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O you who corrupts his religion by insulting the best of examples, have you followed the Noble Qur’an in this matter? Those who have the slightest understanding of the Qur’an would know that the Qur’an is clear about the fact that Allah, may He be glorified, is pleased with the Sahabah, that the Qur’an is filled with mention of their virtues and good deeds, and that the Qur’an instructs praying for them.
If you say that you follow the pure Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, your empty and unfounded claim is refuted by the authentic books of the Sunnah compiled by the Ahlul Bayt and others, through the texts that explicitly prohibit insulting them and prohibit hurting the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam through insulting them, and declare them to be the best generation, the people of Paradise, and that the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away while being pleased with them. This is in addition to the accounts of their great merits mentioned in the compilations of Hadith, such as their struggle alongside the Messenger Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sacrificing their lives and wealth for Allah, and leaving their homes, countries, loved ones, and friends for the sake of religion and to escape the aggressors. These are numerous and cannot be compiled in one treatise. Any person who looks into the books of biography and Hadith knows this well.
If you—O he who insults the best of this Ummah from amongst the Sahabah —say that you have followed the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt in this detestable opinion, we have mentioned in this letter their consensus against what you claim in this regard.
If you say that you have followed the scholars of Hadith or the scholars of the four schools of jurisprudence, or other schools, then bring us a single person who says what you say! Here are all of their books which have filled the earth (that you can use as proof), and here are their followers who are alive on the surface of the earth (from whom you may ask for testimony). Rather, it has been agreed upon by both the early and later scholars from amongst them, that whoever insults the Sahabah is an innovator. Some of them have gone as far as considering it a sin or even disbelief, as mentioned by a group of their scholars, such as Ibn Hajar al Haytami, who mentioned in his book, al Sawa’iq al Muhriqah, that many Imams considered those who insulted the Sahabah to be disbelievers.
And if you say that you have followed a group of extremist Imamiyyah, we will say, “You have spoken the truth.”
Among them is a misguided group that openly insults the leaders of the Sahabah, and all the Islamic scholars, including those from the Ahlul Bayt and others, agree on their misguidance. They are called the Rafidah, those regarding whom, there are ahadith narrated condemning them.
From amongst those who narrated this hadith is Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain ‘alayh al Salam. He narrated in his book al Ahkam, in the section on divorce, with a complete chain of narrators through his predecessors, the great Imams, until it reaches Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to him:
يا علي يكون في آخر الزمان فرقةً لهم نبز يعرفون به يقال لهم الرافضة فإذا لقيتهم فاقتلهم قاتلهم الله فإنهم كافرون أو كما قال
O ‘Ali, at the end of time there will be a group with a nickname that they will be known by. They will be called al Rafidah. If you meet them, fight against them, may Allah destroy them, for they are disbelievers.
This great Imam narrated this hadith from his predecessors who are all Imams. It has been said that there is no hadith in his book al Ahkam with a continuous chain of narration from the beginning to the end except for this hadith. This was mentioned by the scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Wazir and others. This hadith clearly states their disbelief.
So how did you, O deluded one, follow the path of such a (despicable) group in a matter (of great importance) like this, which is a matter in which many people have slipped? How can you claim to be a follower of the Ahlul Bayt while they are opposed to the Imamiyyah, openly reviling them, and express hurt over their corrupt beliefs?
Moreover, al Mu’ayyid bi Allah went to great lengths to condemn this group to the point that he stated in a number of places in his books al Ifadah and Sharh al Tajrid that the narrations of the Imamiyyah are not accepted.
The reason that narrations are not accepted from them is because they believe that whenever anything is narrated from any of the famous Imams, it is permissible to attribute it to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Imam al Hadi expressed great sadness and disapproval of them in his books.
And if you ask me, “How do you know that they are the Rafidah?”
I will say: In al Qamus, it is stated:
الرافضة فرقة من الشيعة بايعوا زيد بن علي ثم قالوا تبرأ من الشيخين فأبي وقال كانا وزيري جدي فتركوه ورفضوه وارفضوا عنه والنسبة رافضي اهـ
Al Rafidah is a group from the Shia who pledged allegiance to Zaid ibn ‘Ali, they then asked him to renounce and disassociate himself from the two Sheikhs [Abu Bakr and ‘Umar]. He refused, saying, “They were my grandfather’s ministers.” So, they abandoned him, disowned him, and disassociated themselves from him. A person who ascribes to this ideology is called a Rafidi.
