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‘Abdul Hussain quotes a hadith on page 120 under the title, “A cow and wolf spoke in clear Arabic”. Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim report from Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu:
صلى رسول الله(ص) صلاة الصبح ثم أقبل على الناس فقال بينا رجل يسوق بقرة إذ ركبها فضربها فقالت إنا لم نخلق لهذا إنما خلقنا للحرث! فقال الناس: سبحان الله بقرة تتكلم ، قال(ص) فإني أومن بهذا أنا وأبو بكر وعمر وما هما ثم وبينما رجل في غنمه إذ عدا الذئب فذهب منها بشاة فطلب حتى استنقذها منه فقال له الذئب: استنقذتها مني فمن لها يوم السبع يوم لا راعي لها غيري فقال الناس: سبحان الله ذئب يتكلم! قال(ص) فإني أومن بهذا أنا وأبو بكر وعمر وما هما ثم
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam performed the morning salah and then turned towards the people and said, “Whilst a man was walking with his cow, he suddenly began to ride it and he struck it.
The cow responded, ‘We have not been created for this; we were only created for ploughing farms.’
The people said, “Glory be to Allah! A cow that spoke?”
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “I believe this, as well as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar”, even though they were not there.
Whilst a man was guarding his flock of sheep, a wolf ran and took one sheep. He went after it until he freed it from the wolf.
The wolf then said, “Who will protect it on the day of the predators, when there will be no shepherd besides me?”
The people said, “Glory be to Allah! A wolf that spoke?”
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “I believe this, as well as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,” even though they were not there.[1]
‘Abdul Hussain comments:
أن أبا هريرة نزوع إلى الغرائب تواق إلى العجائب قد استخفته الى خوارق العادات نزية من الشوق والهيام فتراه طروبا إلى التحدث بما هو فوق النواميس الطبيعية ، كفرار الحجر بثياب موسى ، وكضرب موسى ملك الموت حتى فقأ عينه ، ونزول جراد الذهب على أيوب وأمثال ذلك من المستحيلات عادة .
وها هو الآن يحدث بأن بقرة وذئبا يتكلمان بلسان عربي مبين فيفصحان عن عقل وعلم وحكمة الأمر الذي لم يقع أصلا ولا هو واقع قطعا ولن يقع أبدا وسنة الله في خلقه تحيل وقوعه إلا في مقام التحدي والتعجيز حيث يكون آية للنبوة وبرهانا على الاتصال بالله عز سلطانه ومقام الرجل حيث ساق بقرته إلى الحقل وركبها في الطريق لم يكن مقام تحدي واعجاز لتصدر فيه الآيات وخوارق العادات وكذلك مقام راعي الغنم حين عدا الذئب عليه فلا سبيل إلى القول بامكان صحة هذا الحديث عقلا فإن المعجزات وخوارق العادات لا تقع عبثا بإجماع العقلاء
Indeed, Abu Hurairah longs and craves for weird and strange things. His overwhelming desire for extraordinary incidents had got the better of him. Thus, you find him ecstatically narrating all types of narrations which go against all the laws of nature, such as the fleeing of a rock with the clothes of Musa, Musa striking the angel of death whose eye popped out, locusts of gold raining down upon Prophet Ayub ‘alayh al Salam and similar incidents which are impossible under normal circumstances.
Now he narrates that a cow and a wolf were speaking pure and clear Arabic! They were expressing themselves in an intelligent, knowledgeable and wise manner, a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence except when there is a challenge and a miracle. At such times, it becomes a clear proof of Nubuwwah and a link with Allah, whose kingdom is honoured. The status of this man who walked his cow to the field and then rode it whilst on the road was not one which demanded a miracle or a challenge. Thus, there was no demand for such signs and extraordinary occurrences. The same can be said about the shepherd, who was attacked by the wolf. Therefore, there is no intellectual basis upon which this hadith can be classified acceptable, as all intellectuals agree that miracles and extraordinary occurrences cannot take place without any purpose.
Our comment: Al Majlisi has a chapter in his Bihar entitled, “Chapter of the fox, rabbit, wolf, and lion”.[2] He established this hadith of Abu Hurairah from the Sahihayn which you reject. The pride of his scholars establishes this hadith whilst he takes Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu to task for narrating it. There is nothing beyond the truth except falsehood. Al Majlisi also has another chapter, under the book regarding the biography of our Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam titled, “His arrival at Madinah and his building of houses and a masjid therein”. Under this chapter, he once again establishes the hadith of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He says:
وفي هذه السنة تكلم الذئب خارج المدينة ينذر برسول الله كما روي عن أبي هريرة
In this year, the wolf outside Madinah spoke. It warned regarding (the rejection of) the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This is narrated from Abu Hurairah.
He also quotes from the Amali of your great scholar al Mufid, under the chapter, “His Miracles which were manifested upon animals”[3] in the book regarding the biography of our Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam a narration with a chain from Shahr ibn Hawshab who reports from Abu Sa’id al Khudri. Al Majlisi quotes in his Bihar al Anwar from Ibn ‘Abdul Barr and others:
كلّم الذئب من الصحابة ثلاثة : رافع بن عميرة ، وسلمة بن الأكوع ، واهبان بن أوس الأسلمي ، قال : ولذلك تقول العرب : هو كذئب اهبان ، يتعجبون منه …
The wolf spoke to three Sahabah; Rafi’ ibn ‘Umairah, Salamah ibn Akwa’, and Ihban ibn Aws al Aslami. That is why the Arabs say, “Like the wolf of Ihban.” They express surprise regarding it.[4]
This narration has no relation with Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. What will you say about it? Look at his ignorance regarding the ahadith of the Ahlul Bayt! Furthermore, Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not narrate the strange type of narrations that your Imams have narrated, which causes the body to shiver. If you are passionate about criticising, then your first targets should be your infallible Imams. They are the ones who were intoxicated with the idea of speaking to their followers concerning such things which were against all the laws of nature. In order to prove this, it will be sufficient to refer to some chapter headings of Madinat al Ma’ajiz:
How do we reconcile the above with the statement of ‘Abdul Hussain, “a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence…” Take note, O honourable reader, of the degree of lies and deception employed by ‘Abdul Hussain in his writings. If you are ignorant regarding the speaking of a cow and a goat in pure Arabic, and you claim that it is impossible saying that it is “a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence…” then all you need to do was pay attention to these narrations supposedly narrated from the Ahlul Bayt. The extent of deception, dissimulation, and the display of ignorance concerning the existence of these types of narrations in the four canonical works (of the Shia) as well as others is now quite evident to the reader.
It has been reported that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu said:
كلّم الذئب أبا الاشعث ابن قيس الخزاعي ، فأتاه فطرده مرّة بعد أخرى، ثم قال له في المرّة الرابعة: ما رأيت ذئبا أصفق وجها منك . فقال له الذئب: بل أصفق وجها مني من تولى عن رجل ليس على وجه الأرض أفضل منه، ولا أنور نوراً، ولا أتم بصيرة ولا أتم أمراً ، يملك شرقها وغربها ، يقول: لا إله إلاّ الله، فيتركونه ، ومن أصفق وجها: أنا أم أنت الذي تتولى عن هذا الرجل الكريم ، رسول رب العالمين
A wolf spoke to Abu al Ash’ath ibn Qais al Khuza’i. It came to him but he kept chasing it away. On the fourth occasion, he said to it, “I did not see a wolf that was lowlier than you.”
