The first person who has found the basis of story-telling in the Islamic world is Tamim ad-Dari.
Authentic sources say:
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In the covenant of the Holy Prophet, there did not exist story-telling. The same was the case in the covenant of Abu-Bakr too. The first person who engaged in such an affair was Tamim ad-Dari. He asked Omar-ibn-Khattab to allow him to collect and narrate stories for the people and the latter allowed him to do so.
Concerning the stipulation of those who have written the life-history of the companions of the Holy Prophet, Tamim ad-Dari i.e. Tamim-ibn-Aus ibn- Kharaja (agnomen - Abu Ruqaiyya) was a Christian and in the year 9 A.H. i.e. during the last year of the Prophet's life, he came to Medina and became a Muslim:
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Verily, it is not that he was an ordinary Christian but it is said that he was reckoned to be the monk amongst the Palestinians and a devotee of that place:
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In other words, he was not an ordinary person in the Christian religion. Rather, he was reckoned to be a famous monk and worshipper amongst the people of Palestine.
Moreover, they add:
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«He was a scholar as well as being well-versed in the Torah and Bible.»
Apart from being a monk, he was also a tradesman during the era of ignorancy. Bukhari narrates in his 'Sahih' that Tamim ad-Dari and Addi-ibn- Badda (who was a relative of Amro Aas) went for a business trip along with a person from the tribe of Bani-Saham, On the way, this man died in a land where there were no Muslim dwellers. His wealth fell in the hands of Tamim and Addi who handed them to his family-members, when they returned. Moments before dying, this Sahami person wrote the accounts of his wealth and kept it amongst them. However, this affair remained concealed from the eyes of the two partners. Amongst the wealth of the Sahami man, a cup made of silver existed which was decorated with gold and was the biggest and most valuable part of its owners wealth. Of course its particulars were recorded in the list of wealth. Tamim and Addi sold this cup and shared the money which amounted to five hundred dirhams and handed over the remaining wealth to the family-members of the Muslim partner. Amongst the wealth, the family-member found a deed of the entire wealth of their father wherein mention was made of a cup coated with gold. The family-members approached the two partners of their father and claimed from them the cup present in their father's wealth. They denied this and said: 'We are unaware of such a cup. The dispute was taken before the Holy Prophet. He commanded that those two should attend the mosque and after the prayers, swear to God that they had not committed treason and had brought all that was left of the dead man's property. They sweared accordingly but later on, the cup was found with someone who confessed to having bought it from Tamim. When Tamim was questioned about it, he said: Yes, it is the truth. But, we had bought it from that Sahami man and we forgot to reveal this matter to you at that time. At this very moment, the verse 106 and 107 from Sura Maeda was revealed:
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«O you who believe! call to witness between you when death draws nigh to one of you, at the time of making the will, two just persons from among you, (i.e. Muslims) or two other than you, (i.e. non-Muslim) if you are travelling in the land and the calamity of death befalls you; the two (witnesses) you should detain after the prayer; then if you doubt (them), they shall both swear by Allah, (saying): We will not take for it a price, though there be a relative, and we will not hide the testimony of Allah for then certainly we should be among the sinners.»
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«Then if it becomes known that they both have been guilty of a sin, two others shall stand up in their place from among those who have a claim against them, the two nearest in kin; so those two should swear by Allah: Certainly our testimony is truer than the testimony of those two, and we have not exceeded the limit, for then, most surely we should be of the unjust.»
As per the order of these verses, two persons nearest in kin and relatives of the Sahami man sweared near the foot of the Holy Prophet's pulpit that the possession of the cup had been mentioned amongst the list of inheritance deed and it is they who are uttering the truth and not these two men. In this manner, the Holy Prophet commanded them to give back the cup or its equivalent to the heirs of the Sahami man. 228
This is the past record of Tamim's ugly face during his Christianity. His life can be summarized as such: «A scholar in Torah and Bible, a Christian monk and a big tradesman across the oceans» who of course had sometimes committed the crime of theft while trading.
After this event, the Holy Prophet addressed Tamim who was then a Christian as such: «Convert to Islam since Islam will forgive you of your past sins.» In other words, the moment a person enters into the fold of Islam, it eliminates all his past impurities. Thus, in this manner Tamim accepted Islam in the year 9 A.H.
During the period of Omar-ibn-Khattab's Caliphate, Tamim Dari, the former Christian scholar who had not witnessed the Prophet's period for more than one year was now allowed to address the Holy Prophet's companions like Salman, Abu-Zar, Miqdad, Ammar Huzaifa, Khuzaima and others. As a speaker and orator prior to the Friday-prayers he was given the liberty of addressing the general Muslim population of Medina once in a week. Of course, the Muslims were supposed to sit the Friday- prayer ceremony through which they did and listened to his speeches. During Uthman's reign of Caliphate, he was charged with fulfilling this responsibility twice a week. 229
The second Caliph, Omar-ibn-Khattab would respect Tamim to a great extent and would call him by the title of 230 [Arabic text] (the best man in Medina). This was exactly at the time when persons like Imam Amir-ul- Mumineen (A.S.) and the eminent companions of the Holy Prophet were present. Later, when the people were divided into classes on the basis of the second Caliph's command, Tamim was placed in the rank of the 'people of Badr' who were reckoned to be the most honourable companions of the Holy Prophet and were receiving pays more than any other class. The people of Badr became the first group of the Holy Prophet's followers where the «Muhajirin» (emigrants)amongst them received five thousand dirham and the «Ansars» (helpers) amongst them received four thousand dirhams. The next group were those who had participated in the battle of 'Uhud' and following them were the people of 'Khandaq', people of 'Khaibar' and then the 'peace of Hudaibiyya' and last of all consisted of those who had become Muslims after the Holy Prophet and they received two hundred dirham from the public-treasury.
At that time, the Caliph linked Tamim Dari to the 'people of Badr' and placed him besides the pioneers and vanguards of Islam and earmarked five thousand dirham for him from the public - treasury. 231 Moreover, when the second Caliph gave orders that the 'Nafila' (supererogatory) and 'Mustahab' (recommendable)prayers should be offered in congregation in the month of Ramadhan (in the year 14 A.H.), two persons were appointed by him for leading the congregation where one of them was Tamim Dari. (a newly-converted Muslims who was previously a Christian, monk and scholar). He would attend the congregation prayers and lead the Muslims with his one thousand dirham value garment in an utmost majestic state. 232 Tamim remained in Medina until the end of Uthman's Caliphate and rule. However, after Uthman's death, he fled to Syria and resided there until 40 A.H. i.e. the year of martyrdom of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.). Historians have said: Tamim died in Syria and his grave is situated in the house of «Jubreen» in Palestine.
This Christian monk and scholar who was now a newly-converted Muslim had been quenched with tampered culture of the Torah and Bible and had not undergone so much Islamic and Prophetic training so as to undergo a radical positive change. In order to realize the influence of such a person in the Islamic society of his time and the official Islam, it is necessary to ponder over what the scholars of «Rijal» (researchers in the biographies of the companions) have said: Persons like Abu-Huraira from whom 5,374 traditions have been narrated in the books 'Sihah', 'Musnad' and other narrative sources of the Caliphate school, Anas-ibn-Malik who has 2,286 traditions to his credit, Abdulla-ibn-Abbass who has narrated 1,660 traditions and numerous other disciples of the companions were amongst his students and have narrated traditions from him.
