The Traditions from the ahl al-bayt Are Proofs for All Muslims


Dr. Fahimi: One must acknowledge the fact that your traditions identify and describe the Mahdi very well. Unfortunately, such traditions have very little value for a person like me who happens to be a Sunni and who does not attach any significance to the opinions and actions of your Imams.

Mr. Hoshyar: I am not in the process of proving the Imamate and the wilayat (love of the ahl al-bayt) for you. I want to point out something else for you. It is important to emphasize that the opinions and actions of the Imams among the ahl al-bayt have evidential value and are significant for all Muslims across the board, regardless of whether they accept them as Imams or not. The reason is that there are numerous traditions publicized on the authority of the Prophet and regarded as reliable by both the Shi'i and the Sunni in which the Prophet has introduced his ahl al-bayt as the authoritative source of Islamic knowledge and regarded their opinions and actions as sound. For example, the famous tradition about the "two things of high estimation" (al-thaqalayn), the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said:

I leave among you two things of high estimation. If you hold on to them you will never be led astray. One of these two things is weightier than the other. One of these two is the Book of God which is a link between the earth and the heaven. The second one is my family, my ahl al-bayt. These two trusts will not separate from each other till the Day of Judgement. Hence, exercise care in the way you treat these two.[16]

This hadith has been reported in various forms by both the Shi'i and Sunni sources. Moreover, it has been regarded as an authentic tradition. According to Ibn Hajar, as recorded in his book al-Sawa'iq al-muharriqa, this hadith has been narrated by different sources and through numerous chains of transmission from the Prophet. In fact, more than twenty close companions [of the Prophet] have related it. The Prophet used to attach so much importance to the Qur'an and his ahl al-bayt that on different occasions he had declared their significance for the well being of the Muslim community in the future, including the Farewell Pilgrimage and the Ghadir, and after his return from his journey to Ta'if.

Another tradition which is widely acknowledged in all Sunni and Shi'i sources is related by Ibn 'Abbas who heard the Prophet declare: "The likeness of my family is the Ark of Noah. Whoever embarks upon it is saved; and whoever stays away from it will perish."[17]

Jabir b. 'Abd Allah Ansari related from the Prophet another widely quoted hadith in which the latter said:

The two sons of 'Ali [Hasan and Husayn] are the leaders of the youths of Paradise. They are my sons. 'Ali, his two sons, and the Imams after them, are the Proof of God's existence among the people. They are my gates of knowledge in the community. Any one who follows them will be saved from the Hell Fire; and any one who accepts them as his leader has found the way to guidance. God does not bless any one with their love without making them worthy of the Paradise. [18]

In one of his orations 'Ali b. Abi Talib told the people:

I ask you to verify this, in the name of God: Do you recall what the Prophet said in his last speech: "O people! I leave among you the Book of God and my family? Hold on to them and you will never lose your way, because God, the Wise, has informed and assured me that these two will never part from each other till the Day of Judgement." At that time 'Umar b. al-Khattab got angry and stood up and asked: "Does this statement include all of your family?" The Prophet replied: "No. This includes my legatees among whom the first is 'Ali b. Abi Talib, my brother, vizier, heir and caliph. He is the one who has discretionary power over my community. Following 'Ali my son Hasan, following him my son Husayn, and then nine descendants of Husayn are the legatees. They will follow each other until the Day of Judgement. They are the proofs of God's existence for the people, the keepers of divine knowledge, and the repositories of wisdom on earth. Whoever obeys them has obeyed God, and whoever disobeys them has disobeyed God."

When 'Ali's answer reached this point, all those who were present said: 'We bear witness that the Prophet did say all that.'[19]

On the basis of all such traditions that are recorded in the Sunni and Shi'i sources the following conclusions can be drawn:

(a) Since the Qur'an will remain with the people until the Day of Judgement, the family of the Prophet, the ahl al-bayt, will also remain with them. Hence, such traditions can be considered as evidence for the existence of the Hidden Imam.

(b) The term 'itrat in the hadith actually refers to the twelve legatees of the Prophet.

(c) The Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has not abandoned the Muslim community without any guidance. Quite to the contrary, he has actually made his family, the ahl al-bayt, the source of divine knowledge and guidance. He has declared their opinions and actions competent and reliable; and has recommended that one hold on to them until the Day of Judgement.

