Foreword

Describing the flimsiness and weaknesses of some homes, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says:

مَثَلُ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّخَذُوْا مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ كَمَثَلِ الْعَنْكَبُوْتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا ۖ وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوْتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنْكَبُوْتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوْا يَعْلَمُوْنَ

The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of a spider spinning a shelter. And the flimsiest of all shelters is certainly that of a spider, if only they knew.^[1]

A spider web, which a spider excretes, is proverbial for being weak, frail, crumbling and falling apart by the touch of finger or a gust of wind.

In a book titled Bayt al ‘Ankabut (spider web), I noticed that the author who excreted this web, has compiled 90% of his book by quoting from books which are well-known amongst the masses; books such as Nahj al Balaghah, which is attributed to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (23–40 AH/600–661 CE), dictionaries, books of history, books of al jarh wa al ta’dil (disapproval and approval) which are popular in the science of hadith, etc.

Although the book Bayt al ‘Ankabut is voluminous; however, it has nothing to do with its author’s intellect or creativity.

Despite this, the one who penned Bayt al ‘Ankabut is the official spokesperson for the Imamiyyah Ithna ‘Ashariyya Shia in Egypt. A place which is the quiver of Allah on earth, protector of the Qur’an and its sciences, patron of the pure Sunnah of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the place of the illustrious al Azhar; a Sunni stronghold which resisted against Shi’ism even when the Ismaili Fatimid Shia (believers in the esoteric interpretation of the Qur’an) ruled over it for a long period, expanding close to three centuries (297–567 AH/909–1171 CE).

In those days, its Sunni population would enrage the Shia rulers by chanting the name of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan radiya Llahu ‘anhu (20–60 AH/603–680 CE) in demonstrations, whom they hate and accuse of disbelief. The Egyptians would chant openly before the Shia rulers that Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu is the maternal uncle of the believers because his sister, Umm Habibah radiya Llahu ‘anha (25–44 AH/596–664 CE) is one of the Mothers of the Believers.

A group of Egyptians, since then until the present, expressed their opposition to the Shia by designating the words al Rafd and al Rafidah as a slur against those they greatly abhorred. Hence, they would say, “O the son of a Rafidi or Rafidi,” out of disgust and contempt towards those who rejected the caliphate of Sayyidina Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and the majority of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

During that time and throughout its Islamic history, this group became one of those who displayed the greatest love for the household of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to such an extent that from amongst the Muslim Ummah they single-handedly started to publicise the names of the household of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam amongst their progeny in such a manner that their love (for the household of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) outshines their hatred for Shi’ism and the Rafidah.

Although the quotations and the excerpts are in essence the thoughts of the original authors, the fact that the one who authored Bayt al ‘Ankabut quoted them, highlights his stance. Our dialogue in the forthcoming study will revolve around the stance that he has taken, Allah willing.

Muhammad ‘Imarah

NEXT⇒ Al Bukhari (194–256 AH/810–870 CE)

^[1] Surah al ‘Ankabut: 41.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents