3. The hadith, "I am the city of knowledge, and

'Ali is its gate ..." and other fabricated hadiths There are very many fabricated hadiths of this type. Jiibir ibn Abdullah narrated from the Prophet (g) that he said: "I am the city of knowledge, and 'Ali is its gate." This report is flawed, and it was rejected by al-Bukhari. Yahya ibn Ma'een said concerning it: "It has no basis." Ibn al-Jawzi quoted it in al-mawdu'6t (The Fabricated). Al-Nawawi and adh-Dhahabi said: "It is fabricated."584 Al-Albini said: "The hadith, 'I am the city of knowledge, and 'Ali is its gate, so whoever desires knowledge let him come to the gate' is fabricated. It was narrated by d-'Aqeeli in ad-Du'afa', by Ibn 'Adiy in al-Kemil, by at-Tabarini in al-Kabeer and by d-H%im from Ibn 'Abbiis. Ibn 'Adiy and al-HZm also narrated it from Jiibir (&)."585 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib The same may be said of the hadith, "Whoever opposes 'Ali's caliphate is a disbeliever." There is no trace of this whatsoever in the books of Ah1 a s - ~ u n n a h . ~ ~ ~ These examples highlight the weakness of the reports on which the RZdis rely as evidence to prove that 'Ali (&) was singled out and exclusively appointed as caliph.

Ibn Khaldoon supported this when he said that the texts quoted and narrated by the R%fi@i Shia, which they interpret in ways that support their views, are not known to the prominent scholars of the Sunnah or narrators of hadith; most of them are fabricated or flawed in their chains of narration or have nothing to do with the interpretations given to them.587 What Ibn Hazm said, that all the hadiths to which the Rsfitfidis adhere are fabricated, is something that anyone with the slightest knowledge of hadith and how the reports were narrated The Shiite writer Ibn Abi al-Hadeed acknowledged the role of the Shia in fabricating hadiths to support their view regarding imamate. He said: "The original lies in the hadiths about the virtues (of 'Ali) were all started by the Shia, because they initially fabricated different hadiths about 'Ali, motivated by their grudges against their opponents. When the Bakris (meaning some of the Sunnis) saw what the Shia had done, they fabricated hadiths in favour of Abu Balcr, in response to these hadiths (about 'Ali). Then when the Shia saw what the Bakris had done, they went to extremes in fabricating hadiths. The two parties need not have done all that, because there are proven, sound reports about the virtues of 'Ali and the virtues of Abn Balcr, which are well established and known, which meant that there was no need for all of this extremism."589 Despite the weakness of this evidence, we find that some of the contemporary Shia are still repeating it in their books and quoting it to prove their beliefs about imamate. One of them is of the view that the Messenger (g) would not have been regarded as having 'Ali's altitude towards the Kharijites and Shia conveyed the message if he did not appoint 'Ali to be the caliph after him.590 He says: "Allah spoke to the noble Messenger through revelation, telling him to convey what Allah had sent down to him with regard to who was to succeed him in running the people's affairs.

Because of this instrnction, he conveyed what he was commanded to do and he appointed Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali to be the caliph."591 This view of theirs is contrary to the verses and hadiths they quote as evidence for imamate, because the implication of this view is that until the incident of Ghadeer Khumm, Allah (s) and His Messenger (@) did not mention 'Ali (&)by name to be the Imam. It is sufficient criticism of the Shias' imamate theory to note that they have no proof for it except the words of Abdullah ibn Saba'. He was the Jew who started spreading the idea that imamate was based on instructions from the Prophet (g) and was limited to the one mentioned by the revelation, and that if anyone else took charge of it, he should be disavowed and regarded as a disbeliever. The books of the Shia admit that lhn Saba' was the first one to spread the idea that the imamate of 'Ali was obligatory and to express disavowal of his enemies, stand up to his opponents and regard them as disbelievers.592 He was of Jewish origin and thought that Joshua (>B) was the appointed heir of Moosa (=I, so when he became Muslim, he applied this idea to 'Ali ibn Abi T%b (&).593 3.4. tawhid and the Twelver Shia The Shia regard belief in the Imam as a foundation of their madh-hab and one of the pillars of their faith. In their view, the Imam is part of belief, and they attribute to one of their Imams the idea that whoever of this Ummah has no Imam to follow will go astray and be lost, and that if he dies in that state, he will have died a death of j ~ h i l i ~ ~ a h . ~ ~ ~ That is because the Imam, according to the Shiite 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib concept, is something completely different from the caliph as all Muslims understand the concept. The Muslims regard the imam (leader) or caliph of the Muslims as an ordinary person with regard to his make-up and knowledge, and his role does not go beyond implementing the laws of Allah (s).

It is possible for him to err or to deviate, as is possible for all other people, so he must be corrected and opposed if he goes against the command of Allah (&). Over and above that, the caliph is to he chosen and elected by the Muslim community on the basis of consultation.595 In contrast, the Shia believe that the Imams were lights before this universe came into heing, and that they have authority over the universe in addition to their authority as rulers of the people. They attribute to the Messenger of Allah (g) a hadith, which they traced back to 'Ali ihn Ahi T S b (&,).596 One of the contemporary Shiite imams says: "The fact that the Imam has the proven right to authority and rulership does not mean giving up his status that he has before Allah, and it does not make him like other rulers. The Imam has a high status, sublime position and universal authority whereby all the atoms of the universe are subject to that authority. One of the fundamentals of our madh-hah is that our Imams occupy a status that was not attained by any angel who is close to Allah or any Prophet who was sent. According to the reports and hadiths that we have, the greatest Messenger (s) and the Imams (a) were lights before this universe came into existence.

Allah placed them surrounding His throne and bestowed upon them high status and closeness to Him that no one knows except Allah. Jihreel said, as is narrated in the reports of the Prophet's ascent to heaven: 'If I come one fingertip closer, I will be burned.' It was narrated from them (gx) (that they said): 'We go through some states of being that no angel who is close to Allah, and no Prophet who was sent, ever went through."'597 According to this concept of the Imam, his role is not limited to implementing the laws of Allah; he actually has dominion over the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia affairs and events of the universe. In their view, 'Ali (4) is the legitimate, dominant ruler with Shariah authority over the affairs of the land and the people. The angels submit to him, and the people are subjugated to him, even his enemies. They are subject to the truth when he stands and when he sits; when he speaks and when he is silent; when he delivers speeches, prays and fights.598 Because of this exaggeration, the Shiite belief in the Imams had an impact on their belief in the Oneness of Allah (tawhid), which may be explained as follows: 3.4.1. Their interpretation of the texts on tawhid as referring to the imamate (authority) of the Imams The first thing that we find shocking is that they altered the meaning of the texts of the Quran, which enjoin worshipping Allah (s) alone, to suggest believing in the imamate of 'Ali (&) and the Imams, and they interpreted the texts which forbid associating p a e r s with Allah (&) as referring to partners in the authority of the Imams.

In a l - ~ i i f i , ~ ~ ~ which is the soundest of their books in narration; Tafseer a l - ~ u m m i , 6 ~ ~ which is the foremost of their books of Qur'anic commentary; and other major reference w0rks,6~' the interpretation of the verse (And indeed it has been revealed to you [ 0 Muhammad], as it was to those [Allah's Messengers] before you: 'If you join others in worship with Allah, [then] surely, [all] your deeds will he in vain ...' b (Quran 39: 65) is as follows: "This means: if you associate someone else with him in imamate."602 In another version, the meaning is: "If yon enjoin the authority of someone else alongside the authority of 'Ali after you [O Muhammad], then all your deeds will be in vain."603 In his interpretation of the Quran, the author of al-Burhiin quoted four 'Ali ibn Abi Tklib reports of theirs to explain the verse in accordance with the meanings mentioned above.604 With regard to the reason for its revelation, they said, "When Allah (B) revealed to His Prophet (s) that he should appoint 'Ali to he in charge of the people, Mu'idh ibn Jabal snuck in and said to him: 'Associate with his authority the first and the second (refening to Abu Bakr and 'Umar), so that people could accept what you say and believe you.' But when the verse: (0 Messenger Muhammad]! Proclaim [the Message] which has been sent down to you from your LordB (Quran 5: 67) was revealed, the Messenger of Allah complained to Jihreel, saying: 'The people may disbelieve me and not accept anything from me.' Then Allah (&) revealed the words $And indeed it has been revealed to you [0 Muhammad], as it was to those [Allah's Messengers] before you: If yon join others in worship with Allah, [then] surely, [all] your deeds will be in vain...), (Quran 39: 65)" In order to understand the extent of their distortion of the verses of Allah (&) and their conspiracy to change the verse, we should look at the verse in context to see what comes before and after it. Allah (@) said: dSay [O Muhammad to the polytheists]: 'Do you order me to worship other than Allah, 0 you fools?' And indeed it has been revealed to you [O Muhammad], as it was to those [Allah's Messengers] before you: 'If you join others in worship with Allah, [then] surely, [all] your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly he among the losers.' Nay! But worship Allah [Alone and none else], and be among the grateful.), (Quran 39: 64-66) The verse, as is clear from its context, has to do with worshipping Allah (B) alone, hut they changed the meaning and regarded the verse as having to do with 'Ali (&), even though there is no mention of him in the verse at all. It is as if they regarded him as the one referred to by the word 'Allah' and they interpreted the word 'worship' as refening to imamate. In reality, the meaning of the verse 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia is quite clear, and there is not the slightest connection between its hue meaning and their interpretation.605 The scholars said, commenting on the meaning of this verse, "Allah ( g ) commanded His Prophet to say this to the polytheists when they called him to their religion of idol worship, saying, 'This r r i 6 0 6 is the religion of your forefathers.

What is meant is: "Say, 0 Muhammad, to the polytheists among your people: 'Are you commanding me to worship gods other than AUah, 0 you who are ignorant of Allah, when worship cannot be directed to anyone other than Him?" Since the command to worship anyone other than AUah (s) can only come from one who is ignorant and foolish, He (B) gave them a befitting description when he said: do you fools!) (Quran 39: 64) Then Allah ( g ) stated that He had revealed to His Prophet and to the Messengers before him: "If yon associate anything or anyone else with Allah (B), your deeds will be in vain." This is to highlight the seriousness and abhorrent nature of polytheism; its seriousness is confirmed by the fact that the warning against it is addressed to one (namely, the Prophet) who would have nothing to do with it, so how about others? Then He (@) said: 4Nay! But worship Allah [Alone and none else]) (Qur'an39: 66). Do not worship what the polytheists tell you to worship; rather worship Allah (s) alone, to the exclusion of all other false gods and idols.607 As one can see, the meaning is very clear. No one could misinterpret it except one who has an ulterior motive, whose whims and desires have bEnded him to the tmth. The main concern of this group who fabricated these reports, and their only objective, was to find support for their claim of imamate in the Quran, even if that meant distorting the words of Allah (g).

Thus they distorted the meaning a great deal, and their interpretation was not based on any knowledge of Arabic or reason, let alone any religious text. It is also clear from the report they narrated that they were showing disrespect towards the Prophet 1%) by depicting him as being scared and afraid 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib of his people and hesitant in carrying out the instructions of his Lord, to the extent that he could not overcome this attitude until the revelation of a threat that all his deeds would be in vain.608 3.4.2. Their opinion that belief in the imamate is the basis of deeds being accepted They said that AUah ( B ) appointed 'Ali (&) to be the Imam as a sign between Him and His creation: "The one who recognises it is a believer, and the one who rejectsit is a disbeliever; the one who does not h o w it is astray, and the one who sets up any rival to him is a polytheist; the one who comes (on the Day of Judgement) believing in his imamate will enter paradise."609 They also said: "Whoever mrms our belief in imamate then dies, his prayer, fasting, zak2h and hajj will be accepted; but whoever does not affirm our belief in imamate before Allah (&), He will not accept any of his deeds."610 They claim that Jibreel (m) came down to the Prophet (g) and said: "0 Muhammad, As-Salk (a name of Allah that means The Source of Peace and Perfection) conveys s a l k to you and says: 'I created the seven heavens and what is in them and the seven earths and what is on them, and I have not created any place greater than arRukn (the comer of the Ka'bah) and M a q k Ihr&eem. If any slave calls upon Me there, from the time I created the heavens and the earths, then he meets Me denying the imamate of 'Ali, I will throw him in he11."'~" There are many similar reports; they are all false, and none of them is sound. All these reports have nothing to do with Islam at all. We have the Book of AUah ( S ) , which is the final verdict and first reference point in any dispute; there is nothing of what they claim in it.

The noble Quran states that the basic requirement with regard to deeds is tawhid, and the reason for doom is polytheism. Allah (s) says: (Verily, whosoever sets up partners [in worship] with Allah, 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia then AUah has forbidden paradise to him, and the fire will be his abode.) (Quran 5: 72) $Verily, Allah forgives not that patners should be set up with Him [in worship], but He forgives except that [anything else] to whom He wills.) (Quran 4: 48) Everything that we have mentioned here of the exaggerations of the Shia is proven false by the verses of the Quran. Allah (a&) says: &rely, those who believe [in the Oneness of Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad and all that was revealed to him from Allah], and those who are the Jews and the Sabians and the Christians, - whosoever believed in Allah and the Last Day, and worked righteousness, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.) (Quran 5: 69) The Shia claim that belief in the twelve Imams is more important than prayer and the other pillars of Islam, but prayer is mentioned in more than eighty places in the Quran, while their belief in imamate is not mentioned even once. Did Allah want to misguide His slaves? Did He not explain to them the way to reach Him? Glory be to You ( 0 Allah)!

This is a great lie.612 {And Allah will never lead a people astray, after He has guided them, until He makes clear to them as to what they should avoid.) (Quran 9: 115) Among their reports are some that contradict what they said, but their misinterpretation and concept of taqiyyah led to the burying alive of these fair and moderate texts. We mention this so that the wise person may learn a lesson, the heedless person may pay attention, and the sleeper may wake up, and so as to establish proof against the stubborn from their own books and point out the contradictions in their own texts. It says in Tafseer al-Furit that 'Ali ibn Abi Taib (&) said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (g) say: "When the verse, BSay [O Muhammad]: No reward do I ask of 'Ali ibn Abi TIilib you for this except to be kind to me for my kinship with you% (Quran 42: 23) was revealed, Jibreel said: '0 Muhammad, every religion has a root and foundation, and branches and a structure. The root and foundation of this religion is saying Lh iliha illi Allrih (There is none worthy of worship other than Allah), and its branches and structure are loving you, loving Ah1 d-Bayt, and supporting you in what is in accordance with the truth and calling others to it."'613 This text differs from what their other reports say; it describes tawhid, not belief in the imamate, as the basis of religion. It regards loving Ah1 d-Bayt as one of the branches, which is limited to those among them who follow the truth and call others to it.614 3.4.3. Their belief that the Imams are the intermediaries between Allah (g) and His creation The Imami Shia believe that the twelve h a m s are the intermediaries between Allah and His creation.

Al-Majlisi says of his Imams: "They are the doors to the Lord and the intermediaries between Him and His creation."615 He wrote a chapter entitled: 'The people can only be guided through them; they are the intermediaries between mankind and AUah ( s ) , and no one will enter paradise except the one who acknowledges them." In 'Aqri'id al-Zmamimah, it says that the twelve Imams are doors to Allah ( s ) and the way to Him, they are like the ship of Nooh (@) in that whoever embarks on it will be saved, and whoever stays away from it will drown.616 Some of the issues that are to be found in their books and reference works, which emphasise these concepts, include the following: 3.4.3.a. Their belief that people have no guidance except through the Imams Abu Ahdullah, according to their claim, said: "The trouble we have with people is serious. If we call them, they do not respond to us, but if we leave them, they will not be guided by others."617 Their 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia reports say: "Abu Ja'far said: 'By means of us, Allah is worshipped; by means of us, Allah is known; and by means of us, His Oneness is proclaimed."'618 These texts do not say that the Ummah cannot he guided, but they make the Imams the source of guidance. In fact, guidance in the sense of being enabled to know and accept the buth is something that no one has control over except the Lord of mankind, the Controller of the hearts and minds, the One who comes in between a person and his heart,619 the One Who says to a thing, "Be!" and it is. The Shia, by stating these things in general terms without any restrictions, give their Imams a role alongside Allah with regard to the issue of guidance, but Allah (&) is the only One who guides people, with no partner or associate.620 Allah (B) says: $He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali [guiding kendl to lead him [to the Right path]) (Quran 18: 17). Allah (&) said to His Prophet (g): $verily, you [ 0 Muhammad] guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills.) (Quran 28: 56) With regard to guidance in the sense of telling people about the truth and showing them the way to it, this is the role of the Messengers and those who followed them in truth, and it is not limited to the twelve Imams.

(say [ 0 Muhammad]: 'This is my way; I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me') (Quran 12: 108). Saying that this guidance can only be achieved through the Imams is insolence towards Allah (&).621 3.4.3.b. Their belief that supplication cannot be answered except in the names of the Imams They said that the one whose supplication is not in the name of the Imams will not prosper and will be doomed. It says in their report from the Imams: "The one who calls upon Allah in our name will 'Ali ibn Abi TZlib prosper, and the one who calls upon Him in the name of anyone other than us is doomed and destroyed."62z Their audacity in that regard went so far that they said: "The supplication of the Prophets was answered by means of the names of the Imams and seeking their intercession, may the blessings of Allah he upon them all."623 This is what the R%@ Shia say and fabricate, hut Allah (s) says: #And [all] the most beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them) (Quran 7: 180). He does not say to call upon Him by the names of the Imams or the status of the Imams or their shrines. Auah (%) also says: (And your Lord said: 'Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything]; I will respond to yow [invocation] ...' b (Quran 40: 60) If the condition for supplication being accepted was mentioning the names of the Imams, Allah (%) would have said: "Invoke Me by the names of the Imams; I will respond to your (invocation)." Instead, what the Shia claim and fabricate is actually one of the causes for supplications being rejected and not accepted, because devoting worship purely to Him alone when calling upon Him in supplication is the means of having the supplication answered and accepted.

Allah (s) says: (So, call you [O Muhammad and the believers] upon [or invoke] Allah making [your] worship pure for Him [Alone] [by worshipping none but Him and by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah's sake only and not to show off and not to set up rivals with Him in worship], however much the disbelievers [in the Oneness of Allah] may hate [it].) (Quran 40: 14) #And invoke Him only making your religion sincere to Him [by not joining in worship any partner with Him and with the intention that you are doing your deeds for Allah's sake anty].) (Quran 7: 29) 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia These Imams are just like other humans: $Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like you. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful.) (Quran 7: 194) Allah (s) has not appointed any righteous man, angel who is close to Him, or Prophet who was sent, to be a mediator between Him and His creation; all are slaves of Allah (&): (The Messiah will never be proud to reject to be a slave of Allah, nor the angels who are near [to Allah1.b (Quran 4: 172) $There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious [Allah] as a slave.) (Quran 19: 93) As for the contention that the supplication of the Prophets was answered by beseeching in the names of the Imams, this is a false claim. The Prophets called upon Allah by His name, affirming His Oneness, may He be glorified. The prophet Ayyoob (g) beseeched Allah by His beautiful names, affirming that He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy: (And [remember] Ayyoob [Job], when he cried to his Lord: 'Verily, distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy.' So We answered his call, and We removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his family to him [that he had lost] and the like thereof along with them as a mercy from Ourselves and a Reminder for all those who worship Us.) (Quran 21: 83-84) Yoonus (Dhun-Noon) (B) beseeched Allah by His Oneness. AUah (&) says: $And [remember] Dhun-Noon [Jonah], when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him [i.e. the calamities which had befallen him]! But he cried through the darkness [saying]: L.6 ilrihri ill6 Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You ( 0 Allah)], Glorified [and Exalted] be You [above all that (evil) they 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib associate with You]!

Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers." So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers [who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousnessl.8 (Quran 21: 87-88) Allah (B) described the words spoken by Adam (m) and his wife: $They said: 'Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certaidy be of the losers.') (Quran 7: 23) This idea of the Shia is known to be corrupt on the basis of Islamic teachings. The books of the Sbia themselves narrate reports from the Imams that contradict this idea; they describe the Imams conversing with Allah (&) and calling upon Him. They narrated many reports, from every Inlam without exception, describing how he called upon Allah (&) and conversed with Him.

Most of these reports are narrated by al-Majlisi in Bihrir al-~nwBr.~" 3.4.3.c. Their belief that pilgrimage to their shrines is greater than pilgrimage to the House of Allah (B) Ibn Taymiyah said: "Some people that I trust told me that among them are those who believe that pilgrimage to the shrines is greater than pilgrimage to the Ancient House (the Ka'hah), thus they think that associating others with Allah is greater than worshipping Allah alone. This is the greatest belief in fal~chood."~~~ It says in al-KBfi and elsewhere: "Visiting the grave of alHusayn is equivalent to twenty hajj pilgrimages and better than twenty 'umrahs and hajj pilgrimages."626 The fabricated Shiite reports ascribe a special virtue to visiting the tomb of al-Husayn on the day of 'Arafah and say, 'Whoever comes to al-Husayn on a day other than Eid, recognising his status, Allah will record for him twenty hajj pilgrimages and twenty 'umrahs, blessed and accepted. 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Whoever comes to him on the day of Eid, Allah will record for him twenty hajj pilgrimages and one hundred 'umrahs. Whoever comes to him on the day of 'Arafah, recognising his status, Allah will record for him one thousand hajj pilgrimages and one thousand 'umrahs, blessed and accepted, and one thousand campaigns with a Prophet who was sent or a just ru~er."~" For these people, visiting the grave of al-Hnsayn is not only better than hajj; it is the best of deeds. In their report, it says that visiting the grave of d-Husayn is the best possible deed.628 According to another report, "One of the most beloved of deeds is visiting the grave of a l - ~ u s a ~ n .

" ~ ~ ~ Thus the laws and commandments of Islam are forgotten, and attention is paid to graves and tombs. They consider visits to these places the best of deeds, without any evidence apart from whatever their imaginations come up with or what is inspired from their satans, who have instituted for them a religion which Allah (&) has not ordained.630 These people regard visiting the tombs as one of the obligatory duties of their reli~ion, for which they have invented rituals like those - of the hajj pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah. Ibn Taymiyah said: "Their Shaykh Ibn an-Nu'mk, who is known to them as d - Mufeed, wrote a book which he called Mancisik al-Mashcihid (The Rituals of the Shrines). According to it, pilgrimage is performed at the graves of created beings as it is performed at the Ka'bah, the Sacred House that Allah has made an asylum of security and benefits (such as hajj and 'umrah) for mankind631 and the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind;632 no circumambulation is to be performed except around it, no prayers are to be offered in any direction except towards it, and no pilgrimage is enjoined except to it."633 Anyone who looks at the references of the R%@ Shia that speak of the shrines will see very strange deviations from the Book of Allah and the guidance of the Messenger (B). Anyone who wishes to Xli ibn Abi Tdlib h o w more may refer to the book Ufool Madh-hub ash-Shia al- ~ r n a r n i ~ ~ a h . ~ ~ ~ The Muslims have one Ka'bah, which they face in their prayers and supplications, to which they go on pilgrimage and around which they circumambulate (perform tawif); as for the Shia, they have the shrines of the dead What they do at these shrines has been forbidden by AUah (g) and His Messenger, and everything that is forbidden by Allah (&) and His Messenger is blameworthy and disallowed, whether the one who does it claims to be Sunni or Shiite. It is well known in the religion of Islam that the Prophet a) did not enjoin the actions that they speak of with regard to shrines, and he did not prescribe for his Ummah any rituals to be performed at the graves of prophets and righteous people.

That is the religion of the polytheists, of whom AUah (g) says: BAnd they have said: 'You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwi?', nor Yaghooth, nor Ya 'ooq nor Nasr' [these are the names of their idols].'B (Quran 71: 23) Ibn 'Abhh and others said about those idols: "These are the names of righteous men among the people of Nooh (m). When they died, Satan inspired their people to set up idols in the places where they used to sit and to call them by their names. They did that, but the idols were not worshipped until those people died and knowledge was lost, then they were worshipped."636 Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ihn Abi T%b (&) said to Ahu al-Hayij al-Asadi: "Shall I not send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allah (g) sent me? 'Do not leave any image without erasing it or any built-up grave without levelling it."'637 Some of the Shiite reports affirmed the same meaning. Al-Kulayni narrated from Abu AbduUah that Amir alMu'mineen 'Ali (4) said: "The Messenger of AUah (gJ sent me to Madinah and said: 'Do not leave any image without erasing it or any grave without levelling it."'638 St was narrated that Abu Abdnllah 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia said: "The Messenger of Allah (g) forbade praying on graves, sitting on them, or building strnctures over them."639 It was also narrated that Abn Abdullah said: "Do not build structures over graves ... for the Messenger of Allah (g) disliked that."@0 It was narrated from his forefathers that the Messenger of Allah (SJ forbade plastering over graves. 641 Al-Hum d - ' k l i claimed that this prohibition included every grave except the graves of the Prophet (g) and the Imams (s), and that the prohibition meant only that it was disliked.642 However, the general meaning of these reports is clear, as is the evidence for its being hah. A l - ' h l i has no evidence for his contention except the strangeness of the real-life practice of his group and the oddness of some of their reports.

This oddness itself is proof of invalidity because it is contrary to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and the consensus of the Ummah, including Ah1 al-Bayt. A warning against this was narrated from Ah1 d-Bayt, because it is a means that leads to associating others with Allah. Moreover, the reason for this prohibition does not differentiate between one grave and another; in fact, the danger is greater with regard to the graves of the Imams because the likelihood of people going to extremes with regard to them is greater. Hence the cause of polytheism is exaggerating about the righteous.643 3.4.4. Their belief that the Imam forbids what he wants and allows what he wants The Shia claim in their reports that: "Allah (g) created Muhammad, 'Ali and Fstimah, and they remained for a thousand years, then He (s) created all other things and made these three witnesses to their creation. He (g) enjoined His creation to be obedient to them and delegated the affairs of creation to them, so they permit what they want and forbid what they want."644 Their shaykh 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib al-Majlisi interpreted this text as follows: "He enjoined (His creation) to be obedient to them; in other words, He made it obligatory and a duty for all things to obey them, even inanimate things such as the heavens and the earth, like the splitting of the moon, trees moving towards them, pebbles glorifying Allah (&) and innumerable other things.

He delegated their affairs to them with regard to what is permitted and what is forbidden, what is given and what is ~ i t h h e l d . " ~ ~ The Shia have reports that clearly state this, including those narrated by al-Mufeed in al-Ikhtifcif, d-Majlisi in al-Bihir and others, from Abn Ja'far who said: "If we permit something gained by someone from the wrongdoers,646 it is hd3, because the Imams are given authority." Therefore, what they permit is permitted, and what they forbid is forbidden."' However, it is well known from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (g) that one of the foundations of tawhid is the belief that Allah (&)Lone is the Lawgiver Who permits what He wills and forbids what He wills, and He has no partner or associate in that. The Messengers of Allah conveyed the laws of Allah to His slaves, and the one who claims that he has an Imam who permits what he wants and forbids what he wants is included in the words of Allah: (Or have they partners with Allah [false gods] who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not ordained?) (Quran 42: 21) The right to legislate does not belong to anyone except the Lord of mankind, and the role of the Messengers is only to convey from Allah ( s ) ; they do not forbid or permit anything except what Allah ( s ) enjoins upon them and reveals to them. Allah (g) says, concerning the one who follows his leaders in what they permit and forbid, as opposed to the laws and rulings of Allah: (They [Jews and Christians] took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah [by obeying them in things which they made lawful or 'Ali's attitude towards the Khariiites and Shia unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah] ... k (Quran 9: 31) Allah (s) describes their following them in what they permit of h a r h things and what they forbid of hal2 things [as is mentioned in the commentary on this verse] as being a kind of worship of them because the followers received instruction on what is permitted and what is forbidden on their authority, but this is something that can only be received from Allah (zJ~).~~' 3.4.5. Their belief that this world and the hereafter are for the Imam to deal with as he wants The author of al-K6fi devoted a chapter to this topic entitled "The entire earth belongs to the ~ r n a m , " ~ ~ ~ in which it is narrated from Abn Busayr that Abu Abdullah (m) said: "Do you not know that this world belongs to the Imam, to deal with as he wishes and to give to whom he wishes? That is allowed for him by ~ l l a h .

" ~ ~ This text is polytheism, associating partners with AUah in His Lordship, because Allah (g) says: %Know you not that it is Allah to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth?$ (Quran 2: 107) %And to AUah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; and to Him is the return [of all]$ (Quran 5: 18) $To AUah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein) (Quran 5: 120) %He to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Who has begotten no son [children or offspring] and for Whom there is no partner in the dominion.) (Quran 25: 2) %But to AUah belongs the last bereafter] and the first [the world].$ (Quran 53: 25) 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib (Say 10 Muhammad to polytheists, pagans]: Who gives you provision from the heavens and the earth?b (Quran 34: 24) (So seek your provision from Allah [Alone], and worship Him [Alone], and be grateful to Him.) (Quran 29: 17) So Allah is unique in His dominion, provision and control, and He has no partner in that.651 3.4.6. Their belief that natural phenomena can be attributed to the Imams It was narrated that Samii'ah ibn Mahrh said: "I was with Abn Abdullah, and there was thunder and lightning. Abu Abdullah said: 'Whatever happens of thunder and lightning, it is because of the command of your companion.' I said: 'Who is our companion?' He said: 'Amir al-~u'mineen."'~~~ What he meant was that every time there is thunder and lightning, it is by the command of 'Ali (&), not by the command of Allah (B), the One, the Almighty. What could a fair-minded Muslim conclude from this report, when Allah (B) says: (It is He Who shows you the lightning, as a fear [for travellers] and as a hope [for those who wait for rain]. And it is He Who brings up [or originates] the clouds, heavy [with water]B (Quran 13: lz)? Is this not Saba'i thought raising its ugly head in the hooks of the Twelvers?

Is this not a claim of divinity for 'Ali (&), or at least a claim that he has a share in divinity? How dare al-~ajlisi, and al-Mufeed before him, write such myths and attribute them to Ja'far? The implications of this report cannot be unknown to people like them, because no one believes in this or promotes it except a heretic and one who has gone astray. It is very strange that people base their religion on books which contain this garbage and venerate shaykhs who openly preach this heresy. Is there no one among this group who has reason and piety and who will denounce openly and 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia loudly all this widespread misguidance and blatant disbelief, clear the name of the pure Ah1 al-Bayt of this lethal nonsense, and purify Shiism of this stain of disbelief and misguidance caused by the shaykhs of the Safavid state? Or is it the case that whenever a sincere voice speaks up, they either hasten to kill him, as they did with alKisrawi, or they interpret his words as being taqiyyah, as they did with many of their reports and words of their shaykhs?

Is it now a hopeless case to call the people of this ma&-hab to the light of truth?653 3.4.7. Their belief that part of the divine is incarnated in the Imams The Imami Shia have some reports claiming that part of the divine light was incarnated in ' ~ l i . ~ ' ~ Abn Abdullah supposedly said: 'Then he touched us with his right hand, and his light entered but Allah mixed us with His ~ s s e n c e . " ~ ~ ~ They claim that the Imams were given absolute power by means of this part of the divine that is in them. The one who reads about what they call 'the miracles of the Imams,' of which there are hundreds of reports, will notice that the Imams became like the Lord of the Worlds -may He be exalted and sanctified above what they say - in terms of giving life. and death, creation and granting provision.657 Their reports may add a comment stating that this was from AUah (B), by way of deceit. To prove that this idea is corrupt, it is sufficient just to try to comprehend it because it is contrary to the texts, to reason and to the natural laws of the universe. It can also be proven wrong by the real lives and statements of the Imams.

For one thing, the Shia claim that the Imams were wronged and persecuted during their lives. For another, the Messenger of guidance (@) said, as his Lord commanded him: (Say [0 Muhammad]: 'I possess no power over benefit or hurt to myself except as AUah wills.') (Quran 7: 188) 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib What is amazing is that the books of the Shia, even though they exaggerate about the Imams, also narrate things that are contrary, which illustrates the contradictions in what they preach, as is the norm in all lies and falsehood. In Rijril al-Kashshi, it says that Ja'far ibn Muhammad said: "By Allah, we are no more than slaves of the One who created us and chose us, and we cannot cause any harm or bring any benefit. If He shows mercy towards us, it is because He is Merciful, and if He punishes us, it is because of our sins. By Allah, we have no plea before Allah, and we have no proof that Allah will let us off. We will die and be buried and be resurrected; we will be made to stand before Him, and we will be questioned.

Woe to them, what is wrong with them? May Allah curse them, for they have offended Allah (&) and offended His Messenger (SJ in his grave, as well as Amir al-Mn'mineen ['Ali], Fctimah, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, 'Ali ibn al-Hasan and Muhammad ibn 'Ali (may the blessings of Allah be upon them). Bear witness that I am a man descended from the Messenger of Allah (g), but I have no proof that Allah will let me off. If I obey Him, He will have mercy on me and if I disobey Him, He will punish me severely."658 The Shiite shaykhs rationalise such statements by describing them as examples of taqiyyah. They have led people astray from the straight path, and the Shiite ma&-hab has become the ma&-hab of the shaykhs (mullahs), not the ma&-hab of the ~ m a m s . ~ ~ ~ 3.4.8. Their belief that the Imams know what has happened and what will happen, and that nothing is hidden from them The author of al-Kij? wrote a chapter on this topic entitled: 'The Imams know what has happened and what will happen, and nothing is hidden from them,"660 in which he narrated a number of reports.

