لطفا منتظر باشید ...
TARNISHING THE IMAGE OF THE HOLY
PROPHETS FORE-FATHERS
In some of these traditions effort has also been made to
shatter the position of the Holy Prophets (S.A.W.A.)
fore-fathers and ancestors. For example, Muslim narrates
from Anas-ibn-Malik as such:
A person addressed the Holy Prophet as such: O the
Messenger of Allah! Where can my father be just now? (Who
had already died).
The Holy Prophet replied: In the fire.
When that man turned to go away, Hazrat called him
back and said:
My father and your father are both in the fire. 34
In some of these traditions which have been fabricated
to shatter the position of the Holy Prophet, we see that
precaution (so to speak) has been observed to a certain
extent. That is to say, equality has been observed
between the Holy Prophet and others as can be seen in the
foregoing traditions and also in the traditions of
Erbaaz-ibn-Salim.
Abu Dawoud in his Sunan, Ibn-Maaja, Tirmidhi and
Daarami in their Sunan and Ahmad in his Musnad have
narrated from Erbaaz-ibn-Salim who said:
«One day, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) stood amongst
us and delivered a speech. He exhorted us so eloquently
that the hearts of the listeners overflew with fear and
tears rolled down their eyes.» They said: O the
Messenger of Allah, perhaps this is your last
exhortation. If it is so, then make your will. He
replied: Cling to piety and pay attention towards Allah.
Obey your ruler even though he may be al Habashi slave.
After me, you will witness severe controversies. Under
such circumstances it will be your duty to follow my
Sunnah (ways) and the Sunnah of Khulafa-e -Rashideen
and Mahdiyeen. As far as possible, you should strive to
safeguard these Sunnahs. 35
ANALYSIS:
If we wish to analyze these traditions just like the
way we examined the matter of commencement of descending
of revelation and the matter of Gharaniq, it would take
a tremendous while. Nevertheless, we shall examine in
brief some of the more important ones from among them.
EXAMINATION OF OMARS AGREEMENT
Traditions (dealing with Omars agreement with God) or
(Gods agreement with Omar) reveal that either the Caliph
used to set forth some matter before the Holy Prophet and
make suggestions to him or that he used to forbid the
Prophet from certain acts as a result of which special
verses of the Holy Quran were revealed and it commanded
the Holy Prophet to follow the sayings of the Caliph.
First of all, we shall refer to those very verses and see
for ourselves whether they are true of these claims or
not:
A - AGREEMENT ABOUT THE
STANDING-PLACE OF IBRAHIM
In Sahih Bukhari, the first mentioned case about
Omars agreements with God or vice-versa is as follows:
The Caliph told the Holy Prophet:
[Arabic text]
What is the harm if we set the standing-place of
Ibrahim as the place of prayer?
Immediately after this, the Holy Prophet was addressed
in the form of revelation with exactly the same words as
the saying of the Caliph.
[Arabic text]
«Appoint a place of prayer on the standing-place of
Ibrahim.»
ANALYSING THIS AGREEMENT
This statement is a part of a verse which is connected
to verses 124 to 132 in Sura Baqarah. All of these verses
speak about Ibrahim and mention the story of construction
of Kaaba and Gods favour towards Ismail especially so
in verses 124 and 125 which say:
And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain
words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make
you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said: And of my
offspring? My covenant does not include the unjust,
said He.
And when We made the House a pilgrimage for men
and a (place of) security, and:
Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the
standing-place of Ibrahim. And We enjoined Ibrahim
and Ismail saying: Purify My House for those who
visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion
and those who bow down; (and) those who prostrate
themselves.
In the above verse, the sentence «and appoint for
yourselves a place of prayer on the standing-place of
Ibrahim» has not come by itself so that it can be true
of the tradition of Gods agreement with the Caliph.
Rather, this sentence is a part of the verse 125 while
this verse itself is a part of the verses 124 - 132 where
all of these verses speak about three matters:
(i) About Ibrahim the intimate friend of the Merciful
and his construction of the Kaaba along with his son
Ismail - Especially verses 124 and 125 mention that God
out of His Grace, made Ibrahim as an Imam of the people
as he had fulfilled the words of God.
