The Hadith of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud
In order to prove his point that the declaration of Ghadir was not explicit enough to convey the meaning of "khalifat" in the sense of political succession, the learned scholar says :
"The Prophet never forced. After he returned to Medina from Ghadir; one night he was home with 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud. He tells 'Abdullah that the messenger has come and wants me to go; that I have received the news of my death. 'Abdullah says, by the way this is after Ghadir, 'Appoint a successor.' Yes this exactly what he said. 'Why don't you appoint Abu Bakr?' The Prophet shakes his head and say, no. He mention one after the other. (I dont know about the value of this hadith; Shaykh Mufid mentions it and I am mentioning it on the authority of Shaykh Mufid. I am not here to examine and judge how authentic is the hadith. But I am telling you it reflects the situation in the community. If it is authentic, it reflects the situation in the community....1) 'Abdullah's hadith
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1. 2nd speech in Toronto, Muharram 1419.
2. Although this sentence is cushioned in "if it is authentic" escape clause, it creats more questions: During the last days of Ramadhan 1418, Dr. Sachedina made the following declaration on the Internet : "Iam taking this opportunity to state in the most ABSOLUTE terms that not only I believe in the unequivocal authenticty of the event al-Ghadir ..., I believe that statement by the Prophet. 'Everyone whose master I am, also has 'Ali as a master,' to be the explicit designation of the Imam 'Ali to the office of the Leadership of Muslim Community, as upheld by the Twelver Shi'a faith," Then less tham four months later, in Muharram 1419, he makes such statement that cast doubt in the explicitness of the declaration of Ghadir Khumm.
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goes and the Prophet is asking, 'What shall I do?' 'Abdullah says, 'Why don't you appoint 'Ummar; why don't you appoint 'Uthman?' And finally, 'Abdullah says, Why don't you appoint 'Ali?' And the Prophet says, and he is weak by this time, 'O I wish, they would obey. I wish they would obey."'1
First, this conversation between the Prophet and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud did not take place in Medina after the declaration of Ghadir as the learned scholar wants the audience to believe ("by the way, this is after Ghadir"). In the beginning of his narration, 'Abdullah says "We went out with the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) the night of the delegation of jinn untill we [reached and] stayed at 'Ula". 'Ula is a placed where the Prophet had stopped on his way to Tabuk.2
Secondly, the event related to the delegation of jinn occured when the Prophet was on his way to Tabuk in the year 9 A.H 3 And the event of Ghadir Khumm took placed in 10 A.H.
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1. The 2nd speech of Muharram 1419 at Toronto.
2. At-Turayhi, al-Majma'u 'l-Bahrayn, ed. Mahmud 'Adil, vol.3 (Tehran: Daftar-e Nashr-e Farhang-e Islami,1408) p.242.
3. Al-Mufid, Amali, vol.13 (Musannafat Shaykh al-Mufid) p.35.
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Thirdly, according to the methodology of the Western scholars, would not the sequence in the names suggested by 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud itself be an indication that this 'hadith' was a later fabrication? Why is the Western scholarship so quick in rejecting the ahadith quoted by the Shi'as that have names of the Imams in proper sequence but not treat such hadith of the Sunnis with equal scepticism? I know as easy response will be that "I said that 'I don't know the value of the hadith ..."' My only question is : Why confuse the people and creat doubt in the explicitness of the Prophet's declaration in Ghadir by quoting such a hadith irresponsibly?
Then on such a flimsy basis, the learned scholar concludes by saying :
"So apparently, there was a big question of the religious role that the Prophet (s.a.w.) was playing in the community. The community saw itself organized under the leadership of the Prophet (s.a.w.). When he was gone, someone had to replace him in the same position---- in the same authority. And this is where today we are still searching for the interpretation."
Al-hamdu lil-lah, the true followers of the Prophet understood the real interpretation in Ghadir Khumm itself; and may Almighty Allah help those who are still searching for the true interpretation of the term "mawla" and the status of "wali-ul-lah".
