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My friends! You also free your mind from all other thoughts for a little while as much as you can and read without bias. It is possible that those aspects which I understand to be incorrect, baseless, against logic, beyond comprehension and in contradiction to the Qu’ran and hadith is not so in reality and even though I do not think that I am being bias but it has had an effect on my judgement.
When I study the pages of history, research specific religious books of the Shia, examine the efforts of Ibn Saba’, inspect the principles and beliefs invented by himself or by those who share his viewpoint after him, then I am convinced that it has all been created solely for the destruction of Islam. This is why one needs to study the Shia religion with a cool head and in a rational manner.
Now if any person presents any new belief before you, what method will you use to gauge its authenticity. It has to be a dependable and truthful source, which will satisfy and console the heart of any believer. I will inform you of a method of verifying the accuracy of any sect, and that is first you need to investigate the governing principles of that sect, then compare it to the verses of the Qu’ran. If it corresponds then that sect is correct and if it does not, then it is false and rejected. Is there any better way of differentiating between truth and falsehood then the Noble Qu’ran?
Another name of the Qu’ran is “Al Furqan”, which means the one that differentiates between truth and falsehood, the book that makes the differences apparent between the paths of success and damnation.
Allah Ta’ala says:
اَللهُ الَّذِیْۤ اَنْزَلَ الْکِتٰبَ بِالْحَقِّ وَ الْمِیْزَانَ
It is Allah Who revealed the Book (the Qu’ran) with the truth, as well as the scale (of justice).[1]
It is a separate matter altogether that you do not believe in the Noble Qu’ran, that you doubt it, believing in a portion and disbelieving in another. Whereas Allah Ta’ala explicitly states that it is the undoubted truth, wherein there is no doubt. One should have the relationship with the Qu’ran as expressed in these eloquent words mentioned by Sarmad. He says:
Sarmad your complaint must be brief
From this task you must obtain one of two things;
Your effort must be spent in the pleasure of Allah
or you should turn away from your friend
If you accept the Qu’ran then accept every letter to be true and if you disbelieve in it then abandon it entirely. Allah Ta’ala says:
اَفَتُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِبَعْضِ الْکِتٰبِ وَتَكْفُرُوْنَ بِبَعْضٍ ۚ فَمَا جَزَآءُ مَنْ یَّفْعَلُ ذٰلِکَ مِنْكُمْ اِلَّا خِزْیٌ فِی الْحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنْیَا ۚ وَیَوْمَ الْقِیٰمَۃِ یُرَدُّوْنَ اِلٰۤی اَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ
Do you believe in a part of the Book and reject a part? What else can be the punishment for those of you who perpetrate this besides disgrace in this worldly life and being subjected to the severest punishment on the Day of Qiyamah?[2]
We will only provide a few examples in each principle from the beliefs of the Shia, which should be gauged in accordance with the principle mentioned above.
The most important and fundamental belief in din is the belief regarding the being and qualities of Allah Ta’ala. All believe in Allah Ta’ala and it is rare to find any sect that denies the existence of Allah Ta’ala. The Muslim belief regarding Allah Ta’ala is that He is free from all faults and is perfect in all His attributes. It is an accepted principle that the aptitude and intellect of any nation is gauged by studying their perception of Allah. If a nations perception of Allah Ta’ala is superior and elevated then one can establish that nations mental capacity to be also of the highest calibre. However, if that nation has a demeaning or lesser perception of Allah Ta’ala then one can conclude that nation to have a very low mental capacity.
The Noble Qu’ran has taught us the correct perception of Allah Ta’ala but whoever will discard the Qu’ran, will stumble and fall far off the path of truth and will wander aimlessly in deviation.
