THE CONSEQUENCE OF PROPAGATING SUCH FORGERIES IN THE ISLAMIC TEXTS - The Role of Imams a.s. in the Revival of Religion (2) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

THE CONSEQUENCE OF PROPAGATING
SUCH FORGERIES IN THE ISLAMIC TEXTS

The consequence of propagating such forgeries in the
Islamic texts and sources has been that in the views of
those believing in the authenticity of such traditions,
the supreme personality of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) is
diminished to the level of an ordinary man in addition to
disallowing anyone from objecting and complaining against
the lustful and voluptuous rulers and Caliphs such as
Yazid-ibn-Muawiya. In reality, two aims and objectives
for forging such traditions have come to hand: Firstly,
the Holy Prophet has been brought down even lower than
the level of an ordinary person and secondly, the actions
of the slipshod rulers and the irreligious Caliphs has
been justified.

History recalls such incidences from the lives of the
(so called) Islamic rulers - the very divulgence of which
is itself shameful. The historians have said:

«When Muawiya wanted to take allegiance from the
Muslims for his son Yazid, he wrote a letter in this
regard to Ziad-ibn-Abih, the Governor of Basra.', Ziad
replied: 'What will the people say in the face of this
recommendation while we know that Yazid plays with dogs
and monkeys, wears multicoloured dresses, always drinks
wine and dances in tune to tambourine?» On the other
hand, there exists such personalities like Hussein
-ibn-Ali, Abdullah-ibn-Abbass, Abdullah-ibn-Zubair and
Abdullah-ibn- Omar. Thus, you order him to simulate his
ways for one or two years so that we might succeed in
deluding the people in this regard.

Following this letter, Muawiya commanded his son Yazid
to accompany the Muslim warriors in the summer battle ²⁰⁸
with the Romans. But Yazid pretended to be sick and on
the way went to the Cloister of Marran²⁰⁹
under the pretext of taking rest. But once there, he
resorted to drinking wine with his beloved one. In this
battle, the Islamic soldiers got affected by smallpox and
when this unpleasant news reached Yazid, he recited the
following two-line poem:

When at Cloister of Marran I lean on soft sacks and

Umm Kulsum besides me

and I drink the morning wine

I no longer care if the soldiers are affected by sickness
and smallpox ²¹⁰.

If such an event and other such incidents is committed
by Yazid and his father amongst the Muslims, then
Muawiya's plan and ambition with regards to taking
allegiance for Yazid will be confronted with defeat and
the Umayyids will no longer remain in the Islamic
history.

Can a remedy be found for the advancement of Muawiya's
objectives? Does a way exist for Yazid and his like to
attain rulership as the Caliphate of the Holy Prophet?

Muawiya had found the way.

If Yazid was taking his beloved one with himself in
the battle-journey and making merry with her at the
cloister of Marran, the same too could be reported in the
case of the Holy Prophet. Verily, in a made-up tradition,
the Holy Prophet too takes his wife along with himself in
one of the battle- journeys and on the way, asks his
soldiers to move ahead so that he could enjoy and run a
race with his wife or orders his soldiers to remain in an
arid land for the sake of finding his beloved's necklace
and himself thoughtlessly rests on her lap and sleeps.
Not only God refrains from reproaching him but instead
reveals the verse of «Tayammum» in due consideration of
his manifestation of love and affection towards his
beloved wife!!

Then, assuming these traditions to be authentic, there
no more remains any place for objecting to this (so
called) Caliph of the Holy Prophet i.e. Yazid - that he
too has left the Islamic army and has himself
thoughtlessly resided at the Cloister of Marran busy
making merry with his beloved one.

208- For many years, the Muslim army was attacking the
Romans during the summer season and so these soldiers
came to be called as «Sayefah» [Arabic text]

209- The Cloister of Christian settlers
surrounding the Islamic cities which had been the centre
of the worst and ugliest kind of debauchery, libertinism
and wine-drinking when most of the heads of the Caliphate
during the Umayyid and Abbassid period used to take
resort to these places for sport and play (which in fact
had been places initially meant for worship). For this
reason, Yazid too had taken shelter in the Cloister of
Marran which was a luxuriant and prosperous place for
indecent acts. Refer to «Dayarat-Shabashti» and
«Muajam al-Baladan» - Yaqut Hamavi.

