Shia and Ahlulbayt

Reports of Love for him, Peace be on him, Being a Sign of Faith (in a Person) and Hatred of him Being a Sign of Hypocrisy (in a Person).

[Abu Bakr Muhammad b. `Umar - known as Ibn al-Ji`ibi al-Hafiz - told us: Muhammad b. Sahl b. al-Hasan told us: Ahmad b. `Umar al-Dihqan told us: Muhammad b. Kathir told us: Isma°il b. Muslim told us: al-A'mash told us on the authority of 'Ad! b. Thabit, on the authority of Zirr b. Hubaysh, who said:] I saw the Commander of the faithful, `Ali b. Abi Talib,on the pulpit and I heard him say: "By Him Who split the seed and brought the soul into being, the Prophet made a promise (ahd) to me: `Only believers will love you and only hypocrites will hate you!"

[Abu `Abd Allah Muhammad b. `Imran al-Marzubani informed me: `Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. `Abd al-`Azlz al-Baghawi told us: `Ubayd Allah b. `Umar al-Qawarlrl told us: JaYar b. Sulayman told us: al-Nadr b. Hamid told us on the authority of Abu al-J3rUd, on the authority of al-Harith al-HamdNnl who said:]

I saw `All, peace be on him. One day he came and went up on the pulpit. He praised and glorified God. Then he said: "A decree which God, the Most High, decreed by the tongue of the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, was that only believers will love me and only hypocrites will hate me. Whoever forges a lie is lost."

[Abu al-Hasan Muhammad b. al-Muzaffar al-Bazzaz informed me: Muhammad b. Yahya told us: Muhammad b. Musa al-Barbarl told us: Khalaf b. Salim told us: WaO` told us: al-A'mash told us on the authority of 'Ad! b. Thabit, on the authority of Zirr b. Hubaysh, on the authority of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, who said:]

The Prophet, may God bless him and his family, made a promise (ahd) to me: "Only believers will love you and only hypocrites will hate you."

Ahlul-bait and the perverted groups

The opponents of Islam realized that the Ahlul-Bait were the very embodiment of originality and purity and acted as refuge for Muslims in times of distress .and calamities. In their bid to prevent the message of Islam, certain subversive elements pretending love for the Ahlul-Bait, tried to infiltrate the ranks of the followers of the very source of purity. These groups falsely raised the slogan of attachment to the Ahlul-Bait, who in fact had cursed and denied them. This was part of an elaborately designed treachery aimed at distorting belief in Monotheism, which is the essence of Islam.

To carry orit their mischivous plots - they fabricated perversive ideas and deviated philosophies. These elements alleged that Allah the Most Glorified, had transmigrated into the bodies of the Imams of the Ahlul-Bait. They even went to the extent of difying the Imams of the Prophet's household. These movements were backed by the idolatrous Arabs, the Magis, the Manichaeans, the Mazdakis: and the like, who had outwardly embraced Islam to deceive the Muslims. Jewish and Christian thought also participated in this treacherous campaign against Islam, in order to splet the Muslims into new factions. In this way they were able to cause much intellectual confusion by implanting doubts, coining misleading narrations and concepts and allegedly ascribing them to the Ahlul-Bait. To counter the plot a number of learned scholars wrote research-books on `Rijal' (Who-is-who) and managed to expose the imposters, the liars, the fabricaters and the coiners of perversive ideologies, eversince the days of the Prophet. They sifted truth from falsehood on the basis of the authentic traditions, uncovering every mischief monger and scrutinizing each and every narrator, as was done by Najashi in his famous book `Rijal alNajashi', and by Shaikh Tusi in his `al-Fihrist' and `Rijal alTusi' eviated groups who claimed attachment to the AhlulBait, such as `the Exaggerators' were strongly repudiated, cursed and dismissed by the Imams.

Nawbakhti(1), in his book `Firaq al-Shi'a' (Shi'a Sects), classifies such groups and relates the attitude of the Imams of the Ahlul-Bait towards them. Hereunder we refer to some of them:

"As to the companions of Abi Khattab Muhammad ibn Abi Zainab Aida' Asadi and those who follow them, they had disputes when they heard that Abu Abdulla Ja'far ibn Muhammad, the Imam al-Sadiq (a. s.) had cursed him (Abi Khattab) and renounced him and his followers: Nawbakhti then says:

"A group of them had said that Abu Abdulla Ja'far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq) was Allah-the Elevated, the Great, Who is too far above these things - and that Abu Khattab was a prophet.

