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The Shia did not restrict themselves in criticising the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum alone, they fabricated against their Imams, claimed the Qur’an to be distorted, believe their Imams to be superior to the prophets, and claimed that their Imams know the unseen; in fact they went far beyond this and attributed ignorance to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. This is what they call Bada” which means, “correcting something that He was unaware of,”[1] or in other words, “when Allah comes to know a thing that was not known to Him,”[2] according to them they say:
Whoever is ignorant with regards to the concept of Bada does not have any share in knowledge.[3]
The Shia also believe that it is impossible for a person to be a proper scholar without attributing ignorance to the Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. So if the Ahlus Sunnah do not admit the ignorance of Allah (Pure is He from all faults) then they themselves are ignorant who cannot be relied upon. This is what the Shia were referring to in the previous paragraph.[4]
Perhaps some of the Shia may deny this concept of Bada, thus I will proceed to quote from their relied upon sources. Here is al Kulayni narrating in al Kafi[5] from Zurarah:
Any form of worship is not equal in rank than Bada.
The worship of the Shia is directed towards an ignorant Rabb —Allah forbid. The question is how can the one who is ignorant, be worshiped, he does not even know the interests of his slaves, this means all his laws are based on ignorance. No one will worship ignorantly except the one who is ignorant. This belief finds its roots in the mind of those who are afflicted with ignorance, like the mind of the progeny of Ibn Saba’ as well as Abu Lu’lu’ al Majusi. In the narration of Ibn ‘Umair — from Hisham ibn Salim — from Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq):
Allah can never be magnified through anything like Bada.[6]
The one who explains this says:
Bada means; the appearance of a hidden action through discovering hidden knowledge of the interest. The meaning of Bada is used in a wide sense, which is why we say Bada means the appearance of any action which is contrary from its ostensible appearance. So if it is said, it became clear for him to do so and so, this will mean that his action became apparent which was ostensibly contrary.[7]
According to the Shia, Allah suddenly comes across certain things which He was not aware of, or that which is contrary to what He knew — Allah is indeed Pure from what they ascribe to Him. Al Kulayni mentions in al Kafi[8] — from al Rayyan ibn al Salt — he says — I heard ‘Ali al Rida rahimahu Llah saying;
Allah did not send any nabi ever except that he was commanded to prohibit wine and to affirm Bada for Allah.
So all the prophets according to the Shia affirmed ignorance to Allah. This narration implies that Firoun when he denied Nabi Musa ‘alayh al Salam was excused, because it is impossible to believe in the Nabi (of an ignorant God, who does not know what He will do, all the time he keeps on changing the rules and the prophets. Similar can be said for the people of Nuh ‘alayh al Salam, Lut ‘alayh al Salam, Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam and all the other prophets.
The people who denied the message of their prophets and disobeyed the command of their Rabb, were thinking according to the belief of the Shia, that perhaps Allah will agree and be happy with their worship of the idols, because they were worshiping it to take them closer to Allah. This is a clear disbelief, may Allah protect all of us from this type of belief, and we also free ourselves from anyone who believes in this whoever it may be or whosoever is happy with this belief.
According to the Shia, if a person accuses Allah of ignorance and voices this belief then he is rewarded abundantly. Al Kulayni mentions in al Kafi[9] from Malik al Juhani saying that I heard Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq) saying:
If people knew the reward of Bada’ then none would have stopped speaking about it.
He also mentions in al Kafi[10] from Mirzam Ibn Hakim, he says, I heard Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq) saying:
No nabi was appointed as a nabi until he affirms five qualities for Allah: Bada, mashi’ah (will), the sujud, ‘ubudiyyah (servitude) and ta’ah (obedience).
Al Sayed Tayyib al Musawi said[11] :
Our Sheikh al Tusi said in al ‘Uddah: “The meaning of Bada literary is ‘to become apparent’ like how we would say ‘the boundaries of the city became apparent to us.’ Sometimes this word of Bada can come in the meaning of knowing something that was not known.”
Al Sayed al Murtada defines Bada from a different perspective, he says:
It is possible to understand this on its literal meaning by saying, ‘the command that was not visible to Allah became apparent to Him, the prohibition that was hidden to Allah became apparent to Him,’ the reason is that before the command or the prohibition it was not entirely apparent, He only learnt that he would permit or prohibit in the future. The fact that he commands or prohibits is not enough to say that He knows, He only comes to know when the command or the prohibition takes place. The proof for this is the following verse:
وَ لَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتّٰی نَعْلَمَ الْمُجٰهِدِیْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَ الصّٰبِرِیْنَۙ وَ نَبْلُوَ اَخْبَارَكُمْ
And we will surely test you until we make evident those who strive among you (for the cause of Allah).[12]
The understanding of this verse is, until and unless we come to know the existence of your jihad, meaning before jihad nothing exists, the knowledge comes only when the jihad takes place, so this is exactly what Bada is.