The wolf replied, “Nay, the one who is lowlier than me is he who turns away from the most virtuous man on this earth, who has the most illuminated face, greatest foresight, whose matters are always concluded with perfection. He rules the East as well as the West. He says, ‘There is no deity besides Allah’, due to which they desert him. Who is lower, you or I? (You) are the one who turned away from this noble man, the Rasul of the Rabb of the universe.”[5]
Al Khara’ij reports that Imam Jafar said:
إن ثلاثة من البهائم أنطقها الله على عهد النبي: الجمل وكلامه شكوى أربابه وغير ذلك . والذئب فقد جاء إلى النبي فشكا إليه الجوع ، فدعا رسول الله أرباب الغنم ، فقال : افرضوا للذئب شيئا فشحوا . فذهب …. وأما البقرة فإنها أذنت بالنبي ودلت عليه وكانت في نخل لبني سالم من الأنصار، وقالت: يا ذريح أعمل نجيح صائح يصيح بلسان عربي فصيح ،بأن لا إله إلاّ الله رب العالمين ،ومحمد رسول الله سيد النبيين ، وعلي وصيه سيد الوصيين
Allah granted three animals in the time of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam the ability to speak. A camel who complained regarding the ill-treatment it received from its owners as well as other matters. A wolf came to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and complained to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam regarding its hunger. The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam summoned a few goat-owners and instructed them: “Donate something to this wolf, even if it is only fat,” so it went… As for the cow, it announced (the arrival) of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and guided towards him. It was in a date plantation of one of the Ansar and it said, “O Dharih, an action of salvation! A Caller declaring in eloquent Arabic that there is none worthy of worship besides the Allah, the Rabb of the universe, Muhammad is the Rasul of Allah, the leader of the Prophets and ‘Ali is his Wasi as well as the leader of the Awsiya.”[6]
[1] Sahih al Bukhari, Kitab al Ambiya’, al Muzara’ah, al Manaqib; Sahih Muslim, Fada’il al Sahabah.
[2] Bihar al Anwar, 79/65, Kitab al Sama wa l-’Alam.
[3] 17/394.
[4] Bihar al Anwar, 65/78.
[5] Al Thaqib fi l-Manaqib, pg. 72, Fasl fi Kalam al Baha’im; refer to al Qatrah ,1/113, chapter 2, Fi Ihda’ al Dhi’b al Thawab li Shi’at ‘Ali; al Khara’ij, 2/496-497, 521-523, fi I’lam al Nabi al Manaqib fi Kalam al Hayawanat; al Qatrah, 1/39-42, Kalam al Dhi’b fi al Nubuwwah wa Kalam al Dhi’b fI Fada’il al Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pg. 86-87, fi Kalam al Hayawanat; I’lam al Wara, pg. 51-52, Fasl wa Amma al Mu’jizat al Qahirah al Dallat ‘ala Nubuwwatihi al Lati Hiya Siwa al Qur’an.
[6] Al Khara’ij, 2/496; al Thaqib fi l-Manaqib, pg. 71, 75.
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‘Abdul Hussain quotes a hadith on page 120 under the title, “A cow and wolf spoke in clear Arabic”. Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim report from Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu:
صلى رسول الله(ص) صلاة الصبح ثم أقبل على الناس فقال بينا رجل يسوق بقرة إذ ركبها فضربها فقالت إنا لم نخلق لهذا إنما خلقنا للحرث! فقال الناس: سبحان الله بقرة تتكلم ، قال(ص) فإني أومن بهذا أنا وأبو بكر وعمر وما هما ثم وبينما رجل في غنمه إذ عدا الذئب فذهب منها بشاة فطلب حتى استنقذها منه فقال له الذئب: استنقذتها مني فمن لها يوم السبع يوم لا راعي لها غيري فقال الناس: سبحان الله ذئب يتكلم! قال(ص) فإني أومن بهذا أنا وأبو بكر وعمر وما هما ثم
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam performed the morning salah and then turned towards the people and said, “Whilst a man was walking with his cow, he suddenly began to ride it and he struck it.
The cow responded, ‘We have not been created for this; we were only created for ploughing farms.’
The people said, “Glory be to Allah! A cow that spoke?”
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “I believe this, as well as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar”, even though they were not there.
Whilst a man was guarding his flock of sheep, a wolf ran and took one sheep. He went after it until he freed it from the wolf.
The wolf then said, “Who will protect it on the day of the predators, when there will be no shepherd besides me?”
The people said, “Glory be to Allah! A wolf that spoke?”
The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied, “I believe this, as well as Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,” even though they were not there.[1]
‘Abdul Hussain comments:
أن أبا هريرة نزوع إلى الغرائب تواق إلى العجائب قد استخفته الى خوارق العادات نزية من الشوق والهيام فتراه طروبا إلى التحدث بما هو فوق النواميس الطبيعية ، كفرار الحجر بثياب موسى ، وكضرب موسى ملك الموت حتى فقأ عينه ، ونزول جراد الذهب على أيوب وأمثال ذلك من المستحيلات عادة .