Through this we can establish that a Rafidi is a person who rejected Imam Zaid because he refused to insult the two Sheikhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. The Imamiyyah insult the two Sheikhs, majority of the Sahabah, and all other Muslims except those who share their beliefs. They also revile Zaid ibn ‘Ali and belittle him, as is known by those who are familiar with their books.
Al Nawawi has said in his commentary of Sahih Muslim while discussing the introduction:
وسموا رافضة من الرفض وهو الترك قال الأصمعي وغيره لأنهم رفضوا زيد بن علي وتركوه
They are called Rafidah, a word derived from Rafd, which means to leave. Al Asma’i and others have said, “It is because they rejected Zaid ibn ‘Ali and left him.”
Similarly, some scholars have stated that Rafidah are these people, while others have said that they are those who insult the Sahabah without any constraints.
How astonishing is this group! How does their love for Amir al Mu’minin lead them to do that which he would not be pleased with and is in fact in opposition to what he believed, which is proven by what we have previously narrated from Imam Yahya, that the stance of Amir al Mu’minin was the permissibility of asking for Allah to be pleased with them.
Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Hamzah has also narrated in his book al Kashif li al Ishkal al Fariq bayn al Tashayyu’ wa al I’tizal:
والمسلك الثاني أن أمير المؤمنين هو القدوة ولم يعلم من حاله عليه السلام لعن القوم ولا التبرؤ منهم ولا تفسيقهم يعني المشايخ
The second approach is that Amir al Mu’minin is taken as a role model, and there is nothing known about him ever cursing the Sahabah, disassociating from them, or labelling them as transgressors.
He also said:
وهو قدوتنا فلا نزيد على حده الذي وصل إليه ولا ننقص شيئا من ذلك لأنه إمامنا وإمام المتقين وعلى المأمور إتباع آثار إمامه واحتذاء أمثاله فإن تعدى خالف وظلم
He is our role model, so we should not go beyond his limits or reduce anything from it, because he is our leader and the leader of the righteous. It is incumbent upon followers to follow in the footsteps of their leader and to emulate his example. If one goes beyond that, he would be opposing him and committing an injustice.
Al Sayed al Hadi has also said this in his own words. And he has said regarding the Sahabah that ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam used to ask of Allah that he be pleased with them, he then mentioned this line of poetry:
ورضِّ عنهم كما رَضِّى أبو الحسن
أو قف عن السب إن ما كنت ذا حذر
And ask of Allah to be pleased with them (after mentioning their names) just as Abu al Hasan did,
Or if you are cautious, desist from insulting them.
Al Imam al Mahdi has stated in his book Yawaqit al Siyar that when Abu Bakr passed away, ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam said:
رضي الله عنك والله لقد كنت بالناس رؤوفا رحيما اهـ
May Allah be pleased with you. By Allah, you were kind and merciful to the people.
The scholars of Hadith and biographies have narrated that Amir al Mu’minin would ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to be pleased with the Sahabah, supplicated for mercy upon them, and praised them excessively. This is a well-known fact among the scholars, but we have confined ourselves to only narrating the statements of these Imams from his descendants, because their narrations are the most capable of eliminating doubt, and are more effective in silencing the disease of stubbornness, compared to the narrations of others.
Is it appropriate for someone who considers himself to be a part of the Shia of Amir al Mu’minin, to oppose him so strongly and to curse those for whom he would ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to shower His pleasure and mercy upon them?
Is this anything other than stubbornness, opposition to his upright way, and deviating from the straight path?
What good is there in such Tashayyu’ (Shi’ism) that leads to this and leads to destruction? As it has been narrated that two groups of people will be destroyed due to ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam, those who are excessive in their love for him and those who are excessive in their hatred towards him.
The Imamiyyah are the sect that were excessive in their love for him and are thus destroyed. Whoever follows them will also be among those who are destroyed, as confirmed by the texts of the authentic Hadith and the statements of the scholars of religion.
O the one who claims to follow Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali, why do you not follow him regarding this clear manner?
Do you not see how he was satisfied with leaving those armies that stood up to support him in his fight against the tyrant kings, but refused to disassociate himself from the two Sheikhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma? Rather, he objected to the Rafidah by saying that the two of them were ministers of his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. And there is no doubt a man will be hurt by that which hurts his minister, and whoever humiliates the minister has in essence humiliated the Sultan.
That is why al Mansur bi Allah said in his previous statement:
من تبرأ من الصحابة فقد تبرأ من محمد
Whoever disassociates himself from the Sahabah has disassociated himself from Muhammad.
