Absolute Reverence for the Authentic Books

The third claim that the author of Bayt al ‘Ankabut makes is that the Ahl as-Sunnah confer infallibility to al Bukhari. They confer complete reverence to his book al Sahih and make it parallel and equal to the Qur’an, which cannot be proven false from any angle.

Concerning their claim, the author of Bayt al ‘Ankabut writes:

The worst thing the Ahl as-Sunnah fell into is their complete reverence for these books without any criticism in its transmission or methodology.^[1]

The sacredness granted to these books (if we accept it) can never be pure as that of the Qur’an, the Book of Allah, which cannot be proven false from any angle.^[2]

Indeed this nation (the Ahl as-Sunnah) revere al Bukhari^[3] and they provoke the whole world, up till today, to protest against the establishment of infallibility to the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, from whom Allah has removed all dirt and purified thoroughly. Instead they try to establish it for their invented Imams.^[4]

Is this claim correct?

Not a single person from the Ahl as-Sunnah has ever claimed infallibility for al Bukhari. There is no infallibility for any human being after the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as is the law of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. There is no sacredness for any book besides the Book of Allah and His revelation, the Qur’an.

No one from the Ahlus Sunnah claimed that the authenticity of al Bukhari and Muslim is like the authenticity of the Qur’an or even close to it.

As for the Shia, they are the ones who confer infallibility on their Imams that is superior than even the Prophets.^[5]

They are the ones who gave preference to Imamah over Prophethood and made the Imam the caretakers of the Qur’an. They joined Imamah with Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and claimed that Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala handed over the affairs of the creation and sustenance to these Imams. They claim that the reckoning and the return of the people (in the Hereafter) will be to these Imams, and they have the power of creation on every atom in the universe. In this belief they even surpassed the Christians concerning their belief in Nabi ‘Isa ‘alayh al Salam, whereby they claim that he is the creator of everything and without him there would be nothing in this world.^[6]

So, where is the sacredness and reverence which reached the point of absurdity? Is it from the Ahlus Sunnah or from those who deify their Imams and equate them to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala?

All the leaders of the Ahlus Sunnah and their scholars, starting from the al Khulafa’ al Rashidun and the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, were all human mujtahids^[7]. Sometimes, they are correct while other times they can err. However, in every condition, they are rewarded. The writings of these scholars are all independent judgments which have no sacredness. Sacredness and infallibility are reserved for the eloquent Qur’an and the Prophetic explanations of the Qur’an.

If only the author of Bayt al ‘Ankabut read what Ayatollah al Shahid Murtada Mutahhari (1338–1400 AH/1920–1980 CE) wrote about the Akhbari Shia, who fabricated ahadith for the Shia, and dissociated from the Qur’an claiming that the addressees and those who are able to understand it are the Imams only. Similarly, they dissociated from reasoning because it has no say in Islam. Then, they dissociated from Ijma’ (consensus) because it was the method of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Hence, it became the place of reference for the narrations regarding their beliefs, fundamental and secondary laws. The school of the Akhbaris elevated hadith above Qur’an, reasoning, and consensus.

If the author of Bayt al ‘Ankabut read what al Shahid al Mutahhari wrote, he would recognize the ones that made hadith equal to the Qur’an. They elevated the ahadith at the expense of the Qur’an.

NEXT⇒ Al Bukhari and the Custom of the Masses

^[1] Bayt al ‘Ankabut, pg. 212.

^[2] Ibid., pg. 11.

^[3] Ibid., pg. 13. He titled one of the subsections of his book, al Bukhari ma’sum wa kitabuhu muqaddas.

^[4] Ibid., pg. 188.

^[5] Haqa’iq wa Shubuhat Hawl al Sunnah wa al Shia, pg. 93–120, Dar al Salam, Cairo, 1431 AH (2010).

^[6] Al Khurasani: Muqtatifat Wila’iyyah, pg. 39, Qum print; Khomeini: Al Hukumah al Islamiyyah, pg. 25–56, Cairo.

^[7] Mujtahid: A scholar who has the authority to form opinions and rulings by exerting all his knowledge and mental faculties.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents