KAB AL-AHBAR, THE JEWISH SCHOLAR,THE EXPOSITOR OF QURAN - The Role of Imams a.s. in the Revival of Religion (2) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

KAB AL-AHBAR, THE JEWISH SCHOLAR,THE EXPOSITOR OF QURAN

This man whose name was «Kab-ibn-Matea» and agnomen was
«Abu- Ishaaq» (also) possessed the title of «Kab
al-Ahbar». Sometimes he was also called as
«Kab-ul-Ahabr» but his most famous name was his very
title i.e. «Kab ul-Ahbar».

«Ahbar» is the plural of «Habr» [Arabic text] and
«Habr» [Arabic text] is a title given to a Jewish
scholar although a Christian scholar too is sometimes
called as «Habr» [Arabic text]. He was called as «Kab
al-Ahbar» by the Jews because the entire holy books
which were supposed to be in the hands of their scholars
were all in his hands or that he was reckoned to be the
greatest or at least one of the greatest scholars amongst
them.

About his life-history, historians have said that he
was the most eminent scholar amongst the «Ahl-e-Kitab»²⁴⁹.
They have also stated that he was from the Jewish scribes
from Yemen and had come to Medina during Omar's reign of
government and had accepted Islam during Abu-Bakr's era. ²⁵⁰

From the available traditions it can be judged that
«Kab al-Ahbar» had gone to Medina so that en-route he
could finally travel to Bait-ul-Muqaddas and settle
there. During the period of the Christian might and
power, the Jews were harassed and tortured by them. For
this reason, the Jews could not live in peace in
Bait-ul-Muqaddas which was a holy place for them too.
However, with the advent of Islam and the freeing of this
land from the hands of the Christian rulers, «Kab
al-Ahbar» wished to travel and settle in the promised
land of the Jews i.e. Syria and Bait-ul-Muqaddas.

Ibne-Asaker, the writer of the great history of
Damascus says: Omar-ibn- Khattab addressed Kab as such:
«Now that you have accepted Islam why don't you stay in
Medina which is the place of the Holy Prophet's migration
and also the place of his shrine?» Kab replied: «I have
come across a point in the revealed Book of God that
Syria has been named as God's treasure on the earth where
His servants are gathered in that treasure.

Kab would always use the title «Book of God» for
Torah (in spite of the fact that Torah at that time was a
distorted book and there was no other heavenly revealed
book existent.) and whenever he would rememorate the
divine book he had only the Torah in mind (this matter
can be repeatedly found in the traditions narrated by
him).

The second Caliph insisted that Kab remains in Medina,
Kab too stayed in Medina until Uthman's rulership. Uthman
ruled for a period of twelve years. During the first six
years, he did not change so much from the line of policy
adopted by the previous two governments and so there were
no protests. However, during the second half of his
Caliphate, conditions changed and that because of
permitting the Bani-Umayyids and his own relatives to
interfere in the affairs of the government. At this time,
Kab left Medina and joined Muawiya in Syria. During this
very period he died at the age of 104 years.

Historians have mentioned the year of his death to be
35 A.H. ²⁵¹

«Kab al-Ahbar» strived hard to spread the Jewish
tales amongst the Muslims. Most of the Jewish tales, the
praises and eulogies for the «Ahl-e- Kitab» and their
«Qibla» (direction faced in prayer) i.e. «Bait-ul-
Muqaddas» and especially those things which have come
down in the Islamic texts have all been disseminated
through him. The proof to this saying is the presence of
Kab's narrations in the books of «Tafseer» (exegesis)
«Hadith» (tradition), Islamic «Seerah» (biography)
and «Tarikh» (history).

Ibne-Asaker in his «Tarish» narrates from Kab
al-Ahbar as follows:

[Arabic text]

The most beloved land on earth before God is the
land of Syria and the most beloved spot in Syria before
God is Qods. ²⁵²

Conclusion: Syria and Qods are more beloved and
valuable before God than even Mecca and Medina.

