The Doctrinal and Ideological Sphere
The Doctrinal and Ideological Sphere
This is a very vast topic, but hereunder we will allude to some aspects thereof.
Bringing about Shirk in the Ummah of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
Their beliefs regarding Imamah and the Imams have had a clear influence in bringing about Shirk and other beliefs associated to it in the Muslim world. Some scholars thus assert that the Shia were the first people to bring about Shirk and the worship of graves in the Ummah of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Hence we find that the exaggerations of the Shia regarding the Imams transformed into exaggerations regarding their graves. And in order to support their polytheistic tendencies they invented narrations.
Ibn Taymiyyah mentions:
وأول من وضع هذه الأحاديث في السفر لزيارة المشاهد التى على القبور أهل البدع من الروافض ونحوهم الذين يعطلون المساجد ويعظمون المشاهد التي يشرك فيها ويكذب فيها ويبتدع فيها دين لم ينزل الله به سلطانا، فإن الكتاب والسنة إنما فيهما ذكر المساجد والمشاهد
The first people to forge narrations regarding travelling to visit holy sites situated at graves are the Shia innovators and others like them; people who abandon the Masjids and consecrate the shrines where shirk is committed, lies are spoken, and such innovations are done for which Allah has revealed no evidence. In the Qur’an there is only mention of Masjids, not of shrines and holy sites.[1]
Today the holy sites of the Shia and their shrines have become a locus of Shirk and the worship of others besides Allah. Many people who have visited the lands of the Shia have attested to these polytheistic practices.[2] And sadly the ill-effects of these practices have slowly seeped into the lands of the Ahlus Sunnah as well. The Shia are the originators of this, a reality to which their books attest.
There is no need for us to enlist the names of these shrines and holy sites and sketch what takes place in them due to all of that being very popular.
Obstructing From the Din of Allah
The Shia ideology, with all its discrepancies and deviances which have passed, was and still remains accompanied by the great propaganda of their scholars who seek in whichever way possible to increase their numbers.
This propaganda is based upon a great lie which the Shia are masters at manipulating, and which they deploy to mislead their followers and the ignorant among the Muslims. This lie says that the irregularities of the Shia are supported by the narrations of the Ahlus Sunnah, which is why you will more often than not hear them saying that there are no differences between the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia.
Indeed, we very often read this type of approach being advanced in their books where they draw evidence from the books of those whom they term the ‘commonality’.[3]
Many people whose hearts Allah has misguided were misled by this great lie. Consequently they assumed that the religion of Islam does not entail anything else other than what these innovators propagate. They thereafter deemed that to be rationally flawed and thus left the fold of Islam and fell into the ditches of heresy and apostasy. An evident example of this is the Kharamiyyah,[4] the followers of Babak al Kharmi, and the Qaramitah,[5] the followers of Abu Sa’id al Janabi, amongst others, who criticize the religion of Islam in its totality with their hands and tongues.[6]
There is no doubt that propagating innovations in the name of Islam is the greatest means of obstructing from the path of Allah; for how can an intelligent person ever accept the erroneous beliefs of Ghaybah (occultation), Raj’ah, the revilement of the Sahabah and the esoteric interpretative tradition?
Thus it is not far-fetched to assume in these times that the purpose for establishing the state of the scholars was to curb the hopes of the Muslims regarding the return of the Khilafah and the unity of the Ummah. It was intended to guard against the spread of an Islamic awakening in the world. Because it is undisputable that a state which distorts Islam and gives a completely false impression regarding the aspirations of the Muslims can destroy the hopes of the people, the fervour of their aspirations and the flame of enthusiasm in the youth of the Ummah. The disbelieving colonialists thus pay a lot of attention to these innovative ideologies and follow their activities carefully via a group of researches, called ‘the Orientalists’, who are mostly advisors in ministries of foreign affairs. As a result the policies of most major countries are formulated after studying the works of the Orientalists regarding the history of sectarian divisions within Islam. The disbelieving colonialists have likewise not forgotten their history with us, as is attested to by the stances they have taken and by the comments some of their leaders have made, and as was exposed by Europeans like Muhammad Asad who reverted to Islam in his book al Islam ‘ala Muftaraq al Turuq.[7]
Nonetheless, whether the establishment of the state of the scholars and the ever-increasing influence of the Shia in the Muslims world are intended by the disbelieving enemy or not, the effects in preventing from the Din of Allah and the emergence of heresy which seems persuasive to many Muslims are still the greatest problem. This will become clear from the following discussion.
The Emergence of Heterodoxy and Heresy
Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that the basis for the deviance of the Ismailiyyah, the Nusayriyyah and other heretics and hypocrites is that they believed the Rafidah who promulgated regarding the interpretation of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.[8] The ‘Ubaidi Imams would base the validity of their claims upon the lies invented by the Rafidah in order to win the support of their lay partisans. They would then take a person from criticising the Sahabah to criticising ‘Ali and then to criticising divinity, as laid out for them by the master of the biggest message and the greatest human. And thus Rafd has been the greatest door which leads to disbelief and heresy.[9]
The Rafidah are thus the door through which these heretics enter into all types of heresies regarding the names of Allah and the verses of His clear Book, as is acknowledged by the heads of the heretics like the Qaramitah and other hypocrites.[10]
From the discussions that have passed in this book, it is clear that the narrations of the Twelvers and their traditions which they claim to have received from the Ahlul Bayt are the ideal locus and fertile ground for the emergence of fanatical ideologies and heretical denominations. Because their legacy is a collection of the remnants of the irregular views and ideas of various Shia sects, despite their disparate ideas, which disunited this Ummah and destroyed its matter. At first their views reached us through the books of heresiography, but thereafter we found that the narrations of the Twelvers support them and attest to them.[11]
And hence many sects like the Sheikhiyyah, the Kashfiyyah, and the Babiyyah, which were infamous for their extremism and disbelief, emerged from the Twelver dogma. The author of al Muntaqa thus says that Rafd houses the worst of denominations.[12] He then enlists many of the heretical sects which live under the umbrella of Rafd. Al Ghazali likewise says:
إن مذهب الباطنية ظاهره الرفض، وباطنه الكفر المحض
The dogma of the Batiniyyah is Rafd externally and sheer disbelief internally.[13]
They are thus disbelievers who disguise themselves with the garb of Shi’ism. It seems as if they form the majority today, to the extent that Ibn Taymiyah mentions:
كثيرا من أئمة الرافضة وعامتهم زنادقة ملاحدة ليس لهم غرض في العلم ولا في الدين
Many of the scholars of the Rafidah and their commonality are heretics who have no real interest in knowledge and Din.[14]
In conclusion, the setting of Shi’ism is fertile ground for people of all types of leanings and tendencies. In fact Muhibb al Din al Khatib has written that Shi’ism served as the catalyst for the spread of Communism and Baha’ism in Iran.[15]
Trying to Misguide the Muslims from the Sunnah of their Nabi
Amongst the influences they have had in the ideological sphere is that a group of them joined the ranks of the transmitters of hadith and endeavoured to add such narrations to the hadith legacy which serve Shi’ism. To the extent that a fair amount of such narrations were found in the books of the Ahlus Sunnah and their hadith collections. But the scholars of hadith picked up the problem, clarified the truth, and exposed the sinister Shia agenda. Al Sheikh al Suwaidi, whilst talking of this impact that the Shia have made in this regard states:
إن بعض علمائهم اشتغلوا بعلم الحديث، وسمعوا من ثقات المحدثين وحفظوا أسانيد أهل السنة الصحيحة، وتحلوا في الظاهر بحلي التقوى والورع بحيث كانوا يعدون من محدثي أهل السنة فكانوا يروون الأحاديث صحاحا وحسانا، ثم أدرجوا في تلك الأحاديث موضوعات مطابقة لمذهبهم، وقد ضل بذلك كثير من خواص أهل السنة، فضلا عن العوام. ولكن قيض الله بفضله أئمة الحديث فأدركوا الموضوعات فنصوا على وضعها فتبين حالها حينئذ والحمد لله على ذلك. وقد أقرت طائفة منهم بالوضع بعد ما انكشف حالهم، وتلك الأحاديث الموضوعة إلى الآن موجودو في المعاجم والمصنفات وقد تمسك بها أكثر التفضيلية والمتشيعة
Some of their (Shia) scholars engaged in the sciences of hadith, heard narrations from reliable hadith scholars and preserved the authentic chains of transmissions of the Ahlus Sunnah. They outwardly disguised themselves with piety and asceticism and were thus considered to be from the scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah. Hence they would narrate Sahih and Hassan narrations and then added to them fabricated narrations which served their dogma. Many of the erudite of the Ahlus Sunnah were deceived by this, let alone the laymen. But Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala by his grace chose the scholars of hadith who picked up the fabrications and stated that they are such. Hence their actual status became clear and all praise is for Allah. Furthermore, a group of their scholars who were exposed actually confessed that they would forge narrations. Those forged narrations are found till today in the narration lexicons and collections and have been used by the Tafdiliyyah[16] and the Shia.[17]
Also, al Alusi mentions that Jabir al Ju’fi would often deploy this strategy.[18] Likewise Ibn al Qayyim has mentioned that Hafiz Abu Ya’la has said the following in his book al Irshad:
وضعت الرافضة من فضائل علي رضي الله عنه وأهل البيت نحو ثلاثمائة ألف حديث
The Rafidah have fabricated almost three hundred thousand narrations regarding the merits of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu
Ibn al Qayyim comments by saying:
ولا نستبعد هذا فإنك لو تتبعت ما عندهم من ذلك لوجدت الأمر كما قال
We do not deem this far-fetched. For if you have to analyse whatever they have in this regard you will find the matter according to what he has said.[19]
Overtly Entering the Dogma of the Ahlus Sunnah in order to Misguide
Some of the effects which the Shia plotting has left in the Muslim world are those which have come about as a result of some of their scholars overtly entering the creed of the Ahlus Sunnah and assuming the titles ‘Hanafi’ and ‘Shafi’i’ in order to misguide the people. After assuming these identities they wrote books which bolstered the Shia dogma.[20]
Likewise some of their scholars, who overtly subscribed to the Ahlus Sunnah, contrived ideas similar to those which exist in the Shia dogma and promulgated them in Muslims circles. Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zuhrah was of the opinion that Najm al Din al Tufi (d. 716 A.H.) intended to promulgate the Shia dogma deploying this strategy in his discussion regarding Maslahah, public interest, taking precedence over the textual evidence of Shari’ah. Because this is exactly what the Shia dogma asserts: according to the Shia it is permissible for the Imam to specify or abrogate any textual evidence after the demise of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Hence al Tufi transported this very idea but without mentioning the word ‘Imam’ and replaced it with the word Maslahah. Thereafter, Abu Zuhrah opines that al Tufi by virtue of him undermining the textual evidence and promulgating the idea of specification and abrogation in cases of Masalih Mursalah, unspecified public interest, has in fact intended to undermine the sacredness which the Muslims accord to the dictates of the legislator, i.e. Allah and his Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[21]
Moving on, the Shia have at times, taking advantage of the similarity which exists between the names of their scholars and the scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah, included worthless ideological content in order to mislead the seekers of the truth; they search in the names of Sunni scholars for credible names and whoever they find having a similar name to any of their scholars they attribute the narration or the view of that particular Shia to him.
One such example is Muhammad ibn Jarir al Tabari, the famous Sunni Imam and the author of a work in history and a work in Qur’anic exegesis. The Shia scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn Rustum al Tabari[22] shares the same name as him. Added to that, they both were from Baghdad, they lived in the same era and passed away in the same year, the year 310 A.H. The Shia exploited this similarity and attributed to Imam Ibn Jarir some things, like the book al Mustarshid fi al Imamah[23] (the book of the Shia Ibn Jarir),[24] which supports their dogma. And till today they attribute to him some narrations which bolster their dogma.[25]
This plot of the Shia engendered problems for Ibn Jarir during his lifetime. Ibn Kathir mentions that some lay people accused him of being a Shia whilst others accused him of being a heretic.[26] Likewise a book regarding Ghadir Khum consisting of two volumes was attributed to him, and so was the view that it is permissible to wipe the feet in Wudu’.[27]
And it seems as if some of the scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah learnt of this plot of the Shia. Hence Ibn Kathir mentions:
ومن العلماء من يزعم أن ابن جرير اثنان أحدهما شيعي وإليه ينسب ذلك وينزهون أبا جعفر من هذه الصفات
Some among the scholars claim that there were two Ibn Jarirs and that one of them was a Shia. And they attributed all of this to him and exonerate Abu Jafar from having such traits.[28]
This view which Ibn Kathir has attributed to some scholars is the truth which became clear to us after studying the books of transmitter biographies and the legacy of each of the two. And where is the earth from the heavens, for the difference between the legacies of both men is obvious and cannot be compared. The creed of Imam ibn Jarir has no similarity whatsoever with the creed of the Shia; he was indeed one of the great scholars of Islam in having knowledge regarding the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and practicing upon them.
There is likewise another Shia by the name Abu Jafar al Tabari.[29] He is different from the first one even though Professor Fu’ad Sazkin has considered them to be one.[30] The al Madinah al Munawwarah newspaper published a forged story of the latter which was titled ‘Iqd al Zahra’. It would never have made its way to the publishing house had the Shia not exploited the similarity of names.[31]
And like Ibn Jarir there are many others.[32] But the context does not allow for a detailed discussion, for this topic requires a dedicated study.
