Abdul-Haq ibn Kofi ibn Kwesi ibn al-Ashanti Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 57 | Size: 1 MB
Indeed, all praise is due to Allaah, we
thank Him and from seek His help and forgiveness. We also seek refuge in
Allaah from the evils of our souls and from our evil actions. I bear
witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allaah and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.1 The best speech is
the Book of Allah and the best way is the way of Muhammad (sallallaahu
alayhi wassallam). The worst of affairs are the innovations (into the
religion of Islaam), because every innovation is heresy, every heresy is
deviation and every deviation leads to the hellfire.
This humble study is for the sincere
people that are seeking the truth. It is not intended to be an attack on
a person’s identity, or on the culture that a person happens to be born
into without full knowledge, or what one thought was Islaam without
access to the full facts. Rather, it hopes to outline some of the
beliefs of the Shee’ah and show how they are not in line with Islaam as
presented in the Qur’aan, Sunnah (way) of Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi
wassallam) or the understandings of the early generations of righteous
Muslims. Please look at the evidence presented fairly as we do feel the
need to resort to bringing about conflicts with the ignorant, facts have
merely been presented and it is for the sincere reader to decide.
Unfortunately, due to the secretive
manner of the ‘knowledgable’ amongst the Shee’ah, many people are not
aware of their actual beliefs. Muslims are not conscious of the
differences between Islaam and the Shee’ah belief. Most Shee’ah writings
revolve around emotional issues of love for the Prophet’s family and
people believe that the Shee’ah belief is just this. However, they can
still be Muslims and love the family of the Prophet in the way that they
deserve without being Shee’ah.
In our call to Tawheed, we are faced with
many Shee’ah people who are not familiar with what the majority of
their own scholars have invented which have thus rendered the Shee’ah
belief system as heretical, contrary to the understanding of the family
and companions of the Prophet and thus outside the fold of Islaam. We
repeat that we are not trying to offend the average Shee’ah, who may not
even practice Islaam, but the truth of what will be presented in this
short work should be assessed fairly and unemotionally.
The religious beliefs and practices of
extremist Shee’ah segregate them from Islaam, the Shee’ah have specific
beliefs about Allaah and His attributes, the Prophets, the mission and
call of Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wassallam) and even the
Qur’aan.2 A short history of the Shee’ah will be detailed with all the
sources quoted and referenced for those who wish to pursue further
research and study, followed by a point by point analysis of the main
Shee’ah concepts. The evidence concealed in the books of Shee’ah
scholars themselves will be analyzed so as to be unbiased and to
demonstrate that the family of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi
wassallam) followed the truth of the Qur’aan and Sunnah and never cursed
the Sahaabah (Companions of Muhammad) and further dismissed the extreme
claims of those Shee’ah who came much later.
For example, these quotes from the family
of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wassallam) will reveal the
contradictory practice of cursing the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad
and hating most of the Companions which is done by the extreme Shee’ah.
The term ‘Shee’ah’ (plural: Shiya’) comes
from the Arabic verb ‘Shaa’a’ which means to spread, hence ‘Shee’ah’
means a faction or sect and is used with that meaning in the Qur’aan in
both singular and plural forms many times. For example:
As for those
who divide their religion and break up into sects (Shiya’) you have no
part in them in the least. Their affairs are with Allaah, He will tell
them the truth of what they did in the end{al-An’aam: 159}
The term ‘Shee’ah’ was first used to
describe the followers of the fourth rightly guided Caliph, ‘Ali ibn
Abee Taalib, may Allaah be pleased with him, and the term came to be
applied to those who simply loved and greatly respected the family of
the Prophet Muhammad. However, after ‘Ali’s death, some of his followers
retained the name exclusively and they began to rapidly deteriorate in
morals, creed and belief.
This was marked by their rejection of
Zayd Ibn ‘Ali3 because he did not accept their innovated concepts of not
recognizing the three Caliphs, Aboo Bakr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and
‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan and anyone who did not uphold the belief that ‘Ali
should have been the first Caliph. Even according a Shee’ee historian,
Mirza Taqee Khaan, Zayd was asked about Aboo Bakr and ‘Umar, to which he
replied: “I always speak well of them and I have never heard any
members of the family of the Prophet speak badly of them. They have
never persecuted us nor did they maltreat any other citizen. Both of
them strictly followed the Qur’aan and Sunnah of the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wassallam).”4
However those people who were led by
their desires did not accept what Zayd said thus he stated: “These
people have left us and formed a separate group of their own…they got
rid of old affiliations and scrambled up a new group. Thus from today
they will be called the Raafidah .”5
These new Shee’ah over praised ‘Ali ibn
Abee Taalib, some even saying that he was/is Allaah incarnate6 and
claimed that Aboo Bakr and ‘Umar became apostates along with all the
companions except three to seven of them! The Raafidah (plural:
Rawaafid) also mixed in other aspects which bolstered their claims and
thus they began to integrate symbols of hatred for the Sahaabah into
their religion.
Henceforth, Persia, present day ‘Iraan,
became important for the Shee’ah due to al-Husayn Ibn ‘Ali, may Allaah
be pleased with him, marrying Shahrabaanoo the daughter of the Persian
ruler Yezdegird the third. This has been used by the Raafidah up to this
day to denote a kind of special status about Persia/’Iraan, and that
the Prophet’s bloodline runs through ‘Iraan. Furthermore, Persian
companions of the Prophet were raised and extolled such as Salmaan
al-Faarisee and Aboo Tharr al- Ghifaaree, may Allaah be pleased with
them both. Persian characters from Islamic history known for their
treachery were also respected, such as Aboo Lu’Lu, the Persian slave who
killed the second Caliph ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased
with him. Even to this day in ‘Iraan there is supposedly a tomb and
shrine dedicated to Aboo Lu’Lu.
Furthermore, the Rawaafid mingled in
parts of the established Persian religion of Zorastrianism into their
religion. This is attested to the fact that in the religion of Zoroaster
the rulership must be passed down through a lineage in order for the
rulership to be sanctioned as suitable, identical to the religion of the
Rawaafid whereby the Imaams follow each other consecutively. This also
explains why Musavi al- Khomaynee (Khomeini) considered the Persian day
of celebration known as ‘Nauraz’ (Persian News Years Day) a day on which
fasting is recommended.7 Furthermore, this accounts for why it was
stipulated in the constitution of the ‘Iraanian ‘Islamic’ Republic
endorsed by Khomaynee that the head of state must be of pure Persian
ancestry and origin.8
In Persia, these Rawaafid beliefs, which
also emphasized ‘twelve Imaams,’ were established in 1502 CE by the
Safawid empire who claimed descent from the seventh Imaam, Moosaa
al-Kaathim.9 On his ascension, the founder of the Safawid state, Shaah
Ismaa’eel declared Shee’ahism the state religion of Persia. Other areas
where the Raafidah/Twelver Shee’ah can be found are in ‘Iraaq, Lebanon,
India, Kuwait and East Africa. Thus, from now on in this work when we
mention the term ‘Shee’ah,’ it is referring to these extreme Raafidah
scholars.10
_________________
1 This part of the
introduction is an extract from the prayer known as the Khutbat
ul-Haajah (The Prayer of Need). The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi
wassallam) recommended its use before important occasions. 2 A famous and respected Shee’ee scholar from Najaf,
Mirza Husayn Ibn Muhammad at-Tabarsee wrote Fasl al-Khitaab fee Ithbaat
Tahreef Kitaab Rabb al-Arbaab (A Decisive Statement Concerning Proof of
the Alteration of the Lord of Lord’s Book). Written in 1865 CE, when the
book was later to be discovered by the Orientalists and Christian
missionaries they were delighted to have found a book that furthered
their weak and vain attempts to discredit Islaam. In the book, Tabarsee
compiled hundreds of texts from Shee’ah scholars from different ages
which allege that the Qur’aan is incomplete. (See: Muhibbuddeen
al-Khateeb, Khutoot al-‘Areedah, (Canada: Majlis ul-Haqq, 1983, 1st
edition), p.4) 3 Those Shee’ah in this context meaning those who had
great respect for the family of the Prophet and followed Zayd were/are
known as the Zaydiyyah. They have survived in Yemen and it remains the
major school of thought in Yemen. The sect is based on some Mu’tazilah
ideas and they rejected mysticism. In their worship they have certain
features in common with other Shee’ah such as: the addition of “Hayya
ilaa Khayr al-Aa’maal” (Come to the best of Actions) in their call to
prayer and the prohibition of meat killed by non-Muslims. In their
family law they prohibit marriage with Christians and Jews, however they
do not allow Mu’tah (temporary marriage) alike other Shee’ah. They also
recognize the three righteous Caliphs before ‘Ali and do not consider
the majority of the Sahaabah as apostates. (See: Taareekh ul-Madhaahib;
Volume 2, p.479-516 and Encyclopedia of Islam, p.631-632) 4 Mirza Taqee Khaan, Nasikh ut-Tawaarikh (Volume 2) p.
