Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Truth As It Is

Author:Jafar AlHadi

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Publisher's Foreword 3

The NEED for MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCE 4

The Imamate Ja`fariyyah Shiah 6

1 Supplement 1 10

Supplement 2 16

4 Supplement 4 19

Notes 22

Publisher's Foreword

TheAhl al-Bayt’s heritage, which has been kept in reserve by their school and saved from waste by their followers, represents an all-inclusive school comprising the various fields of Islamic knowledge. This school has succeeded in raising minds that were initially ready to take along provisions from this source and presenting to the Muslim nation eminent scholars who, following the unshakable steps of theAhl al-Bayt , are well-acquainted with the arguments and questions of the various sects and intellectual trends, inside and outside the Muslim community and are capable of providing excellent, irrefutable answers and solutions over successive ages.

On account of the responsibilities that it has undertaken, theAhl al-Bayt (a.s )[ 1] World Assembly has taken the initiative to defend the sacredness of the Divine Mission and its realities, which the contrivers of misleading factions and the inventors of anti-Islam trends have tried to confuse. It has also patterned after the steps of theAhl al-Bayt (a.s ) and the followers of their orthodox school that has always abided by refuting such ceaseless challenges and attempted to keep itself in confrontation with these enemies at the required level for all time and in all ages.

The experiments comprised by the writings of the scholars of theAhl al-Bayt School in this respect are really unique, because they hold a scientific amount of knowledge based upon reason and clear evidence, evading personal desires and discommended fanaticism, and conversing with versed scholars and thinkers through a speech accepted by reason and approved by sound nature.

TheAhl al-Bayt (a.s ) World Assembly has been attempting to provide for the seekers after truth a new stage of such abounding experiments, through a set of researches and writings compiled by contemporary authors belonging to theAhl al-Bayt (a.s ) School, and other authors upon whom Almighty Allah has bestowed the boon of joining this honorable school. Besides, the Assembly has published and revised a number of books of ancient brilliantShi`ite scholars, in the hope that these books will be pleasant resources for truth-seeking souls and enable them to perceive the facts presented by the genuine school of theAhl al-Bayt (a.s ) to the entire world in an age when intellects are attaining perfection and souls and spirits are swiftly and inimitably interconnected.

TheAhl al-Bayt (a.s ) World Assembly would like to express special gratitude to His EminenceShaykh Ja`far al-Hadi , the author of this book, and thank all the people who have contributed to this project.

Finally, we hope that we have fulfilled a part of our duty towards the Mission of our Great Lord Who “sent His Messenger with the guidance and the true religion that He may make it prevail over all the religions; and Allah is enough for a witness. (48/28)”

Cultural Affairs Department

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful

The NEED for MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCE

The Holy Qur'an reads,

“(We have) made you tribes and families that you may know each other. 49/13”

When Islam dawned, peoples were so disunited that they ignored each other. Furthermore, they were involved in conflicting and wrangling against each other. With the spread of Islam among these peoples, ignorance of each other turned into mutual acquaintance, rivalry into cooperation, and dissociation into reciprocal relations. This change is one of the blessings of the monotheistic precepts of Islam, which was the prime motive of the emergence of a great, united nation that introduced to the world a magnificent culture and protected its individuals from the evils of oppressors and tyrants and succeeded to win the world’s respect and become object of veneration in the eyes of all despots and arrogant rulers.

What happened is attributed to the unity and intimate relationship of this nation which discarded ethnic differences and differences in opinions, cultures, and customs or traditions. Reaching consensus on principles, fundaments, obligatory acts, and duties contributed to achieving the unity. Unquestionably, unity is power while separation is weakness.

The new situation prevailed for a period of time. Then, the unity and acquaintance turned into disunity so that people began to ignore one another, the understanding turned into enmity so that some groups began to accuse each other of atheism, and sects began to wage campaigns against some other sects. As a result, the nation lost its might, its strength petered out, and tyrants belittled this nation, which once enjoyed a pioneering and leading status. This condition paved the way for foxes and wolves to move freely across the lands of this nation; and the strangers who are accursed by Almighty Allah and rejected by humanity gained control over its various parts. So, the fortunes of this nation were plundered, its sanctity was violated, and its honor became at the mercy of the immoral ones. The consequence was incessant collapses and defeats and relapses that afflicted Andalusia, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Baghdad in the past, and Palestine and Afghanistan in the present time.

