Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

leaving Ali behind as his deputy to look after the affairs of Islam afterhe met Allah (i.
e.
, his death).

This assertion becomes more evdient when we look at the last phrase of thetradition of al-Bukhari where the Messenger of Allah mentioned: but thereis no prophet AFTER me.

Think about the word AFTER in the statement ofthe Prophet.

Dont you think that the Prophet Muhammad is talking aboutAFTER his death? That position (leadership) which the Prophet entrusted toAli was with Ali till his death.

No body except the Prophet Muhammad cantake this position back from him.

Prophet Moses (AS) was away from his people for 40 days and he came backand met them along with Haroon (AS).

Likewise, Prophet Muhammad is awayfrom us (living in the heaven), but he will soon meet us and his companionsas well as Imam Ali on the Day of Judgment.

He will then question them thesame way as Moses questioned his people, specially those who left hisreligion and worshipped the golden calf.

Look at the following traditionfrom Sahih al-Bukhari to have some idea about the would-be conversationbetween Prophet Muhammad and some of his companions:Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 8.
585

Narrated Abu Hazim from Sahl bin Sad: The Prophet said, I am your predecessor (forerunner) at the Lake- Fount, and whoever will pass by there, he will drink from it and whoever will drink from it, he will never be thirsty.

There will come to me some people whom I will recognize, and they will recognize me, but a barrier will be placed between me and them.
Abu Hazim added: Numan bin Abi Aiyash, on hearing me, said.
Did you hear this from Sahl? I said, Yes.
He said, I bear witness that I heard Abu Said Al-Khudri saying the same, adding that the Prophet said: I will say: They are my companions.
Then it will be said to me, You do not know what they innovated (new things) in the religion after you left.

I will say, Far removed, far removed (from mercy), those who changed after me.

Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said, On the Day of Resurrection a group of companions will come to me, but will be driven away from the Lake-Fount, and I will say, O Lord (those are) my companions! It will be said, You have no knowledge as to what they innovated after you left; they turned apostate as renegades (reverted from the true Islam).

Another person claimed: Not all of the people of Moses worshipped the calfand those who did not killed the ones who did by the order of God.
Perhaps, this brother has been told another story.
But Quran tells us thatall the followers of Moses (except a few) were deceived by Sameri.

Thecompanions of Moses did not kill Sameri either.
The were rather about tokill Aaron (AS) who tried to advise them on that affliction.

If the numberof those who preserved their faith was a lot, Aaron wouldnt have been introuble.

Here are some verses of Quran concerning the event:7:148 And the community of Moses, after (he had left them), chose a calf (for worship), (made) out of their ornaments, of saffron hue, which gave a lowing sound.

Saw they not that it spake not unto them nor guided them to any way? They chose it, and became wrong doers.

7:150 And when Moses returned unto his people, angry and grieved, he said: Evil is that (course) which ye took after I had left you.

Would ye hasten on the judgment of your Lord? And he cast down the tablets, and he seized his brother by the head, dragging him toward him.

(Aaron) said: Son of my mother! Lo! People did oppress me and they were about to kill me.

Make not the enemies rejoice over my misfortune nor count thou me amongst the sinful people.

20:90 Before this, Aaron had already said to them: O my people! you are being tested in this, for verily your Lord is (Allah) Most Gracious; so follow me and obey my order.

20:91 They had said: We will not abandon this cult but we will devote ourselves to it until Moses returns to us.

So the last verse disproves the claim that the true followers killed thewrong doers before Moses (AS) come back.

Yes, after Prophet Moses cameback, he punished the influential individuals among those who led peopleastray.

But he did not kill them:20:97 (Moses) said (to Sameri): Go! Your (punishment) in this life will be that you will say Touch me not; and moreover (for a future penalty) thou hast a promise that will not fail: now look at thy god of whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: we will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast in the sea!= Another brother mentioned that if Ali wished could very well incite forcfulrebelion since he is from a very strong tribe Bani Hashm, and both Abu Bakrand Umar from a week tribe Adiyy, and Taym.

Then why did he keep silent anddid not use force to restore his right after the election held in Saqifah?If Bani Hashim were strong with respect to other tribes, as the abovebrother claims, then Muslims wouldnt have had to migrate from Mecca toMedina.

Also they wouldnt have been subject to economical sanctions inSheb Abi Talib.

The exceptional brevity of Imam Ali (AS) in various wars and his killing ofthe most important warriors of Arabs, is well-known for even Sunnis.

ImamAli mentioned that he himself has killed 40,000 infidels by his sword (thisfigure includes those who were killed by him in the civil wars).

Killingthe lions of Arabs developed a very intensive and long-lasting hatred inthe heart of the Arabs from different tribes.

For this very reason, mostArabs due to their tribal ties, even after embracing Islam, were notfriendly toward Imam Ali and other members of Ahlul-Bayt.

This hatred gaveits fruit on the issue of Caliphate, and later in the civil wars at thetime of Imam Ali (AS) as well as the prosecution of Ahlul-Bayt and theirpartisans after his martyrdom which continued with utmost brutality for anumber of centuries.