(ii) He has made His House as the place of shelter and
refuge for the people and,
(iii) In this House, people should make the
standing-place of Ibrahim as the place of prayers.
From this description, it is clear that the sentence
«Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the
standing-place of Ibrahim» has not come by itself so
that we can say: This sentence has been revealed as per
the agreement with Omars opinion.
Moreover, the talk in Quran about Ibrahims
standing-place is not confined to this particular
instance only. Rather, in verses 95 - 97 of Sura Al-Imran
too, we read as such:
Most surely the first House appointed for men to
the one at Mecca, blessed and a guidance for the nations.
In it are clear signs, the standing-place of Ibrahim
and whoever enters it shall be secure. In these verses
too God has, first of all, reminded us about the matter
of Ibrahims obedience. Thereafter, He has reminded us
about His House and its holiness and the fact that there
are clear signs from Him in this House especially the
standing-place of Ibrahim.
This analysis obviously proves that especially the
matter of his standing-place and the reverence of the
House of God have appeared in succession in two sets of
verses and in two places of the holy Quran uniformly and
the standing-place of Ibrahim has not come once or
separately by itself in one sentence so that we can say:
In this case, God has followed the words of the
Caliph.
B- AGREEMENT ABOUT THE PROPHETS WIVES
Again, in the same tradition, the Caliph says:
Out of envy, the Holy Prophets wives formed an
alliance against him. I told them: If the Prophet
divorces you, may be Allah in return will provide him
with better wives than you. Then a verse similar to this
utterance was revealed.
ANALYSING THIS AGREEMENT
This sentence too has not come all by itself so that
we can say: The Caliph said this sentence and the verse
was revealed in conformity with his assent. Rather, this
sentence is a part of the fifth verse of Sura Tahrim
and all the verses of the said Sura; especially the first
six verses have been revealed in connection with Ayesha
and Hafsah, the two wives of the Prophet. It is obvious
that the entire verses have come with regards to one
matter (only) just as the same can be seen from the
following:
O Prophet! Why do you forbid (yourself) that which
Allah has made lawful for you; you seek to please your
wives; and Allah is forgiving, Merciful.
Allah indeed has sanctioned for you the expiation of
your oaths and Allah is your Protector, and He is the
Knowing, the Wise.
And when the Prophet secretly communicated a piece of
information to one of his wives (i.e. Hafsah) but when
she informed (Ayesha) of it, and Allah made him to know
it he made known part of it and did not recount the other
part; so when he informed her of it, she said: Who
informed you of this? He said:
«The Knowing, the One Aware, informed me.»
If you both turn to Allah, then indeed your hearts are
already inclined (to this); and if you back up each other
against him, then surely Allah it is Who is his Guardian
and Jibraeel and the virtuous one amongst the believers
(as per the common and specific traditions the virtuous
one amongst the believers is said to be Ali (A.S.) and
the Angels after that are the aides.
Maybe, his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in
your place wives better than you - submissive, faithful,
obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and
virgins.
It is self-evident that the afore said sentence (Maybe
that Allah will provide ...) is only a part of this
incident and one cannot say that this sentence has been
solely revealed in conformity with the sayings of Omar.
C - AGREEMENT WITH REGARDS TO THE
SENTENCE: BLESSED BE ALLAH... 36
Tayalesi in his Musnad narrates from the Caliph as
such: When the verse ... [Arabic text] came to an end
and it described the creation of men, I said: [Arabic
text]
After this, another revelation came as a result of
which Omars sentence was added to the first verse.
ANALYSING THIS AGREEMENT
The sentence: [Arabic text] too is a part of 1 verse
No. 14 of Sura Muminun and this verse itself alongwith
the previous and the following verses mention this matter
as follows:
And certainly We created man of an extract of clay,
Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place,
Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a
lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones,
then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it
to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the
best of the creators.
Then after that you will most surely die. Then surely
on the day of resurrection you shall be raised.
It is very clear that the afore-mentioned verses are
speaking about the stages of mans creation until the
time when man reaches perfection and then dies and once
again becomes alive on the day of resurrection. It is
also clear that this verse like the other afore-said
verses speaks about one topic and one matter. All these
sets of verses have been revealed to the Holy Prophet at
one time while the tradition of agreement says: Allah
first revealed these sets of verses to the Holy Prophet
without the sentence [Arabic text] 37
and the Prophet too read out these verses to the Muslims
devoid of this sentence.
By hearing these verses, Omar uttered the sentence
[Arabic text]. God becoming pleased of this sentence
added it to His Book after taking it from Omar!
Astonighing indeed! We really dont know what to say
in this regard!!
Whatever verses about Omars agreement with God have
been analysed are adequate and we may say that all the
(other) agreements of the Caliph too are the same as
these ones. Traditions concerning agreements of Omar say:
First, the Caliph would utter a sentence and then God
liking that sentence would include it in His Quran.
However, in our review, we saw that the related
sentences are not sentences which have come all alone so
that we can say that the traditions about Omars
agreements are in conformity with them. Rather all those
sentences are only a part related to some affair which
has been described by a number of verses.
EXAMINING OMARS AGREEMENT INTHE LIGHT OF TRADITIONS
Over here, we shall review a few instances of Omars
agreement with God or vice-versa from the view-point of
traditions.
A - ABOUT THE VEIL OF THE HOLYPROPHETS WIVES
Tradition about this particular agreement has come
down in Sahih Bukhari and the verse regarding the same
has come in Sura Ahzab as such: O Prophet! Say to your
wives and your daughters and the women of the believers
that they let down upon them their over-garments; this
will be more proper that they may be known and thus they
will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful. 38
If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a
disease and the agitators in the city do not desist, We
shall most certainly set you over them, then they shall
not be your neighbours in it but for a little while;
Cursed: Wherever they are found they shall be seized
and murdered, a (horrible) murdering.
(Such has been) the course of Allah with respect to
those who have gone before; and you shall not find any
change in the course of Allah,
ANALYSING
THIS AGREEMENT
In the first verse of this set of verses
the Holy Prophets wives and other believing women have
been commanded to cover themselves so that they are not
recognized and hence remain free from any trouble and
mischief.
The next verse talks about those who wish to create
mischief against the believing women and declares that if
they do not desist from this act, they would be either
killed or banished from the city.
Thus, the verse about veil has been revealed on the
occasion of an incident. for perceiving this, one should
refer to those traditions which clarifies this matter.
Now, we shall set forth some of them.
OCCASION OF REVELATION OF THE
VERSE OF VEIL FROM THE VIEW-POINTOF TRADITION
In this regard, traditions have come down from
Ibn-Abbas, Anas-ibn- Malik, Muhammad-ibn-Kaab Qurzi and
others where all have come down in one manner. For the
sake of brevity, we shall mention here a few traditions
without mentioning the repetitive sentences.
Their sayings are as follow:
Since the Holy Prophet did not possess a house of his
own in Medina (after migration) he resided in the house
of some of its local citizens. Those houses were small
and narrow. The Holy Prophets wives and the other Muslim
women used to leave the house at night and go to the
surrounding areas for easing nature. Some of the lewd
youths of Medina who would stroll the street at night
used to disturb and haress the women with exception of
those ladies wearing a veil as they thought them to be
noble. Those women who were veilless were considered by
them to be slave-girls and hence they would approach
them.
In another tradition it has come down as such:
A person amongst the hypocrites used to trouble and
haress the believing women and when he was asked to
refrain from this act he would say: I thought she was a
slave-girl. For this reason, God commanded the women to
avoid dressing themselves like the slave-girls and
instead to cover themselves with the veil (except for one
eye) so that they would be recognized as the noble-women.
IBNE-ABBASS NARRATES:
God commanded the believing-women to cover themselves
with the veil and make an opening only for one eye
whenever they wanted to leave the house for the purpose
of easing nature. 39
UMM-SALMA NARRATES:
After the revelation of this verse whenever the Ansar
women used to depart from their houses, their heads would
look black like a raven. This was because of the black
veils which they had put on their heads.