Spreading Shi’ism in the Muslim World
From amongst the evidences which suggest that the Shia strive in proselytising their beliefs amongst the Muslims is their ancient narrations which state that only one city embraced their beliefs, Kufah.
Abu ‘Abdullah says:
إن الله عرض ولايتنا على أهل الأمصار فلم يقبلها إلا أهل الكوفة
Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala presented our Wilayah to the people of the cities but only the people of Kufah accepted it.[33]
Hence in the initial stages Shi’ism did not gain acceptance but in Kufah due to it being far from knowledge and its people.[34] Their acceptance was due to the influence of ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ who had played a very active role there initially, to the extent that he only departed from it after winning followers who would operate according to his plans.[35]
The great scholar of Kufah, Abu Ishaq al Sabi’i (d. 127 A.H), noticed the difference which had transpired in his city. He had left Kufah when its people were adhering to the Sunnah and when no one was doubting the merit of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma and deeming them the most virtuous, but when he returned he found that the reprehensible views of Rafd had appeared.[36]
Subsequent to that the virus of Shi’ism permeated the entire Muslim world. So much so that some researchers mention that today in every hundred Muslims ten are Shia.[37]
The proselytisers of Shi’ism in this era form movements which actively roam around the Muslim world in order to spread Shi’ism following a strategized plan. They utilise the funds provided by the academic seminaries which receive their donations from the perspiration and toiling of those gullible followers whose minds have been clouded and hearts overwhelmed by that beautiful and deceptive claim of the ‘love for the Ahlul Bayt, a claim in which the Shia clergy have no share save the name and the claim. Hence they take possession of great amounts of wealth under the pretext of the right of Khums for the Imam. The slogans and catchwords which these clandestine movements raise are very similar to those of the Freemasons, for at times they call for bridging the gap between the various Islamic schools of thought[38] and at times introduce themselves as the ‘the council of the Ahlul Bayt.[39]
Similarly, after the establishment of the state of the scholars in Iran all the Iranian embassies have transitioned into centres of the propagation of Shi’ism. They have likewise taken advantage of the Islamic centres and the Masjids, especially on Fridays, in order to spread Shi’ism.
To get an idea of this, the al Mujtama’ magazine published a document regarding the activities of the Shia in Europe. Therein it says:
تحولت السفارات والقنصليات الإيرانية في أوروبا إلى مراكز لنشر عقيدتهم في أوساط المسلمين (إلا الكفار) المقيمين في أوروبا، وتؤكد ذلك عشرات بل مئات وآلاف الكتيبات والمنشورات الخاصة بالفكر الشيعي، وتوزيع هذه الكتيبات على المسلمين الأوربيين في أماكن تجمعهم وخاصة عند أبواب المساجد، أو في البريد، أو من خلال وسائل أخرى… وحتى المراكز الثقافية والمكتبات تبدو وكأنها أقيمت من أجل نشر دعوة التشيع الإيراني بين الأقلية المسلمة في أوروبا، فبا لإضافة إلى ما تحتويه هذه المكتبات من كتب ونشرات حول الثورة الإيرانية ومنهجها العقائدي… نجد أن القائمين على هذه المكتبات ينظمون دروسا وندوات تتعلق في معظمها بالقضية العقدية
The Iranian embassies and consulates in Europe have turned into centres for spreading their beliefs amidst the Muslims who are residing in Europe. This is supported by the tens, rather the hundreds and thousands of booklets and publications which are dedicated to the Shia ideology and which are distributed amidst the European Muslims in places which unite them, especially at the doors of Masjids, via posts and other mediums. To the extent that even academic centres and libraries seem as if they have been established in order to spread Iranian Shi’ism amidst the Muslim minority of Europe. Hence aside from the books and literature which these libraries contain regarding the Iranian revolution and its specific approach to belief, we find that these libraries organise lessons and clubs which are specific to the issues of belief.
The magazine then goes on to list some of the libraries in Europe which organize lessons and lectures pertaining to belief regarding the Iranian revolution on the Thursdays and Saturdays of every week, and which distribute magazines, booklets and voice recordings. The Muslims are invited to attend such gatherings as a tool to spread the Shia ideology as espoused by the Iranians.
Likewise, the Iranian centres have started to encourage youth who have been beguiled by them and whom they use as their agents to start going to Masjids and establish relationships with those who come to offer their Salah, especially on Fridays when many Muslims come together in order to offer the Jumu’ah Salah. The magazine states that at times these encounters lead to clashes and problems in the Masjids and thereafter presents a few examples. It also avers that these Iranian activities will in the long run leave its negative effects upon the Muslims.[40]
Furthermore, the activities of the Shia are dynamic and multi-faceted and do not take heed of any principles like is the case of the Ahlus Sunnah. This is because the Shia consider Taqiyyah to be nine tenths of their Din. In fact one of their contemporary scholars has acknowledged without realising that Taqiyyah according to them is the objective which justifies the means.[41] I.e. in reaching the objective which they aim for, it is ok to adopt any means; in other words, it is just like the approach of Machiavellianism[42] which is adopted by those who have no Din in order to reach their goals. In Islam the objective does not make impermissible means permissible.
Hence we find that the mediums which the Shia deploy to propagate their dogma take on various forms of deception and misrepresentation, a result of which is that many Muslim tribes and individuals have lost their faith. They have actually at times propelled some seniors of various tribes to embrace Shi’ism by enticing them with Mut’ah marriages.[43]
Al Haydari published a very appalling report in ‘Unwan al Majd wherein he enlists the amount of tribes which have become Shia due to the efforts of the Shia. He mentions:
وأما العشائر العظام في العراق الذين ترفضوا من قريب فكثيرون منهم ربيعة… ترفضوا منذ سبعين سنة، وتميم وهي عشيرة عظيمة ترفضوا في نواحي العراق منذ ستين سنة بسبب تردد شياطين الرافضة إليهم، والخزاعل ترفضوا منذ أكثر من مائة وخمسين سنة وهي عشيرة عظيمة من بني خزاعة فحرفت وسميت خزاعل… وعشيرة زبيد وهي كثيرة القبائل وقد ترفضت منذ ستين سنة بتردد الرافضة إليهم وعدم العلماء عندهم. ومن العشائر المترفضة بنو عمير وهم بطن من تميم، والخزرج وهم بطن من بني مزيقيا من الأزد، وشمر طوكه وهي كثيرة والدوار والدفافعة. ومن المترفضة عشائر العمارة آل محمد وهي لكثرتها لا تحصى وترفضوا من قريب، وعشيرة بني لام وهي كثيرة العدد وعشائر الديوانية وهم خمس عشائر: آل أقرع، وعفج، والجيور وجليحة، والأقرع ست عشرة قبيلة وكل قبيلة كثيرة العدد، وآل بدير ثلاث عشرة قبيلة وهي أيضا كثيرة العدد، وعفج ثماني قبائل كثيرة العدد، وجليحة أربع قبائل كثيرة العدد، والجبور كذلك. ومن عشائر العراق العظيمة المترفضة منذ مائة سنة فأقل عشيرة كعب وهي عشيرة عظيمة ذات بطون كثيرة
As for the big families which converted to Shi’ism in Iraq in recent times, they are many. Amongst them are: Rabi’ah which converted to Shi’ism seventy years ago, Tamim, a big family situated at the borders of Iraq, converted to Shi’ism sixty years ago owing to the frequent visits of the devils of the Shia to them, al Khuza’al which became Shia more than a hundred and fifty years ago –it is a big family which belongs to the Banu Khuza’ah tribe but later its name was distorted and it was named Khuza’al, and Zabid which consists of many tribes and converted to Shi’ism sixty years ago owing to the frequent visits of the Shia and the absence of scholars. Likewise from the families that converted to Shi’ism are Banu ‘Umair, a sub-tribe of Tamim, Khazraj, a sub-tribe of Banu Maziqiyya of Azd, Shamrtukah which is a very large tribe and Dafafi’ah. In addition, the families of ‘Umarah Al Muhammad who are so many in number that they cannot be enumerated, the family of Banu Lam which is huge in number, the tribe of al Diwaniyyah which constitutes of five families: the families of Al Aqra’, Al Budayr, ‘Afj, al Jabur and Julayhah (tribes which are likewise large in number); Aqra’ consists of sixteen tribes, each tribe having many numbers, Al Budayr consists of thirteen tribes which are also huge in number, ‘Afj consists of eight huge tribes, Julayhah consists of four huge tribes and likewise al Jabur. The family of Ka’b and which is a very big tribe and has many sub-tribes also converted to Shi’ism a hundred years ago.[44]
Al Haydari in this way goes on to enumerate all the tribes of the Ahlus Sunnah which converted to Shi’ism due to the negligence of the Ahlus Sunnah, and due to these people being deceived by the words of the Shia who would tell them ‘let’s come together and help one another’, ‘let’s unite and bridge the divide’, ‘the differences between the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia are no different than the differences which exist within the various schools of the Ahlus Sunnah’, etc. The Ahlus Sunnah thus owing to their inactiveness prepared the land for the scholars of the Shia to propagate their dogma, or else had the truth been explained no one would have been deceived by Shi’ism.
To this day they still continue to spread their dogma on all levels.
They likewise pay special attention to fostering relations with the heads of some states who they discern would accept their dogma. Like in the case of Ibn Babawayh al Qummi who established relations with Khuda Bandah.[45] This relationship had great effects which are known to all. Likewise in contemporary times they done the same with the head of Libya who eventually displayed inclinations toward Shi’ism in his beliefs and leadership.
Similarly, they have bought over some writers whose hearts are void of iman and deployed them to write literature in order to call to Shi’ism and write introductions to the books of the Shia.[46]
They also choose bright male and female students from the Muslims world and grant them free education in Qum in order to brainwash them and nurture them according to Shi’ism so that they may return to their lands as proselytizers of Shi’ism.
The supreme scholar of al Azhar says:
الأنباء التي تصلني من كافة أنحاء العالم الإسلامي تدل على أن هذه الحركة الإيرانية الخومينية الآن تنشر العنف، وتحاول أن تستقطب بوجه خاص في كثير من البلدان الإسلامية بالإغراءات المتعددة المالية والدراسية في إيران وغير ذلك من السبل بقصد إحداث الفرقة باستقطاب هؤلاء الشباب، ودفعهم إلى إثارة الخلافات في بلادهم وبين شعوبهم… إن حركة بهذا العنوان وبهذا الواقع تكون مثار اضطراب في الأمة الإسلامية… وأعتقد أنه على الشعوب الإسلامية أن تكون حذرة فيما تساق إليه بواسطة الخمينية أو غيرها، فهي حركة من الحركات الموفدة لتفتيت الأمة الإسلامية وبث الصراع والخلاف فيما بينها.
The reports which reach us from all parts of the Muslim world suggest that this Iranian Khumainian movement is currently spreading violence. It is trying to attract the youngsters in many of the Muslims lands by enticing them with monetary and educational incentives to study in Iran, amongst other means which it deploys to create discord, attract these youth, and propel them to give rise to contentions in their countries and people. A movement of this sort and which holds such a reality will surely cause turbulence in the Muslim Ummah. I thus believe that the Muslims should be very wary of what is being brought to them through the medium of the Khumainiyyah and other movements. It is indeed a movement from those movements which are sent in order to disunite the Ummah and spread discord and dissent between it.[47]
The Emergence of Shia Leanings in the Writings of some Writers who are Affiliates of the Ahlus Sunnah
In the writings of some thinkers who affiliate themselves to the Ahlus Sunnah signs of leanings toward the Shia ideology have emerged. The writings of these individuals have come to the fore as effected by the doubts and misconceptions raised by the Shia regarding the Sahabah and the issue of Imamah. Any person who will read what some thinkers and writers have written regarding the history of the initial stages of Islam or the book Nash’ah al Fikr al Falsafi fi al Islam, or the book al Imamah wa al Khilafah will realise the extent to which the Shia ploy has succeeded in distorting facts before these people.
