They Are Good But Unfortunately They Are Shi’a

Two years ago, an enthusiastic young man who was sent by the Government of Iraq with a group of scholars to pursue studies in ‘Dar al-Ulum al-Ulya of Egypt wrote to me a detailed interim letter, wherein he said: “I have contacts with some great Ulama’ (scholars) and learned men of al-Azhar University and every now and then matters relating to Najaf al-Ashraf, its scholars, the method of education in this great centre of teaching come under discussion during our meetings. I have noticed that the scholars of al-Azhar admit the extraordinary importance of the scholars of Najaf al-Ashraf and praise their exalted opinions but usually after uttering words of praise they add: “But unfortunately they are Shi’a”.

This young man adds: “These words surprised me much and I used to say: ‘Is it a sin to be a Shi’a? Are the Shi’a not a sect of Muslims? ‘However, they, in reply, used to say things the crux of which is: No! Shi’a are not Muslims, and Shi’a Faith is something separate from Islam. It is not at all fit to be recognised as a religion. It is a system invented by the Iranians. It is something related to politics which came into existence to bring about the fall of the Umayyads and to ensure the installation of the Abbasids. As such it has the least relationship with the Divine religion”.

Thereafter, this young man continues to say: “As you are aware, I am a young man of tender age and I do not know how these sects have come into being and how they have spread. I have begun entertaining doubts on account of the statements which are made about the Shi’a sect by these prominent people who are considered to be great scholars among the Sunnis and the time is not far off when I may possibly repudiate the very fact that the people belonging to this sect are Muslims, not to speak of their being followers of a true faith’’.

Thereafter, he asked me to explain in this connection the real and actual facts for him so that possibly the fire of doubt and suspicion might be extinguished by the water of certainty and assurance and he might get rid of this suspense.

He writes: “If you do not deliver me from this perplexity, the responsibility for my blundering and perversion will be directly yours”. In reply I wrote to him on the subject supplying as much information as could possibly be supplied through correspondence and conformed to his thoughts. It could be hoped that matters so explained would be instrumental in removing the nightmare of doubt and suspicion from his mind.

However, I began wondering more as compared to the doubt and indecision in the trap of which the young man had fallen as a victim. I could not make myself believe that all the incident was correct. I thought it over again and again as to how it could be possible that the scholars of cities considered to be in the vanguard of the Islamic seats of teaching and focus the attention of not only the Arabs but also of all Muslims of the world, should be victims of ignorance in the matter of bringing facts to light and tearing the veil of falsehood which is usually born of personal interest, passions, desires and beliefs of ignorant people in fabricated propositions.

No, I could not at all believe what the aforesaid young man had said till in those very days a book entitled Fajr al-Islam written by the famous author Ahmad Amin reached my hands. While studying this book I found that in his discussion about the Shi’a he had displayed an ignorance worse than could be imagined.

If today anyone stationed even in the remotest regions of the world writes such discourses about the Shi’a, certainly he cannot be excused and he is sure to earn every sort of admonition. And this very subject provided me with a conspicuous document to speak out the truth.

The Lame Excuse

I began to ponder myself that if a well-known writer like him wanted to write a book which he wished to circulate among the members of a society whom the Holy Qur’an has introduced as brothers of one another, it was extremely essential for him to have gained knowledge about the posture of that society, and if without taking recourse to any such things he indulged in falsehood and calumny about the Shi’a community, then it could be well understood that what could be expected from a group of people who really lack any worth?

And he has done this notwithstanding his knowing the fact that every sensible person is aware today that we are in extreme need of strengthening the bonds of affection, friendship and unity! Muslims of the world cannot continue to live without acting on the principles of Islamic Brotherhood and unity.

If they ignore these principles, they will neither lead a dignified life nor will they die an honourable death. It is a fact that if the Muslims had known the real facts about Shi’a faith and had taken just decisions about their brethren they would have destroyed such abominable and venomous publications which sow the seeds of discord and dissension among the Muslims and provide the deadliest weapon in the hands of colonialists and those who are inimical towards all religions.

Do these words of Ahmad Amin, “Shi’ism has alway, been a refuge for those who wished to destroy Islam” not kindle up the fire of enmity and grudge in the hearts of the Shi’a at large the world over? He has written these words knowing well that a flow of criticism is in this wake and that by doing so he has injured the sentiments of millions of Shi’a Muslims.

It is a strange coincidence that Ahmad Amin after publishing this very book and obtaining a good deal of information about scholars of Najaf al-Ashraf came to the city of learning and wisdom last year i.e. 1349 A.H. in the company of a group of 30 Egyptian scholars and had the honour of being present at the sacred threshold of the “Gate of the City of Knowledge”, Imam ‘Ali.

One night during the glorious month of Ramadhan he came to me accompanied by his friends. It was a crowded meeting and they spent a part of the night with me. I rebuked him mildly. However, I did not say all that ought to have been said. On the other hand, I obtained inspiration from the Holy Qur’an:

“And the servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: ‘Peace’” (25:63).

“And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly” (25:72).

And did not mention many relevant things.

His last excuse was that he did not possess sufficient information and literature about the Shi’a. I then said to him: The correct method is that when a person desires to write a book on a subject he should first collect all the document and other necessary materials and study all its aspects. Without all this it would not be proper for him to deal with the subject”.

I do not know why the libraries of the Shi’a possess Sunni books and among them is our own library consisting of about 5000 books most of which have been written by Sunni scholars’ although it is situated in a city like Najaf al-Ashraf which is considered to be a poor city though very rich from the viewpoint of knowledge and learning. On the other than Cairo, with all its greatness and exalted position, to void of Shi’a books, with the exception of very few of them!1

Yes, they don’t have any information about the Shi’a but in spite of that they write all sorts of things about them. And it is all stranger and more shocking that many Sunnis of Iran too are, in spite of their proximity and neighbourhood, indeed ignorant of the true facts about the Shi’a!

A Pack Of Wild Beasts

A few months back a civilised young man belonging to a distinguished Shi’a family of Baghdad wrote to the effect that he performed a journey to the province of Dailam (a province adjacent to the province of Baghdad) whose inhabitants are mostly Sunni and attended their meetings.

They were very much impressed by his conversation, politeness and good manners and expressed their pleasure. However, as soon as they learnt that he was a Shi’a they expressed surprise and said: “We do not think that any manners and politeness existed in this sect not to speak of knowledge and faith! We considered them to be a pack of wild beasts of the jungle!”

This young man tried to arouse my sentiments with strong reproaches and asked me time and again to write a small treatise about the Shi’a. He wanted to circulate it among the aforesaid ignorant people so that they might at least, to a small extent, become acquainted with the beliefs and ways of the Shi’a. Later this young man proceeded to Syria to visit the country-side and then went to Egypt.

After studying the conditions of the Musims in these areas he wrote to me: “The manner of thinking of the Egyptians about the Shi’a is the same as that of the people of Dailam and their behaviour towards them is identical”.

Thereafter he added: “Is the time not yet come that you should fulfil your promise and discharge your obligation, because the posture of the Shi’a has become fixed in their minds in the worst possible shape?” He also narrated some other things which were exactly according to reality.

Silence Not Justified

We come across many such cases and incidents in the ‘dailies’ of Egypt and Syria in which venomous articles are published every now and then in this regard. They contain all sorts of calumnies and slanders about the Shi’a although the Shi’a are like Joseph quite blameless and totally innocent of all such accusations.

