Chapter 6
In this discussion, it was decided to analyze the third factor in the alteration of Islam i.e. fabrication of traditions. However, as the main issues are bygone, only the balance has remained which perhaps without them, the depth of the matter cannot be clarified the way it should be done.
The noble verses which you have witnessed in the first part of our discussion are an address to the Holy Prophet (S) which say:
«O Prophet! surely We have sent you as a witness (Someone can be called a witness i.e. he can be a witness on behalf of God over all the good and evil deeds of men only if he himself possesses such characteristics as God wishes) and as a bearer of good news and as a warner, and as one being invited to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch.»
Also: «Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them an Apostle from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and Wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error.»
Also: «Surely We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah, and the prophets after him, and We revealed to Abraham and Ishmaeel.... (We sent) apostles as the givers of good news and as warners, so that people should not have a plea against Allah after the (coming of) apostles.»
This is the scheme of creation of the Universe and this aim and objective of the Lord of the Universe begins right from the appointment of Prophets. However, as mentioned before, those people whose lust and carnal desires did not match these heavenly teachings especially the powerful and affluent ones whose outburst of desires, lust and anger was met through exertion of force and who did not wish to go under the burden of restrictions of the divine rules, rose in opposition to these rules and teachings.
Factors Which Attributed To The Alteration Of Religions
One of the ways of their opposition and campaign was to repress the propagation of these teachings and commands. Thus, they brought under their check the narration and propagation of the sayings and hadith of the Holy Prophet (S). However, as they could not prevent the propagation of all the sayings of the Holy Prophet and the Muslims could still hear the Prophet's hadiths from some comer or the other which was possible to rupture the policy and custom of those who were having a hand in this campaign and make them lose their credibility in the eyes of the people, they were forced to basically render null the traditions of the Holy Prophet form the view-point of their value, sacredness and heavenly credibility so that there would no longer remain much possibility of perfect reliance on them.
In the past, adequate discussion took place on these two matters. The remaining portion which we wish to mention here is that which concerns the sayings of the Holy Prophet himself. Whatever has occurred for the past nations will also occur for this nation. Therefore, a question arises and that is whether such events had also taken place in the past and whether the previous nations had committed oppression against their respective Prophets or not?
The reply to this postulation is affirmative. Unfortunately, such lies and accusations were prevalent in the past nations too!
Of course the details of this will be mentioned when we will be discussing the manner and dimension of alteration in the contents of Islam. However, at this stage, we shall set forth as an example an event which reveals the reason and manner of such actions.
Just as it is true in all divine religions, in the case of Zoroastrian religion too, it is believed that wedding with the intimate ones was not permissible. However, for centuries now marriage with the intimate ones like mother and sister is considered to be lawful
.
Undoubtedly, the Prophet of Zoroastrians was amongst the heavenly Prophets just as the same is proved for us from the ways and behaviour of the Holy Prophet with the people of the Book and the Zoroastrians.
It has been narrated from Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) that very far in the past, Zoroastrian King slept with his own daughter when in a state of intoxication. News spread amongst the people and when all gathered around his palace, they said: 'O King! you have ruined our religion. Give up yourself so that we can purify you by implementing the penal law. The King replied: Come close together and listen to what I have to say. If my words satisfies you all, let it be and if it doesn't, you may do whatever you like.
The people gathered. He said: «Do you know that God has not created any creature more beloved than our father Adam (a.s.) and our mother Eve (a.s.)?»
They said: you have spoken the truth.
He said: has not Hazrat Adam (a.s.) given his daughters to his sons and his sons to his daughters in marriage?
They said: «You have spoken the truth. This is truly the religion.»
All concluded a pact on this deed and forgot whatever knowledge they possessed of their sacred laws.
In this way, matrimony with the intimate ones got recorded in the Magian religion and the heavenly religion fell victim to distortions. Such distortions have always existed in the past including this 'Ummah' (nation) where those in power presented the sayings and behaviour of the Prophets in such manner as to match them with their personal desires.
Previously too, I had mentioned to you the story of that Uthmani governor of Baghdad who used to strictly refrain from accepting bribes. You also realized how the corrupt bribe - takers set up a true appearance in support of bribe - taking and presented a practical show where they reckoned it to be a God-loving one until the simple - minded governor too fell victim to their trap and the door of bribe-taking was once again kept open for one and all.
In short, those possessing power and influence want to accept bribes which is contrary to the Islamic certainties. Similarly, they want to practice corruption, drink wine, listen to lustful songs and music, make fun by playing with dogs and monkeys, gamble and easily plunder the people's wealth in an easy and unthreatened manner. In order to achieve these, it is necessary for them to produce some pretext and then give it the shape and colour of Islamic laws and canons. It is here that the launchers of traditions come of help.
The ignormus mercenaries attribute such type of behaviours to the Prophets in the form of traditions and degrade the heavenly position of these great characters to the level of one ordinary person and even much below, so that the one who is a dog-fancier, gambler, wine - biber or adulterer like Yazid and Walid can rule cover the Muslims as the Caliph of the Religion without much opposition!! This was the second factor in the alteration of Islam!
110- However in recent centuries since the Zoroastrians have lived in thc Islamic societies, they have gradually and steadily given up this practice and considered it to be an evil and ugly act. Refer to Sae'ed Nafisi: «The social history of Iran» 2/35 and Christensen: «Iran at the time of Sassanides» - translated by Rashid Yasemi Pg. 348 - 2nd edition.
Fabrication Of Traditions
The third factor in the alteration of Islam is the fabrication Of traditions. As a matter of fact, all the alterations spring from here and occur due to this very factor because, we are already aware that the glorious Quran will remain immune under from all sorts of attack and danger. Divine Protection However the area which is prone to attack and as a result likely to he affected is the description and exegesis of Quran i.e. the traditions and 'Sunnah' (ways) of the Holy Prophet. We are also aware that Islam possess two fundamental pillars - the holy Quran and the 'Sunnah'. As such, attack on the 'Sunnah' or traditions is in fact an attack on Islam and distortion in them is a distortion in Islam.
Therefore, our most fundamental discussion lies here even though in our classification, we have mentioned it to be the third factor in alteration after mentioning the first factor i.e. prevention of writing, narration and propagation of traditions and the second factor i.e. degrading the status of the Prophet.
Thus the third factor in alteration is the fabrication of traditions by means of which the ultimate aim of the enemies of Islam were achieved and the atheist and the dualists could distort the religion of Islam - although the divine religion was revived and taken back to the human-society by the help of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt and this was nothing but the Grace of God. We shall, God-willing, mention the details of this matter in the future. However, before that we must examine and discuss its form and root under various sections.
Why Did They Fabricate Traditions?
Abu Jafar Mansoor, the second Abbassid ruler called his son Muhammad by the title of Mahdi so as to show off that that Mahdi which the Holy Prophet has informed about his emergence in the future is this very son of mine i.e. Muhammad Mahdi. In the gathering which was held for giving allegiance to Mahdi so that he could become the official heir-apparent to Mansoor, the poets were reciting poems and odes and every one strived in some way or the other to bring themselves close to the Abbassid Caliph and draw his attention towards themselves. One of the courtiers by the name of Mu'teeh-ibn-Aiyas too forged and presented a tradition as such:
The Holy Prophet said:
المهدي منا: محمد بن عبد الله و أمّه من غيرنا يملأها عدلاً كما ملئت جورا
«Mahdi is from us and he is Muhammad, the son of Abdullah but his mother is not from our family. He will fill the earth with justice just as it had been fraught with oppression.»
He strived to insert all the signs of Mahdi Abbassid in the tradition and after narrating the tradition, he pointed to the Abbasid Caliph's brother who was present in the gathering and said: «He too is aware of this tradition. He knows its authenticity!»
Under extreme pressure he too said: «Yes, he is speaking the truth!»
Later on, he told his associates as such: «See how he has wrongfully involved us. He compelled me to confirm his blatant lie.»
This was one example showing how and in what manner the matter of the satisfaction of one powerful Caliph was effective enough in producing or fabricating traditions.
In the special scheme which was a part of the policy of the Abbassids, Mahdi Abbassid was supposed to behave in a very comely manner toward the people and deal with them in justice and kindness. For example, Abu Jafar Mansoor had confiscated an enormous amount of wealth which belonged to the people. He did not do this for personal profit as such but deposited them in the government treasury in the name of its owners so that in the near future when his son would gain control of the government succeeding him, he could return back these wealth to its owners and in this way attract the attention and satisfaction of the public and exhibit that the one who was to spread justice on earth is none other than him and he is the same promised Mahdi of Islam.
In implementing this plan, Mahdi strived hard to give a superficial arrangement to his affairs so that everyone would recognize him as a pious and good person. But nevertheless, he was pathetically attracted towards pigeons and was fond of playing and looking after them and he just could not forsake them!!
One day, a traditionist connected to the court by the name of Atab-ibn-Ibrahim Nakh'ee goes in the presence of the Abbassi a Caliph and draws his attention towards his son who was busy playing with the pigeons. Of course, this situation was not so much desirable, especially if we take into account this matter that he wanted to manifest himself as the Promised Mahdi of the nation. Anyhow, in order to attract the satisfaction of the Caliph and diminish his annoyance, Atab-ibn-Ibrahim narrated a tradition as follows:
حدثنا فلان، عن فلان، عن أبي هريرة، أن النبي (ص) قال: لا سبق إلا في خف أو نعل أو حافر
So and so a person narrated for me a tradition from Abu Huraira that the Holy Prophet (S) said:
«No competition is lawful except in shooting, horse-race and camel-race.»
Then, he himself added [أو جناح ] and in flying pigeons!
Why did Atab-ibn-Ibrahim do such a thing? He was also not given such a command by the Abbassid Caliph. But as he was fully aware of the situation, he added something to a tradition which was authentically true just for the sake of giving validity to the status of the Caliphate and manifesting the Caliphs behaviour to be lawful and hence pleasing him. The Caliph Mahdi Abbassid gifted him with ten thousand dirhams. When this traditionist left the assembly. Mahdi Abbassid told his associates as such: 'I swear by God that Atab has attributed a lie to the Messenger of God.'
However, the reason why the Abbassid ruler said these words was that despite being in pressing need of such a fabricated tradition. He only wanted to pretend his (so called) piousness.
In both the afore-said traditions, Muteeh-ibn-Aiyas and Atab-ibn-Ibrahim distorded the traditions in order to gain satisfaction of both the Abbassid Caliphs i.e. Mansoor and his son Mahdi. In this act of distortion they tampered with the tradition which was narrated from the Holy Prophet and which was well-known amongst the people.
The first one simulated that the applicability of the numerous traditions of the Holy Prophet with regards to the promised Mahdi is the same Mahdi Abbassid, the heir-apparent to Mansour and he also called those present to bear witness to his saying.
The second one added one word [جناح ] to the tradition of the Holy Prophet about horse-racing and shooting in order that the matter of pigeon- playing by the Caliph becomes included alongside horse-racing and shooting and hence earns an Islamic value.
Therefore, it is quite clear that in the matter of fabrication of traditions, they used to sometimes make use of the famous traditions of the Holy Prophet and by increasing or decreasing some portion of it, they would achieve their aim.
From the above two examples, we clearly realized that the reason why the traditions and hadiths were forged were mostly for the sake of pleasing the Caliphs and those in power in the government even though at times, the Caliph had not given any special instructions in this regard. Of course, it is quite obvious that had the Caliph given such an instruction then the matter of fabrication of tradition would have taken a more disasterous turn.
Official Command For Forging Traditions
Mada'eni
who is amongst the first and the most reliable historians narrates in his book «Al Ehdas» as such: «In the year of congregation,
Muawiya wrote and despatched a common command for his agents who were ruling in all the cities of the Islamic territory - right from India to as far away as Africa. In that command, Muawiya wrote: Anyone who narrates anything about the excellence of «Abu-Turab» and his progeny will render his blood useless and his property dishonourable and will bring about his expulsion from the domain of protection of the government.
After the issuance of this declaration, the people of Kufa i.e. the followers of the household of the descendants of Ali (a.s.) suffered pain and persecution more than the others. These people were those who had been trained in the school of Amirul-Mumineen Ali (AS.) and were well acquainted with Hazrat's love and affection. Persons like Maitham Tammar, Sa'asat-ibn-Suhan, Hur-ibn-Adi and Adi-ibn-Hatim had lived amongst the people of this city. They were those who lived with the love of Amir-ul- Mumineen (a.s.) and also departed this world with his love. Therefore, they were willing to bear the severity and difficulty of this declaration and resign themselves to prison, torture, plunder and death.
The Command Gains Severity
For the second time, Muawiya issued a command to all his agents instructing them not to accept the testimony of any of the Shias of Ali and his household. (until now too, the testimony of the Shias was not being accepted in some of the countries. In the eyes of the ruling government, they were invalid from the view-point of justice. If there was anyone amongst them who would bear witness in the court, it would not be accepted) Muawiya wrote: «All the friends and lovers of Uthman and all those who narrate traditions about his excellence who live under your rule should be identified and honoured. Write to me about whatever they have narrated about Uthman's superiority and register their names and the names of their household.»
For this reason anyone who would narrate a tradition from the Holy Prophet (S) about the Virtues of Uthman would prove to be a sort of an official document and would be sent to the Umayyad court. This order was so implemented that the virtues of Uthman and the traditions which comprised his virtues gained abundance. This was because Muawiya would unsparingly employ on this path money, robe of honour, awards, properties, lands and whatever he had at his disposal and would distribute them amongst the Arabs.
Therefore, distortion of traditions spread far and wide in every Islamic city and the mammonists competed with each other in gaining access to them. There was no expelled person who would approach the official agents and ruler of Muawiya's government and narrate a tradition about Uthman's virtues and superiority but that his name would be registered and would gain likeability of the ruling power. Moreover his intercession on behalf of others would be accepted and would gain social respect and prestige. Some time elapsed in this manner!
The Issue Of The Third Command
After this declaration, another command was issued from the central Caliphate stating that the traditions about Uthman has excelled in number and has spread in all the corners of the Islamic cities. «When my letter reaches you, invite the people to narrate traditions about the virtues of the initial companions (of the Prophet) and the Caliphs. Do not keep with yourselves any tradition which has been narrated by the people about 'Abu- Turab' save that you bring for me the opposite of that about the companions. This is because, this kind of an affair is more lovable to me and pleases me more and vanquishes more the reasonings of Abu-Turab and his Shias and the matter of Uthman's virtues and his superiority is more severe for them!
The instructions contained in Muawiya's letter was read out to the people and what followed was fabricated traditions about the virtues of the companions (of the Holy Prophet). In this regard, people narrated traditions to a great extent such that they found their way on the pulpits of the Islamic cities and the teachers of the school in every house.
Moreover, they taught these forged traditions to the children and youngsters and repeated them so often that they became accepted like the holy Quran. Very soon these traditions spread amongst the women and daughters in the house and the maid-servants and slaves. The male members of the house would listen to such traditions from the official pulpits and the sermons of Friday-prayers and after reaching home would divulge them to their family members and servants. This state continued for many years. Muawiya possessed Caliphate and ruled from 40 A.H. to 60 A.H..
During this lengthy period, the mammonists competed with each other and took precedence over the other in fabricating traditions. In this manner, numerous traditions appeared and a great deal of fabrications circulated. The jurists, the judges and the governor - generals were all involved in this affair and were preoccupied on this mission.
Those who were involved more than the others were the deceitful and weak-faithed reciters of the Quran who used to outwardly manifest themselves to be people of worship and humility. They used to forge traditions just to derive some pleasure and favour from the governors, gain nearness to the ruling-power and derive benefit in the form of wealth and property. This state of affairs continued until the religious - minded and those who abstained from the falsehood received such false traditions. These people narrated the afore-said traditions in its true form and if they knew it to be false, they would neither divulge it nor have faith in it.
It is on the basis of such historical evidences that I always used to say, 'most of the things which exist in the Caliphate school as a faith and religion has in fact been fabricated during Muawiya's era,'
Abu Abdullah Ibrahim-ibn-Muhammad
famous as “Naftovia” belonging to the fourth century narrates in his “Tariq” a matter which, from the view- point of purport is similar to the saying of Mada'eni. He has written:-
«Most of the false traditions which they have recounted about the virtues of the companions (of the Holy Prophet) have been fabricated during the period of Bani-Ummayid. In this manner, the speaker and fabricator of such traditions wanted to gain nearness to the ruling - power and draw the attention of the ruling Ummayids. By this, the Ummayids too wanted to degrade the Bani-Hashim.
Now, we shall examine a few examples of such traditions so that we perceive more the truthfulness of the saying of Mada'eni and Naftovia.
Tradition of «Yaum-Ud-Dar» يوم الدار
When the noble verse
[وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] was revealed and the Holy Prophet was commissioned to invite his near relatives - progeny of Abdul-Muttalib towards God and warn them, it was for the first time that he was publicly announcing his invitation from his private house. Up to that day i.e. a period of three years which passed from his appointment to the mission of Messengership, his prophetic message was enclosed in his house and only Ali (AS.) and Khadija were then following it.
The verse was revealed and the Holy Prophet was given instructions to spread his invitation.
We have narrated the details of this incident in the previous lessons. Hazrat Ali-ibn-Abi Talib was living in the Holy Prophet's house. From the time when he passed the five years of age i.e. at the time of famine, the Holy Prophet took Ali (a.s.) under his guardianship. The Holy Prophet commanded Ali who was then a youth of thirteen to fifteen to cook one leg of a sheep and prepare one big bowel of mixed yogurt and water. The Bani-Hashim were invited. They were approximately forty in number. The Holy Prophet addressed them as such: «Allah has sent me with His Message in order that you recognize Him by His Oneness and recognize me by my Prophethood.»
Thereafter, he added: 'Who amongst you is ready to help me in this affair so that he would be my brother, legatee and Caliph amongst you? All those present turned back. Only Imam Amir-ul- Mumineen who was the youngest of all, rose and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, «I will be your helper in this path.»
When this affair was thrice repeated the Holy Prophet said: 'He is my brother, legatee and Caliph amongst you. Listen to him and obey his commands.
This tradition has come down with authentic documents in the reliable books of history and hadith belonging to the Caliphate school. However, as mentioned before, Muawiya had given instructions not to narrate or mention anything about the excellence of «Abu-Turab» and his family-members and instead give accounts to the opposite effect. Thus, this tradition which has been one of the most explicit proofs of Hazra'ts outstanding position in accepting Islam revealing the explicit wording and the decisive command of the Holy Prophet about his Executorship and Caliphate should be shattered and something contrary to this effect forged.
A Contradiction To This Tradition
In the original copies of the books of the Caliphate school, they have brought contradictions for this tradition from the first-hand transmitters:
From The Words Of Ayesha
A tradition which has been attributed to Ayesha has been narrated from her. We are unaware whether she has really said these words or that they have falsely been attributed to her.
The tradition is as follows:
When the verse [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] was revealed, the Holy Prophet summoned the sons of Abdul-Muttalib and said: 'O sons of Abdul-Muttalib! O my kinsmen! O Safiah, daughter of Abdul-Muttalib! O Fatemah daughter of Muhammad, fear Allah and serve Him. I cannot do anything for you. I am not the owner of anything from God's side to you!
These two traditions are contrary to each other. Now we should see which one of them is true and which one of them is false and what reasons can be set forth for the correctness of the first one or falsity of the other.
In the Caliphate school, Ayesha enjoys such a lofty position that she is placed as high as the fourth in rank after the Holy Prophet, Abu-Bakr and Omar. One of the reasons being that by making use of the traditions which they narrated in her name and the unalterable credibility which they earned from her name, they wanted to give the necessary matters to the Muslims.
Thus, a tradition narrated in the name of Ayesha but contrary to the recounted tradition of Amir-ul-Mumineen would be given priority in the Caliphate school of thought. For this reason, a tradition containing the virtues of Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) has fallen from its worth and credibility.
We will evaluate two traditions from the view-point of the rules of 'Science of traditions'. The points which are worthy of attention here are as follows:-
Firstly, with regards to the consensus of all the Ulemas (scholars) of Islam, the verse being discussed has been revealed in the third year of the Holy Prophet's appointment.