The Meaning of "Imamate"
In the same speech, the learned scholar further explains the meaning of Imamate by saying :
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"The belief system says anybody who had any right to claim obedience after the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) is 'Ali bin Abi Talib. That is the meaning of Imamate; it is nothing more than that. You open any book of kalam, you will find theologians describing Imam 'Ali as having the right to become muta,' obeyed, one should be obeyed by the people. Why should he be obeyed? Because he is exactly sitting in the place of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) ...
"Imam 'Ali ws the Imam from the day the Prophet Muhammad closed his eyes. Regardless whether he became a khalifa or not. How can he become an Imam without becoming a khalifa, without sitting on the throne? That was not the requirement. Because the obedience was to the position of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)."
In order to defend his writing in the Bio Ethics Encyclopaedia, the learned scholar has divided "imamate" and "khalifat" into two different realms: "imamate" becomes a spiritual position while "khalifat" becomes a political position. He says, "Imamate is nothing more than that" and even bodly asks the audience to "open any book of kalam [theology] ..."
Well, we opened the books of kalam from different eras and found the statement of the learned scholar to be against the mainstream Shi'a belief on the meaning and scope of "imamate".
Shaykh Mufid (d. 413 A.H./1022 C.E.) defines an "Imam" as follows : "The Imam is the person who has
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the comprehensive leadership in religious as well as worldly matters as the succeessor of the Prophet (as)."1
Allama Hilli (d. 726 A.H / 1325 C.E.) defines Imamate" as follows: "The Imamate is a universal authority (riyasa) in the things of religion and of the world belonging to some person and derived from (niyyaba) the Prophet."2
Abdu r-Razzaq Lahiji (d. 1072 A.H.) defines "Imamate" as follows "Know that Imamte is an authority over all those who are of legal age in worldly as well as religious matter based on successorship of the Prophet.3
Allamah Tabataba'i (d. 1401 A.H. / 1981) writes, "Thus the imamate and religius lerdership in Islam may be strdied from three different perspectives: from the perspective of Islamic government, of Islamic sciences and injunctions, and of lerdership and innovatives guidance in the spiritual life. Shi'ism believes that since Islamic society is in dire need of guidance in each of these three aspects, the person who occupies the function of giving that guidance and is the lerder of the community in these areas of religious
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1. Al-Mufid, an-Nukatu l'-I tiqadiyya in vol.10 of Musannafat ash-Shaykh al-Mufid (Qum: Mu'assasa Ali l-Bayt 1413) p.39.
2. AL-Hilli, al-Babu 'l-Hadi 'Ashar [Qum: Nashr Nawid,1368 AH solar] p.184; also see its English translation A Treatise on the principles of Shi'ite Thought, tr William Miller (London: Royal Asiatic Society,1958) p.62
3. Lahiji, Sarmaya-e Iman (Qum : Intisharat-e az-Zahram, 1372 AH solar)p.107.
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concern must be appointed by God and the Prophet,"1 Even Murtaza Mutahhari states that when the Shi'as use the term "Imam", it does not only reflect the spiritual guidance and leadership, it includes the social and political leadership also.2
As you can see, all these theologians and prominent scholars of the Shi'a faith unanimously difine Imamte as a position that combines the spiritual/religious leadership as well as the socio-political/wordly leadership. For a Shi'a 'Ali is the first Imam as well as the first khalifa of the Prophet. A Shi'a would never say that 'Ali is the first Imam but not the khalifa bila fasl (immediate successor) of the Prophet. The difference between Shi'a and the Sunnis is not about the spiritual leadership; it is on the sociopolitical leadership immediately after the Prophet. As mentioned earlier, the view that the Ahlul Bayt were "spiritual guides only but not political leaders" is a belief found among the Sunnis in the general and the Sufis in particular.3
(B) "Political Also"
Then in the 6th speech of Muharram 1419, the learned scholar, in a way, contradicts his above statement. says :
"... The fact remains that the Qur'an conceived the Prophet to be the leader of an ummah, anummah that was religious, social and political. In other
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1. Tabataba'i, Shi'a Islam, tr.Nasr (Qum: Ansariyan,1989) p.173.
