Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

15) The Sahabah And The Ahl Al-Bayt: Remembering The Tragic Thursday

After making the public declarations at ‘Arafat and Ghadir, and possibly at other places too, the Messenger, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, decided to put everything down in black and white during the last few days of his blessed lifetime. Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256 H) records how his attempt failed:

حدثنا قبيصة حدثنا ابن عيينة عن سليمان الأحول عن سعيد ابن جبير عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أنه قال يوم الخميس وما يوم الخميس ثم بكى حتى خضب دمعه الحصباء فقال :اشتد برسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وجعه يوم الخميس فقال ائتوني بكتاب أكتب لكم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده أبدا فتنازعوا ولا ينبغي عند نبي تنازع فقالوا هجر رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال دعوني فالذي أنا فيه خير مما تدعونني إليه وأوصى عند موته بثلاث :أخرجوا المشركين من جزيرة العرب وأجيزوا الوفد بنحو ما كنت أجيزهم .ونسيت الثالثة

Qubaysah - Ibn ‘Uyaynah - Sulayman al-Ahwal - Sa’id b. Jubayr - Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:

“Thursday! And what a Thursday it was!” Then, he (Ibn ‘Abbas) wept till the stones on the ground were soaked with his tears. Then, he said, “The illness of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, became severe on Thursday, and he said, ‘Bring me a sheet of paper so that I may write a document for you after which you will never go astray’. They differed, and it is not proper to differ in front of a prophet. So, they said, ‘The Messenger of Allah is raving mad.’ He replied, ‘Leave me, as I am in a better state than what you are calling me towards.’ Then, he ordered them, when he was about to die, to do three things: ‘Expel the idolaters from the Arabian Peninsula and show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.’ And I forgot the third.”1

Dr. al-Bagha defines the word used by the Sahabah to describe their Prophet:

) هجر) أي يتكلم بما لا يعرف لشدة وجعه

(hajara), meaning: he is saying unintelligible things due to the severity of his illness.2

Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) also documents:

حدثنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم أخبرنا وكيع عن مالك بن مغول عن طلحة بن مصرف عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس أنه قال يوم الخميس وما يوم الخميس ثم جعل تسيل دموعه حتى رأيت على خديه كأنها نظام اللؤلؤ قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ائتوني بالكتف والدواة أو اللوح والدواة أكتب لكم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده أبدا فقالوا إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يهجر

Ishaq b. Ibrahim - Waki’ - Malik b. Maghwal - Talhah b. Musarrif - Sa’id b. Jubayr - Ibn ‘Abbas:

“Thursday! What a Thursday it was!” Then, tears began to flow until I saw them on his cheeks as if they were the strings of pearls. “The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, ‘Bring me a shoulder-blade and an inkpot or a tablet and an inkpot, so that I may write for you a document after which you will never go astray’. They said: ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is raving mad.’”3

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 H) too has this riwayah:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبى ثنا سفيان عن سليمان بن أبى مسلم خال بن أبى نجيح سمع سعيد بن جبير يقول قال بن عباس يوم الخميس وما يوم الخميس ثم بكى حتى بل دمعه وقال مرة دموعه الحصى قلنا يا أبا العباس وما يوم الخميس قال اشتد برسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وجعه فقال ائتوني اكتب لكم كتابا لا تضلوا بعده أبدا فتنازعوا ولا ينبغي عند نبي تنازع فقالوا ما شأنه اهجر قال سفيان يعنى هذى

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - Sufyan - Isma’il b. Abi Muslim, uncle of Ibn Abi Najih - Sa’id b. Jubayr - Ibn ‘Abbas:

“Thursday! What a Thursday it was!” Then, he wept until his tears moistened the pebbles. We said, “O father of al-‘Abbas! What was the Thursday?” He replied, “The illness of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, became severe. So, he said, ‘Come to me so that I may write for you a document after which you will never go astray’. But, they disagreed, and it is not proper to disagree in front of a prophet. Then they said, ‘What is his problem? He is raving mad.’” Sufyan (a sub-narrator) said (concerning the word used by the Sahabah): “It means ‘RAVING MADNESS’”.4

Al-Arnaut says:

إسناده صحيح على شرط الشيخين

Its chain is sahih upon the standard of the two Shaykhs.5

Imam al-Bukhari is back again:

حدثنا محمد حدثنا ابن عيينة عن سليمان الأحول سمع سعيد ابن جبير سمع ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما يقول : يوم الخميس وما يوم الخميس ثم بكى حتى بل دمعه الحصى قلت يا أبا عباس ما يوم الخميس؟ قال اشتد برسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وجعه فقال ائتوني بكتف أكتب لكم كتابا لا تضلوا بعده أبدا .فتنازعوا ولا ينبغي عند نبي تنازع فقالوا ما له أهجر استفهموه فقال ذروني فالذي أنا فيه خير مما تدعونني إليه .فأمرهم بثلاث قال أخرجوا المشركين من جزيرة العرب وأجيزوا الوفد بنحو ما كنت أجيزهم .والثالثة خير إما أن سكتن عنها وإما أن قالها فنسيتها .قال سفيان هذا من قول سليمان

Muhammad - Ibn ‘Uyaynah - Sulayman al-Ahwal - Ibn Jubayr - Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:

“Thursday! What a Thursday it was!” Then, he wept until his tears moistened the pebbles. So I said, “O father of ‘Abbas! What was the Thursday?” He replied, “The illness of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, became severe. So, he said, ‘Bring to me so a shoulder-blade that I may write for you a document after which you will never go astray’. But, they disagreed, and it is not proper to disagree in front of a prophet. Then they said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is raving mad. Ask him questions to confirm’. He said, ‘Leave me, for that in which I am is better than that towards which you are calling me.’ Then, he commanded them to do three things: Expel the idolaters from the Arabian Peninsula, and show respect to all foreign delegates as I used to do.’” The third (instruction) was the best. He either kept quiet about it or he said it but I forgot it. Sufyan said: “This was from the statement of Sulayman.”6

It was such a disastrous day - so much that Ibn ‘Abbas, radhiyallahu ‘anhu, wept abnormally when he remembered it. It was the day the Sahabah of Muhammad first openly accused him of raving mad, of saying unintelligible things due to severe illness, in his holy presence! We often see some Sunnis desperately trying to downplay the shock of what the Sahabah said by mistranslating or misinterpreting the key words - hajara (هجر ) and ahajara (أهجر ) [and their nominal form is al-hujr (الهجر )] - in the hadith as simply “to become unconscious” or “to faint”. However, one of their earliest classical grand Imams - Sufyan b. ‘Uyaynah (d. 198 H) - had longed closed the door in their faces. He was explicit that the Sahabah literally intended that the Prophet of Allah was “raving mad”, that the words they used meant exactly that. This matter is equally confirmed by other classical ‘ulama of the Ahl al-Sunnah. Imam al-Shami (d. 942 H), for instance, states:

الهجر :بالضم :الهذيان وقول الباطل ويطلق على الكلام الفاحش

Al-Hujr: is raving madness and irrational talk, and it is (also) used to refer to obscene, immoral talk.7

The ace Sunni linguist, Ibn Manzur (d. 711 H), says as well:

والهجر :الهذيان

Al-Hujr: is raving madness.8

Imam Ibn Salam (d. 224), an ancient, leading Sunni hadith expert, has this submission too:

وأما الهجر في الكلام فإنه الهذيان

As for al-hujr in statements, it is raving madness.9

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 852 H) does not say anything different either:

والهجر بالضم ثم السكون الهذيان

Al-Hujr is raving madness.10

At this point, we want to focus on the second term used by the Sahabah: ahajara (أهجر ). As pointed out by Sufyan b. ‘Uyaynah, it - along with hajara (هجر ) - means “to rave mad”. However, there is a second definition for it which must be taken into account. Imam Ibn Salam comes in again:

قال الكسائي وبعضه عن الأصمعي وغيرهما: قال: الهجر الإفحاش في المنطق والخنا ونحوه، يقال منه :أهجر الرجل يهجر إهجارا

Al-Kisai - and part of it is from al-Asma’i and others: al-hujr is to say obscene things and to use obscene language. It is said from it: the man ahajara, yahjur, ihjaran.11

So, to say that someone is saying obscene things or using obscene language, the verb to use is either ahajara or yahjur. Interestingly, both terms were among those used by the Sahabah to describe their Prophet:

فقالوا إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يهجر

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is raving mad.

And:

فقالوا ما له أهجر

Then they said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is raving mad.

We have translated both words as “raving mad” - which is one of their definitions anyway, influenced heavily by the commentary of Ibn ‘Uyaynah. But then, the translations could also be these:

فقالوا إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يهجر

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is saying obscene things.

And:

فقالوا ما له أهجر

Then they said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is saying obscene things.

Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 H), for instance, has given both meanings to ahajara - one of the words used by the Sahabah to qualify the Rasul. He even specifically refers to the hadith itself:

يقال اهجر الرجل إذا قال الفحش وقوله اهجر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كذا هو الصحيح بفتح الهاء أي هذي والهجر الهذيان

It is said “the man ahajara” when he says obscene things. His statement “the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ahajara” - which is the correct form with fathah of the al-ha (i.e. pronounced as ahajara) - means raving madness; and al-hujr means raving madness.12

Abu ‘Ubayd al-Bakri does the same too:

الهجر :القبيح من الكلام، يقال ] منه : [ أهجر، إذا أفحش وقال ما يقبح، ويقال هجر في منامه إذا تكلم بما لا يعقل، ويقال هجر المريض وأهجر إذا هذى .وقال ابن عباس: اشتد برسول الله عليه الصلاة والسلام وجعه فقال: ايتوني بكتاب أكتب لكم لا تضلوا بعدي فقالوا: ما شأنه أهجر

Al-Hujr is obscenity in statements. It is said from it: ahajara when he says obscene things. It is also said that he hajara in his sleep if he says irrational things. It is said that an ill person hajara or ahjara when he raves mad; and Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The ILLNESS of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, became severe, and he said, ‘Bring to me a paper so that I may write for you what will prevent you from going astray after me.’ But they said: ‘What is wrong with him? He hajara.’”13

In any case, the implication is still the same, either way. The Sahabah would not have accused their Prophet of saying obscene things unless they considered him - rightly or wrongly - to be raving mad, especially during his illness.

Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 H) also has this input:

من قولهم :أهجر الرجل: إذا أفحش في القول

They say “the man ahajara” when he makes obscene statements.14

Ibn Faris (d. 395 H), a well-known classical linguist, caps it:

الهجر :الهذيان .يقال هجر الرجل. والهجر: الإفحاش في المنطق يقال. أهجر الرجل في منطقه

Al-Hujr is raving madness. It is said that the man hajara (i.e. to mean that he is suffering from al-hujr). Al-Hujr also means obscenity in language. It is said that the man ahajara in his language (i.e. to mean that he uses obscene language).15

This clarification by Ibn Faris - and, of course, by others too - would establish that the Sahabah accused the Messenger of both types of al-hujr:

فقالوا هجر رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم

So, they said, ‘The Messenger of Allah is raving mad (hajara).’

And:

فقالوا إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يهجر

They said: ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is raving mad (yahjur).’”16

And:

فقالوا ما له أهجر

Then they said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is raving mad (ahajara).’

And finally:

فقالوا ما له أهجر

Then they said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is saying obscene things (ahajara).’

But, how did the situation get to that level?! How did things become so rotten? Why did those Sahabah flare up so badly after hearing the harmless request of the Prophet? Imam al-Bukhari records a report which sheds some light:

حدثنا إبراهيم بن موسى أخبرنا هشام عن معمر عن الزهري عن عبيد الله بن عبد الله عن ابن عباس قال :لما حضر النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال وفي البيت رجال فيهم عمر بن الخطاب قال هلم أكتب لكم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده .قال عمر إن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم غلبه الوجع وعندكم القرآن .فحسبنا كتاب الله .واختلف أهل البيت اختصموا فمنهم من يقول قربوا يكتب لكم رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده ومنهم من يقول ما قال عمر فلما أكثروا اللغط والاختلاف عند النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال قوموا عني قال عبيد الله فكان ابن عباس يقول إن الرزية كل الرزية ما حال بين رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وبين أن يكتب لهم ذلك الكتاب من اختلافهم ولغطهم

Ibrahim b. Musa - Hisham - Ma’mar - al-Zuhri - ‘Ubayd Allah b. ‘Abd Allah - Ibn ‘Abbas:

When the time of the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, approached, and there were some men in the room, and among them was ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. He (the Prophet) said, “Come near. Let me write for you a document after which you will never go astray.” ‘Umar said, “Verily, the illness has now fully possessed the Prophet, peace be upon him. And you have the Qur’an. So, the Book of Allah is sufficient for us.”

The people in the room disputed. Among them were those who said, “Come near so that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, may write for you a document after which you will never go astray.” And among them were those who were repeating what ‘Umar said. When their noise and dispute became very rowdy in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him, he said, “Stand up and leave me.”