Secondly, the narrator of the second tradition i.e. Ayesha was born in the fourth year of the Holy Prophet's appointment
and hence could not have been a witness to the event of the tradition. Therefore the narrated tradition from Ayesha being a loose [مرسل ] tradition is creditless. On the other hand, the narrated tradition from Amir-ul-Mumineen is correct
as far as its chain of transmission is concerned and is devoid of any doubt. Moreover, at the time of the occurance of the afore-said incident, he himself was fifteen years of age.
Thirdly, Hazrat Fatemah (a.s.) whose name has appeared in the text of the second tradition, stepped into this world as per the authentic sources
in the fifth year of the Holy Prophet's appointment. Even if we accept the sayings of others (whose statements severely contradict each other) Fatemah had not yet reached the age of puberty and was at the most eight years old.
Thus under usual circumstances, she could not be the addressee to an official and religious address especially when she had three elder sisters living at that time and in case of necessity it was they who should have been addressed and not the youngest one who, even if we assume that she had been born at that time, could not have been more than eight years old.
From The Words Of Abu-Huraira
In this regard, two lengthy traditions have come down from Abu-Huraira.
In the first tradition, Abu-Huraira says:-
«When the verse [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] was revealed, the Holy Prophet invited the Quraish. All of them gathered. The Holy Prophet addressed them as such”: 'O the sons of Ka'ab-ibn-Luvi, save your near ones from the fire! 'O the sons of Murat-ibn-Ka'ab, deliver yourselves from the fire of Hell! 'O the sons of Abd-Munaf, save yourselves from the fire! 'O Bani-Hashim, save your near ones from the fire! 'O the sons of Abdul-Muttalib, deliver yourselves from the Hell and its fire!
Up to here, the Holy One speaks in a general tone (in the tradition of Abu- Huraira) but later on, his speech is directed towards individuals. He mentions special names and directs his message to them. In continuation of his speech he says:
'O Fatemah, deliver yourself from the fire of Hell. I cannot do anything for you. I am not the owner of anything before Allah for you. Deliver yourself from the fire. Of course you are related to me and I will observe the ties of Kinship with you.
Of course in this address, the Holy Prophet meant to say that he was incapable of making intercession and powerless enough to save anyone from the divine chastisement.
In another tradition which has come down from this companion in the authentic books of the Caliphate school we read as such:
'When this verse [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] was revealed, the Holy Prophet said: 'O the people of Quraish, redeem yourselves from your Lord. I cannot do anything for you before Allah! O' the sons of Abdul-Muttalib, I am incapable of doing anything for you! 'O Abbass-ibn-Abdul-Muttalib, I am incapable of doing anything for you! 'O Safiyan, the aunt of the Messenger of Allah, I am incapable of doing anything for you! 'O Fatemah, the daughter of Muhammad, you may ask me whatever you wish but I will not be able to do anything for you before Allah.
As far as these two traditions are concerned, apart from what we have said in the tradition attributed to Ayesha that in the year of revelation of the verse, Hazrat Fatemah had not yet been born, so that we could say that the Holy Prophet had possibly addressed her, there also exists another matter and it is this that we want to know. Abu-Huraira the initial narrator of the tradition was in the third year of the Holy Prophet's appointment so as to see whether he could narrate such an event? After the victory of 'Khaibar', he travelled to Medina with the group of “Ashasis” and “Dusis” of Yemen.
Thus, if he narrates anything from time prior to this period he should also mention the names of those from whom he is narrating the same. Consequently, his two traditions like the traditions of Ayesha, involve defect and flaws (discontinuity of chain of narrators)and hence makes their status of creditability shaky.
Tradition Of 'Muslim'
The third tradition which we shall review is a tradition which Muslim has narrated from Abu Uthman Nahdi. The latter says: 'Qabisah-ibn-Makhareq and Zuhair -ibn-Amro have narrated to me that at the time of revelation of the afore-said verse, the Holy Prophet stood over a heap of stones near a mountain and cried out: 'O the sons of Abd-Munaf! I am a warner to you all. My example to you is like the example of a man who witnessed his foe from a far distance and wished to go much nearer to them so as to bring more news for his people and tribe. However, he feared that he would fail and that his foe would get to his own tribe much sooner than him. Thus he cried out due to fear and warned his near ones and tribe. Like him, I too am sensing danger for you and I warn you of the fire.
Abu Uthman narrates this tradition from two persons: (1) Qabisa-ibn-Mukhareq and (2) Zubair-ibn-Amro.
A - It is only in this tradition that the name of Zubair-ibn-Amro has been mentioned and in no other place his name or traces of him can be seen. The researchers in the biographies of companions (of the Holy Prophet) and traditionists say: «The first time when Zubair was recognized in history was in Basra and before that, there was no other trace of him. He had a home in this city which was established in the fourteenth year of Hijra. The only sign through which he could be called the companion (of the Holy Prophet) was this very tradition and basically the men of 'Rijaal' (researchers in the biographies of companions) say: 'Except for this tradition, we do not recognize any other tradition from him.'
Moreover, Bukhari has not brought this tradition in his book since he does not reckon it to be correct. He says: «The reason that this tradition is incorrect and Zubair is not from the companions (of the Holy Prophet) is this that he does not notify that he has heard the tradition from the Holy Prophet.130»
Conslusion: If anyone has recognized Zubair as a companion, he has in fact made use of this tradition and relied on it. Moreover, not only is this tradition a proof of his contact with the Holy Prophet but, as per the inference of the clear-sighted people, this itself is a source of doubt of his contact with the Holy Prophet and it lacks authenticity and credibility.
Qabisa-ibn-Mukhareq belonged to the tribe of Bani-Halak. He had not seen the Holy Prophet at the time when the Muslims were in Mecca and it was only after 'Hijrat' (migration) that he, for the first time came before the Holy Prophet along with his tribe (in Medina) and accepted Islam.
Thereafter, he returned to his native hometown.
Therefore, Qabisa too had not been present at the time of revelation of this verse and apparently, had not witnessed the event so that he could narrate it without any channel and chain of transmitters.
Conclusion: We do not possess any reliable piece of information about Zubair's meeting with the Prophet and Qabisa too had no such meeting and acquaintance with the Holy Prophet at the time of revelation of the afore- said verse (in the third year).
Tradition Of A'mash Quoted From Ibn-Abbass
This event has also been mentioned in another tradition where A'mash has narrated it from Amro-ibn-Murrat who has narrated from Sa'eed-ibn-Jubair who in turn has narrated from Ibn-Abbass. In this tradition, Ibn-Abbass recites the verse as such:
وأنذر عشيرتك الاقربين و رهطك منهم المخلصين
and says: «When this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet came out and climbed the mountain of 'Safa' and cried out in a warning tone. The people said: 'Who is this man who is crying out in this manner and warning us of some danger?' Some replied: 'He is Muhammad'!» People gathered around him. The Holy Prophet said: 'O Bani so and so, 'O Bani so and so, 'O Bani- Abd Munaf and 'O Bani-Abdul Muttalib! If I inform you that your enemies are hiding behind this mountain and intend to attack you, will you accept my words? They said: We have never heard you utter a lie throughout our lives. The Holy Prophet said:
إني نذير لكم بين يدي عذاب شديد
'I warn you (all) of the severe chastisement which lies ahead'.
Abu-Lahab said:
تباً لك ألهذا جمعتنا
'May death befall you; have you gathered us over here (only) for this talk?!
It was in this connection that the verse,
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ
(May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he. Holy Quran, 111:1)
was revealed.
The first and biggest proof of falsehood of this tradition is the verse [وأنذر عشيرتك الاقربين و رهطك منهم المخلصين ] because such a verse cannot be found in the Holy Quran in such a form.
Moreover, this tradition has been narrated from Ibu-Abbass whereas, as per the specification of the researchers (in the biographies of the companions) he was born in 'She'ab', which was exactly three years before 'Hijrat' (migration)
i.e. seven years after the revelation of the verse. Therefore, the tradition of Ibn-Abbass too lacks consistency in its chain of transmitters.
The traditions which we have examined so far were traditions which have come in 'Sahih' and 'Musnad' of Ahmad. As far as the 'Tafseers' (exegesis) are concerned, the most reliable and extensive of them in the Caliphate school is the 'Tafseer' of Tabari and 'Tafseer-e-Durrul-MantHur' of Suyuti.
Traditions Of Tabari And Suyuti
The fifth tradition under our investigation is a tradition which Tabari narrates from Abu Musa Ashari who says: «When the verse: [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] was revealed, the Holy Prophet dipped his hands in his ears and cried out:, 'O Bani Abdul-Muttalib, 'O Sabahah: 'O sons of Abdul-Muttalib, I warn you of danger....»
Suyuti in 'Durrul-Manthir' has narrated this tradition from Ibn-Jurair, Tahari, Tirmidhi and others.
However, this tradition too suffers the same fate as the other traditions because the first narrator, Abu Musa came to Medina along with Abu- Huraira in the seventh year after Hijrat.
Secondly, he has narrated the tradition without any medium. As such, his tradition too, is entangled in viable transmission and lacks valency.
In interpretation of this verse, Suyuti has brought another tradition from Anas-ibn-Malik which from the view-point of text is exactly the same as the tradition of Abu-Huraira. However, as far as its chain of transmitters is concerned, this tradition too is creditless because Anas-ibn-Malik was born in Medina and basically did not meet the Holy Prophet before Hijrat (migration) and till then, had not even been to Mecca.
Moreover, at the time of the event i.e. in the third year, he was not yet even born; since at the time of the Prophet's migration which occured exactly ten years after the event, he was then ten years old.
Thus, Anas was born in Medina in the year of revelation of the verse and was not present in Mecca and even if he was present, he could not be counted amongst the eye-witnesses.
Moreover Suyuti narrates from Burah-ibn-Aazeb a tradition in this regard. Burah-ibn-Aazeb belonged to the tribe of 'Aus' and the clan of Ansar in Medina. In the second year of 'Hijrat' he wanted to participate in the battle of 'Badr' but the Holy Prophet did not allow him since he was only a youngster. This means that he was not even fifteen at that time so as to be mature enough to participate in 'Jihad' (holy war). Thus, at the time of revelation of the verse, he was approximately two years old and was living in Medina and so could not be amongst the direct eye-witnesses and narrators of the event.
These three traditions i.e. the traditions of Abu-Huraira, Anas and Burah- ibn-Aazeb are one in wording and all the three of them were not present at the time and place of revelation of the verse. Therefore, this similarity of wording of the tradition can be a document to the official directive of the Ummayid Government in the matter of fabrication of traditions whether the initial narrators have themselves done this in order to obey the command of the Ummayids or whether others have forged the information and presented them in their names.
In 'Tafseer-e-Tabari' and 'Tafseer-e-Durrul-Manthir' there exists yet other traditions which are attributed to persons like Muhammad- ibn-Shahab Zuhri and Qatada.
Just as we have mentioned before, these two gentlemen belonged to the period very much after the Holy Prophet's era and are reckoned to be amongst the group of 'disciples of the companions'. Therfore, we shall no longer linger on their tradition because the absence of the chain of transmitters in them is very clear and obvious.
Other traditions too have been narrated and Suyuti narrates them from the companions of the Holy Prophet such as Zubair. However, his chain of transmitters is inconsistent up to the person of Zubair. In other words Suyuti who was living in the
th century narrates from Zubair with the medium of one or two persons and it is clear that the gap of nine centuries between Zubair-ibn-Awam and Suyuti cannot be filled by means of one or two persons and this period is stretched out beyond twenty generations.
Thus, these traditions too lack credit and we cannot assess Zubair's remarks in this tradition to be from himself because there exists a strong possibility that he has not narrated this tradition and others have forged it in h is name. Unless and until we do not recognize the continious chain of transmitters back to the first narrator, we cannot attribute the tradition to him. Thus this tradition is far from the reach of examination or analysis and devoid of creditability.
Two Reminders
It is necessary to mention here, two points:
Firstly, the tradition which had been attributed to Ibn-Abbass wherein the expression
[و رهطك منهم المخلصين ] could be seen to be a part of the Quranic verse unfolds a place of big skepticism because it gives hint of distortion of Quran in it. I presume that this tradition is the outcome of fabrication of the beginning of the second century after 'Hijrat' because in analysing the Islamic history, I have come to this conclusion that the main endeavours of the dualists in tearing down the Islamic thought and beliefs had occured in the beginning of this century. Whether they attribute the tradition to Sa'eed- ibn-Jubair followed by Ibn-Abbass or to others makes no difference since all have treaded the same path i.e. their campaign against Islam.
Secondly, what I infer from these forged traditions is as such: Except for the above tradition, all the existing traditions have been forged during Muawiya's era. For example, Abu Uthman Nahdi who would narrate tradition from two persons, was existing at the time when Muawiya was issuing commands for the fabrication of traditions.
All the traditions too would finally get to those persons who were living during that period - whether they were reckoned to be companions or disciples of companions. However, intentionally or unintentionally they have been ascribed to be the companions.
One Corneous Lie
In interpretation of this verse, Suyuti narrates a big and corneous lie from Tabarani and Ibn-Murdowiya who narrate from Abu-Imamah Baheli who said: 'When this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet gathered his relatives and family-members. First of all he turned towards Bani-Hashim and said: Save your lives from the fire.... I will not be able to do anything for you before Allah. Thereafter, he turned towards his family-members and said: 'O Ayesha, the daughter of Abu Bakr 'O Hafseh, the daughter of Omar, 'O Umm-Salma and 'O Fatemah buy-back your lives from Allah and strive until you deliver yourselves from the fire, I will not be able to do anything for you.... Ayesha wept and said: 'Will such a day come...
We remember that the verse had been revealed in the third year of the Holy Prophet's appointment and Abu-Imamah who is famous as As'ad-ibn- Zararah was from the Ansars of Medina. He was from the initial group of the people of Medina who accepted Islam. Therefore, he had no presence at the time of revelation of the afore-said verse.
Much worse, Ayesha and Hafseh had got married to the Holy Prophet years after 'Hijrat' and at the time of revelation of the verse, not only was Ayesha unmarried to the Holy Prophet (as it is made to appear in the tradition) but had not even been born in the third year of the Holy Prophet's appointment.
Still worse than this is the fact that Abu-Imamah As'ad-ibn-Zararah died in the month of Shawwal in the first year after 'Hijrat'. Therefore, at the time when Ayesha and Hafseh had become the wives and family-members of the Holy Prophet, he did not even exist so that he could be a witness to this incident.
As such, we can say with confidence that Abu-Imamah, Ibn-Abbass and numerous other narrators have not narrated these traditions themselves and have come into existence in the year 50 A.H. following Muawiya's command for the fabrication of traditions. On the basis of this official command, the real fabricators forged these traditions for the purpose of invalidating the traditions and the virtues of Ahlul Bayt and attributed them to reliable or unreliable narrators.
However, the Holy Prophet's climb on the mountain of Safa or on a heap of stones and his cry of warning to the Quraishites may be true but that such an event has occured after the revelation of the verse: [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] is false and cannot be correct under any circumstances. The best proof too lies in the text of the afore-said verse because this verse explicitly commissions the Holy Prophet to warn his very near ones and not his clan or tribe. Although the Quraishites were related to the Holy Prophet, yet they were very far in relation and were partners to him only in name (Quraish) and were perhaps one in very far ancestral ties.
Over The Mountain Of 'Safa'
It was pointed out before that the Holy Prophet's invitation in the initial stages was limited to his own household. Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) who was accompanying him in the cave of 'Hera' gained acquaintance in the very initial stages of his appointment under the heavenly protection and revelation. After the Holy Prophet's return to his house, Hazrat Khadija too joined him. Up to this time, the total number of Muslims amounted to three persons. Authentic sources reveal that those accepting Islam did not exceed these three personalities for a long period.
Later on, Zaid-ibn-Harith and Jafar-ibn-Abi Talib joined this group.
However, we do not know exactly the time of their accepting Islam. After three years of concealed invitation, the Holy Prophet was commissioned in the third year of his appointment to invite his very near ones towards Islam. Verse 124 of Sura Shuara Comprised this command. The story of the manner of this invitation was already mentioned from the words of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.). It was due to this divine command that the Holy Prophet (S) invited his very near ones for a feast and then propagated to them and warned them. After this incident, invitation to Islam gained universality and gradually people from different quarters pursued Islam and the Muslim population gained strength.
However, as long as the Holy Prophet was in Mecca such universal address to the Quraish was not possible since the Quraishites (with the exception of a few) had not brought faith in him let alone the possibility of warning them of the fire of Hell and speaking to them about his intercession or non-intercession. Such type of talks could be accepted to be correct only if the Quraishites, even seemingly, had accepted his Prophethood and submitted to the Islamic beliefs.
In a society where the Holy Prophet was permanently engaged in dealing with the arrogant and powerful Quraishites, their plots and their followers who used to derride him by throwing the camel's paunch over his head or spill ash over his head or Hurl stones at him, any talk about his powerlessness in performing intercession or his saying that, «I cannot do anything for you and you should save yourselves from the fire of Hell through your own deeds», is far from logic or reason.
If there existed such a common warning, it should have been at a time when the entire people had apparently become Muslims and accepted him as the Prophet. If there was to exist such a common warning it should be under such circumstances when the entire people have apparently become Muslims and have accepted him to be the Prophet. The existing traditions in the Ahl-e- bayt school of thought have come down in this form:
Firstly, all the traditions which comprises the verse of warning speak without any exception to all; About the warning to the near ones in the Prophet's household as well as others.
Secondly, the Holy Prophet's climb over the mountain of 'Safa' and his speech can be related to the period after the victory of Mecca.
What Is The Real Story?
We can find the real story among the existing traditions in the Ahlul Bayt school of thought. Imam Sadeq (AS.) says:
'When the Holy Prophet (S) gained victory over Mecca he stood on top of the mountain of 'Safa' and said” 'O Bani-Hashim and 'O the sons of Abdul-Muttalib!
I am considerate and very concerned about you. Do not say that Muhammad is from us. I swear by Allah that those related to me from you and other than you are not but pious and good-doers. It should not happen that you appear on the Day of Judgement with the burden of this world on your neck while others appear with the Hereafter accompanying them. Know that I have not left behind any plea between us and between Allah and you. To me are my deeds and to you are your deeds.
”
In this very timely speech, the Holy Prophet wanted to clarify that now that he has gained victory over Mecca and in reality become the ruler of the Arabian Peninsula, his near ones should not turn their face towards this world. They should know that nearness and relationship to the Holy Prophet is based on piety only and none else. Moreover such a proximity is inconsistent with mammonism or plunder of the public wealth. Unlike all other worldly governments, they should not think wishfully that now that one of their near ones has gained control of the leadership and the reins of government are in his hands, they could thus attain wealth, power and comfort and have domination and supremacy in this world and the Hereafter.
In the end, we once more remind you that this tradition may have been attributed to some of the narrators but he himself may be unaware of this attribution - For example, the tradition which Abu Uthman Nahdi has narrated from Zubair-ibn-Amro and Qaleisa-ibn-Mukhareq. About him the traditionists have said: «Only he has narrated this tradition from these two persons. In other words, nobody else had heard this tradition from these two persons.»
Similarly the tradition which had been narrated from Ibn- Abbass, Abu-Imamah, Burah-ibn-Aazeb and others like them. It is possible that these people had not spoken such words and we can also be almost certain that they had not said so. However, if we consider that the official directive of Muawiya was issued and the entire power and strength of the ruling Umayyids got employed in forging such traditions, we will clearly understand that Urwah-ibn-Zubair, the narrator from Ayesha or Muhammad-ibn-Shahab Zuhri, the narrator from Abu-Huraira
were the main forgers of traditions and they were the ones who have attributed these traditions to people such as Ayesha, Abu-Huraira and Ibn-Abbass. Considering the means available at that time, the faraway places and cities did not provide the opportunity of research to those desirous of traditions.
Moreover, if a tradition was attributed to anyone, there was little chance for a person to have access to him and inquire from him about its authenticity. Therefore, the traditions even though forged, would remain on people's lips and later on would get transferred to reliable and unreliable books and would form a part of the ruling Caliphate's (so called) Islamic 'Ma'aref' (gnosis) and commandments.