He wrote another chapter entitled "If the Imams want to 'AliS attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia know, they will know,"661 in which he quoted a number of their hadiths. One of the reports concerning these matters falsely claims:662 "Abn Abdullah said: 'I know what is in the heavens and what is on earth, I know what is in paradise and what is in hell, and I know what has happened and what will happen."'663 It was narrated that Sayf a t - T a m 2 said: "A group of Shia were with Abu Abdullah (&)in al-Hijr, and he said: 'Is there any spy among us? We looked right and left and did not see anyone, so we said: 'There is no one watching us.' He said: 'By the Lord of the Ka'bah' t h r e e times - 'if I were standing between Moosa and al-Khidr, I would tell them that I have more knowledge than them, and I would tell them about that of which they had no knowledge, for Moosa and al-Khi& (peace be upon them) were given knowledge of what had happened, but they were not given knowledge of what is to come until the Hour begins. However, we inherited a legacy from the Messenger of Allah (g) and his family."'664 These are some examples of the exaggeration of the RZlfidi Shia and some of their reports. Exaggeration is the foundation and origin of their madh-hab, but Allah (B) has forbidden and warned against exaggeration because it is contrary to tawhid and forms the basis of polytheism, in the past and the present. Allah (s) says: (Exceed not the limits in your religion [by believing in something] other than the truthk (Quran 5: 77).

Ibn Katheer said, commenting on this verse: "[This means] do not overstep the mark in following the truth. Do not exaggerate in praising the one whom I instruct you to respect, to the extent that you go to extremes and elevate him from prophetbood to divinity as they did with the Messiah; he was one of the Prophets, but they made him a god alongside Allah (+Jig). That happened because of following in the footsteps of leaders and shaykhs who are leaders of misguidance, your predecessors who went astray before you. {[They] went astray before and misled many, and strayed [themselves] from the Right Path) (Quran 5: 77). In other 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib words, they drifted away from the path of righteousness and moderation and followed the way of whims and desires and misguidance."665 Allah (&) also says: 40 people of the Scripture [Christians]! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth) (Quran 4: 171). In these two verses, Allah (B) forbids going to extremes and going beyond due limits by overstating praise.

This is a clear refutation of the Rzfidi Shia and all those who follow this path with regard to one whom they venerate. Allah (s) instructed His Prophet Muhammad (@ to explain to the people that he had no control over his affairs, that benefit and harm are in the hand of Allah (g), and that no one has knowledge of the unseen except Allah (s), Who instructed him: (Say [0 Muhammad]: 'I don't tell you that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor [that] I h o w the Unseen; nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me.' Say: 'Are the blind and the one who sees equal? Will you not then take thought?'b (Quran 6: 50) (Say [O Muhammad]: 'I possess no power over benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the howledge of the Ghayb [Unseen], I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a wamer and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe.'b (Quran 7: 188) Thus Allah 1%) commanded him to delegate his affairs to Hin (&) and to tell the people that he had no knowledge of the unseen, the future or anything of that nature.666 All of this deters the ways that may lead to exaggeration about him (g).

It is a warning to his Ummah lest they exaggerate about him as the Jews and Christians exaggerated about their Prophets. If this is the case with regard to the leader of mankind and the greatest in status before Allah (@), it is even more appropriate with regard to others. 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia This highlights the falseness of the Rifi& claims about the Imams and especially their belief that they have knowledge of the unseen and that they know what has happened and what will happen. They make them partners with Allah in creation and giving life, and in names and attributes. How can they say that when Allah (B) says in His noble Book: (No person knows what be will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die.) (Quran 31: 34) %On the Day when Allah will gather the Messengers together and say to them: 'What was the response you received [from men to your teaching]?' They will say: 'We have no knowledge, verily, only You are the Al-Knower of all that is hidden [or unseen]') (Quran 5: 109) (Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall shoa [of their time or number] or exceed.) (Quran 13: 8) (That is because Allah, He is the Truth, and it is He Who gives life to the dead.) (Quran 22: 6) (And with Him are the keys of the Ghayb [all that is hidden], none knows them but He.) (Quran 6: 59) %And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things.) (Quran 3: 189) (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion; and He is Able to do all things.) (Quran 67: I) There are other similar verses coniirming that He alone has knowledge of the unseen and control over the universe. Whoever amibutes any of that to created beings has fallen into polytheism by setting up rivals to Allah (&)in His Lordship and Divinity.

How can he claim to be a Muslim when that is the case? Allah (&) says: (Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him [in worship], but He forgives except that [anything else] to whom He wi1ls. B (Quran 4: 48) 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib %Verily, whosoever sets up partners [in worship] with Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise to him, and the fue will be his abode. And for the Q&?limoon [polytheists and wrongdoers] there are no helpers.) (Quran 5: 72) That is because AUah (k) created mankind to worship Him and to affirm HIS Oneness, as He says: (And I [Allah] created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me [Alone].) (Quran 51. 56) He (s) also sent the Messengers and revealed the Books so that He alone might be worshipped. Allah (B) says: (And verily, We have sent among every Ummah [community, nation] a Messenger [proclaiming]: 'Worship Allah [Alone], and avoid [or keep away from] Trighoot [all false deities, i.e. do not worship Trighoot besides Allah].') (Quran 16: 36) So exaggeration is contrary to the true concept of Just as Allah (g) warned against exaggeration in all forms, the Prophet (g) also warned against it so as to protect tawhid, or belief in the Oneness of Allah, and to block all means that lead to the undermining of tawhid because exaggeration leads to polytheism, and it never spreads in a nation without causing its doom. The Prophet (g) warned his Ummah against this disease: "0 people, beware of exaggeration in religious matters, for those who came before you were doomed because of exaggeration in religious matters."668 It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbh (&) that he heard 'Umar (&) say on the minbar: "I heard the Prophet (g) say: 'Do not praise me as the Christians praised the son of Maryam.

I am no more than a slave, so say "the slave of Allah and His ~ e s s e n g e r " . " ' ~ ~ ~ The Prophet (g) warned his Ummah against exaggerating and overstepping the mark in praising him as the Christians did with regard to 'Eesa (,=). He (g) instructed that he should be described as a slave as Allah described him: (Glorified be He [Allah] Who took 'Ali's ammnrde towards the Kharijites and Shia His slave [Muhammad] for a journey by night) (Quran 17: 1). Allah (%) described him in this manner in the context of calling [the jinn] to Him: (And when the slave of Allah Muhammad] stood up invoking Him [his Lord - Allah] in prayer they [the jinn] just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other [in order to - listen to the Prophet's recitation18 (Quran 72: 19). He also described him this way in the context of sending down the Book to him and the descent of the Angel to him. Allah (&) says: (Blessed be He Who sent down the criterion [of right and wrong, i.e. this Quran] to His slave Muhammad]) (Quran 25: 1).

These three scenarios reflect the highest status, but his Lord (&) described him in each case as His slave. Where do the R*fidi Shia stand with regard to these verses and hadiths that forbid and warn against going to extremes and that call for attaining trne servitude to AUah? Those who study the words of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali and his sons (may AUah be pleased with them) will find the clearest refutation of this extremism and exaggeration and will see that they have nothing to do with the views of the RZfidi Shia and all those who exaggerated about them. They will also see that those reports that are attributed to them are lies and misguidance.670 Imam Muslim narrated in his sahih that Abu at-Tufayl 'Amir ibn Wzthilah (&) said: ''I was with 'Ali ibn Abi T2ib when a man came to him and said: 'What did the Prophet (g) tell you in secret? He got angry and said: 'The Prophet (g) did not tell me anything in secret that he hid from the people, but he told me four things.' The man said: 'What are they, 0 Amir al-Mu'mineen?' 'Ali (4) said that the Prophet (g) said: 'May Allah curse the one who curses his father, may Allah curse the one who offers a sacrifice to anything other than Allah, may Allah curse the one who gives refuge to an innovator, and may Allah curse the one who changes the boundary markers."' According to another report, the man said: "Did the Messenger of AUah (g) tell you anything that was for you only?" 'Ali (&) replied: "The 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib Messenger of Allah (g) did not tell us anything that was for us According to a report narrated by Imam Ahmad, 'Ali said: "The Messenger of Allah (s) did not tell me anything in exclusion to other people."672 Bukhari narrated in his sahih that Ahu Juhayfah (&) said: "I said to 'Ali: 'Do you have a document?' He said: 'No, except the Book of Allah or subtle understanding that a Muslim man may be given, or what is in this document.' I said: 'What is in this document?' He said: 'Compensation for death or injury, and ransom of captives, and that no Muslim should he killed in retaliation for a n o n - ~ u s l i m . " ' ~ ~ ~ According to another report, 'Ali was asked: "Do you have anything of the revelation apart from the Book of Allah?' He said: "No, by the One Who split the seed and created the soul, I do not know of anything except understanding that Allah may bestow upon some."674 Ihn Hajar said: "Abu Juhayfah only asked him about that because some of the Shia were claiming that Ah1 dBayt - and especially 'Ali - knew some things that had been revealed that the Prophet (g) had told only to them and not to anyone else."675 Ihn ~ a ~ m i ~ a h ( m a y Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting this hadith: "The documents that are attributed to 'Ali or others of Ah1 alBayt in reports that speak of the future are all lies, such as the document al-Jifr wal-Bitiqah and others.

The same applies to the claim that 'Ali had knowledge that the Prophet (g) taught to him only, to the exclusion of the other Companions, and to the reports narrated from other Companions saying that the Prophet (g) singled him out for teaching esoteric, hidden knowledge of Islam. All of that is false."676 What proves the falseness of these claims is the report narrated by Ibn Sa'd from 'Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn &'Abideen, who said about Sa'eed ibn Jubayr (&): "This man used to come to us, and we would ask him about the shares of inheritance and other things by 'Ali's attitude towards the Khanjites and Shia means of which Allah (g) would benefit us. We do not have what these people say we do - and he pointed towards Iraq."677 It was also narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hanatiyyah warned the Rififi Shia about what they were attributing to him of having special knowledge that the Messenger of Allah (g) had taught only to Ah1 al-Bayt. He said: "By Allah, we did not inherit anything from the Messenger of Allah (&) except what is between the two covers (meaning the ~ u r ' a n ) . " ~ ~ ~ It is narrated in mutawztir reports from Ah1 al-Bayt that they used to say to their supporters: "0 people, love us in accordance with the teachings of Islam, because the way you love us has gone so far that it shames Moreover, in the books of the RiX@ Shia themselves. there is a warning against going to extremes and a rejection of that by Ah1 alBayt. Al-Majlisi narrated, with his chain of narration from 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib (&), that 'Ali said: "Beware of exaggerating about us; say that we are slaves under the dominion of our ~ o r d .

" ~ ~ ~ It was also narrated from 'Ali (&) that he said: "0 Allah, I renounce those who exaggerate about me just as 'Eesa ibn Maryam renounced the Christians. 0 Allah, humiliate them forever and do not support any of them."681 Al-Kulayni narrated, with his chain of narration from Sadeed, that he said: "Abu Bu~ayr, Yahya al-Bazzir, Diwood ibn Katheer and I were in the gathering of Abu Abdullah when he came out to us in a state of anger. When he took his place in the gathering, he said: 'I am astounded by people who claim that we have knowledge of the unseen. No one has knowledge of the unseen except Allah (B). I wanted to hit my slave woman, so-and-so; she ran away, and I did not know in which room of the house she Al-Kashshi narrated that Ahu Busayr said: "I said to Abu Abdullah (~s): 'They are saying ...' He said: 'What are they saying?' I said: 'They are saying that you know the raindrops, the number of the stars, the leaves on 'Ali ibn Abi T&lib the trees, the weight of what is in the sea and the number of particles of soil.' He raised his hand towards the sky and said: 'Glory be to Allah. No, by Allah, no one knows that except ~ l l a h . " ' ~ ~ ~ These are the words of the pure Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt, as stated in the books of the Rififidi Shia themselves; they are innocent of what the Rifi& Shia claim, because the Rifidis are among the most untrnthful of Allah's creation.

Hypocrisy and telling lies are part of their religion. Ibn Taymiyah said that they are among the most mendacious of people with regard to transmitting reports and among the most ignorant of people with regard to reason.684 Thus the Shia are exposed by their own reports, which contradict one another. The reports in which the Imams say that they are the source of provision and rain and so on, which are narrated by the shaykhs of the Twelvers, are left over from the extreme Shias whose views the Imams themselves denounced. According to their reports: "When it was said to Abn Abdullah: 'Al-Mufaddal ibn 'Umar is saying that you determine people's provision,' Abu Abdullah said: 'By Allah, no one determines our provision except Allah. I needed food for my family, and I was worried; I thought about it so much that it dominated my thoughts until I managed to earn some food for them, then I was able to relax. May Allah curse and disavow the one who says that."'685 Nonetheless, these reports are like a white hair on a black bull.

Taqiyyah may be used to interpret any report when the Shiite sbaykhs are not happy with its meaning. For example, listen to what the commentator on al-Kcifi has to say about the words of Abu Abdullah quoted above, when he stated that he was astounded by people who attributed knowledge of the unseen to him, and he refuted that by saying that his slave woman disappeared and he did not even know where she was, so how could it be said of him that he had knowledge of the unseen? The commentator on al-Kifi said: "The aim of XliS attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia expressing his astonishment openly was so that the ignorant would not take him as a god, or to prove to some of the people who were present there and did not recognise his virtue that what was attributed to him of knowledge of the unseen was not true, so as to protect himself. However, he had knowledge of what had happened and what would happen, so how could he not know where his slave woman was? If yon say that his saying this implies that he was telling a lie, I say: It is a lie if he did not intend it to be ambiguous, but he did intend it to he ambiguous, and what he meant was: I do not have any knowledge that did not come to me from Allah that she was in any particular room in the Look at this amazing long-winded effort to refute this report and to prove that the Imam knows what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future! In order to prove that, he accuses the Imam of telling lies, thus demolishing one of their basic principles, namely infallibility.687 Another of their shaykhs, ash-Sha'rini, who commented on this explanation by the author of al-KZB, did not like this longwinded way of interpreting the report, so he decided to reject it in the shortest manner by ruling that this report was a lie.

They spread false rnmonrs like these about the scholars of Ahl al-Bayt, then when members of Ah1 al-Bayt rejected the fabrications of these liars and exposed their falsehood before the people, the Shiite scholars interpreted this rejection and denunciation as being taqiyyah. This became a trick used by the extreme Shia to keep Shiism within the circle of extremism, reject the truth and undermine Ah1 a l - ~ a ~ t . ~ ~ ' Zurirah ihn A'yun claimed that Ja'far ibn Muhammad knew the people of paradise and the people of hell; when Ja'far heard that, he denied it and denounced the one who said it as a disbeliever. Someone told Zurirab about Ja'far's attitnde, and he said: "He used taqiyyah with 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 3.4.9. Their exaggeration in believing that Allah (a) has a physical shape The misguided belief that Allah (g) has a physical shape was well known among the Jews, but the first to introduce it among the Muslims were the Rifidi Shia. Ar-Rki said: "Most of the Jews liken Allah to His creation in physical terns. This belief among Muslims first began with the Rzfidis such as Hishim ibn al-Hakam, Hishim ibn S2im al-Jaw2leeqi, Yoonus ibn 'Ahd ur-Rallrnh al-Qummi and Abu Ja'far a l - & w a ~ .

" ~ ~ ~ All of these men are regarded by the Twelvers as being pioneers among their shaykhs and trustworthy in transmitting their madh-hah.69* Ibn Taymiyah identified the first one who fabricated this idea, saying: "The first one in Islam who is known to have said that Allah has a physical shape was Hishim ibn al-~&am."~~'Those who study different sect? narrated from him and his followers extreme statements, which would make the believers' skin crawl if they were to hear them. 'Abdul-Q%r d-Baghd2di said: "Hishim ibn al-Hakam claimed that his god was a physical being with limits to his physical being, that he was tall and wide and deep, and that he was as tall as he was wide."693 There are very many reports narrated from H i s h h ihn al-Hakam and his followers about extreme views on the belief that Allah has a physical shape; these are narrated in the books on sects and elsewhere.694 Likening Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to His creation is a belief that existed a111ong the Jews and leaked into Shiism. The first one to propagate this idea was Hishim ibn d-Hakam, and he influenced others who are known in the books on sects as misguided, extreme madh-habs belonging to the ~ w e l v e r s . ~ ~ ~ The shaykhs of the Twelvers defended these people despite abundant reports of their misguided notions. Their evil became widespread, and they went to extremes to find an acceptable way to interpret every notorious 'Ali's attih~de towards the Kharijites and Shia statement attributed to them, or they said it was a fabrication.696 It is mentioned in a number of their reports that Hisham ibn d - Hakam and H i s h h ibn S h d-Jawaeeqi played a role in spreading the idea among the Shia that Allah bas a physical shape,697 but the Imams rejected them and their statements. When one of the Shia came to their Imam and told him that be followed the view of Hisbh, their Imam Abu d-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad said: "What do you have to do with the view of H i s h h ? The one who claims that Allah has a physical shape is not one of us, and we have nothing to do with him in this world and in the hereafter."698 Some of their reports mention what they say about Allah (&$ j.

In one, someone699 told Abn Abdullah what one group of Shia believed about Allah having a physical shape. "He said: 'Some of our companions claim that Allah bas an image like that of man.' Another one said that He 'has the image of a beardless man with very curly hair.' Abu Abdullah fell down in prostration, then he raised his head and said: 'Glory be to the One like Whom there is nothing. No vision can grasp Him, and no knowledge can encompass ~ i m . " ' ~ " Tbeir senior scholars went to extremes in understanding the attributes of Allah (g) literally, to the extent that they likened Him to His creation. This constitutes disbelief in Allah ( g j because it is a rejection of the verse in which He (&) says, #There is nothing like HimB (Quran 42: 11). They rejected the attributes that are befitting to Him and ascribed to Him attributes other than those He ascribed to Himself.

They have many reports of this nature.70' This trend towards extremism in understanding the divine attributes literally (by interpreting them as being like the attributes of man) is different from affirming the attributes of Allah (&j and understanding them in an appropriate way, which is the way of the scholars of Ah1 al-Bayt. The Shiite madb-hab split into two 'Ali ibn Abi TZlib competing groups: a group led by Hishh, which believed that Allah has a physical shape, and a group that believed that Allah is above being similar to His creation. The latter is the view of Ah1 al-Bayt, as indicated by the reports of the Shia themselves, as is proven and widely documented in the books of the scholars.702 3.4.10. Their denial of the divine attributes After this going to extremes in interpreting the divine attributes in a literal sense (likening Allah to His creation), the madhhab began to change at the end of the third century AH, when it was influenced by Mutazilite ideas denying some attributes of the Creator (&) that are affirmed in the Quran and Sunnah. The trend towards this denial became stronger in the fourth century AH, when al-Mufeed and his followers like al-Moosawi (who is known as ash-Shareef ar-Raay and Abu Ja'far at-Toosi) began to write books based on the books of the ~utazilites.~~' Much of what they wrote was copied line by line from the commentary of the Mutazilites, such as what they said when interpreting verses of the Quran that speak of the divine attributes, the divine will and decree and so on.704 The one who reads the hooks of the later Shia can hardly see any difference between these books and the books of the Mutazilites on the topic of the divine names and attributes because they claim that reason is their foundation with regard to what they believe concerning these issues. The beliefs of the Mutazilites in this regard were adopted by the later Shiite shaykhs, including the issue of the Quran being created, the idea that the believers will not see their Lord in the hereafter, and denial of the divine attributes.

Moreover, the specious arguments that the Mutazilites developed are the same as those offered by the later Shiite shaykhs. What is different in the Shia books is that the reports denying the divine attributes are attributed to the Imams. They came up with 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia numerous reports about the Imams to support rnis view. They fabricated false reports, which they attributed tc Amir al-Mu'mineen 'ALi (&) and some of the scholars of Ah1 al-Bayt such as Muhammad al-BQir and Ja'far as-Sgdiq, claiming that they denied the divine attributes. Some of their contemporary shaykhs regard this as their basis for denying the divine attributes; one of them wrote under the title Tareeqat Ma'rifat aj-Sif2t (How to know the divine attributes): "Is there any room for further discussion of the divine attributes? Is there any way other than to submit to the word of Amir al-Mn'mineen: 'The highest level of sincerity is to deny that He has any attributes'?"'" In fact, what is proven from Arnir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) and the Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt is that they affirmed the divine attributes, and the reports concerning that are numerous and well proven in the books of the scholars.706 This is also admitted in some reports that exist among the huge accumulation of reports that speak of denying the divine attributes.

A number of their own reports describe the Lord of the Worlds in negative terms, denying that these are attributes of Allah (k). This is notbing new, because this is the way of those who are misguided and have drifted away from the path of the Messengers, such as the philosophers, the Mutazilites and others. Allah (%) sent His Messengers to affirm His attributes in detail and to deny certain things in general terns. The divine attributes are affirmed in detail in the Book of Allah, and other things are denied in general t e r m ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ l l a b (&) says: @here is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the !&Seer) (Quran 42: 11). The denial comes in general terms: "There is nothing like Him." This is the usual way of the Quran in denying. Allah says: dDo you know of any who is similar to Him?) (Quran 19: 65) This means: do you know of any who is like Him, who deserves a name like His?

It was also 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib said that it means: Do you know any competitor who could compete with ~ i m ? ~ " This is the meaning of the report narrated from Ibn 'Abbss: "Do you know of any who is like or similar to Him?"709 AUah (%) also says: 4And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.) (Quran 112: 4) With regard to the affirmation of the divine attributes, this appears in detail: dand He is the AL-Hearer, the Allseer.) (Quran 42: 11) At the end of Soorat al-Hashr, Allah (g) says: dHe is Allah, beside Whom Lci ilhha ill6 Huwa [none has the right to be worshipped but He] the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He is Allah, beside Whom Lri ilciha ill6 Huwa [none has the right to be worshipped hut He], the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! [High is He] above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names.

All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.) (Quran 59: 22-24) There are many other similar verses as well.710 The Shia narrate from their Imams that the Creator cannot be described except in the way He described Him~elf.~" However, the Shia turned away from that just as they turned away from the Book of Allah and from the dictates of reason and common sense, preferring instead the route of mere imitation and picking up the garbage of extinct philosophies. How can any rational person dare to rely - with regard to a matter of the unseen, which there is no way to know in detail except by means of divine texts - on limited rational discussions and flawed ideas, and to refer concerning these issues to the contradictory imagination of human beings and their conflicting concepts?712 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.4.10.a. The issue of the Quran being created The Quran is the word of Allah that was revealed, not created. This is what is indicated by the Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus of the early generation,713 but the Twelvers followed in the footsteps of the Mutazilites with regard to the idea that the Quran is created. Al-Majlisi the Shaykh of the Shia, wrote a chapter in Bihrir al-Anwrir entitled: "The Quran is created."714 In this chapter, he narrated eleven reports; most of them are contrary to what he said, but the shaykhs have their own way of interpreting them, which we will discuss shortly.

The Shiite scholar M+sin aJ-Ameen said: "The Shia and the Mutazilites said: 'The Quran is created."'715 This is based on their denial of the divine amibute of speech and their claim that Allah (&) created speech in some of His creation, such as the hush when He spoke to Moosa, and Jibreel when He sent down the ~ u r ' a n . ~ ' ~ We have quoted above some of what their shaykhs said about this If you refer to the reports that they narrated from Ah1 al-Bayt, you will find that most of them differ from the view of the Shia on this issue. For example, in Tafseer al- 'Ayyrishi, it is narrated from arRida that he was asked about the Quran, and he said: "It is the word of Allah and is not ~reated."~" In at-tawhid by Ihn Biibawayh alQummi, it is recorded that it was said to Abu aJ-Hasan Moosa (4): "0 son of the Messenger of Allah, what do you say about Quran? Those who came before differed concerning it; some people say that it is created, and some say that it is not created." He (&) said: "As for me, I do not say what they say; instead I say that it is the word of Allah (B)."~'~ They have many ~ i m i l a r r e ~ o r t s , ~ ~ ~ hut it may be noted that the ShayWn of the Shia during his lifetime, Ihn Bzbawayh al-Qummi, went in the opposite direction in interpreting these texts. He affirmed that the view of the Imams was: "Saying that the Quran is not 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib created means that it is not a lie (or not made-up), but it does not mean that it is not created (or not brought into being)."721 He also said: "The reason why we refrain from using the word 'created' (maWllooq) is that it could mean false, as in the phrase kaliim maWllooq makdhoob (false, made-up However, the scholars of the pious predecessors, the earliest generations of the righteous followers of Islam, refuted them, saying: "When we say that it is not created, we do not mean thereby that it is not fabricated; suggesting that it is fabricated is blatant disbelief, as any Muslim knows. In fact, the issue here is that they said that it is created in a true sense, and the pious predecessors refuted this view. This is mentioned in many reports narrated from them, and they wrote many hooks about that."723 In Tafseer as-Sir$ al-Mustaqeem, by the Shiite scholar alBuroojoordi, a text is quoted from Ibn Bibawayh in which he interpreted the reports stating that the Quran is not created as being taqiyyah.

He said: "The reason for the Imam not describing the Quran as created is either because of taqiyyah and going along with the people, or it is because saying it is created may be thought to indicate another meaning which was used by the disbelievers when they said: @This is nothing but an invention!% (Quran 38: 7)"724 These shaykhs could not find any other explanation to turn to except suggesting that it was taqiyyah and the like. This method proves that they have no foundation for anything they say. The possibility of taqiyyah in every text has led to great confusion and caused the essence of their madh-hab to he lost, so their religion has become a religion based on the views of al-Majlisi, al-Kulayni or Ibn Bibawayh al-Qummi, not on the reports of the Imams.725 Thus knowledge and tmth were lost because of this crafty method, and the Ummah will remain in a state of division and dispute because of these methods, which are inspired by Satan with his plots. 'Ali's attitude towards the Khanjites and Shia If any of their shaykhs wants to do a favour to the Shia and guide them, he should lead them to the way of the main body of Muslims. He should take from their reports what is in accordance with the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (@J, and the way of the noble Companions and scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah walJamii'ah, and he should get rid of the devious ideas of al-Qummi, dKulayni and al-Majlisi. The Imams themselves complained about many people fabricating lies about them, to the extent that they said: "The people are fond of telling lies about If you want to apply this method of finding the reports of Ah1 as-Sunnah that are in harmony with reports of the Shia from Ah1 dBayt concerning this issue, you will fmd that the books of the Shia include (as we have seen above) reports from Ah1 al-Bayt stating that the Word of Allah was revealed, not created, and the books of Ah1 asSnnnah say the same thing.

It was narrated by Bukhari in Kitrib Af'cil al-'~brid:~~ Ibn Abi ~2timy'' Ahu Sa'eed ad-Dzmi, al-Ljurri in ~sh-~haree'ah,~'~ al-Bayhaqi in AZ-lftiqcid 730 and in Al-Asma' Wafal-Lilki'i in Sharh U~ool Z'tiqcid Ah1 a s - ~ u n n a h ~ ~ ~ and Abu D2wood in Masti'il al-Imam ~ h r n a d ~ ~ ~ that Ja'far as-S2diq said, when he was asked about the Quran: "It is neither a creator nor created." Ibn Taymiyah said: "There are abundant reports to that effect from ~a'far."~~~ So why not adopt the reports that are common to both Sunnis and Shia, forsaking the falsehood that has nothing to support it except the views of shaykhs who want to cause division and disputes in the Ummah? These shaykhs strive to be odd and to isolate their groups so that they will have the opportunity to accumulate huge amounts of money in the name of the one-fifth, to attain social status, and to be regarded as 'holy men' on the basis of being the deputies of the hidden Imam. For these reasons, they persisted in confirming the view that "Whatever is different from the masses is a sign of guidance":35 referring thereby to Ah1 as-Sunnah walJam2'ah. 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib The reports narrated in the books of the Shia that state that the Quran was revealed, not created, represent the views of the earliest ~ h i a ~ ~ ~ because the idea that the Quran is createdis the innovation of the later ~ h i a . " ~ ~ The belief that the Quran is revealed, not created, is what is proven from Ahl al-Bayt. No one among the Imams of Ah1 alBayt, such as 'Ali ibn al-eusayn, Abu Ja'far al-Biqir and his son Ja'far ibn Muhammad, suggested that the Quran was created, but the Imami Shia went against Ahl al-Bayt in this as in the majority of their fundamental Is it not sufficient, to highlight the conuption of their madh-bab, to note that it is contrary to what Ahl al-Bayt believed and contrary to their reports that are agreement with reports of Ah1 as-Snnnah, and that all their reports are c o n t r a d i c t o ~ ~ ? ~ ~ ~ The belief of Ah1 as-Sunnah wal-Jamg'ah with regard to this issue is that the Quran is the word of Allah (&) and that it came from Him, without discussing how, in the form of words.

It came down to His Messenger as revelation, and the believers believed in it and were certain that it was the word of Allah (&)in a true sense, not something created like the words of people. Whoever hears it and claims that it is the word of a human being has committed an act of disbelief and is condemned by Allah and promised hell. Allah (&) says: 41 will cast him into hellfire# (Quran 74: 26). Allah has promised hell to those who say: @This is nothing but the word of a human being!) (Quran 74: 25) Therefore we know for certain that it is the word of the Creator of mankind and is not like human speech.740 3.4.10.b. The issue of seeing Allah (g) The Imami Shia, because of their agreement with the Mutazilikes, say that Allah (%) will not be seen. They narrated numerous reports, which were mentioned by Ibn Bgbawayh in his book At-tawhid and most of which were also compiled by the author of Bihrir al-Anwrir, denying what is mentioned in the texts about the believers seeing their Lord in the hereafter.

'Ali's attitude towards the Khurijites and Shia For example, they fabricated a report saying that Abu Ahdullah Ja'far as-S2diq was asked about Allah (s): ''Will He be seen in the hereafter?" and he replied: "Glorified and exalted be He far above that; vision can only grasp that which has colour and shape, and Allah is the Creator of colours and shapes."741 Their shaykh and 'Ayatollah' Ja'far an-Najafi, the author of Kashf al-Ghaca', said: "If someone ascribes some attributes to Allah, such as saying that He could he seen, he is to be regarded as an apostate."742 Al-Hnrr d - ' k i l i regarded denying that the believers will see Allah as one of the fundamentals of the Imams; he wrote a chapter entitled "No eye can see Allah, and no vision can encompass Him in this world or in the hereafter."743 Their denial that the believers will see their Lord in the hereafter is contrary to what is stated in the Shariah text and is also contrary to the madh-hah of Ah1 d-Bayt, as some of their reports admit. Ibn B2bawayh al-Qummi narrated from Abu Busayr that he said to Abu Ahdullah: "Tell me about Allah, may He be glorified and exalted: will the believers see Him on the Day of Resurrection?" He said: "Yes, seeing [Allah] is the right of the people of paradise, who will see Him without encompassing Him and without knowing how, as it says in the Book of our Lord, such as the verses in which Allah (&) says: &Some faces that Day shall be Nidirah [shining and radiant]. Looking at their Lord [Allahlb (Quran 75: 22-23) and (There they will have all that they desire - and We have more [for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic]) (Quran 50: 35). Anas ibn M%ik (&) said: 'This means looking upon the . . countenance of Allah Allah (%) also says: (For those who have done good is the best reward and even more [i.e. having the honour of glancing at the countenance of mah]b (Quran 10: 26). The 'best reward' is paradise, and 'even more' is gazing upon His noble countenance. It was 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib explained in this way by the Messenger of Allah (g) and the Companions after him.

Muslim narrated in his sahih that Suhayb said that the Messenger of Allah (a) recited the verse, $For those who have done good is the best reward and even more [i.e. having the honour of glancing at the countenance of Allah]), (Quran 10: 26), then he said: "When the people of paradise have entered paradise, Allah (&) will say: 'Do you want anything more?' They will say: 'Have You not brightened our faces and admitted us to paradise and saved us from the fire?' Then He will remove the veil, and they will not be given anything that is dearer to them than gazing upon their Lord (3g)."745 And AUah (&) says: $Nay! Surely, they [evil doers] will be veiled from seeing their Lord that ~ a y . ) , (Quran 83: 15) Ash-Shifa'i and other scholars use this verse as evidence that the people of paradise will see their Lord. At-Tabari and others narrated from 2-Muzani from ashShifafa'i, and 2-H&m said: AlA~amm told us that ar-Rabee' ibn Sulaym2.n said: "I was with Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shifa'i, who had received a letter from Upper Egypt that said: 'What do you think about the verse in which Allah (s) says: $Nay! Surely, they [evil doers] will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day?), (Quran 83: 15)' Ash-Shifa'i (may AUah have mercy on him) said: 'Since they will be screened away because of [Allah's] wrath, that indicates that His close friends will see Him because He is pleased with them."'746 With regard to the hadiths from the Prophet (sj and his Companions indicating that the believers will see Him, they are mutawgtir reports which were narrated by the authors of the sound collections of h a d i t h ~ . ~ ~ ~ The Companions, the Tiibi'oon, the well known, prominent scholars of Islam, and all the philosophical groups that claim to belong to Ah1 as-Sunnah wal-Jamz'ah c o n h e d that the believers will see their ~ord.'~' 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.4.11. Their giving the Imams precedence over the prophets and Messengers The Messengers are the best of mankind and the most deserving of being bearers of the message. Allah prepared them to reach the highest level of servitude, conveying the message, calling people and striving in jihad. dAllah knows best with whom to place His Message& (Quran 6: 124).