The most famous tradition which has been narrated from Tamim Dari reveals the culture which he possessed and strived to disseminate it in the newly-founded Islamic society. This tradition is about «Dajjal» and is well- known as «Jassaseh». It is narrated as such:
Fatemah-bin-Qais says:
«The voice of the Prophet's caller could be heard crying out: [Arabic text] (come for the congregation prayers). I left my house and then offered prayers in the mosque with the Holy Prophet. I was sitting in the front row of the ladies. After prayers, the Holy Prophet sat on the pulpit and while smiling said: 'Everyone should remain in his or her own place.' Thereafter he added: 'Do you know why I have called you in this?' The people replied: 'God and gathering, His Messenger know better!' He said: «I have called you here in order to inform you that Tamim Dari who was formerly a Christian has now accepted Islam and has become a Muslim, Moreover, he has narrated to me a tradition which is in agreement with what I used to narrate for you and it is about Messiah Dajjal.» He has narrated to me as such:
«I boarded the ship along with thirty men from the tribes of «Lakhm» and «Juzaam». The sea turned stormy, For one month we were entangled in the horrendous storm, Later, the storm pulled us to an island. We stepped off unto the shore. There, we witnessed a strange animal which was very hairy so much so that his head could not be clearly seen. We approached the animal and said: «What are you?» It replied: 'I am Jassaseh!233 We said: 'What is Jassaseh? It replied: Do not ask me about anything. Enter this monastery because the man who is inside is eager to see you and wishes to acquire knowledge about you! On hearing these words, we began to fear and thought that perhaps he was Satan who has now appeared in this form. Soon we went towards the monastery. Inside, we witnessed a man the like of whom we had never witnessed. However, his hands and legs were bound with chains. We asked: 'Who are you?' He replied: You shall soon know about me. But first, introduce yourselves to me. We informed him that we were Arabs and related to him the story of the ship and our fate. Thereafter, he asked us some questions and said: 'In what condition is the palm of Baisan?234 Does the lake of Tabariyya contain water or not?235 How is the spring of Zughar?236.... Then he said: 'Inform me about the unlettered Prophet.' We said: he has appeared in Mecca and is now residing in Yathrib (Medina). He said: Have the Arabs waged wars against him? We replied: 'Yes.' He said: 'How has these battle been fought?' We said: 'Sometimes he has been victorious and sometimes his enemies have beaten him.' He said: But it is to their own interest to follow him. Then, he said: 'Now I shall introduce myself. I am Messiah (Dajjal) and it is not far that I will be given permission to emerge. I shall walk on the earth and traverse every place save Mecca and Taiba (Medina) in only forty days. These two cities are forbidden upon me and on every way which leads to them stands an angel with a sword who prevents me from entering these places.' Thereafter, the Holy Prophet while striking his staff thrice on the pulpit said: This place is «Taiba». He further added: Didn't I inform you about this matter before? The people replied: 'Yes!' Then, he said: Tamim's tradition is interesting and astonishing for me because it is in agreement and conformity with whatever I had revealed to you in the past. 237
Here we shall not examine as to how it is possible that a sea should be entangled in a storm for one whole month! Basically, it could be no other sea other than the Mediterranean sea? And whether this sea on which man has travelled across for a thousand years has really possessed an unheard island where Dajjal was imprisoned in it and «Jassaseh» was busy gathering information is quite astonishing. If at that time it was possible for someone to believe that such an unknown island existed, can the same be believed in the recent centuries? Has this unreasonable saying been accepted today?
Moreover, where can an animal by the name of «Jassaseh» whose head and tail are unrecognizable and speaks eloquent Arabic too be found!? Does such a thing really sound sensible or not? Also, why Dajjal who was bound with chains and had the permission for revolting has not done so during these one thousand and four hundred years? In those days, it was possible for someone like the fabricator of this news who was unaware of the future to say that Dajjal had been granted permission to revolt but today, after a gap of centuries we are aware of the extent of the falsity of this matter.
We leave these and such other questions and their answers to the knowledge and insight of our readers. We only ask: What kind of evil repercussions and misunderstandings can be created in Islam from that which is mentioned in the tradition: that the Holy Prophet hears it from Tamim Dari with acceptance and then announces this with delight to the Muslims in an official and large gathering. What kind of an opinion will an educated, enlightened and discerning Muslim derive about his Prophet? What will a non-Muslim who is doing research about Islam, say? And how can they believe in a Prophet who narrates such superstitions and lies?