Unfortunately, however, the ailment of ignorance and fanaticism is so irremediable that it has wearied even the physicians themselves.

Yes, after these incidents I thought it would be very unjust on my part to remain silent any longer. It was not on account of the fact that Shi’a were being subjected to injustice and cruelty and I wished to defend them against this flood of calumnies. No, it was in view of the fact that our highest and most important object continues to remain the same, namely, to tear the veils of ignorance from the eyes of common Muslims of the world so that judicious people may review their thoughts and adopt the path of moderation and also we should be absolved of the allegations with regard to the calumnies of the obstinate and hostile people so that there should be no justification left over for blaming Shi’a ‘Ulama’ and scholars that they are negligent in introducing their religion to others.

Another more important hope that may be entertained is that under the shade of such discussion the ties of love and friendship among the Muslims may be strengthened and the signs of enmity and hatred may disappear because every person, especially in our age, is aware that unity and removal of differences is one of the most essential things of which a man stands in need for the continuance of social life. It is possible that Ahmad Amin who has been shrouded on all sides by thick clouds of prejudice and ignorance may not write again about the Shi’a as under: “The truth is that the Shi’a faith is a refuge wherein everyone who wishes to pull down the foundation of Islam on account of enmity or envy takes shelter. As such, people who wish to introduce into Islam the teachings of their Jewish, Christian or Zoroastrian ancestors achieve their nefarious ends under the shelter of this faith”2.

Then he reaches the place where he says: “Traces of Judaism manifest themselves in Shi’a Islam in the shape of belief in the Return of the Imams. The Shi’a says: ‘Fire of Hell is prohibited for all the Shi’a except a few’. This is exactly similar to the claim of the Jews that they will not be subjected to the Fire of Hell except for a short period.3

Traces of Christianity are also found in Shi’a Islam, for they say: “The relationship of Imam with Allah is the same as that of Christ!”. They also say: “The spiritual and the physical worlds are united in the person of Imam. Moreover, the chain of prophethood is never broken and prophethood shall remain in the world forever. Whoever is united with the spiritual world is a Prophet”.

They believe in the transmigration of soul4, incarnation of Allah5 as well as penetration6.

These were some extracts from Ahmad Amin’s book Fajr al-Islam.

Of course, if the considerations of safeguarding the unity of Muslims and fear of pollution of the clear water of the fountain of love were not taken care of and kindling of fire of grudge and enmity had not been apprehended and if the well-known proverb, “How can one who eats palm dates stop others from doing so” had not become applicable to us, we would have made known to Ahmad Amin as to who are these people who wish to pull down the foundation of Islam and unity of Muslims and destroy their superiority and grandeur by fabricating truth and realities.

Did They Wish To Destroy Islam?

Of course, we would like to ask this writer which group of the Shi’a wished to destroy the foundation of Islam. Did they belong to the Shi’a who were the companions of the Holy Prophet like: Salaman al-Muhammadi (al-Farsi), Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Miqdad Ibn Aswad, Ammar Ibn Yasir, Khuzayma Zush Shahadatayn, Abi Tayhan, Huzayfa Ibn al-Yamin, Zubayr, Fadhl Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Hashim Ibn Utba Marqal, Abu Ayyu b Ansari, Aban Ibn Sa’id Ibn al-As, Khalid Ibn Sa’id (both of whom were Umayyads), Abi Ibn Ka’b (famous reciter of the Holy Qur’an), Anas Ibn Harith Ibn Nabiyah (who had heard the Holy Prophet saying: “My son Husayn will be martyred in a land named Karbala. Anyone of you who is present, should not lag behind in helping him?”. Hence, he joined Imam Husayn and met martyrdom).

For further information reference may be made to the books entitled al-Isabah and Isti’ab which are the most authentic biographies of the Companions of the Holy Prophet, written by Sunni scholars.

If we wish to count the Shi’a who were companions of the Holy Prophet and undertaken discussion for proving their Shi’a Islam, we will need to write a voluminous book. Fortunately, however, the Shi’a scholars have absolved us of this responsibility and have written very excellent books on the subject like al-Darajat al-Rafi’ah fi Tabaqat al-Shi’a written by the Late Sayyid ‘Ali Khan (author of many other valuable books like Taraz al-Lughat which is one of the best books written on Arabic Lexicon).

Although, while mentioning the groups of the Shi’a, he has named only the famous companions of the Holy Prophet (besides those belonging to Bani Hashim like Hamzah, Ja’far, Aqil etc.) most of them are those already mentioned by us. The following are besides them: Uthman Ibn Hunayf, Sahl Ibn Hunayf, Abu Sa’id Khadari, Qays Ibn Sa’d Ibn Ubada (whose father was Chief of the Ansars), Burayd, Bara Ibn Malik, Khabbab Ibn Aratt, Rafa’h Ibn Malik Ansari, Abu al-Tufayl Amir Ibn Waylah, Hind Ibn Abi Hala, Jo’da Ibn Hubayra Makhzumi, Umm Hani, Bilal Ibn Rabah (Mu’azzin of the Holy Prophet). Most of them are the people who have been mentioned by him in this book.

I recollect to have added up names of all those people who are considered to be Shi’a (from books on the lives of the companions like al-Isabah, Usd al-Ghabah, Isti’ab etc.) and found that there were about 3000 distinguished companions of the Holy Prophet who were considered to be the supporters and devoted friends of Imam ‘Ali.

We are not aware whether it was this group consisting of distinguished companions of the Holy Prophet who wanted to uproot the foundation of Islam or it was the Commander of the Faithful Imam ‘Ali himself who wanted to do so and about whom all admit that but for his sacrifices and bravery in the battlefields of Badr, Uhud, Ahzab etc. the branches of the tree of Islam would not have become strong and would not have bone fruit so much so that it has been said about his sacrifices that he founded and built up the citadel of Islam and had his sword not been there this stronghold would never have been accomplished.

Yes, if his sacrifices before and after the Migration of the Holy Prophet had not been there and similarly, if the support and assistance of his revered father Abu Talib had not been. rendered in Makkah, the group of Quraysh and the rapacious wolves of Arabia would have devoured Islam and none of its signs would have been visible today. But how grateful the Muslims have been! They gave a strange reward to Abu Talib for all his sacrifices. They declared that Abu Talib never embraced Islam and departed from this world as an infidel.

On the other hand, there was Abu Sufyan who kindled the fire of war. It was this man who was the instigator and chief organiser of enemy preparations against the Holy Prophet and Islam. And when he had to submit to the formidable strength of Islam, he embraced Islam under compulsion and with great unwillingness and even after that he never refrained from displaying his infidelity or enmity to Islam. It was he who said after the transfer of caliphate to the Umayyads (from the time of Uthman onwards), “O Bani Umayyah! Take caliphate like a ball!”

Yes, this very Abu Sufyan (with all these pros and cons) has, according to their belief, left the world as a Muslim whereas the ardent supporter of Islam Abu Talib died as a non-Muslim and an infidel! On the contrary Abu Talib had embraced Islam by saying: “I have realised it finally that the religion of Muhammad is the best religion in the world”.