We will only discuss Allah’s quality of Knowledge. Allah is All-Knowing and in this attribute too, He is perfect. He knows everything, what has transpired, what is happening and what is still going to be. Allah Ta’ala describes Himself as “All-Knowing” and “All-Aware”. Is there any person more knowledgeable regarding the attributes of Allah Ta’ala than Allah Himself? Is it possible for Allah Ta’ala to be lying about these attributes? (Allah Forbid) To say that Allah Ta’ala is ignorant is not only sheer disrespect but kufr as well. Allah Ta’ala is free from all faults and is ignorance not a fault?
Despite this, the Shia believe that Allah Ta’ala does not have knowledge of everything and this is why His prophecies are sometimes incorrect and He is then forced to change His opinion. They say that this ignorance of Allah Ta’ala is called Bada.
Aside from Al Tusi there is not a single Shia scholar who denies the belief of Bada. Is there even a single doubt that this belief does not contradict the Qu’ran?
Now study the belief of Bada in light of the narrations reported by the Imams of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers).
1) Allah Ta’ala announced through Imam Jafar al Sadiq rahimahu Llah that Ismail rahimahu Llah, the son of Imam Jafar rahimahu Llah, will be the imam after him but Ismail rahimahu Llah passed away during his father’s lifetime, which Allah did not have prior knowledge of, because if He did then He would not have announced Ismail rahimahu Llah to be the next imam. This is why Allah Ta’ala changed his opinion and declared that Imam Jafar’s rahimahu Llah other son- Musa al Kazim rahimahu Llah would be the imam. They go on to say that Allah Ta’ala never committed such a grave Bada as this.
One should bear in mind that the sect of the Shia who believe in twelve Imams and are known as the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers), do not believe that Ismail was as imam. However, there is another large sect of the Shia, known as the Ismaili, who believe that Ismail ibn Jafar al Sadiq rahimahu Llah was indeed the next imam. There are some sects in the Shia who do not accept the Imams of other Shia sects.
It is the belief of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers) that whoever denies any of their Imams is a kafir. The one who denies any imam is the same as that person who denies a nabi. This is their ruling regarding the Ahlus Sunnah as well. A few of the more rigid Shia go to the extent of ruling that the Ahlus Sunnah are najas (impure) and treat them as such as well.
2) Allah Ta’ala had announced through Imam al Naqi rahimahu Llah the glad tidings that his son- Muhammad will be the imam after him. However, Allah Ta’ala did not know that Muhammad was going to pass away before his father. Thus, after he passed away Allah Ta’ala was forced, due to His ignorance of this (Allah forbid), to change His opinion and declare that Hassan al ‘Askari would be the next imam.
3) Imam al Baqir says that Allah Ta’ala had decreed the year 70 A.H as the year for the coming of Imam al Mahdi but when Imam Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu was martyred, Allah Ta’ala became angry with the people of the earth and delayed the coming of Imam al Mahdi. Now we do not know when Imam al Mahdi will arrive.
They claim that Allah Ta’ala experienced Bada, which means that He did not have knowledge that Imam Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu would be martyred or that He would become angry because of it. This is why Allah Ta’ala was forced to change His opinion and now no time has been stipulated for the coming of Imam al Mahdi.
The coming of Imam al Mahdi is a great blessing for the Shia and the quicker it happens the better. All Shia are waiting impatiently for his arrival. However, there is one aspect of this that I do not understand and that is Allah Ta’ala should have gotten angry with the murderers of Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu but instead Allah became angry at the Shia, such that the coming of Imam al Mahdi was cancelled without specifying any other time. As a result the Shia have been denied worldly gain and glory. This is also one of those things that no intelligent person, who is not a Shia, will believe. Their belief of Bada does not end here but according to them Allah Ta’ala has experienced it on many occasions and they even report that Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu has stated that Allah experiences Bada in abundance[3]. (Allah forbid)
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِہٖۤ
They have not recognised (the power and worth of) Allah as they should have done.[4]
My friends! The secret behind this will be mentioned by their own scholars. They will themselves tell you that the belief of Bada is a fabrication of their Imams and why the necessity arose to fabricate such a lie.