Also, he has said:

God has placed nine tenth (9/10) of the goodness
and blessing in the land of Syria and distributed only a
part of the remaining over the entire earth. ²⁵³

Also, he has said:

[Arabic text]

«There are five cities from the cities of Paradise:
Bait-ul-Muqaddas, Hums, Damascus, Jabreen (a flourinshing
place near Bait-ul-Muqaddas) and Zafaar-ul-Yemen (the
place where Kab used to live before migrating to Medina
and then Syria).²⁵⁴ Also, he has said:

[Arabic text]

«On the Day of Judgement, foul mountains namely Jabal
al-Khalil which is situated near Bait-ul-Muqaddas and on
which is placed the grave of Hazrat Ibrahim-e-Khalil,
Jabel-e-Lebanon (mountain range of Lebanon), Jabal-e- Tur
(mountain range of Tur), and Jabal-e-Judii (mountain
range of Judii) will be like sparkling pearls between the
heavens and the earth. On that day these four mountains
will be moved back to Bait-ul-Muqaddas and will be placed
in the four corners of the city. (Then) the Omnipotent
God will set His Throne on it and from there, He will
pass judgement over the people of Paradise and Hell.
Thereafter, he sets forth, at the end of his saying the
holy verse of Quran as a proof: «And you shall see the
angels going round about the throne glorifying and
praising their Lord; and judgement shall be given between
them with justice, and it shall be said: All praise is
due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds²⁵⁵,
²⁵⁶. In other words, he wishes to say that the
interpretation of this holy verse is something which has
come down in his sayings.

Our declaration that such matters has penetrated into
the reliable Islamic texts can be judged from this very
tradition which is present in the great history of
Ibne-Asaker as well as in the famous exegesis of
«Durrul- Manthur».

These are examples wherein one can clearly observe the
manner in which the matters related to «Ahl-e-Kitab»
especially the Jews have become prevalent among the
Muslims by means of Kab:

Bait-ul-Muqaddas is respectable. God sets His seat or
throne - which are physical too - in that place. The four
mountains which are sacred mostly for the Jews and the
land of Bait-ul-Muqaddas are the bases and pavillion for
God's throne.

Also, he says:²⁵⁷ «On the Day of Judgement
the people of Syria will be told that God would take care
of them just as a warrior takes care of his arrows kept
in his quiver. This is because Syria is the most beloved
land before Him and its people are His most beloved
creatures.»

He adds: «Anyone who enters Syria will come under
God's mercy and favour and anyone who exits from it will
be a loser.»

Similarly, he says: «The haven for the Muslims from
dangers and calamities is the city of Damascus and the
place of deliverance for Dajjal is the river of
Abu-Fatras (a place near Rumallah in Palestine) and the
place of refuge from God and Magog is the mountain of
Tur. ²⁵⁸

In another tradition, Kab says:

[Arabic text]

«Every morning, the Ka'aba (the holy House of God)
prostrates before Bait -ul-Muqaddas. ²⁵⁹

It is interesting to state that this tradition is read
to Imam Baqir (A.S.) and then commented: Kab has spoken
the truth, Imam reproached them by saying:

'You have lied and so has Kab.' ²⁶⁰

Yet in another tradition, Kab has said:

[Arabic text] ²⁶¹

The Day of Judgement will not be established but after
Bait-ul-Haram has been shifted towards Bait-ul-Muqaddas.
Thereafter, these two holy houses will be made to enter
Paradise along with their residents and the reckoning of
the creatures and the presentation of deeds on that day
will be conducted at Bait-ul-Muqaddas.

You must have observed that in these expressions, the
focal point is this that the sanctities of Islam like the
Ka'aba prostrate before the sanctities of the Jews like
Bait-ul-Muqaddas or fall in humbleness or advance towards
it in order to reach Paradise. Is it not that these
words, inculcations or propaganda of such thoughts
finally lead to Islam greeting Judaism with humility? It
is on the basis of these information that we believe that
Kab spread Judaism and its culture amongst the Muslims
and presented its fake values as lofty Islamic values.

THE
STUDENTS OF KAB

In addition to his endeavours in spreading his own
sayings and the distorted Jewish culture in the Islamic
society, Kab also engaged in training students who would
assist him in propagating Judaism. Aside from training
those students mentally, this double-faced Jew also
endeavoured to introduce them as learned men and scholars
in the society. Under various pretexts, he would strive
to make his students earn fame.

Amongst Kab's students, we may mention the name of
Abdullah-ibn-Amro- ibn-Aas. Once Kab asked him a question
and Abdullah responded correctly. Kab then said:

[Arabic text]

«You are more learned and knowledgeable than all the
Arabs.»