And al Imam al Mahdi also said in al Qala’id:
إن قضاء أبي بكر في فدك صحيح
The ruling of Abu Bakr in the matter of Fadak is correct.
It was narrated in this book that Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah said:
لو كنت أبا بكر لما قضيت إلا بما قضى به أبو بكر
If I were Abu Bakr, I would not have passed a judgement any different to the judgment of Abu Bakr.
Imam al Mahdi’s approval of the judgment of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu and Zaid ibn ‘Ali’s rahimahu Llah statement regarding this matter indicates that he was a just person who they were pleased with. Had they held a different opinion regarding him, his judgment would have not been correct according to them.
Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah said in his book, titled al Shamil fi ‘Ilm al Kalam, when talking about the malice that is harboured against Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu due to his angering Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha:
إنما طلب منها إقامة البينة وقد جاءت بعلي وأم أيمن فقال امرأة مع الإمرأة والرجل مع الرجل قال: فغضبت فاطمة لذلك وإنما طلب أبو بكر الحق، فإذا غضبت لذلك فالحق أغضبها
He asked her for a proof. She came with ‘Ali and Umm Ayman.
He said, “The women were with the women, and the men were with the men.”
Fatimah became angry with that, but Abu Bakr only sought the truth. So, if she was angry because of that, then the truth made her angry.
This is the statement of al Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah in that book. It was also narrated by al Sayed al Hadi in his book known as Nihayat al Tanwih fi Izhaq al Tamwih.
Take note of how this Imam agreed with Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu in his judgment. Had he not considered Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu to be just, he would have taken his judgment to be invalid irrespective of whether it was in accordance to the truth or not, because the quality of ‘adalah (being just) is a prerequisite for anything to be accepted as correct.
Muhammad ibn al Mansur bi Allah has mentioned a line of poetry, which is part of a longer poem in which he boasts of superiority over Qahtan:
ومنا أبو بكر وصاحبه الذي
على السنن الغر الكريمة يغضب
And from amongst us is Abu Bakr and his companion who,
Would get angry for the sake of the shining and noble Sunnah.
If Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma were from amongst the oppressors according to this noble Sayed, he would have never boasted about them. Another point to note is that the quality of “anger for the sake of the shining and noble Sunnah” is among the characteristics of the those who fear Allah, from the former and latter times.
O you who claims to be a follower of Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain, why do you not follow his path and walk in the footsteps of his way? You would then hold back from making any comments (regarding the Sahabah) just as he did. We have already proven this to be his authentic opinion as narrated by Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah from him.
Why do you not act upon his words that he clearly mentioned in his book, which he wrote from Madinah in reply to the people of San’a? In it he said:
ولا أبغض أحدا من الصحابة رضي الله عنهم الصادقين والتابعين لهم بإحسان المؤمنات منهم والمؤمنين أتولى جميع من هاجر ومن أوى منهم ومن نصر فمن سب مؤمنا عندي استحلالا فقد كفر ومن سبه إستمراءا فقد ضل عندي وفسق ولا أسب إلا من نقض العهد والعزيمة وفي كل وقت له هزيمة ومن الذين بالنفاق تفردوا وعلى الرسول مرة بعد مرة تمردوا وعلى أهل بيته إجترؤوا وطعنوا وإني لأستغفر الله لأمهات المؤمنين اللاتي خرجن من الدنيا على يقين وأجعل لعنة الله على من تناولهن بما لا يستحققن من سائر الناس أجمعين هـ
I do not hate anyone from among the truthful Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum and their followers in good from amongst the believing women and men. I support all those who migrated, sought refuge, and helped from amongst them. Whoever insults a believer, with the belief that it is permissible, has committed disbelief according to me. And whoever insults a believer because he enjoys it, has gone astray and sinned in my opinion. I do not insult anyone except for those who broke their covenant and promise, and those who fled in every situation, and those who scattered about due to their hypocrisy, and rebelled against the Prophet time and again, and they dared to attack and insult his family. I seek forgiveness from Allah for the Mothers of the Believers who left this world with certainty, and I invoke the curse of Allah upon those who treated them and insulted them unfairly from amongst all people.
So, it has been proven, O claimant of being a follower of this Imam, that you are either a disbeliever or a misguided sinner. This, which is clearly stated, is the doctrine that his followers, the Hadawiyyah, have held up to the present day.
Ibn al Muzaffar says in al Bayan:
مسألة قال الإمام يحيى ولا يصح الإئتمام بفاسق التأويل ولا بمن يفسق الصحابة الذين تقدموا عليا
Imam Yahya said, “It is not correct to emulate someone who is corrupt in his interpretations, nor is it correct to emulate anyone who labels the Sahabah who fought against ‘Ali as transgressors.”
