The 21st of Ramadan is the anniversary of martyrdom of Imam Ali (A.S), the first Imam of the Shia Muslims. Here is a Shafaqna collection of texts about Imam Ali (A.S); his blessed life in the company of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his Imamate and teachings.
Hadith of Ghadir and the succession of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
SHAFAQNA- The Hadith of Ghadir is one of the most widely-narrated and authentic traditions in Islam; it is narrated by no fewer than 120 Companions, ninety Successors and 360 Sunni scholars.
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), who harboured some enmity towards Ali (AS), rejected the authenticity of the tradition. However, the latter-day representative of his school of thought, Nāṣir Al-Dīn Al-Albānī (1333–1424/1914–1999), criticised him for rejecting it without a thorough investigation of all of its parts. According to this tradition, after having people bear witness to the unity of God, his own prophethood and the Day of Judgment, the Prophet asked:
“Oh, People! How will you treat the two weighty things after me?”
A man stood up and asked aloud, “What are they?” The Prophet responded,
“The greater one is the Book of God, one side of which is in God’s hand and the other is in yours. So hold fast to it lest you go astray. And the lesser one is my progeny (ʿItra). The All-Knowing One has informed me that these two will never be separated until they reach me at the Pool (Hawḍh). I have asked Allah (SWT) to make this happen. Do not go ahead of them lest you perish, nor fall behind them lest you perish!”
Then, the Prophet (PBUH) held up Ali’s (AS) hand so that people could see the whites of their armpits and everyone could recognize him. The Prophet (PBUH) asked people,
“Who is more entitled (Awlā) to the believers than their own selves?”
The people replied, “God and God’s Messenger know best.” He added,
“God is my master (Mawlā) and I am the master (Mawlā) of the believers. I am more entitled (Awlā) to the believers than their own selves? And whoever I am the master of, then Ali (AS) is his master too!”
The Prophet repeated this sentence for three times (or four times, as Ahmad ibn Hanbal relates). Then he added,
“Oh, God! Be an ally to his allies and an enemy to his enemies, love those who love him and hate those who hate him, help those who help him and forsake those who forsake him. Turn rightness with him wheresoever he turns. And Lo! Let those who are present inform those who are absent!”
We would do well to ask what the purpose of such a large gathering of people was. If we take all of the Prophet’s (PBUH) words at Ghadir into consideration, we will find several good reasons to believe his only purpose in stopping all those people there in the heat of day was to announce his successor to them:
Firstly, the Prophet (PBUH) began his address by having people bear witness to the unity of God, the truth of Judgment Day and his own prophethood. Then he proceeds to the announce succession of Ali (AS). This implies that Ali’s succession to the Prophet (PBUH) is, in terms of its significance, on a par with those three fundamental principles of Islam. In other words, if he had intended to express his own friendship to Ali (AS) or to ask others to befriend him (as some have suggested based on the different means of the word Mawla), the Prophet would not have mentioned these fundamental beliefs.
Secondly, the Prophet (PBUH) asks people, “Who is more entitled (Awlā) to the believers?” before saying that “whoever I am the master of, then Ali is his master too!” Here, the Prophet (PBUH) clearly uses the word ‘Mawlā’ to signify authority over the people in their social and political affairs, and protecting their lives.
Thirdly, the Prophet (PBUH) informs the people of his imminent death: “I am soon to be called, and I must respond.” This suggests that he is thinking of and trying to make provisions for the Muslim society after his demise, particularly that there will be a leading authority for people to follow.
Fourthly, after declaring “whoever I am the master of, then Ali (AS) is his master too”, the Prophet (PBUH) added:
“God is greater, for the religion of Islam is perfected and the blessing is completed and God is now satisfied with my prophethood and Ali’s (AS) Wilāya.”
These sentences show that God’s religion was perfected and His blessing was completed with Ali’s succession to leadership (Wilāya) after the Prophet (Amīnī, 1/26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 47 and 176). Most clearly, the Prophet declares that God is now satisfied with his prophethood and Ali’s succession as the leader of Muslims.
Fifthly, after the Prophet had finished his address, Abu Bakr and Umar, along with many other Prophet’s (PBUH)Companions came to Ali and congratulated him on the event, which lasted until sunset. Abu Bakr and Umar said to Ali, “Congratulations! Between the morning and evening of today, you have become the Mawlā of all Muslim men and women” (Amīnī, 1/27, 283).