The conclusion which we can derive from the entire discussion is as follows:
In all the traditions under discussion, one set of traditions which had connected chain of transmission terminated in such people who had not been present at the time of the event such as the traditions narrated from Ayesha, Ibn-Abbass and Abu-Huraira and another set where its initial narrator could have been present at the time of the event lacked connection of chain of transmission of the author of book (i.e. the initial narrator) like the tradition narrated from Zubair-ibn-Awam. Thus in this collection, none of the traditions came out successfully in their test and analysis and as per the scales of traditionists none of them was correct and therefore can not be 'supported'.
Amongst them, only one tradition enjoyed a sound chain of transmission and it was a tradition where the authorities of the Caliphate school and the authorities of the Ahlul Bayt school have unanimously narrated it. We have already expounded this tradition for you with the chain of transmission going back to Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) The soundness of the chain of this tradition can be judged from the fact that its chain of transmissions ending in Imam (a.s.) was correct and connected as admitted by the traditionists belonging to the Caliphate school
. Moreover, the initial narrator i.e. Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) had been present at the time of the event and was then approximately fifteen years of age.
Looking Into The Chain Of Transmission Of The Traditions
With so many traditions narrated with unbroken transmission in the books of 'Sihah', 'Musnads' and 'tafseers' of the caliphate school from the companions (of the Holy Prophet) belonging to the 'Muhajirs' (emigrants) like Ayesha, Zubair, Ibn-Abbass and Abu-Huraira; from the companions belonging to the Ansars (helpers) like Anas-ibn-Malik, Bureh-ibn-Aazeb and Abu-Imamah; from those who have out of place been counted to be amongst the companions like Qabisa and Zubair and from the disciples of companions like Zuhri and Qatada, there remains no place for doubt or skepticism in this regard.
But with a quick review, we saw that the concerned verse was revealed in the third year of the Holy Prophet's appointment and at the time of this incident none of the narrators were present in Mecca in order to see and give information of the event, Some of them had not even been born at the time and some amongst them were not living in Mecca at all. It was only Zubair-ibn-Awam who could have been present at that time and was living in Mecca. However, Suyuti's tradition in the 10th century is severed for him and Suyuti does not mention with what chain of transmitters he narrates this tradition from him. In this way, all these kinds of traditions are devoid of credibility.
Examining The Text Of The Traditions
In the tradition of Ayesha and Abu Huraira address had been made to Fatemah (a.s.) while in fact she was not even born or was an infant at that time and hence could not have been the object of this address. Rather it was much appropriate if this address had been made to the other daughters of the Holy Prophet who were elder than Fatemah (a.s.).
In the tradition of Ibn-Abbass, the sentence: [ورهطك منهم المخلصين ] was added to the holy verse of Quran which itself is the biggest proof of fabrication of the tradition.
Contrary to the previous traditions, the tradition of Abu-Imamah indicates that the incident had occurred in Medina and the addressees were the Holy Prophet's wives i.e. Hafesa and Ayesha, while in fact Abu-Imamah had died long before these two who were not the Prophet's wives at the time.
Aside from all these evidences, the text of the afore-said traditions reveal that the Holy Prophet had addressed his very close relatives i.e. Bani- Hashim, his more distant relatives i.e. Bani-Abd Munaf and all the Quraishite tribes and warned them from relying upon kinship with the Holy Prophet and abandoning the virtuous deeds while in fact such a talk does not have any relation with the third year of the Prophet's appointment as at that time all the Quraishite clans, Bani-Hashim and non Bani-Hashim were scorning the Holy Prophet for inviting them towards monotheism. Similarly it is also incommensurate with the occurence of the event in Medina because the Quraishite clan were not living in Medina so as to be addressed.
So, What Has Been The Story?
Those who have forged these traditions have in fact tampered with the following two notifications and have made a hell of a story out of it:
(A) the announcement related to the revelation of the verse:
وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ
And warn, [O Muhammad], your closest kindred. (Holy Quran, 26: 214)
(B) the Holy Prophet's announcement after the victory of Mecca wherein no special names were mentioned but the Quraish were the object of address and they were told not to rely on the kinship with the Holy Prophet.
By combining these two notifications (where each one held good in its own place) the forgers fabricated some traditions as a result of which the real tradition which comprised the virtues of Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) was consigned to oblivion.
The Period When These Traditions Were Forged
Majority of these traditions were forged during Muawiya's era for the purpose of gaining proximity to the Ummayid Caliphate with the exception of the tradition of Ibn-Abbass where for two reasons, the period of its fabrication seems to be befitting the early stages of the Caliphate of Bani-Abbass:
(A) In the tradition ascribed to Ibn-Abbass, one sentence has been added to the Quranic verse which is commensurate with the fabricated works of the dualists in the early stages of the Abbasside's Caliphate just as we have discussed the same in the first section of the book (خمسون و مائة صحابي مختلق ).
(B) Fabrication of the tradition and its attribution to Ibn-Abbass is commensurate with the early parts of the Abbasside's Caliphate because, the forgers first of all wanted to propagate their own tradition by utilizing the name of the ancestors of the Abbassid Caliphs and secondly, through this they wanted to gain access to them. Majority of the tradition which have been forged in the name of Ibn-Abbass is befitting this period.
Two Other Fabricated Traditions
After examination of this repeatedly stated but forged tradition, we shall evaluate two other forged traditions. Like the previous traditions, these two traditions too contracted fabrication during Muawiya's era and the virtues which have come down in them from Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) have been reversed.
The first tradition is a well-known tradition about the virtues of Imam Amir- ul-Mumineen: In this tradition, the Holy Prophet says:-
أنا مدينة العلم وعلي بابها ، فمن أراد العلم فليأت الباب
«I am the city of Knowledge and Ali is its gate. So, anyone who wishes to enter this city must (first) pass through its gate.»
This famous tradition has also been narrated in other ways:
أنا مدينة العلم وعلي بابها ، فمن أراد المدينة فليأتها من بابها 136
أنا دار الحكمة و علي بابها 137
أنا مدينة الحكمة وعلي بابها ، فمن أراد الحكمة فليأت الباب 138
They have replaced this reliable and famous tradition with a false tradition which has come down as follows:-
أنا مدينة العلم وأبو بكر أساسها و عمر حيطانها و عثمان سقفها وعلي بابها 139
«I am the city of knowledge and Abu Bakr its foundation, Omar its walls, Uthman its ceiling and Ali its gate.
With regards to the text of this tradition, suffice it to say that a city can possess walls and gate but for it to have a ceiling is something irrational if not stupid.
Another tradition which fell victim to the forgers during Muawiya's era who fabricated something opposite to it is the famous and reliable tradition from the Holy Prophet (S) about the virtue of Imam Hassan and Hussein (a.s.)
الحسن و الحسين سيدا شباب أهل الجنة 140
«Hassan and Hussein are the masters of the youths of Paradise.»
In order to shatter the creditibility of this tradition, the forgers during Muawiya's era have narrated from Amir-ul-Mumineen the following:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: أبوبكر و عمر سيدا كهول أهل الجنة من الاولين إلا النبيين و المرسلين 141
«Abu-Bakr and Omar are the masters of the old men of Paradise - right from first to the last with the exception of the Prophets and Messengers.»
In proving the prevarication and fabrication of this tradition, suffice it to say that Caliph Abu Bakr and Caliph Omar have been reckoned to be the masters of the old men in Paradise whereas basically, there does not exist any concept as old age and senility in Paradise.
Conclusion
In this discussion, we witnessed the following:
Firstly: For earning the satisfaction of the Caliph and pleasing him, they have added the sentence: (لا جناح ) to the Holy Prophet's tradition with regards to priority and arrow-throwing and have tampered the tradition about Hazrat Mahdi's advent.
Secondly: Concerning the Caliph's command they forged another tradition vis-a-vis the tradition of «Yaum-ul-Anzaar».
Moreover, in the tradition: أنا مدينة العلم they have added the sentences: وأبو بكر أساسها و عمر حيطانها وعثمان سقفها and against the tradition الحسن و الحسين سيدا شباب أهل الجنة they fabricated the sentence أبو بكر و عمر سيدا كهول أهل الجنة
With the help of these alterations and fabrications they initialed numerous differences and contradictions in the traditions of the Holy Prophet so much so that they made difficult the recognition of the true Islam for one and all.
These few examples are sufficient enough to make one recognize the disastrous calamities which have befallen the traditions of the Holy Prophet during the Ummayid era.
During this period, they distorted the traditions (which is considered to be the second pillar of Islam and the explanation and elucidation of Quran) so much that the entire status of Islamic faith and ethic contracted alteration and appeared to be metamorphosed. God-willing, you shall see this matter in detail in the following discussions.
With regards to our previous discussions, the third factor in the alteration and distortion of Islam is the matter of fabrication of traditions. We also saw that fabrication of traditions has taken place because of one of the following two reasons:
(i) For the purpose of gaining proximity to the central power in an Islamic society i.e. the ruling Caliphate and exploiting the vanities of the world.
(ii) Enmity with Islam.
Of course on some occasions both of the above factors motivated them in fabricating traditions.
The third cause of distortion which itself was a factor of distortion as well as the very basis of distortion was the matter of fabrication of traditions. Forgery of traditions started mostly after the Holy Prophet's departure from this world
but an official and universal command was not issued in this regard. During Muawiya's era, the matter of alteration and fabrication of traditions took an official turn and a governmental declaration in this regard was issued from the lofty position of the Caliphate. Things went still further as the ruling Caliphate announced and paid heavy rewards for this act. Thus, the official Islam in reality took shape during the Ummayid era especially during Muawiya's time.
Producing An Untrue Tradition Concerning Amir-Ul-Mumineen (a.s.)
Ibne Abil-Hadeed, a Shafa'ee Mútazalite scholar narrates from his teacher Abu Jafar Askari as such: 'Muawiya appointed a huge group of companions and disciples of the companions for the purpose of forging false and evil traditions about Ali (a.s.) which would become a source of defeat and taunt for Hazrat and which would keep the people uninformed of his innocence. For this act, he set huge amounts of awards in order to encourage the forger's inclination and make the mammonists desirous. Such people too forged whatever they wanted and desired. Amongst them we may mention such names as Abu Huraira, Amr-Aas and Mughaira-ibn- Shu'aba from the companions (of the Holy Prophet) and Urwah-ibn-Zubair from the disciples of the companions.
First Tradition
Muhammad-ibn-Shahab Zuhri narrates that Urwah-ibn-Zubair related to him a tradition from Ayesha where she says:
كنت عند رسول الله إذ أقبل العباس و علي فقال: يا عائشة إن هذين يموتان على غير ملتي- أو قال ديني
«I was in the presence of the Holy Prophet when Abbass and Ali could be seen approaching us from a far distance. The Holy Prophet said: 'O Ayesha, these two will die in a state when they will have not followed my nation or my religion.»
Abdul Razzaq narrates from Mu'ammar that there were two traditions with Zuhri which were narrated from Ayesha through Urwah. These two traditions were about Ali (a.s.).
Once I inquired from Zuhri about those two people (Urwah and Ayesha). He replied: What have you to do with those two people and their traditions?! Almighty Allah Knows them better. In connection with Bani- Hashim they are, in my opinion the accused ones (of hatred, vengeance and lies).
Second Tradition
The second tradition which has been narrated from Ayesha through Urwah is as follows:
قالت: كنت عند النبي صلى الله عليه و آله إذ أقبل العباس و علي فقال: يا عائشة! إن سرك أن تنظري إلى رجلين من أهل النار فانظري الى هذين قد طلعا فنظرت فأذا العباس و علي
She says: I was in the presence of the Prophet when Abbass and Ali came. The Holy Prophet said: 'O Ayesha, if you wish to see two men of the Fire then look at these two ones who are approaching towards us! I raised my head and all of a sudden saw Abbass and Ali!
We do not know who has forged this tradition, whether it was Urwah-ibn- Zubair or others? Anyhow, it was on the lines of Muawiya's sinister policies that such a tradition was forged and propagated.
Third Tradition
Amongst the traditions which Amro Aas has forged is a tradition which Bukhari and Muslim have unfortunately narrated from him in their respective books. He says: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (S) saying: The progeny of Abi Talib are not amongst my friends. Rather my friends are Allah, the virtuous believers and the good-doers.
In this connection, we shall refer to Sahih Bukhari and Muslim and will see that this tradition has been narrated in these two books in the following manner:
عن عمرو بن العاص، قال: سمعت رسول الله- صلى الله عليه وآله- جهاراً غير سر يقول: ألا ان آل أبي فلان ليسول بأوليائي إنما وليي الله وصالح المؤمنين 144
Amro Aas says:- 'I heard the Holy Prophet saying in a loud voice: «The progeny of Abi so and so (Abi-Talib)are not my friends. My friends are only Allah and virtuous believers.'»
In another tradition, Bukhari has an annexation to this tradition where as per the narration of Amro Aas and following this talk the Holy Prophet said: «But they are having relationship with me and I observe bonds of relationship (صلة رحم ) with them.
»
Now let us see what type of people the progeny of Abi Talib are. In Arabic (آل ) refers to a person's kinsmen and lineage.
Therefore, the sons of a person are the first ones who are applicable to the word of [Arabic text]. The sons of Abi-Talib comprises Talib, Aqeel, Jafar and Ali (a.s.) and a daughter by the name of Faakteh Umm.
Ha'ani.
But, in reality all these personalities have been entangled in this forged tradition because of Hazrat Ali (a.s.). Otherwise the Umayyids had nothing to do with Talib, Aqeel and Jafar. Even their saying that Abu Talib had been an unbeliever; who had not brought faith even during the last moments of his life was only for the sake of proving some sort of a shortcoming in Ali (a.s.) and nothing else. Uthman would tell Ali (a.s.) as such: «'What should I do. The Quraish do not love you. You have killed more than thirty of their men in the battle of «Badr» and that too such people whose face were shining like sheets made of gold!»
Undoubtedly, Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) was entangled in the strong cord of enmity and hatred of the Quraishites i.e. the most powerful front in the Arabian peninsula. In the battle of «Badr» he had killed the most prominent of the ignorant Quraishites. In addition, even if the ruling Quraishites did not claim blood from Ali (a.s.) yet they could not see him sitting on the throne of power and had even emphasised that they disliked seeing Prophethood and Caliphate coming together in one place and one family.
Imam too on numerous occasions has expressed before his Lord his grievance against them.
Assessing The Previous Tradition
Now let us see what this tradition intended to achieve and what the aim of its forgery was. Didn't we see how Muawiya used to give commands for producing contradictory statements for every type of virtue that had been mentioned for Abu-Turab Amir-ul-Mumineen? (a.s.) This tradition has one general saying as a result of which all the virtues which has been narrated about Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) from the Holy Prophet will be rendered valueless and will appear to have been said for the sake of observing the bonds of relationship and pleasing his cousin Ali and has had no basis and origin. Is it not that the Prophet in a famous and very reliable tradition said:
من كنت مولاه فهذا علي مولاه. اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه 150
With the existence of the afore-said tradition under discussion will the lofty purport of this tradition ever remain intact. If anyone becomes well- acquainted with the books of traditions belonging to the Caliphate school, one will realize how the entire commands of Muawiya was put into effect.
Right from the time of Muawiya up to the time of Omar-ibn-Abdul Aziz, the Muslims were brought up under the training of the Umayyids in hatred, animosity and despise with Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.). Numerous forged traditions aimed in the dishonour of Hazrat was in the hands of the people and particularly those who were far away from the true Islamic centers like Mecca and Medina bore the brunt of these fabrications. You must have repeatedly heard that in the Friday-prayer sermons over all the Islamic pulpits and in all the Muslim mosques, they would curse Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) thinking this to be a part of the obligatory acts.
This was the official policy of the Umayyid government so much so that it is said that once a preacher forgot to curse Ali (AS.) in one of the Friday- prayer sermons. On his way towards his house, he suddenly remembered that he had not cursed Ali (a.s.). He stood there and cursed Hazrat for a thousand times as an atonement for forgetfulness. This spot gained sanctity and blessing and a mosque named as [مسجد اللعن ] (mosque of curse)was put up in that very place. Such was the situation of the Islamic world during the Umayyid dynasty and it was under these circumstances that such traditions had emerged and propagated.
Of course later on, due to relentless endeavours of Ahlul Bayt and their companions and the scholars coming after the occultation period, the truth was heaved out from beneath the ruins of the Umayyid era. But it was unfortunate that once again an unrelenting assault of Western culture and persistent endeavours of Jewish, Christian and Communist Islamicists sunk the truth under the debris of ignorance and inside the gloom of dubiousness!
After Omar-ibn-Abdul Aziz, especially with the coming of the Abbassides into power, that too in the name of Al-e-Muhammad
; and the endeavours of the Imams and their self-sacrificing companions, it was no longer possible to speak against Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) just as it was possible during the Umayyid era. Thus, in all the existing manuscripts of this tradition taken right from 'Sahih Bukhari' and 'Muslim' till 'Musnad Ahmad' and 'Abi Awani' the tradition has come down in this manner:
إن آل أبي فلان ليسوا بأوليائي
The progeny of Abi so and so are not my friends., However, in the commentary of Sahih Bukhari which has been written by one of the prominent traditionist of the Caliphate school, it has come down that the progeny of Abi so and so refers to Abu Talib.
Nevertheless he makes amends and explains that in reference to the progeny of Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet (only) meant the unbelievers and polytheists amongst them!
We ask: Who are these unbelievers and polytheists? Is it Ali who is the first believer and the first one to confirm the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet? Is it Jafar who is counted to be amongst the great martyrs of Islam and is honoured with the title of «Zul-Janahain » (owner of a pair of wings)? Is it Aqeel, Talib, Hassan, Hussein, Abdullah-ibn-Jafar, Muslim, Muhammad- ibn-Hanafia and their likes? Is history aware of any polytheist or atheist from the progeny of Abu Talib? Was it not that majority of them were fore runners in sacrificing themselves in the path of Islam? And the minority amongst them who were so were at least Muslims in the true sense.
This was the tradition which has been narrated from Amro-Aas and has unfortunately found its way in the books of 'Sihah' and 'Musnad' of the Caliphate school.
Fourth Tradition
Now let us look into the tradition which has been left behind by Abu Huraira. A'mash narrates and says: 'At the time when Abu-Huraira arrived in Iraq along with Muawiya in the year of congregation
, he entered the mosque of Kufa. When he saw the large number of people having come to receive him, he sat down on his two knees and after blandishing for several times his bald head, he said: 'O the people of Iraq! Do you imagine that I will lie about Allah and His Messenger and then burn myself in the Fire of Hell. I swear by Allah that I heard His Messenger saying: for every Prophet there is a sanctuary and my sanctuary is in Medina between Mount «Eer» and Mount «THur». May the curse of Allah, His Angels and all the people be upon the one who creates any dishonour in my sanctuary and raises a disturbance in it.
Iraq had been the center of the Shiites of Amir-ul-Mumineen and the people of Kufa were trained by him and were his followers. Abu-Huraira speaks among such people. Perhaps his own self is aware that they are such people who doubt his saying and maybe it is for this reason that he says:
«Do you imagine that I speak the falsehood and so entangle myself in the Fire of Hell?»
Therefore, he swears that he has himself heard the Messenger of Allah. Later, he adds: «I take Allah as witness that Ali has created disturbance and sedition in this land!».
When news of this tradition reached Muawiya, he honoured Abu Huraira for this great service. As well as sending him money, he appointed him as the ruler of Medina.
Assessing The Fourth Tradition
In this tradition Abu-Huraira says that the Holy Prophet has said: 'Medina is my sanctuary and its limits extend from Mount «Eer» to Mount «THur». But what we can derive from history, biography and geographical books of the Arabs is this that Mount 'THur' is basically not in Medina or its surroundings. A mountain by this name exists on the outskirts of the city of Mecca and it is the same mountain where the Holy Prophet concealed himself at the time of 'Hijrat' (migration).
Numerous men of geography have some sayings in this regard which divulges the falsity of the tradition.
Yaqoobi in the book «Al-Baladan» says: «Mecca is situated between great mountains the mountains which surround the city of Mecca are Abu Qabees Qayeqa'an, Fazeh, Muhsab, THur next to Safa, Hera, Bashir....'
Moreover he says: «Medina possesses two mountains which are named «Uhud» and Eer'.
Muqaddesi who is one of the best Islamic scholar in geography writes in his book «Ahsan at-Taqasim» as such:
«The cave of 'THur' is placed one league away from Mecca and Mount Hera is situated on the side of Mina.” '
Yaqoot Hamavi, the writer of the biggest geographical encyclopedia of Islam says:
«'THur' is the name of a mountain in Mecca and in it is a cave where the Holy Prophet had hid himself.'
