Reported Evidence Regarding the Virtues of the Sahabah – The virtues mentioned in the Torah and Injil

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Reported Evidence Regarding the Virtues of the Sahabah

 

I will present three reported evidences in favour of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum:

1. The virtues mentioned in the Torah and Injil
2. The virtues celebrated in the Qur’an
3. The virtues stated by the infallible Imams in the books of the Imamiyyah.

 

The Virtues of the Sahabah in the Torah and Injil

 

This fact is known to all — including the Shia — that just as Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was prophesised in the other Divine Books, the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum were as well. This cannot be rejected for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala declares:

 

مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِؕ وَ الَّذِیْنَ مَعَهٓ اَشِدَّآءُ عَلَی الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَیْنَهُمْ تَرٰىهُمْ رُکَّعًا سُجَّدًا یَّبْتَغُوْنَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللّٰهِ وَ رِضْوَانًاؗ سِیْمَاهُمْ فِیْ وُجُوْهِهِمْ مِّنْ اَثَرِ السُّجُوْدِؕ ذٰلِکَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِی التَّوْرٰىةِۛ ۖ ۚ وَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِی الْاِنْجِیْلِۛ ۚ کَزَرْعٍ اَخْرَجَ شَطْـَٔهفَاٰزَرَهفَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوٰی عَلٰی سُوْقِهٖ یُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِیَغِیْظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَؕ وَعَدَ اللّٰهُ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ مِنْهُمْ مَّغْفِرَةً وَّ اَجْرًا عَظِیْمًا

Muhammad is the Rasul of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating (in prayer), seeking bounty from Allah and (His) pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Injil is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers — so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.^[1]

 

I will now elaborate on these examples of the Torah and Injil described by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala in this verse.

 

First Virtue in the Torah

 

It appears in the Torah:

 

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people.^[2]

 

What Nabi Musa ‘alayh al Salam commanded his people to do was carried out by the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. The sternness to be directed at the kuffar was displayed by them. Hence, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala declares in praise of them, “forceful against the disbelievers”. Although the Imamiyyah cannot reject the sternness the Sahabah had in matters of din, nonetheless I will — for their peace of heart — mention a few incidents of Sayyidina Abu Bakr and Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma who are the arch enemies of the Shia and are labelled as Sanami Quraysh (the Quraysh idolaters) by them. I only request you to listen to the narrations of your books and then to evaluate it in light of the verse of the Torah and Qur’an and judge truthfully for yourselves. If embarrassment is not preventing you, then leave doggedness, animosity and corrupt beliefs aside, acknowledge their merit and enter into the Ahlus Sunnah wa l-Jama’ah.

 

Sayyidina Abu Bakr’s Intention to kill his Father

The great Shia scholar Sheikh Hilli^[3] writes in chapter six of Tadhkirat al Fuqaha’:

 

Abu Bakr intended to slay his father on the battlefield of Uhud but Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prevented him saying, “Spare him for someone else.”

 

Brothers! For Allah’s sake, at least have a look at your Imam’s acknowledgement of the truthfulness of Sayyidina Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his attestation to the sternness he displayed against the kuffar as instructed in the Torah. Leave alone being worthy of forceful against the disbelievers, is there anyone who will be prepared to kill his father and fulfil this command of the Torah? It is astonishing how the Shia and their great Imams acknowledge this narration and attest to the fact that Sayyidina Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu was prepared to kill his father, yet they reject his truthfulness.

 

Sayyidina ‘Umar Proposes to Kill his Relatives

 

The Shia commentators have stated in Tafsir Majma’ al Bayan, Manhaj al Sadiqin and Khulasa Tafsir Jurjani that after the Battle of Badr was fought and many Makkans were captured, who were mostly relatives of the Muhajirin radiya Llahu ‘anhum, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam consulted the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum regarding them; upon which Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu proposed:

 

Every captive should be handed over to his Muslim relative who should kill him and not consider family relationship in front of the love for Allah. Thus, ‘Aqil should be handed to ‘Ali and Nowfal to me to be killed.