Narrated ‘Ubayd Allah: Ibn ‘Abbas used to say: “It was a great disaster that their dispute and noise prevented the Messsenger of Allah, peace be upon him, from writing that document for them.”17

So, it was all started by ‘Umar. He described the Messenger of Allah as having been fully possessed by his illness. In other words, it was the illness that now owned, controlled and dictated what he thought, heard, saw, said or did! He himself was no longer in charge of anything of himself - his brain, his senses, his body. It was this heavy statement that caused the uproar in the room; and those who accused the Prophet of raving madness were also only “repeating what ‘Umar said”. Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) explains what ‘Umar’s “dilemma” was in that incident:

وأما عمر فاشتبه عليه هل كان قول النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم من شدة المرض أو كان من أقواله المعروفة والمرض جائز على الأنبياء ولهذا قال ماله أهجر فشك في ذلك ولم يجزم بأنه هجر والشك جائز على عمر فإنه لا معصوم إلا النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم لا سيما وقد شك بشبهة فإن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم كان مريضا فلم يدر أكلامه كان من وهج المرض كما يعرض للمريض أو كان من كلامه المعروف الذي يجب قبوله

As for ‘Umar, it was not clear to him whether the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was from the severity of the illness or from his intelligent statements. Illness was possible for prophets too. This was why he (‘Umar) said, “What is wrong with him? He is raving mad (or he is saying obscene things)”. So, he doubted in that, and did not explicitly state that he was raving mad. Of course, it was permissible for ‘Umar to doubt - since none is infallible except the Prophet, peace be upon him - especially as he doubted due to confusion. This was because the Prophet, peace be upon him, was ill. So, he (‘Umar) did not know whether his statement was from the sparkle of the illness as it happens to ill people or from his intelligent statements which must be accepted.18

Well, ignoring the blatant incoherence of the submissions, there are nonetheless pieces of misinformation in them. First and foremost, ‘Umar expressed no doubt in his statement. He was direct, explicit and firm:

قال عمر إن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم غلبه الوجع وعندكم القرآن .فحسبنا كتاب الله

‘Umar said, “Verily, the illness has fully possessed the Prophet, peace be upon him. And you have the Qur’an. So, the Book of Allah is sufficient for us.”

Secondly, this is what our Shaykh has attributed to ‘Umar:

ولهذا قال ماله أهجر فشك في ذلك ولم يجزم بأنه هجر

This was why he said, “What is wrong with him? He is raving mad (or he is saying obscene things).” So, he doubted in that, and did not explicitly state that he was raving mad.

However, it was not ‘Umar who uttered those words:

وقالوا ما شأنه؟ أهجر استفهموه

Then THEY said, ‘What is wrong with him? He is raving mad. Ask him questions to confirm’.

Other people did. The words of ‘Umar himself are undisputed. He proclaimed that the Messenger of Allah had totally lost control of himself - including his brain and senses - to his illness. He did not express doubt in the matter, but was instead firm on it. In fact, the fact that ‘Umar openly and boldly countermanded the order of the Prophet is enough evidence that he (‘Umar) believed - or at least pretended to have believed - that the Messenger was indeed raving mad. After all, this is what our Shaykh himself says:

فلم يدر أكلامه كان من وهج المرض كما يعرض للمريض أو كان من كلامه المعروف الذي يجب قبوله

So, he (‘Umar) did not know whether his statement was from the sparkle of the illness as it happens to sick people or from his intelligent statements which must be accepted.

If he had accepted that the Prophet was making intelligent statements, he would have obeyed. But, he opposed the command. This means that he thought - or pretended to have thought - that the Messenger of his Lord was talking irrationally, or saying obscene things, due to illness.

So, we ask: what exactly in the instruction of the Prophet to his Sahabah sounded “irrational” to warrant the attack on his mental health by them? In reality, there was no such thing. His statement was perfectly sensible, reasonable and intelligent:

ائتوني بكتاب أكتب لكم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده أبدا

Bring me a sheet of paper so that I may write a document for you after which you will never go astray.

At this point, this author recalls an incident which took place in early 2007, some months after his conversion to Shi’ism. He was investigating the statements of ‘Umar and his group, which called into question the mental health of the Messenger of Allah. This author asked a Sufi brother his opinion on what they did. “Of course,” he replied, “they had a point! The Prophet was unlettered. He was Ummi, as the Qur’an has called him. Yet, he was asking for pen and paper to write!” This author was very shocked. “You mean”, he asked the Sufi, “the Prophet was indeed raving mad as they claimed?!” He strangely, however, refused to answer that question. It was obvious nonetheless. If he had believed that the Messenger of Allah was mentally healthy, he would have stated so in reply. By keeping quiet, he silently hinted a “yes” to this author’s question.

There are millions of Muslims, especially from the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, who strongly believe that the Prophet was unlettered throughout his lifetime. They mostly base their position on the fact that he has been called “the Ummi Prophet” in the Book of Allah, and on this verse:

وما كنت تتلو من قبله من كتاب ولا تخطه بيمينك إذا لارتاب المبطلون

Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it, nor did you write any book with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted.19

Well, the word ummi has several meanings. An unlettered person is an ummi in truth. But, every person of Makkan origin is also an ummi. Another name for Makkah is Umm al-Qura20 . So, linguistically, anyone from the blessed city may either be called a Makkan or an Ummi. As such, there is no conclusive evidence from that term for the alleged illiteracy of the Messenger of Allah. It could go either way. Besides, the above ayah seems to undermine - rather than strengthen - the Sunni claim: Muhammad never wrote or read any book before the Qur’an. This suggests that he actually wrote and read after the start of its descent. In fact, this is explicitly confirmed in the Book itself:

رسول من الله يتلو صحفا مطهرة فيها كتب قيمة

A Messenger from Allah, reading purified pages. In them are correct and straight laws.21

An unlettered fellow never “reads” any pages, does he?

Another clear proof of the literacy of the Prophet (since the start of the Qur’an) is this report of al-Bukhari of what happened at al-Hudaybiyyah, four years before he was accused of raving madness by his Sahabah:

حدثنا عبيد الله بن موسى عن إسرائيل عن أبي إسحاق عن البراء رضي الله عنه قال :اعتمر النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم في ذي القعدة فأبى أهل مكة أن يدعوه يدخل مكة حتى قاضاهم على أن يقيم بها ثلاثة أيام فلما كتبوا الكتاب كتبوا هذا ما قاضى عليه محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فقالوا لا نقر بها فلو نعلم أنك رسول الله ما منعاك لكن أنت محمد بن عبد الله قال أنا رسول الله وأنا محمد بن عبد الله .ثم قال لعلي امح رسول الله .قال لا والله لا أمحوك أبدا فأخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم الكتاب فكتب هذا ما قاضى عليه محمد بن عبد الله لا يدخل مكة سلاح إلا في القراب وأن لا يخرج من أهلها بأحد إن أراد أن يتبعه وأن لا يمنع أحدا من أصحابه أراد أن يقيم بها

‘Ubayd Allah b. Musa - Israil - Abu Ishaq - al-Bara, may Allah be pleased with him:

When the Prophet, peace be upon him, intended to perform ‘Umrah in the month of Dhi al-Qa’dah, the people of Makkah did not let him enter Makkah till he settled the matter with them by promising to stay in it for three days only. When they wrote the document (of treaty), they wrote: “These are the terms on which Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, agreed”. They said, “We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are the Messenger of Allah, we would not prevent you, but you are Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah.” He said, “I am the Messenger of Allah and also Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah.” Then, he said to ‘Ali, “Rub off (the words) ‘the Messenger of Allah.’” He (‘Ali) replied, “No, by Allah, I will never rub you off.” So, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, took the document AND WROTE, “This is what Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah has agreed upon: No arms will be brought into Makkah except in their cases, and nobody from the people of Makkah will be allowed to go with him even if he wished to follow him and he will not prevent any of his companions from staying in Makkah if the latter wants to stay.”22

How could an unlettered person have achieved such a feat?!