»
Muhammad-ibn-Abdul Man'am Hamiri in his geographical culture emphasises as such:
«'THur' which is called as 'THur Athal' is one of the mountains of Mecca lying on the southern side of the city and is two miles away from Mecca.
»
Anyone from the famous Arab philologists who has spoken about the word «THur», has emphasised that it is the name of a mountain on the outskirts of Mecca like:
Ibn-Athir (died in the year 606) in his book «An-Nihaya-fi-Gharib-ul-Hadith-wal-Athar».
Faiyumi (died in the year 770) in his book «Al-Mesbah-ul-Munir» under the topic of «THur».
Allama Ibn Manzoor, a great Arab philologist (died in the year 711) in his great book «Lisan -ul-Arab al-Muheet» under the topic of «THur».
Firuzabadi (died in the year 817) in his book «Al-Qamoos-ul-Muheet» under the topic of «THur».
Zubaidi (died in the year 1205) in his magnificient book «Taj al-Arous» with commentary on «Al-Qamoos-ul-Muheet».
This probe reveals that Abu-Huraira, the narrator of the tradition suffered from a weak memory and senility and has mentioned the mountain of 'THur' (near Mecca) to be in Medina.
Several scholars from the Caliphate school have spoken in regard to this tradition and have strived to justify this mistake some way or the other.
They say: 'Maybe the Holy Prophet has named one mountain from the mountains of Medina as «THur».'
They say: Perhaps the Holy Prophet only meant to determine the limits of the sanctuary in Medina and has likened this limit to the distance between the two mountains which lies in Mecca.
They say: Due to error and mistake, the transmitter has mentioned 'Mount THur' instead of mentioning Mount Uhud.
The fourth has evaded the name of 'THur' in the tradition or has mentioned it in vague terms (so and so) so that it could avoid being entangled in such problems.
These endeavours such as the above and in some other manners continued until an ultimate solution was found i.e. the discovery of a mountain by the name of «THur» in Medina by Abdul-Salam-ibn-Muhammad, a Hanbalite traditionist who died in the year 669. For the first time, a mountain by this name was created! For centuries, all the scholars who have spoken something or the other in this regard have said: «Such a mountain does not exist on the outskirts of Medina.»
They have also said: «The inhabitants of Iraq have narrated this tradition while they were unaware of the geographical conditions of Medina.» Now all of a sudden a man amongst the scholars of Iraq (Basra) comes along and says: Next to 'Mount Uhud' is a small mountain by the name of «THur» and adds that the entire people of Medina are aware of it.
The matter does not end here and in the next century a second witness comes into the picture. His name is Abdullah Mutri (died in the year 765) and he narrates from his father Muhammad Mutri about the existence of such a mountain (in Medina). He further adds: The people of Medina, generation after generation were familiar with a mountain by the name of 'THur' which is next to Mount Uhud and this mountain is small in size and redish in colour.
In our era, the contemporary scholars have strived in some other manner to eliminate untrue sayings: A great master by the name of Abdul-Qudoos and the author of «Athar-ul-Medina» on page 139 of the said book has drawn the picture of this mountain. Doctor Muhammad Hussein Haikal, the author of the famous book «Hayat-e-Muhammad» in his other book by the name of «Manzil al-Vahy» on page 512 has brought the same geographical topography and on page 440 mentions that he has utilized the matter from the topography of Abdul-Qudoos i.e. «Athar-ul-Medina».
However, Doctor Haikal in his previously - mentioned book i.e. «Hayat-e- Muhammad», like all the historians and geographers mentions that the cave and mountain of 'THur' is situated on the outskirts of Mecca and has reckoned this to be the place of concealment of the Holy Prophet during 'Hijrat' (migration).
Fabrication Of Tradition By Samur-Ibn-Jundab
Abu Jafar Eskafi Mu'atazali, master of Abil-Hadeed, in pursuit of his speech has mooted the story of Samur-ibn-Jundab. He says: «Muawiya sent a hundred thousand dirhams for Samur so that he would narrate a tradition from the Holy Prophet that the verse,:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ
meaning:
«And among men is he whose speech about the life of this world causes you to wonder, and he calls on Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries.» (Holy Quran, 2: 204)
وَإِذَا تَوَلَّى سَعَى فِي الأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيِهَا وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الفَسَادَ{205} وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالإِثْمِ فَحَسْبُهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ
«And when he turns back, he runs along in the land that he may cause mischief in it and destroy the tilth and the stock, and Allah does not love mischief-making”, (Holy Quran, 2: 205)
was revealed in connection to Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (a.s.) and hence is counted to be amongst the enemies of the divine religion. Similarly, the verse:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاء مَرْضَاتِ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ رَؤُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
«And among men is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah”, (Holy Quran, 2: 207)
has been revealed in honour of Abdul-Rahman-ibn-Muljim Muradi, the killer of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.)!
Samur was not satisfied with this amount of money. Muawiya increased the amount and sent two hundred thousand dirhams.
Once again he refused to accept this amount until Muawiya raised it to four hundred thousand dirhams. Samur-ibn-Jundab accepted it and divulged Muawiya's wish to the people in the form of a false tradition from the Holy Prophet.
This sinister tradition spread and left a deep impression in the Islamic society during Muawiya's era so much so that the «Khawarij» came to be called as شرارة (Sharah) i.e. those who have sacrificed themselves in the path of Allah and have sold their soul to Him. Thus, in this fabricated tradition, Ibn Muljim was fitted in verse 207 of Sura Baqarah and was reckoned to be amongst those who sell themselves to Allah and sacrifice themselves in His path. This was the first negative effect of Samur's false tradition.
The second effect was that verses like 204 and 205 from Sura Baqarah with regards to Ali (a.s.) won fame such that at the time of Imam Hassan's burial near his great grandfather, when Ayesha came forward in protest of this act and said that this house belonged to her and Abdullah-ibn-Abbas argued (with her) that she was (only) one of the nine wives of the Prophet where all of them would receive one-eight from Hazrat's inheritence and what could this amount represent? She replied [انكم قوم خصمون ] you are people of dispute and hostility which is in reference to the afore-mentioned verse which has come down in the forged tradition and has been collated with Imam Ali (a.s.)!
The Idols Should Be Broken
On several occasions, writers, scholars and learned men have asked me whether there does not exist a tradition on Ghadir-khum in the numerous and reliable sources of the Caliphate school? Haven't the scholars of the afore-said school come across the tradition of «Yaum-ud-Dar» [يوم الدار ] and the day of [انذار ] i.e. the same tradition which had been previously narrated under the verse: [وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ ] wherein the Holy Prophet had propagated the three fundamental Islamic principles of «Tawhid» (Monotheism), «Nabuwwat» (Prophethood) and «Imamate» / «Caliphate» (Leadership)? What could I say? Yes, they have seen these traditions but what can be done? As against the tradition of [يوم الدار ] and [انذار ] contradictory traditions (although research shows it to be a forged tradition) exists in different forms and with different references.
Verily, in the face of every tradition related to the virtues of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen and Ahlul Bayt, there exists numerous other (contradictory) traditions with the objective of shattering and crushing their credibility in reality results in the truth being revealed from buried under the heap of falsehood and fabrications.
The seekers of truth in the Islamic history are in need of something like archeology or are entangled with numerous idols which have occupied his entire mind, thought and eyes. Unless these idols are broken, the truth cannot be discovered. What I intend to do is to break the false, distorted and forged idols which have been made by the criminals and brought up by the ignorant so much so that they have become greater than the greatest idols in human history and more invulnerable than all the invulnerables.
Several times, eminent personalities and scholars have asked me: «Why don't you write a research biography of the Holy Prophet so that one can deduce the Islamic ordinances confidently?» But what could I say?
Now, after this relatively long discussion and your familiarity with these preliminaries, I can now unfold the essential matter which is as such?
With the existence of such faked traditions and with such texts (which apparently seem to be reliable but in reality are false and full of lies) it is impossible for me to write a biography of the Holy Prophet (SAW.A.).
With so many obstacles, how is it possible to bring the life-history of the Holy Prophet i.e. a significant part of Islam on paper?
Is it not that today, anyone who wishes to study the life-history of the Holy Prophet - right from the European Christians and Jews and the Egyptians or Iranian Muslims refers first of all to «Seera Ibn Hisham»?
But it is a matter of regret to state that after many years of study and research I believe that a biographer worse than Ibn Hisham
(from the view-point of concealment of the truth) has not yet come into existence.
Is it not that today, anyone desirous of doing research in the history of Islam, refers to Tarikh-e-Tabari
who is regarded to be the 'Imam' (leader) of all historians by the eminent scholars of the Caliphate school?
But, I believe that he has taken precedence over all other historians in propagating falsehood.
If such books are taken to be first-hand sources and references, then, how can it be possible to recognize Islam? Verily, these idols which are the greatest obstacles in the path of knowing Islam should be shattered. I have till now written four volumes of books and in them, I have critically analysed «Tarikh-e-Tabari». I am thankful of this favour of Allah Who has shattered a big idol through me - His feeble slave. With these books i.e. two volumes of «Abdullah-ibn-Sabah» and two volumes of (خمسون ومائة صحابي مختلق ) Tabari has been vanquished in the eyes of those seeking the truth!
In order to realize the truth, we have first of all to know the falsehood and abandon it and it is very well said:
تعرف الاشياء باضدادها
«Everything is recognizable through its opposite». If night did not exist, day could not be recognized. If there was not darkness, then light could not be perceived. We should, before anything else, recognize people like Abu-Huraira, Anas- ibn-Malik, Muawiya and Amro-Aas so that the possibility of recognizing the Holy Prophet of Islam and Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen and such events like the battle of Siffeen, Jamal and the like of them comes into existence. Unless we recognize Muawiya and Yazid, we will not be able to comprehend events like the peace of Imam Hassan (a.s.) and the revolt of Imam Hussein (a.s.).
Moreover, unless we recognize the evil-teachers of Islamic history and the fabricators and unless we do not consider Tabari, Ibn Hisham and their followers to be unreliable, we will neither be able to recognize the positive personalities of Islam nor its negative ones.
Up to now, these fabrications take place in the scene of authentic Islamic traditions and Islamic history, neither the God of Islam is recognizable nor the Prophet of Islam and Ali of Islam nor Caliphate, Imamate and Wasiyat (executorship) and nor finally the Ma'ad (Resurrection) of Islam!
Thus, we do not possess any means for the recognition of God, Islam and the truth except the way which we shall pursue in these discussions! The Imams would follow these very steps for their own special Shiites. Of course they were needless of striving hard like us. Imam Sadeq (a.s.) would determine his followers' path with one brief sentence. When he would address his students with these words:
ثلاثة كانوا يكذبون على رسول الله: أبو هريرة و أنس بن مالك و إمرأة 167
They would learn the path of perceiving the true and untrue traditions. But today, if we are to prove this matter, we are needful of writing numerous books and doing elaborate researches and persistently studying and doing research for several years in order to perceive the words of Imam Sadeq (a.s.)
However, if we listen to the decisive will of the Holy Prophet and accept it in its true sense which was often repeated by him in different forms: («I am leaving behind two invaluable things amongst you and as long as you catch hold of these two and follow them, you will never go astray.») and adopt this path, we shall be delivered from all possible deviations and from the danger of falling into all kinds of destructive pits. May Almighty Allah grant us success in following this path to the very last.
To me, reading such kinds of forged, false and distorted traditions becomes a sort of spiritual mortification in the face of reading the correct traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) and Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) which is so much enjoyable to me that I cannot describe my feelings. I wish we could spend our life only in the path of examining the correct and authentic traditions. But what can we do? Unless the idol is shattered, God will not be worshipped and if the forged traditions are not made known, the authentic traditions will not be recognized.
I intended to make brief the discussion so that we could get to our main topic. But as we once again realize that unless the required illumination be not achieved we are bound to continue the discussion. Perhaps we can grasp the matter by the help of this example:- If we wish to get to an ancient city and know its limits and boundaries and perceive its characteristics then, considering the existence of centuries - old debris over it (i.e. the city) it is not possible and there is no way other than pulling it out from the heap of debris, soil and layers which has covered it over the centuries. Of course this task requires intolerable sufferings and innumerous knowledge.
The Islam which the Holy Prophet had brought has been buried under the debris of false and forged traditions and for knowing Islam too, we are needful of a kind of archeological study. Here, we shall set forth one example from all kinds of forged traditions so as to realize the various dimensions of this great felony. Thus, the traditions which we have assessed thus far are not all that exists in this regard. Rather, on the basis of perusals, we have presented from every kind of tradition one example in order that we realize what has come upon the rights of the innocent and what fate has befallen them so that finally, we realize our path for recognizing Islam which the Prophet has brought. The Path which must and will remain until the Day of Judgement.
Verses Of «Tayammum» (Dry Ablution)
About the battle of Muraisi'h Mughrizi writes:
«The tradition of «Efq» eventuated in this battle because the Messenger of Allah (S) had descended in a house and he had not water with himself. In that very place, Ayesha's necklace fell on the ground and got lost. The Holy Prophet remained in that place till morning searching for the necklace. Due to unavailability of water in that area, the people fell in deep hardship. They said: «It is Ayesha who has made us wait in this arid land. Abu Bakr took umbrage at the remarks of the Muslims and reproached Ayesha severely. At this moment, the verse of «Tayammum» (dry ablution) was revealed.... Thereafter, the Muslims moved from this place and came upon a land which had green pastures and trees! The Holy Prophet said: 'O Ayesha! Are you ready to run a race with me!?
Ayesha said: 'Yes'! Moments later, she pulled together her clothes and so did the Holy Prophet. Thereafter they ran and the Holy Prophet outran Ayesha. Then, he said: I'm getting my own back for the last time you outran me.' The story goes as such: The Messenger of Allah had once gone to Abu Bakr's house, Ayesha too was present and held something in her hand. The Holy Prophet said: Give that thing to me! Ayesha refused and ran far away. The Holy Prophet too ran after her. However Ayesha outran the Prophet and went off her own way.
In this journey (battle of Muraisi'h) Ayesha was mounted on a camel litter and Abu-Muwaihaba, the freed slave of the Prophet, along with another man kept her moving....
Thereafter, she narrates the story and hadith of “Efq” (إفك ).
Whatever Muqrizi and others have brought in these three fold incidents has been narrated through Ayesha.
The first incident is the incident of the race:
Race Between The Holy Prophet And His Wife!
Ahmad-ibn-Hanbal in his 'Musnad' narrates from Hisham-ibn- Urwah-ibn-Zubair who narrates from his father Urwah that Ayesha said:
«I accompanied the Holy Prophet in one of his journeys. At that time, I was a young girl and had rather lean built. During the journey, the Holy Prophet once commanded his followers to advance ahead and they did so. Thereafter, he said: 'Come forward and let us run a race together! We ran and soon I overran the Prophet. The Prophet did not utter anything. Sometime elapsed and I grew bigger and heavier. I had forgotten all about the race between the Prophet and myself.
In yet another journey, I accompanied the Holy Prophet. During this very journey, the Prophet once again asked his followers to move ahead and they did so. Then he said: Come forward and run a race with me! We ran and this time he overran me. Upon this, he laughed and remarked: Tit for tat!
In the same book, Abu-Salma
and Hisham-ibn-Urwah have narrated a somewhat similar tradition
from their father and Qasim-ibn-Muhammad, the grandson of Abu-Bakr has narrated a much shorter account of the event from Ayesha
.
This is the tradition about the running-race and as far as its period is concerned, we are unable to find any trace of it. However, with regards to the place of the running-race, it is said that it has taken place in «Baidah». But the tradition about «Tayammum» and «Efq» as per the saying of the Ibne Sa'ad, the author of «Waqedi» has occured in the battle of Muraisi'h. He says: «In this battle, Ayesha's necklace got lost as a result of which the procession of the soldiers came to a standstill.» Then, the verse of «Tayemmum» was revealed and Osayyed-ibn-Huzair said: «This is not your first blessing, O progeny of Abu Bakr and it was in this very battle that the incident of Ayesha and the remarks which the progeny of «Efq» uttered had occured and Allah revealed a verse in confirmation of her chastity.
”
However, the tradition of «Tayammum» has come down in the books of 'Sahih' of the Caliphate school in the following manner.'
Hadith About «Tayammum» (Dry Ablution)
Bukhari in the book of «Tayammum» narrates from Abdul-Rahman-ibn- Qasim who narrates from his father that Ayesha, wife of the Holy Prophet said: «We had accompanied the Prophet in one of his journeys until we reached 'Baidah' or Zaatul-Jaish
. There, I lost my necklace. The Holy Prophet and his men remained in that desert area in order to find my necklace!! There was no water to be found about and the Muslim soldiers who were hard pressed for thirst approached Abu-Bakr and said: «Do you see what Ayesha is doing? She has made the Holy Prophet and his men stay in a place devoid of water.»
Abu Bakr approached me in a state when the Messenger of Allah had laid his hand on my knees and had fallen asleep! He said: 'You have dissuaded the Prophet and the people from moving forward while there is neither water in this place nor have the people water with themselves!' Ayesha says:
«Abu-Bakr reproached and blamed me in this regard. Moreover, he pounded on my side and I could not move from my place as the Prophet had laid his head on my knees. Moments later, the Prophet awoke from his sleep. As there was no water for fulfillment of the religious obligations of the people, God revealed the verse of «Tayammum» and the people performed «Tayammum» (dry ablution).»
Osayyed-ibn-Huzair who was from the Ansars said:
«This has not been your first blessing 'O progeny of Abi-Bakr!»
Ayesha says: “As we made the camel on which I was mounting to move ahead, we found the necklace which laid beneath her.
”
In 'Musnad' of Ahmad it is narrated from Abdullah -ibn-Zubair that Ayesha said: «In one of the journeys, I had accompanied the Holy Prophet. On the way we reached a place called “Turbaan”193 which was a few miles away from the city of Medina. This place was arid and dry....»
In the end of the tradition it has come down that Abu-Bakr addressed Ayesha as such: “My daughter, I did not know that you are so much of a blessing. Since you dissuaded the Mus
ims from moving ahead and made them wait in this desert, Almighty God resolved them with blessing and comfort and revealed the verse of “tayammum” for them”.
A Probe Into This Tradition
In the tradition of «tayammum» we see that the Holy Prophet makes the people stay in the arid desert and plateau not withstanding the fact that the people have no water with themselves. All the soldiers of Islam and the animals accompaning them suffer hardship until morning. All this occured for the sake of finding Ayesha's necklace which was made out of sizzling stones.
The Holy Prophet keeps his soldiers waiting in the dry desert in order to find his wife's missing necklace. The Muslims on the other hand take their complain of hardship and distress to Abu-Bakr. He in turn approaches his daughter and reproaches and blames her for this doing and says: «In all the journeys, the Muslims face hardship and difficulty for your sake.»
However when the Muslims become perplexed in the matter of prayers, Almighty God reveals the verse of «tayammum». Thus the Muslims perform «tayammum» for the first time and offer their prayers with tayammum. Right here, Abu-Bakr addresses her daughter as such: «O my daughter, I was not knowing that you are so blessed and full of goodness and blessing! Since you have dissuaded the Muslims from moving ahead and have been the cause of their waiting, God has revealed goodness upon them! » Also, Osayyed-ibn-Huzair says: «This is not your first goodness and blessing 'O the progeny of Abi-Bakr!» After this too, the compassionate God does not allow the matter of necklace to be rendered futile. Rather, the next morning it is found under the sleeping-place of the camel.
This event is the sign of abundant love and great affection of the Holy Prophet towards his wife, Ayesha so much so that the God of Islam too safeguards this love and affection and reveals statutory blessings for the Muslims due to the afore-said love.
A brief investigation into the various aspects of this event reveals that this tradition does not conform to the circumstances and conditions of the battle of Muraisi'h or Bani-Mustalaq. This is because in this battle, due to the dispute which arose between the Muslims of Ansars and Muhajirs over the matter of water and the dangerous speech which Abdullah-ibn-Obi Salool - a hypocrite - had delivered on that occasion and there existed the possibility of an internal unrest, the Holy Prophet commanded his people to quickly advance forward towards Medina such that the belligerent people had time only for a short nap, prayers and food, and spent the rest of their time in galloping towards Medina.