THE PERIOD OF FORGERY OF SUCH TRADITIONS

It is for the sake of all these reasons that we reckon
the matter of forgery and propagation of such traditions
to be befitting the era of Muawiya. Besides, we had seen
in the past that Muawiya had vowed to bury the blessed
name of the Holy Prophet. Thus, his enmity with
Bani-Hashim and the Holy Prophet himself on the one hand
and his evil plots and plans for the continuation of the
Umayyid government and the Caliphate of Yazid on the
other hand were the main factors instigating him to forge
such lies through his agents.

The Jewish and Christian Islamicists and Orientalists
too were searching for their anti-Islamic aims in these
very traditions (which unfortunately are many in the
references of the Caliphate school). Thus, they have
brought these traditions along with its analysis in their
books and researches as an introduction to the Holy
Prophet and have presented them to be the identity of
Islam; the Holy Prophet and his decrees and commandments.
Of course we have to state with utmost regret that they
have to a certain extent achieved their objective too.

One of the eminent English Islamicists and
Orientalists confesses as such: «Basically, the Western
writers were susceptible and ready to have the worst
beliefs about the Holy Prophet and whenever they came
across an explanation and exegesis which was
objectionable in some way or the other, they would pounce
on the opportunity and regard it to be true and
authentic. ²¹¹

Since the European Islamicists could not find the like
of these traditions in the references of the Ahl-e-bayt
school, they acquired Islam only and only from the
sources and references of the Caliphate school. ²¹²
Their eastern followers too, either knowingly or
unknowingly have traversed the same path and followed in
their foot-steps.

212- In writing the biography of the Holy
Prophet, this same English scholar has only referred to
Tarikh-e-Tabari, Seerah Ibne-Hisham, Mughazi, Aqdi,
«Tabaqat» of Ibne-Sa'ad, Sahih-e-Bukhari, Musnad Ahmad,
Asad-ul-Ghaba and Al-Asabah i.e. the references of the
Caliphate school only and has not referred to even one
single reference from the Ahl-e-bayt school.

THE CONSEQUENCE OF THESE TRADITIONS ON
THE THOUGHTS OF THOSE BELIEVING IN THEM

In the end, we once more emphasize that such
traditions gives a special kind of insight to those
believing in their correctness and authenticity. Thus
they open the way for the propagation of such deviated
school of thoughts like «Wahabism» and worse still, all
the anti-Islamic groups like the Bahai's and the like of
them seek their (evil) purposes in these very sources and
references. Thus we see them introducing Islam with the
help of those traditions and texts which exists in the
Caliphate school. ²¹³

Aside from these two groups, the university - going
intellectuals and the eastern Islamicists too who
traverse the same path as the Western professors and
pioneers drink water from the same spring. With the
motive of research in its entirety, they have in their
recognition of Islam, relied mostly or rather wholely on
the sources and references of the Caliphate school and
have not paid attention to the pure fountain-head of the
Ahl-e- bayt school. In their recognition and presentation
of Islam, they have not reaped the benefits of the
traditions of the Imams (A.S.) - the household of the
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) whereas the Holy Prophet had
repeatedly stated that those who are the well-whishers of
Islam should hold on fast to his household members after
his departure.

On the day of «Ghadeer-e-Khum» he said:

[Arabic text] ²¹⁴

In the farewell Haj Ceremony, while delivering a
sermon on the day of Arafat, the Holy Prophet said:

[Arabic text] ²¹⁵

And, as per the narration of Abu Saeed Khudri the
Prophet said:

[Arabic text] ²¹⁶

From the historical references, exegesis and
traditions of the Ahl-e-bayt school, the eastern
Islamicists refer and pay attention to only those parts
which the westerners have referred and paid attention to.
For example, amongst the history books of Islam written
by the Shi'ite scholars; that which is studied by the
Europeans is the same as what is considered in the
scholarly gatherings of the Islamic east like
«Tarikh-e-Yaqubi» and «Waqat Siffeen» and it is quite
obvious that with such meagre texts, one cannot recognize
and present all the aspects of Islam extracted from the
Ahl-e-bayt school. As the source of recognition of Islam,
«Tarikh» (history) and refer much less to the
historical books and texts and traditions written by
Shaikh Mufeed, Sayyid Murtaza, Shaikh Tusi and their
likes in spite of the fact that all of them were the most
knowledgeable men of their time. Besides, their writings
are approximately ten centuries old. Thus, due to their
adherence to the Ahl-e-bayt school, they have been
neglected by western orientalism and because of the
inattention of the European, they have still remained
unrecognized in the Islamic east - outside the domains of
religious knowledge.