"Another group said Ja'far ibn Muhammad was Allah the Great, the Mighty, the Elevated too far above all that. He is a light that enters the bodies of the vicegerents. That light was Ja'far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq), then it left him and entered into Abu Khattab ...."(2)

Nawbakhti adds,

"These perversive groups were the `Exaggerators' who styled themselves as Shi'a. They, may Allah curse them all, (actually) belonged to such groups as the Khurramdins, the Mazdakis(3), the Heretics (4)and the Atheists(5)All of them denied Allah's divinity - Blessed is He and Elevated far above all they ascribe and admitted it in a creature's body, alleging that the body was the dwelling-place of Allah, and Allah was a light, a soul, that moved into those bodies - Elavated is He above all they ascribe. But they differed in respect to their leaders whom they were attached to, each group denouncing the other, and cursing one another.(6)

Continuing his reports about the perversive groups who feigned themselves as lovers of Ahlul-Bait, Nawbakhti narrates, that one of those groups claimed that Muhammad ibn Hanafiya, son of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) was al-Mahdi who did not die -nd would never die, had only gone into occultation. Nobody knows where he is. But he would come back and possess the earth, and there would be no Imam after his occultation till his return to his companions, who are the companions of Ibn Karb."(7).

"Among holders of such deviated beliefs, Nawbakhti lists Hamza ibn Amara Barbari of Madina, who in his wild fantasy claimed himself a prophet, and said that Muhammad ibn Hanafiya was Allah - far Elevated is He from what they ascribe - and He himself was his prophet, and that seven means would come down to him from Heaven, by which he would conquer the earth and possess it. A number of people of Madina and of Kufa followed him. Thus, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husain (Imam al-Baqir), and his Shi'a cursed him and renounced him.(8)

Sa'ed al-Nahdi who belonged to a perverted group, was also cursed by Imam al-Sadiq, who regarded him among those miscreants who fabricated lies and ascribed them to the Ahlu]-Bait (9).

Hereunder we state what had been related by the Shi'a scholars, quoting Imam al-Sadiq about his attitude towards exaggeraters and their deviated beliefs.

Regarding Abu Jarud and his group, Ibn Nadim, in his `al-Fihrist', says:

"Imam al-Sadiq cursed him and said: `He is blind in his heart, and blind in his sight'. Kishshi relates identical narrations which prove this. (10)

Al-Sadiq also cursed Abu Mansur Ijli thrice, as stated by Kishshi in his `Rijal'.

`Bazee' ibn Musa Ha'ik was cursed by Imam al-Sadiq (a. s.), as were some others, like Mughira ibn Said, Sirri, Abi Khattab Muhammad ibn Abi Zainab Ajda', Mu'ammar, Bashshar Sha'iri, Hamza Barbari and Sa'ed Nahdi. According to Kishshi's text, the Imam says:

"May Allah curse them. We never went without there being some liar to lie against us, or someone with crippled opinion. May Allah rid us of all liars and make them taste burning iron". (11).

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) is cited to have renounced the `Exaggeraters' in the following speech:

"O Shi'a community - the Shi'a of the family of Muhammad (s.a. w.) be like the cushion in the middle (as between a rider and his saddle). The exaggerator should turn back to you, and the one who lags behind should catch up with you". When a man called Sa'ed inquired about the exaggerator, the Imam replied: "Those who say about us, what we do not say ourselves, are not of us, and we are not of them. "The man further asked as to who are those who lag behind. The Imam answered: "The wanderers who intend good, and they get it and get rewarded for it". (12)

On learning of Abi Khattab's exaggeration, Imam alSadiq wept and invoking Allah as his witness, renounced Abi Khattab.

It is written in `al-Kafi' that once Sadir informed Imam al-Sadiq that some people regard the Imams of Ahlul-Bait as gods, he said:

"O Sadir, my hearing, my sight, my skin, my flesh, my blood, and my hair do renounce them, and Allah has renounced them. They are not of my religion, nor of the religion of my ancestors... "(13)

Similar lies were fabricated against the other Imams of the household of the Prophet, by charlatans masqurading as shi'a, but whose real intention was to pollute the cause of the Ahlul-Bait, and to empty the message of Islam, of it true contents.