وها هو الآن يحدث بأن بقرة وذئبا يتكلمان بلسان عربي مبين فيفصحان عن عقل وعلم وحكمة الأمر الذي لم يقع أصلا ولا هو واقع قطعا ولن يقع أبدا وسنة الله في خلقه تحيل وقوعه إلا في مقام التحدي والتعجيز حيث يكون آية للنبوة وبرهانا على الاتصال بالله عز سلطانه ومقام الرجل حيث ساق بقرته إلى الحقل وركبها في الطريق لم يكن مقام تحدي واعجاز لتصدر فيه الآيات وخوارق العادات وكذلك مقام راعي الغنم حين عدا الذئب عليه فلا سبيل إلى القول بامكان صحة هذا الحديث عقلا فإن المعجزات وخوارق العادات لا تقع عبثا بإجماع العقلاء
Indeed, Abu Hurairah longs and craves for weird and strange things. His overwhelming desire for extraordinary incidents had got the better of him. Thus, you find him ecstatically narrating all types of narrations which go against all the laws of nature, such as the fleeing of a rock with the clothes of Musa, Musa striking the angel of death whose eye popped out, locusts of gold raining down upon Prophet Ayub ‘alayh al Salam and similar incidents which are impossible under normal circumstances.
Now he narrates that a cow and a wolf were speaking pure and clear Arabic! They were expressing themselves in an intelligent, knowledgeable and wise manner, a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence except when there is a challenge and a miracle. At such times, it becomes a clear proof of Nubuwwah and a link with Allah, whose kingdom is honoured. The status of this man who walked his cow to the field and then rode it whilst on the road was not one which demanded a miracle or a challenge. Thus, there was no demand for such signs and extraordinary occurrences. The same can be said about the shepherd, who was attacked by the wolf. Therefore, there is no intellectual basis upon which this hadith can be classified acceptable, as all intellectuals agree that miracles and extraordinary occurrences cannot take place without any purpose.
Our comment: Al Majlisi has a chapter in his Bihar entitled, “Chapter of the fox, rabbit, wolf, and lion”.[2] He established this hadith of Abu Hurairah from the Sahihayn which you reject. The pride of his scholars establishes this hadith whilst he takes Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu to task for narrating it. There is nothing beyond the truth except falsehood. Al Majlisi also has another chapter, under the book regarding the biography of our Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam titled, “His arrival at Madinah and his building of houses and a masjid therein”. Under this chapter, he once again establishes the hadith of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He says:
وفي هذه السنة تكلم الذئب خارج المدينة ينذر برسول الله كما روي عن أبي هريرة
In this year, the wolf outside Madinah spoke. It warned regarding (the rejection of) the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This is narrated from Abu Hurairah.
He also quotes from the Amali of your great scholar al Mufid, under the chapter, “His Miracles which were manifested upon animals”[3] in the book regarding the biography of our Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam a narration with a chain from Shahr ibn Hawshab who reports from Abu Sa’id al Khudri. Al Majlisi quotes in his Bihar al Anwar from Ibn ‘Abdul Barr and others:
كلّم الذئب من الصحابة ثلاثة : رافع بن عميرة ، وسلمة بن الأكوع ، واهبان بن أوس الأسلمي ، قال : ولذلك تقول العرب : هو كذئب اهبان ، يتعجبون منه …
The wolf spoke to three Sahabah; Rafi’ ibn ‘Umairah, Salamah ibn Akwa’, and Ihban ibn Aws al Aslami. That is why the Arabs say, “Like the wolf of Ihban.” They express surprise regarding it.[4]
This narration has no relation with Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. What will you say about it? Look at his ignorance regarding the ahadith of the Ahlul Bayt! Furthermore, Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not narrate the strange type of narrations that your Imams have narrated, which causes the body to shiver. If you are passionate about criticising, then your first targets should be your infallible Imams. They are the ones who were intoxicated with the idea of speaking to their followers concerning such things which were against all the laws of nature. In order to prove this, it will be sufficient to refer to some chapter headings of Madinat al Ma’ajiz:
How do we reconcile the above with the statement of ‘Abdul Hussain, “a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence…” Take note, O honourable reader, of the degree of lies and deception employed by ‘Abdul Hussain in his writings. If you are ignorant regarding the speaking of a cow and a goat in pure Arabic, and you claim that it is impossible saying that it is “a phenomenon that could never have happened and will never happen! The system of Allah regarding His creation disproves its occurrence…” then all you need to do was pay attention to these narrations supposedly narrated from the Ahlul Bayt. The extent of deception, dissimulation, and the display of ignorance concerning the existence of these types of narrations in the four canonical works (of the Shia) as well as others is now quite evident to the reader.