Finally, those who do not dispute the authenticity of the tradition itself but claim that the Prophets words only meant that people should be friends of Ali should pay attention to the fact that it would be incompatible with the Prophet’s (PBUH) wisdom to stop a caravan of about one hundred thousand people in the heat of day only to tell them to be friends of Ali (AS). Ali’s (AS) friendship with the believers was not doubted, because as the Quran declares, all Muslims are brothers and friends to each other:
“The believers are but a single brotherhood’ (Q46:10) and ‘The believers, men and women, are protectors of one another” (Quran 9:71).
Two objections
Those who have investigated the Hadith of Ghadir accept its authenticity and the fact that its words were indeed uttered by the Prophet. This is why the Companions, the Successors and later scholars have related the Hadith and confirmed that the Prophet said on the occasion of Ghadir: “whoever I am the master of, then Ali is his master too.” However, some have claimed that the Arabic word ‘Mawlā’ has never been used in Arabic in the sense of ‘awlā’ (‘more entitled’) while those who employ this hadith, in fact, stress this meaning in order to establish Ali’s (AS) leadership after the Prophet.
In response to this objection, we may remind the critics that the word ‘Mawlā,’ as many interpreters confirm, has actually been used in the Quran in the sense of ‘more entitled or proper.’ An example of this sense can be found in the following verse:
“So today no ransom shall be taken from you, nor from the faithless. The Fire is your proper abode: it is your refuge and an evil destination.” (Quran 57:15).
Forerunners of the Shia in Time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
SHAFAQNA- A number of historians have composed books on the character of some of the Companions and the Successors. What follows is a brief survey of some of these books.
Sayyid Ali Khan Madani (d. 1120/1708) wrote a book entitled al-Darajat al-Rafia fī Taqabat al-Shia al-Imamiyya. The first chapter of this book covers the Shia of the Banu Hashim and the second the non-Banu Hashim, introducing twenty three and forty six Companions respectively. He then introduces the Shia amongst the Successors.
Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita (1294–1373/1877–1954) introduces some of the close companions of Ali in Asl al-Shia wa Usuliha For example, he names Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, Miqdad ibn Aswad al-Kindi, Ammar ibn Yasir, Khuzayma Dhu al-Shahadatayn bin Tayhan, Hudhayfa ibn Yaman, Zubayr, Fadl ibn Abbas and his brother, Abd Allah, Hashim ibn Utba al-Mirqal, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Aban bin Said ibn al-As, Khalid ibn Said ibn al-As, Ubayy ibn Kab, Anas ibn al-Hirth, and many others.
Sayyid Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din identifies 200 persons as the first Shia in Islamic history in his al-Fusul al-Muhimma fī Talif al-Umma (179-90). In a similar way, Dr. Ahmad al-Waili identifies, in Huwiyyat al-Tashayyu, 130 of the Prophet’s Companions who were also the close followers of Ali and concludes that it would have been impossible for such a great number of people to love and follow Ali so intimately without the Prophet’s permission (34). I have likewise introduced some of Shia pioneers and have investigated their lives and reasons for belonging to Shia in a book entitled Islamic Personalities.
(For more information, see also al-Istīʿāb fī Maʿrifat al-Aṣḥāb by Ibn ʿAbd al-Birr (d. 456/1063), Usud al-Ghāba fī Maʿrifat al-Ṣaḥāba by Ibn Athīr and al-Iṣāba fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥāba by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1448). )
Shiism as described by historians
December 7, 2020/in Etrat: The Fourteen Infallibles, Featured, Imam Ali, Other News, Shia books /
SHAFAQNA- Study the annals of history reveals that the term shia, both during the Prophet’s (PBUH) life and after that, was used to denote the followers of Imam Ali (AS). Some examples of this usage follow. Masudi (d. 345/956), describing events after the Prophet (PBUH), writes: ‘When people’s vows of allegiance (Bayʿa) to Abu Bakr were completed, Ali (AS) and a number of his Shia withdrew to his home’ (121).
Nawbakhti (d. 313/925) similarly notes that ‘the Shias were followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) who were known by this name during the Prophet’s (PBUH) life and after. Everybody described the Shia as people who ignored other leaders and would only listen to Ali (AS) (15). Abu Al-Hassan Ashari says: ‘The reason why they were called Shia was that they followed Ali (AS) and preferred him over other Prophet’s (PBUH) Companions’ (1/65). According to Shahristani: ‘Shia refers to those who followed Ali (AS) exclusively and admitted his Imamate and succession because of the Prophet’s (PBUH) words about him’ (1/131).
Ibn Hazm argues that ‘whoever believes that Ali (AS) is the best Muslim after the Prophet (PBUH) and the best candidate for leading Muslims and that his descendants are also the best leaders of Muslims is called a Shia. Shia may disagree over other matters, but not on this, and if anyone rejects this fundamental belief, they will not be called Shia (2/113). As all these statements show, there was a group of people who were called Shia by the Prophet both in his days and later. People simply followed the model of the Prophet (PBUH) in calling them Shia.
In light of the above, the defining characteristic of Shiism is following Ali (AS) after the Prophet (PBUH) in terms of religious and political leadership. With all the Prophet’s words regarding Shia and the Ahadith that demonstrate that the Shia had their origin in the Prophet’s own days, there is no need to contrive baseless theories to account for their existence.
We may need to look for the origins of some Islamic sects, such as Sunnism, which was the fruit of following the Caliphs, or such as Mutazilism and Asharism, which resulted from theological debates in the 2nd/8th and 3rd/9th centuries. Unlike these sects, Shiism was not a new thing that appeared after the Prophet’s(PBUH) death as a result of theological conflicts, such as to require an investigation into its origins. Shiism is different from the other sects and is nothing other than the original Islam that was introduced by the Prophet (PBUH), plus the fact that after him, his Household is the only authority to follow and obey.
As Muhammad Kurd Ali writes in Khutat Al-Sham: ‘there were some Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) who were well-known for their close friendship with Ali (AS) in the Prophet’s (PBUH) lifetime, such as Salman Al-Farsi, Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, Ammar ibn Yasir, Hudhayfa ibn Yaman, Khuzayma ibn Thabit (also known as Dhu Al-Shahadatayn), Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, Khalid ibn Said and Qays ibn Said ibn Ubada. He quotes Salman Al-Farsi as saying: ‘We took the pledge of allegiance to Muhammad for two reasons: the good of the Muslims and following Ali (AS).’
Also Abu Said Al-Khudri says, again according to Kurd Ali: ‘the Prophet (PBUH) ordered the people to take care of five obligations. They took four and left the fifth. The four things that they took care of were prayer, akat, fasting and Hajj, and the fifth, which they ignored, was the Wilaya of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS).’ Upon asking whether the Wilaya of Ali (AS) was truly an obligation, Khudri replied that it was as obligatory as the other four (Kurd Ali, 5/251).
Origins of Shia Islam
SHAFAQNA- There are many theories about the appearance of Shia that are completely baseless. Some believe, for instance, that Shia appeared as a result of political conflicts in the first century Hijri. Others have concluded that Shia appeared as a result of theological debates, as did some other Islamic sects. These claims are made because they believe that Shiism is something other than Islam itself that only appeared after the Prophet’s (PBUH) demise. Therefore, they look for its root causes and attempt to devise theories to explain its appearance.
All of these theorists, however, ignore the fact that Shiism is nothing other than Islam as taught by the Prophet’s (PBUH) Household and that, in this sense, it appeared during the Prophet’s (PBUH) own lifetime. Even at that time, Ali (AS) had some supporters and followers who were called his shia and who followed Ali (AS) as a result of the Prophet’s (PBUH) praise of him. Thus, these people loved Ali (AS) and took him as their leader and model of good conduct after the Prophet. That is why we may claim that the Prophet was the first person to sow the seeds of Shiism, to ask people to follow Ali (AS) and to call his followers Shia.
There are forty Ahadith bearing witness to the fact that the followers of Ali are called his Shia. We will consider some of these traditions, which are all taken from Sunni sources. Jabir ibn Abd-Allah (RA) reports that once Ali came when Jabir (RA) was with the Prophet (PBUH). On seeing Ali (AS), the Prophet (PBUH) said, pointing to Ali (AS):
‘By God in whose hand is my soul, this man and his Shia will be saved on the Day of Judgment!’
Then he recited the verse:
‘Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures’ (Quran 98:7).
For this reason, whenever Ali (AS) came to the Prophet’s Companions, they would say to one another, ‘there comes the best of creatures’ (Al-Durr Al-Manthūr 6/589).