Is Abu Talib such a weak-minded and thoughtless person that while knowing for certain that the religion of Prophet Muhammad is the best religion, he should not follow it and should fear the people? No. Not at all! Was he not the chief of ‘Batha’ and patriarch of Quraysh?7

Now we leave aside the story of Abu Talib and his faith and revert to the real subject, namely, the people who wanted to pull down the foundation of Islam. Were they the distinguished companions of the Holy Prophet who wished to destroy the foundation of this religion or the group of people who came after them (i.e. Tabi’in)8 consisting of trusted personalities like: Ahnaf Ibn Qays, Suwayd Ibn Ghaflah, Atiya Awfi, Hakam Ibn Utaybah, Salim Ibn Abi Ja’d, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Ja’d, Hasan Ibn Saleh, Sa’id Ibn Jubayr, Sa’id Ibn Musayyab, Asbagh Ibn Nabatah, Sulayman Ibn Mahran A’mash, Yahya Ibn Ya’mar Udwani (contemporary of Hajjaj) and many more whose names alongwith proof of their being Shi’a will make the statement quite lengthy.

The Founders Of Islamic Teachings

Did this group of famous Tabi’in who were all Shi’a wish to destroy the foundation of Islam or was it another group of Tabi’in or were other people who appeared after them? They were indeed the same distinguished people who were the founders of Islamic teaching and who had laid the foundation of different branches of knowledge with their untiring efforts, e.g. Abu al-Aswad Du ‘ayli, founder of Syntax, Khalil Ibn Ahmad Farahidi, founder of Lexicon and Prosody, Abu Muslim Mu’az Ibn Muslim Hara ‘, founder of conjugation. He is the same person whose identity as a Shi’a has been established by As-Suyyuti in vol. II, of al-Muzhar as well as by others.

Ya’qub Ibn Sukayt, the master and the forerunner of Arabic Literature.

Similarly, the founders of Tafsir (Exegesis) like Abdullah Ibn Abbas, the famous scholar of Islamic teaching whose place is among the vanguard of exegetes and whose identity as Shi’a is as evident as daylight. Jabir Ibn Abdullah Ansari, Abi Ibn Ka’b, Sa’id Ibn Jubayr, Sa’id Ibn Musayyab. Muhammad Ibn Amr Waqidi was the first scholar, according to Ibn Nadim and many others, who collected different branches of Qur’anic teaching and was one of the supporters of Imam ‘Ali. The name of his Tafsir is al-Raghib.

Similarly, the founder of Hadith, Abu Rife’ (the servant of the Holy Prophet) and author of the book al-Ahkam vas Sunan al-Qazaya was one of the closest friends of Imam ‘Ali and was his Treasurer in Kufa. After Abu Rafe’, his sons ‘Ali Ibn Abi Rafe’ the Special Secretary of Imam ‘Ali and Ubaydullah Ibn Abi Rafe’ followed their father and accomplished his task. The former is the first person after his father who wrote a book on Jurisprudence and the latter on History and Islamic Monuments.

Similarly, the founder of the branch of teaching called Kalam and Aqa ‘id (scholastic theology and beliefs) and the first person who wrote on this subject was Abu Hashim son of Muhammad Ibn Hanafiyah who wrote an interesting book on the subject. Then came Isa Ibn Rawza Tabi’i who was alive at the time of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir. Contrary to what has been assumed by As-Suyyuti, these two Shi’a scholars preceded Wasil Ibn ‘Ata and Abu Hanifa in this branch of knowledge.

After these two scholars other distinguished Shi’a personalities also trod this field, e.g. Qays al-Masir, Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ahwal whom we call Mumin Taq whereas the opponents had given him the title of Shaitan Taq.

Hisham Ibn Hakam

The Nawbakht family was a noble and learned progeny, which kept the lamp of knowledge and teaching kindled for more than a hundred years and handed down to posterity very valuable writings like Fasul Yiqut etc. A number of these distinguished people e.g. Hisham Ibn Hakam, Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ahwal and Qays al-Masir as well as their disciples like Abu Ja’far Baghdadi Sakkak, Abu Malik al-Zahhak al-Hazrami, Hisham Ibn Salim, Yunus Ibn Ya’qub and many others like them created a headache for the materialists and scholars of other schools of Islamic thought with their penetrating and forceful logic and defeated and cornered them especially in the narrow lane of argument with regard to the Oneness of Allah and Imamate and made them helpless before their own strong logic so much so that if the conversations and debates of each of these distinguished men (especially Hisham Ibn Hakam) with other scholars on different religious matters (which are unfortunately scattered in different books) are compiled, a volume worthy of attention will become available.

Similarly, if we wish to collect the names of all Shi’a philosophers9 and Ulama’ of scholastic theology and explain their activities in the field of teaching, a number of volumes will be compiled.

Now we ask the writer of Fajr al-Islam, did these great men want to demolish the foundation of Islam or were they the compilers of the history of Islam and who collected material about the life of the Holy Prophet, his miracles and the battles as well as the pious attributes of that great leader of the world of Islam and who portrayed an attractive and lively image of him and handed it down to the Muslims? Are you aware that the first person from among the Muslim scholars who undertook this important task, was Aban Ibn Uthman al-Ahmar Tabi’i (d. 140 A.H.) and who is said to be a companion of Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq and whose method was followed after him by Hisham Ibn Muhammad Ibn Sa’ib Kalbi, Muhammad Ibn Ishaq Muttalabi and Abu Makhnaf Azdi? It may generally be said that all people after them who have written books on this subject have benefited from the reservoir of their knowledge and wisdom. It is an admitted fact that all these scholars who were the founders of the various branches of teaching entitled History of Islam and Attributes of the Holy Prophet, were the Shi’a scholars.

After them the great historians of Islam and distinguished personalities in this field who succeeded the aforesaid group were also Shi’a like Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khalid Al-Barqi (author of al-Mahasin), Nasr Ibn Muzahim Manqari, Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Sa’d Thaqafi, Abdul Aziz Jaludi Basri Imami, Ahmad Ibn Ya’qub alias Ya’qubi whose famous book on history has been published in Najaf al-Ashraf as well as in Europe; Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Abu Abdillah Hakim alias Ibn al-Fee’; Mas’udi the renowned author of Muruj uz-Zahab. Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Tabataba’i, the author of the book al-Adab al-Sultaniyah. And many others whose particulars it is not possible to recount.

The Best Poets Of Islam

Here too we find that the Shi’a poets are more distinguished and more well-known than others and their works are considered to be the best in Islamic poetry. In fact, the poets of Islam are divided into different groups:

I) The Companions

The distinguished personalities belonging to this group were all Shi’a. In the first category may be mentioned the name of Nabegha Ju’di who accompanied the Commander of the Faithful Imam ‘Ali in the Battle of Siffin and has left as his memorial a number of epic verses recited by him during that battle.

Similarly, Urwa Ibn Zayd who was with Imam ‘Ali at Siffin10. Labid Ibn Rabi’ah Amiri about whom a number of scholars have stated that he was a Shi’a.

Abu Tufayl Amir Ibn Wa’ila, Abu al-Aswad Dua’li, Ka’b Ibn Zuhayr, author of the well-known laudatory poem Bi-Anta Sa’ad and many others.

II) Contemporary Poets Of Tabi’in

Like, Farazdaq, Kumayt, Kathir, Sayyid Himyari, Qays Ibn Zarih etc.

III) Group Of Later Poets

These were the poets who lived during the 2nd century Hegira like De’bal Khuza’i, Abu Nuvas, Abu Tamam, Bahteri, Abd us-Salam (Deekul Jinn), Abu Shith, Husayn Ibn Zahhak, Ibn Rumi, Mansur Nimri, Ashja’ Aslami, Muhammad Ibn Wahib and Sari’ul Ghawani.

In short, most of the poets during the Abbasid rule in the 2nd and the 3rd centuries after Hegira except Marwan Ibn Abi Hafsa and his sons, were all Shi’a.

IV) The Poets Who Flourished In The 4th Century

Mutanabbi Gharb (Ibn Hani Andlusi); Ibn Ta’awizi, Husayn Ibn Hajjaj author of al-Majun, Mahyar Daylami, Amir ush-Shu’ra, Abu Faras Hamadani (about whom it is said that poetry commenced and ended with him), Kashajim, Nashi Saghir, Nashi Kabir, Abu Bakr Khawarzam Badi’ Hamadani, Tughrai, Ja’far Shams al-Khilafa, Sara al-Rifa’, Imarat al-Yumna, Wadai, Khubz Arzi, Zahi, Ibn Busam Baghdadi, Sibt Ibn Ta’awizi, Salami and Nami.

In short most of the poets whose names and works have been mentioned in the four volumes of the book entitled Yatimat uth-Tha’labi were Shi’a.

To such an extent is the popularity and genius of the Shi’a poets that the question is asked among literary circles: “Is it possible to find a non-Shi’a literary man or poet”? And, when it is desired to exaggerate the elegance and beauty of a poetic verse it is said that it has been com­ posed in accordance with the Shi’a style11 so much so that some scholars consider Mutanabbi and Abu al-A’la to have been Shi’a and it is possible that some of their poetic verses may bear testimony to this assertion.

Besides the people mentioned above, we observe that there are certain other Shi’a poets who either belonged to Quraysh like Fadhl Ibn Abbas Ibn Utba whose life history has been recorded in Aghani, and Abu Dehb al-Jamhi and Wahb Ibn Rabi’ah or they were Alavi like Sayyid Razi and Sayyid Murtadha who are considered to be great Shi’a saints and as well as Sharif Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Hamani son of Muhammad Ibn J a’far Ibn Muhammad Sharif Ibn Zayd Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Husayn whose entire family consisted of poets, for Hamani has been quoted as saying “I am a poet. My father was a poet and my grandfather was also a poet”.

To the group of Alavi poets also belonged Muhammad Ibn Saleh Alavi whose particulars have been given in the book Aghani as an appendix to a piece of his five verses. Similarly, there was. Sharif Ibn Shajari and many other Alavi poets12.

It also deserves notice that some Shi’a are found among Umayyad poets as well like Abdur Rahman Ibn Hakam brother of Marwan Ibn Hakam, Khalid Ibn Sa’id Ibn As and Marwan Ibn Muhammaq Sarwaji Umavi about whom I remember that Zamakhshari has mentioned him in his book Rabi’ Al-Abrar by the name of Marwan Ibn Muhammad Sarwaji Umavi Shi’i. A few of the poetic verses quoted from him are as under:

O Bani Hashim! I belong to you at all places and in all circumstances!

You are the chosen ones of Allah! Ja’far al-Tayyar is one of you!

The Commander of the Faithful Imam ‘Ali and Hamzah the Lions of Allah as well as the distinguished Lady of Islam Fatimah Zahra, daughter of the Holy Prophet and her two sons Imam Al-Hasan and Imam Husayn belong to you!

Even though I am one of the Umayyads yet I hate them in the presence of Allah!

The same is the case with Abu al-Faraj Isfahani, author of the well-known book Aghani as well as Maqatil at-Talibin and Abi Wardi Umavi, the famous poet and author of Najdiyat wa Iraqiyat and many others.

I remember that previously, when I was conducting research on Islamic books I came across the names of a number of people of the Umayyad family who were Shi’a. For the present, however, it is not possible for me to mention the names of all of them here.

Muslim Rulers And Statesmen

We now cross over this stage and have a look at the statesmen, the great amirs, writers and famous ministers. Among them we find distinguished personalities who were all Shi’a or pretended to be Shi’a like the Fatimids of Egypt, Aali Buya, Hamadanis, Bani Mazid, Imran Ibn Shaheen, Amir al-Bati-eh, Muqallid Ibn Musayyab Uqayli and Qarwash Ibn Musayyab.

Many of the big Abbasid Caliphs also pretended themselves to be Shi’a like Mamun, Muntasar, Mo’tazid Ahmad Ibn Muwaffaq and Similarly, al-Nasir Ahmad Ibn Mustaz’i who is more famous than others for posting himself as Shi’a. His poetic verses and the good relations which he had with the famous ruler ‘Ali Ibn Yusuf Salahuddin Ayyubi clearly indicate exaggerated Shi’a belief of both of them which are well-known.

Similar is the case of al-Mustansar and Dhu ‘l-Qarnayn al-Taghlabi Wajihud Dowla Abi Muta’ and Tamim Ibn Mu’azin Badis, Sultan of Africa and Morocco and many others, the mentioning of whose names only will make a lengthy list, not to speak of their biographies.

Again, if we make a study with regard to the great ministers of Islam, we find that all or most of them were Shi’a like Ishaq Katib. And perhaps he was the first person in Islam before the establishment of the rule of Abbasids, who was given the title of “Minister”.

Then comes Abu Salama Khalal Hafs Ibn Sulayman Hamadani Kufi. He was the first person whom Saffah, the first Abbasid Caliph, selected as his minister because he was a wise and efficient man. The Caliph entrusted the entire affairs to him and gave him the title of Wazir Aali Muhammad (Minister of the Progeny of Muhammad). However, when Saffah found that he had much more inclination towards the Family of Imam ‘Ali than towards Abbasids he sentenced him to death.

Similar was the case with Abu Abdillah Ya’qub Ibn Dawud, the Minister of Abbasid Caliph Mahdi. The Caliph had entrusted all his affairs to Ya’qu b, so much so that some poets extolled him as under:

“O Umayyads! Let your minds rest in peace, for the Caliph is Ya’qub Ibn Dawud and not the Abbasid Mahdi”. However, at last Mahdi too put him in jail for his strong inclination towards the Shi’a faith and he remained behind the bars till Harun Rashid set him free.

The famous Shi’a families which rose to the position of Ministership were Bani Naubakht and Bani Sabal e.g. Fadhl Ibn Sahal and Hasan Ibn Sahal. Similar is the case with Bani Furat as for example Hasan Ibn ‘Ali became the minister of al-Muqtadir, the Abbasid Caliph, thrice, and Abu al-Fadhl Ja’far and Abu al-Fatah Fadhl Ibn ja’far also attained that position.

The family of Bani ‘Amid also attained that position, Muhammad Ibn Husayn Ibn Amid and his son Abu al-Fatah ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad known as Zulki Foyatain held the office of minister in the court of Ruknud Dawlah.

Similarly, Bani Tahir Khuza’i who were the ministers of Mamun and other Abbasid Caliph and Hasan Ibn Hamn Mohlabi, Abu Dalaf Ajli, Sahih Ibn Ubad, the political genius Abu al-Qasim Maghribi, the champion of the field of politics and the founder of the Government of Fatimids, Abu Abdillah Husayn Ibn Zikariya alias Shi’i, Ibrahim Ibn Abbas Sauli, the famous scribe of the court of Mutawakkil, Talaye’ Ibn Razik who was one of the famous ministers of Fatimids, Afzal the Commander-in-Chief of Egyptian forces and his sons, Abu al-Hasan Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Fatir, Abu al-Mu’ali Hibtullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muttalib, Minister of al-Mustazhar and Mu’ayaduddin Muhammad Ibn Abdul Karim Qummi who was a descendent of Miqdad became Minister of al-Nasir, then of al-Zahir and thereafter of al-Mustansir, all of whom were Abbasid Caliphs. Similarly, Hasan Ibn Sulayman (who was a great scribe of the Baramaka and was addressed by the title of Shi’a as stated in the book al-Awraq), Yahya Ibn Salimah·Hasfaki, Ibn Nadim, (author of al-Fihrist) Abu Ja’far Ahmad Ibn Yusuf and his brother Abu Muhammad Qasim (who wrote beautiful and exciting eulogy and elegy to pay homage to the Ahl al-Bayt, which may be seen in the book al-Awraq compiled by Sauli) were also Shi’a. These two brothers were well­ known scribes who had a long record of service during the period of Mamun.

Similarly, Ibrahim Ibn Yusuf and his sons and the great scholars of Arabic literature Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Imran Marzbani author of the book al-Mu’ajam about whom Sam’ani and others have clearly stated that he was a Shi’a and a Mu’tazili13.

There are many other such people whose exact number is difficult to be counted. As a matter of fact, if we wish to make a list of all statesmen, and other Shi’a dignitaries who acquired distinction by dint of their knowledge, wisdom and writings and thus rendered a great service to the world of Islam, we will stand in need of compiling a number of books on the subject.

Incidentally, my late father (May Allah grant him peace) compiled a book entitled “al-Husoon al-Mani’ah fi Tabaqit ash-Shi’a” on the lives of thirty groups out of the various groups of Shi’a such as scholars, philosophers, statesmen, ministers, physicians, astronomers etc., and compiled ten big volumes of notes in this field. Unfortunately, these notes are still in their original shape and only a small portion of this vast subject has so far been gone through.

Here we may ask Ahmad Amin, the fanatical writer of the book Fajr al-Islam: If these distinguished Shi’a personalities whose names have been mentioned here and these revered people who brought different branches of Islamic teaching into being and founded Islamic knowledge were the very people who wanted to destroy the foundation of Islam and you, your teachers and your friends made the foundation of Islam strong, would it not then be appropriate to consider Islam to be dead and say good-bye to it forever?

It is here that we should recite the well­ known poetic verses of the Saint of Mu’arra14.

1 hope that the contemporary writers as well as those who will follow will reflect, while writing, as to what they are saying and what they are writing and will not write down anything without proper research (they should know that critical and’ investigating pens are in their pursuit which will study, analyse and split whatever they have said and will examine every word of it).

What an excellent thing the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali, has said: “The tongue of a wise man is at the back of his heart [he reflects first and then speaks], but the heart of a fool is under his tongue [he speaks first and then thinks about the matter]”.

Unjustified Calumnies

Now we make another portion of the writing of Ahmad Amin, the subject of our study. He says: The Jewish faith has appeared in Shi’a Islam by way of belief in the concept of Raj’ah (the Return) which is one of the basic principles of Shi’a Islam so much so that it could serve as an objection to this faith and could be said that Judaism has appeared in Shi’a faith by way of belief in the concept of the ‘Return’. Is it.not proper for a person whose knowledge of a religion is so superficial, to keep quiet? In Arabic there is a proverb: “Leave the work which you cannot accomplish”.

To make the point clearer, it may be said that although the concept of the Return is considered to be a part of belief, still belief in it is neither obligatory nor refusal to believe in it is prohibited. In other words, Shi’a Islam does not depend on it from the point of view of its existence or non-existence15.

In fact, the concept of Return is like foretellings of the leaders of Islam about future happenings in the world like the Resurrection of Christ, the appearance of the Impostor (Dajjal), the rising of Sufyani and other similar propositions which are well-known among all sects of Muslims. They are neither a part of our basic principles nor does denial thereof entail expulsion from the religion, just as belief in these things alone is not a proof of one’s having accepted Islam.

The concept of the Return in Shi’a Islam is exactly as mentioned above. Furthermore, even if we suppose for argument’s sake that belief in the concept of Return is a principle of the Shi’a faith, does similarity of belief with Jews in only one aspect, justify our saying that Judaism has manifested itself in Shi’a faith? This will be exactly like saying that Judaism has manifested itself in Islam, because Jews believe in monotheism and so ·do Muslims. Would it not be a baseless logic and an erroneous and unfounded inference?

Besides all this what a good thing it would have been if these people who have criticised the Shi’a in the past and continue to criticise them during the present times with reference to the concept of the Return had known the meaning of the Return they would have understood as to what the Shi’a meant about it!

Is it impossible for Almighty Allah to bring a number of people to life. after their death and once again provide them the physical shape? Can any Muslim deny such a possibility notwithstanding the fact that the Holy Qur’an has clearly quoted examples thereof? Have these critics not studied the narrative regarding a group of Israelities in the Holy Qur’an, when it says:

“Have you not considered the thousands who left their homes for fear of death, who were then caused by Allah to die and brought back to life? Allah is generous to mankind but most of the people are ungrateful” (2:243).16

Again, have they not read the verse:

“On that day We shall gather one group of people from every nation and again bring them to life” (27:83).

Is the day referred to in the verse the Day of Judgement? Certainly not, because on that day all the people will not be gathered at one place and instead only a group from every nation will be gathered.

However, it is a matter of great regret that belief in the Return and criticism thereof has been used as a pretext by a group of Sunni Ulama’ from the early days of Islam to the present day. Consequently, when their writers of books on Rijal (biographies of the narrators of traditions) narrate something through Shi’a scholars and narrators and do not find any weak point in it from the point of view of its correctness they say: “But he believed in the concept of the Return, as if they wanted to say: “It is regrettable that he was an idolater and had accepted someone to be a partner of Allah! The story of Mu’min Taq and Abu Hanifah in this context is well-known”.

In any case, it is not my intention to defend this belief (Return) here or anywhere. else, because in my opinion this matter is too trifle to deserve such discussion. In my view this discussion is not worth the edge of a nail. On the other hand, my desire is to acquaint Ahmad Amin with his gross error and his unjustified attack.

Strange Calumny

Another baseless thing imputed to the Shi’a is that they believe the fire of Hell to be prohibited for the Shi’a except to a very small number. I do not know where he has come across this assertion. Is it proper that a person who undertakes discussion and analysis of beliefs and religions, should attribute something so evil and improper to a community without any proof or documentary evidence? Can a research scholar adopt such a wrong method?

Has this reality not been declared aloud in Shi’a books that Allah has created Paradise for the obedient people even though they may be Ethiopian slaves and He has created Hell for the disobedient ones have also been quoted from the Holy Imams.

If the writer means intercession by the Holy Prophet or the Imams (peace be on them) for certain sinners, this is an entirely different topic which will be dealt with at its appropriate place. The question of “intercession” is, in brevity, one of the necessities of Islam and all sects of Muslims believe in it17.

