These people would not follow Imam Ali(a.s)

And it is explicitly stated in the verses 11-20 of the Surah Allies that some ignorant individuals who had been brought up in the schools of the caliphs were under the erroneous assumption that a Prophet’s special companion is flawless, that he is innocent, that he is exempted from the law of chastisement and that he is a real jurisprudent and finally that nobody may interfere in his work.

I do not know why these people would not follow Imam Ali(a.s), Salman, Miqdad, Abu Zar, Bilal, Hamzah, Jabir, Abu Ayyub Ansari, Zaid Ibn Harithah, Abu Janah, Ammar Yassir, and the like, who had definite programs for life. They narrate the following: أصْحابي كَالنُّجُومِ “My companions are like the stars,” but would not follow them. The above – mentioned personalities are clear examples of faith, holy war, generosity, justice, and salvation in the Hereafter. They obeyed their God and His apostle to the last day of their lives. They served people and they spread the culture of righteousness everywhere they could.

All these divisions, wars, backwardness, exploitation of the muslims would have been avoided if right from the start they had let Imam Ali (a.s) to lead the muslims after the demise of the Prophet (s.a.w). In the Holy Qur’an, Imam Ali (a.s) is referred to as the Prophet’s spirit.[1]

You insist so much on your prejudice against the Holy Qur’an that you have translated the world “Maula” as used in the Narration on Gadir a “a friend” and this contradicts the sense used by God in the following sacred verse:

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ  [2]

"The Prophet has a greater claim on the faithful than they have on themselves.” You have called Mawiyah as the uncle to muslims despite his strange dossier during his caliphate; but have refrained from using this title for Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr, simply because he was a lover of Imam Ali (a.s)".

You have exempted Aisha, Talha and Zubair from any blame despite the fact that they fought with their Imam and caused the death of thousands of innocent individuals and you have acted in contradiction to the following verses:

مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا  [3]

“Whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men.”

وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا  [4]

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement.”

You have claimed that these war Lords had repented; whereas they were killed during the war and did not have a chance to repent.

You have nicknamed the Shiites as Rafiz and you refer to them as a party who was created along side with the muslim ummah despite the fact that the Shiites did nothing except that they follow the Holy Quran, Muhammad(s.a.w) and his Household(a.s).

You exempted the murderer of Malik Ibn Nuwair and the adulterer to his wife on the night when the murder took place and did not punish him and consider him as a wrong - doing jurisprudent.

You have preferred the narrations reported from Aisha over those narrated by Ummu Salamah, whose sincerity is confirmed by the Holy Qur’an.

You have considered all of the Prophets’ companions as just, versed in religious issues, and salvaged people, exempt from any chastisement. As the translations of the verses 12-20 of the Surah Ahzab (the Allies: Qur’an 33: 12-20) indicate that mere being a Prophet’s companion is not the criterion for having virtues:

12. (Qur’an 33:12): (Remember) when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease began to say: Allah and His Apostle did not promise us victory but only to deceive (their promises were misleading and deceptful).

13. (Qur’an 33”13) (and remember the time) when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib there is no place to stand for you here, therefore go back; and a party of them asked permission of the Prophet, saying: Surely our houses are exposed (with no guards); and they were not exposed; they only desired to fly away.

14. (Qur’an 33:14) If the foes from Medina and other parts came upon them and make the suggestion to return to idol worshipping and waging war, they would certainly have done it, and they would not have stayed in it but a little while.

15. And certainly they had made a covenant with Allah before that they would not turn their backs; and Allah’s covenant shall be inquired of.

16. Say: Flight shall not do you any good if you fly from death or slaughter, and in that case you will not be allowed to enjoy yourselves but a little.

17. Say: Who is it that can withhold you from Allah if He intends to do you evil, rather He intends to show you mercy? And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any guardian or a helper.

18. Allah knows indeed those among you who hinder others and those who say to their brethren: Come to us and they themselves withdraw; they are weak people who will fight only for a short time.

19. They are jealous of you, but when fear comes, you will see them looking to you, their eyes rolling like one swooning because of death; but when the fear is gone they smite you with sharp tongues, being niggardly of the good things. These have not believed, therefore Allah has made their doing naught; and this is easy to Allah.