They are distinguished by the fact that they, out of all mankind, attained the position of ~ e s s e n g e r , ~ ~ ~ and AUah enjoined mankind to follow them: BWe sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allah's leave,& (Quran 4: 64). No one among mankind is to be given precedence over them. At-Tahhiwi said, explaining the beliefs of Ah1 as-Sunnah: "We do not give precedence to any one of the close friends of Allah over any one of the Prophets (EL),). We say: One Prophet is better than all the close friends of ~ l l a h . " ' ~ ~ Giving precedence to the Imams over the Prophets is the way of the extreme Rifi&s, as was pointed out by 'Abdul-Q& a l - ~ a ~ h d a d i , ~ ~ ' al-Qidi and Ibn ~ a ~ m i ~ a h . ~ ~ ~ This particular view became one of the fundamentals of the Twelvers. The author of al-Was6'il stated that giving precedence to the Imams over the Prophets is one of the fundamentals of the Shiite madh-hab, which they attribute to the Imams.

He also said that the reports that they have concerning this are innumerable.754 In BiGr al-Anwrir, alMajlisi wrote a chapter entitled "Giving them (m) precedence over the Prophets and all of mankind" in which it says that Allah took a covenant from the Prophets and from the angels and all of creation, and that the Messengers of strong will only attained that status because of their love for the Imams.755 This view on which the Twelver madh-hab finally settled went through changes and alterations that took it in the direction of extremism. With regard to the issue of giving the Prophets precedence over the 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 4 71 Imams, the Shia were divided into three groups, as al-Ash'ari said: (i) The first group believed that the Prophets are better than the Imams, and some of them said that it is possible for the Imams to be better than the angels, (ii) The second group claimed that the Imams are better than the Prophets and the angels (iii)The third group adopted the Mutazilite madb-hab but believed in imamate; they said that the angels and Prophets are better than the ~ m a m s . ~ ' ~ In Awri'il al-Maqaq8lrit, al-Mufeed added a fourth group who believe in the superiority of the Imams over all of the Prophets except for the five Messengers of strong He does not state which of these views he regards as most correct; be simply says the matter needs further examinati~n.~'~ It seems that all of these groups were weakened as a result of the efforts of the shaykhs of the Safavid state and those who followed them, and the madh-hab settled on extreme views with regard to the Imams, to the extent that al-Majlisi said in the chapter in Bih6r al-Anwrir that he wrote for this purpose: "The Messengers of strong will only became Messengers of strong will because of their love for the Imams, blessings of Allah be upon them."759 / However, the one who refers to the Book of Allah (B) will find that there is no mention of their twelve Imams, let alone any suggestion that they are given precedence over the Prophets and Messengers of AUah. He will also notice that the Prophets, because of their higher status, are given precedence over others of the righteous slaves of Allah who are mentioned. AUah (s) says: (They will be in the company of those on whom AUah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon [those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu 'Ali's attitude towards the Khawites and Shia Bakr as-Siddeeq], the martyrs, and the righteous# (Quran 4: 69). AUah (s) listed His blessed slaves in four categories.760 The Book of Allah, in all its verses, indicates that the Prophets are chosen above all others.761 The people of the best three generations were unanimously agreed on the superiority of the Prophets over all others, and their consensus is binding proof. Ibn Taymiyah said: "The early generations (pious predecessors) of the Ummah, its leading scholars and the close friends of Allah (B) were unanimously agreed that the Prophets are superior to the close friends of Allah (&) who are not Reason also clearly indicates that a Prophet is in a position whereby he must be obeyed; his commands, prohibitions and rulings must be heeded, with no restrictions.

The fact that the Imam is a deputy and a follower cannot make sense unless he is of lower status than the Prophet. This is applicable to every Prophet and is not applicable to any of the Imams, so there is no Imam at all who is better than a Prophet; that is impossible.763 Moreover, there is repofled in the books of the Shia themselves a report which is in accordance with the texts, scholarly consensus and common sense, and which contradicts this odd view. This report, narrated by al-Kulayni from H i s h h al-Ahwal from Zayd ibu 'Ali, says that the Prophets are superior to the Imams and that anyone who says otherwise is misguided.764 Ibn Biibawayh narrated from as-Siidiq that the Prophets are more beloved to Allah (&) than is 'Ali (&). 765 3.5. The attitude of the Imami Shia towards the Noble Qufan The Imami Shiite belief and the attempt to defend it had a great impact in motivating some of the Shia to adopt dangerous ideas about 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib the Quran, Sunnah and Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). They doubted the Quran, rejected many of the proven hadiths, and impugned and condemned the Companions, claiming that they deliberately lied and distorted the Book of Allah. 3.5.1. The belief among some of them that the Book of Allah was distorted, and refutation of their claim Some of the R2fidi Shia claimed'that the noble Quran was distorted and that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) omitted some soorahs and many verses that were revealed.

These were supposedly about the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt; they say that they enjoined following them, forbade going against them, enjoined love of them, listed the names of their enemies and impugned and cursed those enemies. The Shia accuse the Companions of omitting from the Quran, among other things, the phrase "and We have made 'Ali your son-in-law" from Soorat ash-Sharh; this would suggest that 'Ali is the only son-in-law of the Messenger (g), to the exclusion of 'Uthrniin. They were ignorant of the fact that this surah was revealed in Ma!&&, so 'Ali was not the son-in-law of the Messenger (s) at the time it was revealed; the fact is that Ali married Fitimah in Madinah, after the battle of Badr, as we have seen above. The Shia also think that among the material omitted from the Quran is what they call 'the chapter of imamate', which they claim is a lengthy surah in which the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt are Thus most of the claims of this group of Shia about the Quran are based on these ideas. They do not deny any of its rulings or principles, but their view focuses on the alleged omission of some verses that speak of the imamate of 'Ali and the Imams after him. These fabrications against the noble Quran were repeated by a number of Imami Shiite scholars, foremost among whom was their 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia famous 'Hujjah' Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ya'qoob al-Kulayni (d. 329 AH).

He was the author of al-K6fi, which is regarded by the Shia as being as authentic to the same degree that the book of Bukhari is regarded by Ahl as-Sunnah as authentic. The Shiite author of Tafseer as-Sifi says: "It seems that 'the trustworthy of Islam' Muhammad ibn Ya'qoob al-Kulayni (may All& have mercy on him) also believed that the Quran had been distorted and some things omitted from it, because he narrated several reports to that effect in his book al-K63, and he did not comment by suggesting that they were flawed or criticising them; on the contraq, he said at the beginning of his book that he tmsted everything he narrated in it."767 This book of al-Kulayni's is full of these deviant claims, which are basically aimed at affirming the imamate of 'Ali ibn Abi T%b (&) and the Imams who came after him. For example, al-Kulayni narrated from Abu Busayr from Abu Abdullah concerning the verse (And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger) (Quran 33: 71) that with regard to the imamate of 'Ali and the Imams after him, (he has indeed achieved a great achievement) (Quran 33: 71). He claimed that the phrase 'with regard to the imamate of 'Ali and the Imams after him' was part of the original revelation.768 He also narrated from J2bir that Abu Ja'far (!@) said: "Why is 'Ali ibn Abi Taib called Amir al-Mu'mineen?" He said: "Allah called him that, and this is how it was revealed in His Book: 'And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): Am I not your Lord, and is not Muhammad My Messenger, and is not 'Ali Amir alMu'mineen?"'769 Al-Kulayni also narrated that m a d ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr said: "Abu al-Hasan was given a mushaf, and he said: 'Do not look in it.' So I opened it and read, (Those who disbelieve from 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib among the people of the Scripture [Jews and Christians] and AlMushrikoon were not going to leave [their disbelief] until there came to them clear evidence) (Quran 98: I), and I found written in the surah seventy men of Quraysh, mentioned by their names and the names of their fathers. He sent the mu~haf to me.'2770 Al-Kulayni claimed that no one compiled the Quran in totality except the Imams, who know it in its entirety; no one preserved it or memorised it as it was revealed except 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib (&) and the Imams after him. This lie, which connected the compilation of the Quran to 'Ali (&>), was repeated elsewhere.

The author of al-Ihtijcij suggested that when the Messenger (g) died: " 'Ali (,@) collected the Quran and brought it to the Muhijireen and Ansir and showed it to them, because the Prophet (g) had instructed him to do that. When Abu Bakr opened it, on the first page he opened there appeared the evil deeds of the people. 'Umar jumped up and said: '0 'Ali, take it away, we have no need of it.' So 'Ali took it and went away. Then they brought Zayd ibn Thibit, who knew the Quran well, and 'Umar said to him: "Ali brought the Quran, and in it were the evil deeds of the Muhzjireen and An$&. We thought that we should compile the Quran and omit from it what it contained of evil deeds and exposure of the Muhijireen and An$&.' Zayd agreed to that, then he said: 'If I complete my task of compiling the Quran as you asked, and 'Ali tells the people about the Quran that he has compiled, won't all your efforts be in vain?' 'Umar said: 'What should we do then?' Zayd said: 'You know best what to do.' 'Umar said: 'Tbere is no option but to kill him and get rid of him.' They tried to kill him at the hand of Khgid ibn d-Wdeed, but were not able to do that."771 Undoubtedly, reports like this are the fabrication of sick and corrupt minds that want to accuse the Companions of distorting the Quran and conspiring to deprive 'Ali of the position of Imam of the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Muslims. When the fabricator of this report tries to praise him, he actually undermines him, because he describes him as keeping quiet when the Companions refused to accept his Quran.

How can this he in accordance with the heroic attitude of 'Ali (&) in defending Islam? The words of 'Ali (&) himself refute all this nonsense: "The greatest in reward with regard to the mu~haf is Ahu Bakr (&). May Allah have mercy on Abu B k ; he was the first one to compile what is between the two covers (meaning the ~ur'an)."~~' Al-Kulayni did not stop there, though. He went on to attribute these fabrications and false claims about the distortion of the Quran to Ja'far as-Szdiq, claiming that he said: "The Quran that was brought down by revelation to Muhammad was seven thousand verses, and the verses that we recite are only 6,263; the rest are kept with Ahl a l - ~ a ~ t . " ~ ~ ~ Al-Kulayni claims that as-Siidiq said, concerning the Quran that was collected by 'Ali ihn Abi TSih, "It was said to be three times greater than this Quran of yours, and by Allah, there is not even one letter of your Quran in it."774 They also say that "Fiitimah (F&) lived for seventy-five days after the Prophet (s) died, sufferinggrief such as only Allah (B) knows. Allah (s) sent Jibreel to her to console her and comfort her, and to tell her about her father and what would happen to her children.

'Ali (&) listened to what he said until he wrote down a mushafthree times the size of the Quran, in which there was nothing about haliil and h a r k , but it did contain knowledge of what is to happen."775 Another Shiite scholar, 'Ali ibn braeem, reiterated the same claims that were mentioned by al-Kulayni. Muhammad Muhsiu, who is known as al-Fayd al-Kashshi, narrated from him in his commentary on the Quran and said: "What we may learn from the reports narrated via Ah1 al-Bayt is that the Quran that is extant among us is not complete as it was revealed to Muhammad. Some of 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib it is different from what Allah (B) revealed, some of it has been distorted and changed, and many things have been omitted from it, such as the name of 'Ali in many places, the phrase 'the family of Muhammad' more than once, the names of the hypocrites in several places, and other things. It is not in the order that is pleasiug to Allah and His Messenger." The same view was also held by 'Ali ibn Ibriheem, who is known as al-Qummi, who wrote a commentary that is filled with these claims and exaggerations, and he started to wtite nonsense and claimed that there are verses concerning the appointment of 'Ali to the imamate that have been erased.776 The author of Baf&'ir ad-Darajit, as-Safir, said, claiming that his chain of narration went back to Abu Ja'far: "No one can claim to have collected the entire Quran, physicaUy and with the proper understanding, except for the 11nams."~~~ It was also narrated that he said: "Anyone who says that he compiled the entire Quran as Allah (&) revealed it is a liar. No one compiled it or memorised it as it was revealed except 'Ali ibn Abi TZlib and the Imams after him."778 In Tafseer al- 'AyBshi it is narrated from Abu Abdullah: "If the Quran were recited as it was revealed, you would find us named in it."779 In the same hook, it is also narrated from Abu Ja'far: "Were it not for the fact that things have been added to and taken away from the Book of Allah, our rights would not be hidden from anyone who has any sense."780 There are many reports in the books of the RZfidi Sbia which clearly state that the Quran is distorted, and their senior scholars spoke of the great number of such reports, reaching the level of being mutawZhr. Al-Mufeed said: "There are abundant reports from the Imams of guidance, who are of the family of Muhammad (B), that speak of the distortion of the Quran and what some of the wrongdoers did in terms of omitting and taking away."781 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Hishim a l - ~ ~ i , ~ ~ ~ one of their senior interpreters of Quran, says: "It should be noted that the fact which no one can ignore, on the basis of the mutawikir reports we have and others, is that this Quran that we have was subjected to a great many changes after the Messenger of Allah (g) died.

Those who compiled it after he was gone omitted many words and verses."783 He also says: "This issue (the distortion of the Quran) is so clear to me, after examining the reports, that we could rule that this view is one of the fundamentals of Shiism and one of the greatest supports for the belief in imamate."784 Ni'matnllah al-~azi?iri~~~ said: 'The reports that point to this (distortion of the Quran) are more than two thousand hadith, and several scholars claimed that they (these reports) are abundant in number, such as al-Mufeed, al-Muhaqqiq ad-Dhid and al-'AUhah a l - ~ a j l i s i . " ~ ~ ~ It is the view of their senior scholars that the reports in their books which claim that the Quran has been distorted and altered are abundant, to the level of being mutawitir, and that the number of these reports reaches into the thousands. For this reason, some of the scholars stated with certainty that this belief is one of the fundamentals of their madh-hab and the greatest support for the belief in imamate. In addition to the thousands of reports in their books which claimed that the Quran has been distorted, this corrnpt belief is confirmed in the views of their scholars, their ideologues and those individuals who are considered qualified to exercise ijtihid. We do not have enough room here to quote all of them, but I shall refer to those who stated that there was consensus on this matter among their senior scholm. Al-Mufeed says: "They (the Imami Shia) are agreed that the leaders of misguidance tampered with a great deal of the Quran, and they changed it from the way it was revealed and the Sunnah of the 'Ali ihn Ahi Trilib Prophet (&).

The Mutazilites, Kharijites, Murja'is and Sunnis all agreed on a view different from that of the Imami Shia in all that we have mentioned."787 An-Noon at-Tubrusi (d. 1320 AH), one of their senior scholars in later times, wrote a huge volume called Fasl al-Khitcib fi Zthbcit Tahreef Kitcib Rabb al-Arbcib (The Ultimate Proof of the Distortion of the Book of the Lord of Lords) to prove the R2fidi Shiite claims about the ~ur'an.~" He began with three introductions, followed by two chapters entitled: "On the evidence for the distortion of the Quran" and "Refutation of those among the Ummah who say that the Quran is sound." In his book, at-Tnbrusi quoted thousands of reports to show that the Quran has been distorted as they claim. The first chapter is composed of twelve sections; in the last two sections alone, he quotes 1602 reports. This is in addition to what he quoted in the other sections of this chapter, in the three introductions and in the second chapter. Apologising for the small number of reports that he had collected, he said: "We are quoting reports to support the idea even though we do not know about all the reports."7x9 To prove the authenticity of these reports, he wrote: "It should be noted that these reports are transmitted from the reliable books that our scholars refer to in order to decide about Shariah rulings and the Prophet's ~unnah."~~' After including a long list of names of their scholars who believe that the Quran has been distorted, a list that took up to five pages of his book, he said: "On the basis of the names that I have listed, even though I cannot claim that I included everyone, we can claim that this view is the prominent view among the earlier scholars, and those who differed with them are limited to a few individuals whom we shall mention be~ow."'~' Then he said that those who held a different view were: as-Sadooq, al-Murta&i and Shaykb at-Tiifah at-Toosi. He said: "No one among the earlier scholars is known to have agreed with them."792 'Ali's attitude towards the Khurijites and Shia He said that at-Tubmsi, the author of Mujma' al-Bayin, followed the view of these earlier scholars and that up until his time, no different view was known except from these four ~ h a ~ k h s . ~ Then he tried to find an excuse to explain why these scholars did not affm that the Quran has been distorted; he claimed that it was a matter of taqiyyah and 'appeasing the other group' (meaning the Sunnis). He said, excusing at-Toosi for what he narrated in his book at-Tibycin about the Quran not having been distorted: "It is no secret to the one who examines the book at-Tibycin that the author's approach is clearly trying his utmost to appease the other group (the Sunnis).

This would be very strange were it not the case that he is trying to appease them."794 An-Noon at-Tubrnsi was preceded in hying to find excuses for the scholars by Ni'matullah al-Jazsiri who said, after narrating that there was consensus among the Imami scholars that the Quran had been distorted: "Yes, al-Muma, a.-Sadooq and Shaykh atTubrnsi held a different view and stated that what is between the two covers of this mushaf is the Quran and nothing else, and that no distortion or alteration has affected it. It seems that they said this for a number of reasons such as: to leave no excuse for anyone to undermine the Quran by saying that if it is possible for that to happen to the Quran, then how is it permissible to follow its teachings and mlings when it is possible that it has been distorted? How could these prominent scholars narrate in their books many reports saying that these things happened to the Quran and that suchand-such a verse was revealed and then changed?"795 Thus it seems that the belief that the Quran has been distorted, altered and changed is one on which all RZfidi Shiite scholars agree. That is what at-Tubrnsi established in Fa$ al-Khitrib, and it is indicated by the previous statements of their senior scholars. None of their scholars disagreed about this belief until the time when Fasl al- 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib Khi@b was written, apart from four of them, and the reason for that is given as taqiyyah and seeking to appease the Sunnis, according to what was stated by at-Tubrnsi and al-JazViti before him. This has been proven by contemporary research that examined this issue and supported this view by quoting from the Shiite reports a great deal of evidence that illustrates their belief that the Quran was distorted and that is mentioned in the books of these four ~ h a ~ k h s . ~ ~ ~ This proves that these four also believed in this idea and agreed with what all other RZdi Shiite scholars believe about the Quran having been distorted, even though they stated otherwise for the purpose of taqiyyah, hypocrisy and deceiving Ah1 a s - ~ u n n a h . ~ ~ ~ The proof for what I am saying is the fact that none of those who claimed that the Quran was distorted were subject to any criticism from the Shia.

For example, al-Kulayni is still respected, trusted and honoured, and he is the primary religious authority for all Shia today. Even though the contemporary Shia say that they deny the idea of the Quran having been distorted or of anything having been added or subtracted, we do not find any of them refuting alKulayni in a clear manner, or expressing distrnst in him or rejecting his view on this issue. In fact, some have tried in a twisted manner to defend him and find excuses for him.798 If these people are sincere, then they have to disavow anyone who says that the noble Quran has been distorted, and they should not hesitate to regard as a disbeliever anyone who denies a single word of the Quran. They should realise that denying some of it is like denying all of it, because that is clearly undermining what is proven from the Prophet (g) and what is the foundation of Islam, according to all Muslims. The noble Quran is the divine Book that has not been subjected to any alteration or change because Allah (&) promised and guaranteed to preserve it, unlike the Torah and Gospel. Allah 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia (iE) did not guarantee to preserve them; He made it the responsibility of the people, but they neglected their duty.

Ash-Shicibi narrated from Abu 'Umar ad-Dhi that Abu d-Hasan al-Munt2b said: "I was with d-Qi& Abu Ishiq Ismi'eel ibn Ishiq one day, and it was said to him: 'Why was it possible for the people of the Torah to alter it and not possible for the people of the Quran?' Al-Qidi said: 'AUah (B) says concerning the people of the Torah: %For to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's BookB (Quran 5: 44), so He delegated the preservation of it to them; hence alteration was possible in their case. And Allah (%) says: #Verily We: it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr [i.e. the Quran] and surely, We will guard it [from conuption]) (Quran 15: 9). So it is not possible for anyone to alter it.' 'Ali (&) said: 'I went to Abu Abdullah al-Muhbili and told him what I had heard, and he said: "I have never heard anything better than this.""'799 The Ummah throughout the ages has agreed that the noble Quran that Allah (B) revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (g) is the Quran that is now extant among the Muslims; nothing has been added or taken away, and nothing has been changed or altered. It is not possible for anything of that nature to happen to it because of the promise from AUah (&) to preserve and protect it. No one disagrees with this except the R%i& Shia who claimed that the noble Quran has been subjected to distortion, changes and alterations and that the Companions are the ones who distorted the Quran for their own worldly interests. This belief of theirs is false, and there is evidence from the noble Quran, the words of the Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt and common sense.

We will discuss this in detail: 3.5.1.a. Evidence from the Noble Quran The verses which clearly state that Allah (&) has guaranteed to preserve the Quran and that it cannot be subjected to any distortion or alteration are numerous and include the following: 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib $Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr [i.e. the Quran] and surely, We will guard it [from cormption].) (Quran 15: 9) (And recite what has been revealed to you [0 Mnhammad] of the Book [the Quran] of your Lord [i.e. recite it, understand and follow its teachings and act on its orders and preach it to men]. None can change His Words, and none will you find as a refuge other than Him.$ (Quran 18: 27) (Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, [it is] sent down by the AU-Wise, Worthy of all praise.) (Quran 41: 42) alif-Um-Meem. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran and none but AUah (Alone) knows their meanings.] This is the Book [the Quran], whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqoon [the pious].$ (Quran 2: 1-2) $Alif-Lh-Ri [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. [This is] a Book, the Verses whereof are perfected [in evev sphere of knowledge], and then explained in detail from One [AUah], Who is All-Wise WellAcquainted [with all things1.B (Quran 11: 1) (Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before you but when he did recite the Revelation or narrated or spoke, Satan threw [some falsehood] in it. But Allah abolishes that which Satan throws in. Then AUah establishes His Revelations. And Allah is All-Knower, AUwise.) (Quran 22: 52) (Move not your tongue concerning [the Quran, 0 Muhammad] to make haste therewith.

It is for Us to collect it and to give you [O Muhammad] the ability to recite it [the Quran].) (Quran 75: 16-17) These verses clearly indicate that Allah (&) is preserving His Book and confirming its verses, that no falsehood can come to it from 'Ali's attitude towards the Kha+tes and Shia before it or behind it, and that (Allah's Promise is the Truth; and whose words can be truer than those of Allah?% (Quran 4: 122). These verses, which state that Allah (&) will preserve His Book and protect it from distortion or alteration, are so clear that there is no need for further explanation or clarification. Similarly, Allah (&)praises the Companions (may Allah he pleased with them) in the noble Quran, which confirms that what the Rifi& Shia claim about their having distorted the Quran is a lie.800 Allah 1%) says: B ~ n d the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muh2jirCm and the An& and also those who followed them exactly [in Faith]. Allah is wellpleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow [paradise], to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.) (Quran 9: 100) (Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave the Bay'ah [pledge] to you [0 Muhammad] under the tree, He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down As-Sakeenah [calmness and tranquillity] upon them, and He rewarded them with a near victory.8 (Quran 48: 18) There are other verses as well that praise the Companions; we will discuss and explain them in more detail below.

After quoting these two types of verses (those that speak of the Quran being protected from distortion and those that contain praise for the Companions), we say to the RZfidi Shia: Your view that the Quran has been distorted is contradicted by these verses in which Allah (&.) co~ltirms that this Quran has not been distorted and will never he distorted because He is the One who has guaranteed to preserve it and protect it from distortion and alteration. He also praised in the highest terms the Companions of His Prophet (g), whom you have accused of distorting the Quran; He described them as having been sincere and having believed in Allah and His 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib Messenger. So you have one of two options with regard to these verses: 1) You admit and acknowledge that these verses came from Allah (&), in which case you have no choice but to accept and believe what these verses indicate, namely the soundness of the noble Quran and its being free of any distortion or alteration; or 2) You deny that it is from AUah (s), which is disbelief in Allah because the one who denies a single verse of the Quran and believes that it cannot be soundly atbibuted to Allah is a disbeliever, according to the consensus of all ~ u s l i m s . ~ ~ ' 3.5.1.b. Evidence from the words of their Imams There are many reports from their Imams, whom they regard as infallible, in which they urge the Shia to adhere to the Book of Allah and to refer everything to the Quran and Sunnah. One of these reports says that Moosa ihn Ja'far was asked: "Do you find everything you need in the Quran and Sunnah, or do you have your own opinions?" He replied: "No, everything is in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (@)."802 It was narrated that Ahdullah said: "Whoever goes against the Book of AUah and the Sunnah of His Prophet Muhammad (g) is a disbeliever."803 It was narrated from Ahu Ja'far that he said: "Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, has not omitted anything the Ummah needs hut He has revealed it in His Book and explained it to His Messenger (@). He has set a limit for all things and sent proof to indicate it."8M It ww narrated that Abu Abdullah said: "There is nothing but there is something in the Quran or Sunnah about it."805 The one who studies these reports will learn two important things: 'Ali's anitude towards the Khari~ites and Shia *' The Imams of AN al-Bayt, like others of the early generations of this Ummah, believed in the soundness of the noble Qnr'an; otherwise they would not have asked their followers to adhere to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (B) and rejected everything else.

Moreover, they told them that there is nothing that is not addressed in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah, and they said that they did not have anything that was not in these two sources. *:* There are reports attributed to the Imams that say that the Quran wwas distorted, but they did not actually say that. They are innocent of it and have nothing to do with those who fabricated these reports.'06 3.5.l.c. Rational evidence Just as the reports of the Quran and Sunnah show that the claims of the R=&s about the distortion of the noble Quran are false, reason also indicates that these claims are false. That is because of the serious implications of saying that the Quran has been distorted; it implies slander against Allah (B) and against the Prophet (g) and his Companions (&), as well as the pure Imams of Ah1 alBayt. It is a slander against h a h (&) because it implies that He did not keep his promise to protect the Qnr'an - exalted be Allah far above that. It is a slander against the Prophet (g) because it implies that he did not convey the noble Quran completely, that he told many verses to 'Ali (&) only and not to anyone else.

It is a slander against the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), whom the R s d i Shia accuse of distorting the Qnr'an for their own interests. It is a slander against 'Ali and the Imams who came after him because it implies that they did not convey to the people the Quran that they had, and they did not call the the people to it. That constitutes concealing the Book of Allah, and Allah (&) wamed 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib against that: (Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers. B (Quran 2: 159) If the R%i& Shia accepted only rational evidence, then the negative implications resulting from this foul belief would have been the greatest deterrent. It would have compelled them to give up this belief and repent to Allah (s) from everything that they have fabricated against Him, His Prophet (@), the noble Companions of His Prophet and the pure Ah1 al-~a~t.'" 3.5.2. Their belief that the Q d a n is not binding proof (meaning that it is invalid) unless the one who is in charge of it is present Al-Kulayni, the author of Urool al-K@?, which for the Shia is like Sahih Bukhari is for Ah1 as-~unnah,'~' nmated: 'The Quran is not binding proof unless the one who is in charge of it is present.

'Ali (4) was in charge of the Quran, and obedience to him was obligatory, and he was the proof against the people after the Messenger of ~llah." '09 This view is to be found in a number of their main books, such as Rijcil al-~ashshi,~'~ 'Zlal ash-~hara^'i,8~' al- ~ a h & s i s i n , ~ ~ ~ Wask'il auh-~hi'ah~'~ and others. How can such a thing be said of the Book of Allah (%), which He revealed as guidance to mankind, saying: (Verily, this Quran guides to that which is most just and right) (Quran 17: Y)? The Rightly Guided Caliph 'Ali (&) said: "The Book of Allah contains stories of what came before you, news of what is to come after you and rulings to judge between you; it is serious and not in jest. Any tyrant who abandons it, Allah will destroy him; whoever seeks guidance in anything other than it, AUah will send him astray. It is the strong rope, the wise reminder and the straight path. It is that 'Ali's attitude towards the Khurijites and Shia which cannot be affected by whims and desires.

Tongues will not stumble over it, its wonders will never end and the people of knowledge will never tire of it. The one who quotes from it will be speaking the truth, the one who acts upon it will be rewarded, the one who judges in accordance with it will be just, and the one who calls others to it will guide them to a straight path."814 Ibn 'Abbis (&) said: "Allah makes a guarantee to the one who reads the Quran and acts upon it that be will not go astray in this world and will not be doomed in the hereafter." Then he recited this verse: (He [Allah] said: 'Get you down [from the paradise to the earth], both of yon, together, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance he shall neither go astray, nor shall be distressed.'b (Quran 20: 123) In the Shias' own books, in their most reliable sources, there are reports narrated from Ah1 al-Bayt that contradict this view of theirs. For example: "When you become confused by turmoils Wte pieces of black night, then refer to the Quran, for it will be an intercessor whose intercession will be accepted; whoever follows it, it will lead him to paradise, but whoever puts it behind his back, it will drive him to hell. And it is the guide to the best way."815 In Nalzj al-BalZghah, which is attributed to 'Ali (&) and considered one of their most hvstworthy references, it says: "The Quran commands and rebukes, is silent yet speaks, and it is the proof of Allah (s) against His creation."816 There are other texts that support these reports and highlight the extent of the contradiction and confusion found in the sources of these people. Since their reports - as you can see - contradict one another, they came up with a dangerous methodology, which is to adopt the view that is contrary to what the Muslim masses (meaning Ah1 as-Sunnah wal-Jami'ah) believe.

Anyone who studies this view, 'Ali ibn Abi T6lib which is narrated in the hooks of the Shia, will realise that it was introduced by an enemy who was filled with resentment and hatred and who wanted to turn the Shia away from the Book of Allah (&) and lead them astray from His guidance. The Shiite view connects the validity of the Quran to the presence of the one who is supposed to be in charge of it, which is one of the twelve Imam, since the Quran was explained to 'Ali, and he transmitted the knowledge of the Quran to the rest of the twelve Imams. Each Imam passed on this knowledge to the one who came after him until it ended with the twelfth Imam. According to the Twelvers, he is absent and has been lost for more than eleven centnries, hut some Shiite and other groups believe that he does not exist. As long as the validity of the Quran is linked to this absent or missing Imani, the logical conclusion is that the validity of the Quran is suspended now because of the absence or non-existence of the one who is supposed to be in charge of it. Under these circumstances, the Book cannot be referred to or quoted as evidence because what counts as evidence is the word of the Imam only, and the Imam is absent.

Therefore the Shiite view is that the Quran cannot be used as evidence. That is sufficient misguidance, and it diverts people away from the Book of Allah, hut that is not the end of the conspiracy against the Book of Allah and the Shia. It is just one link in the chain, one in a series of conspiracies aimed at turning the Shia away from the Book of Allah (3&).817 It is a well-established fact in Islam that knowledge of the noble Quran was not a secret to be transmitted through a certain line, and 'Ali (4) did not receive any special treatment in that regard to the exclusion of the other Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g). The Companions (&) were the pioneers who had the honour of receiving this Quran from the Messenger of mankind Muhammad (g) and transmitting it to all generations. The Shia, however, went 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia against this principle. They believe that Allah (&) singled out their twelve Imams for knowledge of the entire Quran, that the Imams are the only ones who can interpret it, and that whoever seeks knowledge of the Quran from anyone else has gone astray.818 Some Sunni sources state that the origin and roots of this view go back to Ibn Saba', who said: "The Quran is one of nine parts, and its knowledge is with ' ~ l i .

" ~ ~ ~ IS view is mentioned frequently in the books of the Twelver Shia, in various kinds of reports, as we shall see below. In a lengthy report in Ufool al-Ktfi, it is umated that Abu Abdullah said: "The Quran would be sufficient for the people if they could find someone to interpret it. The Messenger of Allah (g) explained it to one man, and he explained it to the Imams; that man is 'Ali ibn Abi ~ 2 i h . " ~ ~ ~ In a number of Shiite sources, which they consider reliable, it is narrated that the Messenger of Allah (g) said: "Allah sent the Quran down to me. Whoever goes against it will go astray, and whoever seeks knowledge of it with anyone other than 'Ali is doomed."8z' The books of the Shia also claim that Abu Ja'far said: "0 Qatgdah, are you the jurist of the people of Basra?' He replied: "That is what they say." Abu Ja'far (&) said: "I have heard that you interpret the Quran?" Qatgdah said to him: "Yes." ... He said: "Woe to yon, 0 Qat%dah, the Quran can only be known by the one to whom it is addressed."822 They have very many reports of this nature, which could fill an entire volume.

They all emphasise the same concept: that "only the twelve Imams have knowledge of the Quran, and it is kept with them, and through it they know all things."823 The response to that is what Allah (&) said to those who sought a sign to prove the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (g): (Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book [the Quran] which is recited to them?b (Quran 29: 51) The noble Quran is the witness, the evidence and the proof. Whoever seeks knowledge of the Quran 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib from the Quran or from the Sunnah of the Prophet (@) or from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (s), including 'Ali, will be guided. This notion - that the one seeking knowledge of the Quran from anyone other than 'Ali is doomed - is not part of Islam, and it is known to he false beyond any doubt. The Prophet (@J did not single out any one of his Companions for knowledge of Shariah to the exclusion of others. AUah (s) says: h d We have also sent down unto you [0 Muhammad] the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Quran)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them% (Quran 16: 44). This verse proves that explanation of the Quran is for all people, not just one individual or group, even if they are members of his household.

Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) stated that the Messenger of Allah a) did not single him out for specific knowledge to the exclusion of other people.824 The Prophet (g) addressed his Companions and those who came after them and encouraged them to convey his Sunnah, and he did not single out one of them in that regard. He said: "May Allah make his face radiant, the one who hears the hadith from us and memorises it so that he can convey it to others, because it may be that a person who has some knowledge hut does not fully understand it may convey it to someone who has better understanding than him."825 This hadith was also narrated in the major reference books of the Twelver hia as,"^ and it will count as evidence against them. Let us consider the claims that the noble Quran was not addressed to anyone but the twelve Imams, that no one knows the Quran except them and that the Quran is only understood by those to whom it is addre~sed."~ According to this sick understanding, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (@), the Tgbi'oon and the leading scholars of Islam throughout the ages would he regarded as being doomed and as causing the doom of others because they interpret the Quran properly, or because they believe that there are things in the Book of Allah that no one has any excuse for not knowing. Some of this is known by the Arabs because of their language, some of it cannot he interpret fully by anyone except the scholars, and there is some that no one knows the interpretation of except Allah ( B ) . ' ~ ~ The Shia maintain that no one understands the Quran except the Imams, and that they h o w the entire Quran. This is a claim that requires evidence, and it is refuted on the basis of both reason and reports.

It should be noted that the Prophet ( g ) explained to his Companions the meaning of the Quran as well as its words. The verse $And We have also sent down unto you [0 Muhammad] the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Quran)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them,) (Quran 16: 44) refers to both the meanings and the words. Abu 'Abdur-Rwan as-Sulami said: "Those who taught us the Quran - such as 'Uthmk ibn 'Man, Abdullah ihn Mas'ood and others - told us that when they learned ten verses from the Prophet ( g ) , they would not move on until they had learned what they contined of knowledge and righteous deeds. They said: 'So we leamed the Quran and knowledge and righteous deeds dl 1,1829 together. Hence they used to spend some time memorising each surah, because Allah (g) says: 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Bmis is] a Book [the Quran] which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.) (Quran 38: 29) #Do they not then consider the Quran carefully?B (Quran 4: 82) (Have they not pondered over the Word [of Allah, i.e. what is sent down to the Prophet]...?) (Quran 23: 68) 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib Pondering over the Quran without understanding its meanings is not possible. Allah (&) says: eerily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran inorder that you may understand) (Qur'm 12: 2).

Understanding the Quran means comprehending it, and it is well known that the point of any statement is that its meaning should be understood. A statement is not mere words, and this is even more important in the case of the Quran. For these reasons, one group of Shia no longer accepted or believed in this view. They said that the apparent meanings of the Quran are not something that is known exclusively to the Twelvers, and that others could understand them too, but as for the hidden meanings of the verses, that is something that is known to the Imams alone. Thus there was a major debate between the two groups as to whether the apparent meanings of the Quran are hinding. The former group believe that no one knows the meaning of the entire Quran, both apparent and hidden, except the Imams; the latter group believes that the apparent meanings of the Quran are binding because of the general meaning of the call to ponder and understand the ~ u r ' a n . ~ ~ ' The claim that the Quran was interpreted for 'Ali (&) alone contrary to the words of Allah (&): (With clear signs i d Books [We sent the Messengers].

And We have also sent down unto you [0 Muhammad] the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Quran)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought) (Quran 16: 44). The clear signs are for all people, not for 'Ali (&) alone, as we have stated above. A person who denies that is left with one of two options: either to say that the Messenger did not convey what was revealed to him, or to reject what the Quran says, which is contrary to reason and the well established principles of Islam. The claim that knowledge of the Quran was given exclusively to the Imams is contrary to the fact that a large number of the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Companions of the Messenger of Allah (B) were well known for interpreting the Quran, including the first four Caliphs, Ibn Mas'ood, Ibn 'Abbis, Zayd ibn Thkbit and others. 'Ali (&) praised the interpretation of Ibn 'Abb% (&).Y31 Ibn Taymiyah said: "A great deal of commentary on the Quran was transmitted from Ibn 'Abbb with proven chains of narration, and there is little mention of 'Ali in these reports. Ibn 'AbbO narrated from more than one of the Companions; he narrated from 'Umar, Abu Hurayrah, 'AbdurR&miiu ibn 'Awf, Zayd ibn Thibit, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, U s h a h ibn Zayd and others among the Muhiijireen and An$&, but the reports he narrated from 'Ali are very few.

The authors of the sound collections of hadiths did not narrate any of the hadiths of Ibn 'Abbb about Quran interpretation from 'Ali, although they narrated his hadiths from 'Umar, Abdur-R&rn%n ibn 'Awf, Abn Hurayrah and others. There is no book of Quran interpretation known to the Muslirns that is proven to be from 'Ali. These books of hadiths and commentary on the Quran are filled with reports from the Companions and Tiibi'een, but what is narrated from 'Ali is very little, and what is narratedof Quran interpretation from Ja'far as-Siidiq is falsely attributed to ~ a ' f a r . " ~ ~ ~ Ja'far spoke about how people were keen to attribute fabricated statements to him and said that their idea that knowledge of the Quran was given exclusively to 'Ali leads to undermining the fact that the Quran was transmitted from the Companions to subsequent generations in mutawztir repofls, because it was not transmitted - according to their claim - from the Messenger of Allah (g) except by one person, namely 'Ali (&). This view is a conspiracy aimed at keeping people away from the Book of Allah and making them turn away from pondering it, seeking its guidance, thinking about the lessons it contains, and studying its meanings. According to the Shiite religion, there is no way to understand the meanings of the Quran except through the twelve Imams; everyone else is deprived of benefiting from it.

This is an attempt or a mck with 'Ali ibn Abi T6lib a clear aim, because the Quran was revealed by Allah (&) in a plain Arabic tongue and is addressed to all people: eerily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran in order that you may understand.) (Quran 12: 2) (This [the Qw'anl is a plain statement for mankind, a guidance and instruction to those who are Al-Muttaqoon [the pious].B (Quran 3: 138) Allah (&) has commanded His slaves to ponder it, learn its lessons and heed its prohibitions. It does not make sense to say to someone who does not understand what is said to him: "Ponder that of which you have no understanding or knowledge."833 This is an attempt to turn people away from that great store of knowledge of the interpretation of the Quran that was transmitted to us by the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g), the early generations of the Urnrnah and the scholars. This great treasure has no value or worth, according to the Shiite religion, because it was not narrated from the twelve Imams. Some of their contemporary sbaykhs have stated this clearly, saying: "All the commentary on the Quran that was narrated from anyone except Ah1 d-Bayt is of no value and is not to be taken into c~nsideration."~~~ Their main books of Quran interpretation, such as those of d - Qummi, al-'Iykhi, as-Sifi and al-Burhk, and their main hooks of hadith, such as al-Kifi and BiGr al-Anwcir, have tried to give interpretations of the Book of Allah which are attributed to Ah1 alBayt. In most cases, though, their interpretations demonstrate blatant ignorance of the Book of Allah and a deviant interpretation of its verses. Their explanations are very twisted and cannot be soundly attributed to the scholars among Ah1 d-Bayt, because they have no connection to the meaning of the words; they are not indicated by the words or by the Qur'anic context, as we shall see below.

According to this belief, this is supposed to represent the best knowledge of the Xli's attitude towards the Khar+es and Shia scholars of Ah1 al-Bayt; in fact, it undermines them and athibutes a great deal of ignorance to them by people who claim to love and support them.835 3.5.3. Their belief that the Quran has hidden meanings that are different from its apparent meanings The Shia are of the view that the Quran has apparent and hidden meanings, and that the people only know the apparent meanings; as for the hidden meanings, no one knows themexcept the Imams and those who learn from them. With such ideas, they opened the door to heretics, followers of whims and desires and destructive sects to tamper with the Quran. They all tried to plot against it and wanted to extinguish the light of Islam with their fabrications, but Allah (&) will complete His light even if the polytheists hate it. The Shia exploited this idea of apparent and hidden meanings to try to interpret the Quran to he in accordance with their beliefs and to serve their ideas about imamate. They also took the Quran as a means to attack and condemn the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), while at the same time praising Ah1 al-Bayt and attributing to them things that they themselves would deny.

In this regard, the Rifidi Shia came up with views that contradict everything that was narrated about the interpretation of the Quran, views for which there is no support on the basis of reports, reason, Arabic language or The roots of the esoteric interpretation go hack to the Saha'i groups. Ibn Saba' tried to find support in the Book of Allah, by meals of esoteric misinterpretations, for his idea that the Prophet (.&) would come hack to life. He said: "It is strange that those who claim that 'Eesa will come hack to life do not believe that Muhammad will come back to life when Allah (&) says: PIVerily, He Who has given 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib you [0 Muhammad] the Quran will surely, bring you back to Ma'iid [the place of return.]) (Quran 28: ~ 5 ) . " ' ~ ~ Some of the books of Ahl as-Sunnah have narrated examples of the Shiite misinterpretations of the Book of Allah, but what we have discovered today is something that poses a great danger to people's belief, thought and culture. Imam d-~sh'ari,'~' d - ~ a ~ h d a d i ? ~ ~ a~h-Shahrastini'~~ and others narrated from alMugheerah ibn Sa'eed, who was one of the extremists according to the consensus of both Sunnis and Shiites, and after whom the Mugheeri sect is named, that he explained that what was meant by the word 'Satan' in the verse (...like Satan, when he says to man: 'Disbelieve in ~llah'B (Quran 59: 16) was 'Umar ibn d-Kha@b (&I. This exact interpretation was picked up by the Twelvers, who wrote it down in their main reference books; it appears in the books of Quran interpretation of as-~2fiS4' and al- ~ u m r m ~ ~ ~ ~ and in a l - ~ u r h i n ' ~ ~ and B i e r al-~nwiir.'~~ It was narrated from Abu Ja'far concerning the verse: @nd Satan will say when the matter has been decided ... b (Quran 14: 22): "That refers to the second one ['Umar]; there is no place in the Quran where it says 'and Satan said ...' but it refers to the second one." The books of the Twelvers go fnrther than d-Mugheerah did in setting down a rule for this deviant interpretation of the Book of These reports, which the books of the Twelver Shia attribute to Ja'far al-Bzqir, are actually some of the lies of al-Mugheerah ibn Sa'eed and his ilk.

Adh-Dhahabi quoted Katheer a n - ~ u w a " ~ ~ as saying that Abu Ja'far said: "Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with d-Mugheerah ibn Sa'eed and Bay2n ibn Sam'k, for they attributed fabrications to us, Ah1 a l - ~ a ~ t . " ~ ~ ' Al-Kashshi narrated in Rijril al-Kashshi that Abu Abdullah said: "May Allah curse alMugheerah ibu Sa'eed; he used to tell lies about Al-Kashshi 'Ali's attitude towardr the Khalijites and Shia also narrated many other reports of this type.$" It may be noted that al-Ash'ari, d-Baghdadi, Ibn Hazm and Nishwk d-mmyari were all agreed that Jihir dJa'fi, who wrote the first Shia book of Quran interpretation using that esoteric methodology, was the successor of d-Mugheerah ibn ~ a ' e e d , ~ ~ ' who said that what was meant by the Satan in the Quran was Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Umar. These people were dangerous elements who were leaming from one another, and that led to the corruption of hii ism.'^' The Shaykh of the Shia of his era - and this is who they refer to when they use the title 'd-'Allhah' - wbose name was Ibn d - Mutahhar al-Hilli, quoted evidence for 'Ali's entitlement to the imamate (caliphate) by saying: 'The thirtieth piece of evidence is the verse in which Allah (&) says: dHe has let loose the two seas [the salt and fresh water] meeting together. Between them is a bamer which none of them can transgress.) (Quran 55: 19-20)." He said that this refers to 'Ali and Fi@mah; that dBetween them is a barrier which none of them can transgressb refers to the Prophet (@); and that dOut of them both come out pearl and cordb (Quran 55: 22) refers to d - Hasan and d-Hnsayn. When Ihn d-Mutahhar quoted that as evidence, Ihn Taymiyah said: "This man and his ilk say things that they do not understand, and it is more like delirium than interpretation of the Quran. It is akin to the interpretation of the heretics and Qar2mifah of the Quran.

Indeed it is worse than much of that; it is the way in which the heretics seek to undermine the Quran. Interpreting the Quran in this way is one of the greatest ways of maligning it."853 The following are some examples of the ways in which the Rifitfidi Shia distorted the verses of the noble Quran because they opened the door wide to esoteric interpretations: 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 3.5.3.a. Their distortion of the meaning of tawhid, which is the foundation of the religion, to mean entitlement to the imamate It was narrated from Abu Ja'far that he said: "Allah never sent any Prophet except with loyalty to our imamate and disavowal of our enemies.8s4 That is what Allah referred to when He said in His Book: (And verily, We have sent among every Ummah [community, nation] a Messenger [proclaiming]: 'Worship Allah [Alone], and avoid [or keep away from] Tdghoot [all false deities, i.e. do not worship Tzghoot besides Allah].') (Qur'hn 16: 36)" 3.5.3.b. Their distortion of the concept of divinity to mean imamate With regard to the verse, {And Allah said [0 mankind!]: "T&e not iliihain [two gods in worship]. Verily, He [Allah] is [the] only One Zldh [God]..."# (Quran 16: 51), Abu Abdullah said: "What is meant by that is: Do not take two Imams; he is only one Imam."855 3.5.3.c. Their distortion of the meaning of the word 'Lord' in the Quran to mean the Imam With regard to the interpretation of the verse @ad the disbeliever is ever a helper [of Satan] against his Lord) (Quran 25: 55), al-Qummi said in his commentary: "The 'disbeliever' is the second one (meaning 'Umar ibn al-Kha@ih); he was a helper against Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (7g&)."856 Al-Kiishzni said in al-Ba~d'ir that al-Biiqir was asked about the interpretation of this verse, and he said: "This verse has a hidden meaning, and the words 'his Lord' refer to 'Ali, since 'Ali is his lord in the context of imamate."ss7 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.5.3.d.

Their distortion of the meanings of the word 'Word' to mean the Imams They said with regard to the interpretation of the verse: &d had it not been for a decisive Word [gone forth already], the matter would have been judged between themb (Quran 42: 21), "The Word is the ham."858 With regard to the verse: NO change can there he in the Words of Allahb (Quran 10: 64), they said, "There can be no change in the imamate."859 3.5.3.e. Their distortion of the meanings of the words 'mosque', 'Ka'bah' and 'qiblah' to mean the Imams With regard to the verse: (You should face Him only in each and every place of worship [masjiab (Quran 7: 29), they interpreted the word masjid (which is literally a place of prostration, but normally means a mosque) as meaning the Imams.860 With regard to the verse: (Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer [masjid) (Quran 7: 31), they said, "It [masjid] means the With regard to the verse, $And the mosques are for Allah [Alone], so invoke not anyone along with AUahb (Quran 72: 18), they interpreted it as: "The Imam is from the family of Muhammad, so do not take anyone else as an AS-Sidiq said, narrating from them: "We pmams] are the holy land (Makkah), we are the Ka'bah of Allah and we are the qiblah of ~ l l a h . " ' ~ ~ They equate 'prostration' in the Quran with loving and supporting the Imams, so they interpret the verse: m e y used to be called to prostrate themselves [offer prayers], while they were healthy and good [in the life of the world, hut they did not]) (Quran 68: 43), as meaning: "They were called to support the imamate of 'Ali in this world."864 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 3.5.3.f. Their distorting the meaning of repentance in the Quran to mean recanting love and support of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmin, and loving and supporting 'Ali only With regard to the verse: (SO forgive those who repent and follow Your way) (Quran 40: 7), the interpretation according to them came in three reports: 1) 'So forgive those who repent' means those who repent from having supported and loved Abu Bakr, 'Umar and the Umayyads. 2) 'So forgive those who repent' means those who have repented from supporting and loving the three evil idols (meaning Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'UthmZn) and the Umayyads, while 'and follow Your way' refers to the love and support of 'Ali. 3) 'So forgive those who repent' means those who repent from supporting and loving these three and the Umayyads, while 'and follow Your way', refers to Amir al-Mu'mineen ( ' ~ l i ) . ~ ~ ~ All three reports are attributed to Abu Ja'far Muhammad d - BZqir, but his knowledge and religious commitment prove that this cannot be true.866 These are just a few of their many false interpretations. Their sources for Quran interpretation are mostly based on this esoteric methodology of interpretation, which they adopted from Abu d - Khat$ib, JZbir dJa'fi, d-Mugheerah ibn Sa'eed and other extremists. It may be noted that in the fifth century AH, their experts in Quran interpretation tried to correct that extreme approach of esoteric interpretation.

Their prominent shaykh, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at-Toosi (d. 460 AH) wrote a book of Quran interpretation in which he hied to eliminate or reduce the obvious exaggeration found in the commentary of d-Qumrni and al- 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 'Ayyishi and in U~ool al-K@? and other books. Even though he defended the fundamentals of his sect and affirmed their innovated principles, he did not sink to the level to which al-Qummi and those who were influenced by him sank. Similar to at-Toosi in this methodology was al-Fad1 ibn al-Hasan at-Tuhrusi, in Majma' alBay&. Ibn Taymiyah referred to that when he said: "At-Toosi, and those who are like him in their Quran interpretation, drew upon the commentaries of Ahl as-Sunnah; there is no useful knowledge in their commentary that was not taken from the commentaries of Ah1 as-~unnah."'~~ 3.6. The attitude of the Imami Shia towards the noble Companions The attitude of the R%& Shia towards the Companions of the Prophet (g) is one of enmity, hatred, resentment and grudges. That is clear from the extensive criticism of the Companions that fills their books, both classical and contemporq.

For example, they believe that all hut a few of the Companions became disbelievers and apostates; this is mentioned clearly in reports included in what they consider to be the soundest and most trustworthy of their books. AlKnlayni narrated from Abu Ja'far that he said: "The people all became apostates after the death of the Prophet (B) except three." The narrator said: "Who are those three?" He said: "Al-Miqdid ihn al-Aswad, Abu Dharr al-Gbifiiri and SalmZn al-F%isi (may the mercy and blessings of Allah he upon them)." Then he mentioned a few other people and said: "These are the ones who were tested and refused to swear allegiance until 'Ali was brought and swore allegiance reluctantly to Abu ~akr."'~' Ni'matullah alJaz2'iri said: "The Imamis believe in a clear and unambiguous instruction from the Prophet (@) that 'Ali was to be his successor, and they regard the Companions as disbelievers and 'Ali ibn Abi TZlib impugn them. According to them, the imamate went to Ja'far asS2diq and after him, to his children the infallible ones, upon whom be peace. The author of this book is one of this group, and it (that group) is the one that will be saved in~hallah."'~~ The RZdi Shias' accusations against the Companions do not end with this belief that they became disbelievers and apostates. They believe that they are the worst of Allah's creation and that belief in Allah and His Messenger cannot be sound except by disavowing them, especially the three caliphs Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmh, and some of the Mothers of the ~ e l i e v e r s . ~ ~ ~ Muhammad Bfiqir al-Majlisi said: "Our belief concerning disavowal is that we disavow the four idols: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmin and Muu'2wiyah, and the four women: 'kishah, Haf~ah, Hind and Umm al-Hakam; and all their supporters and followers. They are the worst of AUah's creation on the face of the earth, and belief in Allah and His Messenger and the Imams cannot be complete except by disavowal of their ene~nies."'~' Their hatred towards the Companions of the Prophet (g) bas gone so far that they regard it as permissible to curse them; in fact, they seek to draw close to Allah by means of that in ways that cannot be described.

Mullah Kaaim narrated from Abu Hamzah athT h d - in a fabrication attributed to Zayn &'Abideen (may Allah have mercy on him) - that he said: "Whoever curses al-Jibt wat-Gghoot [meaning Abu Bakr and 'Umar] once, Allah (a) will record for him seventy million good deeds, erase from him seventy million bad deeds and raise him in status by seventy million degrees. Whoever curses them once in the evening will have the same recorded for him. Our master 'Ali ibn al-Husayn passed away, so I entered upon our master Abn Ja'far Muhammad al-Bsqir, and said: '0 our master, a hadith that I beard from your father.' He said: 'Tell me, 0 Thamsi.' I repeated the badith to him, and he said: 'Yes, 0 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Tharnai, do you want me to give you more? I said: 'Of course, 0 my master.' He said: 'Whoever curses them once every morning will not have any sin recorded for him during that day until evening comes, and whoever curses them once in the evening will not have any sin recorded for him during that night until morning comes."'87z One of their famous supplications is one called 'the supplication of the two idols of Quraysh' (meaning Abu Bakr and 'Umar), which is narrated in the books of remembrances. They attribute this supplication wrongly and falsely to 'Ali (&), and it is more than a page and a half long. In it are the words: ' ' ~ ~ l l a h , send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and curse the two idols of Quraysh and their two Jibts and their two Tgghoots and their two lies and their two daughters, who went against Your command, denied Your revelation, denied Your blessings, disobeyed Your Messenger, altered Your religion and distorted Your book ..." and at the end: "0 Allah, curse them in secret and openly, an eternal, everlasting, unceasing and never-ending curse, a curse that has a beginning but does not have an end, for them and their helpers and supporters, those who love them and take them as friends, those who submit to them and are inclined towards them, those who defend them, accept their words and believe what they say.

(Say four times:) 0 Allah, punish them with a punishment that the people of hell pray not be punished in that way. k e e n , 0 Lord of the This supplication is encouraged among them to the extent that they narrated reports concerning its virtue that they attribute to Ibn 'AbhL. They claim that he said: '"Ali (B) used to recite this supplication in his prayers, and he said: 'The one who recites it is like one who shot an arrow with the Prophet (gg) at Badr, Uhud and Hunayn, one million arrows."'874 Hence their scholars paid a griat deal of attention to this supplication, to the extent that Agha Barzak at-Tahrki stated that ten books were written commenting on it.875 'Ali ibn Abi T6lib This is what is mentioned in their ancient books and on the lips of their earlier scholars. With regard to their contemporary scholars, they believe the same as their predecessors and adhere to it. Their venerated imam and 'Grand Ayatollah' Khomeini writes the following in his book Kashf al-Asr6r: - "We have nothing to do with these two shaykhs [Abu Bakr and 'Umar] and what they did of actions contrary to the Quran, toying with the rulings of Allah and what they deemed to be h d 2 or harim on the basis of their own views, and what they did of injustice against Fitimah, the daughter of the Prophet (g) and against her children. But we should point out their ignorance of the rulings of Allah and of slam."^^^ Concerning the two shaykhs [Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them)]: "Here we h d ourselves forced to quote examples of their clearly going against the Quran to prove that they were against it."877 - Accusing them of distorting the Quran: "Allah mentioned eight categories of people who are entitled to a share of zakih, but Abn Bakr omitted one of these groups on the basis of advice from 'Umar, and the Muslims did not say anything."878 - "In fact, they did not give proper respect to the Messenger, who had striven hard and borne calamities in order to guide them, and when he closed his eyes (died), the words of the son of d - Khat&b, which were based on fabrication and which stemmed from deeds of disbelief and heresy, were ringing in his ears."879 There are contemporary voices, such as al-Khunayzi, A h a d Mughniyah, ar-RiE'i and Muhammad Jawid Mughniyah, who call for rapprochement between the Shia and Ah1 as-Sunnah and who claim to respect the Companions. They should state their view openly by praising the Companions in the midst of the Shia, they should 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia strive to cleanse the Shiite legacy of everything that is contrary to the Book of AUah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and they should stand up to the contemporary Shiite shaykhs who are still jabbering about these misguided notions.

They should not ignore what is mentioned in their books, both classical and contemporary, and what is taking place in real life among their common folk and shaykhs alike. They should be sincere and not contradict themselves, and only then we might accept what they say.880 The belief of the R%i& Shia about the Companions is to be found in the reference hooks on which their madh-hab is based. There is slander, impugning, reviling and foul talk that people with dignity and religious commitment would refrain from uttering towards the worst disbelievers. Yet we see that the Rsifidi Shia are happy with these words that they speak against the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (B) and his successors (caliphs), advisors and in-laws, and they regard this as a religious duty for which they hope for the greatest reward from AUah. In fact, if the Muslim ponders how misguided these people are, he will realise two things: (a) He will realise the greatness of Allah's blessing, kindness and generosity due to the fact that He has saved him from this misguidance; this is something that requires gratitude to Allah. (b) He will learn a lesson about the extent of these people's deviation and misguidance that anyone with the slightest amount of reason would realise, such as their seeking to draw close to Allah by cursing Abu Bakr and 'Umar morning and evening, and their claims that the one who curses them once will not have any sin recorded for him during that day.

All the rational people of this Ummah, and indeed those of religions of divine origin, would realise clearly, on the basis of what they know of the religion of Allah (&), that Allah (&) never asked any nation to draw close to Him by means of cursing any of the disbelievers, 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib even if they were the worst of disbelievers. Moreover, He does not ask them to draw close to Him by cursing Iblees, the accursed who was cast out from His mercy, morning and evening, in a specific wording to draw close to Allah as the RZifidi Shia seek to draw close to Him by cursing Abu Bakr and 'Umar. Rather, 1"' do not know, after reading and examining the books of the RZdis themselves, that they contain any supplication, specific or otherwise, which curses Abu Jahl, Umayyah ihn Khalaf or al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah, who were the worst disbelievers among the people and the most vehement in their rejection of the Messenger of Allah (@), or even any curses directed against Iblees, while at the same time their books are filled with reports cursing Abu Bakr and 'Umar, as in the 'supplication of the two idols of Quraysh' and others. This is a clear sign to any rational person of the extent of misguidance a person can reach if he turns away from the path of Allah (g) and follows whims and desires and innovations. His evil deeds will be made attractive to him until he no longer recognises what is good and what is bad .and cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood; instead he sinks in darkness and lives intoxicated by the impact of whims and desires. This is what Allah (%) told us in His Book when He described these type of people, saying: $Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deeds is made fair-seeming, so that he considers it as good [equal to one who is rightly guidcd]?

Verily, AUah sends astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills.# (Qur2an 35: 8) (Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.) (Quran 18: 104) (Say [O Muhammad] whoever is in error, the Most Gracious [Allah] will extend [the rope] to him, until, when they see that which they were promised, either the torment or the Hour, they will come to know who is worst in position, and who is weaker in forces.) (Quran 19: 75) 3.6.1. Examples of the unpredictable way in which the RSfidi Shia interpret these verses to attempt to prove the alleged apostasy of the Companions, and a refutation of their falsehood 3.6.1.a. The verse in A1 'Imr2n (You did indeed wish for death [Ash-Shahidah - martyrdom] before you met it. Now you have seen it openly with your own eyes. Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed [many] Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels [as disbelievers]?

And he who turns hack on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; and Allah will give reward to those who are grateful.) (Quran 3: 143-144) 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia The RZdi Shia quote this passage from Allah's noble Book, claiming that it clearly refers to the Companions' turning back on their heels after the death of the Messenger of Allah (B); they say that this includes the vast majority of the Companions and that very few of them remained steadfast. The small group whom the Rififidi Shia believe remained steadfast are 'those who are grateful', and they cannot be more than a few because Allah (&) says: dBut few of My slaves are gatefulk (Quran 34: 13). Their conclusion is that these verses, which speak of the Companions who turned on their heels, clearly refer to the Companions who lived with the Messenger of Allah (g) in Madinah and also refer to the Companions turning on their hells straight after the death of the Prophet (gJ, without any time elapsing.882 They twisted the meaning of these verses and 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib applied them to what happened with bay'at as-Saqeefah, when the noble Companions elected Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (&) as caliph. The response to these serious lies is as follows: At-Tabari narrated in his hadith, with his chain of narration from ad-D*%, that the latter said concerning the verse (~uhamrnad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed [many] Messengers have passed away before him) (Quran 3: 144): "People whose faith was shaky and the hypocrites said, on the day when the people fled and deserted the Prophet of Allah (g) (at Uhud), when he was wounded above his eyebrow and his tooth was broken: 'Muhammad has been killed; go hack to your former religion.' That is why Allah (s) says: (If he dies or is killed, will you then tum back on your heels [as dishelievers]?fi (Quran 3: I # ) . " ~ ~ ~ It is also narrated that Ibn Jurayj said: "People with doubts, shaky faith and hypocrisy in their hearts said, when the people fled and deserted the Prophet (g): 'Muhammad has been killed; go back to your former religion.' Then this verse was revealed."884 What is meant by 'turning back on (one's) heels' in this verse is what the hypocrites said when the rumour spread among the people that the Messenger of Allah (g) had been killed; they said: "Go back to your former religion." This verse is not speaking about those who apostatised after the death of the Prophet (g), even though it is proof against them. If it was about them, this would provide further proof that the Companions of the Prophet (s) had nothing to do with the apostates, because they are the ones who fought them.

Allah (&) caused His religion to prevail at their hands, and He caused the apostates to be defeated by means of the Companions' fighting them; some of them came back to Islam, and some died in a state of apostasy, and the vime of Abu Bakr was demonstrated by his fighting them.885 Because of this, 'Ali (&) used to say that the words of Allah (g), 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia $And Allah will give reward to those who are gratefulb (Quran 3: 144), referred to those who remained steadfast in their religion: Abu Bakr and his companions.886 He also used to say that Ahu Bakr was foremost among those who were grateful and those who were beloved by Allah The battle of U?~ud is a special case, hence the verses of Soorat A1 'Imrh came within the context of the unique circumstances of this battle. To use this verse to analyze events such as the oath of allegiance in Saqeefah or the Battle of the Camel is very strange and inconsistent, and it has nothing to do with academic methodology. This verse is regarded as one of the signs of the deep faith and wisdom of Abu Bakr (&) and of his relentless efforts in defending the religion of Allah (&). The best testimony to that is his steadfast attitude on the day the Messenger of Allah (g) died, the day when he stood fum and addressed the people despite the grief and weakness that he felt at the loss of the Messenger of Allah (g). He said: "Allah (s) says BVerily, you [0 Muhammad] will die, and verily, they [too] will dieB (Quran 39: 30) and $Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed [many] Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels [as disbelievers]?

And he who turns hack on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; and Allah will give reward to those who are gratefulk (Quran 3: 144). Whoever used to worship Allah (&), verily Allah is Ever-Living and will never die; whoever used to worship Muhammad, verily Muhammad has died.""' His strict stance against those who turned on their heels, replacing faith with disbelief by following false prophets like Mnsaylimah, Sajj*, Tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid, al-Aswad al-'Ansi and their ilk, and those who said, 'We will not pray and we will not pay zaka," and dismissed the obligations of Islam on the basis of 'Ali ihn Ahi Trilib 51 1 their whims and desires, is the most brilliant example of the greatness of Abu Bakr and the Companions and their devotion to slam.^^^ 'Ali (&) stood beside the Rightly Guided Caliph Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (&) in the jihad against the apostates and those who withheld zak2h. As for at-Teejhi, Sharaf ad-Deen al-Musawi and other leading scholars of the Twelver Shia, they are still waffling over the issue of those who withheld zak2h. trying to justify their stance and accusing Abu Bakr and the Companions of falsehood and apostasy. What extreme misguidance these people are uttering when they impugn the Companions of the Messenger of Allah and regard those who strove for the sake of Allah in support of this religion as symbols of disbelief, apostasy and hypocrisy. It is not surprising to leam the extent of the respect that Imam Ja'far ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Taib had for Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq. Al-Irbili narrated in Kashf al-Ghumah fi Ma'rifat alA'immah from 'Urwah ibn Abdullah that he said: "I asked Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali about adorning swords, and he said: 'There is nothing wrong with it; Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (&) adorned his sword.' I said: 'Do you say "as-Siddeeq"?' He jumped up, turned to face towards the qiblah and said: 'Yes, w-Siddeeq.

Whoever does not call him as-Siddeeq, may AUah never accept from him anything he says in this world or in the hereafter as true.""90 May AUah have mercy on Imam Abu Ja'far, and may Allah bless his words that were kept away in the books of the past and never recognised by those people today.891 3.6.1.b. The verse in Soorat al-Mgidah Some of these fanatics who insist that the Companions became apostates and turned on their heels quote as evidence the verse in which AUah (B) says: 4 0 you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion [Islam], Allah will bring a people whom He win love and they will love Him; humble towards the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia believers, stem towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is AUSufficient for His creatures' needs, ~ll-Knower.) (Quran 5: 54) This verse, which is quoted as evidence by the Twelver Shiite scholars to indicate that the Companions apostatised and turned on their is the best evidence of the greatness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and their striving to defend Islam; it is not evidence of their apostasy and turning on their heels. AtTabari narrated, with his chain of narration from 'Ali (&), that he said concerning the verse dAllah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him) (Quran 5: 54) that the people referred to are Abu Bakr and his companions.

It was narrated that al-Hasan alBasri said: "This, by Allah, refers to Abu Bakr and his companions." It was narrated that ad-D&h% said: "It is Abu Bakr and his companions, until he brought them back to Islam." This was also the view of Qatidah, Ibn Jurayj and other leading scholars of Quran interp~etation.~~~ This verse speaks of the qualities of the generation and the people of great faith by means of whom victory will be attained; they will attain honour and glory while the apostates will be humiliated, and their plots will backfxe on them. This meaning is obvious to everyone who reads authentic books of history and sees the greatness of the Companions, foremost among whom is the Rightly Guided Caliph Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, in contrast to the humiliation and failure of the leaders of apostasy, such as Musaylimah, al-'Ansi and ~ a j j * . ' ~ ~ The qualities mentioned in this verse are applicable most of all to Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (&j) and his armies from among the Companions who fought the apostates. Allah (s) praised them in the best and most sublime way. He stated that He loves them and they 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib love Him, and that they are humble towards the believers but stem towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah (G) and never fearing the blame of the blamers. I have discussed these qualities in my book al-lnshir6h wa Raf' ad-l?eeq j?

Seerat Abi Bakr as- ~ i d d e e ~ ; ~ ~ ~ whoever would like to know more may refer to it. 3.6.l.c. The verse in Soorat at-Tawbah (0 you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the Cause of Allah [i.e. Jihsd] you cling heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than the hereafter? But little is the enjoyment of the life of this world as compared to the hereafter.

If you march not forth, He will punish you with a painful tonnent and will replace you by another people; and you cannot harm Him at all, and Allah is Able to do all things.) (~ur'an 9: 38-39) Some of the R2fidi Shiite scholars said: "This verse clearly shows that the Companions were reluctant to engage in jihad and were pleased with the life of this world despite their knowledge that its enjoyment was little, to the extent that they deserved this rebuke from Allah (g) and His threat of a painful punishment for them and their being replaced with other, sincere believers. This warning of being replaced by others is repeated in many verses, which clearly indicates that the Companions were reluctant to engage in jihad on many occasions." In the verse: &d if you tum away [from Islam and the obedience to Allah], He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be the likes of (Quran 47: 38), according to the author of Thumma Ahtadaytu: "It is well established and known that the Companions divided after the death of the Prophet (g), and that they differed with one another and lit the fire of turmoil until the matter reached the level of fighting and bloody war, which caused the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia decline and backwardness of the Muslims and raised the hopes of their enemies against them."896 The response to this R%@ Shiite view is as follows: There is nothing in these two verses that undermines the Companions of the Prophet (g); in these verses, Allah (%) is urging the Companions to engage in jihad. This was when the Prophet (g) commanded his Companions to go out on the campaign of Tabook to fight the Byzantines, which involved a very long and hot journey and came at a time of hardship and poverty for the Companions of the Prophet (g). Some of them felt that it was difficult, so these verses were revealed to encourage them to go out on jihad for the sake of Allah (&) and to warn them against being reluctant and slow to obey the command. The Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) responded to the command of their Lord. At-Tabari said, in his commentary on the verse: 40 you who believe!

What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the Cause of Allah [i.e. Jih2dJ you cling heavily to the earth?) (Quran 9: 38): "This verse contains encouragement from Allah (g) to those who believed in Him, the Companions of His Messenger, to join the campaign against the Byzantines. That was during the campaign of the Messenger of Allah (@J to ~ a b o o k . " ' ~ ~ Undoubtedly these two verses contain an element of rebuke from Allah (g) to some of those who felt it too burdensome to go out for jihad, but that is definitely not applicable to the majority of the Companions of the Prophet (g), who responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger by hastening to go out in jihad for the sake of ~llah.'~' Ibn Katheer said: "This is a rebuke to those who stayed behind and did not go out with the Messenger of AUah (@) on the campaign to ~ a b o o k . " ' ~ ~ It is well known that the only Companions who stayed behind and failed to go out with the Prophet (g) on the campaign to Tabook 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib 51 5 were those who had legitimate excuses, except for three people, as is indicated by the well-known hadith of Ka'b ibn M2ik that appears in Bukhari and ~uslim?" Those three people were Ka'b ibn M%k, Hi12 ibn Umayyah and Markah ibn ar-Rabee'. Yet it is proven in the Book of Allah, to which falsehood cannot come from before it or behind it,901 that Allah (&) accepted the repentance of all of them, and He revealed these verses concerning His forgiveness of all of the Companions: (Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhijiroon [Muslim emigrants who left their homes and came to Madinah] and the An& who followed him [Muhammad] in the time of distress [Tabook expedition], after the hearts of a party of them had nearly deviated [from the Right Path], but He accepted their repentance.

Certainly, He is unto them full of kindness, Most Merciful. And [He did forgive also] the three who did not join the rrabook expedition and whose case was deferred (by the Prophet) for Allah's Decision] till for them the eaah, vast as it is, was straitened and their ownselves were straitened to them, and they perceived that there is no fleeing from AUah, and no refuge but with Him. Then, He forgave them [accepted their repentance], that they might beg for His Pardon [repent (unto Him)]. Verily, AUah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.) (Quran 9: 117-118) In these verses, Allah (&) states that He accepted the repentance of the Muhgjiroon and An& who followed the Messenger (g) during the campaign to Tabook, which was called the campaign of hardship, and did not stay behind despite what befell them of hardship, difficulty and poverty. Some reports describe how a group of them would share one date between them: one would suck on it and then drink some water, then another one would suck on it and then drink some water, and so on until it came to the last of them.902 The reports also state that Allah (B) accepted the 'Ali's attitude towards the Khanjites and Shia repentance of the three who had stayed behind and did not join the Messenger of Allah (g) during that campaign, after the Prophet (B) shunned them and they regretted it deeply atill for them the earth, vast as it is, was straitened and their ownselves were straitened to them). After that, there was no excuse for anyone to impugn the Companions of the Prophet (g) or csiticise them for anything they niight do, after Allah (B) forgave them, accepted their repentance, a I praised them greatly in His Book; the Messenger (g) also p sed them in his ~ u n n a h . ~ ' ~ As for the Companions (&) fighting one another, that happened during the reign of 'Ali (A), and we have already looked at the causes of the differences among the Companions during the turmoil, examined the point of view of each group and established that they are innocent of all the accusations that were made against them.

Their actions were based on what they thought was correct on the basis of their understanding the Quran and Sunnah, and no one has the right to criticise them for any of their actions or opinions.904 We should refrain from delving too deeply into the disagreements among them and pray for mercy for them; this is the best way. May Allah be pleased with them 3.6.1.d. The hadith about people being prevented from reaching the reservoir The Messenger of Allah (g) said: "While I was standing at the reservoir, I saw a group of my followers that were brought close to me, and I recognised them. A man (an angel) came out from between me and them and said to them: 'Come along.' I said: 'Where to?' He said: 'To hell.' I said: 'What is wrong with them?' He said: 'They turned back on their heels.' And I did not see any of them escaping except a few."906 He (g) also said: "I will be ahead of you at the reservoir, and whoever comes to me will drink, and whoever drinks will never be 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 51 7 thirsty again. Some people will come to me whom I recognise and they recognise me, but a barrier will he placed between me and them. I will say: 'My companions!' It will be said: 'Yon do not know what they introduced after you were gone.' And I shall say: 'Away with them, away with those who changed after I was gone."'907 Some of the Shia say: "The one who examines these numerous hadiths, which the scholars of Ah1 asSnnnah narrate in their collections of sound hadiths, will never have any doubt that most of the Companions changed.

They apostatised after the Prophet (B) died, except for a few, and it is not possible under any circumstances to interpret these hadiths as referring to the third group, namely the hypocrites, because the text states: 'I will say, "My companions!"' and because the hypocrites did not change after the death of the, Prophet (@); otherwise the hypocrites would have become believers after the death of the Prophet (3&)."908 The answer to this specious argument is as follows: There is no dispute as to the good character of the Companions of the Prophet (g), and there is no doubt about their sincere faith and dignity after Allah the All-Knowing confirmed their good character in His Book and His Messenger praised them in his Sunnah. The praise of Allah and His Messenger for them is the most eloquent of praise and attributes to them the best qualities, as is well known in mutawiltir reports from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (s). We will discuss this below inshallah. The Sunni commentators on hadith are agreed that the Companions are not the ones who are meant in these hadiths, and they do not imply any undermining of them. Ibn Qutaybah said, refuting the RZdi Shia in their use of this hadith as evidence for the apostasy of the Companions: "How is it possible that Allah (%) would be pleased with people and praise them and mention them as an example in the Torah and Gospel, when He knew that they would 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia turn on their heels after the Messenger of Allah (@J died? If they say that He did not know, this is an even worse type of di~belief."~" AlKhatGbi said: "None of the Companions apostatised; rather it was the hard-hearted Arabs who apostatised, those who did not lend any support to Islam.

That does not undermine the status of the wellknown Companions. The word that appears in the original Arabic, a diminutive form of 'my companions', is indicative of their small Al-Nawawi said, commenting on the words "Do you know what they introduced after you were gone?" in some reports of this hadith: "The scholars differed as to what is meant here; there are several views: (a) That what is meant is the hypocrites and apostates. It is possible that they will be gathered with those who will have bright faces and limbs (the believers), and the Prophet (g) will call them because of the sign he sees on them, but it will be said: 'These are not the ones concerning whom you were given the promise; these are the ones who changed after you were gone' - in other words, they did not die in a state of Islam as they appeared to be. (b) That what is meant is those who lived at the time of the Prophet (g), then apostatised after he was gone. The Prophet (&) will call them because of what he knew during his lifetime, which is that they were Muslims, and it will be said: 'They apostatised after you were gone.' (c) That what is meant is those who committed acts of disobedience and major sins but who died believing in tawhid, and followers of innovations that did not take them beyond the pale of Islam. Based on this view, it is not 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib 51 9 certain that those who ~ I E prevented from reaching the reservoir will end up in hell.

It is possible that they will be prevented from reaching the reservoir as a punishment, then Allah (&) will have mercy on them and admit them to paradise with no further These or similar views were narrated by al-Qurfubi and Ihn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on them).912 It is possible that those who are prevented from reaching the reservoir will belong to all the groups mentioned above, since the reports may be interpreted in all three ways. In some reports, the Prophet (s) said: ''I will say 'My companions (in the diminutive form)';" in other reports, he (s) said: "People will be taken before they reach me, and I will say: '0 my Lord, they belong to me and my Ummah;"' and in yet other reports he (ggJ said: "Some people will come to me whom I recognise, and they will recognise me."913 The apparent meaning is that the ones who are prevented are not one group, and this is reasonable, because in Islam punishments are according to sins, so one punishment may be applied to all those who deserve it of those who committed that particular Even though the Prophet a) explained that the reason for being kept away from the reservoir is apostasy, as in the words 'they apostatised,' or introducing innovations into Islam, as in the words, "you do not know what they introduced after you were gone,"915 what this implies is that everyone who apostatised from Islam, whether he was one of the Bedouin who apostatised after the death of the Prophet (g) or those who came after that, would be prevented from reaching the reservoir, and included with them will be those who introduced new things into the religion, namely the innovators. This is the view of some scholars. Ihn 'Abdul-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Everyone who introduces innovation into the religion will be among those who are kept away from the reservoir, 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia such as the Kharijites, R%@s and all followers of whims and desires. The same applies to those evildoers who go to extremes in injustice and denying people's rights, and those who commit major sins openly. For all of these people, there is the fear that they may be among those who are meant in this repori.

And Allah (%) knows best."916 Al-Qumbi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in atTadhkirah: "Our scholars (may Allah have mercy on them all) say that everyone who apostatises from the religion of Allah, or introduces into it something with which He is not pleased and which He has not ordained,917 will he among those who are kept far away from the reservoir, and those who are kept farthest away will be those who went against the main body of the Muslims and split from their way, such as the Kharijites and R%@s of various groups and the Mutazilites of different types. All of these people changed their re~igion."~'~ Once this is established, the innocence of all the Companions of all that the Shia accused them of becomes apparent. Being prevented from reaching the reservoir is because of apostasy and introducing innovations into Islam, and the Companions are the most unlikely of all people to have done anything of that nature; on the contrary, they were the enemies of the apostates and fought them in the most diicult and critical circumstances after the death of the Prophet (g). According to the report narrated by at-Tahari in his hook of history, with his chain of narration from 'Urwah ibn azZuhayr from his father: "Arabs from every tribe apostatised, whether it was the entire tribe or some individuals of the tribe. Hypocrisy became apparent, the hopes of the Jews and Christians were raised, and the Muslims were like sheep on a rainy winter night because of the loss of their Prophet (B) and because of their small number and the great number of their enemies."919 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib Despite all that, the Companions of the Prophet (B) confronted these apostates, fought them strongly and stood up to them until Allah (%&) caused them to prevail over them. Some of these apostates came back to Islam, and some were killed, and the glory, strength and respect of Islam were restored at the hands of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).

Moreover, the Companions were those who most strongly denounced the people of innovation; this is why innovations did not become strong until after their era came to an end. When some innovations began to appear during their era, they condemned them and disavowed the innovations and those who introduced them. It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (&) said to the one who told him what the Qadaris were saying: "K you meet these people, tell them that Ibn 'Umar has nothing to do with them, and they have nothing to do with him" - three times.920 Al-Baghawi said, noting that there was consensus among the Companions and all the early generations (the pious predecessors) on opposing those who introduced innovations, that this was the way of the Companions, Tibi'oon and their followers, and the Sunni scholars; they were all agreed on opposing and shunning the people of innovation?" This noble attitude of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) towards the apostates and those who introduced innovation is among the greatest and clearest testimony of the sincerity of their religious commitment, the strength of their faith, the degree of their efforts for the sake of Islam and their struggle against its enemies after the death of the Messenger of Allah (s). Allah (&) supported the Snnnah through them and suppressed innovations, a fact which highlights the lies of the Rifi&s who accused them of apostasy and introducing innovations into the religion and suggested that that they will be kept away from the reservoir of the Prophet (@). In reality, the Companions will be the most deserving of all people to come to the reservoir of their Prophet (@) because of their good 'Ali's attihrde towards the Kharijites and Shia companionship towards him during his lifetime and their continued support of Islam after his death. This does not contradict the words of the Prophet (&): "Some of those who accompanied me will come to me at the reservoir, and when I see them and they come close to me, they will be taken away before they reach me."922 These are people who were Muslim at the time of the Prophet (g); many of the Arab tribes apostatised after the death of the Prophet (g), but as far he (g) knew, they accompanied him, because when he died they were still following his religion.

Hence it will he said to him: "You do not know what they introduced after you were gone." According to other reports, it will be said: "You have no knowledge of what they introduced after you were gone; they apostatised and turned on their heels."923 It seems that this applies to those who apostatised after the death of the Prophet (g). What do the Companions of the Prophet (B) - who supported Islam in the best manner after their Prophet was gone, fought the apostates, strove in jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites, then conquered many lands until the religion of AUah spread to many regions - have to do with these traitors? According to Ah1 as-Sunnah, these apostates are not considered Companions at all because a Companion, as defined by the scholars, is one who met the Prophet (SJ, believing in him, and died as a ~ u s l i r n . ~ ~ ~ With regard to the words of the Prophet (g), "I do not think any of them will be saved from it (hell) except a few,"92S and the RZdi Shia's quoting them as evidence for regarding all of the Companions as disbelievers except for a few of them, the evidence is in fact against them, because the pronoun in the Arabic word for 'of them' refers to those people who will approach the reservoir then be turned away from it, meaning that only a few from them will he saved. This is clear from the context of the hadith because it says: 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib "While I was standing at the reservoir, I saw a group of my followers that were brought close to me, and I recognised them. A man (an angel) came out from between me and them and said to them: 'Come along.' I said: 'Where to? He said: 'To hell.' I said: 'What is wrong with them?' He said: 'They turned back on their heels.' And I did not see any of them escaping except a few."926 There is no mention of the Companions in this hadith; it simply mentions a group of people who will he prevented from reaching the reservoir, and none of them wiil reach it except a few.927 Ibn Hajar said, commenting on the words, "I did not see any of them escaping except a few" in this hadith: "This refers to those who will approach the reservoir and almost reach it, then will be turned away, which means that none of them will reach it except a few.

Thus it becomes clear that the Shia's argument on the basis of this hadith is flawed, and the Companions are innocent of what they are accused of,n928 3.6.2. The dignity and good character of the Companions (&) The definition of good character boils down to one idea, which is a quality in a person that makes him pious and dignified. This can only be attained by doing what is enjoined, refraining from what is forbidden and keeping away from anything that undermines dignity. To achieve this, a person must he Muslim, adult, of sound mind and free of evildoing. This standard was never reached by anyone as it was reached by the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g). All of them (may Allah be pleased with them) met the description of dignity and good character.929 What this means in the context of their narration of hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (g) is that they refrained from telling deliberate lies or distorting what was narrated.

Al-'Allbah ad5Z4 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Dahlawi said: "We have examined the biographies of all tbe Companions, and we found that they all believed that telling a lie about the Prophet (g) was the worst of sins. They refrained from it, taking all precautions to avoid it, as is clear to anyone who studies their biographies."930 There is abundant evidence in the Book of Allah (;&) and the Sonnah of His Messenger (g) of the good character of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and there is no room for any doubts about their dignity and good character. Every hadith with an intact chain of narration extending from the one who narrated it to the Prophet (&) cannot be binding unless the good character of the narrators is proven. All the narrators must be examined, with the exception of the Companion who narrated it from the Prophet (@), because the sound character of the Companions is well established. Allah (%) confirmed their good character and told us about their purity and the fact that He chose them, as is clearly stated in the noble Quran, about which Allah says: (Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it.) (Quran 41: 42)931 (a) Allah (B) says: %Thus We have made you [hue Muslims -real believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a just [and the best] nation, that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger [Muhammad] be a witness over you.# (Quran 2: 143) This verse proves the good character and dignity of the Companions (&). The word that is trauslated here as 'just' and 'best' refers to people of dignity and good character, because they are the ones who are addressed directly in this verse.932 (b) Allah (&) says: %You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'roof [i.e.

Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained] and forbid Al- 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib Munkar [polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden], and you believe in Allah.) (Quran 3: 110) The evidence in this verse for the good character of the Companions (&) is that they established the fact that this Ummah is better than all nations that came before it, and those who most deserve to be included in this description are those who were addressed directly where and when these words were revealed, namely the noble Companions (&). This implies that they are people of good character and dignity in all situations; in all their affairs, they adhere to the teachings of Islam and do not go against them. It is very unlikely that Allah ($g) would describe them as the best nation if they were not people of good character and righteousness. Is there anyone but them who could be described as the best?933 (c) Allah (&) says: d ~ n d the forenlost to embrace Islam of the Muhiijiroon and the An& and also those who followed them exactly [in faith]. Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with H i . He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow [paradise], to dwell therein forever.

That is the supreme success. B (Quran 9: 100) The evidence in this verse for their good character is that AUah (&) states that He is pleased with them. AUah (s) does not affirm that He is pleased with anyone except those who deserve it, and no one deserves it except one who is upright and of good character in all his affairs and religious commitment. How could one whom Allah ($) praises in this manner not be of good character? When sound character can be established by the testimony of two people, how can the good character of the best of people not he confirmed by this praise when it comes from the Lord of the Worlds?934 (d) Allah (&) says: (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.

You see them bowing and falling down prostrate 'Ali's attitude towards the Khurijites and Shia [in prayer], seeking Bounty from Allah and [His] Good Pleasure. The mark of them [i.e. of their Faith] is on their faces [foreheads] from the traces of prostration [during prayers]. This is their description in the Taw& [Torah]. But their description in the lnjeel [Gospel] is like a [sown] seed which sends forth its shoot, then makes it strong, and becomes thick and it stands straight on its stem, delighting the sowers, that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. Allah has promised those among them who believe [i.e. all those who follow Islamic Monotheism, the religion of Prophet Muhammad till the Day of Resurrection] and do righteous good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward [i.e. paradise].b (Quran 48: 29) This description that Allah (%) gives them in His Book and this praise that He bestows upon them leaves no room for any doubt about the sound character of the Companions. Al-Qnaubi said, commenting on this verse: "All of the Companions are of good character, close friends and chosen ones of Allah (&) and the best of His creation after His Prophets and Messengers.

A small group of insignificant people were of the view that the Companions were like other people, so it was essential to research them in order to establish their dignity and good character. Some of these people differentiated between the Companions' situation at the beginning of Islam and later on, saying: 'They were all of good character at that time (at the beginning), then they changed later on, and there appeared among them war and bloodshed; so it is essential to research and examine.' This idea is to be rejected, because the best and most virtuous of the Companions, such as 'Ali, Talhh, az-Zubayr and others (may Allah be pleased with them), are among those whom Allah praised and was pleased with, and they were pleased with Him. He promised them paradise in the words: 4Allah has promised those among them who believe [i.e. all those who follow Islamic Monotheism, the religion of Prophet Muhammad till the Day of Resurrection] and do righteous good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward 1i.e. paradiselk (Qur'nn 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 48: 29j, especially the ten who will definitely enter paradise according to the statements of the Messenger (g). Even though these Companions had prior knowledge of a great deal of turmoil and events that would take place among them after the death of their Prophet, because he told them about it, that does not affect their status and virtue because their involvement in these events was based on their own ijtihiid and what they thought was right."935 (e) AUah (s) says: g[And there is also a share in this booty] for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their property, seeking Bounties from Allah and to please Him, and helping Allah [i.e. helping His religion] and His Messenger [Muhammad]. Such are indeed the truthful [to what they say]; And those who, before them, had homes [in Madinah] and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given [from the booty of Banu an-Nadeerl, and give them [emigrants] preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.

B (Quran 59: 8.9) The tmthful are the Muhzjiroon, and the successful are the An$&. This is how Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq interpreted these two words from these verses, as he said in his speech on the day of hay'at asSaqeefah, addressing the Ansk "Allah has called us the truthful, and He has called you the successful, and He has enjoined you to be where we are, as He says: 4 0 you who believe! Fear Allah, and be with those who are true [in words and deeds].) (Qur2an 9: 119) These praiseworthy attributes that are mentioned in these two verses were all achieved by the Muhijireen and An$& among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g). They had these chxacteristics, hence the Muhijireen were described as the truthful, and those who supported and helped them, giving them precedence 'Ali's attitude towards the Khurijites and Shia over themselves, were described as the successful. These verses clearly point to the good character of the Companions, so their good character is established and proven on the basis of the text of the noble ~ n r ' a n . ' ~ ~ With regard to evidence from the Sunnah for the good character of the Companions, there are numerous hadiths in which the Prophet (g) praised them for their good character.

For example: (a) It was narrated by Bukhari and Muslim in sound hadiths from Abu Bakr (&) that the Prophet (s) said: "Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent."937 The evidence for their good character in this hadith is that these words were uttered by the Prophet (g) to the greatest gathering of the Companions during the Farewell Pilgrimage. This is one of the greatest affirmations of their good character because he asked them, without exception, to convey what they heard from him to those who were not present at that gathering.938 Concerning the words "Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent," Ibn Hibbh said: "This is the greatest evidence that the Companions were all of good character, and there is no one among them who is of questionable character or is to he regarded as a weak narrator, because if there had been anyone among them who was not of good character, the Prophet (#$J would have excluded him and said, 'Let so-and-so convey to those who are absent.' The fact that he included all of them iu this injunction to convey to those who came after them proves that they were all of good character, and that is sufficient honour for those whom the Messenger of Allah (gg) regarded as such."939 (b) Bukhari narrated, with his chain of narration going back to Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allah he pleased with him), that the latter said: "The Prophet (&) said: 'Do not revile my Companions, for if you were to give the equivalent of Uhud in gold, it would not amount to a mudd (about what one's two hands can scoop up) of one of them, 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib or half of that."'940 The evidence for the good character of the Companions in this hadith is that describing them as not being of good character is disparaging them, especially since he (a) forbade some of those who met him and accompanied him to hurt those who were senior to them because of their efforts in supporting Islam. This applies even more to those who come after the Companions with regard to all the We know that all the Companions are of good character because Allah has described them as such and praised them, and the Messenger of AUah (g) also praised them. There is no need for confirmation of their good character by anyone e1se.9~' Even if their good character was not mentioned in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (g), -- people of sound mind and good hearts would confirm their good character on the basis of the mutawgtir reports from them that tell of their great deeds and efforts to support the religion of Allah (B). They did whatever they could to support the truth, raise its banner, lay its foundations and propagate its rulings throughout the land (may Allah be pleased with them all). What is meant by good character here is not avoidance of falling into sin, because that is only for one who is Ibn al-Anb2ri said: "Saying that they were of good character does not mean affirming that they were infallible or that it was impossible for them to sin; rather what is meant is that their reports may be accepted without needing to establish or prove their being of good character, unless there is proof of something to undermine their good character or dignity, but nothing of the sort was ever proven, praise be to Allah (s).

So we shall continue to believe that they remained as they were at the time of the Messenger of Allah (@), unless the opposite is proven."944 Consensus on their good character: Ah1 as-Sunnah wdJam2'ah are unanimously agreed that all the Companions were of 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia good character without exception, whether they were involved in turmoil (fitnah) or not; Ah1 as-Sunnah do not differentiate between them. All of them are of good character, and we think positively of them because of the honour that Allah bestowed upon them of accompanying His Prophet (g), their great efforts in supporting the Messenger (g) - , by migrating to join him and striving alongside him in jihad, and their adhering to the commands of Islam and heeding its limits. Therefore their testimony and reports are accepted without needing to establish their good character, according to the consensus of those whose view is credible. Consensus on their good character was narrated by a great number of scholars; here are some examples: (a) Al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after mentioning evidence from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger that points to the good character of all the Companions: "This is the view of all the scholars and those jurists whose views are credible.""' (b) Abu 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Even though we need not examine the character of the Companions, because all the followers of truth among the Muslims - Ahl asSunnah wal-Jam2'ah - are agreed that they are of good character, we still have to find out about their names and who they are."946 (c) Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that there was consensus on their good character, and he explained the reason for that consensus as follows: "Perhaps the reason for it is that they are the ones who transmitted Islam (to the next generation), and if we had to he sceptical about their reports, then Islam would have been limited to the time of the Messenger (g) and would not have continued to other eras."947 (d) Tbu as-Sal* stated that the consensus on the good character of the Companions was a unique quality that distinguished them from 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib others. He said: "All of the Companions have a special quality, which is that the good character of any one of them is not to be questioned; it is to be taken for granted because they were all of good character according to the texts of the Quran and Sunnah and the consensus of those whose views are credible." He also said: "The Ummah is unanimously agreed on the good character of all the Companions, including those who got involved in fimah. This is the consensus of the scholars whose view is credible; they think positively of them because they are the ones who transmitted Islam and har ria."^^' And Allah (s) knows best.

(e) Imam Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after mentioning that the wars that occurred among them and the stances they adopted were based on what they thought was right, and that all of them are excused for what happened among them: "Hence the people of the straight path and those who are credible agreed that their testimony and reports are to be accepted and that they are of good character, may AUah be pleased with them."949 He said in atTaqreeb: "All the Companions are of good character and credible, including those who were involved in the fitnah and those who were not, according to the consensus of those whose views are credible."950 (f) Al-H%fi& Ibn Katheer said: "All of the Companions are of good character according to Ah1 as-Sunnah walJami'ah, because of the praise bestowed upon them by Allah in His holy Book and because of what the Sunnah says in praise of them in all their attitudes, deeds, sacrifice of wealth and lives, striving alongside the Messenger of Allah (g) and seeking great reward with Allah (3g)."951 (g) Al-'Iraqi said, commenting on al-AIfiyyah, after quoting some Qur'anic verses and hadiths which prove the good character of the Companions: "The entire Ummah is agreed on the credibility and good character of those who did not get involved in turmoil. With 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia regard to those who did get involved in the turmoil at the time of 'UthtnZthose scholars whose views are credible are also unanimously agreed on their good character, thinking positively of them and assuming that it was based on what they thought was right."952 (h) Al-H2fi& Ibn Hajar stated that Ah1 as-Sunnah are unanimously agreed on the good character of the Companions. He said: "Ah1 asSunnah are agreed that all of them were of good character, and no one disagreed concerning that except weird or odd innovators."953 All of these blessed reports, which state that here was consensus among the leading scholars, are a clear indication and definitive proof that the good character of the Companions is something finnly established that may be taken for granted and regarded as a given. This leaves no room for anyone to doubt it, after the confirmation of their good character by Allah (&) and His Messenger (@) and the consensus of the Ummah on that.954 3.6.3. Obligation to love them, pray for them and ask for forgiveness for them The belief of Ah1 as-Sunuah wal-Jami'ah is that it is obligatory to love the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) and to respect and honour them, regard their consensus on an issue as binding and follow their example. It is forbidden to bear grudges against any one of them, because of the honour that Allah (&) bestowed upon them of accompanying His Messenger (g), engaging in jihad alongside him to support the religion of Islam, bearing patiently the persecution of the polytheists and hypocrites, migrating from their homes and leaving behind their wealth, and giving precedence to love of Allah and His Messenger (g) over all of that.

Allah (&) says: #And those who came after them say: 'Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful'b (Quran 59: lo). This verse indicates that it is obligatory to love the Companions, because Allah (s) has given a share of the fay' to those who come after the Companions, as long as they persist in loving them, supporting them and praying for forgiveness for them; it indicates that the one who insults any of them or believes anything bad about them bas no right to the fay'. That was narrated from Imam Mil& and others.

M2ik said: "Whoever shows hatred towards any one of the Companions of Muhammad (g) . a or bears any resentment towards them in his heart has no right to the fay' of the Muslims." Then he recited the verse: (And those who came after.), (Qnr'an 59: 10) In both earlier and later times, Ah1 as-Sunnah wal-Jami'ah understood that what was meant in the verse quoted above is a command to the later generations to offer supplication and ask for forgiveness for the earlier generation, namely the Companions of the Messenger of AUah (g). Muslim narrated, with his chain of narration from H i s h h ibn 'Urwah, that his father said: '"kishah said to me: '0 son of my sister, they were instructed to pray for forgiveness for the Companions of the Prophet (@), but they reviled them Ibn BaEah and others narrated that Abu Badr said: "Ahdullah ibn Zayd narrated from Talhah ibn Mutarraf from Muscab ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqa?, who said: 'People are of three categories, two of which have passed and one of which remains, so the best you can do is to be among the category that remains.' Then he recited: (And [it is also for] those who, before them, bad homes [in Madinah] and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given [from the booty of Bann an-Nadeer], and give them [emigrants] preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successfuli) (Quran 59: 9). He said: 'These are the Muhgjiroon, and they are a category that has passed.' "Then he recited: 4And [it is also for] those who, before them, had homes [in Madinah] and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given [from the booty of Banu an-Nadeerl, and give them [emigrants] preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.# (Quran 59: 9) He said: 'These are the An$&, and they are the second category that has passed.' "Then he recited: (And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed.

Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful"# (Quran 59: 10). Two have passed, and this group remains: those who pray for forgiveness for them."956 No one with the slightest knowledge would doubt that the RZ& Shia are excluded from this category since they do not pray for mercy for the Companions or ask for forgiveness for them. Instead they disparage them and bear grudges against them, so they are deprived of this category and status, which the Muslim is required to attain and should never go beyond, under any circumstances, until he meets his ~ o r d . ~ ~ ' Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'These verses include praise for the Muhijireen and the An$& and for those who come after them who pray for forgiveness for them and ask Allah (g) not to put in their hearts any resentment towards them. This indicates that these groups are the ones who are entitled to the fay', and there is no doubt that these Rgfidis are excluded from these 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib three categories because they do not pray for forgiveness for those who came before, and their hearts harbour resentment against them. In these verses, there is praise for the Companions and for Ah1 asSunnah who love and support them, and exclusion for the RZdis from that.

This proves that the RZfidi madh-hab is flawed."958 3.6.4. Prohibition in the Quran and Sunnah from reviling the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) (Verily, those who annoy Allah and His Messenger (@, Allah has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating torment.) (Quran 33: 57) This verse is a warning, a threat of being cast away from the mercy of Allah (&g) and a humiliating torment, for the one who offends Allah (&) by going against His commands, doing what He forbids and persisting in that, and annoying and offending His This includes both verbal and physical offences, such as reviling, insulting or undermining him or his religion, or anything else that may cause offence to him?" Among the things that cause offence to him (s) is insulting his Companions; he has told us that offending them is offending him, and that the one who offends him has offended Allah (&)?61 What offence to the Companions could be worse than reviling them? This verse contains the strongest and clearest evidence that it is h a r h to revile them (may Allah be pleased with them). (And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, they bear [on themselves] the crime of slander and plain sin.) (Quran 33: 58) 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia This verse includes a waming against offending the believing men and women by attributing things to them that they have nothing to do with and have never done. It is the greatest lie to tell or narrate about the believing men and women things that they did not do, for the purpose of undermining and condemning them.962 The reason this verse proves that it is h a r k to insult the Companions is that they are the foremost among the believers, and they were the ones who were addressed in every verse that begins with the words, -40 you who believe!B (Quran 2: 104) or #Verily, those who believe [in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism] and do righteous deeds) (Quran 18: 107), throughout the Quran. This verse is indicative of the prohibition on reviling the Companions because the word 'believers' was first applied to them, and they were the foremost among the believers.

