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Overlooking Our Previous Statements, Thul-Qi`da 1329 1) We have not neglected deriving our proofs from
the traditions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny.
As a matter of fact, we referred to them at the beginning of our letter which clearly
stated that following the Imams from Ahl alBayt exclusively is mandatory. We did so when
we stated that he, peace be upon him and his progeny, had compared them with the Glorious
Book, setting them as a model for those endowed with reason, equating them with the ark of
salvation, the nation's security, the gate of salvation - all in reference to and
quotations from the wellknown clear texts in the sahih books. We have also said that you
would be satisfied with the hint instead of the details, without the need for further
explanations. 2) The statements of our Imams, then, as we have
explained, do fit to be used as an argument against their opponents, and using it as such
a manner cannot be regarded as a (vicious) cycle, as you yourself know. 3) Take, for example, the statements of the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, to which we referred whereby he
struck an awe in the heart of the ignorant, calling upon the indifferent, as quoted by
alTirmithi and alNisa'i from Jabir and they, in turn, are quoted by alMuttaqi
alHindi at the beginning of his chapter on those who uphold the Book and the Sunnah in
his work Kanzul`Ummal, Vol. 1, page 44, saying: "O people! I am leaving with you the Book of
Allah and my household (`itra), my family (my Ahl alBayt). As long as you uphold them,
you shall never go astray." He has also said: "I have left with you that which, as long as
you uphold, you shall never let you stray after me: Allah's Book, a Rope extending from
heavens to earth, and my `itra, my Ahl alBayt. These twain shall never separate from one
another till they reach me by the Pool; therefore, see how you succeed me in faring with
them."[1] He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also
said: "I am leaving among you two successors: the
Book of Allah, a rope extending from heavens to earth - or between heavens and earth - ,
and my household (`itra) from my family (Ahl alBayt); they shall never separate from
each other until they reach me by the Pool."[2]
He, peace be upon him and his progeny, also said: "I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things:
the Book of Allah and my Ahl alBayt; they shall never separate from each other till they
reach me at the Pool."[3] He, peace be upon him, has said: "Methinks I am going to be called upon and
shall answer the call, and I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things, the Book of
Allah Almighty and my offspring, my Ahl alBayt. The Sublime and omniScient has
informed me that they shall never part from each other till they reach me by the Pool; so,
see how you succeed me in faring with them."[4]
Having returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he,
peace be upon him and his progeny, camped at Ghadir Khumm and ordered the area underneath
a few huge trees to be swept clean then said in his sermon: "It seems as if I am going to be called upon
and shall answer the call, and I am leaving with you the Two Weighty Things, one of which
is greater than the other: the Book of Allah Almighty, and my Household; so, see how you
succeed me in faring with them, for they shall never separate from each other until they
reach me at the Pool." Then he (pbuh) added: "Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, is my
Master, and I am the master of every believer." Having said so, he took `Ali's hand
and said: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this `Ali is his master. O Allah!
Befriend whosoever befriends `Ali, and be the enemy of whosoever opposes him, etc."[5] `Abdullah ibn Hantab has said: "The Messenger
of Allah (pbuh) delivered a sermon to us at Al-Juhfa wherein he asked us: 'Don't I have
authority over your own selves more than you yourselves do?' Attendants there answered:
'Yes, indeed, O Messenger of Allah!' Then he said: 'I shall then question you about these
two: the Qur'an and my `itra.'"[6] 4) The sahih books which deem it mandatory to follow the Two Weighty Things are successive through more than twenty companions who all are in consensus in this regard. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, has emphasized these things on numerous occasions: on Ghadir Khumm's Day, on the `Arafat day of his Farewell Pilgrimage, after leaving Taif, from his pulpit in Medina, and inside his blessed chamber during his sickness, when the room was full of his companions. He said in the latter incident: "O people! I feel I am going to die very soon, and I had previously informed you as my duty, and to leave no excuse for you, that: I am leaving with you the Book of Allah, the Glorious and Mighty, and my `itra, my Ahl alBayt." Having finished, he took `Ali's hand and lifted it saying: "This `Ali is with the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is with `Ali: they shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool."[7] A learned group among the majority has admitted the above. Even Ibn Hajar, quoting the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, says, "Be informed, then, that the tradition calling for upholding both of them comes through numerous ways narrated by more than twenty companions." Further he says, "Here a doubt arises about when he said so. Some traditionists say he said so at Arafat during the Farewell Pilgrimage and others that he said so in Medina when he was sick, while his room was crammed with his companions. Another group say that he made that statement at the Khumm swamp, and in yet another that he made it, by way of preaching, after having left T'aif as mentioned above." Ibn Hajar furthermore says, "There is no contradiction here, for there is no objection to his repeating it at those places, and at others, out of his own concern for the unassailable Book and the Purified `itra," up to the end of his statement.[8] Suffices the Imams from the Purified `itra the fact
that their rank with Allah is similar to that of the Book which falsehood cannot approach
from front or from back. This must be sufficient testimony that takes people by the neck
and obligates them to abide by their sect. A true Muslim does not accept any substitute