In any case, the problem of ‘Umar and his supporters with the instruction of their Prophet was only the bold phrase below:

ائتوني بكتاب أكتب لكم كتابا لن تضلوا بعده أبدا

Bring me a sheet of paper so that I may write a document for you after which you will never go astray.

We have drawn this conclusion from ‘Umar’s own reply to it:

قال عمر إن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم غلبه الوجع وعندكم القرآن .فحسبنا كتاب الله

‘Umar said, “Verily, the illness has seized total control of the Prophet, peace be upon him. And you have the Qur’an. So, the Book of Allah is sufficient for us.”

Meanwhile, just a few weeks before, the Rasul had proclaimed at ‘Arafat:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah AND my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt.”

A few days later, at Ghadir Khumm, he repeated the call:

قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله سببه بيده، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - AND my Ahl al-Bayt.”

It was certain that the Prophet of Allah was going to write - either in his own handwriting or through dictation - this same order of his to all humanity. He wanted it to be his written decree to the Ummah till the Hour; and we in our generation could have had a glance of it. ‘Umar caught wind of his intention - which was obvious anyway considering the similarities in his wordings. Then, he (‘Umar) delivered a preemptive response to the Messenger: “we do not want your offspring with the Qur’an; we want the Book of Allah alone”!

‘Umar’s issue was not whether the Prophet was literate or illiterate. In fact, he raised absolutely no objection on that point - which reinforces the conviction that the Rasul was literate later in life. Rather, he and his group were not prepared at all to accept the Ahl al-Bayt over them alongside the Book of Allah as masters and guides after the Prophet.

In order to ensure their success, the ‘Umarists placed a question mark on the mental competence of the Messenger of the Rabb before he was able to write anything. So, even if he had proceeded with his plan, the document would have been rejected after his death by the ‘Umarist movement - who would have named it the product of an deranged mind. In fact, this could have had a counterproductive effect on his earlier public pronouncements on the same matter.

Therefore, in his great wisdom - and, obviously, in accordance with a new decree from his Lord - Muhammad abandoned the idea and left everything to the Judgment of Allah. Meanwhile, as history would later confirm, it was on that calamitous Thursday, in that sad room, and at that fateful hour, that Sunni Islam was born, under the leadership of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. Since that Thursday, Sunni Muslims have never ceased to reject the offspring of the Prophet, his Ahl al-Bayt, as the inseparable partner of the Qur’an in providing leadership and guidance to the Ummah in particular, and to humanity in general.

Notes

1. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 3, p. 1111, # 2888

2. Ibid

3. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 3, p. 1257, # 1637 (21)

4. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 1, p. 222, # 1935

5. Ibid

6. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 3, p. 1155, # 2997

7. Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami, Subul al-Huda al-Rashad fi Sirah Khayr al-‘Ibad (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1414 H) [annotators: ‘Adil Ahmad ‘Abd al-Mawjud and ‘Ali Muhammad Ma’ud], vol. 11, p. 105

8. Abu al-Fadhl Jamal al-Din Muhammad b. Mukram b. Manzur al-Afriqi al-Misri, Lisan al-‘Arab (Beirut: Dar Sadir; 1st edition), vol. 5, p. 250

9. Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim b. Salam al-Harwi, Gharib al-Hadith (Haydarabad: Majlis Dairah al-Ma’arif al-‘Uthmaniyyah; 1st edition, 1384 H), vol. 2, p. 64

10. Shihab al-Din Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah li al-Taba’ah wa al-Nashr; 2nd edition), vol. 8, p. 101

11. Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim b. Salam al-Harwi, Gharib al-Hadith (Haydarabad: Majlis Dairah al-Ma’arif al-‘Uthmaniyyah; 1st edition, 1384 H), vol. 2, p. 63

12. Al-Qadi Abu al-Fadhl ‘Iyad b. Musa b. ‘Iyad al-Yahsubi al-Sibti al-Maliki, Mashariq al-Anwar ‘ala Sihah al-Athar (al-Maktabah al-‘Atiqah and Dar al-Turath), vol. 2, p. 529

13. Abu ‘Ubayd al-Bakri, Fasl al-Maqal Sharh Kitab al-Amthal (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1st edition, 1971 CE) [annotator: Ihsan ‘Abbas], vol. 1, p. 28

14. Abu Ja’far Muhammad b. Jarir b. Yazid b. Kathir b. Ghalib al-Amuli al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan fi Tawil al-Qur’an (Dar al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: Sidqi Jamil al-‘Attar], vol. 18, p. 54

15. Abu al-Husayn Ahmad b. Faris b. Zakariyyah, Mu’jam Maqayis al-Lughah (Qum: Maktab al-A’lam al-Islami; 1404 H) [annotator: ‘Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun], vol. 6, p. 35

16. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 3, p. 1257, # 1637 (21)

17. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 6, p. 2680, # 6932

18. Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad b. ‘Abd al-Halim b. Taymiyyah al-Harrani, Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (Muasassat Qurtubah; 1st edition, 1406 H) [annotator: Dr. Muhammad Rashad Salim], vol. 6, p. 24

19. Qur’an 29:48

20. See Qur’an 6:92

21. Qur’an 98:2-3

22. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 2, p. 960, # 2552

2) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At ‘Arafat (Part 2)

As we have established, it is without doubt that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, said these words to the people at ‘Arafat during his last Hajj:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt.

So, what exactly was he trying to tell the world? Imam al-Mubarakfuri (d. 1282 H) quotes this under his commentary of the hadith:

قال القاري والمراد بالأخذ بهم التمسك بمحبتهم ومحافظة حرمتهم والعمل بروايتهم والاعتماد على مقالتهم وهو لا ينافي أخذ السنة من غيرهم لقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أصحابي كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم ولقوله تعالى فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون

Al-Qari said: “The meaning of holding fast to them is to adhere to their love, to protect their honour, to follow their narrations, and to rely upon their opinions. This does not negate the taking of the Sunnah from other than them, due to his statement, peace be upon him “My Sahabah are like the stars. Whichever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided” and due to His Statement, Exalted be He: “Ask the people of al-Dhikr if you do not know.”1

Al-Qari apparently admits that Hadith al-Thaqalayn commands the Ummah to follow the offspring of the Prophet, ‘alaihim al-salam, after him. His argument, however, is that we should also follow the Sahabah in addition to the Ahl al-Bayt. There are two fatal problems with his submission. First, the hadith he is relying upon is unreliable.