He also said in al Bustan:
قال عليه السلام يعني الإمام يحيى من يفسق الصحابة فهو فاسق تأويل لأنه اعتقد ذلك لشبهة طرأت عليه وهو تقدمهم على أمير المؤمنين فلا تصح الصلاة خلف من سبهم لأنه جرأة على الله واعتداء عليهم مع القطع بتقدم إيمانهم واختصاصهم بالصحبة لرسول الله والفضائل الجمة وكثرة الثناء عليهم من الله سبحانه ومن رسول الله وأكثر الأئمة وعلماء الأمة ، ولا دليل قاطع على كفرهم ولا فسقهم فأما مطلق الخطأ فهو وإن قطع به لا يكون كفرا ولا فسقا إذ لابد فيهما من دليل قطعي شرعي وقال لا يؤمنكم ذو جرأة في دينه وأي جراء أعظم من اعتقاد هلاك من له الفضل والسبق إلى الإسلام والهجرة وإحراز الفضل والمراتب العلية والاتفاق في الجهاد وبذل النفوس والأموال لله ولرسوله ، وقد قال لو أنفق أحدكم مثل أحد ذهبا ، ما بلغ من أحدهم ولا نصيفه فنعوذ بالله من الجهل والخذلان اهـ بلفظه
He ‘alayh al Salam said, meaning Imam Yahya, “Whoever calls the Sahabah transgressors, he is a corrupt interpreter, because he believes this due to a doubt that arose in him which is the Sahabah fighting against Amir al Mu’minin. Therefore, prayer behind someone who insults them is not valid. This is because insulting them is an act of aggression against Allah and an attack against them, despite the fact that we are certain of their faith, their being chosen to be in the companionship of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, their great virtues, and the abundance of praise for them from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and most of the Imams and scholars of the Ummah. There is also no decisive evidence of their disbelief or corruption. As for mistakes, even if they are proven beyond doubt, it is still not disbelief or corruption. There must be decisive and legitimate evidence in that mistake to show disbelief or transgression for it to be proven. The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “A person who has audacity regarding religion should not be made a leader over you.” And what audacity is greater than believing in the destruction of those who have the greatest virtues and precedence in Islam and migration, and have attained virtues and high ranks, and have spent in Jihad, sacrificing their lives and wealth for Allah and His Messenger? The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “If one of you spent gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not reach the measure of one of them or even half of it.” So, we seek refuge in Allah from ignorance and betrayal.
In his book, al Kashif li al Ishkal al Fariq bayn al Tashayyu’ wa al I’tizal, al Mansur bi Allah says:
إن القوم يعني الصحابة لهم حسنات عظيمة بمشايعة النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم ونصرته والقيام دونه والرمي من وراء حوزته ومعاداة الأهل والأقارب في نصرة الدين وسبقهم إلى الحق وحضور المشاهد التي تزيغ فيها الأبصار وتبلغ القلوب الحناجر الخ .
This group of people, the Sahabah, have immense good deeds. These include their support and help to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, standing by him, fighting under his command, going against their own families and relatives in support of the religion, being the first to follow the truth, participating in battles wherein eyes grew wild (in horror) and hearts jumped into throats (in fear), etc.
In summary, if an individual who follows the Ahlul Bayt remains unconvinced regarding their consensus, opinions, and texts that we have mentioned, it could only be due to one of two reasons: He could either be an ignorant person who does not comprehend anything said to him and has no understanding of knowledge, or he could be an arrogant person, blinded by fanaticism. This is a person whom Shaitan has taken hold of and has led him towards this transgression by means of a bridle of misguidance and defiance. This is a transgression that is a means of destruction to his religion by the consensus of the bearers of the Sunnah and the Qur’an. Neither of these two types of people will benefit from lengthy discussions and quoting an abundance of texts from the Imams and showing them clear evidence. Therefore, it is best to limit oneself to this amount of discussion, and if they do not benefit from it, then they will not benefit from anything else.
With regards to any wise person who seeks to preserve their religion, if he cannot follow the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah that indicate the superiority of the Sahabah over others in all aspects, and that state that the vast gap that separates them from the Imams who came after them is like the distance between the heavens and earth, then at the very least, such an individual should view the Sahabah as they would any other Muslim.
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O you who corrupts his religion by insulting the best of examples, have you followed the Noble Qur’an in this matter? Those who have the slightest understanding of the Qur’an would know that the Qur’an is clear about the fact that Allah, may He be glorified, is pleased with the Sahabah, that the Qur’an is filled with mention of their virtues and good deeds, and that the Qur’an instructs praying for them.
If you say that you follow the pure Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, your empty and unfounded claim is refuted by the authentic books of the Sunnah compiled by the Ahlul Bayt and others, through the texts that explicitly prohibit insulting them and prohibit hurting the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam through insulting them, and declare them to be the best generation, the people of Paradise, and that the Prophet Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away while being pleased with them. This is in addition to the accounts of their great merits mentioned in the compilations of Hadith, such as their struggle alongside the Messenger Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sacrificing their lives and wealth for Allah, and leaving their homes, countries, loved ones, and friends for the sake of religion and to escape the aggressors. These are numerous and cannot be compiled in one treatise. Any person who looks into the books of biography and Hadith knows this well.
If you—O he who insults the best of this Ummah from amongst the Sahabah —say that you have followed the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt in this detestable opinion, we have mentioned in this letter their consensus against what you claim in this regard.
If you say that you have followed the scholars of Hadith or the scholars of the four schools of jurisprudence, or other schools, then bring us a single person who says what you say! Here are all of their books which have filled the earth (that you can use as proof), and here are their followers who are alive on the surface of the earth (from whom you may ask for testimony). Rather, it has been agreed upon by both the early and later scholars from amongst them, that whoever insults the Sahabah is an innovator. Some of them have gone as far as considering it a sin or even disbelief, as mentioned by a group of their scholars, such as Ibn Hajar al Haytami, who mentioned in his book, al Sawa’iq al Muhriqah, that many Imams considered those who insulted the Sahabah to be disbelievers.
And if you say that you have followed a group of extremist Imamiyyah, we will say, “You have spoken the truth.”
Among them is a misguided group that openly insults the leaders of the Sahabah, and all the Islamic scholars, including those from the Ahlul Bayt and others, agree on their misguidance. They are called the Rafidah, those regarding whom, there are ahadith narrated condemning them.
From amongst those who narrated this hadith is Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain ‘alayh al Salam. He narrated in his book al Ahkam, in the section on divorce, with a complete chain of narrators through his predecessors, the great Imams, until it reaches Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to him:
يا علي يكون في آخر الزمان فرقةً لهم نبز يعرفون به يقال لهم الرافضة فإذا لقيتهم فاقتلهم قاتلهم الله فإنهم كافرون أو كما قال
O ‘Ali, at the end of time there will be a group with a nickname that they will be known by. They will be called al Rafidah. If you meet them, fight against them, may Allah destroy them, for they are disbelievers.
This great Imam narrated this hadith from his predecessors who are all Imams. It has been said that there is no hadith in his book al Ahkam with a continuous chain of narration from the beginning to the end except for this hadith. This was mentioned by the scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Wazir and others. This hadith clearly states their disbelief.
So how did you, O deluded one, follow the path of such a (despicable) group in a matter (of great importance) like this, which is a matter in which many people have slipped? How can you claim to be a follower of the Ahlul Bayt while they are opposed to the Imamiyyah, openly reviling them, and express hurt over their corrupt beliefs?
Moreover, al Mu’ayyid bi Allah went to great lengths to condemn this group to the point that he stated in a number of places in his books al Ifadah and Sharh al Tajrid that the narrations of the Imamiyyah are not accepted.
The reason that narrations are not accepted from them is because they believe that whenever anything is narrated from any of the famous Imams, it is permissible to attribute it to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Imam al Hadi expressed great sadness and disapproval of them in his books.
And if you ask me, “How do you know that they are the Rafidah?”
I will say: In al Qamus, it is stated:
الرافضة فرقة من الشيعة بايعوا زيد بن علي ثم قالوا تبرأ من الشيخين فأبي وقال كانا وزيري جدي فتركوه ورفضوه وارفضوا عنه والنسبة رافضي اهـ
Al Rafidah is a group from the Shia who pledged allegiance to Zaid ibn ‘Ali, they then asked him to renounce and disassociate himself from the two Sheikhs [Abu Bakr and ‘Umar]. He refused, saying, “They were my grandfather’s ministers.” So, they abandoned him, disowned him, and disassociated themselves from him. A person who ascribes to this ideology is called a Rafidi.
Through this we can establish that a Rafidi is a person who rejected Imam Zaid because he refused to insult the two Sheikhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. The Imamiyyah insult the two Sheikhs, majority of the Sahabah, and all other Muslims except those who share their beliefs. They also revile Zaid ibn ‘Ali and belittle him, as is known by those who are familiar with their books.
Al Nawawi has said in his commentary of Sahih Muslim while discussing the introduction:
وسموا رافضة من الرفض وهو الترك قال الأصمعي وغيره لأنهم رفضوا زيد بن علي وتركوه
They are called Rafidah, a word derived from Rafd, which means to leave. Al Asma’i and others have said, “It is because they rejected Zaid ibn ‘Ali and left him.”
Similarly, some scholars have stated that Rafidah are these people, while others have said that they are those who insult the Sahabah without any constraints.
How astonishing is this group! How does their love for Amir al Mu’minin lead them to do that which he would not be pleased with and is in fact in opposition to what he believed, which is proven by what we have previously narrated from Imam Yahya, that the stance of Amir al Mu’minin was the permissibility of asking for Allah to be pleased with them.
Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Hamzah has also narrated in his book al Kashif li al Ishkal al Fariq bayn al Tashayyu’ wa al I’tizal:
والمسلك الثاني أن أمير المؤمنين هو القدوة ولم يعلم من حاله عليه السلام لعن القوم ولا التبرؤ منهم ولا تفسيقهم يعني المشايخ
The second approach is that Amir al Mu’minin is taken as a role model, and there is nothing known about him ever cursing the Sahabah, disassociating from them, or labelling them as transgressors.
He also said:
وهو قدوتنا فلا نزيد على حده الذي وصل إليه ولا ننقص شيئا من ذلك لأنه إمامنا وإمام المتقين وعلى المأمور إتباع آثار إمامه واحتذاء أمثاله فإن تعدى خالف وظلم
He is our role model, so we should not go beyond his limits or reduce anything from it, because he is our leader and the leader of the righteous. It is incumbent upon followers to follow in the footsteps of their leader and to emulate his example. If one goes beyond that, he would be opposing him and committing an injustice.
Al Sayed al Hadi has also said this in his own words. And he has said regarding the Sahabah that ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam used to ask of Allah that he be pleased with them, he then mentioned this line of poetry:
ورضِّ عنهم كما رَضِّى أبو الحسن
أو قف عن السب إن ما كنت ذا حذر
And ask of Allah to be pleased with them (after mentioning their names) just as Abu al Hasan did,
Or if you are cautious, desist from insulting them.
Al Imam al Mahdi has stated in his book Yawaqit al Siyar that when Abu Bakr passed away, ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam said:
رضي الله عنك والله لقد كنت بالناس رؤوفا رحيما اهـ
May Allah be pleased with you. By Allah, you were kind and merciful to the people.
The scholars of Hadith and biographies have narrated that Amir al Mu’minin would ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to be pleased with the Sahabah, supplicated for mercy upon them, and praised them excessively. This is a well-known fact among the scholars, but we have confined ourselves to only narrating the statements of these Imams from his descendants, because their narrations are the most capable of eliminating doubt, and are more effective in silencing the disease of stubbornness, compared to the narrations of others.
Is it appropriate for someone who considers himself to be a part of the Shia of Amir al Mu’minin, to oppose him so strongly and to curse those for whom he would ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to shower His pleasure and mercy upon them?
Is this anything other than stubbornness, opposition to his upright way, and deviating from the straight path?
What good is there in such Tashayyu’ (Shi’ism) that leads to this and leads to destruction? As it has been narrated that two groups of people will be destroyed due to ‘Ali ‘alayh al Salam, those who are excessive in their love for him and those who are excessive in their hatred towards him.
The Imamiyyah are the sect that were excessive in their love for him and are thus destroyed. Whoever follows them will also be among those who are destroyed, as confirmed by the texts of the authentic Hadith and the statements of the scholars of religion.
O the one who claims to follow Imam Zaid ibn ‘Ali, why do you not follow him regarding this clear manner?
Do you not see how he was satisfied with leaving those armies that stood up to support him in his fight against the tyrant kings, but refused to disassociate himself from the two Sheikhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma? Rather, he objected to the Rafidah by saying that the two of them were ministers of his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. And there is no doubt a man will be hurt by that which hurts his minister, and whoever humiliates the minister has in essence humiliated the Sultan.
That is why al Mansur bi Allah said in his previous statement:
من تبرأ من الصحابة فقد تبرأ من محمد
Whoever disassociates himself from the Sahabah has disassociated himself from Muhammad.