Ibn Abbas reports that when the above verse was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH), he said to Ali (AS):
‘This verse refers to you and your followers who will be pleased with God and God will be please with you on the Day of Judgment’ (Al-Durr Al-Manthūr 6/589).
Ibn Hajar Al-Haythami reports in Al-Sawaiq that Umm Salama said: ‘One night when the Prophet (PBUH) was at my home, his daughter suddenly entered, followed by Ali (AS). The Prophet (PBUH) said:
‘Ali, you and your followers will be in paradise. You and your Shia will be in paradise’ (161).
Ibn Athir reports that once the Prophet (PBUH) said to Alī (AS):
‘You will be received by God while you are pleased with God and He is pleased with you, but your enemies will go before God while they are angry and their hands are chained to their necks’ (4/16).
Zamakhshari reports in Rabi Al-Abrar that the Prophet (PBUH) once said to Ali (AS):
‘On the Day of Judgment, I will seek help from Allah (SWT), you from me, your descendants from you and your followers from your descendants’ (808).
According to Mughzili, in Manaqib Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), the Prophet (PBUH) once asked Ali (AS):
‘Will you not be pleased to be in paradise with me, while Hassan, Hussain and our other descendants are standing behind us and our followers are standing on both sides?’ (Sawa‘iq, 161).
He also quotes Anas ibn Malik who reports that the Prophet (PBUH) once declared,
‘Seventy thousands of my followers will enter paradise without being questioned’ and then looked at Ali (AS) and added: ‘They will be your followers and you will be their the Imam’ (293).
All of these Ahadith demonstrate that there were some people in the Prophet’s (PBUH) days that were called the Shia of Ali (AS) and who were promised paradise by the Prophet (PBUH). They also make it clear that the word ‘Shia’ was used by the Prophet (PBUH) himself to describe Ali’s (AS) followers who took as their path nothing more or less than the Prophet’s (PBUH) Islam, which they believed could be best followed by following the example Ali (AS). Therefore, we can say with certainty that Shiism was neither the fruit of political conflicts at Saqifah nor a result of theological debates. Rather, they were a group of people who believed that Ali(AS) was second to the Prophet (PBUH) in piety and personal conduct and maintained this belief after the Prophet’s (PBUH) death, gradually multiplying into a large sect.
Why Imam Ali’s (A.S) leadership did not materialize immediately after the Prophet’s (PBUH) death?
SHAFAQNA- It is sometimes asked why the Prophet’s companions ignored his clear designation of Imam Ali (AS) as his successor and the leader of the believers. After all, it was his companions who accompanied him on his preaching and military expeditions, and not long had passed between the Prophet’s (PBUH) speech at Ghadir and his death. In the present chapter, we will attempt to answer this question by studying history and seeing that the Companions did not always follow the Prophet’s commands; ignoring the proclamation of Ghadir was only one instance of their disobedience.
The Prophet (PBUH) appointed Ali (AS) as his successor because this was God’s Command and to prevent any contest for leadership of the community upon his death. In such a situation, one may wonder why the companions, who had made so many sacrifices for the sake of Islam, ignored the Prophet’s order concerning Imam Ali’s authority and bestowed leadership of the Muslims upon others.
An examination of the Prophet’s (PBUH) companions exposes the fact that, in spite of all the praise given them, many of them did not fully submit to Allah and sometimes would prefer their own personal decisions over God’s orders. Many instances of their disobedience can be found in both the verses of the Quran and in the ahadith, all of these have been recorded in Seyyed Sharaf Al-Din’s book, Al-Nass wa Al-Ijtihad. And some of the cases will be considered below.
Resistance to the Prophet’s (PBUH) Decisions and Judgments
A verse of Surah Al-Maʾida shows that some of the Prophet’s (PBUH) companions did not always accept his judgments fully:
“But no, by your Lord! They will not believe until they make you a judge in their disputes, then do not find within their hearts any dissent to your verdict and submit in full submission.” (Q4:65).
The Quran stresses that acceptance of the Prophet’s (PBUH) judgments is a sign of a person’s belief in God, while rejecting his judgments would make them into disbelievers. This warning assumes a lack of absolute obedience to the Prophet’s (PBUH) decisions and judgments.
Disobedience at the Battle of Badr
During the Battle of Badr, some Muslims took some disbelievers captive in order to ransom them for money, while this should not have been done until after the war was over. God criticized their action by revealing the following verse:
“Had it not been for a prior decree of Allah (SWT), surely there would have befallen you a great punishment for what you took” (Q8:68).