2. Mutahhari, Wilaya, p.72.
3. See p.90-91.
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words it was civil, moral community that was being guided be a person, who had some kind of comprehensive authority, which was not conceivable at that time even, by the Arab tribes. That was also the difficulty during Ghadir. When Ghadir happened, one of the challenging dimensions of Ghadir was an introduction of the Qur'anic concept of leadership.Wilayah means that kind of leadership, which combines the civil and moral authority in one person. That means there is no separation of power. This is no church and state as such, rather the civil and moral authority combines in the person who holds the office of the wilayah. What was new about it? The new thing about it was this that in the Arab culture, the Arabs were never used to see a young person assuming the leadership. In Arab culture it was impossible for a thirty year old young man to become a leader because the Arabs believed that an old person has to become a leader ..."1
Again in the 8th speech, the learned scholars says :
"The whole question is 'Is Islam a political system or it is it's a religious system?' There are two opinions about it. Many scholars are fighting the battle, including Ayatullah Khui, Ayatullah Mutahhari, Ayatullah Khumayni, in Egypt, al-Ashmaawi, al-Jaabiri in Morocco ... For me there is a very important issue involved here. If we say that Islam is not a political system, and Islam is simply a
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1. In the 6th speech in Muharram 1419 at Toronto.
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religion that is concerned with moving humanity towards self-perfection and prepare humanity for the hereafter, then we are denying a very major role played by the Prophet in the establishment of the ummah itself ...
"Nine-tenth of Islam is mu'amalat, how you deal with each other, how you conduct your affairs in this world because whatever you do in this world has an implication for the akhirat. Now in that kind of religion, to say that Islam is simply a religion without any social system is to deny the fact of Wilayah. By the way, if you remember my lecture on the fifth night because wilayah means moral, civil authority that can lead you to your ultimate goal of creation, and 'ultimate goal of creation' is not only knowing what five times a day prayers, fasting but knowing how to live a human beings in a society. Otherwise there would not be civil authority, the Prophet could just be what we call an-nabi ar-ruhi ..."1
This is indded true. Why then did the learned scholar say in the 2nd speech, "The Prophet was never recognized as the political leader "? It is good that he made it clear that the Prophet was not only a religious leader, he was also a political leader. After WWI, there was an intense debate in Egypt on Westernization versus Islam, and some intellectuals, influenced by Western ideas, tried to secularize Islam by restricting khalifat issues and seprating it from the
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1. In the 8th speech in Muharram 1419 at Toronto.
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ummah's political system. 'Ali 'Abdu 'r-Raziq wrote al-Islam wa Usulu 'l-Hukm (1925) proposing the complete separation of religion and state in Islam.1 Similar ideas are resurfacing lately in the writings of some Muslim intellectuals influenced by the liberal/secular ideas of the west.
4. Do Najaf & Qum Have Different Views on The Role Of the Imams?
Then in the 9th speech, the learned scholar again dwells upon the spiritual vs political role of the Prophet and the Imams. And now surprisingly he claims that even great scholars of Qum and Najaf have different views. He says :
"... Najaf and Qum are divided on the whole debate about the Prophet's political role. Najaf as one of the most important centres of Shi'a learning, and Qum, now the most important centre of Shi'a learning have maintained two different view about the role of the Imam ... . Najaf has maintained a conservative attitude to the role of the Imam. They believe that religion has a moral function, an ethical function but not a political one, including Ayatullah Khui, whose opinions are well stated. He does not believe that the wilayah of Imam 'Ali bin
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1. On 'Abdu 'r-Raziq's book and al-Bakhit's response to it, see Hourani, Arabic Thought, pp.184-192; on Rashid Riza's response, see Kerr, Islamic Reform, pp.179-185.
