Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Letter 102

Rabi’ al-Thani 11, 1330

I Why the Imam Abstained on the Saqifa Day from Citing Such Texts,

1) Everybody knows that neither the Imam nor any of his supporters among the descendants of Hashim and others witnessed such an allegiance, nor did they enter that saqifa then. They were distracted from it and whatever went on inside it. They were totally preoccupied by their tremendous calamity: the demise of the Messenger of Allah, and their conducting of the appropriate funeral preparations for him, peace be upon him and his progeny, paying no attention to anything else.

As soon as they finished burying him in his sacred resting place, those at the saqifa had already commenced their act, conducted the allegiance, and tightly tied their knot, being extremely careful in forbidding any speech or deed that would weaken their allegiance, affect their deal, or annoy their commoners; so, where were the Imam during the events of the saqifa, the giving or the taking of allegiance to al-Siddiq so that he might argue with them?

How can he or anyone else be expected to argue after the allegiance had already been taken, and those who had a say had taken such measures? Can any one person in our present time face the authorities, uproot their power, and abolish their government? Would they leave such a person alone if he attempted to do so? Impossible. So, compare the past with the present, for neither people nor times have changed much.

Yet ‘Ali (as) did not expect his arguments with them then to cause anything other than dissension. He preferred to lose what was his over its attainment under such circumstances. He feared that such dissension might harm Islam and its kalima, as we have previously explained, saying that he was inflicted in those days more than anyone else by two major catastropes:

On one hand, caliphate, in its texts and wills, cried unto him and invoked him in a complaint that would make the heart bleed, and the oppressive dissension on the other warned him of an uprising in the peninsula, a possible rebellion of the Arabs that would sweep Islam away, threatening it with the hypocrites among the residents of Medina who were accustomed to hypocrisy, supported by the bedouins who, according to the text of the Book of Allah (9:101), are hypocrites, nay, even worse in disbelief and hypocrisy, so much so, that it would be better for them not to know the limits of what Allah has revealed unto His Messenger (9:97).

These have become stronger by the loss of the Prophet (pbuh), peace be upon him and his progeny, and Muslims became like frightened cattle in a winter night, surrounded by assaulting jackels and wild beasts. Musaylamah the Liar, conspirator Talhah ibn Khuwaylid, and sorceress Sajah daughter of al-Harath, in addition to their rogues and hoodlums, were all trying their best to wipe Islam out and crush the Muslims.

Add to this the fact that the Romans, the followers of Kisra and Caesar, besides many others, were plotting against the Muslims. Still add to these other elements full of grudge against Muhammad, his progeny and companions, and full of hatred towards the message of Islam. All these parties desired to uproot Islam's foundations.

These were active in doing so, rushing their steps, seeing that the wind was finally blowing in their direction, and the opportunity because of the departure of the Prophet (pbuh) to the Sublime Companion had come; so, they wished to make use of that opportunity before Islam regained its strength and resumed order. ‘Ali (as) was aware of both dangers, and it was only natural that he would offer his own right on the altar of sacrifice for the sake of the Muslims.341

But he also wanted to maintain his right for the caliphate and argue with those who departed from it in a way that would neither harm the Muslims, nor cause dissension among them, nor encourage their enemy to take advantage thereof.

He, therefore, remained at home till he felt obligated, not forced, to leave it. Had he rushed to them, he would not have had any argument, nor would his followers have had any proof, but he secured, by taking such a stand, both the protection of the faith, and the maintaining of his own right to rule the Muslims.

When he saw that preserving Islam and responding to the plots of its enemies depended during those days on calm and peace, he paved in person the way for calmness, preferring to make peace with those who had a say just to protect the nation and out of his concern about the faith, being concerned about religion and in preference of the good to come to the present one, implementing his jurisdic as well as moral obligation to prefer, while still opposing, what was most important to what was more important, since the circumstances then permitted neither the use of the sword, nor the response through one argument against another.

II Reference to his and his Followers' Arguments Despite Obstacles.

2) In spite of all this, he and his descendants (as), in addition to the learned among his followers, used to follow wisdom when mentioning the will, publicizing for its clear texts, as is obvious to those who research, Wassalam.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 103

Looking for His and His Followers' Arguments

Rabi’ al-Thani 12, 1330

When did the Imam do so? And when did his kin and supporters do that? Please acquaint us with a portion of it, Wassalam.