20. (Qur’an 33:20) They think the allies are not gone, and if the allies should come again they would fain be in the deserts with the desert Arabs asking for news about you, and if they were among you they would not fight save a little.

From the above sacred verses it is evident that some of the Prophet’s companions possessed the following negative personal traits:

1. A disease in the heart;

2. Persuading people to desert the battle field and let the Prophet(s.a.w) alone;

3. Readiness to return to atheism;

4. The breach of the covenant to God;

5. Fear of death and getting killed, which is a trait of the Jews;

6. Strong desire for material profits;

7. Weakness in personality;

8. Hindering people from struggle against tyranny;

9. Unfounded rage and wrath;

10. Jealousy;

11. Greed

12. Lack of faith;

13. Neglecting tasks; and

14. Abandoning social and metaphysical considerations.

Considering the verses of the sacred Surah Ahzab, Imam Muhammad Qazzali, in his fourth essay of his book called Serrol Alamain, which is believed by the scholars of Sunna, such as Yusuf Sebt Ibn Jouzi, to belong to Qazzali, believes that being a Prophet’s close friend will not stop an individual from going astray or falling into the pitfall of whims and wishes.

In that article, Qazzali writes: Now it has become evident that Imam Ali(a.s) was the genuine successor of the Prophet (s.a.w).

This is due to the fact that muslim scholars now unanimously attest to the authenticity and accuracy of the events which took place in Gadir Khum and the sermon delivered on that occasion. This is because as soon as the Prophet(s.a.w) finished his sermon, Umar congratulated him by saying: بَخْ بَخْ لَكَ يا عَلِيُّ “O Ali, I congratulate You.”

It is evident that this kind of congratulations stemmed from the satisfaction and consent of those present at the meeting. Although Umar and his associates carried out the ceremonies of allegiance, after the Prophet’s demise, greed overcame them and they decided to create a calipha out of themselves.

This happened because their lust for caliphate overcame them. They desired to have the Islamic army under their control. They had in mind to conquer lands and expand their territories and to have their names written in history books. They refused to act in accordance with the Holy Qur’an or the Prophet’s commands. They bargained their faith with the worldly issues. At the end; what they had was complete failure.

If this was not the case, why were they not inclined to accept Imam Ali(a.s). Why did they use the expression إنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَهْجُرُ “In fact this man utters nonsense,” regarding the Prophet (s.a.w) prior to his demise when he asked for ink and paper to write his Will on it? They would claim that they made use of consensus. But this was not a true consensus because Abbas and his sons, Ali and his wife and children were not present in the consensus and some people in Saqifah had already opposed the consensus and had left it. And finally the Ansar had opposed the decision sharply.[5]

If you refer to the most authentic narrators of the Islamic texts such as Al-Qadir, Abeqat, Muraji’at, and Nass Dar Barabar Ijtihad, you will observe the nasty conditions in which some of the Prophet’s special followers were and how they misused the treasury, ethical considerations and the people’s right.

It is indeed unfair for a muslim scholar to claim that all the Prophet’s followers were flawless.

A great majority of the muslims assume that it is only the Shiites who are pessimistic towards some of the Prophet’s special followers and consider them as opponents of Islamic clear texts. But it is not true since there are a lot of Sunni scholars who do not agree with some of the Prophet’s special followers.

But unfortunately, these scholars were tortured by the prejudiced mulims and lived a miserable life. They were even given the pejorative title “Rafid” even if they had been loyal to the school of caliphs all their lives.

Hafiz Ibn Aqadah Abul Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Saeed Hamdani (dead 333 A.H) was one of the senior scholars of Sunni. The experts on great personalities(Rijal) write on him: He used to have in memory three hundred thousand narration with their authentic sources. But since he used to tell people at Kufah and Bagdad about the weak points of some of the Prophet’s special companions in the fourth century, people called him Rafid and refrained from reporting his narrations. This becomes clear when we see what Ibn Kathir, Zahabi, and Yafi’ee have written concerning him:

إنَّ هذَا الشَّيْخَ كانَ يَجْلِسُ في جامِعِ بَراثا وَيُحَدِّثُ النّاسَ بِمَثالِبِ الشَّيْخَيْنِ، وَلِذا تُرِكَتْ رِواياتُهُ وَإلاّ فَلا كَلامَ لأحَدٍ في صِدْقِهِ وَثِقَتِهِ.