for the Book of Allah; therefore, how can he deviate from the path of those who are its
own peers? 5) The gist of his saying "I am leaving unto
you that which, as long as you uphold to it, shall never let you stray: the Book of Allah
and my `itra" is that anyone who does not uphold both of them spontaneously will
eventually stray. This is supported by his saying, peace be upon him and his progeny, in
the tradition of the Two Weighty Things, as Tabrani narrates it, "Do not go ahead of
them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more learned than
you." Ibn Hajar has said: "In his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny,
`Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, and do not teach them for they are more
learned than you,' there is proof that whoever among them is elevated to high offices and
religious vocations must be preferred over all others," up to the end of his
statement.[9] 6) What makes it compulsory to follow and refer to
Ahl alBayt is this hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny:
"The similitude of my household among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever embarks
upon it is saved, and whoever lags behind it is drowned,"[10] and his statement (pbuh), "The similitude of my Household
among you is that of the ark of Noah: whoever boards it is saved, and whoever lags behind
it is drowned. And the similitude of my Household among you is the Gate of the Israelites:
whoever enters it is forgiven."[11] Also,
consider his statement, peace be upon him and his progeny, "The stars protect the
inhabitants of earth against drowning, and my Ahl alBayt protect my nation against
dissension (in religious matters). If a tribe among the Arabs differs (regarding the
commandments of Allah, the High, the Mighty) from them, they will all then differ and
become the party of Satan."[12] This is
fully sufficient to oblige the nation to follow them and to protect it against differing
from them. I do not think that there is any language of man more clear than this hadith to
support my argument. 7) What is meant by his word, peace be upon him and
his progeny, "Ahl al-Bayt" (i.e. "Household") here is their entirety,
collectively, as being their Imams, not merely their entirety inclusively, for this status
is nothing but a testimony for the Proofs of Allah - particularly those who stand for His
Commandments - as reason and scholarship would rule. A learned group among the majority
has admitted the same, such as Ibn Hajar in his Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa. Some of them have
said that what is probably meant by `Ahl alBayt' who are a security are their own
learned men, for they are the ones who are like guiding stars; when lost, inhabitants of
the earth will get what they were ominously warned against. Ibn Hajar said: "That
will be during the time when alMehdi (as) appears, and the tradition indicates that
Jesus will pray behind him, and the antiChrist will be killed during his time; after
that, unusual events will succeed one another," up to the end of his statement which
is quoted in the exegesis of verse 7, in Chapter 11, page 91, of Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa.
Somewhere else he indicates that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his
progeny, was asked once: "How would people live after them?" and he answered:
"They will live like an ass whose spleen has been broken."[13] 8) You know that likening them with the ark of Noah
implies that whoever resorts to them in matters related to the creed, deriving the
branches and basics of religion from their virtuous Imams, will certainly be saved from
the fire of hell, and whoever lags behind them is like one who seeks shelter during the
flood with a mountain so that it may save him from Allah's destiny, but he will eventually
be drowned in water while the first will be hurled in the inferno, may Allah protect us
from it. The reason why they, peace be upon them, are
compared to the Gate of Salvation is that Allah has made that Gate a symbol of humility
before His Greatness and submission to His Judgment; therefore, it becomes a reason for
forgiveness. This is the reason for the similitude. Ibn Hajar, in the exegesis of Chapter
7 of the Holy Qur'an, in Chapter 11, page 91, of his Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, has accepted
it while saying, after quoting these and other similar traditions, "The reason for
their similitude to the ark is that whoever loves and highly respects them as means of
thanking the One Who gave them honours, following the guidance of their learned men, will
be saved from the darkness of dissension, and whoever lags behind it is drowned in the sea
of ingratitude and will perish in the paths of tyranny." Then he adds the following:
"As to the Gate of Salvation (meaning thereby their similitude thereto), Allah has
made entering that gate, which probably was the gate of Shittim or of Jerusalem, in
humility, seeking forgiveness, a reason for salvation, and He (likewise) has made loving
Ahl alBayt a reason for this nation's salvation."[14] The sahih books are consecutive in stating that following Ahl
alBayt is mandatory especially quoting the purified `itra. Had I not curbed my pen for
fear of boring you, I would have elaborated in detail, but what I have stated here must
suffice for the purpose, Wassalam. Sincerely, Sh [1]
Al-Tirmithi quotes it from Zayd ibn Arqam. It is hadith 874 of the ahadith quoted in, on
p. 44, Vol. 1, of Kanz al-`Ummal. [2] Imam
Ahmed includes it among the ahadith narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit from two sources one of
which is stated at the beginning of page 182, and the other at the conclusion of page 189,
Vol. 5, and also by Ibn Abu Shaybah, Abu Ya`li, and Ibn Sa`d, from Abu Sa`id. It is hadith
945 on p. 47, Vol. 1, of Kanz al-`Ummal. [3] It is
included by al-Hakim on page 148, Vol. 3, of Al-Mustadrak. The author comments thus:
"This is one hadith the narrators of which are trustworthy according to both Shaykhs,
though the latter did not transmit it." Al-Thahbi includes it in his abridged volume
of Al-Mustadrak, admitting its authenticity due to the endorsement of both Shaykhs. [4]
Included by Imam Ahmed in the hadith narrated by Abu Sa`id al-Khudri from two sources one
of which is mentioned on page 17, and the other at the end of page 26, Vol. 3, of
Al-Musnad. It is also quoted by Ibn Abu Shaybah, Abu Ya`li, and Ibn Sa`d from Abu Sa`id.
It is hadith 945 as listed in page 47, Vol. 1, of Kanz al-`Ummal. [5] It is
sequentially quoted by al-Hakim from Zayd ibn Arqam on page 109, Vol. 3, of Al-Mustadrak.
The author adds: "This hadith is authentic according to both Shaykhs who did not
narrate it in its entirety." He quotes it from another source from Zayd ibn Arqam on
page 533, Vol. 3, of his Al-Mustadrak, adding: "This hadith is narrated by reliable
narrators, yet they (both Shaykhs) did not publish it themselves." Al-Thahbi has
included it in his Talkhis, admitting its authenticity. [6]
Al-Tabrani has included it, as referred to in Nabhani's Al-Arba`in, and in Sayyti's
Ihya'ul Mayyit. You are aware of the fact that his khutba, peace be upon him and his
progeny, was not confined to this much, for nobody who narrates just this much can claim
that he had heard it. But politics tied many tongues of traditionists and chained the pens
of many writers. In spite of all this, such a drop of the ocean suffices; praise be to
Allah. [7] Refer
to it at the conclusion of Section 2, Chapter 9, of Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa by Ibn Hajar,
after the forty ahadith referred to in that Section on page 57. [8] Refer
to it in the exegesis of the fourth chapter: "And stop them, for they shall be
questioned (Qur'an, 37:24)," which is quoted in Section One, Chapter 11, of
Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, at the conclusion of page 89. [9] Refer
to it in the chapter dealing with the Prophet's will on page 135 of Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa,
then ask him why he preferred to follow al-Ash`ari in the roots of religion, and the four
jurists in its branches, and how he came to consider as superior to them in the narration
of hadith men like `Umran ibn Hattan and his likes among the Kharijites, favouring over
them in exegesis Muqatil ibn Sulayman, the Murji'ite who believes that Allah has a
physical form, and favoured to them in the sciences of ethics, etiquette, conduct, and
psychology Ma`ruf and his likes, and how he disregarded the Prophet's own brother and
wali, the one and only executer of his will, for general caliphate and representation of
the Prophet (pbuh). Then ask him how he came to prefer to the descendants of the Messenger
of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, the descendants of cowards. What would one
who turns away from the purified progeny of Muhammad (pbuh) in all such lofty stations and
religious obligations and follows in the footsteps of those who oppose them do with the
sahihs of the Two Weighty Things and the like? And how can he claim that he is upholding
the progeny and embarking upon their Ark and entering through their Gate of Salvation? [10]
Al-Hakim quotes it from Abu Tharr on page 151, Vol. 3, of his Sahih Al-Mustadrak. [11]
Al-Tabrani quotes it in his Al-Awsat from Abu Sa`id. It is hadith 18 of the 25th
Al-Arba`in [forty] ahadith of Nabhani's Al-Arba`in Al-Arba`in (the sixteen-hundred
ahadith), p. 216. [12]
This is quoted by al-Hakim on page 149, Vol. 3, of Al-Mustadrak from Ibn `Abbas. Al-Hakim
adds: "This is an authentic hadith though they (both Shaykhs, i.e. Bukhari and
Muslim) did not include it (in their own books)." [13]
Refer to the conclusion of his chapter on the predictions of the holy Prophet (pbuh) of
hard times following his death, near the conclusion of page 143 of Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa.
We ask Ibn Hajar: "Since this is the status enjoyed by the scholars of Ahl al-Bayt
(as), why do you then turn away from them?" [14] Consider this statement of his, then tell me why he did not follow the guidance of their Imams in the branches and tenets of the faith, or in the principles and bases of jurisdiction, or in the sciences of the Sunnah and the Book, or in anything related to ethics, conduct, and etiquette, and why he lagged behind and thus drowned himself in the oceans of those who deny Allah's favours, ruining themselves in the avenues of oppression. May Allah forgive him for telling lies about us and unfairly assaulting our beliefs.
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