لطفا منتظر باشید ...
al
Tawhid
Sunnah, from
Shi'i and Sunni Viewpoints
Ayatullah
Ali Mishkini
vol 14, No.
2
The original article in Persian appeared under the
title "Sunnat dar nigah-e Ahl-e Tashayyu wa Tasannun" in the
quarterly journal Ulum-a Hadith (year 1, no. 1, Fall 1375 H.
Sh./1996, pp. 9-16) published by the Institute of Hadith Sciences
(Danishkadeh 'Ulum-a Hadith), Qum.
All Praise belongs to God, Who made the creation and
provided it (with all that it needed), Who inspired (the souls) and gave
them the faculty of speech, Who originated things and laid down the Law,
Who is high and exalted, Who ordained and did so in the best manner, Who
fashioned the creation and made it firm, Who set forth His proofs and made
them conclusive, Who has bestowed bounties of the creatures and made them
plenteous, Who has handed out His gifts and made them plentiful, Who has
blessed and done so graciously) May Peace and benedictions be upon His
Noble Messenger, Muhammad, and the Pure Ones of his progeny.
All Islamic teachings, including doctrine, ethics, law,
and other sciences, which have been received by the Noble Messenger from
their celestial source, have been communicated by him to humanity through
two means: the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
As to the Qur'anic scripture, it consists of the set of
statements which the Prophet was heard to make, but whose words as well as
meanings have been communicated to mankind by God, the Exalted, as an
enduring and everlasting miracle of speech. This collection is known
variously as the Qur'an, the Book of Allah (kitabullah), the Speech
of Allah (kalamullah) and al-Furqan (lit. the separator,
i.e. the standard which separates truth from falsehood):
The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down in a
clear Arabic language on your heart that you may be of the warners.
(26:193-195)
As to hadith qudsi, it is also the word of God,
the Exalted, but its words are of the kind which were also revealed-to the
former prophets.
The Sunnah, which is also referred to as
riwayah (tradition), hadith and nass, consists of
texts whose words are from the Noble Prophet but whose content and meaning
is from God. However, in Islamic jurisprudence (ilm al-usul) Sunnah is
considered to include three types: statements (qawl) , actions
(fi'l) and tacit approvals (taqrir) of the Infallible Ones.
What the jurisprudents mean is the Sunnah derived from the Prophet
(s) and therefore they have not considered writing as part of the
Sunnah. However, if Sunnah is to include that which has been
received through the means of any of the Infallible Imams a fourth kind
must be added to these, which is writing. href="#r1"
name=n1>[1]
Both the Book and the Sunnah must be delivered
and communicated by the Noble Prophet to the community in order to be
acted upon. There is no problem involved concerning the delivery of the
Book to mankind, as it has been received by every successive generation
until the present day. Thank God, the Book of God has reached us with its
original wording and characteristics and its transmission has been
definite and mutawatir, and without there being any alteration or
corruption in its text. Doubts raised in this regard by some scholars on
each side and the belief that there has been any interpolation (tahrif)
in the Qur'anic scripture are baseless and unacceptable. Any
statements by scholars affirming such a view must be considered an error
or lapse, and the lapses of eminent men are also stupendous
However in regard to Sunnah and hadith,
which make the topic of this writing, the matter is debatable,
firstly, concerning the character of the communication of the Sunnah
and the Prophet's statements to the Islamic community from the early
Islamic era and its transmission through the generations up to the present
day, and secondly, concerning the difference between the approach of Imami
Shi'is and that of other non-Shi'i Muslim brethren between the method of
accessing the Sunnah.
We may mention several following points in this regard.
Firstly, that which is considered Sunnah and
hadith by the Shi'ah is the same as that which is considered such
by the Ahl al-Sunnah, and both of these Muslim sects take it in the sense
of the Prophet's words and statements that were pronounced for the sake of
propounding Islamic teachings and sciences. The misconception that
Sunnah has some other meaning for the Imami Shiis and the Jafari
sect, and that they believe that the Infallible Imams, may Peace be upon
them, received the teachings independently from God and expounded them for
the people is one which is entirely false. Rather, the Shiis and the
Imamis believe that the religious teachings and the Divine laws, including
doctrine and law and other things, which are derived from the Infallible
Imams have been received in their totality as a transmission of the
Prophet's Sunnah and his teaching.
There is the narration reported by several authorities
including Hisham ibn Salim, Hammad and others that:
We heard Abu Abd
Allah (a) say: "My hadith is the hadith of my father, and my father's
hadith is the hadith of my grandfather, and the hadith of my grandfather
is the hadith of al-Husayn, and the hadith of al-Husayn is the hadith of
al-Hasan, and the hadith of al-Hasan is the hadith of the Commander of the
Faithful, and the hadith of the Commander of the Faithful is the hadith of
the Messenger of Allah, and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah is the
word of Allah, the Almighty and the Glorious." href="#r2"
name=n2>[2]
It is narrated from Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari that
he said:
I said to Abu Ja'far ( a) when you narrate for me a
tradition, give me also its chain of authorities (sanad). He said,
"Narrated to my father, from my grandfather, from the Messenger of Allah,
from Gabriel, from God, the Blessed and the Exalted, and whatever I
narrate to you is with this isnad." href="#r3"
name=n3>[3]
Secondly, on the basis
of that which has been said, the difference between the Imamiyyah and the
Ahl al-Sunnah lies in the chains and channels of transmission of the
Sunnah and the isnad of hadith. The greater part of that which has
been received by the Imamiyyah from the Noble Prophet as the Prophet's
Sunnah' is through the means of the Infallible Imams who are the twelve
successors of the Messenger of Allah appointed by God, and who are
believed by all followers of Islam to have been greatly pious men worthy
of utmost veneration and whom the Imamiyyah believe to have been
infallible and secure from sin and error.
From the Shi'i viewpoint, as the era during which the
Imams lived (i.e. until the occultation of the last of the Imams) lasted
until the year 260 of Hijrah, the traditions of the Prophet (s) and his
Sunnah were secure from error until the said year and the chains of
fallible narrators pertain to the period intervening between us and the
last of the Infallible ones. However, from the Sunni viewpoint, the chains
of fallible authorities begin right from the time of die demise of the
Noble Prophet (s). In other words, from the Sunni viewpoint, the lifetime
of the Prophet of Islam in respect of the exposition of the Shariah and
the period of immunity of Divine teachings, precepts, laws and
prescriptions [from error and interpolation arising from transmission
through chains of fallible authorities] was 23 years (i.e. from the
beginning of the Prophet's ministry until his demise), whereas from the
Shi'i viewpoint it was in effect 273 years (i.e. from the beginning of the
Prophet's ministry until the demise of the Eleventh Imam).
As a result, Islamic teachings, sciences and laws
received in the Shi'i tradition from their infallible source are much
greater in respect of quantity, and in respect of quality closer to the
era of the Infallibles, whereas in the Sunni tradition the bulk of hadith
transmitted and received is limited to the first 23 years with a much
greater distance of time following it.
By the way, it become clear that according to Still!
belief the Noble Prophet (s) expounded and transferred everything that is
needed by mankind, including the teachings dealing with doctrine, law, and
other matters, to his infallible successors (khulafaa') and
entrusted this knowledge to them. In accordance with certain traditions,
including the statements made by the Noble Prophet in a sermon that he
delivered during his last hajj, he expressly made the following statement
repeatedly:
O People! By God,
there is nothing that brings you nearer to paradise and takes you farther
from hell but that I have commanded it to you, and there is nothing that
brings you closer to hell and takes you farther from paradise but that I
have forbidden you from it. href="#r4"
name=n4>[4]
Such a claim [as the one made by the Shi'ah concerning
the Imams] is not made by the scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah, for if they
were to make it, who would they consider worthy of such a station?
Thirdly; there are the problems of authenticity and of
the reliability of transmission as well as the-chains of authorities
through which the Prophet's ahadith have been received. According
to Shi'i belief, the problems of authentication and reliability of
transmission did not arise until 260/872-3 due to the chain of infallible,
authorities provided by the Imams, a chain which has not been accepted by
the Ahl al-Sunnah. To explain, even if we suppose that their Imamate is
not established, the authority of the statements of the Imams of the
Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt) in narration of the Prophet's hadith
and the necessity of reference to them for Divine laws and Qur'anic
teachings and sciences is something which is certain in accordance with
the verse:
O people of the Family, God only wills to keep away
all impurity from you and to purify you with a thorough purification.
(33:33)
And also in
accordance with this famous statement of the Noble Prophet (s):
Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things among
you: the Book of Allah and my kindred, my family As long as you hold on to
them you will not be misguided. href="#r5"
name=n5>[5]
Hence both the Book of Allah and the Sunnah support the
authority of the statements of the Imams of the Prophet's family, may
Peace be upon them, and underline the necessity of referring to them in
matters of law of doctrine. There is no doubt that there is a fundamental
difference between them and others like Anas, Ikrimah, and Abu Hurayrah,
and their ahadith cannot be compared to any of those transmitted by
others. That is because falsehood is an impurity of the soul, and the
spirit and the Qur'anic verse mentioned considers them to be free from any
kind of impurity. Accordingly, the mutawatir "Tradition of
Thaqalayn" too calls the entire Ummah to refer to them and to
acquire the knowledge of Islamic sciences from them.
Fourthly, if anyone carefully studies the traditions
received from the Noble Prophet (s), it would be clear to him that in the
Shi'i tradition Sunnah-throughout the course of history and from the time
of its inception to the present day-has never encountered the handicaps
that it faced in the sunni tradition. That is because the
transmission of Sunnah was faced for a long period with the problem
created by the prohibition on its writing and oral tradition was the only
means by which it was transmitted from one generation to the next. After
the demise of the Noble Prophet (s), the Second caliph, with the claim
that the Book of Allah is sufficient for us' (kafana kitab Allah),
severely prohibited the writing of hadith and lie had some of the
Companions whipped for writing the traditions of the Prophet (s). This
prohibition remained in force until the time of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the
Umayyad Caliph. The dangers and drawbacks of oral transmission are obvious
and one can guess the extent to which it exposed hadith to the hazards of
corruption, alteration and interpolation in respect of wording, form and
content.
However, in the Shi'i tradition Sunnah had a different
history. From the very beginning. in accordance with the Prophet's
command:
Record knowledge by putting it into writing, href="#r6"
name=n6>[6]
Ali (a) used to write down the Prophet's sayings and
statements. As a result the Imams of the Prophet's family, may Peace be
upon them, possessed a book from which they would narrate for their close
disciples. The contents of that book were dictated by the Prophet (s) and
written by Ali (a). href="#r7"
name=n7>[7] Aside from this, the Imams themselves would instruct their
pupils and ordered them to write it down.
The Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt ( a) also possessed
another book which was dictated by Hadrat Zahra' (s) and written down by
Imam Ali (a). It contained the teachings which Hadrat Zahra' (s) had
received from the Prophet or knew from Divine inspiration. href="#r8"
name=n8>[8] Moreover, we find such statements as the following among
the traditions of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (a):
Write down whatever you hear, for you will need it in
the near future. href="#r9"
name=n9>[9]
Write down, for certainly you will not preserve (what
you have learned) unless you-write it down. href="#r10"
name=n10>[10]
Yunus ibn Abd al-Rahman says that he came across a book
on the topic of inheritance (fara'id) whereupon he showed its
contents to the Eighth Imam, Ali ibn Musa al-Rida ( a), and he verified
its authenticity. href="#r11"
name=n11>[11]
Similarly Amr ibn Mutatabbib says that he had the
contents of "the Book of Zarof ibn Nasih" on the topic of compensations
(diyat) authenticated by Imam Sadiq (a). href="#r12"
name=n12>[12]
Hasan ibn al-Jahm-also narrates that he had the same
book on diyat authenticated by Imam Rida ( a). href="#r13"
name=n13>[13]
In addition to the evidence cited above, this statement
of the Noble Prophet (s) made in Masjid al-Khif:
May God bless him who hears my statements, understands
them, preserves (hafizaha) them and communicates them to those whom
they have not reached. href="#r14"
name=n14>[14]
clearly points to the necessity of making written
records of the Prophet's statements, because writing is the best means of
preserving and recording (hifz). It is mentioned in a tradition
that once Sufyan al-Thawri requested one of the pupils of Imam Sadiq ( a)
to take him into the Imam's presence. He obtained the Imam's permission,
and Sufyan went to meet the Imam at the appointed time. After he received
the leave to enter, he asked for pen and ink and then said to the Imam,
"Recite for me the sermon of the Messenger of Allah its the Masjid
al-Khif." The Hadrat said,
Write, "In the
Name of Allah, the All Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Sermon of the
Messenger of Allah in the Masjid al-Khif: Then he said: May Allah bless
the servant who hears my statements, understands them, ... href="#r15"
name=n15>[15]
On this basis it must be said that Sunnah in the Shi'i
tradition has from the very beginning been accompanied with all the
aspects essential for its preservation, including writing. Such a thing
cannot be said of the transmission of Sunnah in the Sunni tradition,
excepting only a small part of it. Hence it is a well-known maxim among
the Sunnis that:
Every hadith narrated by al-Shafii, from Malik, from
Nafi, from Ibn Umar is a golden chain of authorities (silsilat
al-dhahab).
However, Shi'i scholars regard every hadith originating
from any of the Infallible Imams from Ali ( a) up to our master
al-Askari ('a) as a golden chain of authorities (silsilat
al-dhahab). Besides, during the interval between Shi'i scholars and
the Infallible Imams there are narrators traditions transmitted by whom
are regarded as possessing a golden chain' of transmission. Among them
are Zurarah ibn Ryan, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Aban ibn 'Uthnan, Muhammad ibn
Abi Umayr, Yunus ibn Abd al-Rahman and others.
On the basis of what has been said, it may be remarked
that the real ahl al-sunnah (lit. the people of the Sunnah')
are the Jafari Shi'is, not those who are named as such and who due to
the problems arising from the inadequacies of the transmitted Sunnah were
forced to take in resort in analogical reasoning (qiyas), istihsan,
istiqra', and the like as sources of law parallel to the Qur'an and
the Sunnah. Nevertheless, to be fair, the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah have
put in a greater effort than the Shiah in the transmission and
arrangement of hadith, and the same is true of the field of Qur'anic
exegesis.
O Lord, we thank You for all Your plenteous bounties,
including the bounty of access to the Sunnah which is the opener of the
way to chaste and pure life (hayat-e tayyibah) and the blessing of
enjoying the wilayah of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, may Peace be
upon him, who are the guides that lead to God and the truth.
O People of the Household! . . . With you is all that
which the Divine apostles have brought hitherto and which has been brought
down by the angels .... My Masters! . . . It was by your means that God
has taught us the principles of our religion and (through you) He has set
right such matters of our worldly existence as lay in ruin. . . href="#r16"
name=n16>[16] O God, we thank You for the knowledge You have give us
of Yourself, of Your apostles and the Seal of Your Messengers and
Testaments (hujaj), and the Seal of Your Testaments, and we do not
know whether we should thank You (more) for publishing good things about
us or for concealing our weak points, for the greatness of Your bounties
and. trials or for the many perils from which You have rescued and
delivered us.
May
Peace and. God's mercy be upon you.
href="#n1"
name=r1>[1] Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, 'Uyun akhbar a-Rida (a), vol.
2, p. 173; a1-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, vol. 85, p. 257,
hadith no. 3.
href="#n2"
name=r2>[2] AI-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 53, hadith no. 14;
al-Hurr al-Amili, Wasa'il al-Shi ah, "abwab al-qada'," bab 8,
hadith no. 26.
href="#n3"
name=r3>[3] Al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Amali, p. 42, hadith
10; Hilyat al-abrar, vol. 2, p. 95; al-Khara'ij wa al jara'ih,
vol. 2, p. 893; Bihar al-anwar, vol. 2, p. 148, hadith no. 21.
href="#n4"
name=r4>[4]. Al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 74, hadith 2.
href="#n5"
name=r5>[5]. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 36, p. 331, hadith 191.
href="#n6"
name=r6>[6]. Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak al-Sahihayn, vol. 1,
p. 106; Awal al li'ali, vol. 1, p. 68; Munyat al-murid, p.
267; Kanz al-'ummal, vol. 10, p. 127; Bihar al-anwar, vol.
2. p. 151; in some narrations the wording is as follows:
The Messenger of Allah said: "Capture knowledge." I
said, "What is its capturing?" He said, "Its writing down."
href="#n7"
name=r7>[7]. Al-Safar, Basa'ir al-darajat, p. 129;
al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 296.
href="#n8"
name=r8>[8]. AI-Kafi, vol. p. 297.
href="#n9"
name=r9>[9]. Ibid, p. 52, hadith 9.
href="#n10"
name=r10>[10]. Ibid., p. 52, hadith 10.
href="#n11"
name=r11>[11]. Ibid., vol. 7, p. 330, hadith 1.
href="#n12"
name=r12>[12]. Ibid., vol. 7, p. 324, hadith 8.
href="#n13"
name=r13>[13]. Ibid., hadith 9.
href="#n14"
name=r14>[14]. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 403, hadith 1.
href="#n15"
name=r15>[15]. Ibid., hadith 2.
href="#n16"
name=r16>[16]. Ibid.