There was a time, in the history of Islam, when every discontented political aspirant, no matter how ignorant he was of Islam and the Ahlul-Bait, tried to give Shi'a colours to his deviated ambitions in a bid to attract simple people to his cause.

By doing so these rebels, of all shades and colouring, ranging from Iranian infidels to religious interpolaters, did a great disservice to the human society, the scars of which can still be discerned on the body-politic of Islam.

It was a great blessing that the majority of such deviationists who tried in vain to defame the Shi'a, died out, and it was no ordinary task for the Imams of the Ahlul-Bait to pilot the ship of Islam through these troubled waters. The sickly hearts withered away from the history, and only their record of infamy remains in books, which, quite unfortunately certain ignorant modernists have confused with the Shi'a cause.

Regretably, even today some Islamic sects believe in fatalism and incarnation. In their ingnorance they ascribe a body to Allah (far glorious is He from what they say), and weave up all sorts of silly yarns. These retarded minds say that the Almighty sits on a chair, whose widith is seven spans, and that on the Resurrection Day, He puts His leg into Hell to satiate its thirst for more sinners, and that He descends to the lower sky on a white donkey, and many other absurdities. To a rational mind, it is clear this is all heresy and falsehood, and these poor creatures have been unable tocomprehend and have failed in understanding the Greatness of the Power that created them. As discussed earlier, He, the Creator is not bound by time and place and has neither physique nor form. As a matter of fact, such absurd notions, which run contrary to monothism are soundly condemned by Islam.

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(1) Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Musa Nawbakhti, one of the most known lmami scholars of the third century A. H.

(2)Nawbakhti, 'Firaq al_Shi`a' , p 59,ed.1388 H

(3) The Mazdakis were the followers of Mazdak, who appeared in the days of the Persian Emperor oubad, Anowshirwan's father. His Book was called `Distaw'. Their belief was similar to the Manichaeans (an old Persian religion) in respect to the two principles of Light and Darkness, (Refer to `al-Fihrist' by Ibn Nadim. The Mazdakis were those who allowed the unlawful advocating the sharing of everything including wealth and women.

(4)'The Zindiks denied all divine religions on the pretext of being free thinkers.

(5)The Dahriyun (Atheists) believed that the world existed from pre-eternity and would remain without end, and has no Creator. They were actually, a group of infidel disbelievers.

(6) Ibid., p. 60

(7) Ibid.,p.44.

(8) Ibid.,p.45.

(9) Ibid.

(10)Ibid.,p.21

(11)Ibid.,p.43

(12) Tabasi,`Mishakat al-Alnwarfi Ghurar al-Akhbar',p.66,2nd ed.

(13) Allama Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar,v.47,p.378,3rd edition

The formal aspect of religion

The Different Facets of the Formal Aspect of Religion

It has become clear from what has been said thus far that the Holy Quran, which is the principal source of religious thought in Islam, has given full authority to the external meanings of its words for those who give ear to its message. The same external meaning of the Quranic verses has made the sayings of the Prophet complementary to the words of the Quran and has declared them to be authoritative like the Quran. For as the Quran says: "And We have revealed unto thee the Remembrance that thou mayst explain to mankind that which hath been revealed for them" (Quran, XVI, 44). And, "He it is who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the scripture and Wisdom" (Quran, LXII, 2). And, "And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)" (Quran, LIX, 7). And, "Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example" (Quran, XXXIII, 21).

It is quite evident that such verses would not have any real meaning if the words and deeds of the Prophet and even his silence and approval were not authority for us just as the Quran itself is. Thus the words of the Prophet are authoritative and must be accepted by those who have heard them orally or received them through reliable transmission. Moreover, through such a completely authentic chain of transmission it is known that the Holy Prophet said, "I leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray: the Quran and the members of my household. These will never be separated until the Day of Judgment." According to this and other definitely established hadiths the words of the Family of the Household of the Prophet form a corpus that is complementary to the Prophetic religious sciences and are inerrant in the explanation of the teachings and injunctions of Islam. Their sayings, received orally or through reliable transmission, are reliable and authoritative.