I, however, do not doubt that in this class of people there is a group which has been enticed with the glamour of wealth and propelled by the deceptive goods of this world in order to say what they have said and to write what they have written. The Shia pay money to famous figures so that they may write that which is in accordance with the Shia dogma. In the past, one of the pious predecessors is reported to have said, “If I wanted them to fill my house with money for lying regarding ‘Ali they would do so. But by Allah I will never lie regarding him.”[48]
What would the situation today then be like when they have wealth in abundance and honesty has decreased in the hearts of many who have become deceived by the world and by the devil regarding the Din of Allah?[49]
If you want an example of this Shia influence then here is one. Professor ‘Ali Sami, the author of Shuhada’ al Islam fi ‘Asr al Nubuwwah writes the book Nash’ah al Fikr al Falsafi fi al Islam and includes in it that which cools the eyes of the Shia; he excommunicates some of the Sahabah of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. For example he says the following regarding Muwiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu:
ومهما قيل في معاوية، ومهما حاول علماء المذهب السلفي المتأخر وبعض أهل السنة من وضعه في نسق صحابة رسول الله، فإن الرجل لم يؤمن أبدا بالإسلام، ولقد كان يطلق نفثاته على الإسلام كثيرا ولكنه لم يستطع أكثر من هذا
Irrespective of whatever has been said regarding Muawiyah and despite the efforts of the scholars of the later Salafi School and some of the Ahlus Sunnah to include him amongst the Companions of Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the man did not embrace Islam at all. He would very often release his blows against Islam but did not manage to anything more than that.[50]
See how great his accusation is! This type of accusations was only previously known to be made by the Shia and their like. How can a Muslim ever blurt such a statement regarding a Companion who strove with Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and witnessed the Battle of Hunayn with him,[51] who was entrusted with the task of documenting revelation and took charge of the affairs of the Muslims for forty years, at first as a governor and thereafter as a ruler, establishing for them the symbols of Islam?[52]
He further goes on to accuse the Ahlus Sunnah by claiming that the view that Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu was a Sahabi is the view of only some of the Ahlus Sunnah, but the majority hold the same view as him. This is a lie and a fabrication, similar to what the Shia hold regarding the permissibility of lying. The iman of Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu is established by diffuse transmission and the consensus of the people of knowledge.[53]
Similarly he says the following regarding his father Abu Sufyan ibn Harb:
ولقد كان أبو سفيان زنديقا أي ممن يؤمنون بالمجوسية الفارسية
Abu Sufyan was a heretic who would believe in the Persian fire worship.[54]
Whereas Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used him as his governor; when Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away he was the governor of Najran. How could he be a heretic when Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam entrusted him with the welfare of the Muslims in aspects of knowledge and practice?[55]
He also agrees with the Shia when he says that only a few amongst the Sahabah deemed ‘Ali more deserving of rulership and that the matter was usurped from him. He says:
وقد أحس قلة من خلص الصحابة أن الأمر نزع من على للمرة الثالثة وأنه إذا كان الأمر قد سلب منه أولا لكي يعطى للصاحب الأول، ثم أخذ منه ثانيا لكي يعطى للصاحب الثاني فقد أخذ منه ثالثا لكي يعطى لشيخ متهاو متهالك لا يحسن الأمر ولايقيم العدل يترك الأمر لبقايا قريش الضالة
A small group of devout Companions realised that the matter was snatched from ‘Ali for the third time. And that where the matter was snatched from him the first time so that it be granted to the first person and thereafter it was snatched from him the second time so that it be granted to the second person, the third time it was snatched from him so that it be given to a weak and languorous man who was not good at administration and establishing justice and who left the matter to be taken care of by the remaining misguided individuals of the Quraysh.[56]
He is referring to the rightly guided Khalifah Dhu al Nurayn ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu upon whose Khilafah the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum unanimously agreed. It is as though he is undermining all of them due this accusation.
He also says the following regarding the Rafidah who call themselves the Twelvers and who believe and acknowledge all that has passed, and criticism of whom is excessively found in the statements of the scholars of Islam:
إن الأفكار الفلسفية للشيعة الإثني عشرية هي في مجموعها إسلامية بحتة
The Philosophical thought of the Twelver Shia is as a whole purely Islamic.[57]
Look at how greatly and appallingly he has parted from the mainstream.[58]
He likewise says, as if a Shia, that:
بأن شيعة علي الذين أحبوه عن يقين وإيمان وساروا في ركب الإمام وهم على إيمان مطلق بإنه الأثر الباقي لحقيقة الإسلام الكبرى، وبجانب هذا العثمانية والأموية الذين كرهوا الإسلام أشد الكراهية وامتلأت صدورهم بالحقد الدفين نحو رسول الله وآله وأصحابه
The Partisans of ‘Ali who loved him with conviction and faith and joined his caravan with complete iman are the remains of the greatest reality of Islam. Opposite to them are the ‘Uthmanis and the Umawis who hated Islam very much and whose hearts were filled with malice for Rasul Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam his household and his Sahabah.[59]
I will suffice upon this one example because this is also a topic which requires an in-depth study and analyses.
Distorting the History of the Muslims
The Shia have literature in history which is aimed at distorting the history of the Muslim Ummah, as is clear from the narrations of al Kalbi,[60] Abu Mikhnaf,[61] and Nasr ibn Muzahim[62]; which are found in the Tarikh of al Tabari.[63] But al Tabari cites all these narrations with their chains of transmission so that the people of knowledge come to learn their status.
As is also clear from the writings of al Mas’udi in Muruj al Dhahab and al Ya’qubi in his Tarikh. Professor Muhibb al Din al Khatib has averred in his annotations on al ‘Awasim wa al Qawasim that the compilation of history started after the fall of the Umayyad Empire and that the Batiniyyah and the various denominations which had adopted Shi’ism played a very big role in obliterating the symbols of good and darkening the bright pages of history.[64]
This deceitful ploy becomes evidently clear to a person who studies the al ‘Awasim min al Qawasim of Ibn al ‘Arabi with the outstanding explanatory annotations of Muhibb al Din al Khatib.
The scholars of the Shia have darkened thousands of pages in reviling the best century humanity has ever known and they have spent their time and their efforts in distorting and misrepresenting the history of the Muslims.
The copious ‘Shia’ content, which you will come across in the books of history written by the Shia scholars, or in the transmission of which they played a role, in their books of hadith like al Kafi, al Bihar, and in other books which their scholars wrote in the bygone eras like Ihqaq al Haqq and in recent times like Kitab al Ghadir, is what the enemies of Islam like the Orientalists and others have used as their reference material.
In following them, the spiritually ill generation of occidentalists which saw in the west its role model, assimilated everything that they wrote and made that their primary source, thereby adopting their views and spreading misconceptions and doubts in the lands of the Muslims. All of this left behind very grave consequences and changes in the thought of the Muslims and their academics. And it was Shi’ism that was the root of all of this evil.
Studying the views of the Orientalist and identifying the connection between them and the Shia is a very crucial topic which requires a rigorous study. It is not possible for us to delve into it in this study due to constraints, but it is sufficient for us to allude to it and raise awareness regarding it.
The non-believing enemy started to benefit from the misconceptions and distortions of the Shia regarding Islam and the Muslims at a time which is not very recent. In the era of Ibn Hazm (d. 456 A.H) already the Christians were exploiting the erroneous belief of the Shia regarding the Book of Allah as evidence to their advantage in debating with the Muslims. Ibn Hazm responded to all their issues with resolution and revealed that the views of this particular cult are not worth consideration due to them not being Muslims.[65]
In Literature
Arabic literature and poetry have likewise not been safe from the influence of Shi’ism; Shi’ism has left its evil effects upon them as well. The poets among the Shia have always exploited the ‘atrocities’ suffered by the Ahlul Bayt in provoking the sentiments of people and invigorating their feelings, thereby putting them into action against the Ummah and its Din
In some of the literature that has reached us you will discern some leanings toward the beliefs of the Shia. You will also notice the exaggerations which are infused into depicting the difficulties that befell the Ahlul Bayt in order to spread Shi’ism and revile the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum.
The spear headers of Shi’ism have exerted themselves in propagating fables and fairy tales regarding their Imams in the form of provocative narratives, talks and poetry characterised by exaggeration.
As a result, the beliefs of the lay community became affected, even their belief in the Oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, owing to which they deified others besides Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala.
Hence Muhammad Sayed Kilani mentions:
فترى أن التشيع قد أخرج لونا من الأدب كان سببا في هبوط بالمسلمين إلى هوة سحيقة من التأخر والإنحطاط. وقد أفلح الوهابيون في القضاء على كثير من هذه الخرافات داخل بلادهم، أما في الأقطار الإسلامية الأخرى فالحال باقية كما هي عليه حتى بين طبقة المتعلمين
You will notice that the Shia have produced a specific type of literature which consequently played a role in the downfall of the Muslims into the deep ditches of regression and backwardness. The Wahhabis were successful in eliminating much of these fables from their lands. As for the other Muslim lands, the condition is still as it was previously, even amidst the learning class.[66]
In order to gauge the extent of their influence it will suffice to study their famous and credible poem, the Azriyyah poem.[67]
They have used literature to attack the Ummah by disparaging its leaders and distorting the image of the Muslim society. Hence you will find the overstating of the existence of mockery, deviance, and misguidance in the society. In fact at times even depicting the entire community and its leader in a very disparaging way, like how they did with the Khalifah Harun al Rashid and his stories with Abu Nawas. Whereas he was the Khalifah who would go out in Jihad one year and would go for Hajj the following year. In literature they also found breathing space for themselves, i.e. freedom from Taqiyyah due to an aura of sentiments and imaginations. Hence they would pour out their hatred and dislike for the Khalifah and the Ummah in narratives, poetry, parables, or sermons. To understand all of this it would suffice to refer to the book al Aghani of the Shia Abu al Faraj al Asfahani.
[1] See: al Radd ‘ala al Akhna’i: p. 47.
[2] Refer to: http://mahajjah.com/discussion-4-their-belief-regarding-the-fundamentals-of-din/
[3] There probably isn’t a book from their later and contemporary books which does not deploy this approach. And the worst of them in its exaggerations is the book Bulugh al Maram which is fully based upon this approach and which is, owing to its blatant lies an indictment upon the Shia for the rest of time. But despite that one of their scholars considers it to be a source of honour. (See: Muhsin al ‘Amili: al Shia p. 134; also see the documents and texts attached to my book on the topic on Taqrib, bridging the gap between the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia).
[4] The Kharamiyyah consists of two sects: the first sect existed before the emergence of the Islamic state. They are the followers of Mazdak al Ibahi who called for partnership in all wealth and sexual rights. They caused a lot of mischief in the lands of Persia and were eventually destroyed by the Persian king Anushirwan, known as the just king, who died before the advent of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The second sect emerged in the Islamic empire. They are the Babikiyyah, the followers of Babak al Kharmi who first appeared on the outskirts of Azerbaijan and developed a large followership. He would deem all impermissible acts permissible. He defeated many of the Abbasid armies for a period of twenty years until eventually he was captured with his brother Ishaq and hanged in Surr man Ra’a under the reign of Mu’tasim in the year 223 A.H.
There is no doubt that the Kharamiyyah who appeared in the Muslim empire were an extension of the ancient Persian cult, i.e. the first Mazdakiyyah, and were responsible for the further deviation of the Shia. Al Nawbakhti says that extremism started from them, for they were the first ones to claim that the Imams are deities and that they are their messengers. They likewise believed in the transmigration of souls and rejected the afterlife. (See: al Nawbakhti: Firaq al Shia p. 36; Ibn al Nadim: al Fihrist p. 342, 344; al Asfarayini: al Tabsir fi al Din p. 79-80; al Malati: al Tanbih wa al Radd p. 22; al Ghazali: Fada’ih al Batiniyyah p. 14, onwards).
[5] One of the sects of the Ismailiyyah which we have already introduced Click Here. They are known as the Qaramitah due to the founding figure Hamdan Qarmat who was one of their propagators in the initial stages. (See: Fada’ih al Batiniyyah p. 12).
[6] Minhaj al Sunnah 1/114.
[7] In his book he mentions, ‘The crusade wars had played the first and most important role in determining the stance of Europe regarding Islam.” (al Islam ‘ala Muftaraq al Turuq p. 55). He further says that Europe benefitted from the Muslim world more than the Muslim world benefitted from it. But it did not acknowledge this good, not even by lessening its hatred against Islam. Instead the very opposite happened; enmity increased with the progress of time and subsequently became second-nature. As a result this hatred would instigate public conscience whenever the word Muslim was mentioned. It became so commonplace among them that it settled deep down in the heart of every male and female European. (See: ibid. 59-60).
He also says that these hateful sentiments remained alive despite the passage of all the eras of enlightenment and continuously increased despite the departure of the religious conscience which had engendered all this hatred. He then says that this is not strange given the fact that psychologist assert that at times even though a person loses all the religious tendencies he had assimilated in his childhood, but some special traits still defy all rationality. (See: Ibid. 60-61).
I say that the established laws of psychology are applicable to the religions of Europe, but not to the religion of Islam which is based upon sound human disposition.
[8] Minhaj al Sunnah 4/3.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid. 1/3.
[11] Refer to earlier post Click Here
[12] Al Muntaqa p. 77.
[13] Fada’ih al Batiniyyah p. 37.
[14] Minhaj al Sunnah 4/70.
[15] Al Khutut al ‘Aridah p. 44-45.
[16] The Mufaddilah/ Tafdiliyyah are the Zaidiyyah and the others who consider ‘Ali to be more virtuous than Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. (See: Ibn Taymiyah: al Tis’iniyyah p. 40).
[17] Al Suwaidi: Naqd ‘Aqa’id al Shia (manuscript without numbered pages) p. 25-26 (see them after by counting); al Alusi: al Suyuf al Mushriqah (manuscript) p. 50; Mukhtasar al Tuhfah p. 32.
[18] Al Suyuf al Mushriqah p. 50.
[19] Al Manar al Munif p. 116.