(d) The Imam, then, will never be separated from the Qur'an and its ordinances. Therefore, he has to be perfectly knowledgeable about its injunctions. Just as the Qur'an does not mislead anyone in the matter of guidance, and leads those who adhere to it to salvation, so does the Imam lead the people to their goal without committing any error. If the people follow the Qur'an and the Imams they would certainly be guided to their prosperity. In other words, the Imam is free from any error and deviation.

`Ali b. Abi Talib, the Paragon of the Prophetic Knowledge

In the light of historical and traditional sources it is accurate to assert that the Prophet knew very well that among his companions not all were capable of carrying the burden of the knowledge that was given to him in his position as the Prophet of God. Moreover, the prevalent circumstances in the community were not favorable to spread such information. However, he was also aware that one day the community would need that kind of knowledge. Consequently, he selected 'Ali b. Abi Talib for the purpose of making him the repository of the prophetic knowledge. He personally undertook to teach him and educate him day and night. Hence, what 'Ali reported reflects the Prophet's own teachings about Islam. To cite some examples, let us consider the following:

'Ali was brought up under the special care of the Prophet and was all the time in his companionship. In this connection the Prophet informed 'Ali that God had required him to befriend 'Ali and to teach him all he had received from God as a prophet. "You too should take care in learning and recording what I have taught you. God will certainly approve your endeavors," the Prophet guided 'Ali b. Abi Talib. [20]

Hence, 'Ali used to say: "Whatever I learnt from the Prophet I never forgot."[21] In another report he said: "The Prophet had assigned me a special hour in the night and the day when I used to present myself [to learn from him]."[22]

On one occasion 'Ali was asked: "What is the reason that in comparison to other companions of the Prophet you have the most traditions?" He replied: "Whenever I asked the Prophet something he gave me an answer. And whenever I kept quiet he would begin the conversation."[23]

The Prophet, according to Imam 'Ali, used to ask him to write down what he said. 'Ali asked him if the Prophet thought 'Ali might forget. The Prophet said: "No, because I have prayed to God to make you among those who remembers things and records them. However, I want you to preserve it for your companions and the Imams who will come after you. It is because of the blessed existence of the Imams that the rain falls on earth for the people, their prayers get accepted, the calamities go by them and mercy descends on them." Then the Prophet pointed towards Hasan and said: "This is the second in the line of the Imams," and added, "the Imams will be from the descendants of Husyan."

The Book of 'Ali b. Abi Talib

To be sure, 'Ali b. Abi Talib was able to comprehend and master the prophetic knowledge through a serious commitment and divine help, attended by divinely endowed talent. This knowledge he put to writing and converted the book to a comprehensive corpus to which he added his own recommendations for the future benefit of the community. This matter has been preserved in the hadith-reports related by the ahl al-bayt. For example, we read the following hadith in the collection:

Imam Sadiq said: We have something in our possession which makes us free from any need from the people. However, [because of what we have] people are in need of us. We possess a book which was dictated by the Prophet himself and which is in the hand-writing of 'Ali. It is the comprehensive book that includes all the ordinances about that which is lawful and that which is unlawful.[24]

In another tradition Imam Baqir told Jabir:

O Jabir, if I had expounded for you our belief and tenets we would have destroyed ourselves. In any case, we are relating for you traditions which we collected from the Prophet, just as people collect gold and silver.[25]

'Abd Allah b. Sinan heard Imam Sadiq, who said:

We have in our possession a leather bag, seventy cubits long. It was written by 'Ali under the dictation of the Prophet. It contains all the knowledge that people need to know down to the minutest detail.[26]

The Heirs to the Prophet's Knowledge:

Mr. Hoshyar: Dr. Fahimi, you said earlier that you do not accept the Imamate of the family of the Prophet. However, you must accept the evidential nature of what they say, just as you accept the traditions reported from the companions, and the succeeding generation of Muslims. The reason is that even if you do not accept any one of them as the Imam, you cannot deprive them of their right to relate the reliable traditions on the authority of the Prophet. Undoubtedly, the value of what they relate is many times more than the information transmitted by any ordinary Muslim. A number of Sunni scholars have acknowledged the level of their knowledge, piety and strength of character.[27]