Consequently, the calls of the nation are no longer responded to, and its appeals for aid are no longer answered. The reason is because the malady is something else. So is the remedy. Almighty Allah has decreed that nothing can go into effect without natural causes; and “the last affair of this nation can be set aright by setting right its first affair.”

Now that the Muslim nation is facing the most hideous and vehement campaigns which target its entity, doctrines and unity as well as the devices intended to harm its sectarian and intellectual coexistence; is it not appropriate in this stage that Muslims in the world unite and strengthen their relations? The various Muslim sects share principles and consider the Holy Qur'an and the HolySunnah [ 2] as the source of law and believe that Almighty Allah is the One and Only Lord, Muhammad (S)[3] is their Prophet, and that the Hereafter is the final return. Besides, all Muslims perform the same religious duties; i.e. prayer, fasting, pilgrimage to the Holy House of God at Mecca, defraying the poor-rate, struggling against the enemies of Islam, and abiding by that which is deemed lawful and abandoning that which is deemed unlawful by Islam and they all love the Holy Prophet and his Household - peace be upon them all - and all acquit themselves from their enemies, though the intensity of their feelings may differ in this concern.

Thus, Muslim sects are just like fingers of one hand all of which come together, though they slightly vary in length, width and shape or perhaps they are like a body, which has many parts of different shapes and forms and these parts all cooperate to stimulate a person’s physical activity.

The comparison between the Islamic nation and the hand or the body can be an indication of the aforementioned fact.[ 4]

In the past, the scholars of the various Muslim sects and trends used to live side by side without any dispute. On many occasions, they used to cooperate with each other; they would explain theological or jurisprudential books of each other; attend the lessons of each other; applaud each other; support each other; license each other to narrate their reports; ask permission from each other to quote narrations from their books; follow each other in prayers; lead each other in prayers; declare the piety of each other; and approve of each others’ sects. Moreover, the followers of the various sects used to live together amicably as if there were no disagreement and variance in opinions between them and when scholars from one sect criticized one from the othersect, they would often behave with utter decorum and observe the rules of scientific and objective discussion.

There are numerous irrefutable historical proofs of such profound cooperation through which the Muslim scholars were able to enrich Islamic culture, cite excellent example of sectarian freedom and attract the attention of the whole world and win their respect.

As a matter of fact, it is not impossible for the scholars of the Muslim nation to hold meetings and exchange views calmly with objectivity, sincerity, and good intention and discuss the disagreements between Muslim sects and have good acquaintance with the proofs and evidences of each sect in this respect.

It is also good and reasonable that eachsect or group will present its beliefs and ideas and thoughts freely and openly so that the spurious accusations and arguments aroused against any sect may be known to all and everyone realizes the areas of similarity and difference and then apprehend that they have a lot in common and that the points of disagreement cannot affect their unity or prevent them from getting closer and closer.

The current work is a step on this way. It is hoped that it will be a good manifestation of the truth in its real sense so that everybody may know the truth as it is.

Almighty Allah is the patron of all success.

The ImamateJa`fariyyah Shiah

TheImamite Ja`fariyyah form a large group of Muslims in the present age, which amounts to about one fourth of the total number of the Muslims. Their historical roots extend to early Islam when Almighty Allah revealed the following verse:

“Those who have faith and do righteous deeds; they are the best of creatures. (98/7)”

On that day, the Holy Prophet, in the presence of his companions, put his hand on `Aliibn Abi-talib’s shoulder and said,

“O `Ali: It is you and yourShi`ah (followers) who are ‘the best of creatures.’”[5]

The followers of this sect, who are ascribed to ImamJa` far al-sadiq because of their adherence to his jurisprudential teachings, are also calledShi`ah .

The followers of this sect live densely in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. They also spread in big numbers in the countries of the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, and the former Soviet Republics, as well as some European countries, such as England, Germany, France, and in American, African and South Asian countries. In these countries, they have their own mosques and scientific, cultural, and social centers.

The followers ofShi`ism belong to various nationalities and ethnic groups and they vary in language and color. TheShi`ah live side by side with their Muslim brethren from the other sects peacefully and amicably and cooperate with them honestly and sincerely in all aspects and at all levels. In this regard, they act according to the following holy texts:

The Holy Qur'an reads,

“The believers are but a single brotherhood, (49/10)”

“And help one another in goodness and piety, (5:2)”

The Holy Prophet (S) is reported to have said,

“The Muslims must act as one hand against the others.”[6]

“The believers are like a single body.”[7]

Throughout the history of Islam, theShi`ah have played an estimable and remarkable role in defending Islam and the honorable Muslim community. They led many governments and set up many states that contributed enormously to the Islamic civilization. They have had many scholars and thinkers who contributed to the enhancement of the Islamic heritage by compiling hundreds of thousands of writings and books, small and big, in various fields including exegesis of the Holy Qur'an (tafsir ), traditions of the Holy Prophet (hadith ), doctrines, jurisprudence, principles of Islamic jurisprudence (`ilm al-uSul ), ethics, investigation of reported traditions (`ilm al-dirayah ), biography of narrators (`ilm al-rijal ), philosophy, sermons, politics, sociology, linguistics, and arts. They also wrote books on medicine, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astrology, and other physical sciences. Furthermore, they played a major role in founding many sciences.[ 8]

TheShi`ah believe in Allah: the One, the Single, the Unique, ‘the eternallyBesought of all; Who begets not, nor is He begotten.’ They thus deem Him too Exalted to be corporeal or have direction, space, time, alteration, movement, ascension, descent, or any other quality that does not befit His matchless majesty, holiness, perfection, and excellence.

They believe that there is no object of worship save Almighty Allah, and that all decisions and legislation belong to Him, and all kinds of polytheism, overt and covert, are considered grave injustices and unforgivable sins.

They draw these beliefs from judicious reasoning supported by the Holy Qur'an and authenticSunnah , regardless of the source.

With respect to beliefs, theShi`ah rest neither on Israelite traditions (i.e. those quoted from the Torah and the Gospel) nor onMagian traditions that anthropomorphize Almighty Allah, ascribe to Him unfairness, injustice, nonsense, and vainness - Exalted and Greatbe He - or indict the Divinely purified Prophets, who are completely protected against sinning, of dreadful sins and unbecoming evil deeds.

TheShi`ah believe that Almighty Allah is Just and Wise; He has created all things through justice and wisdom; therefore, there is no futility in the creation, including inanimate, plant, animal, humankind, sky, or land, becauseabsurdism is in violation of justice and wisdom; and the absence of justice and wisdom negates the existence of Godhead because the idea of the divinity of Almighty Allah necessitates that He is the source of all perfect excellencies and ideal attributes and that He, the Glorified, is free from any defect.

TheShi`ah believe that Almighty Allah, out of wisdom and justice, has sent Prophets and Messengers, granted them infallibility and expansive knowledge through Divine Revelation, and sent them to the human beings since the first day of man's existence on this earth, in order to show them the right path, help them attain the desired perfection, and guide them to the obedience to Almighty Allah, for this obedience is their means that takes them to Paradise and makes them win His mercy and pleasure.

The most eminent of these Prophets and Messengers are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, as well as those to whom the Holy Qur'an and the HolySunnah have referred - peacebe upon them all.

TheShi`ah believe that whoever obeys Almighty Allah, carries out His orders, and abides by His laws in all aspects of life will be granted security (from the Divine chastisement), win (the Divine reward) and deserve praise and incentive even if he or she be ‘an Abyssinian slave’. On the other hand, whoever disobeys Almighty Allah, disregards His commandments, and obeys the orders decided by other than Almighty Allah, will certainly lose, perish, and deserve condemnation and punishment, even if he or she be ‘aQurayshite chief’, as is mentioned in a Prophetic tradition.

They also believe that Divine rewarding and punishment will be decided on the Resurrection Day when everyone will be called to account and be interrogated, the Scale of Justice (al-mizan ) will be set up, and Paradise and Hellfire will be witnessed. All this follows the stages of the Grave Interrogation (musa’alat al-qabr ) and the Intermediate World (`alam al-barzakh ).

However, they reject transmigration of the souls claimed by those who deny the promised Day of Resurrection, because it contradicts the principles of the Holy Qur'an and the HolySunnah .

TheShi`ah believe that Muhammadibn `Abdullahibn `Abd al-Muttalib - peace of Allah be upon him and his Household -[9] is the last, the seal, and the most preferred of all the Prophets and Messengers. Almighty Allah has safeguarded him against flaws and slips and protected him from committing any act of disobedience to Him, be it grave or insignificant, whether before or after hisprophethood , while disseminating the Divine Mission or on other occasions.

Almighty Allah revealed the Holy Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (S) as an eternal constitution for man. Hence, the Holy Prophet (S) delivered the whole message and fulfilled this duty honestly and sincerely, sacrificing everything for it, no matter how precious it would be.