[20] They have adopted different strategies in this regard which have all been exposed by the author of al Tuhfah al Ithnay ‘Ashariyyah. At times they write a book regarding the merits of the four Khulafa’, and when they come to the discussion regarding the merits of ‘Ali they include in it that which supports the ideas of Rafd like that of emphatic appointment and revilement of the Sahabah (see: al Tuhfah al Ithnay ‘Ashariyyah {manuscript} p. 46). At times they write a book regarding the juristic rulings of one of the schools and will propagate that book in circles which do not adopt that particular school. They include therein some very grave issues like practicing upon reason and rejecting hadith and approbating obscene acts. The author of al Tuhfah has alluded in this regard to a book, al Mukhtasar, which they forged against Imam Malik wherein they falsely attributed to him that it is permissible to commit sodomy with slaves. (See: Ibid. p. 45). And at times they write books wherein they claim that they were following the creed of the Ahlus Sunnah but when its falsity became clear to them they forsook it (for example the book Limadha Ikhtartu Mazhab al Shia which they attribute to a person with the name Mar’i al Antaki). And they have other strategies as well, the details of which require a dedicated book.
[21] Ibn Hanbal: p. 326. Abu Zuhrah has mentioned the biography of al Tufi and has established that he was a Shia (Ibid. 324-325). In classing al Tufi a Shia he has relied upon the Tabaqat al Hanabilah of Abu Ya’la.
[22] He has written a few books on Shi’ism as well. For example: al Mustarshid fi al Imamah and Nur al Mu’jizat fi Manaqib al A’immah al Ithnay ‘Ashar. (See: Jami’ al Ruwat 2/82-83; Bihar al Anwar 1/177; Tanqih al Maqal 2/91; also see: Lisan al Mizan 5/103).
[23] Ibn al Nadim: al Fihrist: p. 335.
[24] Tabaqat A’lam al Shia fi al Mi’ah al Rabi’ah p. 252; Ibn Shar Ashub: Ma’alim al ‘Ulama’ p. 106.
[25] Al Amini al Najafi: al Ghadir 1/214-216.
[26] Al Bidayah wa al Nihayah 11/146.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Abi al Qasim ibn ‘Ali al Tabari, a Shia scholar from the sixth century. (See: Tabaqat A’lam al Shia fi al Qarn al Sadis p. 242-278.
[30] He has thus mistakenly attributed the book Basharah al Mustafa to the first (Ibn Rustum) whereas it is the work of the second (Ibn Abi al Qasim). (See: Tarikh al Turath 2/260).
[31] Al Madinah newspaper: edition no. 4721, published on Tuesday the 24th of Rajab 1399 A.H. The story was chosen by Muhammad Salim Salim from the book Basharah al Mustafa. Whereas this book Basharah al Mustafa is steeped in fanatical ideas, one among them being interpreting al Jibt wa al Taghut to mean Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (see: p. 237). Likewise it is stated therein that whoever doubts in giving ‘Ali precedence, considering him most virtuous, deeming obedience to him being compulsory and acknowledging his Wilayah will be deemed a disbeliever even if he displays Islam (see: p. 51).
[32] Like Ibn Qutaybah, for there are two men with this name: one is the extremist Shia ‘Abdullah ibn Qutaybah and the other is the reliable Sunni scholar ‘Abdullah ibn Muslim ibn Qutaybah. The latter authored a book and named it al Ma’arif, and in order to mislead the people the former wrote a book and also named it al Ma’arif (see: Mukhtasar al Tuhfah al Ithnay ‘Ashariyyah p. 32; Mukhtasar al Sawaqi’, manuscript, p. 51; Naqd ‘Aqa’id al Shia, manuscript, p. 25).
Research scholars were perplexed by the book al Imamah wa al Siyasah which is attributed to the Sunni Ibn Qutaybah due to it containing many falsities. A scholar even tried to identify the actual author of the book but to no avail. He says, “I tried a lot to identify the actual author of the book al Imamah wa al Siyasah but I did not come across anything.” (‘Abdullah al ‘Usaylan: al Imamah wa al Siyasah p. 20).
Some opined that the author was one of the adherents of school of Imam Malik (ibid. 20), despite the Shia influence in the book being quite clear; it clearly reviles the Sahabah and claims that ‘Ali refused to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr due to considering himself more rightful of leadership. Professor ‘Abdullah al ‘Usaylan has cited these examples and their like which appear in the aforementioned book (Ibid. p.17-18-19). But what slipped his attention and the attention of many is the fabrications of the Shia and that there were two Ibn Qutaybahs, and that the book al Imamah wa al Siyasah is from the works of the Shia one. Despite its importance I have not come across who has alluded to this matter.
[33] Bihar al Anwar 60/209, 100/259 (with reference to Basa’ir al Darajat).
[34] See the Foreword of this book. Click Here
[35] Sulaiman al ‘Awdah: ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ p. 49.
[36] Refer to: http://mahajjah.com/the-most-appropriate-definition/#_ftnref4
[37] Rum Lando: al Islam wa al ‘Arab p. 95.
[38] Fikrah al Taqrib p. 511.
[39]Ibid. 514.
[40] Al Mujtama’, edition no. 760, published on 15th of Rajab 1406 A.H.
[41] Muhammad Jawwad Mughniyah: al Shia fi al Mizan p. 49.
[42] Machiavellianism is a method in dealings which is characterized by deceit, trickery, breaching of trust and egoism. It is based on the principle ‘the end justifies the means’. It is attributed to the Italian thinker Niccolo Machiavelli (born in 1469 A.H. and died in 1527 A.H.) the founder of this idea which he recorded in his book The Prince and presented to one of the Kings of Europe in the Medieval ages. (See: Ahmed ‘Atiyyah: al Qamus al Siyasi p. 1105-1106).
[43] In the year 1326 A.H. Sheikh Muhammad Kamil al Rafi’i revealed in a letter he sent to his friend Rashid al Rida from Baghdad, which was published by the al Manar magazine in the 16th vol. that whilst on his tour of these lands he discovered that the scholars of the Shia invite the Bedouins to Shi’ism by making Mut’ah marriages permissible for them due to them always having the passion to amorously enjoy with many women.
At first the magazine published the letter without revealing the name of the writer. But subsequently in the 29th vol. Sheikh al Rida revealed the name and said that they did not publish the name of the writer at that time so that he does not encounter any harassment from the Hamidi government which was infamous for its oppressive nature. (See: al Manar, vol. 29; also see: vol. 2 p. 687).
[44] ‘Unwan al Majd fi Bayan Ahwal Baghdad wa al Basrah wa Najd p. 112-118.
[45] Khuda in Persian means Allah and Bandah means servant, i.e. the servant of Allah. Khuda Bandah was the eighth king from the kings of the Ilkhanate dynasty and was the sixth descendant of the progeny of Genghis Khan. His real name was al Jatiyu, the son of Arghun, the son of Abgha, the son Hulagu. Ibn Kathir mentions, ‘He remained upon the ways of the Ahlus Sunnah for a year and thereafter converted to Shi’ism and established its symbols in his lands.” (Al Bidayah wa al Nihayah 14/77). This was because he had just recently accepted Islam and had no knowledge regarding the Islamic beliefs and the history thereof. Subsequently he met Ibn Mutahhar al Hilli who made the Shia dogma appealing to him as a result of which he and his entire family and tribe converted to Shi’ism. Ibn Mutahhar had written many books like Nahj al Haqq and Minhaj al Karamah in order to invite the following sultan to embrace the Shia dogma.