The Imams, time and again, used to say that they do not give opinions based on their own predilections. Rather, their responses were derived from the Prophet's own teachings. In other words, they were the true heirs of the Prophetic knowledge, relating everything going back to the Prophet through the Imams. According to Imam Sadiq:

My hadith is my father's hadith. My father's hadith is my grandfather's hadith. My grandfather's hadith is Husayn's hadith. Husayn's hadith is Hasan's hadith. Hasan's hadith is Amir al-Mu'minin's ['Ali b. Abi Talib's] hadith. 'Ali b. Abi Talib's hadith is the Prophet's hadith. And, the Prophet's hadith is what God has told him.[28]

Dr. Fahimi, I ask you to be fair minded. Do you think that the hadith reported on the authority of Hasan and Husayn, the two leaders of the youth of Paradise are not as good as the ones reported by Abu Hurayra, Samra b. Jundab or Ka'b al-Ahbar? How about the hadith related by the pious Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, the righteous Imams Baqir, Sadiq, and so on?

Undoubtedly, the Prophet declared 'Ali and his descendants to be the treasures of prophetic knowledge. He reminded Muslims time and again and in different contexts to look upon them as the sources of reliable knowledge about Islam. More importantly, he encouraged the people to refer to them. Unfortunately, the direction of Islamic history deviated from its straight course and the community deprived itself of the valuable instruction of the ahl al-bayt, which led to backwardness among Muslims.

Dr. Jalali: I have many more questions in mind. But, since its getting very late, I will leave them for the next session.

Engineer Madani: If you all agree, I would like to hold the next session in my home. We will continue our deliberations there.

Notes:

1. The word refers to the mythological universe known to the mystics as very difficult world requiring the strength or courage of Hercules to encounter or accomplish. Tr.

2. Muhammad Karim Khan, Irshad al-`ulum (Kirman, 1380), Volume 3, p. 401.

3. See: Lutf Allah al-Safi al-Gulpaygani, Muntakhab al-athar fi al-imam al-thani 'ashar (Tehran: Maktabat al-Sadr, nd.)

4. Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, Volume 51, p. 72.

5. Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-kubra, Vol. 1, p. 107.

6. Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 94.

7. Sunan, Kitab al-mahdi.

8. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 208.

9. Dhakha'ir al-'uqba, p. 136.

10. al-Bayan fi akhbar sahib al-zaman, p. 502.

11. Yanabi' al-mawadda, Vol. 1, p. 492.

12. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 183.

13. Ibn Babüya, Kamal al-din, Vol. 2, 354.

14. Shaykh al-Tusi, Kitab al-ghayba, p. 202.

15. Ibid., p. 208.

16. Dhakha`ir al-'uqba (Cairo, 1356), p. 16; al-Sawa'iq al-muharriqa, p. 147; al-Fusul al-muhimma, p. 22; al-Bidaya wa al-nihaya, Vol. 5, p. 208; (Hydrabad edition), pp. 153, 167; Sibt b. Jawzi, Tadhkirat al-khawass, p. 182.

17. All the sources mentioned in the previous note, in addition to Majma' al-zawa'id, Vol. 9, p. 168.

18. Yanabi' al-mawadda, Vol. 1, p. 54.

19. Jami' ahadith al-shi'a, Vol. 1, Introduction.

20. See Manaqib Khwarazmi, p. 199, Kulayni, al-Kafi, Vol. 1, p. 64.

21. A'yan al-shi'a, Vol. 3.

22. Yanabi' al-mawadda, Vol. 1, p. 77. 23.

Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 36; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, Part II, p. 101.

24. Jami' ahadith al-shi'a, Vol. 1, Introduction.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid.

27. There are a number of works authored by the Sunnis that regard the Shi'i Imams as righteous and highly knowledgeable in religious-legal matters. See, for instance, al-Jawzi, Tadhkirat al-khawass, Ibn Sabbagh al-Maliki, Fusul al-muhimma; Shablanji, Nur al-absar; Ibn Hajar, al-Sawa'iq al-muharriqa; and, so on.

28. Jami' ahadith shi'a, Vol. 1.