Moreover, just as it has come down in the tradition narrated from Ayesha or the tradition forged in her name, the decree of «tayammum» should have been much more universal than for it to remain a secret for a selected few. Thus the entire soldiers of Islam faced unavailability of water in this battle and became needful of «tayammum». The verse on «tayammum» too was revealed on this occasion and all the soldiers acted upon it and regarded this as one kind of goodness, blessing and comfort which descended from the heavens and congratulated and expressed their thanks to those who had been the cause of bringing this blessing and comfort.
Considering the form of revealation of the decree and the verse of «tayammum» and its universal aspect, the matter of «tayammum» should not have remained hidden from a person like the second Caliph, Omar-ibn-Khattab and that should not a person like him be aware of this common affair which has occured in his very presence!? All have seen and are aware of this affair but not Omar- ibn-Khattab! The same has come down in a tradition narrated from Sahih-Muslim as follows:
A person approached Omar (during the latters Caliphate) and said: «I had a wet dream and could not find water to perform ablution. What was I supposed to do? Omar said: «In such situations, keep away from prayers!» Ammar who was present at that time said:
“'O Amir-ul-Mumineen! Don't you remember that in one of the journeys to war, both of us had to perform ablution and could not find any water? On that day, you avoided prayers but I rolled on the dust and then offered my prayers and when we narrated this matter to the Holy Prophet he said: «As for you 'O Omar! it was not right on your part to abandon the prayers. As for you, 'O Ammar! you should not have rolled on the dust just as animals do. Suffice it was to strike your hands on the dust and then rub them over your face and hands up to the joints....
”
How come this common decree descended in the sight of the common Muslims but remained hidden from the other companions (of the Holy Prophet)? Just as Omran-ibn-Husain narrates:
«The Holy Prophet (S) witnessed a man (from his companions) keeping himself aside from the others and refraining from performing prayers. He said: 'O so and so person, Why don't you perform your prayers like the others? He replied: 'O the Messenger of Allah. I have had a wet dream and I have not yet performed the purification ablution. He said: You only need to perform the «Tayammum» if you have not any water available.
Moreover, how can we reconcile the previous tradition with the tradition which Urwah has narrated from Ayesha and Nesa'ee has brought the same in his book? They say:
«The Holy Prophet sent Osaid-ibn-Huzair along with a group to search for Ayesha's necklace whom she had lost somewhere on the way. A long time passed in search for this necklace and the time for prayers approached. Incidentally they had no ablution and could not find any water too for performing ablution. Helplessly they offered their prayers without ablution.
Thereafter, they related the incident to the Holy Prophet and for this very reasons, God revealed the verse of «tayammum».
Osaid-ibn-Huzair said: 'O Ayesha! May Allah bestow you with goodness. I swear by Allah that no event has occured which was distasteful to you except that Allah set goodness and blessing in it for you and the Muslims.»
In Sahih Bukhari, this tradition has come down in the following manner. «The Holy Prophet despatched a person....»
How can we reconcile this tradition from Ayesha with the first tradition while we see a vast difference existing between the two?
The first tradition mentions that the Prophet, in a journey back from war, came down to a house located in an arid land. The Muslims too had no water with themselves. Thus they complained their hardship to Abu-Bakr, in the morning too, after the revelation of the verse, everyone performed «tayammum» and offered their prayers with «tayammum» for the first time. At the time of departure, Ayesha's necklace too was found underneath the camel.
But the second tradition mentions that the Holy Prophet despatched one or more persons in search for Ayesha's necklace which had been left behind in some house. These persons who were sent for this task could not find water during this journey and hence offered prayers without ablution. This was because the verse of «tayammum» had not yet been revealed and they were unaware of its decree. Thereafter, when they returned back to Medina and related their story to the Holy Prophet the verse of «tayammum» was revealed.
If we wish to believe in the authenticity of all the traditions present in the «Sihahs», we don't know how to bring a reconciliation between these two traditions!?
* * *
Moreover, how is it possible to reconcile these two traditions under our discussion with what Ibn-Saad has narrated in «Tabaqat» about the life- history of Maimum-ibn-Sanbaz Asla where the narrator, Rabii says: «I heard from my father who heard from his father that a Muslim man by the name of Asla once narrated as such:, 'I was doing service to the Holy Prophet and saddling the ride for him.' One night the Holy Prophet said: 'O Asla! arise and make ready my horse! I said: 'O the Prophet of God. I have had a wet dream! Thereafter he kept silent for a few moments. Then Jibra'eel descended and brought the verse of (صعيد ) i.e. the verse of «tayammum» wherein the word of (صعيف ) (dust) can be found.
Then, the Holy Prophet called me and displayed to me the manner of performing «tyammum». I did the same and then attended to his horse....
Later when we came across water he said: 'O Asla, arise and perform «Ghusl» (major ablution).
* * *
Similarly, in what manner can we reconcile Ayesha's traditions with the tradition which Ibn-Jarir Tabari has brought under the exegesis of the verse:
وَلاَ جُنُباً إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ Ibn-Jarir narrates from Yazid-ibn-Abi Khabib that the houses of some of the people from the Ansars had their doors facing the mosque.
Sometimes it would happen that they would experience wet dreams and would also face the problems of unavailability of water. Under these circumstances, they could not even leave their houses for the sake of procuring water and performing «Ghusl» (major ablution) because they could not pass through Prophet's mosque in the state of «Janabah» (major ritual impurity) and also there existed no other way. Therefore, God revealed the verse of tayammum.
Similarly, Ibn Munzar and Ibn Abi Hatim narrate from Mujahid that in explanation of the verse:
وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ
And if you are ill or on a journey. (Holy Quran, 4: 43)
he (i.e. Mujahid) says: “This verse has been revealed about a man from Ansars who was so sick that he was not able to stand and perform ablution. Moreover, he had no one to assist him prepare his means for ablution. This man approached the Holy Prophet and explained his condition to him. On this occasion too, God revealed the verse of 'tayammum'.
Similarly, Ibn Jarir narrates from Ibrahim Nakh'ee who said:
«The Holy Prophet's companions suffered wounds in one of the battles. The number of injured men were many. Later too, a few of them experienced wet dreams. This was reported to the Holy Prophet.
Thereafter the blessed verse: ....
وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ
And if you are ill or on a journey… (Holy Quran, 4: 43)
was revealed in its full form.
Verily, how can one reconcile with so many different and diverse traditions and reckon all of them to be correct and true?
With utmost regret, we have to say that the traditions which have been narrated from Ayesha and which is ascribed to her and comprises the incident of revelation of the verse of «tayammum», has been falsely propagated and spread. Even the European and Western Orientalists and Islamicists have had access and paid interest to them and drawn support from them under the topic of «tayammum» in their book of 'Encyclopedia of Islam.'
The Reality Of This Matter
If we take into consideration the nature and territorial make-up of 'Hejaz' (Saudi - Arabia) and know about its severe scarcity of water (just as what I have witnessed in my numerous journeys to this holy land)and also realize this fact that 'Salât' (prayers) had been made obligatory immediately after the Holy Prophet's appointment, we will arrive to this conclusion that it is impossible for the divine legislation of the law of «tayammum» to have been postponed all this time (about eighteen years) and its decree to have been revealed in the year 5 A.H. or 6 A.H. The Muslims out of compulsion, had been in need of something as a substitution for water where they could resort or «Ghusl» (major ritual ablution).
This need had certainly arisen hundreds and thousands of times right from the outset of Islam until the year 6 A.H. Moreover, whenever a Muslim was faced with any problem, he would approach the Prophet and the latter in turn would explain the divine law for him. This was the natural structure of this matter. However, if we resort only to the Holy Quran, we will see the story being different from what has come down in the aforesaid traditions. In the Holy Quran, the decree of «tayammum» has come down next to ablution and «Ghusl» (major ritual ablution) as a substitution to them.
In Surah Nisa:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّىَ تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلاَ جُنُباً إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىَ تَغْتَسِلُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّن الْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيداً طَيِّباً فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَفُوّاً غَفُوراً
O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you are intoxicated until you know (well) what you say, nor when you are under an obligation to perform a total ablution - unless (you are) travelling on a journey until you have washed yourselves; and if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy or you have made love to your women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure dust, then wipe your faces and your hands; surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. (Holy Quran 4:43)
In Surah Maeda:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُباً فَاطَّهَّرُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مَّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيداً طَيِّباً فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ …
O you who believe! When you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles; and if you are under an obligation to perform a total ablution, then wash (yourselves) and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you comes from the privy, or you have made love, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure dust and wipe your faces and your hands there with.... (Holy Quran 5:6)
The meaning of these verses is this that «Wuzu» (ablution) and its substitution with «Tayammum» (dry ablution) and «Ghusl» (major ritual ablution) and its substitution with «Tayammum» (dry ablution) had already been once legislated and its decree revealed continuously one after the other in one verse.
This inevitability should have been much before what Ayesha has said and much before her marriage to the Holy Prophet (S). Wisdom too deems expedient such a state while we know that «Salât» (prayer) had been legislated right from the outset of the Holy Prophet's appointment to the post of Messengership and along with it, Gibra'eel had taught the manner of performing “Wuzu” (ablution).
Thus «Ghusl» (major ritual ablution) and «Tayammum» (dry ablution) too must have immediately followed «Wuzu» (ablution) in being legislated.
Of course, it can be said that these three decrees were perhaps revealed far from the common Muslim's perspective because basically there did not exist more than two or three Muslims at that time. Therefore, it is not much of a concern if majority of them were unaware of the union of «Tayammum» with «Wuzu» and «Ghusl» and had not heard the aforesaid verse.
Whenever anyone amongst them encountered unavailability ofwater or faced any such problem, he would approach the Holy Prophet and explain his condition. The Holy Prophet too would either practically teach him the obligation of «Tayammum» or recite for him the holy verse of Quran. It was in this manner that the reality of the matter had been concealed for a person or had been forgotten by him.
This analysis is a solution as we see it. However, that such a needed decree had not been revealed until the year 5 A.H. or 6 A.H. and the time of its legislation was when the Holy Prophet (S) remained in the desert with his soldiers for a long duration until he found his wife's valualess necklace seems to be against common sense and custom and is incompatible with the supreme level of the Holy Prophet's disposition.
The Consequence Of Propagating Such Forgeries In The Islamic Texts
The consequence of propagating such forgeries in the Islamic texts and sources has been that in the views of those believing in the authenticity of such traditions, the supreme personality of the Holy Prophet (S) is diminished to the level of an ordinary man in addition to disallowing anyone from objecting and complaining against the lustful and voluptuous rulers and Caliphs such as Yazid-ibn-Muawiya. In reality, two aims and objectives for forging such traditions have come to hand: Firstly, the Holy Prophet has been brought down even lower than the level of an ordinary person and secondly, the actions of the slipshod rulers and the irreligious Caliphs has been justified.
History recalls such incidences from the lives of the (so called) Islamic rulers - the very divulgence of which is itself shameful. The historians have said:
«When Muawiya wanted to take allegiance from the Muslims for his son Yazid, he wrote a letter in this regard to Ziad-ibn-Abih, the Governor of Basra.', Ziad replied: 'What will the people say in the face of this recommendation while we know that Yazid plays with dogs and monkeys, wears multicoloured dresses, always drinks wine and dances in tune to tambourine?» On the other hand, there exists such personalities like Hussein -ibn-Ali, Abdullah-ibn-Abbass, Abdullah-ibn-Zubair and Abdullah-ibn- Omar. Thus, you order him to simulate his ways for one or two years so that we might succeed in deluding the people in this regard.
Following this letter, Muawiya commanded his son Yazid to accompany the Muslim warriors in the summer battle
with the Romans. But Yazid pretended to be sick and on the way went to the Cloister of Marran
under the pretext of taking rest. But once there, he resorted to drinking wine with his beloved one. In this battle, the Islamic soldiers got affected by smallpox and when this unpleasant news reached Yazid, he recited the following two-line poem:
When at Cloister of Marran I lean on soft sacks and Umm Kulsum besides me and I drink the morning wine I no longer care if the soldiers are affected by sickness and smallpox .
If such an event and other such incidents is committed by Yazid and his father amongst the Muslims, then Muawiya's plan and ambition with regards to taking allegiance for Yazid will be confronted with defeat and the Umayyids will no longer remain in the Islamic history.
Can a remedy be found for the advancement of Muawiya's objectives? Does a way exist for Yazid and his like to attain rulership as the Caliphate of the Holy Prophet?
Muawiya had found the way.
If Yazid was taking his beloved one with himself in the battle-journey and making merry with her at the cloister of Marran, the same too could be reported in the case of the Holy Prophet. Verily, in a made-up tradition, the Holy Prophet too takes his wife along with himself in one of the battle- journeys and on the way, asks his soldiers to move ahead so that he could enjoy and run a race with his wife or orders his soldiers to remain in an arid land for the sake of finding his beloved's necklace and himself thoughtlessly rests on her lap and sleeps. Not only God refrains from reproaching him but instead reveals the verse of «Tayammum» in due consideration of his manifestation of love and affection towards his beloved wife!!
Then, assuming these traditions to be authentic, there no more remains any place for objecting to this (so called) Caliph of the Holy Prophet i.e. Yazid - that he too has left the Islamic army and has himself thoughtlessly resided at the Cloister of Marran busy making merry with his beloved one.
The Period Of Forgery Of Such Traditions
It is for the sake of all these reasons that we reckon the matter of forgery and propagation of such traditions to be befitting the era of Muawiya. Besides, we had seen in the past that Muawiya had vowed to bury the blessed name of the Holy Prophet. Thus, his enmity with Bani-Hashim and the Holy Prophet himself on the one hand and his evil plots and plans for the continuation of the Umayyid government and the Caliphate of Yazid on the other hand were the main factors instigating him to forge such lies through his agents.
The Jewish and Christian Islamicists and Orientalists too were searching for their anti-Islamic aims in these very traditions (which unfortunately are many in the references of the Caliphate school). Thus, they have brought these traditions along with its analysis in their books and researches as an introduction to the Holy Prophet and have presented them to be the identity of Islam; the Holy Prophet and his decrees and commandments. Of course we have to state with utmost regret that they have to a certain extent achieved their objective too.
One of the eminent English Islamicists and Orientalists confesses as such: «Basically, the Western writers were susceptible and ready to have the worst beliefs about the Holy Prophet and whenever they came across an explanation and exegesis which was objectionable in some way or the other, they would pounce on the opportunity and regard it to be true and authentic.”
Since the European Islamicists could not find the like of these traditions in the references of the Ahlul Bayt school, they acquired Islam only and only from the sources and references of the Caliphate school.
Their eastern followers too, either knowingly or unknowingly have traversed the same path and followed in their foot-steps.
212- In writing the biography of the Holy Prophet, this same English scholar has only referred to Tarikh-e-Tabari, Seerah Ibn Hisham, Mughazi, Aqdi, «Tabaqat» of Ibn Sa'ad, Sahih-e-Bukhari, Musnad Ahmad, Asad-ul-Ghaba and Al-Asabah i.e. the references of the Caliphate school only and has not referred to even one single reference from the Ahlul Bayt school.
The Consequence Of These Traditions On the thoughts of those believing in them
In the end, we once more emphasize that such traditions gives a special kind of insight to those believing in their correctness and authenticity. Thus they open the way for the propagation of such deviated school of thoughts like «Wahabism» and worse still, all the anti-Islamic groups like the Bahai's and the like of them seek their (evil) purposes in these very sources and references. Thus we see them introducing Islam with the help of those traditions and texts which exists in the Caliphate school.
Aside from these two groups, the university - going intellectuals and the eastern Islamicists too who traverse the same path as the Western professors and pioneers drink water from the same spring. With the motive of research in its entirety, they have in their recognition of Islam, relied mostly or rather wholely on the sources and references of the Caliphate school and have not paid attention to the pure fountain-head of the Ahl-e- bayt school. In their recognition and presentation of Islam, they have not reaped the benefits of the traditions of the Imams (a.s.) - the household of the Holy Prophet (S) whereas the Holy Prophet had repeatedly stated that those who are the well-whishers of Islam should hold on fast to his household members after his departure.
On the day of «Ghadeer-e-Khum» he said:
( أنا 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) 194
In the farewell Hajj Ceremony, while delivering a sermon on the day of Arafat, the Holy Prophet said:
يا أيها الناس إنّي تركت فيكم ما إن اخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي195
And, as per the narration of Abu Saeed Khudri the Prophet said:
إني أوشك أن أدعى فأجيب و أني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله عز وجل وعترتي كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء الى الارض، وعترتي أهل بيتي، وان اللطيف الخبير أخبرني أنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض فانظروني بم تخلفوني فيهما 196
From the historical references, exegesis and traditions of the Ahlul Bayt school, the eastern Islamicists refer and pay attention to only those parts which the westerners have referred and paid attention to. For example, amongst the history books of Islam written by the Shi'ite scholars; that which is studied by the Europeans is the same as what is considered in the scholarly gatherings of the Islamic east like «Tarikh-e-Yaqubi» and «Waqat Siffeen» and it is quite obvious that with such meagre texts, one cannot recognize and present all the aspects of Islam extracted from the Ahlul Bayt school.
As the source of recognition of Islam, «Tarikh» (history) and refer much less to the historical books and texts and traditions written by Shaikh Mufeed, Sayyid Murtaza, Shaikh Tusi and their likes in spite of the fact that all of them were the most knowledgeable men of their time. Besides, their writings are approximately ten centuries old. Thus, due to their adherence to the Ahlul Bayt school, they have been neglected by western orientalism and because of the inattention of the European, they have still remained unrecognized in the Islamic east - outside the domains of religious knowledge.
In short, keeping aloof from the knowledge of the Imams (Ahlul Bayt) and their followers has become the most important factor in the distortion of Islam in the writings of all the western and eastern Islamicists.
والحق أحق أن يتبّع
In analysing and describing the factors which were responsible for the distoration of Islam by the hands of the powerful ones of past history, we came across some significant and fundamental factors like:
(1) Prevention from writing and propagating the traditions of the Holy Prophet.
(2) Shattering the Holy Prophet's image as the one bespeaking the Quran.
(3) Fabrication of traditions in the various dimensions of Islam.
The third factor i.e. fabrication of traditions which was reckoned to be the last portion and in reality the strongest factor in distortion, appeared in different forms. In the past, we saw that a few amongst the companions of the Holy Prophet embarked in the fabrication of traditions during the beginning of the Umayyid era and the apparently Islamic government of the Umayyid too was the initiator and the main instigator of this event.
Presence Of Sunni Scholars In The context of Fabrication of Traditions
We shall now engage in some other portion of this factor of distortion and that is the presence of Sunni scholars in the context of fabrication of traditions and their efforts in analysing and explaining Islam with the help of the distorted culture loaded with lies and forgeries of Judaism and Christianity.
In the Arabian - peninsula i.e. the society where the Holy Prophet was appointed, the level of culture, knowledge and learning was at a very low ebb. The explanation which the Holy Quran gives about this society is an indication of this matter. In one place, the Quran describes the Arab society during the period of ignorancy as the “manifest deviation”
and at some other place says: “The dwellers of the desert (Arabs) are very hard in paganism and hypocrisy”
. The entire culture and knowledge present in this society was nothing other than poetry, speech and knowledge about genealogies and a history of wars, bloodshed, killings, plunder which they took a sickly pride in.
Once, in the Holy Prophet's mosque people had gathered around certain man. When the Prophet entered the mosque and witnessed this gathering, he inquired: «Who is this man around whom the people have gathered?» It was replied: «He is an «Allama» i.e. (the most learned scholar)!» The Holy Prophet asked: «What is an «Allama»?» They said:
اعلم الناس بأنساب العرب و قليعها و أيام الجاهلية و الاشعار العربية
'He is most learned of all men in the genealogies of the Arabs and their historical events, the wars during the period of ignorancy and the poems of its poets!» The Holy Prophet (S) said: «This is the kind of knowledge which will neither harm a person if he is ignorant of it nor benefit a person if he possesses it.
»
Whatever has come in this tradition reveals the real set of knowledge of the Arabs: knowledge of genealogies, knowledge about historical events and wars, poems and literature. As far as knowledge of genealogies is concerned, attention was paid even to the genealogy of animals and in particular the genealogy of horses. Later, books were written in this regard such as «Ansab-ul-Khail» of Hashim Kalbi.