 

O Shia! Have a look at this narration in your books of tafsir and decide whether Sayyidina ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu is the epitome of forceful against the disbelievers or not? If you do not accept, then may Allah, grant you understanding.

 

Second Virtue of the Injil

 

It appears in the Gospel of Matthew:

 

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

 

This prophecy should be compared to the one mentioned in the verse:

 

وَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِی الْاِنْجِیْلِۛ ۚ کَزَرْعٍ اَخْرَجَ شَطْـَٔهفَاٰزَرَهفَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوٰی عَلٰی سُوْقِهٖ

And their description in the Injil is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks.^[4]

 

How beautifully does this text of the Injil corroborate the verse of the Qur’an and confirm the virtue of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. This parable fits the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum like a glove. They were few in number in the beginning but grew slowly to become a formidable army. When the kuffar would see their large numbers and strength, they would be shocked and enraged. The person who does not attest to their righteousness and virtue has in fact rejected the Qur’an, Injil and all Divine Books.

Friends! If you do not accept the Islam and iman of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum then kindly explain who are “وَ الَّذِیْنَ مَعَه” (and those with him). Who were the people with Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam which Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala is describing? Who were those who were forceful against the disbelievers? If all of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum except a handful turned renegade then who are those people by virtue of which Islam from a single seed became a large tree? How many are those whom the kuffar would become enraged with? Who can ever think that they will be enraged and astonished by a few? Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala declare them as “فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوٰی عَلٰی سُوْقِهٖ” (so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks) if thousands did not accept Islam and were not perfect in it? Until a person does not acknowledge the virtue and large number of the Sahabah, he has not believed in this verse.

Friends! By the oath of Allah and have conviction on my words, I am totally shocked at those who claim to believe in this verse and accept the parable of the Injil as glad tidings for Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, yet reject the virtue and large number of the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum and restrict such verses and glad tidings to a few personalities. More astonishing is that they harbour hatred against the Sahabah and do not fear the warning of “لِیَغِیْظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ” (so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers).

 

 

NEXT⇒ Verses of the Qur’an Complimenting the Sahabah

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^[1]  Surah al Fath: 29

^[2]  Deuteronomy 13:6-9

^[3]  Jamal al Din Hassan ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Ali ibn Mutahhar al Hilli, famous as ‘Allamah al Hilli. He was born on the 29 of Ramadan 648 A.H in Hill. He learnt usul, grammar, fiqh, and ‘aqa’id from Sheikh Najm al Din Abu al Qasim Jafar ibn Hassan al Hilli (Muhaqqiq al Hilli) and his father Yusuf ibn ‘Ali ibn Mutahhar al Hilli. He studied philosophy under Sheikh Nasir al Din al Tusi. Besides these, he also sat at the feet of ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar al Katibi al Qazwini al Shafi’i, Mulla Qutb al Din, Muhammad ibn Ahmed al Kayshi — the nephew of ‘Allamah al Shirazi and other Sunni and Shia scholars. Yafi’i has written in his history that Ibn Mutahhar al Hilli is the author of more than eighty books. To establish Shia ideologies and disprove the Ahlus Sunnah, he wrote Minhaj al Kiramah fi Ma’rifat al Imamah, a voluminous book wherein he attempted to establish the virtues, leadership and infallibility of the twelve Imams through Qur’anic verses and prophetic traditions. He also attempted to prove the criticism levelled against the first three khulafaʾ and the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum in general by citing Qur’an, ahadith and historical narration. Sheikh al Islam Ahmed Taqi al Din Hafiz ibn Taymiyyah wrote an irrefutable response named Minhaj al Sunnah al Nabawiyyah fi Naqd Kalam al Shia wa al Qadariyyah, in which he exposed each and every discrepancy of Minhaj al Kiramah. According to Molana Sayed Abu al Hassan ‘Ali Miya Nadwi, ‘Allamah Ibn Tayyimah fulfilled the fard kifayah responsibility of the ummah by writing this book in answer to the allegations levelled against the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Ibn Mutahhar Hilli died on the 21 Muharram 726 A.H in Hill. (Sheikh Muhammad Firasat)

^[4]  Surah al Fath: 29