Shia attitude towards the Sahabah

What we have witnessed was the attitude of the Ahlul Bayt towards the Sahabah, now let us have a look at the attitude of the Shia.

As for the Shia—who claim partisanship to the Ahlul Bayt—they adopt a contrary attitude towards the Sahabah in direct opposition to the stance of the Ahlul Bayt. An attitude of rancour that has only increased in its intensity over the passage of time towards those who suppressed polytheism, destroyed the idols, and raised the banner of Islam. They ended the supreme monarchies and empires of the forefathers of the Shia; razing to the ground their mighty castles and fortresses.

Thus it makes sense that the offspring of the Zoroastrians, Jews, and those who were defeated would be hell-bent upon extinguishing the light of Allah and obstructing its path. Love for the Ahlul Bayt is used as a smokescreen by which they can accomplish their wicked designs. The Ahlul Bayt on the other hand are free from any association to them.

Their hallmark is maligning—through oratory or written discourse—those Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who loved him dearly, obeyed him, willingly sacrificed their wealth and lives for his course on the slightest indication, fought their own relatives, and followed his example to detail. My Allah be pleased with all of them.

Yet there are those who say, “All his Companions became renegade with the exception of four.”^{^[1]} And reports such as these are profuse in the books of the Shia.

Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al Kulayni had produced something even more far-fetched when he had stated:

Everyone became apostate after the demise of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam with the exception of Miqdad ibn al Aswad, Abu Dhar al Ghifari, and Salman al Farsi radiya Llahu ‘anhum.^{^[2]}

Al Majlisi also states:

Everyone became apostate after the demise of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam save Abu Dhar, Miqdad, and Salman radiya Llahu ‘anhum.^{^[3]}

One might ask, what about the Ahlul Bayt who were around at that time, such as ‘Abbas the uncle of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Ibn ‘Abbas the cousin of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ‘Aqil the brother of ‘Ali, as well as ‘Ali and the Prophet’s two grandsons, Hassan and Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhum?

Al Kulayni reports from ‘Abd al Rahim al Qasir, who said:

I said to Imam al Baqir, “Indeed the people become agitated when we say, ‘The people became apostate.’”

He said, “O ‘Abd al Rahim! All the people returned to Jahiliyyah after the demise of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The Ansar withdrew but they did not withdraw in goodness. They pledged their allegiance to Sa’d, while singing the poetry of the period of Jahiliyyah, ‘O Sa’d! You are the man of our hopes, your mane is well-groomed, and your steed runs hard.’”^{^[4]}

What is intended hereby is that not a single person remained on Islam, not even Abu Dhar, Salman, or Miqdad radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

A contemporary Shia scholar states the complete opposite. While the Shia in general believe that the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam became apostate after having believed, this individual rejects them having embraced Islam from the onset. In his refutation against us he claims that we did not accurately portray their belief regarding the Sahabah, however, in the same refutation he establishes exactly what we have stated. Just marvel at the manner in which he tightens the noose around his own neck:

In addition I am saying that the Arabs only accepted Islam after it was ringing in their wake.^{^[5]} That is the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam invited them first to Islam, some of them accepted immediately while others delayed. Amongst them were those who entered into Islam as hypocrites while others embraced only out of fear after having run out of options. None of them accepted Islam after pondering over its realities except for one individual,^{^[6]} who had left his homeland in search of the truth and underwent great difficulty until he arrived at the reality with Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and believed in him, i.e. Salman al Farsi.^{^[7]}

Al Qummi comments under the verse:

وَحَسِبُوْا أَلَّا تَكُوْنَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا ثُمَّ تَابَ اللَٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا كَثِيْرٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَاللّٰهُ بَصِيْرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُوْنَ

And they thought there would be no [resulting] punishment, so they became blind and deaf. Then Allah turned to them in forgiveness; then [again] many of them became blind and deaf. And Allah is Seeing of what they do.^{^[8]}

He claims that the verse was revealed about the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying that they thought there would be no punishment, i.e. that they will not be tested, and that Allah will not test them with Amir al Mu’minin ‘Ali so they became blind and deaf, i.e. when the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his family were right in their presence. Then again many of them became blind and deaf when the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away and Amir al Mu’minin was appointed as the leader, they remain blind and deaf regarding him up to this very day.^{^[9]}

Reports of this nature are many.^{^[10]} Look at the contrast between the attitude of the Shia and that of the Ahlul Bayt towards the Sahabah.

NEXT⇒ The attitude of the Ahlul Bayt towards Abu Bakr

^{^[1]} Kitab Sulaim ibn Qais pg. 92.

What is astonishing is that the Shia desire that all publications and distribution of books against them, e.g. al Shia wa al-Sunnah, be stopped but they continue to print books such as these which are filled with slander and blasphemy against the best of generations. They say that books of this nature (al Shia wa al-Sunnah) should not be printed in a time when the Muslims are in need of uniting more than ever. What unity and harmony are they referring to? We do not curse them or their leaders, instead all we are doing is highlighting their opinions, ideologies, and what they believe. So what is it that they fear?

Then there are those ‘enlightened minds’ amongst the Ahlus Sunnah who wish to unite with the Shia, and instead object upon us. Are we not defending the truth and refuting falsehood? Are we not defending those Companions without whom we would have been worshipers of the cow, stars, idols, stones, and trees? Had they not raised this banner of Islam we would not have known our Creator, or His Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In addition we would not have known of the guidance for the entire humanity which Allah had revealed upon His beloved salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

These ‘enlightened’ individuals are troubled by our refutations, yet they are not distressed in the least by books written by the likes of Sulaim ibn Qais, regarding which it has been said that Imam Jafar radiya Llahu ‘anhu commented, “Any Shia who does not have the book of Sulaim ibn Qais is not from amongst us, and it is amongst the secrets of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” The book in which each and every page is filled with the worst of blasphemy and cursing. Books of the likes of Sulaim ibn Qais’ are many. Our reply to those who have no shame is that your so called ‘enlightenment’ can destroy you! As for us we will never tolerate this and never remain silent for as long as we live.

^{^[2]} Kitab al Rawdah min al Kafi vol. 8 pg. 245.

^{^[3]} Hayat al Qulub vol. 2 pg. 640.

^{^[4]} Kitab al Rawdah Min al Kafi vol. 2 pg. 296.

^{^[5]} Look at the hatred and enmity that they have towards the Arabs who accepted Islam in its initial stages and conveyed it to the rest of the world.

^{^[6]} They have even excluded ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and the Ahlul Bayt by not mentioning them.

^{^[7]} Kitab al Shia wa al-Sunnah fi al-Mizan pg. 20 and 21 by an anonymous author who refers to himself using the letters S-Kh. In his book he attempts to refute our book, al Shia wa al Sunnah. However, he was incapable of refuting our arguments, conclusions, or even references which we have mentioned in the book. To Allah belongs all praise for having guided us and honoured us, enabling us to defend the honour of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Islam, and the followers of this straight and clear path. O Allah guide us and make us from amongst those who recognise the truth and follow it. O Allah forgive us and our brothers who had preceded us in faith and do not place in our hearts any malice for those who have faith. Indeed You are Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

^{^[8]} Surah al Ma’idah: 71

^{^[9]} Tafsir al Qummi vol. 1 pg. 175-176

^{^[10]} Al Shia wa al Sunnah

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