In short, keeping aloof from the knowledge of the
Imams (Ahl-e-bayt) and their followers has become the
most important factor in the distortion of Islam in the
writings of all the western and eastern Islamicists.

[Arabic text]

In analysing and describing the factors which were
responsible for the distoration of Islam by the hands of
the powerful ones of past history, we came across some
significant and fundamental factors like:

(1) Prevention from writing and propagating the
traditions of the Holy Prophet.

(2) Shattering the Holy Prophet's image as the one
bespeaking the Quran.

(3) Fabrication of traditions in the various dimensions
of Islam.

The third factor i.e. fabrication of traditions which
was reckoned to be the last portion and in reality the
strongest factor in distortion, appeared in different
forms. In the past, we saw that a few amongst the
companions of the Holy Prophet embarked in the
fabrication of traditions during the beginning of the
Umayyid era and the apparently Islamic government of the
Umayyid too was the initiator and the main instigator of
this event.

PRESENCE OF SUNNI SCHOLARS IN THE
CONTEXT OF FABRICATION OF TRADITIONS

We shall now engage in some other portion of this
factor of distortion and that is the presence of Sunni
scholars in the context of fabrication of traditions and
their efforts in analysing and explaining Islam with the
help of the distorted culture loaded with lies and
forgeries of Judaism and Christianity.

In the Arabian - peninsula i.e. the society where the
Holy Prophet was appointed, the level of culture,
knowledge and learning was at a very low ebb. The
explanation which the Holy Quran gives about this society
is an indication of this matter. In one place, the Quran
describes the Arab society during the period of ignorancy
as the manifest deviation ²¹⁷ and
at some other place says: The dwellers of the
desert (Arabs) are very hard in paganism and
hypocrisy ²¹⁸. The entire culture and
knowledge present in this society was nothing other than
poetry, speech and knowledge about genealogies and a
history of wars, bloodshed, killings, plunder which they
took a sickly pride in.

Once, in the Holy Prophet's mosque people had gathered
around certain man. When the Prophet entered the mosque
and witnessed this gathering, he inquired: «Who is this
man around whom the people have gathered?» It was
replied: «He is an «Allama» i.e. (the most learned
scholar)!» The Holy Prophet asked: «What is an
«Allama»?» They said:

[Arabic text]

'He is most learned of all men in the genealogies of
the Arabs and their historical events, the wars during
the period of ignorancy and the poems of its poets!» The
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) said: «This is the kind of
knowledge which will neither harm a person if he is
ignorant of it nor benefit a person if he possesses it. ²¹⁹»

Whatever has come in this tradition reveals the real
set of knowledge of the Arabs: knowledge of genealogies,
knowledge about historical events and wars, poems and
literature. As far as knowledge of genealogies is
concerned, attention was paid even to the genealogy of
animals and in particular the genealogy of horses. Later,
books were written in this regard such as
«Ansab-ul-Khail» of Hashim Kalbi. With regards to
poems, attention too was paid to its various kinds such
as lyrics, odes, epics and feastly poems and those
pertaining to self-glorification and dispraise. With the
advent of Islam and the connection it established with
the most advanced civilizations of that time i.e. the
Romans - Christians, Iranians and later the Indian
civilization, the social atmosphere changed. Medina,
which in the past, represented an Arab city or at the
most the capital of Arabian peninsula transformed into
one of the world's most important cities of that time.
The learned men and political representatives from
various important cities of the world would come and
visit this city. The governor, ruler and judge would
travel from this city to the farthest reaches of Iran,
Syria and Africa.