Another question which we have in mind is whether there was no Muslim in the length of these centuries to doubt in the integrity of this tradition and the Holy Prophet's utterances on the pulpit? The reply is «No», because this tradition has been narrated in Sahih Muslim and whatever gets narrated in Sahih Muslim and Bukhari cannot be doubted! In any way, there exists no doubt in the fantasy and fabrication of the text of this tradition. So, where does the impairment lie or rather where can we look for it? Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Ridha, an emiment Egyptian scholar238, has conducted research in this regard and suggests a way for solving this matter. He does not say that Fatemah-bin-Qais, the narrator of the tradition has made a mistake or has not spoken the truth or has been entangled in delusive thought and imagination since, she is after all the companion of the Prophet and a companion is worthy of respect! Moreover, the narrators of Sahih Muslim and Muslim himself are faultless. Thus, this tradition verily refers back to the Holy Prophet and cannot be said that any mistake or crime has taken place on the part of the narrators.
However, the tradition too is not worthy of acceptance under any circumstances through wisdom and knowledge of our time. Rashid Ridha reckons the solution to lie in this that the Holy Prophet has made a mistake for narrating Tamim's sayings i.e. he has unknowingly entangled himself in the claws of Tamim's superstitious and false story and without discovering his mistake has divulged it to the people. Muhammad Abdoh's expression is as follows:-
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«The Holy Prophet is not aware of the unseen. He is similar to other human - beings and believes in the sayings of the people if they sound reasonable and rouse no doubt.»
In reality, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) has been deceived by Tamim's words and has happily revealed and taught them to the people without realizing that his sayings are plain superstitions.
Now, this basic question arises that as to why such kinds of traditions have found their way in the books of traditions?
We do not wish to find fault with Tamim Dari and argue as to why he has resorted to such superstitious tales. And basically what his intentions were in narrating such sayings? Rather, we wish to inquire why this tale has not entered the story-books and has found its way in the book of [Arabic text] (The comprehensive authentic traditions)?
Those who remember our previous discussions are aware that with regards to the orders of the ruling authorities, traditions were not being written down before the year 100 A.H. and it was during Omar-ibn-Abdul Aziz's era that for the first time traditions appeared in the written form. It is possible that such a story which could have been attractive and exciting too for the people of that time, must have been narrated by Tamim Dari and the Muslims too must have heard about it. Later, during the length of time, some Muslim or the other has made an error and imagined that he has heard the story in the form of tradition from the Holy Prophet. Perhaps, in this manner it has been narrated through Fatemah-binte Qais or Aamer Shuabi, the other narrator and has found its way in the books of tradition. The reality of the affair is this that neither the Holy Prophet has uttered such words nor there had been any gathering in the mosque for listening to his talks.
In the 'science of hadith' [Arabic text] or 'contextual study of hadith [Arabic text] this (tradition) has been reckoned to be [Arabic text] as one kind amongst the various kinds of hadiths which means a greater person narrating tradition from a smaller person. For example, when a companion (of the Holy Prophet) narrates a tradition from a disciple of the companion, his narration will be counted to be [Arabic text] because a companion, due to his companionship with the Holy Prophet and his leading in the chain of narrators is considered to be greater than a disciple who does not possess such priorities. With regard to this tradition too it has been said: 'Since the Holy Prophet has narrated this tradition from one companion i.e. Tamim Dari, it is therefore
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In the length of history of the Christian Church's campaign against Islam, one of the most common Christian accusation has been this that the Holy Prophet has acquired his words and basically the Islamic knowledge and commandments from the Christians and Jews. At first, the ecclesiastic forces, by relying on the similarities which exists among some of the matters in the present-day Torah, Bible and the holy Quran, have reiterated this accusation during the centuries. Later, when due to progressive exigencies, the need of knowledge in the form of Orientalism and Islamlogist was felt in the countries of European colonizers and it came into being with all its expanded scope, this saying because one of the most common accusations of the western Islamicists against Islam and the Islamicist agents of the English, French, Holland.... ministries have, under the pretext of research and investigation, reiterated this accusation day after day.