It is graded mawdhu (fabricated) by ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H)2 . Secondly, Hadith al-Thaqalayn is addressed to all “mankind” - and that naturally included all the Sahabah, the Tabi’in, the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in, the Four Imams, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Baz, Ibn al-‘Uthaymin and others. All of them, without a single exception, were under a strict divine obligation to follow the offspring of Muhammad in everything. The hadith has a general wording, and nothing has been excluded under its order.

Therefore, all humanity from the moment our Prophet left this world till the Last Hour must follow his Ahl al-Bayt in absolutely everything. So, basically, the Sahabah are not supposed to be followed. Rather, they were ordered too to be followers of the Ahl al-Bayt. Meanwhile, in case someone insists that he must still follow the Sahabah, then obedience in Islam is only in al-ma’ruf - in obedience to Allah. In that case, only those Sahabah who complied with the Decree of Allah in Hadith al-Thaqalayn can be followed.

But, al-Mubarakfuri still has one more quote:

وقال ابن الملك التمسك بالكتاب العمل بما فيه وهو الائتمار بأوامر الله والانتهاء عن نواهيه ومعنى التمسك بالعترة محبتهم والاهتداء بهديهم وسيرتهم زاد السيد جمال الدين إذا لم يكن مخالفا للدين

Ibn al-Malik said: “Adherence to the Book of Allah is to follow whatever is in it - and that is to follow the Orders of Allah and desist from His Prohibitions. The meaning of adherence to the offspring (of the Prophet) is to love them, and to seek guidance through their guidance and their way of life.” Sayyid Jamal al-Din added, “if it does not contradict the religion.”3

Ibn al-Malik too concedes that the offspring of Muhammad must be followed, under Hadith al-Thaqalayn. He makes no attempts to explain it away or fix artificial conditions. But, Sayyid Jamal al-Din moves a step forward: he could only follow the Ahl al-Bayt if their guidance or way of life did not contradict the religion! So, he believes that the designated offspring of the Prophet intended in the hadith can go astray too and oppose Islam. This weird opinion of Sayyid Jamal al-Din however directly contradicts the explicit text of the riwayah:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will NEVER go astray: the Book of Allah and my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt.

You will “never” go astray while following the Ahl al-Bayt. It is a clear guarantee from Allah and His Messenger. This, in turn, means that the offspring of the Messenger - those meant in the hadith among them - are never misguided, and they never misguide. They are always upon the true teachings of the Qur’an and the correct Sunnah of Muhammad, in all their thoughts, sayings, deeds, actions and omissions. Whosoever follows them in absolutely everything will never miss the way.

There is however an opinion within the Ahl al-Sunnah, especially the young Salafiyyah, which insists that the hadith commands to follow the Qur’an only, and nothing else. They cite the use of “it” in it - which is nominally singular - in support of their submission:

إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به

I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to IT

To them, if the Messenger had intended that both the Book and his offspring must be followed, he would have said: “that which if you hold fast to THEM.” But, there are explicit signs of ignorance in this argument. The “it”( ه ) in the hadith is a reference to the “which”( ما ) before it. In Arabic, a combination of both is possible even if the allusion is to billions of items. For instance, Allah says:

إن الذين كفروا لو أن لهم ما في الأرض جميعا ومثله معه ليفتدوا به من عذاب يوم القيامة ما تقبل منهم ولهم عذاب أليم

As for those who disbelieve, lo! If all that WHICH is in the earth were theirs, and the likeness of IT with IT, to ransom them with IT from the torment of the Day of al-Qiyamah, it would not be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful torment.4

We see that “it” here refers to everything in the earth - all the animals, all the constructions, all the minerals, all the lands and so on. Let us see another example:

إن تجتنبوا كبائر ما تنهون عنه نكفر عنكم سيئاتكم وندخلكم مدخلا كريما

If you avoid major sins, that WHICH you have been forbidden from IT, We shall remit from you your sins and admit you to a noble entrance.5

“It” is a direct reference to the “major sins”. With these, obviously, nothing stops the same expression from working for both the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt in Hadith al-Thaqalayn! How do these people reason?!

Interestingly, the alternative hadith which our brothers from the Ahl al-Sunnah love to quote has the same wording too. Imam al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 H) records:

أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ أخبرني إسماعيل بن محمد بن الفضل الشعراني ثنا جدي ثنا بن أبي أويس ثنا أبي عن ثور بن زيد الديلي عن عكرمة عن بن عباس رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم خطب الناس في حجة الوداع فقال يا أيها الناس أني قد تركت فيكم ما إن اعتصمتم به فلن تضلوا أبدا كتاب الله وسنة نبيه

Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Hafiz - Isma’il b. Muhammad b. al-Fadhl al-Sha’rani - my grandfather - Ibn Abi Uways - my father - Thawr b. Zayd al-Dayli - ‘Ikrimah - Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, delivered a sermon to mankind during the Farewell Hajj, and said: “O mankind! I have left behind over you that WHICH if you hold fast to IT, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.”6

Without a doubt, every single Sunni Muslim - including every single Salafi - understands the “it” in the riwayah to be a reference to both the Qur’an and the Sunnah together! So, why the double standards against Hadith al-Thaqalayn?!

Unfortunately for Sunnis though, this hadith of al-Bayhaqi has a dha’if chain, due to Ibn Abi Uways. He had a poor memory, as al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states:

إسماعيل بن عبد الله بن عبد الله بن أويس بن مالك بن أبي عامر الأصبحي أبو عبد الله بن أبي أويس المدني صدوق أخطأ في أحاديث من حفظه

Isma’il b. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Uways b. Malik b. Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi, Abu ‘Abd Allah b. Abi Uways al-Madani: Saduq (very truthful), he made mistakes in ahadith due to his memory.7

His memory crisis was, of course, very critical. Al-Hafiz provides further details:

إسماعيل بن أبي أويس عبد الله بن عبد الله بن أويس بن مالك بن أبي عامر الأصبحي … قلت وروينا في مناقب البخاري بسند صحيح أن إسماعيل أخرج له أصوله وأذن له أن ينتقى منها … ما أخرجه البخاري عنه هو من صحيح حديثه لأنه كتب من أصوله وعلى هذا لا يحتج بشئ من حديثه غير ما في الصحيح من أجل ما قدح فيه النسائي وغيره إلا أن شاركه فيه غيره فيعتبر فيه

Isma’il b. Abi Uways ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Uways b. Malik b. Abi Amir al-Asbahi … I say: We recorded in Manaqib al-Bukhari (Merits of al-Bukhari) with a sahih chain that Isma’il gave his manuscript to him (i.e. al-Bukhari) and allowed him to select from it … Whatever al-Bukhari narrated from him was from the sahih among his ahadith, because he (al-Bukhari) wrote (them) from his (i.e. Ibn Uways’) manuscripts. As such, nothing from his ahadith is accepted as a hujjah except what is in the Sahih (of al-Bukhari), due to the criticisms of al-Nasai and others against him - unless he has been seconded in it, in which case he is accepted as a support in it.8

So, his mistakes in ahadith were severe. As such, whatsoever he narrated from memory - unless he was seconded in it by another person - is dha’if. Interestingly, in the hadith of al-Bayhaqi above, he is not seconded in its reporting from his father, Abu Uways. Moreover, all his (i.e. Isma’il’s) ahadith were transmitted by him from memory, except those in Sahih al-Bukhari. Since the hadith of al-Bayhaqi is not from Sahih al-Bukhari, and Isma’il is not seconded in it, then it is dha’if without a doubt.