In the city of Mecca, Kab was asked a question and he
said: «Go and inquire from Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas. When
the question was put before Abdullah and he replied, Kab
said: [Arabic text]

«He has spoken the truth. I swear by Allah that he is
a learned man.» ²⁶²

Amongst Kab's other students was Abu-Huraira, the
famous narrator of numerous traditions in the Caliphate
school.

Kab strived to give this man who gained importance
(only) from Muawiya's era and onwards special type of
training and satiate him with Jewish perspicacity.

Tabari, in the three of his traditions reveals how
Kab, in the course of his training to Abu-Huraira has
taught the latter the Jewish culture. ²⁶³

Apart from the numerous traditions which Abu-Huraira
has narrated without having mentioned the name of Kab,
there are yet numerous other traditions wherein
Abu-Huraira has mentioned the real source of his
information i.e. Kab. ²⁶⁴ It is for this very
reason that religious scholars reckon Abu-Huraira to have
been one of Kab's students and trainees. ²⁶⁵

Just as in the case of Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas, with
regards to Abu-Huraira too, Kab al-Ahbar strived to make
him earn fame and credibility. Once Kab, after having
conversed with Abu-Huraira in length said about him as
such:

[Arabic text]

«I have not come across any person who has read the
Torah but has understood its meanings better than
Abu-Huraira. ²⁶⁶

KAB'S INFLUENCE IN OFFICIAL POSITIONS

For achieving his objectives, this Jewish scholar
strived hard to penetrate the hearts of the powerful men
and the Caliphs. He pursued this path by living a special
way of life. Even in this posture, Kab strived
contentiously in propagating the Jewish culture i.e. from
the one side he was propagating his own culture and from
the other side he was concentrating in penetrating in the
system of Caliphate and drawing the Caliph's attention.

In one of his meetings with Omar-ibn-Khattab, he
said:-

[Arabic text]

«We could find your name in the divine Book (of
course by divine Book, he meant the Torah) wherein is
mentioned that you have been placed near the gates of
Hell and you prevent the people from entering it.
However, as soon as you die the people will ceaselessly
enter Hell and this will continue until the Day of
Judgement. ²⁶⁷

Perhaps, the Holy Prophet too did not possess such a
virtue; that up to the time he was alive, he could stand
near the gates of Hell and have the power to prevent the
people from entering it. The same is true for Abu-Bakr
and nobody other than Omar too possessed this virtue. It
is only Omar who is the barrier for the people - such
people who with their evil deeds have to enter Hell - and
with his death, there no longer remains any barrier in
the way of Hell!

Similarly, when Omar-ibn-Khattab got killed by the
hands of Abu-Lualu, Kab said:

[Arabic text]

If Omar requests Allah to allow him to remain
alive, then certainly Allah will grant him a long
life. ²⁶⁸

As usual, here too, Kab indirectly referred to the
Torah and narrated one story from it.

From the traditions it sometimes appears that the
ruling power too wanted Kab to earn fame and credibility
amongst the Muslims and that people should show trust and
faith in him.

In an authentic book of exegesis of the Caliphate
school, Omar-ibn- Khattab inquired from Kab the meaning
of [Arabic text] from the following verse:-

[Arabic text] ²⁶⁹

Kab al-Ahbar immediately replied:

[Arabic text]

«(It refers to) golden places and mansions in
Paradise which are the places of residents for the
Prophet, the truthful ones and the just rulers.

Therefore, he started interpreting the verse [Arabic
text] and said: [Arabic text] in this verse refers to
chastisement where God protects such people from
chastisement. ²⁷⁰

Verily, just as you have realized, the expressions of
this Jewish scholar in the form of interpretation of the
Holy Quran has found its way in the exegesis of the
Caliphate school. For example, it has come down in
Tafseer (exegesis) of Suyuti and Qurtabi as the
interpretation of verses eight and nine of Sura Ghafir.

In another instance, the second Caliph asks Kab about
the source and make of the House of God (Kaaba). Kab too
gives a detailed reply and says: Originally,
'Hajar-al-Aswad' was a red ruby which was brought by
Hazrat Adam (A.S.). It's center part was hollow and empty
and....²⁷¹

Once, when discussions were held on Arabian poets,
Caliph Omar too was present.

He asked Kab: Have you found any poems in the Torah?
Kab replied: 'Why not. I have seen in the Torah a group
from progeny of Ismaeel who knew their Ingeel by heart
and uttering wise words and striking examples which I
think were none other than the Arabs. ²⁷²

Kab al-Ahbar had so much commemorated the Torah as the
Book of God that the Islamic society too in their contact
with Kab, would mention the Torah as the Book of God.

One day Muawiya asked him: «Have you found anything
on the river Nile in the Torah?»

Kab replied: 'Yes! I swear by the One who split the
sea for Musa (Moses) that I have seen in the Book of God
that every year, God reveals twice upon Nile as such: God
commands you to flow. So, following this command it
flows. Then it is (again) revealed to the Nile to cease
flowing and it stops flowing. ²⁷³

Ibn-Abbass narrates and says: One day I was in
Muawiya's presence when he recited Verse 86 from Sura
Kahf in a very special form. I objected to this and
Muawiya inquired this matter from Abdullah-ibn-Amro Aas.
He in turn substantiated Muawiya's views.

In reply, I said: The Quran has been revealed in our
house i.e. we are worthy enough to speak about it and not
people like Abdullah-ibn-Amro- Aas. Finally Mmuawiya who
at that time had the reign of government in his hand
decided to send someone to Kab and solve this difference
by relying on his view. ²⁷⁴

In praise of him (i.e. Kab), Muawiya would say:

[Arabic text]

«Know that Kab al-Ahbar is one of the scholars». ²⁷⁵

It was the significance of this talk that there were
only two others whose name would be mentioned along with
the name of Kab.

It was on the strength of these preliminaries that Kab
al-Ahbar had become a great source of gnosis during
Omar-ibn-Khattab's time and much longer after him. With
well-thought plans, he would draw the Muslims towards the
Jewish culture. Through him, the distorted culture of
Judaism would mingle with the pure and clean gnosis of
Islam; and would lay its foot in the Islamic texts of
exegesis, history, biography and hadith; and would alter
the Islamic insight and correct world-view of the Muslims
and would taint them with the superstitions present in
Judaism.

What is more regretful is this that these Jewish
superstitions have entered the authentic books of hadith
and most important of all, have filled Tabari's history
and exegesis and tafseer (exegesis) of Durrul-Manthur,
Ibn-Kathir and the like of them. Worst of all, the Jewish
culture of Kab al-Ahbar has also penetrated from the
exegesis of the Caliphate school into some of the
exegesis of the Ahl-e-bayt schooll and to the extent that
it has influenced such sources, it has pushed aside the
gnosis of Ahl-e-bayt.

276- Exegesis like «Tafseer Abul-Fotouh Raazi» and
«Tafseer-e-Ghazor» have brought some of those
traditions of Kab al Ahbar which have not been
inconsistent with thc principles of Islam.

THE GUARDIANS OF ISLAM - THE OPPOSITIONTO KAB AL-AHBAR

Here, it is necessary to verify the stance adopted by
the guardians of Islam like Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.)
vis-a-vis Kab and the manner in which they used to
confront this man who was the propagator of Jewish
culture amongst the Muslims. The incident which we shall
narrate below reveals Imam's position and the manner of
his encounter and confrontation with the distortions made
by Kab al-Ahbar:-

During Omar-ibn-Khattab's reign of government a
meeting was once held in the Caliph's presence. Imam
Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.) too was present. Kab was also one
of the attendants. The Caliph asked: 'O Kab! Do you know
the entire Torah by heart?

Kab replied: No, but I know most of it by heart! A
person told the Caliph as such:

'O Amir-ul-Mumineen, ask him about God's whereabouts
before the creation of His Throne. Also, from what He
created water on which He placed His Throne?

Omar said: 'O Kab, can you answer these questions?

Kab replied: 'Yes 'O Amir-ul-Mumineen. I have found in
the «source of wisdom»²⁷⁷ that before the
creation of the throne, God had been everlasting and
eternal and was on top of the rocky structure of Bait-ul-
Muqaddas and this rocky structure too was placed in the
air. When God decided to create the Throne, He spitted as
a result of which deep seas and roaring waves came into
existence. At that very moment, God created His Throne
from some portion of the rocky structure of
Bait-ul-Muqaddas which was beneath Him and then He sat on
it. From the remaining portion of the rocky structure
too, He created the dome of Bait-ul-Muqaddas....

Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.) while shaking the dust
off his clothes and uttering words which signalled the
Greatness of God like [Arabic text] (Glory be to His
Creation) or [Arabic text] (Greatness or Glory be to
Allah) or [Arabic text] (Allah is the Greatest) stood up
from his place so as to leave the gathering in the manner
of protest. It is an Arab custom that whenever they want
to express their disgust towards some matter they shake
the dust off their clothes as if to say that such talks
cannot hold good for me. ²⁷⁸

When Omar-ibn-Khattab observed this scene he requested
Imam to take his seat and deliberate over the matter of
discussion. Imam sat back in his place and turning
towards Kab said:

«Your companions took the wrong path, distorted the
Divine Book and attributed falsehood to God. 'O Kab, woe
be to you if you consider the rocky structure and air to
be with God and thus consider them to be everlasting and
eternal too. As a result, we will be having three eternal
beings. Aside from this, the Almighty God is far higher
than having a place for Himself and He is not what the
pagans say and the ignorants imagine. Woe to you 'O Kab.
The One who creates these magnificent seas by spitting as
you say, is far greater than taking position on the rocky
structures of Bait-ul-Muqaddas²⁷⁹ and ....

The hadith is lengthy and indicates the confrontation
of Imam vis-a-vis these deviated and distorted events and
the heresies. However, the incident of Imam planting
date-trees was because of the fact that if he had lived
among people and his presence felt by the Muslims, his
life would have been endangered and there existed the
possibility of his murder with no benefit to Islam.

277- By «source of wisdom», he means the
Torah. This quality is from the

qualities of the Holy Quran where Kab has utilized it for
the distorted Torah.

WHY KAB AL-AHBAR WAS GIVEN ATTENTION?

Now it is necessary to examine the reason behind the
endeavours of the Caliphs (like Muawiya) in bringing up
Kab al-Ahbar in the Islamic society and placing him at a
high level of knowledge in the Islamic society.

The first person who devoted attention to Kab al-Ahbar
and compelled him to stay in Medina and referred to him
as one eminent scholar and leading authority was the
second Caliph. The reason behind his move is not clearly
known. However, by examining his life-history, it appears
that he had had a past acquaintance and familiarity with
Judaism and Torah and that this amazing book often
excited him.

Jabir narrates that one day Omar-ibn-Khattab
approached the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) with a small book
which contained some portions of the Torah. The Holy
Prophet was then seated and Omar said: 'O the Messenger
of Allah, this booklet is from the Torah and I have
brought this for you from the Torah. The Holy Prophet
kept silent. Omar continued his talk and wished to recite
the Torah. He was glad that he had attained knowledge and
under such an amazing and joyful state, he wished to
recite it before the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact he
wanted approval and encouragement from the Holy Prophet.
However, the Holy Prophet on the contrary became angry
and every moment his anger increased. But Omar was
unaware. He had the Torah in hand and unaware of his
uncontrollable state, he wished to recite it for the Holy
Prophet. Abu-Bakr was present there and was aware of the
situation. He feared lest a verse in rebuke or
chastisement would be revealed. Thus he came down harshly
upon Omar and said:

[Arabic text]

«May you perish. Don't you see how the colour of the
Holy Prophet's face has changed due to severity of his
anger and discomfort?!?»

It was only at that very moment that Omar lifted his
head and looked at the Prophet. Observing the severity of
anger on his blessed face he became terrified and said:

[Arabic text]

«I seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and His
Messenger's wrath.»!

The Holy Prophet said: 'O the son of Khattab. Do you
have doubt, uncertainty and confusion in your religion?
Then, he added:

[Arabic text]

«I swear by the One in whose Hand is my soul that I
have brought a «Shariat» (religious law) pure and
lucid. Then, he said: Do not ask anything from the
«Ahl-e-Kitab» (i.e. do not ask your religious affairs
from them). They can never guide you because they are
themselves misguided. If Musa (Moses) (A.S.) was now
alive and living amongst you, nothing was lawful other
than his obedience towards me. ²⁸⁰

What conclusion can we draw from this tradition which
has come down in the authentic books through various
channels? Does it reveal anything other than this matter
that the Caliph had an interest in the Torah and was
looking at it as a marvel? Thus it is not irrelevant that
during his own ruling, he refers to the Jewish scholars
and the gnosis of Torah.

