existence in the Caliphate school of thought.

3. Attitude of the Muslim Caliphs, from Muawiya to Ma.’mun.

4. The Prophet (S) entrusts his Sunnah to his true successors.

5. An inquiry concerning the manner in which the Holy Prophet’s (S) successors struggled for the resurgence of the Holy Prophet’s (S) Sunnah, their role in the revival of religion and recognition of Shi’ism. In fact, we began these discussions with this very name. These topics will be dealt with in the next volume, Insha’Allah.

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هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

“He it is Who raised among the illiterates an Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His communications and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error “ (Quran,62:2)

هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ

“He it is Who sent His Apostle with the guidance and the true religion, that He may make it overcome all religions, though the polytheists may be averse “ (Quran, 61:9)

مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

"Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah, and those with him are firm of heart against the unbelievers, compassionate among themselves. You will see them bowing, prostrating, seeking Allah’s grace and His pleasure. Their marks are on their foreheads due to the effect of prostration. Their like has been described in the Torah and in the Injeel as a seed-produce that puts forth its sprout, and then strengthens it, so it becomes stout and stands firmly on its stem, delighting the farmers, that He may enrage the unbelievers on account of them. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good, forgiveness and a great reward “ (Quran, 48:29)