This verse applies to the Prophet’s Companions who took part in the Battle of Badr, some of whom were among Islam’s finest martyrs. If these Companions disobeyed God in this way, what could we say about the lesser companions?
Disobedience in the battle of Uhud
In the year 3/624, Abu Sufyan was preparing to attack Medina and encamped his forces at mount Uhud. The Prophet assembled an army to fight them and ordered fifty troops, led by Abd-Allah ibn Jubayr, to take up positions at a place called Jabal Aynayn to protect the Muslim army rear from attack. The Prophet (PBUH) insisted that they stay there no matter whether the Muslims were defeated or victorious. Notwithstanding the Prophet’s (PBUH) insistence, forty of the archers decided that their presence in that location was unnecessary and, seeing that the Muslims were about to defeat the enemy, abandoned their positions, against their commander’s advice, to collect booty. As a result, Khalid ibn Walid, leading the enemy cavalry, took the opportunity to attack the unprotected location and kill the remaining ten soldiers before attacking the Muslims’ army from behind and turning their victory into a defeat (Ibn Hisham, Sira 3/83).
Objections to the Treaty of Hudaybiyya
In the year 6/627, the Prophet (PBUH) set out for Mecca to perform the rites of Hajj along with some of his companions, but they were not equipped for warfare. When they reached a place called Hudaybiyya, which was on the edge of Mecca at that time, the disbelievers did not allow them to pass. For this reason, both sides agreed that no Hajj should be carried out that year but that the following year the Muslims would be allowed to perform their rituals. Umar ibn Khattab was displeased with the agreement and furiously asked, ‘Will not this agreement be a disgrace to us in our religion?’ (Ibn Hisham, Sira 2: 317). Umar and his like-minded friends were persuaded after talking to the Prophet, and the future events revealed that the agreement produced many benefits to the Muslims and Islam. Only two years after the agreement, Mecca was captured by the Muslims and Kaaba was cleared of idols.
The Army of Usama
When the Prophet lay on his deathbed, he decided to send an army to fight a Byzantine force which was threatening Medina. He gathered an army, made Usama bin Zayd their commander and ordered him to leave as soon as possible. He was so insistent about doing this that, in spite of his severe illness, he repeatedly said, “Prepare the army of Usama! God’s curse be upon those who stay behind!” This event divided the Muslims into two groups: those who insisted on leaving and those who insisted on staying. The latter group argued that the Prophet’s health was worsening and they could not tolerate being away from him. They wanted to stay until the Prophet’s (PBUH) situation became stable (Shahristani, Milal wa Nihal 1/29–30). Tabari, describing the events of 11/632, reports that some of the companions did not think Usama capable of leading the army and therefore refused to accompany him in the war. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard of this disobedience, he said: “He is worthy of commanding the army. You used to say the same things before while he was capable of commanding” (Tabari, Tarikh, 2/29).
The Calamity on Thursday
There is also another instance of the companions’ disobedience which concerns the last days of the Prophet’s (PBUH) life. According to Ibn Abbas, when the Prophet’s (PBUH) health was deteriorating in the last few days of his life, he bid those assembled: “Bring me ink and paper, so I can write something to prevent you from going astray!” Umar commented that the Prophet (PBUH) was extremely ill and that the Book of God was enough for them. Thus, a commotion erupted between those who insisted on bringing ink and paper and others who refused. The Prophet (PBUH) who was angry with the commotion and quarrel, ordered: “Stand up and go away! How could you quarrel before me?” Ibn Abbas adds: ‘All troubles started on this day when they did not let the Prophet (PBUH) write his letter’ (Bukhari, Kitab al-ʿIlm, tradition no. 114).
The above cases were a number of the Prophet’s (PBUH) companions’ clear disobedience of his decisions, orders and judgments, all of which reveal that ignoring the Prophet’s (PBUH) orders was not an uncommon occurrence among his companions and they could easily disagree with the Prophet’s (PBUH) designation of Ali (AS) as his successor. With the length of time separating us from the Prophet’s (PBUH) days, we might wrongly believe that his companions always submitted to God and the Prophet’s (PBUH) orders while, in fact, they were originally disbelievers who had converted to Islam. Some of them simply submitted to the divine orders and some of them were usually thinking of their own personal gain and interests. At least, we may say that not all those companions were innocent or infallible.