As far as this humble servant of God is aware, this
reality is one of the most vital factors in magnifying
Kab al-Ahbar and bringing him up in status in the Islamic
society. But the matter does not end here. In this
regard, other reasons too had been at work.

Amongst them, those involved in ruling the government
after the Holy Prophet were not possessing much knowledge
and insight in the recognition of the world and its
origin and end. The one well-acquainted with these
matters i.e. the gate of the city of Holy Prophet's
knowledge - Amir-ul- Mumineen (A.S.) too was compelled to
engage in date-palms and keep himself aloof from the
society. The solution lay in this that people such as
Tamim Dari and Kab al-Ahbar whose heart and soul were
quenched with Christianity and Judaism and could at least
answer from their distorted know-how, the demands of the
seekers of knowledge and also considering that their
upliftment did not pose any danger to the ruling Caliphs,
should be raised and accepted in the society as one
element amongst the various elements of the ruling power.

The historical event which set forth below is a proof
of our reasoning:

A person by the name of Subaigh Tamimi set out towards
the «Aajdan» of the Muslims i.e. the centres of
provinces which was also the army base of Islam and
knocked at every door for putting forth some questions.
His questions were related to the Holy Quran. This man
wandered about in Syria, Alexandria or Kufa searching for
people who had lived in Medina and had seen the Holy
Prophet. This was in order to receive replies from them
for his queries. He goes to Egypt, Subaigh has neither
seen the Prophet nor has he heard his talks. Now, in
pursuit of recognition of the Holy Quran and for hearing
the exegesis of the holy Quran, he travels city to city
until he gets to Egypt. His story is reported to
Amro-ibn-Aas the ruler and governor of Egypt.
Amro-ibn-Aas sends him to the Islamic capital i.e. Medina
and reports his intentions in a letter to Caliph
Omar-ibn- Khattab. Subaigh reaches Medina. The messenger
too approaches Omar along with Amro's letter and hands
him the letter. After becoming aware of its contents Omar
says: 'Where is this man? The messenger replies: He is on
the camel's saddle. Omar says: 'If he flees you will be
punished severely.' According to another tradition, a
person approaches the Caliph and says: 'I met a person
who was inquiring about the Holy Quran.' Omar says: 'O
God, make me overvome him.

Anyhow, Subaigh Tamimi comes before the Caliph. When
he comes in the Caliph's presence he has the Holy Quran
in hand. When he sees the Caliph of the Muslims and
indispensibly thinks him to be the centre of Islamic
knowledge and heedless of what has occured he asks: 'O
Amir-ul- Mumineen, what is [Arabic text] (swear by the
wind that scatters far and wide)?

Omar says: 'Who are you?'

The man replies: 'I am Subiagh, the servant of God.'
Omar says: I too am God's servant. Then he folds his
sleeves and begins to beat the man with a stick which was
prepared on his commands. He beats him to such extent
that his head stained with blood or, as per some other
tradition, he whipped his back with twig so much so that
Subaigh's back was cut deeply and his skin was torn
apart. Thereafter, he let him go. The injured and blood-
stained man was set free until he was healed of his
wounds. Once again, Omar summons him and repeats the same
event. When for the third time he was brought before the
Caliph in order to be punished, he said: 'If you intend
to kill me, then do that once and for all so that I get
relieved. And if you wish to rectify me, I swear by God
that Ii have been rectified and I will no more discuss
such matters.

The Caliph ordered that he be mounted on a camel
without any litter or cover and then be exiled to Basra
near Abu Musa Ashari. In a letter, he also commanded Abu
Musa the governor of Basra to forbid any person from
coming into contact with this man. Similarly, they
stopped giving him the yearly privileges and provisions
which was shared amongst all the Muslims.

Abu Uthman Nahdi says: «Whenever this man would
approach us, even if we were hundred in number we would
move from our places and run away out of fear of being
punished on Omar's command».

At last, things became worse for this man and life
became miserable for him, Helplessly one day, he
approached Abu Musa and appealed him for help.

Abu Musa reported in a letter to Caliph Omar that this
man has repented and his repentence too is a very sincere
one. Omar in reply wrote as such: So you may now allow
the people to come in contact with him.