Shi`ite writers have compiled scores of books and researches on the Holy Prophet’s life, personality, manners, characteristics and miracles.[ 10]

TheShi`ah believe that the Holy Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (S), the Prophet of Islam, through Archangel Gabriel the Honest and was recorded by a group of majorsahabah ,[11] at the head of whom was `Aliibn Abi -talib , in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (S) and under his supervision and instruction. Thesahabah learnt the Holy Qur'an by heart and had a good command of it, computed its chapters, verses, words and letters, and then transferred it to the later generations. The Holy Qur'an is currently recited by all Muslims of divergent sects, “at hours of the night and at the two ends of the day.” It has been preserved from adding, deleting, distorting, or alteration of any single character of it.

On this subject,Shi`ite scholars have written both voluminous and short books.[ 12]

TheShi`ah believe that before the Messenger of Allah (S) died, he had appointed `Aliibn Abi -talib as his vicegerent and Muslims’ leader (imam) after him so that `Ali might lead the Muslims politically, guide them intellectually and solve their problems.

In the last year of his blessed lifetime and immediately after his last ritual pilgrimage (hajj), the Holy Prophet (S), by a Divine command, gathered the crowds of the Muslims who had just completed the rites of hajj and who were, according to some narrations, more than one hundred thousand in a place called ‘Ghadir Khumm ’ and declared `Ali to be his successor. SeveralQur'anic verses were revealed concerning this important event.[ 13]

The Holy Prophet (S) also ordered people to swear allegiance to Imam `Ali (a.s ) by shaking hands with him. The grand personalities from theMuhajirun (emigrants of Mecca), theAnSar (people of al-Madinah ), and eminentsahabah were the first to pay homage and congratulate Imam `Ali on this position.[ 14]

TheShi`ah believe that Imam `Ali was appointed by a Divine Command to lead Muslims after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and to take charge of all the responsibilities of the Holy Prophet (S) which he had in his lifetime - including the leadership of the Muslim community, guidance to rightness, educating, teaching, elucidating religious laws, solving complicated intellectual problems, and taking care of major social affairs. This means that he enjoys the qualifications that make the public have confidence in him just as they trusted the Prophet (S) so that he can lead the nation to redemption. Accordingly, the Imam has the same responsibilities of the Holy Prophet excluding the reception of Divine Revelation andprophethood , becauseprophethood was sealed by Muhammadibn `Abdullah (S), the seal of the Prophets and Messengers whose religion is the seal of religions, whose law is the seal of the Divine laws, and whose Book is the seal of the Divine Books.[ 15]

TheShi`ah believe that as long as Muslims were in need of an orthodox leader and an infallible guardian, appointing other Imams to succeed `Ali (a.s ) as successor to and Imam after the Holy Prophet (S) was indispensable. This succession of leadership is necessary for establishing the roots of Islamic doctrines and precepts, preserving the principles of the religious law, and protecting the fundamentals of Islam against the dangers that threaten and have been threatening all Divine faiths and godly systems, and so the Holy Imams (a.s ) who are commissioned to play various roles and undertake various responsibilities in various circumstances, present practical patterns and programs befitting all the conditions which the Muslim nation may face in the future.

In view of this fact and due to the Divine philosophy, theShi`ah believe that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) has nominated eleven Imams to lead the Muslim nation after Imam `Ali (a.s ). Hence, these Imams, along with Imam `Ali, are called the Twelve Imams.[16] On various occasions, prophetic traditions and predictions refer to the number and tribe (namely,Quraysh ) of these Imams though their names and peculiarities are not mentioned in some traditions.

Some of these traditions are mentioned in different forms in such sources likesahih al-Bukhari andsahih Muslim, two reference books of Prophetic traditions which the Sunnites regard most authentic. These two reference books narrate that the Holy Prophet (S) has said,

“This religion will continue to exist (and on other occasions, in constancy, might, or invulnerability) as long as there are twelve princes (or vicegerents) all of whom belong to the tribe ofQuraysh (or according to other books to the family ofHashim ).”

In other reference books of merits, virtues, poetry, and literature, these Twelve Imams are mentioned by names.

Albeit the Prophetic traditions have not mentioned by name `Aliibn Abi -talib and the eleven Imams (a.s ) from his offspring, these traditions are in accord with no school of thought except that of the (Twelver )Ja`fariyyah Shi`ah . Furthermore, there is no logical explanation for these traditions except that of theShi`ah .[ 17]