With regards to poems, attention too was paid to its various kinds such as lyrics, odes, epics and feastly poems and those pertaining to self-glorification and dispraise. With the advent of Islam and the connection it established with the most advanced civilizations of that time i.e. the Romans - Christians, Iranians and later the Indian civilization, the social atmosphere changed. Medina, which in the past, represented an Arab city or at the most the capital of Arabian peninsula transformed into one of the world's most important cities of that time. The learned men and political representatives from various important cities of the world would come and visit this city. The governor, ruler and judge would travel from this city to the farthest reaches of Iran, Syria and Africa.
Association and sociability had come into existence between the Arabs and Romans and the Arabs and Iranians. Even marriages would take place amongst these tribes. In reality, the Arab tribe which was once far away from the world's common history and was sitting aside from the cultural events prevailing upon the universal civilization of all, at once set foot into history and gained supremacy over the world's civilized tribes.
However, the level of cultural differences between the Arabs and the Romans and the Iranians was a fact which could not be neglected under any circumstances. As such, the questions which would arise for the city - dwellers would not arise so much for the desert - dwellers. Basically, the entire thoughts of Arab named revolved around keeping different names for his camels or giving various titles to his sword or recitation of poems about wars or the ruins of his lover's place. This was the ultimate limit of his mental scope and development.
However, the city - dwellers, in particular the Syrian and Iranians of that time had other thoughts in their mind which basically was never mooted in the unenlightened culture of the Arabs and no solution was thought for them. The city - dwellers would ask: «'How has this sky been established'? 'How has this earth been created?' 'Does this world have a beginning or an end?' 'What will happen to us after death?' And 'What shall we see?'» If such a person would turn into a Muslim he would still ask other questions about Quran and Islam. For example: «What is the meaning of this verse? What was Noah's Ark? Where was it? and finally where did it go?» Who are the tribe of Aad? Who are Ibrahim, Musa and Isa?
How was their condition and form of life? And hundreds of other questions and matters.
This exigency was severely felt and the everincreasing impact of questions and problems became more than before. This was under the circumstances when the Holy Prophet was not present in the society and nothing was being narrated from him. The distinguished and Islamic - trained companions like Salman, Abu Zar, Ammar, Miqdad and Ibn Masoud had withdrawn themselves aside. The Holy Prophet's household too were far from official responsibility and Ali, who was the gate of the Holy Prophet knowledge and about whom the Prophet said:
انا مدينة العلم وعلي بابها 200
Was now robbed of his Imamate and confined to the house or engaged in planting date-palms or farming in the desert. A person like Abu-Huraira (who did not fear forging traditions and would say: From my own bag! when asked about the sura he narrated a tradition
) was not enlightened enough to solve the problems in a respectable manner. For example he has said: (and this saying has also been narrated in the most authentic books) If a fly drops into food and consequently the food becomes contaminated with one of its wings then, dip the fly into the food because one of its wing is an ailment while the other is a cure!
In another tradition he says: 'God sent Gabriel to the Holy Prophet commanding him to approach Abu-Bakr and inform him that: “We are pleased with him. Is he (too) pleased with Us?
”
Such sayings cannot satisfy the enlightened men. The problems remain unsolved. The government which has remained helpless in replying to the problems mooted by the opposition or friends will not be able to last long. Thus a way of solution was reflected upon and a new gate was opened which unfortunately is still open till today. That is to say, the scholars and learned men of Jews and Christians were officially employed for solving the scientific problems, explaining the Quran and relating the commandments. The Christian and Jewish scholars who were now newly-converted Muslims became leaders in scientific works in the Islamic society and sat on the seat for pronouncing decrees or were commissioned to deliver general speeches before the Friday-prayer sermons or engaged themselves in interpreting the Quran, training the students, etc...
Story Tellers
The term [قصّاص ] (= storyteller) is a term related to علم الحديث i.e. science of traditions - carrying a special scientific meaning. In order to have an authentic narration, it is necessary for the one narrating a tradition to mention accurately and lucidly the narrator of the tradition and the successive chain of its transmitters. For example, he says:
حدثني سعيد ين جبير قال: حدثني عبد الله بن عباس قال: قال رسول الله
Or says:
حدثني سويد بن غفلة عن علي بن أبي طالب عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله
Or says:
حدثني سويد بن غفلة عن علي بن أبي طالب عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله
i.e. so and so a person narrated to me from so and so a person and he from Ali-ibn-Abi Talib (a.s.) and he from the Messenger of Allah (S). This course and method is customary in the 'Science of traditions' [علم الحديث ]. For distinguishing the truth from the falsehood, in addition to the examination of the text the chain of transmission which the narrator and transmitter uses is also examined. However, with regards to the past events which have been narrated in the Holy Quran, it is needless to narrate their chain of transmitters. The Quran itself is the chain of transmitters of these events. The holy Quran says:
نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ
We narrate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories… (Holy Qur’an 12:3)
إِنَّ هَـذَا لَهُوَ الْقَصَصُ الْحَقُّ
Indeed, this is the true narration… (Holy Qur’an 3:62)
For this reason, those who have spoken about the past events, the history of the Prophets, creation and other such matters without setting forth the chain of transmitters linked to the Holy Prophet and apparently their words resembled the stories of the Quran were called as [قصّاص ] (storytellers). Of course in our times the meaning of a «storyteller» is similar to a «fairy-tale teller» and this is not a good title. However, in those times a «storyteller» was meant to be a person who like the Holy Quran, talked about the history of the Prophets and other such matters without narrating the chain of transmission.
Tamim ad-Dari, the christian scholar, The spokesman of the islamic world:
The first person who has found the basis of story-telling in the Islamic world is Tamim ad-Dari.
Authentic sources say:
لم يكن يقص على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم و لا لأبي بكر و كان أول من قص تميما الداري، استأذن عمر بن الخطاب أن يقص على الناس قائما فأذن له عمر 204
In the covenant of the Holy Prophet, there did not exist story-telling. The same was the case in the covenant of Abu-Bakr too. The first person who engaged in such an affair was Tamim ad-Dari. He asked Omar-ibn-Khattab to allow him to collect and narrate stories for the people and the latter allowed him to do so.
His Record Before Islam
Concerning the stipulation of those who have written the life-history of the companions of the Holy Prophet, Tamim ad-Dari i.e. Tamim-ibn-Aus ibn- Kharaja (agnomen - Abu Ruqaiyya) was a Christian and in the year 9 A.H. i.e. during the last year of the Prophet's life, he came to Medina and became a Muslim:
كان نصرانيا وقدم المدينة فأسلم 205
Verily, it is not that he was an ordinary Christian but it is said that he was reckoned to be the monk amongst the Palestinians and a devotee of that place:
كان راهب أهل فلسطين وعابد أهل فلسطين206
In other words, he was not an ordinary person in the Christian religion. Rather, he was reckoned to be a famous monk and worshipper amongst the people of Palestine.
Moreover, they add:
من علماء أهل الكتابين 207
«He was a scholar as well as being well-versed in the Torah and Bible.»
Apart from being a monk, he was also a tradesman during the era of ignorancy. Bukhari narrates in his 'Sahih' that Tamim ad-Dari and Addi-ibn- Badda (who was a relative of Amro Aas) went for a business trip along with a person from the tribe of Bani-Saham, On the way, this man died in a land where there were no Muslim dwellers.
His wealth fell in the hands of Tamim and Addi who handed them to his family-members, when they returned. Moments before dying, this Sahami person wrote the accounts of his wealth and kept it amongst them. However, this affair remained concealed from the eyes of the two partners.
Amongst the wealth of the Sahami man, a cup made of silver existed which was decorated with gold and was the biggest and most valuable part of its owners wealth. Of course its particulars were recorded in the list of wealth. Tamim and Addi sold this cup and shared the money which amounted to five hundred dirhams and handed over the remaining wealth to the family-members of the Muslim partner.
Amongst the wealth, the family-member found a deed of the entire wealth of their father wherein mention was made of a cup coated with gold. The family-members approached the two partners of their father and claimed from them the cup present in their father's wealth. They denied this and said: 'We are unaware of such a cup. The dispute was taken before the Holy Prophet. He commanded that those two should attend the mosque and after the prayers, swear to God that they had not committed treason and had brought all that was left of the dead man's property.
They sweared accordingly but later on, the cup was found with someone who confessed to having bought it from Tamim. When Tamim was questioned about it, he said: Yes, it is the truth. But, we had bought it from that Sahami man and we forgot to reveal this matter to you at that time. At this very moment, the verse 106 and 107 from Sura Maeda was revealed:
يِا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ حِينَ الْوَصِيَّةِ اثْنَانِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ أَوْ آخَرَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ إِنْ أَنتُمْ ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ فَأَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةُ الْمَوْتِ تَحْبِسُونَهُمَا مِن بَعْدِ الصَّلاَةِ فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللّهِ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ لاَ نَشْتَرِي بِهِ ثَمَناً وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى وَلاَ نَكْتُمُ شَهَادَةَ اللّهِ إِنَّا إِذاً لَّمِنَ الآثِمِينَ
«O you who believe! call to witness between you when death draws nigh to one of you, at the time of making the will, two just persons from among you, (i.e. Muslims) or two other than you, (i.e. non-Muslim) if you are travelling in the land and the calamity of death befalls you; the two (witnesses) you should detain after the prayer; then if you doubt (them), they shall both swear by Allah, (saying): We will not take for it a price, though there be a relative, and we will not hide the testimony of Allah for then certainly we should be among the sinners.» (Holy Quran, 5: 106)
فَإِنْ عُثِرَ عَلَى أَنَّهُمَا اسْتَحَقَّا إِثْماً فَآخَرَانِ يِقُومَانُ مَقَامَهُمَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَوْلَيَانِ فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللّهِ لَشَهَادَتُنَا أَحَقُّ مِن شَهَادَتِهِمَا وَمَا اعْتَدَيْنَا إِنَّا إِذاً لَّمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
«Then if it becomes known that they both have been guilty of a sin, two others shall stand up in their place from among those who have a claim against them, the two nearest in kin; so those two should swear by Allah: Certainly our testimony is truer than the testimony of those two, and we have not exceeded the limit, for then, most surely we should be of the unjust.» (Holy Quran, 5: 107)
As per the order of these verses, two persons nearest in kin and relatives of the Sahami man sweared near the foot of the Holy Prophet's pulpit that the possession of the cup had been mentioned amongst the list of inheritance deed and it is they who are uttering the truth and not these two men. In this manner, the Holy Prophet commanded them to give back the cup or its equivalent to the heirs of the Sahami man.
This is the past record of Tamim's ugly face during his Christianity. His life can be summarized as such: «A scholar in Torah and Bible, a Christian monk and a big tradesman across the oceans» who of course had sometimes committed the crime of theft while trading.
After this event, the Holy Prophet addressed Tamim who was then a Christian as such: «Convert to Islam since Islam will forgive you of your past sins.» In other words, the moment a person enters into the fold of Islam, it eliminates all his past impurities. Thus, in this manner Tamim accepted Islam in the year 9 A.H.
During The Second Caliph's Era
During the period of Omar-ibn-Khattab's Caliphate, Tamim Dari, the former Christian scholar who had not witnessed the Prophet's period for more than one year was now allowed to address the Holy Prophet's companions like Salman, Abu-Zar, Miqdad, Ammar Huzaifa, Khuzaima and others. As a speaker and orator prior to the Friday-prayers he was given the liberty of addressing the general Muslim population of Medina once in a week. Of course, the Muslims were supposed to sit the Friday- prayer ceremony through which they did and listened to his speeches. During Uthman's reign of Caliphate, he was charged with fulfilling this responsibility twice a week.
The second Caliph, Omar-ibn-Khattab would respect Tamim to a great extent and would call him by the title of خير أهل المدينة (the best man in Medina)
. This was exactly at the time when persons like Imam Amir-ul- Mumineen (a.s.) and the eminent companions of the Holy Prophet were present. Later, when the people were divided into classes on the basis of the second Caliph's command, Tamim was placed in the rank of the 'people of Badr' who were reckoned to be the most honourable companions of the Holy Prophet and were receiving pays more than any other class.
The people of Badr became the first group of the Holy Prophet's followers where the «Muhajirin» (emigrants)amongst them received five thousand dirham and the «Ansars» (helpers) amongst them received four thousand dirhams. The next group were those who had participated in the battle of 'Uhud' and following them were the people of 'Khandaq', people of 'Khaibar' and then the 'peace of Hudaibiyya' and last of all consisted of those who had become Muslims after the Holy Prophet and they received two hundred dirham from the public-treasury.
At that time, the Caliph linked Tamim Dari to the 'people of Badr' and placed him besides the pioneers and vanguards of Islam and earmarked five thousand dirham for him from the public - treasury.
Moreover, when the second Caliph gave orders that the 'Nafila' (supererogatory) and 'Mustahab' (recommendable)prayers should be offered in congregation in the month of Ramadhan (in the year 14 A.H.), two persons were appointed by him for leading the congregation where one of them was Tamim Dari. (a newly-converted Muslims who was previously a Christian, monk and scholar).
He would attend the congregation prayers and lead the Muslims with his one thousand dirham value garment in an utmost majestic state.
Tamim remained in Medina until the end of Uthman's Caliphate and rule. However, after Uthman's death, he fled to Syria and resided there until 40 A.H. i.e. the year of martyrdom of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.). Historians have said: Tamim died in Syria and his grave is situated in the house of «Jubreen» in Palestine.
His Penetration Into The Caliphate School
This Christian monk and scholar who was now a newly-converted Muslim had been quenched with tampered culture of the Torah and Bible and had not undergone so much Islamic and Prophetic training so as to undergo a radical positive change. In order to realize the influence of such a person in the Islamic society of his time and the official Islam, it is necessary to ponder over what the scholars of «Rijal» (researchers in the biographies of the companions) have said: Persons like Abu-Huraira from whom 5,374 traditions have been narrated in the books 'Sihah', 'Musnad' and other narrative sources of the Caliphate school, Anas-ibn-Malik who has 2,286 traditions to his credit, Abdulla-ibn-Abbass who has narrated 1,660 traditions and numerous other disciples of the companions were amongst his students and have narrated traditions from him.
Hadith Of «Jassaseh» And «Dajjal»
The most famous tradition which has been narrated from Tamim Dari reveals the culture which he possessed and strived to disseminate it in the newly-founded Islamic society. This tradition is about «Dajjal» and is well- known as «Jassaseh». It is narrated as such:
Fatemah-bin-Qais says:
«The voice of the Prophet's caller could be heard crying out: الا صلاة جامعة (come for the congregation prayers). I left my house and then offered prayers in the mosque with the Holy Prophet. I was sitting in the front row of the ladies. After prayers, the Holy Prophet sat on the pulpit and while smiling said: 'Everyone should remain in his or her own place.' Thereafter he added: 'Do you know why I have called you in this?' The people replied: 'God and gathering, His Messenger know better!' He said: «I have called you here in order to inform you that Tamim Dari who was formerly a Christian has now accepted Islam and has become a Muslim, Moreover, he has narrated to me a tradition which is in agreement with what I used to narrate for you and it is about Messiah Dajjal.» He has narrated to me as such:
«I boarded the ship along with thirty men from the tribes of «Lakhm» and «Juzaam». The sea turned stormy, For one month we were entangled in the horrendous storm, Later, the storm pulled us to an island. We stepped off unto the shore. There, we witnessed a strange animal which was very hairy so much so that his head could not be clearly seen. We approached the animal and said: «What are you?» It replied: 'I am Jassaseh!
We said: 'What is Jassaseh? It replied: Do not ask me about anything. Enter this monastery because the man who is inside is eager to see you and wishes to acquire knowledge about you! On hearing these words, we began to fear and thought that perhaps he was Satan who has now appeared in this form. Soon we went towards the monastery.
Inside, we witnessed a man the like of whom we had never witnessed. However, his hands and legs were bound with chains. We asked: 'Who are you?' He replied: You shall soon know about me. But first, introduce yourselves to me. We informed him that we were Arabs and related to him the story of the ship and our fate. Thereafter, he asked us some questions and said: 'In what condition is the palm of “Baisan”?
Does the lake of “Tabariyya” contain water or not?
How is the spring of “Zughar”?
.... Then he said: 'Inform me about the unlettered Prophet.' We said: he has appeared in Mecca and is now residing in Yathrib (Medina). He said: Have the Arabs waged wars against him? We replied: 'Yes.' He said: 'How has these battle been fought?' We said: 'Sometimes he has been victorious and sometimes his enemies have beaten him.' He said: But it is to their own interest to follow him. Then, he said: 'Now I shall introduce myself. I am Messiah (Dajjal) and it is not far that I will be given permission to emerge. I shall walk on the earth and traverse every place save Mecca and Taiba (Medina) in only forty days. These two cities are forbidden upon me and on every way which leads to them stands an angel with a sword who prevents me from entering these places.' Thereafter, the Holy Prophet while striking his staff thrice on the pulpit said: This place is «Taiba». He further added: Didn't I inform you about this matter before? The people replied: 'Yes!' Then, he said: Tamim's tradition is interesting and astonishing for me because it is in agreement and conformity with whatever I had revealed to you in the past.
Review Of This Tradition
Here we shall not examine as to how it is possible that a sea should be entangled in a storm for one whole month! Basically, it could be no other sea other than the Mediterranean sea? And whether this sea on which man has travelled across for a thousand years has really possessed an unheard island where Dajjal was imprisoned in it and «Jassaseh» was busy gathering information is quite astonishing. If at that time it was possible for someone to believe that such an unknown island existed, can the same be believed in the recent centuries? Has this unreasonable saying been accepted today?
Moreover, where can an animal by the name of «Jassaseh» whose head and tail are unrecognizable and speaks eloquent Arabic too be found!? Does such a thing really sound sensible or not? Also, why Dajjal who was bound with chains and had the permission for revolting has not done so during these one thousand and four hundred years? In those days, it was possible for someone like the fabricator of this news who was unaware of the future to say that Dajjal had been granted permission to revolt but today, after a gap of centuries we are aware of the extent of the falsity of this matter.
We leave these and such other questions and their answers to the knowledge and insight of our readers. We only ask: What kind of evil repercussions and misunderstandings can be created in Islam from that which is mentioned in the tradition: that the Holy Prophet hears it from Tamim Dari with acceptance and then announces this with delight to the Muslims in an official and large gathering. What kind of an opinion will an educated, enlightened and discerning Muslim derive about his Prophet? What will a non-Muslim who is doing research about Islam, say? And how can they believe in a Prophet who narrates such superstitions and lies?
Another question which we have in mind is whether there was no Muslim in the length of these centuries to doubt in the integrity of this tradition and the Holy Prophet's utterances on the pulpit? The reply is «No», because this tradition has been narrated in Sahih Muslim and whatever gets narrated in Sahih Muslim and Bukhari cannot be doubted! In any way, there exists no doubt in the fantasy and fabrication of the text of this tradition. So, where does the impairment lie or rather where can we look for it?
Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Ridha, an emiment Egyptian scholar
, has conducted research in this regard and suggests a way for solving this matter. He does not say that Fatemah-bin-Qais, the narrator of the tradition has made a mistake or has not spoken the truth or has been entangled in delusive thought and imagination since, she is after all the companion of the Prophet and a companion is worthy of respect! Moreover, the narrators of Sahih Muslim and Muslim himself are faultless. Thus, this tradition verily refers back to the Holy Prophet and cannot be said that any mistake or crime has taken place on the part of the narrators.
However, the tradition too is not worthy of acceptance under any circumstances through wisdom and knowledge of our time. Rashid Ridha reckons the solution to lie in this that the Holy Prophet has made a mistake for narrating Tamim's sayings i.e. he has unknowingly entangled himself in the claws of Tamim's superstitious and false story and without discovering his mistake has divulged it to the people. Muhammad Abdoh's expression is as follows:-
النبي ما كان يعلم الغيب فهو كسائر البشر يحمل كلام الناس على الصدق إذا لم تخف به شبهة 219
«The Holy Prophet is not aware of the unseen. He is similar to other human - beings and believes in the sayings of the people if they sound reasonable and rouse no doubt.»