Shaykh Ibn Baz (d. 1420 H) also copies the hadith:

اني تارك فيكم ما لن تضلوا إن اعتصمتم به :كتاب الله و سنتي

I am leaving behind over you that WHICH you will never go astray if you hold fast to IT: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.9

Then, in a rather weird move, he says about it:

أخرجها الحاكم بسند جيد

Al-Hakim recorded it with a good (jayyid) chain.10

Really? In that case, let us check the report as documented by Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) himself:

حدثنا أبو بكر أحمد بن إسحاق الفقيه أنبأ العباس بن الفضل الأسفاطي ثنا إسماعيل عن أبي أويس وأخبرني إسماعيل بن محمد بن الفضل الشعراني ثنا جدي عن ثور بن زيد الديلي عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خطب الناس في حجة الوداع فقال : قد يئس الشيطان بأن يعبد بأرضكم ولكنه رضي أن يطاع فيما سوى ذلك مما تحاقرون من أعمالكم فاحذروا يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن اعتصمتم به فلن تضلوا أبدا : كتاب الله وسنة نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم

Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Ishaq al-Faqih - al-‘Abbas b. al-Fadhl al-Asfati - Isma’il - Abu Uways:

and Isma’il b. Muhammad b. al-Fadhl al-Sha’rani - my grandfather -Isma’il - Abu Uways:

Thawr b. Zayd al-Dayli - ‘Ikrimah - Ibn ‘Abbas:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, delivered a sermon to mankind during the Farewell Hajj, and said: “Verily, Shaytan has lost hope of being worshipped in your land. However, he is pleased to be obeyed in other than that from your despicable deeds. So, beware! O mankind! Verily, I have left behind over you that WHICH if you hold fast to IT you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him.11

The Salafi scholar, Shaykh Muqbil, states concerning this hadith in his tahqiq of al-Mustadrak:

حديث ضعيف لأنه من طريق إسماعيل بن أبي أويس عن أبيه وفيهما كلام .وشاهده من طريق صالح بن موسى الطالحي وهو متروك

It is a dha’if hadith, because it is narrated through the route of Isma’il b. Abi Uways from his father, and there is criticism against both of them. Its shahid is narrated through the route of Salih b. Musa al-Talihi, and he is matruk (rejected).12

Unfortunately, Sunni ‘ulama never cease to substitute the genuine hadith with the fake one. In their sermons and publications, they never tell their followers about the true decree of the Prophet to his Ummah. Instead, they frequently quote the counterfeit riwayah as his parting command to us. A well-known contemporary Sunni hadith scientist who is deeply troubled by this ugly situation is Sayyid Hasan al-Saqqaf. He expresses his grave unhappiness about the situation in these sharp words:

وأما حديث] تركت فيكم ما إن تمسكتم بهما لن تضلوا بعدي أبدا كتاب وسنتي [الذي يردده الناس فيما بينهم ويقوله الخطباء على المنابر فحديث موضوع مكذوب وضعه الأمويون وأتباعهم ليصرفوا الناس عن هذا الحديث الصحيح في العترة، فانتبه لذلك جد !!وقد ذكرت جميع طرقه وبينت ما في أسانيده من الكذابين والوضاعين في آخر كتابي} صحيح صفة صلاة النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم {ص (289 )

As for the hadith [I have left over you that which if you adhere to them both you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah] which people repeat among themselves, and which the lecturers quote on the pulpits, it is a fabricated, false hadith. It was fabricated by the Umayyads and their followers to turn people away from this sahih hadith about the offspring of the Prophet. So, be very careful due to that!! I have mentioned all its chains and exposed the liars and fabricators in its chains at the end of my book Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi, peace be upon him and his family, page 289.13

In any case, what matters most to our research here is the Sunni understanding of the dha’if hadith. To them - and to everyone who understands at least some Arabic - it directs all humanity to unconditionally obey the Qur’an and the Sunnah together in all situations and circumstances, as the only way to remain upon the true guidance. In the same manner, the genuine hadith - with an almost identical wording to the fake one - obviously orders us all to obey the Qur’an and the offspring of Muhammad, his Ahl al-Bayt, together, at all times, in all cases and under all circumstances. Whoever fails to do this loses his way, and becomes a heretic.

Notes

1. Abu al-‘Ala Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi bi Sharh Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1410 H), vol. 10, p. 196

2. Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Dha’ifah wa al-Mawdhu’ah wa Atharihah al-Sayyiah fi al-Ummah (Riyadh: Dar al-Ma’arif; 1st edition, 1412 H), vol. 1, p. 144, # 58

3. Abu al-‘Ala Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi bi Sharh Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1410 H), vol. 10, p. 196

4. Qur’an 5:36

5. Qur’an 4:31

6. Abu Bakr Ahmad b. al-Husayn b. ‘Ali b. Musa al-Bayhaqi, Sunan al-Kubra (Makkah: Maktabah Dar al-Baz; 1414 H) [annotator: Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 10, p. 114, # 20123

7. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 96, # 461

8. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani al-Shafi’i, Hadi al-Sari Muqaddimah Fath al-Bari (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi; 1st edition, 1408 H), p. 388

9. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abd Allah b. Baz, Majmu’ Fatawa al-‘Allamah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Baz, vol. 24, p. 182

10. Ibid

11. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 171, # 318

12. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn (Dar al-Haramayn li Taba’ah wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotator: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muqbil b. Hadi al-Wadi’i], vol. 1, p. 161, # 318

13. Hasan b. ‘Ali al-Saqqaf al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Husayni, Sahih Sharh al-‘Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah (Amman: Dar Imam al-Nawawi; 1st edition, 1416 H), p. 654, footnote # 385

3) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At Ghadir Khumm (Part 1)

Immediately after his last Hajj, on his way back to Madinah - his capital city, at a place called Ghadir Khumm, the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, repeated his instruction at ‘Arafat to mankind. Imam Ibn Abi ‘Asim (d. 287 H) documents:

حدثنا سليمان بن عبيد الله الغيلاني، حدثنا أبو عامر، حدثنا كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عن علي رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :إني تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا :كتاب الله، سببه بيد الله، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Sulayman b. ‘Ubayd Allah al-Ghilani - Abu ‘Amir - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in the Hand of Allah and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”1

Concerning the first narrator, al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states:

سليمان بن عبيد الله بن عمرو بن جابر الغيلاني المازني أبو أيوب البصري صدوق

Sulayman b. ‘Ubayd Allah b. ‘Amr b. Jabir al-Ghilani al-Mazini, Abu Ayub al-Basri: Saduq (very truthful).2

As for the second narrator, this is what al-Hafiz has to say:

عبد الملك بن عمرو القيسي أبو عامر العقدي بفتح المهملة والقاف ثقة

‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Amr al-Qaysi, Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi: Thiqah (trustworthy).3

The third narrator is reliable too, as declared by al-Hafiz:

كثير بن زيد الأسلمي أبو محمد المدني بن مافنه بفتح الفاء وتشديد النون صدوق يخطئ

Kathir b. Zayd al-Aslami, Abu Muhammad al-Madani b. Mafannah: Saduq (very truthful), made mistakes.4

He did not make “a lot” of mistakes. Therefore, his mistakes were not serious, were minimal and did not affect the quality of his ahadith.

