b) Their Belief that Most of the Qur’an was Revealed Regarding them and Their Enemies

The Origin of These Interpretations, Their Roots and a Few Examples
April 14, 2016
Discussion Two – Their Beliefs Regarding the Interpretation of the Qur’an
April 15, 2016

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b) Their Belief that Most of the Qur’an was Revealed Regarding them and Their Enemies

 

The Shia claim, “most of the Qur’an was revealed regarding them (the twelve Imams), their supporters and their enemies.”[1] If anyone were to search through the Book of Allah and use all the different dictionaries of Arabic, he will not even find in the Qur’an one of the names of these Imams. Despite that, their scholar, al Bahrani claims that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu alone was mentioned 1154 times in the Qur’an. Regarding this, he authored a book titled, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah fi Asma ‘Ali wa Ahl Baytihi al Qur’aniyyah[2]. In this book, all the laws of Arabic are laid to waste. It defies all principles of reasoning and logic. Nevertheless, he has in fact disgraced his own people publicly, as all of their forgeries and meddling with the Qur’an have been collected here from their reliable books. Perhaps if he did not do so it would not have been realised by the majority.

Some of their narrations, such as this one, expose them:

 

ان القران نزل اربع ارباع: ربع حلال و ربع حرام و ربع سنن و احكام و ربع خبر ما كان قبلكم و نبا ما يكون بعدكم و فصل ما بينكم

The Qur’an was revealed in four quarters; a quarter is regarding the permissible, another quarter is regarding the impermissible, the third quarter is regarding mannerisms and laws and the fourth quarter is regarding the history of the people before you, news of that which will happen after you and judgement between you.[3]

 

Does this narration not reveal to us that there is no mention (at least in an explicit manner) of the Imams in the Qur’an?

However, another narration of theirs divides the Qur’an differently. As if they realised the slip-up in the previous narration, they tried to cover up by dedicating a portion (one third) to the Imams and their enemies. However, they sufficed upon one third (unlike their other claim that most of the Qur’an is regarding this). The narration states:

 

نزل القران اثلاثا: ثلث فينا و فى عدونا و ثلث سنن و امثال و ثلث فرائض و احكام

The Qur’an was revealed in thirds; on third regarding us and our enemies, one third regarding mannerisms and parables and one third duties and commands.[4]

 

A third narration appears which increases the portion of the Imams and their enemies from one third to half. The narration states:

 

نزل القران على اربعة ارباع: ربع فينا و ربع فى عدونا و ربع سنن و امثال و ربع فرائض و احكام

The Qur’an was revealed in quarters: quarter regarding us, quarter regarding our enemies, quarter regarding mannerisms and parables and quarter regarding duties and laws.[5]

 

It should be noted that until here, the Imams have no extra merit over their enemies as far as the portion that was dedicated to them. This gave birth to a fourth narration, (thanks to some Shia who realised this) which is identical to the above narration except that it contains the following addition:

 

و لنا كرائم القران

The best portion of the Qur’an is regarding us.[6]

 

The author of Tafsir al Safi indicates towards this saying:

 

و زاد العياشى و لنا كرائم القران

Al ‘Ayyashi added, “the best portion of the Qur’an is regarding us.”[7]

 

In this way, they ended up claiming that most of the Qur’an was revealed regarding them and their enemies.

Their scholar, al Fayd al Kashani (the author of al Wafi — which is one of their canonical sources in hadith) says:

 

وردت اخبار جمة عن اهل البيت فى تاويل كثير من ايات القران بهم و باوليائهم و باعدائهم حتى ان جماعة من اصحابنا صنفوا كتبا فى تاويل القران على هذا النحو جمعوا فيها ما ورد عنهم فى تاويل القران اية اية اما بهم او بشيعتهم او بعدوهم على ترتيب القران و قد رايت منها كتابا كاد يقرب من عشرين الف بيت و قد روى فى الكافى و فى تفسير العياشى و على بن ابراهيم القمى و التفسير المسموع من ابى محمد الزكى اخبارا كثيرة من هذا القبيل

 

Many narrations have been reported from the Ahlul Bayt in which the verses of the Qur’an are interpreted to be reference to them, their followers and their enemies. This is to the extent that some of our scholars have authored books in which the Qur’an is interpreted in this manner. They gathered all that which was narrated from them regarding the interpretation of the Qur’an, verse by verse. Each referring either to them, their supporters or their enemies, according to the order of the Qur’an. I saw one book which would fill almost twenty rooms. Many such narrations have been reported in al Kafi, Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi, ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim al Qummi and the Tafsir which was heard from Abu Muhammad al Zaki.[8]

 

This is a testimony or confession from one of their luminaries which confirms the degree to which this belief is common and widespread amongst them. It is now an accepted principle in their reliable books of tafsir, as well as their most authentic books of hadith. In this manner, they have turned the Book of Allah away from its meanings and done away with its revealed form. They have turned it into a book which is quite different to that which is in the possession of the rest of the Muslims.

This is the primary principle according to them. One of their scholars asserts:

 

ان الاصل فى تنزيل ايات القران…انما هو الارشاد الى ولاية النبى و الائمة صلوات الله عليهم بحيث لا خير خبر به الا وهو فيهم و فى اتباعهم و عارفيهم ولا سوء ذكر فيه الا وهو صادق على اعدائهم و فى مخالفيهم

 

The foundational principle regarding the revelation of the verses of the Qur’an… it is only guidance regarding the Wilayah of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Imams. There is no goodness that was conveyed except that it is applicable to them, their supporters and those who know them and there is no mention of evil except that it is applicable to their enemies and opponents.[9]

 

Thus, it is not surprising to see their scholars competing with one another in changing the verses of the glorious Qur’an and twisting it to suit this principle.

Their scholar, al Hurr al ‘Amili has a chapter in his book al Fusul al Muhimmah fi Usul al A’immah regarding this, which is “all the verses in the Qur’an regarding the permissible and impermissible are as intended by their apparent meaning and their inner meaning is regarding the Imams of justice and oppression.”[10] Thus, he considers all the verses of permissibility to be a reference to the Imams and all the verses regarding impermissibility of acts or objects to be a reference to the leaders of the Muslims (besides Imam ‘Ali and the rest of the twelve Imams). This, undoubtedly opens the door to lawlessness, which is upheld by sects of the Batiniyyah. However, he considers this to be a principle of the Imams.

Al Kafi — the most authentic book according to them — contains many narrations regarding this. It will suffice you to read, “the chapter in which there are fine points and anecdotes of the revelation, regarding Wilayah”. The reader will be shocked to find ninety-one narrations which he gathered in this chapter, by means of which he changed the true meaning of the Qur’an.[11] This is only one of a few chapters in which this was done.[12] Each chapter contains tens of narrations which convert the Qur’an into a Shia. It is left with no content besides information about the twelve Imams, their followers and their enemies.

The book al Bihar, which is considered one of their reliable hadith sources, contains many narrations which are of the level of rules and principles of tafsir according to them. Many narrations have been quoted here, all of which have this approach towards the Book of Allah. One only has to read the titles of a few of these chapters to realise the degree to which they are inconsistent with the Arabic language, the intellect and the basic principles of Islam. They will leave the reader convinced that this is indeed among the most severe forms of disbelief in the Book of Allah and corruption of its meanings. We will present one of these types of titles below. Al Majlisi says:

 

باب تاويل المؤمنين و الايمان و المسلمين و الاسلام بهم و بولايتهم عليهم السلام و الكفار و المشركين و الكفر و الشرك و الجبت و الطاغوت و اللات و العزى و الاصنام باعدائهم و مخالفيهم

Chapter: Interpreting the words Mu’minin, iman, Muslims and Islam to mean them and their Wilayah, and the words kuffar, mushrikin, kufr, shirk, jibt (false objects of worship), taghut (devil), al Lat (name of an idol), al ‘Uzza (name of an idol) and idols to be a reference to their enemies and opposition.[13]

 

One hundred narrations have been quoted in this chapter.

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام الابرار و المتقون و السابقون المقربون و شيعتهم اصحاب اليمين و اعدائهم الفجار و الاشرار و اصحاب الشمال

Chapter: They are the righteous ones, the pious, the fore-runners and the ones who have been drawn close, and their Shia are the people of the right and their opponents are the transgressors, the evil ones and the people of the left.[14]

 

Twenty five narrations have been quoted in this chapter.

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام وولايتهم العدل والمعروف و الاحسان و القسط والميزان و ترك ولايتهم و اعدائهم الكفر و الفسوق و العصيان و الفحشاء والمنكر و البغى

Chapter: They and their Wilayah are referred to as justice, righteousness, virtue, fairness and the scale, and their enemies are referred to as kufr, transgression, sin, immorality, evil and oppression.[15]

 

This chapter contains fourteen of their narrations.

There are many other chapters like this, as will be presented. They will reveal an attempt that was directed towards changing the din of Islam, as all the realities of Islam were modified and confined to the pledge of allegiance to one man. The meanings of shirk as far as worshipping Allah, kufr, taghut, idols, etc., have been changed to weird meanings which expose the agenda of the one who were behind all of these concoctions.

This is because, they have considered all the Muslim leaders — with the exception of the twelve Imams — from Abu Bakr up until the last ruler before the Day of Judgement to be the enemies of the Imams. Furthermore, all those who pledge allegiance to these leaders, starting from the Sahabah, are of their enemies, upon whom the words kufr and shirk can be used. This will appear under the discussion of Imamah.

What happens to all the tenets and principles of Islam? What happens to its laws? Are all of them now confined to Imamah? Shirk, kufr and idols are no longer abhorred, as there is no shirk or kufr except believing in another Imam or rejecting the Imamah of one of the twelve, as established by these narrations. Is this not the greatest form of irreligiousness and disbelief? Can any bigoted enemy plan a greater attack than this? The ideas propagated are no doubt that of an ignorant person, as is apparent from the extent of its incongruity. However, a Muslims amazement has no limits regarding this; how does a nation (of millions) remain mentally enslaved and imprisoned to such preposterous and outrages beliefs?

We continue with our presentation of the chapter heading from al Bihar. The author says:

 

باب انهم الصلاة و الزكاة و الحج والصيام و سائر الطاعات و اعدائهم الفواحش والمعاصى

Chapter: They are salah, zakat, hajj, fasting and all other acts of obedience, and their enemies are immorality and sins.[16]

 

This chapter contains seventeen narrations.

This belief is identical to the belief of the Batiniyyah, who “interpret the commands of shari’ah and the prohibitions thereof against that which is common knowledge to the Muslims. They are known to one and all to be lies, false attributions to the prophets and adulteration of the speech of Allah, as well as disbelief in His verses.”[17] The author of al Bihar continues to present to us the true colours of the religion of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers), by means of the chapters. This is because he wrote his book during the rule of the Safavids, when taqiyyah was — to some degree — discarded. He writes:

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام ايات الله و بيناته و كتابه…

Chapter: They are the signs of Allah, His proofs and His book.

 

This chapter contains twenty narrations.[18]

 

باب انهم السبع المثانى

Chapter: They are the seven oft-repeated verses.

 

This chapter contains ten narrations.[19]

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام الصافون و المسبحون و صاحب المقام المعلوم و حملة عرش الرحمان و انهم السفرة الكرام البررة

Chapter: They are the ones who stand in rows, the ones who glorify, the people of the known station, the carriers of the throne of al Rahman and the noble and righteous scribes.

 

This chapter contains eleven narrations.[20]

 

باب انهم كلمات الله

Chapter: They are the words of Allah.

 

This chapter contains twenty five narrations.[21]

 

باب انهم حرمات الله

Chapter: They are the sanctified (objects) of Allah.

 

This chapter contains six narrations.[22]

 

باب انهم الذكر و اهل الذكر

Chapter: They are al Dhikr (the reminder) and the people of al Dhikr.

 

This chapter contains sixty five narrations.[23]

 

باب انهم انوار الله

Chapter: They are the lights of Allah.

 

This chapter contains forty-two narrations.[24]

 

باب انهم خير امة و خير ائمة اخرجت للناس

Chapter: They are the best nation and the best leaders, selected for mankind.

 

This chapter contains twenty four narrations.[25]

 

باب انهم المظلومون

Chapter: They are the oppressed ones.

 

This chapter contains twenty seven narrations.[26]

 

باب انهم المستضعفون

Chapter: They are the ones who were taken to be weak.

 

This chapter contains thirteen narrations.[27]

 

باب انهم اهل الاعراف الذين ذكرهم الله فى القران

Chapter: They are the people of A’raf (partitions) who have been mentioned in the Qur’an.

 

This chapter contains twenty narrations.[28]

 

باب تاويل الوالدين والولد والارحام و ذوى القربى بهم

Chapter: Interpreting parents, the child, relatives and close family to be a reference to them.

 

This chapter contains twenty three narrations.[29]

 

So, the Imams, as you have seen in these chapter headings, are at times angels, at times heavenly books and at times divine illumination. Despite that, they are also oppressed and taken to be weak. These are claims that need no analysis. Their absurdity and contradiction to the usage of words as well as the intelligence is self-evident. There is no need to even discuss them in the light of the principles and laws of Islam. In fact, they contradict one another. As if all of this was not enough, he continues, now interpreting inanimate bodies to be the Imams. He says:

 

باب انهم الماء المعين والبئر العطلة والقصر المشيد و تاويل السحاب و المطر و الظل و الفواكه و سائر المنافع بعلمهم و بركاتهم

Chapter: They are the sweet water, the destroyed well, the magnificent palace. The interpretation of clouds, rain, shade, fruits and all other objects which give off benefit is their knowledge and their blessings.

 

This chapter contains twenty one narrations, which were selected (as usual) from a few of their reliable books.[30]

 

He then exceeds all limits. He does not even spare the qualities of Allah. He writes:

 

باب انهم جنب الله و روحه و يد الله و امثالها

Chapter: They are the side of Allah, His soul, His hand and all similar (descriptions).

 

This chapter contains thirty six narrations.[31]

 

He then makes them the Ka’bah and the Qiblah. He has a chapter heading which reads:

 

باب انهم رضى الله عنهم حزب الله و بقيته و كعبته و قبلته و ان الاثارة من العلم علم الاوصياء

Chapter: They are the group of Allah, His vicegerents, His Ka’bah[32] and His Qiblah. The ‘trace of knowledge’ is the knowledge of the Awsiya.

 

He presents seven narrations in this chapter.[33]

 

His extremism continues and becomes apparent in a few more chapter headings. These are actually the most profound refutations and condemnations of the Shia sect. He is in fact demolishing their foundations on the one hand, and demonstrating the grandeur of Islam on the other hand, as the reality of something becomes clear when its opposite is seen. If bitterness did not exist, none would appreciate a sweet taste. These interpretations can only be compared to the efforts of Musaylamah — the imposter. They themselves announce that they are not from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. One who has the slightest knowledge of the Arabic language will be able to confirm this, over and above scrutinising them in the light of the laws and principles of Islam. This is because Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala revealed the Qur’an in clear Arabic.

The book al Bihar (which is highly reliable according to the Shia) wishes to turn the Imams into everything that is mentioned in the Qur’an. Thus, he continues listing these chapters, hoping to establish whatever his whims and fanaticism leads him to. He ends up disgorging all that was kept in his heart, without caring in the least about the embarrassment of being exposed, and without hesitating to display his insolence. He says:

 

باب انهم البحر و اللؤلؤ و المرجان

Chapter: They are the sea, pearls and corals.

 

This chapter contains seven narrations.[34]

 

So, are they inanimate objects, or is this some secret code of theirs? They are not inanimate, as he titles another chapter:

 

باب انهم الناس

Chapter: They are humanity.

 

This chapter contains merely three narrations.[35]

 

In this chapter, he establishes that, besides the Imams, no one else belongs to the human race. Thereafter, he continues to propagate his weird and absurd religion, which the scholars of the past did not consider to be the religion of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers), but rather the religion of the Batiniyyah.[36] He adds a chapter:

 

باب نادر فى تاويل النحل بهم

A unique chapter in interpreting the bee to be a reference to them.

 

This chapter contains seven narrations.[37]

 

Another chapter heading reads:

 

باب تاويل الايام والشهور بالائمة

Chapter: Interpreting days and months to be the Imams.

 

This chapter contains four narrations.[38]

 

If we go on to quote all the ahadith of those chapters, and thereafter scrutinise and analyse them, we will need a few volumes. Also, we have opted to quote the chapter headings instead of the narrations, so it cannot be said that we are taking them to task on the basis of rare narrations. Similarly, we will quote, as examples, some narrations from these chapters which will be — in most cases — narrations which are mentioned in many of their reliable books. The above-quoted chapter headings are a few from the many that are mentioned in their books. They also appear in their outstanding encyclopaedia on hadith, al Bihar — which was described by their contemporary scholars as:

The most comprehensive book on the sciences of hadith.[39]

 

A more comprehensive book was neither compiled before it, nor after it.[40]

 

وقد صار مصدرا لكل من طلب بابا من ابواب علوم ال محمد صلى الله عليه و سلم

It has become a reference book for all those who seek any chapter from the chapters of knowledge of the household of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[41]

 

هو المرجع الوحيد فى تحقيق معارف المذهب

It is the only source as far as researching the intricacies of the mazhab is concerned.[42]

 

As for the author of the book, he is, according to them:

Sheikh al Islam wa l-Muslimin.[43]

 

رئيس الفقهاء والمحدثين اية الله فى العالمين ملاذ المحدثين فى كل الاعصار و معاذ المجتهدين فى جميع الاعصار

The leader of the jurists and muhaddithin. The sign of Allah in the universe. The source of delight for the muhaddithin of every era, and the source of refuge for the mujtahids of every era.[44]

 

They have bestowed upon him other titles as well.

 

These narrations are actually sourced from some of their reliable books, as he states:

 

اجتمع عندنا بحمد الله سوى الكتب الاربعة نحو مائتى كتاب و لقد جمعتها فى بحار الانوار

All praise is due to Allah, besides the four books[45], we have as many as two hundred books. I have gathered this in Bihar al Anwar.[46]

 

The author of al Dhari’ah says:

 

و اكثر ماخذ البحار من الكتب المعتمدة والاصول المعتبرة

Most of the sources of al Bihar are authentic books and reliable sources.[47]

 

As I have explained previously, whoever has any knowledge regarding the Arabic language, he will immediately realise that these chapters and their narrations are a great form of disbelief in the Book of Allah. It is undoubtedly adulteration of the Speech of Allah. They can only be accepted by one who is clueless regarding both, Arabic as well as Islam. It is also clear proof that the one who wishes to temper with the Book of Allah is severely disgraced. These absurdities are not confined to their hadith books. Rather, if a person reads the highly celebrated Tafsir of theirs, which is referred to as “The mother of all Tafsirs”[48] (Tafsir al Qummi) by them, he will find a fair share of Batini interpretations.

Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi, one of their classical and reliable commentaries, is no different. The same can be said regarding Tafsir al Burhan, Tafsir al Safi and others, which supposedly rely upon that which is reported from Jafar al Sadiq or one of the other Imams for their interpretations. If we wish to study and analyse each book of tafsir independently, the subject will be lengthened extensively and it will be a prolonged digression. It will suffice us to mention a few of their narrations of these chapters.

 
 

NEXT⇒ The Origin of These Interpretations, Their Roots and a Few Examples


[1]Tafsir al Safi 1/24. The author of al Safi made this statement under the title of his second introduction.

[2]  This book has been printed by al Matba’ah al ‘Ilmiyyah – Qum 1394 A.H.

[3]Usul al Kafi 2/627

[4] Usul al Kafi 2/627, al Burhan 1/21, Tafsir al Safi 1/24, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 6

[5]Usul al Kafi 2/627, al Burhan 1/21

[6]Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi 1/9, Tafsir Furat 1,2 Bihar al Anwar 24/305, al Karajki: Kanz al Fawa’id pg. 2, al Burhan 1/21, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 7

[7]Tafsir al Safi 1/24

[8]  Al Kashani: Tafsir al Safi 1/24-25

[9]  Abu al Hassan al Sharif: Mir’at al Anwar (the introduction to al Burhan) pg. 4. Also refer to al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 548

[10]  Al Fusul al Muhimmah fi Usul al A’immah pg. 256

[11]Usul al Kafi 1/412

[12]  E.g. “The Imams ‘alayimh al Salam are the signs which Allah mentioned in His book,”, “the signs which are mentioned by Allah in his book are the Imams,” “the Ahl al Dhikr (those who Allah instructed the masses to refer their questions to), are the Imams,” etc. Usul al Kafi 1/206, 207, 210.

[13]Bihar al Anwar 23/354-390

[14]  Ibid 24/1-9

[15]Bihar al Anwar 24/187-191

[16]  Ibid 24/286-304

[17]Majmu’ Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah 3/29

[18]Bihar al Anwar 23/206-211

[19]  Ibid 24/114-118

[20]  Ibid 24/87-91

[21]  Ibid 24/173-184

[22]  Ibid 24/185-186

[23]  Ibid 23/172-188

[24]  Ibid 23/304-188

[25]  Ibid 24/153-158

[26]  Ibid 24/221-231

[27]  Ibid 24/167-173

[28]  Ibid 24/247-256

[29]  Ibid 23/257-272

[30]Bihar al Anwar 24/100-110

[31]  Ibid 24/191-203

[32]  The Bohras (Ismailis of India and Yemen who go for Hajj due to them believing that the Ka’bah is a symbol of Imam ‘Ali — Islam bila Mazhab pg 240) could have adopted this form of disbelief on account of these types of narrations, as the Rawafid are the door and pathway to the extremisms of the Batiniyyah.

[33]Al Bihar 24/211-213

[34]Al Bihar 24/97-99

[35]  Ibid 24/94-96

[36]  Some of their scholars have stated that their religion is changed and modified in every era, as will be discussed under the chapter, “present day Shia and their relationship with their predecessors”.

[37]Al Bihar 24/110-113

[38]  Ibid 24/238-243

[39]  Muhsin al Amin: A’yan al Shia 1/293

[40]  Agha Buzurg al Tehrani: al Dhari’ah 3/26

[41]  Ibid 3/26-27

[42]  Al Bahbudi: Muqaddimah al Bihar pg. 19

[43]  Al Ardabili: Jami’ al Ruwat 2/78

[44]Muqaddimah al Bihar pg. 29

[45]Al Kafi, al Tahdhib, al Istibsar and Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih. Details regarding these books will appear under the discussion, “their beliefs regarding the Sunnah”.

[46]I’tiqadat al Majlisi pg. 24 (quoted from the book al Fikr al Shi’i by Mustafa al Shibi pg. 61)

[47] Al Dhari’ah 3/26-27

[48]Asl Usul al Tafsir, refer to the introduction of Tafsir al Qummi 1/16

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents

 

b) Their Belief that Most of the Qur’an was Revealed Regarding them and Their Enemies

 

The Shia claim, “most of the Qur’an was revealed regarding them (the twelve Imams), their supporters and their enemies.”[1] If anyone were to search through the Book of Allah and use all the different dictionaries of Arabic, he will not even find in the Qur’an one of the names of these Imams. Despite that, their scholar, al Bahrani claims that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu alone was mentioned 1154 times in the Qur’an. Regarding this, he authored a book titled, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah fi Asma ‘Ali wa Ahl Baytihi al Qur’aniyyah[2]. In this book, all the laws of Arabic are laid to waste. It defies all principles of reasoning and logic. Nevertheless, he has in fact disgraced his own people publicly, as all of their forgeries and meddling with the Qur’an have been collected here from their reliable books. Perhaps if he did not do so it would not have been realised by the majority.

Some of their narrations, such as this one, expose them:

 

ان القران نزل اربع ارباع: ربع حلال و ربع حرام و ربع سنن و احكام و ربع خبر ما كان قبلكم و نبا ما يكون بعدكم و فصل ما بينكم

The Qur’an was revealed in four quarters; a quarter is regarding the permissible, another quarter is regarding the impermissible, the third quarter is regarding mannerisms and laws and the fourth quarter is regarding the history of the people before you, news of that which will happen after you and judgement between you.[3]

 

Does this narration not reveal to us that there is no mention (at least in an explicit manner) of the Imams in the Qur’an?

However, another narration of theirs divides the Qur’an differently. As if they realised the slip-up in the previous narration, they tried to cover up by dedicating a portion (one third) to the Imams and their enemies. However, they sufficed upon one third (unlike their other claim that most of the Qur’an is regarding this). The narration states:

 

نزل القران اثلاثا: ثلث فينا و فى عدونا و ثلث سنن و امثال و ثلث فرائض و احكام

The Qur’an was revealed in thirds; on third regarding us and our enemies, one third regarding mannerisms and parables and one third duties and commands.[4]

 

A third narration appears which increases the portion of the Imams and their enemies from one third to half. The narration states:

 

نزل القران على اربعة ارباع: ربع فينا و ربع فى عدونا و ربع سنن و امثال و ربع فرائض و احكام

The Qur’an was revealed in quarters: quarter regarding us, quarter regarding our enemies, quarter regarding mannerisms and parables and quarter regarding duties and laws.[5]

 

It should be noted that until here, the Imams have no extra merit over their enemies as far as the portion that was dedicated to them. This gave birth to a fourth narration, (thanks to some Shia who realised this) which is identical to the above narration except that it contains the following addition:

 

و لنا كرائم القران

The best portion of the Qur’an is regarding us.[6]

 

The author of Tafsir al Safi indicates towards this saying:

 

و زاد العياشى و لنا كرائم القران

Al ‘Ayyashi added, “the best portion of the Qur’an is regarding us.”[7]

 

In this way, they ended up claiming that most of the Qur’an was revealed regarding them and their enemies.

Their scholar, al Fayd al Kashani (the author of al Wafi — which is one of their canonical sources in hadith) says:

 

وردت اخبار جمة عن اهل البيت فى تاويل كثير من ايات القران بهم و باوليائهم و باعدائهم حتى ان جماعة من اصحابنا صنفوا كتبا فى تاويل القران على هذا النحو جمعوا فيها ما ورد عنهم فى تاويل القران اية اية اما بهم او بشيعتهم او بعدوهم على ترتيب القران و قد رايت منها كتابا كاد يقرب من عشرين الف بيت و قد روى فى الكافى و فى تفسير العياشى و على بن ابراهيم القمى و التفسير المسموع من ابى محمد الزكى اخبارا كثيرة من هذا القبيل

 

Many narrations have been reported from the Ahlul Bayt in which the verses of the Qur’an are interpreted to be reference to them, their followers and their enemies. This is to the extent that some of our scholars have authored books in which the Qur’an is interpreted in this manner. They gathered all that which was narrated from them regarding the interpretation of the Qur’an, verse by verse. Each referring either to them, their supporters or their enemies, according to the order of the Qur’an. I saw one book which would fill almost twenty rooms. Many such narrations have been reported in al Kafi, Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi, ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim al Qummi and the Tafsir which was heard from Abu Muhammad al Zaki.[8]

 

This is a testimony or confession from one of their luminaries which confirms the degree to which this belief is common and widespread amongst them. It is now an accepted principle in their reliable books of tafsir, as well as their most authentic books of hadith. In this manner, they have turned the Book of Allah away from its meanings and done away with its revealed form. They have turned it into a book which is quite different to that which is in the possession of the rest of the Muslims.

This is the primary principle according to them. One of their scholars asserts:

 

ان الاصل فى تنزيل ايات القران…انما هو الارشاد الى ولاية النبى و الائمة صلوات الله عليهم بحيث لا خير خبر به الا وهو فيهم و فى اتباعهم و عارفيهم ولا سوء ذكر فيه الا وهو صادق على اعدائهم و فى مخالفيهم

 

The foundational principle regarding the revelation of the verses of the Qur’an… it is only guidance regarding the Wilayah of Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Imams. There is no goodness that was conveyed except that it is applicable to them, their supporters and those who know them and there is no mention of evil except that it is applicable to their enemies and opponents.[9]

 

Thus, it is not surprising to see their scholars competing with one another in changing the verses of the glorious Qur’an and twisting it to suit this principle.

Their scholar, al Hurr al ‘Amili has a chapter in his book al Fusul al Muhimmah fi Usul al A’immah regarding this, which is “all the verses in the Qur’an regarding the permissible and impermissible are as intended by their apparent meaning and their inner meaning is regarding the Imams of justice and oppression.”[10] Thus, he considers all the verses of permissibility to be a reference to the Imams and all the verses regarding impermissibility of acts or objects to be a reference to the leaders of the Muslims (besides Imam ‘Ali and the rest of the twelve Imams). This, undoubtedly opens the door to lawlessness, which is upheld by sects of the Batiniyyah. However, he considers this to be a principle of the Imams.

Al Kafi — the most authentic book according to them — contains many narrations regarding this. It will suffice you to read, “the chapter in which there are fine points and anecdotes of the revelation, regarding Wilayah”. The reader will be shocked to find ninety-one narrations which he gathered in this chapter, by means of which he changed the true meaning of the Qur’an.[11] This is only one of a few chapters in which this was done.[12] Each chapter contains tens of narrations which convert the Qur’an into a Shia. It is left with no content besides information about the twelve Imams, their followers and their enemies.

The book al Bihar, which is considered one of their reliable hadith sources, contains many narrations which are of the level of rules and principles of tafsir according to them. Many narrations have been quoted here, all of which have this approach towards the Book of Allah. One only has to read the titles of a few of these chapters to realise the degree to which they are inconsistent with the Arabic language, the intellect and the basic principles of Islam. They will leave the reader convinced that this is indeed among the most severe forms of disbelief in the Book of Allah and corruption of its meanings. We will present one of these types of titles below. Al Majlisi says:

 

باب تاويل المؤمنين و الايمان و المسلمين و الاسلام بهم و بولايتهم عليهم السلام و الكفار و المشركين و الكفر و الشرك و الجبت و الطاغوت و اللات و العزى و الاصنام باعدائهم و مخالفيهم

Chapter: Interpreting the words Mu’minin, iman, Muslims and Islam to mean them and their Wilayah, and the words kuffar, mushrikin, kufr, shirk, jibt (false objects of worship), taghut (devil), al Lat (name of an idol), al ‘Uzza (name of an idol) and idols to be a reference to their enemies and opposition.[13]

 

One hundred narrations have been quoted in this chapter.

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام الابرار و المتقون و السابقون المقربون و شيعتهم اصحاب اليمين و اعدائهم الفجار و الاشرار و اصحاب الشمال

Chapter: They are the righteous ones, the pious, the fore-runners and the ones who have been drawn close, and their Shia are the people of the right and their opponents are the transgressors, the evil ones and the people of the left.[14]

 

Twenty five narrations have been quoted in this chapter.

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام وولايتهم العدل والمعروف و الاحسان و القسط والميزان و ترك ولايتهم و اعدائهم الكفر و الفسوق و العصيان و الفحشاء والمنكر و البغى

Chapter: They and their Wilayah are referred to as justice, righteousness, virtue, fairness and the scale, and their enemies are referred to as kufr, transgression, sin, immorality, evil and oppression.[15]

 

This chapter contains fourteen of their narrations.

There are many other chapters like this, as will be presented. They will reveal an attempt that was directed towards changing the din of Islam, as all the realities of Islam were modified and confined to the pledge of allegiance to one man. The meanings of shirk as far as worshipping Allah, kufr, taghut, idols, etc., have been changed to weird meanings which expose the agenda of the one who were behind all of these concoctions.

This is because, they have considered all the Muslim leaders — with the exception of the twelve Imams — from Abu Bakr up until the last ruler before the Day of Judgement to be the enemies of the Imams. Furthermore, all those who pledge allegiance to these leaders, starting from the Sahabah, are of their enemies, upon whom the words kufr and shirk can be used. This will appear under the discussion of Imamah.

What happens to all the tenets and principles of Islam? What happens to its laws? Are all of them now confined to Imamah? Shirk, kufr and idols are no longer abhorred, as there is no shirk or kufr except believing in another Imam or rejecting the Imamah of one of the twelve, as established by these narrations. Is this not the greatest form of irreligiousness and disbelief? Can any bigoted enemy plan a greater attack than this? The ideas propagated are no doubt that of an ignorant person, as is apparent from the extent of its incongruity. However, a Muslims amazement has no limits regarding this; how does a nation (of millions) remain mentally enslaved and imprisoned to such preposterous and outrages beliefs?

We continue with our presentation of the chapter heading from al Bihar. The author says:

 

باب انهم الصلاة و الزكاة و الحج والصيام و سائر الطاعات و اعدائهم الفواحش والمعاصى

Chapter: They are salah, zakat, hajj, fasting and all other acts of obedience, and their enemies are immorality and sins.[16]

 

This chapter contains seventeen narrations.

This belief is identical to the belief of the Batiniyyah, who “interpret the commands of shari’ah and the prohibitions thereof against that which is common knowledge to the Muslims. They are known to one and all to be lies, false attributions to the prophets and adulteration of the speech of Allah, as well as disbelief in His verses.”[17] The author of al Bihar continues to present to us the true colours of the religion of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers), by means of the chapters. This is because he wrote his book during the rule of the Safavids, when taqiyyah was — to some degree — discarded. He writes:

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام ايات الله و بيناته و كتابه…

Chapter: They are the signs of Allah, His proofs and His book.

 

This chapter contains twenty narrations.[18]

 

باب انهم السبع المثانى

Chapter: They are the seven oft-repeated verses.

 

This chapter contains ten narrations.[19]

 

باب انهم عليهم السلام الصافون و المسبحون و صاحب المقام المعلوم و حملة عرش الرحمان و انهم السفرة الكرام البررة

Chapter: They are the ones who stand in rows, the ones who glorify, the people of the known station, the carriers of the throne of al Rahman and the noble and righteous scribes.

 

This chapter contains eleven narrations.[20]

 

باب انهم كلمات الله

Chapter: They are the words of Allah.

 

This chapter contains twenty five narrations.[21]

 

باب انهم حرمات الله

Chapter: They are the sanctified (objects) of Allah.

 

This chapter contains six narrations.[22]

 

باب انهم الذكر و اهل الذكر

Chapter: They are al Dhikr (the reminder) and the people of al Dhikr.

 

This chapter contains sixty five narrations.[23]

 

باب انهم انوار الله

Chapter: They are the lights of Allah.

 

This chapter contains forty-two narrations.[24]

 

باب انهم خير امة و خير ائمة اخرجت للناس

Chapter: They are the best nation and the best leaders, selected for mankind.

 

This chapter contains twenty four narrations.[25]

 

باب انهم المظلومون

Chapter: They are the oppressed ones.

 

This chapter contains twenty seven narrations.[26]

 

باب انهم المستضعفون

Chapter: They are the ones who were taken to be weak.

 

This chapter contains thirteen narrations.[27]

 

باب انهم اهل الاعراف الذين ذكرهم الله فى القران

Chapter: They are the people of A’raf (partitions) who have been mentioned in the Qur’an.

 

This chapter contains twenty narrations.[28]

 

باب تاويل الوالدين والولد والارحام و ذوى القربى بهم

Chapter: Interpreting parents, the child, relatives and close family to be a reference to them.

 

This chapter contains twenty three narrations.[29]

 

So, the Imams, as you have seen in these chapter headings, are at times angels, at times heavenly books and at times divine illumination. Despite that, they are also oppressed and taken to be weak. These are claims that need no analysis. Their absurdity and contradiction to the usage of words as well as the intelligence is self-evident. There is no need to even discuss them in the light of the principles and laws of Islam. In fact, they contradict one another. As if all of this was not enough, he continues, now interpreting inanimate bodies to be the Imams. He says:

 

باب انهم الماء المعين والبئر العطلة والقصر المشيد و تاويل السحاب و المطر و الظل و الفواكه و سائر المنافع بعلمهم و بركاتهم

Chapter: They are the sweet water, the destroyed well, the magnificent palace. The interpretation of clouds, rain, shade, fruits and all other objects which give off benefit is their knowledge and their blessings.

 

This chapter contains twenty one narrations, which were selected (as usual) from a few of their reliable books.[30]

 

He then exceeds all limits. He does not even spare the qualities of Allah. He writes:

 

باب انهم جنب الله و روحه و يد الله و امثالها

Chapter: They are the side of Allah, His soul, His hand and all similar (descriptions).

 

This chapter contains thirty six narrations.[31]

 

He then makes them the Ka’bah and the Qiblah. He has a chapter heading which reads:

 

باب انهم رضى الله عنهم حزب الله و بقيته و كعبته و قبلته و ان الاثارة من العلم علم الاوصياء

Chapter: They are the group of Allah, His vicegerents, His Ka’bah[32] and His Qiblah. The ‘trace of knowledge’ is the knowledge of the Awsiya.

 

He presents seven narrations in this chapter.[33]

 

His extremism continues and becomes apparent in a few more chapter headings. These are actually the most profound refutations and condemnations of the Shia sect. He is in fact demolishing their foundations on the one hand, and demonstrating the grandeur of Islam on the other hand, as the reality of something becomes clear when its opposite is seen. If bitterness did not exist, none would appreciate a sweet taste. These interpretations can only be compared to the efforts of Musaylamah — the imposter. They themselves announce that they are not from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. One who has the slightest knowledge of the Arabic language will be able to confirm this, over and above scrutinising them in the light of the laws and principles of Islam. This is because Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala revealed the Qur’an in clear Arabic.

The book al Bihar (which is highly reliable according to the Shia) wishes to turn the Imams into everything that is mentioned in the Qur’an. Thus, he continues listing these chapters, hoping to establish whatever his whims and fanaticism leads him to. He ends up disgorging all that was kept in his heart, without caring in the least about the embarrassment of being exposed, and without hesitating to display his insolence. He says:

 

باب انهم البحر و اللؤلؤ و المرجان

Chapter: They are the sea, pearls and corals.

 

This chapter contains seven narrations.[34]

 

So, are they inanimate objects, or is this some secret code of theirs? They are not inanimate, as he titles another chapter:

 

باب انهم الناس

Chapter: They are humanity.

 

This chapter contains merely three narrations.[35]

 

In this chapter, he establishes that, besides the Imams, no one else belongs to the human race. Thereafter, he continues to propagate his weird and absurd religion, which the scholars of the past did not consider to be the religion of the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers), but rather the religion of the Batiniyyah.[36] He adds a chapter:

 

باب نادر فى تاويل النحل بهم

A unique chapter in interpreting the bee to be a reference to them.

 

This chapter contains seven narrations.[37]

 

Another chapter heading reads:

 

باب تاويل الايام والشهور بالائمة

Chapter: Interpreting days and months to be the Imams.

 

This chapter contains four narrations.[38]

 

If we go on to quote all the ahadith of those chapters, and thereafter scrutinise and analyse them, we will need a few volumes. Also, we have opted to quote the chapter headings instead of the narrations, so it cannot be said that we are taking them to task on the basis of rare narrations. Similarly, we will quote, as examples, some narrations from these chapters which will be — in most cases — narrations which are mentioned in many of their reliable books. The above-quoted chapter headings are a few from the many that are mentioned in their books. They also appear in their outstanding encyclopaedia on hadith, al Bihar — which was described by their contemporary scholars as:

The most comprehensive book on the sciences of hadith.[39]

 

A more comprehensive book was neither compiled before it, nor after it.[40]

 

وقد صار مصدرا لكل من طلب بابا من ابواب علوم ال محمد صلى الله عليه و سلم

It has become a reference book for all those who seek any chapter from the chapters of knowledge of the household of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[41]

 

هو المرجع الوحيد فى تحقيق معارف المذهب

It is the only source as far as researching the intricacies of the mazhab is concerned.[42]

 

As for the author of the book, he is, according to them:

Sheikh al Islam wa l-Muslimin.[43]

 

رئيس الفقهاء والمحدثين اية الله فى العالمين ملاذ المحدثين فى كل الاعصار و معاذ المجتهدين فى جميع الاعصار

The leader of the jurists and muhaddithin. The sign of Allah in the universe. The source of delight for the muhaddithin of every era, and the source of refuge for the mujtahids of every era.[44]

 

They have bestowed upon him other titles as well.

 

These narrations are actually sourced from some of their reliable books, as he states:

 

اجتمع عندنا بحمد الله سوى الكتب الاربعة نحو مائتى كتاب و لقد جمعتها فى بحار الانوار

All praise is due to Allah, besides the four books[45], we have as many as two hundred books. I have gathered this in Bihar al Anwar.[46]

 

The author of al Dhari’ah says:

 

و اكثر ماخذ البحار من الكتب المعتمدة والاصول المعتبرة

Most of the sources of al Bihar are authentic books and reliable sources.[47]

 

As I have explained previously, whoever has any knowledge regarding the Arabic language, he will immediately realise that these chapters and their narrations are a great form of disbelief in the Book of Allah. It is undoubtedly adulteration of the Speech of Allah. They can only be accepted by one who is clueless regarding both, Arabic as well as Islam. It is also clear proof that the one who wishes to temper with the Book of Allah is severely disgraced. These absurdities are not confined to their hadith books. Rather, if a person reads the highly celebrated Tafsir of theirs, which is referred to as “The mother of all Tafsirs”[48] (Tafsir al Qummi) by them, he will find a fair share of Batini interpretations.

Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi, one of their classical and reliable commentaries, is no different. The same can be said regarding Tafsir al Burhan, Tafsir al Safi and others, which supposedly rely upon that which is reported from Jafar al Sadiq or one of the other Imams for their interpretations. If we wish to study and analyse each book of tafsir independently, the subject will be lengthened extensively and it will be a prolonged digression. It will suffice us to mention a few of their narrations of these chapters.

 
 

NEXT⇒ The Origin of These Interpretations, Their Roots and a Few Examples


[1]Tafsir al Safi 1/24. The author of al Safi made this statement under the title of his second introduction.

[2]  This book has been printed by al Matba’ah al ‘Ilmiyyah – Qum 1394 A.H.

[3]Usul al Kafi 2/627

[4] Usul al Kafi 2/627, al Burhan 1/21, Tafsir al Safi 1/24, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 6

[5]Usul al Kafi 2/627, al Burhan 1/21

[6]Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi 1/9, Tafsir Furat 1,2 Bihar al Anwar 24/305, al Karajki: Kanz al Fawa’id pg. 2, al Burhan 1/21, al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 7

[7]Tafsir al Safi 1/24

[8]  Al Kashani: Tafsir al Safi 1/24-25

[9]  Abu al Hassan al Sharif: Mir’at al Anwar (the introduction to al Burhan) pg. 4. Also refer to al Lawami’ al Nuraniyyah pg. 548

[10]  Al Fusul al Muhimmah fi Usul al A’immah pg. 256

[11]Usul al Kafi 1/412

[12]  E.g. “The Imams ‘alayimh al Salam are the signs which Allah mentioned in His book,”, “the signs which are mentioned by Allah in his book are the Imams,” “the Ahl al Dhikr (those who Allah instructed the masses to refer their questions to), are the Imams,” etc. Usul al Kafi 1/206, 207, 210.

[13]Bihar al Anwar 23/354-390

[14]  Ibid 24/1-9

[15]Bihar al Anwar 24/187-191

[16]  Ibid 24/286-304

[17]Majmu’ Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah 3/29

[18]Bihar al Anwar 23/206-211

[19]  Ibid 24/114-118

[20]  Ibid 24/87-91

[21]  Ibid 24/173-184

[22]  Ibid 24/185-186

[23]  Ibid 23/172-188

[24]  Ibid 23/304-188

[25]  Ibid 24/153-158

[26]  Ibid 24/221-231

[27]  Ibid 24/167-173

[28]  Ibid 24/247-256

[29]  Ibid 23/257-272

[30]Bihar al Anwar 24/100-110

[31]  Ibid 24/191-203

[32]  The Bohras (Ismailis of India and Yemen who go for Hajj due to them believing that the Ka’bah is a symbol of Imam ‘Ali — Islam bila Mazhab pg 240) could have adopted this form of disbelief on account of these types of narrations, as the Rawafid are the door and pathway to the extremisms of the Batiniyyah.

[33]Al Bihar 24/211-213

[34]Al Bihar 24/97-99

[35]  Ibid 24/94-96

[36]  Some of their scholars have stated that their religion is changed and modified in every era, as will be discussed under the chapter, “present day Shia and their relationship with their predecessors”.

[37]Al Bihar 24/110-113

[38]  Ibid 24/238-243

[39]  Muhsin al Amin: A’yan al Shia 1/293

[40]  Agha Buzurg al Tehrani: al Dhari’ah 3/26

[41]  Ibid 3/26-27

[42]  Al Bahbudi: Muqaddimah al Bihar pg. 19

[43]  Al Ardabili: Jami’ al Ruwat 2/78

[44]Muqaddimah al Bihar pg. 29

[45]Al Kafi, al Tahdhib, al Istibsar and Man La Yahdurhu al Faqih. Details regarding these books will appear under the discussion, “their beliefs regarding the Sunnah”.

[46]I’tiqadat al Majlisi pg. 24 (quoted from the book al Fikr al Shi’i by Mustafa al Shibi pg. 61)

[47] Al Dhari’ah 3/26-27

[48]Asl Usul al Tafsir, refer to the introduction of Tafsir al Qummi 1/16