Sincerely,

Letter 104

Rabi’ al-Thani 15, 1330

I A Few Incidents When the Imam Argued,

1) The Imam used to be quiet in publicizing the texts pertaining to him, without using them for personal gains against his opponents out of his own concern about the safety of Islam and to safeguard the strength of Muslims.

He often used to defend his silence and reluctance to demand it, in such circumstance, by saying: "A man is not blamed if he takes his time in obtaining what is his; the blame is on that who takes what does not belong to him."342 He used to apply certain methods crowned with manifest wisdom in disseminating the texts in his honour.

Have you noticed what he did in the incident of the Rahba, when he gathered people during his caliphate to celebrate the Ghadir Day? He said to them: "I ask each Muslim of you who heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, say on the Ghadir Day what he said to stand and testify to what he had heard, and nobody should stand except those who have seen him;" thirty companions, including twelve participants in the battle of Badr, testified to what they had heard of the Ghadirhadith as we have indicated above in Letter No. 56.

This is the maximum that he could do under such critical circumstances due to ‘Uthman's murder, and the mutiny in Basra and Syria. It is, indeed, the peak of wisdom in such publicity in those days, and what a praiseworthy effort that revived the Ghadir tradition from its tomb and brought it to life after it was almost buried for good! The crowds at the Rahba were reminiscent of those who witnessed the Prophet (pbuh) (pbuh) on Ghadir Khumm day taking ‘Ali (as) in his own eminent hand and addressing a hundred thousand or more of his nation to convey to them the message that he would be his successor.

Thus, the Ghadir tradition is one of the most reliable among consecutive traditions; so, observe the Prophet's wisdom when he exhorted him in front of such thronging crowds, and be mindful of the wisdom of thewasi on that Friday when he asked them to testify, thus highlighting the truth in a quiet manner dictated by circumstances, and by a peaceful method the Imam preferred.

Thus was his method in disseminating the covenant and publicizing for the tradition. He was the type of person who would attract the attention of the unaware through means which did not require making a lot of noise or creating bad feelings among people.

Consider what the authors of books of traditions have quoted of his own hadith, peace be upon him, during the incident of the feast arranged by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, at the house of his uncle, the most dignified man among the people of Mecca, when he warned his near in kin. It is a lengthy and sacred tradition people have always considered as one of the proofs of Prophethood and the miracles of Islam due to its inclusion of the Prophetic miracle of feeding a large number of people with very little food.

We have already quoted it in Letter No. 20. It concludes by stating that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, took ‘Ali (as) by the neck and said: "This is my brother, the executor of my will, and my own successor; so, listen to him and obey him." He used quite often to tell how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, said to him: "You are thewali of every believer after me," and he also quite often used to narrate this statement of the Prophet (pbuh): "Your status to me is like that of Aaron to Moses, except there will be no Prophet after me," and, reminescing of Ghadir Khumm, "Do not I have more authority over the believers than the believers themselves have?" They said: "Yes, indeed." He then said: "To whomsoever I have been a wali, this (‘Ali (as)) is his wali," in the words of Ibn Abu ‘?sim, as we explained at the conclusion of Letter No. 23, in addition to many such irrefutable texts. They have been publicized by the most trustworthy and reliable traditionists. This is all that he was able to do during those circumstances. ["Purposeful wisdom; so, how can the nuthur be of any use?"]

On the Day ofShüra , he discharged his responsibility and warned others, sparing none of his own attributes or feats without using it as an argument. During the days of his caliphate, he often complained about the gross injustice done to him, painfully announcing his complaint from the pulpit, saying: "By God, that person vested it upon himself, knowing that my place from it was like the axle from the quern: From me does the stream of knowledge flow, and birds do not soar higher; so, I lowered against it my curtain and kept aloof therefrom. I had to opt between either fighting with an amputated arm, or be patient about a blind calamity in which the grown-ups become elderly and the youngsters grow gray hair, one wherein a mu'min sweats till he meets his Lord. I decided that to be patient was wiser; so I became patient while seeing eye sores, tongue-tied, witnessing my inheritance being plundered," to the end of his shaqshaqi sermon, which is khutba 3 in Nahjul Balaghah, page 25, Vol. 1.

He often said: "O Lord! I seek Thy assistance against Quraysh and those who support them, for they have cut my flesh, demeaned my status, and disputed with me about what is mine, then they said: ‘It is only right that we take it, and that you should abandon it.'" Refer to either khutba 167 or page 103, Vol. 2, ofNahjul Balaghah .

In the same khutba, someone said to him: "You seem to be so much concerned about this matter." The Imam (as) answered: "No; by God you are more concerned about it than I am. I have demanded one of my own rights, while you have stood between it and my attaining thereof."

He, peace be upon him, has also said: "By Allah, since the time when Allah took the life of his Messenger, peace be upon him and his progeny, till today, I have always been pushed away from my right, while others are preferred over me," as in khutba 5, page 36, Vol. 1, ofNahjul Balaghah.

He, peace be upon him, said once: "We have a right; if we do not attain it, we will have to mount old camels even if the journey is lengthy."343 He, peace be upon him, said in a letter he wrote to his brother ‘Aqil: "May the One who affects justice retaliate on my behalf against Quraysh who have separated me from my own kin and deprived me the support of my own maternal brother," as stated in epistle 36, page 67, Vol. 3, inNahjul Balaghah. He, peace be upon him, quite often used to say: "I looked around and found no supporter other than my Ahl al-Bayt whom I preferred to protect against death, overlook against my wish, and I remained patient, containing my anger though it is more bitter than colocynth [Citrullus Colocynthis]," as in khutba 25, page 62, Vol. 1, ofNahjul Balaghah.

Some of his friends asked him once: "How did you keep your folk away from that post knowing that you have more right to it than anyone else?" He, as stated on page 79, Vol. 2, of Nahjul Balaghah, statement 157, answered: "O fellow of Banu Asad! You are disturbed by such a mysterious matter to the extent that you ask your question awkwardly. Yet we are obligated to you due to our kinship, and you have the right to ask such a question. You have asked, so be informed that as regarding some people oppressing us in this regard, while they know that we are superior in lineage to them, and stronger in blood ties to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), this came due to the selfishness of certain people who were supported by others. The government is only to Allah, and the return is unto Him on the Day of Judgment; so, do not ask me about the usurpation called for even inside his [Prophet's] own chambers..."

He, peace be upon him, has also said: "Where are those who claim that they are more deeply rooted in knowledge than we are? They tell lies about us and flagrantly oppress us though Allah has raised our status and lowered theirs, granted us and deprived them, and permitted us to enter while ordering them out, and through us has He taken them out of the darkness of blindness into the light of guidance.

The seeds of imamate have been planted in the wombs of the descendants of Hashim of Quraysh; it suits nobody else, and caliphate is appropriate for nobody other than them...," to the conclusion of statement 140, on page 36 and the succeeding pages, Vol. 2, ofNahjul Balaghah.

Consider his statement in one of his sermons: "When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, passed away, some people turned back [in their covenant to him], aiming to take various paths [rather than just one Right Path], relying on treachery, favouring those who were not his kin, abandoning the path they were ordered to take in order to please him, thus moving the foundation stones of Islam from their places, using other sinful substances in the building of its structure.

They have entered into Islam through the doors of those who follow their own inclinations, going to extremes in their bewilderment, distracted like drunkards, following the sunnah of the descendants of Pharaoh, worshippers of this life, those who have deliberately abandoned their religion." Refer to this statement, which is cited at the beginning of page 25; it concludes sermon 2, Vol. 1, of Nahjul Balaghah, which he delivered after receiving the oath of allegiance, for it is one of the greatest. In it, he says: "Nobody can be compared with the progeny of Muhammad, peace be upon him, from all the members of this nation, and nobody can be the peer of those who have received His blessing. They are the corner-stones of the faith, the pillars of conviction; through them does the extremist return to moderation, and through them does the one who has left knowledge behind him retracts; they possess the characteristics of those who deserve to rule, and in them lie the covenant and the legacy. Now right has returned to its people and transferred back to its appropriate place." Add to this his statement cited in the context of sermon 84, page 145, Vol. 1, of Nahjul Balaghah in which he wonders about those who oppose him: "How amazed I am to see the error of these groups, disputing in their arguments about their religion, neither following in the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh), nor the example of hiswasi ...!"

II The Argument of al-Zahra' (as).