Leaving this matter aside we repeat our previous words and say that even if it may be supposed that the Shi’a have such a belief about the sinners among them and the Jews too have a similar belief about the followers of Judaism, does this similarity of belief justify anyone saying that Shi’a Islam is deduced from Judaism or that the religion of the Jews has manifested itself in the religion of the Shi’a? Can any wise person say that Abu Hanifah obtained his Fiqab (religious jurisprudence) from the Magi because in certain matters like marriage their views tally and especially because he is of Iranian descent? Will these baseless things leave any impression other than that of kindling the fire of hatred and enmity among different sects of Muslims?

Thereafter, Ahmad Amin adds: “Christian faith has also manifested itself in the Shi’ites because some Shi’a believe that the relationship of Imam with Allah is the same as that of Jesus with Allah”.

If Ahmad Amin, the author of Fajr al-Islam, wished to observe basic honesty, he should have made his object clear and should not have said irrelevant and “illogical things. He should have stated clearly as to which Shi’a professes such a belief about Imam and in which book this proposition is recorded. If he means those sects which are called the Ghulat like the Khitabiyah, Gharabiyah, Ala’iyah, Mukhammasa, Bazi’iyah and the like which have now fortunately become extinct. It may be said that it is a great injustice to style them as Shi’a because they are for all purposes akin with the sect of Qaramata and similar other sects who, in fact, are not bound with any religion. The Imamiya Shi’a and their Imams (peace be on all of them) totally dissociate themselves from these sects.

Moreover, the said sects do not also have the same type of belief in the Imam as professed by Shi’a Imamiya. On the other hand, their belief and their perversion may be summarised in these words: “Imam is Allah or he has united himself with Him or has penetrated into Him”. Many Sufis like Hallaj, Gilani, Rafa’i and Badawi are also said to have uttered similar remarks (and according to their own interpretations). Their words would rather give the apparent impression that they claim for themselves a position higher than Divinity itself (if such a position be possible). Similar nonsense and baseless remarks have also been quoted from those who believe in Wahdat al-Wujud (Pantheism) to Wahdat al-Mawjud. (Unity of the Creator and Creation).

However, Shi’a Imamiya i.e. people consisting of the majority of the population of Iran and millions of Muslims of Pakistan and India and hundreds of thousands of the inhabitants of Syria and Afghanistan and other places hate such beliefs and consider them to be the worst type of blasphemy and perversion. They do not believe in anything stated above except pure Oneness of Allah and His having no resemblance with anyone of the creation.

They consider Allah to be free from the attributes of the creatures (like possibility, change and occurrence) as well as from whatever contradicts His Pre-Existence and Eternity. And their books (especially on Philosophy and Scholastic Theology) are replete with such discussions, most common of these books being brief ones like Tajrid and detailed ones like Asfar and thousands of other books, a good many of which have fortunately been printed. In these books abundant cogent arguments in contradiction of Transmigration of Soul, Unity of the Creator and the Creation, Penetration and Incarnation can be observed and if a study thereof is made in a must and unbiased manner the worth of these unjustified and baseless imputations which the storms of modern changes have driven towards us will become absolutely clear and it will become known that we have never believed in Transmigration of Soul, Penetration, Unity of the Creator and the Creation or Incarnation and no one who seeks reality and is well­ informed can impute such unreasonable things to us.

In short, if Ahmad Amin meant by Shi’a those sects which are now extinct and were absolute strangers to Islam and of whose followers there is no trace in the entire world, it is possible that we may agree that they did have such beliefs. But what have they to do with Shi’a Imamiya and the followers of this faith? Is such an imposition not an open injustice and a grave error?

If, in fact, by the word Shi’a he meant this well-known and big community which consists of millions of Muslims of the world he has been guilty of a great and unpardonable offence and we would like to demand proof from him. We call upon him to produce testimony in support of his statement from any of the books written by Shi’a scholars, either in the past or during the present times.

However, it is evident from this entire discussion that whatever has been said in Fajr al-Islam about Shi’a is baseless and all the claims of its author are without any documentary evidence or proof.

We do not wish to analyse the book Fajr al-Islam in its entirety and explain all its weak and doubtful points and the erroneous and fallacious views of its author. We only wanted to present the attitude of contemporary writers and people who are usually considered to be scholars on matters relating to the Shi’a Faith.

When the writers and people commonly styled as scholars judge about the Shi’a in this manner what then could be expected of the common people?

The Source Of Adversities

We think that the source of all these adversities is the fact that for getting acquainted with Shi’a faith such people mostly rely on the words of Ibn Khaldun Barbari, the same Ibn Khaldun who, while sitting in the most far off point of Africa and Morocco wanted to pass a judgement on the Shi’a of Iraq who were living in the most far off place of the East. Or else they consider the sayings of Ibn Abdu Rabbih al-Andalusi to be their authority. And even if they make much more progress and wish to study and discuss matters relating to the Shi’a in a wider perspective, they refer to the writings of the orientalists like Prof. Wilhosen and Prof. Dozie and look for decisive proofs therein.

The thing which is not at all mentioned and none cares to think about is reference to the books of the Shi’a themselves, in spite of the fact that the matter under discussion is Shi’a and it is, therefore, necessary that in the first instance reference should be made to their books. However, when a Shi’a, whose belief rests on a firm foundation, observes such discussions of modern writers about himself he is reminded of the strange story which has been related by Raghib Isfahani in his famous book Muhaziriit on the following lines: Someone approached Ja’far Ibn Sulayman and said, “Such and such person is a heretic”.

Ja’far Ibn Sulayman asked: “What is the proof?” The man replied, “He is Khariji, Mu’tazili, Nasibi, Haruri, Jabri and Rafidhi. He abuses ‘Ali Ibn al-Khattab, Umar Ibn ‘Ali Quhafa, Uthman Ibn Abi Talib and Abu Bakr Ibn Affan, and uses unbecoming words about Hajjaj who destroyed Kufa while fighting against Abu Sufyan and fought against Husayn Ibn Mu’awiyah on the day of Qati’if (as if he meant by this the day of Taff or the day of Ta’if). After hearing all this rigmarole, Ja’far Ibn Sulayman said: “May you die! I do not know for what I should envy you - for your enormous knowledge of genealogies or for your information about beliefs and religions!”

Abdullah Ibn Saba

Now, in regards to Abdullah Ibn Saba who is aligned to the Shi’a or the Shi’a are aligned to him and who is supposed to be the founder of the Shi’a Faith. The best way of finding out the views of the Shi’a about him is to refer to the books of Shi’a. We find that in all such books, without any exception whatsoever, the Shi’a have cursed him and dissociated themselves from him. The least that has been said about him in the books of. biographies (Rijal) under the letter “Ain” and the writers have contented themselves with it instead of going into details is this sentence: Abdullah Ibn Saba is too accursed to be made the subject of discussion18

Besides what has been stated above, it is also not improbable that Abdullah Ibn Saba, Majnun Bani Amir, Abu Hilal and the like who are considered to be heroes of their respective stories, may also be a part of fables and fictions coined by the story writers in their fancy. Study of the history of Umayyads and Abbasids shows that people led a very luxurious life in their times. And it is quite natural that the more luxurious the life of the people is, the brisker becomes the bazaar of fiction, visionary writing and tell-tale, so that people who are brought up in luxury and are drowned in pleasure should take more interest in these pursuits19.

