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Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part III)
The Incident of Mubahala
Here I would like to bring another evidence from Sahih Muslim
and Sahih al-Tirmidhi that why the wives of the Prophet are not
included in Ahlul-Bayt, which is also, by the way, another reason
for the superiority of Ali (AS) for the position of leadership
after the Prophet (PBUH&HF).
The following incident is related to the event of "Mubahala"
(which means imprecation, or invoking the curse of Allah upon
the liar), which took place in the 9th-10th year of Hijrah.
In
that year a delegation consisting of 14 Christian priests came
from Najran to meet the Prophet (PBUH&HF).
When they met the
Prophet they asked him what is his opinion about Jesus (AS).
The
Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "You may take rest
today and you will receive the reply afterwards.
" The next
day, 3 verses of Quran (3:59-61) about Jesus were revealed.
When
Christians did not accept the words of Allah, The Prophet recited
the last revealed verse:
But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come
to you of knowledge, then say: Come let us call our sons and
your sons, and our women and your women, and our selves and your
selves; then let us be earnest in prayer and invoke the curse
of Allah upon the liars.
(Quran 3:61).
In this way, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) challenged the Christians.
The next day the Christian priests came out on one side of the
field.
Also on the other side, the Prophet came out of his house
carrying al-Husain in his arm with al-Hasan walking along with
him while he was holding his hand.
Behind him was Fatimah al-Zahra,
and behind her was Ali, peace be upon them all.
When the Christians
saw the five pure souls, and how determined the Prophet is in
his idea that he put the closest people to him at risk, the Christians
were terrified and abstained from the proposed malediction (Mubahala)
and submitted to a treaty with the Prophet (PBUH&HF).
al-Suyuti who was a great Sunni scholar, wrote:
In the above verse (3:61), according to what Jabir Ibn Abdillah
al-Ansari (the great companion of the Prophet) said, the word
"sons" refers to al-Hasan and al-Husain, the word "women"
refers to Fatimah, and the word "our selves" refer to
the Prophet and Ali.
Thus Ali is referred as "the self"
of the Prophet (Nafs of the Prophet).
Reference: al-Durr al-Manthoor by al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti,
v2, p38
It follows that just as it is unlawful to seek to be superior
to the Prophet, similarly it is unlawful to supersede Ali (who
is the "self" of the Prophet according to the words
of Allah).
Any one who presumed to supersede Ali, was, in essence,
presumed to supersede the Prophet! This is another Quranic proof
for the right of Imam Ali as the immediate successor of the Prophet
(PBUH&HF).
Muslim and al-Tirmidhi both confirm the above incident, and recorded
the following tradition in their authentic collections of traditions:
Narrated Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas:
And when the verse 3:61 was revealed, the Prophet called Ali,
Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain.
Then the Prophet said: "O
Lord! These are my family members (Ahli).
"
Sunni references:
Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of
virtues of Ali, 1980 Edition Pub.
in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version,
v4, p1871, the end of tradition #32.
Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p654
al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p150, who said this tradition
is authentic based on the criteria set by two Shaikhs, al-Bukhari
and Muslim.
Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p25
Here is the Arabic text of the above tradition given by both
Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi:
The point, here, is that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF)
did not bring any of his wives to the field of "Mubahala",
and according to above tradition, he used the word "Ahl"
(family) ONLY for the above-mentioned individuals (i.
e.
, Imam
Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain).
Note that in the verse 3:61 of Quran Allah uses plural form "women"
by saying "Let us bring our women", but the Prophet
only brought his daughter Fatimah (AS).
If there were more than
one woman in Ahlul-Bayt, the Prophet was required by this verse
to bring them, but since there was not any other woman among his
Ahlul-Bayt, he brought Fatimah (AS) only.
Again, in that incident,
the Prophet explicitly mentioned who Ahlul-Bayt are, and named
them one by one, and Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and many other
Sunni scholars recorded that and all confirmed its authenticity.
There was no mention of his wives in any of these reports.
Some Sunni scholars have narrated that on the day of consultation
for appointing the ruler after the death of Umar, Imam Ali (AS)
argued with the members of Shura reminding them his rights to
the Caliphate, and one of his reasons was the incident of Mubahala:
On the day of consultation, Ali argued with the committee members
saying: "I adjure you in the name of Allah, is there anyone
amongst you closer in relationship to the Messenger of Allah than
me? Is there any other man whom the Prophet made him 'his (own)
soul' (Nafs), and that he made his children 'his (own) children',
and his women 'his (own) women'?" They replied: "No,
by God!"
Sunni reference:
al-Darqunti, as per:
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
11,
section 1, p239
It is also narrated that:
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Verily, Allah, to whom belong
Might and Majesty, has placed the progeny of each prophet into
his backbone (Sulb), and He, Exalted, has placed my progeny into
the backbone of Ali Ibn Abi Talib.
"
Sunni references:
al-Tabarani
Abul-Khair al-Haakimi, on the authority of al-Abbas
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
11,
section 1, p239
al-Kunooz al-Mataalib
It is also narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "Me and Ali are
from one tree, and the rest of people are from different trees.
"
Sunni references:
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
9, section
2, p190
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171
al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani, from Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari
In another Sunni commentary of Quran, it is narrated on the authority
of Abdullah Ibn Umar that:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "Had there
been any soul on the whole earth better than Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan
and al-Husain, Allah would have commanded me to take them along
with me to Mubahala.
But as they were superior in dignity and
respect to all human be beings, Allah confined His choice on them
only for participation in Mubahala.
"
Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Baidhawi, under the commentary of Verse
3:61
Concluding, the event of Mubahala between the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
the Christians was significant in many aspects, among them are:
1.
It proved to be a lesson for all the Christians of Arabia who
no longer dared any confrontation with the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF).
2.
The invitation of "Mubahala" (literally meaning cursing
each other) was directed by Allah and it was in compliance with
His Command that the Holy Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt along with
him to the field of Mubahala.
This serves to show how affairs
pertaining to prophethood and Islam are determined by the Will
of Allah; allowing no margin of interference from the common people
(Ummah).
(The matter of Imam Ali's (AS) succession after the Prophet
should be viewed similarly)
3.
The indispensability of Imam Ali, Lady Fatimah, Imam al-Hasan
and Imam al-Husain in the following of the precepts of the Holy
Prophet could no longer be disputed.
4.
Notwithstanding their childhood, al-Hasan and al-Husain did
nevertheless serve as two active partners of the Holy Prophet
on the field of Mubahala.
This yields the conclusion that age
is no criteria for the greatness of those infallible souls.
5.
That the Holy Prophet's act of having preferred a few obviously
elevates their status above all others.
6.
Traditions from the Prophet with regards to this event clearly
indicates who the Ahlul-Bayt are.
7.
Imam Ali (AS) has been mentioned as the 'Self' of the Prophet
(PBUH&HF) according to the revelation of Allah, and is, in
fact, superior to all others with regard to the matter of succession.
Is It Just Blood Relationship?
It is narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah said: "Any relation will end on the
day of Judgment except my relation.
And the root (identification)
of every one is his father, except the progeny of Fatimah, since
I am their father and their root (identification).
"
Sunni references:
Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Bayhaqi, and al-Darqunti, al-Dhahabi on the
authorities of Umar Ibn al-Khattab, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Zubair, and
Ibn Umar.
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
11,
section 1, p239
Similar tradition has been narrated by Abu Ya'la, al-Tabarani
on the authority of Fatimah (AS) and Ibn Umar
The above precious tradition proves that, blood relationship is
of little value in Islam and it will soon melt away when the day
of Judgment appears.
But what makes the relationship of the Prophet
and his Ahlul-Bayt different than others is the qualifications
and spiritual purity that they have besides their pure gene (which
is also necessary).
It is worth mentioning that Lady Fatimah (AS) is the only surviving
child of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) who left progeny
for him.
All other children of the Prophet died in their early
ages, without being able to leave an issue behind themselves.
The infidels of Hijaz (Arabia) used to dishonor the Prophet by
saying that he does not have a son to preserve his generation.
For that reason, Allah revealed the Chapter of "al-Kawthar":
"Lo! We have given you Abundance (i.
e.
, a long-standing pure
progeny).
So pray unto your Lord, and sacrifice.
Lo! It is your
insulter (and not you) who is without progeny.
" (Quran, Chapter
108).
In the above Chapter, Allah refers to Fatimah al-Zahra as Abundance
who brings for the Prophet a sanctified progeny.
Again, by progeny
we do not mean all those whose ancestor are the Prophet (PBUH&HF).
We rather mean those among his descendants who have been thoroughly
purified by Allah, and the history and the Hadith can not count
more that 14 of them (including the Prophet).
Here is the commentary
of the above Chapter by Yusuf Ali (the translator of Quran):
Abu Jahl and his Pagan confederates vented their personal spite
and venom against the holy Prophet by taunting him with the loss
of his two infant sons by Khadija, but where were these venomous
detractors a few years afterwards, when the divine Light shone
more brilliantly than ever?
Fatimah received severe injuries and was martyred at the age of
eighteen, just six months after the demise of the Prophet, leaving
two sons: al-Hasan, and al-Husain.
After martyrdom of Imam Ali
(AS), Imam al-Hasan came to power.
But Muawiyah, the disloyal
governor of Syria, continued his aggression by preparing another
attack (after the war of Siffin), and meanwhile he bought the
key elements of the army of Imam al-Hasan by money and bribe,
and by corrupting his army, was finally able to complete a peaceful
military coup, and to take over the power.
Imam al-Hasan was poisoned
to death shortly after.
The second (and the last) grandson of the Prophet was Imam al-Husain
(AS), who was slaughtered along with his family (except one of
his sons), relatives, and companions, in the desert of Karbala,
by the army of Yazid, the corrupt and drunk son of Muawiyah.
That
catastrophe took place only 50 years after the demise of the Prophet!!!
The above was a very short horrible story of what happened to
Ahlul-Bayt, whom Quran and the Prophet (PBUH&HF) ordered us
to love them and obey them beside the book of Allah.
End of Part 3 of 8