Therefore, it is clear that the traditional source from which the formal and external aspect of religion is derived, which is an authoritative document and which is also the basic source for the religious thought of Islam, consists of two parts: The Book (the Quran) and the Sunnah. By the Book is meant the external aspect of the verses of the Holy Quran; and by the Sunnah, hadith received from the Prophet and his revered Household.

Traditions of the Companions

In Shi'ism hadiths transmitted through the companions are dealt with according to this principle: if they deal with the words and actions of the Prophet and do not contradict the hadiths of the Household of the Prophet, they are acceptable. If they contain only the views or opinions of the companions themselves and not those of the Prophet, they are not authoritative as sources for religious injunctions. In this respect the ruling of the companions is like the ruling of any other Muslim. In the same way, the companions themselves dealt with other companions in questions of Islamic law as they would with any Muslim, not as someone special.

The Book and Tradition

The Book of God, the Holy Quran, is the principal source of every form of Islamic thought. It is the Quran which gives religious validity and authority to every other religious source in Islam. Therefore, it must be comprehensible to all. Moreover, the Quran describes itself as the light which illuminates all things. Also it challenges men and requests them to ponder over its verses and observe that there are no disparities or contradictions in them. It invites them to compose similar work, if they can, to replace it. It is clear that if the Holy Quran were not comprehensible to all there would be no place for such assertions.

To say that the Quran is in itself comprehensible to all is not in any way contradictory to the previous assertion that the Prophet and his Household are religious authorities in the Islamic sciences, which sciences in reality are only elaborations of the content of the Quran. For instance, in the part of the Islamic sciences which comprises the injunctions and laws of the Shari'ah, the Quran contains only the general principles. The clarification and elaboration of their details, such as the manner of accomplishing the daily prayers, fasting, exchanging merchandise, and in fact all acts of worship ('ibadat) and transactions (mu'amalat), can be achieved only by referring to the traditions of the Holy Prophet and his Household.

As for the other part of the Islamic sciences dealing with doctrines and ethical methods and practices, although their content and details can be comprehended by all, the understanding of their full meaning depends on accepting the method of the Household of the Prophet. Also each verse of the Quran must be explained and interpreted by means of other Quranic verses, not by views which have become acceptable and familiar to us only through habit and custom.

Ali has said: "Some parts of the Quran speak with other parts of it revealing to us their meaning and some parts attest to the meaning of others." And the Prophet has said, "Parts of the Quran verify other parts." And also: "Whosoever interprets the Quran according to his own opinion has made a place for himself in the fire."

As a simple example of the Quran through the Quran may be cited the story of the torture of the people of Lot about whom in one place God says, "And we rained on them a rain," and in another place He has changed this phrase to, "Lo! We sent a storm of stones upon them (all)." By relating the second verse to the first it becomes clear that by "rain" is meant "stones" from heaven. Whoever has studied with care the hadiths of the Household of the Prophet, and the outstanding companions who were the followers of the Prophet, will have no doubt that the commentary of the Quran through the Quran is the sole method of Quranic commentary taught by the Household of the Prophet.

The Outward and Inward Aspects of the Quran

It has been explained that the Holy Quran elucidates religious aims through its own words and gives commands to mankind in matter of doctrine and action. But the meaning of the Quran is not limited to this level. Rather, behind these same expressions and within these same meanings there are deeper and wider levels of meaning which only the spiritual elite who possess pure hearts can comprehend.

The Prophet, who is the divinely appointed teacher of the Quran, says: "The Quran has a beautiful exterior and a profound interior." He has also said, "The Quran has an inner dimension, and that inner dimension has an inner dimension up to seven numerous references to the inner aspect of the Quran.

The main support of these assertions is a symbol which God has mentioned in Chapter XIII, verse 17, of the Quran. In this verse divine gifts are symbolized by rain that falls from heaven and upon which depends the life of the earth and its inhabitants. With the coming of the rain, floods begin to flow and each river bed accepts a certain amount of the flood, depending on its capacity. As it flows, the flood is covered with foam, but beneath the foam there is that same water which is life-giving and beneficial to mankind.

As is indicated by this symbolic story, the capacity for comprehension of divine sciences, which are the source of man's inner life, differs among people. There are those for whom there is no reality beyond physical existence and the material life of this world which lasts but a few days. Such people are attached to material appetites and physical desires alone and fear nothing but the loss of material benefits and sensory enjoyment. Such people, taking into consideration the differences of degree among them, can at best accept the divine sciences on the level of believing in a summary fashion in the doctrines and performing the practical commands of Islam in purely outward manner without any comprehension. They worship God with the hope of recompense or fear of punishment in the next world.

There are also those who, because of the purity of their nature, do not consider their well-being to lie in attachment to the transient pleasures of the fleeting life of this world. The losses and gains and bitter and sweet experiences of this world are for them no more than an attractive illusion. Memory of those who passed before them in the caravan of existence, who were pleasure-seekers yesterday and no more than subjects of stories today, is a warning that is continuously present before their eyes. Such men who possess pure hearts are naturally attracted to the world of eternity. They view the different phenomena of this passing world as symbols and portents of the higher world, not as persisting and independent realities.

It is at this point that through earthly and heavenly signs, signs upon the horizons and within the souls of men, they "observe" in a spiritual vision the Infinite Light of the Majesty and Glory of God. Their hearts become completely enamored with the longing to reach an understanding of the secret symbols of creation. Instead of being imprisoned in the dark and narrow well of personal gain and selfishness they begin to fly in the unlimited space of the world of eternity and advance ever onwards toward the zenith of the spiritual world.

When they hear that God has forbidden the worship of idols, which outwardly means bowing down before an idol, they understand this command to mean that they should not obey other than God, for to obey means to bow down before someone and to serve him. Beyond that meaning they understand that they should not have hope of fear of other than God; beyond that, they should not surrender to the demands of their selfish appetites; and beyond that, they should not concentrate on anything except God, May His Name be Glorified.

Likewise when they hear from the Quran that they should pray, the external meaning of which is to perform the particular rites of prayers, through its inner meaning they comprehend that they must worship and obey God with all their hearts and souls. Beyond that they comprehend that before God they must consider themselves as nothing, must forget themselves and remember only God.

It can be seen that the inner meaning present in these two examples is not due to the outward expression of the command and prohibition in question. Yet the comprehension of this meaning is unavoidable for anyone who has begun to meditate upon a more universal order and has preferred to gain a vision of the universe of reality rather than his own ego, who has preferred objectivity to an egocentric subjectivism.

From this discussion the meaning of the outward and inward aspects of the Quran has become clear. It has also become evident that the inner meaning of the Quran does no eradicate or invalidate its outward meaning. Rather, it is like the soul which gives life to the body. Islam, which is a universal and eternal religion and places the greatest emphasis upon the "reformation" of mankind, can never dispense with its external laws which are for the benefit of society, nor with its simple doctrines which are the guardians and preservers of these laws.

How can a society, on the pretense that religion is only a matter of the heart, that man's heart should be pure and that there is no value to actions, live in disorder and yet attain happiness? How can impure deeds and words cause the cultivation of a pure heart? Or how can impure words emanate from a pure heart? God says in His Book, "Vile women are for vile men, and vile men for vile women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women." (Quran, XXIV, 26) He also says, "As for the good land, its vegetation cometh forth by permission of its Lord; while as for that which is bad, only evil cometh forth (from it)." (Quran, VII, 58) Thus it becomes evident that the Holy Quran has an outward and an inward aspect and the inward aspect itself has different levels of meaning. The hadith literature, which explains the content of the Quran, also contains these various aspects.

The Principles of Interpretation of the Quran

At the beginning of Islam it was commonly believed by some Sunnis that if there was sufficient reason one could ignore the outward meaning of Quranic verses and ascribe to them a contrary meaning. Usually the meaning which opposed the outward, literal meaning was called ta'wil, and what is called "ta'wil of the Quran" in Sunni Islam is usually understood in this sense.

In the religious works of Sunni scholars, as well as in the controversies that have been recorded as taking place between different schools, one often observes that if a particular point of doctrine (that has been established through the consensus of the ulama of a school or through some other means) is opposed to the outward meaning of a verse of the Quran, that verse is interpreted by ta'wil to have a meaning contrary to its apparent meaning. Sometimes two contending sides support two opposing views and present Quranic verses in proof of their contentions. Each side interprets the verses presented by the other side through ta'wil. This method has also penetrated more or less into Shi'ism and can be seen in some Shi'ite theological works.