2) Al-Zahra', peace be upon her, delivered very wise arguments in this regard. Two of her own statements were in wide circulation among Ahl al-Bayt (as), so much so that they used to require their children to memorize them just as they required them to memorize the entire text of the Holy Qur'an. They deal with those who "moved the foundation stones of the faith from their bases" and built them somewhere else. She said:

"How dare they? Where have they moved it [caliphate] to, building it somewhere else other than at the haven of the Message, the foundations of Prophethood, the place where the faithful spirit [Gabriel] descends, the one who is the authority about secular as well as religious matters? This, indeed, is the manifest loss. Why do they hate al-Hasan's father so much?

By Allah, they hate the strength of his sword, his might and astounding deeds, and his extra-ordinary effort in supporting the religion of Allah. By Allah, had they all yielded to his leadership,344 he would have taken them to the easy path, without harming anyone. He would have brought them to an overflowing fountain of goodness, advised them in secrecy and in public, neither filling his belly with their own sustenance, nor satisfying his thirst nor hunger out of their own toil.

The gates of mercy of the heavens and the earth would have been widely opened for them. Allah will punish them for the sins they were committing; so, come and listen to the story, and so long as you live, be amazed, and when you are amazed, the incident bemuses you... Where have they gone, and which nitche have they clung to? What an evil guardian they have taken, and what an evil bunch! How evil is the end of the oppressors who traded the tails for the hoofs, and the rumps for the chests!

So, dusted are the noses of those who think that they have done well; they are the ones who fill the world with corruption without knowing it. Woe unto them! ‘Isn't that who guides to the truth more worthy of being followed than the one who does not guide? What is the matter with you? How do you judge?'"345

Up to the conclusion of her sermon which is a specimen of the speech of the purified progeny in this regard, and you may judge the rest by this one, Wassalam.

Sincerely,

Sh

Letter 105

Requesting Narration of Other Such Incidents

Rabi’ al-Thani 16, 1330

We aspire to complete the benefit if you quote others besides the Imam and al-Zahra', and you will thus do us a favour, Wassalam.

Sincerely,

Letter 106

Rabi’ al-Thani 18, 1330

I Ibn ‘Abbas's Argument,

1) May I invite your attention to the dialogue between Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Umar in which the latter, in a lengthy conversation between both men, asked: "O Ibn ‘Abbas! Do you know what stopped your folks [from demanding the caliphate] after Muhammad (pbuh)?" Ibn ‘Abbas narrates saying: "I hated to answer ‘Umar's question, so I said to him: ‘If I do not know, the commander of the faithful [i.e. ‘Umar] knows.'" ‘Umar said: "[Some people simply] hated that both prophethood and caliphate be confined to your House; so, they were happy about their scheme. Quraysh sought it for thmselves, and were able to obtain it." I said: "O commander of the faithful! Do you permit me to say something and promise to control your anger?"

He answered in the affirmative; therefore, Ibn ‘Abbas said: "As regarding your statement, O commander of the faithful, that Quraysh sought it for themselves and were successful in obtaining it, I say that had Quraysh sought what Allah had chosen for them, their choice would have been unobjectionable and unblamed. As regarding your statement that they hated to see both prophethood and caliphate in our House, I say that Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, has described some people to be malicious, saying, ‘... that is so because they hated what Allah has revealed, so He rendered their deeds vain.'" ‘Umar then said: "Impossible, O Ibn ‘Abbas, for I heard things about you which I hate to believe else your status in my eyes should be reduced."

I asked: ‘What are they, O commander of the faithful? If they are true, they should not lower my status in your esteem, and if they are not, I am capable of defending myself against false charges.' ‘Umar then said: ‘It has come to my knowledge that you say that they have deprived you of it [caliphate] out of envy, oppression and injustice.'

I said: ‘As regarding your statement, O commander of the faithful, that it was oppression, then that has become quite obvious to those who are ignorant as well as to those who are clement. As regarding your statement about envy, then Adam was envied, and we are his descendants who also are envious.' ‘Umar then said: ‘Impossible, impossible; your hearts, O descendants of Hashim, have become filled with envy that can never dissipate.'

I therefore said: ‘Wait, O commander of the faithful, do not attribute this to the hearts of those whom Allah has purified with a perfect purification.'"346

He argued with him in another incident, asking: "How did you leave your cousin?" Ibn ‘Abbas said he thought ‘Umar meant ‘Abdullah ibn Ja’far; so, he answered: "I left him in the company of his friends." He said: "I did not mean him; I meant the greatest among you, Ahl al-Bayt." Ibn ‘Abbas said: "I left him exiled, irrigating while reciting the Qur'an." ‘Umar said: "O ‘Abdullah! I implore you not to be shy but tell me if he is still concerned about the issue of caliphate." He answered in the affirmative.