Insulting them and undermining them are among the greatest offences. Whoever undermines them in that way has condemned the best of the believers for something that they did not do. If a person regards disparaging and undermining them as part of his religious practice, the waming mentioned in this verse applies to Ibn Katheer said, commenting on this verse: "Foremost among those who are included in this waming are those who disbelieve in Allah (&) and His Messenger, then the Riifidis who undermined the Companions, criticised them for things of which Allah (B) has declared them innocent, and described them in terms contrary to what Allah (&) has said about them. Allah (&) said that He is pleased with the Muhiijireen and An&, and He praised them. Those ignorant and stupid people disparage them and undermine them; they attribute to them characteristics that they never had and deeds that they never did. In fact, they (the RiifiGs) have a distorted view of things; they criticise those who are praised and praise those who are condemned."964 Xli ibn Abi Trilib 4Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate [in prayer], seeking Bounty from Allah and [His] Good Pleasure. The mark of them [i.e. of their Faith] is on their faces [foreheads] from the traces of prostration [during prayers]. This is their description in the Tawr2t rrorah]. But their description in the Injeel [Gospel] is like a [sown] seed which sends forth its shoot, then makes it strong, and becomes thick and it stands straight on its stem, delighting the sowers, that He may enrage the disbelievers with them. AUah has promised those among them who believe [i.e. all those who follow Islamic Monotheism, the religion of Prophet Muhammad till the Day of Resurrection] and do righteous good deeds, forgiveness and a mighty reward [i.e. paradise].)r (Quran 48: 29) The way in which this verse proves that it is h a r k to revile the Companions (&) is that no one reviles them except one who is enraged in his heart against them.

In this verse, Allah (B) explains that it is the disbelievers who were enraged because of them, so this indicates that it is har2m to condemn them or criticise them for what happened among them in such a way as to put them down. 3.6.4.d. It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (4) said: "The Messenger of AUah (@) said: 'Do not revile my companions. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if one of you were to spend the equivalent of U ~ u d in gold, it would not amount to a mudd of one of them, or half of that."'965 This hadith clearly states that it is h a r k to insult the Companions (&); it includes both a prohibition and a warning.966 There are many similar hadiths as well. 'Ali's attirude towards the Kharijites and Shia Prohibition of the early generation from reviling the Companions There are numerous texts narrated from the early generations of the Ummah, its leading scholars among the Companions, and those who came after them who followed them in truth, which defend the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and state that it is h a r h to revile them. They include the following: (a) m a d ibn Hanbd said: "If you see a man mentioning one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) in a bad way, then doubt his slam."^^' (b) Abu Zar'ah ar-R&i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "If you see a man undermining any of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (&), then know that he is a heretic, because the Messenger (gg) in our view is true, and the Quran is true; the people who conveyed this Quran and Sunnah were the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (a). They seek to undermine our witnesses (meaning those who conveyed the Quran and Sunnah) so as to invalidate the Quran and Sunnah; it is more appropriate to criticise and doubt them (those who impugn the Companions), and they are heretics."968 (c) Imam ashShawk2ni (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that there was consensus among Ah1 d-Bayt that it is h a r k to revile the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them ail), and this was narrated in twelve reports.969 Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-W%id d-Maqdisi narrated, with his chain of narration going back to Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn alHusayn ibn 'Ali, that he said to Jihir al-Ja'fi: "0 Jzbir, I heard that some people in Iraq are claiming that they love us, and they impugn Abu Bakr and 'Umar and claim that I am telling them to do so.

Tell them from me that I disavow them before Allah (&). By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if I were to 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib be appointed to a position of authority, I would seek to draw close to Allah (B) by executing them. May I never attain the intercession of Muhammad (gJ if I do not seek forgiveness for them (Abu Bakr and 'Umar) and pray for mercy for them. The enemies of Allah (@) are not aware of their virtue. So tell them that I disavow them and anyone else who shuns Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them)."970 He also narrated, with his chain of narration going back to Abdullah ibn al-Hasan ibn 'Ali, that he said: "I do not think that any man who reviles Abu Bakr and 'Umar will ever be guided to repent."971 3.6.5. Love of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali and his sons for the Companions (&) The true picture will remain, bright and clear, and all else will fade away.

This picture is clarified in the most important book of the Twelver Shia, namely Nahj al-Balighah. These texts are sufficient to undermine their beliefs, which are based on cursing and reviling the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (B) and saying that they apostatised and turned on their heels after the Prophet (g) died. Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali himself described the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) as he saw them. He said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad, and I have never seen anyone like them. They would wake up unkempt and dusty, having spent all night in prostration and prayer, alternating between resting their foreheads and their feet on the ground, feeling alarm due to thinking of the hereafter. It was as if there were marks between their eyes like the hees of a goat because of lengthy prostration.

When Allah was remembered, their eyes would fill with tears until their garments became wet. They would sway like trees on a stormy day for fear of punishment and in hope of reward."972 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharjjites and Shia 'Ali (&) felt sad for having parted from them, and he enlogised them after their death like one who loves someone and parts from the one whom he loves. He said: "Where are the people who were called to Islam and accepted it, who read the Quran and applied it, who unsheathed their swords and marched in ranks to all comers of the ea*th with sore eyes because of weeping and empty stomachs because of fasting, with dry lips because of supplication and wan faces because of staying up at night, on whose faces was the mark of the humble? Those are my brothers who have passed away, so we have the right to yearn for them and to bite our fingers in sorrow at their loss."973 0 YOU who love Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&>), think about how he regarded the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g)! Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'hideen (may Allah have mercy on him) used to mention the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (&) and pray for mercy and forgiveness for them in his prayer because of the support they gave to the master of mankind in spreading the call of tawhid and conveying the message of Allah (&)to His creation. He said: "0 Allah, grant them Your pleasure and forgiveness, 0 Allah, in particular the Companions, who were good companions and strove hard to support him; they stood with him and hastened to offer refuge and protect him.

They were the fmt to accept his call and respond to him when he presented the proof for his message. They left their wives and children to support his word; they fought their fathers and sons in support of his prophethood; they abandoned their tribes to join him, and their relatives abandoned them when they decided to be with him. 0 Allah, whatever they gave up was for Your sake, so be pleased with them and reward them abundantly, since they strove hard to support the trnth for Your sake. "Reward them for abandoning their homes for Your sake, for leaving a life of ease for a life of hardship, and for leaving a life of Xli ibn Abi Trilib abundance to a life of little, all in support of Your religion. 0 Allah, reward with the best reward those who followed them in trnth and said, '0 our Lord, forgive our brothers in faith who came before us,' those who followed their example and emulated them; they never had any doubt about their deep insight and never hesitated to follow in their footsteps and follow their guidance, loving and supporting them, following their way, uniting behind them and never questioning them with regard to what they passed on to them."974 This is the attitude of the Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt (may AUah be pleased with them) towards the Companions. It is the opposite of what is claimed by those Riififidi plotters and conspirators who hied to conceal themselves under the cover of support for Ahl al-Bayt and Shiism, but who were enemies of the noble Quran, the Sunnah and the pure Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt. 3.7. Attitude of the Shia towards the Sunnah The meaning of the word 'Sunnah' in Islamic terminology is that which was narrated from the Prophet (B) of words, deeds or approval?75 The scholars of Ah1 as-Sunnah paid a great deal of attention to writing down the sound reports and made every effort to protect the Sunnah from fabrications and fabricators. They did their utmost and used the best academic methods of checking and examining texts, to the extent that we can be certain that our scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) were the first ones among all the nations of the earth to lay down rnles of precise academic examination of reports.

Their effort in that fieId is something for Muslims to be proud of and to boast about before all nations. This is the bounty of Allah, which He grants to whom He wills, and Allah is AU-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, ~ l l - ~ n o w i n ~ ? ~ ~ The Sunni scholars took the following steps to examine and check reports. They were able to save and protect the Sunnah from 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia the plots and conspiracies that were drawn up against it, and to cleanse it from all the dirt that contaminated it9'' 3.7.1. The chain of narrators of reports The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) did not doubt one another after he died, and the Tihi'oon never hesitated to accept any hadith that was narrated by a Companion from the Messenger of Allah (g), hut this changed when fitnah arose and the wretched ~hdullah ibn Saha' started preaching his evil ideas, which were based on an extreme form of Shiism that claimed that 'Ali (&) was divine. He began to fabricate reports and insert them into the Sunnah, and the number of fabricated reports accumulated with the passage of time. At this point, the scholars among the Companions and the T2hi'oon became very careful about the transmission of hadith, and they would not accept any report unless they knew its chain of narration and narrators and were satisfied with their trustworthiness and good character.

Ibn Sireen said, as was narrated by Imam Muslim in the introduction to his collection of sound hadiths: "They used not to ask about chains of narration, hut when the fitnah occurred, they said: 'Name for us your men (in the chain of narration)."' They would find out who were followers of the Sunnah and accept their hadiths, and they would find out about who were followers of innovation and reject their hadiths. This checking began at the time of the younger Companions who were still alive at the time of fitnah. Muslim narrated, in the introduction to his collection of sound hadiths, that Mujaid said: "Basheer al-'Adawi came to Ibn 'Abhb and started narrating to him, saying: 'The Messenger of Allah (gJ said, the Messenger of AUah (g) said.' Ibn 'Ahhis did not listen to his reports and did not even look at him. He said: '0 Ibn 'Abhb, why is it that I do not see you listening to what I tell you? I am narrating to 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib you from the Messenger of Allah (B), and you are not listening.' Ibn 'Abbb said: 'At one time, if we heard a man say, "The Messenger of Allah (g) ~. , said," we would all turn to look at him and listen to him. But when the people started to narrate a great deal, we did not accept from the people anything but that which we were familiar with.' Then when lying became widespread, the Tftbi'oon began to ask for chains of narration.

Abu al-'Aliyah said: 'We used to hear hadiths from the Companions, hut we would not be content until we went to them and heard it from them.' Ibn al-Mub%ak said: 'The chain of narration is part of the religion. Were it not for the chain of narration, anyone could say what they wanted.' Ibn al-Mubkak also said: 'Between us and the people are the lists' - meaning chains of narration."978 3.7.2. Verifying hadiths This was done by referring to the Companions, Tibi'oon and prominent scholars in this field. It is a sign of Allah's preserving the Sunnah of His Prophet that He made the lives of some prominent Companions and scholars among them long, so that they could serve as a reference point and people could be guided through them. When the fabrication of hadiths began, the people turned to these Companions first, asking them what they knew of hadiths and seeking their advice concerning the hadiths and reports they heard. Many trips were made by the Tibi'oon, and even some of the Companions, from one country to another for that purpose, so that they could hear proven hadiths from trustworthy narrators.

Hence J2hir ibn Abdullah travelled to Syria, and Abu Ayyoob travelled to Egypt to hear hadiths. 3.7.3. Critical examination of narrators, highlighting how truthful they were This is a very important field, through which the scholars were able to distinguish sound from fabricated hadiths, strong from weak. 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijitcs and Shia They did very well in this regard, tracing narrators and studying their lives, history and biography, what was hidden about them and what was known, never fearing the blame of the They set out guidelines and rules and applied them in order to determine whose reports were to he accepted and whose were to he rejected, whose reports were to be written down and whose reports were not to he written down. Among the most important categories of rejected reporters, whose hadiths are not to be accepted, are: 3.7.3.a. Those who tell lies about the Messenger of Allah (&) The scholars unanimously agreed that the hadith of one who tells lies about the Prophet (s) is not to be accepted. They also unanimously agreed that this is the gravest of major sins, but they differed as to whether such a person is a disbeliever or not.

Some said that he is a disbeliever, and some said that he is to he executed, and they differed as to whether his repentance is acceptable or not. 3.7.3.b. Those who tell lies in their general talk, even if they do not tell lies about the Messenger of Allah (&) The scholars unanimously agree that if a person is known to have told a lie, even once, his hadith is to he rejected. 3.7.3.c. Followers of innovation and whims and desires The scholars also agreed that no hadith can be accepted from a follower of innovation if his innovation constitutes dishelief. If his innovation does not constitute disbelief, hut he regards lying as permissible, his hadiths are not accepted either. What if he follows an innovation that does not constitute disbelief and he does not regard lying as permissible - can his reports he accepted or not? Is there a differentiation between one who promotes innovation and calls others to it, and one who does not?

Ibn Katheer said: "Concerning this issue, there has been a dispute from early times until more 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib recently. The view of the majority is that there should be differentiation between one who promotes innovation and one who does not."980 What appears to me to be correct is that the scholars reject a narrator who follows innovation if he narrates something that supports his innovation, or if his group is known to regard lying as permissible and to fabricate hadiths in support of their whims and desires. Hence they rejected the reports of the Rifidis, but they would accept the report of an innovator if he and his group did not regard lying as permissible, such as 'Inxiin ibn ~ a ~ i i n ? ~ ' 3.7.3.d. Rejecting the reports of heretics and others The scholars are agreed that the reports of the following people are to be rejected: heretics, evildoers, heedless people who do not understand what they are narrating, and anyone who does not meet the conditions of precision, good character and understanding. The scholars of hadith established guidelines for determining what is sound, reliable and weak in categorizing hadith. They also set out guidelines for determining what is fabricated, and they mentioned the signs by which this might be known, such as poor language, unsound meanings, being contrary to the clear meaning of the Quran, contradicting the known facts of history at the time of the Prophet (s) and others.982 By means of these successful efforts, the Islamic religion was preserved.

The foundation of the Sunuab, which is the second source of legislation, was established, and the Muslims felt reassured with regard to the hadiths of their Prophet (g). Everything alien was removed, and the distinctions between what was sound, reliable and weak were established. Allah (B) protected His religion from tampering by those who sought to corrupt it and those who were trying to insert fabricated reports, and from the plots of the heretics and the shu'oobiyyah. The Muslims reaped the harvest of this blessed and mighty effort, among the most prominent features of which were 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia the writing down of the Sunnah, the science of hadith, the science of examining reporters and other sciences of The attitude of the Shia towards the Sunnah, due to the Shia regarding the Companions as disbelievers The Shiite opinion on imamate led them to regard the overwhelming majority of the Companions (&) as disbelievers. As a result of this abhorrent view, the Shia rejected almost all of the hadiths that were narrated through the Companions; they only accepted hadiths that were narrated through the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt or those whom they claimed were Shia, like Salm2n d-Fkisi, 'Amm2r ihn Ygsir, Ahn Dharr and al-Miqdzd ibn d-Aswad. They launched a relentless attack on narrators of hadith such as Abu Hurayrah, Samurah ibn Junduh, 'Urwah ibn ai-Zubayr, 'Amr ibn al- 'AS, al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah and others; they accuse them of fabricating, forging and lying.984 Imam 'Abdul-Q&ir al-Baghdadi regarded the Shia as being among those who rejected the Sunnah because they refused to accept the reports of the Companions of the Messenger of guidance (g).985 The Shia waged war against the Sunnah, hence Ahl as-Sunnah (the Sunnis) were hmown exclusively by this name because they followed the Sunnah of the Prophet ( $ ! t . 8 This is what was mentioned in some of the sources of Ah1 as-Sunnah, but the Shia narrate from their Imams that everything is to be referred to the Quran and Sunnah, and that every hadith that is not in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah is invalid.987 They also have other reports l i e this.988 This means that the Shia do not deny the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (g); they do refer to it and regard it as parallel to the Book of ~ i a h as the criterion and final word.

However, the one who studies their texts and reports will reach the conclusion that most of their reports and views head in a direction 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib away from the Sunnah that is known to the Muslims, in terms of interpretation and application as well as chains of narration and texts. The word of the Imam is like the word of Allah and His Messenger For the Shia, the Sunnah is everything that was narrated from the 'infallible one', whether word, deed or approval?8y The one who does not understand the nature of their madh-hab will not realise the extent to which they have drifted away from the Sunnah in this statement. The 'infallible one' refers not only to the Messenger of Allah (g) but also to any of those whose word they regard as equal to the word of Allah and the words of His Messenger, namely the twelve Imams. They do not differentiate in this regard between these twelve Imams and the one who does not speak of his own desire, whose speech is only a Revelation r e v e a ~ e d ~ ~ ~ t h e Prophet (s)?~' These Imams are not treated like others who narrated from the Prophet, whose words become binding on the basis that they are trustwoahy in narration. They believe that these 'infallible ones' were appointed by Allah (sf, as mentioned by Prophet, to convey the divine rulings, and that they do not speak of anything except that which comes from Allah (s).'~' There is also no differentiation between what these twelve Imams said at the age of childhood and what they said at the age of maturity, because in the view of the Shia, they cannot err - either deliberately or accidentally or as a result of forgetfulness - at any time throughout their lives, as we have seen above in the discussion of the issue of infallibility. Hence one of their contemporasy shaykhs said: "Belief in the infallibility of the lmams makes whatever they utter sound, without stipulating a condition that it should have a chain of narration going back to the Prophet (e), as is the case with Ahl as- ~ u n n a h .

" ~ ~ ~ For them, the Sunnah is not only the Sunnah of the 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia Prophet; rather it is the Sunnah of the Imams, and the words of these Imams are like the words of Allah and His Messenger. They admit that this is what the Shia added to the Sunnah, saying: "The Imami Shia added everything that was said or done by the twelve Imams of words, deeds or approval, to the Sunnah of the Prophet (g)."994 Their view stems from two serious matters and two principles, which for them are basic to this issue. One of their contemporary shaykhs pointed out these two things when he explained that whatever the Imams said is at the same level as the words of the Prophet (&) in that it is binding and must be followed, and that whatever ruling they pass is the ruling ordained by Allah. He explained that this knowledge could be attained for them in two ways: "through inspiration like the Prophet, i.e., through revelation, or through learning it from the infallible one who came before him."995 They claim that the Imams are the guardians of the knowledge and revelation of Allah ($1. The author of al-Ki?fi wrote a chapter with the title: "The Imams (m) are in charge of executing the commands of Allah (%) and are the guardians of His ~ n o w l e d ~ e . " ~ ~ ~ In this chapter, there are six reports to that effect.

He wrote another chapter entitled: "The Imams inherited the knowledge of the Prophet and all the Prophets and the appointed heirs who came before them,""' in which there are seven such reports. In a third chapter, entitled "The Imams know all branches of knowledge that are known to the Angels, Prophets and Messengers (m),"998 there are four The R2fifidi Shia went to extremes with this issue. What we have quoted from these imaginary sources claimed by the Shia is enough; simply reading it and imagining its implications is sufficient to show how corrupt it is. As a result of that concept of the Imams, the Rifidi Shia did not pay attention to the soundness of the chain of narration or study 'Ali ibn Abi Ttlib and evaluate the narrators, as the scholars of hadith did. At the same time that they reject the collections of sound hadithsof Bukhari and Muslim and the books of the Sunnah that are authenticated and sound, they rely for their hadiths on what was narrated by al-Kulayni, whose comments on many of their beliefs we have quoted above. They regard him as one whose view is binding and sound beyond any doubt, and his book al-Kcifi loo' is one of the oldest hadith books of the Shia and one of the most authentic in their view.

One of the Shia described the status of this book among them when he said: 'The lmamis and the majority of Shia are agreed on the superiority of this book and on following it, trusting its reports and being content with its rulings. They unanimously agreed that it is of a supreme status and high level, and it is the main basis for all the narrations of the trustworthy reporters who are known for their precision and knowledge until today."'001 For them, it is better than all the other books of hadith, knowing that most of what is in al-Kcifi -as Abu Zahrah says -are reports that ended with the Imams. We cannot say that there is any hadith with a chain of narrators that goes hack all the way to the Prophet (g) or claims that these are the words of the Prophet (g), except on the basis that the words of their Imams are the same as the words of the Prophet (@J and are part of the religion of Allah (B). Most of what is narrated in al-Kcifi stops at asSidiq, and very little of it goes back to his father al-Biqir. Even less goes back to Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&), and that which goes back to the Prophet (g) is very rare. There is also a book called Man la yuhduruhu al-Faqeeh, which was compiled by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Bzbawayh, whom they call ash-Shaykh as-Sadooq, one of their greatest scholars in Khorasan (d. 381 AH).

Other main references of the Shia include Tahdheeb al-Ahkcim and al-Istibjiirfima ukhtulifa min al-Akhbcir, by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at-Toosi. These Shiite 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites andShia books are filled with tens of thousands of reports and hadiths which cannot be proven sound; indeed most of them are fabricated and made up,'"' such as the reports that we have referred to previously, on which they rely to defend the idea that 'Ali (4) was more entitled to the caliphate. From the above, we know the views and beliefs of the Shia. The Shia themselves - or at least some of them - admit that in their books there are some fabricated reports, and they themselves criticise some of their narrators. Since this is the case, the Shia should follow the advice of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T%b (&) when he said: "Adhere to your religion and follow the guidance and Sunnah of your Prophet. Measure what you do not understand against the Quran; whatever the Quran approves of, adhere to it, and whatever it disapproves of, reject it."'Oo3 He (&) also said: "Follow the guidance of your Prophet (g), for it is'the best of guidance, and follow his Suunah, for it is the best of ways."1004 They should adhere to the path of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T2lib (&) in understanding the rulings of the noble Qur'arl and the meanings of its verses.

They should adhere to the apparent meaning of the noble Qnr'an, understanding the verses that are general in meaning in the light of the verses that are specific. and detailed. They should pay attention to what abrogates and what is abrogated, study the language of the Arabs, understand some teats in the light of others, ask about any verses that are unclear, understand the reasons for revelation and learn from Arnir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (4) how to respect the status of prophethood and deal with the Sunnah of the Messenger (8) in accordance with his guidance, which I have discussed in this book. Then they should examine the reports in their books on the basis of two just and precise measures: the Book of Allah and the Snnnah of His Messenger. Whatever is in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib (g), they should accept it; whatever is contrary to them, they should reject it and wan their followers against it, especially those reports that undermine their Imams themselves, let alone Islam. The religion of Allah is complete and perfect. Allah says: (This day, I have perfected your religion for you!

(Quran 5: 3). And the Messenger of Allah (g) conveyed all that was revealed to him and he followed the command of his Lord, Who said: (0 Messenger [Muhammad]! Proclaim [the Message] which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message) (Quran 5: 67). The Prophet (g) conveyed the message clearly and eloquently, and he established proof so that there would he no excuse left for anyone. He proclaimed it openly among the Muslims, without singling out anyone to tell him alone any part of Shariah and asking him to keep it secret.

Allah says: (verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers. Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and openly declare [the truth which they concealed]! (Quran 2: 159-160). (And We have not sent down the Book [the Quran] to you [O Muhammad], except that you may explain clearly unto them those things in which they differ.) (Quran 16: 64) So the religion is complete and perfect, with nothing added or taken away or altered,loo5 not by any so-called Imam or any fictional absent one.lw6 The Prophet (gg) bade farewell to this world after conveying the religion in full and explaining all of it as commanded by his Lord. He (g) said: "You have been left with something so clear that its night is like its day. No one goes astray from it after I am gone but he will be doomed."'007 Ahu Dharr (&) . . said: 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijifes and Shia "Muhammad (g) left us, and no bird moved its wing in the sky but he told us something about it."'008 3.8.

Shia view of Taqiyyah 3.8.1. Shia definition of Taqiyyah Their shaykh al-Mufeed said: "Taqiyyah is concealing the truth and one's belief in it, not speaking about one's beliefs to those who are different, and not supporting them in any matter that may cause harm in one's religious or worldly affairs. ,, 1009 Yoosuf d - B&ki, one of their senior scholars in the twelfth century AH, said: "What is meant by taqiyyah is to show agreement with those who differ from us in what they believe, out of fear."1010 Khomeini said: "The meaning of taqiyyah is for a man to say something different than the truth or to do something contraq to the teachings of Islam, in order to protect his life, honour or ~ealth."'~" These three definitions of taqiyyah, by three of the senior scholars of the Rifidi Shia who came at different intervals, are based on their four main principles of taqiyyah, which are: * The meaning of taqiyyah is for a person to show to another something other than what he believes in his heart. *:* Taqiyyah is to be used with those who differ, and it is very clear that all of the Muslims come under this heading. +:* Taqiyyah is used with regard to what those who differ believe or follow in matters of religion. +:* Taqiyyah is only to be used in the case of fear for one's religion, life or wealth. These four guidelines form the basis of their belief in taqiyyah.'012 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib 3.8.2. Status of taqiyyah among the RSfidi Shia Taqiyyah is held in high esteem among them, as is indicated by numerous reports in their main reference books. A-Kulayni and others narrated from Ja'far as-Sidiq that he said: "Taqiyyah is part of my religion and the religion of my forefathers, and the one who has no taqiyyah has no faith."1°13 It was narrated from Abu Ahdullah that he said: "Nine-tenths of religion is in taqiyyah; the one who has no taqiyyah has no faith. Taqiyyah may be applied to everything except nabeedh (a type of drink) and wiping over the two khuffs (leather slippers). ,i 1014 In Al-MahBsin, it is narrated from Habeeb ihn Basheer from Abu Abdullah that he said: "No, by Allah, nothing on earth is dearer to me than taqiyyah. 0 Habeeb, the one who has taqiyyah will be raised in status by Allah; 0 Habeeb, the one who has no taqiyyah will be humiliated by ~ ~ l a h .

" ' ~ ' ~ In at-Toosi's Al-A&li, it is narrated from Ja'far as-Sidiq that he said: "He is not one of us who does not adhere to taqiyyah and preserve our dignity before the base In Al-Ufool al-Asliyyah it is narrated from 'Ali ibn Muhammad that Diwood as-Sarmi said: "He said to me: '0 Dzwood, if I told you that the one who forsakes taqiyyah is like the one who forsakes prayer, it would be It was narrated from Biqir that he was asked: "Who is the most perfect of people?' He said: "The one who adheres most to taqiyyah and takes care of his brothers the most."'018 It was also narrated that he said: "The noblest characteristic of the virtuous Imams of our sect is the use of taqiyyah."'019 These reports illustrate the high status of taqiyyah in their view and its importance in their religion. For the Rzfidi Shia, taqiyyah is one of the most important fundamentals of religion; the one who has no taqiyyah has no faith, and the one who forsakes taqiyyah is like 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia the one who forsakes prayer. In fact, taqiyyah in their view is better than all the pillars of Islam. Taqiyyah represents nine-tenths of their religion, and all the pillars and obligatory duties of Islam represent the remaining ~ne-tenth.'~'~ The author of al-Kifi narrated reports under the headings: 'Chapter on taqiyyah,'1021 'Chapter on concealment,"022 and 'Chapter on speaking openly."023 Al-Majlisi quoted one hundred and nine of their reports in Bihrir al-Anwir in a chapter called 'Taqiyyah' and being kind for fear of hostility.10Z4 3.8.3. Causes of this exaggeration with regard to taqiyyah This exaggeration with regard to taqiyyah is due to a number of things, such as: 3.8.3.a. Their view that the rulership of the first three caliphs was invalid The RXldi Shia regarded the rnlership of the first three caliphs as invalid.

They and those who swore allegiance to them are regarded as disbelievers, even though 'Ali (&) swore allegiance to them, prayed behind them, fought in jihad alongside them, gave his daughter Umm Kulthoom in marriage to 'Umar (&) and had a concubine whom he received from his jihad with Abn Bakr (&). When he was appointed caliph, he followed in their footsteps and did not change anything that Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) did, as the books of the Shia themselves admit. This proves that the Shiite madh-hab is invalid from its foundations. They tried to escape these overwhelming contradictions by using the principle of taqiyyah1025 to explain the events of their histoty. They suggested that 'Ali's keeping quiet about Abu Bakr (&) was taqiyyah, and al-Hasan ibn 'Ali's yielding the caliphate to Mu'iwiyah was taqiyyah, and the disappearance and concealment of 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib their Imams was taqiyyah. Thus it is possible to explain all events that contradict their beliefs by means of taqiyyah.'0z6 3.8.3.b.

Their claim that the Imams were infallible They claimed that the Imams were infallible; they were not heedless, and they did not err or forget. However, this claim is contrq to what is known of their lives. Even the reports of the Shia themselves, which are attributed to the Imams, differ and contradict one another to the extent that there is no report without another one that contradicts it, as was acknowledged by their shaykh at-~oosi.'~~' It is obvious that this cancels out the very foundation of the principle of infallibility, so they came up with the idea of taqiyyah to explain these contradictions and differences and to cover up their lies about the Imams. The author of al-Ktji narrated that Mansoor ibn Hbim said: "I said to Abu Abdullah (m): 'Why is it that sometimes I ask you about an issue and you give me an answer, then someone else comes to you and you give him a different answer?' He said: 'We answer people on the basis of giving more or less.'"1028 The commentator on al-Kiji said that this means that they: "are more strict when using taqiyyah, and less so when there is no taqiyyah. That is not because of forgetfulness or ignorance; it is because they know that differences among the Shia are better for them and more conducive to their survival, because if they were united in their views, they would be known for being Shia, and that could be a reason for killing them and killing the Imams."1029 3.8.3.c. Making the mission of those who fabricate lies about the Imams easy Another factor is the aim of making the mission of those who fabricate lies about the Imams easy and tqing to conceal the real madh-hab of Ah1 al-Bayt.

They hied to give the impression to their 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia followers that what they (those who lay down the principle of taqiyyah) transmitted from the Imams was their true madh-hab, whereas the well known sayings and actions of the Imams of Ah1 d - Bayt in front of the Muslims did not represent their m e madh-hab because they did that on the basis of taqiyyah. Using this ploy, it became easy for them to fabricate words and attribute them to the Imams, even as they rejected what was narrated from them of truth. So, for example, you will find them rejecting the words of Imam Muhammad d-Biqir or Ja'far as-Sidiq that were said in front of people or that were narrated by Muslims of good character, on the grounds that some Sunnis were present, so he 'used taqiyyah in his words'. On the other hand, they accept what is narrated by fabricators such as Jibir al-Ja'fi alone, on the grounds that there was no one present when he spoke whose presence would necessitate the use of taqiyyah. It is sufficient for you to know that Imam Zayd ibn 'Ali, who is one of Ah1 al-Bayt, narrated from 'Ali (4) - as is reported in the books of the Twelver Shia themselves - that he washed his feet when doing wudoo', but the one they call Shaykh at-Ti'ifah does not accept this hadith and cannot find any reason for rejecting it except taqiyyah. He rejected the badith, which was narrated in al-Zstib~6r from Zayd ibn 'Ali from his grandfather 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib, who said: "I was sitting and doing wudoo', and the Messenger of AUah (@) came when I started doing wudoo' ... and I washed my feet, and he said to me: '0 'ALi, let water go between the toes, lest the fire go between them. rr,1030 So you can see that 'Ali used to wash his feet during wudoo', and the Messenger of Allah (@) confirmed that he should let the water go between his toes.

However, the Shia went against the Sunnah of the Messenger of AUah (@) and the practice of 'Ali (&) . . with regard to that and paid no attention to such reports, even when they were narrated in their own books from the Imams of Ah1 al-Bayt. The Shiite shaykhs themselves never bothered to think 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib about these reports or examine them; they always have this readymade excuse of taqiyyah.'03i Hence at-Toosi said: "This report is in accordance with the masses - meaning Ah1 as-Sunnah - but it is to be interpreted as being taqiyyah because of what is known without any doubt of the view of our Imams (m), namely that the feet should be wiped." Then he said: "The narrators of this report are all of the masses (Sunnis) or men of the Zaydi sect; if they narrate a report supporting some of their ideas or practices,'032 we do not accept it." With regard to marriage, they have reports that mention the prohibition on temporary, fixed-term marriage. In their books, it is narrated from Zayd ibn 'Ali from his forefathers from 'Ali (&) that he said: "On the day of Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah (@)forbade the flesh of domesticated donkeys and temporary marriage. ir1033 Their Shaykh al-Hun al-'Ami~i said: "I say: The ~ h a ~ k h ' ~ ~ ~ and others interpreted it as being taqiyyah (in the report), because the permissibility of temporary marriage is one of the fundamentals of the Imami madh-hab."1035 With regard to the division of inheritance, a woman cannot inherit anything of property, houses or land."36 There is a report from the Imams contradicting that - namely the hadith of Abu Ya'qoob from Abu Abdullah, who said: "I asked him about the man: does he inherit anything of the house or the land of his wife, or is he in the same position as the woman, so he should not inherit anything from her? He said: 'He inherits from her, and she inherits from him, everything that he or she leaves behind."1037 At-Toosi said: "We interpret this as being taqiyyah, because everyone who disagrees with us disagrees with us on this issue, and none of the masses (the Sunnis) agree with us on this issue. In such cases, we may interpret it as being taqiyyah. x 1038 3.8.3.d. The principle of taqiyyah was established in order to isolate the Shia from the Muslims Their Imam Abu Abdullah said: "Whatever you hear from me that resembles the view of the people (meaning Ah1 as-Sunnah) is taqiyyah, and whatever you hear from me that does not resemble tbe view of the people is not taqiyyah."'039 The result of this belief in taqiyyah was that the views of the Imams were lost to the Shia; even their shaykhs do not know, with regard to the views of the Imams narrated in the reports, what is taqiyyah and what is true.'040 They set up a method of judging what is true, and it brought the entire madhhab into extremism; what they decided is that whatever is contrary to the masses (meaning Abl as-Sunnah) is guidance.1w1 The author of al-Hadri'iq admitted that because of taqiyyah, only a few of the rulings of their religion are known for certain.

He said: "Therefore none of the rulings of Islam were known on the basis of certainty except a few, because the reports narrated (from the Imams) are mixed with other reports that are interpreted as being taqiyyah." This was also admitted by 'the trustworthy one of Islam' Muhammad ibn Ya'qoob al-Kulayni in his book al-K63. He got so confused that when there were conflicting reports, he no longer paid attention to what was thought most likely to be correct, and he resorted to merely submitting to and accepting whatever was narrated from the ~rnams.'"~ With regard to how they apply taqiyyah among the Shia, there are reports showing that their taqiyyah is not connected to cases of necessity. Yoosuf al-B&iini admitted that the Imams may give contradictory rulings even if none of those people (Sunnis) were present, so we see them giving several different answers concerning one issue, even if none of them are similar to the Sunni view.lw3 'Ali's attitude towards the Khai-jites and Shia 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib 3.8.4. Concept of taqiyyah among Ah1 as-Sunnah The concept of taqiyyah in Islam is, in most cases, to be used with the disbelievers. Allah (&) says: d... except if you indeed fear a danger from them) (Quran 3: 28). Ibn Jareer at-Tabari said: "The taqiyyah mentioned by Allah in this verse is taqiyyah used with the disbelievers and no one e l ~ e .