It has been reported that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu said:
كلّم الذئب أبا الاشعث ابن قيس الخزاعي ، فأتاه فطرده مرّة بعد أخرى، ثم قال له في المرّة الرابعة: ما رأيت ذئبا أصفق وجها منك . فقال له الذئب: بل أصفق وجها مني من تولى عن رجل ليس على وجه الأرض أفضل منه، ولا أنور نوراً، ولا أتم بصيرة ولا أتم أمراً ، يملك شرقها وغربها ، يقول: لا إله إلاّ الله، فيتركونه ، ومن أصفق وجها: أنا أم أنت الذي تتولى عن هذا الرجل الكريم ، رسول رب العالمين
A wolf spoke to Abu al Ash’ath ibn Qais al Khuza’i. It came to him but he kept chasing it away. On the fourth occasion, he said to it, “I did not see a wolf that was lowlier than you.”
The wolf replied, “Nay, the one who is lowlier than me is he who turns away from the most virtuous man on this earth, who has the most illuminated face, greatest foresight, whose matters are always concluded with perfection. He rules the East as well as the West. He says, ‘There is no deity besides Allah’, due to which they desert him. Who is lower, you or I? (You) are the one who turned away from this noble man, the Rasul of the Rabb of the universe.”[5]
Al Khara’ij reports that Imam Jafar said:
إن ثلاثة من البهائم أنطقها الله على عهد النبي: الجمل وكلامه شكوى أربابه وغير ذلك . والذئب فقد جاء إلى النبي فشكا إليه الجوع ، فدعا رسول الله أرباب الغنم ، فقال : افرضوا للذئب شيئا فشحوا . فذهب …. وأما البقرة فإنها أذنت بالنبي ودلت عليه وكانت في نخل لبني سالم من الأنصار، وقالت: يا ذريح أعمل نجيح صائح يصيح بلسان عربي فصيح ،بأن لا إله إلاّ الله رب العالمين ،ومحمد رسول الله سيد النبيين ، وعلي وصيه سيد الوصيين
Allah granted three animals in the time of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam the ability to speak. A camel who complained regarding the ill-treatment it received from its owners as well as other matters. A wolf came to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and complained to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam regarding its hunger. The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam summoned a few goat-owners and instructed them: “Donate something to this wolf, even if it is only fat,” so it went… As for the cow, it announced (the arrival) of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and guided towards him. It was in a date plantation of one of the Ansar and it said, “O Dharih, an action of salvation! A Caller declaring in eloquent Arabic that there is none worthy of worship besides the Allah, the Rabb of the universe, Muhammad is the Rasul of Allah, the leader of the Prophets and ‘Ali is his Wasi as well as the leader of the Awsiya.”[6]
[1] Sahih al Bukhari, Kitab al Ambiya’, al Muzara’ah, al Manaqib; Sahih Muslim, Fada’il al Sahabah.
[2] Bihar al Anwar, 79/65, Kitab al Sama wa l-’Alam.
[3] 17/394.
[4] Bihar al Anwar, 65/78.
[5] Al Thaqib fi l-Manaqib, pg. 72, Fasl fi Kalam al Baha’im; refer to al Qatrah ,1/113, chapter 2, Fi Ihda’ al Dhi’b al Thawab li Shi’at ‘Ali; al Khara’ij, 2/496-497, 521-523, fi I’lam al Nabi al Manaqib fi Kalam al Hayawanat; al Qatrah, 1/39-42, Kalam al Dhi’b fi al Nubuwwah wa Kalam al Dhi’b fI Fada’il al Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pg. 86-87, fi Kalam al Hayawanat; I’lam al Wara, pg. 51-52, Fasl wa Amma al Mu’jizat al Qahirah al Dallat ‘ala Nubuwwatihi al Lati Hiya Siwa al Qur’an.
[6] Al Khara’ij, 2/496; al Thaqib fi l-Manaqib, pg. 71, 75.