Ibn Kathir mentions, “During his times great problems and tragic calamities occurred. But eventually Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala gave reprieve to the land and the people by eliminating him and gave him death at the age of thirty six.” After his demise his son repented in the year 710 A.H from Shi’ism and reverted to the beliefs of the Ahlus Sunnah with the help of the Ahlus Sunnah. He distanced the Shia and thus al Hilli had to flee to Hillah and likewise all their scholars. (See: al Tuhfah al Ithnay ‘Ashariyyah p. 43 of the manuscript; Ta’liqat Muhibb al Din al Khatib ‘ala al Muntaqa p. 18-19).
[46] You will notice this in some of the books which they send to the Muslim world in order to propagate Shi’ism. They get people like those mentioned above to write a few approbatory words. An example of this in the books Asl al Shia and ‘Aqa’id al Imamiyyah, etc.
[47] Akhbar al Yawm, edition no. 2160, published on Saturday the 11th of Rajab 1406 A.H.
[48] This was al Sha’bi. See: ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmed: al Sunnah 2/549.
[49] The Arabic proverb says: ‘every utensil gives off what it contains’. Likewise another one says: ‘She accused me of her flaw and disappeared’. The head of the Jafari Judiciary in Beirut Muhammad Jawwad Mughniyah accused professor Muhammad Hussain Haykal of omitting a particular text from his book Hayat Muhammad in lieu of five hundred Egyptian pounds. This accusation was levelled at him because he omitted a particular text from his book which he came to learn was weak and thus removed it in the second edition; this Shia accused him of this based on the practice of his people and their norms. Consider and muse. (See: Muhammad Jawwad Mughniyah: al Shia fi al Mizan p. 18: footnote.
[50] Nash’ah al Fikr al Falsafi 2/19.
[51] Majmu’ Fatawa Shaikh al Islam 4/458
[52]Ibid. 4/472.
[53] Ibid. 4/477.
[54] Nash’ah al Fikr al Falsafi 2/31.
[55] Majmu’ Fatawa Shaikh al Islam 4/454, 35/66.
[56] Nash’ah al Fikr al Falsafi 1/228.
[57] Ibid. 1/13.
[58] Doctor Muhammad Rashad Salim radiya Llahu ‘anhu informed me that due to having a suspicious relationship with a disbelieving wife, a trip to Europe due to the coercion of ‘Abdul Nasir and a bad financial standing conditions befell him which had an impact upon his thought and ideology. Something of this sort is not too much to conceive regarding someone who disparages the Companions of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
[59] Ibid. 1/228-229.
[60] Muhammad ibn al Sa’ib al Kalbi. Ibn Hibban says that al Kalbi was a Saba’i who would believe that ‘Ali did not die and that he will return to this world. He died in 146 A.H. See: Mizan al I’tidal 3/558; Ibn Abi Hatim: al Jarh wa al Ta’dil 7/270-271; Tahdhib al Tahdhib 9/178.
[61] Lut ibn Yahya ibn Sa’id ibn Mikhnaf al Azdi (Abu Mikhnaf). From Kufah. Ibn ‘Adi said regarding him that he is a extremist Shia who is the compiler of their reports. He died in 157 A.H. He wrote many books, some being: al Riddah, al Jamal, Siffin, etc. For his biography see: Mizan al I’tidal 3/253; al ‘Uqayli: al A’lam li al Zarkali 6/110-111.
[62] Nasr ibn Muzahim ibn Sayyar al Minqari al Kufi. Al Dhahabi has said that he was a extremist Shia whom the scholars of hadith have forsaken. He died in 212 A.H. amongst the books he has written: Waq’ah Siffin (printed), al Jamal, Maqtal al Hussain. See: Mizan al I’tidal 4/253; al ‘Uqayli: al Du’afa’ al Kabir 4/30; Ibn Abi Hatim: al Jarh wa al Ta’dil 8/468; Lisan al Mizan 6/157; al A’lam 8/350.
[63] For the narrations of al Kalbi in Tarikh al Tabari see: 1/335, 2/237, 238, 272, 370, 465, 3/168, 274, 286, 425, 4/108, 368, 5/449, 6/103, 349, 364.
As for the narrations of Abu Mikhnaf, they are many and can be found in more than three hundred places. The Orientalist A. Bel states in the Encyclopaedia of Islam 1/399 that Abu Mikhnaf wrote thirty two books on history regarding various issues which transpired in the first century of Islam. Al Tabari has preserved most of them by recording them in his Tarikh, but the books which have reached us and have been attributed to him are from the forgeries of the later scholars. (See: al A’lam 6/111: footnote).
The narrations of Nasr ibn Muzahim can be found in 4/458, 465, 485, 487. (See: the detailed tables of contents prepared by Abu al Fadl Ibrahim in the tenth volume of the Tarikh).
[64] Al ‘Awasim min al Qawasim (annotations) p. 177.
[65] Refer to Ibn Hazm
[66] Muhammad Sayed Kilani: Athar al Tashayyu’ fi al Adab al ‘Arabi (published by Dar al Kutub al ‘Arabi in Egypt) p. 43
[67] This poem was written by their scholar Muhammad Kazim al Azri who died in 1211 A.H. (al Dhari’ah 17/135). Professor Mahmud al Mallah critiqued this poem in a book which he named al Raziyyah fi al Qasidah al Azriyyah. Therein he mentions that their scholar Muhammad Rida al Muzaffar wrote an introduction to the poem wherein he mentioned that their scholar the author al Jawahir (Muhammad ibn Hassan ibn Baqir al Najafi {d. 1266 A.H.} His book al Jawahir is the commentary of Shara’i’ al Islam, one of their credible books in Fiqh. See: Muhammad Jawwad Mughniyah: introduction to the book Shara’i’ al Islam) would desire that the Azriyyah poem be included in his works in place of his book Jawahir al Kalam. He then goes onto present some stanzas of the poem, stanzas brimming with Shirk and blatant disbelief, for example the following stanza which is regarding ‘Ali:
وهو الآية المحيطة في الكون ففي عين كل شيء تراها
He is the sign which is all encompassing in the world, and thus in the essence of everything you will see it.
And the stanza:
كل ما في القضاء من كائنات أنت مولى بقائها وفناها
All that is decreed to happen, you are the guardian of its existence and ruination.
See: al Raziyyah fi al Qasidah al Azriyyah p. 33-35.