Then ‘Umar asked: "Does he claim that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has selected him for it?" Ibn ‘Abbas answered: "Yes, indeed; moreover, I even asked my father if there was any statement made by the Messenger of Allah regarding selecting him for the caliphate, and my father informed me that that was the truth."

‘Umar then said: "The Messenger of Allah held him in very high esteem through his speeches and actions in a way that left no argument nor excuse for anyone,347 and he kept testing the nation regarding him for some time;348 nay, even when he was sick [prior to his demise], he wished to nominate him for it, but it was I who stopped him."349

In a third dialogue between both men, ‘Umar said: "O Ibn ‘Abbas! I can see how wronged your friend [‘Ali (as)] is." Ibn ‘Abbas said: "O commander of the faithful, then affect justice on his behalf." Ibn ‘Abbas said: "But ‘Umar pulled his hand from mine and went away whispering to himself for a good while.

Then he stopped; so, I rejoined him, and he said to me: ‘O Ibn ‘Abbas! I do not think that his people denied him [the caliphate] for any reason other than his being too young for it.' I said to him: ‘By Allah, neither Allah nor His Messenger regarded him as too young when they both ordered him to takeSürat Bara'a (Qur'an, Chapter 9) from him [from Abu Bakr].' Having heard this, he turned away from me and started walking fast; so, I left him alone."350

How often has ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, who is the scribe of the Muslim nation, the spokesman of the Hashimites, and cousin of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), encountered such stances? In Letter No. 26, you have come to see how he argues with the oppressive party by citing a tradition that counts ten exclusive merits of ‘Ali (as).

It is a lengthy and eminent tradition in which he quotes the Prophet (pbuh) asking his cousins: "Who among you would be my supporter in [matters related to] this life and the life hereafter?" They declined, but ‘Ali (as) said: "I support you in this life as well as the life to come." The Prophet (pbuh) then said to ‘Ali (as): "You are mywali in this life and the life to come."

In another tradition, Ibn ‘Abbas narrates that during the Tabuk raid, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) went out, accompanied by many people, and ‘Ali (as) asked him: "Shall I accompany you?" The Messenger of Allah denied his request; so, ‘Ali (as) wept; whereupon the Prophet (pbuh) said to him: "Are you not pleased that your status to me is like that of Aaron to Moses, except there is no Prophet (pbuh) after me? I ought not leave except after you represent me in my absence." The Messenger of Allah has also told him: "You are thewali of every believer after me," and "Whoever accepts me as his wali, ‘Ali (as) [henceforth] is hismawla ."

II Arguments of al-Hasan and al-Husayn,

2) The dignitaries among the descendants of Hashim often argued likewise. Once al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (as) came to Abu Bakr who had seated himself on the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and told him to get down from a place his father was more worthy of. Al-Husayn (as) is reported to have said similarly to ‘Umar who was also seated on the same pulpit.351

III Arguments of Prominant Shi’ah Sahabah,

3) Books written by imamites who dealt with this topic cite many incidents wherein the Hashimites and their followers among thesahabah andtabi’in argued likewise, and they ought to be reviewed by those who are interested in their contents. Suffices here to cite the book of arguments by imam al-Tibrisi in which he quotes statements made by the Omayyad Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn al-’s,352 Salman al-Farisi, Abu Tharr al-Ghifari, ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, al-Miqdad, Buraydah al-Aslami, Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tihan, Sahl and ‘Uthman sons of Hanif, Khuzaymah ibn Thabit of the two Shahadas, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Abu Ayyüb al-Ansari, and many others among those who researched the history of Ahl al Bayt and of their followers.

Yet they never missed any opportunity to prove their point by citing explicit or implicit references, strongly or smoothly worded, speeches and writings, poetry and prose, according to whatever their circumstances, though critical, permitted.

IV Reference to their Applying the Will as an Argument.

4) They repeatedly referred to the will, using it as an argument, as is well-known by researchers, Wassalam.

Sincerely,

Letter 107

When did they Mention the Will?

Rabi’ al-Thani 19, 1330

When did they mention the will to the Imam, and when did they use it in their argument? I do not think that they mentioned it other than in the presence of the mother of the believers who denied it, as we explained before, Wassalam.

Sincerely,