By paying attention to these preliminaries it will become clear that to what extent Tamim's hadith can be a proof of such lies and accusations. Unfortunately, in connection to the discussion about Dajjal and the life- history of Tamim himself, the Western Islamicists refer to this tradition in the most important book in this field i.e. «Encyclopaedia of Islam» and also specify that he was able to divulge the worship of the Syrian Christians before the Prophet. Aside from giving such kind of information in religious matters to the Holy Prophet (!) he also placed before him the story of Dajjal, the end of time and Jassaseh and the Prophet too listened to such talks with acknowledgement and revealed and taught them to the Muslims as a scholarly gift. 241
Professor Lifi Dalavida, a master in Arabic Language and semitic languages and an expert in Islamic history writes about Tamim Dari in the Encyclopaedia of Islam as such: Tamim was a Christian just like most of the Syrian Arabs. Thus he was able to acquaint Hazrat (i.e. the Holy Prophet)about the worship of the Syrians amongst which was the matter of lightening of candles in the mosque. It is said that Tamim was the first person who narrated religious stories. The stories about the establishment of the Hour (Resurrection) and the appearance of Dajjal and Jassaseh were all from such type. Tamim divulged these stories for the Prophet who in turn revealed them to the people. 242
Previously, we had seen how, during the Umayyid era, they (i.e. the Umayyids) strived hard in crushing the Holy Prophet's personality. Unfortunately, the results of this endeavour which took the shape of a tradition and found its way in the reliable books of the Caliphate school became the (main) factor in influencing Rashid Ridha to believe that the solution of this matter lies in this that the Holy Prophet had committed a mistake! (God forbid).
241- Refer to the issue of Dajjal written by Winsang and the matter of Tamim Dari written by Lifi Dalavida in the «Encyclopaedia of Islam»; first edition and in the matter of Dajjal in the shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam pg. 67
Rub-ibn-Zanba'a says:- «I approached Tamim Dari. I saw him cleaning barley to feed his horse in spite of the presence of servants and slaves besides him». I said: «You need not do this work as your servants and slaves are present! Is there not anyone amongst them to perform this task?» Tamim said: 'Yes. But I have heard the Holy Prophet saying:
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Any Muslim who cleans barley for his horse and (then) hangs it around her neck to be fed a goodness is written for him to the extent of the number of those barleys. 243
This forged tradition is an example of the traditions narrated from Tamim wherein the Holy Prophet sayings and the Islamic knowledge is reduced to such levels that one reward is fixed for every barley given to a horse.
One of the deceitful acts of Tamim Dari which has been recorded in history and has remained till today is this that during Muawiya's era, he presented a letter from the Holy Prophet wherein the latter mentions that he has given Tamim some flourishing village and hamlet of Syria as a fief. These villages consisted of Bait-Ayoon, Hebrun, Martum and Bait-e-Ibrahim.
The text of the Prophet's letter which Tamim presented in this regard is as follows:
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«This is whatever Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.A.) has presented to Tamim Dari and his companions. I present you Bait-Uyoon, Hebrun, Martum and Bait-Ibrahim along with the belongings in these villages - i.e. its trees, animals and people. This gift is decisive and irrevocable. I have approved and surrendered it to him and his family- members forever. The witnesses upon this matter are Abu-Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali-ibn-Abi Talib.»
The proofs of prevarication of this letter are many:
One of them is that the Holy Prophet never used to send greetings and salutations upon himself after mentioning his name in the letters which he would write or rather had others to write. Of course if others would write something they would note down greetings and salutations after his blessed name.
Another reason is that the Holy Prophet would never give a flourishing place as a fief to anyone in this manner i.e. with all its inhabitants. Rather, he would give barren and dead land so that they would enliven them or give pastures which could be turned into a place suitable for animal husbandry.
Yet another proof. If the Holy Prophet had gifted each and everything of these villages (its people, animals and property) to Tamim and his followers it means that he had gifted the people of this place to him as slaves and that too forever and until the Day of Judgement. And then he said: «If anyone vexes them i.e. Tamim Dari, his family-members, relatives and descendants he has in fact vexed Allah.
Another reason which we can mention is that the witnesses to this munificence comprised those people who later on attained the Caliphate in order. In other words, precisely in accordance with the same order of government, they have signed below this letter. This order is itself a clear proof of this letter being forged and fabricated because, none of the witnesses seen in the numerous letters of the Holy Prophet's pact follow this order. For this very reason we say that this letter had been forged during Muawiya's era. By means of this letter, Tamim took from Muawiya the possession of the afore-mentioned flourishing places which were around Bait-ul-Muqaddas and in Syria and Palestine and then migrated and lived there until the end of his life. He died there and was buried too in that very place.
With such record before Islam and such actions and statements after Islam Tamim Dari was the official speaker of the Islamic government. As mentioned before, he was appointed as the official speaker before the Friday-prayers during the period of the second and third Caliph where he would narrate stories.
Amongst the first steps which Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.) implemented after gaining control of the government was that he dismissed the story-tellers from the mosque. 245
Of course, like most other fugitives on the run from the just government of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen (A.S.), they took refuge in Muawiya. In this manner, the story of story-teller came to an end - of course not forever - and for the first time this chapter was wiped off from the history of Islam by the hands of Imam Amir-ul-Mumineen although afterwards, it regained considerable official recognition during the period of the statemen.
The first epoch of the life of the story-tellers reached its end during this period. However with the fresh revival of their affairs, their influence in the Islamic reflection remained alive just as we saw in the past, the influence of Tamim's whimsical narration of traditions.
About his life, they say: The Holy Prophet has narrated tradition from him and Ibne-Abbass, Anas-ibn-Malik, Abu-Huraira, Abdullah-ibn-Omar and scores of disciples of the companions have learnt and narrated traditions from him. 246
The possibility of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.A.) having had narrated tradition from Tamim, the example of which we saw before, can be decisively and accurately judged to be false. However, those amongst the companions who did not possess well-grounded knowledge of Islam like Abu-Huraira, Anas, Abdullah-ibn-Omar and also the disciples of the companions who wished to learn Islam from the tongue of persons like Tamim took the sayings of this Christian but newly-converted Muslim scholar and monk and narrated them in the form of traditions for the future generation. As such, the series of hadiths which in the «science of traditions» [Arabic text] is called as «Israeeliyat» i.e. stories of Bani-Israel i.e. whatever has been available in Torah, Bible, Talmud and such kind of distorted books of Old Testament has found its way in the Islamic world and has remained here and taken the colour of «tafseer» (exegesis), hadith and Islamic history.
Is it not that in numerous instances of the Torah it is mentioned that God walks or that God can become visible or that He speaks with Adam or wrestles with Yaqoub right from sunset till early dawn? Is it not that the Torah speaks about the various kinds of sins committed by the Prophets and that they are not immune from wine, adultery and other sins? Verily, all such talks which in reality have been the result of distortions of the heavenly facts present in the true Torah and Bible have entered Islam through such people and filled the various books of the Caliphate school.
As such, one of the factors which was responsible for distortion in Islam was the existence of such kind of people. Unfortunately, we have to state that the sayings of Tamim Dari, Wahab-ibn-Munabbah and most important amongst them Kab al-Ahbar 247 have not only penetrated the historical, narrative and interpretive text of the Caliphate school but have also influenced a few historical, narrative and interpretive sources of the Ahl-e- bayt school and as such the lucid sciences of the Ahl-e-bayt have become so tainted in some of the books. In the Ahl-e-bayt school, the primary principle is based on research. Thus in the traditions pertaining to jurisprudence, an accurate multilatered research is not adequately conducted in the case of historical, ethical or interpretive traditions and so a few signs of distortions of the enemies of Islam can be seen here and there in such books.
For achieving the true Islam i.e. the Islam which the Holy Prophet has brought, we are left with no option but to hold fast unto him and reap the benefits of his sciences and that of his Ahl-e-bayt who are the inheritors of his unlimited knowledge. On many occasions, Hazrat himself, in various forms has said the following:
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«I am leaving behind two valuable things amongst you - the Book of Allah and my household members. If you hold on to these two things, you will never go astray.»
Just as we witnessed, the ruling figures strived to fill the vacant sayings of the Holy Prophet and the true Islamic gnosis with the culture of «Ahl-e- Kitab» - Jews and Christians. It was on this very path that the scholars from «Ahl-e-Kitab» sat on the throne of Quranic exegesis and explanation of gnosis in the Islamic societies. Previously, we had discussed about manner of his influence in the Islamic society. Now we shall examine the personality and operation of yet another scholar of «Ahl-e-Kitab» who was called as Kab al-Ahbar and was reckoned to be a great Jewish scholar.