ANOTHER TRADITION FROM AYESHA
They used to make their covering double-purpose and
put over their heads and then attend the congregation
prayers led by the Holy Prophet. At t hat moment, their
heads were resembling the raven because of the black
veils.
The relation of these traditions with the afore-said
verses are clear and as per the above discussion, the
command for wearing veil is not meant for the Prophets
wives only, so that we can say: God while agreeing with
Omar, commanded the Prophets wives to cover themselves.
Rather, the verses on veil were revealed because of the
harassment brought about by immoral and sickly youths of
Medina against the believing-women of that time. This
trouble and harassment caused by the immoral men is
present even today and will continue till the end of
time. At that time too, the corrupt people used to bring
such excuses and other excuses too one after the other!
B - ABOUT ENVY AMONGST THE PROPHETSWIVES:
In our examination of the verses of Quran with regards
to this agreement, we saw that the verses clearly
stipulate that two of the Prophets wives joined hands
against him. The verses of Sura Tahrim where the sentence
[Arabic text] is a part of it had been revealed in this
very regard. If we refer to the traditions, we will find
thirty more traditions which stipulate that these two
women were none other than Ayesha and Hafesah.40 Here, we will restrain
ourselves by bringing only one tradition:
In Sahih of Bukhari, Sahih of Muslim, Sunan of
Tirmidhi and other books, this tradition has been
narrated from Ibn-Abbass who said:
«I was very eager to question the Caliph about the
identity of those two women with regards to whom the holy
Quran says: If you both turn to Allah then indeed your
hearts are already inclined (to this).» This question
remained until the Caliph left for the pilgrimage of Hajj
and I too accompanied him. On the way towards Mecca, he
stepped on the roadside for the purpose of easing nature.
I too followed him. Moments later he came back and began
to take ablution. I was pouring water on his hands and
while doing so, I said: O Amir-ul-Mumineen! Who are
these two wives of the Holy Prophet about whom the Quran
says: If you both turn towards Allah, then indeed your
hearts are already inclined (to this). He replied:
Astonishing indeed O son of Abbass! Those two women
were Ayesha and Hafesah... 41
This tradition and tens of other traditions are
unanimous that the said verses have been revealed with
regards to only two of the Prophets wives i.e. Ayesha
and Hafesah. As such there is not any reason to believe
that all the Prophets wives conspired against him and
the Caliph uttered the afore-said sentence and then God
in agreement with him revealed the same against the
Prophets wives.
C - ABOUT THE COMMANDMENT ON PROHIBITIONOF WINE
The examination of this agreement requires more than
all the other agreements and a reference to the
traditions in order to know the occasion of revelation.
Here, we shall mention a few of those traditions:
It has been narrated from Omar who said:- When the
commandment of reverence and prohibition of wine was
revealed, I said: O Lord! with regards to wine, send
down for us a clear exposition.
Immediately after this utterance, a verse which is in
Sura Baqarah was revealed:
[Arabic text] 42
«They ask you about Intoxicants and games of chance.
Say: In both of them there is a great sin....
Omar was called for and this verse was recited before
him. However not finding himself convinced, he once again
said:
O Lord! with regards to wine, give us a clear
exposition.
Then, a verse from Sura Nisa was revealed:
[Arabic text] 43
«O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you
are intoxicated.»
Thereafter, a proclaimer on the Holy Prophets side
would cry out in public gathering for prayers as such:
«Be aware! nobody who is in the state of intoxication
should attempt to perform prayers.»
Once again, Omar was called and this verse was recited
for him. However, he once more said:
O Lord! send us a clear and manifest exposition
concerning the subject of drinking wine!
As such, this verse was revealed:
[Arabic text] 44
«The Satan only wishes to cause enmity and hatred to
be sprung among you by means of intoxicants and games of
chance, and to keep you off from the remembrance of Allah
and from prayers. Will you then desist? (or not? Quit it
so that you will not fall prey to the conspiracy of
Satan)! At this juncture, Omar said:
«We have quited! We have quited!45»
Tabari has brought a detailed account of this incident
in his Exegesis as follows:
Abul-Qamus Zaid-ibn-Ali says: On three occasions God
sent revelation concerning wine drinking. The first verse
was as follows:
[Arabic text]
«They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance.
Say: In both of them there is a great sin and means of
profit for men and their sin is greater than their
profit.»
After the revelation of this verse some of the Muslims
were yet drinking wine so much so that two amongst them
joined the congregation prayer in the state of
intoxication and while praying they began using obscene
words. For this reason God revealed the following verse:
[Arabic text] 46
However, there were still some people who used to
drink wine but definitely not at the time of prayers.
This continued until according to the narration of
Abul-Qamus, a person who was in the state of intoxication
unknowingly began to recite an elegy in the battle of
Badr for the dead ones amongst the polytheists. This news
reached the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.). In a state of anger
and with his cloak being dragged over the ground he
approached that man. The man thinking that the Prophet
wanted to punish him with that which he had in hand said:
I seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and the wrath of
His Messenger. I swear by Allah that I will no more drink
wine. After this, God revealed an explicit order with
regards to wine as follows:
[Arabic text] 47
«O you who believe! intoxicants and games of chance
and (scarifying in the name of) stones set up and
(dividing by) arrows are only an uncleanliness, the
Satans work; shun it.... Will you then desist?
Over here, Omar-ibn-Khattab said:
[Arabic text] - We have desisted, we have desisted! 48
Tabari says: A person drank wine and then recited an
elegy for the dead polytheists of the battle of Badr.
Tabari does not mention his name but Abshiyc, the
author of «Al-Mustatraf» has mentioned so and in his
narration he says as follows:-
...so some of the Muslims continued to drink wine
while some desisted from doing so until Omar who was in
the state of intoxication held a piece of a camels
jaw-bone in his hand and struck it on Abdul Rahmans
head. Thereafter he sat down and while reciting the poem
of Aswad-ibn-Yafor began elegizing the dead polytheists
of the battle of Badr....
This news reached the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) who left
the house in the state of anger. His rage was so severe
that his cloak was being dragged on the ground and he
started to beat him with what he had in hand. Omar said.
I seek refuge ill Allah from His wrath and from the wrath
of His Messenger.
At that moment, God revealed the following verse:
[Arabic text]
Then Omar said: We have stoppedd, we have desisted! 49
Qurtabi has brought another piece of this incident in
his exegesis (of Quran) and has narrated from
Saeed-ibn-Jubair as follows:-
The people continued their ignorant customs and
practices until God continued issuing commands for the
prohibition of the same. In the early days of Islam, the
Muslims were drinking wine until the verse
[Arabic text] was revealed.
The people said: We drink wine because of the
advantages that it has and not because of its harmful
effects. This state continued until a ma n drank wine and
lead the people in prayers. While reciting a verse from
the holy Quran he said:
[Arabic text]
O unbelievers! I worship that which you worship.
Thereafter this following verse was revealed:
[Arabic text]
Here, a group of Muslims said: We shall drink wine
but not in the state of prayers.... 50
A section of this incident can also he seen in a
tradition narrated by Hakim Naishaboouri from Imam
Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.)
Imam says: Before the revelation of the commandment
on prohibition of wine, a man from Ansar had invited us
to his guests. We accepted his invitation. We stayed in
his house until the time for mid-night prayers
approached. Later a person stood forward and led the
congregation prayers. While reciting the sura Kafirun
he made an error in recitation. For this reason the
verse, [Arabic text] was revealed.
Thereafter Hakim Naishaboouri says:- Concerning the
conditions of authenticity from the view-point of Bukhari
and Muslim this tradition is an authentic one.
However, they have not narrated it. Thereafter, he
adds: In this tradition, there exists a great interest
and it is this that the Khawarij have attributed this
intoxication and wrong recitation of prayers to
Amir-ul-Mumineen - Ali-ibn-Abi Talib and not anyone
else!! But, Almighty God has proved his innocence and
purity through this very tradition and just as mentioned
before Imam himself has narrated the incident with
reference to someone else. 51
* * *
Verily, such was the incident of Omars agreement with
his Lord. We have brought these examples in brief and
have described them as examples which can lead us
recognize the reality of all other consents so that the
readers realize that the reality of these consents are
not something outside the scope of these examples.
TRADITION ABOUT T HE HOLY PROPHET URINATING WHILE
STANDING!?
The second incident in which we were able to do some
sort of a research is the matter of passing urine in a
standing position God forbid - attributed to the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.A.) But, if we examine the books and other
sources, we will witness some facts fully contradictory
to this matter.
Ayesha says:
Reject the saying of the one who narrates for you
that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.A.) urinates in a
standing position. He has never performed this act but in
a religiously recommended manner, i.e. in a sitting
position.52
Mughaira-ibn-Shuaba narrates:
Whenever the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) used to go to
ease nature, he would keep himself completely far away
from the people. 53
Abdur-Rahman-ibn- Abi Qarrad says:
I went with the Holy Prophet to a far off spot for
easing nature and in fact, whenever Hazrat wanted to do
this act, he would completely keep himself away from all
others. 54
Abu Musa narrates from the Messenger of Allah
(S.A.W.A.) who said:
Whenever anyone amongst you wishes to ease nature he
should search for a suitable place for this act. 55
Omar says: When the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) saw me
urinating in a standing position, he said: O Omar, do
not urinate while standing. Thereafter, I never urinated
in a standing position. 56
Jabir-ibn-Abdullah Ansari has said: The Holy Prophet
(S.A.W.A.) has prohibited us from urinating in a standing
position. 57
In spite of such numerous sayings and commands why is
there so much fuss over making an issue of the Holy
Prophet (God forbid) performing such an act in the manner
claimed? In this regard, we shall not say anything and
the clear-sighted readers can perhaps find the answer to
this question from the following points:
In Sunan of Ibn-Maaja we find the following matter:
It was the habit of some of the Arabs too urinate in
a standing position. 58
Malik in his Muta narrates from Amro-ibn -Maimun who
said:
I had witnessed Abdullah-ibn-Omar urinating while
standing. 59
The second Caliph, Omar-ibn-Khattab said:
Urinating in a standing position is a better form of
easing natural need. 60
EATING MEAT SACRIFICED IN THE NAME OFTHE IDOLS
The third tradition which we would like to briefly
ponder over is the matter of eating meat sacrificed for
the idols and the blasphemy and polytheism of the Holy
Prophets forefathers - God forbid - !
In order to know the Holy Prophets condition during
the period of ignorance, it would be most worthy to refer
to his best companion and his most intimate disciple i.e.
Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (A.S.) so that we realize what he
has to say about Hazrats behaviour and conduct:
[Arabic text] 61
From the time of his (i.e. Holy Prophets) weaning,
Allah had put a great angel with him to take him along
the path of high character and good behaviour throughout
the day and night.
Imam Baqir (A.S.) too has specified the same fact in
this manner:
[Arabic text] 62
The Almighty Allah commissioned an angel for all His
Prophets and right from the time of Hazrat Muhammads
weaning, He sent His greatest angel for him in order to
protect and guide him on the path of goodness and high
character and dissuade him from evil nature.
With regards to the Holy Prophets forefathers too we
shall now refer to the Ahl-e-bayt school in order to see
what they have said about them.
Imam Sadeq Jafar-ibn-Muhammad has narrated from his
father who has narrated from his grand-father who has
narrated from Hazrat Amir-ul- Mumineen (A.S.) that the
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) said:
[Arabic text] 63
O Ali! Abdul-Muttalib (my grandfather) never used to
worship and gamble with arrows called as «Azlam» which
were objects of idol-worshipping and gambling.
He never used to worship before the idols and never
would he eat meat of animals slaughtered on the fixture
for the idols.
Asbagh-ibn-Nabatah says: I heard Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen
(A.S.) say:
I swear by Allah that neither my
father (Abu
Talib) nor my grand-father Abdul-Muttalib nor (his
father) Hashim and nor (his father) Abd-Munaf ever
worshipped any idol.
He was asked: Then what did they
worship?
He replied: They used to recite Namaz (prayers) on
the path of the upright religion of Ibrahim and they
held on to his ways and customs.
These were some of the sayings of
Ahl-e-bayt about
the Holy Prophets forefathers.