It is noted down in history that this man who was an
eminent personality amongst his own tribe was now
despised and had lost his prestige and creditability. ²⁸¹

An incident exactly opposite to the one above exists
in the history of Islam. This incident is related to the
era of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen's reign of government. One
day Imam goes on the pulpit and while reciting a sermon
says:

[Arabic text]

«Ask me question. I swear by Allah that you will not
ask me anything of the events that are to occur till the
Day of Judgement except that I will answer them to you.
Also, ask me about the Quran, the Book of Allah. I swear
by Allah that there is not a single verse but that I am
aware whether it has been revealed at night or during the
day; whether it has been revealed in the mountains or in
the desert and....

The narrator says: «Ibne al-Kawwa was sitting behind
me. He stood up and said:

'O Amir-ul-Mumineen, what is [Arabic text]? This man
i.e. Ibne al-Kawwa was a leading figure amongst the
Khawarij and an enemy of Amir-ul- Mumineen (A.S.).

Ibne-Abbass who was also present in the gathering
says: «Ibne al-Kawwa wished to ask the same thing which
Subaigh had once asked Omar-ibn- Khattab. This man was
under the impression that by setting forth this question
he would be able to discredit Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen.

Imam (A.S.) said: «Woe be to you. Ask questions with
the aim of acquiring knowledge and not for causing
trouble and inconvenience or out of pride and
haughtiness. [Arabic text] are winds which blow at the
time of harvest of wheat and barley.» Immediately, Ibne
al-Kawwa asked: 'What is [Arabic text]? Imam replied:
«They are ships sailing over the water.» Again he
asked: What is [Arabic text]? Hazrat said: «They are
Angels ²⁸²....»

When Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (A.S.) who was
well-acquainted with the content of Quran was not to be
in the society and instead planted date trees in a farm
outside Medina and make the date-palms flourish or dig
the subterranean canals; and the companions of the Holy
Prophet too were banned from narrating traditions; and
when the ruling powers and rulers were themselves not
firm in knowledge, then there was no alternative but for
such people like Kab al-Ahbar, Tamim Dari and
Wahab-ibn-Manbah to come into the scene.

SUMMARY

The factors which were responsible in raising the
status of the Jewish and Christian scholars and the
«Ahl-e-Kitab» in the Islamic society which consequently
made them earn fame are as follows:

First - Those responsible for bringing up Kab and his
likes were familiar and acquainted with the culture of
Ahl-e-Kitab and were looking at it with wonder and
surprise. As a matter of fact, in the pre-Islamic era the
Arabs used to look upon the Jews and Christians with
respect and honour and would reckon them to be people of
the Book, civilization and culture. Such a state of
mentality remaining alive in some of the rulers became a
factor which caused Tamim - Dari and Kab al-Ahbar to be
looked upon with the same honour and respect and be paid
attention as scholars and leading authorities and figures
of knowledge.

Second - It was to the interest of the ruling power
not to propound the sciences of the Holy Prophet (SAW.A.)
which was left behind in the hands of his companions
and/or personalities like Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.)
who possessed the entire sciences. This was so that they
could carry on with their rule and power.

Third: The ruling powers were themselves devoid of
adequate knowledge and were incapable of the problems
which were propounded after the Holy Prophet's departure.

It was because of these reasons and factors that Kab,
Tamim, Wahab and their likes laid foot into the arena of
Islamic society and their presence proved to be one of
the misfortunate factors in the distortion of Islam.
These people succeeded in distorting (in various
dimensions) the true Islam and presenting a religion
defective with distortions and superstitions. Such people
who in the Islamic history have become famous as [Arabic
text] (story tellers) are a part of the unknown factors
in the distortion of Islam. I have referred to tens of
volumes of books on history exegesis, biography and
'Rijal' before I could succeed in laying open a few of
their destructive deeds and affairs. The Islamic history
and exegesis have become defective mainly due to the
consequence of Kab al-Ahbar's affairs. He has spoken on
every subject: God, Day of Judgement, «Hashr»
(revivification), «Nashr» (resurrection), creation,
skies, the earth, «Arsh» (Celestial throne) Ka'aba,
Bait-ul-Muqaddas, Sulaiman, Dawoud, Prophets and Angels
and such talks have come out in the form of exegesis,
history and biographies in Islam.

Thus, the Islam which was supposed to be taken from
the house of the Holy Prophet's Ahl-e-bayt, has been
drawn from such sources and origins. In present times
too, the Jewish, Christian and Marxist, Islamicists have
engaged and still engage in recognizing Islam through
these sources.