" ' ~ For this reason, some members of the early generation thought that there should be no taqiyyah after Allah (B) caused Islam to prevail. Mu'2dh ibn Jabal and Muj2hid said: "Taqiyyah was to be used at the beginning of Islam, before the Muslims prevailed, but today Allah (B) has caused the Muslims to prevail, and there is no danger to be feared."1045 On the contrary, the Shias use taqiyyah with the Muslims, especially the Sunnis, to the extent that they think that the era of the best generations was an era of taqiyyah. This was stated by their shaykh al-Mufeed, and it may be noticed in the texts that are attributed to their Imams. They regard Ah1 as-Sunnah as being worse in disbelief than the Jews and Christians because in their view, the one who denies the imamate of the twelve Imams is worse than the one who denies p r ~ ~ h e t h o o d . ~ ~ ~ The correct view is that taqiyyah is a concession in cases of necessity. Hence AUah (&) made an exception to the principle that it is forbidden to become close friends with the disbelievers when He said: (Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Awliyri' [supporters, helpers] instead of the believers, and whoever does that, will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself [His punishment], and to Allah is the final return) (Quran 3: 28).

He issued a statement warning against that in the words 'and whoever does that'. In other words, whoever does what Allah (&) has forbidden has nothing to do with Allah (&). Then He said: 'except if you indeed fear a danger from them,' meaning that whoever fears 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia their evil in certain places and at certain times may dissemble or conceal his religion outwardly but not inwardly; his intention must stay true.'047 The scholars unanimously agree that taqiyyah is a concession allowed in cases of necessity. Ibn al-Mundhir said: "They were unanimously agreed that the one who is forced to disbelieve, to the extent that be fears he may he killed, and speaks words of disbelief although his heart is at rest with faithlo4' is not to be deemed a di~believer,"~~ but the one who chooses resolve in such a situation is better." Ibn Bag2 said: "They agreed that the one who is forced to disbelieve and chooses to be killed will have a greater reward with Allah Taqiyyah according to the Shiite view is something quite different, though. For them it is not a concession; it is one of the pillars of their religion.'051 Islam is the religion of jihad and calling others to the faith, so taqiyyah cannot be a basic principle and something that is entrenched in the behaviour of the Muslim or a characteristic of the Muslim society. On the contrruy, in most cases it is something temporary that is used in individual cases of necessity, and it is related to being unable to migrate; when the situation of compulsion ends, it is no longer to he used.

According to the Shiite madh-hab, however, it is regarded as something natural and an essential part of the madh-hab. It is an ongoing and permanent part of social h e h a v i o ~ r . ' ~ ~ ~ The scholars have stated, based on their knowledge of the situation of the Shia, that their taqiyyah is nothing but lies and hypocrisy. Ibn Taymiyah differentiated between the taqiyyah of hypocrisy and the taqiyyah that is allowed in Islam. He said that the taqiyyah allowed in Islam "does not mean telling lies and speaking with my tongue something different from what is in my heart, for that is hypocrisy. Instead, I do what I am able to.

If the believer is among disbelievers and evildoers, he does not have to strive in physical jihad 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib against them when he is not able to do so, but if he is able to do that verbally, then be should do that. Otherwise he should do that in his heart, but still he should not lie and say with his tongue something that is not in his heart; he should practice his religion either openly or concealing it. Nevertheless, he should still not show agreement with everything in their religion; rather the most that his taqiyyah may involve is for him to be like the believer in the household of Pharaoh; he did not show agreement with them with regard to all of their religion, but at the same time he did not lie or say anything. Outwardly pretending to follow the false religion is something else altogether; Allah (B) did not allow that at all except in the case of one who is forced and compelled to such a degree that he has to speak words of disbelief. Allah (&) may excuse him for that, but the hypocrite and liar will not be excused at all. Moreover, the believer who lives among the disbelievers and has no other choice and is concealing his faith should treat them in accordance with the faith in his heart, on the basis of sincerity, wishing them well even if he does not agree with their religion, as Yoosuf as-Siddeeq did with the people of Egypt, who were disbelievers.

This is unlike the Rififidi who does not leave any harmful action that he is able to do without doing it to those who differ from him."1053 Shaykh S h i n al-'Awdah summed up the differences in the way taqiyyah is understood by Ahl as-Sunnah and the Rzfidis, saying: "Taqiyyah, for Ah1 as-Sunnah, is a temporq exception that is different from the norm, but for the Shia it is something that is obligatory and enjoined until the return of the hidden Imam of Ah1 alBayt. Acting on the basis of taqiyyah, for Ahl as-Sunnah, ends as soon as the reason for it ends, hut for the Shia, it is an ongoing obligation for all that will not end until the appearance of their Mahdi, who will never emerge. The taqiyyah of Ahl as-Sunnah is to be used with the disbelievers in most cases, although it may be used with evildoers and oppressors, but the taqiyyah of the Shia is, in 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia principle, to be used with Muslims who differ from them, namely Ahl as-Sunnah. For Ahl asSunnah, taqiyyah is something that is done reluctantly, and the Muslim resorts to it without feeling happy or at ease with it, but for the Shia, it is a characteristic that is regarded as praiseworthy and good, and there are many texts from their Imams that praise it. r r 1 0 5 4 3.9. The awaited Mahdi between Shiites and S u d s 3.9.1. Shiite belief in the awaited Mahdi One of the most prominent beliefs of the R%& Shia, with which their books are filled, is belief in the awaited Mahdi.

What the Imami R2fidis mean by the awaited Mahdi is Muhammad ibn d - Hasan alL6Askari, who is their twelfth Imam and whom they call 'the proof' and 'the one who stands for the h - ~ t h ' . ' ~ ~ ~ They claim that he was bom in 255 AH and that he hid in the tunnel of ~ a m a r r a ' ~ ~ ~ in 265 AH; they are waiting for his appearance at the end of time, when he will avenge them against their enemies and support them.'057 The R%& Shia still visit the tunnel of ~ a m a r r a ' ~ ~ ~ and call upon him to emerge. 1059 In fact, this Mahdi who is claimed by the Rx&s is nonexistent. Al-Hasan al-'Askari, whom they name as his father, died without leaving any child behind; his estate was divided between his mother and his brother Ja'far. This Shiite belief in the awaited Mahdi is accompanied by many myths and fables that no rational person could believe. They believe that the Mahdi is one of the descendants of d - ~ n s a ~ n , ' ~ ~ ~ and they narrate strange stories about him.'"' They say that when he emerges, the R2fidi Shia will come from all over to rally around him.lM2 He will bring the Companions 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib out of their graves and punish them;'06' he will kill the Arabs and ~ u r a ~ s b ; ' O ~ ~ he will destroy the Ka'bah, the Prophet's Mosque and all other mosques;'065 he will call people to a new religion, a new book and new laws;'0G6 and he will conquer cities with the Ark of the Covenant of the ~ e w s . ' ~ ~ ' Two springs, of water and milk, will flow for him, and one Shiite Rififidi man will gain the strength of forty men; he will give them strength and power in their hearing and vision, and he will rule according to the law of the family of D Z ~ o o d .

' ~ ~ ~ The beliefs of the Rifidi Shia concerning their awaited Mahdi are false. This fact is indicated by a number of things: 3.9.1.a. It is proven that this Mahdi was not born By the wisdom of Allah (g), it was decreed that al-Hasan al- 'Askari, the eleventh h a m of the Rzfidis, should die childless. This was a great scandal and a major setback for the RZtfidi Shia: how could the Imam die without having any sons who could succeed him as Imam? Their belief is that the one who succeeds the imam after his death must be his son, and it is not permissible for the imamate to be passed to a brother after al-Hasan and a l - ~ u s a ~ n . ' ~ ~ ~ The fact that this Mahdi was not born is proven in the books of the Shia them~elves.'"~ 3.9.1.b.

It makes no sense for the Mahdi to disappear If we accept for argument's sake that this Mahdi was born, it makes no sense for him to disappear for this long time in the tunnel. When the Ri&& Shia are asked about the wisdom behind his disappearance in the tunnel and his not coming out to the people, they explain that he feared for his life.'07' This is a weak excuse, and many things show this to he false. It is narrated in their books that he will be supported by Allah (s) and will gain control of the entire earth, east and west. He will fill the earth with justice as it was filled 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia with injustice, and he will live until the time when 'Eesa ibn Maryam [Jesus the son of Mary (@)I descend^.'"^ What they say means that the Mahdi will never emerge until the states of injustice and oppression and evil go away, so that he can feel that his life is safe - but at that time there will be no need for him to emerge. These states are able to protect him if he emerges, so why does he not emerge? The one who cannot protect himself from being killed will not he able to protect others either, because the one who does not have a thing cannot give it.

How can they he waiting for someone like that to avenge them against their enemies and cause them to prevail? Thus their claims are proven invalid, because the reason why the Mahdi has not emerged is that he fears for his life. Based on that, the claim that the Mahdi existed at all is rendered invalid, because nothing is preventing him from coming out of hiding except fear for his life, as was clearly stated by Shaykh at-Ti'ifah at- ~ o o s i . ' ~ ~ ~ So the claims about the existence of the Mahdi are proven false by the testimony of their own scholars, and this is by the grace of Allah (s). 3.9.l.c. No benefit has been achieved by this Mahdi Another indication of the falseness of the Rzfidi Shiite belief in the awaited Mahdi is that this Mahdi, who the Rsfi&s claim will emerge, has not achieved any interest, religious or worldly, and the Muslims have not benefited from him at all, either the Rifidis or any others. Ibn Taymiyah said: ''This infallible one, whom they claim was born at some time more than four hundred and fifty years ago,1074 entered the tunnel, according to them, in 260 AH, when he was five years old according to some of them, or younger than that according to others.

He did not do anything that the infallible Imam does. What benefits can there be in the existence of such a one, even if he did exist? So how about if he never existed at all? What blessing 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib or benefit did those who believed in this infallible one attain by means of him in their religious or worldly interests? ... This figure in whom the Rzdis believe must he either absent, according to them, or non-existent, according to people of reason. Whatever the case, there is no benefit to anyone in either religious or worldly terms."'075 The Twelver Shia nowadays have gone against this belief in practical terms through their belief in the theory of 'guardianship of the jurist', which allows ruling and governing by an ordinary Muslim who is not infallible and for whom there is no instruction or text from Allah (&) and His Messenger (a), provided that he has knowledge and is of good character. 3.9.2.

The belief of AN as-Sunnah wal-Jam2ah in the Mahdi The sound hadiths state that at the end of time, Allah (g) will bring forth a man from Ah1 al-Bayt through whom Allah ($$) will cause Islam to prevail. He will rule for seven years, filling the earth with justice and peace as it had been filled with injustice and oppression. During his rule, the Ummah will enjoy blessings that it never enjoyed before; the earth will bring forth its vegetation, the sky will send down rain, and he will give wealth without measure. The following are some of these hadiths: It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (&) that the Messenger of Allah (g) said: "At the end of my Ummah, the Mahdi will appear. Allah will send a great deal of rain for him, the earth will bring forth its vegetation, and he will distribute wealth equally among the people. The numbers of livestock will increase, and the Ummah will become great.

He will live for seven or eight"'076 years.'077 'Ali's attitudc towards the Kharijite.~ and Shia It was also narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (&) that the Messenger of Allah (g) said: "The Hour will not begin until the earth is filled with oppression and enmity. Then a man from my family will emerge, and he will fill it with fairness and justice as it was filled with oppression and enmity."'078 3.9.2.c. It was narrated that Thawbk (&) said: "The Messenger of Allah (g) said: 'Three will fight one another for your treasure, each one of them the son of a caliph, but none of them will gain it. Then the black banners will come from the east, and they will kill you in an unprecedented manner.' He mentioned something that I do not remember, then he said: 'When you see him, pledge your allegiance to him even if you have to crawl over the snow, for that is the caliph of Allah, the ~ a h d i . " " ~ ~ ~ Ibn Katheer said: "What is meant by the treasure mentioned in this report is the treasure of the Ka'bah, three sons of caliphs will be killed fighting for it until, at the end of time, the Mahdi will appear. His appearance will be from a land in the east, not from the tunnel of Samarra in which the ignorant RSlfidis claim he has been until now, where they are waiting for him to emerge at the end of time.

This is a kind of madness and a great deal of misguidance from Satan, because there is no proof or evidence for that, either from the Quran or the Sunnah, or any rational evidence .... He will be supported by people from the east, who will establish his rule. Their banners will be black, which is the colour of dignity, because the banner of the Messenger of Allah (g) was black and was called al- 'Iqrib ... What is meant is that the promised, praiseworthy Mahdi who will appear at the end of time will originate and appear and emerge from the east, and allegiance will be sworn to him at the Ka'bah, as is indicated by some h a d i t h ~ . " ' ~ ~ ~ 'Ali ibn Abi T61ib It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (&) said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (g) say: "How will you be when the son of Maryam descends and your leader is one of It was narrated that Jibir ibn Abdullah (&) said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (gg) say: "A group among my Ummah will continue to fight for the truth and will prevail until the Day of Resurrection. 'Eesa ibn Maryam will descend, and their leader will say: 'Come and lead us in prayer,' but he will say: 'No, you are leaders of one another,' as an honour from Allah to this ~ m m a h .

" ~ ~ ~ ' The hadiths, which are narrated in Bukhari and Muslim, indicate two things: (i) That when 'Eesa ibn Maryam (s) descends from heaven, the one in charge of the Muslims will be one of them. (ii) That their ruler will be there to lead the Muslims in prayer, and the fact that he will ask 'Eesa (5s) to lead them in prayer when he descends indicates that this ruler will be righteous and guided. There are other hadiths in the Sunans and Musnads and elsewhere that explain these hadiths that appear in Bukhari and Muslim, they indicate that the name of that righteous man will be Muhammad ibn Abdullah and he will be called the Mahdi. The reports of the Sunnah support and explain each another. It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (&) said that the Messenger of Allah (B) said: "He is one of us behind whom 'Eesa ibn Maryam will pray."1083 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.9.2.g. It was narrate&that Abu Sa'eed d-Khudri (&) said that the Messenger of Allah (g) said: "The Mahdi is of me.

He has a high forehead and a prominent nose. He will fill the world with fairness and justice as it was filled with wrongdoing and injustice, and he will mle for seven years. ,,I084 There is no connection at all between the Mahdi of the Sunnah and the Mahdi of the Ri?fi@ Shia. There are many differences between them, such as: *:* According to Ahl as-Sunnah, the Mahdi's name is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, his name is the same as the Prophet (g), and his father's name is the same as the Prophet's father. As for the Mahdi of the RXdi Shia, his name is Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-'Askari. +:* According to Ah1 as-Sunnah, the Mahdi is one of the descendants of al-Hasan (&). The Mahdi of the Rifidi Shia is one of the descendants of d-Husayn (a). *:* According to Ah1 as-Sunnah, the Mahdi will be born naturally, and his lifespan will be natural. There is nothing in the hadiths to indicate that he is at all different from other people in that regard.

As for the Mahdi of the RZdi Shia, his conception and birth happened in one night, and he entered the tunnel when he was nine years old; now he has been in the tunnel for more than 1150 years. +:- The Mahdi, according to Ahl as-Sunnah, will emerge to support Islam and the M u s h s , and he will not differentiate between one nation and another. As for the Mahdi of the R%i& Shia, he will emerge to support only the R%& Shia and to wreak vengeance on their enemies. He will hate the Arabs and Quraysh and will give them 'Ali ibn Abi Ttlib nothing hut the sword; there will he no Arabs among his followers, according to their reports. 03 The Mahdi of Ah1 as-Sunnah will love the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah he pleased with them); he will ask Allah (B) to he pleased with them and will adhere to their way. He will also love the Mothers of the Believers (may Allah he pleased with them) and will not mention them except in the best terms. As for the Mahdi of the RZdi Shia, they claim that he will hate the Companions of the Prophet and will bring them out of their graves in order to punish them and then hum them. He will also hate the Mothers of the Believers and will despise the dearest of the Prophet's wives to him, as-Siddeeqah hint as-Siddeeq 'A'ishah - or so they claim. *:* The Mahdi of Ah1 as-Sumah will act according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (g); he will not leave any Sunnah without establishing it or any innovation without suppressing it.

As for the Mahdi of the Rififi Shia, he will call people to a new religion and a new hook. *:+ The Mahdi of Ah1 as-Snnnah will build and frequent mosques. As for the Mahdi of the Rifidi Shia, he will destroy mosques; he will destroy al-Masjid al-Har2m and the Ka'hah, and the Prophet's Mosque, and will not leave a single mosque on the face of the earth - as is clearly stated in their reports. *% The Mahdi of Ah1 as-Sunnah will rule in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (g). As for the Mahdi of the R2fifidi Shia, he will rule according to the law of the family of Diwood. + The Mahdi of Ah1 asSunnah will emerge from the east. As 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia for the Mahdi of the Rsdi Shia, he will emerge from the tunnel of Samarra. * The Mahdi of Ah1 as-Sunnah is hue and proven, as indicated by the hadiths of the Prophet (@J and the words of the scholars of the past and of the present. As for the Mahdi of the RZfidi Shia, he is a figment of their imagination who has not appeared and will never appear. IoX5 3.10.

R3idi Shiite belief that some people will be brought back from the dead Raj'ah (belief that some people will be brought hack from the dead) is one of the basic tenets of the Shiite ma&-hah. One of their reports says: "He is not one of us who does not believe in our Imams coming hack."1086 Ibn Bsbawayh said in al-l'tiqridrit: "Our belief ,,lo87 concerning raj'ah is that it is true. Al-Mufeed said: "The Imamis are agreed that the return of many people from the dead (raj 'ah) is inevitable."1088~t-~ubmsi, al-Hnsr al-'Amili and other Shiite shaykhs said: "This is something upon which all the Imami Shia agree."loS9 It is one of the fundamentals of their ma&-hah; they are enjoined to believe in raj'ah and affirm their belief in supplications and visits to shrines on Fridays and at all times, just as they affum their belief in tawbed, prophethood, imamate and resurrection.1090 What is meant by raj'ah is return to this world after death.lo9' Many Shiite groups are of the view that their Imams will return to this life. Some say that they died and will retnrn, and others deny that they died; they say that they are in occultation and will return. The first one to speak of raj'ah was Ihn Saba', who did not believe that 'Ali (&) died; he said that he had gone into occultation and will return. The belief in raj 'ah only applied to the Imam, according to the Saba'is, Kayshis and others, but according to the Twelvers, it 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib applies to the Tmam and many others.

Al-Aloosi indicates that the Shiite belief in the return of the Imam only changed to take on that more general meaning in the third century As for the general concept of raj 'ah among the Twelvers, it includes three types: (i) The twelve Imams: the Mahdi will emerge from his hiding place and return from his absence, and the rest of the Imams will come hack to life and return to this world after dying. (ii) Those who usurped the caliphate - in their view - from its legitimate rulers (the twelve Imams), namely the caliphs of the Muslims, foremost among whom are Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmin, will he resurrected from their graves and will return to this world so that vengeance might he wrought upon them for taking the caliphate from those who were entitled to it. They will be subjected to torture, killing and crucifixion. (iii) Ordinary people will also be resurrected, in particular those with pure faith, namely the Shia in general, because they are the only ones who are regarded as having faith. This is the consensus of their reports and the sayings of their shaykhs. Those who have nothing but disbelief will also be resurrected; that refers to all people apart from the weak and oppressed.1093 Hence they say, defining raj'ah, that it refers to bringing back many of the dead to this world before the Day of ~esurrection'~~~ and their returning to this life after death'095 in their original forms.1096 The shaykhs of the Shia looked for evidence in the Book of Allah to prove this belief in raj 'ah, which they alone, among all of the Muslims, accept.

When they could not find what they were looking for, they resorted as usual to esoteric interpretations and twisted the meanings a great deal. They imposed their own distorted, far-fetched interpretation in this manner so that the evidence that they produced became evidence against them and proof of their false beliefs. Below are some examples of their interpretation of the verses. Their foremost interpreter of Quran thinks that one of the greatest proofs of raj 'ah is to be found in the verse: (And a ban is laid on every town [population] which We have destroyed that they shall not return [to this world again, nor repent to Us],) (Qur'm 21: 95). He says: "This verse is one of the greatest proofs for raj 'ah, because no Muslim denies that all people will he brought back on the Day of Resurrection, whether he was among those who were destroyed (as mentioned in the verse) or not."'097 However, this verse is actually proof against them, since it indicates that there is no raj 'ah or coming back from the dead in this world. What it means, as was clearly stated by Ibn 'Abbb, Abu Ja'far al-Biqir, Qat2dah and others, is that it is forbidden for the people of any town that was destroyed because of 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia their sins to come hack to this world before the Day of ~esurrection.'~~~ This is like the verses in which Allah (&) says: (DO they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them?

Verily, they will not return to them) (Quran 36: 31) and hen they will not he able to make bequest, nor they will return to their family), (Quran 36: 50). The addition of 'not' (in the phrase 'they shall not return') in the verse from Soorat al-Anhiya' above is additional confirmation of the negative implied by the phrase 'And a ban is laid'. This is an example of the briUiant and precise Qur'anic style. The reason for telling them that they will not return, even though it is clear that they will not return, is to tell them something that will disturb and upset them because they have lost their greatest joy, which is their life in this world.1099 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib However, if what is meant in the verse is a confirmation of raj'ah in the sense of people coming back to life on the Day of Resurrection (and there is no doubt about that),llw then the meaning is that it is not possible for them to avoid returning to Allah (&) for recompense.110' The Shiite idea of raj'ah, or coming back to this world after death, is contrary to the clear text of the noble Quran and is invalid based on the evidence of numerous texts of the Book of Allah. Allah (s) says: qUntLl, when death comes to one of them [those who join partners with Allah], he says: 'My Lord! Send me back, so that I may do good in that which I have left behind!' No!

It is but a word that he speaks; and behind them is Barzakh [a harrier] until the Day when they will be resurrectedh (Quran 23: 99.100) The words "and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will he resurrected" clearly indicate that is no coming back (raj'ah) at all."02 At the time of death, when they stand before the Almighty and they see hell, the people referred to in these verses all ask to come back to this world. But the answer, in accordance with the prior decree of Allah (&), is that they will never return to this world. Hence the scholars regarded the idea of returning to this world after death (raj 'ah) as one of the most extreme degrees of the innovation of m hi ism."^^ In Musnad Ahmad, it is narrated that '&im ibn Damurah, who was one of the companions of 'Ali (&), said to al-Hasan ihn 'ALi: "The Shia are claiming that 'Ali will come back." Al-Hasan said: "Those liars are lying. If we knew that, his wives would not have remarried and his estate would not have been di~ided.""'~ The idea of raj'ah, or return to this world after death so that the evildoers may be punished and those who did good may he rewarded, is contrary to the nature of this world, which is not the place of 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia requital. BEveryone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full.

And whoever is removed away from the fire and admitted to paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception [a deceiving thing].), (Quran 3: 185) The Jew Ibn Saba' played a role in laying the foundations of the principle of raj 'ah, except that he said that it only applied to 'Ali (&); moreover, he denied that death ever befell him in the first piace, just as the Tweivers said about the Mahdi who they claim existed. The Imami Shia belief in raj'ah is contrary to what is well established in Islam: that there will be no resurrection before the Day of Resurrection and that when Allah (&) warns a disbeliever or wrongdoer, He is only warning them about the Day of Resurrection. It is also contrary to the verses and mutaw2~ hadiths which clearly state that there is no returning to this world before the Day of Resurrection. 3.11. Their belief in bada' (change in the divine decree) Another of the basic beliefs of the Twelvers is bada', or change in the divine decree. They exaggerated about this idea and said that Allah (&) is never worshipped with anything better than belief in bada';"05 Allah (&) is never glorified with anything like bada';'lo6 if the people knew what reward there is in believing in bada', they would never stop talking about it;"07 and every Prophet sent by Allah ($) forbade alcohol and affirmed belief in bada'.1'08 It seems that the one who established this belief among the Twelvers is the one whom they call 'the tnistworthy of Islam', their shaykh alKulayni (d. 328 or 329 AH).

He placed this in the section on basic beliefs in al-Kiifi, where he included it in the book of tawhid, and he devoted to it a chapter entitled 'Chapter on change in the divine 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib decree', in which he listed sixteen hadiths that are attributed to the ~ m a m s . " ~ ~ Jf we examine the linguistic meaning of the word bada', we find that the dictionary says that the root meaning of this word is 'appear'."'0 The word has two meanings in Arabic: (i) Appearing after having been hidden, so one might say, "The walls of the city appeared." (ii) Development of a new opinion, as in, "He developed an opinion concerning the matter. ..1111 Both of these meanings appear in the Quran. The first meaning is translated in this verse as 'disclose': (And whether you disclose what is in your own selves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it) (Quran 2: 284). The second meaning is translated in this verse as 'occurred': (Then it occurred to them, after they had seen the proofs [of his innocence], to imprison him for a time% (Quran 12: 35). It is clear in both senses that bada' signifies that ignorance or not knowing came first, and knowing came later; both are impossible in the case of Allah (&), and attributing them to Allah (&) is one of the worst kinds of disbelief. How can the Twelver Shiaregard this as one of the greatest acts of worship and claim that Allah was never glorified with anything Wte bada'? 4Gloly be to You [O Allah]!

This is a great lie.% (Quran 24: 16)"'~ This evil notion appears in the books of the Jews. In the Torah, which the Jews have distorted according to their whims and desires, there are texts that clearly attribute this notion to Allah (g). 1113 it seems that the Jew Ibn Saba' took this idea from his Torah and spread it in the Muslim society that he was attempting to influence in the name of Shiism, under the guise of calling for support for the imamate of 'Ali (&). All the sects of the Saba'is believed in bad$ and believed that Allah always changes His decree."14 The idea was 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia then transferred to the Kaysiini or Mukhtiri group, who were followers of al-Mukhtk ibn Abi 'Ubayd ath-Thaqafi. This group was famous for belief in bada'; they paid a great deal of attention to it and adhered to it as an article of faith."15 The Shiite shaykhs used to raise the morale of their followers by affirming that authority would return to them and they would be in control. They even gave a time scale of seventy years, according to a report attributed to Abu Ja'far. When those seventy years had passed and the promise was not fulfilled, the followers complained, so the founder of the mad-hab tried to find a solution to this dilemma by suggesting that something had occurred @ada') to Allah (&), which dictated that He should change this promise.1116 The noble Quran afhnns the divine attribute of knowledge and thus the falsehood of the RZfidi Shia's belief in bada' or changes in the divine decree, which implies attribution of ignorance to ~ i ' m (&).

The verses which a f f m the divine attribute of knowledge are many, such as the following: (And with Him are the keys of the Ghayh [all that is hidden], none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. It is He Who takes your souls by night [when you are asleep], and has knowledge of all that you have done by day.) (Quran 6: 59-60) (Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous [to His slaves], All-Aware [of everything].) (Quran 67: 14) Ibn Taymiyah said: This verse clearly indicates that He must have knowledge of all things, on the basis of the following rational 'Ali ibn Abi TLilib (i) He is the Creator of all things, and creation means bringing things into existence according to their due measurements. That implies prior knowledge of them and their due measurements before they can be brought into existence.

(ii) That means that there must be divine will, and will implies that there is a prior idea of what is wanted. (iii) These things come from Him, and He is the only complete cause of their existence. Knowledge of the cause of these things before they come into existence implies knowledge of the thing that is brought into existence, so His knowledge of Himself implies that He has knowledge of everything that comes from Him. (iv) He Himself is acquainted with all things, and this is what is implied by His having knowledge of all things and having no need of them, as He is self-sufficient in all His attributes."" These verses also indicate that Allah had knowledge and a preconceived plan of this universe before He created it, based on His prior knowledge of this universe before He brought it into existence. Allah (s) says: $He has created everything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements.) (Quran 25: 2) (Who has created [everything], and then proportioned it. And Who has measured [preordainments for everything even to be blessed or wretched]; and then guided [i.e. showed mankind the right as well as the wrong paths, and guided the animals to pasture].) (Quran 87: 2-3) These verses contain the greatest refutation of the beliefs of the R2fidi Shia, who claimed that Allah (&)had no knowledge of events until after they happened, and that He might decree something and then change His decree on the basis of new developments.

Before He 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharifites and Shia created this universe, Allah (&) planned and decreed it according to its due measurements. Nothing happens in this unlverse that goes beyond His planning and due measurements, beyond His control or beyond what He had written in the Preserved Tablet in Heaven before anything came into existence, but it is the signs of Allah that the polytheists and wrongdoers deny."18 The Sunnah affirms the divine attribute of knowledge. Bukhari narrated that the Messenger of AUah (g) said: "The keys of the unseen are five, and no one knows them except Allah. No one knows what will happen tomorrow except Allah, no one knows by how much the wombs fall short (of their time or number) or exceed except Allah; no one knows when rain will come except Allah; no one knows in which land he will die; and no one knows when the Hour will begin except Allah.""19 The matters mentioned in this hadith are all future events, and the hadith indicates that Allah ( g ) bas knowledge of them before they happen. The Prophet (g) said: "Allah decided the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. And His throne was above the water.""20 In the books of the Shia, however, there is a vast accumulation of false reports concerning this, and there are some reports which could be soundly attributed to the scholars of Ah1 al-Bayt.

They express the correct view on this matter, which is what befits that elite, or they could be traces of the moderate Shia. It was narrated that Mansoor ibn Hkim said: "I asked Abu Abdullah (m) whether it is possible that something happened today that Allah ( g ) did not know yesterday was going to happen. He said: 'May Allah humiliate the one who says that.' I said: 'Do you not think that Allah knows what has happened and what will happen until the Day of Resurrection? He said: 'Of course, (He knew it) before He created creati~n."'"~' 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib 3.12. The attitude of Ahl al-Bayt towards the RSfidi Shia The Imams of AN al-Bayt are like the rest of Ahl as-Sunnah in their attitude towards the R%&s and their beliefs. They believe that they are misguided and have gone astray from the Sunnah and deviated from the truth, and they are among those who bate and condemn them the most, because they attribute those corrupt beliefs to them (Abl al-Bayt) and tell a lot of lies about them.

There are numerous statements of various kinds made by Ahl al-Bayt in condemnation of the RZ&s and disavowing their beliefs. Among the reports that speak of their disavowing the beliefs of the Rififidi Shia and a f f i n g the beliefs of Ah1 as-Sunnah are the fo~owing:"~~ 3.12.1. Mutawstir report from 'Ali (&) The mutawitir report from 'Ali (&), according to which he said, when he was on the minbar of Kufah: "The best of this Ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both."1123 It was also narrated that he said: "No one gives precedence to me over the two shaykhs but I will punish him with the p-uiiiskmieiit of the fabricator. -1124 k, fish\&+ a7d ~ ~ p ~ ~ g ~ is narrated that he said of 'Umar when they were carrying him to the graveyard: "You have not left behind anyone with the like of whose deeds I would like to meet Allah more than you. By Allah, I think that Allah will unite you with your two Companions, because1 often heard the Messenger of Allah (g) say, 'Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I came; Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I went in; Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I went out."'1125 These proven reports from Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) contradict the belief of the Shia about the two sbaykhs (Abu Bakr and 'Umar), as we have seen above. They indicate that 'Ali (&) disavowed the Rsifidi Shia and their beliefs, and he loved and 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijires and Shia supported the two shaykhs and all the Companions of the Prophet (g). He loved them, as we have seen above, and affiumed that the two shaykhs were superior to him; he punished those who gave him precedence over them, and he wished that he would meet Allah (g) with deeds like those of 'Umar (&).

May AUah be pleased with him and with all the good and pure Companions of the Prophet who are innocent of what these innovators, the Rifiifidi Shia and renegade Kharijites, attributed to them. Then after 'All (&) came the words of his sons, disavowing the Rifidis and their beliefs and their criticism of the beliefs of Ah1 .as-~unnah."~~ 3.12.2. The words of al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (&) It was narrated that 'Amr ibn al-Asamm said: "I said to alHasan: 'The Shia claim that 'Ali will be resurrected before the Day of Resurrection.' He said: 'They are lying, by Allah; they are not the tme Shia. If we knew that he wonld be resurrected, we would not have let his wives remany and we wonld not have divided his ~ealth.""'~' Abu Nu'aym narrated: "It was said to al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (&): 'The people are saying that you want to become caliph.' He said: 'The Arabs were under my control; they would fight whomever I declared war on and would be peaceful towards whomever I made peace with, but I gave it up, seeking the countenance of AUah and so as to spare the blood of the Ummah of Muhammad (&)."'"28 3.12.3. The words of al-Husayn ibn 'Ali (&) Al-Husayn used to say concerning the Shia of Iraq, who wrote to him promising him support, then scattered and handed him over to his enemies: "0 Allah, the people of Iraq deceived me and betrayed me, and they did to my brother what they did. 0 Allah, bring doom to them and do not let any one of them escape Your punishment. ,, 1129 The outcome of their treachery and abandonment of him was his 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib martyrdom, may Allah be pleased with him, along with most of those with him who were of Ah1 al-Bayt, after those @aitors scattered and left him. His killing (&) was a great shame and a serious calamity that would break the heart of every ~uslim."'~ 3.12.4.