Association and sociability had come into existence
between the Arabs and Romans and the Arabs and Iranians.
Even marriages would take place amongst these tribes. In
reality, the Arab tribe which was once far away from the
world's common history and was sitting aside from the
cultural events prevailing upon the universal
civilization of all, at once set foot into history and
gained supremacy over the world's civilized tribes.
However, the level of cultural differences between the
Arabs and the Romans and the Iranians was a fact which
could not be neglected under any circumstances. As such,
the questions which would arise for the city - dwellers
would not arise so much for the desert - dwellers.
Basically, the entire thoughts of Arab named revolved
around keeping different names for his camels or giving
various titles to his sword or recitation of poems about
wars or the ruins of his lover's place. This was the
ultimate limit of his mental scope and development.
However, the city - dwellers, in particular the Syrian
and Iranians of that time had other thoughts in their
mind which basically was never mooted in the
unenlightened culture of the Arabs and no solution was
thought for them. The city - dwellers would ask: «'How
has this sky been established'? 'How has this earth been
created?' 'Does this world have a beginning or an end?'
'What will happen to us after death?' And 'What shall we
see?'» If such a person would turn into a Muslim he
would still ask other questions about Quran and Islam.
For example: «What is the meaning of this verse? What
was Noah's Ark? Where was it? and finally where did it
go?» Who are the tribe of Aad? Who are Ibrahim, Musa and
Isa?

How was their condition and form of life? And hundreds
of other questions and matters.

This exigency was severely felt and the everincreasing
impact of questions and problems became more than before.
This was under the circumstances when the Holy Prophet
was not present in the society and nothing was being
narrated from him. The distinguished and Islamic -
trained companions like Salman, Abu Zar, Ammar, Miqdad
and Ibne-Masoud had withdrawn themselves aside. The Holy
Prophet's household too were far from official
responsibility and Ali, who was the gate of the Holy
Prophet knowledge and about whom the Prophet said:

[Arabic text] ²²⁰

Was now robbed of his Imamate and confined to the
house or engaged in planting date-palms or farming in the
desert. A person like Abu-Huraira (who did not fear
forging traditions and would say: From my own bag! when
asked about the sura he narrated a tradition ²²¹)
was not enlightened enough to solve the problems in a
respectable manner. For example he has said: (and this
saying has also been narrated in the most authentic
books) If a fly drops into food and consequently the food
becomes contaminated with one of its wings then, dip the
fly into the food because one of its wing is an ailment
while the other is a cure! ²²²

In another tradition he says: 'God sent Gabriel to the
Holy Prophet commanding him to approach Abu-Bakr and
inform him that: We are pleased with him. Is he
(too) pleased with Us? ²²³

Such sayings cannot satisfy the enlightened men. The
problems remain unsolved. The government which has
remained helpless in replying to the problems mooted by
the opposition or friends will not be able to last long.
Thus a way of solution was reflected upon and a new gate
was opened which unfortunately is still open till today.
That is to say, the scholars and learned men of Jews and
Christians were officially employed for solving the
scientific problems, explaining the Quran and relating
the commandments. The Christian and Jewish scholars who
were now newly-converted Muslims became leaders in
scientific works in the Islamic society and sat on the
seat for pronouncing decrees or were commissioned to
deliver general speeches before the Friday-prayer sermons
or engaged themselves in interpreting the Quran, training
the students, etc...

STORY
TELLERS

The term [Arabic text] (= storyteller) is a term
related to [Arabic text] i.e. science of traditions -
carrying a special scientific meaning. In order to have
an authentic narration, it is necessary for the one
narrating a tradition to mention accurately and lucidly
the narrator of the tradition and the successive chain of
its transmitters. For example, he says:

[Arabic text]

Or says:

[Arabic text]

Or says:

[Arabic text]

i.e. so and so a person narrated to me from so and so
a person and he from Ali-ibn-Abi Talib (A.S.) and he from
the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.A.). This course and method
is customary in the 'Science of traditions' [Arabic
text]. For distinguishing the truth from the falsehood,
in addition to the examination of the text the chain of
transmission which the narrator and transmitter uses is
also examined. However, with regards to the past events
which have been narrated in the Holy Quran, it is
needless to narrate their chain of transmitters. The
Quran itself is the chain of transmitters of these
events. The holy Quran says:

(Yusuf /3) [Arabic text]

(Al-Imran /62) [Arabic text]

For this reason, those who have spoken about the past
events, the history of the Prophets, creation and other
such matters without setting forth the chain of
transmitters linked to the Holy Prophet and apparently
their words resembled the stories of the Quran were
called as [Arabic text] (storytellers). Of course in our
times the meaning of a «storyteller» is similar to a
«fairy-tale teller» and this is not a good title.
However, in those times a «storyteller» was meant to be
a person who like the Holy Quran, talked about the
history of the Prophets and other such matters without
narrating the chain of transmission.