The Shia claim that Allah gave their Imams power and entrusted them to create a creation like the creation of Allah and grant them sustenance.[13] They also claim that Allah follows what the Imams say, they ask Allah to create and to feed then Allah creates and feeds in response to their request and in honour of them. The day when ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu was killed — the very same individual on whose hands Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala conquered the Persian Empire and ended the rule of the Zoroastrians — they believe that on the day he was killed Allah lifts the pen from the entire creation for three days in celebration of this ‘blessed’ day — according to them. They also say that the sky on this day raised its voice with praise and gratitude to Allah, when ‘Umar ibn al Khattab was martyred, may the curse of Allah be upon whosoever bears hatred for him.[14]
NEXT⇒ The Belief of the Shia Regarding Their Imams
[1] Lisan al ‘Arab of Ibn Manzur vol. 1 pg. 187
[2] Asl al Shia of Kashif al Ghita’ (al Mastur) pg. 231
[3] Shubhatun Howla al Tashayyu’ by ‘Ali al ‘Usfur pg. 52
[4] Refer to the chapter {the position of the Shia from Ahlus Sunnah’s perspective of this book, and refer to our book Mowqif al Khumayni min Ahlus Sunnah.
[5] Op. cit. vol. 1 pg. 14
[6] Al Kafi vol. 1 pg. 262
[7] Ibid vol. 1 pg. 146
[8] Ibid vol. 1 pg. 265
[9] Vol. 1 pg. 264
[10] Al Kafi pg. 265
[11] In his commentary on Tafsir al Qummi vol. 1 pg. 39
[12] Surah Muhammad: 31.
[13] Al Ihtijaj of al Tabarsi vol. 2 pg. 284
[14] Al Anwar al No’maniyyah of al Jaza’iri vol. 1 pg. 108
BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
The Shia did not restrict themselves in criticising the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum alone, they fabricated against their Imams, claimed the Qur’an to be distorted, believe their Imams to be superior to the prophets, and claimed that their Imams know the unseen; in fact they went far beyond this and attributed ignorance to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. This is what they call Bada” which means, “correcting something that He was unaware of,”[1] or in other words, “when Allah comes to know a thing that was not known to Him,”[2] according to them they say:
Whoever is ignorant with regards to the concept of Bada does not have any share in knowledge.[3]
The Shia also believe that it is impossible for a person to be a proper scholar without attributing ignorance to the Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. So if the Ahlus Sunnah do not admit the ignorance of Allah (Pure is He from all faults) then they themselves are ignorant who cannot be relied upon. This is what the Shia were referring to in the previous paragraph.[4]
Perhaps some of the Shia may deny this concept of Bada, thus I will proceed to quote from their relied upon sources. Here is al Kulayni narrating in al Kafi[5] from Zurarah:
Any form of worship is not equal in rank than Bada.
The worship of the Shia is directed towards an ignorant Rabb —Allah forbid. The question is how can the one who is ignorant, be worshiped, he does not even know the interests of his slaves, this means all his laws are based on ignorance. No one will worship ignorantly except the one who is ignorant. This belief finds its roots in the mind of those who are afflicted with ignorance, like the mind of the progeny of Ibn Saba’ as well as Abu Lu’lu’ al Majusi. In the narration of Ibn ‘Umair — from Hisham ibn Salim — from Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq):
Allah can never be magnified through anything like Bada.[6]
The one who explains this says:
Bada means; the appearance of a hidden action through discovering hidden knowledge of the interest. The meaning of Bada is used in a wide sense, which is why we say Bada means the appearance of any action which is contrary from its ostensible appearance. So if it is said, it became clear for him to do so and so, this will mean that his action became apparent which was ostensibly contrary.[7]
According to the Shia, Allah suddenly comes across certain things which He was not aware of, or that which is contrary to what He knew — Allah is indeed Pure from what they ascribe to Him. Al Kulayni mentions in al Kafi[8] — from al Rayyan ibn al Salt — he says — I heard ‘Ali al Rida rahimahu Llah saying;
Allah did not send any nabi ever except that he was commanded to prohibit wine and to affirm Bada for Allah.