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Abi Talib (a.s.) has any need for manifesting itself politically because the Imam remains the Imam as a spiritual, moral, ethical leader regardless whether people pay allegiance to him or not. That opinion was for the first time contested by Ayatullah Khumayni himself."1
The learned scholars wants to leave the impression in the minds of his listeners that even the 'ulama of Qum and Najaf had different opinions concerning the role of the Imam in the sense that Najaf confines it to a spiritual realm whereas Qum expands it to encompass a political sphere as well.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Shi'a ulama' of Najaf (exemplified by the late al-Khu'i) and Qum (exemplified by the late al-Khumayni) have identical views about the wilayat of the Prophet and the Imams. The difference between them is not about the wilayat of the Imams, it is about the extent of the wilayat-e faqih, the authority of a jurist. Moreover, on the issue of wilayat-e faqih, the division is not between Qum and Najaf; there are 'ulama' on both side of the issue in Qum as well as in Najaf.
As discussed earlier, all four dimensions of wilayat for the Prophet and the Imams are among the dharuriyyat al-madhhab (the essentials of Shi'a faith), so how could such great leaders of the Shi'a world have differences on them?
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1. The 9th speech in Muharram 1419 in Toronto.
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As for the views of the late Ayatullah al-Khumayni on the wilayat of the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt, I quote from his lecture on wilayat-e faqih. He says :
"To prove that government and authority belong to the Imam is not to imply that the Imam has no spiritual status. The Imam does indeed possess certain spiritual dimensions that are unconnected with his function as ruler. The spiritual status of the Imam is the universal divine viceregency that is sometimes mentioned by the Imams (peace be upon them). It is a viceregency pertaining to the whole of creation, by virtue of which all the atoms in the universe humble themselves before the holder of authority. It is one of the essential beliefs of our Shi'i school that no one can attain the spiritual status of the Imams, not even the cherubim or the prophets. In fact, according to the traditions that have been handed down to us, the Most Noble Messenger and the Imams existed before the creation of the world in the form of lights situated beneath the divine throne; they were superior to other men even in the sperm from which they grew and in their physical composition. Their exalted station in limited only by the divine will, as indicated by the saying of Jibra'il recorded in the traditions on the mi'raj: 'Were I to draw closer by as much as breadth of a finger, surely I would burn."'1
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1. Khomeini, Islam and Revolution, tr. Hamid Algar (Berkeley: Mizan Press,1981) p.64-65.
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Ayatullah al-Khumayni, while affirming the political leadership of the Prophet and the Imams, does not deny or "de-mystify" their universal wilayat.
Coming to the views of of the late Ayatullah al-Khu'i on the wilayat of the Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt, I quote from the transcripe of his lectures in which he says :
"As for the first type of wilayat [takviniya, universal], obviously there is no doubt in their authority over the entire creation as clear from the ahadith because they are link in creation, through them [continues] the existence, and they are reason for creation [of the universal]; if it had not been for them, Allah would not have created the people altogether, the people have been created for them, through them the people exist, and they are the means of the pouring forth [of the Divine grace].
"Actually, they have the universal authority just below that of the Creator Himself; this authority [of theirs] is like the authority of Almighty Allah on the creation, however, it is weaker compared to the authority of Almighty Allah on the creation."1
Then al-Khu'i also talks about the civil/political authority of the Prophet and the Imams, and says,
"As for the second dimension of their legislative wilayat (at-tashri'iyya) in the sense that they possess the authority to independently administer
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1. At-Tawhidi, Muhammad 'Ali, Misbahu 'l-Faqahah, vol.5 (Qum : Intisharat-e Wijdani,1368 A.H. solar) p.35.
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the properties and the lives of the people - obviously, there is no dispute on their authority of this kind ... . This is proven from well attested ahadith, and in the farewell sermon [the Prophet sadi], Whosoever's master I am, this Ali is his master. Do I not have more authority over the believers than they have themselves?, They sad, Yes ... ."1
Ayatullah al-Khu'i, while affirming the universal wilayat of the Prophet and the Imams, does not deny their political authority. Actually, he goes further to say that,
"And the presumption that the histoty is contrary to that [in the sense that the Imams did not historically exercise their political authority] ..., is invalid."