We think that the tales which Dr Taha Husayn and others like him have started narrating about the Holy Qur’an and Islam and the method which they have adopted in this age and the manner in which they wish to provide their sayings the dress of reality with speeches and melodies only are suited to the aforesaid visionary times and not to the present age which is the age of research of facts, principles of honesty and sincerity of purpose.

We have drifted away from our real subject. It was not our intention to discuss these issues. On the other hand, these words are only an introduction to the real theme. Keeping in view all these different factors of annoyance, calumnies, uncalled for sarcasm and sadness to which the Shi’a are subjected, it was necessary for us introduce a brief and condensed discussion about the beliefs and principles of Shi’a and on the important matters of secondary and which could be given the name of Shi’a Faith. And this is our real object.

Evidently, we cannot depend upon the beliefs of one or a few stray people in this matter, because such beliefs cannot be presented with the name of Shi’a Faith, especially because the door of Ijtihad has been and is still open. Thus, every scholar is entitled to express his view or give judgement by having recourse to reason if his view is respectable and is not opposed to the consensus of opinion of the ‘Ulama or clear commandments of the Holy Qur’an or authentic reports and traditions or exigencies of human intellect. Otherwise, such a view or judgement will be treated as opposed to Shi’a Faith in accordance with the rules and principles which need not be amplified here.

In short, our ultimate objective is threefold:

(i) To present the fundamentals of the Shi’a Faith;

(ii) To indicate its unanimity; and

(iii) To show the absence of any dispute about it.

It is evident that I myself will explain all these matters. However, it is beyond the scope of this treatise to quote documents and proof for each of them. Hence, study of detailed books written on the subject may please be undertaken.

The purpose is to introduce to all the sects of Muslims including the scholars and the laymen, the Shi’a and their beliefs, as they are, so that they (other sects of Muslims) may not do any more injustice to themselves and they may not impute baseless and false things to their brethren in-faith and not personify them in their eyes like hounds of the jungle or wild beasts of the hot deserts of Africa or man-eaters.

On the other hand, they should know that by the Grace of Allah the Shi’a are educated in the school of Islam and follow the sublime teachings of the Holy Qur’an and their share in faith and good morals is enormous. They do not depend upon anything except the Holy Qur’an, the tradition of the Holy Prophet and the decisive logical arguments.

It is possible that in the light of these explanations, the ignorant people may become informed, the negligent may stand warned, the aspirants and frivolous may desist from their exaggerations and the fanatics may cast away fanaticism and come nearer to their brethren.

It is, therefore, possible that in the wake of this warning and awakening and by creating mutual understanding, Allah may strengthen the bonds of unity among the Muslims so that they may assume the form of a strong column against their enemies and all should endeavour for the grandeur of Islam with one voice and one heart. The fulfilment of this desire of ours is not beyond the infinite Power of the Almighty20!

• 1. Not only libraries like the library of Allama Kashif Al-Ghita’ which then contained 5000 books and today their number exceeds 10,000 contain a majority of books of Sunni scholars but also private libraries maintained by Shi’a scholars, writers and speakers in their houses and study centres, contain mostly a large number of such books.
  And the thing more important than this is that in the majority of their discussions (and more commonly discussions relating to principles of Jurisprudence, scholastic theology and commentary on Qur’an) our scholars also quote the remarks of Sunni ‘Ulama’ and make them the subject of their discourses and unrestricted discussion.
  And in fact, their discussions are in the shape of “Simultaneous” and “Comparative” discussions i.e. not only in respect of Religious Jurisprudence but also with regard to all subjects of Islamic teaching, they put different beliefs and views along with relevant documents and arguments opposite one another and select the correct beliefs and views out of them.
  This method is the most excellent and useful one and has been adopted in modern times as well and put into practice in many branches of teaching including “Law”. In fact, “Unrestricted discussion” would be meaningless without adopting this method. But why should the Shi’a have adopted this method in their discussions when others refuse to do so?
  The reason for this, we believe, is that the Shi’a have faith in their logic and in the force of their arguments and consequently do not refuse to mention the views and arguments of others, whereas the restricted and unilateral method of discussion of others shows that they are doubtful of their ability to oppose the evidence available with the Shi’a notwithstanding the fact that the current of anti-Shi’a propaganda among them is so strong that it does not leave any possibility of their coming across fresh and notable views in Shi’a books but they are totally ignorant of the existence of such books.
  Whichever of the three possibilities there may be, it is a matter of great regret. Even if this method of discussion was acceptable in the past it stands rejected in the present age and is not considered reliable from the point of view of intensive scientific studies.
  We hope that our Sunni brethren will adopt the same method of discussion, in accordance with which we discuss their views, with courage and without any prejudice, in a completely learned and logical atmosphere and will not be afraid of unrestricted discussion. This method will not only render effective assistance for the unity of Muslims but will also open new horizons for theoretical questions.
• 2. Fajr al-Islam, p. 23.
• 3. In reference to the verse:
  “And they say: Fire shall not touch us but for a few days. Say: Have you received a promise from Allah, then Allah will not fail to perform His promise, or do you speak against Allah what you do not know?” (2:80).
• 4. Transmigration of the Soul means that after the death of a person his soul immediately migrates into the body of another person or an animal or grass or inanimate things. The two well-known conditions of migration of soul are, however, its migration into the body of a person or an animal. Some philosophers (like Mulla Sadra Shirazi) have given separate names to the four conditions of Tanasukh al-Arwah (transmigration of soul). If transmigration takes place into a human body, they call it Naskh. If it takes place into the body of an animal, they call it Maskb. If it takes place into the body of grass, it is called Faskh. If this action takes place into inanimate things, it is called Raskh.
  According to the philosophers and scholars, transmigration of soul is an erroneous concept and a large number of arguments have been advanced against it in the books of philosophy and scholastic theology. (al-Asfar and Sharh at-Tajrid)
• 5. Belief in the Incarnation of Allah (namely, Allah possesses body) is one of the most ridiculous beliefs which cropped up in a small group of Muslims in imitation of old nonsensical religions. This small group is called Mujassamah or Mushabbah. They believe that Allah has a body along with ears, eyes, hands, feet etc.
• 6. There have been people who believed that it is possible that Allah may penetrate into a human body. They were called Holuliya and a good many sects of theirs have been mentioned in books of history of nation’s namely, Khitabiyah, Sabaiyah, Hallajiyah, Mughayriyah, Azafirah etc.
  Fortunately, their traces are not to be found any longer. Utterances of some of the sects of Sufis convey the concept of Penetration. In any case there is no doubt that this belief too is a part of the ridiculous beliefs and irrefutable arguments about the attributes of Allah prove the falsity of such beliefs.
• 7. This fact has to be made known with deep regret that all people who had in any way contact with Imam ‘Ali, had to encounter the venomous propaganda of the Umayyads the signs of which are still visible in some books of the Sunnis. It was not only Abu Talib the kind and revered father of Imam ‘Ali and the great supporter of Islam and of the Holy Prophet who became victim of this incessant vituperations. Even Abu Dharr, Ammar, Qambar etc. were not spared! To know the pure faith of Abu Talib, the supporter of Islam, refer to Abu Talib Mu’min al-Quraysh and al-Ghadir (vol. VII) and study a number of interesting documents of different schools of thought of Sunnis quoted therein.
• 8. Tabi’in were the people who did not see the Holy Prophet and were usually the disciples of his companions.
• 9. See: Falasafat ush-Shi’a by Allama Shaykh Abdullah Na’imah (Beirut).
• 10. Refer to Aghani.
• 11. See: al-Muraji’at al-Rayhaniya which is one of the valuable works of late Allama Kashif Al-Ghita’.
• 12. For details refer to “Nasmat us-Sahr fi mun Tashayyu’ wa Sha’r” compiled by Sharif Yamani.
• 13. Of course, “Shi’a Islam” in its own particular meaning is a faith totally different from “Mu’tazila”. To understand this fact, it is quite sufficient to point out that Shi’a consider “Imamate” (Leadership) and succession (Caliphate) to the Prophet of Islam to be publicly announced by the Holy Prophet and is acknowledged by authentic sources, whereas the “Mu’tazila” believe as a matter of principle that the Holy Prophet did not nominate any successor. However, as the Shi’a and Mu’tazila faiths have many things in common, many Shi’a in the past times acted for certain consideration as “Mu’tazila” like Yahya Ibn Zayd Alavi from whom Ibn Abu ‘l-Hadid (famous Sunni historian and research scholar) has quoted many valuable theoretical investigations (Kashif Al-Ghita’).
• 14. By the Saint of Mu’arra is meant Abu al-Ala Mu’arri who was born in a small town of Mu’arra in Syria (which possesses a very healthy climate and where he is also buried). The poetic verses mentioned below are part of his famous panegyric contained in Saqt al-Zand, p. 533, of his works as well as in other books. Hereunder we quote the verses under reference as well as some other attractive verses of the panegyric in question:
  “When Marid, the well-known miser of Arabia, accuses Hatim Ta’i of miserliness.
  And when Baqil, whose foolishness and dumbness are proverbial, rebukes Qays Ibn Sa’ida Ayadi, the saint and the great orator for ignorance and debility.
  And when the small star ‘Saha’ on account of its smallness people test their eyesight, tells the bright sun, ‘Alas! How hidden and dark you are!’
  And when the darkness of night tells the bright morning, ‘How dark you are!’
  O death! Trace us out at such a time, because life in such an environment is sad and wearisome: And, O soul! leave the body soon for you are now being mocked”.
• 15. Though the Shi’a believe in the concept of Return yet it is not an integral part of their faith such as Justice, Imamate and other matters connected with the attributes of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams (peace be on them).
• 16. According to the exegetes this verse was revealed about a number of people belonging to Bani Israel who lived in a town called Dawardan in the vicinity of Iraq. When they were ordered for Jihad and their forces got ready to encounter the enemy, they scattered away on the pretext that the enemy land might be polluted with contagious disease and did not partake in the jihad. However, according to the Divine command they all perished and then again came to life after death. The exegetes have given their detailed account with reference to the said verse and this is one of the clear proofs of the concept of Raj’ah (Return).
• 17. In short, it cannot be believed that a Muslim who respects the Holy Qur’an should decline to accept the very basis of intercession. However, intercession has some limits and particular meanings and conditions which too cannot be denied in toto.
• 18. In this connection refer to the books on Rijal by Bu ‘Ali and other Shi’a writers.
• 19. Very interesting and wonderful research has recently been carried out by our scholars about Abdullah Ibn Saba (the same person who, in the books written against the Shi’a has been referred as the founder of the Shi’a Islam). What has been stated in this context by Allama Kashif Al-Ghita’ as a possibility and, with his enormous wisdom, can be mentioned as not improbable, is in fact a reality. Especially in a book entitled Abdullah Ibn Saba written recently by Allama Murtadha Al-’Askari (which has fortunately been translated into Urdu, English, and Persian as well).
  Justice has been done to the subject in a very competent manner and the veil has been removed from the ambiguous face of this mythical person who has been the real hero of the concocted tales written against the Shi’a during the span of the last thirteen centuries. In this book Allama Al-’Askari has, as a true researcher, adopted a correct method for showing the real face of this mythical personality. He has commenced his study with the well-known documents like Kamil Ibn Athir, Tarikh Ibn Khaldun, Tarikh Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Asakir and Zahabi and has endeavoured to find out the source of this fiction.
  After a complete research and study, he has found that it is now more than 1000 years that the historians have quoted the story of Abdullah Ibn Saba and his activities from a person named Sayf Ibn Umar. Many of them like Tabari have quoted from him directly and other writers of recent past and present have quoted this story from Tabari and other historians mentioned above.
  Thereafter, he has directed his research to the identification of Sayf Ibn Umar because all talks about Abdullah Ibn Saba culminate in him. As a result of this research, he has introduced Sayf Ibn Umar to us in the following terms in the light of clear documentary proof.
  Sayf Ibn Umar was a person who died after 170 A.H. and handed down two books namely al-Futuh wa al-Raddah and al-Jamal wa Masiru A’ishah wa ‘Ali.
  The study of the particulars of Sayf in books on biographies and of what has been written about him by scholars from 3rd century until 10th century Hijra shows that he was an impostor, a pretender, originator of mythical stories and a narrator of fake tradition and who was sometimes referred to as Sayf Ibn Umar Zindiq (Atheist).
  Study of his two books also confirms the fact that he possessed those qualities, because most of his narrations do not tally with any historical documents and have a perfect air of fiction.
  All the documentary evidence collected in this behalf goes to show that Sayf Ibn Umar created a number of fictitious figures and it is also not improbable that he was commissioned by someone to do so. One of these fictitious figures is the very Abdullah Ibn Saba. In this manner we find with the deepest regret that this man (Abdullah Ibn Saba) who has, for more than 1000 years, served as a pretext for propaganda against the Shi’a and who has been reported to be a Jew and the so-called founder of the Shi’a Islam has had in fact no real existence but actually was the brainchild of that and a evil genius named Sayf Ibn Umar!
  We invite the enlightened conscience of the Muslim sages for arbitration and ask: Is it proper that a religion whose root has been watered by the purest sources of inspiration namely, the Holy Progeny of the Holy Prophet should be subjected to such calumnies and unholy remarks may be passed against it on the authority of fictitious stories without any research or verification? Is this the justice to which the Holy Qur’an invites us to adhere to?
  And is this the meaning of the commandment which we have been given regarding acceptance of news?
  “Believers, if one who publicly commits sins brings you any news, verify it, lest you harm people through ignorance and then regret thereafter” (49:6).
  See: Abdullah Ibn Saba And Other Miths, Allama Murtadha Al-’Askari. Online at:
  https://www.al-islam.org/abdullah-ibn-saba-and-other-myths-sayyid-murtad...
• 20. However, as it is quite evident, only the publication of books cannot fill these gaps and convert our dispersion into unity and brotherhood. On the other hand, besides the publication of books, it is necessary to set up a chain of channels for the exchange of knowledge, to conduct special meetings for mutual contacts of scholars of both sides and for their discussions in cordial atmosphere of reconciliation and sincerity, to organise conferences for finding the solution of the Major problems of the Muslim world and, most important of all, to take full advantage of Hajj which is the greatest congregation of the Muslims of the world. This is so necessary that with Allah’s Grace, the inauspicious signs of dispersion, enmity and discord may gradually disappear from amongst the Muslims.