The inventors and creators of the Shia religion knew full well that the majority of beliefs and acts of this religion contradict the Qu’ran and are inconceivable, such that no sane person will accept it. This is why they have invented many leeway’s and flexibilities, which accommodate all of man’s worldly desires.
The Imams have been reported giving many prophecies and glad tidings, attributed to Allah Ta’ala, regarding the coming of Imam al Mahdi. It has been said on numerous occasions that the coming of Al Mahdi is very close and will occur at any moment now. As soon as Imam al Mahdi arrives then disgrace will be lifted from the followers of this religion and they will receive honour, power and authority. However, when these prophesised dates came and Imam al Mahdi did not appear then it was said that Allah Ta’ala experienced Bada.
Look at the sheer cheek and the deceptive nature of these people. How easy they disguise every fabrication and lewd act with the glaze of din. First they call Allah Ta’ala ignorant then they praise this quality of ignorance. They report that Imam Jafar al Sadiq rahimahu Llah has said that there is no amount of worship equal to having the belief of Bada and there is nothing more revered in the eyes of Allah then the belief of Bada. If people were to know the reward for having the belief of Bada then they would never stop talking about it. No nabi was created until he accepted five things, amongst which was the belief of Bada.
Now read the interpretation of Bada as it was made by Baqir al Majlisi, the reference of which was given by Hamid Hussain, in his book Istiqsa’ al Afham vol. 1 pg. 128-158. He says:
These prophecies were to console those believers who were awaiting for the friends of Allah to be at ease and the people of the truth to gain authority. If the imam had to inform the Shia in the very beginning that their adversaries would remain in authority and the Shia would remain in difficulty and that ease would only come after fifteen hundred or two thousand years then they would be disheartened and would turn away from din. This is why the Imams informed their followers that the time of ease is coming soon.[5]
This makes it clear that these prophecies were not from Allah Ta’ala but rather the ‘Imams’ fabricated it out of their own discretion.
The belief of Bada was created also merely for deception. However who is to blame for this deception? According to Baqir al Majlisi, the Imams are to blame.
Do you actually believe that the character of these illustrious personalities was so dissolute that they would intentionally fabricate such tales and then attribute it to Allah Ta’ala? In reality these Imams are free from all they have been accused of and it is only the members of the Ibn Saba’ committee who are responsible for these fabrications.
The Imams are being disgraced with such ease but who really ever endeavours to ascertain the truth of such matters. People are ever ready to tread any path, which they do while looking in the opposite direction. Neither do they see the path ahead nor do they listen to others who try to guide them.
You have learnt of a new belief and you have discovered that it contradicts the Qu’ran. It even contradicts reason. If you will keep this principle in mind while studying the beliefs of the Shia religion and gauge whether their beliefs are affirmed by the Qu’ran or contradict it, then you will always find their beliefs in contradiction with the Qu’ran. Can these beliefs be that of the din which was taught by Allah and His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? Allah Ta’ala says to His Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:
اِنَّکَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِیْنَ عَلٰی صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِیْمٍ
You (O Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) are verily among the prophets, on the straight path.[6]
وَ اَنَّ هٰذَا صِرَاطِیْ مُسْتَقِیْمًا فَاتَّبِعُوْہُ ۚ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِیْلِہٖ
This Is indeed my straight path, so follow it. Do not follow other paths, for they will deviate you from Allah’s path.[7]
It is obvious that the beliefs of the Shia are entirely separate from that of the straight path. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has said that all other paths besides the straight path are the paths of Shaitan.
This belief of the Shia was in relation to Allah Ta’ala and we have discussed only one aspect therein. It is not possible to discuss this in more detail, in this brief treatise.
NEXT⇒ The Shia belief regarding the prophets
[1] Surah al Shura: 17
[2] Surah al Baqarah: 85
[3] Usul al–Kafi page 211
[4] Surah al An’am: 91
[5] Usul al Kafi page 84
[6] Surah Yasin: 3
[7] Surah al An’am: 153