Thus he concludes,
"So not exercising [the authority in the historical sense] does not prove the non-existence of the authority as is abvious."2
In essence, the two great jurist of the contemporary Shi'a world representing Qum and Najaf have dentical views about the wilayat of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (as). They both believe in all dimensions of wilayat-- spiritual, socio-political, and universal-- of the Prophet and the Imams. The difference that existed between the rwo was only on the limits of the authority of a faqih (mujtahid, jurist) during he Occultation of the Present Imam (as). How could the
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1. Ibid, p.38-39
2. Ibid, p.39
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learned scholar, who has written The Just Ruler on the authority of the jurist, not know the difference between wilayat of the Imams (unanimouslu accepted by he Shi'a jurists) and the wilayat of the faqih (with dispute over its limits among the Shi'a jurist)?
5. Is Not Wilayat Part of the Faith?
Referring to the controversy surrounding his article in the Bio Ethics Encyclopeadia, the learned sholar made the following comment in his 4th speech of Muharram 1419;
"How can such a thing divide the community when it is such a trivial part, and it is not even part of the faith."
Referring to Ghadir Khumm, he says: "That historical evetn: what does it have any connection with our belief systerm? So if I said in my article that the Prophet (s. a. w.) did not leave any explicit instruction abut his successor, am I treading the path which is dangerous to the survival of the religion of the Ahlul Bayt? Or am exercising my right as a resercher to see what the documents says?"
Is the issue of wilayat and imamate a "trivial part" and not even part of the faith"?
As we have explained earlier in this chapter, in Islam there is a term called "dharuriy, pl. dharuriyyat" which refers to those issues that are essential parts of
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our religion. The dharuriyyat" are divided into two : "dharuriyyat ad-din -- the essential parts of the Islamic faith" and dharuriyyat al-madhhab- the essential parts of the Shi'a sect". It is a common view of our scholars that whoever rejects one of the dharuriyyat ad-din, then he is o longer considered a member of the Islamic faith; and whoever rejects one of the dharuryyat al-madhahab, then he is no longer considered a member of the Shi'a Ithna- Ahari sect.
What is the status of the belief in he wilayat of the Ahlul Baiyt: is it one of the dharuryyat or not? While discussing the status of the Muslims who are not Shi'a, Ayatullah Khu'i has defined wilayat (in the sense of love for the Ahlulbayt) as one of the dharuriyyat ad-din, and wilayat (in the sense fo khilafat and political leadership) as one of the Dharuriyyat al-madhhab, The late Ayatullah says :
"The dimension of wilayat that is essential [for din] is the wilayat in the meaning of love and devotion, and they [the Sunnis] do not deny it in this sense rather they actually express their love for the Ahlul Bayt (AS) ... .
"Of course, the wilayat in the meaning of succession (khillafat) is one of the essential parts of the madhhab [of Shi'ism], but not from the essential parts of the din."1
So according to Ayatullah al-Khu'i, the wilayat and imamate in the meaning of succession (khilafat) is an
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1. Al-Gharawi, Miza, 'Ali, at-Atanqih fi Sharhi l, Urwati l-wuthqa, vol.2 (Qum : Dar al-Hadi, 1410AH)p.86.
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essential part (dharuriy) of Shi'ism; anyone who rejects this dimension of the wilayat would not be considered as a Shi'a. He would still be a Muslim but not a Shi'a. He will be a Muslim but not a shi'a.
As for the question that by denying the explicitness of the appointment of Imam Ali (as), is the learned scholar "'treading the path which is dangerous to he survival of the religion of the Ahlul Bait?".
Well, he religion of the Ahlul Bayt will surely survive because it has an Imam protecting it evet though he is in Occultation; but such statements will surely weaken the faith of our common people and youths in the explicit wilayat fo the Iamams. You have to see where such a statement will lead; it minimises the wrong done against the Ahlul Bayt and it gives a semblanece of legitimacy to Sunni view. A sunni would extend this argument further that since the Prophet had not made things clear enough, the companions did what they thought was best for Islam! A Shi'a who had attended speeches of the learned sholar was saying that what is the propblem if we believe that Ali is the first Imam (in the spiritual sense)! and the fourth caliph ( in the socio-political sense) With such friends we do not ndde an enemy.