And al Imam al Mahdi also said in al Qala’id:
إن قضاء أبي بكر في فدك صحيح
The ruling of Abu Bakr in the matter of Fadak is correct.
It was narrated in this book that Zaid ibn ‘Ali rahimahu Llah said:
لو كنت أبا بكر لما قضيت إلا بما قضى به أبو بكر
If I were Abu Bakr, I would not have passed a judgement any different to the judgment of Abu Bakr.
Imam al Mahdi’s approval of the judgment of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu and Zaid ibn ‘Ali’s rahimahu Llah statement regarding this matter indicates that he was a just person who they were pleased with. Had they held a different opinion regarding him, his judgment would have not been correct according to them.
Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah said in his book, titled al Shamil fi ‘Ilm al Kalam, when talking about the malice that is harboured against Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu due to his angering Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha:
إنما طلب منها إقامة البينة وقد جاءت بعلي وأم أيمن فقال امرأة مع الإمرأة والرجل مع الرجل قال: فغضبت فاطمة لذلك وإنما طلب أبو بكر الحق، فإذا غضبت لذلك فالحق أغضبها
He asked her for a proof. She came with ‘Ali and Umm Ayman.
He said, “The women were with the women, and the men were with the men.”
Fatimah became angry with that, but Abu Bakr only sought the truth. So, if she was angry because of that, then the truth made her angry.
This is the statement of al Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah in that book. It was also narrated by al Sayed al Hadi in his book known as Nihayat al Tanwih fi Izhaq al Tamwih.
Take note of how this Imam agreed with Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu in his judgment. Had he not considered Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu to be just, he would have taken his judgment to be invalid irrespective of whether it was in accordance to the truth or not, because the quality of ‘adalah (being just) is a prerequisite for anything to be accepted as correct.
Muhammad ibn al Mansur bi Allah has mentioned a line of poetry, which is part of a longer poem in which he boasts of superiority over Qahtan:
ومنا أبو بكر وصاحبه الذي
على السنن الغر الكريمة يغضب
And from amongst us is Abu Bakr and his companion who,
Would get angry for the sake of the shining and noble Sunnah.
If Abu Bakr and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma were from amongst the oppressors according to this noble Sayed, he would have never boasted about them. Another point to note is that the quality of “anger for the sake of the shining and noble Sunnah” is among the characteristics of the those who fear Allah, from the former and latter times.
O you who claims to be a follower of Imam al Hadi Yahya ibn al Hussain, why do you not follow his path and walk in the footsteps of his way? You would then hold back from making any comments (regarding the Sahabah) just as he did. We have already proven this to be his authentic opinion as narrated by Imam Yahya ibn Hamzah from him.
Why do you not act upon his words that he clearly mentioned in his book, which he wrote from Madinah in reply to the people of San’a? In it he said:
ولا أبغض أحدا من الصحابة رضي الله عنهم الصادقين والتابعين لهم بإحسان المؤمنات منهم والمؤمنين أتولى جميع من هاجر ومن أوى منهم ومن نصر فمن سب مؤمنا عندي استحلالا فقد كفر ومن سبه إستمراءا فقد ضل عندي وفسق ولا أسب إلا من نقض العهد والعزيمة وفي كل وقت له هزيمة ومن الذين بالنفاق تفردوا وعلى الرسول مرة بعد مرة تمردوا وعلى أهل بيته إجترؤوا وطعنوا وإني لأستغفر الله لأمهات المؤمنين اللاتي خرجن من الدنيا على يقين وأجعل لعنة الله على من تناولهن بما لا يستحققن من سائر الناس أجمعين هـ
I do not hate anyone from among the truthful Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum and their followers in good from amongst the believing women and men. I support all those who migrated, sought refuge, and helped from amongst them. Whoever insults a believer, with the belief that it is permissible, has committed disbelief according to me. And whoever insults a believer because he enjoys it, has gone astray and sinned in my opinion. I do not insult anyone except for those who broke their covenant and promise, and those who fled in every situation, and those who scattered about due to their hypocrisy, and rebelled against the Prophet time and again, and they dared to attack and insult his family. I seek forgiveness from Allah for the Mothers of the Believers who left this world with certainty, and I invoke the curse of Allah upon those who treated them and insulted them unfairly from amongst all people.
So, it has been proven, O claimant of being a follower of this Imam, that you are either a disbeliever or a misguided sinner. This, which is clearly stated, is the doctrine that his followers, the Hadawiyyah, have held up to the present day.
Ibn al Muzaffar says in al Bayan:
مسألة قال الإمام يحيى ولا يصح الإئتمام بفاسق التأويل ولا بمن يفسق الصحابة الذين تقدموا عليا
Imam Yahya said, “It is not correct to emulate someone who is corrupt in his interpretations, nor is it correct to emulate anyone who labels the Sahabah who fought against ‘Ali as transgressors.”
He also said in al Bustan:
قال عليه السلام يعني الإمام يحيى من يفسق الصحابة فهو فاسق تأويل لأنه اعتقد ذلك لشبهة طرأت عليه وهو تقدمهم على أمير المؤمنين فلا تصح الصلاة خلف من سبهم لأنه جرأة على الله واعتداء عليهم مع القطع بتقدم إيمانهم واختصاصهم بالصحبة لرسول الله والفضائل الجمة وكثرة الثناء عليهم من الله سبحانه ومن رسول الله وأكثر الأئمة وعلماء الأمة ، ولا دليل قاطع على كفرهم ولا فسقهم فأما مطلق الخطأ فهو وإن قطع به لا يكون كفرا ولا فسقا إذ لابد فيهما من دليل قطعي شرعي وقال لا يؤمنكم ذو جرأة في دينه وأي جراء أعظم من اعتقاد هلاك من له الفضل والسبق إلى الإسلام والهجرة وإحراز الفضل والمراتب العلية والاتفاق في الجهاد وبذل النفوس والأموال لله ولرسوله ، وقد قال لو أنفق أحدكم مثل أحد ذهبا ، ما بلغ من أحدهم ولا نصيفه فنعوذ بالله من الجهل والخذلان اهـ بلفظه
He ‘alayh al Salam said, meaning Imam Yahya, “Whoever calls the Sahabah transgressors, he is a corrupt interpreter, because he believes this due to a doubt that arose in him which is the Sahabah fighting against Amir al Mu’minin. Therefore, prayer behind someone who insults them is not valid. This is because insulting them is an act of aggression against Allah and an attack against them, despite the fact that we are certain of their faith, their being chosen to be in the companionship of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, their great virtues, and the abundance of praise for them from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and most of the Imams and scholars of the Ummah. There is also no decisive evidence of their disbelief or corruption. As for mistakes, even if they are proven beyond doubt, it is still not disbelief or corruption. There must be decisive and legitimate evidence in that mistake to show disbelief or transgression for it to be proven. The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “A person who has audacity regarding religion should not be made a leader over you.” And what audacity is greater than believing in the destruction of those who have the greatest virtues and precedence in Islam and migration, and have attained virtues and high ranks, and have spent in Jihad, sacrificing their lives and wealth for Allah and His Messenger? The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “If one of you spent gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not reach the measure of one of them or even half of it.” So, we seek refuge in Allah from ignorance and betrayal.
In his book, al Kashif li al Ishkal al Fariq bayn al Tashayyu’ wa al I’tizal, al Mansur bi Allah says:
إن القوم يعني الصحابة لهم حسنات عظيمة بمشايعة النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم ونصرته والقيام دونه والرمي من وراء حوزته ومعاداة الأهل والأقارب في نصرة الدين وسبقهم إلى الحق وحضور المشاهد التي تزيغ فيها الأبصار وتبلغ القلوب الحناجر الخ .
This group of people, the Sahabah, have immense good deeds. These include their support and help to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, standing by him, fighting under his command, going against their own families and relatives in support of the religion, being the first to follow the truth, participating in battles wherein eyes grew wild (in horror) and hearts jumped into throats (in fear), etc.
In summary, if an individual who follows the Ahlul Bayt remains unconvinced regarding their consensus, opinions, and texts that we have mentioned, it could only be due to one of two reasons: He could either be an ignorant person who does not comprehend anything said to him and has no understanding of knowledge, or he could be an arrogant person, blinded by fanaticism. This is a person whom Shaitan has taken hold of and has led him towards this transgression by means of a bridle of misguidance and defiance. This is a transgression that is a means of destruction to his religion by the consensus of the bearers of the Sunnah and the Qur’an. Neither of these two types of people will benefit from lengthy discussions and quoting an abundance of texts from the Imams and showing them clear evidence. Therefore, it is best to limit oneself to this amount of discussion, and if they do not benefit from it, then they will not benefit from anything else.
With regards to any wise person who seeks to preserve their religion, if he cannot follow the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah that indicate the superiority of the Sahabah over others in all aspects, and that state that the vast gap that separates them from the Imams who came after them is like the distance between the heavens and earth, then at the very least, such an individual should view the Sahabah as they would any other Muslim.
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