So all the prophets according to the Shia affirmed ignorance to Allah. This narration implies that Firoun when he denied Nabi Musa ‘alayh al Salam was excused, because it is impossible to believe in the Nabi (of an ignorant God, who does not know what He will do, all the time he keeps on changing the rules and the prophets. Similar can be said for the people of Nuh ‘alayh al Salam, Lut ‘alayh al Salam, Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam and all the other prophets.
The people who denied the message of their prophets and disobeyed the command of their Rabb, were thinking according to the belief of the Shia, that perhaps Allah will agree and be happy with their worship of the idols, because they were worshiping it to take them closer to Allah. This is a clear disbelief, may Allah protect all of us from this type of belief, and we also free ourselves from anyone who believes in this whoever it may be or whosoever is happy with this belief.
According to the Shia, if a person accuses Allah of ignorance and voices this belief then he is rewarded abundantly. Al Kulayni mentions in al Kafi[9] from Malik al Juhani saying that I heard Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq) saying:
If people knew the reward of Bada’ then none would have stopped speaking about it.
He also mentions in al Kafi[10] from Mirzam Ibn Hakim, he says, I heard Abu ‘Abdullah (al Sadiq) saying:
No nabi was appointed as a nabi until he affirms five qualities for Allah: Bada, mashi’ah (will), the sujud, ‘ubudiyyah (servitude) and ta’ah (obedience).
Al Sayed Tayyib al Musawi said[11] :
Our Sheikh al Tusi said in al ‘Uddah: “The meaning of Bada literary is ‘to become apparent’ like how we would say ‘the boundaries of the city became apparent to us.’ Sometimes this word of Bada can come in the meaning of knowing something that was not known.”
Al Sayed al Murtada defines Bada from a different perspective, he says:
It is possible to understand this on its literal meaning by saying, ‘the command that was not visible to Allah became apparent to Him, the prohibition that was hidden to Allah became apparent to Him,’ the reason is that before the command or the prohibition it was not entirely apparent, He only learnt that he would permit or prohibit in the future. The fact that he commands or prohibits is not enough to say that He knows, He only comes to know when the command or the prohibition takes place. The proof for this is the following verse:
وَ لَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتّٰی نَعْلَمَ الْمُجٰهِدِیْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَ الصّٰبِرِیْنَۙ وَ نَبْلُوَ اَخْبَارَكُمْ
And we will surely test you until we make evident those who strive among you (for the cause of Allah).[12]
The understanding of this verse is, until and unless we come to know the existence of your jihad, meaning before jihad nothing exists, the knowledge comes only when the jihad takes place, so this is exactly what Bada is.
The Shia claim that Allah gave their Imams power and entrusted them to create a creation like the creation of Allah and grant them sustenance.[13] They also claim that Allah follows what the Imams say, they ask Allah to create and to feed then Allah creates and feeds in response to their request and in honour of them. The day when ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu was killed — the very same individual on whose hands Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala conquered the Persian Empire and ended the rule of the Zoroastrians — they believe that on the day he was killed Allah lifts the pen from the entire creation for three days in celebration of this ‘blessed’ day — according to them. They also say that the sky on this day raised its voice with praise and gratitude to Allah, when ‘Umar ibn al Khattab was martyred, may the curse of Allah be upon whosoever bears hatred for him.[14]
NEXT⇒ The Belief of the Shia Regarding Their Imams
[1] Lisan al ‘Arab of Ibn Manzur vol. 1 pg. 187
[2] Asl al Shia of Kashif al Ghita’ (al Mastur) pg. 231
[3] Shubhatun Howla al Tashayyu’ by ‘Ali al ‘Usfur pg. 52
[4] Refer to the chapter {the position of the Shia from Ahlus Sunnah’s perspective of this book, and refer to our book Mowqif al Khumayni min Ahlus Sunnah.
[5] Op. cit. vol. 1 pg. 14
[6] Al Kafi vol. 1 pg. 262
[7] Ibid vol. 1 pg. 146
[8] Ibid vol. 1 pg. 265
[9] Vol. 1 pg. 264
[10] Al Kafi pg. 265
[11] In his commentary on Tafsir al Qummi vol. 1 pg. 39
[12] Surah Muhammad: 31.
[13] Al Ihtijaj of al Tabarsi vol. 2 pg. 284
[14] Al Anwar al No’maniyyah of al Jaza’iri vol. 1 pg. 108