Al-Hafiz tells us about the fourth narrator as well:

محمد بن عمر بن علي بن أبي طالب صدوق

Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib: Saduq (very truthful).5

And this is the status of the fifth narrator, according to al-Hafiz:

عمر بن علي بن أبي طالب الهاشمي ثقة

‘Umar b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib al-Hashimi: Thiqah (trustworthy).6

So, all the narrators are fully reliable, and the sanad is well-connected. As such, it is a hasan chain, at the least. This is what Shaykh al-Arnaut concludes as well:

وثالث من حديث علي عند ابن أبي عاصم في "السنة" (1558) ، والطحاوي في "شرح مشكل الآثار" (1760) من طريقين عن أبي عامر العقدي، عن كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عنه، مرفوعاً، بلفظ: "إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله، سببه بيد الله، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي"، وإسناده حسن

The third is the hadith of ‘Ali, recorded by Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunnah (1558), and by al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (1760) from two routes from Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi, from Kathir b. Zayd, from Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali, from his father, from him (i.e. ‘Ali) from the Prophet, with the wording: “I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in the Hand of Allah and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.” And its chain is hasan.7

The above riwayah is only an abridged version of a more detailed hadith. Imam Ishaq b. Rahwayh (d. 238 H) and some other classical Sunni scholars recorded the full version. For instance, Imam al-Tahawi (d. 321 H) documents:

حدثنا إبراهيم بن مرزوق قال : حدثنا أبو عامر العقدي قال : حدثنا كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي ، عن أبيه ، عن علي ، أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حضر الشجرة بخم فخرج آخذا بيد علي فقال :يا أيها الناس، ألستم تشهدون أن الله عز وجل ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم، وأن الله عز وجل ورسوله مولياكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: فمن كنت مولاه فإن هذا مولاه، أو قال: فإن عليا مولاه - شك ابن مرزوق - إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا :كتاب الله سببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Ibrahim b. Marzuq - Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali:

Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “O mankind! Do you not testify that Allah the Almighty is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah the Almighty and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one - or ‘Ali - is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”8

Shaykh al-Arnaut comments:

إسناده حسن

Its chain is hasan.9

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani also copies the riwayah of Ishaq b. Rahwayh:

وقال إسحاق: أنا أبو عامر العقدي، عن كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عن علي، قال: إن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حضر الشجرة بخم، ثم خرج آخذا بيد علي قال :ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم، وأن الله ورسوله أولياؤكم؟ فقالوا: بلى، قال: فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه، فإن هذا مولاه، وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله سببه بيده، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Ishaq said: Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali:

Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Awliya?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”10

Then, al-Hafiz comments:

هذا إسناد صحيح

This chain is sahih.11

Imam Ahmad al-Busiri (d. 840 H) as well documents:

عن علي بن أبي طالب، رضي الله عنه: أن النبي صَلَّى الله عَلَيه وسَلَّم حضر الشجرة بخم ثم خرج آخذًا بيد علي فقال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم وأن الله ورسوله مولاكم؟ قالوا: بلى قال: فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه فإن هذا مولاه وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله سببه بيده وسببه بأيديكم وأهل بيتي

Narrated ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”12

And al-Busiri has this simple verdict about it:

رواه إسحاق بسند صحيح

Ishaq recorded it with a sahih chain.13

‘Allamah al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (d. 975 H) too records the hadith:

عن علي أن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم حضر الشجرة بخم ثم خرج آخذا بيد علي فقال : أيها الناس ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم ؟ قالوا : بلى قال : ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم وأن الله ورسوله مولاكم ؟ قالوا : بلى قال : فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه فإن هذا مولاه وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا بعده : كتاب الله سببه بيده وسببه بأيديكم وأهل بيتي

Narrated ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “We do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray while following it: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

Then al-Hindi says about it:

ابن راهويه وابن جرير وابن أبي عاصم والمحاملي في أماليه وصححه

Narrated by (Ishaq) Ibn Rahwayh, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi ‘Asim, and by al-Muhamali in his Amali, and he (al-Muhamali) declared it sahih.14

The messages in these reports are very powerfully conveyed:

Muslims can acquire true guidance after their Prophet only by holding fast to both the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Muslims can remain upon true guidance after their Prophet only by holding fast to both the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Muslims automatically lose the true guidance after their Prophet any moment they fail to hold fast to the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Notes

1. Abu Bakr b. Abi ‘Asim, Ahmad b. ‘Amr b. al-Dhahhak b. Mukhlid al-Shaybani, Kitab al-Sunnah (al-Maktab al-Islami; 1st edition, 1400 H) [annotator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani], vol. 2, pp. 644-645, # 1558

2. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 389, # 2598

3. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 617, # 4213

4. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 38, # 5628

5. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 117, # 6190

6. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 724, # 4967

7. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal b. Hilal b. Asad al-Shaybani, Musnad (Muasassat al-Risalah; 1st edition, 1421 H) [annotators: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut, ‘Adil Murshid and others], vol. 17, p. 172, # 11104

8. Abu Ja’far Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Salamah b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Salmah al-Azdi al-Hajari al-Misri al-Tahawi, Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (Muasassat al-Risalah; 1st edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 13, # 1760

9. Ibid

10. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-Aliyah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-Thamaniyyah (Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah; 1414 H) [annotator: Prof. Shaykh Habib al-Rahman al-A’zami], vol., 4, p. 65, # 3972

11. Ibid

12. Ahmad b. Abi Bakr b. Isma’il al-Busiri, Itihaf al-Khiyarah al-Maharah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-‘Ashra (Riyadh: Dar al-Watan; 1st edition, 1420 H), vol. 7, p. 210, # 6683

13. Ibid

14. ‘Ali b. Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal fi Sunan al-Aqwal wa Af’al (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1989 H), vol. 13, p. 121, # 36441

4) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At Ghadir Khumm (Part 2)

In order to ensure that his followers never missed his messages, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, further repeated his instruction in some other words, at the same Ghadir Khumm. Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) records what he did:

حدثني زهير بن حرب وشجاع بن مخلد جميعا عن ابن علية قال زهير حدثنا إسماعيل بن إبراهيم حدثني أبو حيان حدثني يزيد بن حيان قال انطلقت أنا وحصين بن سبرة وعمر بن مسلم إلى زيد بن أرقم فلما جلسنا إليه قال له حصين لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وسمعت حديثه وغزوت معه وصليت خلفه لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا حدثنا يا زيد ما سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال يا ابن أخي والله لقد كبرت سني وقدم عهدي ونسيت بعض الذي كنت أعي من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فما حدثتكم فاقبلوا وما لا فلا تكلفونيه ثم قال قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يوما فينا خطيبا بماء يدعى خما بين مكة والمدينة فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ووعظ وذكر ثم قال أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به فحث على كتاب الله ورغب فيه ثم قال وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي فقال له حصين ومن أهل بيته؟ يا زيد أليس نساؤه من أهل بيته ؟ قال نساؤه من أهل بيته ولكن أهل بيته من حرم الصدقة بعده قال وهم؟ قال هم آل علي وآل عقيل وآل جعفر وآل عباس قال كل هؤلاء حرم الصدقة؟ قال نعم

Zuhayr b. Harb and Shuja’ b. Mukhlid - Ibn ‘Ulayyah: Zuhayr - Isma’il b. Ibrahim - Abu Hayyan - Yazid b. Hayyan:

I went along with Hasin b. Sabra and ‘Umar b. Muslim to Zayd b. Arqam. When we sat with him, Hasin said to him:

“You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. You saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and you heard his hadith, and you fought by his side, and you offered Salat behind him. You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. Narrate to us, O Zayd, what you heard from the Messenger of Allah.”

He replied, “O son of my brother, I swear by Allah, I have grown old and my time has passed, and I have forgotten some of that which I remembered from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. So, whatever hadith I narrate to you, accept (it). And whatever I do not narrate, do not compel me to do that.”

He then said:

“One day, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering place known as (Ghadir) Khumm situated between Makkah and Madinah. He praised Allah and extolled Him, and advised (us), and reminded us (of Allah and His revelations). Then, he said:

‘Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said: “and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

So, Hasin said to him, “So, who are his Ahl al-Bayt? O Zayd, are his wives not from his Ahl al-Bayt?” He (Zayd) replied, “His wives are from his Ahl al-Bayt. But, his Ahl al-Bayt are (also) those to whom sadaqah is forbidden apart from him.” He (Hasin) asked, “And who are those?” He (Zayd) replied, “They are the family of ‘Ali, the family of ‘Aqil, the family of Ja’far, and the family of ‘Abbas”. He (Hasin) said, “Sadaqah is forbidden for all these people?” He (Zayd) answered, “Yes”.1

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 H) has recorded this same exact report2 , and Shaykh al-Arnaut has this comment about it:

إسناده صحيح على شرط مسلم

Its chain is sahih upon the standard of Muslim.3

So, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the riwayah.

There is however a crucial fact about it that must be taken into consideration in understanding its meaning. There is an interpolation by Yazid b. Hayyan into the text of the Prophet’s words in the hadith:

أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به فحث على كتاب الله ورغب فيه ثم قال وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said: “and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

The highlighted parts are NOT part of the words of the Messenger of Allah. Rather, they are commentaries upon the actual hadith. Since what matters to us are the instructions of our Prophet, then we must remove these interpolations in order to reach the real Sunnah. So, after deleting the foreign words, this is what we have:

أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

The Sunni mufassir, Mulla Huwaysh Al Ghazi ‘Abd al-Qadir, confirms this as well:

وروى مسلم عن زيد بن أرقم أن رسول اللّه صلّى اللّه عليه وسلم قال إني تارك فيكم ثقلين أولها كتاب اللّه فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب اللّه واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي، أذكركم اللّه في أهل بيتي، أذكركم في أهل بيتي

(Imam) Muslim recorded from Zayd b. Arqam that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

“I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”4

The message here is unmistakable: all mankind - including all the Sahabah, Tabi’in and Tabi’ al-Tabi’in - are ordered to “adhere” to both the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt.

What further solidifies this submission, is that the same hadith has been narrated from Zayd - in the book of Imam ‘Abd b. Humayd (d. 249 H) - without the commentaries, and it is straightforward. ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) records that the Prophet said at Ghadir Khumm:

" أما بعد ألا أيها الناس! فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتيني رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور من استمسك به وأخذ به كان على الهدى ومن أخطأه ضل فخذوا بكتاب الله تعالى واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي ".

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. Whoever adheres to it and holds fast to it, he will be upon guidance; and whosoever belittles it, he will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allah the Most High and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”5

Commenting on it, the ‘Allamah states:

(صحيح) [حم عبد بن حميد م] عن زيد بن أرقم

(Sahih) … [recorded by ‘Abd b. Hamid] from Zayd b. Arqam.6

‘Allamah al-Hindi (d. 975 H) too has copied the same report:

أما بعد أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور من استمسك به وأخذ به كان على الهدى ومن أخطأه ضل فخذوا بكتاب الله تعالى واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. Whoever adheres to it and holds fast to it, he will be upon guidance; and whosoever belittles it, he will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allah the Most High and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”7

Giving the source, he too says:

حم وعبد بن حميد م عن زيد بن أرقم

Recorded by ‘Abd b. Humayd, from Zayd b. Arqam8

This was the report of Zayd from the Messenger of Allah without the interpolations of Yazid b. Hayyan. This took place at Ghadir Khumm, after the first declaration at ‘Arafat. The message is explicit, clear and unambiguous. It leaves no room for manipulation or distortion. We all must “adhere” to the Book of Allah and the Ahl al-Bayt of his Prophet after him. Strangely though, Zayd defines the “Ahl al-Bayt” meant in the hadith as the wives of the Prophet, and the families of ‘Ali, ‘Aqil, Ja’far, and al-‘Abbas. Yet, it is the same Zayd who narrated - as we shall examine in the next chapter - that the Messenger specifically named the “Ahl al-Bayt” intended in Hadith al-Thaqalayn as being only his “offspring”.

Notes

1. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 4, p. 1873, # 2408 (36)

2. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 4, p. 366, # 19285

3. Ibid

4. Mulla Huwaysh Al Ghazi ‘Abd al-Qadir, Bayan al-Ma’ani (Damascus: Matbu’at al-Turki; 1382 H), vol. 4, p. 37

5. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Adam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al-Saghir wa Ziyadatuhu (Al-Maktab al-Islami), vol. 1, pp. 286-287, # 1351

6. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 287, # 1351

7. ‘Ali b. Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal fi Sunan al-Aqwal wa Af’al (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1989 H), vol. 1, p. 315, # 898

8. Ibid