Yet, sufficient deliberation upon Quranic verses and the hadith of the Household of the Prophet demonstrates clearly that the Holy Quran with its attractive language and eloquent and lucid expression never uses enigmatic or puzzling methods of exposition and always expounds any subject in a language suitable for that subject. What has been rightly called ta'wil, or hermeneutic interpretation, of the Holy Quran is not concerned simply with the denotation of words. Rather, it is concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend the comprehension of the common run of men ; yet it is from these truths and realities that the principles of doctrine and the practical injunctions of the Quran issue forth.

The whole of the Quran possesses the sense of ta'wil, of esoteric meaning, which cannot be comprehended directly through human thought alone. Only the prophets and the pure among the saints of God who are free from the dross of human imperfection can contemplate these meanings while living on the present plane of existence. On the Day of Resurrection the ta'wil of the Quran will be revealed to everyone.

This assertion can be explained by pointing to the fact that what forces man to use speech, create words and make use of expressions is nothing other than his social and material needs. In his social life man is forced to try to make his fellow-men understand his thoughts and intentions and the feelings which exist within his soul. To accomplish this end he makes use of sounds and hearing. Occasionally also he uses to a degree his eyes and gestures. That is why between the mute and the blind there can never be any mutual comprehension, for whatever the blind man says the deaf cannot hear, and whatever the mute makes understood through gestures the blind man cannot see.

The creation of words and the naming of objects have been accomplished with a material end in view. Expressions have been created for those objects, states, and conditions which are material and available to the senses or near to the sensible world. As can be seen in those cases where the person addressed lacks one of the physical senses, if we wish to speak of matters which can be comprehended through the missing sense we employ a kind of allegory and similitude. For example, if we wish to describe light or color to one who is born blind, or the pleasures of sex to a child that has not reached the age of adolescence, we seek to achieve our purpose through comparison and allegory and through providing examples.

Therefore, if we accept the hypothesis that in the scale of Universal Existence there are immense levels of reality which are independent of the world of matter (and this is in reality the case), and that in each generation there are among mankind but a handful who have the capability of comprehending and having a vision of these realities, then questions pertaining to these higher worlds cannot be understood through common verbal expressions and modes of thought. They cannot be referred to except by allusion and through symbolism. Since religious realities are of this kind, the expression of the Quran in such matters must of necessity be symbolic.

God says in his book, "Lo! We have appointed it a Lecture in Arabic that haply ye may understand. And Lo! in the Source of Decrees, which We possess, it is indeed sublime, decisive." (Common comprehension cannot understand it or penetrate into it.) (Quran, XLIII, 3-4) He also says, "That (this) is indeed a noble Quran, In a book kept hidden, Which none toucheth save the purified" (Quran, LVI, 77-79). Concerning the Prophet and his Household he says, "Allah's wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household, and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing" (Quran, XXXIII, 33).

As proved by these verses, the Holy Quran emanates from sources beyond the comprehension of common man. No one can have a full comprehension of the Quran save those servants of God whom He has chosen to purify. And the Household of the Prophet are among those pure beings.

In another place God says, "Nay, but they denied that (the Quran), the knowledge whereof they could not compass, and whereof the interpretation (in events) [ta'wil] hath not yet come into them" (Quran, X, 40) (meaning the day of Resurrection when the truth of things will become known). And again he says, "On the day (the Day of Resurrection) when the fulfillment [ta'wil] thereof (of the whole Quran) cometh, those who were before forgetful thereof will say: The messengers of our Lord did bring the Truth!" (Quran, VII, 53)

Hadith

The principle that the hadith possesses validity, as attested by the Quran, is not at all disputed among Shi'ites or in fact among all Muslims. But because of the failure of some of the early rulers of Islam in preserving and guarding the hadith, and the excesses of a group among the companions and followers of the Prophet in propagating hadith literature, the corpus of hadith came to face a certain number of difficulties.

On the one hand the caliphs of the time prevented the writing down and recording of the hadith and ordered any pages containing texts of hadith to be burned. Sometimes also any increase in activity in the transmission and study of hadith was forbidden. In this way a certain number of hadiths were forgotten or lost and a few were even transmitted with a different or distorted meaning. On the other hand another tendency also prevailed among another group of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had had the honor of seeing his presence and actually hearing his words. This group, which was respected by the caliphs and the Muslim community, began an intense effort to propagate the hadith. This was carried to such an extent that sometimes hadith overruled the Quran and the injunction of a Quranic verse was even considered abrogated by some people through a hadith. Often the transmitters of hadith would travel many miles and bear all the difficulties of traveling in order to hear a single saying.

A group of outsiders who had worn the dress of Islam and also some of the enemies within ranks of Islam began to change and distort some of the hadith and thus diminished the reliability and validity of the hadith that was then heard and known. For this very reason Islamic scholars began to think of a solution. They created the sciences concerned with the biography of learned men and chains of transmission of hadith in order to be able to discriminate between true and false hadith.

The Method of Shi'ism in Authenticating the Hadith

Shi'ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate the chain transmission of hadith, considers the correlation of the text of the hadith with the Quran as a necessary condition for its validity. In Shi'ite sources there are many hadiths of the Prophet and the Imams with authentic chains of transmission which themselves assert that a hadith contrary to the Quran has no value. Only that hadith can be considered valid which is in agreement with the Quran.

Basing itself on these hadiths, Shi'ism does not act upon those hadiths which are contrary to the text of the Quran. As for the hadiths whose agreement or disagreement cannot be established, according to instructions received from Imams they are passed by in silence without being accepted or rejected. Needless to say there are also within Shi'ism those who, like a group among the Sunnis, act on any hadith whatsoever which they happen to find in different traditional sources.

The Method of Shi'ism in Following the Hadith

A hadith heard directly from the mouth of the Prophet or one of the Imams is accepted as is the Quran. As for hadiths received through intermediaries, the majority of Shi'ites act upon them if their chain of transmission is established at every step or if there exists definite proof concerning their truth, and, if they are concerned with principles of doctrine which require knowledge and certainty, according to the text of the Quran. Other than these two kinds of hadith, no other hadith has any validity concerning principles of doctrine, the invalid hadith being called "tradition with a single transmitter" (khabar wahid). However, in establishing the injunctions of the Shari'ah, because of reasons that have been given, Shi'ites act also on a tradition which is generally accepted as reliable. Therefore it can be said that for Shi'ism a certain and definitely established hadith is absolutely binding and must be followed, while a hadith which is not absolutely established but which is generally considered as reliable is utilized only in the elaboration of the injunctions of the Shari'ah.

Ijtihad

Ijtihad means to exert oneself to deduce precise rules of Islamic law from their sources in accordance with the special rules of research. The ability to make Itihad or deduce laws is not the monopoly of any particular class, nor is it subject to any appointment or announcement. The way is open to everybody to acquire the necessary qualification and specialize in this field. Any one who does that, will automatically get the power to exercise Itihad and will have the right to act according to his own findings and deductions and even to announce the results of his findings for the information of others.

Formulation of law concerning the ruling system

Let us see under what conditions a juristic opinion or verdict can be regarded as authentic and enforceable.

In the case of a social or a governmental question, the individual or the council responsible for deducing and formulating a law, must be officially selected for this purpose, so that its decision may have the backing of the executive and may be enforced in a legal form on the level of society.

Formulation of law on individual matters

If the verdict is meant for the personal action of the individuals, then selection of the religious authority which may issue it, may be left free. In other words people may be allowed to accept and act upon the opinion of any religious authority whom they may deem fit for the purpose.

Taqlid means to accept the juristic opinion and verdict of a mujtahid (a jurist capable of arriving at an independent judgement) and to act upon it.

We know that on principle Islam advocates freedom of thought and is opposed to the submission to any unauthorised opinion, custom, convention or order of any social authority.

The basis of this opposition is two fold:

(a) We cannot always be sure that an opinion, custom or convention is sound and is not a sort of fraud or myth?

(b) There is a possibility that an opinion or instruction may be aiming at self-aggrandizement or at protecting personal or class interests, in which case to accept it will be tantamount to submission to exploitation and subjugation. We know that Islam is as much against acknowledging myths, as it is against submitting to injustice.

Anyhow, it is permissible to accept the view of someone else provided:

(a) The person initiating the view has specialized in the subject concerned and has enough knowledge to be competent to express an opinion.

(b) His purity, and veracity are above suspicion.