590. This book is popular and regarded as an authentic Shee’ah document,
see: Muhsin al-Ameen, ‘Ayyan ush-Shee’ah (Volume 2) p. 132 5 ibid. 6 ‘Abdullaah ibn Saba, a Yemeni Jew, was the first in
history to begin calling to the worship of ‘Ali Ibn Abee Taalib.
Abdullaah ibn Saba became a Muslim during the Khilaafah of ‘Uthmaan Ibn
Affaan. Ibn Saba surrounded himself with the followers of ‘Ali Ibn Abee
Taalib and played a significant role in the uprising which started in
Koofah amongst ‘Ali’s supporters and flared up in Egypt. From this
rebellion, rebels were sent to Madeenah in 656 CE. They surrounded the
house of ‘Uthmaan, stormed the house and killed him, may Allaah be
pleased with him. Ibn Saba and his cohorts clashed with the forces of
the Sahaabah leading to the Battle of the Camel outside Basra in which
Talhah and az-Zubayr, may Allaah be pleased with them, were killed along
with many other Muslims. Ibn Saba was banished to ‘Iraaq where ‘Ali and
his followers were based. The rest of Ibn Saba’s band of followers that
claimed that Ali was Allaah were ordered by Ali to be executed by
burning. [Abu’l-Hasan al-‘Ash’aree, Maqaalaat ul-Islaamiyyeen (Maktabh
an-Nahdah al-Misriyyah; 2nd edition, 1961, Vol. 1) pp.50-51, 58-59] Some
modern-day Shee’ah have denied the existence of Ibn Saba yet all of the
early Muslim scholars make reference to him and even Shee’ah scholars
admit to his presence. For example the Shee’ah scholars such as Imaam
Kaashee in his book ar-Rijaal; Aboo Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Yahyaa
an-Nawbakhtee, a major Shee’ah theologian in his book Firaaq ush-Shee’ah
and ar-Rawdat us-Safa by a Shee’ee historian, all mention Ibn Saba.
These three books are exclusively Shee’ah scholarly books. The Muslim
scholars and historians who mention Ibn Saba were Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree
in his famous Taareekh ut-Tabaree which contains all the sources
regarding ‘Abdullaah Ibn Saba and the great Muslim historians Ibn
ul-Atheer and Ibn Katheer mention Ibn Saba. Even the ‘rationalist’
historian Ibn Khaldoon mentions Ibn Saba. 7 Al-Khomeini, Tahreer al-Waseelah (Najaf: Matba’ah
al-Adab, 1390 AH; Volume 1) pp.302-303. This is a voluminous work on
Shee’ah jurisprudence by the Shee’ah Imaam and leader of the pseudo
revolution that took place in ‘Iraan from the late 1970s and the early
eighties. This work is in two volumes, consisting of 658 pages and 650
pages respectively. 8 Saraab fee ‘Iraan/The Mirage in ‘Iraan, p.39 9 History of the Arabs, p. 441 10 Shee’ah also claim to follow what has been known as
the ‘Jaa’fari school,’ named after Jaa’far as- Saadiq, may Allaah have
mercy on him. However, Jaa’far left behind no evidence of having
compiled a school in Islamic jurisprudence. This ‘school of thought’ has
been used by modernist Muslims such as Ikhwaan ul-Muslimeen (The Muslim
Brotherhood) and other modernists to vainly attempt to unite and bring
the extremist Shee’ah into the fold of Muslim acceptance.
–
Contents:
4 – Introduction
13 – Imaams
21 – The Sahaabah
25 – The Family of the Prophet (sal allahu alaihi wa sallam)/Ahl ul-Bayt
32 – Ahl ul-Bayt and the Shee’ah
39 – The Ahl ul-Bayt Called to the Qur’aan and Sunnah
43 – Mut’ah
52 – Conclusion
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