The words of 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him) It is proven that 'Ali ibn al-Husayn said: "0 people of Iraq, love us as Muslims. Do not love us as idols, for the way you love us has become so bad that it is something we are ashamed of."1131 It is narrated that a group from Lraq came to him and spoke badly of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmh (may AUah be pleased with them). When they had finished speaking, he said to them: "Can you tell me, are you (the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their property, seeking Bounties from Allah and to please Him, and helping Allah [i.e. helping His religion - Islamic Monotheism] and His Messenger [Muhammad]. Such are indeed the truthful [to what they say]) (Quran 59: 8)?" They said: "No." He said: "Are you *those who, before them, had homes [in Madinah] and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their hearts for that which they have been given, and give them [emigrants] preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successfulb (Quran 59: 9)?' They said: "No." He said: ''I bear witness that you are not among those of whom Allah (&) said: (And those who came after them say: 'Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed.

Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.') (Quran 59: 10) Get out, may Allah (s) sort you 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.12.5. The words of Muhammad ibn 'Ali (al-Bsqir) It was narrated from Muhammad ibn 'Ali (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "Banu Fitimah (the sons of F2timah) are unanimously agreed on saying the best words concerning Abu Bakr and mar.""^^ It was also narrated that he said to J2bir alJaCfi: "0 Jzbir, I heard that some people in Iraq are claiming that they love us, and they impugn Abu Bakr and 'Umar and claim that I am telling them to do so. Tell them from me that I disavow them before Allah (&). By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if I were to be appointed to a position of authority, I would seek to draw close to Allah (%) by executing them. May I never attain the intercession of Muhammad (g) if I do not seek forgiveness for them (Abu Bakr and 'Umar) and pray for mercy for them.

The enemies of Allah (s) are not aware of their virtue. So tell them that I disavow them and anyone else who shuns Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them)." It was narrated that B a s s h as-Sayrafi asked Abu Ja'far about Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and he said: "By Allah, I love them and pray for forgiveness for them; I never met anyone of Ah1 al-Bayt who did not love them.""35 3.12.6. The words of Zayd ibn 'Ali (may Allah have mercy on him) It was narrated that Zayd ibn 'Ali said: "Abu Bakr was the leader of those who are grateful." Then he recited the verse: (And Allah will give reward to those who are grateful.) (Quran 3: 144) Then he said: "Disavowing Abn Bakr is disavowing ' ~ l i " ~ ~ (may Allah be pleased with them both). So if you wish, go ahead, and if you wish, refrain. rr1137 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib 3.12.7. The words of Ja'far ibn Muhammad (as-Ssdiq) It was narrated from 'Abdul-Jabb2 ibn 'Abbgs al-Hamadini that Ja'far ibn Muhammad came to them when they wanted to leave Madinah and said: "If Allah wills, you are among the righteous of your city. Convey the message from me that whoever claims that I am an infallible Imam to whom obedience is obligatory, I disavow him.1138 Whoever claims that I disavow Abn Bakr and 'Umar, I disavow him." It was narrated from S%m ibn Abdullah ibn 'Umar that Ja'far said to him: "0 Saim, love them and disavow those who hate them, for they were leaders of guidance." Then Ja'far said: "Would a man impugn his grandfather?

Ahu Bakr is my grandfather. May I never attain the intercession of Muhammad (g) on the Day of Resurrection if I do not love them both and disavow those who hate them.,, 1139 It was also narrated from Ja'far ihn Muhammad that he used to say: "Every time I hope for 'Ali's intercession for me, I also hope for the intercession of Abn B&r, for he fathered me twice [because the lineage of both of his parents went back to Ahu ~akr]." It was narrated that he (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and he said: "You are asking me ,,I141 about two men who ate of the fruits of paradise. It was also narrated from him that he said: "May Allah disavow anyone who disavows Abu Bakr and ‘ ~ r n a r . " " ~ ~ Adh-Dhahabi said, commenting on this report: "I say: These words are narrated in mntawitir reports from Ja'far as-Sidiq; I swear by Allah that he was sincere in what he said and not hypocritical to anyone, may Allah (g) doom the Rzfidis. 9,1143 These are the views of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, the good and pure ones, whom the R2iifidi Shia claim as their Imams and claim to love and support, and to whom they attribute their beliefs. This 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia illustrates and clarifies their stance against the Rifidi Shia and their religion, and their disavowal of them and their corrupt deeds and beliefs, including their slandering the best of the Companions and the Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them all). These statements of Ah1 al-Bayt prove that they had the same beliefs as Ah1 as-Sunnah, both outwardly and inwardly, concerning both major and minor issues.

These were the beliefs that they followed, on the basis of which they regarded some as friends and some as enemies. The one who attributes anything other than that to them is lying about them and transgressing against them. May AUah (&) bestow His abundant mercy upon them and may Allah (s) humiliate those who attribute lies to them."" 3.13. Stance concerning the idea of rapprochement between Ahl as-Sunnah and the Shia From the discussion above, we can clearly see the extent to which the Rifi@ Shia have been misguided, have introduced innovations and have gone astray from the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. We can understand the full extent of the danger and harm contained in their main reference. books in the fields of Quran interpretation, tawhid, hadiths and others. We can also see the harm done to the Muslims from merely accepting and recognising these books that are full of misinformation reaching a level that even the plots of the Orientalists and missionaries did not reach in attempting to change the religion of Allah (&) and its laws in the name of Islam.

In fact, the Orientalists and missionaries relied on these books, and on the specious arguments and myths they contain, to conspire against Islam and the Muslims. This is why there is a strong resemblance, if not total uniformity, between the specious arguments of the orientalists and missionaries and the views of the RSfidi Shia. 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib This is nothing new, and this relationship deserves to be studied on its own in dedicated academic research. A long time ago, our enemies relied on the opinions of the RiXifidi Shia and used them as a platform from which to fight Islam and its people. The R2fidi Shiite troops were the best weapon at the enemy's disposal, and RZfidi Shiism became a refuge for everyone who wanted to destroy Islam, including the heretics, the resentful and those who sought vengeance. History is tilled with their conspiracies, betrayal and support for the enemy.

One of the main reasons for this is that the RZdi Shia do not believe in the legitimacy of any Muslim government except the government of the awaited mahdi, who has been absent for more than eleven centuries; hence the enemy was able to find its way into their hearts through this route.1145 Ibn Taymiyah said: "Many of them had a greater inclination towards the disbelievers than towards the Muslims. Hence when the disbelieving Turks came out of the East and killed the Muslims, shedding their blood in Khorasan, Iraq, Syria, Mesopotamia and elsewhere, the R2fi&s helped them against the Muslims. Similarly, in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere, some of the R2fifidis were among those who offered the greatest help to them in fighting the Muslims. Then when the Christians (the Crusaders) fought the Muslims in Syria, the R%i& were the greatest help to them. They always befriend the disbelievers, polytheists and Christians, helping them fight the Muslims and transgress against them. 1,1146 Historical evidence is sufficient to confm that, such as the following: 3.13.1. The conspiracy of the Rsfidi Ibn al-'Alqami to bring about the fall of Baghdad in 656 AH''^^ In brief, Ibn al-'Alqami was the adviser of the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim.

The caliph followed the madh-hab of AN as-Sunnah, as his father and grandfather had, but be was too lenient and not alert. 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia This RZdi adviser was planning to destroy the caliph's state, annihilate the Sunnis, and then establish a state on the basis of the RSdi Shiite madh-hab. He took advantage of his position and the heedlessness of the caliph to cany out his conspiracy against the caliphate. The conspiracy consisted of three stages: (a) Weakening the army and putting pressure on the people by trying to stop the salaries of the Muslim troops. Ibn Katheer said: 'The vizier Ibn al-'Alqami tried to dismiss the troops and erase their names from the records. The number of troops at the end of al-Mustansir's reign was nearly one hundred thousand, but Ibn al-'Alqami kept trying to reduce their number until there were only ten thousand left."i148 (b) Corresponding with the Tatars.

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'Then he wrote to the Tatars and encouraged them to attack the counhy, telling them that it would be easy and informing them of the real situation of the state and its weakness.""49 (c) Forbidding the people from fighting and deceiving the caliph. He prohibited the common folk from fighting the ~ a t a r s , " ~ ~ and he gave the caliph and his court the impression that the king of the Tatm wanted to make a peace deal with them. He suggested to the caliph that he should go out and stand before the king so that a peace deal could be signed on the basis that half of the produce of Iraq would be theirs, and the other half would be for the caliph. The caliph went out to meet him with seven hundred riders from among the judges, jurists, commanders and prominent people. This trick resulted in the killing of the caliph and the leaders and elite of the Umrnah who accompanied him, without requiring any effoa on the part of the Tatars. Those RSdi Shia - or rather, hypocrites - suggested to Hulagu that he should not make a peace deal with the caliph.

The 'Ali ibn Abi Tlilib vizier Ibn d-'Alqami said to him: "If you sign a peace deal on the basis that you will have half of the produce, it will only last for one or two years, then things will go hack to the way they were." He encouraged him to kill the caliph, although it was said that the suggestion to kill the caliph came from both the vizier Ibn al- 'Alqami and Nqeer at-~oosi."~' The Tatars attacked the city and killed everyone they could - men, women, old people, middle aged people and young people. No one was spared except the dhimmis - the Jews and Christians - and those who sought refbge with them or in the house of the vizier. the R2fiifidi Ibn d-'Alqami. It was said that they killed more than ten million Muslims, more or less"52; Islam had never seen a massacre like this one that was carried out by the disbeliever Turkic armies, who were called the Tatars. They killed the H2shimis and captured the women, Ahbasids and others. Could he he a lover of Ah1 al-Bayt, the one who sent the disbelievers to kill them and capture their women and to do the same to all the ~ u s l i r n s ? " ~ ~ Hulagu and his fighters killed the imams who led the prayers, those who gave the sermons and those who had memorised the Quran.

The mosques ceased to function, and there were no congregational prayers in Baghdad for several Ibn al-'Alqami's aims were to eradicate the Sunnah altogether so that the Rsifidi innovation could prevail, and to build a huge school for the RZdis, where they could spread their madh-hah. However, Allah (%) did not enable him to do that; He withdrew His blessings from him and caused him to die a few months after that incident, and He caused his son to follow him in death.'lS5 3.13.2. The Safavid state In the Safavid state, which was founded by Shah Ism?i'eel asSafawi, the RZfidi madh-hah was imposed on the Persians hy force and was made the official mad-hah. Ism?i'eel was hard-hearted and 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia bloodthirsty to a degree than can hardly be imagined."56 He propagated the idea that he was infallible, with no distance between him and the Mahdi, and he said that he did not do anything that he was not instructed to do by the twelve 11nams.~~~' He carried his sword and wielded it against Ah1 as-Sunnah, and he used the reviling of the three (Rightly Guided) caliphs as a means of testing the Persians. This Shah issued orders that they (the caliphs) be reviled openly, in the streets and marketplaces and on the minbars, and he warned that those who refused would be beheaded. When he conquered a city, he would impose Rsfidism on its inhabitants by force of arms.1158 The RZ@ shaykhs supported the Safavid rulers in taking Shiism to further stages of extremism.

They imposed that on the Muslims of Persia by force of iron and fire. One of the most prominent of these shaykhs was their shaykh 'Ali al-~arki,"~~ whom the Shia call al-Muhaqqiq ath-Thini. Shah TahmLib, the son of Shah Ismii'eel, kept him close to him and gave him power and authority in the state. Similarly, al-Majlisi was one of the shaykhs of the Safavid state who played a role alongside the political authorities in influencing the Muslims in Persia, to such an extent that it was said that his book Haqq nl-Yaqeen was a reason for seventy thousand Persian Sunnis becoming ~hiites."~' It is likely that this is an exaggeration on the pa~T of the Shia, because R&di idem had not been able to find any place in Persia except through force and terror, not through thought and con~iction."~~ We should not forget the other impacts of the Safavid state, which were its wars against the state of the Ottoman Islamic caliphate, its cooperation with the Portnguese and English enemies against the Muslims, and its encouraging them to build churches and bring in missionaries and priests, while fighting the Sunnah and its fo~owers."~~ 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib These are some of the actions of their state and their individuals in this field. Among the immortal words and important comments of Ibn Taymiyah in this regard, which will be recognised as being true if you apply them in reality and try to study events of history in the light of his words, are: "Let every wise man look at what is happening in his own time, and in the era that is close to his time, of turmoil, evil and corruption among the Muslims; he will find that most of that is caused by the Rsdis. Yon will find them to be among the most evil of people; they never give up doing what they can to cause turmoil and evil and to spread corruption among this ~ m m a h .

" ~ ~ We have learned by direct experience and through c o n k e d mutawitir reports that the greatest turmoil and evil, without parallel, comes only from them."1164 With whom should we unite, 0 Ah1 as-Sunnah? With those who undermine our Qnr'an, interpret it in a way other than what it means, and distort its meanings? With those who regard as disbelievers Abu Bakr and 'Umar, as well as the Mother of the Believers, the dearest of the Prophet's wives to him, 'A'ishah (I&), and also Talhah, az-Zubayr and others among the most prorni&ut Companions (A)? With those who try to deceive the Muslims in the name of taqiyyah?1165 3.13.3. Contemporary experiences with regard to rapprochement 3.13.3.a. The experience of Mustafa as-Sib3 Dr.

Muvtafa as-Sibz'i, along with some of the Shiite scholars, put a great deal of effort into addressing the issue of rapprochement. He hied to hold an Islamic conference to study the best way of laying down foundations for harmony, love and rapprochement between the two groups. He thought that one of the greatest factors in coming together would he for the scholars of the two groups to visit one 'Ali's attitude towards the Khanjites and Shia another and publish books calling for rapprochement, and he thought that no one should publish books that might provoke the other side. Dr. as-Sibii'i visited one of the senior religious authorities of the Shia, their shaykh 'Abdul-Husayn Sharaf ad-Deen al-Moosawi, whom they regard as one of the greatest proponents of Islamic unity and rapprochement between sects. He found him to be enthusiastic about this idea and a great believer in it, and they agreed to bold an Islamic conference between Sunni and Shiite scholars for this purpose. As-Sibg'i (may Allah have mercy on him) also visited prominent Shiites, such as politicians, businessmen and literary experts, for the same purpose, and he came away very pleased with the results of these contacts.

He never realised what aims these people were hiding and what plans they were seeking to achieve on the basis of the call for rapprochement. Then suddenly -as as-Sibg'i desaibed it - shortly after that, this same al-Moosawi, who had been very enthusiastic about rapprochement, published a book about Abu Hurayrah (&) which was full of slanders and insults; in fact, it concluded that Abu Hurayrah (&) was a hypocrite and a disbeliever, and that the Messenger (g) told him that he was one of the people of ~ e 1 1 . " ~ ~ As-Sibii'i said: "I was astounded by the attitude of 'AbdulHnsayn in both his words and his book, this attitude that does not indicate any sincere desire for rapprochement and forgetting the past.""67 As-Sibii'i stated that the only thing the Shiite shaykhs offered to contribute to the idea of rapprochement was some flattery and smooth talk in conferences and gatherings, while many of them continued to revile the Companions, think badly of them and believe all such reports that were narrated in the books of their predecessors.1i68 He stated that while they were propagating the idea of coming together, this had no impact on the Shiite scholars in Iraq and Iran. These people were still insisting on what their books 'Ali ibn Abi Ta*lib contain of serious criticism and distorted interpretations of the differences that arose among the Companions, as if the aim behind this call for rapprochement was for Ah1 as-Sunnah to draw close to the Shiite madh-hah.1169 As-Sibi'i states that with regard to any academic research about the history of the Snnnis, or other Muslim sects that do not agree with the S h i i point of view, some of their scholars denounced the one who did that research, on the basis of the call for rapprochement. They accused the author of this research of being a fanatic who was putting obstacles in the way of those who seek to bring about rapprochement. However, when it comes to a hook like that of 'Ahdul-Husayn Sharaf ad-Deen, which slanders one of the greatest Companions, whose reports of hadith are regarded as most authentic by Ah1 as-Sunnah, these critics and angry people do not regard that as an action that hinders the efforts of those who are striving for rapprochement.

He says: "I am not saying that this book about Abu Hurayrah is the only book. There are hooks being printed in Iraq and lran which contain condemnation of the majority of the Companions, which no human being with any conscience or dignity could bear to hear, and which fan the flames of division anew." "70 This was the experience of Shaykh as-Sib2'i; his attempt failed in the face of the fanaticism of the Shiite shaykhs and their insistence on enmity against the best generation, who lived during the best era."" To the R%i& Shia, rapprochement means giving them the opportunity to spread their beliefs in Sunni countries and continue to slander the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (a), while the Sunnis keep quiet and refrain from stating the truth. If the RZfidis hear the truth being propagated, they get angry and start ranting that unity is in danger."72 'Ali's attiiude towards the Kharijites and Shia 3.13.2.b. The experience of Shaykh Moosa Jsrullah This noble scholar, whose full name was Moosa ihn J2rnllah at-Turkisthi d-Q2z2ni ar-RRoo, was the senior shaykh of Russia at the end of the Czarist period and the beginning of the Soviet period. He had ultimate authority over the affairs of Russian Muslims, who numbered more than thirty million. Then came the storm of communism, and he ended up far away from his countq and his people.

He wrote a number of essays and hooks, and he travelled in India, the Hijaz, Egypt and Iraq. He said of himself: "I could have attained the position of being the foremost Russian writer and one of the pioneers and leaders, if I had given up my faith, hut I preferred to sell this world for the i~ereafter.""'~ This noble shaykh put a great deal of effort into trying to unite the Ummah and to bring Sunni and Shiite together. He started by studying the books of the Shia, studying them with great interest, as he said. He studied Utool al-Krifi wa Furoo 'uhu, Man la yahduruhu al-Faqeeh, al-Wrifi, Mar'dt al-'Uqool, Bihrir al-Anwrir, Ghriyat alMardm and many other books.1174 Then he visited Shiite lands and lived among the Shia for more than seven months, visiting their places of worship, shrines and schools, and attending their gatherings and special occasions, both feasts and gatherings for mourning the dead. He attended circles of knowledge in houses, in mosques and their courtyards, and in schools. He stayed in Najaf during Muharram and saw everything that the Shia do during the days of mourning and on the day of 'Ashoora (the tenth day of the month of Muharram, when the Shia commemorate the martyrdom of al-Husayn in 61 AH).

The academic conclusion that this scholar reached, based on his deep insight and abundant knowledge, was that refuting the beliefs and practices of the Shia was the first step towards bringing the Ummah together, and that it could not happen without that. 'Ali ibn Abi Tirlib His first step towards rapprochement was to meet the Shaykh of the Shia, M&sin at-Ameen, in Tehran. They spoke for a while, then Shaykh Moosa gave him a small piece of paper, dated 16 August 1934; he sent one copy of it to the scholars of Najaf and another copy to the scholars of al-Kadhimiyyah. - What was written on the paper was: "I present these issues to the scholars of noble Najaf with all respect, in the hope of achieving some benefits with a sincere heart, aiming to bring together the two worlds of Islam, 'the Imami group that is in the (according to their claim) and Ah1 asSunnah waldami'ah, hoping that the scholars will respond, altogether or one by one, each with a full explanation and his signature, coni'irmed with his seal." In the letter, he then mentioned a number of reprehensible matters that appear in the books of the Shia, quoting page numbers for everything he mentioned. He listed a number of serious issues in the books of the RZdi Sbia which were preventing the Ummah from uniting, such as: * Regarding the Companions as disbelievers. +:* Cursing the first generation of Muslims. +:* Believing that the noble Quran has been tampered with. *:* Regarding all the governments of Islamic states throughout the ages, and their judges and scholars, as evil oppressors. -3 Regarding all Islamic groups except the Shia as disbelievers who are cursed and will abide forever in Hell. -3 Holding the views that jihad alongside anyone but the Imam (ruler) whom it is obligatory to obey is as h a r b as eating dead meat or pork, and that there is no martyr except in the case of the Shia. (The Shiite is a martyr even if he dies in his own bed, but anyone other than the Shia 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia who fights for the sake of Allah is hastening towards Hellfire.) After quoting the evidence for these issues from the major reference books of the Shia, Shaykh Moosa said, addressing the Shiite shaykhs: "These are six issues in which the Shia believe strongly. Is there any hope left for uniting the Muslims when this is the belief of the Shia?

After listing all these issues and beliefs, will the word of unity have any impact on the h e m of those who believe that? Is it possible for Islam to prevail in Muslim nations who hold such beliefs?" He went on to list other blameworthy matters, such as: +:* The Shia's rejection of the hadiths and reports of the Ummah, and their claim that everything that goes against the way of the Umrnah is guidance. He thought that this principle in itself would lead to the destruction of the Shiite religion before it destroyed Islam. -3 In the hooks of the Shia, there are references to verses and soorahs that were revealed concerning the Imams and the Shia, and verses and soorahs that were revealed concerning the disbelief of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and of those who follow them. *:+ The Shia's going to extremes with regard to taqiyyah. Then he mentioned other reprehensible falsehoods in the books of the Shia, such as: - The idea that the Messenger of Allah (s) divorced 'A'ishah and she ceased to be one of the Mothers of the Believers. The idea that when the Mahdi emerges, he will carry out the hadd punishment on 'A'ishah, avenging his mother Fitimah (I&,), the daughter of the Prophet (g). 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib The idea that when the Mahdi appears, he will destroy the mosques of Islam.

Then he stated that the spirit of the Shiite religion is a spirit of enmity, and that the books of the Shia contain stories of enmity between Ahu Bakr and 'Umar; he asserted that all of that is fabricated. He mentioned that the books of the Shia quote one of the Imams as saying: "Even if the Ummah is at a high level of sincerity, honesty and decency, it cannot be regarded as believing because it denies imamate." Even though the Shia do not have anything of religion, they are not to be blamed because they believe in the imamate of a fair and just Imam. He mentioned some other issues, then he said: "0 respected scholars, come and tell me what you think should he done so that Islam and the Muslims can be united around the Book of Allah." What was the answer of the Shia to the matters that he quoted from their main reference books, hoping for clarification and in accordance with the command of Allah (%) in His Book: BSo ask of those who know the Scripture [learned men], if you know not# (Quran 16: 43); (Quran 21: 7)? Shaykh Moosa said: "Then I waited for more than a year, and I did not hear any answer from anyone except the senior Shia person qualified to exercise ijtihsd in Basra. He carried out his duty and was kind enough to answer all questions in a letter of more than ninety pages, using words of slander with regard to the first generation that were worse than the words in the books of the Shia." After he did not receive any other response from the Shiite shaykhs, Shaykh Moosa wrote his book al-Washee'ah j? Naqd 'Aqh'id ash-Shia.

He said: "I am defending the honour and sanctity of Islam and fulfilling my duties towards the first generation that are due to them from me and from the entire ~mmah.""'~ 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia While Shaykh Moosa Jhllah thought that the effort he put into writing and publishing his book al-Washee 'ah and advising the Shiite shaykhs would be the first step towards rapprochement and bringing Muslims together, the Shiite shaykhs thought that what Shaykh Moosa revealed must be hidden, and this exposure angered them a great deal. The reason for their becoming angry at the exposure of the falsehoods contained in their books is that this was also an exposure of their ulterior motives and personal aims. It uncovered their exploitation of the ordinary Shiite fok, in religious matters by claiming to be the deputies of the awaited infallible one, and in financial matters in the name of the one-fifth that is due to the awaited ~ a h d i . " ~ ~ 3.13.4. The proper method for rapprochement and unity The proper way to bring about rapprochement and unity is for the Sunni scholars to put a great deal of effort into: spreading their sound beliefs, which are based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (g); * explaining the soundness of these views and how they are distinct from the madh-habs of the followers of innovation; *:* exposing the conspiracies and lies of the R%idi Shia and quoting evidence for that from the books of Ahl asSunnah; and 03 refuting, on the basis of knowledge, justice and proof, the specious arguments that are aimed at Ah1 as-Sunnah. It is essential that this be accompanied by an explanation of the deviant ways of the R%i@ Shia and an exposure of their misguidance and corrnpt basic beliefs.

Even though the Sunni scholars have 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib already done some of that, they have to redouble their efforts. Those efforts should be planned, and they should work collectively. The proper way to achieve unity is to explain the truth and expose the falsehood, in order to bring the Shia close to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah and a correct understanding of Islam. This is best accomplished through the words of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, foremost among whom are the jurists and scholars of Ah1 d-Bayt, such as Amir d-Mu'mineen 'Ali and his sons and grandsons. We have to stand up to this wave of R%& propaganda of which the pure Ahl al-Bayt would be ashamed and which is very active today in the Muslim world and in Europe and America, so that the Muslims can unite on a word that is just and can hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah (the Quran) and not be divided among them~elves."'~ With some of the Shiite scholars, it may seem pointless to present evidence from the Quran, Sunnah and scholarly consensus, and to demonstrate to them the flaws in their fundamentals that are contrary to the views of Ah1 as-Suunah. However, that does not mean that we should stop explaining the view of Ah1 as-Sunnah and its soundness, and comparing it with the misguidance and invalidity of the Shiite madh-hab with regard to these fundamentals.

That will put a limit on the spread of Ritidi beliefs among Ah1 as-Sunnah, by Allah's leave. We have to discuss that which exposes their falsehood from their own books. This methodology was not followed by earlier scholars who were keen to refute the RZ&s, expose the flaws of their arguments and refute their claims. Perhaps the reason for that is that the books of these people were not widely available because they were only circulated among themselves, or it may be that some of their main reference books were fabricated by later scholars and attributed to their earlier scholars, or that material was added to these 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia books in later times (particularly during the era of the Safavid state). Whatever the reason, the books of the RififiClis today are widely circulated. Many of the Rifi& Shia believe in their sanctity and soundness, so they do not believe or accept anything except what is in them; as a result, they reject not only the sound Sunnah but even the clear texts of the Quran.

Some of them even believe the myths that undermine the Book of AUah and claim that the Imams received revelation and had knowledge of the unseen. Therefore we should try to correct and reform the Shia on the basis of their own books, exposing their misguidance through their own reports. The starting point for rapprochement may be their own books.1179 Some efforts have already been made in this field, and some books have appeared, such as: al-Imrimah wan-Najs by Faysal Noor, Thumma Absartul-Haqeeqah by Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Qif^ari, and DirLisah 'an al-Firaq wa Tareekh al-Muslimeen by Dr. &mad Jilli. This method must be developed in a very careful manner, though, because the reader of the Shiite books may find some white threads in the midst of a huge accumulation of misguidance, and it will then he possible to weave from these threads the sound belief of the Imams, which is in accordance with the Quran and sound Sunnah; that could save them from the loss and misguidance in which they are living. Just as these threads have to do with fundamental matters, they dso have to do with minor issues. It is on this basis that rapprochement is possible.1180 It is also important to point out and encourage sincere Shiite voices who are calling for reform, and to respect them and stand with them in advising their people, as has been done by asSayyid Husayn d-Moosawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book Lillrihi thumrna lit-Tareekh: Kashf al-AsrLirji Tabri'at al-A'immah al-Athdr, and by d-Sayyid m a d Kitib in his book Tatawwur al-Fikr asSiyrisi ash-Shiite min ash-Shoora ila Wilriyat al-Faqeeh.

We have to 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib stand with everyone who sincerely loves Ahl al-Bayt, following the guidance in the reports that are soundly attributed to them and their beautiful teaching in guiding people to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (@). We should treat these people with all due respect and lead them to the safe shore; we should explain the noble Quran to them according to the rules of the Arabic language, without twisting or distorting anything; and we should refer understanding of the Sunnah to trustworthy scholars.1181 The view of any person except the infallible Prophet (g) may he accepted or rejected. Whatever is narrated from the early generations that is accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, we accept it; otherwise, the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger are more deserving of being followed. We do not criticise or undermine anyone with regard to the issues in which they differed and disputed, they have all passed away, and it is for AUah (%) to judge them.118z Every innovation that has been introduced into the religion of Islam for which there is no basis, and which people adopt on the basis of their whims and desires - whether it is something that has been added or taken away - is misguidance; it must he opposed1183 and stopped using the best means that do not lead to something worse. Loving and respecting the righteous, and praising them for what is known of their good deeds, is something by means of which one may draw close to Allah (B). The close friends of Allah (&) are those who are mentioned in this verse: dThose who believed, and used to fear Allah much [by abstaining from evil deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds]) (Quran 10: 63).

Due respect for them is confirmed on the basis of the Shariah conditions, hut they did not possess any power to bring benefit or harm to themselves, either while they were alive or after their death, let alone to anyone else."84 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharfjites and Shia Visiting graves of any type is something that is prescribed in Islam, as long as it is done in the manner mentioned in the reports. However, seeking help from those who are buried or asking to have one's needs met by them, whether one is close to the grave or not, making vows to them, building structures over or screens around their graves, touching them for blessing, swearing by someone other than Allah (g), and other similar innovations, are major sins that must be opposed so as to block the way that may lead to polytheism; we should not justify these actions.'185 The fact that a wrong action is customruy does not affect its rnlings according to Shariah; it is essential to properly understand these Shariah rulings and adhere to them. We should beware of being deceived by names; we must look at the objects themselves, whether in religious or worldly affairs. What matters is the objects, not the names."86 Islam frees the mind and encourages us to ponder the universe, raise the status of knowledge and of scholars, and welcome anything that is good and beneficial. Wisdom is the lost property of the believer wherever he finds it, and he is the most entitled of all people to it."87 We do not regard as a disbeliever - because of any opinion or sin - any Muslim who affirms the twin declarations of faith, acts in accordance with their meanings and does the obligatory duties, unless he does one of the following: speaks words of disbelief, rejects something that is well established and known in Islam, rejects a clear text of the Quran, interprets the Quran in a way that cannot be understood on the basis of the Arabic language at all, or does something that cannot be interpreted in any way except as disbelief.1188 These principles and concepts help people in general to understand Islam as it is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (8) and the way of Ah1 as-Sunnab wal-Jamg'ah, the foundations of which were laid down by the Messenger of Allah Xli ibn Abi Tiilib (g), the Rightly Guided Caliphs and those scholars and jurists who followed their way. The followers of truth who adhere to the way of Ah1 as-Sunnah have no innovations, praise be to Allah (s).

Their reference points are the Quran and the sound Sunnah, and they cannot give up anything of that because they cannot compromise on issues of religion. As for the Rsfifidi Shia, they take part in a great deal of innovation. Nothing prevents them from giving it up except blind fanaticism, following whims and desires, and the materialistic interests of some of their shaykhs who deviated from the guidance of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali and the scholars of Ah1 al-Bayt (may All;& be pleased with them all). The scholars stated that Ahl asSunnah should denounce the innovation of the innovators, even if the person is doing it as an act of worship, believing it to be correct. Nevertheless, we should limit our denunciation of these innovations by evaluating the pros and cons. It may be better to put up with some lesser evil caused by innovation in order to ward off a greater evil, or to miss out on some lesser benefit in order to attain a greater benefit, and this is a sound principle according to the jurists.

Following this principle might cause us to refrain from denouncing the innovation of the Rifidi Shia at certain times or in ceaain places, so as to prevent bad consequences, as when condemnation would stir up trouble and lead to bloodshed and fighting among the people of a counhy where Shiites and Sunnis are equal in number. In normal situations, though, where no bad consequences are expected from this denunciation, it is appropriate and may be obligatory.1i89 The Sunni scholars have to adhere to a calm, academic style when discussing innovations, and they should be gentle towards the innovators. Part of being gentle may include visiting them and cooperating with them in matters concerning which there is no 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia dispute, or helping them at times of calamities and difficulties, or supporting them when there is a conflict with a disbeliever or oppressor, in accordance with Shariah guidelines and after weighing the pros and cons. The idea of cooperating, maintaining good relations and discussing calmly cannot be applied across the board to include those R2fifidi Shia who have extreme views, where keeping quiet about them may provoke the thugs and troublemakers. Instead, we must denounce those who hold extreme and odd views at all times. The line that is drawn between the first category, to whom we should speak kindly, and the second category, to whom we should speak harshly, depends on whether the one who holds a particular view is relying on a Shariah text that may be causing him some confusion or is relying on an interpretation that some people may favour.

In the case of those who base their arguments on reports narrated by unknown narrators or narrators of later generations, and those who do not even base their view on the misinterpretation of some reports, denunciation is more appropriate, and speaking harshly to them may be obligatory.1190 In sectarian societies, the decision-makers among the Sunnis are the ones who are able to evaluate the political situation and party alliances with other sects and analyse the pros and cons, according to the guidelines of Islamic teachings. This does not mean that the scholars and the callers to Islam should not teach the Muslims the basics of the way of Ah1 as-Sunnah or warn against the deviant beliefs that are infiltrating Muslim societies. This is necessaq so that they will not be influenced by those cormpt ideas, whose proponents are striving tirelessly to spread them night and day, secretly and openly. When the Messenger of Allah (@) migrated to Madinah, he made peace deals with the Jews that guaranteed them a life of dignity under the Islamic state, yet at the same time the noble Quran was 'AIi ibn Abi Tilib discussing the beliefs, history and morals of the Jews so that the Muslims might know their real character and not be deceived by them.