There also must be valid reasons to believe that the opinion in question is sound and proper in the prevailing circumstances and is not based on selfishness or superficial thinking.

If these two conditions are fulfilled it is logical that we should accept such an opinion. If a man is unable to form his own opinion, he has no option but to follow that of someone else, who is reliable and a specialist in his field.

Qualifications of a competent religious authority

(Whose opinion may be accepted without knowing the authority on which it is based).

From the traditions concerning taqlid the above-mentioned two principles can easily be deduced. According to a well-known report Imam Hasan al Askari (a.s) clearly brought out this point, while explaining the verse which denounces the Jewish laymen for following their vicious rabbis blindly. The verse is as under:

"There are illiterate men among them who know nothing of the Scripture except vague fancies. They only guess". (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:78).

The Imam said: "If the laymen of our ummah also find that their jurists (faqihs) are biased, are openly indulging in misdeeds, are competing with each other in securing pelf and position, are trying to eliminate their opponents and supporting their own incompetent and mean adherents; and they still follow such jurists, they will be no better than the illiterate Jews, who followed their corrupt rabbis. But the case of those jurists, who do not go astray, do not sell themselves, are particular about protecting their religion, suppress their wild passions and obey the commandments of Allah is different. They should be followed by the common people. Of course, the number of such jurists is small. All jurists cannot be such".

First of all this report talks of faqihs. This term implies specialisation in understanding religious questions and under-taking learned research. Hence a competent religious authority must be a first rate faqih and mujtahid.

Secondly, the qualities of consciousness, piety, religiousness, obedience to Allah and suppression of wild passions mentioned in the report, are the infrastructure of all human and moral virtues and mean keeping away from all sins and deviations.

Thus we can deduce the qualifications of a competent religious authority from this report.

Now let us discuss certain other points which are worth consideration in this connection.

(1) It is now clear that those who are not themselves specialists in cannon law should consult a mujtahid and follow his opinion. But in those cases in which the mujtahids differ and do not have a unanimous view, what should the mugallids.(followers of a mujtahid) do? Normally when we face an important problem in life, for example if the specialists differ about the treatment of an acute disease, we accept the view of the best specialist. By analogy the view of the mujtahid 'most noted for his religious learning' should be accepted in cases of difference of opinion between the mujtahids also.

(2) There is one more important question worth consideration. As with the expansion in human knowledge, an increase in its ramifications and more and more specialisation, the field of skill in cannon law and the deduction of rules of religion has expanded, it is now difficult for any one individual to cope with the task. Will it not be better if this task is entrusted to a council and is carried out on the basis of co-operation or division of work?

(3) There are two basic aspects of skill in cannon law. If the practical ability of a scholar covers both of them, his deductions will certainly be closer to truth and worth being implemented. These aspects are:

(a) A thorough knowledge of the sources of law, religious tests and the principles of jurisprudence.

(b) Acquaintance with the existing world situation, modern trends and social conditions.

In short a jurist should have the full knowledge of the sources of law and should also know how and where a particular rule is to be applied.

(4) As ijtihad is a continuous process and a living method of understanding religious law and goes on along with the emergence of new needs, new problems and new relations, it is necessary that in Muslim society broad-minded and efficient mujtahids should always be busy with the work of ijtihad and inquiry. By implication, the people should receive instructions regarding their religious duties from a living authority, except in those cases where the living authority allows them to continue to follow a past mujtahid. It is far more important to follow a living authority if the question involved concerns the ruling system. Obviously the leaders who are actually at the helm of affairs of a society should be alive and existing.

Formulation of new provisions

We have seen that the mujtabids have a right to deduce and discover rules of law in accordance with the principles of jurisprudence. They interpret and explain them. If they have the necessary qualifications of a competent religious authority, their juristic verdict deserves to be accepted and followed by others also.

Another point in connection with Islamic laws is that the government authorities have a right to issue rules, regulations, orders and instructions, on the basis of firm Islamic laws in the social and administrative fields. These rules and regulations are not of a permanent nature. They are subject to the requirements of the time. Anyhow, the issuance and promulgation of these rules and regulations, once an Islamic government is established, is the prerogative of those who are at the helm of the affairs of that government.

Evidently such matters cannot be left to individual discretion, for that will lead to chaos and disappearance of central authority.