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

Prophethood (Part II)
Imamat vs.

Prophethood (Part II)

Difference between Nabi and Rasool In Arabic there are no separate words for Messenger and
Apostle.

The distinction is between Nabi (Prophet) and Rasool (Messenger
or Apostle).

1- Nabi (=Prophet)

2- Rasool (=Messenger=Apostle)

Note that the degree of prophethood is lower than the degree
of messengership/apostleship.

By definition:

1.
A Prophet (Nabi) is a person to whom the Divine
Law (Shari'ah) descends;

this divine law may be concerned with beliefs (aqa-id)
or with practical activities (Ibadat, like prayer).

This
Divine Law either deals with the Nabi's OWN life or with that of
his community; or both.
This is the fundamental definition of
prophethood, though the prophet may also be informed of other things.

The
descent of the Divine Law (Shari'ah) may be direct, or through an
intermediary like an angel.

2.
A Human Messenger/Apostle (Rasool) is a Prophet
who receives a Divine Law that concerns himself and people other than
himself.

So every (human) Rasool is Nabi, while the reverse is not
true.

Also every Nabi whom Quran has mentioned along with a community (Umma),
is consequently a Rasool.

Thus when Quran states that Mohammad (PBUH&HF) is the
last Prophet (33:40), then by the above definition, he is the last
Messenger/Apostle also.

Note that the word Human is important in the
definition of Rasool because the Quran uses the term Rasool also for angels
who issue a command at the will of Allah (SWT):
Allah chooses Messengers from
ANGELS and from men, for Allah is He Who hears and sees (all things).

[22:75]
There came Our Messengers to
Abraham with glad tidings.

They said, Peace! he answered,
Peace! and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.

[11:69]
When Our Messengers came to
Lut, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless (to protect)
them.

He said: This is a distressful day.

[11:77]
(The Messengers) said: O Lut!
we are Messengers from thy Lord!.

[11:81]
Also see: 7:37, 15:57, 15:61, 19:19, 29:31, 29:33.

However, a Nabi is only a human being -- no angel can
be called a Nabi.

So every (human) Rasool is a Nabi, while every human Nabi is not
necessarily a Rasool.

The number of Messengers (Rusul) is LESS than the number of
Prophets (Nabiyoon); and EVERY Rasool received a book, while SOME
Nabees received a book.

In addition, since he has to convince his
people to accept a NEW religion with new practices, a Rasool's work is much harder
than that of a Nabi.

This is on top of the fact that people's
needs, minds, and abilities have changed; and accepting a new religion is not an easy
task.

This is while a Nabi's NEW religious instructions are for himself
(unless he is a Rasool).

Surely a Nabi invites people toward
Allah (SWT); however, he does not set any new practices for the people.

So, in essence, if a Nabi is NOT a Rasool, the people that he invites to Allah (SWT)
would be ordered to follow the custom and practices of a previous
Rasool.

Among Rasools, however, there are five individuals who are
higher than the others.

As you might know, the only difference
between those five and other rasools is that they are assigned universally (for the whole
mankind at their time), while the rest of rasools were locally (just for
one city or area).

My recollection is that the word 'Alameen
and/or Jamee'an has been used in Quran for Prophet Jesus (AS) supporting this idea.

Once a Bahai claimed that Rasools (who came before Bab!) were
only those five who had book.

But the rest were Nabi.

This
is not correct since Quran states that Dawood had Zaboor and yet he is not counted among
those five great Messengers.

So he is Rasool because he
brought a book for people.

Imam/Muhaddath Imam means a person who is appointed by God as a leader and
as a guide (see Quran 21:73 and 32:24) to whom obedience is due, and whom
people should follow.

Messengers are Warners and Imams are Guides
(13:7).

Imams are the Stars of Guidance (6:97).

Imam does not receive divine revelation about Sharia (divine
law).

He does not receive any commands concerning new religous paractices,
and so on.
However, he may be informed of the events about the past and
future.

Another difference between Rasool and Nabi and Muhaddath (i.
e.
,
Imam) is on how they communicate with the angels, and is given in
Usul Kafi, kitabul Hujjah usder verse 22:52:
Rasool sees and hears the angel in awakness and sleep.

Nabi
hears the angel and sees him while asleep, but does not see him while awake
though hears the speech.

Imam (muhaddith) is the one who hears
the angel in awakness while does not see him in awakness or sleep.

In the previous part we quoted from Quran that Mary (AS) had
communication with angels.

If according to Sahih al-Bukhari,
Fatimah (AS) was the best of ladies in this world and in hereafter, then why can't she
communicate with the angels?
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 4.
819

Narrated 'Aisha:
The Messenger of Allah said to
Fatimah (who was crying at her father's deathbed): Are you not
satisfied that you are the chief of all the ladies of Paradise or the chief of
all the believing women?
Furthermore, Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF)
said: Four women are the mistress of the worlds: Mary, Asiya (the wife of
Pharaoh), Khadija, and Fatimah.
And the most excellent one among
them in the world is Fatimah.

Sunni references:

Ibn Asakir, as quoted in Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor

For those who love Sahih al-Bukhari, I will quote this book
once more which confirms that Lady Fatimah (AS) had, indeed, communication
with Gabriel:
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 5.
739

Narrated Anas:
When the ailment of the Prophet (PBUH)
got aggravated, he became unconscious whereupon Fatima said,
Oh, how distressed my father is!

He said, Your father will have
no more distress after today.

When he expired, she said, O Father!
Who has responded to the call of the Lord Who has invited him! O Father,
whose dwelling place is the Garden of Paradise (i.
e.
al-Firdaus)!
O Father! We convey this news (of your death) to Gabriel.

When he
was buried, Fatima said, O Anas! Do you feel pleased to throw earth over
Allah's Apostle?

Not only that, but also Sunnis reported that Imam Hasan Ibn
Ali has said that Gabriel used to descend to Ahlul-Bayt.

It is
reported that Imam al- Hasan Ibn Ali (AS) said the following in a discourse which he
delivered on the martyrdom of Imam Ali:
I am from the Ahlul-Bayt that
Gabriel used to descend on us and ascend (back to heavens) from among
us.

Sunni reference:

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, Chapter of
understanding the virtues of companions, v3, p172

Now, when Imam Hasan uses the word us, it means
that it was not just prophet who used to received Gabriel.

Surely
Gabriel did NOT reveal anything of Quran to Imam Hasan.

But, the above
Sunni tradition shows that, they could communicate with the Gabriel.

Mushaf (book) of Fatimah (AS) was also of this type.

Some
booklets of hatred and lie published by anti-Shi'i groups allege that
based on Usul Kafi, Shia believe there is a Quran called Quran of
Fatimah! This is a false accusation.

There is no tradition in Usul
Kafi saying Quran of Fatimah.

There are however, very few
traditions in one chapter of Usul Kafi which assert that Fatimah (AS) wrote a book (mushaf).

The
tradition states The book of Fatimah.

Surely
Quran is a book (mushaf), but any book is NOT Quran.

This allegation is as silly as saying
Quran of al-Bukhari instead of book of al-Bukhari!
Also those few traditions in al-Kafi clearly state that there
is NO single verse of Quran in the Book of Fatimah.

This shows
that the book of Fatimah is TOTALLY different than Quran.

Of course, it was
three time bigger than Quran in length.

In one tradition it said that Lady Fatimah (AS), after the
Prophet (PBUH&HF) passed away, used to write what she was told
that would happen to her descendants and stories about other rulers to come (up to
the day of resurrection).

It was the sayings of Gabriel about
what will happen.

As I mentioned and proved by Quran and Hadith, talking to angels
is not exclussive to the prophets and messengers.

Fatimah
(AS) recorded (or asked Imam Ali to record) those information, which was kept in her
family of Imams, and was called The Book (Mushaf) of
Fatimah.

A tradition which follows this one clearly states that what is referred to by
The Book of Fatimah is not a part of Quran and has NOTHING to do
with Allah's commandments/halals/harams.

It does NOT have
anything to do with Shari'ah (divine law) and the religious practices.

Let me
give you some of those traditions:
Abu Abdillah (AS) said: .

We
have with us the Book of Fatimah, but I do not claim that anything of the
Quran is in it.

(Usul al-Kafi, Tradition #637)

Abu Abdillah (AS) also said about
the book of Fatimah: There is nothing of what is permitted and
what is forbidden (al-Halal and al- Haram) in this; but in it is the
knowledge of what will happen.

(Usul Kafi, Tradition #636)

Abdul Malik Ibn Ayan said to Abu
Abdillah (AS): The Zaydiyyah and the Mu'tazilah have gathered around
Muhammad Ibn Abdillah (Ibn al-Hasan, the second).

Will have
they any rule? He (AS) said: By Allah there are two books in my possession in
which every prophet and every ruler who rules on this earth (from the
beginning of the earth till the day of Judgment) has been named.

No,
by Allah, Muhammad Ibn Abdillah is not one of them.

(Usul
Kafi, Tradition #641)

Mushaf refers to a collection of Sahifa
which is singular for page.
The literal meaning of Mushaf is The manuscript bound
between two boards.
In those days they used to write on leather and other
materials.

They either rolled the writings -- what is known as scroll in
English.

Or they kept the separable sheets and bound them together, in what
could be called as Mushaf, a book in today's terms.

The
equivalent to the word book Kitab used to (and still is) refer to either a
letter (e.
g.
of correspondence) or to an document that was written down or
recorded.

The Arabic word for wrote Kataba is a derivative of
the same word.

Although the Quran is commonly called a Mushaf
today, perhaps referring to its collection after it was dispersed.

Quran
is a Mushaf (book), but any Mushaf (book) is not necessarily the Quran! There
is no Quran of Fatimah! As the above and many other traditions suggest, The
book of Fatimah has absolutely no connection with Quran.

This
concept is commonly pulled out of context and published by anti-Shi'i groups due
to their hatred toward the Followers of the Members of the House of
Prophet (PBUH&HF).

I have seen it mentioned in a book
printed by the government of Saudi Arabia.

What is also very important to recognize and understand is
that belief in Mushaf Fatimah is NOT a requirement of BELIEF to the Shia.

It
is just very few traditions which report such a thing.

It is
nothing crucial for us as the followers, nor any Shia (except Imam Mahdi) has access to
it.

Some Side Comments A Wahhabi mentioned that the Shia believe:

* The Imams know when they will die, and they do not die
execpt with their choice.

Well, this is also granted to the prophets.

So
consequently I don't see why Imam should not have it.

Here are the two
traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari which confirms such claim for Moses:
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 2.
423
and 4.
619

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The angel of death was sent to Moses
and when he went to him, Moses slapped him severely, spoiling one
of his eyes.

The angel went back to his Lord, and said, You sent
me to a slave who does not want to die.

Allah restored his eye and said,
Go back and tell him (i.
e.
Moses) to place his hand over the back of an
ox, for he will be allowed to live for a number of years equal to the
number of hairs coming under his hand.

(So the angel came
to him and told him the same).

Then Moses asked, O my Lord! What will be
then? He said, Death will be then.

He said, Let it be now.

He asked Allah that He bring him near the Sacred Land at a distance of a
stone's throw.

Allah's Apostle (PBUH) said, Were I there I
would show you the grave of Moses by the way near the red sand hill.

Sahih Al Bukhari Arabic English Dr.
Muhammad Muhsin Khan v2, p236 ( 2.
423 reference )

Chapter : Whoever desired to be buried in the Sacred Land .

Sahih Al Bukhari Arabic English Dr.
Muhammad Muhsin Khan v4, p409 ( 4.
619 reference )

Chapter : The death Of Moses and his rememberance after his
death.

According to the above tradition in Sahih al-Bukhari, Moses
alleged to resist against death, and then was told by Allah when he
would die (the number of hairs).

Again Moses asked God to change
that decision to be now.

The mockery tone of the above tradition by al-Bukhari is
questionable for us, but since you call it authentic, then you should agree
that prophets may know their death time.

So why not Imam?
Here I should mention that according to Islamic teaching,
Allah didn't/doesn't relinquish His authority to prophets and
Imams.

The authority of prophets and Imams is not independent of God.

This
authority is GIVEN to them by Allah and is controlled by Allah too.

If
they disobey Allah, such authority will be taken away immediately.

So
if Moses or other prophets and Imams died in their choice, we should keep in
mind that such sinless people do not desire anything that Allah does not
desire.

So their wish about the time of their death is exactly what Allah
wished, since they are absolutely obedient toward Allah.

Actually what
I just said here is somehow contradicting the report of Abu Huraira given by al-Bukhari
(saying that Moses resisted).

But since you believe in al-Bukhari,
then you actually go further than the claim written in al-Kafi.

In
other words, the above tradition of al-Bukhari suggests that a prophet can
resist and change the order of God and even knock out the angel of death.

(May
Allah protect us from such evil words).

* All of the Earth belongs to the Imams.

(p.
407)

Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty said:
The earth is Allah's.

He
gives it as a heritage to whom He will, and the good end is for the
righteous servants.

(Quran 7:128).

May Allah guide those who have such beliefs to the True
Islam.
And make this net and its members a cause to that.

May Allah help all of us to understand the above Quranic
verses, and may Allah let us understand the traditions mentioned above which
are from authentic Sunni books and let us not die in ignorance.

AMEN
Their is no denying that Ali was one of the most
knowledgeable of the sahaba.

Even if we do accept that Ali is the
most knowledgeable, what then? Would that mean no one else had any knowledge?
No.

It means others had much less knowledge.

This
implies those who chose other inferior people in knowledge to lead the
community for their own desires, are responsible for the Misfortune of all
Muslims throughout the history.

Shiats say that Imam must possess
above all such qualities as knowledge, bravery, justice, wisdom, piety, love of God etc.
,
in order to assure the prosperity of the Islamic community.

Is Quran correct that Imamat is a degree
higher than prophethood and messengership?

There are different levels of imamat.

The
imamat of the Prophets is higher than any other imamat.

Certainly, an
imam of a masjid is by no means higher than a Prophet or Messenger.

Certainly you did not answer my question.

I was not
talking about the degrees of Imamat.

Please read the question again.

As
for Imam of Masjid, this shows you did not read the definition that I gave for
the Imam in my original article.

I said:
Imam means a person who is appointed by
God as a leader and as a guide to whom obedience is due, and whom people
should follow.

Does the above definition fit to Imam of Masjid?! Allah said
that Prophet Muhammad is a warner, and for every community (generation)
there exists a guide (Imam).

(Quran 13:7).

It is clear
that there is no prophet after Prophet Muhammad.

So those guides who are for every
generation are not prophets.

because even the best pious person can only be pious if
he believes in all the Prophets, how then can he become better than
one in whom he must believe in order to be considered pious?
Prophet Mohammad believed in all prophets before him, but his
position is higher than all of them.

Agreed?

End of Part 2 of 2