In reality, the Holy Prophet (S) has been deceived by Tamim's words and has happily revealed and taught them to the people without realizing that his sayings are plain superstitions.
Now, this basic question arises that as to why such kinds of traditions have found their way in the books of traditions?
We do not wish to find fault with Tamim Dari and argue as to why he has resorted to such superstitious tales. And basically what his intentions were in narrating such sayings? Rather, we wish to inquire why this tale has not entered the story-books and has found its way in the book of [الجامع الصحيح ] (The comprehensive authentic traditions)?
Those who remember our previous discussions are aware that with regards to the orders of the ruling authorities, traditions were not being written down before the year 100 A.H. and it was during Omar-ibn-Abdul Aziz's era that for the first time traditions appeared in the written form. It is possible that such a story which could have been attractive and exciting too for the people of that time, must have been narrated by Tamim Dari and the Muslims too must have heard about it. Later, during the length of time, some Muslim or the other has made an error and imagined that he has heard the story in the form of tradition from the Holy Prophet. Perhaps, in this manner it has been narrated through Fatemah-binte Qais or Aamer Shuabi, the other narrator and has found its way in the books of tradition. The reality of the affair is this that neither the Holy Prophet has uttered such words nor there had been any gathering in the mosque for listening to his talks.
In the 'science of hadith' [علم الحديث ] or 'contextual study of hadith [علم دراية الحديث ] this (tradition) has been reckoned to be [رواية الكبار عن الصغار ] as one kind amongst the various kinds of hadiths which means a greater person narrating tradition from a smaller person. For example, when a companion (of the Holy Prophet) narrates a tradition from a disciple of the companion, his narration will be counted to be [الكبار رواية عن الصغار ] because a companion, due to his companionship with the Holy Prophet and his leading in the chain of narrators is considered to be greater than a disciple who does not possess such priorities. With regard to this tradition too it has been said: 'Since the Holy Prophet has narrated this tradition from one companion i.e. Tamim Dari, it is therefore [رواية الكبار عن الصغار]
Western Islamicists And The Hadith Of «Jassaseh»
In the length of history of the Christian CHurch's campaign against Islam, one of the most common Christian accusation has been this that the Holy Prophet has acquired his words and basically the Islamic knowledge and commandments from the Christians and Jews. At first, the ecclesiastic forces, by relying on the similarities which exists among some of the matters in the present-day Torah, Bible and the holy Quran, have reiterated this accusation during the centuries.
Later, when due to progressive exigencies, the need of knowledge in the form of Orientalism and Islamlogist was felt in the countries of European colonizers and it came into being with all its expanded scope, this saying because one of the most common accusations of the western Islamicists against Islam and the Islamicist agents of the English, French, Holland.... ministries have, under the pretext of research and investigation, reiterated this accusation day after day.
By paying attention to these preliminaries it will become clear that to what extent Tamim's hadith can be a proof of such lies and accusations. Unfortunately, in connection to the discussion about Dajjal and the life- history of Tamim himself, the Western Islamicists refer to this tradition in the most important book in this field i.e. «Encyclopaedia of Islam» and also specify that he was able to divulge the worship of the Syrian Christians before the Prophet. Aside from giving such kind of information in religious matters to the Holy Prophet (!) he also placed before him the story of Dajjal, the end of time and Jassaseh and the Prophet too listened to such talks with acknowledgement and revealed and taught them to the Muslims as a scholarly gift.
Professor Lifi Dalavida, a master in Arabic Language and semitic languages and an expert in Islamic history writes about Tamim Dari in the Encyclopaedia of Islam as such: “Tamim was a Christian just like most of the Syrian Arabs. Thus he was able to acquaint Hazrat (i.e. the Holy Prophet)about the worship of the Syrians amongst which was the matter of lightening of candles in the mosque. It is said that Tamim was the first person who narrated religious stories. The stories about the establishment of the Hour (Resurrection) and the appearance of Dajjal and Jassaseh were all from such type. Tamim divulged these stories for the Prophet who in turn revealed them to the people.
”
Previously, we had seen how, during the Umayyid era, they (i.e. the Umayyids) strived hard in crushing the Holy Prophet's personality. Unfortunately, the results of this endeavour which took the shape of a tradition and found its way in the reliable books of the Caliphate school became the (main) factor in influencing Rashid Ridha to believe that the solution of this matter lies in this that the Holy Prophet had committed a mistake! (God forbid).
On The Path Of Greater Recognition Of Tamim Dari
Rub-ibn-Zanba'a says:- «I approached Tamim Dari. I saw him cleaning barley to feed his horse in spite of the presence of servants and slaves besides him». I said: «You need not do this work as your servants and slaves are present! Is there not anyone amongst them to perform this task?» Tamim said: 'Yes. But I have heard the Holy Prophet saying:
ما من إمريء مسلم ينقى لفرسه شعيراً ثم يعلقه عليه إلا كتب له بكل حبة حسنة
“Any Muslim who cleans barley for his horse and (then) hangs it around her neck to be fed a goodness is written for him to the extent of the number of those barleys.”
This forged tradition is an example of the traditions narrated from Tamim wherein the Holy Prophet sayings and the Islamic knowledge is reduced to such levels that one reward is fixed for every barley given to a horse.
One of the deceitful acts of Tamim Dari which has been recorded in history and has remained till today is this that during Muawiya's era, he presented a letter from the Holy Prophet wherein the latter mentions that he has given Tamim some flourishing village and hamlet of Syria as a fief. These villages consisted of Bait-Ayoon, Hebrun, Martum and Bait-e-Ibrahim.
The text of the Prophet's letter which Tamim presented in this regard is as follows:
هذا ما أعطى محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لتميم الداري وأصحابه: أني أعطيتكم بيت عينون وحبرون والمرطوم وبيت إبراهيم برمتهم وجميع ما فيهم عطية بتٍّ ونفذتُ وسلمتُ ذلك لهم ولأعقابهم من بعدهم إلى أبد الأبدين، فمن آذاهم فيه آذى الله. شهد أبو بكر بن أبي قحافة وعثمان وعلي بن ابي طالب224
«This is whatever Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (S) has presented to Tamim Dari and his companions. I present you Bait-Uyoon, Hebrun, Martum and Bait-Ibrahim along with the belongings in these villages - i.e. its trees, animals and people. This gift is decisive and irrevocable. I have approved and surrendered it to him and his family- members forever. The witnesses upon this matter are Abu-Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali-ibn-Abi Talib.»
The proofs of prevarication of this letter are many:
One of them is that the Holy Prophet never used to send greetings and salutations upon himself after mentioning his name in the letters which he would write or rather had others to write. Of course if others would write something they would note down greetings and salutations after his blessed name.
Another reason is that the Holy Prophet would never give a flourishing place as a fief to anyone in this manner i.e. with all its inhabitants. Rather, he would give barren and dead land so that they would enliven them or give pastures which could be turned into a place suitable for animal husbandry.
Yet another proof. If the Holy Prophet had gifted each and everything of these villages (its people, animals and property) to Tamim and his followers it means that he had gifted the people of this place to him as slaves and that too forever and until the Day of Judgement. And then he said: «If anyone vexes them i.e. Tamim Dari, his family-members, relatives and descendants he has in fact vexed Allah.
Another reason which we can mention is that the witnesses to this munificence comprised those people who later on attained the Caliphate in order. In other words, precisely in accordance with the same order of government, they have signed below this letter. This order is itself a clear proof of this letter being forged and fabricated because, none of the witnesses seen in the numerous letters of the Holy Prophet's pact follow this order. For this very reason we say that this letter had been forged during Muawiya's era. By means of this letter, Tamim took from Muawiya the possession of the afore-mentioned flourishing places which were around Bait-ul-Muqaddas and in Syria and Palestine and then migrated and lived there until the end of his life. He died there and was buried too in that very place.
Summary
With such record before Islam and such actions and statements after Islam Tamim Dari was the official speaker of the Islamic government. As mentioned before, he was appointed as the official speaker before the Friday-prayers during the period of the second and third Caliph where he would narrate stories.
Amongst the first steps which Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) implemented after gaining control of the government was that he dismissed the story-tellers from the mosque.
Of course, like most other fugitives on the run from the just government of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.), they took refuge in Muawiya. In this manner, the story of story-teller came to an end - of course not forever - and for the first time this chapter was wiped off from the history of Islam by the hands of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen although afterwards, it regained considerable official recognition during the period of the statemen.
The first epoch of the life of the story-tellers reached its end during this period. However with the fresh revival of their affairs, their influence in the Islamic reflection remained alive just as we saw in the past, the influence of Tamim's whimsical narration of traditions.
About his life, they say: The Holy Prophet has narrated tradition from him and Ibn Abbass, Anas-ibn-Malik, Abu-Huraira, Abdullah-ibn-Omar and scores of disciples of the companions have learnt and narrated traditions from him.
The possibility of the Holy Prophet (S) having had narrated tradition from Tamim, the example of which we saw before, can be decisively and accurately judged to be false. However, those amongst the companions who did not possess well-grounded knowledge of Islam like Abu-Huraira, Anas, Abdullah-ibn-Omar and also the disciples of the companions who wished to learn Islam from the tongue of persons like Tamim took the sayings of this Christian but newly-converted Muslim scholar and monk and narrated them in the form of traditions for the future generation.
As such, the series of hadiths which in the «science of traditions» [علم الحديث ] is called as «Israeeliyat» i.e. stories of Bani-Israel i.e. whatever has been available in Torah, Bible, Talmud and such kind of distorted books of Old Testament has found its way in the Islamic world and has remained here and taken the colour of «tafseer» (exegesis), hadith and Islamic history.
Is it not that in numerous instances of the Torah it is mentioned that God walks or that God can become visible or that He speaks with Adam or wrestles with Yaqoub right from sunset till early dawn? Is it not that the Torah speaks about the various kinds of sins committed by the Prophets and that they are not immune from wine, adultery and other sins? Verily, all such talks which in reality have been the result of distortions of the heavenly facts present in the true Torah and Bible have entered Islam through such people and filled the various books of the Caliphate school.
As such, one of the factors which was responsible for distortion in Islam was the existence of such kind of people. Unfortunately, we have to state that the sayings of Tamim Dari, Wahab-ibn-Munabbah and most important amongst them Kab al-Ahbar
have not only penetrated the historical, narrative and interpretive text of the Caliphate school but have also influenced a few historical, narrative and interpretive sources of the Ahl-e- bayt school and as such the lucid sciences of the Ahlul Bayt have become so tainted in some of the books. In the Ahlul Bayt school, the primary principle is based on research. Thus in the traditions pertaining to jurisprudence, an accurate multilatered research is not adequately conducted in the case of historical, ethical or interpretive traditions and so a few signs of distortions of the enemies of Islam can be seen here and there in such books.
For achieving the true Islam i.e. the Islam which the Holy Prophet has brought, we are left with no option but to hold fast unto him and reap the benefits of his sciences and that of his Ahlul Bayt who are the inheritors of his unlimited knowledge. On many occasions, Hazrat himself, in various forms has said the following:
إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي ما إن تمسكتم بهما لن تضلوا بعدي أبداً 228
«I am leaving behind two valuable things amongst you - the Book of Allah and my household members. If you hold on to these two things, you will never go astray.»
Just as we witnessed, the ruling figures strived to fill the vacant sayings of the Holy Prophet and the true Islamic gnosis with the culture of «Ahl-e- Kitab» - Jews and Christians. It was on this very path that the scholars from «Ahl-e-Kitab» sat on the throne of Quranic exegesis and explanation of gnosis in the Islamic societies. Previously, we had discussed about manner of his influence in the Islamic society. Now we shall examine the personality and operation of yet another scholar of «Ahl-e-Kitab» who was called as Kab al-Ahbar and was reckoned to be a great Jewish scholar.
Kab Al-Ahbar, The Jewish Scholar, The Expositor Of Quran
This man whose name was «Kab-ibn-Matea» and agnomen was «Abu- Ishaaq» (also) possessed the title of «Kab al-Ahbar». Sometimes he was also called as «Kab-ul-Ahabr» but his most famous name was his very title i.e. «Kab ul-Ahbar».
«Ahbar» is the plural of «Habr» [حَبْر ] and «Habr» [حَبْر ] is a title given to a Jewish scholar although a Christian scholar too is sometimes called as «Habr» [حَبْر ]. He was called as «Kab al-Ahbar» by the Jews because the entire holy books which were supposed to be in the hands of their scholars were all in his hands or that he was reckoned to be the greatest or at least one of the greatest scholars amongst them.
About his life-history, historians have said that he was the most eminent scholar amongst the «Ahl-e-Kitab».
They have also stated that he was from the Jewish scribes from Yemen and had come to Medina during Omar's reign of government and had accepted Islam during Abu-Bakr's era.
From the available traditions it can be judged that «Kab al-Ahbar» had gone to Medina so that en-route he could finally travel to Bait-ul-Muqaddas and settle there. During the period of the Christian might and power, the Jews were harassed and tortured by them. For this reason, the Jews could not live in peace in Bait-ul-Muqaddas which was a holy place for them too. However, with the advent of Islam and the freeing of this land from the hands of the Christian rulers, «Kab al-Ahbar» wished to travel and settle in the promised land of the Jews i.e. Syria and Bait-ul-Muqaddas.
Ibn Asaker, the writer of the great history of Damascus says: Omar-ibn- Khattab addressed Kab as such: «Now that you have accepted Islam why don't you stay in Medina which is the place of the Holy Prophet's migration and also the place of his shrine?» Kab replied: «I have come across a point in the revealed Book of God that Syria has been named as God's treasure on the earth where His servants are gathered in that treasure.
Kab would always use the title «Book of God» for Torah (in spite of the fact that Torah at that time was a distorted book and there was no other heavenly revealed book existent.) and whenever he would rememorate the divine book he had only the Torah in mind (this matter can be repeatedly found in the traditions narrated by him).
The second Caliph insisted that Kab remains in Medina, Kab too stayed in Medina until Uthman's rulership. Uthman ruled for a period of twelve years. During the first six years, he did not change so much from the line of policy adopted by the previous two governments and so there were no protests. However, during the second half of his Caliphate, conditions changed and that because of permitting the Bani-Umayyids and his own relatives to interfere in the affairs of the government. At this time, Kab left Medina and joined Muawiya in Syria. During this very period he died at the age of 104 years.
Historians have mentioned the year of his death to be 35 A.H.
«Kab al-Ahbar» strived hard to spread the Jewish tales amongst the Muslims. Most of the Jewish tales, the praises and eulogies for the «Ahl-e- Kitab» and their «Qibla» (direction faced in prayer) i.e. «Bait-ul- Muqaddas» and especially those things which have come down in the Islamic texts have all been disseminated through him. The proof to this saying is the presence of Kab's narrations in the books of «Tafseer» (exegesis) «Hadith» (tradition), Islamic «Seerah» (biography) and «Tarikh» (history).
Ibn Asaker in his «Tarish» narrates from Kab al-Ahbar as follows:
أحب البلاد الى الله الشام و أحب الشام إلى الله القدس
“The most beloved land on earth before God is the land of Syria and the most beloved spot in Syria before God is Qods.
”
Conclusion: Syria and Qods are more beloved and valuable before God than even Mecca and Medina.
Also, he has said:
تسعة أعشار الخير بالشام وجزئه في سائر الارضين
“God has placed nine tenth (9/10) of the goodness and blessing in the land of Syria and distributed only a part of the remaining over the entire earth.”
Also, he has said:
خمس مدائن من مدن الجنة: بيت المقدس و حمص و دمشق و جبرين و ظفار اليمن
«There are five cities from the cities of Paradise: Bait-ul-Muqaddas, Hums, Damascus, Jabreen (a flourinshing place near Bait-ul-Muqaddas) and Zafaar-ul-Yemen (the place where Kab used to live before migrating to Medina and then Syria).
Also, he has said:
أربعة أجبل : جبل الخليل ، ولبنان ، والطور ، والجودي ، يكون كل واحد منهم يوم القيامة لؤلؤة بيضاء تضيء ما بين السماء والأرض ، يرجعن إِلَى بيت المقدس حتى تجعل فِي زواياه ويضع الجبار جل جلاله عليها كرسيه حتى يقضي بين أهل الجنة والنار وَتَرَى الْمَلائِكَةَ حَافِّينَ مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَقِيلَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
«On the Day of Judgement, foul mountains namely Jabal al-Khalil which is situated near Bait-ul-Muqaddas and on which is placed the grave of Hazrat Ibrahim-e-Khalil, Jabel-e-Lebanon (mountain range of Lebanon), Jabal-e- Tur (mountain range of Tur), and Jabal-e-Judii (mountain range of Judii) will be like sparkling pearls between the heavens and the earth. On that day these four mountains will be moved back to Bait-ul-Muqaddas and will be placed in the four corners of the city. (Then) the Omnipotent God will set His Throne on it and from there, He will pass judgement over the people of Paradise and Hell.
Thereafter, he sets forth, at the end of his saying the holy verse of Quran as a proof: «And you shall see the angels going round about the throne glorifying and praising their Lord; and judgement shall be given between them with justice, and it shall be said: All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds”
,
. In other words, he wishes to say that the interpretation of this holy verse is something which has come down in his sayings.
Our declaration that such matters has penetrated into the reliable Islamic texts can be judged from this very tradition which is present in the great history of Ibn Asaker as well as in the famous exegesis of «Durrul- MantHur».
These are examples wherein one can clearly observe the manner in which the matters related to «Ahl-e-Kitab» especially the Jews have become prevalent among the Muslims by means of Kab:
Bait-ul-Muqaddas is respectable. God sets His seat or throne - which are physical too - in that place. The four mountains which are sacred mostly for the Jews and the land of Bait-ul-Muqaddas are the bases and pavillion for God's throne.
Also, he says:
«On the Day of Judgement the people of Syria will be told that God would take care of them just as a warrior takes care of his arrows kept in his quiver. This is because Syria is the most beloved land before Him and its people are His most beloved creatures.»
He adds: «Anyone who enters Syria will come under God's mercy and favour and anyone who exits from it will be a loser.»
Similarly, he says: «The haven for the Muslims from dangers and calamities is the city of Damascus and the place of deliverance for Dajjal is the river of Abu-Fatras (a place near Rumallah in Palestine) and the place of refuge from God and Magog is the mountain of Tur.
In another tradition, Kab says:
إن الكعبة تسجد لبيت المقدس في كل غداة
«Every morning, the Ka'aba (the holy House of God) prostrates before Bait -ul-Muqaddas.
It is interesting to state that this tradition is read to Imam Baqir (a.s.) and then commented: Kab has spoken the truth, Imam reproached them by saying:
'You have lied and so has Kab.'
Yet in another tradition, Kab has said:
لا تقوم الساعة حتى يُزَفّ البيت الحرام الى البيت المقدس241
The Day of Judgement will not be established but after Bait-ul-Haram has been shifted towards Bait-ul-Muqaddas. Thereafter, these two holy houses will be made to enter Paradise along with their residents and the reckoning of the creatures and the presentation of deeds on that day will be conducted at Bait-ul-Muqaddas.
You must have observed that in these expressions, the focal point is this that the sanctities of Islam like the Ka'aba prostrate before the sanctities of the Jews like Bait-ul-Muqaddas or fall in humbleness or advance towards it in order to reach Paradise. Is it not that these words, inculcations or propaganda of such thoughts finally lead to Islam greeting Judaism with humility? It is on the basis of these information that we believe that Kab spread Judaism and its culture amongst the Muslims and presented its fake values as lofty Islamic values.
The Students Of Kab
In addition to his endeavours in spreading his own sayings and the distorted Jewish culture in the Islamic society, Kab also engaged in training students who would assist him in propagating Judaism. Aside from training those students mentally, this double-faced Jew also endeavoured to introduce them as learned men and scholars in the society. Under various pretexts, he would strive to make his students earn fame.
Amongst Kab's students, we may mention the name of Abdullah-ibn-Amro- ibn-Aas. Once Kab asked him a question and Abdullah responded correctly. Kab then said:
أنت افقه العرب
«You are more learned and knowledgeable than all the Arabs.»
In the city of Mecca, Kab was asked a question and he said: «Go and inquire from Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas. When the question was put before Abdullah and he replied, Kab said: صدق الرجل عام والله
«He has spoken the truth. I swear by Allah that he is a learned man.»