The hatred of the house of Umayyah against Bani Hashim (the clan of Prophetand Ali) is well-known.

The wars of Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiyah againstProphet and Ali respectively, also the horrible massacre of the grandson ofprophet at Karbala by the grandson of Abu Sufyan, are only some of topitems among the long list of such crimes.

You might also want to refreshthe memory that when Muawiyah took over the power, he instituted the Sunnahof cursing Imam Ali.

Sunni history books and Sunni collections oftraditions clearly state that Muawiyah commanded all the Imams of themosques throughout the Muslim world to CURSE Imam Ali in every Fridayprayer.

(Sunni references are available upon request).

Now, we turn to the events of Saqifah and the election of Abu Bakr:During the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), the Mosque of Prophet was thecenter of all Islamic activities.

It was there that the decision of war andpeace were made, delegations were received, sermons were delivered andcases were decided.

It is not surprising that when the news of the demiseof the Prophet (PBUH&HF) spread, the Muslims assembled in that very Mosque.

On the other hand, Saqifah of Bani Saidah was located three miles OUTSIDEMedina and was a secret location for the evil activities of some Arabtribes.

(see Ghiyath al-Lughah, p228).

Why then Sad Ibn Ubadah and his fans as well as Abu Bakr and Umar, leftthe Mosque secretly and without informing other prominent companions andwent three miles outside Medina to discuss the issue of Caliphate? Whydidnt they discuss the issue as important as this among the Muslims insidethe mosque? Wasnt that they wanted to usurp the Caliphate without theknowledge of people? Why did Abu Bakr and Umar with Abu Ubaydah slip outthe mosque secretly? Was it because Ali and Bani Hashim were present in themosque and in the house of Prophet, and they did not want them to know theplot?Also, we should keep in mind that it was the custom of the Arabs that oncea person was declared, even by a small group, to be the chief of the tribe,others hesitated to oppose him, and willy nilly followed suit.

Due to theirdislike of Imam Ali (AS) (which I discussed earlier), they did not respecthis right, nor did they even informed him of this meeting.

They SIMPLYneglected the last sermon of Prophet in Ghadir Khum where the Messenger ofGod declared him as his successor just two and a half months months beforethe incedent of Saqifah.

A Sunni brother mentioned that: If Imam Ali disaproved Uthman, then why didhe risk the lives of his beloved sons, al-Hassan and al-Hussain, trying toprotect the life of his adversary from the blood-thirsty rioters in Medina?According to the Shia sources such news are dubious.

We do not have anystrong evidence that Imam Ali sent his sons to support Uthmans House.

Infact, al-Tabari who is one of the important Sunni Historians said that ImamAli deserted Uthman since Uthman did insisted in keeping Marwan in hisadministration.

Here is the related part from the History of al-Tabari,when the siege over Uthman was very severe: People informed Ali of the news.

Then Ali came to Uthman and said: Surely you have satisfied Marwan (again), but he is satisfied with you only if you deviate from your religion and reason, like a camel carrying a litter that is led around at will.

By God, Marwan is devoid of sense in regard to his religion and his soul.

I swear by God, I think he will bring you in and then not send you out again.

After this visit, I will not come again to chide you.

You have destroyed your own honor and you have been robbed of your authority.

When Ali departed, Uthmans wife told him: I have heard that Ali said to you that he will never return to you, and that you have obeyed Marwan (again), who leads you wherever he wishes.

Uthman said: What shall I do? She responded: You should fear God alone, who has no partner, and you should adhere to the practice of your two predecessors (Abu Bakr and Umar).

For if you obey Marwan, he will kill you.

Marwan enjoys no prestige among the people, and inspires neither awe nor love.

People have only abandoned you due to Marwans position (in your councils).

Send to Ali, then, and trust in his honesty and uprightness.

He is related to you and he is not a man whom people disobey.

So Uthman sent to Ali, but he refused to come, saying: I told him I would not return.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15, pp 176-179

Even we suppose that Imam Ali protected Uthman in his last days, theprotection was not because he loved Uthman to be on power.

He did so (iftrue) since he knew that this is a conspiracy, and he knew that thosecompanions who plotted to kill Uthman, would become the avenger of hisblood tomorrow, as it happened (e.
g.
, the companions like Talha, Zubair,Muawiyah, and .
) and it became a custom of assassination of Caliphs withself-judgments including the assassination of Ali (AS) himself.

Another reader mentioned that, if some companions conspired against ImamAli and usureped his right of Caliphate, is it not a possibility that theyconspired to alter the Quranic text? The compilers and transmitters of theQuran were fallible and sinners.

As for protection of Quran, it is the will of Allah! Even if all thepeople of the world gather to change it they will fail.

Muslims couldrecall the history that Allah willed to raise and preserve Moses in thehouse of His Enemy, Pharaoh.

Also there was no reason for Umar or Abu Bakr to delete something fromQuran, because the name of Imam Ali did not appear in Quran.

(eventhoughhis name was in the divine commentary which was revealed with Quran but wasnot a part of text of Quran.

It is no surprise that this divine commentarywas suppressed).