This sheikh used to tell people at the Barasa Mosque some of the weak points of the two sheikhs. Then his narrations were not told by the narrators and they were thus censored. Nobody ever doubts the authenticity of his work, however.

When in the year 310 A.H, Mohammad Ibn Jarir Tabri passed away at the age of 86 in Bagdad, he was buried in his own yard due to his expression of some facts and because of his fear of the dogmatic individuals.

Do you not remember Abu Huraira, the famous Prophet’s special companion who was whipped by Umar because of the lies that he had spread concerning the Prophet(s.a.w)?

What do you think of those who protected Hakam and his son Marwan and gave them the ministerial positions although they had been cursed by the Prophet (s.a.w)?

What do you say regarding the wrong doers to the Usamah army who were explicitly cursed by the Prophet (s.a.w).

What would you have to say concerning those ten famous Prophet’s special companions who drank wine in a clandestine meeting just after the revelation of the verse which prohibited the drinking of wine and recited some pieces of poetry about the martyrs of the Badr Holy War. This event is referred to in the following texts: Bukhari in the interpretation of the verse on drinking wine in the Surah Maidah( the Dinning Table, Qur’an 5); muslim Ibn Hajjaj in his book called Ashrabah, the section on the prohibition of drinking wine; Ahmad Hanbal, in Musnad, third volume, pp 181, 227; Ibn Kathis, in the second volume of his interpretations, pages 93, 94; Suyiti, in page 321, second volume of Adurrul Mansur; Tabari, in the seventh volume of his interpretation,24 Ibn Hajar Asqalani, on Page 22, the fourth volume of Isabah and in the tenth volume of Fathul Bari, page 30; Badr Al-Din Hanafi on page 84, the tenth volume of Umdatul Qari; and Baihawi, 9 on psgrd 286 and 240 of Sunan.

How would you explain the ignorance of some of the Prophet’s special companions regarding the content of the Holy Qur’an and the Islamic commandments? These weaknesses are reported in details in the sixth volume of Al-Gadir. And this kind of ignorance has led to the muslims’ deviations.

During the past fourteen centuries, we, the true followers of the Prophet’s Household, have asked the followers of the Saqifah school and the followers of the school of Caliphs many fundamental questions; however, so far we have not received a convincing answer based on the Holy Qur’an and the Tradition.

What we say is this: let us be unprejudiced followers of the Holy Qur’an and the authentic narrations and let us not judge blindly on the social and Islamic issues.

What we declare is this: Try to evaluate your books on narration with the scale of the Holy Qur’an, wisdom and human genuine nature and leave out what is against the truth.

We declare that on the basis of the Quranic verses and the authentic narrations, the complete innocence belongs to the Prophet(s.a.w) and the Imams(a.s) only. Other people are vulnerable towards committing sins and they are accountable for the wrong that they have committed. Then, let us follow those who were innocent and let us not follow those who hurt the Prophet(s.a.w) and who were cursed by him, and let us not claim that all the Prophet’s followers are like the stars and should be imitated: such a verdict is in contradiction with the Holy Qur’an.

What kind of salvation is there in adopting the ways of Ma’wiya, Abi Hrirah, Khalid Ibn Walid, the criminal and the adulterer, and those famous ten followers of the Prophet(s.a.w) who drank wine in a clandestine manner?

Let us stop getting involved in aggression and unfounded prejudice, the consequence of which is mere torture both Here and in the Hereafter. Try to shake our hands we have extended towards you for brotherly unity. Only through this approach can we resolve our problems and could stop the interferences of the muslims. Let us make known to the world the concept of the genuine Islam and let the world get ready to accept the life-giving tenets of Islam. Let us spread justice, insight and wisdom all over the world.

Anyhow, the real traits and characteristics of the genuine followers of Muhammad(s.a.w) are those set forth by Imam Zain Al-Abidin(a.s) in his fourth supplication of Sahifah. Anybody lacking any one of these traits could not be considered as a true follower of the Prophets(s.a.w) even if he carries with him the title of being “a special companion of Muhammad(s.a.w).” This is because, based on the Holy Qur’an, the God’d consent could not be obtained except by carrying out the principles of faith, good deeds, good manner piety, honesty, generosity, sobriety, perseverance and following the path of Allah.