Amongst Kab's other students was Abu-Huraira, the famous narrator of numerous traditions in the Caliphate school.
Kab strived to give this man who gained importance (only) from Muawiya's era and onwards special type of training and satiate him with Jewish perspicacity.
Tabari, in the three of his traditions reveals how Kab, in the course of his training to Abu-Huraira has taught the latter the Jewish culture.
Apart from the numerous traditions which Abu-Huraira has narrated without having mentioned the name of Kab, there are yet numerous other traditions wherein Abu-Huraira has mentioned the real source of his information i.e. Kab.
It is for this very reason that religious scholars reckon Abu-Huraira to have been one of Kab's students and trainees.
Just as in the case of Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas, with regards to Abu-Huraira too, Kab al-Ahbar strived to make him earn fame and credibility. Once Kab, after having conversed with Abu-Huraira in length said about him as such:
ما رأيت أحداً لم يقرء التوراة أعلم بما فيها من أبي هريرة
«I have not come across any person who has not read the Torah but has understood its meanings better than Abu-Huraira.
Kab's Influence In Official Positions
For achieving his objectives, this Jewish scholar strived hard to penetrate the hearts of the powerful men and the Caliphs. He pursued this path by living a special way of life. Even in this posture, Kab strived contentiously in propagating the Jewish culture i.e. from the one side he was propagating his own culture and from the other side he was concentrating in penetrating in the system of Caliphate and drawing the Caliph's attention.
In one of his meetings with Omar-ibn-Khattab, he said:-
انا لنجدك في كتاب الله على باب من أبواب جهنم تمنع الناس أن يقعوا فيها فإذا مِتّ لم يزالوا يقتحمون فيها الى يوم القيامة
«We could find your name in the divine Book (of course by divine Book, he meant the Torah) wherein is mentioned that you have been placed near the gates of Hell and you prevent the people from entering it. However, as soon as you die the people will ceaselessly enter Hell and this will continue until the Day of Judgement.
Perhaps, the Holy Prophet too did not possess such a virtue; that up to the time he was alive, he could stand near the gates of Hell and have the power to prevent the people from entering it. The same is true for Abu-Bakr and nobody other than Omar too possessed this virtue. It is only Omar who is the barrier for the people - such people who with their evil deeds have to enter Hell - and with his death, there no longer remains any barrier in the way of Hell!
Similarly, when Omar-ibn-Khattab got killed by the hands of Abu-Lualu, Kab said:
لئن سأل عمر ربه ليبقينه الله
“If Omar requests Allah to allow him to remain alive, then certainly Allah will grant him a long life.”
As usual, here too, Kab indirectly referred to the Torah and narrated one story from it.
From the traditions it sometimes appears that the ruling power too wanted Kab to earn fame and credibility amongst the Muslims and that people should show trust and faith in him.
In an authentic book of exegesis of the Caliphate school, Omar-ibn- Khattab inquired from Kab the meaning of [عدن ] from the following verse:-
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدتَّهُم وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ. وَ قِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ
Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual residence which You have promised them and whoever was righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their offspring. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. And protect them from the evil consequences [of their deeds]… (Holy Quran, 40: 8-9)
Kab al-Ahbar immediately replied:
قصور من ذهب في الجنة يسكنها النبيون و الصّديقون و أئمة العدل
«(It refers to) golden places and mansions in Paradise which are the places of residents for the Prophet, the truthful ones and the just rulers.
Therefore, he started interpreting the verse [قِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ ] and said: [سَّيِّئَاتِ ] in this verse refers to chastisement where God protects such people from chastisement.
Verily, just as you have realized, the expressions of this Jewish scholar in the form of interpretation of the Holy Quran has found its way in the exegesis of the Caliphate school. For example, it has come down in Tafseer (exegesis) of Suyuti and Qurtabi as the interpretation of verses eight and nine of Sura Ghafir.
In another instance, the second Caliph asks Kab about the source and make of the House of God (Kaaba). Kab too gives a detailed reply and says: Originally, 'Hajar-al-Aswad' was a red ruby which was brought by Hazrat Adam (a.s.). It's center part was hollow and empty and....
Once, when discussions were held on Arabian poets, Caliph Omar too was present.
He asked Kab: Have you found any poems in the Torah? Kab replied: 'Why not. I have seen in the Torah a group from progeny of Ismaeel who knew their Ingeel by heart and uttering wise words and striking examples which I think were none other than the Arabs.
Kab al-Ahbar had so much commemorated the Torah as the Book of God that the Islamic society too in their contact with Kab, would mention the Torah as the Book of God.
One day Muawiya asked him: «Have you found anything on the river Nile in the Torah?»
Kab replied: 'Yes! I swear by the One who split the sea for Musa (Moses) that I have seen in the Book of God that every year, God reveals twice upon Nile as such: God commands you to flow. So, following this command it flows. Then it is (again) revealed to the Nile to cease flowing and it stops flowing.
Ibn-Abbass narrates and says: One day I was in Muawiya's presence when he recited Verse 86 from Sura Kahf in a very special form. I objected to this and Muawiya inquired this matter from Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas. He in turn substantiated Muawiya's views.
In reply, I said: The Quran has been revealed in our house i.e. we are worthy enough to speak about it and not people like Abdullah-ibn-Amro- Aas. Finally Mmuawiya who at that time had the reign of government in his hand decided to send someone to Kab and solve this difference by relying on his view.
In praise of him (i.e. Kab), Muawiya would say:
الا ان كعب الاحبار أحد العلماء
«Know that Kab al-Ahbar is one of the scholars».
It was the significance of this talk that there were only two others whose name would be mentioned along with the name of Kab.
It was on the strength of these preliminaries that Kab al-Ahbar had become a great source of gnosis during Omar-ibn-Khattab's time and much longer after him. With well-thought plans, he would draw the Muslims towards the Jewish culture. Through him, the distorted culture of Judaism would mingle with the pure and clean gnosis of Islam; and would lay its foot in the Islamic texts of exegesis, history, biography and hadith; and would alter the Islamic insight and correct world-view of the Muslims and would taint them with the superstitions present in Judaism.
What is more regretful is this that these Jewish superstitions have entered the authentic books of hadith and most important of all, have filled Tabari's history and exegesis and tafseer (exegesis) of Durrul-MantHur, Ibn-Kathir and the like of them. Worst of all, the Jewish culture of Kab al-Ahbar has also penetrated from the exegesis of the Caliphate school into some of the exegesis of the Ahlul Bayt school
and to the extent that it has influenced such sources, it has pushed aside the gnosis of Ahlul Bayt.
The Guardians Of Islam - The Opposition To Kab Al-Ahbar
Here, it is necessary to verify the stance adopted by the guardians of Islam like Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) vis-a-vis Kab and the manner in which they used to confront this man who was the propagator of Jewish culture amongst the Muslims. The incident which we shall narrate below reveals Imam's position and the manner of his encounter and confrontation with the distortions made by Kab al-Ahbar:-
During Omar-ibn-Khattab's reign of government a meeting was once held in the Caliph's presence. Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) too was present. Kab was also one of the attendants. The Caliph asked: 'O Kab! Do you know the entire Torah by heart?
Kab replied: No, but I know most of it by heart! A person told the Caliph as such:
'O Amir-ul-Mumineen, ask him about God's whereabouts before the creation of His Throne. Also, from what He created water on which He placed His Throne?
Omar said: 'O Kab, can you answer these questions?
Kab replied: 'Yes 'O Amir-ul-Mumineen. I have found in the «source of wisdom»
that before the creation of the throne, God had been everlasting and eternal and was on top of the rocky structure of Bait-ul- Muqaddas and this rocky structure too was placed in the air. When God decided to create the Throne, He spitted as a result of which deep seas and roaring waves came into existence. At that very moment, God created His Throne from some portion of the rocky structure of Bait-ul-Muqaddas which was beneath Him and then He sat on it. From the remaining portion of the rocky structure too, He created the dome of Bait-ul-Muqaddas....
Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) while shaking the dust off his clothes and uttering words which signalled the Greatness of God like [حبل الخالق ] (Glory be to His Creation) or [جل الله ] (Greatness or Glory be to Allah) or [الله اكبر ] (Allah is the Greatest) stood up from his place so as to leave the gathering in the manner of protest. It is an Arab custom that whenever they want to express their disgust towards some matter they shake the dust off their clothes as if to say that such talks cannot hold good for me.
When Omar-ibn-Khattab observed this scene he requested Imam to take his seat and deliberate over the matter of discussion. Imam sat back in his place and turning towards Kab said:
«Your companions took the wrong path, distorted the Divine Book and attributed falsehood to God. 'O Kab, woe be to you if you consider the rocky structure and air to be with God and thus consider them to be everlasting and eternal too. As a result, we will be having three eternal beings. Aside from this, the Almighty God is far higher than having a place for Himself and He is not what the pagans say and the ignorants imagine. Woe to you 'O Kab. The One who creates these magnificent seas by spitting as you say, is far greater than taking position on the rocky structures of Bait-ul-Muqaddas
and ....
The hadith is lengthy and indicates the confrontation of Imam vis-a-vis these deviated and distorted events and the heresies. However, the incident of Imam planting date-trees was because of the fact that if he had lived among people and his presence felt by the Muslims, his life would have been endangered and there existed the possibility of his murder with no benefit to Islam.
Why Kab Al-Ahbar Was Given Attention?
Now it is necessary to examine the reason behind the endeavours of the Caliphs (like Muawiya) in bringing up Kab al-Ahbar in the Islamic society and placing him at a high level of knowledge in the Islamic society.
The first person who devoted attention to Kab al-Ahbar and compelled him to stay in Medina and referred to him as one eminent scholar and leading authority was the second Caliph. The reason behind his move is not clearly known. However, by examining his life-history, it appears that he had had a past acquaintance and familiarity with Judaism and Torah and that this amazing book often excited him.
Jabir narrates that one day Omar-ibn-Khattab approached the Holy Prophet (S) with a small book which contained some portions of the Torah. The Holy Prophet was then seated and Omar said: 'O the Messenger of Allah, this booklet is from the Torah and I have brought this for you from the Torah. The Holy Prophet kept silent. Omar continued his talk and wished to recite the Torah.
He was glad that he had attained knowledge and under such an amazing and joyful state, he wished to recite it before the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact he wanted approval and encouragement from the Holy Prophet. However, the Holy Prophet on the contrary became angry and every moment his anger increased. But Omar was unaware. He had the Torah in hand and unaware of his uncontrollable state, he wished to recite it for the Holy Prophet. Abu-Bakr was present there and was aware of the situation. He feared lest a verse in rebuke or chastisement would be revealed. Thus he came down harshly upon Omar and said:
ثكلتك الثواكل ماترى بوجه رسول الله
«May you perish. Don't you see how the colour of the Holy Prophet's face has changed due to severity of his anger and discomfort?!?»
It was only at that very moment that Omar lifted his head and looked at the Prophet. Observing the severity of anger on his blessed face he became terrified and said:
أعوذ بالله من غضب الله ورسوله
«I seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and His Messenger's wrath.»!
The Holy Prophet said: 'O the son of Khattab. Do you have doubt, uncertainty and confusion in your religion? Then, he added:
والذي نفسي بيده لقد جئتكم بها بيضاء نقية! لا تسألوهم عن شيء فإنّهم لن يهدوكم وقد ضلّوا... فإنه لو كان موسى حياً بين أظهركم ما حلّ له ألّا يتّبعني
«I swear by the One in whose Hand is my soul that I have brought a «Shariat» (religious law) pure and lucid. Then, he said: Do not ask anything from the «Ahl-e-Kitab» (i.e. do not ask your religious affairs from them). They can never guide you because they are themselves misguided. If Musa (Moses) (a.s.) was now alive and living amongst you, nothing was lawful other than his obedience towards me.
What conclusion can we draw from this tradition which has come down in the authentic books through various channels? Does it reveal anything other than this matter that the Caliph had an interest in the Torah and was looking at it as a marvel? Thus it is not irrelevant that during his own ruling, he refers to the Jewish scholars and the gnosis of Torah.
As far as this humble servant of God is aware, this reality is one of the most vital factors in magnifying Kab al-Ahbar and bringing him up in status in the Islamic society. But the matter does not end here. In this regard, other reasons too had been at work.
Amongst them, those involved in ruling the government after the Holy Prophet were not possessing much knowledge and insight in the recognition of the world and its origin and end. The one well-acquainted with these matters i.e. the gate of the city of Holy Prophet's knowledge - Amir-ul- Mumineen (a.s.) too was compelled to engage in date-palms and keep himself aloof from the society. The solution lay in this that people such as Tamim Dari and Kab al-Ahbar whose heart and soul were quenched with Christianity and Judaism and could at least answer from their distorted know-how, the demands of the seekers of knowledge and also considering that their upliftment did not pose any danger to the ruling Caliphs, should be raised and accepted in the society as one element amongst the various elements of the ruling power.
The historical event which set forth below is a proof of our reasoning:
A person by the name of Subaigh Tamimi set out towards the «Aajdan» of the Muslims i.e. the centres of provinces which was also the army base of Islam and knocked at every door for putting forth some questions. His questions were related to the Holy Quran. This man wandered about in Syria, Alexandria or Kufa searching for people who had lived in Medina and had seen the Holy Prophet. This was in order to receive replies from them for his queries. He goes to Egypt, Subaigh has neither seen the Prophet nor has he heard his talks. Now, in pursuit of recognition of the Holy Quran and for hearing the exegesis of the holy Quran, he travels city to city until he gets to Egypt. His story is reported to Amro-ibn-Aas the ruler and governor of Egypt. Amro-ibn-Aas sends him to the Islamic capital i.e. Medina and reports his intentions in a letter to Caliph Omar-ibn- Khattab. Subaigh reaches Medina. The messenger too approaches Omar along with Amro's letter and hands him the letter. After becoming aware of its contents Omar says: 'Where is this man? The messenger replies: He is on the camel's saddle. Omar says: 'If he flees you will be punished severely.' According to another tradition, a person approaches the Caliph and says: 'I met a person who was inquiring about the Holy Quran.' Omar says: 'O God, make me overvome him.
Anyhow, Subaigh Tamimi comes before the Caliph. When he comes in the Caliph's presence he has the Holy Quran in hand. When he sees the Caliph of the Muslims and indispensibly thinks him to be the centre of Islamic knowledge and heedless of what has occured he asks: 'O Amir-ul- Mumineen, what is [Arabic text] (swear by the wind that scatters far and wide)?
Omar says: 'Who are you?'
The man replies: 'I am Subiagh, the servant of God.' Omar says: I too am God's servant. Then he folds his sleeves and begins to beat the man with a stick which was prepared on his commands. He beats him to such extent that his head stained with blood or, as per some other tradition, he whipped his back with twig so much so that Subaigh's back was cut deeply and his skin was torn apart. Thereafter, he let him go. The injured and blood- stained man was set free until he was healed of his wounds. Once again, Omar summons him and repeats the same event. When for the third time he was brought before the Caliph in order to be punished, he said: 'If you intend to kill me, then do that once and for all so that I get relieved. And if you wish to rectify me, I swear by God that Ii have been rectified and I will no more discuss such matters.
The Caliph ordered that he be mounted on a camel without any litter or cover and then be exiled to Basra near Abu Musa Ashari. In a letter, he also commanded Abu Musa the governor of Basra to forbid any person from coming into contact with this man. Similarly, they stopped giving him the yearly privileges and provisions which was shared amongst all the Muslims.
Abu Uthman Nahdi says: «Whenever this man would approach us, even if we were hundred in number we would move from our places and run away out of fear of being punished on Omar's command».
At last, things became worse for this man and life became miserable for him, Helplessly one day, he approached Abu Musa and appealed him for help.
Abu Musa reported in a letter to Caliph Omar that this man has repented and his repentence too is a very sincere one. Omar in reply wrote as such: So you may now allow the people to come in contact with him.
It is noted down in history that this man who was an eminent personality amongst his own tribe was now despised and had lost his prestige and creditability.
An incident exactly opposite to the one above exists in the history of Islam. This incident is related to the era of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen's reign of government. One day Imam goes on the pulpit and while reciting a sermon says:
سلوني فوالله لا تسألوني عن شيء يكون الى يوم القيامة إلّا حدثتكم به وسلوني عن كتاب الله فوالله ما من آية
«Ask me question. I swear by Allah that you will not ask me anything of the events that are to occur till the Day of Judgement except that I will answer them to you. Also, ask me about the Quran, the Book of Allah. I swear by Allah that there is not a single verse but that I am aware whether it has been revealed at night or during the day; whether it has been revealed in the mountains or in the desert and....
The narrator says: «Ibne al-Kawwa was sitting behind me. He stood up and said:
'O Amir-ul-Mumineen, what is ذاريات ? This man i.e. Ibne al-Kawwa was a leading figure amongst the Khawarij and an enemy of Amir-ul- Mumineen (a.s.).
Ibn Abbass who was also present in the gathering says: «Ibne al-Kawwa wished to ask the same thing which Subaigh had once asked Omar-ibn- Khattab. This man was under the impression that by setting forth this question he would be able to discredit Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen.
Imam (a.s.) said: «Woe be to you. Ask questions with the aim of acquiring knowledge and not for causing trouble and inconvenience or out of pride and haughtiness. (الذَّارِيَاتِ ) are winds which blow at the time of harvest of wheat and barley.» Immediately, Ibne al-Kawwa asked: 'What is (الْجَارِيَاتِ يُسْراً )? Imam replied: «They are ships sailing over the water.» Again he asked: What is (الْمُقَسِّمَاتِ )? Hazrat said: «They are Angels
....»
When Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (a.s.) who was well-acquainted with the content of Quran was not to be in the society and instead planted date trees in a farm outside Medina and make the date-palms flourish or dig the subterranean canals; and the companions of the Holy Prophet too were banned from narrating traditions; and when the ruling powers and rulers were themselves not firm in knowledge, then there was no alternative but for such people like Kab al-Ahbar, Tamim Dari and Wahab-ibn-Manbah to come into the scene.
Summary
The factors which were responsible in raising the status of the Jewish and Christian scholars and the «Ahl-e-Kitab» in the Islamic society which consequently made them earn fame are as follows:
First - Those responsible for bringing up Kab and his likes were familiar and acquainted with the culture of Ahl-e-Kitab and were looking at it with wonder and surprise. As a matter of fact, in the pre-Islamic era the Arabs used to look upon the Jews and Christians with respect and honour and would reckon them to be people of the Book, civilization and culture. Such a state of mentality remaining alive in some of the rulers became a factor which caused Tamim - Dari and Kab al-Ahbar to be looked upon with the same honour and respect and be paid attention as scholars and leading authorities and figures of knowledge.
Second - It was to the interest of the ruling power not to propound the sciences of the Holy Prophet (SAW.A.) which was left behind in the hands of his companions and/or personalities like Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (a.s.) who possessed the entire sciences. This was so that they could carry on with their rule and power.
Third: The ruling powers were themselves devoid of adequate knowledge and were incapable of the problems which were propounded after the Holy Prophet's departure.
It was because of these reasons and factors that Kab, Tamim, Wahab and their likes laid foot into the arena of Islamic society and their presence proved to be one of the misfortunate factors in the distortion of Islam. These people succeeded in distorting (in various dimensions) the true Islam and presenting a religion defective with distortions and superstitions.
Such people who in the Islamic history have become famous as (قصّاصين ) (story tellers) are a part of the unknown factors in the distortion of Islam. I have referred to tens of volumes of books on history exegesis, biography and 'Rijal' before I could succeed in laying open a few of their destructive deeds and affairs.
The Islamic history and exegesis have become defective mainly due to the consequence of Kab al-Ahbar's affairs. He has spoken on every subject: God, Day of Judgement, «Hashr» (revivification), «Nashr» (resurrection), creation, skies, the earth, «Arsh» (Celestial throne) Ka'aba, Bait-ul-Muqaddas, Sulaiman, Dawoud, Prophets and Angels and such talks have come out in the form of exegesis, history and biographies in Islam.
Thus, the Islam which was supposed to be taken from the house of the Holy Prophet's Ahlul Bayt, has been drawn from such sources and origins. In present times too, the Jewish, Christian and Marxist, Islamicists have engaged and still engage in recognizing Islam through these sources.
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Author: Allamah Sayyid Murtadha Askari
